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      Rams to trade Steven Jackson? GM says no.

      December 26, 2009 /

      Rams general manager Billy Devaney says that the team won’t look to trade running back Steven Jackson this offseason.

      From the St. Louis Dispatch:

      Devaney shot down such rumors in October as the trade deadline approached. And with the offseason just 10 days away for the Rams, he was more than happy to shoot them down again.

      “It’s something that’s never even crossed my mind,” Devaney said in a recent interview. “It’s something that I couldn’t imagine. We’re trying to bring good players into the building. Why would we want (to trade) our best guy — one of the best players in the NFL regardless of position?”

      The idea isn’t too far fetched; the Rams are many pieces of away from being competitive, so why not trade Jackson and get extra draft picks?

      But it’s hard enough for teams to find a trade partner, nevertheless one that will surrender multiple draft picks to acquire a player. So even if the Rams do find a trade partner, will they find one willing to give up a at least a first and a third round pick to acquire Jackson? And if they don’t find a trade partner, then they have to worry about alienating Jackson in the process.

      The Rams would be better off keeping Jackson and allowing Devaney to build the roster through the draft. They need to find a quarterback and to continue to rebuild the offensive line before they start taking chances like trading Jackson. It just doesn’t seem like a prudent move right now.


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      NFL

      Mets sign Kelvim Escobar to one-year contract

      December 26, 2009 /

      Kelvim Escobar will make his National League debut next year with the New York Mets. With this signing, the Angels lose another key component to their pitching staff while the Mets just potentially boosted their bullpen. The one-year deal includes a $1.25 million base salary plus $2 million in incentives as a starter and $1 million as a reliever.

      In the best-case scenario he could set up closer Francisco Rodriguez as the team’s eighth-inning guy.

      “It’s a low risk, but could have a high reward,” one AL scout said. “It hangs on if he’s healthy.”

      Pitching out of the bullpen would not be something new to Escobar, who had surgery in 2008 to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder and then suffered a setback in 2009 that limited him to one start. He was primarily a reliever when he came up with the Blue Jays and saved 38 games in 2002 as their full-time closer. The Jays converted him to a starter during 2003 and he went 12-8 with a 3.92 ERA in 26 starts.

      The Angels inked him to a three-year, $18.75 million contract after that season and put him in their rotation. In the second year of the deal he needed elbow surgery but returned to help them reach the postseason by going 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA in nine September relief appearances. He was re-signed to a three-year, $28.5 million deal before 2007, but made only one start after his breakthrough year.

      Although he’s made just one major league appearance over the last two seasons, Escobar went 18-7 with a 3.40 ERA in 2007. All things considered, the Mets don’t have much to lose by brining him on board. I like the idea of having Escobar set up former teammate Francisco Rodriguez, but I wouldn’t limit him to that role. Since the Mets starting rotation is pretty thin, giving Escobar a couple spot starts couldn’t hurt.


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      MLB

      Frustrated Laker fans throw stuff on the court

      December 26, 2009 /


      Per ESPN…

      The yellow foam hands came flying in from every corner of the lower bowl, sailing onto the court in dozens of frisbee-style arches late in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ dominant victory.

      LeBron James was more worried than amused by this unusual display of frustration from the Los Angeles Lakers’ fans — and he got a bit more concerned when at least one water bottle followed the foam.
      “The only thing that you hope doesn’t happen is one of the players getting hit or a referee getting hit, especially by a full water bottle,” James said. “When that came on the court, it was coming pretty fast. You don’t want that to happen because it could definitely hurt somebody. Luckily no one got hurt, and that’s a good thing.”

      The fans were driven to throw up their hands — not the usual foam No. 1 fingers, but a representation of two puppet hands making the “LA” symbol in a tie-in to Nike’s LeBron-and-Kobe Bryant marketing campaign — by Lamar Odom’s ejection with 4:04 to play. After Bryant received the Lakers’ fifth T with 3:45 left, more hands took flight — along with that water bottle.

      “I’ve never seen an L.A. crowd react like this before,” said coach Phil Jackson, whose bench drew a second T after Odom’s ejection for failing to produce a substitute quickly. “I like their enthusiasm. I don’t like their demonstrative manner. … It wasn’t a well-refereed game, it wasn’t a very well-played game, so I think it was a reaction to that.”

      Aw, the poor little Laker fans didn’t get their way so they had to throw a tantrum. Waaaaaaaa!


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      NBA

      Haynesworth already frustrated in Washington

      December 26, 2009 /

      Albert Haynesworth isn’t happy with the way things are in Washington and expressed his frustrations shortly after being sent home early on Friday for missing a team meeting. Haynesworth, who was given $41 million in guaranteed money last offseason, mainly expressed his frustration with defensive coordinator Greg Blache.

      From the Washington Post:

      In a lengthy phone interview shortly after he was sent home from practice by Coach Jim Zorn for disciplinary reasons, Haynesworth for the first time discussed his poor relationship with Blache and provided his most detailed explanation yet about the flaws, in his opinion, of Blache’s disciplined scheme, which has helped the Redskins rank ninth overall in defense. Haynesworth expressed fear that owner Daniel Snyder’s major investment in him — the Redskins guaranteed Haynesworth $41 million in signing him this past February — would be wasted unless he again is given freedom to “create havoc” as he did in his first seven seasons with the Tennessee Titans.

      “If they keep this system the way it is, then they would label Albert Haynesworth a bust who didn’t live up to the contract,” Haynesworth said. “Everybody would say he just took the money and ran off. And I’m still playing as hard as I possibly can. But you can only do so much within the system that’s put around you. And I’m not talking about the players. The players have been great. I couldn’t ask for any better guys. I’m talking about the system. And [the coaches] can say whatever they want about that [the reason he was sent home Friday]. The main thing it’s coming from is what I said after the game about leadership and about the team.”

      Haynesworth will likely get his wish if he wants to see Blache gone, because once Zorn is fired in the offseason the new head coach (Mike Shanahan?) will clean house and bring in his own coordinators. So Haynesworth’s frustrations will probably be short lived.

      That said, it isn’t good when a team invests $41 million in guaranteed money in a player and he gets sent home early, then openly complains about his defensive coordinator.


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      NFL

      Chargers wax Titans 42-17 on Christmas night

      December 25, 2009 /

      The San Diego Chargers didn’t need to make a statement on Christmas night in Tennessee after winning nine straight coming into the game with the Titans, but they made one anyway.

      The Bolts routed the Titans 42-17 on Friday night to secure the No. 2 seed in the AFC. Their offense racked up 425 yards, including 259 through the air and 166 on the ground. Philip Rivers completed 21-of-27 pass attempts for 264 yards and two touchdowns while shredding Tennessee’s soft secondary. LT also notched two touchdowns while rushing for 59 yards on 16 carries. The Chargers’ offense is a finely tuned machine right now and isn’t having trouble scoring against any opponent.

      But perhaps the most impressive thing about tonight’s game is the way San Diego’s defense stepped up. They weren’t dominant by any stretch of the imagination, but they did force three turnovers, including two in the first half after the Titans had driven the ball to midfield. Chris Johnson (142 rushing yards, 1 TD) still got his, but the Chargers limited his big-play potential after allowing him to break a 30-yard run on his first carry of the game. Of course, it helped that Vince Young was brutal tonight. He threw two horrible interceptions and also lost a fumble in the first half after scrambling for a first down.

      I could note how having home field advantage is huge for the Chargers in the playoffs, but they’ve beaten teams on and away from their home turf this season so it might not matter. And perhaps the biggest thing to keep in mind is that they’ve had great success against the Colts over the past three years, beating them twice in the postseason and once in 2008 regular season.

      Indy might have plenty of reason to be nervous at the moment. (Or as nervous as an undefeated team could be.)


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      NFL

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