NFL mock draft: Expert predictions for the 2015 NFL Draft - Business Insider

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I like the Wisdom of the Crowd methodology that Business Insider used and this is the guy, along with OT Andrus Peat from Stanford, whose name has been linked to the Giants the most.

from Business Insider:
NFL mock draft: Expert predictions for the 2015 NFL Draft - Business Insider:

9. New York Giants — Brandon Scherff, OG

Experts: 5 out of 15

School: Iowa 

Other possibilities*: Andrus Peat (OT, Stanford), Danny Shelton (DT, Washington) 

Key expert quote: Rang: "The Giants could be intrigued by some of the edge rushers still on the board, but if Scherff - the draft's best offensive lineman - is available, he would make too much sense to pass up."

'via Blog this'

Considering that the Giants have the #9 pick and presumably do not want it again anytime soon, you would think they would go for one of the skill players for max impact. I liked Florida's LB Dante Fowler, Jr. for them as a sleeper pick. He's 6-2, 261 and Florida fast, but the consensus here has him going before the G-men pick.

Among the linemen, you can't go wrong with Miami OT Ereck Flowers at 6-5, 324, right in there with Scherff and Peat. Scherff is the only one that seems suited to move to OG, and he would be a big one, so that may be why he is rising up the board.

If they go for safety help, Alabama's Landon Collins might be the only DB worth picking in the #9 slot. But he looks like he's slipping more to the bottom half of the first-round rather than the front half.

They need to cash in big at both the #9 slot and #41 in the second round. Maybe they roll the dice and hope that one of the highly regarded OL men fall to the second round. Overall, I think #9 is too high to draft an offensive lineman, but Eli is a valuable property. You have to keep him upright.

I thought earlier the Giants might be looking at the DE's in case JPP leaves the building, but Shane Ray 6-3, 245 from Missouri and Randy Gregory 6-6, 245 from Nebraska have the dreaded "off-field issues" attached to them.

And here I thought that you had to be badder than Charles Manson to not get drafted.

"If Charles Manson ran a 4.3, you'd better believe we'd sign him." - Jimmie Johnson

Being a dumb-ass at best and a borderline junior-sociopath at worst has not appeared to diminish the draft prospects of one Jameis Winston. Not one little bit.

It's interesting that after all the PR hullabaloo over domestic violence, involvement in murders and (alleged) rapes, that Roger Goodell may be forced to publicly welcome to the league with the 1st overall pick, a young man still dealing with the legal implications of a rape charge. Maybe he'll have a better secondary excuse than the one offered for the "stolen" (allegedly) crab-legs.

It's a real simple concept fellas.

• That which you reward or incentivize, you get more of.
• That which you penalize, you get less of. 

So much for changing the culture. Or maybe he did make fundamental change with this move:

from bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-04-28/nfl-will-end-its-tax-exempt-status-goodell-tells-team-owners

Goodell and the NFL have now basically told Congress and all the political special interest groups that have dogged the NFL for the past couple of years, "La-la-la, I can't hear you anymore." Or something along those lines.

  

Now they can go back to doing what they do best. Being the National Football League. Oops.

It will be worth watching if only to see how well Mel Kiper's hair has aged or whether Todd McShay can induce a brain embolism in old Mel via poor prospect analysis. That would be compelling live TV.

The Buccaneers are officially on the clock.   

Giants Report Card Day

It's actually kind of early for that. We're really only in the middle of the first marking period, but since we have a day off, what better time to evaluate where we are?

Oh lookie, lookie. we're in LAST PLACE!!!  How precious, 9-13 now aren't we the special ones? Actually a game and a half in last place, which technically qualifies as SOLIDLY in last place. You little eager beavers, you Giants. You guys are so cute!!! Yes you are!!!

I guess I didn't notice with all the bling coming off the World Series rings. But hey fellas, enough is enough. We are playing for 2015 now. Yes,  an odd year, I get it. But still. Have some pride and defend the title, would you please? Just a little bit? Please. 

PITCHING - Shitty. I take that back. STARTING PITCHING, especially guys not nicknamed MadBum or Hesto-Presto, SHITTY. Relief pitching has been stalwart as usual. 

Hudson, Vogelsong and Peavy a combined 0-6? Hudson, you can make the case has pitched in bad luck and with a lack of run-support (it is the Giants), but the other two? C'mon man!!! And anybody seen Matt Cain? Anybody? Time to throw a pitch in anger. 

HITTING - Shitty. Surprising and shitty.

HR leader - Brandon Crawford. Surprising. 

RBI leader - Brandon Crawford. Surprising. 

Brandon Crawford Average - .235 Shitty. 

Brandon Crawford spot in the order - 8th. Surprising. 

This only makes sense in the Bizarro-world of the Giants 2015 offense. 

Half the team is hitting well. Pagan at .341, Aoki at .303 and Panik at .280 are the only regulars hitting above average. 

Posey at .253, Maxwell at .255 with some pop, OK for now. 

Arias and Susac off the bench are OK. 

Duffy off the bench is really good. It seems like when he has to carry the bat up there 3-4 times, the load is too much to bear. This could be a problem for the Duffer, who has to decide if he wants to be typecast more as Walt Weiss than Al Weiss. 

Blanco is snoozing through another April. When the weather heats up.....Oh no. I don't want to reinforce another stereotype, let's just say it's coincidence and call it a day. 

Crawford, always vexing with the bat and the hair flips. Thank God for that glove (and that hair) or there'd be a bounty on........never mind. 

McGehee.......I don't know what to say. Bochy is supportive, as he should be. But at some point he has to put the team first. Duffy could help by hitting as well in starts as he does off the bench. The door opened, but it shuts quickly for rooks around here. Ask Conor Gilaspie. 

Sanchez, I don't know what to say. At .148, the bat is not as appealing as it used to be. In a little while, being Timmy's caddy isn't going to be as appealing as it used to be, If it weren't for that role, there might be a bounty on Sanchez' roster spot.


CONDUCT - Needs Improvement (LOL)
http://m.mlb.com/video/v93684483/?query=bumgarner


He probably missed Puig ( who is making strides in the area of conduct ) and channeled it towards Guerrero. Just the usual Giants - Dodgers heat. No worries, 

So it seems as if all is right in Gigante-land. It's all banners and rings and 2014 highlights, Oh my !!

Oh and having Pence and Cain breaking a sweat wouldn't hurt. Let's just hope we don't slide too far behind before they stop doing towel drills and hitting soft toss. 

Shit, I can do that and I'm older than the speed limit in most states.. 

Enjoy the day off fellas. 

TED Talks: Dan Pink: The puzzle of motivation

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation?language=en

Good stuff forwarded to me this morning from Mrs. TheSlav so Hat Tip to her. Hey, wait a minute!!
You don't think she sent this to me because she thinks I have a problem with motivation, do you? It did arrive in close proximity with an ever-increasing "Honey-Do" list, but maybe I'm just reading too much into this and imputing motivation on her part.

From the site I gathered that Mr. pink was a former speechwriter for Al Gore, but somehow I got past that and watched the presentation anyway and I'm glad I did. Great stuff. Enjoy, I have work to do.

P.S. - Excellent suggested reading list below.

Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories — and maybe, a way forward.

11:31There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does. And what worries me, as we stand here in the rubble of the economic collapse, is that too many organizations are making their decisions, their policies about talent and people, based on assumptions that are outdated, unexamined,and rooted more in folklore than in science. And if we really want to get out of this economic mess, if we really want high performance on those definitional tasks of the 21st century, the solution is not to do more of the wrong things, to entice people with a sweeter carrot, or threaten them with a sharper stick.We need a whole new approach.

12:17The good news is that the scientists who've been studying motivation have given us this new approach.It's built much more around intrinsic motivation. Around the desire to do things because they matter,because we like it, they're interesting, or part of something important. And to my mind, that new operating system for our businesses revolves around three elements: autonomy, mastery and purpose.Autonomy: the urge to direct our own lives. Mastery: the desire to get better and better at something that matters. Purpose: the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves. These are the building blocks of an entirely new operating system for our businesses.

17:23There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does. Here is what science knows.One: Those 20th century rewards, those motivators we think are a natural part of business, do work, but only in a surprisingly narrow band of circumstances. Two: Those if-then rewards often destroy creativity.Three: The secret to high performance isn't rewards and punishments, but that unseen intrinsic drive--the drive to do things for their own sake. The drive to do things cause they matter.

17:52And here's the best part. We already know this. The science confirms what we know in our hearts. So, if we repair this mismatch between science and business, if we bring our motivation, notions of motivationinto the 21st century, if we get past this lazy, dangerous, ideology of carrots and sticks, we can strengthen our businesses, we can solve a lot of those candle problems, and maybe, maybe -- we can change the world. I rest my case. (Applause)

Dan Pink's Reading List:

• The Talent Code

  Daniel Coyle
  Arrow Books, 2010

  A savvy and snappy compilation of some of the best research on talent. I've given away more than a dozen copies of this one — including to my own kids.
• item
  

  Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi 
  Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2008

  The classic book that introduced the idea of "flow" — those delicious moments when the challenge we face is so exquisitely matched to our capabilities that we lose our sense of time, even our sense of self.
• item
  

  Why We Do What We Do

  Edward L. Deci and Richard Flaste 
  Penguin Books, 1996

  Edward L. Deci is a legend in the study of motivation, and this 1996 book offers a nice early introduction to his work.
• item
  

  Mindset

  Carol Dweck 
  Ballantine Books, 2007

  One the most important books a parent can read. Seriously. Get it now.
• item
  

  The Sports Gene

  David Epstein 
  Current Trade, 2014

  A fascinating book that shows that in some pursuits, practice, practice, practice is more effective when you've got the right genes, genes, genes.
• item
  

  The War of Art

  Steven Pressfield 
  Black Irish Entertainment, 2012

  An essential read on overcoming resistance in the quest for mastery.
• item
  

  Readings on self-determination theory

  Much of the work I write about in Drive comes out of the University of Rochester. You can find a great selection of academic papers on self-determination theory online.
• item
  

  Dan Pink: My 5 favorite TED Talks on work

  You can't go wrong by watching my five favorite TED Talks about work.

Willie Mays Not Bothered by A-Rod's Pursuit | SFGate

Photo: Chris O'Meara, Associated Press

Sentences don't get easier to write than "Alex Rodriguez is no Willie Mays" and concepts don't get easier to understand than the following:

Nothing Alex Rodriguez does on the field from a statistical standpoint diminishes the player Willie Mays was in any way, shape or form. Period. 

Those fans and sports-writers who have gotten their panties in a  twist consistently over their lack of understanding of this concept just need to take a Mydol and calm down. Records are made to be broken. Always have been, always will be.

Maybe they are finally beginning to "get it". Now that was a hard sentence to write.

from SFGate.com:
Shea: Mays Not Bothered by A-Rod's Pursuit:

Alex Rodriguez is no Willie Mays.

Sentences don’t get easier to write than that one.

That Rodriguez will wind up with more home runs than Mays changes nothing. Mays was superior on every front: hitting, fielding, running, leading, inspiring.

When A-Rod hits two more homers for his 660th, matching Mays, it won’t go over well in these parts — even in parts of New York, where old-timers remember what the Say Hey Kid did the first six seasons of his career, before the Giants moved to San Francisco.

One man isn’t bothered by A-Rod’s pursuit, and that’s the man being pursued. Mays is OK with Rodriguez matching or surpassing him.

“Why shouldn’t I be?” he said.

'via Blog this'

Grounding Into Double Plays Records - Baseball Almanac

So maybe "Hits" McGehee becomes "GIDP" McGehee if he breaks Jim Rice's record of 36 set in 1984? There are some quality names on this list so I guess you have to be good enough to set this kind of a record.

But when you're hitting .190 and heading south or so and you have to sit a guy that is currently hitting .300 and heading north to get Matt Duffy in the lineup and keep McGehee in the lineup, my only question becomes:

"Why doesn't the .190 guy get a day off or dropped down in the lineup?"

"Sorry Boch, I couldn't hear you with all that bling coming off your three World Series rings. What did you say?"

"All right. I'll STFU and let you run the ship skip. But it sure seems like a dumb way to approach line-up construction, especially when the offense is struggling. But yeah, whatever."

It's ridiculous and it almost cost them a game last night. Then Panik has to ice the cake by "knocking" in the game-winning RBI with a fairly bad safety squeeze bunt.

Don't over-think it guys. The guy that sucks, sits. Period. That way they are incentivized to not suck so much.

In 159 games of 2014, McGehee grounded into an MLB-leading 31 double plays while batting .289 with 4 home runs and 76 RBI, winning the Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award for the National League.

Note: According to Grant at McCovey Chronicles, our boy is on pace to GIDP 94 times over 600 plate appearances!! Go for it, guys. 

from Baseball Almanac:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_gidp.shtml

"As far as I'm concerned, (Hank) Aaron is the best ball player of my era. He is to baseball of the last fifteen years what Joe DiMaggio was before him. He's never received the credit he's due." - Mickey Mantle in Baseball Digest (June 1970, John Kuenster, 'Warm Up Tosses', Page 8)

Grounding Into Double Plays Career Grounding Into Double Play Records Record Lg Name(s) Team(s) Data Most In A Career (Top 1,000) AL Cal Ripken, Jr. Baltimore 350 350 NL Hank Aaron Milwaukee 193 305 Atlanta 112 Grounding Into Double Plays Single Season Grounding Into Double Play Records Record Lg Name(s) Team(s) Data Fewest In A Season (150+ Games Played) AL Dick McAuliffe Detroit 0 1968 NL Craig Biggio Houston 0 1997 Augie Galan Chicago 1935 Fewest In A Season By A Rookie (150+ Games Played) AL Ichiro Suzuki Seattle 3 2001 NL Vince Coleman St. Louis 3 1985 MostIn A Season (Top 500) AL Jim Rice Boston 36 1984 NL Miguel Tejada Houston 32 2008 MostIn A Season By A Lefthander AL Ben Grieve Oakland 32 2000 NL Sean Casey Cincinnati 27 2005 A.J. Pierzynski San Francisco 2004 MostIn A Season By A Righthander AL Jim Rice Boston 36 1984 NL Miguel Tejada Houston 32 2008 MostIn A Season By A Rookie AL Billy Johnson New York 27 1943 Al Rosen Cleveland 1950 NL Albert Pujols St. Louis 21 2001 MostIn A Season By A Switch-Hitter AL Dave Philley Philadelphia 29 1952 NL Ted Simmons St. Louis 29 1973 Most Seasons Leading The League (In Fewest GIDP) AL Ichiro Suzuki Seattle 4 2001 Seattle 2003 Seattle 2005 Seattle 2006 NL Richie Ashburn Philadelphia 6 1951 Philadelphia 1952 Philadelphia 1953 Philadelphia 1954 Philadelphia 1958 Chicago 1960 Most Seasons Leading The League (In Most GIDP) AL Jim Rice Boston 4 1982 Boston 1983 Boston 1984 Boston 1985 NL Ernie Lombardi Cincinnati 4 1933 Cincinnati 1934 Cincinnati 1938 New York 1944 ML Miguel Tejada Baltimore [AL] 5 2004 Baltimore [AL] 2005 Baltimore [AL] 2006 Houston [NL] 2008 Houston [NL] 2009 Grounding Into Double Plays Game Specific Grounding Into Double Play Records Record Lg Name(s) Team(s) Data MostIn A Game AL Goose Goslin Detroit 4 04-28-1934 Victor Martinez Detroit 09-11-2011 NL Joe Torre New York 4 07-21-1975 Record Lg Name(s) Team(s) Data Grounding Into Double Plays Records

Giants sweep Dodgers!!!

McGehee needed this type of contribution to the team in the worst way. He looks like he is starting to press, he hasn't contributed much since the picture above, which is from Opening Day. 

from mercurynews.com
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2015/04/23/maxwell-knocks-winning-run-mcgehee-vogelsong-might-gained-giants-complete-sweep-dodgers/#more-19933

One at-bat isn’t the end-all, be-all (but( it’s a relief, I guess, is the best word I can think of,” said McGehee, who left for pinch runner Matt Duffy. “In that last at-bat, instead of chasing hits, it was, `Let’s just get in there and compete instead of worrying about the outcome.’ The feeling I had in that at-bat and that swing is something I’ll file away and hopefully be able to build off.”

Lately, he makes me nervous when a ball is hit to him, when he throws a ball across the infield and he doesn't really do much for me when he is AB, unless I get a sudden craving to see another rally killing DP being bounced into.

McGehee  has to start turning things around or the drum starts getting beat for more PT at 3B for Mr. Matt Duffy, the hit machine. I know it's early......but.........

It doesn't help McGehee that the Fat Panda is out-hitting him by over 100 points or so. 

The whole middle of the Giants lineup has been a big, fat doughnut hole to the offense. McGehee, Posey and Belt have to do more than hit their weight if the Giants offense is going to click. I'm going to leave Crawford out of it for now because if he keeps putting up the highlight reels defensively at SS, I've always said I could tolerate him hitting .190,  I just didn't really think he would take me up on it long-term. 

Crawford should be a much better hitter than he is, I've been saying that for years.

He makes this play routinely. The clip is from April 10th and he just did it again the other night.


http://m.mlb.com/video/?content_id=66780583&topic_id=8878828



http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/8878828/v83996783/ladsf-lincecum-induces-four-double-plays-in-outing

Rule 7.09 (h) on full display

http://m.mlb.com/video/?content_id=85380883&topic_id=6479266

Anytime you can walk-off win against the Dodgers is a god win. I agree with Don Mattingly though, my first impression was "Dang, Roberto Kelly just cost us an out, big-time", but he got away with one. The umpires should know he's new and just learning the ropes on the 3B coaching side. The 3B umpire had his head on a swivel looking into LF (Why, IDK).


from ESPN:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=350422126

 7.09 (h): It is interference by a batter or a runner when: (h) In the judgment of the umpire, the base coach at third base, or first base, by touching or holding the runner, physically assists him in returning to or leaving third base or first base. (i) With a runner on third base, the base coach leaves his box and acts in any manner to draw a throw by a fielder.

Mattingly on umpires' explanation: "He didn't see it. He was watching the play. I don't know why the third-base ump is watching the play. There's nothing for him to watch. It's a ground ball to left. I don't know who's watching to see if he touched the base. I really don't know what the umpires' responsibilities are there. But I do know there's no way in baseball they allow the third-base coach to come up and basically block the runner from going forward, and that's what happened tonight. That's obviously a missed call. It's not reviewable from their explanation."

Third-base umpire Fieldin Culbreth: "Don came out and asked me did I see him grab him. I told him no, I did not see him grab him. . . . The rule is pretty specific in the fact that he had to touch and physically grab him and assist him in returning to the base. That did not happen. If he doesn't physically assist him in returning to the base then there's no interference."

It is a win against the Dodgers and I am not sorry to say I don't much care how it was acquired. I do look the new-look Yasiel Puig, who seems to finally "get" how the game is supposed to be played and is taking the Dodger veterans advice about behavior modification to heart. He is going to be a flat out beast.

Oh, and F-you Chris Rock. It seems as if the lines of baseballs ascent and the descent of AA-participation, sad though it may be, have been running in a pretty neat little correlation. Kind of throws your little monologue, cute though it may be, right into the dumpster where it belongs. 

from FoxSports.com

http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/chris-rock-major-league-baseball-diversity-042215

I'll take the culture of baseball and hockey over that of the NBA and the NFL any day. Let's just compare police blotters. Another day, another  ex-NFL star convicted of murder. Ho-hum. When exactly was the last murder attributed to an MLB or NHL player?  

Maybe the community should bend to the mores of baseball and hockey instead of the other way around. We'd all be better off. 

BaseballAmerica.com: Stats: Chase Johnson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dglw5Uw17vY

San Francisco Giants prospect Chase Johnson

 

GIANT Potential

This is a guy I could see moving up prospect charts pretty rapidly. A low 90's fastball and a tweener breaking ball (curve/slurve) with a build similar to Chris Heston, may leave his ceiling at a 3rd or 4th starter. But you need guys like that too. Johnson was a reliever in college, so a move back to the bullpen would not be out of the question either.

Johnson is currently stationed in High-A San Jose, so his approximate ETA in San Francisco would be either 2019 based on a one year per level adavnce or 2017 if he amps it up and hits the bigs by 25. Heston just turned 27 years old, I believe, so maybe patience is a virtue after all.

from Baseball America:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/statistics/players/cards/91292/

			Proper Name: Chase Lucas Johnson Born: Jan. 9, 1992 in Fallbrook, Calif. High School: Fallbrook (Calif.) HS College: Cal Poly Ht.: 6-3 Wt.: 185 Bats: R Throws: R
CAREER STATISTICS 2015 GAME LOGS 2015 SPLITS SPRING TRAINING YEAR AGE CLUB LG CLASS W L ERA G GS CG SV IP H R ER HR BB SO BB/9 SO/9 WHIP G/F 2013 21 Giants AZL R 1 0 1.69 3 0 0 0 5.1 5 1 1 0 1 7 1.69 11.81 1.13 #INF 2013 21 Salem-Keizer NWL SS 3 2 4.17 10 10 0 0 41.0 36 24 19 3 12 37 2.63 8.12 1.17 2.74 2014 22 Augusta SAL LoA 4 7 4.57 23 22 0 0 110.1 111 69 56 5 40 94 3.26 7.67 1.37 3.56 2015 23 San Jose CAL HiA 1 0 3.38 2 1 0 0 8.0 7 4 3 0 4 8 4.50 9.00 1.38 6.00 MINOR LEAGUE TOTALS 9 9 4.32 38 33 0 0 164.2 159 98 79 8 57 146 3.12 7.98 1.31 3.50
DRAFT HISTORY [-] Drafted in the 26th round (796th overall) by the Texas Rangers in 2010 (did not sign) Drafted in the 3rd round (101st overall) by the San Francisco Giants in 2013 (signed for $440,000)  Draft Report [+]