A Press Democrat Blog

Overtime

Ted Sillanpaa looks at the San Francisco Giants, other Bay Area sports and gives a dad's-eye view of Empire prep and youth sports trends

Giants playoff roster: How many pitchers?

Saturday, at 6:14 by

By TED SILLANPAA The Giants had 11 pitchers and 14 position players on the 2010 postseason roster. There’s no reason to think the club won’t do roughly the same thing this fall. The only real question in 2010 was whether or not to carry Barry Zito on the postseason roster. It wasn’t so much a tough call based on his performance, but rather based on the reality that professional sports franchises don’t typically bench and embarrass their most highly-paid players.… Read More »

Tustin youth football bounty scandal’s tip of the iceberg

Friday, at 8:19 by

By TED SILLANPAA The Pop Warner League football program in Tustin that allegedly paid its young players for big hits and for injuring opposing players is just a symptom of youth sports gone crazy in the United States. The Orange County Register story detailing charges by former players and parents  claiming that coaches paid players for violent tackles or knocking a player out of the game began by mentioning that Tustin Red Cobras were a nationally-ranked youth program that had… Read More »

A’s shouldn’t team King with Fosse in Hall of Fame push

Wednesday, at 6:51 by

By TED SILLANPAA This is the year that Bay Area legend Bill King finally should earn the Ford C. Frick Award and with it entry to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. The Oakland Athletics’ organization is making it harder for the late, great broadcaster. King is on the ballot with 41 others, including longtime A’s analyst Ray Fosse. Fans will vote for a 10 finalists for the award. In a misguided effort, the A’s are promoting… Read More »

Moss doesn’t deserve to be bigger part of 49ers attack

Wednesday, at 5:44 by

By TED SILLANPAA Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin agreed Monday that the 49ers absolutely have to get receiver Randy Moss more involved in the offense. Sanders, a Hall of Fame cornerback, and Irvin, a Hall of Fame wide receiver should know better. Moss has 8 receptions for 88 yards and 1 touchdown in three games this season. That seems about right for a 35-year-old who was out of the NFL, unable to hook on with any team, last season. Moss… Read More »

Profits, not integrity of game, matter most to NFL owners

Tuesday, at 9:24 by

By TED SILLANPAA NFL owners don’t care about the integrity of their game. They care about maximum profit on their investment. Based on fan reaction to the way replacement game officials have fouled things up, one would think that fans only now realize that owners would ever do anything that hurt the game, but saved them a few bucks. NFL owners, the guys who tell commissioner Roger Goodell what to do, won’t worry about the impact that replacement officials are… Read More »

Giants dismiss idea of Melky’s return; 4th starter no easy decision

Tuesday, at 8:23 by

By TED SILLANPAA It’s really trendy for Giants fans and the media to poo-poo the notion of bringing left fielder Melky Cabrera back to the active roster if the club’s still alive in the playoffs when his drug suspension ends. Similarly, everybody has an opinion on whether Ryan Vogelsong or Barry Zito should be the fourth starter in the postseason. The Giants have decided that they’re finished with Cabrera, even if they’re still playing when his drug-related suspension ends. I… Read More »

Alex Smith can win a Super Bowl

Monday, at 10:54 by

By TED SILLANPAA Alex Smith isn’t the most accurate passer in the NFL. He’ll still take the occasional sack that the really elite passer would avoid. Still, it’s simply absurd to argue that this 49ers’ team can’t win the Super Bowl with him at quarterback. We’ve read and heard that, no matter how much they improve, the 49ers won’t win the Super Bowl with Smith at quarterback. That appeared to be the case last year, but it simply is not… Read More »

How Stanford knocked off Southern Cal

Sunday, at 12:51 by

By TED SILLANPAA Don’t blame the center, but blame the impact of Southern California losing it’s starting center to injury for the No. 2 Trojans getting the living beejezus beaten out of them in the second half of a 21-14 college football loss to 21st-rated Stanford. (We’re using the ESPN college football rankings, OK?) Southern Cal was the preseason No. 1 with the caveat that it would need to somehow go wire-to-wire with no depth, at any position, in order… Read More »

Giants postseason tickets

Saturday, at 2:44 by

By TED SILLANPAA It’s not going to jinx the Giants if we give some thought to how to the purchase postseason tickets, right? You’re sure? Seriously … for folks who’re willing to buy into 2013 season ticket plans and, in some cases, be willing to sacrifice a limb, here’s the sfgate.com look at the postseason ticket sales plan: Giants postseason tickets    

Casilla At the Bat

Friday, at 11:40 by

By TED SILLANPAA It’s rare that a simple single late in a game that the Giants are winning handily causes a flurry of text messages between fans. Santiago Casilla’s single in Friday’s game created an unbelievable buzz. The relief pitcher didn’t drive in the winning run or anything, my cell phone blew up because the worst hitter most of us have ever seen made contact with the ball and the ball found a hole in the defense. Casilla’s not your… Read More »