April 2009 Archives

This is why people love baseball. Wednesday night. Dodgers vs. Giants. Lincecum vs. Manny Ramirez. This game is exploding with drama.

It's 2 hours to game time. The place is chilly and breezy, but not bad. Bruce Bochy just met the media during team stretching. He sat in the dugout. Someone asked if he'll drop Fred Lewis from leadoff. Here's the reason for the question, and I quote from Giants game notes. Lewis' average has dropped 112 points in past 8 games. Is hitting .179 during frame. Is hitting .148 as leadoff man compared to .444 elsewhere. Leads NL with 26 strikeouts and has 9 K's in last 13 plate appearances.

Bochy said he needs Lewis at leadoff tonight because Randy Winn is getting the night off. He said Lewis' problems are not leadoff problems. They are hitting problems pure and simple. "He's in between the fastball and the breaking ball," Bochy said. "His timing is late on the fastball and he's in front of the breaking ball."

How can Lewis solve that?

"Barry (Bonds) talked to him. Carney (Lansford) talked to him. You work at it. His strikeouts are up more than usual."

The Dodgers are batting center fielder Juan Pierre 9th tonight. Bochy said he would consider batting the pitcher 8th at some point if the pitcher were Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum. He might bat Emmanuel 9th. Considering Buriss is batting .161 I'd say he's earned the 9th spot on merit. Bochy said the Dodgers are doing it because they don't want a speed guy in front of the pitcher.

I admit hockey has its own etiquette and I admit I don't ardently follow the Sharks. Having admitted that, I still think Joe Thornton is a chump.

I watched the season-ending game on tv Monday night and two seconds into it, right after the opening draw, Thornton got into one of those hockey fights with Ryan Getzlaf. I was not there and don't know who started it. But come on. The Sharks were facing elimination. It was Thornton's job to focus on the game. It was not his job to make some stupid macho statement.

When I saw what he did I was not impressed. I thought he had his mind on the wrong things and I wondered if fighting after two seconds would help or hurt his team. Guess what.

From what I could see, Thornton beat up Getzlaf. From what I could see Getzlaf scored an insurance goal. From what I could see the Ducks won. So Thornton won the fight and lost the game. Nice going, Joe.

Now the draft is over, mock and otherwise, it's time to take stock, time to ask a question. If the Raiders and 49ers, as currently put together, played now which team would win?

I say the 49ers. The Niners would play better against the run than the Raiders -- just about anyone would. If you can't stop the run, you're dead. The Raiders must show they can stop the run.

The Niners will run at least as well as the Raiders, probably better. They have a better offensive line than the Raiders, and until further notice they will have a superior passing game. Shaun Hill may not be a big deal but JaMarcus Russell still is an unknown. And Al Davis did him no favors by taking that wide receiver Heyward-Bey in the first round. Davis needs to surround Russell with good receivers -- and he's yet to do that.

Hill will connect with Michael Crabtree a lot and the 49ers simply will have a more efficient offense than the Raiders. Plus with the Raiders something you never thought of goes wrong -- that's their wildcard.

Will either team actually be good? Hard to say. But the Niners might win 8 or 9 games. Doubtful for the Raiders.

Al Davis chose Darrius Heyward-Bey with the 7th pick in the draft -- good Lord -- because Davis is locked in the past. In the long ago past he got a speed receiver and that guy out-ran the defense and the Raiders scored TD's on long passes. It was that simple. Not anymore.

But Davis no longer understands how things work. He's always reinventing the past, never looking forward. His team is a prisoner of the past and Heyward-Bey will never be worth the pick. The Raiders are saying he's a Randy Moss kind of receiver. How good was Moss on the Raiders? To read my column on Al Davis, anachronism click here.

Browns coach Eric Mangini criticized Michael Crabtree, called him a diva. On a conference call Texas Tech football coach slammed Mangini, for whom he had contempt. "We'll see how all those divas up there in Cleveland do this year," Leach said.

He also said "Michael's accomplishments speak louder than Mangini's."

For what it's worth Leach portrayed Crabtree as shy and reserved in life and as only becoming dominant on the field. Leach didn't have much respect for Mangini.

The Raiders picked at No. 7 and took wide receiver Darrius Hayward-Bey. The Niners picked 10th, and because the Raiders had screwed up again, they were able to get Michael Crabtree the best receiver in this draft.

So the Raiders' screw-up was the Niners' gain. It's clear why the Raiders took their guy. He's fast. Al Davis is in love with speed -- the vertical game and all that. But there's more to football than speed. There's being a football player. There's having good hands. Read any draft prognostication you want. They all rate Crabtree way over Hayward-Bey and most say the Raiders' guy has suspect hands. And every one says Crabtree's hands are fabulous.

No one ever thought the Raiders' and Niners' stories would dovetail in the draft. But they did. The Raiders made a predictable mistake and the Niners benefited big time. To read my column on the 49ers' draft pick click here.

The Raiders picked Darrius Heyward-Bey, a wide receiver and they needed a wide receiver. QB JaMarcus Russell has had crummy receivers and has not shown what he can do as a passer -- or even if he can do it. So a good wide receiver is important. Heyward-Bey is the fastest runner in this draft and Al Davis is in love with speed.

Here's what this pick makes us ask. Do we have faith in Al Davis to make the right pick. At least two wideouts were more highly regarded than this guy -- Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin. So either Davis sees and understands more than other experts or he's deluded. We will find out soon enough. This is either a brilliant pick or a flop. It most certainly is a controversial pick.

I love the story I'm about to tell you. As you well know I'm a technical moron and when I heard I needed a converter box to get A's games on Comcast I almost needed psychiatric help. I wrote about my terror on the Cohn Zohn.

I got all the gizmos from Comcast the other day and as I unloaded the various parts my wife said I uttered six oh my Gods. So today was the day to install. I read all the instructions and installed the converter box and three adapters for our 4 TVs. I was out of breath but had a feeling of mastery. Then I went online and activated everything.

Now comes the fun part. Everything seemed to work and as I was basking in my own glory the phone rang and who was it? It was Kevin Perry, Comcast's director of technical operations for the East Bay. He had read the Cohn Zohn about my fear of not being able to connect and he called to personally lead me through the steps. Was that a coincidence or what, Kevin calling after I just had done the deed? He discovered I needed help in one tiny area of changing channels and easily took me through it. So I have to say he knows his customer relations.

After he hung up, the phone rang again. This time it was Dean Darlin, Comcast field operations manager for the East Bay, another Zohn reader. He wanted to make sure I am good to go and after I explained what I had done he gave me the thumbs up.

So good for Comcast. I like happy endings.

This is strictly a rumor, the kind of thing I'd never write in a column. So here goes and take it for what it's worth. It relates to the Niners and Mike Singletary's edict that assistant coaches won't talk to the media -- or won't talk much.

When I heard about this highly unusual order I assumed it was evidence of Singletary's controlling nature. And maybe it is. Recently I heard another interpretation. According to this line of thinking new offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye is not a particularly articulate speaker, not the kind of guy you want talking to writers or radio people. So Singletary is trying to protect Raye. But he doesn't want to embarrass him, so he made a general edict -- assistants won't talk -- but it's really all about Raye.

I don't know if this is true, but it's interesting to think about. And I have no idea if Raye is articulate or isn't. I never talked to the guy.

A week ago, the converter box arrived at my doorstep. You know what I'm talking about. In order to get A's games on my Comcast system I need a converter box. I let the thing sit in the box most of the time -- I was away in Arizona a few days.

Last night I opened the box and later my wife told me I uttered six oh my Gods. The thing requires attaching wires and there's a remote control. Why is there a remote control? And there's one of those booklets you must read before installing and you have to call an 800 number to get the whole thing activated -- it's like a credit card that way.

And you wonder why I'm anti the converter box. I'm planning on trying to set it up tonight along with the 3 adapters -- oh my God. But I'm not confident. I think Billy Beane himself should come over and do it for me. I'd give him a bottle of wine in exchange for the technical assistance.

As I expected the PD thought my column on male organ enhancement ads on the internet was over the top so it will live or die in journalism purgatory. Fair enough. So I wrote a second column on Giants' pitchers which will pass muster.

My point: The Giants are supposed to be a pitching team -- so far they can't hit. But at first the pitching was no good either. Now all of a sudden the Giants have won 4 of 5 including 3 shutouts. Under-achievers like Randy Johnson and Barry Zito gave up zero runs in their last starts.

The Giants are counting on pitching and if things continue like this -- certainly no guarantee -- the Giants can contend in their weak division. Interesting. To read my full column on Giants pitchers click here.

I just finished writing a column about increasing the size of a man's whatsis and I'm not entirely sure the PD will run it as it pushes the boundaries of what's proper and what's sports. In the column I use the real word but here I'm using whatsis because I'm trying to be safe.

I'm accustomed to all the ads about erectile dysfunction and although a few years ago they would have astonished me, now they're a walk in the park -- even the one where the older couple is in the mood for love and the daughter comes home unexpectedly from college but the ad assures us the dad is good to go for several more hours.

But this new one -- the product is Vimax -- is new to me and because I'm from the older generation it kind of astonishes me that's it's actually there, although the product may be terrific.

I saw the ad on MLB.com and NFL.com and the PD website and I'm sure it's all over the place. It seems to pop up on sports sites which may tell you something about male sports readers. Then again it may not. The ad always shows a beautiful woman -- a babe -- with a look of astonishment on her face. What is she astonished about? The size of her partner's whatsis. If you don't believe me go on the internet.

Look, I know the big news this week is the NFL draft. But this ad was big news to me. It's a brave new world out there.

On a personal note I want to say Oakland Airport is the worst in a particular way. As Zohn readers know I flew to Phoenix last Friday for a wedding. Bought new clothes, had a great time, spilled red wine on the expensive ecru dress shirt.

On the flight home we had to check a bag. We landed in Oakland and my wife started to get up from her seat on the plane. I told her forget it. The baggage service in Oakland is the worst. So we waited and got off the plane last. When we finally got down to the luggage carousels the place was jammed with waiting people from a bunch of flights. None of their luggage had shown up. When we had landed in Phoenix a few days earlier our luggage started plopping out of the carousel as we arrived downstairs. But that was Phoenix and now we were in Oakland.

Luckily my wife brought along a novel. She sat down and started to read. I waited. Nowhere was there a sign which referenced my flight or said where my luggage would show up. After an eternity I went into the baggage office of my airline -- I won't name the airline but you can guess. I asked a lady there if maybe my bag had come to a carousel I wasn't familiar with. She refused to look at me. "Ask the two ladies," she mumbled.

The two ladies?

I asked who the two ladies were. She pointed ahead of her, but refused to speak. So much for customer service. I looked back into the terminal for the two ladies. I saw hundreds of grumpy people but no two ladies. Finally I noticed two ladies sitting at a desk. Oh. I asked one about my flight and luggage and she consulted her screen and told me it hadn't been delivered yet.

By the time it showed up my wife had made significant progress on her novel. So, I appreciate Oakland Airport for its convenience and because it's small. But don't ever check a bag and expect fast service there. If you check a bag, please bring War And Peace and settle in for a good read.

Just returned home from the 49ers pre-draft confab with GM Scot McCloughan and this guy is entirely too relaxed. Spending time with him you'd think the Niners are a good team that usually has a winning record. Additionally, you'd think he has a good track record in the draft.

So let's be clear about this. His first round pick last year was Kentwan Balmer. You don't rest on your laurels when those laurels include Balmer. But McCloughan was resting on his laurels. He made it entirely clear to us the pick he will take No. 10 on Saturday -- he may drop down -- may not start in 2009. It would be nice if he starts but that's gravy. No pressure on the pick and certainly no pressure on McCloughan.

To which I say baloney. When you never have a winning record, when your team is only so-so it is your obligation to draft a guy who can break into your mediocre lineup. It should worry you that McCloughan seems to feel no such obligation or urgency. To read my full column on laidback McCloughan click here.

I hope to blog in the next few days but I won't do it as much as usual because I'm going back to Scottsdale with my wife for a wedding.

"You need new clothes," she said a few weeks ago.

"For what?"

"For the wedding."

I said I already had clothes but she said, "You always wear the same stuff and you don't fit into the pants anymore."

I tried on the slacks. I was able to pull up the zipper halfway but forget actually buttoning the button. I agreed to go shopping, something I hate worse than going to the dentist.

"We're going to Nordstrom," she said.

I never actually had been to Nordstrom. I usually go to Eddie Bauer and I still walk around in jeans and sneakers just as I did in Brooklyn decades ago, although I no longer wear Keds.

Someone was playing the piano in Norstrom. Right away I knew the place would be expensive. You pay for that piano. We met a nice salesman who had a spiffy haircut. I knew I'd pay for that too. He measured my waist. Embarrassing. He showed me a pair of blue slacks. My wife said they looked charming. I was tongue tied but I asked how much they cost. He said -- well I won't tell you what he said. I felt my heart palpitate. He said the slacks are a big ticket item. I asked if he had any cheaper. He did but not by much. I bought the cheaper ones. 

He asked if I wanted to buy a jacket too. I said I had a jacket. I was wearing it. He looked at it like it was a dead skunk. He called in the master tailor and asked if they could let it out. The master tailor wouldn't touch it. He said there was nothing left to take out. The salesman came back with a jacket. My wife oohed.

They told me to stand in front the mirror that shows you from 3 angles. I saw my profile and almost died. You can't have illusions in mirrors like those. I tried on the jacket and liked it. I asked how much. Let's just say it was more than the original slacks. They had to prop me up as I almost fainted.

"You're buying it," my wife decreed.

"I am?"

"You haven't bought clothes in 10 years and you need to look good for this wedding."

"I do?"

She said I did. In addition I bought two pair of socks with the crinkly paper inside, a tie that would knock those socks off and a dress shirt that is not white. It's ecru. You pay for the word ecru. After I charged the whole shebang on my visa we got a wage cutback at work. Tell that to Nordstrom. 

I will miss John Madden saying boom. He used to shout it. He shouted everything. Boom isn't a technical word but we always knew what he meant when he said it on a broadcast and it said everything we needed to know.

Madden is the most enthusiastic down to earth football announcer we've experienced and his boom told us that. He also knew what he was talking about. He was a big presence and with him retired most of the other announcers will talk too technical or be programmed phonies who don't interest us.

Get this. A guy is suing the New York City Police Dept. and the Yankees because of God Bless America. He was attending a Yankee game last summer and during the 7th inning stretch attempted to use the rest room. He walked up the aisle for that purpose but two cops stopped him. He said he needed to use the rest room. They said he couldn't, not during the song. He tried to walk past them. They grabbed his arms and threw him out of the Stadium. So he's suing.

Here's what I want to know. When did it become against the law to use the bathroom during God Bless America? When did we become a police state? People should be free to pee during God Bless America, the National Anthem, whenever they want. These hyper-patriots are anti-American in spirit.

Oscar De La Hoya announced his retirement and the Zohn wishes him well. He was a colorful performer who kept fans interested in boxing but if you really look at what he was and what he did he was over-rated.

In the current degraded era of boxing a certain kind of fighter has taken center stage. This kind of fighter is a personality and a showman even though he is not a great fighter. This kind of fighter captures the imagination -- to his credit -- of fans who don't know boxing. Mike Tyson was a perfect example of fighter as media creation. He was a fairly good heavyweight who dominated a crummy era and George Foreman, in his prime, would have knocked him out in 3 rounds.

De La Hoya is another media fighter. People liked him because he was nice looking and projected a likeable image whether or not that was the true reality. Mexican fans liked him except for the ones who didn't because they didn't think he fought like a Mexican fighter -- ie. he lacked machismo.

Every De La Hoya fight, especially at the end, was a media event filled with drama. Could he do it one more time? Could he win? Actually he couldn't win. He lost four of his final seven, two by KO. Against Bernard Hopkins he stayed down slamming the canvas with his hand after a body shot while the ref counted him out. Against Manny Pacquiao, a smaller man, he quit on his stool in his corner.

He always had trouble with speed fighters, lost twice to Shane Mosely, no great fighter. If he had fought in a time of great welters people would not have been awed by him. Sugar Ray Leonard would have knocked him out and Thomas Hearns would have murdered him.

So, we give him credit for being one of the best businessmen fighters and we enjoyed his career and we say with confidence he was not an all time great.

Here is a representative sample from Don Nelson's season-ending news conference with local media. It happened before Monday night's game - the last home game of the season. After the final game Wednesday in Phoenix Nelson will fly back to Maui. As you read these questions and answers notice how Nelson portrays this horrible season as business as usual with nothing to worry about despite the turmoil in the front office and the imminent demise as GM of Chris Mullin. Notice how many times he refuses to answer basic questions.

What is his basic assessment of this season

It's about what I anticipated that we'd probably have a tough year and we have done the best we can.

Can he project a starting lineup for next season?

It wouldn't be fair to do that.

To the players?

To anybody.

You know your starting backcourt though?

Not necessarily. I mean I have an idea.

I think it would be fair to me (Cohn).

I think it would be fair to keep my ideas to myself.

How disappointed are you with the way things have gone?

I'm not disappointed at all. I anticipated a hard year and it was a hard year. I think our young guys have grown and we've done the job we were supposed to do and we are who we are.

What do he like about this team?

One step has been taken. Monta is back where he was. And we need a good draft choice. We have to maneuver positions around and hopefully not have a second bad year. That's my hope that we'll be a more competitive team.

Will Monta be the point guard next year?

Monta will be a guard. I'm not sure yet. I don't know how it's going to work. He's a guard. That what he prefers to be, I think; he's a guard.

Do you expect Chris Mullin to be back next season?

I don't know and I'm not going to address that subject anymore.

Can you reasonably expect to win when you don't know who your point guard is?

We got a pretty good one that got 38 points (Saturday) night. I like him. (C.J. Watson)

Would you do anything different?

Like what?

Any regrets?

No regrets. I did what I thought I had to do. I think I did what was best for the franchise.

Do you have the building blocks to become playoff team?

That I can't answer. I think we'll be a better team next year, more competitive. That's my hope, my desire. The West is a bitch and we're in the West the last time I looked.

How do you address Jamal's situation (Jamal Crawford)?

I already addressed it. I'm not going to talk about it anymore.

How much has to happen for the team to get to the elite level?

I have some idea. I keep all those thoughts to myself. I don't really know the answer to those questions. Obviously we need a good draft choice. I think we're going to get one. Right now we have the 7^th player in the first round.

Any untouchables on this roster?

I'll keep that to myself.

Will the defensive coordinator position continue to next season?

I liked it a lot. I think we're better defensively because of it but I don't know that the numbers will prove that out. But it's a priority. I made it a priority. I'm a lot more influenced by defense than you people think I am. It's always been a high priority for me. You have to deal with what you have. This is not a great defensive team but we turned out to be a pretty good offensive team. All right, I'm out of here. Thank you very much.

Bob Rose, public relations director deluxe for the A's phoned me this morning. He was laughing.

"You're a big baby," he said.

This was not news.

"Why?" I said.

"Because of that converter box flap." he said.

He reminded me of my two blogs slamming the A's for requiring a converter box to watch their games on TV if you get Comcast in Oakland, of all places. Like me.

He said I'm a baby because I don't know how to put in the box and anyway everyone will need to convert to a converter box sooner or later. "We're ahead of the curve," he said. He also said the A's were poor cousins -- not his words -- compared to the Giants on Comcast Bay Area and now they have a better deal on their own channel.

So I called up Comcast and some guy said right everyone needs to convert. There was a technical reason. So I ordered the darn box. It still burns me up but I can't blame the A's. I have to blame life. I'm a big baby.

For what it's worth, tonight is the Warriors' final home game of the season. The season wasn't worth much and this game won't be worth much but I'm going anyway to hear the state of the team speech, not that I expect a state of the team speech.

In recent years Chris Mullin gave this speech, or talk whatever. But Mullin isn't around much anymore even though he got the team into the playoffs two years ago. The franchise has gone crazy -- see the Warriors' record -- and Mullin will quietly vanish after his contract expires in July.

The people who run the show at the Warriors believe Mullin thinks too much like a player. They believe he is soft on players, like with Monta Ellis after he broke his ankle. The Warriors management wanted punishment and they saw Mullin as an appeaser. This is wrong, of course. Mullin wanted punishment and teaching and wanted to keep the team together, but for the Warriors' brass this wasn't enough -- as Robert Rowell inappropriately blurted out to the media during the preseason, making Mullin the fall guy for what happened and signaling Mullin's doom in the organization.

Was Mullin a perfect general manage? Of course not. He signed some crummy contracts. But he learned on the job and finally got Baron Davis and brought life back to the arena and made fans proud. That is all gone. Don Nelson seems to be controlling personnel and he has loused things up. And Rowell is out of his depth and according to many people I speak with, he is perceived as a small minded man who carries a grudge. This is OK in private life -- I guess -- but not when you run a big company. Other factors also are important in the head of a company like diplomacy and generosity. One NBA executive told me Rowell didn't like Davis because Davis refused to say hello to him in the Warriors building. I'm sure that could burn someone up, but Davis performed pretty well on the court so maybe Rowell should have removed his feelings from the equation

I don't want this entry to be totally anti-Rowell. Maybe Mullin could have worked better with the guy. Who knows what went on in private? I do know the future seems cloudy. I worry when Nelson has so much clout. I worry about his love affair with that horrible small ball and I worry how he flies off the handle and tells players the team doesn't want them. He can be charming with the media but sometimes you get the feeling he is power hungry to the detriment of the franchise.

I'll be glad when this bad season ends. But I'll miss Mullin and I don't mind you knowing that.

            I interviewed John Wetteland Friday night at the A's game. He's first-year bullpen coach for the Mariners and as you know grew up in Sebastopol and attended Cardinal Newman High School. Here's part of our interview.

            This is your first year with the club. How did it come about that you're with Seattle?

            Because Don Wakamatsu's the manager. We coached together for many years in the Texas organization. We understand each other's coaching style. We understand each other as people.

            What did you do the last two years?

            I was teaching high school. It was beautiful. 11^th grade boys. It was where I wanted to be.

            Then why did you come to the Mariners?

            Because of Don Wakamatsu. I wouldn't say yes to anyone else.

            (He says friends from Sonoma County came down to Friday night's game.) I'm the black sheep. Everyone else is doctors or presidents of marketing for big companies and all this stuff and I'm just a baseball player. They actually used their education and I used it in a different way. They went to Stanford and schools like this and I went away to play baseball. So black sheep.

            Do you go back to Sonoma County?

            No. I have five children and I live in Texas. During baseball season I don't get many days off. That's not to say I don't miss it. It's beautiful. Growing up where the mom and pop wineries are and driving down the Russian River, stuff like that. It's gorgeous. I still miss that. I remember it like it was yesterday. We're having our 25^th reunion this year - Cardinal Newman and Ursuline. I can't make that again. I can never make the reunions because it's in August. We'll be in Texas on those dates.

            But you're aware of it.

            Oh, yeah, it breaks my heart. We stay in touch. We have our own website.

            Did you read the Press Democrat when you were a kid?

            No. (Pauses) I still don't read newspapers. I read newspapers, I don't read the sports pages. Bores me to tears.

            You don't like the writing?

            Think about it. It's what I did for a living and now I coach it. You think someone who writes probably knows better. It's not a slight. It's just how could you? Give me politics. Give me op ed. I don't read the sports page. There's so much more going on in this world. Sports is not an escape for me. OK? And I think therein lies the difference. For many people it is. It's the Roman Colosseum all over again. And that's OK. It's awesome. It's healthy, cathartic. It's not that for me. It's something I need to execute. There's a whole different perspective I have and that's why maybe I can't enjoy it the same way. I only watch baseball to learn from it, not to enjoy it. If I saw a sequence of pitches I'd know the batter is perfectly set up for a slider here. The pitcher throws a fastball and the guy hits a home run and I'm sitting there going, "You had him if you'd have paid attention." So I watch it differently because I understand sequencing and all that sort of stuff and the fan doesn't, and that's OK. It's just I can't see it the same way.

            What was your mentality as a closer - I can get you out.

            (Interrupts) It was foregone. I'm going to get you out. Absolutely. A lot of things you could tell from the hitter, if he takes a pitch, where he fouls the ball off - does it go straight? - the hips, the shoulders, does he make his move into the plate, does he step into the bucket? All these things tell you information.

            How do you teach as a coach?

            It's the small things that count, the tiny tiny things. Where you shag in the outfield. We shag about 50 feet behind second base, behind the infield. You watch your hitters. You study swings. You understand what their body does. You start to understand with that swing they're physically incapable of hitting certain pitches. It's a spot that gets a lot of action - you'll get a lot of balls there. It just so happens that puts you about 60 feet from the net, which is what we do at the office. We throw the ball 60 feet. Here it comes. You throw a fastball. It doesn't mean you air it out, but you make sure it's authoritative. You notice one thing about all people who are great at what they do. They have their routine. Wade Boggs ate chicken at the same time every day. Do you think that eating chicken really made him a 330 plus hitter? It's the fact he did it always at a particular time and after that he was "Everything's OK." For me it was getting to the park and doing all the crosswords. That was my transition from my home life. Now I exercised my brain at something that was neither here nor there. Now I could get into my work. Or think about Tony Gwinn. He was extremely good at one thing. You can add things but always make sure that one thing is always there for you. When I was a rookie I always got to the park early and I sat in the dugout. And he's out there at 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon and he's hitting the practice pitcher and there's one man with a bucket in left center field. Now there's a couple of balls in center and there's a couple of balls in left but Tony was taking every pitch and hitting line drives over the shortstop. The bucket would fill up and the guy would run it in and go back out there. This is after all the batting titles and he is still doing the one thing he's known for. That speaks volumes for anyone who wants to pay attention.

I am amazed and saddened by Zohn readers who go out of their way to defend the A's crazy TV situation. They think it's OK that viewers who want to watch the A's on TV in certain places have to go to the trouble of getting a converter box thing.

It's not OK. I live in Oakland where the A's happen to play and I cannot get the A's on TV without obtaining this box from Comcast. That's really stupid from the A's point of view. Let me be clear. I can get the Giants on TV any time I want and I can get the Warriors and I can get the Sharks and I can get the Niners and Raiders (when the Raiders are on TV). I can get all those teams merely by turning on the set and using the remote. Simple as that -- as it should be.

But not the A's. They require special treatment. I have to go through a whole process and I have to get a box I don't want because the A's screwed up. When a team gets crummy attendance and when a team has a bad ballpark -- that's what A's ownership always claims -- it needs to be fan friendly in the extreme and not impose on fans an extra task -- call it a homework assignment -- about some box.

Note to A's ownership: Make it easy to find your team on TV. Don't make it hard. Show some sense. It's as though you're going out of your way to turn off fans. I repeat. I don't want the box. I want the A's to be on a normal accessible station like all the other teams who know what they're doing.

Let me see if I understand why I can't get the A's on TV. First some background -- I live in Oakland and get basic Comcast or whatever they call it. Iggy and I even got one of those big screeen tv's to make watching sports more fun. The A's are supposed to come in on channel 89 but all I get is fuzz.

Now I'm told I need a converter box to get the A's on TV. I'm told the converter box is free and I can get up to two of them. So what. I don't want a converter box. I don't want any trouble or fuss or muss. I don't want to make phone calls to Comcast and be put on hold and told my call is very important to them. I don't want guys coming to my house and giving me a converter box and I'm not sure I even know how to install a converter box. I just want to turn on the TV. This whole thing is a pain.

And I'll tell you something else. I can get the Giants whenever they're on TV. I can do it easily. So I can get the Giants but I can't get the A's. Who do you think I'll watch? Some genius at the A's really blew this one. Box indeed.

It's about an hour before the A's home opener. Brett Anderson is making his major league debut as starting pitcher and get this -- he's the first rookie to pitch an A's home opener since they moved to Oakland.

Is he nervous? Well, you're not allowed to talk to the starting pitcher before a game but he seemed relaxed in the clubhouse, wasn't running around shrieking rescue me. When manager Bob Geren told Anderson he made the team this spring, Anderson replied, "OK." Like no big deal. As I say he's relaxed.

Oh, one other thing. I wish the A's didn't always have their home opener at night. I mean it's cold and damp here. The home opener should be a day game in the Bay Area -- sunlight, warmth, day baseball. Come on.

Tonight is the A's home opener, usually a joyous occasion. But Death will hover over the field tonight. The A's had their final game in Anaheim postponed because of the senseless death of poor Nick Adenhart. So that death will be there tonight. And the A's are honoring the four Oakland cops senselessly murdered a few weeks ago. More death.

So before the game starts we remind ourselves that life is serious, isn't all fun and games, and we mourn for Adenhart and the others who died with him.

The Masters is all about Tiger Woods. There is Tiger Woods and then there is the rest of the field. Lefty never had that kind of influence. And Lefty won't win this. Either Woods will win or some guy you never heard of, some guy who plays out of his skull in the next few days.

This is the second act of Woods' career. I want you to think Muhammad Ali as I write this. In the first act Woods was the best golfer in the world, the best who ever lived. He had talent off the chart -- those drives and that putting. But beyond that he understood the game, was a genius at playing golf. And it all came so easy.

And then he got hurt and had surgery on his knee and things got called into question in a way nothing ever had been called into question for him before. He was vulnerable. He might not recover. He might not get a second act like the first act.

It's just that the second act has a chance to be even more interesting, and this is where Ali comes in. Ali beat everyone because he was better than everyone -- better than the great Sonny Liston and believe me Liston was great. Then Ali lost those years because he refused the draft. He was older when he finally came back and not as sure of himself and not as good.

He had to struggle to win, needed guile to invent that brilliant rope a dope against George Foreman and because he seemed beatable and eminently human his second act was the greatest, most dramatic second act sport ever has seen.

So now Tiger is in his second act, and it may turn out to be the second-greatest second act in American sports history. I for one can't wait to see it.

Went on the new sports show on Comcast yesterday -- Chronicle Live. Before I got started a nice woman walks over to me and says I have to put makeup on you.

Makeup?

So, sure, I'm game. I sit in a chair like a dentist chair and she gets out a little sponge and starts doing stuff and I say what are you doing I'm interested and she says I'm applying the foundation.

Applying the foundation? 

I never thought I'd have anything to do with those three words in my life. I mean I hear my wife saying I'm applying the foundation. Not me. Then the lady darkened my eyebrows. She told Will Clark he was next but he refused. Hard to imagine the Thrill in makeup.

On the show host Greg Papa introduced my as writing for the Marin Independent Journal. That would have been fine except I write for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. This was live TV. I corrected him and, because Greg is a terrific host with a great sense of humor, he kept calling me Lowell Cohn from Marin throughout the show. It became kind of a gag.

One other thing. I wear an earplug. Never wore an earplug before. And people talk in my ear -- Lowell, you ask the next question. Lowell, wrap it up. Lowell, your makeup is running -- just kidding on that last one.

I hope you'll check out the show. It's on 5 pm and again at 11:00. Great guests great host great format and, what the heck, it pays sports scribblers like me an extra few bucks.

During Randy Johnson's Giants debut Mike Krukow was gushing, as he should have been. Here was one very good pitcher commenting on the work of one very great pitcher and Krukow showed the proper respect. Forget that Johnson gave up an early homer.That could happen to anyone.

But disaster occurred when he gave up the game-winning home run, a three-run blast to left to THE PITCHER!!! The word inexcusable crosses the mind.

And we begin to draw this conclusion. The Unit will be impressive, awesome, until he isn't. He will blow batters away and make them look foolish until someone makes him look foolish. He is like a boxer with a big punch who also has a glass jaw. Pitches that used to work for him -- the high fastball to the pitcher -- well, pitches that used to work now will get creamed some of the time.

Johnson is vulnerable and he must show he can outwit batters. Even so, expect a certain number of heart-breaking home runs on pitches that used to be strike 3.

Very few things you can know after just one game, even a promising opener like the Giants. We can't know for sure they can score runs even though they scored ten. You understand. We can't tell for sure if Aaron Rowand will deliver even though he hit a homer, the decisive blow of the game. All this is obvious.

But one thing we can tell. Pablo Sandoval is not Brooks Robinson at 3rd base. Here's how we know. A slow roller came his way in the opener. Third basemen make this play all the time. They charge in, grab the ball barehanded and throw on the run, or they field it in the glove and make a quick exchange and then throw the ball. This play is a staple for 3rd basemen.

Sandoval charged all right and grabbed the ball but after that he looked confused like he never confronted a situaiton like this in his life. He threw kind of a grounder to first, which leads me to believe the Giants need to take him out for defenses purposes late in close games. That's what I learned based on one game.

Get this, Lincecum is not starting the 4th inning. Joe Martinez, making his ML debut is in to start the 4th. This isn't the way the Giants expected the game to go -- I mean Lincecum is the reigning Cy Young winner and now he's out.

Truthfully, he labored in his stint and if you didn't know he was Lincecum you'd think he was just another guy -- 3 walks, hit a batter and he threw a wild pitch. He threw 78 pitches, only 38 strikes. Not a great day for Tim.

Pitching coach Dave Righetti has visited Lincecum twice already and we're only in the top of the 3rd with two outs. The Giants lead 4-3 but the Giants gave Lincecum a 3-0 lead and he's struggled. Oh, he just walked Bill Hall -- his third walk plus a hit batsman. His pitch count is up to 75 and counting.

OK, inning over. Giants up 4-3. 78 pitches for Lincecum. He won't last much longer.

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The Giants will get together in about ten minutes and decide to play or not to play. A few minutes ago, manager Bruce Bochy said, "We're in a holding pattern now."

If there's no game today will there be a doubleheader tomorrow? Bochy: "They haven't told me for sure. I'd say yeah."

For what it's worth the rain has let up a little and some Giants are playing catch in left field.

Bochy asked starter Tim Lincecum how much warmup he needs if the rain continues. "Just give me 15 minutes," Lincecum told him.

Good for the Raiders, signing Jeff Garcia. JaMarcus Russell is the starting QB, that's obvious, but quarterbacks get hurt and now the Raiders have a backup who's really a starter. This is a terrific upgrade because right now Garcia is better than Russell. Don't kid yourselves.

The mere presence of Garcia will -- should -- light a fire under Russell, make him work harder at his craft. Garcia is the ultimate underdog -- San Jose State, Canadian Football League. He had to fight for everything he got and if Russell doesn't work hard Garcia will overwhelm him with his pure desire and will.

One question: Why didn't the Niners go after Garcia? They could have gotten him cheaper than Kurt Warner and he'd sure be a good backup comapred to what they have, and if these guys flop he'd take right over.

I'm getting ready to write a column about the Giants home opener tomorrow against the Brewers, and it occurs to me the Giants home opener is the 2nd most important home opener in the Bay Area.

What I'm about to write is sure to hurt some sensibilities and I apologize in advance.

The most important home opener in the Bay Area is the 49ers hands down. As bad as the Niners have been they are the biggest local sports news. People all around the world crave news of the Niners and if you don't believe me just check out the daily hits Matt Maiocco gets on his blog.

The Giants come second. People are interested in them whatever their record is. They have that great ballpark and they were the first big league team to come out here, and they came from New York. The A's have been a better team than the Giants over the years -- the Giants never won a World Series out here -- but no one ever said the world is fair.

After the Niners and Giants the order of importance for Bay Area teams is:

Warriors: People are interesed in them beyond their merit and considering their leadership is perpetually in chaos. The fans keep on coming.

Raiders: This is NFL football of a sort and, although they have trouble selling out their stadium, fans are passionate and the teams does enough wacky things to stay in the news.

Oakland A's: People should be more interested in the A's, a fascinating franchise. It's just that the A's always put down Oakland and they keep reminding us they are a small market team -- which means they have a built in excuse if they don't do well -- and their ballpark is no good. So the biggest obstacle to the A's opener really mattering as it should is the A's themselves. But this year the A's definitely will matter. They are a good team and an interesting team, and maybe that could begin to change things if someone can just tell Lew Wolff to keep his mouth shut.

San Jose Sharks: Great team playing in a town with a minor-league mentality. If they get the A's that could change.

To read my full column on the Giants opener click here.

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So I had to send in my baseball picks to the Press Democrat Saturday morning and I worked hard on them, I really did.

Cut to 4 in the morning Sunday morning. I wake up with a start and something tells me to mentally review my picks for manager of the year. In the NL I picked Bruce Bochy. You may not agree but at least he's a National League Manager. Problem was I picked Kenny Macha in the AL and I wrote he is manager of the Blue Jays.

Needless to say I couldn't go back to sleep. I mean, I know Macha. I know he's in the NL and manages the Brewers. I interviewed him two weeks ago at the Brewers Park in Maryvale. I know him really well.

Anyway, no one caught the mistake. Except Jeff Fletcher who just sent me an email entitled "Nice Pick." He always makes fun of me and that's why we're close friends. Read him on Fanhouse on the AOL site. He's the best.

I'll see him on Tues when the Giants open their season against Macha and the Blue Jays -- I mean Brewers.

Now San Jose is getting into the act. San Jose officials are saying they want the A's to build a ballpark in San Jose and move there, and they say they have every right.

It is that every right part that is unknowable. The Giants sure think San Jose is their fiefdom. You wonder if there are documents, legal documents, supporting their claim. If that is true, and even though San Jose ought to be able to pursue the A's if it wants, this could develop into a big litigation that extends into the next century.

Even if the A's get San Jose -- you never took Lew Wolff seriously when he said he'd discuss things with Ron Dellums -- well if they get San Jose they have to go through the whole process all over again, environmental reports, etc. not to mention building the thing. It will take years. and years. In the meantime Wolff should lay off badmouthing Oakland, his home for a long time to come.

It never could work between Jay Cutler and Mike Singletary, in case you're wondering if the Niners should sign the disgruntled Denver QB.

Forget about the draft picks it would take to get Cutler and the fortune the 49ers would have to pay him. Think about his big mouth and the soap opera he's currently imposing on Denver.

Singletary is a control freak. He likes quiet players -- quiet tough guys. He likes god-fearing players like Kurt Warner and Isaac Bruce.

The unruly Cutler would drive Singletary nuts and it is a marriage that never could happen. To read my full column on Cutler click here.

Kevin Frandsen got sent to the minors yesterday. It's a sad story because he tore up his achilles last year and rehabbed and came all the way back. And he's a good guy.

But for Giants fans there's a positive note to this story. Frandsen battled it out with Emmanuel Burriss for the 2nd base job. Burriss won. Which means the Giants had two good players fighting for a position. Recently they've had mediocre players fighting for positions. What happened to Frandsen means the Giants are better, so much better they could afford to send a good player to the minors.

This is what Gary Sheffield, one homer shy of 500, said after the Tigers released him: "To do this when somebody is one home run away . . . I don't know how to react."

It's such an interesting statement and says so much about Sheffield and current-day ballplayers. Sheffield is clearly saying the Tigers did something wrong, did not show the proper respect for him and his impending 500th homer.

But, come on, the Tigers owe Sheffield nothing, certainly not the chance to hit another home run in a Tigers' uniform. Maybe I'm reading Sheffield wrong, but to me he's another ballplayer who thinks the game is about him and his numbers. And he's another ballplayer who got it wrong.