My friend Healey

I am officially done with my bracket pool, I got fifth out of six players. What a crock. I was in second place after the first Elite 8 games, then Missouri lost, Syracuse lost, Pitt lost and Louisville lost--I had them going all the way.




I just hope some team knocks off Chapel Hill, because I hate those guys.

It's actually a good thing I'm out of the tournament, because I need a day to recover. I am exhausted.

I went swimming on Sunday, then a big hike/death march with Brooke on Monday, then Healey the neighbor dog came over Monday afternoon and we played until it got dark. I am buggered. He likes to take my ball and run with it, and damned if I'm going to let him get away with that.

Bodyslam!

Healey is that Vizla I was talking about, he lives on a farm down the road and he comes over all the time. I think he likes playing with me better than his horse brothers. He also likes to "borrow" my toys and not give them back. I'm pretty sure he's got a pile of them at his house but I never go over there. I'm too busy chasing deer--that's my full time job, barking at them.

Good night (It's 11 a.m.)

Jax

Giants in a nutshell

Good stuff from the Sporting News about the Giants. It's a quick rundown on what to expect from the Giants. Randy Johnson photo by Associated Press.

San Francisco Giants preview
Sporting News
Posted: March 26, 2009

Another candidate to surprise this season, San Francisco is a team built on pitching and defense. And the Giants will need every strikeout Tim Lincecum provides and every daring catch Aaron Rowand makes in center field because little was done to improve one of the majors' worst offenses from last season.

THREE QUESTIONS

1. Is this the N.L.'s best rotation?
On paper, the Giants' starting five compares favorably to those of the Mets and Cubs, among others, and it should keep them in most games. Ace Tim Lincecum is the reigning N.L. Cy Young Award winner; Matt Cain has a 3.71 ERA over the past two seasons and has become a workhorse (417 2/3 innings over that span); a revitalized Randy Johnson made 30 starts with a sub-4.00 ERA last season; Barry Zito finished strong (3.15 ERA in five September starts); and Jonathan Sanchez showed flashes of greatness in the first half (8-5, 3.97 ERA) before collapsing in the second half (1-7, 7.47 ERA). At some point, San Francisco also hopes to have Noah Lowry healthy. This rotation could be great, if Johnson stays healthy, Zito finds some consistency and Sanchez puts together a full season. Even two out of those three would be huge.

2. Will San Francisco have enough offense?
The Giants were the only team that failed to hit 100 homers last season, finishing with 94 (17 fewer than the next-lowest team). Catcher Bengie Molina led San Francisco with 16 homers, and outfielder Aaron Rowand was the only other Giant with more than 10. As for runs scored, only the Padres (637) scored fewer runs than the Giants (640). To put things into perspective, the Rangers had scored 640 runs by Aug. 4 (with 49 games remaining). Though San Francisco flirted with the idea of signing outfielder Manny Ramirez, its only real offensive addition this offseason was shortstop Edgar Renteria. Renteria has topped 15 homers once (the 2000 season), and his RBI totals have declined each of the past two seasons. The Giants are counting on some surprise pop from their new corner infielders, but they should struggle to score again in 2009.

3. Other than Renteria, who's in the infield?
Not a lot of household names. First baseman Travis Ishikawa, who has displayed a bit of power this spring, has 20-homer potential -- but also has just 45 games of major league experience. He has a good glove but must prove he can hit lefties. At the hot corner, Pablo Sandoval also has some pop but, like Ishikawa, is inexperienced (41 games in the majors). The second base battle has been a good one this spring, with Kevin Frandsen and Emmanuel Burriss each hitting for a high average and sporting a solid on-base percentage. Though both are solid defensively, neither is much of an offensive force on a team desperate for run production.

PROJECTED LINEUP
1. RF Randy Winn. Led Giants' regulars with .306 BA, 25 SBs.
2. SS Edgar Renteria. Hit .309 past five N.L. seasons; .274 past two A.L. seasons.
3. LF Fred Lewis. Has speed, but it's tough to find another No. 3 hitter with 9 HRs in '08.
4. C Bengie Molina. Struck out only 38 times in 530 at-bats last season.
5. 3B Pablo Sandoval. Hit 20 HRs between Class A and Class AA last season.
6. CF Aaron Rowand. Had 27 HRs, 105 runs with Phillies in '07; 13 HRs, 57 runs with Giants in '08.
7. 1B Travis Ishikawa. First walk this spring came in 20th game.
8. 2B Emmanuel Burriss. Flirting with .400 BA this spring, but only 8 extra-base hits in 240 at-bats in '08.

PROJECTED ROTATION
1. RHP Tim Lincecum. Led the majors with 265 strikeouts.
2. LHP Randy Johnson. Five wins shy of 300 for career.
3. RHP Matt Cain. Career-high 1.36 WHIP last season, thanks to 91 walks.
4. LHP Jonathan Sanchez. ERA rose by more than a half-run in final two starts in '08.
5. LHP Barry Zito. Has 4.83 ERA two seasons into $126 million contract.

PROJECTED CLOSER
RHP Brian Wilson. Among closers with at least 30 saves last season, only George Sherrill had a higher ERA (4.73) than Wilson (4.62).

GRADES

Offense: D. If this team had added a bat or two, things would be different. But instead of addressing that glaring weakness in the offseason, the Giants bolstered their pitching staff. The anemic offense is the only thing holding this team back from a surprise season.

Pitching: A. In addition to a top-notch rotation, the Giants feature a revamped bullpen. They added lefthander Jeremy Affeldt and righthander Bob Howry as setup men for closer Brian Wilson, who tied for second in the N.L. with 41 saves last season. The staff's weakness: walks (third-most in the majors last season).

Bench: C. Infielder Rich Aurilia is likely to spell Ishikawa against lefthanders. Infielder Juan Uribe, signed in the offseason, is having a good spring and has three 20-homer seasons on his resume. However, he also has a career .295 on-base percentage. Nate Schierholtz is an improving fourth outfielder; veteran outfielder Dave Roberts was released.

Manager: C. Bruce Bochy is 143-181 in two seasons with the Giants, and there are heightened expectations this season. Finishing above .500 -- something Bochy did five times during his tenure in San Diego -- is an attainable goal in this weak division. Bochy will hammer home the importance of strong defense and needs to take some risks offensively.

Sporting News prediction: An N.L. scout told Sporting News that the Giants will set the record for most games lost 1-0. He might be right. With Manny back in Los Angeles, the Giants are much more likely to battle the Diamondbacks for second place than make a run at the Dodgers and the N.L. West title.

COMING FRIDAY: Padres preview

Chris Bahr is a senior editor for Sporting News. E-mail him at cbahr@sportingnews.com.

NCAA hoops

Hey folks, Jax here.
I'm just waiting around for the NCAA games tonight. I have Duke beating Villanova and UConn over Purdue. A lot of people think 'Nova can do it, but I'm not so sure.

Same old, same old here. I think I'm really tired from barking at the deer last night. That's a lot of work.

Adios,

Jax

My cousin Lex is trying to get on a Bissell vacuum cleaner box

Go ahead and vote, why not?
Lex is from the Black Watch Newfoundland farm in Washington state, and he now lives in Campbell, CA. Interesting photo. This was forwarded to me. Lex also does rescue swims and can haul carts and stuff. Quite the Renaissance dog.
Jax

Lincecum look-a-like

Hey everybody, Jax here, waiting patiently for opening day.

I think Tim Lincecum kind of looks like JoJo from that movie "Horton Hears a Who." Brooke and Stephen watched that last night as I was on the floor in front of the TV, and Brooke said JoJo is an "Emo" kid. Stephen said JoJo looked like Tim Lincecum, with the longish black hair and slight build. That's about right. Emos Unite! And win more Cy Young awards.

I was kind of half watching, on the floor resting my jaw. I had a big day watching Brooke plant stuff in the garden and playing with the neighbor dog, Healey. He's always trying to steal my stuff.

I'll be interested to see who's in the Giants' starting lineup on Opening Day April 7. That's less than two weeks away!
Here are some Spring Training pictures from Arizona brought to you by the Contra Costa Times. Photos by aa.vox.com, FOX and VacavillePonyBaseball.com.

Jax

NCAA redux

Hey everybody, Jax here.

I heard the thrilling finishes of a few games on the radio on Sunday, and a lot of my teams squeaked in to the Sweet 16. I'm ranked fourth in my pool, I think, and maybe I can sqeuak into second place (money) by the end with some minor miracles.

Syracuse has to win, Michigan State, Missouri, and Duke. The rest are 1 seeds or favorites. This story breaks down the upcoming games by region.

Things have been good. I played a lot of fetch yesterday at the park, that was fun. I really, really, really like tennis balls. I just can't get enough. I could chew them for hours.

In SF Giants news, catching prospect Buster Posey has been looking really good and there's talk he could play in the majors this season. Stephen said he hoped he would play on the San Jose Class A team at least for a few games this summer, but we'll see. They have broadcast a few of the Giants Spring Training Games on KNBR-AM 680, and the buzz from camp is that Posey's ready.

Could he platoon with Bengie Molina? Is Pablo Sandoval (another upcoming catcher/hitter) going to convert to first base? Posey has been a quick study in the Cactus League, and better yet, he has a vaguely humble attitude. He's been hitting home runs, blocking wild pitches ... He's an animal. Photo by SJGiants.com.

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Jax

I cannot win my bracket

Um, I think I'm mathematically eliminated from my bracket pool, and there's only 6 players in it. And I didn't even have Wake going to the final four. I'm screwed. This Brian Strick guy is like a closet referee or something ...

Jax

Hoops news

Got up early and read the paper today -- so excited for the tournament!
Things are looking OK in my bracket so far, but I was counting on Butler to take LSU. What a day so far. I've been drinking tons of water out of my dish, so I gotta go take a leak in the yard now.

Jax

Obama's bracket

I'm happy to report that President Obama's picks aren't far off from my own, but I have changed mine slightly to have Pac-10 teams going a little deeper. Obama also has the Tar Heels winning it, and I can't support that. Obama handwritten bracket from WashingtonPost.com.

NCAA minutiae

Hey folks, Jax here, in the doghouse on a beautiful day in Santa Cruz County, California.

There's a lot to love about the NCAA tournament, but also a few things to hate. Read this story on Slate, and you'll see what I'm saying. North Dakota State, Eric Devendorf (although I kind of love to hate him) Jim Calhoun, Jay Bilas ... good stuff. Devendorf photo by ESPN.

Jax
P.S. Sorry about that last post. I'm trying to get the NCAA scores widget on the damn sidebar but it's not working.

Swami Jax sez:

What up. Here is my UPDATED bracket for the 2009 NCAA men's basketball tournament. You have to click on it for a larger view.

I tried to avoid the "experts" and go with instinct, but there was some research involved. I have to say that Syracuse won my heart in their conference tournament. And, as much as I hate the Tar Heels, their team will go far. If they get upset early, I figure that's OK too. It's always a struggle with teams I love to hate (Bob Huggins' W. Va., Tar Heels etc.) with underdogs I like but can't bring myself to wager on.

I'm entered in the Microsoft office pool in Redmond, WA, and so far that's it. If you have a pool and need an entry, lemme know.

Straight from the doghouse,

Jax

Bracket me

For all of you waiting with baited breath, I will be releasing my NCAA basketball brackets on Tuesday. A lot of dogged research is going into it this year, so watch out.

Putting on the green eyeshade,

Jax

We won something

Hey, we won an award for the blog!

How cool is that. It's the Spreader of Love Award bestowed upon us by TJ Lev of the blog Ophelia's Flowers, Art by TJ! The award goes to blogs that spread the love.

I have to give the award to five more blogs. Nominees, anyone?

Maybe I'll have a poll in an upcoming post.

Until then, enjoy some spring training baseball.

Also, if you get the MLB Network, they will be featuring the Giants tonight on their "30 Clubs in 30 Days" 1-hour program. It's on at 5 p.m. PST and I think repeated at 10:30 p.m. Check it out.

Jax

Dirty little secrets

Oh, man.

I know spring training is in full effect, the Giants are hitting home runs left and right, but I'm kind of feeling like an overwhelmed Obama at the moment. (He smokes Marlboro reds, in case you were wondering -ABC News)

I've been busy. We've gone on some walks in the woods. I eat some bones in the living room. I play with the Viszla (SP?) Healey from a few doors down. He comes over and wags his tail at me. But I'm lazy getting out of my bed in the morning. Now I have an old yellow sleeping bag to sleep on.

Things are OK. I can't wait for the NCAA brackets to come out on Sunday! I've been impressed with Pittsburgh, UCONN, Louisville. We'll see. I cannot root for Chapel Hill though because I hate Tyler Hansbrough.

Here's another picture of a bad habit, Obama! (Top photo credit newsone.blackplanet.com, bottom photo Osmoothie.com.

Jax
P.S. Predictify.com recently predicted that 84 percent of people think Obama will not start smoking in public. 16 percent said he will!