This Week in BayAreaBall Musings…

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Sorry for the hiatus everyone, I know you’ve been waiting with bated breath for my return! So we at BayAreaBall are going to try something a little new here. Each Monday, I will hit the most pressing topics of the past week & in particular the weekends NFL games and everything in between in Bay Area Sports. Let’s Get Started!

1.) Who do you blame now for the Niners Overtime loss to the St. Louis Rams? Kaepernick, Akers, the O-Line, or Alex Smith?

Since Colin Kaepernick was still the “Hot Hand” according to Jim Harbaugh heading into Sunday’s game. For many Niners fans it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Niners would steamroll the Rams in order to make up for the previous 24-24 tie that happened in Week 10. Also the game was setting up to be the Official “Unofficial” Moving on from Alex Smith game and handing over the reigns of the offense to Kaepernick. Alas it was not meant to be with the Rams Defensive Front taking it to the Niners formidable offensive line. The Rams were able to keep a lid on Kaepernick and not allow him to get out of the pocket and kill them with his legs. Also it didn’t help the cause when Kaepernick decided to “Throw” a seemingly 20 yd high shovel pass over Ted Ginn Jr’s head which allowed Janoris Jenkins to roll into the end zone with the loose ball. Can the Niners bounce back from this with a rookie QB? Will Alex Smith be the last hope for the Niners if everything goes completely wrong against the Dolphins? Where did David Akers leg go and has the front office put out and APB for it?

2.) Did the Raiders even play this Sunday?

(AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Now, I want to restate just for those who may be new to the site, I am the resident Raiders fan and lets just say that this year has not been easy. Quite honestly, the year has pretty much been a complete and utter cluster fuck. (I couldn’t find another word to encapsulate how I felt so I apologize to your eyes for that last word). The Defense has been non-exsistant over the last 5 games and I’m pretty sure that if given the opportunity I might be able to pick up a couple yards against the current Raiders front. They are ranked 28th in overall Defense in yards allowed and are allowing 130 yards rushing & 256 yards passing while giving up a league leading 31.3 points per game. Sure the passing game for the Raiders is ranked 8th currently but if you’ve been watching this team the need to pass is way more out of necessity than out of fielding a formidable offense since the rushing attack has been pretty feeble. There is literally no one who doesn’t have some sort of blame falling on them this season and honestly I don’t blame fans for not going out this weekend to the Coliseum to watch the product that is being fielded right now in Oakland. But the bigger question that looms for me and many other Raider fans, What, if anything, will Mark Davis do to rectify what’s going on right now and which part of the coaching staff gets the axe in the off-season?

3.) The MLB Winter Meetings and what will both the A’s and Giants be doing to try and prep their teams for next season?

First, the Giants have already taken care of one of the big off-season questions by locking up Angel Pagan to a 4 year 40 million dollar deal once he passes his physical. It’s seen by many as a good signing even if Pagan is 31 and will be 35 at the end of his contract. If you’re a Giants fan you just hope that Pagan continues to be consistent and doesn’t fall off the table statistically like Aubrey Huff did after he signed a contract. The Giants also have to answer the Marco Scutaro question and whether or not they would be willing to bring him back at a much higher price tag. One of the big issues in signing Scutaro will be the fact that he will definitely have suitors especially ones with a lot bigger check books, *cough* Yankees *cough.

As for the Athletics, they are still in the market for a Shortstop and we all know that Wolff and Fisher won’t be paying for one anytime soon even on the heels of the A’s winning the AL West this past season. Best case scenario would probably be getting Drew back at a lower price tag for at least 2 years. That would give the Addison Russell the time needed to get seasoning in the minors before getting called up if he can push through the minors like I hope he can. Another name that is getting thrown around with regards to the A’s shortstop needs is veteran Japanese Shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima who might be a little cheaper than Drew. But at this point, I’m pretty content with letting Billy Beane do what he normally does and get great value at a decent price because of Ownership placed restrictions.

4.) Finally, the Warriors are 10-7 and in 2nd place in the Pacific Division, WTH!

(Ezra Shaw/NBAE/Getty)

Yeah I know that’s not really a question but I feel like I don’t know how to act now that the Warriors are close to leading the division and have a winning record. I’m used to being cynical about this team and just waiting for the bottom to fall out from whatever good that is happening at Oracle. Now the Warriors lost a tough one tonight against the Orlando Magic 102-94 and are now embarking on a 7 game roadtrip to the east with big games against Brooklyn, Miami, Atlanta, and Orlando again with some Wizards, Pistsons, and Bobcats thrown in there. The Warriors are playing well without the services of Andrew Bogut but how long can this last and how long can Carl Landry keep up his torrid rebounding pace and when will Klay level out of what seems like a Sophomore slump of sorts?

Alright until next week people and stay tuned to BayAreaBall for more posts and other new segments on the horizon.