Bleacher Report - Articles by Greg Peterson

Derrick Burgess, Brandon Marshall, and the Randy Moss Syndrome

Greg Peterson — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:35:46 -0400

Many factors conspire to make dealing unhappy players difficult for the teams holding those players contracts, not least of all, the Randy Moss syndrome.

Former Pro Bowl defensive end Derrick Burgess continues his holdout from Oakland Raider training camp accumulating fines to date totaling over $79,000 against the last year of his contract set to pay him as much as NFL&majteam=OAK">$3.5 million in 2009. Burgess reportedly faces daily fines in excess of $15,800 for refusing to report to camp.

Apparently Burgess is seeking either his release from the Raiders or is hoping the Raiders can negotiate his trade to another team. Depending on the reports you read Burgess is either unhappy with his contract, unhappy to be on a losing team for the last four years, or both.

While these causes for Burgess’ unhappiness are arguably understandable, his strategy for leaving the Raiders is not, on its face.

Not only is Burgess’ decision not to report costing him good money daily, but it is also driving down his trade value, thus impeding the result he seeks; his eventual move to another team. Also driving down Burgess’ value are his injury history and declining productivity the last two years.

Burgess, of course is by no means the only NFL player unhappy with his current team.

Denver Broncos Pro Bowl wide receiver Brandon Marshall is also in the final year of a contract set to pay him over $2.1 million in 2009. Marshall, it is widely reported, hates Denver, but that hasn’t stopped him from reporting to Broncos training camp and collecting his checks.

However, Marshall’s decision to report does not come without risk to both Marshall and the Broncos in terms of moving Marshall this year. Marshall reportedly has injured his leg at camp as he is currently not practicing. Marshall is also returning from offseason hip surgery.

So what are the Raiders and Broncos to do with their unhappy, damaged goods?

Basically, they have three options: release the players, trade them, or carry them on their rosters and risk the Randy Moss syndrome—in which a player devalues himself so much by his play that his team has no hope of recovering his value in a trade.

To be clear, let’s revisit the history of the Randy Moss trade from the Oakland Raiders to the New England Patriots. Essentially, Moss was so unhappy in Oakland he let it affect his play on the field and was accused of using his indifference as a weapon. Moss tanked so badly in Oakland in 2006 that he drove his trade value into the ground all the while collecting $8 million from the Raiders.

Al Davis continues to lament the trade and in hindsight Raiders fans say the team should have got more with escalator clauses, or what not. But the fact is the Raiders made the best deal they could at the time because Randy Moss had all the leverage and they had none. For the Raiders that truth is still little consolation.

Today’s players seeking release from teams they are unhappy with might look to the Randy Moss example as a means of gaining leverage. In Burgess’ case his strategy seems to be to create a preseason version of the Moss Syndrome, although at great risk. For Marshall, the Moss Syndrome is a non-starter.

To the outside observer, Derrick Burgess seems to have the most to gain from affecting the Randy Moss Syndrome again in Oakland. However, aside from the obvious “once bitten, twice shy” reticence of Al Davis in this situation, Burgess lacks the critical leverage Moss had; the current and remaining years on his contract.

Moss was signed with the Raiders for two more years at nearly $20 million at the time he was traded and his willingness to restructure with the Patriots was a major component to the deal, in fact was a big hurdle to getting the deal done. In no way could the Raiders keep Moss at those figures with the level of play they were getting from him, and they had to move him via trade because his release would create a massive cap hit.

Burgess, in the final year of a contract with a reasonable salary doesn’t have this leverage, which should improve his trade value. In fact his current contract should make him attractive to a team even if they are only interested in “renting” him during a contract year.

But without the contract leverage Moss had against the Raiders, Burgess has to create what leverage he can, a version of the Moss Syndrome. Burgess must understand that trading partners know that with Burgess out of camp, the Raiders either to have to release him at some point with a tolerable cap hit or carry his roster spot for the year, even without pay. This situation drives down Burgess’ trade value, as it did for Moss but in a different way, making it more unlikely the Raiders will trade him.

Burgess then is taking the risk that he may have to sit out 2009 which would lower his demand in free agency against the possibility that any team that might sign him as an unrestricted free agent in 2010, without a salary cap, might make it worthwhile financially.

In this way Burgess may be affecting the closest thing to the Moss Syndrome as possible as he is, like Moss was, an aging veteran with an injury history and diminishing productivity for the Raiders. He's doing everything he can to force himself off the team by destroying his own trade value, but unlike Moss, at a far greater risk to himself than to the Raiders.

For Burgess there may be enough money in the future to make his gamble pay off, and while Brandon Marshall’s situation is somewhat similar, he lacks significant leverage points that Burgess has.

Most significantly, even though he is in the final year of his contract, Brandon Marshall does not have enough years in the league and will be a restricted free agent at the end of 2009 under the current bargaining agreement.

This is why Marshall is in camp—there is no unrestricted pay day waiting for him in 2010 like there is for Burgess. Marshall has almost no leverage. He can’t budge the Broncos because even by creating a Moss Syndrome in Denver, the lower he makes his value the easier it will be for the Broncos to block his signing to another team.

Compared to the Raiders, the Broncos, through no fault of their own, are in the better position, as the best way for Marshall to move on to another team is by actually producing in his final contract year. By tanking his play or going on injured-reserve, Marshall only hurts his chances of signing a contract he can be happy with on another team.

Brandon Marshall has to play his way out of Denver, which is why he is in camp. Derrick Burgess is willing to sit his way out of Oakland and every other team knows it.

Raiders "Al" in to Prove Experts Dumb

Greg Peterson — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 00:00:40 -0400

The NFL draft is nothing if not a crapshoot. After all the evaluation, hype, horse trading and strategizing, all NFL teams selections are at best, best guesses on the future.

The NFL and ESPN convert the entertainment value of professional football and this spring rite frenzy for new blood into big dollars.

To justify their expensive productions of a glorified job fair, the NFL and ESPN enlist "experts" to market players, evaluate and comment on picks the only way they can, subjectively.

In all forms of gambling, the NFL draft included, the main elements are risk and payoff. The NFL draft is televised for the same reasons poker is, and on the same channel. For NFL owners and GMs the gamble involves real money and real consequences, but network experts only have their marginal reputations at stake.

After all, if Charlie Casserly, Michael Lombardi and Mike Mayock were actually so good at evaluating talent for NFL teams, they'd still have real jobs, instead of peddling their "knowledge" as sales hacks for the networks.

To say nothing of Mel Kiper and Todd McShay who've never had real jobs in their lives (although McShay was once a Guess-Your-Weight carny.)

So after all that has been said about what has been done in the Oakland Raiders 2009 NFL draft room one thing clearly is going to come out of this: Somebody is going to look really stupid.

And for so many selfish reasons, I hope its the experts.

If the smug, blow-dried, clown-college, talking head ESPN/NFL network d-bags thought the Raiders taking wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey at No. 7 was a reach then they, and most Raider fans, weren't even approaching ready for round two when Al Davis went all in selecting safety Michael Mitchell.

Indeed, so far Al Davis has played the 2009 Draft for exactly the crapshoot that it is. The Raiders have taken the players they wanted in the order they wanted them. Nobody can point fingers and say, "well the Raiders didn't get their guy so they settled for so-and-so and all their talk about always wanting him is just spin." Not in this draft.

The consensus is that NOBODY in or out of their right mind, would take the players the Raiders took in the spots they took them. Al Davis placed his bets, not only on the players he likes best based on his own standards, but has bet all-in against the field of "experts."

Some Raiders fans are left questioning themselves as fans on days like this. And that's too bahhahh-d for them. They've allowed the clowns to gin up hysteria based on baseless expectations.

But its days like this that I celebrate being a Raiders fan. I'm backing these bets, and why not, as a fan I have less to lose than any stupid expert. And nobody is a bigger threat than somebody with nothing to lose.

So how about a kicker in Round Three?

Props Mike Florio, You Crybaby

Greg Peterson — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:47:32 -0400

Many of you readers, like me, are appreciative consumers of the excellent work Mike Florio does to bring us NFL news on profootballtalk.com. I began "banging it here for the daily rumor mill" a couple of years ago before Mike made it big and started filming those forced studio head-shot segments with his clip-on tie and bug-eyed sidekick, Joe. Yes, in those halcyon days, much like today, Florio flung ca-ca of all kinds at the wall and we found entertainment in watching some of it stick and some of it fall.

I want to take this opportunity to give props to Mike Florio for digging up a particular sticky manure rumor that stuck this weekend, the Raiders signing Jeff Garcia. I sourced Florio's post of the rumor in an article I wrote for this site, an article many of you read and commented on.

Florio has built a well-earned reputation among ardent football fans and even some in the league as a good news source. Indeed, Florio outperforms the whole of ESPN's football clown college when it comes to reporting on the Oakland Raiders, distancing himself far ahead of such heralded "journalists" as Chris Mortenson and John Clayton in terms of credibility. Kudos to you, Mike Florio, NFL gossip oracle king.

Indeed many of us who use the Bleacher Report also use Profootballtalk.com in common to slake our pitiable football obsessions. Our money and our website hits are just as good as any other entertainment-obsessed mob, it's just we don't care how many babies Brad Pitt and Octo-mom spit out or rake up. We are grateful serfs in your kingdom as long as there is football to talk about.

But alas, all of it sits uneasy among us admiring peon subjects who dare hack away on the Bleacher Report, for the king is displeased with our discourse. He said so himself in the very next post on the Rumor Mill following the Garcia rumor.

Hark:

Here’s our official take: The bleacherreport.com is a pile of crap...stuff can apparently be posted there by pretty much anyone…We suggest ignoring anything and everything posted at bleacherreport.com until they become something other than a wild west repository for anything that anyone feels like posting.

Our oracle is responding to the bogus rumor that started on this site last week about the Chad Johnson/Michael Bush trade. That false prophecy vexed the king even more than the recalcitrant three-way Broncos-Redskins-Browns blasphemy that started here in the midst of the Cutler tantrums.

The king is fraught that "anyone" can post "anything" on Bleacher Report and because of the fine work the B/R site does to present our laymen's nonsense, we who are not worthy appear legitimate. This causes great stress for the king who has to take time from his primary duty of throwing crap against the wall to debunk crap other people throw up against the wall, as so many of us who read the Bleacher Report and the Daily Rumor Mill can't tell truth from fiction unless Florio restores order.

Bleacher Report, as a forum for the common fan to throw crap against the wall, has spoiled the sacred grounds of NFL gossip that king Florio rules, has distempered the tyrant, and he has passed unto his judgement accordingly.

So shame to those who find humor or entertainment in seeing the reaction of the frenzied fan sheep herd when they are provoked from such an unclean source. You have angered the king. You have delayed the critical task of crap-throwing. Repent! For it is an unholy license with which you wield your cruel trickery! You are monsters of sports reporting. And shame on Bleacher Report for harboring such monsters.

But is it irony that Florio's success as a crap-flinger has inspired other crap flingers to fling crap? Is not king Florio, who so vilifies these monstrous rumors, not the face of the rumor monsters themselves? Is it not the king's own face that repels him? Oh the horror, the horror. So many, many tears!

Let this be the caution that comes of this tale of hypocrisy and woe. That ye shall be damned by faint praise even by your most strident admirers, when you damn them for admiring too much.

This article is posted under "Humor" for you Mike.

Jeff Garcia Rumored to the Oakland Raiders

Greg Peterson — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 04:57:39 -0400

Mike Florio has it rumored on profootballtalk.com that free agent quarterback Jeff Garcia is drawing real interest from the Oakland Raiders.

This would be an outstanding move in a good off season for the Raiders. I especially like this move in light of Tom Cable's comments at the NFL Owners' Meeting regarding Jamarcus Russell's preparation.

Say what you want about Jeff Garcia, the guy overachieves just by playing in the NFL. The only way a guy like Garcia makes it is by working his butt off and he is exactly the kind of guy the Raiders need to push their young franchise quarterback as he learns how to prepare for each week.

How can Jeff Garcia push Jamarcus Russell? Garcia would compete with Russell the only way he can, by being better prepared. If Garcia comes into camp with better command of the offense than Russell, everybody would know it, the players, the coaches and eventually the media and fans.

And nobody would be happy about it. That puts more positive pressure on Russell than Tom Cable could in a thousand press conferences.

The rumor and signing itself are great tests for Russell, does he accept the challenge like a man or is he a crybaby like Jay Cutler?

Garcia also upgrades the Raiders current backups in case Russell goes down. He's a proven veteran with a totally different game than Russell that defenses would have more trouble adjusting to than Andrew Walter.

Given the number of teams searching for quarterback help these days, landing Jeff Garcia as a backup would be a strong move for the the Oakland Raiders as they develop Jamarcus Russell, their young franchise quarterback.

Is Tommy Kelly Really Overpaid?

Greg Peterson — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:25:37 -0500

It's been a year now, and ever since the Oakland Raiders signed Tommy Kelly's new contract, some Raider fans have been moaning their guts out about how much the Raiders overpaid their defensive tackle.

Kelly's contract gets lumped into the extravagant and ineffective spending spree that Al Davis went on last spring. Fans and media routinely equate Kelly's deal with the admittedly horrible deals for Javon Walker and DeAngelo Hall.

This is not fair to Kelly or the Raiders. True, Tommy Kelly got a huge contract, the most ever for a defensive lineman the day he signed. Judging by the reaction the day after he signed, you'd think it was the last contract any DT would ever get.

As it turned out, Kelly's deal became the second biggest a month later, and by the time the season started it was third at best. If you want to compare the terms and strategies and keep making arguments that have been going on all year, knock yourself out.

But the point is that Kelly played at a relatively high level all year. He didn't wash out because he is crazy (Walker) or just completely SUCKED (Hall). I equate Kelly's deal and play last year more with Gibril Wilson's.

Wilson also received a huge contract last year, compared to others at his position around the league. He played well all year, if not outstanding. But you almost never get him lumped in with Walker, Hall, and Kelly in terms of bad deals for the Raiders.

I can go along with the expectation for Tommy Kelly to put up the third best numbers because he started the season with the third best deal, to a point. Al Davis said he was disappointed with Kelly's play, and he has every right to be; he wrote the check. For anybody not named Al Davis, I don't understand what all the griping is about.

Let's look at the numbers.

Player	Team	Tackles	Sacks	Signed	Terms

S. Rogers	CLE	76	4.5	Mar '08	6yr $42M $20M guar
D. Peko	CIN	67	0.5	June '08	7yr $30M $8.5M guar
V. Wilfork	NE	66	2	July '04	6yr $18M $5.8M guar
K. Williams	MIN	60	8.5	Dec '06	5 yr $33M $16M guar
J. Williams	SD	56	1.5	May '05	6 yr $27.5M $$11.5 guar
R. Bernard	SEA	55	4	UFA
T. Kelly	OAK	55	4.5	Feb '08	7yr $50.5M $18M guar
H. Ngata	BAL	55	1	July '06	5yr $12M $9 M guar (rookie)
K. Williams	BUF	55	2	July '08	5yr $14.5M $5.7M guar
T. Brown	TEN	52	4		2009: $1.4M 2010: FA
A. Haynesworth	TEN	51	8.5	UFA
G. Dorsey	KC	46	1	July '08	5yr $33M $22.5M guar (rookie)

Here we have the top 10 defensive tackles, and Glenn Dorsey, for 2008, as ranked on NFL.com by number of tackles, including sacks and contract terms.

I can hear you hair splitters now, spluttering about how you can't measure a tackle's performance based only on tackles (isn't that what tackles do?). Whatever. These measurables are good enough for the league; they're good enough for me.

I measure the contracts against each other by the guaranteed money and years it can be spread out over, as everyone knows the total numbers are inflated during negotiations.

Tommy Kelly tied for sixth overall in tackles and second overall in sacks among his position group. He has the third most guaranteed money on this list, and that's if you don't adjust for the $16M Kevin Williams got two years before, in 2006.

I look at these numbers and ask myself, is Tommy Kelly a bargain? No, that would be Vince Wilfork, who is playing his fifth year (2009) on a six-year contract for $800k. For new contracts, it would be Kyle Williams for the Bills or Domata Peko for the Bengals.

Is he a bust? No, last year that would be Glenn Dorsey, who I gleefully add is looking for a position in the Chiefs' new 3-4 defense this year.

Is he Shaun Rogers? No, Shaun Rogers played in a class all by himself last year.

Now here's the intriguing part. Is Tommy Kelly Albert Haynesworth?

According to the numbers, Kelly's better, but so was Tony Brown, by one tackle, who played next to Haynesworth on the Titans line. But considering the numbers Brown and Haynesworth put up together, no wonder the Titans were No. 1 against the run.

And looks who's tied with Kelly—Rocky Bernard. Tommy Kelly played his first year under his new contract at least nearly as well as the top two free agents this year. Are Bernard or Haynesworth going to come cheaper than Kelly did?

I don't think so.

Fire Lane Kiffin? Don't Stop There

Greg Peterson — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:16:29 -0400

The bell tolls for thee, Lane Kiffin.

Barring a completely unexpected and ultimate thrashing of the Chiefs in KC this Sunday, the death knell on Lane Kiffin's time in Oakland grows louder, week by week, until the bye. By all accounts, Kiffin seems not only to be expecting it, but looking forward to it.

But firing Lane Kiffin and making NO other changes would mean nothing to the Raiders' franchise. The team's organizational and coaching structure are dysfunctionally divided, making team unity and accountability impossible. Replacing Kiffin without making wholesale changes at the top will be, unfortunately, like putting lipstick on a pig, no offense to Sarah "V-Pilf" Palin.

Kiffin is clearly responsible for the offense. As head coach, he is also responsible for the team as a whole. But with Rob Ryan and Al Davis directing the defense, the division in the team's structure undermines Kiffin's authority and effectiveness. And what of accountability?

For the last 17 games, the Raiders' offense has outplayed the Raiders defense. And yet Rob Ryan is still there, Al's puppet and fattest cheerleader of an under-performing squad. Fire Kiffin if you must, but just try to justify keeping Ryan to the team, or to me, without laughing out loud.

And what of the plan for the team after Kiffin is gone? For all the money spent, the Raiders have added more young talent on offense than defense, young talent they MUST develop.

The one positive to come out of Monday's game against Denver is that JaMarcus Russell looked pretty good, and for that, Kiffin and QB coach John DeFillipo deserve credit. Russell has been Kiffin's project from Day One (at least since Russell finally signed), and Russell appears to be developing.

I don't see firing Kiffin as a positive for continuing to develop the Raiders' franchise QB.

So go ahead, fire Kiffin. I get it, it's the humane thing to do. Lofton may be a reasonable interim solution. But don't stop there.

Fire Ryan. Let him take Martindale, Millard, and every other remora attached to his great girth with him, to the Jets or any other franchise foolish enough to open their front door. Trim the Fat.

And hire a GM, a real one. Don't make Kiffin the scapegoat, he's done as much as can be expected, given the situation he's in. Move forward, as much as the team deserves a unified coaching staff and front office, Raiders fans deserve it more.

I have all the respect in the world for Al Davis and all he has accomplished. He has earned the right to run the Raiders as he sees fit, even as he is doing now, running them right into the ground.

A's Robbed in Ninth Against Rivera, Yankees; Geren Doesn't Say Boo

Greg Peterson — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:04:19 -0400

Apparently Las Vegas isn't the only town in America where athletes from Oakland get mugged.

Derelict, cross-eyed, slope headed, incontinent, suspected terrorist, and animal abuser, second base umpire Mike Winters handed the Yankees and Mariano Rivera two critical outs in the ninth inning of a 2-1 game against the Oakland A's in dilapidated Yankee Stadium on another miserable, sweltering armpit day in New York.

Perhaps the greatest closer in baseball, Mariano Rivera has been plagued by the Athletics, the League's worst hitting club. Indeed, Rivera is Oakland's pinata and needed every bit of the extra help at home from Winters to prevent his first blown save on the season.

Television replays showed that Winters blew both close calls at second base that ended the A's bid to rally against Rivera yet again.

With one out and speedy Ryan Sweeney on first, Bobby Crosby hit a fly into right field that Bobby Abreu lost in the sun. Sweeney, forced to go back to first if Abreu makes the catch, had to scramble to second to avoid being forced out at second when Abreu couldn't control the ball.

Abreu overthrew second and backing up Yankee third baseman, Alex Rodriguez had to hustle a flip to shortstop Derek Jeter who was covering the bag. Sweeney was called out at second by Winters who was seen quickly leaving the field with a dark stain on the crotch of his soiled trousers.

Replays showed the ball and Sweeney getting to second at the same time for what would have been a close play if Derek Jeter hadn't missed the base with his foot. Replays clearly showed Sweeney sliding into Jeter's foot off the bag.

A's Manager Bob Geren was seen shivering in the Oakland dugout, apparently muttering to himself.

With two outs, pinch-runner Rajai Davis came in to run for Bobby Crosby, who was safe at first. On a 1-0 count to Emil Brown, Davis got a jump and took off for second.

Jose Molina's throw was accurate and in time to catch Davis according to stuttering, slobbering, bleary eyed, staggering, incompetent, wino/umpire, Mike Winters.

However, replays clearly show Davis sliding under Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano's tag. Shown from two angles, Davis' hand reaches the bag before Cano tags Davis' shoulder.

As with the second out, milquetoast Oakland manager, Bob Geren made no argument or appeal whatsoever to either play at second base.

Geren did give a half-hearted, ineffective attempt to argue Rodriguez' sacrifice fly that scored Jeter for the Yankees first run in the third inning. Geren appealed to third base umpire James Hoye that Jeter left the bag early when he tagged up.

But apparently Hoye said something so emasculating to Geren that the A's manager could only return to the dugout and sulk for the remainder of the game.

Rivera is expected to bring a nice bottle of Chianti when he picks up Winters for dinner and a Broadway musical after they shower.

Al Davis, Raiders Playing a Hedge on Free Agency

Greg Peterson — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:38:06 -0400

Many critics panned the Oakland Raiders for Al Davis's spending spree this spring, saying it is too expensive and claim it caused Davis to second guess himself.

Meanwhile, Raider fans are concerned with the future free agency situation in Oakland, but the fact is that the Raiders' moves this off-season not only added talent to the roster, but from a business point of view were a hedge against free-agency uncertainty in the near future.

The key is that under the rules governing the expiring collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the looming uncapped years will actually limit free agency.

Not unlike smart airlines like Southwest and Northwest, who are benefiting from hedges they made against rising fuel prices years ago, the Raiders are controlling the cost of acquiring and keeping talent in the face of free agency uncertainty following 2009.

Let’s look at the moves the Raiders made this spring and their long term effects.

NFL&id=2978" title="Tommy Kelly's contract">Tommy Kelly's contract shocked many inside the NFL. The Raiders felt that Kelly is an elite DL, comparable to Vince Wilfork, Albert Haynesworth and Corey Williams. Many critics argue against that and say the Raiders way over paid.

But viewed through the prism of the new rules that Free Agents have to qualify with six years instead of four in 2010, the Kelly deal makes sense as all of these tackles will be the youngest free agents available if they aren't under contract at that time.

The Kelly deal does three things for the Raiders, it keeps him on the roster now, it sets the price for future free agents at his position, and it keeps him on the roster through the uncapped years at a fixed price.

The Gibril Wilson deal also drew a lot fire as being too expensive. But Wilson, like Kelly, also would be eligible for free agency in 2010. The Raiders believe paying Wilson now is cheaper than competing for him or an equally talented player in 2010, if he were available.

The DeAngelo Hall deal also makes more sense in light of the future free agency and Nnamdi Asomugha’s situation. Effectively the two-time Pro Bowl corner back, DeAngelo Hall was the Raiders' second round pick in this year’s draft. Like Kelly, Hall’s contract gets him and keeps him playing through 2011.

But Hall’s contract is also a hedge against losing Asomugha to free agency in 2010.

This week, the Raiders and their franchised free agent corner back, Nnamdi Asomugha failed to extend his contract. Asomugha is expected to sign his franchise tender sometime after training camp starts.

Raiders beat writers anticipated Asomugha’s situation, as it makes business sense especially in the current environment.

Since Asomugha can expect just under $10 million this year for his franchise tender and $12 million next year, any contract talks would have to start with a $22 million bonus.

However, by making Asomugha sign franchise tenders the Raiders reduce their risk if Asomugha gets hurt and keep him for less than he could expect to make in this year's market.

But Asomugha’s deal is also heavily influenced by the NFL’s expiring CBA.

In 2010 the Raiders will have three players eligible for free agency under the new rules, Nnamdi Asomugha, Derrick Burgess and Justin Griffith, whose current contracts expire at that time.

If the Raiders are a playoff team in 2010, their ability to sign new free agents will slide with the number of free agents they lose under the new rules.

Otherwise the Raiders will have three tags, one franchise and two transitional, to assign to free agents (although I haven’t found out if the old rules regarding Asomugha’s prior two tags would apply).

The Raiders have other players whose contracts expire in 2010 too, notably: Kirk Morrison, Stanford Routt, Thomas Howard, Paul McQuistan, and Oren O’neal.

However under the new rules, Morrison and Routt won’t be eligible for FA until 2011, Howard and McQuistan won’t be eligible for FA until 2012, and O’neal won’t be eligible for FA until 2013.

All of this means that from here on out the free agency pool will be shallow but rich for those players who started playing in 2004 or before. Everybody else will have to wait longer for the big pay day. At least until a new collective bargain agreement is put in place.

The Raiders were aggressive this spring while talent was available and have locked up that talent for years to come. That aggressiveness has closed the talent gap between the Raiders and their more passive rivals. I doubt Al Davis is losing any sleep over that.

Angels-A's: New Oakland Squad Impressive in Rout

Greg Peterson — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:29:18 -0400

In his first start for the Oakland A's, pitcher Sean Gallagher answered a lot of doubters who criticized the trade that sent pitchers Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Chicago Cubs. Even me.

I criticized Billy Beane this week for making a trade that was too good for the Cubs and not good enough for the A's.

But Gallagher was more than good enough for the A's against the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, as he struck out seven in seven innings and held the Angels to two runs.

Gallagher showed good pace, location and movement on his fastball, a sharp curveball and mixed in an effective change up as he kept Angels hitters off balance through his outing.

Matt Murton also contributed with a two-run single for the A's in the six-run third inning. But surprisingly to me, it was Murton's defense that stood out.

He made a good running catch across his body as he leapt into the outfield wall and another solid catch going toward center field that he made look a little harder than it probably was. Cubs fans panned Murton's defense in articles earlier this week.

One game won't determine who got the better of the Harden trade, but Gallagher's and Murton's performances have to be heartening for doubting A's fans, especially in light of Chad Gaudin's first pitch as a Cub, which Reds catcher Dave Ross sent over the fence.

Rich Harden makes his Cubs debut tomorrow against the San Francisco Giants.

If Gallagher and Murton can continue to contribute consistently for the A's, I just might develop a taste for Beane Kool-Aid after all. I've heard it goes well with crow.

Chicago Cubs Win in Pitching Deal Duel

Greg Peterson — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:05:42 -0400

The bottom line for comparing Rich Harden and CC Sabathia is consistency, or lack of. Both pitchers are extremely talented, sometimes dominant, and maddeningly inconsistent for different reasons.

Sabathia makes more starts and goes deeper into starts, but is less consistent per outing. Also, Sabathia seems to raise or lower his game for the competition, sometimes.

For instance, Sabathia threw a complete game shutout in his last start against the Oakland A's, but was shelled so bad in the two previous starts against Oakland that he's 1-2 with a 6.63 ERA against the A's this year.

Sabathia got a win vs. Roy Halladay in a 1-0 pitcher's duel and a 1-0 loss against Chien-Ming Wang in New York. Yet he's 1-2 with a 3.54 ERA against the Kansas City Royals.

All in all, Sabathia's made 19 starts with the Indians/Brewers this year going 7-8 with a 3.79 ERA against teams with a cumulative winning percentage of .504. His team is 9-10 in games Sabathia starts this year.

Rich Harden has made fewer starts, pitched fewer innings, and gets fewer decisions. But Harden has consistently pitched well when he's been healthy enough to start.

Harden is 2-0 with a 1.58 ERA in three starts against the defending champion Boston Red Sox.

Harden won against Tim Hudson and Atlanta, giving up one run over seven innings, and did the same in a no-decision versus Roy Halladay and Toronto before pitching an eight-inning, two-hit shutout with 11 Ks against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Harden's velocity dropped off over his last two starts as he pitched five innings each against the Los Angeles Angels and Chicago White Sox. For July, Harden is 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA, giving up 10 hits while getting nine Ks against two of the best teams in the AL.

All in all, Harden's made 13 starts with the Oakland A's this year going 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA against teams with a cumulative winning percentage of .536. The A's were 9-4 in games Harden started.

Both pitchers have limited postseason experience and neither have great postseason numbers. Both made post season appearances in their rookie years. Harden is 1-2 with a 6.43 ERA in seven innings, surrendering two HRs in limited action. Sabathia is 2-2 with a 7.17 ERA in 21 innings, giving up three HRs.

Sabathia is clearly the better hitter. His career batting line is 42 AB, .286 avg., two HR and seven RBI. Harden's offensive line is nine AB with one hit for a .111 avg.

So who got the better pitcher, the Cubs or the Brewers? For this season, when Rich Harden's been healthy enough to start, he has performed more consistently than CC Sabathia. But it really wouldn't surprise me if both these guys ended the season on the DL. At that point the comparisons would be moot except for one thing, which club made the better deal?

Clearly the Chicago Cubs gave up less to get more than the Milwaukee Brewers. Without the addition of Chad Gaudin (pronounced Go-dan for you Cubs fans who I know don't know better) to the Cubs these deals would have been much more even.

But the Brewers gave away their two best prospects plus two more to rent a starter for half a year. The Brewers have almost no chance of re-signing both Sabathia and Ben Sheets, either or both of whom could wind up with the Cubs or the Indians or nearly anybody else this winter.

Meanwhile, the Cubs gave up nothing more than some surplus for a proven No. 1 or No. 2 starter with a year and a half left on his contract at $7 million per and got Chad Gaudin, who is arbitration eligible for the next three years, for a free insurance policy should Harden go down.

Gaudin is the steal of this trade and the reason many A's fans say that Cubs GM Jim Hendry pantsed the A's Billy Beane on this deal.

In the end if the Brewers overtake the Cubs this fall they can well say the short term gain was worth it. But under any other scenario, the Cubs win.

A's Don't Get Enough for Harden and Gaudin

Greg Peterson — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:41:34 -0400

Early reactions to the Rich Harden trade indicate that this move does not sit well with A's fans.

My own reaction is that trading Rich Harden was inevitable. The fact that he has put in a good first half for Oakland was positive because it boosted his trade value which at the beginning of the season was low due to his frequent injuries history.

When Rich went down for a month after his hot start against the Red Sox in Japan it looked like moving Harden before the trade deadline would bring next to nothing if it happened at all. Harden has gone 4-1 since his return from the DL though, giving Billy Beane the opportunity to make a deal.

But A's fans see right through this quote from Cub's GM Jim Hendry. "You’re not getting a guy like this without it hurting a little bit,” Hendry said. As far as A's fans are concerned the Cubs made this trade without hurting enough. And while moving Harden has been inevitable since the start of the season, throwing in Chad Gaudin for next to nothing in return has got A's fans up in arms.

When appraising the values of the players involved in the trade there seems to be no way that the A's got more than they gave. Even given Harden's injury history his value is at least equal to Murton and Gallagher together, or Murton, Patterson and Donaldson together.

That would mean that the A's gave up Gaudin for Gallagher straight up or Gaudin for Patterson and Donaldson. Either way the A's came out on the short end by including Gaudin with these players.

I am 100% sure that Billy Beane is not done dealing this year and expect he will package talent from this Cubs trade with talent from the Haren and Swisher trades he made this Spring.

While the A's have benefitted from good play from the young players acquired in those earlier trades A's fans continue to wonder "what if" as Dan Haren makes his way to the All-Star Game and Nick Swisher has been solid if not spectacular for the first place White Sox.

But judging by A's fans reactions there is not much confidence that Billy Beane will get more than he gives in his next move, as it seems he gave up too much in this one.

Diamondbacks-Athletics: Brandon Webb Takes Beating As ERA Balloons

Greg Peterson — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:18:02 -0400

Before Tuesday night's game against the visiting Oakland A's, former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb was leading the Major Leagues in wins (11) and had the NL's fourth-best ERA 2.73.

But Brandon Webb lasted only three and one-third innings against the A's, who collectively bat .255, as he saw his ERA balloon .54 runs to 3.27. The A's scored seven earned runs off Webb, as this season's best pitcher surrendered two HR and four doubles before he was yanked in the fourth inning.

The A's onslaught continued after Webb's departure. The Oakland offense rang up four more HRs on Arizona's relief pitching, including two on the night by the A's second sacker, Mark Ellis. Oakland broke a six-game homerless streak, their longest since 1983, with a vengeance, and defeated the Diamondbacks, 15-1.

The A's are on a four-game winning streak.

A's pitcher Justin Duchscherer didn't contribute offensively, going 0-for-4 with four Ks, but pitched a five hit, one run game through eight innings. Duchscherer was also efficient, making only 93 pitches on the evening.

But the stories of the night were the A's offense, and Webb's struggles.

Oakland had all sorts of season highs in the game, including six home runs and scoring 15 runs for the second time this year.

Webb struggled with his command all night, as he tied his career high with five walks in the outing. Webb had allowed only six walks in his previous eight starts.

Webb's start against the A's comes off a disappointing three-run, five-inning campaign against the New York Mets. The Oakland broadcast team was heard speculating about Webb's workload, and whether he might be tiring at this point in the season.

But after the game Arizona manager Bob Melvin insisted that Webb isn't suffering a "dead arm," and noted that his velocity is back up and that his ace felt good before the start. Melvin and catcher Chris Snyder gave credit to the A's, saying it was one of those games where no matter what Arizona threw up there, the A's hit it.

Arizona has lost three games in a row by a combined score of 35-7.

Open Mic: Why I Still Respect Al Davis

Greg Peterson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:28:36 -0400

"I have a dream that...one day...[people] will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King Jr., 1963

I was born about four months before Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. From a very young age, I realized that he's the greatest hero of my lifetime.

I believe the "I Have a Dream" speech is the greatest speech ever given, because it eloquently, passionately, and positively lays down the terms of the biggest challenge our country has ever faced.

Over my lifetime, I haven't seen the USA approach Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream more closely than today, as Barack Obama becomes the Democratic nominee for President.

I am proud for our country of that achievement—it is an honor for everyone who has ever stood up against racism.

Al Davis's stand against racism is in no small part why I am proud to be a Raider fan. For all of Davis's achievements and failures in the game and business of professional football, it is his contributions towards equality in society through football that will always be the most lasting.

"He became the first owner to draft an African-American quarterback in the first round, Eldridge Dickey, way back in 1968. He made Art Shell the first African-American head coach in the modern era; he made Tom Flores the first Hispanic coach."

"Amy Trask is the first woman to serve as chief executive of an NFL team. In the 1960s, Davis moved two games out of segregated cities in the deep South, when he learned the stands and local hotels would be segregated." Bryan Curtis, NY Times, Aug. 19, 2007

No one else in professional sports has done as much to move us toward Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream than Al Davis. That is why I still respect him.

This will be Al Davis's legacy.