No Playoffs For The Bolts

I don't know who this guy is, but what I heard is he came home from Christmas vacation, a few days after the Bolts were eliminated from the playoffs, to find the playoff tickets he prepaid for in November in the mail.

Sure, he'll get his money refunded, but that's still cruel.

As for me, I'm still watching the Bolts - Broncos game today. A few pick sixes of Tim Tebow should cheer everyone up.

My Padres Lineup

I'm fully on board with the recent moves Jed Hoyer has made to prepare the Padres for the 2011 season. In particular I love the Brad Hawpe signing. I fully expect him to approximate his career average line of .279/.373/.490. If he doesn't I'll be shocked.

Here's the lineup I'd like to see for the Drinos on Opening Day 2011, an afternoon tilt in St. Louis on March 31:

1. Will Venable - RF

2. Orlando Hudson - 2B

3. Brad Hawpe - 1B

4. Ryan Ludwick - LF

5. Chase Headley - 3B

6. Nick Hundley - C

7. Jason Bartlett - SS

8. Cameron Maybin - CF

I've seen some suggest that Bartlett should bat #2 with O Dog in the three hole, but I'd like a bit more pop from the #3 spot. If you want to switch Hundley and Bartlett in the six and seven spots, I'm fine with that.

And the rotation:

LHP - Clayton Richard

RHP - Mat Latos

RHP - Aaron Harang

RHP - Tim Stauffer

RHP - Chris Young

It's doubtful the Padres will sign CY, but I'd like to see them give him a two-year deal with choice incentives. CY must know Petco is his best shot at putting up good numbers so he should accept such an offer. If CY goes elsewhere I'd like to see Cory Luebke in the #5 spot. I like how he throws with a downward plane from the left side.

Happy New Year.

No Shortage Of News

There's obviously been no shortage of news relevant to the PCI Blog of late.

- Adrian traded to the Red Sox;

- the Bolts rolling on a four-game win streak, only to be embarrassed at home against Oakland;

- the Illini hoops squad playing a couple games in Manhattan (I was there!), then sweeping North Carolina and Gonzaga last week; and

- the Illini football team not only playing the highest scoring game in Big Ten history at Ann Arbor (I was there!), but also playing at Wrigley where Mikel Leshoure rushed for 330 yards (I wasn't there!), and qualifying for a Texas Bowl matchup against Baylor.

Whew!

It's been a busy month and I haven't been here to write about it.

I may not be around much of the rest of December either, but know that the PCI Blog isn't going anywhere.

Have a great holiday!

Defending Norv Turner

Yesterday, in the course of a discussion about football generally, my advisor Tam O'Flannell asked me this question: "This is a legit question ... not breaking balls at all ... why do you like Norv so much?"

I thought about the question for a few minutes and then sent him a response. Here, in full, is the response I sent:

It's not that I like him so much as I don't dislike him. I think he's a reasonably good coach who also happens to be an offensive genius. I tend to prefer offensive teams (as opposed to say, Stillers and Bears fans, who I think would mostly say they prefer strong defensive teams) and he can deliver that. The guy hasn't convinced me he can't get the team to the promised land.

His negatives all apparently have to do with motivating players which I think is mostly bs. Professional football players shouldn't need a loud fool like Rexy Ryan or a dirty cheat like Jeff Fisher to get them motivated to play. For that reason, I blame the slow starts each season on the players. The other part of his reputation as a bad coach were his stints with the Redskins and Raiders. Seriously, it was the Redskins and Raiders. Those teams are never good.

Also, other than last season's home loss to the Jets (which was fluky ... Norv can't teach Kaeding how to kick) they've had good success under Norv in the playoffs. They've beat the Colts twice, and beat the Titans, and their only other losses are on the road to eventual Super Bowl champions.

Finally, I think a lot of people don't like him because of his face, which is a bullying attitude that upsets me. Bullies are fools and deserve to get their comeuppance. I'll root for Norv against bullies any day.

CY!

Wants to remain a Padre.

Merriman!

Done as a Bolt.

Bochy!