The San Francisco Giants are wrapping up the season on a nice roll.And that’s the olive on top of the two-hour-old sundae.The Giants were 2024’s Most Disappointing Team. It’s one man’s opinion, and that makes it a unanimous selection.Really, the only competition comes from the Rangers, but you know Bruce Bochy takes a siesta every season after winning a championship; the Rays, who finally played down to their talent level; and the Cubs and Red Sox, just because their names are permanently etched on the list. En route to their third straight non-winning season after a 107-win campaign had them primed to be the 2020s Team of the Decade, the Giants were such a disaster in 2024, even the things that went right went wrong.But let’s start with the things that truly did go wrong.Management believed adding a bunch of B-level free agents and a reunion with an old-school manager who got run out of San Diego would be enough to increase the team win total from the 70’s to the 90’s. The fans disagreed. The fans were right.The fans believed the team’s many highly trumped-up prospects were ready to take the team toward the top again. Management disagreed. Management was right.It took the first half of the season for management to admit its mistake. It’s taken the second half in order for the fans to recognize their miscalculation. The result: a team that was projected to be a playoff contender but never really was, one that seriously lacked in both power and speed. And now there’s a new debate…Let’s fire the general manager. Let’s dump the manager. Let’s sign 37-year-old Paul Goldschmidt. Let’s give 19-year-old Bryce Eldridge a chance.Ugh. Here we go again.Nothing is more disappointing than not being able to identify the source of your disappointment, dooming you to experience it again. See: Giants, 2017-2020, and now 2022-24.No team learns less from history. Remember, this was a franchise that won three titles last decade… and then failed to even make the playoffs the next season all three times.The 2024 game plan pitched well at the owners’ meeting: Take Matt Chapman, Blake Snell, Robbie Ray, Jung Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler and Jordan Hicks, add them to a team that had been in second place as late as Sept. 3 last season, and it’s 2010 all over again.If only Chapman, Snell, Ray and Soler could turn back the clock like that.Let’s talk Chapman. Great guy. Brilliant defensively. The fans love him.Kinda sounds like Brandon Crawford, doesn’t he? In fact, the year after the Giants finally cut ties with their championship shortstop at age 37, they got so caught up in Chappy Mania, they added six – SIX – years and $151 million to his deal just so the fans could watch him turn 37 before uncomfortably cutting him, just as they did with Crawford. With all the hoopla and the ours-until-retirement contact, you’d have thought Chapman was an MVP candidate, but, alas, he’s hitting .246 with 78 RBIs. Not terrible, but Crawford did better than that (.298 and 90) as a shortstop in 2021, before it cost the Giants $32 million just for fans to be able to gush “but he’s good defensively” as he aged predictably the next two years.Even cutting ties with the cooked-past-well-done Crawford made the Giants look bad. Their much-ballyhooed replacement, Marco Luciano, was so ill-prepared this season, he not only got moved to second base, where he was equally fumble-handed, but also used as a 22-year-old DH so the fans would have less opportunity to boo him.And then there’s Tyler Fitzgerald, the new heir apparent to Crawford’s sunglasses. He’s having a surprisingly good season…Wait, this just in: Casey Schmitt, who knows Sacramento so well he should offer to be the A’s realtor, contributed a 6-for-14 spree to a shockingly encouraging 7-2 late-September run through Baltimore, Kansas City and Arizona. He’s now co-favorite to win the shortstop job next season, pending the availability of a veteran journeyman like Nick Ahmed, who walked in off the street and beat out Luciano last spring.And then there’s Snell. Nothing says “Welcome to the Farhan Zaidi era of Giants baseball” quite like the lefty’s saga.Unless you recall the previous lefty’s saga—aka the Carlos Rodon debacle—which was basically the Snell prequel.You remember Snell. The best pitcher in the National League—maybe all of baseball—last season. The perfect addition for a team that plays in a pitchers’ park and has had trouble (understatement of the century) attracting big-time talent.Scott Boras wanted big bucks. Oracle Park prints big bucks. It was a match made in…March. Just late enough so that Snell, the key to a Giants resurgence, would struggle early, then get hurt.The good news: The Giants gave themselves an out in Snell’s contract after one year. Zaidi’s logic: We’re going to make Snell prove it even though he’d already proven it.The bad news: Boras also negotiated an out in the deal, and look who has turned into the best pitcher in baseball again. Luckily, the Giants have him locked up…Until Sunday. So what you have is a team that won 79 games last season, fired its manager, then signed a half-dozen veterans with resumes to complement a bunch of “can’t-miss” prospects who were deemed ready solely based on a memorable moment or two last September, some at Triple-A.And here we are, a weekend before the end of the season, still struggling to top last year’s win total. That’s disappointing. And so is this: Veterans Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski are finishing strong, which means they’re likely to be retained to hit .240 again… and keep the Giants from mortgaging McCovey Cove to add Juan Soto or Paul Goldschmidt. Or maybe both.And who needs Gerrit Cole, Corbin Burnes, Shane Bieber or Walker Buehler (all with California ties) when you’ve got Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong, Landen Roupp and Mason Black?Management: We can get Frankie Montas, who pitched well for Melvin six years ago, with an opt-out in case we’re wrong.Fans: Have you seen what former 15th-round pick Tommy Romero has been doing at Sacramento? Let’s give him a shot.Welcome to Giants baseball, where next year’s slogan will be: The Bay Area’s best… and the Bay Area’s worst.
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Jurgen Klopp claims Premier League fixture chiefs are committing a crime against football by pressing teams back into action within 48 hours of crunch Boxing Day games.
The run of games over Christmas and New Year is always hectic, and Liverpool s Premier League title rivals Leicester City have landed a tricky double-header, starting with Thursday s home clash with Klopp s Reds.
After that 20:00 local time kick-off, Leicester are thrust back into action at West Ham at 17:30 on Saturday.
Manchester United, Tottenham and Everton are among the clubs who must play twice in the three days after Christmas, while Wolves and Manchester City have a similarly demanding run, but with games on Friday and Sunday.
City travel to face Wolves on Friday before a Sunday h…
Competition: Premier League
Market: Liverpool to win against West Brom
Odds:
Liverpool host West Bromwich Albion at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, and are expected to pick up all three points to potentially go top of the table this weekend.
The Merseysiders have been in fine form in recent weeks, and should have no trouble on home soil against an Albion outfit who have struggled for wins of late.
Hosts Liverpool are currently fourth in the Premier League table with 17 points from eight games, having won four of their last five, while picking up seven points from a possible nine at Anfield. Liverpool have beaten 2015 champions Chelsea and 2016 champions Leicester City recently, and will be full of confidence to beat Albion.
…
Six-time Ballon d Or winner Lionel Messi is a free agent after his time with Barcelona officially ended.
The Argentina international has been heavily linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi is yet to declare his intentions and unlikely to confirm his next move until later this week at the earliest.
Man Utd enter Lionel Messi race and consider sensational late offer to pip
— Daily Star Sport (@DailyStar_Sport)
TOP STORY MAN UTD CONSIDERS LAST-MINUTE MESSI MOVE
Manchester United have entered the race for free agent Messi and are considering a late offer to pip PSG, claims the Daily Star.
Messi s exit from Barcelona was confirmed over the weekend, although the 34-year-old refused to declare his next destination amid st…
Cagliari star Radja Nainggolan has admitted he has been informed of Napoli’s interest in his services.
The Serie A high-flyers attempted to sign the highly rated midfielder on transfer deadline day, but the two clubs were unable to reach an agreement over the transfer fee.
Napoli are likely to return for Nainggolan at the end of the season, and the player has hinted he would be interested in a switch to San Paolo.
“Napoli? My agent informed me of their interest, but I have heard nothing after that,” the Belgian in Il Corriere dello Sport.
“Would I like (to join them)? Napoli are a team that are doing well, but this year I am only thinking about survival with Caglari, that is my goal.”
Nainggolan, 24, joined Cagliari from Piacenza in Ja…
Bayern Munich clinched UEFA Super Cup victory over Chelsea on penalties after a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Eden Arena in Prague on Friday.
The Premier League outfit took the lead early in the first half when Fernando Torres brilliantly finished off a flowing move, but they were pegged back shortly after the break by a long-distance Franck Ribery strike.
Prior to the game going to extra time, Jose Mourinho s men lost Ramires to a second bookable offence, but they were back in front when Eden Hazard s effort deceived Manuel Neuer to restore their advantage.
However, a tap-in from substitute Javi Martinez at the death sent the game to penalties, where Neuer s save from Romelu Lukaku s weak effort handed Bayern the trophy.
With doubts over the fitness of Martinez and …
Gervinho will play no part in Ivory Coast s Africa Cup of Nations defence after undergoing surgery on a knee injury.
A veteran of 79 caps, with 22 goals to his name, Gervinho captained his country in their recent World Cup qualifying win over Mali, but he will not form part of Michel Dussuyer s squad in Gabon.
The Elephants were victorious in Equatorial Guinea in 2015, beating Ghana in an epic penalty shootout, in which Gervinho gained notoriety for refusing to watch the spot-kicks.
Nevertheless, the former Arsenal and Roma man was named in the team of the tournament after scoring in the quarter-finals and semi-final win over DR Congo.
The Hebei China Fortune star is likely to be sidelined for the next six months.
…
Thiago Alcantara has put pen to paper on a two-year contract extension with Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champions have announced.
Spain midfielder Thiago joined Bayern from Barcelona in 2013, but has endured a tough time with injuries since moving to Germany, making just 41 first-team appearances over his two seasons with the club.
However, Bayern say the 24-year-old who has featured as a substitute in their first two Bundesliga games of the campaign is now fully fit and have rewarded him with a new deal that runs until 2019.
Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: We are happy that Thiago chose to stay long term at Bayern.
He is young and an important player for the future of the club.
…
Chelsea have cancelled a news conference with new head coach Graham Potter following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Potter had been due to face the media for the first time as Blues boss at 13:30 BST, at Chelsea s Cobham training ground.
That was announced before the Queen s death on Thursday, and Chelsea moved to cancel the planned session on Friday morning.
The decision was taken amid uncertainty over whether the weekend s English football programme would go ahead as planned, and it was announced at 11:30 BST that Premier League games would be postponed.
Chelsea Football Club is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We join those mourning in the UK and across the world.
We would like to send our condolences…
Best Odds: 3/5
Bookmaker:
Looking to widen their buffer at the top of the La Liga table on Monday night, Atletico Madrid will welcome Celta Vigo to the Wanda Metropolitano.
Atletico Madrid
Starting with the hosts, after watching their crosstown rivals pick up a dramatic 2-1 win against Huesca over the weekend, Atletico Madrid are looking to reclaim their 10 point buffer at the top of the La Liga table. Continuing on what looks like it could be a famous campaign for Los Colchoneros, Diego Simeone s men find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high. Building on the slip-ups around them, the runaway leaders were last seen laying down another marker away at Cadiz when drawing a close to January. Eventually leaving the European outsiders with a 4-2 win to show for t…
Aston Villa boss Carla Ward admitted a “horrible mistake” to field ineligible player Noelle Maritz which could knock them out of the League Cup.
Defender Maritz was brought off the bench at half-time in Villa’s 7-0 rout over Sunderland on Wednesday with the score at 3-0 when she stepped onto the pitch.
Maritz joined Villa from Arsenal in January but had previously made three appearances for the Gunners earlier in the competition.
The Football Association has referred the matter to an independent tribunal for “an alleged breach of Cup Rule 8.19”.
Statement from the FA.
— Aston Villa Women (@AVWFCOfficial)
Villa’s comfortable victory meant they finished at the top of Group A and sealed their place in the quarter-finals, ahead…