Job Posting: Though this would be the easiest way for me to post a job description online. Sorry for the inconvenience

Customer Service Guru Needed!!

Do you enjoy making other people happy? Good, because we need you on our team.

We're an up and coming accounting/tax firm that's looking for a customer service expert that thrives in a fast paced environment. The ideal candidate puts the needs of clients and prospects above their own and is willing to do whatever it takes to insure that day to day life runs smoothly.

If this sounds like you, keep reading!

The Job (what you do):

• Constant interaction with prospects and clients via phone, email and walk-ins
• Facilitating communication between consumers and our professionals, but also between employees
• Dealing with requests, by clients and/or vendors, and making sure that each person's needs are met to the best of your ability
• Representing yourself and our firm with the highest integrity

The Candidate (who you are):

• Makes consumer relations goal numero uno
• Takes pride in being the face of the company, and making sure that we put our best foot forward
• Has extensive phone and face-to-face interaction experience
• Always smiling, especially on the phone
• Can make even biggest frowns turn upside down

Requirements & Qualifications:

• Solid background in customer service
• Impeccable writing ability
• Good multitasking skills (not just walking and chewing gum either! :))
• Willingness to learn

Optional:

• Being Awesome!
• Sense of humor
• Movie watcher and overall literary mind
• Cheese Connoisseur

If this sounds like the ideal position for you, and you think you're cool enough to hop on our awesome train please reply Patrick to this email with your resume and cover letter with "Cool Rep 'Your Name'" in the Subject Line!

Hope to hear from you soon!!

Carlos Beltran all about now

ESPN and CSN Bay Area are reporting that the Giants acquired outfielder Carlos Beltran from the New York Mets today in exchange for pitcher Zach Wheeler and cash considerations. Finally, the Giants have the middle of the order bat they have desperately needed since Buster Posey was lost for the season. Beltran is having an All-Star season, hitting .287 with 14 home runs, 59 RBI and has a .381 on-base percentage. He instantly becomes the team's cleanup hitter and starting right fielder. He is also, however, a two month rental player.

Rental players are players acquired during the middle of a season, and do not last beyond those months with that team. Remember Jose Guillen? Didn't think so, he was a rental too. Brian Sabean, the Giants' General Manager has said in the past that he did not want to acquire rental players, but given the Giants' offensive ineptitude he was willing to make an exception. And he did. He went out and acquired the best hitter available, and a player that could very well lead this team to another World Series title.

The downside? We gave up a pretty legit prospect in Wheeler, for one. He's a 21 year old right hander who was the 6th overall pick in 2009, and is current;y pitching in Class-A San Jose. At first, I was reluctant to part with the young flamethrower, but upon closer inspection the deal doesn't seem all that bad. Let's take a look: 1) at 21, Wheeler is the same age as Madison Bumgarner, whom is currently dealing in The Show and 2) Wheeler's currently sporting a 3.99 ERA in San Jose, Tim Lincecum had a 1.95 ERA while in San Jose. Not so bad when you think about it, but giving up Wheeler wasn't really the bad news. The problem with Beltran is his contract. It's written in that he cannot be offered arbitration after the season, meaning the Giants can't guarantee exclusive negotiating rights with him nor will they receive draft pick compensation when he signs with another team. Typically, when players of Beltran's caliber are offered arbitration but sign with another team, the player's former team receives a first round draft choice as compensation. This won't happen for San Francisco. Beltran is also a Scott Boras client, meaning he'll demand big money and a bunch of years (see: Barry Zito, and let me know how that one turned out), two things the Giants will not be willing to do.

Enough of the negative, you can draw your own conclusions on whether or not this was a good deal. And if Beltran leads the Giants to another World Series San Francisco will forget about any kid named Wheeler.

Stay Current,

Pat

Keppinger Just What the Doctor Ordered

The Giants traded for Astros Infielder Jeff Keppinger this afternoon. My response? Perfect.

Keppinger is a solid hitter, can play all over the infield and comes cheap. Cheap not only in salary but also the price that the Giants gave up to acquire him. He'll don a Giants uniform for about $1 mil and two lower to mid level pitching prospects. Keppinger is also eligible for arbitration this Winter meaning the Giants not only have a solid backup infielder for the rest of this season, but also one next season, who can easily start in place of Freddy Sanchez if his shoulder hasn't fully healed by then. So far this season (according to Baseball Reference) Keppinger is hitting .314 with a .337 on-base percentage and is a career .284 hitter. He immediately becomes one of the team's best hitters and should start everyday at second base.


But why was this the perfect acquisition? Because he is the first, but not last move that general manager Brian Sabean is going to make this trading season, and the acquisition follows a pattern of success that was established in 2010. Nearly every player acquired during the season last year contributed to the Giants' postseason success, and Sabean gave up practically nothing for them. Everyone in the Bay Area has been clamoring for the Giants to make some sort of splash before the July 31st trading deadline, and I hate to break it to you, but it's not going to happen. How easily we forget about the team's struggles last season, and what Sabean did to help the team. The only difference between then and now is the Giants are in first place. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Don't overpay for Carlos Beltran just because everyone else says he is the key to a championship. And don't get caught up in the deadline either, there will be plenty of deals done after too, just ask Cody Ross.

Stay Current,


Pat

The Monta Dilemma

Should the Warriors trade Monta Ellis?

No way. Can't trade your best player, and he is. As soon as the Warriors drafted Klay Thompson with the eleventh overall pick the rumor mill again began to churn with more and more chatter regarding the Warriors starting two guard. It seemed like a done deal, Thompson is a 6'7" shooting guard, and could end up being a good player ergo Ellis is on his way out. Not true, and a pretty preposterous thing to assume. If the Warriors truly want to become a legitimate NBA team and franchise under new ownership, they can't start by handing the keys to the team over to a rookie from Washington State. Name the last rookie shooting guard to have any sort of impact on a team, I dare you. Secondly, wasn't the number one complaint among fans and media that the Warriors backcourt this year was too small? I don't think they had a guard over 6'5" this season, and Larry Riley (Warriors GM) has admitted to liking Thompson since he was a freshman, so it was a good pick to make. Warriors need depth and the kid seems like the kind of player that can make a difference. Kid's got range for days and he's got an NBA pedigree, his father Mychal is a former number one overall pick. My opinion, good pick, but because there have been reports about an Ellis trade, everyone is back on the "Trade Monta" bandwagon. Ummm........what happened? Stop, everyone calm down. I know Monta has his deficiencies, but he's their BEST PLAYER. 

 I also don't understand why there's such a rush to drop Ellis now, when Andris Biedrins is making the same amount of money is continuing to embarass himself and the team on the basketball court. What happened to the up and coming big man that had some issues but nothing a young stud couldn't figure out. Well, he sticnks and the Warriors seem pretty content to keep him on the roster eating up cap space. Supposedly the Rockets offered Jordan Hill and Hasheem Thabeet on draft night. I'll take that deal if only to get Biedrins' money off the books. Dude makes 9-10 million a year and to say he's overpaid would be a gross understatement. The guys has averaged 5 points and 7 rebounds a game the last two seasons. Oh, and his free throw percentage was 16% in 2009 and 32% last season. I could do that with my eyes closed. Somebody call Rick Barry and get this man some lessons in how to shoot free throws.


Moral of the story, don't trade Monta, if you have to trade somebody trade Andris. But with the impending lockout looming, doesn't look like anybody is going to be playing let alone worry about being traded.

Stay Current,

Pat

Camp Alex means...

Sorry for the layoff everyone! Won't happen again, I promise. Let's jump back into it...

Camp Alex means....

Not a whole lot as it turns out. Much was made of the 49ers player organized OTAs (organized team activities) that took place last week at San Jose State. Players, despite being locked out, were brought together by Alex Smith of all people and went through four days of practice and film study. Monday through Thursday hours were spent either on the field or in a meeting room. Players came from all over the country, all to practice with a quarterback who isn't even under contract. The team's starting center from a year ago, David Baas, flew from his home in Florida to make the last day of camp. The team's OL captain, Joe Staley, housed the recently drafted players that wanted to come and workout and second round pick/quarterback of the future Colin Kaepernick was in attendance as well.

The real star of the show was Smith, who'e time in San Francisco has been unfortunate for both sides (understatement). Since being drafted number 1 overall in the 2005 draft, Smith has played under now 7 different offensive coordinators, 3 head coaches and missed pretty much 2 seasons due to injury. Throw in the fact that the team he was on in 2005 should have been playing in the Arena League, and I think you can make the case that there's a reason he hasn't been a very good player. Everyone is quick to throw Smith under the proverbial "bus" including teammates, including Michael Crabtree. Smith didn't live up to expectations in 2010, and was benched multiple times. But who on the team, other than future Hall of Famer Patrick Willis, really did live up to expectations? Everyone was bad, which makes the lockout of the players that much harder to swallow. The teams new coaching staff, led by Jim Harbaugh, has had one morning in the last 3+ months to talk to their players. The lockout was lifted on Thursday April 28th, so some players were able to come in on the morning of the 29th, right before the lockout was back on that same afternoon. Some were able to get playbooks, Smith got one even though he's a free agent.

Alright, so that paragraph, no matter how long doesn't even do the Alex Smith drama justice, so please if you'd like more info feel free to read more about the trials and tribulations of the San Francisco 49ers from 2005 until now. It's a good, depressing read.

Back to Camp Alex. Not gonna lie, doesn't mean a whole lot because no coaches were there. Unless everyone has a playbook and coaches are there watching their every step, the practices could not be as beneficial as normal OTAs. Smith was in charge and led the practices, but no matter how well he did he couldn't keep an eye on everyone. It's a nice gesture, and makes the fans happy but don't be too excited.

I'm an Alex Smith fan, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I want him to succeed. And if he never turns out to be a good QB, he's at least a goog guy who really did try hard, he's owned up to his mistakes. A couple years ago he even restructured his contract so that he would make less money. He wanted to earn starting QB salary, not have it handed to him. I'm pretty sure he dropped from 9 to 2 million on the last two years of his deal. I can respect that, and I hope this off-season will translate to season success.

Moral of the story is, the lockout sucks and is bad for everyone, get it done guys!!!

Stay Current,

Pat

Barry's Bond

Last week it was reported that Barry Bonds told the family of Bryan Stow that he would pay for Stow's children's college educations. There has yet to be a stronger act of charity throughout this whole ordeal.

For those of you that dont know, Bryan Stow was beaten nearly to death after the Giants' opening night loss at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. He has been in a medically induced coma ever since, due to the fact that doctors have not been able to prevent him form being ravaged by seizures without medication. Stow was recently moved from L.A. to San Francisco General, and opened his eyes on occasion, but this is minimal progress. The Giants and Dodgers have donated to the Bryan Stow Fund, as has Tim Lincecum, who donated $25,000 out of his on bank account. If you haven't donated, I strongly urge you to do so. Stow is a 42 year old paramedic from Santa Cruz, and is a single father.

Back to Barry. Bonds visited Stow when he was still in L.A. He stayed with Stow for over an hour, including spending time alone in his room. Sharing thoughts and prayers, and Bonds even left an autographed bat for the Stow children. According to Bonds' lawyer, soon after he decided and that he wanted to pay for the children to go to college. An unbelievably kind gesture for a man he had never met, and wouldn't have thought twice about had they'd met anytime prior. Bonds was never a nice guy. In fact, he always played and acted as if he had an enormous chip on his shoulder. He didn't care what anyone thought, he was who he was, which is why he was able to perform so well but it is also why the public and media have attacked him so strongly recently. You don't see Mark McGwire under any scrutiny anymore, because he came clean. Barry will never come clean, and everyone hates him for it.

I met him once, at a Junior Giants luncheon. I was eleven, maybe twelve and all of the Giants were there. I brought my Barry Bonds rookie card in the hopes that my favorite player of all time would sign it. He didn't show up for the meet and greet, and he barely made it in time for the actual lunch. When he got there, I happened to be standing right next to him. I asked him very politely if he'd sign my card, keep in mind it took everything I had to work up the courage to do so. He waved me off, bluntly saying that now wasn't the time, and that he might do it after lunch. Well, he didn't and left as soon as he kid. So it goes. That was Barry Bonds, never one to do what he didn't want to do. He got everything his way, and he rubbed everyone the wrong way because of it. No one ever thinks of Barry as a nice guy, just that he was an amazing hitter, maybe the best we've ever seen. And to know that he has made such an outstanding promise shows that maybe he has taken a step in the right direction. Either way, I hope Bryan wakes up so that he can hear the news himself, and that these two may continue to share this Bond.

Stay Current,

Pat

Buster Busted

As of this morning, Giants catcher, reigning Rookie of the Year and franchise cornerstone Buster Posey has a broken ankle and probable ligament tears. (CSNBayArea.com Initial Story) His year is over and the Giants' chances of even making the playoffs seem dim.What makes him so great, isn't his offensive production, (which will be sorely missed on this already light-hitting team) but it's his intangibles. Buster's gifts are his leadership, play-calling and presence. His stats go down as the pitcher's but he has everything to do with the success of the Giants' amazing rotation. We don't win the World Series without him, last year or any year. I guarantee the Giants' front office and GM Brian Sabean are scrambling to find someone to fill Buster's shoes. Sorry, but Chris Stewart isn't going to do it. Eli Whiteside is a good receiver and game caller but he's a backup, not a starter.

The issue brought up by this tragedy is spreading the nation by wildfire. ESPN, Twitter, Facebook, all parties are weighing on one thing: Was Scott Cousins tackle of Posey clean or dirty? I have to agree with ESPN's Buster Olney and Posey's agent Jeff Berry on this one - this was a clean play given old rules and an old style of baseball. If an infielder can be called for obstruction when impeding the basepath of a runner, then why should catchers be expected to stand still and wait for a collision at home plate. Quarterbacks in the NFL do not get hit that hard. There should be a change, Cousins did not have to blow Posey up, and if it en James Harrison of the Steelers running down the line everyone would'vew expected Posey to mak the same play yet Harrison would've been slapped with a fine. Let's face it, Cousins blew Posey up, but anyone would have given the circumstances, it's physics. Buster Posey should become the poster boy for a major rules change in Major League Baseball. This is a non contact sport, you can't expect players to willingly blow each other up.

Talk about a crossroads, this could be a career altering injury for Posey. He may never be the same and the Giants' hopes of multiple championships hang in the balance. If I ran the organization I would spearhead the rules changing campaign and I would be drafting a formal letter to the commisioner today. Pete Rose ruined Ray Fosse's career on a similar play in the 1970 All Star Game. These plays are a thing of the past and should stay in the past. There's no place for it now, and the change should be made this season, so that we don't have another catcher's season cut short.

Stay Current,

Pat