The topic of Colin Kaepernick still being without a job in the NFL a month before kickoff is one that has been weighing on my mind and one I've thought about writing about for awhile now, but the recent signing by the Miami Dolphins to bring in Jay Cutler, a guy who had to be talked out of retirement, was the final straw. Whether you like the guy or not, defend or oppose his decision to kneel during the national anthem, it's now become very obvious that the guy is being blackballed from the league. Need I remind you that Colin Kaepernick who never once has been arrested for anything, did absolutely nothing illegal when he peacefully protested by taking a stand against social injustices for the victims who aren't fortunate enough to have the outlet or stepping stone to do so and yet he's been treated like a felon.
Kaepernick, now at the ripe age of 29, has garnered very little interest from teams despite putting up solid numbers in 2016 and having very little to work with on an anemic 49ers offense. With a career record of 32 wins and 32 losses, including four playoffs wins and a trip to the Super Bowl in which Kaepernick was the deciding factor that helped San Francisco get over the hump and claim their first NFC Championship since a guy named Steve Young manned the position, the former quarterback out of Nevada boasts a resume that most players at the position could only dream about, including Cutler. And while Kaepernick might not be that same mysterious yet dominant quarterback that ran amok in the 2012 playoffs and put up record-setting numbers against the Green Bay Packers that still has cheese heads waking up in the middle of the night with cold sweats, the man still possesses more than enough talent to earn himself a job in the NFL, albeit as a starter or backup.
Even before Cutler and the Dolphins agreed on their one-year, $10 Million pact, Miami head coach Adam Gase considered both Tim Tebow who isn't even playing football these days and Kyle Orton who's last snap came in 2014, over Kaepernick. Two names that are rather laughable and who's success in the NFL pales in comparison to Kaepernick's. But hey, if a guy who's heart for the game has been questioned on multiple occasions walked away from the game of football to become a broadcaster, is known for being soft, has been much more injury prone, tends to rub his teammates the wrong way and throws for more interceptions is what Adam Gase and the Dolphins wanted and didn't mind overpaying for, then they definitely found their man in Cutler. I get it, the two spent time together in Chicago and Cutler, now 34-years of age, is familiar with the system in place, but if we're going off of numbers alone, those are tilted in Kaepernick's favor as well.
When comparing the production of the two quarterbacks since Kaepernick's first full year at the helm in 2013, Cutler has Kaepernick beat in passing touchdowns, 71 to 62, but he's also thrown almost twenty more interceptions than Kaepernick during that span, 46 to 27. And while Cutler has amassed more passing yards than Kaepernick, 11,151 to 10,422, Kaepernick more than makes up for it with his legs with 1,887 rushing yards compared to Cutler's 534, bringing the total to 14,196 total yards to 11,685 in favor of Kaepernick. Cutler who went 51-51 in his 8-year stint with the Bears, also has more fumbles lost (16), despite Kaepernick (13) having the ball in his hands a lot more as he's rushed for 8 touchdowns compared to only 3 from Cutler. Though Cutler narrowly edges Kaepernick in completion percentage by just over two percentage points, 61.9 to 59.8, Kaepernick's passer rating is more than three percentage points better at 88.9 to 85.7. Then again Kaepernick doesn't do himself any favors because he's got an afro. You know, because looks and hair styles matter in the NFL even if they'll be covered with a helmet, right?
Unfortunately, the Dolphins aren't the first team to scoff at the idea of bringing Kaepernick aboard and the guys those teams chose to sign instead are just as laughable. Before Ryan Tannehill suffered a knee injury in training camp which triggered Miami's need for a QB, the Baltimore Ravens had shown interest in Kaepernick for similar reasons as quarterback Joe Flacco has had to watch his team practice without him while he recovers from an ailing back. But once again, Kaepernick was passed on this time for a guy from the Arena Football League named David Olson. And then there's the Seattle Seahawks, a team that needs no introduction to Kaepernick or the tools he possesses having faced him several times while with the rival 49ers. Though Seattle would show Kaepernick the most interest of all and even flew him out to meet with the team personally, they would end up signing a guy who's thrown one fewer interception (12) than he has games played (13) in Austin Davis. What makes even less sense is their reasoning for signing Davis over Kaepernick as Seattle head coach Pete Carroll praised him by saying, "He's a starter in this league... I can't imagine that someone won't give him a chance to play." So apparently Carroll thinks Kaepernick's good enough to be a starting quarterback in the NFL but not good enough to be a backup. I think all that rain and precipitation Seattle is known for has clouded Carroll's head... And then there's teams like the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets, both of whom have been in need of a quarterback for years but for whatever reason aren't pounding on Kaepernick's door or willing to at least kick the tires on the QB who has more career playoff wins since he's been in the league than either team has appearances.
For a league that's been known to give second chances, a la Michael Vick who actually committed a crime but had little to no problem finding a job in the NFL after being released from prison for his involvement in an illegal dog fighting ring, Kaepernick's case is a little fishy and is blackballing in its purest form. Though NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and his panel of team owners will never admit it, it's very clear that they're trying to send a message to the rest of the league and its players that if you use their platform to protest, no matter if it's legal, you'll suffer the consequences whether fair or not.
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At the start of the 2017 MLB season, San Francisco Giants fans and team officials entered the year hopeful that they had a team that would compete with the best in the National League. Those fans would be sadly mistaken as a handful of injuries and a number of under-performers would spell the exact opposite as we would witness the franchise's worst record through the season's first 100 games since 1956 when the ball club still called New York its home. After entering the month on a 4-game win streak and starting July off by completing a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates to give them six straight victories in the Steel City for the first time since 1953, the Giants would limp into the All-Star break after dropping two of three on the road in Detroit and being swept at home by Miami.
After being voted to his fifth career All-Star game, catcher Buster Posey would be the Giants' only representative as he became the first catcher to start in three consecutive Mid-Summer Classic's since the 1990's when Mike Piazza got the nod in six straight. Slotted to bat fourth in the lineup, it would also mark the first time a Giants hitter would bat cleanup in an All-Star Game since Barry Bonds did so in 2003. Posey would finish 0-for-1 in the game while also drawing a walk in what would eventually be a 2-1 victory in extra-innings for the American League. Following the All-Star break, the Giants would get back a key cog in their rotation that they've desperately missed since the opening month of the season, as ace Madison Bumgarner returned to the playing field after missing nearly three months due to a dirt-bike accident on April 20. Though he wouldn't factor in the decision in his first start since April 19, surrendering 3 earned runs over 7 innings, his return alone would mark the ultimate highlight of the month. And in his last two starts he would resemble the Bumgarner of old by notching his first win of the season and allowing only 1 earned run over 12 innings pitched, including 7 shutout innings in L.A. against the archrival Dodgers.
Unfortunately, the return of MadBum alone wouldn't sprout any signs of a comeback from the Giants this season as their struggles against division foes would only get worse. Losses in two of three in San Diego and in three of four at home to the Padres would give the Friars victories in 16 of the 22 meetings between the two clubs as San Diego has turned the tide against the Giants who've had the Padres number in the past. As for the division-leading Dodgers, a three-game sweep of the Giants would give them an MLB-leading 34.5 game advantage over San Francisco in the NL West, dropping the Giants to 17-30 against the division this season. Surprisingly, the Giants would claim series victories over the visiting Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates during the club's 10 game homestand, their longest of 2017. The Giants' ugly display of baseball this season also resulted in the team's home sellout streak coming to an end as the series-opener against the visiting Indians marked the first non-sellout for the Giants in seven years, a streak of 555 consecutive games (including Postseason). The streak is the longest in National League history and is second-most all-time, behind only Boston's streak of 820 consecutive sellouts from 2003-2013.
But San Francisco's sellout streak wouldn't be the only thing that came to an end in July as the tenure of third baseman Eduardo Nunez also ended. After being acquired from the Minnesota Twins near the trade deadline almost a year ago, the 30-year old found himself on the move once again in a deadline deal that lands him with a team looking to make a Postseason push. Primarily a third baseman with the Giants while also spending time in the outfield, Nunez, who reached base safely in 40 of his last 42 games in a Giants uniform, looks to help the Red Sox any way he can in a crowded but banged up infield. Upon receiving news that he had been dealt mid-game, cameras caught Nunez heading to the clubhouse where he exchanged handshakes and hugs with his Giants teammates who he described as his, "family." While Nunez had nothing but kind words to say regarding his time with the Giants, manager Bruce Bochy felt the same way about his now former player and both sides mentioned a possible return to the Giants in the future. The move would come just days after Boston released Pablo Sandoval who would eventually end up signing a Minor League contract to return to the Giants organization.
One chip the Giants were at least hoping to kick the tires on as a possible trade candidate was right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto who has a player option after 2017 and is likely to opt out of his contract. Any possibility of dealing Cueto before the July 31 trade deadline would be halted by an injury he sustained during a July 14 outing in which he exited after only four innings against the Padres. What would be labeled as "hot spots" or blisters in the three middle fingers of his throwing hand would ultimately result in Cueto heading to the disabled-list and down to Class A San Jose where he would pitch a rehab start on the final day of the month. In a season where everything that could go wrong for the Giants pretty much has, Cueto's outing would be added to that list as the former All-Star and team-leader in wins for the Giants a season ago (18-5) pitched just three innings and threw 34 of the targeted 70 pitches before departing the game with tightness in his forearm. Though Cueto will be evaluated in the coming days, it's likely he'll need more time to recover than initially expected before returning to the big club.
With the month of July coming to a close, the Giants who finished the month with 9-wins and 16-losses, currently stand at 40-67 on the season, dead last in the National League West. Though San Francisco has one more win than the Philadelphia Phillies (39-64), they own the worst winning percentage in all of baseball at .374 and are on pace to lose 100 games for only the second time in franchise history (1985). Hoping to finish the season strong and steer clear of that dubious mark of 100-losses will be a tough task, especially considering three of the Giants' first four opponents in August will be the Diamondbacks (60-45), Cubs (56-48) and Nationals (63-41), all of whom are either atop their respected division or leading the Wild Card race (Arizona).
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