Deep thoughts, cheap shots & bon mots ...

1 The theme for the 2018 baseball season in the Bay Area: “Fifty guys who won’t be around three years from now.”

1 The big news out of Houston, that Colin Kaepernick is working out, throwing footballs, is not news. Since the day the 49ers cut him loose, Kaepernick has been working hard to prep for his next chance. He didn’t suddenly decide to take a break from his charity work to fling a football around for old times’ sake.

1 Does Jon Gruden’s arrival in Oakland make Marshawn Lynch less useful? I’m not talking about Marshawn the running back, but Marshawn the hate-deflector for Raiders’ fans angry at the team for leaving town. Gruden buys the Raiders love from Oakland fans, love that owner Mark Davis needs to fill seats. That was Lynch’s job last year. This season: Just run, baby.

1 Maybe Richard Sherman’s opinion of Michael Crabtree wasn’t off base after all. Crabtree had great skills, and had some great moments with the 49ers and Raiders, but he departs the Raiders as he did the 49ers — under a cloud, including anonymous reports that he wasn’t a team guy.

1 Derek Carr picks up Jordy Nelson at the airport and drives him around, showing him the sights. Because Nelson signed with the Raiders, I assume Carr didn’t show him the Coliseum.

1 Jeff Samardzija, threehomer innings in back-to-back appearances. Is it time for the Giants to move back the fences at AT&T Park?

1 Memo to Oakland city officials: If you ever manage to land a team to replace the Raiders and/or Warriors, drop this clause into the contract: If the team leaves before the money is fully repaid that you spent on stadium improvements to bring the team to Oakland, the team is on the hook for the rest of the tab.

1 Nice new touch at the Coliseum, where the A’s are creating a vegetable garden near the right-field flag poles. Not really surprising, though, considering how the team has gone to seed the past three years.

1 Fertilizing the A’s new garden will be simple. Just divert the sewage overflows from the clubhouse to the garden.

1 Stephen Curry arrived at his 30th birthday party by boat. When I first read the report, I thought it said he arrived by BART. That would be interesting, especially if he’s in the same car with BART regular Marshawn Lynch.

1 Not sure whether the skipper of Curry’s yacht was Derek Carr.

1 Reason No. 73 why you should never consider an NFL player overpaid: Tom Benson, the Saints’ owner who died last week, bought the team in 1985 for $70 million. It’s worth about $2 billion. Benson owned the team for 33 years, and each year, on average, he made $60 million on appreciation of the team’s value.

1 How much faith do you have in your favorites? Oddsmakers (Bovada, in this case) have Buster Posey at 50-1 to win NL MVP. Khris Davis and Matt Olson are both 90-1 for AL MVP. Madison Bumgarner 15-1 for the Cy.

1 A Giants pitcher sends chin music to an Oakland batter, whose crime is following a home run hitter to the plate. The brushback protocol ends with an A’s player with a broken finger. Looks as if Posey has more work to do teaching proper etiquette and anger management to his staff.