Daily pre-season prediction

Prediction #1: Rachal unseats Baas in the pre-season

First he was at Right Guard, then he was at Right Tackle, now he's apparently back at Right Guard. Now that the shuffling seems to be over and done with, I see Rachal settling in at the Guard spot and not letting go. As Maiocco the Magnificent hinted in his post on the day the team signed Chilo Rachal, he's a contender for the starting job already. Barrows goes a step further, saying the competition at this point is between Rachal and Tony Wragge.

Why do I think Rachal takes the spot? Two reasons. First, Baas is injured. McNolan is about as sympathetic to injured players as Lou Dobbs is to immigrants. And while reports indicate Baas is recovering smoothly, his is not a minor injury. This injury ended Patrick Kearney's '06 season and Bertrand Berry's '07 season. Don't expect Baas to be game-ready until the pre-season is over.

Second, Rachal has a mean streak that Baas lacks. This, from Maiocco's mini-update on OTAs:

There was a report on Sirius NFL Radio that 49ers rookie guard Chilo Rachal tussled with outside linebacker Tully Banta-Cain during Friday's practice, according to several people who heard the show. Rachal reportdely threw Banta-Cain around like a rag doll.

I just can't see that happening with Baas - he's too low key.

So there you have it, daily prediction #1. Expect daily pre-season prediction #2 in a couple weeks.