So the New York Yankees have been eliminated from the playoffs by the Detroit Lions. Let me get congratulating the Tigers out of the way. CONGRATULATIONS DETROIT TIGERS AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS. There is no shame in losing to the Tigers, they have arguably the best pitcher and the best hitter in baseball on their payroll as well as a core of talent around them that had many predicting they would get this far anyway. Unfortunately for the Tigers the story of this ALCS will be how terrible the Yankees looked.
You've all heard the stats from the series for the vaunted Yankees lineup many of whom couldn't hit a beach ball let alone a baseball the way they were swinging the bats. It was so bad that many "big name" players were benched at various times in the four games due to how bad they were slumping. These names included Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, and Alex Rodriguez.
Yes that Alex Rodriguez. Listen I'm not an A-Rod hater, in fact like many of you I marveled at his talent when he first entered the big leagues as a Seattle Mariner blessed with every tool you would want in a ball player. You can't hate him because multiple times in his career owners have felt the need to give him the richest contract in major American sports history, for many years his talent warranted it. But the last contract that the Yankees gave him may well go down as the worst in sports history.
He is now 37 years old and they owe him over 100 million dollars over the next five years. 100 million dollars to a guy you aren't even sure can play everyday at an average level let alone at a highest paid player in baseball level. What should the Yankees do? How do their fans feel about this?
The Yankees should at the very least try and trade A-Rod, problem is no one is going to eat this salary. So they will either pay him to play poorly for them or pay him to play poorly for someone else. Remember the scene in 'Money Ball' when Billy Beane is talking to David Justice about how much the Yankees were paying him to play against them? I have a feeling that's where this is headed. Yankees fans should come in off the ledge. You will still have the highest payroll in baseball and while many players are getting long in the tooth the team should still be competitive.
And just for the record yes I was happy to see them get swept out of the playoffs and look so bad doing it. To my friends who are real Yankees fans this is not me rubbing it in. I respect those of you who were fans before they started winning again......all 9 of you.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
All Is Fair In Love And Baseball
The San Francisco Giants defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 to tie the NLCS at 1-1. And that should have been the story of the game but it will not be. Early in the game the Cardinal's Matt Holliday took out Giant's second baseman Marco Scutaro while trying to break up a double play with what can best be described as a borderline slide. That is how it can best be described, I'm going to tell you how it should be described....DIRTY.
Baseball for all its boringness, quirkiness, however you as a fan want to describe it is a game with a strict set of written and unwritten rules. Many of the unwritten rules revolve around being respectful of your opponent. If you are not respectful you can, and should, expect some retaliation. I'm not calling Holliday a dirty player and I have never heard him referred to as such. But this was unquestionably a dirty play and that being said he should expect to get drilled in the back with the first pitch he sees in his next at bat. And that is the way it should be handled by the Giants. What I don't want to see is the Giants go after a middle infielder with a hard take out slide. That to me is like throwing at the batter after someone hits a homerun off you.
Hopefully the umpires and Major League Baseball don't overreact when/if the Giants throw at Holliday. The game has policed itself for over 100 years and despite the efforts of league officials it should continue to do so. Hopefully the series goes to a seventh game and is tied in the bottom of the ninth with a runner on second, two outs and Scutaro at the plate.
Baseball for all its boringness, quirkiness, however you as a fan want to describe it is a game with a strict set of written and unwritten rules. Many of the unwritten rules revolve around being respectful of your opponent. If you are not respectful you can, and should, expect some retaliation. I'm not calling Holliday a dirty player and I have never heard him referred to as such. But this was unquestionably a dirty play and that being said he should expect to get drilled in the back with the first pitch he sees in his next at bat. And that is the way it should be handled by the Giants. What I don't want to see is the Giants go after a middle infielder with a hard take out slide. That to me is like throwing at the batter after someone hits a homerun off you.
Hopefully the umpires and Major League Baseball don't overreact when/if the Giants throw at Holliday. The game has policed itself for over 100 years and despite the efforts of league officials it should continue to do so. Hopefully the series goes to a seventh game and is tied in the bottom of the ninth with a runner on second, two outs and Scutaro at the plate.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Money Ball
The Oakland A's have done it again. They have come out of nowhere to snatch the A.L. West crown from the Texas Rangers. The 2-time defending American League champion Texas Rangers. How did they do it? Where did this team come from? Did most fans even have any idea that they had a shot at winning the division? More importantly, who are these guys?
Here is how they did it. Pitching, pitching, pitching, and more pitching. The genius that is Billy Beane, who most of you only know about through the movie Money Ball, is that this guy finds young pitchers. Jarrod Parker, Tommy Millone, and A.J. Griffin could easily be Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, and Tim Hudson from the early 2000's. Now pitching is not the only reason they have gotten here. Josh Reddick surprised everyone by hitting 32 home runs. Yoenis Cespedes turned out to be worth the money they paid him after he defected from Cuba.
Typical Billy Beane team. Use the assets you have at your disposal as a small market franchise, make 1 or 2 moves to sort of solidify your ball club, sleep walk through the first half of the season, get hot after the all star game and win your division when no one expects you to. The Oakland A's have done it again, given how little money they actually have to spend this is truly remarkable.
Here is how they did it. Pitching, pitching, pitching, and more pitching. The genius that is Billy Beane, who most of you only know about through the movie Money Ball, is that this guy finds young pitchers. Jarrod Parker, Tommy Millone, and A.J. Griffin could easily be Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, and Tim Hudson from the early 2000's. Now pitching is not the only reason they have gotten here. Josh Reddick surprised everyone by hitting 32 home runs. Yoenis Cespedes turned out to be worth the money they paid him after he defected from Cuba.
Typical Billy Beane team. Use the assets you have at your disposal as a small market franchise, make 1 or 2 moves to sort of solidify your ball club, sleep walk through the first half of the season, get hot after the all star game and win your division when no one expects you to. The Oakland A's have done it again, given how little money they actually have to spend this is truly remarkable.
How can you not be romantic about baseball?
Monday, September 24, 2012
There's A Flag On The Play
Week 3 of the NFL season is almost over and there is one universal thing that fans of all 32 teams can agree on. These replacement referees are terrible! And that's being as nice as I can possibly be. Anyone who knows me knows there were a few expletives involved with how I really feel.
Football is possibly the toughest game to officiate, we all know this. To have hastily trained replacements (scabs as many of you would refer to them) doing a job that even the most seasoned 'NFL' official can not do flawlessly is a disgrace. The league talks about wanting to protect the players from themselves with all the rules changes and fines to crack down on the violent nature of the game. Yet you are allowing them to work in an environment now more dangerous than ever because those now in control of the game don't know what they are doing.
It can be said and argued that to this point that at least no game's outcome has been decided because of the poor officiating, this will be debated until the 'REAL' officials come back to work. But the game is much different. It's slower and lacks the flow we are generally accustomed to seeing when watching NFL football. I hope the reported $100,000 per team more that it would take to resolve the biggest issue involved in this strike is not true. If so then the owners/league should be ashamed of themselves. You put your billion dollar league's most valuable assets, it's players, at risk for what is pocket change for most of you owners. And you wonder why no ones sides with you in labor disputes. Billionaires who pay millionaires but won't spend thousands to protect the millionaires and the integrity of the game that makes them billionaires.
Football is possibly the toughest game to officiate, we all know this. To have hastily trained replacements (scabs as many of you would refer to them) doing a job that even the most seasoned 'NFL' official can not do flawlessly is a disgrace. The league talks about wanting to protect the players from themselves with all the rules changes and fines to crack down on the violent nature of the game. Yet you are allowing them to work in an environment now more dangerous than ever because those now in control of the game don't know what they are doing.
It can be said and argued that to this point that at least no game's outcome has been decided because of the poor officiating, this will be debated until the 'REAL' officials come back to work. But the game is much different. It's slower and lacks the flow we are generally accustomed to seeing when watching NFL football. I hope the reported $100,000 per team more that it would take to resolve the biggest issue involved in this strike is not true. If so then the owners/league should be ashamed of themselves. You put your billion dollar league's most valuable assets, it's players, at risk for what is pocket change for most of you owners. And you wonder why no ones sides with you in labor disputes. Billionaires who pay millionaires but won't spend thousands to protect the millionaires and the integrity of the game that makes them billionaires.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Game Changer
GAME CHANGER.....this phrase can mean many things in many sports but it is probably most often used in football. A big wide receiver who runs like the wind (Randy Moss). An ankle braking running back who cuts on a dime and leaves change (Barry Sanders). A menacing linebacker out of North Carolina who literally changed the game (Lawrence Taylor). Or a rookie quarterback with a cannon for an arm and world class speed (RGIII or Bob Griffin as he is known to us Giants fans). All these guys are perfect examples of what we consider game changers. Well the NFL lost perhaps one of the biggest game changers in it's history today.
Steve Sabol, president of NFL films, died today after a year and a half battle with brain cancer. If you don't know who this man is then you simply haven't been watching NFL footbal for the last 50 years. Sabol and his dad changed the way we watched the game and have as much to do with the success of the NFL as any one, or in their case two people, could have without having ever played a down in the league.
I never knew an NFL without NFL films and I can't imagine where the game would be or how I would view it were it not for the way the game is shot. Almost everything you see in a football broadcast as far as viewing the game comes from NFL films. For that I thank Steve Sabol.
Hey NFL Hall of Fame you inducted his dad in 2011 which took too long. This man should have already been in as well. I encourage to make it your priority in 2013.
Steve Sabol, president of NFL films, died today after a year and a half battle with brain cancer. If you don't know who this man is then you simply haven't been watching NFL footbal for the last 50 years. Sabol and his dad changed the way we watched the game and have as much to do with the success of the NFL as any one, or in their case two people, could have without having ever played a down in the league.
I never knew an NFL without NFL films and I can't imagine where the game would be or how I would view it were it not for the way the game is shot. Almost everything you see in a football broadcast as far as viewing the game comes from NFL films. For that I thank Steve Sabol.
Hey NFL Hall of Fame you inducted his dad in 2011 which took too long. This man should have already been in as well. I encourage to make it your priority in 2013.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Irish Eyes Are Smiling
Dear ACC,
We are aware of your desire to be considered one of the "Big Boys" of college football. To do so you will need to add a couple of more schools who others perceive to be of elite or near elite status as a football school. To this we have a solution for you. We the University of Notre Dame will gladly accept an offer to join your conference..... in every sport except the one that you actually need us for, football.
Listen this benefits us both. We get to keep our independent status in football and our TV contract with NBC while reaping many of the perks of being attached to a conference of your stature. You get our other sports in which we are mediocre to good at best but our women's basketball is near elite status. This is obviously a win win for both parties involved.
We can not wait to get started and we look forward to helping you build your reputation as a football power conference.
Sincerely,
Notre Dame
We are aware of your desire to be considered one of the "Big Boys" of college football. To do so you will need to add a couple of more schools who others perceive to be of elite or near elite status as a football school. To this we have a solution for you. We the University of Notre Dame will gladly accept an offer to join your conference..... in every sport except the one that you actually need us for, football.
Listen this benefits us both. We get to keep our independent status in football and our TV contract with NBC while reaping many of the perks of being attached to a conference of your stature. You get our other sports in which we are mediocre to good at best but our women's basketball is near elite status. This is obviously a win win for both parties involved.
We can not wait to get started and we look forward to helping you build your reputation as a football power conference.
Sincerely,
Notre Dame
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
National's Security
As this baseball season winds down and the pennant races start to heat up the biggest story down the stretch may not be what teams will potentially collapse or who will get hot and grab a wild card spot. The biggest story is the dilemma facing the Washington Nationals and what to do with their young starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg.
Strasburg is perhaps the most hyped pitching prospect to come along in the last 20 years. After a great career at San Diego State, where he was coached by Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, he was the 1st pick in the 2009 MLB draft. He signed the largest contract ever awarded to any drafted player and when he made his debut in 2010 it seemed he was worth every dollar having struck out 14 batters in his first start in the big leagues. Unfortunately things didn't go the way we had hoped and later that season Strasburg tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and required Tommy John surgery. After a year away from baseball he returned late last year for a few starts and showed the promise that he had previously shown of being a dominant pitcher.
Entering the 2012 season the Nationals had a plan. Limit their young ace to 160 innings in an effort to protect his arm, his future, and the future of the franchise. They had used this strategy with another young pitcher, Jordan Zimmermann, and it appears to have been a successful one. But a funny thing happened on the way to inning number 160. The Nationals, perennial contenders for a high draft pick, are out of nowhere a fantastic team and competing for not only a playoff spot but the best record in all of baseball. Now with Strasburg closing in on the limit they have set for him they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do they want to go into the post season without their best pitcher? Can they renege on the promise they made to only allow him 160 (or so) innings because it's in the best interest of the team to have him pitching down the stretch and in the playoffs? Or do they stay the course and do what's in the best interest of Strasburg's arm?
It's an interesting problem to have but it is still a problem. Currently he is scheduled to make what would be his last start around September 12th if all goes as planned. As long as they qualify we won't really hear much about this for the last few weeks of the season. But what if they collapse down the stretch and just sneak into the playoffs with one of the wild card spots and then have a 1 game playoff, win or go home situation? Do you bring back your ace who now hasn't pitched in 3 weeks to start what is the biggest game in Nationals history? Inquiring minds want to know.
Strasburg is perhaps the most hyped pitching prospect to come along in the last 20 years. After a great career at San Diego State, where he was coached by Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, he was the 1st pick in the 2009 MLB draft. He signed the largest contract ever awarded to any drafted player and when he made his debut in 2010 it seemed he was worth every dollar having struck out 14 batters in his first start in the big leagues. Unfortunately things didn't go the way we had hoped and later that season Strasburg tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and required Tommy John surgery. After a year away from baseball he returned late last year for a few starts and showed the promise that he had previously shown of being a dominant pitcher.
Entering the 2012 season the Nationals had a plan. Limit their young ace to 160 innings in an effort to protect his arm, his future, and the future of the franchise. They had used this strategy with another young pitcher, Jordan Zimmermann, and it appears to have been a successful one. But a funny thing happened on the way to inning number 160. The Nationals, perennial contenders for a high draft pick, are out of nowhere a fantastic team and competing for not only a playoff spot but the best record in all of baseball. Now with Strasburg closing in on the limit they have set for him they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do they want to go into the post season without their best pitcher? Can they renege on the promise they made to only allow him 160 (or so) innings because it's in the best interest of the team to have him pitching down the stretch and in the playoffs? Or do they stay the course and do what's in the best interest of Strasburg's arm?
It's an interesting problem to have but it is still a problem. Currently he is scheduled to make what would be his last start around September 12th if all goes as planned. As long as they qualify we won't really hear much about this for the last few weeks of the season. But what if they collapse down the stretch and just sneak into the playoffs with one of the wild card spots and then have a 1 game playoff, win or go home situation? Do you bring back your ace who now hasn't pitched in 3 weeks to start what is the biggest game in Nationals history? Inquiring minds want to know.
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