Lupica is a Midget

Old Man Wilpon Is a Dick and So Is Jeffrey Toobin.

2011-05-28T09:01:00.006-04:00

Go see them.

Of all the troubles plaguing the Mets (The recurring injuries, a "Yosemite Sam"-minded owner, possible actionable ties to the Maddoff Ponzi scandal) low attendance is the most embarrassing and the most imperiling.
The first baseball game I ever saw in a park was at Shea. I didn't enjoy it much, despite the fact that the fans were absolutely insane about the team. The Mets got destroyed by the Houston Astros. On the ride home, I muttered "Mets suck" under my breath, and my uncle heard it. My uncle insisted on explaining the history of baseball in New York to me, and how the Mets were important because they brought the living legacy of National league back to New York City.
At times, I still cannot believe that the Dodgers, the Giants, and the Yankees all played in New York for decades... and when you look at what happened in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, -well let's just say that the sudden disappearance of the National League from New York in 1957 is stupid and baffling, and arguments for relocating the Hall the Fame to the old Polo Grounds are less so.
Sure, it may feel a little weird walking into Citi Field and seeing a shrine to Jackie Robinson at the entrance, -because it's not as if the Dodgers organiztion no longer exists (although some people in Brooklyn would insist otherwise.) The point remains that a game, an entertainment business took it upon itself to racially desegregate ahead of the nation, and it happened in National League baseball in New York. Some say, it couldn't have happened anywhere else, with any other team, with any other man other than Jackie Robinson.
I agree.
So why not have a church, as it were, built to comemorate Ebbets Field. Why not have a giant number 42 in the hall, dwarfing all visitors with the weight of history. The Dodgers organization went on to the West (Blame Robert Moses for that by the way, Walter O'Malley did what he had to do,) but they can't have taken what happened here with them anymore than they could take the fans of Brooklyn along with them. Jackie Robinson, as you may well remember, didn't go out West with the Dodgers and instead decided to retire as player for Brooklyn.

But back to the current standard bearers of the National League in New York City: 10 days ago, the Mets were playing like the superstars that their fans "gotta believe" that they are. In Steinbrenneresque fashion, Fred Wilpon put down his team's most notable players (Did Dave Wright really deserve that bullshit?) Jeffrey Toobin who interveiwed Wilpon for the New Yorker piece just shrugged it off as candor...
Well not really.
Let's be clear, even in sports, an area of human cultural focus largely (some would pretend entirely) and rigidly regulated by math and statistics, there is no such thing as "just being honest." You can be as factual as your knowledge allows, you can be blunt, you can be biased, you can be cruel, you can be unfair and still be dealing in the "facts."
The truth is: It's a long season in baseball. It always is. Whatever George Steinbrenner's ghost may have to say on the matter, you don't get to the All Star break in good form with the boss saying you suck or that you are overrated. There is so much more baseball (frustratingly so) to be played by this latest generation's assembly of elite players, that no one can honestly appraise a team's valor, fortunes or worth without conceding that they really don't know who is going to win a given series, a given division, or even a single game.

After all that's why we still watch.

The Mets don't suck if you're a fan, and Jeffrey Toobin of The New Yorker claims he's a fan. So to him, Fred Wilpon and all the fair weather supporters of this team in the media: This is New York, not LA.
It's only the end of May for cryin' out loud. Boston's in first as I write this.

I'm a life long Yankee fan, and I'm telling you to go.
Go see the Mets.

Go as soon as you can.
It's one of the best new stadiums in baseball (jets flying overhead notwithstanding) and it's a team that could, at any moment, play great baseball, -and recently did for quite a stretch.

If that's not excitement in sports, I don't know what is.
-SJ

By the Tail

2010-02-19T14:56:00.003-05:00

Tiger Woods apologized on national TV today for his indiscretions. His "press conference" today was unbelievably carried live by every major network. I'm guessing that the only other person who could command that kind of coverage is the President. And even he has a tough time getting complete coverage from Fox News. He said all the right things and was sufficiently contrite and the analysts were quick to either praise him or bury him. All in all I think it was very consistent with what Tiger has done throughout his entire career. It was a very controlled and orchestrated event. Tiger seldom does anything were he does not have complete control and today was no different.

The bleeding has stopped. There have not been any other women coming out of the wood works to tell of their encounters with Tiger. I can't be certain, but I'm sure that involved a few pay offs to keep people quiet. I personally don't care if Tiger Woods has sex with a million women. I never looked to him as anything other than an amazing golfer. Hopefully he gets back out on the golf course soon. That is all that matters to me. I have said before that the public loves to beg for their "heroes" to apologize for their indiscretions. I have heard many an analyst say things like "if he'd only just admit it, the public will forgive him". Of course once that athlete comes out and says that he's guilty and that he's sorry, the press are first in line to crucify him.

I personally don't buy the fact that Tiger needs to be rehabilitated. He was the world's best golfer while engaged in these activities and I have no doubt that he'll be the world's best golfer if he's trying to restrain from those extracurricular activities. His decisions will be his alone. All the treatment in the world won't help him if he wants to continue his old ways. If he wants to be monogamous then he will, if he doesn't, he won't. He doesn't have a disease. He's a really rich and famous man who doesn't have to put much effort into attracting the attention of women. That's not going to change now. All the rehab in the world is not going to make him less well known or less of a target. Tiger isn't sick, he's an arrogant jerk. There's a big difference. I'm not sure that "talking" to someone about this is going to make much difference. His sense of entitlement will probably win out eventually. That however is a matter for him and his wife to deal with. For the rest of us, I think having the greatest golfer in the world, on the course and playing well, is going to have to be enough.

Quick Post

2009-05-12T23:04:00.003-04:00

I know it's been a very long time since I posted anything here, but I thought I'd drop by for a quick note. I have watched about 10 Yankee games this season and I'm pretty sure that they are not going to make the playoffs this year. It's all about pitching, defense and clutch hitting. The Yankees have very little of these. The bullpen is an absolute disaster, the starting pitching is mediocre to terrible. The failure rate with runners in scoring position is astronomical and the defense, while not particularly error prone, is far from stellar. That's about it. They are not terrible, but I don't see them winning more than the 89 games they won last year.

This is the End

2008-03-07T14:20:00.002-05:00

Brett Favre announced his retirement in a tearful press conference yesterday. The press covered as though Lou Gehrig was announcing that he was retiring because he had a terminal disease. Bret Favre has long been one of the most self centered athletes in sports and I will certainly not miss him come the fall. His yearly tease of the Packers with his "will he retire or not" nonsense has cost the Packers a few years of development of their QB of the future. I have no idea whether Aaron Rodgers can lead the Packers to playoff glory and thanks to Brett Favre, neither do the Packers.

Somehow Sports Illustrated saw fit to name this former drug abuser it's sportsman of the year. I haven't seen a less inspiring choice since they picked the steroid twins (Sosa and McGwire) as their co-winners in 1998. Somehow the press seemed to buy that "I'm just a good old boy from Mississippi" line. After all, he didn't know no better. They gave him drugs and he just kept on taking them. Also, his badgering of teammates to sign contracts instead of holdout was pretty easy for someone with one of the richest contracts in NFL history. I never heard him say that he would be willing to donate some of his own contract to help the team sign one of those players.

Brett Favre stayed around until he broke Dan Marino's records for TD's and yardage. The fact that the Packers were very competitive this year was as much a shock to him as it was to everyone else. He could not have thought that his team, which was coming off a losing season and didn't sign any major free agents, would make it to the NFC championship game. He came back to break the records, the rest was just gravy. And now with no more records to break (he could continue to add to his all time record for passes intercepted), the 19th rated QB of all time (behind such legends as Marc Bulger and Jeff Garcia) will quietly retire to his estate in Mississippi. So long Brett, and try to stay away from the Vicodin if you can.

Live from New York...

2008-03-06T12:44:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone. I am sorry that I have been away for a while. I've spent my time covering the political season over on my other blog, Random Thoughts (feel free to take a look if you'd like), but I'm back and ready for March Madness and the baseball season. Hopefully I haven't lost everyone who used to come by (I'm sure the people searching for midget sex games are still regular visitors). I don't really have anything more to add today. I just wanted to say that it's good to be back.

Beast of the East

2008-01-31T09:44:00.001-05:00

The New York Mets won the Johan Santana sweepstakes with a package of prospects for the former Cy Young award winner. They have until tomorrow to finalize a contract extension that would bring Santana to New York. It's an amazing coup for Omar Minaya the Mets GM and Mets fans, who had to suffer through a historic collapse of their team down the stretch last season. In fact in Vegas, the Mets are now the second betting favorite to win the World Series.

There are many who are saying that the Twins GM overplayed his hand and ended up with less than he could have gotten originally from the Red Sox or Yankees. On the surface that cerainly appears to be true. Both the Red Sox and Yankees were offering players who are major league ready and are projected to have higher ceilings that any of the players that the Twins eventually got from the Mets. Of course we have seen many "can't miss" prospects who have failed to live up to their billing and many others with less than stellar minor league careers become stars on the big league level. For instance both Robinson Cano and Chien Ming Wang were offered to Arizona in the Randy Johnson deal but they passed on both of them. It is almost impossible to predict how a players career will end up based on their minor league careers. The Mets had a trio of young minor league pitchers in the nineties (Bill Pulsipher, Jason Isringhausen and Paul Wilson) that were supposed to be the cornerstone of their franchise for the next decade. However, all three ended up with major injuries to their pitching arms and only one (Jason Isringhauser) has become a good major leaguer albeit in a different role than anticipated and for a different team.

The Yankees and Red Sox eventually both pulled back their best offers after the Twins GM kept on asking for more. In truth, I don't think that the Red Sox were really that interested in acquiring Santana. They were mostly interested in making sure that the Yankees didn't get him or in driving up the price that the Yankeees would have to pay. Once the Yankees pulled their offer, I think the Red Sox lost interest in making a deal. That left the Mets as practically the only game in town. Santana is in the last year of his contract and the team that traded for him would have to be willing to make him an offer in excess of $20 million a year for 6 or 7 years. That limited the number of teams that the Twins could talk to. The Oakland A's got a better package from the Diamondbacks when they traded Dan Haren earlier this offseason mainly because he isn't eligible for free agency for another three years. In the end the Twins management clearly decided that they had to make the deal before spring training to avoid a media circus. The problem was that once they finally came to that decision, the only firm offer left on the table was from the Mets.

With this trade, the Mets now set themselves up as not only the best team in the eastern division, but perhaps the best team in the National League. The Phillies big move in the offseason was to add the mercurial closer Brad Lidge. The Braves added the ancient Tom Glavine to their pitching staff. The Cubs added an unknown quanitity in picking up an outfielder from Japan. The Diamondbacks with the addition of Dan Haren are the only team that can claim to have improved their pitching staff as much as the Mets have. The Mets rotation, which returns two young 15 game winners, a supposedly healed Pedro Martinez and the ageless wonder El Duque can now stake a claim to being the leagues best and deepest rotation. This trade also helps the Mets in their neverending battle with their crosstown rivals for the back pages of the NY tabloids.

On it's face, this trade appears to be a slam dunk win for the Mets and Omar Minaya. It's the kind of bold move that will help the fans forget the dissappointment of blowing a 7 game lead in the final weeks of last season. Like all other fans they can now look toward spring training with a feeling of renewed hope. Unlike the fans of most teams however, they do have more of a reason to think that 2008 will be their year.

Winter Doldrums

2008-01-28T15:16:00.001-05:00

I have to apologize to anyone who is a regular reader of this blog. I have been sadly under performing for the past couple of months. Unfortunately we are in the middle of what I not so lovingly refer to as the DEAD ZONE! We have a couple of months before the baseball season starts and the NCAA Tournament doesn't begin until March, the Football season is in their annual two weak hiatus before ending for the year and really does anyone care about the NBA or the NHL until the playoffs begin?

I have been searching for topics to write about, but I haven't really been able to come up with much. I could write about the big off season trades that have taken place, but there really haven't been any with huge pennant race implications. The free agent market was pretty lackluster this year, so I haven't really had much to talk about their either. I almost feel as if I've run out of good topics to write about.

Of course I usually feel this way at this time of year. Thankfully Valentine's Day is only a couple of weeks away. And, no, I'm not feeling particularly romantic this year, but February 14th only means one thing (and I'm not talking about once again letting down your wife or girlfriend with some crappy candy or cheesy flower arrangement); I am, of course referring to that wonderful day that will once again bring a ray of sunshine into our otherwise dull and dreary lives; Pitchers and Catchers will be reporting to spring training! Our thoughts will once again turn to spring and summer days and the endless possibilities of the season ahead. Every team is a contender and every player is a possible all-star. It is perhaps the most hopeful of seasons (I'm referring to Spring Training as a season, which is really funny since it starts in the middle of Winter) when everything is possible and the world looks a little brighter.

I'm certain that my entries will pick up again in February. Until then, keep the faith and just keep saying to yourself, "It just doesn't matter, it just doesn't matter" (by the way, I promise a personal mention in my next blog to the first person to correctly name the movie referred to in the quote. See you soon and keep fighting the good fight.

Long Overdue

2008-01-23T09:52:00.000-05:00

In my first post of the year (long overdue), I'm thrilled to be able to do something that I should have been able to do years ago and that is congratulate Rich "Goose" Gossage on his election to the hall of fame (long overdue). In a column last January about the Hall of Fame vote, I mentioned that I hoped that I would be able to write a congratulatory note to Goose this year and thankfully the voters finally got it right.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again, Goose was the best closer that I have ever seen; Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman not withstanding. Gossage now ranks 17th on the all time saves list as the modern closer has been reduced to a one inning pitcher. I would dare say that if Gossage had been used that way, he would be quite a bit higher on the list. He ranks third all time in saves of 2 or more innings. In the famous playoff game against the Red Sox in '78, he came into the game with one out in the seventh inning. Can you imagine a manager today asking his closer to get eight outs to end a game? I was actually watching that game and certainly don't remember thinking that I would have rather that Billy martin bring in the set up guy and save Gossage for the 9th inning. The game was on the line and Billy put in the best pitcher that he had in the bullpen.

Rich Gossage was named on 86% of the ballots this year which was an double digit increase from last year. I always wonder what the voters who just decided that they would vote for him this year were thinking in previous years. Did he somehow get better overnight? Did he go out and pitch a few more games? If he's a Hall of famer this year, then he was a hall of famer last year. There has always been a barrier to relievers getting into the hall, but I believe that now they have corrected one of their greatest injustices. There are now five pitchers who spent the majority of their careers as relievers who have been inducted into the hall of fame, Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter and Goose. I'm assuming that Mariano and Hoffman will join them someday in the not too distant future.

So once again, I say congratulations, Goose. You've had to wait far too long. I'll always remember a summer day at the stadium when you came into a game in the 9th inning with the bases loaded and struck out the side on 11 pitches. Pure power pitching at it's best. Thanks for the memories and the saves. I hope you enjoy induction ceremony in Cooperstown this summer, even if is long overdue.

2007

2007-12-31T11:24:00.000-05:00

It's time for my yearly wrap up. I wasn't particularly thrilled with much in sports this year. I enjoyed the baseball season, but the ending was not what I had in mind. The year was so uninspiring in fact that Sports Illustrated named Brett Favre it's sportsman of the year. Now Brett and the Packers are having a good year, but seriously, he hasn't done anything out of the ordinary this year. Brett did break the all time passing yardage record this year, but I wouldn't say that it would be on par with breaking the all time home run record. It would be more like SI naming Rickey Henderson the SOY after he broke the all time walks record or all time runs scored record. The home run record was broken this year, but as has been rehashed many times in the press and on this blog, there were many reasons why that was not a joyous occasion. Momentous yes, joyous no.

The Year started out with Peyton Manning and the Colts finally getting the monkey off their back by winning a superbowl. Actually, the more I think about it, Tony Dungy should have been the SOY. He was not only the first black coach to win the Superbowl, but his story of perseverance after the tragic loss of his son should have been enough to put him over the top. It's a better story than Brett Favre has to tell.

The Spurs won the NBA championship again. It was predictable and boring. I'm guessing that if they hadn't already given Duncan the SOY a few years ago, he would have taken it home this year. Florida won the men's NCAA crown in football and basketball. That was an unprecedented accomplishment.

The biggest "sports" story this year was the Mitchell report. It's a sad commentary when the biggest story of the year is about the abuse of illegal drugs by professional athletes. In the end, I think that 2007 will be remembered most for the fact that Hank Aaron's record was broken under a cloud of suspicion and controversy.

That's it for this year. I had a meager output of only 100 posts this year. I hope to do better next year, but I do want to thank the people who come back on a regular basis to check out my sometimes incoherent rambling. So thank you Sandy, Louise, Craig, Denise and Jeff. I'm sure there are more, but unfortunately, I don't know your names, but I do appreciate the support. Thanks to the folks at Replacement Level Yankees and The Chuck Knoblog for adding me to your links and keep up the good work.

That's it everyone. I hope you have a happy and safe New Year's celebration and I'll be back to rant and rave in '08.

Finger Pointing

2007-12-20T11:41:00.000-05:00

Curt Schilling found the time to write a long article on his blog about the Mitchell report and specifically about Roger Clemens. Here's a quote from the article,

"From that point on the numbers were attained through using [performance-enhancing drugs]. Just like I stated about Jose [Canseco], if that is the case with Roger, the four Cy Youngs should go to the rightful winners, and the numbers should go away if he cannot refute the accusations."

I think that Clemens is clearly in a bad situation, but as I stated in a previous article, the "evidence" against Clemens in the Mitchell report would not hold up in a court of law. In fact, the only evidence against him is the word of a former employee. Curt Schilling is someone who can't help but give his opinion regardless of the topic and whether he's qualified to comment. His views on the war in Iraq are well known (and are ridiculous), as are his holier than thou comments regarding steroid use. How exactly is Clemens supposed to be able to refute statements about something that supposedly happened with only two people in the room? Roger can deny the allegations, but he cannot absolutely refute them. Unless someone with a video camera was recording Roger's life 24/7 for the time when he was supposedly using steroids, then there is no way for him to absolutely refute the charges. His vehement denial is already on the record, but that isn't going to stop the tidal wave of articles or turn public opinion in his direction. Those two people now have differing opinions about what happened and that's probably how things will stand unless one of them decides to change their story.

I'm not here to defend Roger Clemens. At this point I think his legacy is tarnished forever. His hall of fame induction is in doubt and everything he did on the field after leaving the Red Sox is being viewed in a very different light. Roger will have to answer the accusations made against him at some point (perhaps under oath in a congressional hearing), but it's not Curt Schilling's place to demand that Roger to do something that is, for all intents and purposes, impossible.

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if one day Schilling himself is accused of steroid use. After all, he did enjoy the best seasons of his career at ages 34, 35 and 37. How rare is it for a pitcher to win 20 games three times after turning 34 when he had never won 20 games previously? Rare enough that Schilling is the only pitcher in history ever to have turned that particular trick. I'm not accusing Schilling of anything, but if you look at the numbers, you have to wonder just a little bit. Don't you?

Also...

2007-12-14T13:12:00.000-05:00

Just so that all the Red Sox fans out there don't get on their high horse about their "clean" team, here's a report on Eric Gagne from a Red Sox scout that was sent to Theo Epstein during the 2006 off season

"Some digging on Gagne and steroids IS the issue. Has had a checkered medical past throughout career including minor leagues. Lacks the poise and commitment to stay healthy, maintain body and re invent self. What made him a tenacious closer was the max effort plus stuff ... Mentality without the plus weapons and without steroid help probably creates a large risk in bounce back durability and ability to throw average while allowing the change-up to play as it once did ... Personally, durability (or lack of) will follow Gagne ..."

The scout was responding to a email from Theo in which he asked, "Have you done any digging on Gagne? I know the Dodgers" -- not to mention everybody else in the world -- "think he was a steroid guy. Maybe so. What do you hear on his medical?"

The Red Sox traded for Gagne nine months later even though they had this report in house plus their own suspicion beforehand. That shows just how much how much baseball owners and management care about steroid abuse. It's all about winning and the money that comes with that. Even for the now sainted Red Sox.

Something in the Mitchell report that seems to have gotten lost in all the Roger Clemens talk is that the GM of the San Fransisco Giants was made aware in 2002 of the fact that Barry Bonds' personal trainer was a steroid dealer and did nothing about it. Here's something that I wrote when the investigation was first reported:

I understand that George Mitchell has a great reputation for being far and tough, but why would Bud even risk the appearance of bias? What happens if he finds evidence that the owner of the Giants knew that Bonds was taking steroids? Will he want to indict one of his fellow owners? Would he want to take down someone from his own fraternity?

Apparently he did find proof that someone high up in Giants management did know of the steroid connection, but that still wasn't reason enough for him to say that baseball ownership or management had any culpability in the steroid problem. Very interesting, don't you think?

Sound and Fury

2007-12-14T09:39:00.001-05:00

The Mitchell Report was released yesterday and with it a firestorm of controversy has arisen. The report names names, most prominently Roger Clemens, and lays out a plan for addressing the abuse of PED's in baseball. Overall the report was a well intentioned effort to try and address the problems of PED's, but I think it missed the mark on more than a couple of points.

First of all Mitchell mentioned that the players, the union and the Commissioner's office were all to blame for this problem. While that is true, he forgot to mention another party that was implicit in this scandal. The owners are just as much to blame for this as the other parties that were named. It couldn't be because Mitchell is part owner of the Red Sox, could it? I've always thought that Mitchell wasn't impartial enough to head this assignment. The owners knew what was going on, but all they cared about was how much money they were making. And now according to this report they are blameless??? And what about the Red Sox team? According to this report over 10 former or current Yankees were abusers of PED's, but only one Red Sox player was named. Roger Clemens is named, but the alleged abuse only took place after he had already left the team. So according to the report, the Yankees World Series run was fueled by steroids. The Internet is already burning up with Red Sox fans talking about how the Yankees wins are invalid because they had steroid users on their team. I wrote about this when the investigation was first announced and I stick by everything I said then. A report by an INDEPENDENT investigator would have been much more welcome than one by a baseball insider, regardless of their credentials.

Bud Selig responded that he would take action based on this report and said that has already taken steps to implement some of the recommendations laid out in the report. So after all this time and money has been spent has baseball really learned anything that they didn't know before this started? Here's a quote from something I wrote a while back in June about what the investigation would discover:

If you're in a giving mood, you can send me the $2 million you were going to spend on the commission next month. Alright are you ready, here goes. Steroid use was widespread and rampant during the 90's and early 00's. That's it.

And that really is all they have. For the tens of millions of dollars that was spent to produce that impressive 300+ page document, did they really find out anything more than that? Bud Selig knew this before the investigation, but at yesterday's press conference, he acted as though he was shocked by what was contained in the report. Immediate action needs to be taken, he said. I'll handle each infraction on a case by case basis, he proclaimed. What a bunch of bullshit! How he can now stand there and pretend that his eyes have just now been opened to this is simply amazing to me. There is no definitive proof in the document. None that would stand up in a court of law anyway. Maybe he knows a couple more names than he did before but to think that this report is somehow the font of all knowledge about PED abuse in baseball is almost laughable.

Now we get to the players named. I feel the worst for Brian Roberts, who was included in the report based on the fact that someone reported that he told them once that he took steroids. That's the entire basis for his inclusion. That's just wrong. I realize that this is not a legal document, but to sully someones reputation on evidence as flimsy as that is reprehensible. The players for whom documentation exists (cancelled checks, mailing labels, etc.), really have no defense to these charges. They chose to associate with (and write checks to) people who were involved in the illegal distribution of PED's and so they are paying the cost for that. That being said, I think that it's unfortunate that anyone was named in this report. It's very clear that the first hand testimony was mainly limited to two people with ties to the New York area. That leaves 92% of the country basically unaccounted for. If the report wasn't going to be all inclusive, then it should have included no one. Some of the most prominent alleged cheaters, Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro (although since he tested positive, I guess I can remove the "alleged" tag), Brady Anderson, Albert Belle, Brett Boone, to name a few, were not accused in this report. Is it fair to claim that you are releasing a wide sweeping report on PED abuse and then name less than 10% of the people that actually bought the drugs? Besides Mitchell's lack of impartiality, I find this to be the greatest failing of the report. I understand that his sources were limited, but why chose to include names, when he knew that the list is far from complete? Did he think that these two NY based informants were the backbone of the PED industry in the United States? Clearly that can't be the case. Releasing names was a mistake and one that will in the long run produce the most damage.

Roger Clemens has long been the poster boy for all that is good about the game of baseball. His legendary training regiment has been marvelled at for years. His record 7 Cy Young Awards and 350+ wins, 4,000+ strikeouts have led many to consider him not only the greatest pitcher of his era, but perhaps the greatest of all time. He may have indeed gotten 100% of the vote when he became eligible for the Hall of Fame. That all changed yesterday. The accusations made by his former trainer yesterday were the most detailed of any of the charges leveled against anyone except Barry Bonds. His career after leaving the Red Sox and turning 34 (an age at which a lot of pitchers begin to see a decline in skills) is almost the match of Barry's amazing post 35 career. If anything he has been able to maintain his incredible skills for a longer time than Barry has. Barry won 4 MVP awards and finished 2nd once, Roger won 4 Cy Young awards and finished 3rd once. However Barry won his last MVP at age 39, while Roger won his last Cy Young award at the age of 41 (he finished 3rd at the age of 42). Why didn't baseball fans question Clemens' performance the way they did Barry's? Was it because he's White? Was it because Barry's an insufferable prick? Was it because unlike Barry, he actually had people on his team and in the press who actually liked and admired him? I'm sure it's a combination of all those things. Also while he arguably had the best seasons of his career after turning 34, they were not out of scale with what he had accomplished in the past. However in the four years prior to turning 34, he won a total of 40 games. In the two years after leaving the Red Sox he won 41 games. That's pretty much a quantum leap, but no one questioned it.

The allegations against Clemens will go unproven. There are no pictures of Clemens getting shot up with steroids, there are no cancelled checks (we would have seen them yesterday if they existed). All we have is the word of his former trainer, who really would have no reason to lie. Bonds has admitted to unknowingly taking steroids and has been raked over the coals by the fans and the press (and by me on various occasions). He will have his day in court to defend his position. Clemens isn't going to get a day in court. This is not a criminal investigation and his only legal recourse would be sue baseball for libel. The problem being that libel (slanderous statements in print) carries a very high burden of proof. Basically it would have to be proven that George Mitchell (or whomever was ultimately responsible for the report being printed) knowingly included statements that they knew were false and would do harm to Clemens' reputation. I've already stated that I think that inclusion of names was wrong, but I don't think that George Mitchell or anyone else associated with the investigation knowingly included false statements in the report. Therefore Clemens is in an impossible position. He has already denied the report, but he basically has no other recourse. There are going to be people who believe he did steroids regardless of his denials. His name will always be associated with steroids in baseball and his legacy will forever be stained in the eyes of some.

Is baseball better off today than it was yesterday? I'm not sure. Besides ruining the reputation of a few baseball players, I'm not sure anything more was accomplished with the release of the Mitchell Report. I'm going to end by including something that I wrote a while back. It's a fictional letter from Bud Selig to baseball fans. I still think that this would have been the best and cleanest way for baseball to proceed. It's unfortunate that we find ourselves where we are today, but it was basically inevitable from the day this investigation was announced. The truth is that players will always look for an edge. Today's steroids will be tomorrow's blood enhancers and next decades genetic alteration. It will never end and the sad truth is that the Mitchell Report won't help at all.

To our fans,

Steroid abuse was widespread in baseball for a period of about 10 years. While we heard the whispers of this abuse, we (meaning management and the commissioners office) chose not to investigate this matter any further. The fact that the players union refused to allow us to put steroids on the banned substances list also played a big part in that decision. It is clear now that mistakes were made over that time, by the players, by the coaches, by the union, by the owners and by my own office. We apologize to the fans of baseball for our part in allowing the steroid abuse to take place. We could have done more to make sure that the integrity of the game was preserved.

We have now taken steps to ensure that this does not happen in the future. We have the toughest steroid penalties in North American sports and our testing program is among the most thorough of any sport. There is still no reliable test for Human Growth Hormone (HGH), but I assure that we are working towards eliminating all performance enhancing drugs from our sport. We appreciate your patience and continued support. Baseball is still the greatest game ever invented and we hope that the focus of attention can return to what's going on the field as opposed to the court room. Thank you once again for being such great fans of this game.

Bud Selig
Commissioner of Baseball and fan of the game

He's Got the Whole World, In His Hands

2007-11-30T14:08:00.000-05:00

It is a slight exaggeration to suggest that Johan Santana has the whole world in his hands, but he does probably hold the key to the AL east in his hands. At this point the Twins are in serious negotiations with the Red Sox and Yankees for the services of the best pitcher in the AL. Santana, who is only one year away from free agency could be the single player who could decide which team will be the dominant one in the AL for the next five years. The Red Sox already have an advantage in pitching and adding Santana would not only make their rotation the best in baseball but the Yankees would be unable to match the move, even with their seemingly unlimited payroll. The Yankees on the other hand, by acquiring a number one starter would put themselves back on equal footing with the Red Sox in the pitching department.

The Yankees have spent lavishly this off season to retain their aging stars. Mariano Rivera was paid a ridiculous amount of money to come back for three more seasons and both he and Posada will be north of their 40th birthdays when these contracts expire. The monstrous Arod contract will also employ him until he well into his 40's. The Yankees were supposed to be in the middle of a youth movement, but their only moves this offseason have been to secure the services of players who will be well past their primes when their contracts expire. The seeming hope of the franchise (besides the endless supply of money) is that they have a wealth of young pitching. Three in particular stand out. Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. It was assumed that they would all get a chance to make the starting rotation next year. Now the talk of trading for Santana has changed that. The Yankees have said all along that Joba is untouchable and they'd rather not trade Hughes. That's pretty tough talk, but they'd probably do almost anything to block Santana's trade to the Red Sox. The Yankees had talked about moving in a new direction, about using home grown talent, about lowering their payroll. But at the end of the day, it's all about winning and winning now.

The Red Sox are sitting on top of the baseball world at this point and adding Santana would make them prohibitive favorites heading into next season. It must seem strange for most Boston fans to realize that they have basically switched roles with the Yankees. It used to be that the Sox were always trying to catch up with the Yankees and now it's just the opposite. The Red Sox have as much young talent as the Yankees and could almost certainly make a deal if they were willing to part with the players that the Twins have requested. However, like the Yankees, they are taking a harder line by refusing to include certain players. Do they as much at stake as the Yankees? Probably not. Unlike their Bronx counterparts, they would probably still feel good about their team if the Yankees were successful in acquiring Santana. I don't think that they would sweeten their offer to include their players who they now deem as untouchable if they were told that the Yankees had increased their offer.

Santana will demand a new contract in the range of $150-$160 million over seven years. That's why this bidding has come down to the Yankees and the Red Sox. They are not only the teams best stocked with the talent to make this trade, they are the two teams who could easily absorb a $20 million a year pitcher. Santana also has a complete no-trade clause in his contract. It seems to me that if he hadn't already told Twins management that he would accept a trade to either team, that they wouldn't be talking to them. There are other players in the game. The Mets, Angels and Dodgers have all had talks with the Twins as well, but if Santana is indeed traded, I expect it to be to the Yankees or Sox.

The Twins could just decide to hold on to Santana and see how the first half of the season goes. Teams are usually a little more desperate around the trading deadline and they could potentially get even more for Santana by waiting until then. A trade deadline deal from a desperate team (the Yankees) might be the way to go. Santana has already turned down a extension offer from the Twins, so it is unlikely that they will keep him past next year. The Twins have holes in CF, SS, Third base and the starting rotation, with Santana being the biggest chip they have, they are certainly going to take their time in making a decision.

So who wins this high stakes game of poker between the Yankees and Red Sox? Frankly I think the Sox are slightly better positioned to win this game. The sticking point with the Sox and Twins is over a center fielder. Position players are easier to come by than starting pitchers. The Yankees and Twins sticking point is Phil Hughes, who is a starter. I think the Sox eventually give in and throw the CFer into the deal and get it done. It's not the outcome that I want, but unless the Yankees are literally willing to give away the farm, they are going to lose this pissing contest.

Blue Monday

2007-11-19T12:06:00.000-05:00

Let's see how the SM fared this weekend, shall we?

Baltimore +3

A push is not exactly a great start, but at least it's not a loss. I still have confidence that this will be a great week. SM 0-0.
Atlanta +3

Okay, maybe this won't be such a great week. Atlanta apparently forgot that they were supposed to show up play football this weekend. Seven is a great number for a baseball team. I'm sure they were confused by the large men in pads and helmets that kept on tackling them as they tried to round the bases. SM 0-1.

Miami +10

Another push. I really have to find spreads with 1/2 points. This is just getting ridiculous. SM 0-1.
Carolina +10

The Panthers did not cover the spread. This is looking more and more dire. 2 losses and 2 pushes. I'm beginning to doubt the SM. Has the all knowing, all seeing SM finally met it's match? Stay tuned boys and girls. SM 0-2.
Houston +1

Finally. The Texans of all teams come through. This was basically a pick 'em game, so the SM is finally starting to show it's true worth. SM 1-2.

Arizona +3.5

How about Arizona bringing us back to .500. Having the Texans and the Cardinals not only cover the spread, but bring home victories must be a first. I'm not going to do the research to back up that claim, but if you have the time, feel free to waste it looking that up. SM 2-2.
Detroit +3

The Lions at home seemed like a good bet. Their fans were actually beginning to believe that they might be on the verge of a turnaround in Motown, but alas, they still suck. SM 2-3.

Kansas City +14.5

The Chiefs fought the good fight and managed to lose by a respectable three points. The Colts are a shell of their former super bowl winning selves and until they get healthy, it's going to be a dog fight every weekend for them. SM 3-3.
San Diego +3

What the hell happened to the Chargers? Didn't they go 14-2 last year? Wasn't LT unstoppable last year? Didn't they have the same personnel coming back this year? I guess they miss old Marty in SD now. Sorry about this one Wayne. SM 3-4.
Oakland +5.5

The Raiders couldn't cover the spread even with the fact that the league's leading rusher was out for the Vikings. They are on my naughty list now. They are definitely not getting anything for Christmas. SM 3-5.
NY Jets +9.5

The Jets shocked the world and themselves by going beating the Steelers. This one was certainly unexpected. The Jets have a constant inferiority complex because their home stadium is named after another team, plus they are always playing second fiddle to that other team. It's not a coincidence that their name rhymes with the other team that plays second fiddle in this town. But hey, a win is a win. SM 4-5.

Chicago +5.5

The Bears must have spent the off season partying with the Chargers. Either that or they are eating too much of the pizza in Chicago. Second City, my ass. SM 4-6.
San Francisco +3

The 49ers lost by four just to piss me off. I hate San Francisco. I've never been, but I hate it anyway. I know that doesn't make any sense, but I'm a bitter, old man. SM 4-7.
Washington +10.5

The Cowboys won and that's really all that matters. Toby was at this game and I'm pretty sure she spent most of the game cursing. She's still mad about a Monday Night game from two seasons ago when the Redskins won on a last second play and proceeded to celebrate as if they'd won the super bowl. Hopefully she returned the favor this weekend. SM 5-7.
Buffalo +14.5

New England absolutely dismantled the Bills. This would have been a loss even if the spread was 45! The Bills should have stayed in bed and sent a high school team in their place. They couldn't have done worse. SM 5-8.

That's it. A bad week for the usually dependable SM. Well, as a great man once said, "life ain't easy and life ain't free". Yeah, I didn't understand it either.

Pick of the Litter

2007-11-16T14:12:00.000-05:00

Here are the picks for Sunday. You know the drill. Back to the SM this week.

Baltimore +3

Atlanta +3
Miami +10

Carolina +10

Houston +1
Arizona +3.5

Detroit +3
Kansas City +14.5

San Diego +3

Oakland +5.5

NY Jets +9.5
Chicago +5.5

San Francisco +3

Washington +10.5

Buffalo +14.5

Enjoy the weekend everyone.

High Noon

2007-11-16T11:08:00.000-05:00

Barry Bonds was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. This is the culmination of a four year investigation into the Balco doping scandal and Bonds' connection to the former San Francisco lab.

It seems a roundabout way to get to Bonds (like getting Al Capone for not filing his taxes), but he was granted immunity from prosecution for actually taking steroids when he orginally testified in the Balco case. In fact, if Bonds hadn't allegedly lied in his testimony, he would not be facing federal charges. There is also still the possibility that Bonds will be indicted on tax evasion charges stemming from unreported income from baseball memorabillia shows.

So where does this leave Mr. Bonds? He faces the remote possibility of decades in jail if he is found guilty of all the charges against him. There isn't a team that would sign him while he has the cloud of possible jail time hanging over him. For now his last home run on 2007 may in fact be his last home run for a while, maybe forever. This indictment comes a year too late for Bud Selig, who would have been happy to suspend Bond while this situation played itself out in the courts. He would have had his fingers crossed that Bonds was convicted and served time, so that Hank Aaron's record could have been preserved. The home run record does belong to Bonds now and no one can take that away.

He is a man currently in limbo however. He has more than enough money to assemble the best team of lawyers possible to combat these charges. I would think that it would be a long shot for Bonds to do any time based on this indictment. The only thing that could make jail time a reality for Bonds is if his personal trainer were to testify against him. Bond's trainer Greg Andserson has spent the better part of the last 18 months in prison because he refused to give testimony to the Grand Jury that was considering the Bonds case. He could singlehandedly prove the states case against Bonds by admitting that he not only provided illegal steroids to Bonds, but injected him with the substances as well. And that Bonds knew exactly what was being done. But being stuck in jail for months on end has done nothing to make him more talkative to date. I can't imagine that he would begin to talk any time soon, especially now since he has been released from prison. The Grand Jury session has ended, so he is no longer in violation of their order to provide testimony. If Bonds actually goes to court, however he will be once again ordered to testify. If he refuses at that point, he will probably be held in contempt of court and shipped off to jail once again.

It's amazing to me that Bonds has engendered such loyalty in an ex-employee. There are others who will be willing to testify to Bonds' drug use. His ex-girlfriend has already given numerous interviews where she detailed some of his drug use and she would also be a main witness against Bonds if he were ever brought up on tax evasion charges. Bonds' attorneys will argue that her testimony is tainted because of the acrimonious break up between the two, but it will be up to a jury to decide who to believe at that point.

I predict that Bonds will actually walk on these charges unless Greg Anderson does a 180. Money can't buy you innocence in the eyes of the public, but can buy you reasonable doubt in front of a jury. Even with a not guilty verdict however, I don't beleive that he will be playing baseball anytime in the near future and almost certainly not in a major league baseball uniform. If he is hell bent on continuing his baseball career, he may find an easier time of things in Japan, but if I were a betting man (and I've told you time and time again that I'm not) 762 is probably the number that Arod will have to beat to become the all time home run king.

I Don't Know Why You Say Goodbye...

2007-11-15T09:33:00.000-05:00

In a stunning turnaround, it now appears that Alex Rodriguez will be playing in pinstripes after all. The news broke yesterday that Arod and the Yankees had been in meetings to work out a deal after Arod had "reached out" to the Yankees through a third party to express his interest in remaining with the team. The Yankees had flatly stated that if Arod opted out of his contract that they would not pursue him as a free agent. Of course nothing was written in stone. And now that Arod has come back to negotiate exclusively with the Yankees, all seems to be forgiven.

According to "inside sources" Arod was not happy with the way things have gone for him. He didn't expect the Yankees to stand firm on their promise not to deal with him and he didn't expect the public backlash that has accompanied his free agency. It really baffles me that someone as seemingly intelligent as Arod could allow something like this to happen, which is why I think this was planned all along. Boras realized that there wouldn't be much of a market for Arod and devised this plan to get the Yankees to pony up more than the $220 million they would have originally brought to the table. Boras' plan all along was to get Arod a $300 million contract. He knew that the only team that could really commit that kind of money to Arod was the Yankees. So in order to get them to up their offer and without making Arod seem like all he cared about was money, he decided to play the bad cop to Arod's good cop.

He has manipulated the press at every turn and his plan has worked to perfection. He put out the press release about Arod opting out at the most inappropriate time. He has been the only one talking about Arod and about how much money he was worth to a team. He has been the only one making any statements to the press. Arod has been silent during this entire saga. The first thing we hear from Arod is when he put out a statement on his website about how much he and his wife love NY and that they are discussion with the Yankees about their future. Arod can now be seen as someone who was led astray by the big bullying agent. He really wanted to come back to the Yankees all along. But now instead of a eight year extension for $220 million, he will now get a 10 year $270 million contract with incentives that would push the deal to over $300 million. It's perfect, Arod and Boras get what they want and the Yankees get what they need.

Arod will now be able to say that it wasn't all about money. He really loves the Yankees and they were indeed the only team he wanted to play for. Boras gets to trumpet in the press that he had deals on the table for more money (without ever naming names of course), but his client went with his heart. It's the perfect fairly tale ending (wink, wink). Of course it's all a bunch a bullshit, but the Yankees will play along because they know that they don't really have a viable option at third base. They know that they need Arod just as much as he needs them. Arod will return to NY and continue his assault on the record books and perhaps win a World Series or two along the way and this episode will be forgotten.

This whole thing has been media manipulation pure and simple; Brian Cashman knows it, Hank Steinbrenner knows it, Arod knows it, Boras knows it and the American people know it. In the end it's not going to make any difference though. Everyone will be all smiles at the press conference. Arod will smile and talk about how this whole situation was a misunderstanding and it wasn't about the money. Cashman will smile and say that they got the deal that they always wanted. Hank Steinbrenner will smile (okay maybe not him) and talk about how the Yankees maintained their integrity. And somewhere in the background, Scott Boras will be laughing his ass off.

Catch Me If You Can

2007-11-13T14:35:00.000-05:00

In the end, the Yankees had no choice. They ended up giving Jorge Posada a fourth year at $13 million in order to get the contract done. There were no good options in the free agent market and with the Yankees minor league prospects being at least two years away from being ready, they did the only thing they could.

Jorge has said from the beginning that he wanted to stay with the Yankees. He didn't even test his worth on the open market, because at the end of the day, he didn't want to wear another uniform. Now if the the Yankees had stuck to their three year offer, he may very well have listened to what the Mets had to say. Catchers don't have a great history of remaining very productive into their late thirties. In fact the history of catchers who have done that is exactly one player long, Carlton Fisk. That's it. The Yankees have their fingers crossed that Posada, who is coming off a career year (in which he hit 60 points over his career average), is going to join Fisk on that short list.

I've read the articles praising Posada as the heart and soul of team or the quiet leader or even a boarder line hall of famer. I've never thought of him as any of those things. I'm not even sure what being the heart and soul of a team means. He has certainly been pretty quiet and unless he turns into Mike Piazza in his prime over the next four years, then he'll be buying a ticket for Cooperstown like the rest of us mere mortals. Posada can also be a bit prickly with pitchers. Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina are just a couple examples of pitchers who preferred to have someone else behind the plate. He's a below average defensive catcher, who is not particularly adept at blocking balls in the dirt (see game 2 against Cleveland as an example). He has an above average arm, but overall his defense is not going to win you many games.

His defense is not the reason why he just got $52 million from the Yankees however. Posada has been one of the top offensive catchers in baseball for the past seven years. The Yankees are gambling that he can remain in upper echelon of catchers for at least the next couple of years. As we have seen by the Yankees inability to find a back up catcher for Posada, there is not an abundance of catchers who can hit. In fact, the other good offensive catchers have been locked up by their teams for years to come. Joe Mauer in Minnesota (who has been hurt quite a bit), Victor Martinez in Cleveland, Brian McCann in Atlanta are not available on the open market and won't be for some time. The Yankees have some young catchers in their system, but none are considered prime prospects and certainly none are ready for the majors.

In giving Posada a fourth year, the Yankees have no doubt put themselves in a situation where they will be paying for diminished production as time goes on. However, they did not have a realistic option. It was either pay Posada, or go into next season with a huge hole in the lineup. Given the fact that they already have a huge hole with the loss of Arod, they couldn't afford to lose Posada as well. Even at $52 million, the Yankees have to feel like it's money well spent.

High Steppin'

2007-11-13T11:41:00.000-05:00

This weekend's recap:

Tennessee -4 Jacksonville

The Titans continue to amaze me with their ability to win games despite the fact that Vince Young seems to have forgotten that the forward pass is actually a component of the offense in the NFL. Jacksonville is still relying on their back up, since their starting QB is out for a while. The SM says take Jacksonville. I hate to rely on Vince, but I'm going to say roll the dice and pray that Vince has a good day. Titans 24-10.
Wow, I couldn't have been more wrong. This really is the last time I pick Vince Young for anything. From now on Vince Young, you are my enemy. I tried to play nice but clearly that's not what you wanted. You'll rue the day you crossed me! Me 0-1. SM 1-0.

Kansas City -3 Denver
KC got destroyed by the Packers last week at home. The Broncos got destroyed on the road by Detroit. Neither of these teams is very good and not having Larry Johnson for the game isn't going to help the Chiefs any. This really doesn't make much sense but I'm going to stick with the SM on this one. Denver 31-24.

I lucked into a win here. Both teams still suck. Me 1-1. SM 2-0.

Buffalo -3 Miami
Miami may not win another game this year. They are that bad. Buffalo beat the Bengals at home last week and actually showed that they do indeed have an offense. The SM says take Miami, but I can't make myself put any faith in that team. Buffalo 21-3.

This is the proverbial kissing of your sister. Buffalo's offense went back into hibernation, but they did manage to squeeze out a win with a stirring 11 point 4th quarter. Wow, I'm getting chills just writing about it. Me 1-1. SM 2-0.

Pittsburgh -9.5 Cleveland
Pittsburgh put a hurtin' on the Ravens last week, but I really don't see the Browns being as easy to push around. This looks like a SM special. Pittsburgh 34-28.

It took a late rally by Pittsburgh to pull this one out and I look like a genius for one pick. The final score was actually 31-28, but let's not split hairs on this one. Me 2-1. SM 3-0.

New Orleans -11.5 St. Louis
The Saints appear to be back on track. At this point they are playing like a well oiled machine. The Rams are bad. In fact calling them bad may be an insult to bad teams. They are coming off a bye week though, so at least they should be fairly healthy. That hasn't helped them so far and I don't anticipate a change this week. The SM says take the Rams, but I'm heading the other way. Saints 44-14.

Now I look like an idiot. The Saints scored 29 points but managed to give up 37 to a really bad St. Louis team. I'm not sure how that happened, but this will just show you boys and girls that gambling is no way to make a living. Unless you follow the SM that is. Me 2-2. SM 4-0.

Carolina -4 Atlanta
Two more bad teams. Atlanta pulled out a win last week at home, Carolina lost to the offensive juggernaut that is the Titans. The Panthers are 4 point favorites, I guess on the strength of being the home team. I'm sticking with the SM on this one. Atlanta 21-17. On a side note, why the hell is Vinny Testaverde still in the NFL. He's actually older than me. And trust me when I say that I shouldn't even be allowed to buy a ticket to an NFL game. I find it hard to believe that there isn't a QB available that was born after man first walked on the moon. Oh well, I digress.

Atlanta pulls this one out to continue the perfect week for the SM. I am struggling to stay above .500, but as I've said many times, no one has ever confused me with a rocket scientist. Me 3-2. SM 5-0.

Washington -3 Philadelphia
The Redskins at home only giving three points to a terrible Eagles team. Am I missing something here? I know this is a rivalry game, but the Eagles got doubled up at home by the Cowboys last week. This spread looks like a mistake to me. The SM says the Eagles, but I couldn't disagree more. Redskins 34-21.

Washington at home loses to a reeling Eagles team? This is why I hate both of these teams. You can't trust them. The Redskins, with their ridiculously racist name and the Eagles, with their Chunky soup eating QB, should both burn in hell. That may have been a little harsh, but I'm in a pretty harsh mood today. Me 3-3. SM 6-0.

Green Bay -6 Minnesota
Adrian Peterson put on a display for the ages last week in breaking the single game rushing record. Of course that was at home in a dome on AstroTurf. However he did run for 224 yards at Chicago. He followed up that outburst with two sub 100 yard games in back to back losses. I predicting the same pattern here. Expect GB to score early and the Vikings to be pressed to pass. The SM says take the Vikings. I'm going to disagree and say take the Pack 27-17.

This was even more one sided than I expected and with Petersen going down to injury early, the Vikings apparently just threw the playbook out the window. This is the first loss for the SM this week, but I hear the SM is doing well and will recover from this setback. Me 4-3. SM 6-1.

Baltimore -4 Cincinnati
Both of these teams let me down last week. I picked them both to cover the spread and neither of them did. So what to do this week? My only fallback here is that Steve McNair is my fantasy QB (ok, stop laughing). I guess I have to pick the Ravens to win but I'm thinking the SM works here. Ravens 17-14.
Okay, technically a win, but I can't feel good about it. The Bengals dominated the Ravens and Steve McNair joins Vince Young on my hit list. How the hell does a QB produce back to back negative point games? It' unheard of I tell you! I take this as a personal attack on me. Steve McNair, please go back to wherever you came from and take Vince Young and Chad Pennington (my other disappointment at fantasy QB) with you. Me 5-3. SM 7-1.

Chicago -3.5 Oakland
What the hell happened to Chicago? Their once proud defense has given up over 30 points on a couple of occasions this season. They have held their last two opponents to 16, so maybe they are having a mid season renaissance. Oakland at least seems to have found a running game, even if they can't seem to find a competent QB. I'll stick with the SM on this one. Chicago 13-10.

This was looking great for me. It was tied at 3 heading into the 4th quarter and then Chicago decides to score two touchdowns to make me look foolish. Well, Chicago isn't even the "second city" anymore. So who looks foolish now, huh? Me 5-4. SM 7-2.

Dallas -1 NY Giants
I can't in good conscience pick this game. My heart says the Cowboys, the SM says the Giants. In order for the Giants to cover the spread they have to win the game and I can't be a party to that. I'm going against the SM and picking the Cowboys, but unless they win, I won't be counting this one against my record (my picks, my rules).

The Cowboys came into New York and gave the Giants a beating. They are the best team in the east and maybe the best team in the NFC. It's been a long time since I could say that. Of course I probably just jinxed them for the rest of the season. But considering the fact that Bill Parcells isn't there anymore, they actually might be able to win a couple of games after thanksgiving. Me 6-4. SM 7-3.

Arizona -1 Detroit
I don't think much of the Cardinals. Detroit has been much tougher at home than on the road, but I still don't see them losing this game. Stick with the SM. Detroit 19-16.

Arizona beat Detroit convincingly. I'm not really sure what happened here. I guess the thing learned from this one is don't bet on Detroit on the road. (It's a good think I don't bet, but I am taking donations to my "save me from losing my stuff to the bookies" fund). Me 6-5. SM 7-4.

Indianapolis -3.5 San Diego
San Diego got crushed by the Vikings last week and gave up a record number of rushing yards. Indianapolis is coming off a crushing home loss to New England. One of these teams is going to have a big rebound. I'm thinking it's going to be the Colts. I'm ignoring the SM and I recommend you do the same. Colts 31-24.

Peyton Manning threw 6 interceptions in this game. If this isn't a clear example of organized crime in sports today, I don't know what is. Even with all that help from Peyton, the Chargers could only manage one offensive TD. Peyton was trying his best to give the game away, but the Chargers weren't helping at all. It's a good thing he also had a buddy on the return team to help allow the Chargers to score twice on kick returns. I never want to see another Peyton Manning commercial as long as live (which means I'll either have to stop watching TV or pluck out my eyes. I'm leaning toward the former). Me 6-6. SM 8-4.

A great bounce back week for the SM after posting it's first sub .500 record of the season. As for me, I'm changing my middle name to middling. That's it for this week.

Spreads like Velveeta

2007-11-09T09:26:00.000-05:00

This weeks picks are brought to you by the letter F.

Home team in bold:

Tennessee -4 Jacksonville
The Titans continue to amaze me with their ability to win games despite the fact that Vince Young seems to have forgotten that the forward pass is actually a component of the offense in the NFL. Jacksonville is still relying on their back up, since their starting QB is out for a while. The SM says take Jacksonville. I hate to rely on Vince, but I'm going to say roll the dice and pray that Vince has a good day. Titans 24-10.

Kansas City -3 Denver

KC got destroyed by the Packers last week at home. The Broncos got destroyed on the road by Detroit. Neither of these teams is very good and not having Larry Johnson for the game isn't going to help the Chiefs any. This really doesn't make much sense but I'm going to stick with the SM on this one. Denver 31-24.

Buffalo -3 Miami

Miami may not win another game this year. They are that bad. Buffalo beat the Bengals at home last week and actually showed that they do indeed have an offense. The SM says take Miami, but I can't make myself put any faith in that team. Buffalo 21-3.

Pittsburgh -9.5 Cleveland

Pittsburgh put a hurtin' on the Ravens last week, but I really don't see the Browns being as easy to push around. This looks like a SM special. Pittsburgh 34-28.

New Orleans -11.5 St. Louis

The Saints appear to be back on track. At this point they are playing like a well oiled machine. The Rams are bad. In fact calling them bad may be an insult to bad teams. They are coming off a bye week though, so at least they should be fairly healthy. That hasn't helped them so far and I don't anticipate a change this week. The SM says take the Rams, but I'm heading the other way. Saints 44-14.

Carolina -4 Atlanta

Two more bad teams. Atlanta pulled out a win last week at home, Carolina lost to the offensive juggernaut that is the Titans. The Panthers are 4 point favorites, I guess on the strength of being the home team. I'm sticking with the SM on this one. Atlanta 21-17. On a side note, why the hell is Vinny Testaverde still in the NFL. He's actually older than me. And trust me when I say that I shouldn't even be allowed to buy a ticket to an NFL game. I find it hard to believe that there isn't a QB available that was born after man first walked on the moon. Oh well, I digress.

Washington -3 Philadelphia

The Redskins at home only giving three points to a terrible Eagles team. Am I missing something here? I know this is a rivalry game, but the Eagles got doubled up at home by the Cowboys last week. This spread looks like a mistake to me. The SM says the Eagles, but I couldn't disagree more. Redskins 34-21.

Green Bay -6 Minnesota

Adrian Peterson put on a display for the ages last week in breaking the single game rushing record. Of course that was at home in a dome on AstroTurf. However he did run for 224 yards at Chicago. He followed up that outburst with two sub 100 yard games in back to back losses. I predicting the same pattern here. Expect GB to score early and the Vikings to be pressed to pass. The SM says take the Vikings. I'm going to disagree and say take the Pack 27-17.

Baltimore -4 Cincinnati

Both of these teams let me down last week. I picked them both to cover the spread and neither of them did. So what to do this week? My only fallback here is that Steve McNair is my fantasy QB (ok, stop laughing). I guess I have to pick the Ravens to win but I'm thinking the SM works here. Ravens 17-14.

Chicago -3.5 Oakland

What the hell happened to Chicago? Their once proud defense has given up over 30 points on a couple of occasions this season. They have held their last two opponents to 16, so maybe they are having a mid season renaissance. Oakland at least seems to have found a running game, even if they can't seem to find a competent QB. I'll stick with the SM on this one. Chicago 13-10.

Dallas -1 NY Giants

I can't in good conscience pick this game. My heart says the Cowboys, the SM says the Giants. In order for the Giants to cover the spread they have to win the game and I can't be a party to that. I'm going against the SM and picking the Cowboys, but unless they win, I won't be counting this one against my record (my picks, my rules).

Arizona -1 Detroit

I don't think much of the Cardinals. Detroit has been much tougher at home than on the road, but I still don't see them losing this game. Stick with the SM. Detroit 19-16.

Indianapolis -3.5 San Diego

San Diego got crushed by the Vikings last week and gave up a record number of rushing yards. Indianapolis is coming off a crushing home loss to New England. One of these teams is going to have a big rebound. I'm thinking it's going to be the Colts. I'm ignoring the SM and I recommend you do the same. Colts 31-24.

That's it for this week kids. Tune in Monday for the train wreck results. Have a good weekend.

The Sweet Smell of Success

2007-11-05T10:35:00.000-05:00

Here's the recap of my picks for the weekend.

Redskins (-3.5) at Jets
The Jets are terrible. They are throwing the untested QB to the wolves and the Redskins have to be pretty pissed off after getting embarrassed by the Patriots last week. The SM says the Jets will cover, I say different. I'm picking the Skins to win 28-10.
See what happens when I go against the SM? I end up looking like an idiot. Maybe that's what I intended all along? I'm hoping to convince someone of this. Anyone, anyone? Bueller? Me 0-1, SM 1-0.

Green Bay at KC (-2)
The odds makers are apparently unimpressed by Green Bay's 7-1 start. Kansas City has been on a roll of late and I believe sit in first place in the AFC least also known as the west. The SM says take Green Bay and so that is exactly what I'm going to do. Green Bay 24-21.
And do you see how smart I look when I let the SM do it's job. Brett Favre is apparently out to show everyone that the Packers are indeed one of the NFC's best teams and at this point I have no reason to doubt him. I still think he's a self absorbed jackass, but he certainly knows how to throw that football around. I'm still waiting on the Dan Marino HBO special celebrating Favre setting the all-time interception record. Me 1-1, SM 2-0.

Arizona at Tampa (-3.5)
Tampa has a pretty porous run defense, so the Edge should have a good week. Kurt Warner has some good weapons to use and he should have a couple of good games left in that arm of his. This one is a SM special. Tampa 17-14.
I guess the SM isn't infallible. Tampa Bay did indeed cover the spread. Why couldn't I have picked this game. Seriously, the sum of my football knowledge could fit in a thimble. I tiny, tiny thimble that only microscopic single celled organisms could use. Me 1-2, SM 2-1.

Carolina at Tennessee (-4)
Carolina's starting QB choices are the ancient Vinny Testaverde and the beaten to a pulp David Carr. The only reason that the spread is so low is that Vince Young seems to have forgotten how to complete a forward pass. Young is also nursing a leg injury, so I don't expect much running from him either. This could be a very low scoring affair. Use the SM here. Tennessee wins 10-7.
How on earth does Tennessee keep on winning with Vince Young throwing for 100 yards a game? I had Vince Young as my starting fantasy QB this year (I know it was a stupid choice, but I missed the live draft, OK? Get off my back. Why can't you ever say anything nice to me?) and he single handedly has relegated me to the lower reaches of the standings. I wouldn't feel so bad about that except the Titans keep on winning in spite of him. This pisses me off to no end. If my team sucks because of him, then his own team should suck too (why doesn't life work the way I want it to?). Me 1-3. SM 2-2.

San Francisco at Atlanta (-3)
Jesus! is it just me or is the NFL just filled with teams that absolutely suck? Wow, you couldn't pay me to watch this game. At least when Atlanta had Michael Vick, it was enjoyable to watch him run around before throwing an interception. Joey Harrington has thrown 4 TDs, 4 picks and has rushed for less than 20 yards. San Francisco gets Alex Smith back this week and that should be enough to put them over the top. Use the SM in this game as well. 49ers 28-12.
This is just getting embarrassing now. I'm going to start using the Mussina rule. The Mussina rule is based on Mike Mussina who blames everything, except that fact that he was terrible, for a loss. I'm going to start with the fact that my computer was acting up. I also had a bad sandwich for lunch. My Lupus was acting up. My girlfriend left me. I ran out of gas. My radiator was overheating. It's not my fault! It's not my fault! How about a little sympathy, people. Me 1-4. SM 2-3.

Jacksonville at New Orleans (-3.5)
Jacksonville released their '06 starting QB in the off-season and lost their '07 starter last week. Now they will be led by someone named Quinn Gray (no, I've never heard of him either). The Saints are actually starting to hit their stride and Drew Brees had a phenomenal game last week against the 49ers. This one has the smell of a blowout. Disregard the SM on this one and take the Saints 31-7.
Wow. Will wonders never cease. This makes it sound like I actually know what I'm talking about. Brees threw for almost 450 yards and the Saints blew out the Jags. I know what you're going to say, that even the sun shines on a dogs ass sometimes. Fine, be that way. You know what screw you. I don't need you or your approval. Maybe if you would have taken me fishing when I was a kid I wouldn't have turned out like this. You only have yourself to blame. Me 2-4. SM 2-4.

Denver at Detroit (-3)
Denver is not the same team outside of mile high stadium (or whatever hell they call their new home), and apparently they aren't the same inside of it either. Detroit has some weapons on offense and they are undefeated at home. I would say that the SM would be good for this one, but I'm thinking of the glory days of Denver. This team has one quality win this year (against Pittsburgh in Denver) and a couple of squeakers against two bad teams (Oakland in OT and a one point win against Buffalo). I'm tempted to pick against the SM here and that exactly what I'm going to do. Detroit 30-20. I know I'm gonna regret that one on Monday.
Two in row! How about that. I'm on a roll. There are so many little people to thank. I'm not sure where to start. First of all I'd like to thank the guy who I buy a banana from every morning. They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that guy makes sure that I get the day off to a good start. Then I'd like to thank...oh to hell with it. It's clear that outside of the fruit guy, this was all me. Kneel before my superiority. Ha, Ha (that's my superior laugh). Me 3-4. SM 2-5.

Cincinnati at Buffalo (pick 'em)
Well the SM is useless here. This situation doesn't come up very often. We have a fairly anemic Buffalo offense against hard to figure out Bengals. The Bengals looked like the best team in football early last season, but have been mediocre every since. They gave up an astonishing 51 points to Cleveland earlier in the season, so we know that they have the ability to give up a lot of points. They also scored 45 points in that game, so we know that they can put points on the board. Their biggest accomplishment this season was holding New England under 40 points. Buffalo has won two fairly low scoring games in a row. The question is whether they can stop the Bengals offense. I'm leaning toward the Bengals in the is game (because I flipped a coin and it came up heads). I say this one goes the way of the tigers 24-13.
And just like that, my winning streak comes to an end. I was on top of the world there for an all too brief time. I was a modern day Icarus and when the sun melted my wings, I fell hard. But to soar above the ground was exhilarating. I only wish that you all could have experienced it with me (not really, but it makes me sound more humble if I say that). Me 3-5. SM 2-5.

San Diego (-7) at Minnesota
San Diego seems to be rolling after an early season hiccup. Minnesota pretty much has one weapon, Adrian Peterson. He has had one incredible game and the Vikings rolled to 34 points. Outside of that they have been fairly pedestrian. The SM says take the home dog, and while I have no reason to think that the game will go that way, who am I to argue. San Diego 30-24.
I get the win here, but I really don't deserve it. Peterson set an NFL record by rushing for 296 yards and the Vikings crushed the Chargers. This isn't like kissing your sister (which is the common analogy for a tie), this is more like rushing out to buy the new Michael Bolton CD. You own it, but it's your dirty little secret. Me 4-5. SM 3-5.

Seattle at Cleveland (-1)
Look how far the mighty have fallen. Just two seasons ago the Seahawks were in the Superbowl, now they are underdogs to Cleveland. The Browns are no longer a pushover and have scored over 40 points in two games this year. I have no reason to believe that Seattle will be able to overcome the Dog Pound. Screw the SM take the Browns 24-13.
Who ever thought that .500 could feel so good? Ah mediocrity, your smell is so sweet that I wish I could bathe in your goodness forever. Me 5-5. SM 3-6.

New England (-5.5) at Indianapolis
Indianapolis 34-31. I think there's been enough written about this game. Plus I really want to be done with this.
Still too much written about this game. The SM prevails. Me 6-5. SM 4-6.

Houston at Oakland (-3)
Oakland's not very good. They've lost three games in a row in fact. Their offense is anemic, although Dante Culpepper is capable of putting up big numbers. Houston also sucks. This is another battle between terrible teams. The NFL seems to specialize in these. Go with the SM. Houston 3-0.
The Texans pulled this game out even though their starting QB was out with an injury. I was right, the Raiders are terrible. The teams did manage to score a lot more points than I thought was possible. On a personal note I picked up the Raiders running back, Justin Fargas, for my fantasy team (who happens to be the son of Huggy Bear of Starkey & Hutch fame), and he ran for 104 yards and a touchdown. I know that no one cares about that particular fact, but if you're reading this blog, I figured that I'd just bore you more than you already are. Me 7-5. SM 5-6.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh (-9)
Baltimore gets Steve McNair back this week. That's enough for me to endorse the SM pick in this game. Pittsburgh wins a close one 24-21.
I somehow managed to skip the Cowboys game and pick the Monday night game. I assure that this was not my intention. However since I'm now guaranteed a winning week regardless of the outcome of this game, I will now pretend that I did it on purpose (I probably shouldn't have written that). I chose to ignore the Cowboys game because as a fan of the 'Boys, I feel it would be wrong to even guess at the outcome of the game based on the point spread. My only concern is that the Cowboys win the game (of course I would have probably picked the Eagles to cover the spread, because they were at home and the SM would have demanded it). So I'm happy that the Cowboys won and I don't think we need to say any more about that.

The Steelers destroyed the Ravens on Monday Night, but since I never intended to pick the Monday Night game, I'm not going to count this one against my record. What? Does someone have something to say? I didn't think so.

Old Soldiers Never Die

2007-11-01T15:51:00.000-04:00

The undefeated Colts (7-0) take on the undefeated Patriots (8-0) on Sunday in the NFL's latest GAME OF THE CENTURY. That showdown headlines the matchups for the weekend. My fellow contributor Bhart has been unable to fulfil his duties as NFL prognosticator for the last couple of weeks, so it's up to me to pick up the slack. Just like MacArthur, I have returned. I will go with a modified SM* this week, meaning that I'll overrule if I think that the pick is blatantly wrong (which probably just means I'll end up with a losing record). Anyway, here goes nothing.

Redskins (-3.5) at Jets

The Jets are terrible. They are throwing the untested QB to the wolves and the Redskins have to be pretty pissed off after getting embarrassed by the Patriots last week. The SM says the Jets will cover, I say different. I'm picking the Skins to win 28-10.

Green Bay at KC (-2)

The odds makers are apparently unimpressed by Green Bay's 7-1 start. Kansas City has been on a roll of late and I believe sit in first place in the AFC least also known as the west. The SM says take Green Bay and so that is exactly what I'm going to do. Green Bay 24-21.

Arizona at Tampa (-3.5)

Tampa has a pretty porous run defense, so the Edge should have a good week. Kurt Warner has some good weapons to use and he should have a couple of good games left in that arm of his. This one is a SM special. Tampa 17-14.

Carolina at Tennessee (-4)

Carolina's starting QB choices are the ancient Vinny Testaverde and the beaten to a pulp David Carr. The only reason that the spread is so low is that Vince Young seems to have forgotten how to complete a forward pass. Young is also nursing a leg injury, so I don't expect much running from him either. This could be a very low scoring affair. Use the SM here. Tennessee wins 10-7.

San Francisco at Atlanta (-3)

Jesus! is it just me or is the NFL just filled with teams that absolutely suck? Wow, you couldn't pay me to watch this game. At least when Atlanta had Michael Vick, it was enjoyable to watch him run around before throwing an interception. Joey Harrington has thrown 4 TDs, 4 picks and has rushed for less than 20 yards. San Francisco gets Alex Smith back this week and that should be enough to put them over the top. Use the SM in this game as well. 49ers 28-12.

Jacksonville at New Orleans (-3.5)

Jacksonville released their '06 starting QB in the off-season and lost their '07 starter last week. Now they will be led by someone named Quinn Gray (no, I've never heard of him either). The Saints are actually starting to hit their stride and Drew Brees had a phenomenal game last week against the 49ers. This one has the smell of a blowout. Disregard the SM on this one and take the Saints 31-7.

Denver at Detroit (-3)

Denver is not the same team outside of mile high stadium (or whatever hell they call their new home), and apparently they aren't the same inside of it either. Detroit has some weapons on offense and they are undefeated at home. I would say that the SM would be good for this one, but I'm thinking of the glory days of Denver. This team has one quality win this year (against Pittsburgh in Denver) and a couple of squeakers against two bad teams (Okaland in OT and a one point win against Buffalo). I'm tempted to pick against the SM here and that exactly what I'm going to do. Detroit 30-20. I know I'm gonna regret that one on Monday.

I can't believe that I still have six more games to pick. I think the NFL ought to give some serious thought to contraction. I mean do the Cardinals really deserve to be in the NFL? Or Detroit for that matter. New rule, if you haven't ever been to the Superbowl, you don't get to have an NFL team. I'll give a break to the expansion teams, but if your franchise existed when the Superbowl was created and you still haven't made it, you don't deserve to be in the NFL. I'll pass that recommendation along the commissioner. Alright back to the never ending picks (unlike the neverending story, which clearly made a promise to me (that they broke along with my heart) when I entered the theater that the movie would never end, this is not a legally binding promise).

Cincinnati at Buffalo (pick 'em)

Well the SM is useless here. This situation doesn't come up very often. We have a fairly anemic Buffalo offense against hard to figure out Bengals. The Bengals looked like the best team in football early last season, but have been mediocre every since. They gave up an astonishing 51 points to Cleveland earlier in the season, so we know that they have the ability to give up a lot of points. They also scored 45 points in that game, so we know that they can put points on the board. Their biggest accomplishment this season was holding New England under 40 points. Buffalo has won two fairly low scoring games in a row. The question is whether they can stop the Bengals offense. I'm leaning toward the Bengals in the is game (because I flipped a coin and it came up heads). I say this one goes the way of the tigers 24-13.

San Diego (-7) at Minnesota

San Diego seems to be rolling after an early season hiccup. Minnesota pretty much has one weapon, Adrian Peterson. He has had one incredible game and the Vikings rolled to 34 points. Outside of that they have been fairly pedestrian. The SM says take the home dog, and while I have no reason to think that the game will go that way, who am I to argue. San Diego 30-24.

Seattle at Cleveland (-1)

Look how far the mighty have fallen. Just two seasons ago the Seahawks were in the Superbowl, now they are underdogs to Cleveland. The Browns are no longer a pushover and have scored over 40 points in two games this year. I have no reason to believe that Seattle will be able to overcome the Dog Pound. Screw the SM take the Browns 24-13.

New England (-5.5) at Indianapolis

Indianapolis 34-31. I think there's been enough written about this game. Plus I really want to be done with this.

Houston at Oakland (-3)

Oakland's not very good. They've lost three games in a row in fact. Their offense is anemic, although Dante Culpepper is capable of putting up big numbers. Houston also sucks. This is another battle between terrible teams. The NFL seems to specialize in these. Go with the SM. Houston 3-0.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh (-9)

Baltimore gets Steve McNair back this week. That's enough for me to endorse the SM pick in this game. Pittsburgh wins a close one 24-21.

That's it for the week. As I've stated in the past, my expertise lies between the white lines of a baseball diamond, so I wouldn't go taking out a second mortgage to lay down bets based on my picks. I'll be back on Monday to give you the rundown of my shame.

*The SM (patent pending) picks the underdog to cover the spread in every game and has a winning percentage pushing 60% (Unsubstantiated claim. The Speigler Method has never been studied by an independent lab, Government Scientists, God, Man or Yale. Therefore I will not accept your card and letters complaining about said method).

Last Line of Defense

2007-10-30T16:59:00.000-04:00

This is the last time I write something defending Arod (I think), but Murray Chass of the NY Times couldn't help but get a parting shot at him. He wrote,

"If there is a team considering pursuing Rodriguez, it should remember that he has never played in a World Series, and he was a major reason his team didn’t get there the past three seasons."

Arod played an essential role in getting the Yankees to post season in the last three years. Remember that we are talking about, not one, but two MVP seasons in the last three years. If you don't get to the playoffs, you don't even get a chance to compete for the World Series. He certainly should shoulder some of the blame for the Yankees not advancing beyond that ALDS for the last three years, but without him there's a good chance that at least one, if not two of those three playoff appearances don't even happen. I think Chein Ming Wang giving up 12 runs in 5 innings had something to do with the Yankees losing to the Indians in their most recent trip to the playoffs. Arod played here for four years and the Yankees didn't win the World Series which is too bad for Yankee fans, but he is not the only or major reason for that.

I'm A Travelling Man

2007-10-29T11:45:00.000-04:00

Scott Boras announced to the world last night that Arod will indeed be opting out of his contract with the Yankees. The Yankees, who were preparing a mega deal for Arod, were not even given the chance to present an offer to him. The fact that Boras chose to make the announcement on the same night that the Red Sox won the series (thereby hogging the press coverage), is typical of the agent who doesn't care about the game, he only cares about the money. And in the end, I guess that's what an agent is supposed to care about. The press is vilifying Boras and Arod for the timing of the announcement, but Boras knew that doing it last night would get maximum press coverage. Peter Gammons was doing actually doing commentary about Arod decision on the field, while the Red Sox celebrated in the background.

As I said in one of my previous emails regarding Arod, this decision wouldn't be made based on money. He may get more money from another team, but the difference really isn't going to be that substantial. His decision isn't based on the "uncertainty surrounding the team" as Boras put it. Or because he didn't know who the next manager would be, or because he thought the Yankees wouldn't put a quality product on the field next year. He just didn't want to play for the Yankees anymore. Plain and simple. It could have been because of his up and down relationship with the fans, the pressure that he felt to produce, the non stop coverage by the press, his frosty relationship with Derek Jeter, or the expectations that were placed upon him, but whatever the ultimate reason, it all adds up to the same thing.

Arod will pack his bags once again and hit the road and bring with him the promise of greatness. He will sit in another press conference and proclaim that this is his final destination, that he never wants to wear the uniform of another team and that he finally feels like he's home. He will say all the things that the press and fans in his next city will want to hear. The only issue I have with Arod is that I know the speech is already written. Perhaps Arod will end up in Chicago with Lou Pinella where he may be the answer to the long suffering Cubs. He may go the Angels, whose owner has long coveted Arod. He may even end up in Boston, who only have to carry Manny's $20 million contract for one more season. I really have no idea where he'll go, but someone is going to pay a lot of money for the right to watch Arod make an assault on the all time home run record.

I personally bear no ill will toward Arod. It's been a treat to watch one of the greatest players of all time on a day to day basis. He almost single-handedly kept the Yankees afloat for the first half of this season and his play down the stretch in '05 was the difference in the Yankees winning another divisional crown. I have spent a lot of time in this forum defending him from his numerous critics and I regret none of it. His four year stretch was the best individual performance that I've ever seen by a Yankee player (and I've been watching since the 70's). He showed up everyday and did his job well. That's about all you can ask from a player. I don't know what he was like on the bench or in the clubhouse, but when he had a bat in his hands, he was the best player in the game.

So as Arod leaves New York, I wish him good look in his search. I'm not sure what he's looking for, but apparently he didn't find it here. The fans in his new city are in for a treat. He is without a doubt, a once in a generation type of player. And maybe, if he's lucky, his next stop will provide him with something that money can't buy. It may provide him with a place he can call home and actually mean it.

Ride 'Em In

2007-10-24T09:29:00.000-04:00

The World Series starts tonight, so I guess it's time for me to make a prediction. My success rate dropped to 50% in the last round. That's a 50% decrease from the first round. If my current pattern holds, then I should get this one wrong. We've got the miracle Rockies against the team with the best record in baseball. The Rockies shouldn't be here. They were dead in the water with 2-1/2 weeks to go in the season. There were a couple of times when the all times saves leader had a chance to end their season and he failed on both occasions. They have stormed through the playoffs and now stand on the verge of the accomplishing the greatest late season run in the history of baseball. All that stands in their way is the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox who were embraced as underdogs in '04 have now become part of the aristocratic class of baseball along with the Yankees. They are no longer lovable losers (I think the Cubs still hold that title), but a perennial powerhouse. To fans of the Rockies, I'm sure the Red Sox look like the evil empire. The Red Sox are the team with the payroll that dwarfs the competition. The Red Sox are the team that has had post season success. The Red Sox are the one's with the national fan base. For all intents and purposes, the Red Sox have become what they once detested and they are convinced that they have done right. The Rockies are the underdogs in the series. They are the little guys going up against the corporate giant. They are the real life Rudy.

On paper, this series looks like a mismatch. As we all know however, the games aren't played on paper. The Rockies are the hottest team on the planet. I thought that the long delay after the NLDS would effect them, I was wrong. So I don't think that the long delay will have any effect on them this time either. The Red Sox are coming off a huge comeback win against the Indians and are feeling pretty good about themselves as well. Both teams have had enough rest to set up their rotations for the Series. Josh Beckett is pitching about as well as any pitcher has in recent post season history. He will start game one and he is as close to a guaranteed win as exists. If he wins the first game, it will put the Rockies in unfamiliar territory. It's been weeks since they lost their last game. The question will be whether they can bounce back from that initial blow. I just don't think that they are going to be able to. I'm calling this one for the Red Sox in six games.

And there you have it. My pick to win it all is the Boston Red Sox. They will be the only team to win multiple titles in the new century and can now lay claim to being the new super power in baseball.

Ladies and Gentlemen...The New York Darkies

2007-10-22T17:19:00.000-04:00

I'm not one for political correctness and this really isn't about that, but the logo of the Cleveland Indians has to go. How has this symbol not been replaced? How is this different from the stereotypical images perpetuated by performers who used to appear in blackface for a hundred years? The Indians say that their name was changed in 1915 to honor the first native American to play in the majors. I personally find that hard to believe, but if that's their story, I'll take them at face value. What I do have a problem with is their depiction of "Chief Wahoo" as a grinning red skinned indian. I don't care what their original intent was, that caricature should be offensive to almost anyone who views it.

The position of those who want to keep the logo as it is, reminds me of the postition taken by those who wanted to keep the confederate flag as part of the state flags of southern states. People argued that it was there to remind them of their southern heritage, rather than a reminder of slavery and oppression. The truth was that the "stars and bars" were added to most of the state flags as show of defiance when the civil rights laws were enacted in the sixties. The people who were defending the flag felt like they were under attack by outsiders, so they took a position that was basically indefensible because they didn't feel like they should be told what to do. The people who defend the Chief Wahoo logo probably feel the same way. They feel like they are under attack from the "political correctness police" and so they have become more entrenched in their position, regardless of how objectively indefensible it may be.

Using Chief Wahoo to honor the American Indian makes as much sense as the Yankees being renamed the "Darkies" and using a grinning blackface image to honor the contribution of African-Americans. Or how about the New York Paddys, with a caricature of a drunk irishman with a big red nose and a bottle of booze in his hands? Or how about the New York Mafia, with a picture of a Italian man with a machine gun in his hands as the logo?

Can I Have This Dance...

2007-10-22T13:25:00.001-04:00

The Yankees and Alex Rodriguez are about to begin their high stakes game of Chicken that will ultimately lead to Arod signing a mega deal with the team or taking his chances on the open market. His agent, Scott Boras, has been in spin mode since well before the Yankees season ended and he has now kicked the spin into high gear. He's been talking about the Arod's value to the Yankees and to their regional sports network YES, and claiming that Arod is the reason that the network's value has tripled since he's been on the team. He is also claiming the Yankees boost in attendance can be directly traced to Arod. I believe that he even floated a figure of $40 million a year as reasonable for his client. His latest release to the press stated that the loss of Joe Torre and the accompanying turmoil may play a factor in Arod's decision.

While all of Boras' arguments are fairly transparent, his claim that the loss of Joe Torre will have an effect of Arod's decision may be the most laughable. Just last year, Torre dropped Arod to 8th place in the playoffs against Detroit and refused to defend him in a Sports Illustrated article. To think that Arod would hinge his decision on whether to come to the Yankees based on Torre's presence is a joke. While I'm sure that Arod and Torre were able to coexist peacefully in the clubhouse, to call their relationship warm, would probably be stretching the truth. During all of Boras' pronouncements, we have yet to hear a peep out of Arod. I'm sure this is all part of the grand scheme orchestrated by Boras to keep the Yankees guessing as to his real intentions.

Boras has a history of pushing the clock on negotiations. Just last winter he kept the Red Sox guessing about whether Matsusaka would sign a contract. In fact, in the end, it was Matsusaka who made the deal happen. He wanted to play for the Red Sox and so he took the last deal that was offered. Arod is in much the same position. The Yankees have stated publicly on various occasions that they will not pursue Arod if he chooses to opt out of his contract. They have said that they are simply unwilling to leave the money that the Texas Rangers are obligated to pay Arod over the next three seasons on the table. The Yankees will almost certainly offer Arod a long term extension in the $30 million neighborhood. The question is whether Arod wants to play for the Yankees or whether he would prefer to play somewhere else. In the end, it won't be about the money, but about Arod's comfort level with the city.

He may indeed get slightly more money over the next three seasons if he opts out of the Yankee deal (which will pay him $25 million a season), but over the life of the contract, the money will be fairly close. We may be talking about the difference between $240 and $250 million. It's a difference to be sure, but how much will that really matter to someone in Arod's position? We are about to find out. A lot of people have labeled Arod as a player who is only chasing money, but the difference in what he was offered (during his last foray into the free agent market) by his old team (Seattle) and the team he ended up on (Texas) was staggering ($90 million Vs. $250 million). He really had no choice but to take the offer from Texas. His stated reasons for moving were not believable (they were building a winning franchise, great atmosphere, etc.). He simply should have said what everyone knew, he went there for the money. I mean who could really blame him? He was singled out as the example of the greedy ballplayer anyway, so being honest couldn't have really hurt him much.

His situation with the Yankees is going to be much different. Arod knows that the Yankees are a franchise that is committed to winning and one that will spend money in order to guarantee a competitive product on the field every year. To walk away from the Yankees when they will make a great financial offer and practically guarantee a shot at the playoffs every season, would be an absolute repudiation of the team and the city. Perhaps he really hated his time here. The Yankee fans were certainly unkind at times and the papers here have followed his personal life with the reckless abandon. I certainly wouldn't hold it against him if he decided that he'd rather pursue his baseball life in another city as long as he was honest about the reasons for leaving.

I've always thought that the biggest problem with Arod connecting with the fans is that almost everything that comes out his mouth seems to be planned. He never really seems to speak from his heart. New Yorkers especially love an athlete who wears his heart on his sleeve. Arod is the definition of "maintaining an even strain". The Yankee fans were much kinder to Arod this year because of the phenomenal numbers that he produced, but I don't think that they really identify with Arod or truly embrace him. The contract is one of the reasons, but the other is that people perceive him as a player who keeps his distance from the fans. Arod is just a private person. It's the same kind of quality that Joe DiMaggio had, but in those days, baseball fans weren't privy to comings and goings of their stars. The majority of fans had no idea what a prickly and private person DiMaggio was. The press perpetuated his image by talking about how classy DiMaggio was. His teammates may have had a different opinion of him, but that was never conveyed to the public. There was no SI article talking about his relationship with his teammates. They looked at the numbers he produced and his on field demeanor and turned him into an icon. If Arod had been a star during those days, he may be viewed differently by the public, but given today's access and never ending stream of press, Arod is not viewed in that light.

I really have no idea what Arod's decision is going to be, but Yankees have about 3 weeks left to negotiate exclusively with him. I can assure you that in that time we are going to get a lot more from Scott Boras and probably very little from the only person who already knows whether the Arod show will continue on Broadway or whether it will be hitting the road again.

The Time of Your Life

2007-10-19T09:38:00.000-04:00

The Yankees made an offer to Joe Torre yesterday that they knew he would have to refuse. They offered him a base salary that was 30% below what he made this year. A year in which he led the Yankees from 14-1/2 games out of first to within sniffing distance of the division title and to their 13th straight playoff appearance. The Yankees offered him performance bonuses and a vesting option for one more year if he made the World Series. Joe turned them down. He left a potential $16 million on the table because he didn't think that after all he had done for the Yankees that he deserved to be treated like a salesman working for a bonus. Joe managed to leave the Yankees with the same dignity and grace that he has displayed over his past 12 years at the helm of the world's most famous team.

The Yankees probably felt they had no choice but to offer a contract to Torre. Before Torre arrived the Yankees had been to the post season just once in 14 years. The tradition of winning championships was a distant memory. When he took the reigns of the team, there were 21 year old Yankee fans who would have had no memory of the team ever winning a World Series. Joe changed all that. His teams won an amazing four titles in five years. Now there are 18 year old fans who believe that the Yankees being in the playoffs is their birthright. Ultimately Joe Torre became a victim of his own success. He had been unable to get the Yankees out of the first round of the three years in a row and ownership finally decided that it was time to make a change. Regardless of George Stienbrenner's proclamation that Joe wouldn't be back if the Yankees didn't beat the Indians, it would have been almost inconceivable for the Yankees not to make an offer to the most successful manager of modern times. They knew that the offer would have to be substantial and they knew that it would have to molded in such a way that Torre would have no choice but to turn it down.

Offering an incentive based contract is a first in baseball as far as I know. I don't remember another manager being offered incentives based on how far a team gets in the playoffs. Players often have incentive clauses in their contracts for winning awards and of course there are tens of thousands of dollars in playoff bonuses if their teams advance. But managers usually don't have that kind of contract. They may have a bonus clause if they win manager of the year, but I don't know if they have bonus clauses (especially for $3 million) for winning in the playoffs. Anyway, the base salary was always going to be a sticking point and the Yankees knew this. They knew that Joe Torre could never accept a pay cut. They knew that he would have no choice but to turn down the offer and head back home. They also knew that they could then tell Yankee fans that they had tried to resign Joe. They had made a good faith effort, they had even offered him more money than he made this year. They had done everything possible to try and retain Joe, but in the end he had decided to move on.

I know that some fans will buy the explanation. After all how can someone who is struggling every day to feed their family feel bad about a man who turns down a guaranteed contract of $5 million? But I have a feeling that many of those working class people will feel bad for Joe. Joe's a New Yorker, he speaks the same language that many of the fans do. He grew up going to Yankee stadium. He was actually at the perfect game that Don Larsen threw in the '56 World Series. The Yankees haven't won the Series for seven years, and while the fans will bitch and moan about that, they will not forget the magical ride that the '96-'00 team took this city on. And Joe Torre was at the helm of that team.

It is now officially the end of the Joe Torre era and the beginning of the Don Mattingly? era. It doesn't really matter who takes over the managerial seat for the Yankees. I can guarantee you that the Yankees won't have another era like this one. The Yankees were the only playoff team to repeat an appearance from last year. With revenue sharing and TV money the era of parity has reached the major leagues. The Yankees still have the highest payroll and enough talent to compete for the playoffs for the conceivable future, but they will not be making the playoffs for the next 12 years in a row. A year will come when the Yankees get off to a slow start and they don't stage a huge turnaround in the second half. A year will come when age, injury or just simple bad luck will catch up with them. I don't know who the manager will be then, but all the papers in town will wax poetic about the glory days when the Yankees made the playoffs every year. They'll long for those days and they'll long for Joe Torre. And so will the Yankees.

The Morning After

2007-10-16T10:37:00.000-04:00

Now that the baseball off-season is upon us (at least upon those of us that are Yankee fans), the task of assessing the past season and deciding what 2008 has in store is at hand. I've already written about what I thought of the season and the team, but there are a lot of choices to made for the Yankees going forward. Let's look at the team position by position:

Catcher:

Jorge Posada had a career year at the age of 36, it didn't hurt that it came during a contract year. Jose Molina provided the Yankees with the first solid back up work since Posada's early years. The Yankees have no choice but to resign Posada. They don't have a big league ready catcher in the minors and there are no attractive free agent choices. Posada has said that he would test the free agent waters, but he really has no desire to leave the Bronx and the Yankees have no desire to see him leave. Catchers usually stop being productive in their mid thirties, but the Yankees have no choice but to sign Posada to a three year contract in the $40 million dollar range. Molina probably wants to be an everyday catcher somewhere, so I don't think the Yankees are going to be able to keep him happy. It looks like they will once again be searching for a competent back up to Posada.

First Base:

Doug Menkekeldlwyzt provided a solid glove and better bat than anticipated at first (although I still think he's best suited as a defensive replacement). Giambi suffered through an injury plagued year and thankfully for the Yankees, 2008 is the last year of his monstrous contract. Also Andy Phillips and Wilson Betament played some first base during the year. The first base situation is really dependent on the Arod situation at third. First is traditionally a power position, but Doug Mendkzekewltz doesn't provide much power. Giambi , when healthy, can provide power, but his defense is more than a little suspect. If Arod is on the team, the Yankees can afford to give up some power at the position, if he's not, then they really need someone to pick up the offensive slack. I know Giambi is going to be on the team in '08, I'm just not sure who else will be joining him.

Second Base:

Robinson Cano overcame a horrible start to hit over .300 again and drive in almost 100 runs. His defense is at times spectacular and at times it looks like he's not really paying attention. Overall though, I think he's one of the better second basemen in the league and he provides the Yankees with a young position player who can anchor the lineup for years to come. He's a number three hitter in the making.

Shortstop:

Derek Jeter was slowed by injuries this year and his usual stellar base running suffered. His range on defense, which has never been great, was even worse this year. His numbers were down from his "should have been MVP" year, but he still scored 100 runs and hit .320. I expect him to bounce back some next year and at least improve his stolen base percentage.

Third Base:

Probably the biggest question mark the Yankees have this offeseason besides Joe Torre is Arod. He can opt out of his contract 10 days after the end of the World Series and his agent Scott Boras and the Yankees will be playing a high stakes game of poker until then. Boras has already floated stories in the press about possible ownership being offered and the staggering figure of $400 million as a possibility. This is really going to come down to whether Arod wants to stay in NY or go somewhere else. I'm sure the Yankees will make him a very lucrative offer (in the $225-$250 million range), so money isn't going to be the issue. Arod has to decide whether he wants to establish his legacy here or not. I still don't know the answer to that one. If were betting on this, I'd say that he signs with the Yankees at 11:59 PM, one minute before the opt out date.

Right Field:

Bobby Abreu, like Cano overcame a horrendous start to post very good numbers. He never got his average above .300, but he did drive in and score over 100 runs. The Yankees have a $16 million option for next year and so they can decide his fate. If the Yankees were to go out and get a center fielder, say Aaron Rowand, I believe that they would let Abreu walk. If they can get Rowland for about $10 million a year, then they could move Melky to RF, improve their defense and save some money. Abreu is a former Gold Glove winner, but in NY he has always seemed to shy away from the walls. He has a good arm, but his range is very limited. In my opinion, the Yankees would be better off getting a cheaper CF and letting Bobby go.

Center Field:

Melky Cabrera established himself as the Yankees CF'er early in season. He also got off to a very slow start, but was a big part of the Yankee resurgence in the second half. He's got a great arm and good range. He's not the most natural CF'er in the game, but he did lead all CF'ers in the majors in outfield assists. I think the team would be best served by moving him to Right Field. He certainly has a RF'ers arm and if he could begin to develop more power, I think he could be fixture out there for many years.

Left Field:

Matsui had a very streaky year at the plate, but did end up with numbers that were fairly representative of his career (25HRs, 100 runs, 100 rbi's). The Yankees began using Johnny Damon in LF on a daily basis as the year wore on and unless they are able to trade Damon, I believe that Matsui will become for the most part, a full time DH. That would mean that Giambi would have to play first to get into the lineup. Perhaps Matsui, Damon and Giambi will become something of a rotating threesome between the three positions. For 2008, I suspect that Damon will get the majority of the time in the LF.

Starting Rotation:

The Yankees have Mussina, Hughes, Kennedy, Chamberlin and Igawa under contract for next year. I'm pretty sure that Clemens won't be back, but I'm thinking that Pettite will exercise his $16 million option and return. That leaves someone out of the mix in the rotation. I happen to think that Kei Igawa can be an effective starter in the majors. He clearly has the ability to strike hitters out (7.1K per 9), but he had control issues. If they can be fixed then I think he might turn out to be a serviceable starting pitcher. It would be a mistake to give up on him, because the Yankees will be relying on three very young pitchers to take the ball every fifth day. While each has shown this year that they can get hitters out, it would be wise to have other options in case they fail to reproduce the work they did in '07. I'm actually pretty excited to see what the Yankees can do with a rotation that would be 80% home grown.

Bullpen:

Rivera was his usual self after a shaky April. He's still one of the best closers in baseball, even if he's not as automatic as he used to be. I don't think the Yankees have a better option. He's been making some noise in the press about maybe not coming back if the Yankees chose not to bring Joe Torre back, but I don't think that's the case. It would take a mind boggling offer from another team to pry him away from the only team he's ever pitched for. The Yankees bullpen problems are with their set up men. Vizciano did a good job, but then got tired in September. Kyle Farnsworth went through a stretch were he seemed to give up at least a run in every appearance. Chamberlin was spectacular, but he'll be on the starting staff. The Yankees really need to look to the free agents to try and fill what appears to be to me, their biggest weakness.

So that's it for the position by position breakdown. I don't see a whole lot of change, except in the outfield. Every year I make suggestions to Brian Cashman about what to do with the team and every year he ignores me. This year will be no different.

Clarity Comes With The Day After, If You Put The Bottle Down.

2007-10-15T23:46:00.000-04:00

alcohol is a funny thing. it makes the weak, strong. it makes the meek, proud—sometimes, even boastful. and on occasion, it makes an ordinary man squeeze his nether regions between his legs and don his ex-girlfriend’s thong only to do a rendition of the macarena at 2:45 in morning in front of a full-length mirror, alone.

but enough about me. this is the NFL. this is football. this is my
“its-not-you-it’s-me” session. this is where i come clean, and apologize to all the loyal readers of this blog for leading them astray. so here i go.

if you read no further, i went 6-5. which makes me a winner, despite what my parents have told me for the last 32 years. on with the results.

Minnesota at Chicago (1-0)
“adrian peterson has a career game”. i guess that might have been the understatement of the blog. 224 yrds rushing and 3 TDs eclipsed a 31 year-old rushing record for the vikings. i said take the vikings. the line said take the bears. looks like the football gods smiled upon me.

Miami at Cleveland  (1-1)
when you’re drinking, sometimes you get up from the table in the middle of a conversation to go to the restroom and come back, only to find out that the conversation has moved on. unfortunately, the whole time you’ve been in the restroom, you’ve been developing an amazing argument. you get back to table, spout off your thesis statement and realize that you’ve missed the train, entirely.

this happened during my cleveland/miami pick. i said greise would have a horrible game. greise wasn’t even in this game. i take full responsibility for this. if you put money on this game because of greise, please contact me. i want to make fun of you in public to divert any attention focused on me.

Washington at Green Bay (no pick, 1-1)
had i (or you) gone with my initial logic,  this was a solid pick.

Cincinnati at Kansas City  (no pick, 1-1)
i still firmly believe that they are both losers.

Tennessee at Tampa Bay  (1-2)
i said superman would “will” them to victory. superman goes out with an injury mid-way thru the 3rd quarter. TB scores 10 pts thereafter, and wins by 3. bummer.

St. Louis at Baltimore (2-2)
this wasn’t really a fair pick. but i got it none-the-less.

Houston at Jacksonville (3-2)
the win was right, the points were sooo far wrong, i don’t even want to talk about it. but a win is a win.

Philadelphia at NY jets  (4-2)
what can i say. J-E-T-S-will-let-u-down, down, down! btw: did anyone else watch sportscenter this weekend when they had kermit the frog doing an interview with jets & eagles fans? was it me, or did kermit sound really weird? they should bring the old guy back that used to do his voice. the new guy is waaay off.

Carolina at Arizona  (4-3)
i put my faith in warner. he goes out early. and who could’ve predicted testeverde? that’s almost a better story than warner. due to a lack of info, i personally deem this a tie. but money laid is money played. so there you go. honesty. i hope you’re satisfied.

Oakland at San Diego  (4-4)
“LT fails to live up to the hype once again.” like communism, the designated hitter, and neapolitan ice cream, it made sense in theory, not so much in practice. so who knew? apparently, 98% of fantasy football owners did. count this one a loss.

New England at Dallas (5-4)
“brady is a better field general than romo. moss and owens cancel each other out. folk has a career game.” two out of three ain’t bad. and, apparently, brady is a much better field general than romo—any day of the week and twice on sundays—for now, anyway.

New Orleans at Seattle  (5-5)
i was wrong. i apologize. i just want to say that in both my fantasy leagues, brees was benched this week. nuff said. i’m done with this.

NY Giants at Atlanta (6-5)
this was a given…the jet’s lost. but i didn’t expect eli to have 300+ yards. anyway, my pick was right.

well, there you have it. my picks from bosox country. i must say, as i look up from my keyboard, it’s refreshing to see half the bar leave with their rally caps on as cleveland spanked boston 4-2. now if only colorado could win another one. i’d love to talk more about this, but i think i hear the macarena playing…

NFL picks from the bottom of a glass: lost somewhere in america.

2007-10-12T00:20:00.000-04:00

there’s a place in America where a kid doesn’t discuss batting averages with his boys as he waits in line to walk through the metal detectors at school. a place where the same kid doesn’t worry about what color hat he has on, and whether he needs to change it before heading to the park in someone else’s turf. yes, somewhere, far, far away from hustle and bustle of midtown traffic a child is playing catch with his father in the backyard, and only thinking one thing:

i hope dad drops one before i do.

the grass is just as green here as it is in Yankee stadium. only the kid doesn’t appreciate it. because grass is supposed to be green where this kid lives, there’s plenty of it, and he’s well aware of it because his one job on Saturday is to mow it.

(cue soft, whiny violin music)

i don’t expect you to understand it. many of you haven’t stepped foot out of Manhattan since Clinton was running things, Cecil Fielder was on first base, and gray’s papaya only charged $1.50 for two dogs and a drink (the recession special was awesome).

sure, you went home for a holiday or two. you spent the time explaining to your aunt Edna that six friends with part-time jobs could never afford a place that big near central park—even if it was rent controlled. and if you’re traveled, you might have even visited someplace you described around the water-cooler as “quaint”. but chances are, you haven’t lived middle America in quite some time.

this is middle America. beaming with values. chock-full of morals. completely devoid of dirt, grit, and struggling passion. i’ve found myself in the middle of it for 345 days, 3 hours, and 17 minutes. and from what i can tell, everywhere but NY is bosox country.

i could continue but since the season is over, here are my NFL picks:

Minnesota at Chicago
this will come down to how well the viking running backs can fare against the bears d-line. duh. vikings come out big. Adrian Peterson has a career game.
the line says bears. smart money is on the vikings (and by smart, i mean slightly inebriated and highly-delusional). but look forward to Robbie Gould having two 50+ yard field goals and possibly a blocked xpa.

Miami at Cleveland
Cleveland is favored. unfortunately, griese has been sucking down cosmo’s since the final game of the ALDS. and we all know what a few days of cosmo-drinking can do to your judgement. one time, i passed out on the f train and woke up in Weehawken. try explaining that one. anyhow, take Miami. they have prettier colors.

Washington at green bay
green bay is 4-1 (they won 80% of their games). the redskins are 3-1 (and only won 75% of their games). i’m no statistician, but 80 is bigger than 75. logic says go with green bay. unfortunately, Favre's cataracts are going to act up and most of his passes are going to be short. i’d put half my money on green bay, half my money on Washington, and just pray for a tie.

Cincinnati at Kansas city
no one wins because they are both losers--regardless of the line.

Tennessee at Tampa bay
whenever you hear the words, “Vince young,” do you also hear Eddie Murphy impersonating a middle-aged, obese woman chanting, “he’s the man, he’s the man, he’s the man?” i guess i’m the only one. despite the odds, take Tennessee. superman will “will” them to victory.

st. Louis at Baltimore
this match up was something i was looking forward to when they released the schedules last year. now, not so much. take Baltimore. take the points. take the game off and spend some time with a loved one. or call your grandma. she hasn’t heard from you for a long time anyway.

Houston at Jacksonville
kubiac is the greatest coach ever. period. elway is proof of that (he won superbowls when kubiac was sending in signals). end of story. unless Houston is on the road, playing a team with only three syllables. jack-son-ville is favored in this one. Jacksonville wins, but only by a field goal. dayne has 100 yards. and some loser proposes to his wife during half-time. unfortunately, she’s stuck in line trying to buy him a chili-dog. “the thought matters” principle is tested and finally breaks, forever ending quips from chip in the mail room. so we got that going for us, which is nice.

Philadelphia at NY jets
when in doubt, take the home team, unless they are playing in another team’s home stadium. yeah, the jet’s are screwed. but look at it this way, 36% of new yorkers won’t be complaining about the Yankees.

Carolina at Arizona
arizona is favored here. if it weren’t for the fact that i really have to go to the bathroom, i’d try to find out why. regardless, kurt warner is starting. this is a guy who bagged groceries to make ends meet for his wife and seven children while he waited for his one shot in the nfl, only to get it, get named nfl mvp twice, and then sent to bench. how can this go wrong for arizona? take them.

Oakland at San Diego
san diego is favored large. but this is the afc west (which used to stand for something). i’m going out on a limb here taking the raiders. btw: LT fails to live up to the hype once again. sit him in your fantasy leagues.

New England at Dallas
Jesus, how many games are there? i’ve been writing for like an hour now. damn. brady is a better field general than romo. moss and owens cancel each other out. folk has a career game. and that’s the problem. the cowboys don’t find the end zone. pats by 7 plus.

New Orleans at Seattle
remember that girl you met at summer camp back in 6th grade? the two of you wrote each other constantly through the ensuing school year? compliments turned into flirtation? pictures were exchanged. yet, you couldn't explain to your buddies why she was always wearing the same outfit? then, summer camp came around again, and you got the courage to sneak out of the cabin, steal a canoe, and head over to the other side of the lake to see her? remember how disappointed you where when you found out she was a boy? yeah, same thing. this match-up had a amazing promise, long, long, ago.

take Seattle, if only because they are home.

NY Giants at Atlanta
i’ve already told you that jets will lose. which means that some NY sports team has to win. the Yankees are done playing for the year. by default, the giants win. Tiki barber steals the show with two off-color comments about the coaching staff.

well, there you have it.

The Show Must Go On

2007-10-10T11:45:00.000-04:00

The Yankees are no longer part of the postseason but there are still four teams with a chance to win the big prize. I managed to predict the winners of all the first round series', so flush with success I'm now going to plow ahead to the League Championships. The Rockies and Diamondbacks series starts on Thursday. The Rockies are the hottest team in baseball having won 17 of their last 18 games. The problem that the Rockies have is that the layoff between games is probably going to effect them the most. When a team is hot, the last thing they want is time off. Unfortunately, the Rockies have had a week off. The Diamondbacks are dealing with the same layoff as the Rockies, but my feeling is that it won't affect them as much. The Rockies depend on their offense to lead the way and a hitters timing can suffer greatly by not seeing live pitching for a week. While the Rockies were on a roll last week, I'm not sure if they will be able to rekindle their momentum given the long rest between games. I'm thinking that the difference in this series is going to be pitching and defense. The Diamondbacks have the best pitcher left in NL playoffs in Brandon Webb and their defense has been great all year. I'm picking the Diamondbacks in 5 with Webb winning games 1 and 5.

The Red Sox and the Indians are a little trickier. The Red Sox have playoff proven pitchers in Beckett and Schilling, but the Indians have the two best pitchers in the AL in the second half in Sabthia and Carmona. All four have had stellar starts in the playoffs so far with Beckett and Carmona putting forth dominating efforts. The question is whether Schilling, who has been inconsistent this year, can put together two great starts in this series. The Red Sox offense, with a now healthy Manny, has a potent middle of the lineup. Ortiz, Ramirez and Lowell are the most dangerous threesome left in the playoffs. This series is really going to come down to whether the Indians two great starters can handle the Red Sox three best hitters. The Red Sox also have a huge advantage at the end of the game with Papelbon. So, how does this one turn out? As I started writing this, I was leaning toward the Red Sox. In the middle of writing it, I was leaning toward the Indians. However, I'm going to have to call this one for the Red Sox in six. At the end of the day, I just think that the Red Sox pitching at the end of the game will make the difference. Thinking about Joe Borowski facing Ortiz and Manny at the end of a game should fill every Tribe fan with dread.

That's it on the playoffs for now. I'll be back to pick a winner when the World Series rolls around.

Blinded by the Light

2007-10-09T15:37:00.000-04:00

During last night's game, the TBS broadcasting crew of Skip Carey, Tony Gwynn and Bob Brenly showed the most amazing lack of preparation that I've seen this side of Tim McCarver. They kept on talking about the speed of Chein Ming Wang's sinker. They all commented that he was throwing it in the mid ninties and that he needed to slow it down in order to get better sinking action on the ball. However, if they had ever seen Wang pitch before (and they did in game 1 of the series), they should have been aware of the fact that he is the hardest thrower on the Yankees starting staff. He consistently throws his sinker in the mid nineties and has for the past three years. Somehow that fact escaped them all. He actually threw a good one at 94 mph and they commented that he was finally slowing his pitches down and getting some sink on the ball. Carmona, the Indians starter also throws a power sinker and I don't remember them complaining that he was throwing too hard as his pitches reached the mid-nineties on Friday night. Seriously guys, it's the playoffs. It would be nice if you knew something about the players you're covering.

All Good Things...

2007-10-09T13:22:00.000-04:00

The Yankees 2007 season came to an end last night and with it, probably the Joe Torre era as well. They were done in by the timely hitting of the Indians who hit a remarkable .500 with 2 outs and men in scoring position. They scored the majority of their runs when the Yankee pitchers were pitch away from ending an inning. In the end, the Yankees vaunted lineup failed to produce in the clutch and their pitching was unable to hold the Indians in check. Outside of a three run home run by Johnny Damon and an error by Trot Nixon that allowed three runs to score, the Yankees offense failed to show up for the second year in a row. George Steinbrenner had already said that Joe's job was on the line if the Yankees failed to win this series, so there doesn't seem to be much hope that Torre will be given a new contract.

So how should we remember this season (I'll get to Torre a little bit later)? Should we remember how it ended (with a whimper rather than a bang)? Should we remember how impotent the highest scoring offense in the majors looked? Should we remember the Yankees best starter producing two forgettable starts? Should we remember Jeter, Arod, Matsui and Abreu failing in one clutch situation after another? You could chose to recollect those things when you think about this season, but I'd rather thing about the drama and the glory of the six months that precededed the ALDS. I'll remember the Yankees fighting back from a deficit of 14-1/2 games. I'll remember every major sports writer saying that this was the season that the Yankees finally fell apart. I'll remember a season for the ages put together by Alex Rodriquez. I'll remember Joba Chamberlin, Phillip Hughes and Ian Kennedy proving that the Yankees future is very bright indeed. I'll remember Jorge Posada who, despite catching over 130 games for what seemed like the 20th year in a row, had the best season of his career. I'll remember Andy Pettite coming back to Bronx after a three year sabbatical in Houston showcasing his usual second half brilliance. I'll remember Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera bringing their youthful exuberance and helping the Yankees remember that baseball is indeed just a game. I'll remember Mo Rivera overcoming a rough start and showing everybody that he is the greatest closer baseball has ever seen. I'll remember the seemingly unflappable Chien Ming Wang going out the mound and inducing grounder after grounder for his infield to handle. I'll remember a team at 21-29 and dead in the water suddenly remembering that they were the NEW YORK YANKEES and reminding all of baseball that they were a force to be reckoned with. To quote the Chairman of the Board,

"From the brim to the dregs, it poured sweet and clear, it was a very good year."

But the thing that I'll remember most of all is Joe Torre breaking down in the clubhouse after the Yankees clinched the wild card. One the reporters asked him about his team and Joe just couldn't hold back his emotions. That's what the Yankees will lose when Joe Torre leaves. They'll lose their heart. They'll lose the man who has kept them on the right path in good times and bad. Joe never wore his emotions on his sleeve during games or in the clubhouse. He was the one person who kept his head while all those around him were losing theirs. Joe came to town as a manager who hadn't won anything (well, he did lead Atlanta to a division title once) and leaves as a hall of famer having led the Yankees to 12 straight post season appearances, 6 AL championships and 4 World Series titles. In this age of parity in baseball (the Yankees were the only repeat team from last years playoffs), we may just have witnessed the last dynasty in baseball and Joe Torre was at the helm.

I know people will talk about the Yankees payroll and how they bought those victories, but for those who would say that, I would direct your attention across town to the team with the highest payroll in the National League. Did having more money than anyone else help the Mets avoid a late season collapse? Money doesn't guarantee anything and it certainly doesn't guarantee a trip to the playoffs every year. Joe brought stability and class to an organization that was lacking those things before his arrival. He never engaged in a shouting match in the press with his boss or one of his players, even when unkind things were said about him. He never threw fits on the field when a call went against him. He never raised his voice in a post game press conference, regardless of the ridiculous questions that were directed at him. Through good times and bad, he was (at least publicly) the same Joe. There are those that would say that the a more emotive manager would have been able to get the Yankees to play better. I have to respectfully disagree. The Yankees players could not have responded to any better to another manager than they have to Joe. They all universally speak of him with such respect and genuine affection that I can't imagine that they would performed any better than they have. Joe was simply the right man at the right time for the right team.

And now it's all over (presumably). I have a hard time believing that Joe would want to manage again (although the St. Louis Cardinals need a manager and Joe did have his best seasons as a player there (hmmm)). I think that the Cardinals may be the only team that could tempt Joe back into the managers seat. St. Louis is considered the best baseball city in the country and the pressure certainly would be a lot less than it was here in NY. I prefer to think that Joe won't take another job. That he'll always be remembered as the manager of the last dynasty in baseball and that he'll always be remembered as a NEW YORK YANKEE. There's a spot in monument park waiting for him and of course his number (6) will be retired on Joe Torre day and there's not a lot more that a baseball man can ask for. I just wish that Joe would have been able to go out on his own terms. I wished for the Yankees to win this year, not so much for me, but for Joe. I don't know if he would have quit if they had won it all, but that was my hope. This isn't quite the glorious ending I foresaw, but it doesn't change the picture of Joe Torre that I'll always carry in my mind, which is the players carrying him off the field as his eyes fill with tears.

Thanks, Joe. For everything.

Smells Like Roses

2007-10-04T11:53:00.000-04:00

Filip Bondy of the NY Daily News had this to say today about the Yankees:

"Forget Nervous Guy at third base, scheduled to turn into a pumpkin tonight against C.C. Sabathia and the Indians. Wrap your hopes again inside the golden aura of Hero Man at shortstop, the trusty security blanket."

I know it's practically blasphemy around baseball to say anything negative about Derek Jeter, but why does praising Jeter have to come at the expense of Arod. All Arod did was put a season that hasn't been seen in baseball since the days of Babe Ruth and Jimmy Foxx. He practically single-handedly carried the Yankees during the first months of the season when half of the lineup was in a prolonged slump. Without him, the sainted Jeter doesn't even get to the postseason this year and yet the writers in this town can't help but take another shot at Arod. By the way, where was Jeter in the 2001 World Series when he hit .148 as the Yankees lost in seven games. How about the loss to the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS (which is constantly blamed on Arod) when he hit a robust .200 as the Yankees lost four games in a row. Jeter has produced lots of big hits for the Yankees over the years, but he's not infallible. If the Yankees fail this year, you can bet the writers will blame it on Arod no matter what Jeter does. If Jeter has a terrible series, all the articles will still be about Arod's inability to lead the Yankees to victory. It must be nice to be a saint. By the way, Filip Bondy couldn't be reached for a comment. He was too busy worshiping the ground that Jeter walked on.

Spitting Allowed

2007-10-03T11:23:00.000-04:00

Mike Lupica wrote another article about Arod and his lack of postseason success today. He had this to say:

"Did nothing against the Angels in the division series of 2005 and nothing against the Tigers in the division series of 2006. Is everything his fault? Not on your life. No one has ever suggested that it is. "

No has ever suggested that the Yankees not winning was all Arods fault???? Really? What planet has he been living on?Lupica himself has written at least a dozen articles where he blamed Arod for the Yankees lack of recent postseason success. Apparently he includes himself in his general contempt for the world and doesn't read his own material. It would quite something if the Yankees were to win the World Series this year. Lupica would write about how wonderful Joe Torre is (after calling for his job for the past two seasons) and how wonderful Arod is (after calling him a choker on many occasions) and how perfect this Yankee team is and how it reminds him of the the team in the 90's (after repeatedly saying how different this team is from those teams) and how all is right with the world with the Yankees on top of baseball again (after proclaiming the Mets the new kings of New York for the last couple of years). Lupica is like a weatherman; his predictions are often wrong but there never seem to be any repercussions. Nice work if you can get it.

Lightning Round

2007-10-03T09:46:00.000-04:00

The tournament known as the baseball playoffs begin tonight. The miracle series (Phillies vs. Rockies) in the NL and the Red Sox vs. the Angels in the AL. I guess it's time for me to make my predictions. First I'll give you a wrap up of my preseason picks for the playoffs. In the AL I was 100% accurate. Thank you, thank you very much. As far as the NL goes, I was slightly less accurate. The Phillies winning the east was all I got right and that took a collapse of historical proportion by the Mets. Oh well, five out of eight isn't too bad, but I do expect more from myself. I was incredibly wrong on the Dodgers, who played the last two months of the season like a minor league team. The Brewers made me look bad again. They were in first place for most of the season, but could not maintain it down the stretch. I'm sure I'll end up picking them again next year (thanks Amy and Claire). However, I was correct in stating that neither of last years World Series participants would make the playoffs. All in all a very mediocre effort. Almost Steve Phillips like (although I have to apologize to Steve for ridiculing him when he said that the Mets wouldn't make the playoffs and the Rockies would win the wildcard. He also said the Yankees wouldn't make it so I'm still holding that against him). Arod will win the MVP in the AL, Pujols will not win it in the NL. I picked Jake Peavy to win the Cy Young last year, so I'm going to take partial credit for that one. I just didn't think that he would be able to stay healthy all year. My AL Cy Young pick Rich Harden got hurt in the first month of the season and never recovered, so I'm going to give my self a pass on that one.

Now lets get on to picking the winners of the division series'. The Red Sox finished with the best record in baseball and are playing a Angels team that is a little banged up. Tim Wakefield is out for the Red Sox, but it won't hurt them at all because they opted for the longer series format which only requires them to use three starting pitchers. That means Beckett and Schilling would get two starts a piece in a five game series. The Angels are a scrappy bunch of players and they seem to have the Yankees number, but I don't see them getting past the Red Sox. The Red Sox have too much offense (as long as Manny is healthy and Ortiz stays hot) and just enough pitching to lose to the Angels. My call is the Red Sox in four.

In the NL the Phillies and Rockies face off in the most improbably series in baseball history. The odds against two teams who were down by 6-1/2 games with 14 games to play both making the playoffs are probably astronomical. I can't remember a more improbable ending to a season. The Rockies come in as the hottest team in baseball, having won 14 of their last 15 games. The Phillies are no slouches in the heat department as they won 13 of their last 17 to overtake the Mets and win the East. So who has the advantage? Given that the offenses of both teams are capable of putting up a lot of runs (they ranked one and two in runs scored in the NL), the difference may come down to the bullpens. Both teams are relying on pitchers who did not have the closers job when the season started. Manny Corpas has been very effective for the Rockies since taking over the closing duties from Brian Fuertes while the Phillies have relied on converted starter Bret Myers since Tom Gordon got hurt. Corpas has been more effective pitcher since the All-Star Break and that may just be enough to put the Rockies over the top. I'm going to pick the Rockies in five.

The Cubs are playing the Diamondbacks in the other NL series. The Diamondbacks are another improbable playoff team. They have a team of young position players, one very good starter and a closer who led the league in saves. The Cubs spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the off season and during the season (signing Carlos Zambrano to a long term deal) and have reached the playoffs for the first time since the infamous Steve Bartman year of '04. The Cubs have a balanced offense, good starting pitching and of course the fiery and overrated Lou Pinella in the dugout. So clearly I have no choice but to pick the Diamondbacks to win this series. I'll pick Arizona in five with Brandon Webb winning games one and five at home.

That just leaves the Yankees and the Indians. the Yankees dominated the Indians during the regular season (just like they did the Tigers last year) going 6-0. The Indians have very little playoff experience (just like the Tigers last year). They also have the best one-two combination of starters in the AL in Carmona and Sabathia. By some fluke, the Yankees haven't faced Sabathia in three years and while they have good numbers against him, those numbers were compiled when Sabathia was a much different pitcher. The Yankees will counter with Wang and Pettite, but the pitching edge, at least in the first two games has to go to the Indians. Jeter and Arod have to come up big against Sabathia for the Yankees to have any chance at stealing game one. The problem with that scenario is that Arod actually hits better against right handers and Sabathia is lethal on left handers (they hit .203 against him). It might be a long night in Cleveland. Andy Pettite's presumed big game pitching is mostly a myth. He has pitched well in some big games and he's gotten bombed in others. Carmona has a 2.26 post all-star game ERA and was probably the best pitcher in the AL in the second half. He pitched twice against the Yankees this year without a win, but that was before the Indians turned their season around. The Indians actually have a better record than the Yankees over the past 30 games. So potentially the Yankees could be down 2-0 coming back to the stadium and would have Roger Clemens going to the mound in the first time in a month. Roger is coming back from a hamstring injury and will not be at 100%. If he's not able the go the options for the Yankees would be either the very inconsistent Mike Mussina or the rookie Phil Hughes. I just don't see the Yankees winning this series, in fact I think that they will be hard pressed not to get swept. The Yankees have the best offense in baseball, but at this time of year, it's about pitching (as the Tigers proved last year) and I just don't think that they have the pitching to stack up to the Indians. My call is the Indians in four.

That's it for now. I certainly hope I'm wrong about the Yankees. I would hate for the season to come to an end next week, but it might. I'll hope for the best but expect the worst. Good luck to everyone who still has a dog in the hunt.

Method Man

2007-10-01T15:53:00.000-04:00

Here are the results from the weekend:

Cleveland +4

The Browns beat the Ravens by 2 touchdowns. I guess that ouburst against against the Bengals wasn't a fluke. The Browns appear to have emerged from their long slumber. The Dog Pound rejoices. 1-0

Minnesota +1

The Vikings got beat by the Packers and Brett Favre broke Dan Marino's all time touchdown record. I don't care how many he throws, I'll always believe that Marino is better than him. 1-1

Buffalo +3.5

The Bill actually beat the Jets this weekend. I don't have much to say about this one. Apparently NY is represented by two pretty mediocre teams. 2-1

St. Louis +13

The Cowboys took care of business by destroying the Rams. Tony Romo continues to look like one of the best QBs in the league. The Cowboys have now scored more points in the first four games than all but four teams in the post expansion era. How about them Cowboys! 2-2

Tampa Bay +3

Another win for the underdog. The Panther's, who a year ago, were a superbowl pick of many, seem to have fallen on hard times. 3-2

Kansas City +11.5

The Chiefs with the handicap of the second largest spread of the weekend, went out and beat the once mighty Chargers. Who knew that losing Marty Schotenhiemer would make such a difference. I'm sure he's still available. Perhaps they should give him a call. Norv Turner shouldn't get too comfortable in San Diego. And considering the terrible job he did in his last head coaching assignment, why on earth did he get another one? 4-2

Giants +2.5

The Giants Defense (that's right with a capital D) showed up for the first time all season and man handled the Eagles. They tied the NFL record for sacks in a game and showed that they may be able to turn things around. I'm not sure about the Eagles though. Perhaps McNabb has been eating too much of that Chunky Soup. 5-2

Detroit +2.5

The Lions continued the horrible season for the Bears as they came back from a ten point deficit in the fourth quarter by putting up 34 points!!! ( I couldn't believe it either) over the final 15 minutes against the once fearsome Bears defense. The Bears tried a new QB this week, but that's not going fix what's wrong with their defense. Lovey Smith goes from genius to idiot in one season. 6-2

Atlanta +2.5

The Falcons got their first win of the season to keep the SM rolling. The Texans aren't a pushover anymore, but they still haven't figured out how to be consistent quite yet. The Falcons get their first win in the post Vick era. 7-2

Oakland +4

The Raiders absolutely crushed the Dolphins as Dante Culpepper showed that he's still got some life left in that surgically repaired knee. He ran for three touchdowns and threw for a couple more and the Raiders went into Miami and embarrassed the home team. I always thought Culpepper was a good QB, he just had the stupidest TD celebration in the league. Hopefully the time off gave him the opportunity to come up with something else. 8-2

San Francisco +1

The 49ers didn't do their part for me this weekend. They lost to Seattle and managed to score only 3 points. Sometimes it looks like the 49ers might be turning things around and then they go out and put on a performance like this one. Bill Walsh must be spinning in his grave. 8-3

Denver +11

The Broncos put up a struggle but in the end could not cover the spread. They were only down by a point at halftime but got outscored 24-7 after that. It's amazing how much less of a genius Mike Shannahan is these days without Elway and Terrell Davis in the backfield. 8-4

Arizona +6

The Cardinals stunned the previously unbeaten Steelers this weekend. The two headed QB (Leinart/Warner) Warnart seems to be effective enough at this point. And they provided the SM with a 70% winning percentage for the weekend. 9-4

Cincy +7.5

The Cincinnati defense, which gave up 51 points to Cleveland a couple of weeks ago doesn't seem capable of slowing down the high powered offense of the Patriots. The spread should probably be at least two touchdowns in this one. Anyway, either way this goes, the SM has proven itself again. I hope someone out there is getting rich.

If It Aint Broke...

2007-09-28T15:57:00.001-04:00

Another week of NFL picks and another week of the now legendary SM*. Here are the picks for the weekend:

Cleveland +4

Minnesota +1

Buffalo +3.5

St. Louis +13

Tampa Bay +3

Kansas City +11.5

Giants +2.5

Detroit +2.5

Atlanta +2.5

Oakland +4

San Francisco +1

Denver +11

Arizona +6

Cincy +7.5

There you have it. The SM* was about 60% accurate last year, so you can start planning all the great things you are going to do with your winnings.

*The SM was invented by Bruce Spiegler and he used it to win our football pool back in law school. He now lives a quiet life with his wife and five sons. He has yet to use his method to make himself rich, but even to this day he reminds us of his season of glory.

Fighting Chance

2007-09-27T10:22:00.001-04:00

The Yankees clinched their 13th straight postseason appearance last night in Tampa Bay. It was perhaps their most difficult job to date. In 1995 they had to play almost flawless baseball down the stretch to make the playoffs, but that team didn't have the expectations that this team did. With a $200 million payroll and an All-Star at almost every position, the Yankees staggered out of the starting gate and sat 14-1/2 games out of first and eight games under .500 on May 29th. Many baseball "experts" at that time proclaimed that the Yankees string of playoff appearances was at an end. The Yankees were floundering and they didn't seem capable of playing at the level that would be necessary to carry them to a playoff berth. However since that day, the Yankees have the best record in baseball at 70-38 and have assured themselves of at least a chance to win their 27th World Championship. I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty sure their turnaround can be traced to this article.

The Yankees righted the ship and have played inspired baseball for the past three months. They head into the playoffs as one of the favorites to win it all. Of course, this is an all too familiar scenario. The Yankees headed into last year's playoffs as the betting favorite to win it all and were summarily dismissed by the Detroit Tigers in four games. The Yankees have a seemingly favorable match up in the first round (as they did last year), and enough time to rest their players and get everyone healthy before the postseason begins. Nothing is guaranteed in the playoffs though. Last year the Yankees faced a Tiger team that limped into the playoffs after blowing a huge lead at the All-Star break. They didn't have many players on the team with playoff experience, they had been dominated by the Yankees during the regular season and they seemed a perfect first round match up for the Yankees. This year the Indians seem the most likely first round opponent for the Yankees. The Yankees once again dominated them during the regular season and they have few players on their team with playoff experience. Unlike the Tigers last year however, the Indians are playing very well and if they end up with the best record in the AL, they will have the choice of being able to use their two best pitchers twice in a 5 game series.

The playoffs really are a crapshoot. The Cardinals and Tigers limped into the playoffs last year and ended up in the World Series. The Cardinals won the Series despite winning only 83 games during the regular season and almost blowing a seven game lead with two weeks remaining. I can certainly see a scenario where the Yankees win it all (Arod gets hot/Rocket comes back/Joba & Mo are perfect), but I can just as easily imagine them being beaten in the first round. At this point of the season, I make no guarantees. The Yankees have done what they set out to do at the beginning of the season. As the old tag line for the NY Lotto used to say, "you've got to be in it to win it". Well, the Yankees are in it, it just remains to be seen whether they will have the good luck and skill to win it all.

Happy Trails

2007-09-24T11:07:00.000-04:00

The Spiegler Method went 10-6 (including Monday Night) over the weekend. A pretty good first week. I'll hopefully have some more in depth analysis before next weeks games, but I think I'm just going to keep rolling with the SM for now. Oh, and how about them Cowboys!

Picks & Pans

2007-09-21T15:50:00.000-04:00

The football season is two weeks old and I have yet to make any picks. As I said yesterday, I'm pretty much swamped with work and extra curricular activities. My picks this week will follow the tried and true Spiegler method*. That means picking every underdog, regardless of the spread. I'll be back sometime next week to give you the rundown on how this turned out.

Have a good weekend everybody.

* Patent Pending

Sorry

2007-09-20T09:40:00.000-04:00

I have to apologize to my regular readers for not updating the blog recently. I'm in the middle of making a movie and things have been pretty busy at work as well. I promise to throw up the occasional post and try to keep you entertained. The movie wraps in November and I will once again start posting with a vengeance (of course it'll be the baseball off season and I might not have much to say). Thanks for your patience and as General MacArthur once proclaimed, "I shall return".

Odds and Ends (cont.)

2007-09-12T16:20:00.000-04:00

What a difference a week and a half can make! The Yankees playoff odds have now reached 90+%. The Mariners have fallen off the map and have odds of less than 1%. The Tigers are now the Yankees main competition for the Wildcard spot with odds of about 9%. Of course this could all turn around next week, but the Steve Phillips curse in reverse seems to working to perfection. His prediction that both the Mets (99.4% playoff odds) and Yankees would miss the playoffs is looking more and more ridiculous each day. His prediction that the Rockies (11%) would win the Wildcard also seems to be a very long shot. All I have to say is thanks, Steve. And keep on making those predictions. Just don't pick the Yankees to win anything.

Hypocrisy

2007-09-10T11:27:00.000-04:00

I was watching the Cowboys-Giants game last night and saw the Nike ad with Shawne Merriman numerous times last night. The same Shawne Merriman who was suspended last season for taking steroids. He was suspended for only four games and in fact came in third in the voting for defensive player of the year. Seeing the light punishment and how little it appears to have affected his image got me thinking about one of me favorite topics, Barry Bonds.

If you've been a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that I am far from being one of Barry's fans or apologists. In my opinion it is very clear that Barry did something outside of the rules (either written or unwritten) to improve his performance. He has been punished by the fans and writers for a long time and is used as the poster boy for all things wrong with sports. However, is his offense really any worse than Merriman's? Remember that for all the supposed evidence against Bonds, he has never been caught with anything. He has never tested positive for anything (except some stimulants, but that was a long standing tradition in baseball locker rooms that was just recently outlawed), so why has he been consistentloy persecuted while Merriman has seemed to suffer no backlash from the fans or the media?

There is clearly a double standard at play. For some reason, Football players are not veiwed in the same way as baseball players. Baseball is veiwed through rose colored glasses, while Football is viewed as a sport played by larger than life men who are forgiven for stepping over the line every once in a while. There have been numerous incidents in which Football players have been caught using illegal drugs, been a party to or helped cover up violent crimes, abused their spouses and it all seems to be okay in the eyes of the fans and the press. Michael Vick has been the one exception, but his crimes were against animals (which apparently are unforgiveable as opposed to beating your wife or kids, or helping cover up a murder OF A HUMAN BEING). Because of the violent nature of Football it seems the press and fans are willing to put up with their athletes being somewhat sub-human. If they step over the line occassionally, it's forgiven because they are supposed to brutes.

Baseball is our national pastime and as such is percieved in a totally different light. Baseball players are seen as regular people. They are like the guy who lives next door (I personally have met a few Major Leaguers and trust me they do not look like the guy who lives next door to me). Because the public and the press view them this way, they are held to a higher standard. Would you want a drug abuser living next door to you? Of course not and they don't want one playing Baseball either. Even a Football player who is not one of the supposed "brutes" is forgiven for crossing the line. Brett Favre had a substance abuse problem, but all was forgiven because he's an all-american boy who happens to play Football and it's a violent sport and so what if he had to take some pills, he's being hit by neanderthals repeatedly.

I have no sympathy for Barry Bonds because he did everything that he did willingly. No ne forced him to allegedly take steroids. He wasn't concerned with the consequences and therefore he deserves what he got (the home run record and the public scorn). I'm just pointing out that if one drug abuser and law breaker is viewed that way, then why aren't they all viewed that way? Being contrite in public and making an effort to change can get you a second chance with the public and press, but clearly they are more willing to forgive some and not others. Most athletes who are caught taking performance enhancing drugs seemingly always blame it on a tainted legal supplement that they were taking or on a teammate or trainer who gave them something without their knowledge. Football players are forgiven, Baseball players are raked over the coals. The recent revelation that Rick Ankiel, who was the feel good story of the season (and probably would have been named comeback player of the year), took a shipment of HGH before it was officially banned by Baseball, will be a good barometer of the difference between the treatment given to players in the two sports. Ankiel will forever be marked as a player who took performance enhancing drugs, while Merriman will probably go on to be named the defensive player of the year in the NFL.

Odds and Ends

2007-08-28T13:04:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note today. The Yankees playoffs odds are now at 45% and dropping. While they still have the best chance of winning the Wildcard, the Mariners odds are now up to 43% and rising. The Yankees are coming off a disastrous road trip where they got absolutely blown out in two games and compiled a 2-5 record. They now come home to face the Red Sox who have put enough distance between themselves and the Yankees that their odds of winning the division are now over 98%. The Yankees are now only playing for the Wildcard and if they don't start winning again, they will be on the golf course come October.

The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh

2007-08-27T10:10:00.000-04:00

The title of today's article refers to a terrible movie starring Dr. J about a basketball team whose success is determined by mixing the correct astrological signs on the court (An Astrologist by the name of Miss Mona becomes the de facto GM of the team). USA basketball is now in search of the seeming elusive "chemistry" that has eluded it at the last three international tournaments. USA Basketball has only managed a bronze medal at the last two World Championships and the last Olympic games in Greece. While finishing third is not a disaster, it has to be considered a huge disappointment considering that the USA team has, by far, the most talent in the world. The problem has been that the team usually consisted of a group of one-on-one stars who were not used to sharing the ball or working against the zone defenses of the international teams. That was all supposed to fixed by the last World Championships, but the US was once again undone by a zone defense and an inexplicable inability to defend against the high pick and roll.

I thought the last US failure could be placed squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff. Defending the pick and roll is one of the fundamentals of the game and the vaunted coaching staff, led by Coach K of Duke, even with its supposed emphasis on defense somehow forgot to prepare the team for the most simple of offensive plays. I have heard little criticism of the coaching (I guess Coach K is beyond reproach), while most of the blame for the loss was placed squarely on the shoulders of the players. I watched those games however and I know for a fact that given a workable defensive scheme, that team would have easily won the gold medal.

So now we come to the current team which is running roughshod through its competition at the FIBA championships. The best teams in the tournament (Brazil, Argentina, Canada) haven't even sent their best players to compete. The US meanwhile has its best players on the floor. The team is without Dwayne Wade, who is recuperating from off season surgery, but he has been replaced by Kobe Bryant, who is making his US international debut. The team has looked great playing against mediocre competition, winning its games by an average of 50 points. I have no doubt that the US will cruise through the tournament and easily qualify for the Olympics. And if there are no injuries among their top players, they will once again send the most talented team in the world to the Olympics. Dwayne Wade will probably replace Mike Miller and the US will be stocked with guard/forwards who are capable of dominating any NBA game.

The problem is that the international game is very different from the NBA. While the NBA puts a premium on breaking down the player in front of you, the international game is all about team play. The US has looked more team oriented in this tournament, but it's easy to look good when they are playing against glorified club teams. When Argentina and Spain put their best players on the floor, the US will not be able to use their superior physical talent to overwhelm the opposition. They have to rely on set plays and defense and that is where they have failed in their previous attempts at gold.

The team really does seem to be committed to defense this time around, but their offense is still predicated on turnovers and open court play. In last night's game, Brazil minimized their turnovers and were very proficient from the 3 point line and managed to stay very close to the US for most of the first half. The US depth eventually wore down the Brazilians and they pulled away early in the second half. That will not be the case against the better international teams. The US is still vulnerable to a team that takes good care of the ball, hit outside shots and can execute set plays on offense. USA basketball can still overwhelm lesser teams with pure athleticism, but that will not be enough to win the gold. They need to find that elusive quality called chemistry (Which in my mind really just means better coaching. Are you listening Coach K?). Perhaps they should consult with Miss Mona. I pretty sure the Pittsburgh Pythons (or Pisces, as they are renamed in the middle of the movie) are out of business.

Armageddon

2007-08-24T10:46:00.001-04:00

I'll begin today with something I wrote back on May 31st:

"The bottom line is that every day is not Armageddon. At some point this season might be a lost cause. But that day is not today and it's not tomorrow either."

Well, I'm here to tell you boys and girls that we've reached that point. The next week will determine whether the Yankees are driving for the playoffs or playing out the string in September. The Yankees currently find themselves 5 games behind the Red Sox and 3 games behind the Mariners in the wildcard (I know it's technically 2 games, but they trail by 3 in the loss column). They start a four game series in Detroit tonight followed by a three game series back at the stadium against the Red Sox. The Yankees have gone 5-5 over their last 10 games and have lost a game to the Sox and two to the Mariners over that stretch. They can ill afford another stretch of mediocrity. They really need to go 5-2 over the next seven games or they can basically forget about winning the division. Current playoff odds give the Yankees a 58% chance of making the playoffs but less than a 10% chance of winning the division. They really need to head into September with no more than a 3 game deficit to stand a chance of overtaking the Red Sox.

The Mariners have been winning games at an almost 70% rate of late. The Yankees cannot rely on a collapse from Seattle to make the playoffs. I had said earlier that the Yankees needed every break to go their way in order to make the playoffs and that still stands. Perhaps the fact that Gary Sheffield is not going to play in their next series is the first of those breaks, but then again perhaps it isn't. Sheffield was playing with an injured shoulder that had severely limited his production. The replacement player, while clearly not as good as a healthy Sheffield, might be more productive in his place. It remains to be seen whether the Yankees have caught a break or not.

The biggest concern for the Yankees right now is the performance of Mike Mussina. His last three outings have resulted in an ERA over 12. Even with the Yankees high powered offense, Mussina has not given the Yankees an opportunity to win. The whispers of Mussina being done have turned into a Greek chorus these days. I am willing to give Mussina some slack though. He has won more games than all but 45 pitchers in the history of the game. He deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt. That being said, if he doesn't straighten himself out by his next start, the Yankees may be forced to turn to someone else. I'm not sure who that would be, but they cannot afford to give away games at this point of the season.

If you've been a regular reader, you know that I'm not one to hit the panic button very often, but the Yankees have reached that point of the season. It really is now or never. After this seven game stretch, the Yankees will have about 30 games remaining in the season and if they find themselves on the outside looking in, it may be time to start thinking about how they make themselves better for '08. I'm not going to give my recommendations at this point. That would make it seem as if I'm giving up on this season, which I am not. The Yankees can still make the playoffs, they can still catch the Red Sox, but it will require some heroic efforts on the part of the players. The next week will show us whether those heroes will indeed appear.

The Empire Strikes Back

2007-08-20T15:07:00.000-04:00

The Yankees have remade their bullpen over the past month and from the small sample that we've seen so far, it seems to be working. At the trade deadline, all the talk was about that fact that the Red Sox had sealed the pennant by trading for Eric Gagne. The Yankees had tried to get Gagne, but the asking price was too high. Gagne was the closer in Texas at the time and is the all time record holder for consecutive saves. Of course he set that record about 5 arm surgeries and 15 trips to the DL ago, but he had put up very good numbers for the Rangers. The Red Sox already had an All-Star set up man in Okajima, but they proceeded to make Gagne their primary set up man. Since taking over that role, he has blown 2 saves, lost another game and has an ERA over 12. It may turn out to be that the best trade the Yankees made at the deadline was in making no deal at all.

The Yankee bullpen, which was woefully mismanaged by Torre at the beginning of the season, may in fact become a strength down the stretch. Joba Chamberlain has electrified Yankee fans with his 99MPH fastball and his 90MPH slider. He has already won over the traditionally hard to please fans and his entry into games is almost as anticipated as Mariano's. Torre has strict guidelines about his use which have become known as the Chamberlain rules. Because he has never been used as a relief before this season, he cannot pitch on consecutive days and he must have the same amount of days of rest as innings pitched. He is projected as a starter next year and the Yankees are doing everything they can to protect his valuable right arm. Edwar Ramirez struck out the side in his first inning of work yesterday and his change up is almost as devestating as Chamberlain's slider. Luis Vizcaino has taken over the primary set up role and has done a stellar job since overcoming his early season over use. Even Kyle Farnsworth has shown signs of life with four consecutive scoreless appearances, including striking out both Gary Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez (the leagues leading hitter) in his last outing.

One of points I made earlier in the season when the Yankees were floundering, was that Torre needed to make better use of his bullpen. He relied on the same people consistently and eventually they wore down. His use of the bullpen this weekend was very judicious and they all did their job. The bullpen went the entire series against the Tigers (who are second only to the Yankees in hitting in the AL) without giving up a run. That speaks volumes to how far they have come in a very short time. Of course this could all turn around against the Angels, but for now they have turned what was a weakness into a strength. Mariano Rivera, uncharacteristically had three subpar performances in a row before righting the ship on Saturday afternoon, but he is still the most imposing figure on the mound in baseball. He is human and he will get beat occasionally, but with a game, series or season on the line, there is no one I would rather see on the mound.

The Yankees still have an uphill battle to make the playoffs, but they certainly seemed better armed than they were just a month ago. Four games doesn't seem like all that daunting a task, especially for a team that has been as far as 14-1/2 games behind the Red Sox, but the schedule for the remainder of the season favors the Sox and the Yankees are going to have to take at least four of their six remaining head to head contests to have a realistic chance of overtaking them. The Red Sox do not look like a team on the verge of collapse and with their formidable rotation, they should be able to avoid any prolonged slumps. It's still the Red Sox pennant to lose. Of course if Gagne continues to cough up games, all bets are off. Beware of what you wish for, Red Sox fans, you might just get it.

The Scooter

2007-08-15T09:31:00.000-04:00

The Yankee family lost one its most beloved members yesterday with the passing of Phil Rizzuto. Rizzuto who was know as the scooter was the Yankees shortstop during the 40's and 50's and went on to a long and colorful career in the broadcast booth. The scooter was a diminutive figure who was passed on by a couple of teams because they thought he was too small to play professional baseball. He persevered and eventually ended on the Yankees. He went on to play on seven world series winners and won the MVP award in 1950. He went straight to the broadcast booth after his career on the field ended and he went on to become something of a cultural icon. He will probably always remain best known for his stirring play by play call on Meatloaf's "Paradise By the Dashboard Lights".

The Yankees are honoring his memory by wearing his number 10 on their sleeves. I wrote a column in February about what a mistake it was for the Yankees to wear black arm bands for Cory Lidle. Now they have to go to the extra step of adding Rizzuto's number to their uniforms in order to have a proper tribute. It's like the Hall of Fame adding Luis Sojo and then having to create a special building to honor the likes of Ruth and Mays. A moment of silence would have been more than enough. Now that they've honored the memory of Corey Lidle in the same way they did Joe DiMaggio, they had to come up with something else to honor their truly legendary players.

On a personal note, I grew up listening to Phil Rizzuto broadcast Yankee games. He often spent a lot of time talking about the pastries that people had sent him and birthdays and anniversaries. I became so used to the rambling stories of Rizzuto that it was always a disappointment when he wasn't in the booth. I was actually at the stadium for Phil Rizzuto day (I was there to watch Tom Seaver win his 300th game), and when the cow that was presented to him knocked him over, it seemed somehow perfectly appropriate. Phil hasn't been in the broadcast booth for over a decade but I still miss his stories about cannolis, his wife Cora and his constant confusion over the names of Frank Messer and Bobby Mercer. He was definitely one of a kind. I feel fairly certain in saying that we won't see his like again for some time.

Fire Steve Phillips

2007-08-14T00:10:00.000-04:00

Here's my annual post celebrating the baseball knowledge of Steve Phillips (see last years post). Phillips used to be the GM of the New York Mets once upon a time, but given his absolute lack of understanding of the game, I have no idea how he managed to reach those heights. Anyway, these days he spends his time spouting nonsense on ESPN's baseball tonight. He also apparently has a grudge against the Yankees. Every year he picks them to not make the playoffs and this year is no exception. I guess he's just going to keep on doing that until he's right and then he will turn around and say I told you so.

Last year he said that not only wouldn't the Yankees make the playoffs, he said that they would finish third in the division behind the Blue Jays. He was correct about one thing, the Blue Jays did finish second, but they finished 10 games behind the Yankees. This year he made this statement in July:

"the Yankees want to hold on to their young players and have so many different needs they are not sure where to start. If the Yanks make a big trade it will more likely be as a seller (see Abreu), as opposed to buying a major piece for a run down the stretch. "

He was right that the Yankees didn't want to part with their young players, but they were certainly not sellers at the trade deadline and since he made that statement, the Yankees have gone 24-8 (Abreu is still very much a part of the team and has been one of the best hitters in the AL since June). Today on Sportscenter he predicted that not only would the Yankees not make the playoffs, but the Mets would also be staying home come October. I guess he decided that now was the time to try and get back at his former employers.

I'm not one to make guarantees about the Yankees and the playoffs, but if Steve Phillips says they aren't going to make it, you can take it to the bank that they will. That goes for the Mets too. Remember this is the guy who said last year that he would take the Blue Jays starters over any other team in the AL East. At that time, the Blue Jays had exactly one starter (Roy Halladay) with a career winning percentage over .500. By they way, his reason for the Yankees not making the playoffs this year is that their offense is going to fail them and that they don't have enough pitching to maintain their current pace. According to Phillips, making the playoffs is all about pitching. However in his very next segment he said that the Colorado Rockies were going to win the wildcard in the NL because of (come on say it with me) their OFFENSE. Not a word about their pitching, just their offense, which he had just finished saying was not enough to get you in to the playoffs (just for reference the Rockies have the 9th best ERA in the NL while the Yankees have the 6th best ERA in the AL).

Steve Phillips, professional idiot.

Babe Ruth Was Black

2007-08-10T09:44:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to get your attention with that headline, although I have read articles in which the authors put forth the unsubstantiated and practically laughable theory that Babe was actually black. But I digress, my article today is actually a defense of the afore mentioned George Herman Ruth. I really do appreciate the different viewpoints that many have on the Barry Bonds issue. I personally have no love for the man, as I've stated many times here. What I am noticing in a lot of articles that would defend bonds, is a general attempt to somehow denigrate the accomplishments and character of Babe Ruth. While history has turned Babe into a beer swilling, good-time guy, who loved all kids and never had anything but kindness and goodwill in his heart, that characterization is probably not very close to the truth. I'm sure there were many in his era who didn't like the man (Lou Gehrig being one notable example). However his accomplishments on the field are without equal in the history of the game.

It's true that he did play in a segregated era, but it's also true that he played against most of the best players of his time. The Negro league players were excluded, but you have to take into account that the percentage of blacks in America at the time was under 10%. Let's say that the Majors were complete integrated and they reflected the racial makeup of the US. That would mean that every team would have approximately 2 black players on their team. That would mean that Ruth would have still been playing against approximately 92% of the same players that he actually compiled his stats against. The Negro Leagues undoubtedly had some of the greatest players of the day. Satchel Paige, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson among others put up spectacular numbers and are rightfully honored in Cooperstown. But while the argument is made that Ruth put up his numbers in a segregated league, no one ever argues the fact that the Negro Leaguers put up their numbers in a segregated league as well. And also a league that only drew on 8% of the total population.

The point is that both sets of players faced a less than ideal situation. I have no doubt that the best players in the Negro Leagues would have been among the best players in the Major Leagues, just as I have no doubt that Ruth would have been outstanding if he had the chance to compete against them. I think the empirical evidence shows that Babe Ruth is the greatest player ever to play the game. Was he the best hitter of all time? I don't know, but he's certainly in the conversation. That combined with the fact that he was one of the best pitchers of his era before switching to the outfield full time, have convinced me that he was in fact the best baseball player ever(By the way, in 1933 as a 38 year old, Babe pitched a complete game for the Yankees and got the win).

It is true that Babe had an advantage because he played in a segregated era, but so did everyone else in the majors at the time. One of the points used to defend Bonds is that everyone was on steroids during this era, so his records are valid because the playing field was equal. Bonds just put up better numbers. The same can be said of Babe. Everyone who played in the majors during his era competed on equal footing, Babe just put up better numbers than they did. In 1925 he out-homered the entire Boston Red Sox team! So feel free to defend Bonds, but it shouldn't be at the expense of Babe Ruth (who is after all the greatest black player of all time).

And a little personal aside; Brian, get ready for a big helping of "Mama's Family".

Tom Terrific

2007-08-06T09:20:00.000-04:00

The moniker "Tom Terrific" was bestowed decades ago on the Mets greatest pitcher, Tom Seaver. However I think it's very appropriate that he share that nickname for at least one night with Tom Glavine. Glavine became the 23rd and potentially final member of the 300 win club last night. Glavine pitched 6-1/3 innings and left with a 5-1 lead. The Mets bullpen made it interesting for a short while but managed to close out the 7th inning on a deep fly ball and a 5-3 lead. The Mets added insurance runs in the 8th and 9th innings and Mets took no chances with a five run lead and brought in their closer Billy Wagner to seal the deal.

Tom Glavine now one of only three pitchers to win 300 games and never strike out as many as 200 hitters in a season. Glavine was never a power pitcher. His best pitch is a changeup low and away. His lack of real domination of hitters is probably the reason that despite his impressive win total, he has often been overlooked when discussing the games best pitchers. Glavine will probably always remain the most anonymous 2 time Cy Young award winner ever. During his days with the Atlanta Braves he was overshadowed by his teammate Greg Maddux. Maddux was viewed as the best pitcher in baseball for much of the nineties when he won a record 4 Cy Young awards in a row from '92-'95 (Randy Johnson matched that streak a few years later). Few realize however that Glavine has actually won 20 games (5 times) on more occasions than Maddux has (twice). While Maddux had the gaudier ERA numbers, Glavine actually won more games five times (including '93 when he went 22-6, but Maddux won the Cy Young award with a 20-10 record).

Glavine has always taken a back seat to the great power pitchers of the era. Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez and even Curt Schilling were piling up strikeouts and headlines, but Glavine's career numbers prove that he belonged in the discussion all along. He may also be the answer to the trivia question of who was the last pitcher to win 300 games. Baseball made a shift away from the four man rotation in the eighties, meaning that a starting pitcher has few opportunities to win games. A starter in the days of the four man rotation would get approximately 40 starts a year, but today's starters can only expect around 34. Over a 15 year career, that equates to 90 starts. A starting pitcher today is at a huge disadvantage in an attempt to win 300 games. A very good pitcher will win approximately 50% of their starts, which translates to an additional 60 wins or so over a 20 year career for a very good pitcher in a four man rotation. Also given the huge investment that teams make in their pitching, trips to the DL for relatively minor injuries are more likely than they used to be.

Randy Johnson is next in line to win 300 games (he currently sits at 284), but he just had his second back surgery in as many seasons and he would be 44 by the time he is able to pitch again. At this point, it's unclear as to whether he will ever pitch again. Mike Mussina won his 246th game yesterday, but he is 38 and is clearly on the downside of his career. It remains to be seen whether he can maintain his average of 15 wins a season for four more season. I would place his odds of reaching 300 somewhere between slim and none. After Mussina, there doesn't appear to be anyone capable of making a run at 300. Pedro Martinez would have had a chance but injuries appear to have taken that chance away. He has 206 wins and is only 35, but has lost significant parts of three seasons. He has yet to pitch this year and no one knows how he will rebound after this latest arm injury. He would have to average about 16 wins for the next 6 seasons to reach the magic number.

So I offer my congratulations to Tom Glavine. He may not have gotten much press, after all his career hasn't been marked by controversy or scandal. His calling cards have always been consistency and excellence and those aren't exactly the things that make headlines. Glavine never sought the spotlight. He has just gone about doing his job and doing it better than almost anyone. I'll give him his due and dub him Tom Terrific, at least for today. We literally may never see his like again.

Georgie Best

2007-08-03T14:25:00.000-04:00

A new article in Portfolio magazine claims that George Steinbrenner is in a bloated and bewildered state at his home in Florida. According to the magazine George is not capable of even carrying on a conversation at this point. If this is true it would be a sad ending to one of the most colorful and storied ownership periods in recent sports history. George bought the Yankees from CBS for $10 million (the franchise in now worth in excess of $1 billion) in 1973 with the stated goal of returning the once proud franchise to its former glory. He also said that he would be a hands off owner and let the baseball people handle the on field decision making. One out of two ain't bad. George did indeed return the Yankees to their former position as the signature franchise of the sport, but hands off he was not.

George's resume includes a virtual merry-go-round of managers during the late seventies and eighties (Billy Martin alone was hired and fired four times), a two year suspension for trying to dig up dirt on one of his own players, 15 AL east crowns (the '81 season technically had two champions for each division because of the mid-season strike by the players, the Yankees were the first half champs), 10 AL championships and 6 World Series crowns. George became the most controversial and successful owner in sports. George took full advantage when free agency hit baseball in the middle of the seventies and brought in players such as Catfish Hunter and Reggie Jackson who would help provide the Yankees with their first championships in over a decade and a half.

George saw free agents as the way to win immediately, but this heavy reliance on the quick fix eventually led to the downfall of the team. The Yankees of the mid seventies were a team on the verge of greatness. They had been build through a combination of shrewd trades and a strong minor league system. The addition of a few key players through free agency then propelled them to two consecutive World Championships. George then assumed that he could always restock his team by either trading for veterans or signing free agents. The minor league system suffered as a result. The Yankees consistently traded away their top minor league players for established major leaguers. In fact the only player who came out of the Yankee minor league system and made a significant contribution during the eighties was Don Mattingly. George's tactics would change every year depending on who had won the World Series the year before. He actually tried to turn the Yankees into a speed team one year because it had been successful for the St. Louis Cardinals. The began to struggle for an identity and they went the decade of the eighties without a championship. It was in fact the first time that a Yankee team had gone 0 for a decade. The Yankees entered a prolonged stretch of not even reaching the playoffs. They went from 1982-1995 without such an appearance.

In fact the best thing that happened to the Yankees as an organization was when the commissioner banned George from the team for his attempt to dig up dirt on Dave Winfield. George hired an ex-con to investigate Winfield and see if there were any improprieties in his charitable organization. George had signed Winfield as a replacement for Reggie Jackson, but was not happy with the fact that Winfield's teams had not had the same results as the Jackson years. He even labeled Winfield "Mr. May" after his 1 for 23 performance in the 1981 World series. After his attempt to discredit his own player was discovered, George was banned from all baseball decisions for two years. This meant that Gene Michael was left in charge of day to day baseball operations. The change in leadership probably saved Bernie Willams from being traded and the Yankees began to slowly rebuild toward respectability. When George returned, the Yankees were beginning to show signs of life and he actually began to take the advice of his baseball people a little more seriously. The suspension was actually the foundation for the dynasty of the late 90's.

The Yankees went on to win four of five World Series and appear in six of eight from '96-'03. George was in his glory, but like all good things the title run came to end. George has spent a lot of money and the Yankees have continued to win, but they have not been able to repeat the magic of those glory years. George has been at times vilified in the press and over the years there have been players who have said that they wouldn't play for the Yankees regardless of how much money they were offered, yet in a Sports Illustrated poll of major leaguers that came out recently, the Yankees were at the top of the list of teams that players would like to play for. George has been a loud mouthed, over the top owner at times, but no one has ever questioned his will to win. He has made a lot of errors over the years, but they were errors of commission, not omission. Even his worst critic couldn't accuse George of not trying.

So George will leave behind an interesting legacy whenever his run as owner ends. As the great philosopher Plato once said or maybe it was Charles Dickens, it was the best of times it was the worst of times. He certainly had a lot of ups and downs along the way, but no can ever say that it was boring.

Ya Gotta Believe

2007-07-30T11:22:00.000-04:00

Is there a crisis of faith in sports today? It seems that almost everyday we are hit with new allegations of wrong doing by athletes and even officials. Has sports, which used to be viewed as a distraction to day to day problems, simply become another one of the things in life which we all view with a somewhat jaundiced eye? The NBA last week revealed that one of their referee's was under investigation by the FBI for allegedly trying to influence the outcome of games that he was officiating. The NFL has the Michael Vick-Dog fighting scandal to deal with. Major League Baseball has the ongoing tainted Barry Bonds home run record chase to handle and the recently completed Tour de France saw the leader of the race actually disqualified for failing a drug test.

All of these problems come at a time when sports are more frequently coming under increasing scrutiny. The days of viewing athletes and the games they play as simple distractions are in the past. Athletes have always looked for ways to find an edge against their competition. Whether it was Gaylord Perry allegedly doctoring baseballs or baserunners sharpening their spikes or cornerbacks applying various sticky substances to their hands or NHL sharpshooters applying a little more curve to their stick, athletes have always looked for a way to better their chances at success. These were all seen as fairly harmless by the general public. Gaylord Perry even made light of his transgressions in his book called, "Me and My Spitter". The issues of today make those actions seem frivolous.

While there were gambling scandals in the past (specifically in the NFL and NCAA), I think the single event that led to the end of the "age of innocence" in sports was the Ben Johnson steroids scandal at the 1988 Olympics. That event was met with absolute shock and disbelief by most sports fans. The Olympics were the last bastion of "amateurism" (even though most of the top athletes were well paid by through endorsement contracts and appearance fees) and was still viewed by most as just athletes competing for the glory of the sport. The fact that even something perceived to be as pure as the Olympics could be would change that view. Of course during the Cold war period the "Soviet Bloc" countries were often suspected of using drugs to enhance the performance of their athletes (After the fall of the Soviet Union, a few scientists came forward and admitted that they had given their athletes steroids during the 70's).

Now it seems almost a daily occurrence to hear of some transgression by an athlete. A lot of that has to do with the increased coverage of athletes. There are many stories of alcoholism and spouse abuse that were simply not reported in previous decades. Reporters mainly stuck to covering athletes on the field and felt that their off the field activities were private. Can you imagine what kind of scandals Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle would have been subjected to if they were followed as today's athletes are? Today there are no such boundaries. The press feels justified in reporting on illegitimate children or late night trips to strip clubs or marriage infidelities or drinking problems or divorces or porn collections. It seems there is almost nothing that is considered off limits for the press.

The press had played a big part in removing athletes from the mantle that they once stood on, but the biggest culprit in this seed change has been the athletes themselves. Once upon a time, athletes were just working stiffs like the rest of us. Up until the 70's most professional athletes, had jobs in the offseason. They were well paid, but it certainly wasn't anywhere close to the kind of money today's athletes see. Today's athlete not only has vast wealth, but they were also brought up to believe that they were special and not really subject to the rules and regulations that the rest of us have to live by. Teachers, school officials, friends, parents, hangers on and society in general are all willing to mostly turn a blind eye to wrong doing by a young gifted athlete. Rules are bent and sometimes broken in order to accommodate an athlete. Combine a sense of entitlement with a seemingly unlimited bankroll and you get a person who doesn't think that they have to live by the same rules as the rest of society.

You may ask why an athlete as famous and as rich as Michael Vick would allegedly be a major player in a barbaric activity such as dog fighting? The simple answer is because he can. Professional Sports in America have become a multi billion dollar industry. The people who are paid to play are just part of a huge money making machine. The people who make their living off of sports are no different than the businessmen who make their living on Wall street. People who make their living dealing in money have a well earned reputation as sharks. Most of them play within the boundaries of the law, but there are a certain percentage who will do anything to beat the guy next to them. Sports are even more competitive because an athlete has a very limited amount of time to make their money. If the Wall Street crowd only had an average of five years to make as much as they could, it would be a blood bath down there. The notion of a dog-eat-dog world is taken to an extreme when it comes to athletes. The "work hard, play hard" moto can be a dangerous one in the wrong hands.

So are athletes any worse today than they were in the past? Well, the sports world has been populated by racists, murderers, rapists, wife beaters, alcoholics, dead beat dads, gamblers, cheaters, etc, for years. I don't believe that today's athletes are any worse than those that came before them. I do believe that the coverage of athletes has increased to a point where they now have to answer for on and off the field problems. Was Pete Rose any worse than Hal Chase? Was Sammy Sosa any worse than Gaylord Perry? Gambling is gambling and cheating is cheating. Michael Vick is the new poster boy for all that is wrong with sports today, but is he any worse than any of the other thousands of people who are involved in animal cruelty? Is he any worse than an avowed racist like Kenesaw Mountain Landis who was the commissioner of baseball? Is he worse than the NFL players who were suspended in the 60's for betting on the game? Is he any worse than the hundreds of players who beat their wives or slapped their kids? Is he any worse than the thousands of athletes who have cheated or lied to get ahead? Is he?

Sports has always been a fairly accurate reflection of society. And just as in the real world, there are saints and there are sinners. Sports and the people who play them haven't really changed much over the decades. What has changed is our perception of them. We are now just much more aware of the sinners than we have ever been before.

The Once and Future King

2007-07-27T11:21:00.000-04:00

Alex Rodriquez currently sits one home run away from joining the elite club of players who have hit 500 in their career. Jimmy Foxx currently holds the record for being the youngest to get to 500 home runs, but Arod will shatter that mark by almost 11 months (he was also the youngest to 400 home runs). All the talk this week has been about Barry Bonds and his impending replacement of Hank Aaron at the top of the home run list, but even Barry has said on various occasions that he's just holding the spot for Arod. The press has often mentioned the on his current pace, Arod will become the all time home run king by the time he retires. Of course a lot can happen between home run #500 and home run #800.

Before the start of the century it was Ken Griffey Jr. who was most often mentioned as the heir apparent to Aaron on the all time home run list, but injuries derailed his march to the top. Griffey was the previous youngest to 400 home runs but he has had a string of injuries that have slowed his progress significantly. He currently stands at 588 home runs and given his age (37) and his history of injuries, it seems unlikely that he will reach Aaron, much less Bonds, by the time he retires. Of course it could be pointed out that this is the age when Bonds turned into the second coming of Babe Ruth (from the ages of 35-38, he averaged 52 home runs a year). Griffey averaged 50 home runs a year for the four years leading up to his 30th birthday. From the ages of 31-34 he averaged only 16 home runs a year. He seemed to be constantly on the disabled list during those years. Without those injuries he would perhaps be 100 home runs further along and in prime position to challenge for the record. However, barring a Bonds like renaissance (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), it seems that Griffey will not end up as the all time home run king.

The problem with career projections is that they do not take things like injuries into consideration. When Arod was a free agent, his agent sent along a package to his perspective suitors that included a career projection in which Arod ended up with over 800 home runs. It all looks good on paper, but baseball is not played on paper or in a computer simulation. We have already seen the effects of the pressure of playing in New York take their toll on Arod. If he were to have a significant injury, his march toward the record could be slowed considerably.

I have already stated enough times on this blog that my feelings toward Bonds are less than positive, but he will, in fact be the all-time home run leader in a few days. I can't say that I'll be happy about it but it is inevitable. And while a lot of fans around baseball may look to Arod as their hope that the record will soon be reclaimed by a "clean" player, they should beware of thinking of it as a foregone conclusion. Just remember that 300 home runs is a lot of balls flying out of the park. Only 114 hitters in the history of the game have managed to reach that total (Roger Maris, the former single season record holder ended his career with 275, Bernie Williams ended his career with 287, David Ortiz has 247). Even at his current rate, it will still take Arod over seven seasons to get there. Seven seasons ago, it seemed a cinch that Griffey would be the one chasing Aaron today. Clearly that is not the case.

Bombs Away!

2007-07-23T10:35:00.000-04:00

The Yankees put on a offensive show for the ages over the weekend against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. They put up 45 runs over three games. In the last two that had back to back 20 hit games for the first time in Yankees history. They were clicking on all cylinders as every starter had at least one hit, drove in at least one run and scored at least one. Shelley Duncan is doing his best Shane Spencer impersonation and Arod continued his march towards 500 home runs. It was the kind of offensive show that the Yankees were supposed to be capable of coming out of spring training. The injury to Jason Giambi and the subpar performances of Cano, Matsui, Damon and Abreu had led to the offense being inconsistent at best. Arod, Posada and Jeter had carry the load for the first three months of the season and the Yankees record was a result of that. Damon still isn't doing much but with Cano pushing his average over .290 and Matsui's recent power surge, the offense is starting produce like a well oiled machine.

The Yankees currently sit 7.5 games behind the Red Sox in the east. The Sox started out the season 35-15 and have been at .500 since then. They had the opportunity to bury the Yankees but did not take advantage. They still currently posses the largest divisional lead in all of baseball so there is no real reason for panic in Red Sox nation, but they have given the Yankees and their fans some reason for hope. The Yankees currently have about a 9% chance of winning the division. In fact, if the Sox were to play .600 ball or something close to that, the Yankees would have absolutely no shot of winning the division. As it stands now, the Yankees have to play close to .700 ball just to have a shot at winning 95 games, which is about what it has taken on average to win the AL east.

The Yankees have painted themselves into a very tight corner. They cannot afford a streak, of any length, of poor play. If they were to lose seven out of ten at any point over the next two months, their playoff chances will be finished. Are they capable of a three month streak of excellence? The short answer is yes, but the odds, much like their playoff chances, are very slim. It's still fun to watch Arod put up a season for the ages, but in the Bronx, the only thing that matters is winning. A team with a $200 million payroll isn't supposed to flounder for half the season as they have done. While the pitching injuries have been many, the rest of league isn't exactly crying over the Yankees misfortune. The Yankees still have the talent and desire to get back to the playoffs, but everything, and I mean everything, has to go their way from here on out. They need every bad hop, blown call, misjudged fly ball and act of God to go their way. That along with excellent, consistent play will give them a chance (just a chance) to make the playoffs. Beating the hell out of Tampa Bay is nice, but they've got a long hard road ahead of them if they are to make the post season for the 13th straight year.

Playing the Wrong Card

2007-07-17T13:03:00.000-04:00

Gary Sheffield made statements recently in which he accused Joe Torre of treating black players different from white players. He said that black players were singled out in team meetings while white players were spoken to in private. He also said that Kenny Lofton would back up his claims. Lofton was quick to add that Sheffield "knew what he was talking about". I have no personal knowledge of these claims, but based on Torre's long tenure in baseball (40 years), It seems that if this were actually the case, this sort of accusation would have come up before. And Kenny Lofton, who was brought to the Yankees against the wishes of Joe Torre, is probably not the best person to ask. Lofton was benched by Torre in favor of Bernie Williams and I'm sure that he hasn't forgotten that. Daryl Strawberry has had nothing but good things to say about Torre and Willie Randolph, who was Joe's long time coach with the Yankees before becoming manager of the Mets, has also come out in support of Torre.

Gary Sheffield has had a problem with almost every team he has played with. For some reason he plays with a huge chip on his shoulder. He is always on the lookout for the next perceived slight that might come his way. Gary Sheffield has been traded five times in his career and for a player who is now approaching 500 home runs and is building a very credible Hall of Fame case, that seems an inordinate amount. He was traded by his first team at 22 years old even though he had been touted as one of the best hitting prospects in all of baseball. His second team traded him at the age of 24 in the season after he made a run at the triple crown and finished 3rd in the MVP voting. The Dodgers, his fifth team, traded him after a season in which he hit 39 home runs, drove in 132 and again finished 3rd in the MVP voting. Sheffield will tell you that the problem isn't with him, but with the teams that traded him. But there is a very clear pattern. Sheffield gets to a new team, bad mouths his previous team (he claimed the Dodgers were racists when they wouldn't sign him to a contract extension in 2001), and says how wonderful his new team is. In a couple of years, his new team trades and he starts the cycle all over again. He has bent over backwards to praise the Tigers manager, Jim Leyland (who was his manager at one of his previous stops), and once again he has decided to bash his old team.

Accusing an individual of being a racist is a very powerful thing in America today. At a time when political correctness abounds (I have my own thoughts about that, but that is an article for another day and another place), even an unproven accusation of racism can haunt an individual forever. I don't know Joe Torre, but my general sense of the man tells me that he is not a racist. The Hall of Fame right hander Bob Gibson came to Torre's defense recently. He and Torre were teammates for six years with the Cardinals in the 60's and 70's. He stated simply that Torre is one of the best friends that he's ever had in his life. I am more willing to take the word of someone such as Gibson, who grew up in the face of segregation, when he vouches for the character of Joe Torre. I'm sure in Gary's mind Torre did treat him differently when he was with the Yankees. I'm sure he's felt mistreated wherever he has been. I'm not sure why that is, but hopefully the approximately $180 million that he will leave baseball with will make up for that somehow. I'm not sure that there's enough money to make up for the potential damage that he's done to Joe Torre's image with a few thoughtless words.

Waiting Game

2007-07-13T10:39:00.000-04:00

The Yankees changed their position of not negotiating with players during the season as they looked to ink Alex Rodriquez to a contract extension. Before the start of the season, the Yankees stated publicly that they would not negotiate with players during the season, but would wait until after the season to decide what the needs of the team where and whether it made sense to resign the players. Both Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada can be free agents at the end of the season. The Yankees position on Arod was that he was already under contract so there was no reason to even discuss negotiating even though they were well aware of the opt out clause in his contract.

Arod is currently in the midst of what may very well turn out to be his finest season. In fact, if he continues at his current pace, he will finish with numbers that haven't been seen in the bronx since the days of the M&M boys in 1961 (Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris both made runs at the single season home run record that year with Mantle ending up at 54 and Roger breaking the record with 61) . It is very clear that Arod is going to opt out of his contract at the end of year. He would be 35 at the end of his current contract and a 32 year old free agent is a much more attractive target. Although he is currently the highest paid athlete in the history of North American sports, he will be in line for an even bigger contract at the end of the season. His agent, the reviled (by management) Scott boras, has already stated that Arod will be paid over $30 million a season in the last two years of his current contract and so it seems certain that the bidding for Arod's services will start somewhere in that neighborhood.

Arod certainly hasn't been treated particularly well during his time in New York. The fans and the press have been particularly hard on him. He changed positions when he came to the Yankees and while he struggled in '06, his defense for the most part has bordered on spectacular. He was seemingly never given credit for having made that concession in order to play here. He currently sits one home run away from the record for most home runs hit by a shortstop. I'm not sure that he is overly concerned with it, but I'm sure the Cubs, White Sox, Red Sox or Angels would be happy to have him man that position for them. There are very few clubs that are in a financial position to sign Arod, but the the four or five clubs that are, will put on the full court press in order to get him on their side.

The Yankees will have 10 days after the end of the World Series to have exclusive negotiating rights with Arod. They are still in the best position to sign Arod to a contract. The Yankees will look to sign him to an extension because if he plays under his current deal for the next three years, the Texas Rangers would be on the hook for a significant portion of $81 million that would be remaining on his contract at the end of this year. Given his current position, Arod would probably be able to extract a 5 year extension in the neighborhood of $125- $150 million. That would bring his total baseball earnings to a staggering $400 million. Of course he could opt out of his deal and then look for an 8 year contract in the $240 million range. At this point, the ball is totally in Arod's court. He has reestablished himself as the best player in baseball and he is clearly the most indispensable player in the Yankees lineup.

I'm not really sure what Arod is going to do. He has of course stated publicly that he wants to stay in New York, but he couldn't really say anything else without incurring the wrath of the fans and the media. His legacy would certainly be cemented if he were to win a World Series or two in the Bronx. There would be a plaque in monument park, a retired number hanging on the wall, he would go in to the hall of fame wearing a Yankees cap and he would forever be linked to the Yankee greats of the past. I have no idea if this means anything at all to him though. The prospects of a new start might be more appealing to him. If he signed with the Angels, the press would be too busy following the hijinks's of Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton to worry about what strip club Arod was visiting or what woman he was seen with. Signing with the Red Sox would put him in another baseball obsessed town, but he could be a constant thorn in the side of the Yankees. Even signing with the Mets might be an option if he really wanted to get back at the Yankees.

The bottom line is that this was a major blunder by the Yankees front office. While Arod said before the season that he was not planning to opt out of his contract, you, me and the American people all knew that he would. The Yankees were under some sort of group self delusion that Arod wouldn't at least test the free agent waters at the end of the season. I don't know if they could have gotten an extension done in the pre-season, but at least they could have gotten the wheels in motion. Perhaps they were hoping that Arod would have a sub par year and would decide to honor his contract. That mistake is about to cost the team a lot of money. They have been down this road before however. When Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra were the hot young shortstops in the American League, Nomar signed a 4 year deal that paid him an average of about $10 million a year. The Yankees should have followed suit with Jeter, but instead went the arbitration route with him every year until they had to sign him to a contract. By waiting two extra years, they were forced to give him a contract that averaged $20 million a year. They were shortsighted then and they are now. They have the money to get it done, but it remains to be seen whether Arod has the will to get it done.

And That's The Way It Is

2007-07-12T09:35:00.000-04:00

Dan Patrick announced recently that he is leaving ESPN. Now I'm not sure if this is really a sports story, but I felt like I had to say a few words about the end of the "Patrick era" at ESPN. He became the lead anchor of Sportscenter in 1989, which was just about the time that ESPN became my number one destination on my TV dial. To me, Dan Patrick was Sportscenter, so it feels a little like Walter Cronkite leaving the evening news.

Dan gave us the sports news in a very understated manner. He didn't go in for the screaming over the top hyperbole that many of his contemporaries seemed to favor. Where others would scream, Dan would whisper. His home run call was a simple, "gone", and the only catch phrase that he used was his "en fuego" reference to basketball players on a roll. Dan always let the sports do the entertaining. He never fell into the trap that anchors such as Chris Berman and Stuart Scott have. They seem to have forgotten that the teams and the players are the reason that people tune in. If I never hear another home run call by Berman, I'll be a happy man.

A few years ago I had the pleasure of having lunch with Dan and few of the other ESPN personalities at a family style Italian restaurant. While I won't mention names (Sean Salisbury, Rob Dibble), it was pretty fair to say that Dan was the most dignified and friendly of the group. He was, just as he appeared to be on Television. I don't really watch Sportscenter much anymore, but it was always a pleasure when I happened upon Dan Patrick sitting in the anchor's chair. He still remained a breath of fresh air on a network filled with ex-jocks and indistinguishable talking heads.

Sportscenter is still an occasional destination for me, but it won't be the same for me knowing that Dan Patrick will not be returning. I guess after being a Sportscenter anchor for 17 years it is time for him to, as he put it, try something different. I wish him luck in whatever his next endeavour may be. It is sad to see him leave ESPN however. Quiet and understated are not really the things that they are looking for these days in Bristol. It may be a long time before we see his like again on that network.

Prediction

2007-07-11T11:48:00.000-04:00

I read this story on ESPN the other day:

The Angels waived infielder-designated hitter Shea Hillenbrand on Monday, a disappointment for Los Angeles after signing him to a $6.5 million, one-year contract in December.

I can almost guarantee that he will be in a Yankee uniform before the end of the week. And remember you heard it here first.

Stars on Parade

2007-07-11T09:21:00.000-04:00

The All-Star game was actually quite entertaining last night. While it's always fun to the see the greatest stars in baseball on the same field, it seldom makes for great games. Usually the games are dominated by pitching. Starting pitchers, who are used to pitching 6 or 7 innings are asked to go only one and therefore don't have to worry about conserving energy. Closers usually dominate for the one inning that they pitch in the regular season and they usually do the same in the All-Star game. This game was different as the closers gave up five of the nine total runs scored in the game. The game ended on a fly out with the bases loaded in a one run game after the NL had scored two runs off of the AL's best reliever in the first half of the season (J.J. Putz of Seattle).

The game started with a tribute to San Francisco's greatest player, Willie Mays. The reception he received, while it was quite warm, was nothing compared to the outpouring of emotion that accompanied Ted Williams as he made an appearance before the 1999 All-Star game in Boston. I'm sure they were trying to recapture the magic of that moment, but it was just not quite the same. The fans saved their biggest ovation for Barry Bonds who gave them a thrill when he drove a pitch to the base of the left field wall that was caught by Magglio Ordonez. Barry, who was quite vocal during the All-Star festivities about Bud Selig and the question of whether he will be at the park when Barry breaks the home run record, seemed to really savor the overwhelming support of his hometown fans.

Ichiro Suzuki won the MVP award after a 3 for 3 night that included the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star game history. Ichiro turned on the jets after his fly ball bounded away from Ken Griffey Jr. in right field. He made it home easily and scored standing up. His home run also gave the AL a lead which they would never relinquish. Ichiro is in the last year of his contract with Seattle and can test the free agent waters at the end of the season. There are reports, however that he has almost reached an agreement with Seattle that would pay him close to $100 million over the next five seasons. Personally, I think that's an awful lot of money for a singles hitter, but he is the "face" of baseball in Seattle and they really can't afford to lose him. In the past Seattle has traded future hall-of-famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson and allowed Alex Rodriquez to leave via free agency, rather than pay them fair market value. Given their current resurgence (they are only 2.5 games behind the Angels in the west), I don't think that their fans would have been too happy with the prospect of the club letting another potential hall-of-famer walk away.

Back the game itself, it was actually quite shocking to see the relievers fail as they did last night. The NL relievers gave up two home runs and the AL's best first half reliever also gave one up. It's not unprecedented however. In last year's game, Trevor Hoffman (the all time saves leader), gave up a game winning home run to Michael Young. And in 2003 Eric Gagne, who was in the midst of converting a still record 84 consecutive save chances, gave up a game winning home run to Hank Blalock. Poor performances in the All-Star game seldom have any real carry over though. I'm sure that the relievers will be back to being their old dominating selves starting tomorrow. Also, they are not usually forced to contend with an All-Star lineup every night.

This brings us to the interesting case of Atlee Hammaker. He was a 24 year old first time All-Star in 1983 when he faced Fred Lynn with the bases loaded. The National League had dominated the All-Star game over the previous 20 years. In fact the American League had only one victory (in 1971) since 1963. Hammaker came into the game with a 9-4 record and a 1.70 ERA. It appeared that he was just at the beginning of a very productive and perhaps exceptional career. All that changed with one pitch. He gave up the first and still to this day, the only grand slam in All-Star history (The AL has since gone 17-5 in All-Star play, including winning the last 10 in a row). And after that moment, he was never quite the same. He finished the season going 1-5 in his games after the All-Star game and never posted a winning record again (except for the following season when he went 2-0 in an injury shortened season). Now some will point to the arm injury that he suffered the following year as the reason that he failed to live up the potential that he showed in the first half of '83, but I'll forever be convinced that the grand slam that he gave up to Fred Lynn was the beginning of the end. He looked absolutely crushed after giving up that home run.

There are a couple of other examples of the All-Star game ruining careers but both of those instances involved injuries. Dizzy Dean had his toe broken by a line drive in the 1937 game. He tried to return too soon from the injury and changed his pitching motion and destroyed his arm. In the 1970 game Pete Rose ran into catcher Ray Fosse during a close play at home plate. Fosse suffered an undiagnosed separated shoulder and was never the same player again. I do enjoy the All-Star game, and for the most part, I think the players do to, but for me the first thing I always think of is the look on Atlee Hammaker's face after giving up that home run to Fred Lynn. Watching the game on TV: Free. Buying a ticket to All-Star game: $200. Watching someone have their hopes and dreams crushed right in front of your eyes: Priceless.

Much Adu About Nothing

2007-07-09T09:48:00.000-04:00

David Beckham is set to make his MLS debut shortly for the LA Galaxy. The collective yawn you hear is from most of the sports fans in America. The MLS is trying to play this up for all it's worth, but the truth of the matter is that this is a bigger story in England that it is here. Beckham and his imaginary $250 million contract is supposed to be the savior of the league. He is single handedly supposed to push the league from a niche sport into the big time. I have my doubts about exactly how a past-his-prime midfielder with limited scoring skills is going to do that, but I'll leave that to the marketing geniuses at MLS.

The last time the MLS paid big money for a savior was when they threw a then record salary of $1 million a year to a 14 year old soccer prodigy from Ghana named Freddy Adu. Freddy has scored a total of 12 goals and has amassed only 18 assists in his 3 plus years in the MLS. While it is clear that Freddy has amazing skills (check out his goal he scored in the Under-20 World Cup, http://youtube.com/watch?v=-i0IZZ-yaUU), it's also clear that he's not really physically ready to compete against men twice his age. The MLS was so desperate for a gate attraction that they rushed him into the league before he was ready. Freddy made his MLS debut with DC United as a 15 year old, but after three seasons in the nations capital, he was traded before the current season began to Real Salt Lake (not exactly the high profile market that the leagues signature player should be toiling in) . Freddy has been nothing short of amazing in the age group games, but has yet to be a consistent threat at the major league level. He may very well become the first real MLS star, but he's still a developing player. There is some interest from Manchester United in England and it may be best for all parties involved if Freddy were allowed to play in one of the European youth leagues for a couple of years.

The MLS was shortsighted in it's handling of the Adu affair and they are probably being shortsighted in the case of David Beckham as well. I guess adding a matinee idol was deemed more important than adding a player who would actually make a real impact on the field. I'm sure that the MLS is thinking that adding Beckham will probably give them a chance to lure some of the other aging starts in Europe as well. And while that may sound good in theory, I have doubts about the long term survival of the league if they continue to throw big money contracts at these players. I'm sure that Ronaldo would not come over to the MLS without a contract equal to or greater than the one that Beckham signed. I'm not sure that the league would be able to support more than one of these mega contracts at a time. The Beckham contract is not worth the initially reported $50 million a year, but it is worth somewhere in the $5-10 million a year range. The league doesn't have revenue to support that kind of outlay. They are clearly banking on a huge return on this investment.

The MLS would be better served by developing it's younger talent in the same way that most of the top leagues in the world do and in the way that baseball does. A minor league that funnels talent to the big leagues would be an ideal way to bring along young players and also build up some interest in first year players. Of course this would involve a significant investment from the MLS ownership, but I think their money would be better spent on development as opposed to aging, overpaid "stars", that will have little impact on general sports fans. There's nothing Americans love more than seeing Americans doing well. The goal of the league should be to find and develop home grown talent. That's really the only way the sport is going to flourish long term.

Down the Backstretch

2007-07-06T09:28:00.000-04:00

The All-Star game is almost upon us and as we hit the mid-way point of the MLB season, it's time for the annual review of my preseason picks. Here were my picks for the AL division winners:

Boston, Cleveland, Angels

Hey, so far so good. I'm batting 1.000 for the the AL. The Red Sox have a double digit lead and appear to be a lock to win the division. The Angels should win the west, but the Indians are in a dogfight with the Tigers for the division lead. In fact, they may not even be in the lead by the All-star game since they only hold a one game lead.

The NL picture isn't quite so rosy. My picks were:

Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers

Only the Brewers lead their division right now. The Dodgers are only one game out and have been in first for a good part of the season. The Phillies got off to a horrendous start and have only come back into the race because the Mets have faltered. They are currently 4-1/2 games out of first. It's certainly not inconceivable that they will overtake the Mets, but that remains to be seen.

My Wildcard picks were the Mets and the Yankees. The Mets are currently in first in the East and I'm not sure that either the Braves or the Phillies have enough to catch them. In theory they will get Pedro back in the second half and so they should get stronger over the final three months of the season. They Yankees have been an up and down team all year. They currently sit two games below .500 and 8-1/2 games out of the wildcard spot. Can they make up the difference? That remains to be seen. They were certainly counted out last year by a lot of pundits and they have the talent to make a run, but they haven't shown the consistency that would lead anyone to the conclusion that they will make up the deficit. I still have faith, even though my friend Robb Henick has been trying to give up on the team since April.

My picks for the AL Awards were Arod and Rich Harden. Arod has certainly done his part. He's on pace for close to 60 home runs and 150 rbi's along with a .330 average. In picking Rich Harden, I said that he had the best stuff in the league and he just had to stay healthy. Well, he may have the best stuff in the league (although I now think that King Felix probably does), but he hasn't stayed healthy. It's a shame really. It would be interesting to see what he could do in a full season.

In the NL I picked Albert Pujols and Roy Oswalt. Pujols got off to a very slow start but has turned it on of late. He isn't in a position to contend for MVP just yet, but I'm pretty sure that by the end of the season his numbers will be MVP worthy. Oswalt was just added to the All-Star team and has had a decent first half, but he'll have to turn it on to catch up to the Padres Chris Young and Jake Peavy and the Dodgers Brad Penny in the Cy Young race.

That's about it for the recap of my predictions. I'm looking forward to an exciting second half of the season. Hopefully the Yankees can make this an interesting summer and fall.

I also just wanted to say good luck to Craig as he heads down south to the paradise that is Chapel Hill. I'm sure the Doc will make it very comfortable for him. Say hi to Franklin Street for me.

I Come To Bury Ceaser

2007-06-21T10:34:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to shed some light on a story that seemed to have flown under the radar of most news outlets and certainly Bud Selig's office. In a recent interview Tom Hicks, the owner of the Texas Rangers, made the following comments in reference to deals he most regretted making:

“Juan Gonzalez, for $24 million, after he came off steroids probably… we just gave that money away,”.

He has since backtracked and released the following statement:

“I have no knowledge that Juan used steroids. His number of injuries and early retirement just makes me suspicious. In any event, we paid him $24 million for very few games.”

The Commissioner is trying to basically blackmail Jason Giambi into testifying in front of the Mitchell commission, but he refuses to subject the owners to the same type of scrutiny. Of course the owners weren't the one's taking steroids, but it is very clear that they knew about it and did nothing to stop it. Bud would never take the owners to task for this problem because they are his friends and they pay his salary. Perhaps Shakespeare put it best when he said, "The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves". The Commissioner and the owners need to brush up on their classics.

Deal Me Out

2007-06-20T15:35:00.000-04:00

The Lakers have a quandary this offseason. The cornerstone of their franchise, Kobe Bryant, has demanded a trade. Kobe claims that the Lakers have not done what they said they would do and that they are not making enough progress for him to stay. The interesting part of that statement is that the Lakers got to the NBA finals just three years ago, but Kobe decided that he couldn't continue to exist with Shaq. The Lakers had a choice at that point. They could keep Shaq and lose Kobe to free agency or they could trade Shaq and sign Kobe to a huge deal. They chose the latter and it certainly made sense in baseketball terms. Shaq was no longer the dominant force that he used to be and was certainly becoming more injury prone as time went on. Kobe was 9 years younger and was just about to enter his prime. Of course Shaq teamed up with Dwayne Wade to win another championship while the Lakers have struggled and have missed the playoffs in two of the three seasons that they have played without Shaq.

The Lakers are under no obligation to trade Kobe. They can simply turn down his request for a trade and continue to try and build a winning team around him. Of course having a player that doesn't want to be on your team, especially one who is supposed to be the focal point of the team on the floor, isn't exactly the ideal situation. Kobe Bryant is the best offensive player in the NBA. He is capable of exploding for 50-80 points on any night of the season. He is the only player who can claim to be the rightful successor to Michael Jordan. The NBA has been looking for the next Jordan and are always quick to anoint someone as the "NEXT", but Kobe is already here. His checkered legal past is the only reason that he has not been thrust into the forefront as the face of the league. The NBA would like LeBron James to be the face of the league and while he is a fantastic, multi-talented player, he simply cannot do all the things that Kobe can do.

So did the Lakers make a mistake in choosing Kobe over Shaq? I don't really think so. Shaq really can't carry a team on his own any more and always spends at least 1/3 of the regular season on the disabled list, so at least by trading him, they got back a couple of good complementary players. If they had let Kobe go, they would have been left empty handed. So should they trade him? The bottom line is that there is no way they can get equal value for him. I've heard the rumors of Gilbert Arenas from Washington, but he is not the equal of Kobe. Chicago might be able to put together a package of some of their young stars, but two good players do not equal one great player. The truth is that they are in a very tough position. The Lakers, as constituted, are not a championship caliber team. Perhaps if Andruw Bynam develops into a dominating center they will become one, but that isn't going to happen overnight. Trading Kobe would allow them to get rid of a headache, but it doesn't really get them any closer to the NBA finals.

So what is Kobe's angle in making his trade request? It can't be about a new contract, because he's currently making the maximum amount allowed under the collective bargaining agreement. Kobe also has an "Arod" clause in his contract, meaning that he can opt out of his deal after the 2008-09 season. It really seems that this is all about trying to literally follow in the footsteps of Michael Jordan. Kobe has a very short list of teams that he'll accept a trade to. The Lakers would be crazy to trade him to a team in the west and the only team that he'll agree to go in the east is Chicago. So this is apparently a gambit by Kobe to get to Chicago. Kobe already has three championships, but I guess in his mind, in order to be like Mike, he's got to win in Chicago as well. The question now becomes whether Chicago can put together a package that makes sense and leaves them with enough parts to make a run a the finals, even with Kobe. Clearly there is a much easier road to the finals out of the east, so maybe that's Kobe's goal. He's decided that he can't make the finals in the West, so his answer is to go East, young man.

Hop on the Bandwagon

2007-06-18T13:15:00.001-04:00

The New York Yankees are suddenly the hottest team in baseball. The press is falling all over themselves to try and pinpoint the reason for their sudden turnaround. The theories have gone from putting Melky in CF to Miguel Cairo taking over at first base to Roger Clemens showing up to (surprisingly) Arod being pictured with a woman who was not his wife in Toronto. However for the faithful readers of my column, it's clear that the turnaround can be traced to this! That's right, my friends. The Yankees have reeled off 13 wins in 15 games since I gave them the formula for fixing what ailed them. And while most of the credit goes to the players on the field, I have to give myself a pat on the back for showing them the way. Of course no one in the Yankees organization is going to admit to reading my blog, but trust me they are doing it (That's right, Brian. The jig is up!).

So now that the Yankees are rolling, it's just amazing to see the attitude of the local writers turn around. All of sudden it's the Yankees that can do no wrong. The Yankees hot streak has happened to coincide with an almost identical streak of futility from the Mets. The Mets have only managed 3 wins this month so far and their once healthy lead in the NL East has shrunk to 1-1/2 games over the Braves and 2 games over the Phillies. The New York press, which is always looking for a reason to say that the Mets are better than the Yankees, have had two months of absolute bliss while the Yankees struggled. Of course that same group of writers is now just as quick to point out the flaws of struggling Mets team.

The basic truth of sports is that no team is as ever as good as it looks when it's playing well and conversely, no team is as bad as it looks when it's playing poorly. I never understood why that is such a hard concept for fans and writers alike to understand. The Mets and Yankees are both good teams. They will play up to the level of their talent over a 162 game season. There will be ups and downs, but basically they are both more than capable of winning 90+ games and they both probably will. Hopefully that will keep fans and sportswriters alike from jumping off the deep end or printing playoff tickets at the next losing or winning streak from either team.

I just have one more bone to pick with the sportswriters in town and that is that in the first half of last year they anointed David Wright as the best third baseman in town. The funny thing is that I don't hear anyone making those kind of pronouncements this year. David Wright is a fine player, but he is not, I repeat not, in Arod's class. Wright hit 26 home runs in 582 at-bats last season, Arod has 27 in 251 at-bats this season. Arod in a supposed down season for him hit 35 home runs and drove in 121 runs and had an OPS of .915. Wright's numbers were 26, 116 and .859. Admittedly, those are great numbers for a 24 year old, but when Arod was the same age his numbers were 41, 132 and 1.026. David Wright may very well be the best third baseman in the National League, but Arod is one of the greatest hitters ever to play the game. So please let's stop this nonsense of comparing the two players. The truth of the matter is that Arod probably isn't going to be playing for the Yankees next year, so thankfully the writers won't have to embarrass themselves anymore.

Express Delivery

2007-06-13T09:45:00.000-04:00

Justin Verlander pitched a no-hitter last night for the Detroit Tigers. It was the second no-hitter this season (Mark Burhle turned the trick for the White Sox earlier in the season). Before this season, it had been a couple of years since a pitcher had thrown a no-hitter in the majors. So today's article is just an appreciation of the pitcher who threw the most no-hitters in his career. Nolan Ryan not only threw seven no-hitters, but also 12 one-hitters (He took a no-hitter into the 9th inning in at least 3 of those games) in his amazing career. Ryan is also the career leader in strikeouts with an amazing total of 5,714. Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens are now in a virtual tie for second place but they are still more than 1,00 behind Ryan (He also happens to lead the all-time walks allowed list by almost a thousand as well, but no one ever said he was perfect).

The record for no-hitters before Ryan came along was held by Sandy Koufax, who threw four in his brilliant but all too brief career. Ryan, like Koufax before him, was a threat to throw a no-hitter every time he stepped on the mound. He threw perhaps the greatest pitch ever seen in the majors. The Nolan Ryan fastball is legendary. It really is hard to describe if you've never seen it. The Guinness world book of records used to have Nolan Ryan listed for having the fastest recorded pitch (I believe that it was just north of 100 mph). In last night's game Verlander's fastball was clocked at 102 mph by the radar gun. I saw the supposed 102 mph pitch last night and while their radar gun may have registered at that speed, I can assure you that his fastball was not the equal of Ryan's. I can't really say if he throws as hard or harder than Ryan did, but the pitches are not of the same quality. Just as Bert Blyleven threw the best curveball I've ever seen, Ryan threw the best fastball anyone has ever seen.

Ryan was basically a two pitch pitcher. He threw his all-world fastball and complemented that with a knee buckling curveball. That was about it. Every hitter who ever faced him went up guessing fastball, they got the pitch they were looking for and for the most part couldn't do anything with it. Ryan threw his first no-hitter in 1973 at the age of 26 and threw his last one in 1991 at the age of 44 (He struck out 16 hitters in the game). He first led the league in strikeouts in 1972 and for the last of his record 11 times in 1990. Ryan was really a marvel. He dominated hitters with his fastball until the day he stepped off the mound. His career came to end because of a series of leg injuries, but his arm was sound until the end. While Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens both used overpowering fastballs to record the majority of strikeouts in the earlier part of their careers, they have used pitches other than their fastballs to continue to rack up strikeouts as they've aged. Johnson relies on his slider as his out pitch and Clemens uses his splitter to record most of his strikeouts these days. Ryan's primary weapon throughout his career remained his overpowering fastball which he threw about 70% of the time.

Ryan no longer holds the single game strikeout record (Clemens, Kerry Wood and Johnson have all eclipsed it). He does however still hold the record for career strikeouts, single season strikeouts and the record for most no-hitters. The single season record may someday be eclipsed, but I can't imagine the others being broken. How good was the Ryan fastball? Good enough that at the age of 42 he struck out an amazing 301 batter. Only three pitchers have managed to reach the 300 strike out level since then. How hard is it to throw a no-hitter? Ask Roger Clemens, he's never been able to do it. No-hitters have been thrown by mediocre pitchers throughout the history of baseball, so there is clearly an element of luck in throwing one. A good pitcher on a given day can have his best stuff working and get a couple of great plays behind him and may be able to get through a game without giving up a hit. Ryan managed to do that seven times along with his 12 other almost no-hitters. Clearly it was more than luck in Ryan's case.

Major league baseball has started to put together DVD packages of complete world series games. It's a great way for people to remember the greatest moments in their teams history. I would hope that one day they put out a package of Nolan Ryan's no-hitters. Some of them may be lost to history (although I certainly hope that is not the case), but at least the last three should be available. I also seem to remember his almost no hitting the Yankees on Monday night baseball telecast. It would be a great thing if the younger fans of the game could get to experience "The Express" on a few of his most amazing nights. Come to think of it I wouldn't mind getting a chance to relive some of those moments myself.

Note for Bud

2007-06-07T12:50:00.001-04:00

Bud,
I just wanted to drop you a couple of lines. I noticed that you've been doing your darnedest to try and find a scapegoat for baseball's steroid issues. Your latest choice is apparently Jason Giambi. While it's somewhat commendable that you've started a commission to try and get to the bottom of the problem, it's pretty clear that you aren't going to get anywhere. So as a fan of the game and as someone who wants to help you out, I'm going to offer you a solution. I'm going to tell you what the findings of the Mitchell commission are going to be. For free. How about that. If you're in a giving mood, you can send me the $2 million you were going to spend on the commission next month. Alright are you ready, here goes.

Steroid use was widespread and rampant during the 90's and early 00's.

That's it. Wasn't that easy. I'll give the address to send my check to. Now, here's the important part. I'm going to tell you how to fix this entire mess. The bottom line is that no matter how many individuals you identify (and I don't think you are going to identify any that we don't already know about), it's not going to address the central issue. Baseball players were cheating and everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) knew it. I knew it, you knew it and the American people knew it. Continuing some witch hunt isn't going to make that go away. Everyone needs to move on. So here's what you do: take out a full page ad in the NY Times and just apologize and then move on. You can't erase the fact that you were the commissioner during the "steroids era". That's just your lot. So why not try and focus on something more positive. Here's what you need to say:

To our fans,
Steroid abuse was widespread in baseball for a period of about 10 years. While we heard the whispers of this abuse, we (meaning management and the commissioners office) chose not to investigate this matter any further. The fact that the players union refused to allow us to put steroids on the banned substances list also played a big part in that decision. It is clear now that mistakes were made over that time, by the players, by the coaches, by the union, by the owners and by my own office. We apologize to the fans of baseball for our part in allowing the steroid abuse to take place. We could have done more to make sure that the integrity of the game was preserved.

We have now taken steps to ensure that this does not happen in the future. We have the toughest steroid penalties in North American sports and our testing program is among the most thorough in sports. There is still no reliable test for Human Growth Hormone (HGH), but I assure that we are working towards eliminating all performance enhancing drugs from our sport. We appreciate your patience and continued support. Baseball is still the greatest game ever invented and we hope that the focus of attention can return to what's going on the field as opposed to the court room.

Thank you once again for being such great fans of this game.

That's about it, Bud. Just say you're sorry and we can all move on. Hopefully that helps.

Your Pal,
Michael

Toothless

2007-06-07T11:09:00.001-04:00

The commissioner of baseball has decided to make his stand on the steroids. He has demanded that Jason Giambi submit to questioning from the Mitchell investigation. To date, no active player has agreed to submit to questioning and the players association has already told it's members that they should not cooperate with the investigation. The reports are that Bud Selig will seek to suspend Giambi if he does not cooperate with the Mitchell investigation. While there has been no response from Giambi to date, this is apparently headed toward a spaghetti western showdown. It's just a matter of who is going to blink first.

I find it fairly amusing that the commissioner is now choosing to take a hard line with a player who has already admitted to taking steroids in front of a Grand Jury. The only reason that Giambi is in this position is because he called out baseball for ignoring the problem for so long. If Giambi refuses to cooperate and the commissioner then suspends him, the players association will, without a doubt, file a complaint. It would then head to a arbitrator and I can't really see a scenario where Giambi would be forced to comply. First of all there are laws against self incrimination. The Mitchell investigation has no power to grant immunity from prosecution, so therefore they would have no power to compel Giambi to incriminate himself or others. If the commissioner were to push this point, I can only see him coming out on the short end of the decision.

There is the chance that a compromise could be reached and Giambi could agree to talk about his steroid use before the ban was in place. This is a sensitive area for Giambi. If he admits to taking steroids while playing for the Yankees, he could open up the door for the team to void his contract. That means that if a compromise is reached the parameters would have to be fairly well defined. Personally I think that there are just too many potholes for Giambi if he were to testify. It makes a lot more sense for Giambi to just refuse to testify. I'm not a lawyer, but I did play one on TV once and if I were advising Giambi that's what I would tell him to do.

The Commissioner has wide ranging powers, but he is hired by the owners to look after their interests. His power over the players is limited. The players also have, what may very well be, the most powerful union in the country on their side. To force a confrontation like this is a sure way to expose the Mitchell investigation for the toothless and futile undertaking that it is. Bud has to know that he doesn't have the power to compel a player to admit to illegal activities in front of a civilian board of review. The Mitchell investigation must really be getting nowhere if feels that this is the only thing that he can do. Perhaps after losing this confrontation he will just call an end to the investigation. Apparently it's costing about $2 million a month and hasn't turned up much. The only people associated with the players that the investigation has gotten testimony from is managers and coaches. And while they may be able to tell them about seeing players taking steroids (although I doubt that very much), it's still not the kind of testimony that you could take to court. Managers and coaches are also about protecting their own self interest. Tony LaRussa still refuses to admit that Mark McGwire took steroids, even when all the evidence points in the other direction. Perhaps all Selig wants to do is get this investigation over with and he is just using the Giambi issue to force this all to a head.

It's just sad that the Commissioner and owners would go this far in order to try and deny that they had any idea that steroids were a problem in their sport.

Slippery Slope

2007-06-06T10:44:00.000-04:00

The Rocket relaunch in New York has been put on hold until at least Saturday, so that his aching groin can heal. A few weeks ago after Clemens made his dramatic announcement that he would be rejoining the Yankees one of his new teammates made a comment about the fact that his contract allows him to be absent from the team when he wasn't pitching. Kyle Farnsworth said that while he didn't have a problem with it, he thought that some others in the clubhouse might. Farnsworth mentioned that he had pitched with other hall of fame pitchers (Randy Johnson & Mariano Rivera, to name just two), and he wasn't sure how they would react if another pitcher were given that kind of preferential treatment.

It does seem to me that making this kind of exception for one player could lead to some clubhouse dissension. Roger Clemens is an extraordinary pitcher, but at this point of his career, he is not the best pitcher in baseball. Johan Santana, who has won two of the last three Cy Young awards in the AL would probably currently hold that distinction. He is also going to be a free agent in one more season. How would the Yankees or any other club for that matter handle it if Santana said that he would make his decision as to which team he would play for next based upon who would be the most flexible with his schedule? At this point, considering the precedent has already been set with Clemens, some team would undoubtedly give in to his demand. I'm not saying that this would apply to all players, in fact most of them wouldn't have the leverage required to make such a demand, but there some elite starting pitchers who this could definitely apply to. After a while the demands would start to be made my mediocre pitchers as well. Just look at this off season where pitchers with sub .500 career winning percentages were being paid upwards of $50 million. Quality pitching is at such a premium these days that clubs are willing to pay "star" prices for mediocrity.

Perhaps we are headed toward the day when starting pitchers are not really part of the team. They just sort of show up like hired gunslingers on the days that they are supposed to pitch. There is a lot of value to having a starting pitcher around even on the days that he is not pitching. He can scout the opposing teams hitters, he can offer advice to that days pitchers, he can try and pass along pitching tendencies to his hitters, he can support his teammates in the field that day. Or he can sit at home, or go see his kids play a high school football game, or see his daughter's volleyball game, or see his wife in the community theater play or go shopping for a new pair of shoes. Baseball teams already make exceptions for players to leave if they have family emergencies. Baseball is not life and death and clearly there are other things in life which are more important. The problem I have with the "Clemens Exception" is that it doesn't make a distinction between important and mundane events. The Yankees don't have any discretion as to when Clemens is there and when he's not. The only thing he's required to do is to show up to pitch. Other than that, he's free to do what he wants.

If you make an exception for one, it is really just a matter of time before you'll have to make an exception for another one and then another. Players contracts are usually littered with incentives and bonus clauses and extras besides their contracts. Some players negotiate for luxury box seats, some for first class plane tickets, some for car rentals. There is seemingly no end to the things that are provided for in baseball contracts. Those, however, can be justified on an individual basis. For example, Ichiro gets first class seats to Japan twice a year from the Mariners. That makes sense considering that's where his family is. I don't believe that the Clemens contract falls into that category though. The Astros allowed Clemens to come and go, but he lived close to the ballpark, so he was always within driving distance. If he leaves the Yankees and for some reason he is needed on a day he's not scheduled to start, he may be thousands of miles away from New York. I don't think that he is going to take advantage of the clause in his contract. I personally think that he will be there most of the time. But the problem isn't whether he opts to show up to the stadium or not, the problem is the can of worms that has been opened up by this contract. The Astros are really the ones to blame for this. They agreed to include that clause in the contract in order to coax Clemens out of "retirement" (although I think Clemens retiring means about as much as Brett Favre retiring).

I would hope that this clause is eliminated once Clemens is out of baseball, but it wouldn't surprise me if in a couple of years we see another big name pitcher ask for and get the same deal.

Pot Luck

2007-06-04T11:44:00.001-04:00

The Yankees had an interesting weekend in Boston. They managed to win 2 out of 3 and gain a game on the front running Red Sox. Arod quited the Boston crowd with a 9th inning home run off the seemingly invincible John Papplebon. The Yankees even managed to push across a run against the previously untouchable Okajima. There were a lot of good signs in the first (The Yankees continued their recent dominance of Tim Wakefield in the first game by knocking him out in the 4th inning)and third games of the series, but the Yankees had one of their worst innings of the year in game two. Bobby Abreu misplayed a ball in right field that he should have caught, the Yankees failed to complete two perfect inning ending double plays, Derek Jeter committed two errors and infielders were out of position on a base hit to left field. The Yankees squandered three separate leads in the game and eventually lost by a score of 12-6.

The Yankees also lost first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz for a couple of months after he suffered a concussion, a bruised spinal column and a concussion in a collision with Mike Lowell while trying to field and errant throw from Jeter. The weekend also included a bench clearing incident after a high and tight fastball from Scott Proctor in the ninth inning of the first game. All in all, the usual Yankees-Red Sox gathering. There was an incident that I think deserves some notice. Mike Lowell threw a cross body block on Robinson Cano as the second baseman attempted to tag him before completing a double play. Cano had come into the base path to field the grounder and as he attempted to tag Lowell, he was greeted with a block that would have make Bill Belicheck proud. Cano managed to complete the throw to first and was seemingly unhurt on the play. Tim McCarver went through great lengths to point out that it was a clean play. According to the rules, the base runner is entitled the base path, but, in my thirty years or so of watching baseball, I have never seen a runner try and take out an infielder on that kind of play. Most try to avoid the tag, but trying to run over the infielder is not something that happens on a regular basis. The only player who is generally subject to that kind of collision is the catcher. The reason I'm pointing this out is because I'm fairly sure that if Arod had done the same thing, the uproar would have been loud and lasting. Arod's yell last week in a game against the Blue Jays, has been the subject of ongoing debate since it happened. I will point out that the Yankees had already taken a two run lead and had Mariano Rivera on the mound. I'm not saying that the game was totally out of reach, but the odds were pretty good that the Yankees were going to win the game. Arod's "play" helped the Yankees tack on three more runs, but it was basically inconsequential to the outcome of the game. That did not stop the firestorm that followed, however. Arod cannot do anything these days without inviting an avalanche of criticism. I'm fairly sure that trying to take out an infielder, on what should have been a fairly routine double play ball would have led to the same.

Finally I saw that Lou Pinella was suspended by the commissioner's office for making contact with an umpire during an argument. There was a many a voice over the winter that called for Pinella to be hired as the manager of the Yankees. I just want to point out that his team has gotten off to an even worst start than the Yankees have. They are closer to the top of the standings because he plays in the very weak central division of the national league, but Lou has blown his top on many occasions this season, to seemingly little effect. His team is still playing like crap. It just goes to show two things: Yelling at your players doesn't always motivate them to play any better and Lou Pinella is not a great manager. I've always contended that there are very few managers who actually make a difference in the standings. Billy Martin was probably the best at turning a team around and stealing games with managing tactics. For the most part managers either benefit or are hurt by the talent around them. How much of a genius does Tony LaRussa look like this year? Albert Pujols has gotten off to a slow start and the Cardinals are 6 games under .500. Hell, they almost blew a 8 game lead with less than two weeks to go last year. The bottom line is that it's the players that win and lose games. Talented teams will win. End of story.

P.S.

I just wanted to pat myself on the back again for something I wrote a few weeks ago. As Roger Clemens struggles with a groin injury and the Yankees apparently contemplate whether to terminate the deal before Clemens reaches the majors (and they are then obligated to pay him the full $18 million), I have to say that I could see this coming. Here's what I wrote back on May 7th:

The biggest problem with signing a 44 year old (He turns 45 in August) is that they are basically pitching on borrowed time. Nolan Ryan had the most remarkable pitching arm I have ever seen. He could basically dominate hitters with his fastball until the day he retired at age 46. Nolan would probably still be pitching if his legs didn't give out. The same can be said of Roger Clemens. He has never had any serious arm problems and will probably be able to pitch until his legs give out. When will that be? No one knows, including Roger. He will get himself into great pitching shape, but there comes a time when although the heart is willing the body is not. Roger wont' be felled by arm problems, but his demise will probably come through a series of lingering hamstring and groin pulls. We've already seen what hamstring problems have done to the Yankees pitching staff this season and Roger is certainly not immune to those issues.

So for all you faithful readers out there, I promise to do my best to keep coming up with that kind of insightful commentary. Of course the fact that I can come up with those kind of comments just means that instead of doing something productive with my life, I have wasted a huge chunk of it watching baseball. Oh well, no one ever accused me of being smart. A jackass, yes, but smart, not so much.

I'm Your Handy Man

2007-05-31T09:56:00.000-04:00

The Yankees won a game last night and actually picked up ground on the Red Sox for the first time in about 10 days. Since the Red Sox left Yankee Stadium after losing 2 of 3 with a 9-1/2 game lead, the Yankees have gone into a tailspin. They now sit 13-1/2 games behind the Sox and 7-1/2 games out of the wild card spot. So I have some good news and some bad news today. The good news is that I know exactly what the Yankees need to do to fix their team. The bad news is that no one at Yankee Stadium listens to me.

Don't panic. This is the most important thing that the team can do at this point. It's pretty clear by the deficit in the standings that things have not gone according to plan. The worst thing that they could do at this point would be to start making wholesale changes, either in the front office or on the field. The team that started the season is good enough to make the playoffs, they just need to start playing better.

Stop messing with the lineup. Moving players all over the lineup just messes with their preparation for the days game. Players (for whatever reason) like to know where they are hitting in the lineup. Bobby Abreu has been a #3 hitter for the last five years and so he should remain there. I know he's not hitting right now, but outside of Jeter and Posada, neither is anyone else. He will come around as will the rest of the team and it probably doesn't help his psyche any to be "demoted" to a lower spot in the lineup.

The hitters need to be more patient. The Yankees used to pride themselves on being able to wear down an opposition starter. They used to take more pitches than any team in baseball. During their recent stretch of futility, that all went out the window. It seemed the hitters couldn't wait to get back to the dugout. During their most recent series, they lost to a couple of first year pitchers. Both went deep into the game and the Yankees continually swung at the first offering from both pitchers. That is not the way the Yankees play. Giambi, Abreu, Jeter, Arod and Damon are supposed to wear out opposing pitchers and get on base about 40% of the time they come to the plate. That is not happening. Johnny Damon swung at the first pitch, with the Yankees down by a run in the 9th inning. That is just not fundamentally sound baseball. They need to get back to doing the thing that made the lineup so dangerous. Take some pitches guys. It ain't gonna kill you.

Torre needs to manage the bullpen better. If there is one consistent criticism of Joe Torre that can be made it's that he doesn't manage the bullpen very well. Joe falls in love with certain pitchers and overworks them. Currently his favorite is Scott Proctor. Proctor is currently on pace to work in about 100 games for the Yankees this year. That is simply too much. Joe has to learn to trust some of the other pitchers in the pen. Mariano has seen stretches where he hasn't pitched for 5 games. Joe needs to get him regular work so that when he's called upon to save a game, he's not rusty from sitting around for a week. I know that Mo blew some saves earlier in the year, but he still has to be used regularly. Brian Bruney has been very good so far, but Joe hasn't been as eager to call him out of the pen as he has Proctor. They also need to have a long reliever who can take the strain off of the bullpen during blowout games. I know that it's not exactly popular to be the guy who mops up, but someone should assume that mantle. If a game gets out of hand, Joe likes to run through the entire bullpen to finish up the game. That just means that most likely they won't be as fresh if he really needs them the next day. One of the kids from Triple A needs to be that long guy/spot starter who can soak up some innings if things get out of hand early.

The starting pitching has been better than most people think. The Yankees have had their share of blowout games, but given the amount of injuries that the starting staff has faced, they have performed fairly well. Roger Clemens shows up next week to add another quality arm to the staff, so they should in theory get even better. It would be nice to get Phillip Hughes back to see what he can do, but he's out for at least another month. Andy Pettitte should sue for lack of support. His ERA is in the top 5 in the AL but he has a losing record because the Yankees are not scoring any runs when he pitches. Wang and Mussina are still working back from injuries, but I have no doubt that they will become more consistent as time goes on. I'm more than willing to live with a rotation of Wang, Pettitte, Clemens, Mussina and one of the kids (Hughes, Clippard, DeSalvo, etc.).

Doug Mientkiewicz is a defensive replacement. Joe has insisted on using him as the de facto starting first baseman for the majority of the season. He simply doesn't hit enough anymore to be a starter. The Yankees have had Josh Phelps on then bench for most of the season. I have no idea whether Phelps is the answer, but he has to be given more of a shot that he has been given to date. He's younger and has a lot more power potential than Mientkiewicz. Joe has been stubborn about this. There are times, when the lineup is going well, that they can afford to carry a subpar bat. Now is not one of those times however. This is an easy change and can be made immediately. Defense at first base is a nice thing, but it is primarily a power position and that is certainly not what we are getting with Mientkiewicz. Everyone, join in with me, "all we are saaaa - ying, is gives Phelps a chance" (I know that was terrible).

The purpose of the game isn't that the Yankee players have fun. The press keeps harping on the fact that the Yankees don't look like they are having any fun when they play. The reason they aren't having any fun is because they are losing. It's a lot of fun when you win. I'm sure Red Sox are having a ball right now, but when they got swept in a five game series in Fenway last year, that didn't look like any fun. The game isn't about fun. It's about winning and losing. People always talk about how corporate the Yankees appear. Well currently they are a corporation that is losing money. The good news is that they have the talent to turn this thing around immediately. They need to be reminded that they are well payed individuals who have a job to do and that is to win games, not to have fun. That's what the offseason is for. Win now, have fun later.

They need to try and remember who they are. The Yankees somehow have forgotten that they are the nine time defending AL east champs. Their confidence has evaporated. They need to get back to thinking that they are going to win every time they step out on the field. Right now it looks like they are just waiting for something to go wrong in every game. Perhaps Roger Clemens will part of the solution. He certainly can't hurt.

And finally (I hate using sports cliches, but here goes), take it one day at a time. It's impossible for the Yankees to catch the Red Sox or turn their season around in one game. The press likes to look for signs and after winning the most recent Red Sox series, I read a couple of articles claiming that the Yankees had gotten their swagger back. Well, apparently they hadn't. One game or one series does not a season make. Regardless of the seeming importance of a game in May, it will not make or break a season. The team needs to go out and think of each day as a new opportunity to succeed. Looking up at a 13-1/2 game deficit might bury some teams, but it shouldn't have that effect on the Yankees. This is one instance where their age should come in handy. Most of the players on the team have been around for a long time and they realize exactly how long the season is and how quickly things can change.

So that's it. My cure for what ails the Yankees. The bottom line is that every day is not Armageddon. At some point this season might be a lost cause. But that day is not today and it's not tomorrow either. The Yankees still have time to make this a season to remember. Overcoming adversity is what defines greatness. This Yankee team has the talent and the opportunity to create the next Yankee legend.

Drivers Wanted

2007-05-29T10:37:00.000-04:00

Over the past weekend we saw the 91st running of the Indianapolis 500. The famed race at the Brickyard was won by the husband of Ashley Judd. I mention that because that is the most interesting thing about the entire race. Most people in America wouldn't recognize Dario Franchetti's name, but they would almost certainly recognize his wife. By the way, I promise that this will be my first and only article about this particular "sport".

The Indy 500 has been brought back into the consciousness of the nation through the continued attempts of Danica Patrick to become the first woman ever to win the race. She actually led a couple of laps in 2005 in her first attempt at the 500 and finished in the top 5. That has been her best finish to date (this year she was 8th) and in fact she has yet to win or seriously threaten to win any race on the Indy circuit. The race had three women participate this year, but none was a serious threat to win the race (Sarah Fisher finished 18th, Milka Duno finished 31st). The Indy circuit is relying on the novelty of a woman racing with the men to draw new fans and while it certainly raised the profile of the sport for a while, unless she stars winning races (or at least one) the casual fans will find other distractions. I have no issue with the sex of the drivers, but I do have a problem with a marketing plan that focuses on a driver that hasn't won anything.

NASCAR also had a race this weekend, but I have no idea who won. And I'm sure outside of a small (but loyal) segment of the public, most have no idea either. NASCAR has their own issues to deal with. The casual sports fan can probably name only two drivers, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. If one of those two drivers doesn't win, most people are going to recognize or care who did win. Gordon is having a very good year and currently leads the points standing, Earnhardt Jr. hasn't won this year and has done very little winning over the past couple of years. He recently had a very public split with the racing team that bears his father's name and is looking for a new team for next year. And just for clarification, Indy car racing refers to open wheel cars, while NASCAR is for modified street cars. NASCAR used to be referred to as stock car racing, meaning that you could go down to a car dealer and get the same car that the drivers had out of their on-hand stock. While the cars are still based on dealer-available models, they have very little in common with the cars that the general public drives to work everyday.

I'm sure all that racing information was interesting to absolutely no one, but I guess I had to at least provide some background information before I got to my main point, which is, DRIVING A CAR IS NOT A SPORT! About a year ago, I wrote an article about horse racing and concluded that it was also not a sport. However, I do believe that jockeys are better athletes than race car drivers. I understand that driving a car at speeds in excess of 200 MPH requires great reflexes and guts, it is still the car that is doing (for the lack of a better term) all the heavy lifting. You can put the worlds greatest driver in an inferior machine and he will never win a race. He could probably win a race against me, but against drivers of equal skill, he would stand no chance. Therefore, any athletic skills that he might bring to bear would be rendered pointless. The car, in essence, is the athlete, just like the horse is in horse racing. I will say that driving a car around an oval or track for hundreds of miles requires great endurance, but that still doesn't make it a sport. Driving a truck for a living requires great endurance, but I don't see anyone claiming that it's a sport. Handling a speeding car is very hard, but so is flying a jet airliner.

Sports are competitions between people. Not competitions between machines or animals. Horses may like to run, but they don't run at top speed for a mile and half unless something is chasing them. Cars may be built for speed, but they wouldn't move an inch without a driver stepping on the gas pedal. Driving may be further up the sports mountain than say Pool or Poker, but it still isn't close to reaching the plateau of sport. It's a competition, and there's no crime in that. But drivers like A.J. Foyt or Richard Petty can't really be considered athletes because they can drive a car better than the average man. Can they?

Green with Envy

2007-05-23T13:05:00.000-04:00

The NBA draft lottery produced a couple of upsets last night as the Trailblazers and Super Sonics won the right to draft Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. The Grizzlies and the Celtics, the teams with the two worst records in the league ended up at nos. 4 and 5. Jerry West the outgoing president of the Grizzlies called for the NBA to dump the lottery system and said that it was unfair. It is true that the team with the worst record, which has the highest statistical chance to grab the #1 spot, seldom ends up in that position. Since the league went to the draft lottery system in 1994, only twice has the team with the worst record ended up with the overall #1 pick.

The Celtics feel particularly slighted. 10 years ago they had the worst record in the league along with another lottery pick acquired through a trade. They had every reason to believe that they would end with the top pick. They did not win the lottery that year and instead ended up with the #3 and #6 pick, which they turned into Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer. Billups has developed into and all-star player with Detroit, but he did not display that kind of form during his one season as a member of the Celtics. Mercer was traded after two years in Boston. He did make the all-rookie team in his first season, but was never close to being a great player. The player who went #1 in that draft just happened to be Tim Duncan, who as we speak, is on the verge of leading his team to it's 4th title in 7 years. And who is on the short list for the discussion of greatest power forwards of all time.

If I were the Celtics, I'd be pissed too. They have seen their once proud franchise become a lottery mainstay. Since they scored the greatest coup of all time by drafting Larry Bird a year before the could enter the NBA and then following up two years later with Kevin McHale they have suffered through a series of draft mishaps and misfires. The Len Bias episode was the beginning of the downfall of the Celtics. He was seen as the successor to Bird and McHale, but ended up being a cautionary tale for all who followed. The death of Reggie Lewis was another blow to the team. With the exception of Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker, the Celtics have precious little to show from their draft picks of the past twenty years. They have traded away players who would become all-stars (Billups and Joe Johnson) with no return or they have picked absolute duds (Joe Forte, Joe Moiso, Eric Montross). They have just done a very poor job of talent evaluation in most cases and have been very unlucky in a couple of others.

This years draft was going to be their opportunity to set all that right. Everyone agreed that both Durant and Oden are going to franchise type players. The type that push a good team into the upper echelon of the NBA or take a mediocre team and give them instant credibility. The Celtics couldn't go wrong this year. This was going to make up for all their past mistakes. They were getting Bill Russell or Kevin Garnett. Instead they got the #5 pick. The good news for the Celtics is that this is a fairly deep draft, given the fact that along with the usual entries from the college ranks there are a few players who would have been able to enter the draft last year out of high school under the old rules, but were forced to play one year of college ball. There are also the mysterious international players that always show up in the first round. There's a 7 footer from China who may be available at the #5 pick. All of this should bode well for the Celtics. Despite the disappointment of not getting the #1 pick, in theory they should be able to get a very highly skilled player or at least one with a huge upside.

Of course history shows us that undoubtedly, they will make the wrong choice. Perhaps they'll make a better choice than in 2001 when they chose Jospeh Forte with their second pick in the first round instead of Tony Parker or Gilbert Arenas. They also chose Joe Johnson in that draft at #10 (who only managed to average 25 points a game this year), but they decided they didn't need him after he had played only one year in Boston. The Celtics are one of the cornerstones of the NBA. They have won more championships than any other team. They have more hall of famers than any other team. They have more history than any other team. Unfortunately, their recent history of draft blunders is more like the LA Clippers and it is the LA Lakers.

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

2007-05-22T10:15:00.000-04:00

Yankee stadium must seem like a pretty lonely place to Joe Torre these days. The writers of the baseball press just won't rest until he's fired by George Steinbrenner. There have been more than a few articles claiming that the Yankees have to make a change at the top in order to turn around their season. The Yankees currently sit in second place in the east, three games under .500 and 9-1/2 games behind the streaking Red Sox. Now I understand that the Yankees haven't exactly set the world on fire for the first 6 weeks of the season, but this all seems a little premature to me. I even read that Joe might have been fired if the Yankees had been swept by the Mets. Clearly Joe didn't think so since he sent out a rookie to pitch Sunday night's game.

The Yankees pitching staff has been devastated by injuries this year. Beginning in spring training with the injury to Chein-ming Wang and continuing through Darrell Rasner having his finger broken on Saturday. The Yankees have started 7 rookies through the first 6 weeks of the season. That hasn't been done in the major leagues since the 1800's. Not only has every starter been injured at some point, but their replacements have also been injured. The Yankees best starter to date, Andy Pettitte, has been the victim of an almost criminal lack of run support and the repeated failure of the bullpen. Andy should have at least 6 wins at this point, but his record stands at 2-3. The Yankees do have help in the form of Roger Clemens, on the way and Phillip Hughes should also be back at some point in the next month or so. The rotation should be fairly solid starting in June.

The Yankees have also been very unlucky to this point in the season. They are 2-8 in one run games. Their predicted record, based on runs scored and runs allowed, is actually five games over .500, so they've been playing in some bad luck. Now some teams play in bad luck for an entire season, but I'm assuming that this will all even out for the Yankees as the season goes along. The Yankee bats have also been inconsistent to this point. Arod started off like a house on fire in April, but has had a mediocre May, although he has shown recent signs of snapping out of his funk. Bobby Abreu, Robinson Cano, Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon have been less than stellar to date. Abreu looks totally lost at the plate and Damon has not provided any punch at the top of the lineup. Jeter and Posada have been carrying the offensive load for most of May. And while they have been close to spectacular, two players cannot carry an entire lineup. The Yankees will start to produce sooner rather than later and they will begin to resemble the fearsome lineup that they were predicted to be at the beginning of the season.

Will the Yankees catch the Red Sox? That really remains to be seen, but I wouldn't put it past them. The Red Sox have had the best possible scenario to this point in the season. They haven't had any major injuries, their starters have been going deep into games, and their closer has been almost perfect. They have even managed to withstand a mediocre start by Manny Ramirez and have the best record in baseball. It's possible that they may be able to keep this up for the entire season, like the '98 Yankees or '01 Mariners (they are currently on a pace to win 115 games), but that really isn't likely. They will probably hit a rough patch during the season and the question remains whether the Yankees will be ready to mount an assault at that time.

The bottom line is that the Yankees have been playing through the worst string of injuries that I can ever remember a pitching staff having. The offense has been struggling and has looked lethargic at times. However, none of this is Joe's fault. I have questioned his handling of the bullpen from time to time, but I do not believe that there is a person better suited to managing this team than Joe is. The Yankees are not a young team who would respond to someone yelling at them, they don't need a high energy guy or a corporate guy. They have what they need. A calming influence who can steer them through the daily storm that is the New York press. In New York, everyday is a crisis. Your fortunes rise and fall with each nights game. Joe maintains a very even keeled clubhouse. He is seemingly never in crisis mode. I think that does more for the psyche of the team than anything a rah-rah manager could do. Joe and Yankees will right the ship before too long. I don't know if they will right it in time to catch the Red Sox, but trust me, the Yankees will make this pennant race much more interesting before it's all said and done.

Jason and the Golden Fleece

2007-05-21T12:53:00.001-04:00

Jason Giambi has apparently stirred up some controversy with his recent comments about his past steroid use. Giambi was quoted as saying that he was sorry that ever did that "stuff". He also said that Major League Baseball and the owners should apologize to the fans for the steroid problems of the past. By opening up his mouth about this issue he has set the Yankees and the Commissioner's office into a flurry of activity. The Yankees are once again looking into voiding his contract and the Commissioner's office has stated that they would like to speak to Giambi further on this matter.

Before the 2004 season, Giambi apologized to the fans without saying exactly what he was apologizing for. His Grand Jury testimony, in which he admitted taking steroids, had already been leaked to the press and so it was assumed that he was apologizing for his part in the growing scandal. The Yankees at that point had every lawyer in their employ scrutinizing his contract to see if there was anyway for them to void it based on Giambi's alleged steroid use. It didn't help Giambi's cause any when he then proceeded to have a horrible injury plagued year. The lawyers couldn't find a way out of the contract back then and they won't be able to find a way out of it now. Giambi has one year and $5 million buyout for the 2009 season remaining on his contract. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Giambi will not be part of the team when they open the new Yankee stadium in 2009. The Yankees should probably stop wasting energy and resources on trying to figure out how to get rid of Giambi and focus on the real problem at hand.

The Commissioner's office has known about Giambi's testimony for years. Certainly since it was leaked to the press in 2004. I'm not sure exactly what they have to speak to Giambi about at this point. He has never failed a drug test and even if he admits that he took steroids before 2004, there is nothing baseball can do about, since steroids were not a banned substance up to that point. I'm of the opinion that the Commissioner's office and the Yankee aren't particularly happy about being called out in the press by Giambi. He was basically saying that MLB and the owners both knew about the steroid problem and by not doing anything about it, were in fact, complicit in the scandal. Giambi is saying that they are just as much to blame as the players who took the drugs and I don't think that's something that they like to hear. They are trying to somehow turn the heat up on Giambi as some type of punishment for his talking out about the prolem.

The truth is that they can hire all the attorneys they want and bring Giambi in for all the testimony they want, but in the end, Giambi is going to get his money from the Yankees and will not face any disciplinary action from the Commissioner's office. I'm not even sure why they are going through with this show. They should have just said, "no comment" and let the story just die a natural death. For whatever reason, they were unwilling to do that. Perhaps they just hate the fact that a player is pointing the finger of blame at them, perhaps they just don't like Jason Giambi. They do themselves no favor by trying to punish a player who is simply speaking the truth. The sooner baseball admits it's errors in the steroids scandal, the sooner they can go about making part of their past.

The toothless Mitchell investigation is ongoing, but they will not come back with much that isn't already known. Baseball's own investigation has no federal authority to force testimony from anybody. They have to rely on athletes and others simply outing themselves. I don't see that happening. They will get a lot of hearsay evidence, but they will be lacking in real first person testimony. The one thing I do know is that the investigation will never point the finger of blame at the owners or the Commissioner. Bud Selig hired his friend George Mitchell to head baseball's investigation of the steroid scandal. George Mitchell along with being Bud Selig's friend and a former Senator is also part owner of the Boston Red Sox. So tell me, what do you think the odds are that the owners or commissioner will be singled out from blame when the investigation finally issues it's report (by the way, it's already been a year, I'm hoping for something by the end of the decade)? Not bloody likely.

I'm actually happy that Giambi pointed his finger in the direction of the owners box. They deserve equal blame for what happened to the game. I personally think that the player's union, who refused to even talk about including a ban on steroids in the collective bargaining agreements, is more to blame than even the owners or the commissioner's office, but that's a story for another day.

Interleague, Schminterleague

2007-05-18T15:41:00.000-04:00

I used to be a big fan of interleague play. Back when the Yankees and Mets squared off for the first time it actually had the air of a post season matchup. It divided the city and it seemed that everyone had a rooting interest. I believe the Yankees won the first match up in extra innings, but I could be wrong. The thing is that there have been so many Yankees-Mets matchups that they are beginning to run together in my mind.

The novelty of seeing players from different leagues play against each other has begun to wear on me. I'm not particularly concerned with interleague play taking something away from the All-Star game or the World Series, it's just that it interrupts regular season play twice. The Yankees and Mets are also at a disadvantage because they have to play two series against each other. The "natural" rivals play a home and home series against each other. The Yankees and Mets are both good teams and therefore the games are usually tight and neither team ends up with much of an advantage. But let's consider the case of the St. Louis Cardinals who have been beating up on their "natural" rival for years. Last year the Cardinals won the central division and subsequently the World Series. They ended up winning the central by one game. They also had the luxury of playing the Kansas City Royals six times last year. Now if they had played the Yankees or the Angels or the Twins six times in interleague play last year, they may not have even reached the post season. But that is inequity inherent in interleague play. I'm not sure that there's a better way to handle this except to cut down the "natural" rival games to one series. In New York that would mean one year the games would be at Shea, the next at Yankee Stadium. That would give the fans of the rivals three chances to see their teams square off. That really is more than enough.

Some teams don't really have natural geographic rivals, so they end up playing in games that no one particularly cares about. Sure it's great to see the Rangers play the Astros, but why is Toronto playing Philadelphia six times (I'm not exactly sure that is what happens, but you get my point). San Diego and Seattle?? Kansas City and Colorado?? Those teams aren't rivals, but yet they have to play each other in two series. I don't mean to get down on this because it was a good idea at the time and it's probably here to stay. The interleague games do increase attendance and as long as the fans are still voting yes with their pocketbooks, it's here to stay. Unfortunately for me, the thrill is gone. I just don't get that excited about playing the Mets. And having an extra trip to the west coast must be absolute thrilling for the Yankee players.

I'm sure there is a place for interleague play in the baseball schedule. Perhaps if they changed it to every other year and limited the games to just a handful, it would still be an exciting event. As it stands now, it's just another part of the schedule that, like it or not, will probably play a major role in determining who ends up in the playoffs.

Have a good weekend everybody. And before I ride off into the sunset, I would like to send out a special hello to my #1 reader (and probably only reader) in North Carolina. Thanks for the visits, Denise. I really appreciate it. Go Tar Heels!!!

I'm Number One!

2007-05-16T15:37:00.000-04:00

Bret Favre has held the Green Bay Packers hostage for the better part of a decade. There was a time when Bret was the best QB in the NFL. That was about 10 years ago. The Packers have ceased to be relevant to everyone but their own fans since they lost in the Super Bowl to the John Elway led Broncos in 1998. Favre performed at a very high level for years after the Packers were no longer a serious Super Bowl threat and is now approaching the career marks set by Dan Marino. The problem with Favre is that he is preventing the Packers from making any real progress.

It's clear that the Packers need to start grooming a QB for the future. They thought they had that when they drafted QB Aaron Rogers a couple of years ago. In the two seasons that Rogers has been with the team, he has thrown a total of 31 passes. So much for grooming a QB for the future. Is Rogers the QB of the future in Green Bay? They'll never be able to find out until Bret retires. And if he turns out to be a bust, then they will have wasted at least one more season to figure that out. Favre has done his annual "will I retire" dance for the past two seasons, but anyone who has been observing him had to have known that he would never retire with the all time records within his grasp. He has to know (as anyone who watches football would) that the Packers are not a serious threat to win anything, but he claims that he's coming back because he feels the Packers can make an impact in the playoffs. However, in order to make an impact in the playoffs, you must first make the playoffs. The Packers haven't done that since the 2004 season.

Favre was also complaining recently about the fact that the Packers didn't get Randy Moss. Now I have no idea if Randy Moss would have been any good in Green Bay (given the weather there, I personally doubt it), but I'm sure that Bret Favre is not the Packers GM. He may think that he is, but I've looked up his record and I can't find any story about him being named the Packers GM. It might have been funny to see Randy and Bret together. It would have been quite a competition to see who is, in fact, the most selfish player in the league.

Bret also prides himself on being a fantastic teammate and leader and yet I can remember a couple of instances where he inserted himself into a teammates contract negotiation on the side of management. He harangued one of his receivers into playing even though he was initially holding out for a long term deal. The receiver hurt his knee in the first game of the season and that long term deal was history. It's really easy for Bret to say that his teammates shouldn't be concerned with money since he's already made about $100 million. I'm pretty sure that Bret would have been less than enthused about a contract that was not among the highest in average salary among QB's. Of course he's never had to worry about that, because he's royalty in Green Bay. However, his teammates have never been so lucky.

Bret is only 6 TD passes and about 3,800 yards behind Marino for the all time records. He will definitely get the TD record and if for some reason he doesn't get the yardage record, expect to see him drag himself back out on the field for just one more season. He isn't playing for the team anymore. He's playing for himself. His best chance to win would be to demand a trade to a contending team and hope that the starter gets hurt. A team like Baltimore could have used him last year. Perhaps he would have been able to succeed in the playoffs with a team like that. So enjoy the records Bret, but don't try and lie to us and say that you are coming back to help the team. You're coming back to help yourself, plain and simple.

Blood and Guts

2007-05-14T10:07:00.000-04:00

My very good friend, Ric has been chastising me for not writing enough of late. I try to tell him that it's hard coming up with something good to write about everyday. I do have other contributors to this blog, but mainly it's just me. I'm really in the "nothing interesting happened this weekend" mood, in order not to get yelled at from Boston, I'm going to make a few comments about the NBA playoffs. Here goes nothing.

The NBA championship is being contested this week between the Suns and the Spurs. I'm not just saying that because I picked the Spurs to win the title before the season started. I think that most observers believe that the best two teams left in the playoffs are in this series. Last year there was a feeling among observers that the Mavericks and the Spurs were the two best teams left and the winner of that series would be the de facto champion. The Heat and Dwayne Wade came along and ruined that prediction, but you have to remember how close the Mavericks were to taking a 3-0 lead against the Heat last year. It took a monumental collapse, with a big heaping of Dwayne Wade to turn that series around. I don't anticipate any team from the east being able to repeat that performance.

The Suns and the Spurs seem to be the perfect storm. The best defensive team in the league going up against the best offensive team in the league. The Spurs have two all-defensive team regulars in their starting lineup and the Suns have two first team all-stars in theirs. The Suns like to run and the Spurs like to walk. The feeling going into the series was that which ever team was able to dictate pace would be the winner. So far the Suns have dictated the pace, but the Spurs have been beating them at their own game. All the games have ended up in triple digits for both teams but the Spurs now hold a two games to one lead. The Spurs are better at running than most would give them credit for and Tim Duncan is still one of the best, if not the best big man in the game. Duncan can't play at the high level he used for an entire season, but he can certainly turn it on for the playoffs. He's basically reached the age where he has to pick his times for maximum effort.

The Suns seemingly do not have an answer for the Spurs. I'm sure going in to the series they felt that if they could get the games into triple digits that they would win. They are playing the style of basketball that made the most entertaining team in the NBA. The Spurs are just out gunning them at this point. Down the stretch, the Spurs have been able to make more plays than the Suns. It certainly didn't help that Steve Nash had to sit out most of the end of game one. The Suns can't change the way they play, so their key to victory is better execution. The Spurs aren't going to wilt down the stretch of games and make stupid mistakes to beat themselves. The Suns have to use the game 2 model for the rest of the series. They need to build a lead through the first three quarters and not allow the game to come down to the final moments.

The Suns do have home court advantage in the series, so game 7 would be played in Phoenix. However in order for that to happen, they have to steal at least one game in San Antonio. My prediction is the Spurs in six games, but if the Suns do manage to force a game 7, I think that in a month we will be witnessing a NBA championship parade in the valley of the sun.

I hope you're happy, Ric.

Death's Door

2007-05-11T13:07:00.000-04:00

There was a major sports spectacle in Las Vegas last weekend. It may very well have been the last of it's kind. Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather fought a championship fight and set the all time pay per view record of just over 2 million. The fight drew more viewers than any Tyson fight or Holyfield bout. Now some of the super fights of the past would probably have been able to do a much higher number, but the technology was not widely available until recently. Can you imagine what Louis Vs. Schmeling would have done? Or the first Ali - Frazier fight? However, it is safe to say that the record will be safe for some time to come.

Oscar De La Hoya is the last real draw in boxing. He has name recognition that goes beyond the hardcore enthusiasts of the sport. Boxing has always had at least one name to carry the sport to the masses. Whether it was Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Ali, Foreman, Duran, Leonard, Tyson, Holyfield or Lewis. There was always at least one boxer that the average man on the street knew. I'm not sure that even the average sports fan would be able to name another boxer besides De La Hoya. The Heavyweight championship, once the most prized possession in sports, is split between five different fighters. Most of them are from the former soviet union. I'm confident that even avid sports fans couldn't name all of the supposed heavyweight champions of the world.

The sport of boxing has become more marginalized as time has gone on. It was a victim of it's own success to a certain extent. Championship fights used to be a staple of TV through the eighties. It was only the rare fight that was shown via close circuit. However, once pay-per-view became a reality, the biggest fights were no longer available on free TV. The consumer had to pay extra to see a big fight. This led to fewer and fewer casual fans watching the sport. Therefore, fewer and fewer people knew the fighters, or cared what happened to them. The pay-per-view model is great in the short run, but for boxing it was the beginning of the end. The sport isn't lacking for great fighters, but so few have been able to capture the imagination of the general public because they just haven't been exposed to them. There are dozens of pay-per-view boxing events in a year, but now they are mostly marketed to the Hispanic viewers. The PPV cards are mainly filled with Hispanic boxers in the lighter weight classes. The fights may be great, but the general public isn't watching.

The Olympics used to provide the springboard for boxing careers in the past. Ali, Foreman, Leonard and De La Hoya, to name a few, have used the Olympic stage as a stepping stone to fame and fortune. This doesn't really happen anymore. The US used to be a dominant player on the Olympic boxing stage, but this is clearly not the case anymore. I may be mistaken, but I believe that De La Hoya is the last American to win an Olympic gold medal. The inner city used to give birth to some of the best fighters in the world. Both Tyson and Riddick Bowe were from the Brownsville section of Brooklyn and there were hundreds of others who rose from poverty to riches by following that same path. Kids today don't view boxing in the same way that they used to. It used to be one the only ways out of poverty. Sports still can provide that out, but the kids are much more likely to pick up a basketball than to lace on a pair of boxing gloves.

There are those who would say that boxing is a savage and barbaric sport, if it is truly even a sport at all. They would be happy to see boxing become a thing of the past. I don't necessarily disagree with the fact that boxing is just one step above our caveman beginnings. That doesn't mean that I want to see it disappear. To me boxing is one of the few sports that maintains the essence of what sport is supposed to be. It pits man against man in an athletic competition to determine who is better. There isn't a bat, ball, skate, stick or basket in the way. There are no teammates. It's simply one man against another. There is nothing more pure in sport.

Ultimate fighting is attracting a growing fan base in this country. They have a full slate of PPV events every year and can lay claim to as much revenue from the bouts as the WWE (wrestling) pulls in each year. UFC has multiple shows running on free TV to spark interest in their mega fights which they stage in a PPV event. It seems to be working for them. Perhaps boxing could take a page out the UFC's book in order to build up their audience. The problem with boxing is that no one is really in control. There are governing bodies in each state, that have no national component. There are multiple sanctioning bodies which has led to multiple champions in each division. The sanctioning bodies are also ripe with corruption and have been manipulated at times by unscrupulous promoters.

What boxing really needs is a commissioner and an international governing body. They could determine what was best for the sport and perhaps bring it back to relevance. Unfortunately that is probably never going to happen. There are simply too many people who stand to make too much money in the short run. They have no motivation to take the long view of the sport when there's money to made today. They don't care about the sport of boxing, just the money that boxing can make them. That may very well be the attitude that dooms boxing in the future to being nothing but a sideshow in the sports arena.

Of course if another Tyson or Ali were to come along...