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• MLB Opening Night Live Blog: Red Sox vs Yankees

  April 04, 2010

   

  

  All Times Central

  6:58 - Welcome to opening night, I'm flanked by my fiancee (Yankees Fan) and our cat (Neutral) as we celebrate Easter with Q'Doba, who needs ham when you have queso dip!

  7:01 - We made it to ESPN 2 in time to check out the "Sports Science" segment before the game, glad to know that playing a ball off the monster correctly can save you nine feet. Unless Manny's in left, which even the world's great physicists can't figure out how much he adds or subtracts out there.

  7:03 - Pedro in the house! Nice to see the greatest pitcher in Red Sox history come home for opening night. Can he brush back Posada for old times sake?

  7:10 - Alright, 1 pitch, 1 out. Plus Beckett looks like he avoided the Sean Kemp lockout diet this offseason, always a good sign.

  7:13 - 7 pitch inning, 1, 2, 3 and Cameron chases down a long fly ball. Also a subplot for tonight, these Red Sox are auditioning for 200 of my dollars for the season long package. Not sure if I want to watch a bunch of 2-1 games especially considering they are on almost once a week with basic cable.

  7:16 - Adam Schefter reports that McNabb is a Redskin, good move by Washington, here's my thoughts from last week about that whole situation: McNabb's Misfortune

  7:22 - CC responds with a 1, 2, 3 inning of his own. I saw CC in a Subway commercial recently, do think he orders the veggie delight or Chicken Bacon Ranch as his favorite 5 dollar footlong?

  7:26 - The Yankees are sort of like Duke when March rolls around for me, I haven't followed them in a while but it doesn't take that long to start despising them again.

  7:27 - Joe Morgan a big Donovan McNabb fan, plus Johnny Miller just said there hasn't been a threesome together in any other major sport longer than Posada/Jeter/Rivera, obviously he doesn't considering golf to be a major sport because Tiger would shatter their threesome record.

  7:29 - Ugh, Posada homer. 1-0 Yanks.

  7:31 - Back to back homers, and a Swisher single, not enjoying opening night so far.

  7:41 - Could be worse than 2-0, and I am already enjoying Orel Hershiser in the booth, mainly because his presence gives Joe Morgan less chances to speak.

  7:47 - 2-1 thanks to Beltre, thought that was going out.

  7:49 - They just showed Beltre's 2004 stats, he would be a prime candidate for "Juice or No Juice" as heard on the podcast last summer, I'm going with juice.

  7:51 - Nice to know in an ever changing sports landscape you can always count on JD Drew to look at a 3rd strike.

  7:59 - A-Rod now 0-2 post Kate Hudson including a double play. Thank you Penny Lane.

  8:06 - A-Rod doubles off Cameron on a double play, Cameron was safe, the Umps are still in spring training mode as well.

  8:08 - Shockingly this Red Sox/Yankees game is on pace to be under 4 hours.

  8:14 - As the news of D'Sean Butler's torn ACL comes across the scroll the lady states she's still uncomfortable over the man love Coach Huggins showed last night.

  8:20 - Joe Morgan explains that the reason the Yankees see a lot of pitches is because they foul off a lot of pitches.

  8:21 - 3-1 Yanks after an RBI single by Brett Gardner, now Jeter's up...I have an uneasy feeling about this.

  8:23 - Jeter bleeds a single up the middle, Beckett looking like early 2008, which means he's prone to hang a breaking ball that could end up on the Mass Pike any pitch now...that is if Nick Johnson wasn't up.

  8:26 - Victor Martinez still in Fort Meyers mentally, inexcusable throw to second. 5-1 Yanks heading into the bottom of the 4th. This is what Red Sox fans should be afraid of, not sure they have an offense built to come back. Also that 200 dollars seems likely to stay in my pocket. Unless someone from the MLB is reading this and wants to give it to me for free. I can be reached at pintsinthepaint@gmail.com or @pintsinthepaint on Twitter!

  8:30 - Tie goes to the runner? That's two plays it went to the defender but remember kids, never slide into first. If you don't believe me google "Kenny Lofton 1999 ALDS"

  8:37 - My Buddy Joe is the leader in the clubhouse for text of the night: "What are the odds that Joe Morgan knows Dr. Dre is not a medical doctor?" Now that's funny.

  8:40 - Very odd weather night here in Chicago, thunderstorming outside after nearing 80 3 of the last 4 days, it's April 4th.

  8:41 - JD Drew holds Cano to a 330 foot single, 77 Million well spent Theo!

  8:44 - Gotta say the more this McNabb news sits in the more shocked I am they dealt him within the division. This could be Bledsoe to the Bills-ish but Kolb is no Brady and McNabb is better than Drew was.

  8:46 - Josh Beckett: 4 2/3, 5 ER. Theo may be rethinking that 4 years, 67 Million dollar offer on the table right now.

  8:48 - Who was that guy in the Staples ad? Can't place him but he looks familiar.

  8:49 - Words I don't want to hear from Johnny Miller with 2 guys on base: "Scot Schowenweiss looking to revive his Major League Career after being cut by the Brewers this spring"

  8:53 - Monster night with the Fantasy NBA Championship on the line in my league. Durant, Zach Randolph and Tim Duncan all put in clinching performances for "The Situation" (my team), ring ceremony on Tuesday.

  9:03 - Bottom of the order with three straight singles for the Sox, 5-2 with Ellsbury up, a single here cuts the lead to one. CC appears to be laboring, however he always appears that way.

  9:06 - Ellsbury adopts the JD Drew look at a perfect strike three method for tonight's opener. Rally Killed.

  9:13 - The Lady pops up from magazine reading because she thought she heard "Eva Longoria" during the Evan Longoria hat commericial.

  9:22 - Is there an official ruling in referring to an individual Boston player as a "Red Sock" or "Red Sox"? This has always bugged me, I always want to say "My favorite all time red sock is Pedro Martinez" without getting accused of knowing nothing.

  9:27 - YOOOUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKKKK! Stand up triple! 5-4 Yankees.

  9:30 - Think Rasheed Wallace gave CC some tips on all you can eat midnight buffets in Boston for after the game tonight?

  9:33 - Tie game, two RBIs for Adrian Beltre in his Boston debut so far.

  9:40 - Just like that 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Ramon Ramirez not ready for the Yanks' lumber. Think A-Rod brought "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" with him on the team plane to help him get fired up for tonight?

  9:44 - 6-5 Yankees, Joe Morgan pontificating about long throws, I'm flirting with the mute button.

  9:45 - 7-5 Yankees, the Yanks have a dangerous combo of situational hitters and sluggers 1-9, amazing it only took Cashman about a billion dollars and 10 years to figure that out.

  9:50 - There are drawbacks to HDTV, one of them being tight shots of Steven Tyler.

  9:53 - Did Joe Morgan write the H & R Block Commercial? "You don't know what you don't know" Glad that's been cleared up.

  9:55 - Chan Ho Park and I share a birthday. I think that's about all we have in common.

  10:00 - Pedroia blasts the first Red Sox homer of 2010 season, 7-7, bottom 7 and the crowd has been revived. Does Tito hand the 8th over to Bard? Also a lead would be nice.

  10:05 - Youk with a double, I am delighted with the Chan Ho Park on the Yankees era thus far.

  10:11 - Two passed balls and the Red Sox have their first lead of the night. Youk is also a proud representative of my fantasy baseball team, that's 3 runs for him this evening. I promise this will be the last time I bring up my fantasy team(s).

  10:15 - Second straight 3 run inning for Boston, 6 outs away from a monster opening night rally.

  10:18 - Daniel Bard had Sox fans giddy last summer but he tended to throw heat straight down the middle of the plate, let's hope he's less prone to the long ball in 2010.

  10:21 - How many viewers watching this game on ESPN2 were just reminded that the UConn women's game is on ESPN? I can't imagine there is a market for women's hoops fans that forget about the final four. "Oh damn! I completely forgot about that Women's game I've been meaning to watch all night! Thank god for Steve Berthume!"

  10:27 - Bard with a nice inning, and wait a minute...NEIL DIAMOND IS IN THE HOUSE! He's a legend but I cannot think of him without thinking of Will Ferrell's storytellers.

  10:29 - I'll smack you in the mouth I'm Neil Diamond!

  10:41 - Insurance would be nice here considering Papelbon's last appearance ended in playoff failure and wasn't facing a lineup anywhere near as good as the Yankees.

  10:43 - Great speed from 37 year old Mike Cameron to add to the lead. Nick Swisher must have been bummed when Johnny Damon didn't re-sign knowing he now has the weakest arm in the Yankees' outfield.

  10:48 - Feels like forever ago when I said this game was headed under the 4 hour mark. Come on Pap.

  10:52 - 2 up, 2 down.

  10:55 - Whoooo hoooo!  1-0, 161 to go.  Thanks for following tonight folks and to the MLB/Cable companies that offer is still on the table if you want to give me the season pass for free.  Happy Easter everybody.

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• Revis Gets Robbed

  January 28, 2010

  

  

  Earlier today the AP announced that Charles Woodson is its NFL Defensive Player of the year.  Seems like an alright choice; after all, Woodson had one of his best all-around seasons for the second rated defense in the NFL.  He had 63 tackles, 27 passes defended, eight interceptions, 3 touchdowns, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 2 sacks.  Truly an astonishing stat line, but if you look into the numbers a bit it would indicate that Woodson was thrown at a good amount as opposed to other shut down corners, namely Darrelle Revis of the Jets.  My one question to the 28 voters who voted for Woodson would be this: If you could have one corner for 60 minutes on your team who would it be?  If they don’t answer Darrelle Revis they are lying.  Which would lead me to conclude that he is the best in football yet somehow not the best of the year?

  

  What Revis did this season is unparalleled when it comes to cornerbacks; he held the following wide receivers under 35 yards this season: Andre Johnson, Marques Colston, Roddie White, Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith, Chad Ochocinco (twice), Randy Moss (twice) and Terrell Owens (twice).  The Jets lost defensive nose tackle (and defensive linchpin) Kris Jenkins in October and they still finished with the #1 overall rated defense, mainly due to Revis who took away every opponent’s biggest passing threat week after week.  For more perspective I turn to the guys at Profootballfocus.com for this statistic:  Revis was thrown at 111 times this season and he allowed 41 catches.  That’s a 36.9% success rate if you are the wide receiver.  No other corner (including the recently minted Defensive Player of the Year) that was thrown at over 70 times was lower than 49.5%.  We’re talking about Pedro Martinez in 1999 level of dominance here with that kind of schism from best to second.  Also considering how Revis straight dominated the best in the league and teams just stopped throwing in his direction, he still finished with 6 picks and a touchdown–not too far off from Woodson, who saw a lot more action come his way.

  I’m not shocked the voting went this way but I hope those out there (voters and fans) realize how spectacular a season Revis had.  We’ve never seen opponents as terrified to throw at a cornerback since Primetime was in his prime.  And frankly when the Defensive Player of the Year isn’t remotely in the same discussion as a guy who plays his exact position something is wrong.  Kudos to Charles Woodson but Revis is the best defender in the league.

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• Week 15 NFL Picks

  January 28, 2010

   

  Its hard to believe there are only three weeks left in the NFL Season in a season rich with storylines that continued last night when Peyton Manning led the Colts to an NFL Record 7th comeback win in the 4th quarter during the regular season.  This year’s Colts are basically zombies at this point: they cannot be killed no matter how hard you try.  In case you are one of the unlucky viewers who remain dark on the NFL Network because of your Cable company there was really only one other place to turn last night in primetime and that was to MTV’s Jersey Shore.

  For the third straight week this show brought an A++ fastball into our living rooms culminating the dramatic seen where some colossal d-bag with extraordinary low self esteem wound up and clocked Snooki (a female cast member) square in the face.  MTV decided not to show the impact of the punch but the dude was promptly arrested and we were left with a cliffhanger for next week (For a slow-mo .gif of the punch, click here).  Snooki appears like she is fine as these house members continue to soak up their new found fame.  Just last week Snooki, The Situation and Pauly took to the late night circuit for a sit down with Conan on the Tonight Show and recreated the story of the three wise men on Jimmy Kimmel Live.  For those of you who wrote Santa this year looking for a nickname as good as “The Situation” or “Snooki,” I have good news for you.  As part of the phenomenon this show has become, you can now receive your own Jersey Shore nickname by clicking here. My nickname: “The Tan-gent.”  In the spirit of my new favorite television show I figured it is my duty to live up to this name the best I can time for a couple tangential rants before we get into the Week 15 Picks.

  -I can’t remember a free agent signing that has excited me less than John Lackey signing with my beloved Red Sox.  Don’t get me wrong, I think it was a good signing, especially now that he will be going against other teams’ #3 starters consistently when he was good enough to be the Ace of a playoff pitching staff in Anaheim last year.  It just lacks spark. Lackey is a guy who I never feared…he doesn’t bring thoughts like: “Oh man, we’re screwed..Lackey is pitching tonight” if you’re the opposing team.  But then again neither does A.J. Burnett and he makes just as much money.  My ultimate hope is that this move is a precursor to a big splash for Adrian Gonzalez to spice up the offense because quite frankly a lineup of Pedroia, Youkilis, the corpse of Big Papi, JD Drew’s contract, Mike Cameron, Marco Scuturo and others isn’t doing it for me right now.  I know I sound like an insufferable Yankee fan when talking about these moves but hey, that’s the hand baseball dealt me.

  -I get the sense that everyone is going to be scratching their heads about Philadelphia landing Roy Halladay up until the beginning of next season, especially considering what they gave up.  But then the season will start and Halladay will have 15 wins and have thrown a no hitter by the time the all star break rolls around.  This was the most dominant pitcher in the AL and mowed through the Red Sox, Rays and Yankees consistently the last three years (the last three AL Champs).  Now he moves over to a league where CC Sabathia (in Milwaukee) and Cliff Lee (in Philadelphia) looked like Cy Young and Sandy Koufax that last two seasons.  Get ready for some dominant pitching performances in Philly.

  -I really am starting to care less and less about Tiger’s tribulations.  I get it…he is a womanizer with an unquenchable thirst for more.  Not a good dude or a family man.  I fully expect his wife to leave him and he’ll pick up the pieces and be playing golf in Augusta this April.  It remains shocking considering the wall he built around him but is there really much of a difference between floozies 1-15 and the rest that will surely come forward?  I say no.  I will say that I think there is at least 1 more bombshell coming–if what these porn stars and loose ladies of the night are saying holds true there is not a chance that hard drugs weren’t involved somewhere in that scene as well.  I’m not saying that I think Tiger partook but he was running with a rough crowd.  I think we should rename him Icarus Woods because he flew way too close to the sun and has violently plummeted back down to earth.

  -Last Saturday night helped confirm why I don’t get too invested in college football.  The best player in the country (Ndamukong Suh) wasn’t recognized as such with a Heisman Trophy and the only “good” reason anyone could come up with was because “No one on defense wins that award.”  Really?  So the best player in the game won’t get recognized with the most prestigious award because he plays defense?  That’s sound logic right there.  So if we’re looking to sum up the 2009 college football season we can just say: “This was the year that the best player in the country didn’t win the Heisman because he plays defense and we had no idea who the best team was because there were 4 undefeated teams that played each other in their bowl games, assuring us there will be 2 unbeaten teams with absolutely no resolution.”  Awesome job all around by the brain trusts involved in botching this.  I knew it was fishy when Pete Carroll was such a resounding success in this sport after watching him drive the Patriots 6 feet into the ground in just 3 seasons at the end of the 90s.

  A couple things that made me laugh:  My Alma mater’s library embracing a rager during Finals week.  Nice job Marquette!  Here’s a photo gallery of the year’s best mugshots, some high comedy in there for you.

  Finally, for my last “Tan-gent,” click here for McGinn and I’s week 15 NFL podcast to hear me go bonkers on a rude Chicago Florist in regards to my wedding planning.  Email me if you want his name, I will gladly reveal his identity if it means it will cost this a-hole business.

  Onto the Week 15 Picks, Winners are in bold.

  McGinn:

  Indianapolis at Jacksonville
  Dallas at New Orleans
  Cleveland at Kansas City
  Houston at St. Louis
  Atlanta at New York Jets
  Miami at Tennessee
  San Francisco at Philadelphia
  New England at Buffalo
  Arizona at Detroit
  Chicago at Baltimore
  Oakland at Denver
  Cincinnati at San Diego
  Tampa Bay at Seattle
  Green Bay at Pittsburgh
  Minnesota at Carolina
  New York Giants at Washington

  Last Week: 11-5
  Overall: 124-70*

  *Didn’t Pick Week 5

  Hugh:

  Indianapolis at Jacksonville
  Dallas at New Orleans
  Cleveland at Kansas City
  Houston at St. Louis
  Atlanta at New York Jets
  Miami at Tennessee
  San Francisco at Philadelphia
  New England at Buffalo
  Arizona at Detroit
  Chicago at Baltimore
  Oakland at Denver
  Cincinnati at San Diego
  Tampa Bay at Seattle
  Green Bay at Pittsburgh
  Minnesota at Carolina
  New York Giants at Washington

  Last Week: 11-5
  Overall: 141-67

  Hugh’s Picks vs the Spread: Jags (+6.5), Saints (-7.5), Chiefs (-2.5), Texans (-9.5), Falcons (+6.5) Titans (-3.5), Eagles (-7.5),  Bills (+7.5), Cardinals (-10.5), Ravens (-10.5), Raiders (+13.5), Chargers (-6.5), Buccaneers (+7.5), Packers (+.5), Vikings (-7.5), Giants (-3.5)

  Last Week vs Spread: 8-8
  Overall vs Spread:113-95

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• Giving Thanks to the 2009 Sports World

  January 28, 2010

  As we all settle into our Thanksgiving dinners this Thursday night, chances our most of us are going to take a moment to reflect and realize that we do indeed have a lot to be thankful for.  It’s one of those Thanksgiving traditions that gets lost in the feast of football and food but when you do stop to reflect chances are there are a few things you can be thankful if you dig deep enough.  As a sports fan, 2009 left us with several sports moments to reflect on and be happy we had the chance to witness them.  Some were good, some were awful and most of them were entertaining.  Following sports and living and dying with your teams comes with its ups and downs but we never come away without being entertained, regardless of what that entertainment emotes.  Personally I have a lot of people to thank for this sports year and I figured this is as good of forum as any to show some appreciation to the people that made being a sports fan in 2009 so much fun.

  So may we all raises our glasses and here’s to…

   

  Kobe Bryant: While the rest of America anxiously awaited Lebron James to unseat you as the heir apparent to the MJ throne you made us all realize why we loved Michael so much in the first place with your unwillingness to lose on the grandest stages.  14 months ago you proved who the greatest player on the planet was when you carried the United States to the Gold Medal in Beijing even as you were sharing the court with Lebron and D-Wade.  Then this past spring you proved yourself to be the finest closer in the NBA with cold blooded play on both ends of the court while you carried the Lakers to another title.  There are many reasons we are so hard on you but it’s hard not to love to watch you play basketball when you are at your peak.  You shed the shadow of being ringless without Shaq while Shaq forced his way out of another city.  When you consider the emotions we’ve all had towards Kobe (good, bad and ugly) its amazing that the narrative has changed to the point where we are accepting him as the best player on Earth and none of us really have that much of a problem with it anymore.

  Pedro Martinez: There are two main ways most people perceive professional athletes these days.  They are either bland and don’t give the media anything or they are attention hogs who are a detriment to their teams.  Hall of Fame sportswriter Bob Ryan has long called Pedro the smartest athlete he has ever covered and this season we saw a perfect mix of media antagonizer and good teammate.  Pedro has reached a Charles Barkley-like realization with the press; he knows how to play them, knows how much to give them, knows when to hold back and when to push the envelope.  He is meticulous, arrogant and very shrewd which makes him more interesting than almost any athlete since Barkley retired.  He also has that “I don’t give a sh*t what you think about me” mentality and all of this makes him so much fun to follow.  Name me another athlete who knows he’s well past his prime that is willing to antagonize 55,000 Yankee fans and the best offense in baseball the night before Game 2 of the World Series.  That’s exactly what Pedro did.  This wasn’t Curt Schilling sparking the Bronx after 21 win season in 2004, this was a guy who knew all he had was a quarter tank left in his arm and his wits.  If he goes out and dazzles he gets the last word; if he fails, the story is about him calling himself the most important player in the history of Yankee stadium, not the Phillies squandering a grand opportunity.  I have loved Pedro since the day Dan Duquette traded for him in 1997 and I am thankful that he brought back his swagger to the Bronx to get the competitive juices/Yankee hatred flowing again.

   

  Joe Mauer: Baseball has left a lot of us as broken fans as the salaries continue to balloon and steroid accusations are met with more of a shrug of the shoulders then a drop of the jaw but Mauer gave us all someone to root for this season.  A local kid from the Twins Cities area ends up playing for the same team he grew up rooting for is almost too cliche, but throw in the fact that he had one of the greatest seasons in the history of baseball at his position for a likable and scrappy playoff team and it becomes easy to pull for this guy.  Mauer was rewarded 2 days ago with the MVP in a near unanimous vote, which leads me to…

  The Guy Who Voted for Miguel Cabrera to Win the MVP: I am not going to say your name in the off chance you get googled and somehow get attention for your incompetence.  There are only two reasons you did this: 1) You wanted to get national recognition,  2) You were out partying with Miguel Cabrera and sent your vote in early the next morning.  So why am I thanking you?  It gives myself and any other person that likes to discuss sports hope that maybe someday too we will be in a position to make such an idiotic decision.  Not only did you vote for a guy who went out, got loaded and then found himself in a domestic dispute the morning of a must-win game to get into the playoffs, Joe Mauer had almost identical powers number and a higher batting average at a much harder position…oh and by the way his team made the playoffs in that division! Again there are only two reasons this could have happened you are either an attention ***** or you were loaded.  So thank you incompetent writer with a MVP vote, all of us now have hope.

  Jay Cutler: Without Midway Jay entering my life on a more consistent basis this past summer I wouldn’t have been about to dig back into the well and realize how much fun it is to watch a highley unlikable player fail miserably on a consistent basis.  I’ve lived in Chicago for the last 2 and half years and suffered through many a dink and dunk display of ineptitude with Kyle Orton but never have I seen a guy who revitalized an entire fanbase and who is so confident in his skill crash and burn so dramatically.  Of course for the first part of his woeful season it was the fault of the receiving core, offensive line and offensive coordinator but now that we can chalk up 3 Bears losses to Cutler (Packers, 49ers, Eagles) I get to hear the likes of Michael Wilbon call him the most disappointing player of 2009.  This wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying without his childish exit out of Denver in which he cut off contact with the guy who signed his checks but he did and that leaves all of us without a vested interest in the Bears totally delighted.  Thank you Jay Cutler, thank you.

  Cris Collinsworth: There hasn’t been a Sunday that has gone by where I haven’t come away from a Sunday Night Football broadcast saying “Wow, I never realized that” or “That’s a great call by Collinsworth”.  You took over for America’s favorite color guy and left him in the dust.  My Grandmother used to always say that she didn’t like watching Madden because he talked to his audience like they were dumb and Collinsworth has embraced a concept long shunned in the broadcast booth.  Anyone who is staying up to watch an Eagles/Bears stinkbomb loves football and Collinsworth treats us as such, he understands we know the general idea of how the game is played and adds tidbits to enhance the viewing experience.  I don’t need a color guy to explain why it was important for the fullback to set a lead block, I need a color guy who is going to tell me exactly why a play worked or why it didn’t, starting in the trenches and moving to the ball handlers.  Cris Collinsworth is welcome in my home any Sunday night.

   

  Brett Favre: Where do I even begin?  Thank you for reminding us how much a player can mean to a fanbase and what its like when thousands of people who care so much feel betrayed.  Every great sports story needs drama and to see Brett Favre run around in purple and say this is the best team he’s been on in his career has provided plenty of it.  We all care too much about sports sometimes and there are certain athletes that resonate with us more than they should.  There was not a single player on any team in the history of professional American sports that meant more to his/her fans then Brett Favre did to Packers fans.  They gave him a warm Wisconsin welcome from the moment he came in for Don Majkowski and never stopped embracing him until the day he retired.  They stuck by him through a tough bout with pain killer addiction, they defended him after a 6 interception performance in the playoffs and they didn’t let an interception that cost them a trip to the Superbowl get in the way of the lovefest.  There was only one scenario that could have ended it and it played out–he signed with a bitter division rival, forever ruining an (in the eyes of Packers fans) unblemished legacy in Green and Gold.  Never has a sports allegiance been tested like this; some ended up caving and buying Favre Purple jerseys while others view him as Fredo.  The unthinkable happened early this year when he was lustily booed in Lambeau Field, the same field where he created some life-long memories for thousands of people in the stands that afternoon.  The trouble with this scenario is that Favre knows this–he knows what he meant, he knows people stuck by him with his Jets experiment and he knows how betrayed they feel but he still wants to win another ring.  The all time touchdown record, the iron man streak, everything would be traded in for another ring and can we really fault a guy for that?  So I thank Brett Favre for the same reason the aforementioned Packers fans loved him so much, his desire and grit.  It’s nice to see a guy who wants to win so badly that he’s willing to sacrifice his entire legacy to do so.  Do I like seeing him in purple?  No.  Can I argue that this wasn’t the right move? No.  Can I stop switch out of Maddenesque Favre gushing and quit asking myself questions? Yes.

  The reason I love sports is the same reason I love Thanksgiving so much. It serves as common ground for people who aren’t always on the same page.  Many Thanksgivings are spent with relatives cherishing old traditions and rehashing classic stories with people you only see once a year.  Some Thanksgivings are spent creating new traditions and memories that will enter the Thanksgiving dinner conversation in the future.  No matter where you are or who you’re talking with if you’re reading this chances are someone from the sports world will be discussed at some point on Thursday.  Whether its an overzealous uncle drawing comparisons to Ed Reed in the annual family football game or its your Grandma wondering why Brett Favre isn’t playing for the Packers anymore as they take on Detroit, just remember that there’s a reason we love this stuff and be thankful that we get to enjoy the ride.

  Have a sports figure to thank?  Feel free to jump in below in the comments section:

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• Baseball at the Crossroads

  January 28, 2010

  October 21, 2009

  A week from tonight the New York Yankees are going to host the Philadelphia Phillies in Game One of the World Series. This will be the first World Series game played in the new Yankee Stadium; Joe Buck and Tim McCarver will welcome us to the game and subsequently breakdown the matchup before CC Sabathia throws the first pitch to Jimmy Rollins. All of this is going to play out on Fox but is anyone outside of New York or Philadelphia really going to care? Maybe a better question is should anyone care? The answer to the first question is only hardcore baseball fans hopped up on caffeine, but the answer to the second question is a resounding yes. This upcoming Fall Classic is a tipping point for Major League Baseball. In one corner you have the Yankees who are boasting the highest payroll in baseball (mostly comprised of players bought on a salary cap free open market). In the other it’s the Philadelphia Phillies: homegrown talent put together by a smart front office hoping that what they built can take down what is bought.

  This World Series will be remembered in one of two ways. The first: the year that the Yankees proved that in an open market enough money can put you over the top and win you a World Series. The second: you still need some semblance of front office savvy to win it all and that there is more to baseball the outbidding your opponents to build a juggernaut.

  Bud Selig and his band of nitwits need to pull hard for the latter. If the New York Yankees win their 27th World Championship it will be the latest setback in the long, slow, painful decline of our National Pastime. The small market teams and their fans will have more incentive to throw in the towel because the financial landscape is not a level playing field. It’s not like this is breaking news; as we move into the 21st century the same holds true every passing season, but this is the first season that one group of men (The Steinbrenners) took it upon themselves to insure a World Championship. After being embarrassed by spending close to 200 million dollars and missing the playoffs last year because of a shaky starting pitching staff and some holes in the lineup, the Yankees front office went out and guaranteed 423.5 million dollars in contracts for Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett. The Yankees payroll for 2009 is at 208 Million dollars, 63 million more then the next highest (the Mets) and 183 million more then the lowest payroll in Major League Baseball (The Pirates).

  You can’t blame the Yankees for exploiting the capless system. They have the most money and they spend it. There is nothing in the rulebook that states that you cannot outspend your opponents. Baseball has long been losing its luster since the players strike in 1994. There were a few mini-resurgences in the last 15 years with Ripken’s Iron Man streak then the steroid infused home run chase of 1998 but those register as blips on the radar screen these days. We’ve yet to get to a point where John Q. Public has totally stopped caring about baseball, but this World Series could change all of that. If the Yankees win what hope does that leave for a fan of a team with resources like the Pirates, Padres, Royals, A’s or Twins? This will prove that as long as you have an endless well of resources and mild competency in the front office you can win an unfair game. Yes the Twins were scrappy and lovable this season but they were also swept right out of the playoffs. The Rays’ run to the Fall Classic last year was completely unexpected but it only fueled the Steinbrenners on their winter spending spree. “What are the Rays doing in the World Series?! I will not stand for this! Someone get a blank check over to the three best free agents on the open market!” Sure enough the Rays are back on the outside looking in and guess who’s in front of them in the division? The #1 (Yankees) and #4 (Red Sox) payrolls in baseball. Sorry Tampa, hope you enjoyed it while it lasted.

  Enter the Phillies: last year’s defending champions and this year’s life raft for a casual baseball fan. The Phillies have a payroll of 111 million dollars, nearly 100 million less then New York. This is a team that has been built from the ground up. In fact let’s break down the starting lineups from an acquisition standpoint.

  Philadelphia Projected World Series Starting Lineup:

  1. Jimmy Rollins (SS) Phillies’ 2nd Round Draft pick
  2. Shane Victorino (CF) Acquired from Dodgers as a Rule 5 Draft Pick
  3. Chase Utley (2B) Phillies’ 1st Round draft pick
  4. Ryan Howard (1B) Phillies’ 5th Round Draft pick
  5. Jayson Werth (RF) Signed as a Free Agent in 2006, resigned last winter to avoid salary arbitration (2 years/10 Million)
  6. Raul Ibanez (LF) Signed as a Free Agent last winter (3 years/30 Million)
  7. Pedro Feliz (3B) Signed as a Free Agent last winter (2 years/8.5 Million, player option for a 3rd year)
  8. Carolos Ruiz (C) Signed as an Amateur Free Agent in 1998
  9. Starting Pitcher (See Below)

  Philadelphia Projected World Series Pitching Staff:

  Cliff Lee (SP) Traded from Cleveland halfway through this season
  Cole Hamels (SP) Phillies’ 1st Round Draft pick
  Pedro Martinez (SP) Signed as a Free Agent this summer (1 Million dollars for 2009)
  Joe Blanton (SP) Traded from Oakland in July 2008
  Brad Lidge (Closer) Traded from Houston in Novemeber 2007

  New York Yankees Projected World Series Starting Lineup:

  1. Derek Jeter (SS) Yankees’ 1st Round draft pick
  2. Johnny Damon (RF) Signed as a Free Agent in 2006 (4 years/52 Million)
  3. Mark Teixeira (1B) Signed as a Free Agent in 2009 (8 years/180 Million)
  4. Alex Rodriguez (3B) Acquired in a trade, opted out of his record contract in the middle of the World Series, then resigned as free agent in December 2007 (10 years/275 Million)
  5. Hideki Matsui (DH) Signed as a Free Agent in 2005 (4 years/52 Million)
  6. Jorge Posada (C) Yankees’ 24th Round draft pick
  7. Robinson Cano (2B) Signed as an Amatuer Free Agent by Yankees in 2002
  8. Nick Swisher (LF) Traded from White Sox in November 2008
  9. Melky Cabrera (CF) Signed by Yankees as an Amateur Free Agent in 2001

  New York Yankees Projected World Series Pitching Staff:

  CC Sabathia (SP) Signed as a Free Agent last winter (7 years/160 Million)
  AJ Burnett (SP) Signed as a Free Agent last winter (5 Years/82.5 Million)
  Andy Pettitte (SP) Longtime Yankee, left for Houston, back to New York as a Free Agent and has since signed three 1 year deals consecutively (1 year/5.5 Million for 2009)
  Mariano Rivera (Closer) Signed by Yankees as an Amateur Free Agent in 1990

  When broken down it’s pretty simple: all the Phillies thunder in their lineup is homegrown (Rollins, Utley, Howard) and they’ve built a lineup of guys to complement their talented core group of players with reasonable contracts through free agency. In opposition to that, you have the Yankees, who drafted Jeter and Posada (the two remaining offensive players from the late 90s dynasty) and bought a group of all stars throughout the last decade.

  Each pitching staff had been constructed differently as well. The Phillies used their resources from a deep farm system to acquire Cliff Lee, Joe Blanton and Brad Lidge. The Yankees have no resources in their farm system, so their hand is forced, which means they can do things like spend 242.2 million dollars to revamp their starting rotation.

  Earlier this spring Matt Taibbi wrote about why Brian Cashman is the worst general manager in sports. His premise is that given how easy Cashman’s job is, he is truly horrendous at what he does. Taibbi raises a great question: How can a team with all this money NOT win every year? The answer to that remains baseball’s only hope from fading out of the public eye. It’s fun to root against a team who has exploited an unfair system and for every organization like the Phillies we have teams like the Mets, whose payroll is astronomical but finished 22 games below .500 this year. But this is the season that could change all of that. Despite Cashman’s idiocy over the decade, the Yankees have enough money to forget about their mistakes and move forward. Cashman totally missed on Jason Giambi’s 120 million dollar contract but nailed the Teixeira signing. He couldn’t have been more wrong about signing Carl Pavano to a guaranteed 40 million but has righted the ship this season with Sabathia. Can you think of someone who has blown 160 million dollars only to be allowed to spend over twice as much to make up for those mistakes? That’s baseball right now: if its not enough, spend more and if you can’t, too bad because someone else (usually the Yankees) will.

  So when you sit down next Wednesday and welcome Joe Buck and Tim McCarver into your living room, know that what you are about to witness could be the final straw for modern day baseball. If the Yankees win, the magic number to buy a World Series win is 208 million. If the Phillies take them down, hope remains that smart scouts and wise investments can still rule the day. Baseball has reached its crossroads and if you care about the game and its future you should tune in.

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• Major League Baseball’s Top Ten 9/3

  January 28, 2010

  Welcome to September.  The first chill is in the air, football season is right around the corner, and baseball’s home stretch is here.  Major League Baseball is ripped on a lot for being a tad on the soft side when it comes to the players (for example, if JD Drew comes up in conversation around my father there is a better than 70% chance that my Dad will exclaim “He’s probably out with a hangnail!”); however, you will not find a tougher day-to-day grind than the 162 game seasons endured by all 30 teams.  The players start in March, play through the heat of summer, and somehow need to find enough left in the tank to push into the playoffs.  Mentally it’s a grind, physically it’s a grind, and for fans it’s a grind.  If the Red Sox have a West Coast swing I’m working three cups of coffee per morning at work.  But for those fans and players that stick with it from the day pitchers and catchers report to this final push to the postseason, somehow it’s all worth it.  As mentioned in the previous top 10, the top 8 spots are going to be occupied by the teams that are playoff bound if the season ended today.  Rounding out the top 10 will be those teams knocking on the Wild Card doorstep.

   

  1.  Yankees (85-48): Not only are the Yankees running away with the division but their home field advantage throughout the playoffs is going to be paramount to their October success.  From a power standpoint (Home Runs and Slugging Percentage) two of the Yankees most potent bats have come from Mark Teixeira (MVP Candadite) and Johnny Damon.  Take a look at their home vs. road splits.

  Teixeira at Home: 20 HRs, .609 SLG vs Texieria on the Road: 12 HRs, .475 SLG

  Damon at Home: 17 HRs, .601 SLG vs Damon on the Road: 7 HRs,  .450 OPS

  Yankees as a team at home: 117 HRs, .495 SLG vs Yankees as a team on the road: 91 HRs, .472 SLG

  As a Red Sox fan I’ve gotten the chance to watch a good amount of games in the new Yankee stadium and to say there is a short porch in right field would be like saying the Stephon Marbury video diary was only sort of crazy.  It’s not coincidence that Damon hits exclusively from the left side of the plate and he is having one of his best power seasons ever in that stadium.  Pop ups can make it out of there, and with a relentless lineup of either left handed batters or switch hitters (Posada, Teixeira, Damon, Cano, Matsui), baseballs are going to be flying out of the Bronx in October.

  2.  Cardinals (79-55): St. Louis has been a juggernaut since the Holliday deal but his sparkling numbers and Albert Pujols’ continued brilliance is only part of their second half surge.  When it comes to picking a team to win the World Series a good formula would be one or two legit top of the rotation starters and some pop at the plate.  The 2003 Marlins had Josh Beckett and Brad Penny along with Derek Lee and Mike Lowell.  The 2004 Red Sox had Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez along with Manny Ramirez and Big Papi.  The 2005 White Sox Mark Beuhrle and Jon Garland along with Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye.  The 2007 Red Sox had Beckett, Schilling, Lester and Dice-K along with Big Papi, Manny and Mike Lowell.  Last year’s Phillies had Cole Hamels and Jamie Moyer along with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins.  You get the idea and obviously there are exceptions (The 2006 Cardinals for example).  I understand I am not reinventing the wheel with this equation but as history has shown us this is a great start to become World Champions.  This year’s Cardinals have 2 of the best pitchers in baseball with Chris Carpenter (14-9, 3.19 ERA) and Adam Wainwright (16-7, 2.47 ERA) and an offensive assault that includes the best player in baseball in Pujols and his new battery mate Matt Holliday, whose numbers since joining the Cardinals are making a push at Babe Ruth in 1921 (.375, 9 HRs, 36 RBIs, 1.128 OPS).  Their acquisition of John Smoltz after a horrid run with the Red Sox has also proved to be a savvy pick up, through 2 starts Smoltz is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA.

  3.  Phillies (76-54): The defending champs are cruising right along with a 7.5 game lead in the division race and Cliff Lee continues to dazzle in the NL (5-1, 1.80 ERA since joining the Phillies at the trade deadline), but perhaps the most encouraging sign for Phillies fans was Cole Hamels looking like it was 2008 all over again a few nights ago.  Against the upstart Giants, Hamels spun a 2 hit shutout, striking out 9 and walking 1.  If Coles Hamels makes a stretch run that emulates his 2008 postseason push (3-2, 2.84 ERA last September) the Phillies and Cardinals are on a collision course to an outstanding NLCS matchup.  Lee/Hamels vs Wainwright/Carpenter with superstars like Howard, Rollins, Utley, Pujols, Holliday all shooting for the World Series.  Hamels has had a down year, but as the saying goes, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

   

  4.  Red Sox (77-55): Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.  I wrote two weeks ago about the automatic outs in the Red Sox lineup being Jason Varitek, Big Papi and the Shortstop platoon of Alex Gonzalez, Nick Green and Jed Lowrie.  Boston’s acquisition of Victor Martinez has given manager Terry Francona much needed flexibility to rest his aging sluggers and create the most potent offensive lineups since Manny left town last summer.  Since joining the Red Sox Martinez has hit .313, with 5 HRs and 20 RBIs, plus he’s played first base and catcher allowing Tito to move Youkilis over to third and rest Mike Lowell or sit Varitek out in an attempt to keep him fresh.  The last two weeks the Red Sox have been the most productive of the season for Boston, hitting .296 as a team with 20 Homers and 78 RBIs and going 10-4 in that stretch.  The biggest concern for Boston has been the recent roughing up of ace John Beckett (1-1, 6.10 ERA in the last month).  If he can’t get going the playoff hopes fall on the arms of Jon Lester (2-0, 2.67 ERA in the last month) and Clay Buchholz, who has been getting stronger as the stretch run has commenced.  Helping Boston in the postseason race is a cupcake September schedule with 16 games against the White Sox, Orioles, Royals and Blue Jays.

  5.  Dodgers (79-55): Does anyone else get the sense that these Dodgers are the Torre Yankees of his last few seasons re-incarnated?  After surviving the Manny female fertility drug episode and looking like the class of the National League heading into the All Star Break, Los Angeles has played .500 ball in the second half (23-23), including an under .500 August sporting a 14-15 record.  Being in first place all season is an impressive feat but history is working against them as they stumble into October, especially in the National League with the Cardinals and Phillies emerging as juggernauts.  Much like their counterparts in Anaheim the Dodgers are in for a tough month battling it out with the Rockies and Giants for division supremacy.  Next weekend the Dodgers travel up to the Bay Area to take on the rival Giants where the two headed monster on Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain will be waiting for them and they finish off their season hosting the Rockies.  If the Giants and Rockies have shown us anything it’s that they aren’t going away and the Dodgers are going to have to start playing like they did in May and June to hold them off down the stretch.

   

  6. Angels (78-54): The Angels are sputtering just 4-6 in their last 10 games and are going to have to fight tooth and nail just to hold off the Rangers and may have nothing left by the time they have to face their playoff nemesis, the Red Sox.  The Angels also have their toughest stretch of the season coming up in September with 14 games against the Yankees, Red Sox and Rangers, including what will shape up to be a pivotal 4 game series when they host Texas at the end of this month.  Since August 20th they’ve lost 9 games against the  Indians, Blue Jays, Tigers and Mariners.  If the Halos can’t right the ship before they get into these games with playoff contenders they could be long out of it by October 1st.  The acquisition of Scott Kazmir adds depth to their pitching rotation and also a starter who has proven to be a thorn in the Red Sox side for the last several seasons (3.59 ERA, 138 Ks in 130.1 inning pitched vs Boston) but time will tell if that will be enough to hold off the Rangers as we move into September.

  7.  Rockies (74-59): Since Denver fans have had to deal with the Cutler mess and now Brandon Marshall acting like a 3 year old maybe it’s good that the Rockies are making a strong push to the postseason to help keep Broncos fans sane as the Kyle Orton era is about to commence.  The Mets were a sight for sore eyes for these Rockies who took their lumps at the end of August dropping 2 of 3 to the Dodgers and getting swept by the Giants, however the Rockies are coming in for a smooth landing down the stretch.  18 games in September are against opponents with a sub .500 record including the putrid Padres and Diamondbacks; playing in the NL West comes with its benefits I suppose.  Their toughest series will be the Giants in San Francisco in the middle of this month, which could ultimately decide the NL Wild Card winner.  They host the Cardinals towards the end of the month, but look for St. Louis to throw out their triple A squad for that series because they will be long past a champagne celebration of clinching the division at that point.

  8.  Tigers (71-61): There has to be a winner in the AL Central and with the White Sox recent fire sale of aging veterans considered their white flag waived, which leaves the Tigers and Twins.  Those two teams play each other 7 times in the next 30 days but Detroit is holding a 4.5 game cushion where they stand right now.  Depsite a sub-par offense, a pitching staff of Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson and Jarrod Washburn is enough to carry the Tigers into the postseason.  What’s interesting about this squad is they will be able to throw out Verlander and Jackson in Yankee stadium in the ALDS.  Either one of those guys is capable of a lights-out performance, so the Tigers could steal a game then just need to win 1 at home to be able to toss Verlander at the Yankees in a deciding game 5 in the Bronx.  Stranger things have happened and it’s been proven time and time again that good pitching beats good hitting.  I don’t think the Tigers could beat the Yankees but a couple of strong outings by their potent starting rotation and New York could have its hands full.

  Rounding Out the Top Ten:

  9.  Texas (75-38): Losing Michael Young for the next two weeks is a major blow for these Rangers but they refuse to go quietly.  After taking their lumps in the Metrodome this past weekend Texas has come back with a 3 game winning streak vs Toronto, including sweeping a double header.  Texas has 10 games vs the Rays and Angels in the next month which will end up deciding their season.  If they can stay hot they could eclipse the sputtering Angels for the division as the Red Sox feast on the bottom dwellers of the American League.  If this Young injury sends them into a minor tail spin it’s pretty much lights out on this high powered Rangers squad.  Nolan Ryan should be proud of the team he’s built so far and Ranger fans have a reason to be excited moving forward into this month and the next couple seasons.

  10.  Giants (73-60): You already know all about Tim Lincecum.  You may have heard that Matt Cain is putting together and nice season as well.  But I bet you are unaware of the bloated contract known as Barry Zito emerging as the 3rd ace of the staff.  The 126 million dollar man who has been awful in his first few years in San Francisco could be the key to the Giants either catching the Dodgers or moving past the Rockies in the Wild Card hunt.  In the last month Zito is 2-1 with a 1.72 ERA.  So when you face the Giants you go against the best pitcher in the National League in Lincecum (13-4, 2.33 ERA), another Cy Young contender in Matt Cain (12-4, 2.50 ERA) and now an upstart Barry Zito who has baffled hitters for the last month.  Starting next Friday the Giants start a 9 game stretch vs the Dodgers and Rockies.  If these three guys pitch like they have been, it isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility that the Giants will be the NL West leaders on September 21.  Plus they just added Brad Penny who came over from the AL where he was awful and looked liked the Cy Young award-winning Brad Penny of a few years back last night.

  So for those of you scoring at home Cliff Lee is 5-1 with a ERA under 2, Matt Holliday looks like Babe Ruth in 1921, John Smoltz is pitching like its 1995 and Brad Penny looks like an ace.  The one thing they have in common?  All sucked in the American league this year and now are in the NL.  This is not a coincidence.

  Predictions if the playoffs started today:

  ALDS: Yankees over Tigers
  ALDS: Red Sox over Angels

  NLDS: Cardinals over Rockies
  NLDS: Phillies over Dodgers

  ALCS: Yankees over Red Sox
  NLCS: Cardinals over Phillies

  World Series:  Yankees over Cardinals

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• Major League Baseball Top Ten (8/17)

  January 28, 2010

  There are under 50 games left in Major League Baseball’s regular season and with the passing of the trade deadline we now have a good idea of the haves and have-nots as we hit the home stretch.  Moving forward, these Power Rankings will only feature the 10 best teams in baseball.  The 8 teams slated for postseason play will always occupy the first 8 slots followed by the two teams on the doorstep on the postseason.  In addition I will predict how the playoffs will unfold if the season were to end today.  These are subject to change as a lot of baseball remains, but as we stand on August 17th here’s how I see it.

  October Bound:

  1.  Yankees (74-44): On fire since the All Star Break, the Yanks have only lost 7 times since the Midsummer Classic and swept their bitter rivals the Red Sox out of the Bronx last weekeng which helped the Yankees put a stranglehold on the division lead.  The Yankees appear to be the American League juggernaut as they hit the home stretch.  In the series against the Red Sox they shut down Boston’s offense for 31 straight scoreless innings including 15 straight on Friday night that ended with an A-Rod walk off homer.  Those are the kind of games that help distinguish which teams are ready for a deep run and which ones just don’t have it.  The Yankees won that series in every conceivable way and the Red Sox couldn’t do anything to stop them.  The Yankees could surge to 100 wins if they continue winning at the rate they are.

  2.  Phillies (66-49): The big winners at the trade deadline with the acquisition of last year’s AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee.  So far in 3 games for Philadelphia, Lee is a perfect 3-0 with an ERA of 1.12.  The reason the Phillies ended up with Lee is because talks for Toronto ace Roy Halladay dissolved after the Phildelphia brass refused to include J.A. Happ in any potential deal.  Happ has emerged as a stud in Philadelphia’s already potent starting rotation with a 9-2 record and a 2.66 ERA.  Cole Hamels is having a down year but he still can be as good as anyone in baseball when he’s on, so that leaves Philadelphia with 3 front of the rotation guys and the option of Jamie Moyer, Pedro Martinez or Joe Blanton to complete their playoff rotation for October.  With the best lineup in the National League to pick up their pitchers on a bad outing the Phillies are my pick to repeat as National League champions, despite Brad Lidge’s closing woes.

  3.  Cardinals (67-52): Boasting a 10-3 record in August so far including taking 3 of 4 against the Dodgers early this month.  Matt Holliday has been crushing the ball since arriving in St. Louis with a .459 batting average along with 5 Home Runs and 22 RBIs.  The Cards also feature the best 1-2 punch at the top of a rotation in the National League with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright both in Cy Young contention with ERAs under 3 and double digit win totals (12 for Carpenter, 14 for Wainwright) respectively.  The Cardinals will be a big problem for anyone in a short series with 2 lights out starters and a lineup including Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday.  St. Louis is running away with their division and should surge into the postseason.

  4.  Dodgers (70-48): A wire-to-wire first place team this season but as the season has gone on the Dodgers are starting to show some chinks in their armor and are having their worst month of the season here in August with an 6-9 record.  The staring rotation is deep, with 3 of their starters with ERAs under 4 but outside of Clayton Kershaw (2.91 ERA) the Dodgers are lacking anyone with the stuff to be considered the lights out pitcher necessary to carry them deep into October.  Both the Cardinals and Phillies have enough bats to slug it out against the Dodgers, and both teams have a better 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation than Los Angeles.  Much like Joe Torre’s teams at the end of his Yankee tenure, these Dodgers appear to be a regular season juggernaut but could sputter out early once the postseason comes around.

  5.  Angels (70-45): The second hottest team in the American League since the All Star break with a 21-8 record; like death and taxes the “Look out for the Angels” talk is starting nationwide.  However, half of their 8 losses have come against the White Sox and Rangers, two teams shooting for a playoff spot, in which the Halos went 2-4 against.  10 of their wins since the break have come against crap teams like Oakland, Cleveland, Baltimore and Kansas City, all teams occupying last or second to last place in their respective divisions.  Also only one of their starting pitchers features an ERA under 4 (John Lackey at 3.73).  In a short series against Detroit, the Angels could be in serious trouble if their bats are silenced by the 3 headed monster in Detroit’s starting staff (Verlander, Jackson and Washburn).

  6.  Detroit (62-55): With the acquisition of Jarrod Washburn at the trading deadline the Tigers gave themselves the deepest starting rotation in the American League.  Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson and Jarrod Washburn will be troublesome for any team in the short series but the Tigers offense has been lackluster.  Here are their American League rankings (out of 14 teams):  11th in runs, 12 in hits, 10th in on base percentage, 11th in batting average and OPS and 7th in Home Runs.  So while the Tigers can pitch with anyone, their offense is going to have trouble manufacturing runs against a good pitching staff, which is necessary for postseason success.

  7.  Rangers (66-50): Texas is reminiscent of last year’s Tampa Bay Rays team in the sense that everyone keeps expecting them to fade and they just keep trucking along.  Despite playing in oppressive Texas heat with an average pitching staff these Rangers just keep winning.  The Rangers are 9-3 against the Red Sox, Angels and Tigers since the all star break and could be as good as 10-2 if it wasn’t for some shakiness at the back end of their bullpen namely Frank Francisco.  Francisco has 17 saves but an ERA of 3.55, going in a stretch run with a shaky closer is a scary proposition.  Overall it appears that the Rangers remain an arm or two short to make a significant postseason run.  Their best two starters this season have been Kevin Millwood and Scott Feldman…if you find yourself saying “Who?” you are not alone but the Texas will continue to turn heads as they gear up for a tight Wild Card race vs. the Red Sox and Rays in these next 5 weeks.

  8.  Rockies (65-53): It’s hard to figure out how this team is doing it until you look at their offensive rankings for the 2009 campaign.  Colorado is 2nd in runs scores, 1st in doubles, 1st in triples, 2nd in home runs, 4th in stolen bases, 4th in on base percentage and 1st in OPS.  All sparkling stats that have kept their average pitching staff hidden until October exposure.  I’m not saying what Jason Marquis has done this year hasn’t been amazing, but when Jason Marquis is the ace of your pitching staff you’re not going deep into the playoffs.

  Rounding out the Top 10:

  9.  Red Sox (66-51): Victor Martinez has been a great acquisition but Boston’s offense includes three gaping holes.  Three automatic outs  in the Red Sox lineup are Jason Varitek, the platoon of Nick Green and Jed Lowrie at shortstop, and…this pains me to write..but…yes…Big Papi.  Those four guys are hitting a combined .202 this season–ouch.  It’s hard to get into any kind of offensive rhythm when you know one of these guys is coming up soon in the batting order; the offense couldn’t score a run for almost 3 entire games against the Yankees a week ago.  Terry Francona’s been the best manager in baseball since his time in Boston began when you consider expectations, results, egos and the pressure that goes into everyday baseball in Boston, but his biggest shortcoming is his staunch loyalty to his guys.  Sometimes it works (Mark Bellhorn in October as part of the ’04 miracle workers) sometimes it doesn’t.  I love Big Papi and Jason Varitek as much as any Red Sox fan could but it’s time to mix things up.  The players that should play every day are Kevin Youkilis, Victor Martinez, Jason Bay, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and (I guess, begrudgingly) JD Drew.  Mike Lowell needs days off but should DH more then Ortiz.  Big Papi isn’t going to hit himself out of this slump because it’s been going on all season and we’re over 100 games in.  Varitek can call a great game, anyone on earth can steal a base on him and he cannot hit anymore.  The Red Sox claimed Alex Gonzalez off waivers to combat their shortstop woes…Alex Gonzalez who was hitting .210 in the National League when he cleared waivers!  Can the Red Sox squeak out the Wild Card?  Yes.  Can they win a short playoff series with Beckett and Lester and a solid bullpen?  Probably.  Can a team with Big Papi, Jason Varitek and Green/Lowrie/Gonzalez in its everyday lineup win the World Series?  No.

  10.  Giants (63-54): Officially the scariest team that could potentially get into October if you’re a Phillies, Cardinals or Dodgers fan.  It doesn’t look like they have the guns to get into the postseason and they are 14-15 since the all star break.  They do have Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain at the top of their rotation which will propel them to a good finish and give their fanbase a good reason to be optimistic moving forward.  Their offense can’t outslug the Rockies, and despite the Cubs desperately needing a spark, the northsiders may still be able to make noise down the stretch and feast on lesser opponents these last 5 weeks.

  Predictions if the playoffs started today:

  ALDS: Yankees over Rangers
  ALDS: Tigers over Angels

  NLDS: Phillies over Rockies
  NLDS: Cardinals over Dodgers

  ALCS: Yankees over Tigers
  NLCS: Phillies over Cardinals

  World Series:  Yankees over Phillies

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• Trade Deadline Winners and Losers

  January 28, 2010

  The non-waiver trading deadline passed last week with some big moves on Thursday and Friday.  Philadelphia and Boston made the biggest splashes with their acquisitions before the deadline, while other contenders decided to stay put.  The following is a list of the winners and losers looking ahead to the rest of the season.  I am not enough of a baseball nut to know which prospects that were dealt are going end up in the show but from where I sit here are the teams that made moves that could end being the catalyst for a champagne celebration at the end of October.

  Big Winner

  Phillies: Philadelphia’s acquisition of Cliff Lee may end up being to move that gets them back to the World Series this October.  After talks for Roy Halladay fizzled, the Phillies turned to Cleveland to get the second best pitcher on the market last week.  Last year the Indians dealt a different ace to an NL contender when they shipped CC Sabathia to Milwaukee, which ended up propelling the Brewers into the playoffs.

  Before CC joined the Brewers last season his numbers in Cleveland were as follows:

  6-8, 3.83 ERA, 122.1 Innings Pitched and 123 K’s

  Upon arriving in Milwaukee Sabathia catapulted into Cy Young contention:

  11-2, 1.65 ERA, 130.1 Innings Pitches and 128 K’s

  Here are Cliff Lee’s numbers with the Tribe this season:

  7-9, 3.14 ERA, 152 Innings Pitched and 107 K’s

  Look familiar?  The move over to the NL cannot be overlooked–it doesn’t mean the AL is a shoe in for a World Series title but there is a talent discrepancy between the two leagues.  Both Sabathia and Lee were stuck on bad teams in Cleveland and moved over to contenders at the deadline.  The early returns are phenomenal for the Phillies: Lee spun a gem in San Francisco surrendering just 4 hits and 1 run in a complete game victory against the Giants in his first start.  This moved added a legit front of the rotation starter to the defending champions who already have the National League’s most potent offense.  Cole Hamels has struggled this season but anytime you can throw out the AL Cy Young award winner from last season followed by the World Series MVP last year, you are a force to be reckoned with come October.

  Winners

  Red Sox: One thing we’ve learned from the Theo Epstein era in Boston is that you can bank on the Red Sox making a big move at the deadline just about every July.  Theo has shipped Nomar and Manny out of town in previous years and the rumor mill was buzzing with potential blockbuster moves coming out of Boston once again last week.  The Red Sox ended up sending Justin Masterson and two prospects (Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price) to Cleveland for Victor Martinez in return.  This gives the Red Sox some much-needed versatility to combat Father Time with some of their aging players.  Jason Varitek has been the backbone of the Red Sox behind the plate but even the most die hard Red Sox fans can tell you he’s a shell of what he once was, both defensively and swinging the bat. Martinez can catch to give ‘Tek some needed rest as we enter the heat of the summer.  Mike Lowell still has some pop to his bat but is at the point where playing every day is going to wear him out before the stretch run.  Martinez can play first and the Red Sox can move Kevin Youkilis over to third, where he has shown he is more than capable of playing great defense at the hot corner.  David Ortiz had a horrendous start and has struggled mightily against lefty starting pitching.  Martinez can play first, Youkilis can play third, and Mike Lowell can take on the designated hitter duties when a lefty is set to start against the Red Sox.  Martinez also adds some much needed pop to the Red Sox lineup that had been sputtering leading up to the trade deadline.  V-Mart was hitting .284 with 15 Home Runs and 67 RBIs for a very pedestrian Cleveland offense; he now moves to a lineup that features reigning AL MVP Dustin Pedroia along with Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay, Mike Lowell and David Ortiz to protect him.  It has only been two games but Martinez is 6 for 11 with 5 RBIs since joining the Red Sox on Saturday.

  Cardinals: Since their moves didn’t come as the trade deadline was drawing to a close it’s easy to overlook the acquisitions of Matt Holliday and Julio Lugo in light of what happened at the end of last week.  However, since joining the Red Birds Holliday is hitting .541 with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs in 10 games so far.  Julio Lugo came over from a horrendous tenure in Boston and is boasting a .342 batting average with a home run through 9 games as a Cardinal.  The Cards also added Mark DeRosa at the end of June–he has struggled a bit with nagging injuries but is the kind of player you want on your roster down the stretch.  The NL Central race is as tight as any in baseball, but these three moves could be the difference between playoff baseball and golf clubs come October.

  Tigers: Detroit beefed up their already potent starting rotation with the acquisition of Jarrod Washburn from Seattle.  Washburn brings an 8-6 record and 2.64 ERA to Detroit to be a third starter behind Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson.  The three have a combined ERA of 2.81 and a record of 27-16 as Detroit heads into their playoff push.  The past has taught us that good pitching beats good hitting every time so come October the Tigers could be very dangerous.

  Giants: San Francisco didn’t make a move that puts them in the World Series discussion but Freddy Sanchez was the latest player Pittsburgh decided to ship off in order to push their rebuilding project to almost 20 years now.  Sanchez was hitting .296 for an abysmal Pirates squad and could prove to be a big asset to an average Giants offense.  With Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain at the top of the rotation, if San Francisco can win the Wild Card they will be a problem for anyone in a short series in October.

  Dodgers: Los Angeles added George Sherrill to bolster their bullpen last week.  Sherrill had a 2.40 ERA with 20 saves for a lowly Orioles team.  With great depth at starting pitching, the first place Dodgers will continue to cruise into the post-season.

  Rockies: Much like their AL West counterparts, they bolstered their bullpen to help for the stretch run by adding Rafael Betancourt (3.52 ERA) and Joe Beimel (3.30 ERA).

  Flush or Bust

  White Sox: The White Sox traded for DL regular Jake Peavy.  When healthy, Jake Peavy is good but when is he ever healthy?  The best case scenario for the Southsiders is he comes back to typical Peavy form at the end of this month and he and Mark Beuhrle create a potent 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation as the White Sox contend for the AL Central crown.  The other element working against this move is Jake Peavy did a lot of his damage in pitcher-friendly Petco Park in San Diego.  US Cellular is pretty big but as mentioned before the talent discrepancy from AL to NL and vice versa is there.  Throw in the fact he hasn’t pitched since June 13th and White Sox GM Kenny Williams may end up with a bloated contract and not much else for this season.

  Marginally Better:

  Twins: Orlando Cabrera was part of one of the biggest trades of the decade back in 2004 when he came to Boston to fill the void left by Nomar.  This move was less substantial but still could pay dividends for the Twins as they try to keep pace with the White Sox and Tigers.  Cabrera has heated up lately but one red flag is that he’s been on 4 teams in 5 years–his production hasn’t been the issue, so hopefully he doesn’t make waves in the usually serene Twins locker room.

  Cubs: With the sale of team influx Cubs’ GM Jim Hendry wasn’t looking to make a huge move at the deadline but he did add a much needed lefty reliever to a shaky bullpen.  John Grabow and his 3.42 ERA come over to the Northside to give Lou Pinella another lefty option other than Sean Marshall out of the bullpen.

  Moves that make no difference

  Reds: A bad team acquires a good player in Scott Rolen.  Rolen is having a great season (.320, 8 HRs, 43 RBIs) but the Reds are terrible and he is not enough to get them back into contention in the NL Central.

  Losers

  Yankees: New York added Jerry Hairston Jr. at a trading deadline where teams were listening to offers for Roy Halladay, Adrian Gonzalez, Jarrod Washburn, Victor Martinez, Cliff Lee, among others.  The Yankees have the highest payroll in baseball and added a mediocre player while their biggest rival added a much needed bat and defensive depth to their roster.  Could their hesitation to make a big move cost them a trip to the World Series?  Time will tell.

  Rays: Obviously the financial situation in Tampa Bay is not like it is in Boston or New York, but they are 6 games out of first place and 5.5 out of the Wild Card and were quiet at the deadline.  Barring a scorching finish, the defending AL Champs could be on the outside looking in for a chance to defend their title.

  Mets: Much like the Yankees, the Mets have never been shy to take on payroll or make a move but with the Bernie Madoff fallout the Mets fell victim to a rough economic climate this season.  Could they have put together a king’s ransom for Halladay or dealt for Cliff Lee?  It’s hard to tell, but a rotation that features Johan Santana and Cliff Lee or Roy Halladay along with an offense that continues to get healthy may have been enough to propel a late summer surge.

   

  Blue Jays: Toronto GM JP Riccardi turned down offer after offer for ace Roy Halladay and ended up with nothing but a mediocre team with one great pitcher and not much else.  Halladay’s trade value will now drop if they entertain offers for him again in the offseason when they could have turned him for some legit prospects to build for the future.

  A lot remains to be seen with two months of baseball left, and there are still moves to be made through waivers but as we stand today the Phillies, Cardinals and Red Sox all made moves that could end up being the difference between a deep playoff run and a first round exit.  Many people refer to this time as the dog days of summer, but this is where teams are going to shape their identities as we move towards the stretch run.  While it may not seem like much is happening on a night-to-night basis, pay attention to who is streaking and who is sputtering.  It doesn’t matter who’s in first place right now–it’s all about who is playing the best heading into October, and the teams that pulled off the biggest moves are all likely to be in that discussion.

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• MLB Power Rankings (7/29/09)

  January 28, 2010

  This is the time of year where the Major League Baseball pennant races start heating up as the trade deadline approaches.  The All Star Game is the unofficial halfway point but we start to get a good idea of the haves and have-nots during this final week of July.  Rumors are flying that the Red Sox, Phillies and Dodgers are all one final making a push for Roy Halladay while the Cardinals added Matt Holliday late last week to help with their charge towards October.  So every couple weeks moving forward I will present you with the Pints In the Paint Power Rankings!  Obviously these are all subject to change, especially after the deadline passes this week.

  See You in October:

  1.  Dodgers (62-38): Since storming out of the gates and surviving Manny’s female fertility drug nightmare, the Dodgers have proven themselves to be the class of the Major League.  Perhaps their most telling stat is that four of their starters have an ERA under 4:  Billingsley 3.72, Kershaw 2.96, Wolf 3.43, Weaver 3.86.  If they somehow finagle a deal for Halladay or Cliff Lee, the road to the World Series goes through LA.

  2.  Yankees (61-39): Just one win back from the Dodgers for the best overall record in baseball, the Yankees have been red hot since the All Star Break.  It looked like their biggest hole was going to be the bridge from their starters to Rivera but the emergence of Phil Hughes (zero earned runs since June 14) as a set up man has filled that gap.

  3.  Phillies (58-40): Their starting pitching remains in question but no one in the NL can match the offensive firepower they put out each night.  They recently wrapped up 6 games against the NL Central contending Cubs and Cardinals in which they outscored them 43-28 while going 4-2.

  4. Red Sox (58-41): The workman-like Sox hit a bit of a funk and were swept by the Rangers last week but, when looking at their roster, they are as solid a team as you will find.  The two biggest concerns moving forward for the Sox are Jason Bay’s recent struggles after a scorching start and their usually reliable closer Jonathon Papelbon making things interesting at the end of games lately.

  5.  Angels (59-40): It seems that every summer the Angels get red hot and all of a sudden the “Look out for the Angels” talk starts flying.  And while the Angels offense is clicking on all cylinders this is still the team that is 1-10 in their last 11 playoff games dating back to the 2005 ALCS including a 1-6 record against Boston, who…by the way…is the team they would be facing again if the season ended today.

  Dangerous but flawed:

  6.  Tigers (52-47): Why are they dangerous?  Their 1-2 punch with Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson is as formidable as you will find for top of the rotation starters right now.  In a five game playoff series these two can carry them.  Why are they flawed? Their bullpen is shaky.  Tigers’ fans may be screaming at me about Fernado Rodney’s improbable season right now (21 saves) but his ERA is 3.51 and of the 5 regular bullpen guys (Rodney, Lyon, Seay, Perry and Zumaya), the combined ERA is 3.80.  3.80 isn’t bad but it is far from lights out and in the postseason not bad doesn’t cut it.  Trust me when I say there is nothing worse than a shaky bullpen in October–when Verlander hands the ball over in a 3-2 game with the guy on first that lead could evaporate in an instant.

  It’s not how you start, its how you finish:

  7.  Rays (55-46): The defending AL champs stumbled at the start (under .500 until May 20) but have been playing much better ball since the summer moved in.  It appears as though the hole is too deep to climb into the playoffs with the Red Sox and Yankees both ahead of them but as last years’ team proved anything can happen.

   

  8.  Cubs (52-46): The definition of mediocre throughout the first half of the season mainly because their offense was asleep.  Since Aramis Ramirez returned from a shoulder injury that had him sidelined the majority of the first half, the Cubs are 13-7.  What’s deceiving about their record is that their starters lead the league in quality starts so if the bats continue to stay awake the Northsiders could surge into the playoffs.

  October Potential:

  9.  Cardinals (55-48): The Cards made the biggest move so far in acquiring Matt Holliday late last week to provide some much-needed protection to the best player in baseball, Albert Pujols.  The Red Sox also shipped Julio Lugo over to them for Chris Duncan; Lugo has since been hitting the cover off the ball which was mildly predictable.  There are certain guys that thrive in certain environments and Boston is a place that is meant for the fun loving guys who don’t take themselves too seriously (see Ramirez, Manny) or guys who have enough confidence in their skills that a few boos during slumps is not going to get to them.  Julio Lugo falls into neither of these categories and was a mess from day one.  However, St. Louis is a kinder, gentler environment where a guy like Lugo can thrive.  It’s interesting that Theo Epstein backed up the money truck for Edgar Renteria (shortstop who thrived with the Cards) and Julio Lugo (shortstop who was good in Tampa Bay); while neither panned out in Boston, they are destined for success elsewhere.  Just one of the weird things that happens in baseball, and the Sox could have just paid Orlando Cabrera after the 2004 season and been all set.

  10.  Rangers (56-42): The Rangers have taken 8 of 9 including a sweep of the Red Sox.  Their offense is potent but their starting pitchers are as follows:  Kevin Millwood, Scott Feldman, Vincente Padilla, Brandon McCarthy and Matt Harrison.  Not exactly the five guys who are going to carry you into October.

  11.  Rockies (54-46): A Rocktober redux?  Probably not, simply because getting in is going to be a challenge with the revamped Cardinals and the suddenly scorching Cubs to contend with it for a Wild Card spot.  There’s no catching the Dodgers at this point for the Rockies and I don’t think they have the horses to make another miraculous run for the pennant.

  12.  Giants (54-46): The Giants possess the same dangerous 1-2 as Detroit with Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain but the drop from to top of the rotation to the bottom is tremendous.  Rounding out the starters are Barry Zito and his enormous contract, Randy Johnson who is headed to the DL, and Jonathon Sanchez who pitched a no-hitter to bring his record to a paltry 3-9.

  Outside looking in:

  13.  White Sox (51-50): This is an example of a team that could really improve their chances of making the playoffs by making a move in these next few days.  But as we learned earlier this season with botched trade attempts for Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt, it doesn’t seem like many players are jumping at the chance to play on the Southside for Ozzie Guillen.

  14.  Twins (51-50): Mauer for MVP will be the talk as second half heats up and the AL Central is still up for grabs despite the Tigers’ potent rotation.  But it just doesn’t seem like the Twins are built for October quite yet.

  15.  Braves (51-49): The Braves are another team that could be in the Wild Card discussion into September but have no chance of catching the Phillies.  Their pitching staff is made up of guys who have implosive capabilities, which doesn’t bode well down the stretch.

  16.  Mariners (52-48): The Mariners have scratched and clawed their way to 4 games above .500 but scratching and clawing isn’t going to have fans lining up for playoff tickets.  Though considering last year’s awful season Seattle can be happy with anything above a .500 record for the 2009 campaign.

  17.  Marlins (52-48): Red hot to start the season but have gradually cooled off, Hanley Ramirez continues to turn heads and enter the discussion as one of the best players in baseball.

  18.  Astros (51-49): They’ve heated up since the All Star Break but there is a log jam at the top of the NL Central and Houston doesn’t have enough to keep it up.

  Cloaked in mediocrity:

  19.  Brewers (49-51): A valiant first half had them flirting with first place for a while but their starting pitching is miles away from placing them in contender discussions.

  20.  Blue Jays (49-52): With the month-long mission of trading Roy Halladay at its tipping point its obvious that JP Riccardi is looking to build for the future in Toronto.

  Money lit on Fire:

   

  21.  Mets (48-51): Injuries have obviously played a key role in this terrible 2009 season but it’s hard to make excuses.   I’m not convinced that even with a completely healthy offense that their heinous starting rotation (outside of Santana) could have remained in contention with the Phillies.

  Bad:

  22.  Reds (45-54): Teams led by Dusty Baker have had a steady evolution of fading–starting in the 2002 World Series, moving to the 2003 NLCS, then September of 2004 and now his teams are OK for a couple months then start sucking by June 15th.

  23.  Indians (42-59): It’s amazing to think this is the same team that was up 3-1 in the ALCS two years ago.  It’s been a train wreck ever since Game 5.  Though in fairness if I gave up a grand slam to JD Drew in the first inning of a pivotal game 6 I would be reeling for a while as well.

  24.  D-Backs (43-58): Outside of Dan Haren no one in their rotation is above .500.

  25.  Orioles (42-57): Terrible against the AL East, and when you can’t beat your own division it’s hard to compete elsewhere.

  Worse:

  26.  A’s (42-57): Most A’s fans would like to rent this space to tell you that Billy Beane is still a genius and to wait for these prospects he’s been stockpiling to come through.  I read Moneyball too and I recall two of the featured players being Nick Swisher (below average to bad) and Chad Bradford (flash in the pan), the best player in the book is Kevin Youkilis and he’s not on the team.  So let’s can the “Beane is a genius” talk until the A’s are somewhere close to .500.

  27.  Pirates (43-57): Between last year’s acquisition of Jason Bay, a trade for Adam LaRoche last week and rumors that they are interested in Jack Wilson the Pirates have become some kind of quadruple-A farm team for the Red Sox.

  28.  Royals (40-59): Zach Greinke has been the lone bright spot in another long season in Kansas City.

  29.  Padres (39-62): Even Adrian Gonzalez has been ice cold, giving Padres fans no reason to care about their team.  Instead they get to enjoy the nation’s most perfect weather every day and not care about baseball at all so I can’t say I feel too bad.

  Abysmal:

  30.  Nationals (32-68): There is only one word in my vocabulary to describe how much this team sucks: Expos.

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• The NBA's Dynasty "Problem"

  January 28, 2010

  Good afternoon everyone, a special Friday treat for everyone, our first guest Columnist!

  Brian Baranowski is currently working towards his Masters in Accounting at Marquette University but was kind enough to chime in on the NBA’s dynasty “problem”

  By: Brian Baranowski

  So, after the Magic somehow snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by squandering a five point lead in the last minute, the Lakers now lead the NBA Finals 3 games to 1, and should probably close out the series on Sunday night in Orlando.  A Finals win would give the Lakers their 4^th championship this decade, and their 15^th NBA title overall.

  This morning, I was goofing off on Wikipedia for a bit, and I decided to pull up the list of NBA champions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_champions).  I noticed this incredible statistic:  of the 29 NBA champions from 1980 thru 2008, six franchises have won 27 of the 29 championships:

  Boston Celtics (4: 1981, 1984, 1986, 2008)

  Chicago Bulls (6: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)

  Detroit Pistons (3: 1989, 1990, 2004)

  Houston Rockets (2: 1994, 1995)

  Los Angeles Lakers (8: 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002)

  San Antonio Spurs (4: 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007)

  The two other teams to win a title outside of these six teams:  the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers (in their 3^rd appearance in a 4 year span) and the 2006 Miami Heat (in their only NBA Finals appearance to date).  A Lakers title would be their 15^th overall, giving the six teams listed above 28 out of the last 30 championship titles.

  Now compare this to the relative parity in the MLB in this same 29 year period (sans 1994), which many have argued contains a lack of competitive balance:

  Anaheim Angels (1: 2002)

  Arizona Diamondbacks (1: 2001)

  Atlanta Braves (1: 1995)

  Baltimore Orioles (1: 1983)

  Boston Red Sox (2:  2004, 2007)

  Chicago White Sox (1:  2005)

  Cincinnati Reds (1; 1990)

  Detroit Tigers (1: 1984)

  Florida Marlins (2:  1997, 2003)

  Kansas City Royals (1: 1985)

  Los Angeles Dodgers (2:  1981, 1988)

  Minnesota Twins (2: 1987, 1991)

  New York Mets (1:  1986)

  New York Yankees (4:  1996, 1998, 1999, 2000)

  Oakland Athletics (1:  1989)

  Philadelphia Phillies (2:  1980, 2008)

  St. Louis Cardinals (2: 1982, 2006)

  Toronto Blue Jays (2: 1992, 1993)

  If you’re counting at home, that’s 18 MLB teams in 29 years that have won a championship, with only 8 teams winning multiple titles.  Plenty has been said and done about MLB’s economic structure in the last 15 years, but that only partially accounts for the amount of parity in baseball overall.  Much of the parity in baseball has to do with the different manner in which teams can build towards a championship.  Some teams have worked their way to a title and dismantled immediately ( 1997 Marlins), others caught lightening in a bottle (2006 Cardinals), and some teams have built via their farm systems and augmented their young talent with strategic free agent acquisitions (1995 Braves, 2003 Marlins).

  So why has there been relatively little parity in the NBA over the same period?  I can give several possible reasons:

  1. Luck of the already elite teams:  When the New Orleans Jazz signed Gail Goodrich in 1976, did anyone have an inkling that the 1979 first-round pick they sent back to the Lakers as compensation would turn out to be #1 overall and go on to become Magic Johnson?  Magic was added to a 47-35 team from the year prior featuring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his prime, and the Lakers won the title in 1980. Similarly, James Worthy ended up on the Lakers in a similar fashion in 1982, as the Lakers had acquired the Cavaliers 1982 first-round pick in a bit trade for a guy named Don Ford.  All of a sudden, the Lakers had three of the top 50 players in NBA history and went on to win three more championships in the 1980s.

  Honorable mentions: Hakeem Olajuwon being selected by the Rockets #1 in 1984 (3 years removed from an NBA Finals appearance); Spurs winning the lottery in 1997 and selecting Tim Duncan #1 overall due to David Robinson’s 1996-1997 injuries; Jordan/Pippen/Phil Jackson’s ability to prevent Dennis Rodman from torpedoing the Bulls’ 2^nd three-peat.

  1. Incompetence of other teams:  In 1980, the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors swapped the #1 and #3 picks in the draft.  The Warriors picked Joe Barry Carroll first overall, and the Celtics took Kevin McHale third.  In terms of career averages, Carroll and McHale’s numbers were roughly the same.  However, while Carroll was an impact player in the NBA for roughly 5 years, McHale was an impact player for nearly twice as long.  Oh, and Red Auerbach somehow convinced the Warriors to include Robert Parish in the trade.

  Honorable Mention:  Miami Heat drafting Dwyane Wade #5 overall in 2003 after Detroit Pistons bypassed Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh in favor of Darko Milicic (#2 overall).

  Awaiting Honorable Mention (if Lakers Win the 2009 Finals):  Memphis Grizzlies trading Pau Gasol to Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the draft rights to Marc Gasol, and 2008/2010 first round draft picks.

  1. Shrewd talent evaluation:  While this may be somewhat of an offshoot of other teams’ incompetence, this more has to do with the ability of these teams’ GMs to evaluate talent, both in the draft and the free agent market, and to find the players who will properly complement their stars.  Consider some of these (at the time) under the radar transactions and how they ultimately impacted these teams’ championship runs:

  Bulls:  drafting of Toni Kukoc (2^nd round 1990, NBA debut 1993)

  Celtics:  drafting of Larry Bird (1^st round 1978, NBA debut 1979), trade for Dennis Johnson (1983)

  Lakers:  trade for Robert Horry (1997) drafting of Devean George (1^st round 1999)

  Pistons:  trade of Jerry Stackhouse for Rip Hamilton (2002)

  Rockets:  trade for Mario Elie (1993)

  Spurs:  drafting of Manu Ginobli (2^nd round 1999, NBA debut 2002), signing of Bruce Bowen (2001)

  1. Hall of Fame Players/Coaches:  While the NBA 50 Greatest Players/10 Greatest Coaches list dates only though 1996, every NBA champion from 1980 thru 2008–with the exception of the 2004 Pistons, 2005/2007 Spurs, and 2008 Celtics–every one of these teams included at least one member of the 50 greatest players list or was coached by one of the 10 greatest coaches in NBA history.  Were this list to be revised/expanded thru the 2008-2009 season, it is highly likely that Tim Duncan (2005/2007 Spurs) and Kevin Garnett (2008 Celtics) would be included on the players list, while Larry Brown (2004 Pistons) and Gregg Popovich (2005/2007 Spurs) would be on the coaches list.

  Based upon members of the Basketball Hall of Fame, every single team that has won a championship in this window has at least one player or coach that’s a member/member-elect of the Hall, or a current player (Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett) that could be considered to be a future Hall of Fame player at some point.

  So if you want to win an NBA title, you need some luck (namely high-lottery level talent), a good GM that can take advantage of the incompetent GMs (see: Elgin Baylor and Chris Wallace), a shrewd talent-evaluation department to fill in the gaps, and a Hall of Fame-caliber player or coach.  In this case, what teams in the league currently satisfy all four of these criteria?

  I only see two:  the Lakers and the Spurs.  This is not to say that there aren’t several teams (like the Celtics, Cavaliers, Nuggets, and Rockets) that are very close in these areas. However, unless Lebron James gets a true star besides him in Cleveland or goes to the Knicks/Nets to team up with a Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh, I wouldn’t be surprised in 10 years if you see that the ilk of the Bulls/Celtics/Lakers/Pistons/Rockets/Spurs have won 38 of the last 40 NBA Championships.

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• Friday Videos

  January 28, 2010

  Happy Friday everyone!  If the Magic play like they did last night this series will be over next Thursday. McGinn and I are podcasting tomorrow so be on the lookout for that, plus BB will be making his debut on Pints in the Paint and that is appointment podcasting if there is such a thing.

  To help move your day along and get you closer to the weekend, here are some videos to check out and enjoy. Let us begin with Shaq’s rap from a year ago where he disses Kobe about not being able to win without him…amazing when you think about the fake love fest in the All Star game this past year.  Speaking of the Mamba, if you thought he was in the zone last night here’s a 3 minute recap of when he went off for 81 in January of 2006.

  Moving out of the world of sports, some of you may have tuned into “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here” this week.  I am not a Hills watcher so one of my first introductions to Spencer and Heidi was when they were praying with Mrs. Rod Blagojevich on this ridiculous show.  Which leads me to a question for you: Can a human be actually be like Spencer or is he part of some elaborate inside joke that isn’t funny where he acts like the most miserable human being on earth to milk his 15 minutes of fame?  It’s got to be one of the two.  He has either no self-awareness or has just enough to be able to play the part of The Scumbag and turn it into fame.  I suppose it’s disturbing either way.  Luckily David Letterman took him to task about a year ago and made him look like a buffoon for all of us to enjoy.

  One bonus video for Friday, on the heels of Randy Johnson’s 300th win, ESPN.com’s poll question this morning was: Who is the best pitcher of the last 20 years?  Your choices: Clemens (LOL), Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, or Mariano Rivera.  This is one that can be argued for a good long while; however, I want to present you with video evidence of Pedro striking out 5 of the first 6 batters he faced in the 1999 All Star Game right as the steroids era was entering its prime.  He fans Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire in order to start the game, then K’s Jeff Bagwell as Matt Williams is thrown out stealing.  The video is tiny and old but you get the gist–he won the game’s MVP award in front of the Fenway Faithful.  Maddux was certainly most consistent over the last 20 years, this is indisputable, but if you need one win and your life depends on the outcome you have to take Pedro at the height of his powers in 1999.

  Enjoy the weekend and be sure to look for the podcast to be up some time tomorrow evening.

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