I think it's safe to say that the NFC South has the biggest sports headline of the year with the whole Michael Vick drama that has been going on for what seems like forever. It is fitting that they have the headlines once again after stealing them last year with Carolina's downfall and the incredible run of the resurgent New Orleans Saints. After the disaster of Katrina, the Saints returned to New Orleans heroes, and certainly provided the people of New Orleans with a welcome diversion to the rebuilding effort that continues to go on to this day. However, it is a new season, with new expectations for everyone and new stories to capture the minds of Americans.
NFC SOUTH
Predictions:
New Orleans (12-4)
Tampa Bay (7-9)
Carolina (5-11)
Atlanta (4-12)
NEW ORLEANS
Well, it seems that everyone in this division got a fairly difficult schedule, and it is no different for New Orleans, but they are the only team in this division who is capable of beating the teams they play. Don't think that last year was a fluke. Drew Brees has proven that he is an elite quarterback in this league, and has been very consistent since he became the starter in San Diego in 2002. He has thrown for over 3000 yards every season in 4 of the 5 years, and he only played in 11 games in 2003. Expect another year of about 3500 yards and 25-30 touchdowns, if not more with the newest addition of Robert Meachem from Tennessee at WR. Add him to the already potent offense which includes Marques Colston, Devrey Henderson, and the always dangerous rushing combo of Deuce McCallister and the great Reggie Bush. This should be the best offense in the NFC once again. The only thing that concerns me is the defense and how they didn't really improve it from last season. I'm not sold on them just yet, as they ranked 13th in the NFL in points against last year. Maybe I'm wrong, but we'll see what they can do for an encore. The first game against the Colts should be an exciting league opener, and a look as to what the Super Bowl could have been like last year. This team should once again contend for the NFC crown and be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
TAMPA BAY
Yes, this is how bad the NFC South is. Tampa Bay was 4-12 last year after an 11-5 2005 campaign. What was the problem? Well, pretty much everything. The defense was not its old self, possibly showing its age, as they were 21st in points against and 17th in yards against. However, the offense was nearly non-existent, ranking 31st in points and 29th in yards. Cadillac Williams was a shell of his 2005 form, rushing for only 798 yards and 1 measly touchdown, which was certainly the central problem on offense. A team does need a quarterback to step up and be able to throw when the run game isn't there, though, and the Bucs ranked 26th in passing yards last year, which didn't help the problem. The Chris Simms era seems to be over, as he is now buried on the depth chart behind Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown, and Brad Gradkowski. This offense should be able to turn it around with the savvy vet Garcia, who was let go mysteriously by the Eagles after his impressive half last year. The defense upgraded in the draft with the addition of Gaines Adams out of Clemson to play defensive end, although I would have liked to see Simeon Rice groom him as the heir apparent, but I understand letting him go. Derrick Brooks is on his last legs, but he is still nothing to sneeze at. This schedule is too tough for them to be a serious playoff contender, and 7-9 is a pretty decent mark, but I believe in this team to turn it around from last year.
CAROLINA
Well, Jake Delhomme should be feeling the heat this season after this team underachieved their talent and didn't meet the ridiculous expectations that were made of them. Now that the oft-sacked David Carr is in town as a backup (one of the best backups in the business, I might add), Delhomme may have to do the impossible in order to keep his job. While he isn't a bad quarterback, he certainly isn't what everyone thought he was when last year started. He set the bar too high for himself by taking the Panthers to the Super Bowl a few years ago, and now everyone expects him to be almost superhuman. Fact is, he has nobody to throw to other than Steve Smith, and the running game is a work in progress, with DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams splitting carries. Williams seemed to have the edge in training camp even though he had about half the yards that Foster did last year, but it seems that Foster has reclaimed the "top" spot. The offense must do better through the air than they did last year if they want to contend for a playoff spot. The defense was a beast last year, ranking 8th in points against, 7th in yards given up, 11th against the run and 4th against the pass. They return the core of their D, as Julius Peppers and Mike Ruckus anchor the D-line at the ends and Kris Jenkins stuffs the middle at defensive tackle. Dan Morgan returns to patrol at middle linebacker after being injured last year, and Na'il Diggs retains his outside spot. Chris Gamble, the former 2-way star at Ohio State, is back to play corner, and they traded for Chris Harris from the Bears to upgrade at safety. This group should once again rank in the top 5 in the NFC, but the offense is the big concern. I don't think they get it together under the intense pressure, and Delhomme finds himself as a backup at the end of the year to David Carr.
ATLANTA
New quarterback. Aging running back. New coach. Negative spotlight. Not much more could go wrong for the Dirty Birds. This isn't exactly what Bobby Petrino pictured walking in to when he left Louisville in the off-season. Instead of Michael Vick, he gets the problematic Joey Harringon. Instead of the young Warrick Dunn, he gets the older version with a young Jerious Norwood. The good news is that they still have Alge Crumpler and made a nice pickup in Joe Horn, but I doubt that will be enough for Harrington to succeed, considering he had Roy Williams, Mike Williams, and Charles Rogers to throw to at one point, but 2 of those 3 became busts. Is Michael Jenkins heading down that same path of wide receiver busts? A first round pick in 2004, he has never had more than 39 catches in one season and no more than 508 yards. They lead the league in rushing in 2006, but you have to think that will decrease with Vick, a 1,000 yard rusher, gone. Replacing him is tough, obviously, and after trading backup Matt Schaub to the Texans, it becomes even more of a headache. The defense was middle-of-the-pack last year in scoring, were top 10 in rush defense, but had almost no pass defense, ranking 29th against the pass last year, which is surprising considering they have a Pro Bowler in DeAngelo Hall. Is Lawyer Malloy past his prime? Most likely, as he had zero interceptions last year, and the Falcons need more than that if they want their defense to be any better. In the end, the Vick distractions will be too much for them, Harrington won't have a resurrection, and this team looks to be doomed in its first season under Petrino, although I think he has what it takes to bring this team back to playoff contention down the road.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Eli Manning and his status with the New York Giants
I was just watching the 11 PM SportsCenter and decided to scratch tonight's initial post, which was supposed to be my predictions on the NFC South, in favor of a post about Eli Manning and the entire Giants season. First off, let me say that I am a big Giants fan and I have NEVER, EVER booed a team, player, or coach on the Giants in my entire life. I have way too much respect for the players that put on Giants blue to ever boo them, and they are my favorite team in all of sports, although the Mets are a close second.
Now, I loved Tiki Barber from day one, had his jersey from his rookie year up until I got his jersey this past Christmas before he retired, and loved everything he stood for. That hasn't changed even in light of the things he has said about Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning. Do I think it's stupid for him to say those things? Absolutely. I don't understand why he feels the need to say these things when it was Coughlin who fixed his fumbling problems and took him from being an average NFL running back to a top-5 running back over a 5 year period. If there are a few things that I can't stand about sports, they are bad play-by-play announcers, former players becoming analysts and proving they are idiots, and former players saying things that should never be said. Unfortunately, this is now Tiki's career and as long as he is on NBC, they will continue to ask him his opinion on topics about the Giants, looking for responses similar to the ones he has given so far.
In any case, what he has said about Eli Manning to me is incredibly out of line. I understand that this is the stuff that makes ratings, and now ratings is what his job is based on, but whatever happened to the old saying that what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room? What's worse than what Tiki said the first time, is that he was truly offended when Eli responded. What do you expect Tiki? Eli CAN'T just roll over and not respond to what you said because, as you know, he will get absolutely crucified in the New York media. Instead, he was forced into this media circus, even though he really would rather not. Now was Eli right for saying that Tiki played without heart the last few weeks of the season? No. Especially considering that he rushed for 234 yards and 3 TDs in the season finale to save the Giants playoff hopes.
So back to this SportsCenter I was watching. They put Sean Salisbury on the Budweiser Hot Seat (already, this is a bad idea, considering Salisbur has really proven to know almost nothing about football) and they ask him about the Eli-Tiki situation and what he thinks. Outside of the fact that most people don't care what Sean Salisbury thinks, what he said was absolutely ludicrous. When asked if Tiki did Eli a favor by saying this, Salisbury said YES. How could this POSSIBLY help Eli? Some people on sports radio 660 WFAN in New York today called the station and said something along the lines of "This is the Eli I have been waiting to see ever since he came to the Giants." Look, it's not like he came out and absolutely smoked Tiki. He didn't blast him either. He just defended himself and didn't take it to the next level. All Tiki did was put him in a tough spot in the New York media. Either way, this is a lose-lose for Eli. He says nothing, people get on his case for not "manning up" (no pun intended). But because he said what he said, Eli now has to step up as a vocal leader this year, or else people will once again question him after the season.
After saying this somehow helped Eli, he then said that Eli wasn't going to have a breakout year. When then asked what that was going to mean for Eli's future in New York, Salisbury said that if he didn't "break out" this year, that Jared Lorenzen was going to be the starter by the end of the season. JARED LORENZEN. Look, I love the Pillsbury Throwboy, but there is no way that J-Load takes away the starting job from Eli. They have way too much invested in Eli for him to not start. Plus, there is no way that Lorenzen is better than Eli. Not happening. Eli can get it. Just give him an offensive line that can protect him. A great offense doesn't start with the quarterback, the running back, or the wide receiver. Everything starts from the bottom and you build up, and the offensive line is the foundation. Protecting whoever is lining up under center is something that is always overlooked, but the championship teams do it best. There is NO WAY that Eli Manning isn't the starter throughout this season and at the start of next season, unless he gets seriously injured or has one of the worst seasons in NFL history.
Eli is the quarterback of the New York Giants, like it or not. He will get better over the next few seasons and, while he may not become the QB everyone thought he was going to be out of college, he will still be a very good quarterback in the NFL.
Now, I loved Tiki Barber from day one, had his jersey from his rookie year up until I got his jersey this past Christmas before he retired, and loved everything he stood for. That hasn't changed even in light of the things he has said about Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning. Do I think it's stupid for him to say those things? Absolutely. I don't understand why he feels the need to say these things when it was Coughlin who fixed his fumbling problems and took him from being an average NFL running back to a top-5 running back over a 5 year period. If there are a few things that I can't stand about sports, they are bad play-by-play announcers, former players becoming analysts and proving they are idiots, and former players saying things that should never be said. Unfortunately, this is now Tiki's career and as long as he is on NBC, they will continue to ask him his opinion on topics about the Giants, looking for responses similar to the ones he has given so far.
In any case, what he has said about Eli Manning to me is incredibly out of line. I understand that this is the stuff that makes ratings, and now ratings is what his job is based on, but whatever happened to the old saying that what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room? What's worse than what Tiki said the first time, is that he was truly offended when Eli responded. What do you expect Tiki? Eli CAN'T just roll over and not respond to what you said because, as you know, he will get absolutely crucified in the New York media. Instead, he was forced into this media circus, even though he really would rather not. Now was Eli right for saying that Tiki played without heart the last few weeks of the season? No. Especially considering that he rushed for 234 yards and 3 TDs in the season finale to save the Giants playoff hopes.
So back to this SportsCenter I was watching. They put Sean Salisbury on the Budweiser Hot Seat (already, this is a bad idea, considering Salisbur has really proven to know almost nothing about football) and they ask him about the Eli-Tiki situation and what he thinks. Outside of the fact that most people don't care what Sean Salisbury thinks, what he said was absolutely ludicrous. When asked if Tiki did Eli a favor by saying this, Salisbury said YES. How could this POSSIBLY help Eli? Some people on sports radio 660 WFAN in New York today called the station and said something along the lines of "This is the Eli I have been waiting to see ever since he came to the Giants." Look, it's not like he came out and absolutely smoked Tiki. He didn't blast him either. He just defended himself and didn't take it to the next level. All Tiki did was put him in a tough spot in the New York media. Either way, this is a lose-lose for Eli. He says nothing, people get on his case for not "manning up" (no pun intended). But because he said what he said, Eli now has to step up as a vocal leader this year, or else people will once again question him after the season.
After saying this somehow helped Eli, he then said that Eli wasn't going to have a breakout year. When then asked what that was going to mean for Eli's future in New York, Salisbury said that if he didn't "break out" this year, that Jared Lorenzen was going to be the starter by the end of the season. JARED LORENZEN. Look, I love the Pillsbury Throwboy, but there is no way that J-Load takes away the starting job from Eli. They have way too much invested in Eli for him to not start. Plus, there is no way that Lorenzen is better than Eli. Not happening. Eli can get it. Just give him an offensive line that can protect him. A great offense doesn't start with the quarterback, the running back, or the wide receiver. Everything starts from the bottom and you build up, and the offensive line is the foundation. Protecting whoever is lining up under center is something that is always overlooked, but the championship teams do it best. There is NO WAY that Eli Manning isn't the starter throughout this season and at the start of next season, unless he gets seriously injured or has one of the worst seasons in NFL history.
Eli is the quarterback of the New York Giants, like it or not. He will get better over the next few seasons and, while he may not become the QB everyone thought he was going to be out of college, he will still be a very good quarterback in the NFL.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
NFC North Predictions
NFC NORTH
Last year’s NFC champions return to action with more questions than answers since the end of Super Bowl XLI. Will Rex Grossman become consistent (good or bad)? How will Cedric Benson do as a full-time running back? How much will they miss Thomas Jones? Is the defense as good as it was last year even without Tank Johnson and an unhappy Lance Briggs? Grossman is as interesting a story as there will be on the field this season after his up-and-down 2006, including his disappointing Super Bowl performance. What he has to do this year is be consistent, even if it is consistently bad, so that the Bears will have an idea as to what they will get with Grossman. If Grossman turns out to have a great season like he is capable of, then the Bears will have a stud QB to base their future around offensively. If he doesn’t fare well, though, then the Bears must know it’s time to move on, and possibly start Brian Griese instead. If Grossman is to become a better QB, he should go to the rookie tight-end Greg Olsen more than he went to the tight-end last year. Olsen has the potential to be like Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates, who are the top two tight ends in football. Using him would allow Grossman to develop chemistry and give him more time, as defenses should then back off of blitzing him, which would give him more time to find his wide receivers down the field. Cedric Benson is benefiting greatly from the Grossman spotlight, as the departure of Thomas Jones to the Jets via trade makes him the #1 running back in
Keep the Favre train going!! I love Brett and watching him play is always fun. He takes those risks only a great player like him can. I like this team a little more than others do, based on the return of Donald Driver, who has been injured the past few years. While the loss of Ahman Green seems huge, he was slowing down in recent years and was not doing the same job he had previously. They don’t have a true solution to that yet, although they did get Brandon Jackson out of
Obviously, the first thing that everyone thinks of when thinking about this year’s Vikings is the rookie running back, Adrian Peterson out of
As long as Matt Millen is the General Manager in
Once again, this division will be the weakest in football, and it will be incredible if anyone other than the Bears make the playoffs, but the Packers have that chance with Brett leading the way. Don’t think one of these teams is going to make noise in the playoffs, like the Bears did last year, because none of them are very good.
Monday, August 20, 2007
NFC East predictions
Apologies to my readers for not posting in quite some time. Unforunately, my internet has been almost non-existent over the past week, only working for about 15 minutes at a time, so the ability to post has not been there. In any case, I officially start my 2007 NFL posts with a look at the NFC East division.
NFC EAST
Predictions:
Philadelphia (11-5)
Dallas (9-7)
New York Giants (7-9)
Washington (6-10)
Those records are really benefit of the doubt given to those teams. I don't really know what to make of these four, considering each team has talent, but it seems that none of them really have a good team.
PHILADELPHIA
The Eagles are your best bet to win this division, provided Donovan McNabb stays healthy. They don't have Jeff Garcia to back him up anymore though, which means the Eagles go as McNabb goes. Let's be serious, A.J. Feeley is garbage and always has been. Not re-signing Garcia could be the biggest blunder that Philadelphia had in the off-season, especially looking at McNabb's recent history of injuries and the number of games he has missed as a result. They still have Brian Westbrook, though, who had a spectacular year in 2006 and has become a rising star in the NFL. Being the clear-cut 1st guy has helped, and that will only lead to better things form him this year. Tony Hunt, the underrated rookie from Penn State is opening eyes in Eagles practices and is becoming the odds-on favorite to win the backup position from Correll Buckhalter and take over the short-yardage situations, a spot which the Eagles have been lacking at for years. The defense is returning to its old form and should once again cause quarterbacks to quiver, as the secondary always seems to turn out quality DBs that torture wide receivers. Expect this squad to win the division fairly easily, although it's certainly not their year to win it all, like it could have been in 2004-2005.
DALLAS
God, I hate putting the Eagles and Cowboys 1-2 in the division, but these are most likely the top 2 teams in the division. The Cowboys season will rely heavily on the arm of Tony Romo. Will last year's playoff disaster affect his play this season? I douibt it, but we can't ignore the possibility. Having Brad Johnson as a backup will help him grow even more, as Johnson has been around the NFL for 16 years, winning a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay in 2002-2003. Marion Barber III and Julius Jones should provide a healthy backfield combination, and Barber's extra year of experience will only help him become an elite back. The pair combined for 1,738 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, which is more than it may seem considering the passing-style offense they played in. Anytime you have an offense that starts Romo, Terrel Owens, Terry Glenn (one of the most underrated wide receivers in all of football), and a combination of Barber and Jones, you're a force to be reckoned with. The defense will only improve with Wade Phillips as the head coach, although Roy Williams is one of the most overrated safeties in the NFL. He is constantly out of position and making poor reads on throws, which cost the Cowboys. If Phillips can fix that problem, this team can make a run in the NFC playoffs.
New York Giants
I don't think this team will be as bad as everyone believes they will be, but it is going to be a long season for Giants fans. Let's be fair; Tom Coughlin may not be the greatest coach in Giants history, nor is he the most-liked person in the New York area at the moment, and he hasn't gotten the team up to the high expectations of the fans in the past two years, but the fact is, he has gotten this flawed team to the playoffs in two consecutive years. The offense may appear to be a juggernaut, with a Manning at quarterback and Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey as the prime targets for him to throw to, but the loss of Tiki Barber cannot be overlooked. It has been said time and time again that the loss of Barber will cripple this team and force it from playoff contention, but I'm not so sure that is true. Eli will improve this season now that Tiki is gone, as scary as that may sound, because now the offense doesn't have to flow through one guy. Tiki was great, and he is one of my all-time favorite Giants, but it always seemed like the plays were going to him and Eli wasn't being given the opportunity to realize his full potential. Bag the screen passes because they won't work this season with Brandon Jacobs and Reuben Droughns in the backfield, but open up the downfield passing game with Plax and Sinorice Moss in the mix at wideout. The defense has been a problem for years, and the firing of Tim Lewis isn't going to fix it. They have too many question marks in that secondary to be successful, as Corey Webster has so far been a bust of a draft pick for the New York Football Giants. When James Butler is one of your starting safeties and R.W. McQuarters is a starting cornerback, you just know you're in for a long season. The D-Line should get a boost with the rumored return of Michael Strahan, which will allow Matthias Kiwanuka to fully concentrate on becoming a linebacker instead of wondering whether or not he will go back to defensive end. Until they turn this defense around, this team will be mired in mediocrity, but not necessarily last place.
WASHINGTON
I love the selection of Laron Landry in the first round. The safety out of LSU will be able to step right in and start alongside Sean Taylor, the fourth year safety out of Miami, to make one of the best safety tandems in the NFL. These two know how to play football, and it should be exciting to watch those two do work on NFC receivers for years to come. With Shawn Springs at corner, they have the opportunity to be one of the better secondaries in football. While Springs is getting older, he is still a solid cornerback who can provide tutelage to Landry and Taylor on the finer sides of playing defensive back. London Fletcher can be a beast of a linebacker in the middle, and the addition of H.B. Blades in the draft gives them a bonafide backup who can step in when Fletcher calls it quits. That defensive line is a big question mark, however, with Philip Daniels, Cornelius Griffin, Kedric Golston, and Andre Carter penciled in as the starters. Those four combined for 10.5 total sacks last season, which simply won't get it done in the NFL. Marcus Washington and Rocky McIntosh don't provide much help either, combining for 2.5 sacks from the outside linebacker positions. Pressuring the quarterback is huge in the NFL, and no matter how good your secondary is, if you don't pressure the QB, someone will get open to throw to. That being said, they do have a lot of potential on offense. I'm not as high on Jason Campbell as many people are, especially after that scary-looking injury in their game against Pittsburgh the other night, but he is certainly being helped by the combination of Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts in the backfield. Portis, when healthy, is a top-5 running back. Over his first four seasons in the NFL, he averaged 1,482 yards per season, scoring 45 touchdowns in that span. He will only fumble about 5 times while getting up to 350 carries per season, which is about 1 fumble every 70 carries or so. He will also give you about 30-40 receptions out of the backfield, which will help Campbell grow. Santana Moss is a proven commodity in the NFL, although I'm not so sure he is cut out to be a #1 receiver, like he is on the Redskins. He only caught 55 passes last year, gaining 790 yards and scoring 6 touchdowns. That simply won't be enough, especially considering that an unproven Brandon Lloyd is his sidekick and Antwaan Randle-El is the slot receiver. When the dust clears, this team is really no better than it was last season, as the front 7 on defense is way too unproven to give the secondary the support necessary at this level. Jason Campbell should improve this year, but probably won't end up being what everyone thinks he will be just yet. If Daniel Snyder would get rid of some of these overpaid receivers and draft a true star at wideout, or pick up an undervalued one through free agency next year, Campbell could make leaps and bounds. This group of wideouts isn't going to make him much better, nevermind a Pro Bowl QB.
Don't expect much out of this division this year, and odds are good that the Super Bowl champion won't be coming from here. The rivalries are always good (Philly-Dallas, Giants-Eagles, Giants-Cowboys, really any of them are big games) but the teams won't let the games live up to the hype. Hopefully they will exceed my expectations, but remember that those records above are being kind and are adjusted for the potential that each team carries. Get ready for a long season, NFC East fans, especially those in the New York area.
NFC EAST
Predictions:
Philadelphia (11-5)
Dallas (9-7)
New York Giants (7-9)
Washington (6-10)
Those records are really benefit of the doubt given to those teams. I don't really know what to make of these four, considering each team has talent, but it seems that none of them really have a good team.
PHILADELPHIA
The Eagles are your best bet to win this division, provided Donovan McNabb stays healthy. They don't have Jeff Garcia to back him up anymore though, which means the Eagles go as McNabb goes. Let's be serious, A.J. Feeley is garbage and always has been. Not re-signing Garcia could be the biggest blunder that Philadelphia had in the off-season, especially looking at McNabb's recent history of injuries and the number of games he has missed as a result. They still have Brian Westbrook, though, who had a spectacular year in 2006 and has become a rising star in the NFL. Being the clear-cut 1st guy has helped, and that will only lead to better things form him this year. Tony Hunt, the underrated rookie from Penn State is opening eyes in Eagles practices and is becoming the odds-on favorite to win the backup position from Correll Buckhalter and take over the short-yardage situations, a spot which the Eagles have been lacking at for years. The defense is returning to its old form and should once again cause quarterbacks to quiver, as the secondary always seems to turn out quality DBs that torture wide receivers. Expect this squad to win the division fairly easily, although it's certainly not their year to win it all, like it could have been in 2004-2005.
DALLAS
God, I hate putting the Eagles and Cowboys 1-2 in the division, but these are most likely the top 2 teams in the division. The Cowboys season will rely heavily on the arm of Tony Romo. Will last year's playoff disaster affect his play this season? I douibt it, but we can't ignore the possibility. Having Brad Johnson as a backup will help him grow even more, as Johnson has been around the NFL for 16 years, winning a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay in 2002-2003. Marion Barber III and Julius Jones should provide a healthy backfield combination, and Barber's extra year of experience will only help him become an elite back. The pair combined for 1,738 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, which is more than it may seem considering the passing-style offense they played in. Anytime you have an offense that starts Romo, Terrel Owens, Terry Glenn (one of the most underrated wide receivers in all of football), and a combination of Barber and Jones, you're a force to be reckoned with. The defense will only improve with Wade Phillips as the head coach, although Roy Williams is one of the most overrated safeties in the NFL. He is constantly out of position and making poor reads on throws, which cost the Cowboys. If Phillips can fix that problem, this team can make a run in the NFC playoffs.
New York Giants
I don't think this team will be as bad as everyone believes they will be, but it is going to be a long season for Giants fans. Let's be fair; Tom Coughlin may not be the greatest coach in Giants history, nor is he the most-liked person in the New York area at the moment, and he hasn't gotten the team up to the high expectations of the fans in the past two years, but the fact is, he has gotten this flawed team to the playoffs in two consecutive years. The offense may appear to be a juggernaut, with a Manning at quarterback and Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey as the prime targets for him to throw to, but the loss of Tiki Barber cannot be overlooked. It has been said time and time again that the loss of Barber will cripple this team and force it from playoff contention, but I'm not so sure that is true. Eli will improve this season now that Tiki is gone, as scary as that may sound, because now the offense doesn't have to flow through one guy. Tiki was great, and he is one of my all-time favorite Giants, but it always seemed like the plays were going to him and Eli wasn't being given the opportunity to realize his full potential. Bag the screen passes because they won't work this season with Brandon Jacobs and Reuben Droughns in the backfield, but open up the downfield passing game with Plax and Sinorice Moss in the mix at wideout. The defense has been a problem for years, and the firing of Tim Lewis isn't going to fix it. They have too many question marks in that secondary to be successful, as Corey Webster has so far been a bust of a draft pick for the New York Football Giants. When James Butler is one of your starting safeties and R.W. McQuarters is a starting cornerback, you just know you're in for a long season. The D-Line should get a boost with the rumored return of Michael Strahan, which will allow Matthias Kiwanuka to fully concentrate on becoming a linebacker instead of wondering whether or not he will go back to defensive end. Until they turn this defense around, this team will be mired in mediocrity, but not necessarily last place.
WASHINGTON
I love the selection of Laron Landry in the first round. The safety out of LSU will be able to step right in and start alongside Sean Taylor, the fourth year safety out of Miami, to make one of the best safety tandems in the NFL. These two know how to play football, and it should be exciting to watch those two do work on NFC receivers for years to come. With Shawn Springs at corner, they have the opportunity to be one of the better secondaries in football. While Springs is getting older, he is still a solid cornerback who can provide tutelage to Landry and Taylor on the finer sides of playing defensive back. London Fletcher can be a beast of a linebacker in the middle, and the addition of H.B. Blades in the draft gives them a bonafide backup who can step in when Fletcher calls it quits. That defensive line is a big question mark, however, with Philip Daniels, Cornelius Griffin, Kedric Golston, and Andre Carter penciled in as the starters. Those four combined for 10.5 total sacks last season, which simply won't get it done in the NFL. Marcus Washington and Rocky McIntosh don't provide much help either, combining for 2.5 sacks from the outside linebacker positions. Pressuring the quarterback is huge in the NFL, and no matter how good your secondary is, if you don't pressure the QB, someone will get open to throw to. That being said, they do have a lot of potential on offense. I'm not as high on Jason Campbell as many people are, especially after that scary-looking injury in their game against Pittsburgh the other night, but he is certainly being helped by the combination of Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts in the backfield. Portis, when healthy, is a top-5 running back. Over his first four seasons in the NFL, he averaged 1,482 yards per season, scoring 45 touchdowns in that span. He will only fumble about 5 times while getting up to 350 carries per season, which is about 1 fumble every 70 carries or so. He will also give you about 30-40 receptions out of the backfield, which will help Campbell grow. Santana Moss is a proven commodity in the NFL, although I'm not so sure he is cut out to be a #1 receiver, like he is on the Redskins. He only caught 55 passes last year, gaining 790 yards and scoring 6 touchdowns. That simply won't be enough, especially considering that an unproven Brandon Lloyd is his sidekick and Antwaan Randle-El is the slot receiver. When the dust clears, this team is really no better than it was last season, as the front 7 on defense is way too unproven to give the secondary the support necessary at this level. Jason Campbell should improve this year, but probably won't end up being what everyone thinks he will be just yet. If Daniel Snyder would get rid of some of these overpaid receivers and draft a true star at wideout, or pick up an undervalued one through free agency next year, Campbell could make leaps and bounds. This group of wideouts isn't going to make him much better, nevermind a Pro Bowl QB.
Don't expect much out of this division this year, and odds are good that the Super Bowl champion won't be coming from here. The rivalries are always good (Philly-Dallas, Giants-Eagles, Giants-Cowboys, really any of them are big games) but the teams won't let the games live up to the hype. Hopefully they will exceed my expectations, but remember that those records above are being kind and are adjusted for the potential that each team carries. Get ready for a long season, NFC East fans, especially those in the New York area.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
What happened to the Complete Game?
There once was a time when there was no such thing as a bullpen; back when starting pitchers went the distance every time; back when Cy Young established records that nobody will ever touch in the history of baseball, such as his 511 career victories and 316 losses and 749 complete games. My, how baseball has changed, even in the past 30 years. While it's no record, Tom Seaver, who finished pitching in the 1980s, pitched 231 complete games. However, today's baseball is completely different than that of yesteryear. Just tonight, Roy Halladay threw a complete game, which raised his league-leading number this year to 5. That's right; the league leader has a whole 5 complete games. To put that into perspective, it's also greater than or equal to all but three entire TEAMS in baseball this year, and one of the three is his own Toronto Blue Jays. So the question to be answered is "What happened to the complete game?"
Well, for starters, the introduction of the closer began the demise of pitchers going the distance. Some of the earliest closers included Roy Face, Goose Gossage, Tug McGraw, and Gene Garber. These pitchers became closers mostly due to the fact that they weren't effective as starters and couldn't pitch at their best for extended periods of time, leading them to become relief pitchers. Even through this time, there were still many pitchers who completed games regularly, like the aforementioned Seaver and others such as Bert Blyleven, Bob Gibson, and Phil Niekro. However, that was rapidly changing, especially with the increasing use of the bullpen and "specialization" of relief pitchers, who are used for match-up purposes with hitters late in games. For those who don't know what "specialization" is, it's simply matching up a left-handed pitcher against a left-handed batter, or a right-handed pitcher against a right-handed batter, which historically favors the pitcher.
In any case, this use of the bullpen began the downhill spiral of starters frequently exiting in the 6th or 7th inning of games, even when they are pitching well. Combining this with the lowering of the mound in 1969, starters have pitched fewer and fewer innings as the years have progressed. Because of this, along with the introduction of free agency thanks to the infamous Curt Flood, statisticians developed a ridiculous statistic called "Quality Starts" in order to measure how many times a pitcher had a "Quality Start" throughout the year. Sure enough, pitchers started using this statistic in order to get organizations to pay them more money based on this statistic.
The statistic is not only stupid, but it's also one of the most ridiculous ideas I have ever heard of. First of all, the qualifications for a QS are unbelievable: 6 innings pitched and 3 earned runs or less. That's it. Back in the day, if you only pitched 6 innings every start, you were considered a reliever, and you would certainly not be a starter anywhere in baseball. Secondly, how could you arbitrarily say 3 runs is quality? What if he leaves after 6 innings, gave up 3 earned runs, and his team is losing 3-0? How can that be considered a quality performance if the team loses 3-0? If you meet the bare minimum qualifications for a QS every start, 35 in a year, you would have an ERA for the year of 4.50, which, even in today's game, doesn't qualify you for the top 20 in the league. In fact, based on this year's current statistics, a 4.50 ERA would put you 59th on the list of all major league pitchers, but you would probably be first in the QS category. A 4.50 ERA is by no means a good one for the year, as middle of the road pitchers usually hover in that area, certianly not "quality" ones.
To say the least, the standards of pitching in baseball have dropped dramatically throughout the years. One can make an argument that the increase in offense and mega-juiced superstars (cough, Barry Bonds, cough) over the years has played a role in the decreased role of the starting pitcher and the complete game, but at the same token, you cannot blame a severe drop on solely one thing. Fact is, pitchers don't come as they used to. They are not strong enough to pitch for longer periods of time, and don't have the "rubber" arms that those of history do. It's one reason that we may not see another 300-game winner in baseball history. The longer that a starting pitcher stays in the game, the more opportunities they have to win. Cy Young always pitched complete games, so he either won or lost depending on how he pitched, not anybody else. How would you feel if you started a project, did 7/9 of it, then had to give it to someone else to work on, then they handed it off to another person to finish it off? That's essentially what starting pitchers go through every time they are on the mound. They simply cannot go start to finish like they used to. As Cy Young once said "Pitch them once every three days and you'd find they'd get control and good, strong arms." Pitchers instead go every 5 games now, don't have the strength, and don't pile up the wins as a result. Keep in mind that the great Roger Clemens, who has been pitching seemingly forever, has 118 Complete Games, which by today's standards is some sort of record.
R.I.P. The Complete Game "They don't make them like they used to."
Well, for starters, the introduction of the closer began the demise of pitchers going the distance. Some of the earliest closers included Roy Face, Goose Gossage, Tug McGraw, and Gene Garber. These pitchers became closers mostly due to the fact that they weren't effective as starters and couldn't pitch at their best for extended periods of time, leading them to become relief pitchers. Even through this time, there were still many pitchers who completed games regularly, like the aforementioned Seaver and others such as Bert Blyleven, Bob Gibson, and Phil Niekro. However, that was rapidly changing, especially with the increasing use of the bullpen and "specialization" of relief pitchers, who are used for match-up purposes with hitters late in games. For those who don't know what "specialization" is, it's simply matching up a left-handed pitcher against a left-handed batter, or a right-handed pitcher against a right-handed batter, which historically favors the pitcher.
In any case, this use of the bullpen began the downhill spiral of starters frequently exiting in the 6th or 7th inning of games, even when they are pitching well. Combining this with the lowering of the mound in 1969, starters have pitched fewer and fewer innings as the years have progressed. Because of this, along with the introduction of free agency thanks to the infamous Curt Flood, statisticians developed a ridiculous statistic called "Quality Starts" in order to measure how many times a pitcher had a "Quality Start" throughout the year. Sure enough, pitchers started using this statistic in order to get organizations to pay them more money based on this statistic.
The statistic is not only stupid, but it's also one of the most ridiculous ideas I have ever heard of. First of all, the qualifications for a QS are unbelievable: 6 innings pitched and 3 earned runs or less. That's it. Back in the day, if you only pitched 6 innings every start, you were considered a reliever, and you would certainly not be a starter anywhere in baseball. Secondly, how could you arbitrarily say 3 runs is quality? What if he leaves after 6 innings, gave up 3 earned runs, and his team is losing 3-0? How can that be considered a quality performance if the team loses 3-0? If you meet the bare minimum qualifications for a QS every start, 35 in a year, you would have an ERA for the year of 4.50, which, even in today's game, doesn't qualify you for the top 20 in the league. In fact, based on this year's current statistics, a 4.50 ERA would put you 59th on the list of all major league pitchers, but you would probably be first in the QS category. A 4.50 ERA is by no means a good one for the year, as middle of the road pitchers usually hover in that area, certianly not "quality" ones.
To say the least, the standards of pitching in baseball have dropped dramatically throughout the years. One can make an argument that the increase in offense and mega-juiced superstars (cough, Barry Bonds, cough) over the years has played a role in the decreased role of the starting pitcher and the complete game, but at the same token, you cannot blame a severe drop on solely one thing. Fact is, pitchers don't come as they used to. They are not strong enough to pitch for longer periods of time, and don't have the "rubber" arms that those of history do. It's one reason that we may not see another 300-game winner in baseball history. The longer that a starting pitcher stays in the game, the more opportunities they have to win. Cy Young always pitched complete games, so he either won or lost depending on how he pitched, not anybody else. How would you feel if you started a project, did 7/9 of it, then had to give it to someone else to work on, then they handed it off to another person to finish it off? That's essentially what starting pitchers go through every time they are on the mound. They simply cannot go start to finish like they used to. As Cy Young once said "Pitch them once every three days and you'd find they'd get control and good, strong arms." Pitchers instead go every 5 games now, don't have the strength, and don't pile up the wins as a result. Keep in mind that the great Roger Clemens, who has been pitching seemingly forever, has 118 Complete Games, which by today's standards is some sort of record.
R.I.P. The Complete Game "They don't make them like they used to."
Sunday, August 12, 2007
The Steelers, Mascots, and Pencils
Yes, I am well aware that the title makes absolutely no sense, but that is exactly the point of this. Some stuff in life is just ridiculous, and three of them just happened to occur in the past few weeks. First, and certainly foremost, what are the Pittsburgh Steelers thinking?! In case you haven't heard, they recently introduced a team mascot, which they named Steely McBeam. As if it wasn't bad enough that they decided to get a mascot, they decided to name it Steely McBeam. That's right. Steely McBeam. I promise. It's ridiculous. First of all, why would the Steelers get a mascot? They are one of the most decorated football franchises, have blue-collar fans, have always been about hard-nosed football, and now they decide that they need to shmooze up to the young kids at the games. Is it just me or is that completely asinine? The Steelers are way too good for this. The NFL is supposed to be a "tough guy" league, promotes violence (hitting people, not shooting people, although the players seem to do a lot of that too), and the Steelers have always had those "tough guy" teams, thanks to Bill Cowher and his no-nonsense approach, which of course lead them to a championship just two years ago. Yet now, they decided to become more of a Mickey Mouse franchise and get a stupid mascot and give it a ridiculous name. Oh he also looks ridiculous, just look here. Just a sample of who else has mascots and what their names are:
Carolina Panthers (Sir Purr)
Detroit Lions (Roary the Lion)
Buffalo Bills (Billy Buffalo)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Captain Fear)
Philadelphia Eagles (Swoop)
and my personal favorite:
Chicago Bears (Staley Da Bear) (note: I have never seen this one before, but it has Da Bear, and you hace to love that SNL skit)
Seriously Pittsburgh, what were you thinking? You have joined the likes of some of the worst teams in the NFL, and some of the least successful franchises in football with a mascot. It's a joke. Leave mascots for the NBA or Nascar or something like that. And I know some of you will jump on my case for the Mets having a mascot, but Mr. Met was the first baseball mascot out there, and at least he has a name that is respectable.
Speaking of MLB mascots, did anyone see The Mariner Moose nearly run over Coco Crisp of the Boston Red Sox on August 5th? If you haven't, here is the YouTube of it. The Moose seems to be driving a little fast, doesn't he? They don't have speed limits on those warning tracks? And does the mascot not see Coco coming out of the dugout? That's one of the first things you learn in Drivers Ed; make sure you look for people running out in front of the vehicle to get a ball or a dog or something, and yet the Moose ignores the rules of driving. I'm surprised Coco didn't punch him out or something to that effect, considering the Moose almost ended his season. Who knows what's going on inside the head of that Moose.
On the thought of things being inside your head, I seriously nearly fell off my chair when I read this article. A 59-year old German woman had a pencil inside of her head for 55 years. Yeah, just like Homer Simpson, except this is real life. Apparently she fell on a pencil when she was 4 and it lodged in her head and they didn't remove it until she was 59. Two things to say about this: 1) Why haven't we heard of this woman before?? Does she not understand that if you have something ridiculous like that you go to the press and let everyone in the world know you have a pencil in your head? I mean really, not only will you become ridiculously famous for living with a pencil in your head, but people will also probably send you money to get it out of your head, and millions of Americans with nothing better to do will come up with a "Save Margaret" campaign so that the taxpayers can waste more money on things that have no affect on our lives. You can get free surgery AND waste America's money, which we know all Europeans would love for us to do. 2nd point: Why would you ever live with a pencil in your head for 55 years? Wouldn't you figure you would have tried, say, 20 years ago, to get rid of it? I mean really that's 35 years of constant headaches and nosebleeds. I don't like getting 2 headaches in a week, never mind everyday for 55 years. I would probably try to take it out myself instead of living that long with a pencil in my head. Just ridiculous.
Clearly I am lacking quality news to write about at the moment, so if you have any ideas that don't involve the stumbling Mets or the horrific New York Giants, send them my way and you may very well see a post about something relevant. Like Penn State football. Go Lions.
Carolina Panthers (Sir Purr)
Detroit Lions (Roary the Lion)
Buffalo Bills (Billy Buffalo)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Captain Fear)
Philadelphia Eagles (Swoop)
and my personal favorite:
Chicago Bears (Staley Da Bear) (note: I have never seen this one before, but it has Da Bear, and you hace to love that SNL skit)
Seriously Pittsburgh, what were you thinking? You have joined the likes of some of the worst teams in the NFL, and some of the least successful franchises in football with a mascot. It's a joke. Leave mascots for the NBA or Nascar or something like that. And I know some of you will jump on my case for the Mets having a mascot, but Mr. Met was the first baseball mascot out there, and at least he has a name that is respectable.
Speaking of MLB mascots, did anyone see The Mariner Moose nearly run over Coco Crisp of the Boston Red Sox on August 5th? If you haven't, here is the YouTube of it. The Moose seems to be driving a little fast, doesn't he? They don't have speed limits on those warning tracks? And does the mascot not see Coco coming out of the dugout? That's one of the first things you learn in Drivers Ed; make sure you look for people running out in front of the vehicle to get a ball or a dog or something, and yet the Moose ignores the rules of driving. I'm surprised Coco didn't punch him out or something to that effect, considering the Moose almost ended his season. Who knows what's going on inside the head of that Moose.
On the thought of things being inside your head, I seriously nearly fell off my chair when I read this article. A 59-year old German woman had a pencil inside of her head for 55 years. Yeah, just like Homer Simpson, except this is real life. Apparently she fell on a pencil when she was 4 and it lodged in her head and they didn't remove it until she was 59. Two things to say about this: 1) Why haven't we heard of this woman before?? Does she not understand that if you have something ridiculous like that you go to the press and let everyone in the world know you have a pencil in your head? I mean really, not only will you become ridiculously famous for living with a pencil in your head, but people will also probably send you money to get it out of your head, and millions of Americans with nothing better to do will come up with a "Save Margaret" campaign so that the taxpayers can waste more money on things that have no affect on our lives. You can get free surgery AND waste America's money, which we know all Europeans would love for us to do. 2nd point: Why would you ever live with a pencil in your head for 55 years? Wouldn't you figure you would have tried, say, 20 years ago, to get rid of it? I mean really that's 35 years of constant headaches and nosebleeds. I don't like getting 2 headaches in a week, never mind everyday for 55 years. I would probably try to take it out myself instead of living that long with a pencil in my head. Just ridiculous.
Clearly I am lacking quality news to write about at the moment, so if you have any ideas that don't involve the stumbling Mets or the horrific New York Giants, send them my way and you may very well see a post about something relevant. Like Penn State football. Go Lions.
Friday, August 10, 2007
The Great Larry Doby
Tonight, the Yankees are in Cleveland to start up a 3 game series with the Indians which marks the beginning of a tough stretch of games for the Bronx Bombers. I'll discuss the Yanks schedule at another time, but for now I want to recognize one of the more underrated players in baseball history - Larry Doby. The Indians will honor the Hall of Famer tonight by having all players wear his retired #14. The jerseys will later be auctioned for charity.
Larry Doby, simply put, was the Jackie Robinson of the American League. While Jackie was the first African American player in the major leagues, debuting on April 15, 1947, Doby became the first African American player in American League history July 5 of that same year. While Doby wasn't exactly Robinson - let's face it, not many people in history were as good as Jackie was - he was certainly worthy of his induction into the Hall of Fame in 1998.
Larry was a local legend here in New Jersey, becoming a star athlete in Paterson before joining the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues in 1942 at the ripe age of 17. After a brief 2-year stint in the Navy, he rejoined the Eagles in 1946 before being signed to the Indians in 1947. In his first full season in the major leagues in 1948, Doby hit .301 with 14 home runs and 66 RBI, scoring 83 runs while becoming an important piece on Cleveland's World Series-winning team. However, his next season began his rise to stardom, as he hit .280 with 24 home runs and 85 RBI while scoring 106 runs, earning his first All Star selection. He continued his barrage on American League pitching over the next few years, highlighted by his 1950 season in which he hit .326 with 25 home runs and 102 RBI while scoring 110 runs, which helped him finish 8th in the MVP voting that year. However, his greatest year was 1954, when he hit .272, crushed 32 home runs and had a career-high 126 RBI, all while scoring 94 runs, as he finished a close 2nd in the MVP voting for that season to Yogi Berra of the Yankees, who hit .307 with 22 home runs and 125 RBI. Doby's 1954 season lead the Indians to 111 regular season wins, which was the AL record at the time. They lost to the New York Giants in that World Series, which had one of the most remarkable plays of all time- "The Catch" by Willie Mays (remember, the one where he runs really far back and makes the over the shoulder catch that every fan has seen at least once in their lifetime?).
Doby would go on to become a 7-time All Star, all between 1949 and 1956, would lead the league in home runs in 1952 and 1954, in RBI in 1954, in runs in 1952, in On-Base Percentage in 1950, in Slugging Percentage in 1952, and in On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage (OPS) in 1950.
For his career, Doby hit .283 with 253 home runs and 970 RBI, played in 1,533 games, and is one of the few players in history to have both hit for the cycle and slugged 3 home runs in a single game. He went on to become the manager for the Chicago White Sox in 1978, ironically he was also the second black manager in the history of baseball (preceded only by Frank Robinson, who became the manager of the Cleveland Indians in 1975. Also an ironic note, Doby was hired as the manager by the same man who signed him to his first major league contract, Bill Veeck.
Doby passed in 2003 in Montclair, NJ, ending his life in the same state and area that he made himself a star. He was truly one of the great men of baseball, as he once said "I went through everything Jackie did" (Referencing the hatred and prejudice experienced by Robinson in Brooklyn) "It just didn't get as much attention, mainly because Jack was the first but also because of where he was, in New York. That was OK by me. I just wanted to play the game. That's all I ever cared about."
Much like Willie Mays this year in San Francisco, Doby threw out the first pitch at the 1997 All-Star game in Cleveland, the 50th anniversary of his entrance into the major leagues. He was one of the most unappreciated players in baseball history, as he didn't get voted into the Hall of Fame by the media, instead being elected by the Veteran's Committee in 1998, which was long overdue. Doby's contributions to the game of baseball paralleled those of Jackie Robinson, except he was the second black player in baseball, and didn't get the attention that Robinson did. However, we as sports fans cannot overlook Doby's contributions and stellar play. Instead, we must celebrate it like the Indians do, and will tonight. Not only was he one of the best players in history, but he was also one of the most important, and one of the friendliest around, unlike a certain someone I wrote about in my first real post. If you get the chance, learn more about Larry Doby and his career and celebrate with the Indians tonight as they honor one of baseball's greats.
#14 in our hearts and minds forever
Larry Doby, simply put, was the Jackie Robinson of the American League. While Jackie was the first African American player in the major leagues, debuting on April 15, 1947, Doby became the first African American player in American League history July 5 of that same year. While Doby wasn't exactly Robinson - let's face it, not many people in history were as good as Jackie was - he was certainly worthy of his induction into the Hall of Fame in 1998.
Larry was a local legend here in New Jersey, becoming a star athlete in Paterson before joining the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues in 1942 at the ripe age of 17. After a brief 2-year stint in the Navy, he rejoined the Eagles in 1946 before being signed to the Indians in 1947. In his first full season in the major leagues in 1948, Doby hit .301 with 14 home runs and 66 RBI, scoring 83 runs while becoming an important piece on Cleveland's World Series-winning team. However, his next season began his rise to stardom, as he hit .280 with 24 home runs and 85 RBI while scoring 106 runs, earning his first All Star selection. He continued his barrage on American League pitching over the next few years, highlighted by his 1950 season in which he hit .326 with 25 home runs and 102 RBI while scoring 110 runs, which helped him finish 8th in the MVP voting that year. However, his greatest year was 1954, when he hit .272, crushed 32 home runs and had a career-high 126 RBI, all while scoring 94 runs, as he finished a close 2nd in the MVP voting for that season to Yogi Berra of the Yankees, who hit .307 with 22 home runs and 125 RBI. Doby's 1954 season lead the Indians to 111 regular season wins, which was the AL record at the time. They lost to the New York Giants in that World Series, which had one of the most remarkable plays of all time- "The Catch" by Willie Mays (remember, the one where he runs really far back and makes the over the shoulder catch that every fan has seen at least once in their lifetime?).
Doby would go on to become a 7-time All Star, all between 1949 and 1956, would lead the league in home runs in 1952 and 1954, in RBI in 1954, in runs in 1952, in On-Base Percentage in 1950, in Slugging Percentage in 1952, and in On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage (OPS) in 1950.
For his career, Doby hit .283 with 253 home runs and 970 RBI, played in 1,533 games, and is one of the few players in history to have both hit for the cycle and slugged 3 home runs in a single game. He went on to become the manager for the Chicago White Sox in 1978, ironically he was also the second black manager in the history of baseball (preceded only by Frank Robinson, who became the manager of the Cleveland Indians in 1975. Also an ironic note, Doby was hired as the manager by the same man who signed him to his first major league contract, Bill Veeck.
Doby passed in 2003 in Montclair, NJ, ending his life in the same state and area that he made himself a star. He was truly one of the great men of baseball, as he once said "I went through everything Jackie did" (Referencing the hatred and prejudice experienced by Robinson in Brooklyn) "It just didn't get as much attention, mainly because Jack was the first but also because of where he was, in New York. That was OK by me. I just wanted to play the game. That's all I ever cared about."
Much like Willie Mays this year in San Francisco, Doby threw out the first pitch at the 1997 All-Star game in Cleveland, the 50th anniversary of his entrance into the major leagues. He was one of the most unappreciated players in baseball history, as he didn't get voted into the Hall of Fame by the media, instead being elected by the Veteran's Committee in 1998, which was long overdue. Doby's contributions to the game of baseball paralleled those of Jackie Robinson, except he was the second black player in baseball, and didn't get the attention that Robinson did. However, we as sports fans cannot overlook Doby's contributions and stellar play. Instead, we must celebrate it like the Indians do, and will tonight. Not only was he one of the best players in history, but he was also one of the most important, and one of the friendliest around, unlike a certain someone I wrote about in my first real post. If you get the chance, learn more about Larry Doby and his career and celebrate with the Indians tonight as they honor one of baseball's greats.
#14 in our hearts and minds forever
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Mets-Braves 2007
Best series in baseball this week? No, it wasn't Washington-San Francisco, or Toronto-New York Yankees, or even Boston-LA Angels (although that would sure give it a run). Instead it was the Mets-Braves series which rightfully stole the spotlight with dramatic home runs and shaky 9th inning leads that weren't safe until the final out. Once again, it seems that the Braves and Mets will be dueling it out until the final week of the regular season to see who will be crowned the NL East champions and earn the right to go to the playoffs, which is no guarantee for the loser with the stiff competition rising in the NL West and the battle atop the NL Central between the Brewers and America's sweethearts, the Cubs.
As has been the case all year, these two teams went toe to toe for 3 thrilling games and played almost to a draw, but of course someone has to come out victorious. Unfortunately, once again it was the Braves, for the 8th time in 12 games this year. Much of the New York media has jumped on the Mets backs for not being able to beat those hated Braves this year, and many are wondering aloud just how good the Mets are and if the Braves are truly better than the Mets. Well, I am here to dispel those rumors and re instill confidence in the fans of Los Mets.
For starters, it's not time to panic because we still have a 3.5 game lead in the division. Even if Atlanta wins 2 out of 3 in each of the next two series, it could still mean nothing if the Mets keep playing the way they are capable and win more than Atlanta outside of those games. Just because we have lost 8 of 12 to the Braves doesn't mean we aren't a good team, considering we can still win the division. I don't know about everyone else, but I will gladly take a division title over just beating the Braves. Also, it's not necessarily true that the Braves are "so much better" than the Mets, which is what a lot of people have been saying on TV and on WFAN, the New York sports radio station. In the 12 games the teams have played against each other so far, the Braves have outscored the Mets by a whole 6 runs. That's 1/2 a run a game. That's nothing. And look at how the games have really gone this year.
First series - April 6-8
1st game: Mets win 11-1. Oliver Perez dominates, Mets offense rips the Atlanta pitching staff.
2nd game: Braves win 5-3. Smoltz kills the Mets again, Glavine once again can't beat his old team, but was victimized by shoddy defense behind him. Delgado's first inning error lead to a run, and a Shawn Green dropped fly ball lead to two more unearned runs. So while Glavine gave up 5 runs and ended up with the loss, he only gave up 2 earned runs, which is certainly good enough for a victory. Naturally, Green came up with the tying runs on base in the 9th and promptly lined out to end the game.
3rd game: Braves win 3-2. Aaron Heilman blew a 2-1 lead in the 8th inning by giving up doubles to Brian McCann and Jeff Franceour, the newest Met-killer in a Brave uniform.
In reality, that first series could have been a Mets sweep, but because of bad defense, untimely hitting, and a poor bullpen appearance by Heilman, it resulted in a series loss.
Second series - April 20-22
1st game: Braves win 7-3. Tim Hudson dominated and Mike Pelfrey, who isn't on the active roster anymore, was roughed up. 'Nuff said.
2nd game: Mets win 7-2. Mets break it open with 5 runs in the 5th and 6th and Ollie gives a strong start to earn his second victory of the year against the Braves.
3rd game: Braves win 9-6. Glavine pitches well and gives a 6-3 lead to the bullpen, only to have Heilman blow another game against the Braves by giving up a 3-run home run in the 7th, and watch Scott Schoeneweis give up another 3-run homer in the 8th inning to lose.
Mets played well enough to win, but another bad bullpen showing results in another series loss which the Mets had a legit chance of winning.
Third series - May 22-24
1st game: Braves win 8-1. Just like the first game of the season, just the other way around. Braves dominate and even Kyle Davies, the Braves pitcher, hits a home run.
2nd game: Mets win 3-0. Ollie once again proves he can pitch in the big games, throwing 7 innings of shutout ball. Remember this game? This is the one in which Delgado was moved to 6th in the order to try and shake him from that slump, which was followed by a monster series in Florida, which everyone thought was the coming out party for him. Also of note, David Wright hit his 4th home run in 4 games in this one, which was his 8th of the season and of May, which got him rolling in the "right" direction for the season.
3rd game: Braves win 2-1. Just like the 1990s, Smoltz dominates the Mets, who stranded the tying run, Carlos Gomez - remember him? - at 3rd in the 9th inning as they once again couldn't push the tying run across late.
Another close series that could have gone either way in the 3rd game, but the Braves once again found a way to win it to steal another series from the boys of Queens.
Fourth series - August 7-9
1st game: Braves win 7-3. Atlanta finally solved the puzzle named Oliver Perez and the Mets simply couldn't continue the comeback after scoring 3 runs between the 4th and 5th innings. Moises Alou grounded into 2 rally-killing double plays to end threats and really set the Mets back.
2nd game: Mets win 4-3. Alou redeems himself for the night before by hitting the game-winning home run in the 8th. El Duque pitched masterfully, except the 6th inning, but had to get off the hook with a clutch Luis Castillo broken-bat bloop single in the 7th inning. Billy the Kid almost blew it in the 9th, but wriggled out of a bases loaded-no out jam with the save.
3rd game: Braves win 7-6. As you know, Maine got tagged for 6 runs, and the Braves built a 7-3 lead going into the 9th. It could have been different though, had it not been for Willy Harris' defense in the first inning, robbing Alou of a certain extra-base hit that would have scored two and put the Mets well in front. After closing to 7-6 on a David Wright home run, Harris once again made an impact by absolutely robbing Carlos Delgado of the game-tying home run (a-la Endy Chavez, but without the playoffs and national spot light, and really not as good a catch, but it kind of reminded me of it) and the Braves escaped with the victory.
Once again, a few things here or there could have shifted this series either way, but that is why they play the game. Mets could have easily taken 2 of 3, and could have swept if Alou didn't kill rallies in the first game with double play grounders. But, alas, we lost again.
Now time to throw some stats at you to prove that the Mets and Braves are pretty evenly matched teams, in case those game synopses didn't do it for you already. As a lineup, the Mets offense has scored 526 runs (6th in the NL) compared to the Braves 565 (3rd); hit 117 home runs (7th) to the Braves 118 (6th); has a batting average of .272 (5th) to the Braves .279 (1st); has struck out 709 times (3rd best) to the Braves 811 (4th worst); have walked 366 times (8th) to the Braves 369 (7th); and have stolen 138 bases (1st by far) to the Braves 56 (11th) (Jose Reyes himself has 54 steals, almost equaling the entire Braves squad).
Yes, the Braves now have Mark Teixiera, who certainly makes their lineup that much better, but when you think about it, the Mets haven't had their full lineup out there since early May, when Alou and Valentin got injured. At that time, the Mets were still scoring, even though Wright and Delgado hadn't come around just yet. When Beltran finally returns, if he can be what he was last year and Alou can stay off the DL, you have a very potent lineup that will be able to go right up with the Braves.
Now on to pitching, the strength of Los Mets. As a team, the Mets staff boasts a 3.88 ERA (2nd in the NL) to the Braves 4.13 (7th); they have thrown 9 shutouts (2nd) to the Braves 5 (6th); the starters have pitched 66 Quality Starts (1st) to the Braves 58 (7th); They have struck out 764 batters (7th) to the Braves 760 (8th); have a Batting Average Against of .242 (1st) to the Braves .262 (7th); have only blown 6 saves (the least) to the Braves 13 (10th); and have given up 116 home runs (6th) to the Braves 109 (11th). Clearly, the Mets have a strong upper hand here, which could be partially due to the fact that they play in Shea Stadium, a pitcher's paradise. Although, if you make that argument, you must also apply it to the batting statistics which are always better for the Mets on the road.
The Mets starting rotation of Glavine, El Duque, Maine, Perez, and (fill in the blank before Pedro returns) is much better than the shallow one the Braves throw out of Smoltz, Hudson, Chuck James, Lance Cormier, and Buddy Carlyle. That's not even close. And while offense wins games, as the Mets know, pitching wins championships, and the Mets have by far a better rotation, which will only improve with the addition of Pedro.
As for the bullpen, let's compare.
Closer: Billy Wagner vs. Bob Wickman. Is this even a question? Wagner is having the best season of his career, although he isn't getting the save opportunities. He is absolutely shutting the door on everyone this year, and the fact that he had trouble the other night was shocking.
Set-up men: Pedro Feliciano vs. Octavio Dotel. I put Feliciano here because, quite frankly, he is the most trusted arm back there outside of Billy Wagner. Dotel was a great addition by the Braves, but they haven't come to trust him just yet (see today's game... where was he???) so we will give the edge to the Mets lefty.
Others:
Aaron Heilman vs Ron Mahay. What to make of Aaron Heilman? Is he the pitcher with the devastating fastball-changeup combo who makes quick work of the Braves on Wednesday night? Or is he the dud who blew two games against them earlier in the year? This is a coin flip depending on which Heilman shows up. Mahay is having an unbelievable year, and just showed the Mets what his capabilities are. Slight edge to the Braves southpaw for consistency.
Jorge Sosa, Aaron Sele, Scott Schoeneweis, and Guillermo Mota vs. Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano, Oscar Villareal, and Tyler Yates. While these may not be the stars or the best, the Mets have a clear edge here, regardless of what you think of SS and Mota.
Some quick stats on the bullpens: Mets bullpen has an ERA of 3.40 (2nd in the NL) to the Braves 3.76 (6th); the Mets pen has a Batting Average Against of .239 (3rd) to the Braves .250 (8th); and the Mets pen has also given up a paltry 128 walks (4th best) to the Braves 162 (3rd worst). Clearly the bullpen edge goes to the Mets, and as we know, they become a huge factor down the stretch when the starters are tiring and in October, when every appearance matters.
The Mets also have a stellar defense, while the Braves has been inconsistent at best so far this year. The Mets have committed only 61 errors, which is 4th best in the NL, while the Braves have committed 81, 6th most. The Mets fielders have a Fielding Percentage of .985, 5th best, to the braves .981, 11th best. If you recall last year's World Series, the Tigers shot themselves in the foot with costly errors, which ultimately lead them to lose the World Series.
Don't get down Mets fans. All four series have been tight battles, and you can expect the final 6 games between these teams to be the same. Year after year, they slug it out against each other and they always provide a thrill, which is why it's a rivalry. This is how the Yankees and Red Sox became big rivals. Big games plus close games plus drama equals rivalry. Rivalries equal great baseball and exciting baseball, which is why we watch. The Mets and Braves are closer than you think. 8 out of 12 seems bad at first glance, but when you go inside the games and see how the Mets have lost/how the Braves have won, you realize it's not as bad as it may seem. The Mets pitching will only improve when Pedro returns, which will give them an even greater edge over the Braves in that category, and you can certainly hope that the return of Carlos Beltran will finally spark the Mets offense to what it was in 2006 as one of the best in the business. Don't give up on this team. They are still winning this year, much like last year, but they are winning in different ways and the competition is much better than it was. The Mets are still the best team in the National League according to the standings, and you should feel confident that once September and October come, and this team is at full strength, they can dominate once again.
As has been the case all year, these two teams went toe to toe for 3 thrilling games and played almost to a draw, but of course someone has to come out victorious. Unfortunately, once again it was the Braves, for the 8th time in 12 games this year. Much of the New York media has jumped on the Mets backs for not being able to beat those hated Braves this year, and many are wondering aloud just how good the Mets are and if the Braves are truly better than the Mets. Well, I am here to dispel those rumors and re instill confidence in the fans of Los Mets.
For starters, it's not time to panic because we still have a 3.5 game lead in the division. Even if Atlanta wins 2 out of 3 in each of the next two series, it could still mean nothing if the Mets keep playing the way they are capable and win more than Atlanta outside of those games. Just because we have lost 8 of 12 to the Braves doesn't mean we aren't a good team, considering we can still win the division. I don't know about everyone else, but I will gladly take a division title over just beating the Braves. Also, it's not necessarily true that the Braves are "so much better" than the Mets, which is what a lot of people have been saying on TV and on WFAN, the New York sports radio station. In the 12 games the teams have played against each other so far, the Braves have outscored the Mets by a whole 6 runs. That's 1/2 a run a game. That's nothing. And look at how the games have really gone this year.
First series - April 6-8
1st game: Mets win 11-1. Oliver Perez dominates, Mets offense rips the Atlanta pitching staff.
2nd game: Braves win 5-3. Smoltz kills the Mets again, Glavine once again can't beat his old team, but was victimized by shoddy defense behind him. Delgado's first inning error lead to a run, and a Shawn Green dropped fly ball lead to two more unearned runs. So while Glavine gave up 5 runs and ended up with the loss, he only gave up 2 earned runs, which is certainly good enough for a victory. Naturally, Green came up with the tying runs on base in the 9th and promptly lined out to end the game.
3rd game: Braves win 3-2. Aaron Heilman blew a 2-1 lead in the 8th inning by giving up doubles to Brian McCann and Jeff Franceour, the newest Met-killer in a Brave uniform.
In reality, that first series could have been a Mets sweep, but because of bad defense, untimely hitting, and a poor bullpen appearance by Heilman, it resulted in a series loss.
Second series - April 20-22
1st game: Braves win 7-3. Tim Hudson dominated and Mike Pelfrey, who isn't on the active roster anymore, was roughed up. 'Nuff said.
2nd game: Mets win 7-2. Mets break it open with 5 runs in the 5th and 6th and Ollie gives a strong start to earn his second victory of the year against the Braves.
3rd game: Braves win 9-6. Glavine pitches well and gives a 6-3 lead to the bullpen, only to have Heilman blow another game against the Braves by giving up a 3-run home run in the 7th, and watch Scott Schoeneweis give up another 3-run homer in the 8th inning to lose.
Mets played well enough to win, but another bad bullpen showing results in another series loss which the Mets had a legit chance of winning.
Third series - May 22-24
1st game: Braves win 8-1. Just like the first game of the season, just the other way around. Braves dominate and even Kyle Davies, the Braves pitcher, hits a home run.
2nd game: Mets win 3-0. Ollie once again proves he can pitch in the big games, throwing 7 innings of shutout ball. Remember this game? This is the one in which Delgado was moved to 6th in the order to try and shake him from that slump, which was followed by a monster series in Florida, which everyone thought was the coming out party for him. Also of note, David Wright hit his 4th home run in 4 games in this one, which was his 8th of the season and of May, which got him rolling in the "right" direction for the season.
3rd game: Braves win 2-1. Just like the 1990s, Smoltz dominates the Mets, who stranded the tying run, Carlos Gomez - remember him? - at 3rd in the 9th inning as they once again couldn't push the tying run across late.
Another close series that could have gone either way in the 3rd game, but the Braves once again found a way to win it to steal another series from the boys of Queens.
Fourth series - August 7-9
1st game: Braves win 7-3. Atlanta finally solved the puzzle named Oliver Perez and the Mets simply couldn't continue the comeback after scoring 3 runs between the 4th and 5th innings. Moises Alou grounded into 2 rally-killing double plays to end threats and really set the Mets back.
2nd game: Mets win 4-3. Alou redeems himself for the night before by hitting the game-winning home run in the 8th. El Duque pitched masterfully, except the 6th inning, but had to get off the hook with a clutch Luis Castillo broken-bat bloop single in the 7th inning. Billy the Kid almost blew it in the 9th, but wriggled out of a bases loaded-no out jam with the save.
3rd game: Braves win 7-6. As you know, Maine got tagged for 6 runs, and the Braves built a 7-3 lead going into the 9th. It could have been different though, had it not been for Willy Harris' defense in the first inning, robbing Alou of a certain extra-base hit that would have scored two and put the Mets well in front. After closing to 7-6 on a David Wright home run, Harris once again made an impact by absolutely robbing Carlos Delgado of the game-tying home run (a-la Endy Chavez, but without the playoffs and national spot light, and really not as good a catch, but it kind of reminded me of it) and the Braves escaped with the victory.
Once again, a few things here or there could have shifted this series either way, but that is why they play the game. Mets could have easily taken 2 of 3, and could have swept if Alou didn't kill rallies in the first game with double play grounders. But, alas, we lost again.
Now time to throw some stats at you to prove that the Mets and Braves are pretty evenly matched teams, in case those game synopses didn't do it for you already. As a lineup, the Mets offense has scored 526 runs (6th in the NL) compared to the Braves 565 (3rd); hit 117 home runs (7th) to the Braves 118 (6th); has a batting average of .272 (5th) to the Braves .279 (1st); has struck out 709 times (3rd best) to the Braves 811 (4th worst); have walked 366 times (8th) to the Braves 369 (7th); and have stolen 138 bases (1st by far) to the Braves 56 (11th) (Jose Reyes himself has 54 steals, almost equaling the entire Braves squad).
Yes, the Braves now have Mark Teixiera, who certainly makes their lineup that much better, but when you think about it, the Mets haven't had their full lineup out there since early May, when Alou and Valentin got injured. At that time, the Mets were still scoring, even though Wright and Delgado hadn't come around just yet. When Beltran finally returns, if he can be what he was last year and Alou can stay off the DL, you have a very potent lineup that will be able to go right up with the Braves.
Now on to pitching, the strength of Los Mets. As a team, the Mets staff boasts a 3.88 ERA (2nd in the NL) to the Braves 4.13 (7th); they have thrown 9 shutouts (2nd) to the Braves 5 (6th); the starters have pitched 66 Quality Starts (1st) to the Braves 58 (7th); They have struck out 764 batters (7th) to the Braves 760 (8th); have a Batting Average Against of .242 (1st) to the Braves .262 (7th); have only blown 6 saves (the least) to the Braves 13 (10th); and have given up 116 home runs (6th) to the Braves 109 (11th). Clearly, the Mets have a strong upper hand here, which could be partially due to the fact that they play in Shea Stadium, a pitcher's paradise. Although, if you make that argument, you must also apply it to the batting statistics which are always better for the Mets on the road.
The Mets starting rotation of Glavine, El Duque, Maine, Perez, and (fill in the blank before Pedro returns) is much better than the shallow one the Braves throw out of Smoltz, Hudson, Chuck James, Lance Cormier, and Buddy Carlyle. That's not even close. And while offense wins games, as the Mets know, pitching wins championships, and the Mets have by far a better rotation, which will only improve with the addition of Pedro.
As for the bullpen, let's compare.
Closer: Billy Wagner vs. Bob Wickman. Is this even a question? Wagner is having the best season of his career, although he isn't getting the save opportunities. He is absolutely shutting the door on everyone this year, and the fact that he had trouble the other night was shocking.
Set-up men: Pedro Feliciano vs. Octavio Dotel. I put Feliciano here because, quite frankly, he is the most trusted arm back there outside of Billy Wagner. Dotel was a great addition by the Braves, but they haven't come to trust him just yet (see today's game... where was he???) so we will give the edge to the Mets lefty.
Others:
Aaron Heilman vs Ron Mahay. What to make of Aaron Heilman? Is he the pitcher with the devastating fastball-changeup combo who makes quick work of the Braves on Wednesday night? Or is he the dud who blew two games against them earlier in the year? This is a coin flip depending on which Heilman shows up. Mahay is having an unbelievable year, and just showed the Mets what his capabilities are. Slight edge to the Braves southpaw for consistency.
Jorge Sosa, Aaron Sele, Scott Schoeneweis, and Guillermo Mota vs. Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano, Oscar Villareal, and Tyler Yates. While these may not be the stars or the best, the Mets have a clear edge here, regardless of what you think of SS and Mota.
Some quick stats on the bullpens: Mets bullpen has an ERA of 3.40 (2nd in the NL) to the Braves 3.76 (6th); the Mets pen has a Batting Average Against of .239 (3rd) to the Braves .250 (8th); and the Mets pen has also given up a paltry 128 walks (4th best) to the Braves 162 (3rd worst). Clearly the bullpen edge goes to the Mets, and as we know, they become a huge factor down the stretch when the starters are tiring and in October, when every appearance matters.
The Mets also have a stellar defense, while the Braves has been inconsistent at best so far this year. The Mets have committed only 61 errors, which is 4th best in the NL, while the Braves have committed 81, 6th most. The Mets fielders have a Fielding Percentage of .985, 5th best, to the braves .981, 11th best. If you recall last year's World Series, the Tigers shot themselves in the foot with costly errors, which ultimately lead them to lose the World Series.
Don't get down Mets fans. All four series have been tight battles, and you can expect the final 6 games between these teams to be the same. Year after year, they slug it out against each other and they always provide a thrill, which is why it's a rivalry. This is how the Yankees and Red Sox became big rivals. Big games plus close games plus drama equals rivalry. Rivalries equal great baseball and exciting baseball, which is why we watch. The Mets and Braves are closer than you think. 8 out of 12 seems bad at first glance, but when you go inside the games and see how the Mets have lost/how the Braves have won, you realize it's not as bad as it may seem. The Mets pitching will only improve when Pedro returns, which will give them an even greater edge over the Braves in that category, and you can certainly hope that the return of Carlos Beltran will finally spark the Mets offense to what it was in 2006 as one of the best in the business. Don't give up on this team. They are still winning this year, much like last year, but they are winning in different ways and the competition is much better than it was. The Mets are still the best team in the National League according to the standings, and you should feel confident that once September and October come, and this team is at full strength, they can dominate once again.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Bonds, 756, and its place in history
First off, I would like to congratulate Barry Bonds for breaking the all-time home run record last night, which is a tremendous accomplishment regardless of the questions that may come up about his past. The fact is, he was a great player before he came under question, and simply became superhuman after that. Now, am I the biggest supporter of Barry Bonds? Absolutely not. I dislike what he represents and what he has done to the integrity of baseball. However, there have also been many other players who cheated as well and have not been punished in the public eye as much as Barry has. That being said, this is in no way a post in which I will be forgiving Barry for his past mistakes, nor am I going to accuse players of taking steroids who have not been proven guilty. We can think what we want about these players and come up with our own opinions on who we think did what and how it affects the record books, but everyone is innocent until proven guilty as far as I'm concerned, and Barry has not been caught yet.
Back to the home run and where it belongs in the hearts and minds of America. I don't know about you guys, but I know that once Barry hit 755, I went on Bonds Watch and made sure that I saw most of his at-bats for the next few games. Fact is, this was history, it was going to be broken, and you never know if you will ever get to see anything like it again. I try to see as many milestones and records as I can as a fan of sports. I tuned in to ESPN when Sammy Sosa was trying to hit #600; I was listening to the Yankees game on the radio (which never happens, for those of you who know me) for A-Rod's 500th career home run; I watched Mark McGwire hit #62 in 1998 when I was just a kid; I watched Barry hit #71 in 2001; I watched Michael Strahan sack Brett Favre for #22.5 in 2001/2002, and the list continues on from there. As sports fans, it should be a point to watch history unfold. What if it turns out that Barry really didn't cheat? What if he was actually clean this whole time and we missed out on one of the greatest players in the history of the game because we were too wrapped up in the fact he might have cheated? What if then, A-Rod DOESN'T break the all-time record, and instead Bonds is STILL the home run champion when you die, and nobody comes even close to breaking it again? You would have missed history for something that turned out to be untrue, and to me, that is just crazy. One of the greatest records in all of sports is being ignored because people are jumping to conclusions. People refused to watch it over allegations that have not been proven yet. It just seems silly to not watch a piece of sports history that will last a lifetime over something you know nothing about.
Anyway, I think this is a fairly obvious point that everyone will agree with: I don't care what the record books say, Babe Ruth is the greatest player to ever play the game of baseball. It's unfortunate that he played for the Yankees, but in any case, he is, by far, the best player and the best hitter of all time. Yes, Barry and Hank Aaron have more career home runs than Babe Ruth, and yes Pete Rose may have more hits, and yes, Ted Williams may be the last person to have hit .400 in a full season of baseball, and yes, quite a few players have hit more home runs in a single season than the Babe, but fact is, Babe Ruth hit in the Dead Ball Era. He hit the ball a mile when it wasn't wound as tight as today's balls are. He faced pitchers that are in the Hall of Fame all the time. He is the most revered player in the history of the game, and nobody is better, no matter how many home runs they hit. Babe hit more home runs than entire teams. He hit for power, he hit for average, and he won championships (unfortunately), and was part of the greatest offensive teams in the history of baseball. No way can you put Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, or anybody near him, with the exception of a select few players (Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio) and even they have a tough time staying in his league.
Lastly, I would like to put it on record that the coverage of the home run by ESPN was atrocious. Dave O'Brien did a terrible job of capturing the excitement of the moment that was in the stadium. Look at the video of Bonds' home run on ESPN.com, then look at the same video on MLB.com, where they have the video from FSN Bay Area. The broadcaster, I believe his name is Duane Kuiper, could not have been more excited as the ball took flight into the San Francisco night. Even I, a Bonds hater, got chills watching it happen (I watched online on a live feed through MLB.com, and saw the FSN version of it all). To me, O'Brien made it seem like almost any other home run that Barry has hit, instead of the one that made him the all-time home run leader, whereas Kuiper tried to make it as exciting as some of the more famous calls of all time. By the way, has anyone else realized that exciting broadcasting is remembered far more often than the typical, boring ones that the announcers use today, when they try to use the crowd to explain the moment? Joe Buck does it all the time in the same bland, boring voice, and I can't get excited watching his broadcasts of anything. Think of all of the great calls in the history of sports:
"The Giants win the penant!!"
"I don't believe what I just saw!!"
"Do you believe in miracles? YES!!"
"There's a new home run champion of all time, and it's Henry Aaron!!"
And of course, my all time favorite call in sports history...
"3 and 2 to Mookie Wilson. A little roller up along first, BEHIND THE BAG!! IT GETS THROUGH BUCKNER!! HERE COMES KNIGHT AND THE METS WIN IT!!!"
The best moments in history are the ones when everyone is excited, including the announcers. Any March Madness game with Gus Johnson announcing (UCLA-Gonzaga 2006, Ohio State-Xavier 2007), the Fiesta Bowl between Oklahoma and Boise State... they were all packed with excitement on the field, in the stands, and in the booth and in our homes.
In conclusion, I still think that Barry Bonds is one of the greatest players of our generation, and even though he may have taken steroids or performance enhancers to break records and get noticed on the same level as Mark McGwire, he won 4 MVPs before his alleged steroid use, and was going to hit at least 500 home runs anyway, and was a Hall of Famer even without the home run records. Either way, I believe that we should celebrate the talent that Barry Bonds has and displayed for us over the years, regardless of his past, but at the same point we should all remember just how incredible it is that Hank Aaron (most likely) hit all of those home runs in a fair way, and that Babe Ruth hit 714 in a time when the home run was just beginning. I hope we can all appreciate what the Babe and Willie Mays and all of the great players of yesteryear have done in the time before growth hormones and steroids and other performance enhancers. Their legacies should never be forgotten, and have only been enhanced with the phenomenons that have occurred in the past decade.
Back to the home run and where it belongs in the hearts and minds of America. I don't know about you guys, but I know that once Barry hit 755, I went on Bonds Watch and made sure that I saw most of his at-bats for the next few games. Fact is, this was history, it was going to be broken, and you never know if you will ever get to see anything like it again. I try to see as many milestones and records as I can as a fan of sports. I tuned in to ESPN when Sammy Sosa was trying to hit #600; I was listening to the Yankees game on the radio (which never happens, for those of you who know me) for A-Rod's 500th career home run; I watched Mark McGwire hit #62 in 1998 when I was just a kid; I watched Barry hit #71 in 2001; I watched Michael Strahan sack Brett Favre for #22.5 in 2001/2002, and the list continues on from there. As sports fans, it should be a point to watch history unfold. What if it turns out that Barry really didn't cheat? What if he was actually clean this whole time and we missed out on one of the greatest players in the history of the game because we were too wrapped up in the fact he might have cheated? What if then, A-Rod DOESN'T break the all-time record, and instead Bonds is STILL the home run champion when you die, and nobody comes even close to breaking it again? You would have missed history for something that turned out to be untrue, and to me, that is just crazy. One of the greatest records in all of sports is being ignored because people are jumping to conclusions. People refused to watch it over allegations that have not been proven yet. It just seems silly to not watch a piece of sports history that will last a lifetime over something you know nothing about.
Anyway, I think this is a fairly obvious point that everyone will agree with: I don't care what the record books say, Babe Ruth is the greatest player to ever play the game of baseball. It's unfortunate that he played for the Yankees, but in any case, he is, by far, the best player and the best hitter of all time. Yes, Barry and Hank Aaron have more career home runs than Babe Ruth, and yes Pete Rose may have more hits, and yes, Ted Williams may be the last person to have hit .400 in a full season of baseball, and yes, quite a few players have hit more home runs in a single season than the Babe, but fact is, Babe Ruth hit in the Dead Ball Era. He hit the ball a mile when it wasn't wound as tight as today's balls are. He faced pitchers that are in the Hall of Fame all the time. He is the most revered player in the history of the game, and nobody is better, no matter how many home runs they hit. Babe hit more home runs than entire teams. He hit for power, he hit for average, and he won championships (unfortunately), and was part of the greatest offensive teams in the history of baseball. No way can you put Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, or anybody near him, with the exception of a select few players (Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio) and even they have a tough time staying in his league.
Lastly, I would like to put it on record that the coverage of the home run by ESPN was atrocious. Dave O'Brien did a terrible job of capturing the excitement of the moment that was in the stadium. Look at the video of Bonds' home run on ESPN.com, then look at the same video on MLB.com, where they have the video from FSN Bay Area. The broadcaster, I believe his name is Duane Kuiper, could not have been more excited as the ball took flight into the San Francisco night. Even I, a Bonds hater, got chills watching it happen (I watched online on a live feed through MLB.com, and saw the FSN version of it all). To me, O'Brien made it seem like almost any other home run that Barry has hit, instead of the one that made him the all-time home run leader, whereas Kuiper tried to make it as exciting as some of the more famous calls of all time. By the way, has anyone else realized that exciting broadcasting is remembered far more often than the typical, boring ones that the announcers use today, when they try to use the crowd to explain the moment? Joe Buck does it all the time in the same bland, boring voice, and I can't get excited watching his broadcasts of anything. Think of all of the great calls in the history of sports:
"The Giants win the penant!!"
"I don't believe what I just saw!!"
"Do you believe in miracles? YES!!"
"There's a new home run champion of all time, and it's Henry Aaron!!"
And of course, my all time favorite call in sports history...
"3 and 2 to Mookie Wilson. A little roller up along first, BEHIND THE BAG!! IT GETS THROUGH BUCKNER!! HERE COMES KNIGHT AND THE METS WIN IT!!!"
The best moments in history are the ones when everyone is excited, including the announcers. Any March Madness game with Gus Johnson announcing (UCLA-Gonzaga 2006, Ohio State-Xavier 2007), the Fiesta Bowl between Oklahoma and Boise State... they were all packed with excitement on the field, in the stands, and in the booth and in our homes.
In conclusion, I still think that Barry Bonds is one of the greatest players of our generation, and even though he may have taken steroids or performance enhancers to break records and get noticed on the same level as Mark McGwire, he won 4 MVPs before his alleged steroid use, and was going to hit at least 500 home runs anyway, and was a Hall of Famer even without the home run records. Either way, I believe that we should celebrate the talent that Barry Bonds has and displayed for us over the years, regardless of his past, but at the same point we should all remember just how incredible it is that Hank Aaron (most likely) hit all of those home runs in a fair way, and that Babe Ruth hit 714 in a time when the home run was just beginning. I hope we can all appreciate what the Babe and Willie Mays and all of the great players of yesteryear have done in the time before growth hormones and steroids and other performance enhancers. Their legacies should never be forgotten, and have only been enhanced with the phenomenons that have occurred in the past decade.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Welcome
I would like to welcome everyone to my new sports blog and thank you for taking the time to read what I have to say about various topics in the wide world of sports. As the title indicates, this is not just an arena for me to express my views, but also an opportunity for you to throw in your two cents. Your input is greatly appreciated and encouraged.
A little about myself, for those who don't know me: my name is Mike and I am a student at Penn State University. I am a die-hard Mets, Giants, and Penn State football fan. I am also a fan of the New York Rangers, North Carolina basketball, and everything else Penn State sports.
I look forward to touching on all sorts of sports topics, and getting your input on what I say as well.
A little about myself, for those who don't know me: my name is Mike and I am a student at Penn State University. I am a die-hard Mets, Giants, and Penn State football fan. I am also a fan of the New York Rangers, North Carolina basketball, and everything else Penn State sports.
I look forward to touching on all sorts of sports topics, and getting your input on what I say as well.
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