NY Sports Blog

Why Doesn't Anyone Like The Spurs

2007-06-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

The first two games of the NBA finals this year have terribly low, and a number of different things have caused this:
1. Lack of a marquee match up
2. The Soprano's finale
3. It's not the Lakers or Knicks or celtics
4. It's the NBA

Probably the biggest reason is #1. No one views this series as much of a challenge, but unlike the Jordan Bulls, or Kobe/Shaq Lakers, no one really seems to care to watch San Antonio dismantle another team. Why do people hate watching the Spurs so much? Is it because their star player would rather sink a bank shot and whine to the ref than dunk and pose in front of the camera. Maybe because no one on their team causes any off court controversy, unless you count Bruce Bowen pretty much angering anyone that he's ever guarded. Everyone in the NBA highly respects the Spurs, their organization, their top players and of course their coach. Again, we should like them, they play like every college and high school coaches dream:
1. Contest every shot
2. Rotate on defense
3. Run plays on offense and pass the ball
4. Win on the road
5. Listen to their coach
6. Accepted reduced roles in order to win
7. Difficult to rattle

I could go on and on here. Needless to say they are a solid fundamentally sound team and it starts with Duncan. That is exactly why no one cares about them. In the modern NBA it's more about how hard did you dunk the ball or what you say after each shot. It's about single superstars that are hyped up, but rarely carry their team (Lebron of course seemed to come close to this...). When a team plays well and wins as a team and doesn't really do anything that can make a Sportscenter highlight no one really cares anymore. The only people who get excited talking about the Spurs are either in San Antonio or have at some point actually played serious organized basketball and know how impressive they really are. Jeff Van Gundy actually looks awake and not depressed when he talks about their "sets" and the way they fight for every rebound.

Maybe Commish Stern can somehow fix it so that the Spurs get a marketable superstar. If this team had any of the single name players that the average fan sees everywhere image how great the ratings would be since the Spurs are deep in the playoffs every year. McGrady, Iverson, Carmelo, Kobe, Garnett, Wade, Lebron, Dirk, Nash, Carter the list goes on. Think the spurs wouldn't suddenly become a cool team if they got Gilbert Arenas to play the 2 with Parker? While I'm sure they would be thrilled to get someone who yells Hibachi and thinks the entire world should know about his greatness, they probably wouldn't make it past the first round of the playoffs.

And then, maybe someone would notice the Spurs, just simply cause they are not the Spurs anymore but just another slightly above average team.

The Next Clippers?

2006-10-29T11:40:00.000-08:00

Well, with baseball season coming to a close, I think its only fair to focus some attention on a sport that has been slowly going downhill since MJ walked away (the second time). As a Knicks fan I’m well aware of how bad NBA basketball can look. Passionless, ugly, full of turnovers, one on one plays, bricked free throws, arguing in the media. Ok I’ll stop, since all that happens during and after just one Knicks game. So what to expect from this upcoming season for the Knicks? I turn to one of my favorite fictional athletes ever to phrase it correctly:

Reporter – “What’s your prediction for the fight?”
Clubber Lang – “Pain”

Isiah Thomas will be fired if the Knicks don’t do better than last year, but honestly you can’t do worse than last year, unless you actually play with only 4 guys on the floor. And if you watched the Knicks last year, they sometimes looked like they only had 3. Is this a good team? No. Is this a great team to play Live with? Definetly. They also have some viable fantasy stars. But you look at the roster and realize that not only does Isiah Thomas have very little idea how to put a team together, he is too stubborn to realize he needs to try something new. The Knicks are set up to be the big losers in the east for the next 5 years easily. Of course, in the East, that means they’ll probably be the 6-8 seed in the playoffs every year by winning 37-42 games a year. If you look at the teams that have been winners lately (not just champions) and you see a common thread. 1 superstar, 1 or 2 stars, and a heck of a lot of roleplayers who excel in only 1 or 2 things. The Spurs have Duncan and Ginobli/Parker. Then a guy like Bruce Bowen who may be the most important part of the Team. Dwayne Wade, Shaq, and Gary Payton. Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, and of course Raja Bell. The list can go on.

So what do the Knicks do? Their “star” is Stephon Marbury, who is nowhere near the level of where he should be, or where he ever will be. Our #2 guy? Steve Francis, who has cost more coaches their jobs, and made more teammates angry than almost any other player. Oh, and the franchise center is Eddy Curry. He’s never met a rebound or blocked shot that he liked. Jared Jeffries was a terrible signing to begin with, throw a large amount of money at a guy who supposedly played defense and could rebound, yet did neither on a Wizards team where he started. Oh, and now he’s hurt. The Renaldo Balkman era has yet to begin, and most likely never will. Renaldo and Jerome James can sit at the end of the bench and talk about how cool it is to be getting paid lots of money to run around in practice and be laughed at in the media. By the way, I know this joke has been made, but is there any chance they can do a press conference after Balkman gets a bunch of garbage time, scores 10 points, gets hailed as a “steal” and then have him show up to meet the media with Rolando Blackman?

Sure I love Nate, Channing and David Lee, but you know Isiah won’t use them right. Hopefully they will at least get some playing time, since Larry Brown was on Meth for most of the season or something like that.

My prediction on the season: 36-46, 7th seed in the playoffs. Isiah is hailed by Dolan at the end of the season as “turning the team around, and being ready with key acquisitions to make a run at the championship in two years”. Dolan is then exposed as a sports zombie, intent on sucking the life out of every major New York sports franchise and P Diddy takes over the Knicks. Dolan takes over the Red Bulls. Isiah decides to become a life coach.

Taking Home The Hardware

2006-10-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

A while back a friend of mine made his awards prediction for baseball, and I have to say I agree with most. But I think its worth giving my own, even if they only differ a little. Lets start with the easy league:

AL ROY
Winner: Justin “JV” Verlander
2nd Place: Fransico Liriano

Most people have picked JV, and how can you argue with 17 wins, a 3 era, and a ton of strikeouts. The AL had a number of impressive rookies, and had Liriano started the year as a starter (and finished it actually player) this would be reversed. And don’t forget about Papelbon, Melky Cabrera, Howie Kendrick and of course someone who was so good he got his brother released, Jered Weaver. Down the road you wonder who will have the best career, and I personally think its Liriano, barring injuries. I saw him pitch in the WBC, and he was filthy. Like he was playing MLB ’07, and the hitters were in RBI Baseball.

AL Manager of the Year
Winner: Ron Gardenhire
2nd Place: Jim Leyland

Many would argue Torre deserves this award for dealing with so many injuries, but I can’t argue that he should get it with the talent he had over someone like Gardenhire, who took a terrible start, turned his team around, and got them a division title. Plus if you actually look at the Twins, they are really a 6 player team with Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Santana, Liriano and Nathan. How many teams that won their division can say they have less talent than the Twins. Leyland gets it if his team didn’t nose dive at the end (the Royals!). Too bad for him, you decide this before the playoffs start.

AL Executive of the Year
Dave Dombroski

Just for hiring Jim Leyland. He probably should have been fired after not winning at all last year with the talent this team has, but he knew he needed a stronger leader than Alan Trammel, pulled the trigger and now the tigers are favored to win it all in the world series. He also wasn’t afraid to throw rookies into key positions and give them the confidence to succeed. Just look at Curtis Granderson, Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya. Plus the mid-season trade for Sean Casey, a left-handed bat they their right handed dominated lineup desperately needed.

AL Cy Young
Winner: Johan “I like the Metrodome” Santana
2nd Place: Does it matter?

I’m not going to waste more than 10 words on explaining this one: He won the quadrouple crown of pitching.

AL MVP
Winner: Derek Jeter
2nd Place: Justin “I’m Canadian, you have a problem with that?” Morneau

In my mind there really isn’t even a discussion here. Jeter almost had 100 rbi’s out of the 2 hole, came in second in hitting, and scored 118 runs, stole 34 bases, and oh yeah played gold glove defense. Did I mention he is the face of baseball, the captain of the best record in baseball (with the mets) and had an ops of .900 for a #2 hitter?

NL ROY
Winner: Hanley “Don’t Call Me Manny” Ramirez
2nd Place: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7628

Think the red sox would like to reverse the Josh Beckett deal? Ramirez tore up the NL in his first season. Always a top prospect, no one expect him to play at this level this quickly, hitting .292, 17, 59, 119, and playing good defense. Oh, and he was 2nd in steals with 51. Its pretty scary, when you look at him and realize he really hasn’t filled out much and already hit 73 extra base hits in his first season in the majors. He hit leadoff most of the year, but he could arguably turn into a #3 hitter, If not for his speed. Jose Reyes may have some competition for best SS in the NL in the next year or two.

NL Manager of the Year
Winner: Joe Girardi
2nd Place: Willie Randolph

Probably a first, since Girardi has already been fired (although I may be wrong, what am I Stats Inc.?) but he did far and away the best job managing out of anyone in baseball. No one expected the Marlins to be competitive this year, let alone win 78 games. He will get another job very soon, and whoever gets him should be thankful because he clearly can relate with young players. And that’s en vogue now, teams are realizing you want to be good for a long time, and keep your fans happy, you need some young talent to tantalize and say “just wait till he matures”. Willie gets second for the same reason Torre didn’t win. He had a ton of talent, and a huge payroll. Despite dealing with injuries to his pitching staff and outfield, he managed the Mets to the best record. He may not win it this year, but Willie will have some hardware soon enough if Minaya keeps making shrewd moves.

NL Executive of the Year
Winner: Omar Minaya

Sure its easy to be a great executive when you have hundreds of millions of dollars to spend, but what separates the good GM’s from the bad GM’s are the ones who make the key acquisitions that are below the radar. Minaya made the big splashes trading for Carlos Delgado and signing Billy Wagner, which coming into the season was all the big talk. But he also made other smaller deals, like stealing Duaner Sanchez away from the Dodgers for Jae Seo (who didn’t even last the season) or trading Kris Benson for Jorge Julio and John Maine. And what about signing Endy Chavez and Jose Valentin. Or the in season moves of trading for El Duque, and Oliver Perez. Omar made moves, and almost everyone of them paid off, for a team that won 97 games. As Billy Beane says, my job is to get the team into the post season, after that you can’t predict anything.

NL Cy Young
Winner: Roy “Almost a Met” Oswalt
2nd Place: Trevor “Don’t hassle the Hoff” Hoffman

Perhaps the most contested of all the awards (ahem, except the NL MVP, but were getting there) I think Oswalt deserves it over Hoffman, Carpenter, Zambrano, Wagner and Smoltz. In a year where not a single starting pitcher in the NL won even close to 20 games, you have to go with the best of a mediocre bunch. Oswalt finished leading the league in ERA, tied for the league lead in wins, threw 220+ innings like always, an excellent K/BB ratio and a great BAA. Oh, and he would have won 20 games for the third straight year if not for his terrible offense and Brad “no really, I’m over Pujols’s home run” Lidge. I just can’t give it to Hoffman because while he was dominant he also doesn’t strike out hitters as much as he used to, and he blew the all star game. Zambrano doesn’t have enough wins (some his fault), and Smoltz is too under the radar this year, although his numbers are great, he had too many losses and bad outings. Carpenter, the defending Cy has some excellent numbers, but if you look at his games, he had 11 games where he allowed 4+ runs. Is that a Cy to you? He also got most of his dominant games against very bad competition.

NL MVP
Winner: Albert “The next Barry Bonds” Pujols
2nd Place: Ryan “DH” Howard

This is a tough one. Many are picking Howard, and you cant argue with the home runs and rbi’s and his attempt to single handedly carry the Phillies into the playoffs. Then again, he failed, and Pujols got his team in the playoffs. While Howard beat Pujols in homers and rbi’s, Pujols hit for a higher average, scored more runs, had a higher on base percentage, a high slugging percentage, a higher OPS, more stolen bases, and plays a much much much better first base. The standard argument for who deserves an MVP is it’s not about the numbers, its about who is the most valuable. Both players hit in weak lineups, with minimal protection. Both players were on mediocre teams fighting to make the post-season. One player led his team there, and one didn’t. Oh and nice little stat, Pujols had one more strikeout than home run. Howard? He had 123 more k’s than homers. Who would you rather see stepping into the box, Pujols or Howard in a big at bat?

The Stretch Run

2006-08-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

With September about to start, and many teams either preparing for the playoffs or fighting for their playoff lives, a quick look at who will be in the playoffs, and who wont be.

AL East
With the recent historic sweep of the Red Sox everyone assumed the Yankees were primed to run away with the division title and again dash the hopes of all of New England. But it may not be that simple. The Yanks have struggled since the series, but so have the Red Sox. The 5 1/2 game lead for the Yanks seems like a lot, and although I think this could come down to the final weekend of the season, I just can't see the Sox catching the Yanks. The pitching for both teams is not great, but with Mussina coming back, and Randy Johnson, the Yankees have a formidable top 3 in Wang, Mussina and Johnson. And with the upgrade of Lidle at the back of the rotation the Yanks can go into most series and win 2 out of 3. After Schilling, I don't think a single Sox pitcher is at all impressive. Both teams have shaky bullpens, great closers and exceptional offenses, but it always comes down to pitching.

X-Factor - David Wells

Prediction: Yankees win division by 3 games.

AL Central
The best division in baseball, this is a three team race, although two of the three teams will probably make the playoffs. At the all-star break it seemed as if the Tigers were going to run away with the division and the best record in baseball, but since then the Twins, White Sox, and Tigers have all been beating up on each other, with no team pulling away. If the season ended now the Tigers would win the division and the Twins would be the Wild Card, but you can't count out the Sox. The defending champs arguably have the best 1 through 5 starters of any team in baseball, but the inexplicable struggles of Contreras and Buerhle have dashed their playoff hopes. I don't see the Tigers relinquishing their lead in the Central, but the Twins could make it close. The addition of Sean Casey, while a quiet deal, could end up being the best move David Dombrowski has amde the whole season. Popular in the clubhouse, a gamer, and a nice lefty bat, he seems to be just what the Tigers have needed. Unless the white sox turn around their pitching, they won't even get a chance to defend their title, and Ozzie may have to call his whole team a bunch of pussies.

X-Factor - Todd Jones

Prediction: Tigers by 6 games

AL West
How will the west be won? I'm not really sure, because this is the weirdest division in baseball. You have perhaps two of the most talented under achieving teams in the Mariners and Rangers who can't seem to find a single pitcher who knows what the phrase "quality start" means. Meanwhile, the top two teams have more pitching and talented young players than they know what to do with, yet can't hit a lick. From a pitching and talent perspective, I'd take the Angels, but the A's just keep on winning, and I don't see them losing the division, especially with Rich Harden set to return in Sept. The angels rotation is scary, with Lackey, Weaver, Santana, Escobar and Saudners, but they waited too long to make moves and bring up guys like Kendrick and Weaver to make a run this year. They could be the team to beat next year, but Oakland has a nice 5 1/2 game lead, and seems to discover a new way to win each night. The rotation without Harden isn't spectacular, but it is very effective, with three players with 12 or more wins (Haren, Zito & Blanton) and a good closer in Street. The bullpen is solid too, but look at the offense and it seems like they need a shutout everyday. But recently between Swisher, Bradley and The Big Hurt, they seem to produce just enough runs to win.

X-Factor - Rich Harden

Prediction: A's by 4 games.

AL Wild Card
I know I know, picking the Twins to win it when they have a game and a half lead isn't exactly ballsy, but they are a heck of a good team. Their offense is pesky, and between Mauer, Morneau, Hunter and Cuddyer, they have some great hitters, and manage to get more game winning singles than i've ever seen. Plus with the return of Liriano imminent, and Radke finding the fountain of youth, they seem to be primed for the playoff picture. A solid if not great bullpen, two #1 starters, and a wild card in the rookie Matt Garza, they seem to want it more than anyone else, and could be like the Angels of a few years back. Do you really want to see Santana, Liriano and Radke in a playoff series? Yikes.

X-Factor - Matt Garza

Prediction: Twins by 3 games over both Sox.

NL East
The only division in baseball that has been pretty much decided since the all-star break (and maybe even before) the Mets are clearly the class of the national league, and no one in the east is even going to come close. After the Phillies ridiculous trade of Abreu and Lidle, they actually somehow got better, but they aren't going anywhere until they find some pitchers who don't stay in shape by beating their wives. The Marlins, while maybe having the most pure talent in baseball are still a couple of years away from contending, although I think any team would kill to have the young pitching that they have. Braves & Nationals don't even enter into the discussion, and probably won't for years. You know their isn't a race in you division when your biggest worry is will your catcher miss some games to make a mix CD for John Franco's daughter.

X-Factor - Mr. Met

Prediction: Mets by a Baker's Dozen

NL Central
When the year started, and the Reds were in first, and keeping pace with the Cardinals, everyone said it wouldn't last. When the Cardinals finally took over first, and were seemingly pulling away, everyone said the honeymooon was over for the Reds. A funny thing happened after that - The cardinals forgot how to win ball games. Their once formidable offense dissapeared and is suddenly Pujols and 8 other guys who on some days resemble the Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen of old, but on other days look more like David Bell and a hospital ward. Meanwhile, the reds made some bold moves to reinforce what they felt was their biggest weakness, their bullpen. Easy Eddie has been great for the reds before he got hurt, although I still disagree with the trades of Lopez and Kearns. More so with Kearns. Despite all this, and helped by the Cardinals devestated starting rotation, the Reds are only 2 games out of 1st, and looking much more confident than the Cards who seem to be looking around saying, why aren't we leading by 10 games, we've got Albert. While neither team sports the pitching staff that wins your playoff games, the Cards have a clear advantage with Carpenter going every 5th day. Needless to say, the Reds offense, and what seems to be their unflappable belief that they are the team to beat in the central, has me thinking Reds are Central champs.

X-Factor - Ben Sheets (Cards play Milwaukee 7 times in the last month of the season)

Prediction: Reds by 1 game. Will send champagne to the Pirates for letting them play them the last series of the year.

NL West
I almost don't even want to talk about this division because just like last year, its depressing how bad these teams are. Arguably not a single team in this division is out of the race, but I don't see Colorado or Arizon making a run at it just because both teams are so extremely flawed, to list their issues would be a whole nothing discussion. San Fran is only 4 out, but they too have a lot of issues. They could be a dark horse, with a decent pitching staff and lots of veterans trying to regain their youth by drinking Barry Bonds's blood. In the end though they just don't have much talent and need to seriously look at their future, and figuring out where to go afte Vizquel, Bonds and Alou are gone. Oh yeah, and do I need to say more than Armando Benitez is their closer? San Diego is quite talented, but they run into the issue that they have almost no offense. Who's their best hitter? Piazza? Giles? Cameron? Barfield? Even Steve Traschel could shut them out. If Peavy keeps his late season turn around going they could ride him into the playoffs, but the Dodgers look really scary. Forget their offense, which is an interesting mix of OBP and speeds with a little pop, but looks at their defense and pitching. They quielty may have the best rotation in the NL. Penny, Billingsley, Hendrickson, Lowe, and some guy named Maddux. Three guys in their rotation have 10 or more wins, and although none is a legit #1 starter (Penny is close, but too inconsistent) they have 5 guys that on any given night could come in and shut you down.

X-Factor - Andre Ethier

Prediction: Dodgers by 2 games. final series of the season at SF could be very very interesting.

NL Wild Card
Every Mets fan fear, best of this sorry bunch right now seems to be Philly. While their pitching is pathetic, their offense is top notch, and between Utley and Howard, they have some scary punch in the heart of their lineup. I could also easily see the Cardinals sneaking in here after the Reds beat them. No race is more up for grabs with 8 teams within 5 games of the lead. But to give you an idea of how bad this race is, the Marlins, Brewers and Astros are included in that group. Whoever gets the wild card could be a team that simply gets hot for a few weeks and has a nice winning streak. I'm picking the phillies just simply because they are hot, and they don't have to leapfrog a ton of teams to get to the top. Plus they get to play the marlins, braves and nationals, and are done with the Mets after this current series.

X-Factor - Brad Lidge

Prediction: Phillies by 3 games.

Making a difference with the glove

2006-08-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

Often when discussion of defense come up in baseball, people key on certain positions as the most important to have a strong fielder. Its important to have a catcher with a good arm and can call a good game. A first basemen with soft hands can save dozens of errors on an infield. A right fielder with a great arm keep players going first to third. And of course a shortstop, who many often claim is the most important defensive position. In my mind, this is short sighted and wrong. A gold glove center fielder changes the game defensively more than any other position. Its one thing to have a centerfielder who can go back and rob home runs, or get a good jump on the ball and dive head first on those soft liners that would be a single. Its another thing to have a centerfielder who can throw like a right fielder, and catches balls in the gap like its an offense to him for a hitter to even think they can get an extra base hit.

A great shortstop can turn double plays, take away hits up the middle and in the hole and let a groundball pitcher go to his "happy place". A great centerfielder lets a team hide poor defensive players in the outfield, and takes away not only base hits, but extra base hits in the gap, and of course can even rob a home run. So many teams stash mediocre fielders in left and right field because they have a center fielder that can greatly reduce the amount of fielding the lesser defensive players have to do. A Look at some of the best defensive center fielders is always impressive, and normally the best teams have a gold glove caliber defender on their team in center. Lets take a look at some of top defensive centerfielders in each league:

Johnny Damon
Cocoa Crisp
Vernon Wells
Grady Sizemore
Torii Hunter
Gary Matthews Jr.
Chone Figgins
Andruw Jones
Carlos Beltran
Jim Edmonds
Ken Griffey Jr.
Mike Cameron

Most if not all of these players are on division leaders, or teams fighting for a playoff spot. The argument has been made plenty of times that a great centerfielder is key, heck even Tim McCarver likes to say "It's important to be strong up the middle". But I think that you need to really separate it even further. Managers always want a guy out there who can just flat go get the ball, and that's cause they know more runs and hits are saved by a good centerfielder than any other position.

Just ask Willie Mays. Or the reincarnation of him, Andruw Jones.

The Gold Glove

2006-07-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

This has probably been discussed a few too many times by now, but I had to bring it up. Outfielders and the gold glove just make no sense. Similar to the all start game, outfielders in the gold glove are bunched all together. Instead of being separated and judged on LF, CF, RF, they are judged simply as Out Fielder (OF). This isn't a fantasy league, playing each outfield position takes a different type of talent, and to play it the best is equally as difficult for any position. Last year in the NL Andruw Jones, Jim Edmonds and Bobby Abreu won the gold glove. 2 CF's and 1 RF. In fact, 9 out of the last 10 years, at least 2 CF's have won the award. Now I understand the argument, CF is the most important position in the outfield, in fact I have a whole nother rant about that one, but that doesn't mean you should reward the best two or three center fielders. You should award just one, and then award a best LF and best RF. This year, if we did it the way it should be, the winners could look something like this:

Left Field - Cliff Floyd (Yes I have a bias, but I can't think of any else that comes close. There are just some terrible left fielders in the NL right now, and floyd can go get it, even if he tends to run into things)

Center Field - Andruw Jones (Plays probably the shallowest center ever, and the best ever. The guy never looks like he is running hard, and yet if he doesn't catch it, everyone in the stadium knows it couldn't have possibly been caught. Its pretty much a given.)

Right Field - Bobby Abreu (except he's afraid of the wall, how do people not notice this? Still shocks me when I hear announcers say, the gold glove outfielder...Bobby Abreu.)

I'd get into the AL, but I think I pretty much made my point. Think about some corner outfielders that are quite good defensively, and see if they have actually won a Gold Glove. A few corner outfielders win a lot, like Larry Walker, Barry Bonds and Ichiro. But most times, at least one corner outfielder is left out, and not surprisingly lefto field is often left out. People think you can stick anyone in left, and get away with it, the same way teams try to hide bad fielders at first base. But to see Left Field played well is just as amazing to see any other position played well. Its a huge difference, and you see it within a few plays usually. How many fans of teams can honestly say they feel comfortable when a hard hit ball to left means their outfielder has a good chance to catch it going back.

Greatest Sports Nicknames

2006-07-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

While many sports have their history of great nicknames, they are not nearly as prevalent as they used to be. Doesn't it feel like every player that played in the 50's 60's and 70's has a nickname. Even your fathers favorite weak hitting second basemen for one year had a nickname. Start going on about they called him "Squeaky" or something cause his locker was always clean. With all this in mind, I thought it might be nice to try to get a list of the better nicknames in professional sports right now.

Personally here are a few favorites:
Big Papi - It works in so many ways
Big Donkey - gotta love when they make fun of big guys speed
Flash - cmon, he's the fastest man alive (he beat superman more times) and you give it to a phenom like Wade...
Apollo Creed - The Count of Monte Fist-o. I said professional, I didn't say real...

500 vs. 300

2006-07-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

500 Home Runs & 300 Wins, the two biggest benchmarks a hitter or pitcher can have in their career. I think they have a greater signifigance than the 3000 hit club, just simply because the hitters who get to 500 homeruns tend to have a greater impact all around, than the one's who are purely 3000 hit club guys. Don't get me wrong, 3000 hits is a definite ticket into the hall of fame, but 500 home runs is sexy, or is it? With so many current sluggers hitting so many home runs (BALCO aided or not) the nubmer isn't what it used to be. The same way 50 home runs isn't as shocking as it was a decade ago, 500 home runs has almost become insignificant. Is 600 the new 500? Probably, since for most player, to hit that extra 100 home runs, it would mean sustaining a high level of excellence until they are close to 40, as we have seen is doable, but not at the same rate (BALCO Bonds being the obvious exception). Recently, a close friend offered another solution, suggest that 2000 (HR + RBI) should be the key number, and I say why not? We love OPS, so why not start combining categories that make sense. What makes the 500 mark even more laughable as assurance into the hall of fame is two very recent players who came very close to 500 HR, have no business being in the hall of fame, and never will be - Jose Canseco & Fred McGriff. One of the Bash Brothers, and the Crime Dog had 462 & 493 homers respectively.

In contrast to the 500 Homers, 300 Wins may become that insurmountable number that only the very elite that come along once or twice a decade reach. With this generation of pitch counts, many more powerful lineups (and smaller parks) and the stress and importance of having a bullpen good pitchers in less, and seem to not last as long as they once did. We may see this generation of pitchers automatically considered with 200 wins. 250 wins could mean a 1st ballot hall of fame that leaves no doubt, and 300 being reserved for the elite. Of the 22 current players in the 300 win club, only 8 have been since 1982, and only 10 total since 1961. By the way, in case you were curious, three players with 300 wins are Pud Galvin, Kid Nichols and Old Hoss Radbourn. Gotta love the beginning of the 20th century baseball! Heck, even Mel Stottlemyre agrees with me:

"Pitching has become tougher and more demanding and it's harder to throw consistently for as long a period as it would take to win three-hundred (300) games. It would take a tremendous amount of dedication to do that." - Former Pitcher & New York Yankees Pitching Coach Mel Stottlemyre

So basically when Tom Glavine and maybe Randy Johnson get 300 wins in the next couple of years, savor it, cause you may only see it once or twice more in the next 10-15 years.

Sticky Fingaz kills Vampires

2006-07-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

Throw your silver swords in the air? Ok this has got to be the weirdest casting ever. Maybe this came out a while ago, but really who was paying attention to the announcement of Blade the Series other than a bunch of people dressed in black (or secretly hoping to get bitten by a vampire). But now Spike may actually have a hit, and its starring maybe the craziest rapper this side of ODB, and they are giving him weapons! I like how they don't have a bio for him on the homepage, probably a good thing.

My mind, it's graphic, expresstic graphic
So kill the cop because it's kept all mastic
Directin' it, when y'all least expected it
and thought it was safe...

At least it will keep him from hurting any living things. Perhaps this could be an idea to calm the violence in hip hop? Give the really crazy rappers acting jobs where they get to kill people with tons of different weapons? Or let them get killed by weird things, like LL Cool J and the sharks. Maybe let Cassidy & R. Kelly make Bad Boys 3 and just blow tons of things up. Then again, DMX killing people in movies hasn't exactly stopped him...But how can you stop someone who just loves stealing cars more than a music career.

Hall Of Famers

2006-05-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

Not really sure why I'm starting with this, but just had a discussion recently about it, and basically tried to figure out which pitchers and hitters that are still playing or just retired will either definitely be in the HOF, or have a shot. Came down to three categories, "No Doubt 1st Ballot", "Yes - Not First Ballot", Possibly, but not likely, and the least likely "Would have to play until Julio Franco and Benito Santiago Age" (I don't think anyone knows how old Santiago is, but I'm pretty sure he could throw out Jose Reyes from his knees and smoke a cigar at the same time). We'll start with pitchers, since its a much shorter list.

No Doubt Hall Of Fame
Pedro Martinez (Red Sox)
204-88, 2.75 ERA, 2972 K's, 690 BB, 2614.2 IP, 46 CG, 17 SHO
8 time all star, 3 time cy young, 1 All-Star MVP
If you even have to think about this one your either a Yankee fan, or only know him for his jeri curl. On record alone maybe the most dominant pitcher of his time, but throw in the strikeouts, ERA and his post season performance (and don't forget the 1999 all star game) he could be considered the only pitcher that throughout his career was feared by teams. Imagine if he had been on actual good teams in Montreal? He won 17 games and had an era under two in '97, how do you not win 25 games? Long story short, he may never reach close to 300 wins unless he hangs around for a while, which somehow I don't think he will do, but he was (arguably still can be) one of only 2 other pitchers during his time that dominated like Sandy Koufax. Pedro could retire after this year, and be a first ballot hall of famer. As a Mets fan, I totally am against this, but it would be awesome to just walk away while you still are considered dominant, which very few players ever do.

Randy Johnson (Arizona Diamondbacks)
273-143, 3.18 ERA, 4,469 K's, 1385 BB, 3707.2 IP, 97 CG, 37 SHO
10 time All-Star, 5 time Cy Young, 1 World Series MVP
Not bad for a guy drafted in the 4th round. The Unit has always been the most intimidating pitcher on the mound, even after he discovered how to control his high 90's fastball and slider. Early in his career he was so wild that it became a joke, as John Kruk will tell anyone who will listen. Once he turned it around he became the one guy that no one wanted to see glaring down at them from over his glove. He singlehandedly was the difference maker in Arizona's world series win, picking up wins in games 6 & 7 and beating a team that no one thought would lose, the Yankees. Of course now he is a Yankee, but that's another rant about free agency. Johnson is another pitcher that dominated his era of baseball, and had a run of dominance that can only be compared to Koufax. Getting to 300 wins, a distinct possibility for a guy who while struggling still brings it at 95, would only solidify his resume as the best lefty pitcher, and maybe the best pitcher of his time.

Tom Glavine (Atlanta Braves)
286-186, 3.44 ERA, 2432 K's, 1373 BB, 4071 IP, 55 CG, 24 SHO
10 time All-Star, 2 time Cy Young, 1 World Series MVP
Arguably the least dominant of the big three from the great Brave's teams of the 90's, Tommy will get 300 wins, and is the definition the crafty lefty control pitcher. Somehow, and I say this with the utmost reverence, Glavine will surpass 300 wins with a fastball that barely cracks 90 (and is now closer to 86-88) and a changeup. He has a curve, but I don't think many people can say they've actually seen him throw it more than once. Glavine is so good at nibbling the outside corner, that the umpires union might blame him (and Maddux) for the need to bring in Questec. Although never absolutely dominant, Glavine just knew how to win, with 5 20+ win seasons and 6 seasons with ERA's under 3. He probably would have a handful of gold gloves right now too, if not having spent his entire career looking up to the greatest fielding pitcher ever. Comparing Glavine and Johnson isn't really fare because they are two different styles of pitchers, but their consistent success is something that can't be ignored.

Greg Maddux (Atlanta Braves)
325-198, 3.06 ERA, 3114 K's, 927 BB, 4516.2 IP, 108 CG, 34 SHO
8 time All-Star, 4 time Cy Young, 15 Gold Gloves
The Professor, and my personal favorite pitcher ever, is the picture of consistency. How do you win 325 games, with only 2 20 win seasons? Win 15+ games for 17 straight years, a major league record, a streak that was only ended last year, partially due to some poor pitching, and the Cubs bullpen (he still won 13). Maddux mastered the inside and outside corner, able to throw any pitch at anytime anywhere on the plate. Nothing is more entertaining than announcers or hitters guessing what it is Maddux just threw them because of the various speeds, cuts and placement he would use on every pitch he threw. Probably his best pitch, and a ballsy one, was the down and in changeup to a righty. Even now you hardly ever see a righty throw this to a fellow righty because if you miss it will be crushed. Not only is Maddux a 300+ game winner, he is also the greatest fielding pitcher ever, winner of 15 gold gloves. He also was maybe the smartest player at all times on the field, often knowing exactly every pitch he had ever thrown a hitter in his career. Never considered a strike out pitcher, he has better than a 3:1 K:B ratio, and over 3000 total K's. Probably most impressive about anything else on his resume is his utter dominance during a time when the ball was flying out of the park. From 1992-1998 his ERA never went higher than 2.72, and had two seasons that boggle the mind. In '94 he had a 1.56 ERA (strike year) and in '95 had a 1.63 ERA and a 19-2 record. The fact that he didn't win 30 games with an ERA that low still amazes me.

John Smoltz (Atlanta Braves)
183-133, 154 SV, 3.27 ERA, 2677 K's, 910 BB, 3054.1 IP, 52 CG, 16 SHO, 14 BS
7 time All-Star, 1 Cy Young, 1 NLCS MVP, 1 Rolaids Relief Award
Some peope may question if Smoltz is a first ballot hall of famer, and I think you have to look no further than HOFer Dennis Eckersely. Smoltz, for a shorter period of time was a dominant closer, and before that was one of the best starting pitchers in the league. The only reason he has only 1 Cy Young is because of his teamates Glavine and Maddux, but ask any braves fan and they will tell you they wanted Smoltz pitching a big game for them (thus the amazing playoff numbers). Of the Atlanta trio he may have had the best stuff, with a mid 90's fastball (that could get closs to triple digits when he closed) a nasty slider, and sometimes just to mess with people, he would throw a knuckler Wade Boggs style. He also has consistently pulled off the full beard look his entire career, something that is rarely done. What really makes Smoltz so great is his consumate attitude of team first. He was never happy about becoming a closer, but the braves needed one, and for 3 straight years he was as dominant as any closer in baseball helping the braves caputure 3 more NL East titles. Most pitchers don't go back to being effective starters after that, but Smoltz has made the transition once again.

Roger Clemens (Boston Red Sox)
342-174, 3.12 ERA, 4517 K's, 1528 BB, 4726.2 IP, 118 CG, 46 SHO
11 time All-Star, 7 time Cy Young, 1 AL MVP, 1 All-Star MVP
The Rocket is living legend, someone that every power pitcher this side of Nolan Ryan & Bob Gibson is compared with. The Michael Jordan of baseball (not in the I'm retiring so I can play a sport that I suck at sort of way) Clemens has dominated American and National League hitters for 3 decades. He was the best pitcher in the AL on Boston, who ran him out of town in the early 90's and he reinvented himself with the splitter in Toronto. He went to NY and continued to dominate, finally winning a championship. Then after retiring he decided to come back with Houston, and of course wins another Cy Young. Somehow, he is still doing it, and doing it and doint it well, and his son is a single A player now. Clemens was always intimidating, and you didn't mess with him, the kind of guy who would throw at your head, then break your bat on a weak grounder to short and throw the bat shards at you and somehow get away with it by saying he thought it was the ball (and no he doesn't usually play using kick ball rules). I wouldn't be surprised if he would hit his own son if the kid showed him up on the mound. A real throwback, we may never see a pitcher like him again, someone who dominated his entire career, was almost always healthy, dominated both leagues, and probably will still throw a ball 95 at age 60. Maybe I'm not doing him justice here, but if you saw him pitch at any point of his career you would realize he was the best athlete, best competitor and probably the best pitcher on the field, in the dugout or within the united states at any given time. Just don't look at him funny.

Mariano Rivera (New York Yankees)
58-39, 398 SV, 2.30 ERA, 763 K's, 223 BB, 852.2 IP, 54 BS
7 time All-Star, 1 World Series MVP, 1 ALCS MVP, 4 Rolaids Relief Awards
What separates Mariano from the man right below him is simply greatness, and greatness in the postseason. He has a 17-7 record, with 34 saves and a 0.81 ERA in the postseason. Yes you read that right. Rivera has been the most effective and shutdown closer ever, and has done it in every situation imaginable, from the All-Star game, to the playoffs to the world series, and has done it with a single pitch, his cutter. There is nothing that says closer like the pitcher pretty much saying to the hitter, here is my best pitch, try to hit it. And more times than not they swing and miss, or broke their bat with weak groundballs. Many people point to Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada as the reasons why the Yankees won so many championships and are always competing, but Rivera is the real reason. Think about how often teams change closers, and then realize that Rivera is still at the top of his game, and unlike many closers, can get 5 outs instead of three. Opposing teams, whenever speaking about the Yankees talk about it like its a 7 inning game, becaue they know that even if they get some runners on in the 8th inning Rivera will come in, shut them down, and then mow down the heart of the order in the ninth, all with a single pitch.

Trevor Hoffman
49-54, 460 SV, 2.72 ERA, 942 K's, 244 BB, 858 IP, 53 BS
5 time All-Star, 1 Rolaids Relief Award
Although not as dominant in the post-season (or all-star game costing the mets home field advantage) his numbers are actually just as good as Rivera's, if not better. He is to the national league what Rivera is to the american league, the one closer no one ever wants to see coming out of that bullpen. Maybe the best changeup i've ever seen a reliever throw, he doesn't quite have the same fastball he's used to, but try explaining that to hitters who keep missing and they'll tell you he's still just as dominant as ever. He may retire as the all-time saves leader, unless Rivera passes him, and should help usher in the new generation of HOFers, which will include the modern day closer.

Not First Ballot
John Franco
90-87, 424 SV, 2.89 ERA, 975 K's, 495 BB, 1245.2 IP, 39 BS
4 time All-Star, 2 Rolaids Relief Awards
Johnny will always be loved here in NY, even if he may have given more grey hairs and caused more heart attacks than anyonen this side of Armando Benitez. He liked to put a runner or two on base before ending the game, just so you would always pay attention with a 3 run lead. Then again, you can't argue with effectiveness, and he is the all time leader in saves for a lefthand, and third all time in saves (until rivera passes him). Unlike most closers, he never had a dominant fastball, but relied on some craftyness, and hitters swinging at bad pitches. 8 seasons of 30 or more saves showed how effective he could be, and in the little post season experience he did have he pitched very well, going 2-0, with a save and a 1.88 ERA. Not on the same level as the dominant closers of his generation, he will get in for his over number of saves, and the fac that he did it basically with 2 teams. Lee Smith seems to constantly be hurt by the fact that he closed just about anywhere that had a baseball team, and when you can't identify a player with a team it hurts their chances.

Curt Schilling
202-134, 3.40 ERA, 2956 K's, 676 BB's 3040.1 IP, 82 CG, 19 SHO
7 time All-Star, 1 NLCS MVP, 1 World Series MVP
Mr. Bloody Sock. That's really all that you need to say. Before Schilling went to the Red Sox he'd be on the I don't think so list, but simply by being the most memorable part of a team that ended the curse, he will be propelled into the hall of fame. Plus it doesn't hurt that he keeps on winning and could end up with about 225 or more wins. Historical achievements, and ending a curse aside, Schilling should be closing in on 300 wins right now, like Randy Johnson if not being stuck on some awful philly teams that cost him a large number of wins in the 90's. He's a better known Kevin Appier, who managed to get away to Arizona, and suddenly be on a good team, same thing in Boston. He never won 20 games before going to arizona, but his k's have always been high, and you have to love a throwback guy, who wants to finish what he started, incredibly rare in this generation of pitch counts. Imagine how many complete games he could have thrown if Dusty Baker was his manager!

Mike Mussina
235-130, 3.63 ERA, 2513 K's, 708 BB, 3141.1 IP, 57 CG, 23 SHO
5 time All-Star, 6 Gold Gloves
A poor man's Maddux, Moose has been consistently a winner throughout his career, although he has never won 20 games, and only been in the top 3 in Cy voting once in his career. He has however had 9 seasons of 15 or more wins, and has been on winning teams wherever he has played. Always a workhorse, he is the only person I know that throws a knucklecurve, and for that alone he should get in the hall. How the heck do you throw a knucklecurve! When all is said and done, Moose may end up with more wins than Schilling and Pedro and yet have the highest ERA on this list. Sometimes you just can't argue with someone who knows how to win ball games. The effective pitchers tend to get ignored when they are quiet, and don't throw 95 (or have the last name Maddux). He should go in as an Oriole, and I can almost already hear yankee fans complaining.

Roy Oswalt
89-45, 3.07 ERA, 935 K's, 249 BB, 1107 IP, 11CG, 4 SHO
1 time All-Star, 1 NLCS MVP
I know I know, your sitting there saying what the hell is he doing on this list. He's way to young to really call yet, but if you look at his numbers, and his dominance the last few years, he may have the most legit chance at the HOF, even more so than someone like Johan Santana (who is really too young to call, ever hear of Dwight Gooden?). If you look at Roy now he has 89 wins and is 28 years old. Say he wins 14 games on average for the next 8 years, a very reasonable assumption given that he averaged over 16 wins his first 5 years. Then suddenly were talking about him in the 200 win range, with more k's than Moose, a couple of 20 win seasons under his belt, and arguably one of the most dominant pitchers in the NL of his generation, which Moose can never say. Then again, he may retired in 5 years to go chop wood with Billy Wagner, so you never know.

Possibly but not likely
Kevin Brown
Andy Pettitte
Bartolo Colon
Billy Wagner

Would have to play until Julio Franco and Benito Santiago Age
Jamie Moyer
David Wells

Just a test

2006-05-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

Just trying this out