This Week's Baseball Talk
I'm gonna try to do a baseball post every Monday. Even though the Sox & Yankees own baseball (see earlier post) it might actually be about other teams, but regardless we'll see how it goes. Enjoy.
First off Mark Buehrle. So the Chi-sox are starting to see what they can get for the 28 year old Lefty that already has a World Series and a no hitter, and one year left on his contract. The next thing is, they say the Red Sox are the front runners!?!?! If the BoSox pull this off, I hope to Gawd they've already started talking about a long term deal. When you're #1 in the league, have some depth at pitching waiting to break into the majors (ie Jon Lester), and are not filling a hole due to injury, you don't go after the half year rental player. It was different 3 years ago, when Theo played fantasy ball changing Nomar in for 3 starters. That took the Sox from just out of it, to Wild Card winners, etc. But when you're at the top, you don't mess with the chemistry if it's just for the short term.
Second opinion: if Buehrle to Boston happens, and they sign him to a contract extension right away.....DAMN. This year's rotation of Beckett, Schilling, Buehrle, Dice-K, Wakefield. Then after Big Schill walks for more money to pitch a Clemens-like half-season fashion elsewhere, Lester steps in for 4 under 30-year old starters that could be the ace on half the staffs in the league. And Wake's not too shabby either, as most knucklers throw into their late 40's.
Speaking of Clemens, did anyone else notice the Yankees use him in one inning of relief on Sunday, in a losing effort against the Giants? Let's recap the one inning: K, 5-pitch walk of Barry Bonds, single pushes Bonds to 3rd, Sac-fly scores Barry, fly-out. 16 pitches, 1 ER, 1H, 1BB, 1K. Are the Yankees really that desperate with their pitching staff? Or did they just wanna see the circus of Barry vs The Rocket? Which obviously didn't quite live up to any hype.
And Sammy Sosa. 600 Home Runs. Joins the club of Ruth, Mays, Aaron, and Bonds. Does he take his corked bat and size 9 3/4 hat into the hall of fame? Who's gonna get in first, Mac, Bonds, or Sammy? Now that's a good question.
Out.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Yankees vs Red Sox Officially Owns Baseball
Which came first, chicken or the egg, or sports networks covering the Sox/Yankees as if they're the only teams in baseball?
The excuse of course is, the networks give the people what they want. So are these two teams what most of the nation want to see? Does 100% of the country want to see the teams that represent 16% of the population? Or did the networks take a look at the recent merchandise boom and are riding the wave?
As soon as the Sox won the world series in 2004, they doubled their nationwide merchandise sales. And that pushed those two teams over the 50% of all MLB merchandise. However the interesting part, is that out of the 15 best selling jerseys, only 5 are from Yankees and Sox. So it's more team support than individual players. And their overall revenue is only 10% of the league revenue. So it's not like they're the only ones pulling in money. And even though their payrolls are the highest, they're only paying their players 12% of the league's payroll.
Player-wise, half the AL voted on line-up has been from these two teams for the past 3 years. So the fans are speaking that more of the best players come from these two teams. And in a recent article depicting the most "irritating" players, half of them were from these teams, and a couple others used to play for them. And by the way, maybe they're just "irritating" cause the media talks to and about them more than any other team. Ever think about that?
So what's the final answer? The world may never know. But the end result is that the best rivalry in sports is what the people wanna see, what they wanna pay for, and what the networks are gonna cover. So rather than complain about the extra coverage, why don't ya kick back and enjoy some of the best baseball going. Reg season games played like their post-season. Rockin' stadiums full of fans that know when cheer, understand the intricacies of the game, and don't need fountains, amusement rides, or give-aways to draw a crowd. Whether home or away, the nation comes out to support these teams. And it's that surge in support that's kept baseball from falling to the depths of pro sports (ala hockey).
So let's thank the networks for giving the people what they want to see.
Which came first, chicken or the egg, or sports networks covering the Sox/Yankees as if they're the only teams in baseball?
The excuse of course is, the networks give the people what they want. So are these two teams what most of the nation want to see? Does 100% of the country want to see the teams that represent 16% of the population? Or did the networks take a look at the recent merchandise boom and are riding the wave?
As soon as the Sox won the world series in 2004, they doubled their nationwide merchandise sales. And that pushed those two teams over the 50% of all MLB merchandise. However the interesting part, is that out of the 15 best selling jerseys, only 5 are from Yankees and Sox. So it's more team support than individual players. And their overall revenue is only 10% of the league revenue. So it's not like they're the only ones pulling in money. And even though their payrolls are the highest, they're only paying their players 12% of the league's payroll.
Player-wise, half the AL voted on line-up has been from these two teams for the past 3 years. So the fans are speaking that more of the best players come from these two teams. And in a recent article depicting the most "irritating" players, half of them were from these teams, and a couple others used to play for them. And by the way, maybe they're just "irritating" cause the media talks to and about them more than any other team. Ever think about that?
So what's the final answer? The world may never know. But the end result is that the best rivalry in sports is what the people wanna see, what they wanna pay for, and what the networks are gonna cover. So rather than complain about the extra coverage, why don't ya kick back and enjoy some of the best baseball going. Reg season games played like their post-season. Rockin' stadiums full of fans that know when cheer, understand the intricacies of the game, and don't need fountains, amusement rides, or give-aways to draw a crowd. Whether home or away, the nation comes out to support these teams. And it's that surge in support that's kept baseball from falling to the depths of pro sports (ala hockey).
So let's thank the networks for giving the people what they want to see.
Monday, June 18, 2007
The Spurs are the NBA's Patriots
I heard a comment reffering to the Spurs as NBA's equivilent to the New England Patriots in the NFL. This got me thinking, so let's break it down:
Coach
Popoavich - Old School, has a tree of current coaches that were his assistants, Defensive guru that mixes up strategies more often than Lohan goes to rehab.
Belichek - Old School, has a tree, defensive guru....yup, pretty close, but Bill dresses better.
Leader
Duncan - Fundamentally sound, not overly flashy game play, gets everyone involved, is cool under pressure, proven leader with multiple rings
Brady - Same, same, same, same, same....same kinda player, however Tom's obviously the better "playah" off the field. I mean, his girls even make Justin Timberlake jealous.
Defense
Spurs - "Bend but don't break" style keeping them in every game, pester opponents out on the perimeter with borderline-legal hand checks, thuggishly keep the other team looking over their shoulder for the big hit by Horry or Bowen
Pats - "Bend don't break", CB's hand check at the line of scrimmage, and they're always looking out for Harrison
Special Teams
Horry - Can always be counted on for those late 4th quarter nail in the coffin big shots
Vinitieri (yeah I know he's a Colt now, but he was part of their 3 championship teams) - Could always be counted on for those late 4th quarter nail in the coffin big kicks
Officiating
Spurs - Getting the better end of the Horry elbow and riding the wave into the finals.
Pats - Getting the better end of the "Tuck Rule" call and riding the wave into the Superbowl
Close enough for me. Now if the Spurs win their 4th, that means that NE's got another one coming, right?
I heard a comment reffering to the Spurs as NBA's equivilent to the New England Patriots in the NFL. This got me thinking, so let's break it down:
Coach
Popoavich - Old School, has a tree of current coaches that were his assistants, Defensive guru that mixes up strategies more often than Lohan goes to rehab.
Belichek - Old School, has a tree, defensive guru....yup, pretty close, but Bill dresses better.
Leader
Duncan - Fundamentally sound, not overly flashy game play, gets everyone involved, is cool under pressure, proven leader with multiple rings
Brady - Same, same, same, same, same....same kinda player, however Tom's obviously the better "playah" off the field. I mean, his girls even make Justin Timberlake jealous.
Defense
Spurs - "Bend but don't break" style keeping them in every game, pester opponents out on the perimeter with borderline-legal hand checks, thuggishly keep the other team looking over their shoulder for the big hit by Horry or Bowen
Pats - "Bend don't break", CB's hand check at the line of scrimmage, and they're always looking out for Harrison
Special Teams
Horry - Can always be counted on for those late 4th quarter nail in the coffin big shots
Vinitieri (yeah I know he's a Colt now, but he was part of their 3 championship teams) - Could always be counted on for those late 4th quarter nail in the coffin big kicks
Officiating
Spurs - Getting the better end of the Horry elbow and riding the wave into the finals.
Pats - Getting the better end of the "Tuck Rule" call and riding the wave into the Superbowl
Close enough for me. Now if the Spurs win their 4th, that means that NE's got another one coming, right?
Is A-rod the greatest cheapest player of all time?
Obviously when you're paid more other teams entire payroll, you're gonna be put under a microscope. But when you're part of a classy organization (Sox fans can hate on the pinstripes, but they are usually a class act) and you're arguably one of the greatest players of all time, every move you do is going to be documented and analyzed. So when you screw up, everyone will talk about it. Question is, of the following examples, is A-rod screwing up, or is he by nature just a cheap player?
#1 - Knocking the ball out of Arroyo's glove. When you're running to first, and about to be tagged out by the pitcher, half-way up the basepath, not even close to the bag, what should you do? Do you A) Try to run your hardest, and maybe beat out the tag. B) Suck it up, get tagged out, and next time try to hit the ball out of the infield. C) Take a swing at the pitcher, as if the ump won't notice you physically knocking the ball out of his glove. Kobe got suspended a game for that kind of junk.
#2 - Sliding into Pedroia, elbow first. It's one thing to slide hard into second to try to break up a double play. It's another to come up with the People's Elbow to the sternum of a rookie 2nd baseman three feet away from the bag. Question here is, if A-rod was still playing short, would he still do this, or might he actually realize that what goes around comes around?
#3 - Yelling to distract the Blue Jays 3rd baseman. Once again, A-rod's picking on a rookie. Whether he said, "Mine" or "I got it" or whatever, bottom line is it's cheap. Is it against the rules? Not really. So why doesn't everyone do it? They got more class than this guy. Would this be news if it was anyone other than A-rod? Probably not. And that's the whole point.
So when looking at this freak of homerun-hitting, base-stealing nature, and discussing his hall of fame credentials, take a look at the whole picture. He's that spoiled rotten kid who can show off when he's winning (and rarely comes through in the clutch outside of contract years), doesn't get along well with others (as evident by virtually none of his teamates defending his cheap shots or PR nightmares he creates for himself), and worst of all, will resort to ANYTHING, no matter how cheap it is, to try to win. Whatever happened to the Yankees that just know that they're better than you? That just go out there and perform better than you on the field? And when they're having an off day, take the loss, shine their championship rings, and come back the next day to spank you? Is A-rod one of those Yankees? Or is he just a cheap spoiled brat that doesn't deserve to be in the pinstripes, and taking part in the greatest sports rivalry ever? Maybe next year will be better, when he can make the playoffs with a .500 record for Sweet Lou in the JV NL. And the Yankees will just reload at third base with someone that respects the game.
Obviously when you're paid more other teams entire payroll, you're gonna be put under a microscope. But when you're part of a classy organization (Sox fans can hate on the pinstripes, but they are usually a class act) and you're arguably one of the greatest players of all time, every move you do is going to be documented and analyzed. So when you screw up, everyone will talk about it. Question is, of the following examples, is A-rod screwing up, or is he by nature just a cheap player?
#1 - Knocking the ball out of Arroyo's glove. When you're running to first, and about to be tagged out by the pitcher, half-way up the basepath, not even close to the bag, what should you do? Do you A) Try to run your hardest, and maybe beat out the tag. B) Suck it up, get tagged out, and next time try to hit the ball out of the infield. C) Take a swing at the pitcher, as if the ump won't notice you physically knocking the ball out of his glove. Kobe got suspended a game for that kind of junk.
#2 - Sliding into Pedroia, elbow first. It's one thing to slide hard into second to try to break up a double play. It's another to come up with the People's Elbow to the sternum of a rookie 2nd baseman three feet away from the bag. Question here is, if A-rod was still playing short, would he still do this, or might he actually realize that what goes around comes around?
#3 - Yelling to distract the Blue Jays 3rd baseman. Once again, A-rod's picking on a rookie. Whether he said, "Mine" or "I got it" or whatever, bottom line is it's cheap. Is it against the rules? Not really. So why doesn't everyone do it? They got more class than this guy. Would this be news if it was anyone other than A-rod? Probably not. And that's the whole point.
So when looking at this freak of homerun-hitting, base-stealing nature, and discussing his hall of fame credentials, take a look at the whole picture. He's that spoiled rotten kid who can show off when he's winning (and rarely comes through in the clutch outside of contract years), doesn't get along well with others (as evident by virtually none of his teamates defending his cheap shots or PR nightmares he creates for himself), and worst of all, will resort to ANYTHING, no matter how cheap it is, to try to win. Whatever happened to the Yankees that just know that they're better than you? That just go out there and perform better than you on the field? And when they're having an off day, take the loss, shine their championship rings, and come back the next day to spank you? Is A-rod one of those Yankees? Or is he just a cheap spoiled brat that doesn't deserve to be in the pinstripes, and taking part in the greatest sports rivalry ever? Maybe next year will be better, when he can make the playoffs with a .500 record for Sweet Lou in the JV NL. And the Yankees will just reload at third base with someone that respects the game.
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