Ok, I know fantasy success doesn't mean real life success, but I think the following is pretty telling. ESPN's Tristan Cockroft posted the top 250 fantasy players for the 2012 season. As always, I like to see where Wright and Reyes fall (they were 23 and 33 respectively). As I looked for other Mets players, I came across something disturbing - we only had 1 other player (Angel Pagan - 160) ranked in the top 250. Surely that is a bad sign for next year.
So I decided to see if any other team has as few players in the top 250....and here is what I found
14: Atlanta, Texas
13: NY Yankees
12: Tampa Bay
11: Boston, Detroit, LA Angels, Philly
10: Arizona, Milwaukee, Toronto
9: San Fran, Washington
8: Cleveland, KC, LA Dodgers, St Louis
7: Baltimore, Chicago Cubs, Chicago WS, Cincy, Colorado, Florida
6: Oakland
5: Seattle
4: Houston, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, San Diego
3: NY Mets
So there ya go. Even the 106-loss Astros, the Mariners, the Pirates and the Padres have more players ranked in the top 250 than the Mets. Again, I know this doesn't mean anything in terms of real success, but surely it is a bad sign. I mean, Jason Bay is so bad now that there are 250 players ranked higher than him? Geeeesh. I can understand Johan and Ike not being on that list (although I bet they will be a top 250 player by the end of 2012), but wow, no Bay. That is how far he has fallen.
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In a bit of related news, don't expect any analysis of the MLB playoffs on JerseySounder until both the Phils and Yankees lose. I will be openly rooting for the Brewers and Tigers but I will not be spending a second writing about them.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Predicting Mets 2011 Success
Back on March 18, I tried to predict the number of runs scored by the Mets based on anticipated number of games played for each of their players as well as their historical average. My estimate was 756 runs which I said corresponded to about 84 wins.
Specifically, I predicted the following number of runs scored for the top 11 players: Wright (99), Bay (93), Reyes (89), Davis (74), Pagan (70), Beltran (61), Murphy (54), Hairston (29), Harris (29), Thole (21), Paulino (17). I then estimated 120 additional runs from the remaining reserves.
How did I do? Well, first off, the team scored 715 runs and won only 77 games. Apparently the estimate was way high as only one team in the NL - St Louis scored more than 756. The Mets were actually 5th in the league in runs scored.
As for the players, the above players ended with the following number of runs scored: Wright (60), Bay (59), Reyes (101), Davis (20), Pagan (68), Beltran (61), Murphy (49), Hairston (20), Harris (36), Thole (22), Paulino (19). Amazingly, I was within 5 runs on 5 players and within 10 runs on 7. My biggest misses were obviously Wright and Ike who both got injured. Reyes I underestimated even thought I was pretty much right on with the number of games he would play (130 vs actual 126).
Losing both Wright and Ike hurt. But equally as important was the brutal play of Bay all season, the midseason trade of Beltran and losing Murphy for the final 50 games. I know that the offense actually overachieved a little (and that the pitching staff has a lot of blood on their hands), but can you imagine what they could have done if things had gone a little better? Man, they could have been special.
Of course, all actions have an opposite reaction. Losing Ike, Wright, Murphy and Beltran meant that Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada, Justin Turner, Nick Evans, and Jason Pridie received some major playing times. I don't think the latter two will have a long term place with the team (and the jury is still out on Turner), but Duda and Tejada showed they could play (.288 combined average over 629 at bats, 10 hr, 86 rbi) and will probably be in the lineup on Opening Day 2012.
I am fairly optimistic about what this offense can do in 2012 (of course, if we lose Reyes and both Bay Wright never recover, then we will be in trouble) and can only hope that Johan comes back strong, Gee and Dickey have equally impressive seasons, Niese develops into the strong #2 we think he can be and either Capuano or Young slide in at #5 and relegate Pelf to the bullpen. Even with a lower payroll I think we can win 82 games next year.
Specifically, I predicted the following number of runs scored for the top 11 players: Wright (99), Bay (93), Reyes (89), Davis (74), Pagan (70), Beltran (61), Murphy (54), Hairston (29), Harris (29), Thole (21), Paulino (17). I then estimated 120 additional runs from the remaining reserves.
How did I do? Well, first off, the team scored 715 runs and won only 77 games. Apparently the estimate was way high as only one team in the NL - St Louis scored more than 756. The Mets were actually 5th in the league in runs scored.
As for the players, the above players ended with the following number of runs scored: Wright (60), Bay (59), Reyes (101), Davis (20), Pagan (68), Beltran (61), Murphy (49), Hairston (20), Harris (36), Thole (22), Paulino (19). Amazingly, I was within 5 runs on 5 players and within 10 runs on 7. My biggest misses were obviously Wright and Ike who both got injured. Reyes I underestimated even thought I was pretty much right on with the number of games he would play (130 vs actual 126).
Losing both Wright and Ike hurt. But equally as important was the brutal play of Bay all season, the midseason trade of Beltran and losing Murphy for the final 50 games. I know that the offense actually overachieved a little (and that the pitching staff has a lot of blood on their hands), but can you imagine what they could have done if things had gone a little better? Man, they could have been special.
Of course, all actions have an opposite reaction. Losing Ike, Wright, Murphy and Beltran meant that Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada, Justin Turner, Nick Evans, and Jason Pridie received some major playing times. I don't think the latter two will have a long term place with the team (and the jury is still out on Turner), but Duda and Tejada showed they could play (.288 combined average over 629 at bats, 10 hr, 86 rbi) and will probably be in the lineup on Opening Day 2012.
I am fairly optimistic about what this offense can do in 2012 (of course, if we lose Reyes and both Bay Wright never recover, then we will be in trouble) and can only hope that Johan comes back strong, Gee and Dickey have equally impressive seasons, Niese develops into the strong #2 we think he can be and either Capuano or Young slide in at #5 and relegate Pelf to the bullpen. Even with a lower payroll I think we can win 82 games next year.
It Just Didn't Feel Right
When I learned that Jose Reyes was taken out of the game after getting a hit in his first at-bat, something just didn't feel right. So I wrote my boys to get their thoughts on it. We discussed it a little, but I never got a real answer out of them. Instead, the talk turned to what to do in the off-season with not just him but Wright as well. I suppose some issues are more pressing than others.
So then on the way home, I asked The Wife, the sports ethicist, for her thoughts on it. The conversation went as such:
Me: So Jose Reyes entered the day with the highest batting average in the league. No Mets player has ever won it. After he got a hit, manager Terry Collins took him out of the game. What are your thoughts?
Wife: Well I don't see anything wrong with it, but I don't think I get why he came out.
Me: Well, he got a hit which increased his average. By leaving the game it meant his average could go no lower since it was the last game of the year. So essentially he took the easy way out.
Wife: I suppose it all depends on how he felt about it.
Me: There were whispers last night that it might happen that way. Some of the bloggers thought he would come out of the game so the Shea faithful could give him an ovation. But instead of getting cheered, a lot of fans booed. They were like...wait, I paid this money to come see you and you're being taken out early?
Wife: That's fine and all, but what did he think about it? It's only wrong if they weren't on the same page.
Me: Good point. Actually, we found out after the game that Reyes asked to be taken out. Collins felt like he had to oblige because of what Reyes means to the team, but was torn because he saw the other side of it too.
Wife: So what do you think?
Me: I think he took the cheap way out, but that's fine. He says that winning the title was important to not only him but to the entire fan base as well. I can't fault him for that even though I think it's lame.
Wife: Yeah, but would you rather have had him play and then lose the title on the last day of the season?
Me: Actually, I think I would rather have had him play. If he lost it at least he went down swinging. Who knows though, maybe he could have gone 2-4 or 3-4...nothing says that 1-1 would have turned into 1-4. Bottom line for me though, is what this says to the fans. There is a really high probability that this was his last game for the Mets, the organization he has been with since he was 16. Our last memory of him was him being taken out of the game early. All the fans that went out to a 1:00 start on a weekday wanted to see him potentially for the last time...and he requested to leave the field. It just doesn't feel right.
Wife: Well, does Reyes have any obligation to the fans?
Me: That right there is the conversation killer. You break out that question and you kill the debate.
Wife: Why?
Me: Well, because Reyes, like any athlete, does not owe anything to the fans or the owners. We expect them to love the team as much as we do. We cheer for them when they do good, but boo them when they do bad. Reyes is no different. Sure he is being cheered now. Fans are pleading with the ownership to re-sign him and they are pleading with him to come back. But not long ago, we were booing him and talk radio was suggesting that he was an injury bust. We don't care about Reyes the person. We care about Reyes the baseball player. Reyes doesn't need to care about the fans. If winning the title was important to him, than he has every right to do what he did. I just think he looks a little selfish, which is not the perception I would want to paint during my free agent year.
So then on the way home, I asked The Wife, the sports ethicist, for her thoughts on it. The conversation went as such:
Me: So Jose Reyes entered the day with the highest batting average in the league. No Mets player has ever won it. After he got a hit, manager Terry Collins took him out of the game. What are your thoughts?
Wife: Well I don't see anything wrong with it, but I don't think I get why he came out.
Me: Well, he got a hit which increased his average. By leaving the game it meant his average could go no lower since it was the last game of the year. So essentially he took the easy way out.
Wife: I suppose it all depends on how he felt about it.
Me: There were whispers last night that it might happen that way. Some of the bloggers thought he would come out of the game so the Shea faithful could give him an ovation. But instead of getting cheered, a lot of fans booed. They were like...wait, I paid this money to come see you and you're being taken out early?
Wife: That's fine and all, but what did he think about it? It's only wrong if they weren't on the same page.
Me: Good point. Actually, we found out after the game that Reyes asked to be taken out. Collins felt like he had to oblige because of what Reyes means to the team, but was torn because he saw the other side of it too.
Wife: So what do you think?
Me: I think he took the cheap way out, but that's fine. He says that winning the title was important to not only him but to the entire fan base as well. I can't fault him for that even though I think it's lame.
Wife: Yeah, but would you rather have had him play and then lose the title on the last day of the season?
Me: Actually, I think I would rather have had him play. If he lost it at least he went down swinging. Who knows though, maybe he could have gone 2-4 or 3-4...nothing says that 1-1 would have turned into 1-4. Bottom line for me though, is what this says to the fans. There is a really high probability that this was his last game for the Mets, the organization he has been with since he was 16. Our last memory of him was him being taken out of the game early. All the fans that went out to a 1:00 start on a weekday wanted to see him potentially for the last time...and he requested to leave the field. It just doesn't feel right.
Wife: Well, does Reyes have any obligation to the fans?
Me: That right there is the conversation killer. You break out that question and you kill the debate.
Wife: Why?
Me: Well, because Reyes, like any athlete, does not owe anything to the fans or the owners. We expect them to love the team as much as we do. We cheer for them when they do good, but boo them when they do bad. Reyes is no different. Sure he is being cheered now. Fans are pleading with the ownership to re-sign him and they are pleading with him to come back. But not long ago, we were booing him and talk radio was suggesting that he was an injury bust. We don't care about Reyes the person. We care about Reyes the baseball player. Reyes doesn't need to care about the fans. If winning the title was important to him, than he has every right to do what he did. I just think he looks a little selfish, which is not the perception I would want to paint during my free agent year.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Sounders Get the Job Done
I was commenting to The Wife before tonight's game how great an accomplishment it would have been to advance in the CCL. After finishing the group stage last year with only 1 win in 6 games advancing out of our group would be huge.
I was on Incident duty tonight so I didn't get to turn it on until the 15th minute. I'm not gonna lie - I was discouraged by the scoreline and I didn't feel good about it. I mean, shouldn't I have complete confidence in my boys by now? Haven't they done enough to justify some confidence? The answer is of course yes, but something about playing in Central America just doesn't feel right. I am always expecting the worst. So I just figured we would get screwed over in some way (or that they would bunker in and we wouldn't break it)
Over the next 25 minutes we put in a pretty dominant performance but our crosses were terrible. Check that, terrible is being kind. Insert a word that is even worse than terrible - how about brutal? I want to pour it on Zach Scott (who had an equally sucky game over the weekend), but Lamar Neagle was equally as guilty. The field conditions were really bad, but still, those are crosses that should be no problem.
In the 45th minute, we got a gift goal. Ok, that doesn't give Ozzie enough credit for keeping the volley on frame, but not only should the ball have been cleared, but it deflected off a body in front. At that point I knew we were sitting pretty. We got another nice break in Central America...
Then in the 61st minute, Mike Fucito missed a breakaway and two minutes later Kasey Keller messed up a punch that led to the second goal. It was a definite F-up by the 41 year old. In the 83rd Montero missed a header. Two minutes later he hit the crossbar off a beautiful give and go with El Flacco. I was definitely nervous that we wouldn't be getting the much needed point.
Just when all hope was gone, Ozzie Alonso was camped out in front of the goal and connected on a rebound for the game tying goal. The lead-up was beautiful, highlighted by a cheeky little pass from Montero.
The boys killed out stoppage time and are through to the knockout phase. It is really an amazing result and accomplishment. In a season where we lost Blaise Nkufo before the ball was even kicked; where we lost Steve Zakuani 5 games; where we have seen Zach Scott and Tyson Wahl have featured prominently and in a season where we are still alive in all 3 competitions, all the pieces have fallen in place perfectly.
I said that Hanauer's decision to not bring in a striker (ok, it wasn't a decision as so much as bad luck) during the transfer period would ultimately be judged based on how we did in the 3 competitions. If we were to lose both the US Open Cup Final and not score a goal in the playoffs, then he will bare some of the blame. I am starting to re-think that previous statement.
I mean, this isn't Europe. When we lost Zakuani for the year, we couldn't just go out and bring in a big name transfer. No, in fact, the best we could do was rely more heavily on a no name midfielder from Federal Way. Working the salary cap to build a MLS contender can be done. Building a team that not only can challenge for the league title, but who is deep enough to make it not only to the US Open Cup Final but to advance in Champions League is insanely difficult. Adrian deserves a lot of credit.
Sigi thought probably deserves even more. He has mixed and matched his players brilliantly thus far. Pat Noonan, Nate Jaqua, Roger Levesque, Zach Scott and Sevrando Carrasco might not be the best players in the league, but they serve a purpose and can step in when needed to fill a role. Sigi has never thrown the towel, but instead has planned brilliantly with his time off. And now that we have advanced, he can decide to completely rest all of our first team players against Monterrey. Some might say we should go for first in the group, but I think he HAS to go with a complete B/C team on the 18th.
A year after we played well but couldn't get the results, we turned around and got results when we shouldn't. We went down early to Communicaciones early in August and then scored 4 straight. Then we went down to Mexico with what might have been the weakest starting 11 of the year and got the result. Same for our game in Herediano. Three great results to start the group phase. We might have had a brief letdown in the last two, but in the end we got the job done.
Well done by the boys. I know an MLS title is the ultimate goal, but something about success against teams from other countries just really excites me. Now on to the knockout range where we may or may not have to start Terry Boss in goal. That would be scary, but something I'll worry about after the turn of the year.
On a side note,Ozzie's son turned two today[Actually, it was his wife's birthday. El Presidente is the one with a 2 year old son]. I forgot that the mini bulldog was the same age as The Incident. You now I will find a way to get them to meet sometime.
I was on Incident duty tonight so I didn't get to turn it on until the 15th minute. I'm not gonna lie - I was discouraged by the scoreline and I didn't feel good about it. I mean, shouldn't I have complete confidence in my boys by now? Haven't they done enough to justify some confidence? The answer is of course yes, but something about playing in Central America just doesn't feel right. I am always expecting the worst. So I just figured we would get screwed over in some way (or that they would bunker in and we wouldn't break it)
Over the next 25 minutes we put in a pretty dominant performance but our crosses were terrible. Check that, terrible is being kind. Insert a word that is even worse than terrible - how about brutal? I want to pour it on Zach Scott (who had an equally sucky game over the weekend), but Lamar Neagle was equally as guilty. The field conditions were really bad, but still, those are crosses that should be no problem.
In the 45th minute, we got a gift goal. Ok, that doesn't give Ozzie enough credit for keeping the volley on frame, but not only should the ball have been cleared, but it deflected off a body in front. At that point I knew we were sitting pretty. We got another nice break in Central America...
Then in the 61st minute, Mike Fucito missed a breakaway and two minutes later Kasey Keller messed up a punch that led to the second goal. It was a definite F-up by the 41 year old. In the 83rd Montero missed a header. Two minutes later he hit the crossbar off a beautiful give and go with El Flacco. I was definitely nervous that we wouldn't be getting the much needed point.
Just when all hope was gone, Ozzie Alonso was camped out in front of the goal and connected on a rebound for the game tying goal. The lead-up was beautiful, highlighted by a cheeky little pass from Montero.
The boys killed out stoppage time and are through to the knockout phase. It is really an amazing result and accomplishment. In a season where we lost Blaise Nkufo before the ball was even kicked; where we lost Steve Zakuani 5 games; where we have seen Zach Scott and Tyson Wahl have featured prominently and in a season where we are still alive in all 3 competitions, all the pieces have fallen in place perfectly.
I said that Hanauer's decision to not bring in a striker (ok, it wasn't a decision as so much as bad luck) during the transfer period would ultimately be judged based on how we did in the 3 competitions. If we were to lose both the US Open Cup Final and not score a goal in the playoffs, then he will bare some of the blame. I am starting to re-think that previous statement.
I mean, this isn't Europe. When we lost Zakuani for the year, we couldn't just go out and bring in a big name transfer. No, in fact, the best we could do was rely more heavily on a no name midfielder from Federal Way. Working the salary cap to build a MLS contender can be done. Building a team that not only can challenge for the league title, but who is deep enough to make it not only to the US Open Cup Final but to advance in Champions League is insanely difficult. Adrian deserves a lot of credit.
Sigi thought probably deserves even more. He has mixed and matched his players brilliantly thus far. Pat Noonan, Nate Jaqua, Roger Levesque, Zach Scott and Sevrando Carrasco might not be the best players in the league, but they serve a purpose and can step in when needed to fill a role. Sigi has never thrown the towel, but instead has planned brilliantly with his time off. And now that we have advanced, he can decide to completely rest all of our first team players against Monterrey. Some might say we should go for first in the group, but I think he HAS to go with a complete B/C team on the 18th.
A year after we played well but couldn't get the results, we turned around and got results when we shouldn't. We went down early to Communicaciones early in August and then scored 4 straight. Then we went down to Mexico with what might have been the weakest starting 11 of the year and got the result. Same for our game in Herediano. Three great results to start the group phase. We might have had a brief letdown in the last two, but in the end we got the job done.
Well done by the boys. I know an MLS title is the ultimate goal, but something about success against teams from other countries just really excites me. Now on to the knockout range where we may or may not have to start Terry Boss in goal. That would be scary, but something I'll worry about after the turn of the year.
On a side note,
Monday, September 26, 2011
Rooting for the Choke
My buddy used to have a t-shirt that said "My two favorite teams are the Mets and whoever plays the Yankees." It is a motto I have pretty much lived my life by. So for the past decade that has meant I have supported the Red Sox. I mean, nothing hurts Yankees' fans more than seeing them lose to Boston.
By all means, I support the Sox because I know they are the team every year that has the best chance of beating the Yankees in the playoffs (even though amazingly they have not met in the postseason since 2004). This year I figured it was no different. With the additions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford and a rotation that was the deepest in the league, they were the odds on favorites to win the World Series. After jumping out to a miserable 2-10 start, they won 59 of their next 86 game to take a 3 game lead in the division. As late as Aug 31, they were still in first place by 1/2 games.
Then the unthinkable happened. The Sox went 6-18 in September and lost an 9 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. With two games left in the season, they are tied for the Wild Card lead. Their slide has been remarkable and to be perfectly honest, I am kind of hoping it keeps up. I have nothing against the Sox, I just want them to take the title away from the 2007 Mets as the biggest chokers in MLB history. Sure, the Mets may have lost a 7 game lead with 17 left, but that team was not as good as the current Red Sox team. When the Mets choked they were a .572 team...the Red Sox were a .614 team and one of the favorites to win the whole thing.
I know the Sox making the playoffs might mean the Yanks have a better chance at winning, but I feel numb to the whole thing right now. I mean, in my opinion their is a 75% chance that either the Phils or Yanks win the whole thing...so if that is going to happen, why not have someone join us in our misery??
Mets fans, tell me if I'm wrong...
By all means, I support the Sox because I know they are the team every year that has the best chance of beating the Yankees in the playoffs (even though amazingly they have not met in the postseason since 2004). This year I figured it was no different. With the additions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford and a rotation that was the deepest in the league, they were the odds on favorites to win the World Series. After jumping out to a miserable 2-10 start, they won 59 of their next 86 game to take a 3 game lead in the division. As late as Aug 31, they were still in first place by 1/2 games.
Then the unthinkable happened. The Sox went 6-18 in September and lost an 9 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. With two games left in the season, they are tied for the Wild Card lead. Their slide has been remarkable and to be perfectly honest, I am kind of hoping it keeps up. I have nothing against the Sox, I just want them to take the title away from the 2007 Mets as the biggest chokers in MLB history. Sure, the Mets may have lost a 7 game lead with 17 left, but that team was not as good as the current Red Sox team. When the Mets choked they were a .572 team...the Red Sox were a .614 team and one of the favorites to win the whole thing.
I know the Sox making the playoffs might mean the Yanks have a better chance at winning, but I feel numb to the whole thing right now. I mean, in my opinion their is a 75% chance that either the Phils or Yanks win the whole thing...so if that is going to happen, why not have someone join us in our misery??
Mets fans, tell me if I'm wrong...
Wonderful!
It is being confirmed that the 2012 Winter Classic will be Flyers v Rangers. Wonderful! I was just saying the other day that I don't get to watch these two shitty teams enough on NBC and Versus. Thank goodness the league no longer is focusing solely on the Devils, a team that has more playoffs appearances (19) and more Stanley Cups (3) in the past 21 years than both of those teams. Seriously, it's about damn time.
In unrelated, I'm not effing bitter about the effing Flyers and Rangers news, the Devs are going to retire Scott Niedermayer's number on Dec 16. In my opinion, this is well-deserved and entirely appropriate. I am not one of the fans that tell him eff off because he played his last 5 years in Anaheim. Those fans are complete idiots and need to have their head examined. Come on, he went to Anaheim to play with his brother....not the Rangers, not the Flyers, not the Isles, not the Bruins. Stupid Anaheim - 3000 miles and one conference away. He is 3rd in all time games played for the club, is one of 5 players to have won all 3 Cups with the team and has long been a model citizen on and off the ice. Five years as a Duck does not make him anything less than a Devil. In fact, when he goes into the Hockey Hall in a few years, he is going to be wearing red. So get over it.
For more info on Nieds big night, including quotes from Lou, check out the Fire and Ice blog.
In unrelated, I'm not effing bitter about the effing Flyers and Rangers news, the Devs are going to retire Scott Niedermayer's number on Dec 16. In my opinion, this is well-deserved and entirely appropriate. I am not one of the fans that tell him eff off because he played his last 5 years in Anaheim. Those fans are complete idiots and need to have their head examined. Come on, he went to Anaheim to play with his brother....not the Rangers, not the Flyers, not the Isles, not the Bruins. Stupid Anaheim - 3000 miles and one conference away. He is 3rd in all time games played for the club, is one of 5 players to have won all 3 Cups with the team and has long been a model citizen on and off the ice. Five years as a Duck does not make him anything less than a Devil. In fact, when he goes into the Hockey Hall in a few years, he is going to be wearing red. So get over it.
For more info on Nieds big night, including quotes from Lou, check out the Fire and Ice blog.
Monday Morning Five-Pack
I have five things I want to talk about this morning, so let's not waste any time.
- For me right now, all weekends start and end with the Sounders. After a disapointing loss at home mid-week (in what really was a terrible game to watch), the club rebounded with a 3-1 win at Vancouver to win the Cascadia Cup. First off, the game was really exciting to watch. I know it is easy to say considering we won, but regardless of the score, there was a lot of end to end stuff with a lot of open space. A few things in particular stood out.
First, it's games like that when we are all reminded how special a player Fredy Montero is and can be. I have been saying for a month that he has been playing really well - problem was he wasn't scoring in league play, so there seemed to be no payoff. However, with Mauro out and the team seemingly needing a leader, he stepped up with two big goals for the win. I noted to The Wife that he even looks happier this year - I don't remember any of those sulking moments that he had in the past when he wasn't the one scoring. I know that doesn't mean much, but I think it goes to show how close this team is right now.
Second, we escaped with no injuries to our currently fragile midfield. With both Rosales and Friberg out with injuries and both Evans and Alonso nursing minor ones, things were feeling pretty dicey. I was surprised to see Sigi keep Evans out there for the full 90 considering his recent injury, but this time it worked. I can only guess that he won't be playing B-Rad on Tuesday night and instead will be counting on El Flaco, who was subbed out by Darid Estrada (!), to go the full 90.
Third, I think we found our Nate Jaqua replacement. I know that Sammy Ochoa hasn't actually score in his first two appearances, but that was by luck alone. On Tuesday he was denied by a world class save and Saturday he was denied by the post. If he is able to get to at least one header a game he is going to be scoring some goals. You just don't put those quality shots on without them going in. His continued emergence HAS to spell the end of Big Nate's time in rave.
Finally, I really think this Vancouver team could be good next year. Even though they both had forgettable games, I think the forward pair of Eric Hassli and Mustapha Jarju could become one of the top units in the league. In Camilo and David Chumiento they also have great quality....but it's that defense that is going to kill them. One place to start would be to find someone of the Alonso/Mastroeni/Joseph to sure of the center of the field defensively. The next step would be to get some outside backs who can actually man mark. Final would be to stop making bad mistakes (Jay DeMerit, anyone?). Bottom line - more quality is needed...remember, Pate Vagenas got the start for them - On to the Huskies, who improved to 3-1 with a 31-23 win over at Cal. I don't know where this season is going to go, but I can say one thing - there is never going to be a dull game. I mean, their defense is terrible and their offense looks to be actually pretty good. Keith Price may end up having one of the best seasons in UW history (dare I say it, but he is making us quickly forget Jake) but as long as they keep on giving up 400 yards passing they will never be able to get to the next level.
Next week is going to be a key game. If they can get the win at Utah they will with all likelihood be at 5-1 when they make the trip to Palo Alto (assuming of course that we don't shit the bed against Colorado at home the week before). At 5-1, even if we were to lose all 4 games to Stanford, Zona, USC and Oregon, we could still end the season with 7 wins with OSU and WSU last on the schedule. Games against teams of similar strength are the really important ones because they can mean the difference between going to a bowl game and staying home.
oh, one more thing - that Seferian-Jenkins kid appears to be the real deal. - I really had hoped the Mets could have won yesterday because I could come in this morning and say how we swept the Phils and helped them lose their 8th straight. Unfortunately we had Mike Pelfrey on the mound against Roy Halladay - we never had a chance. Pelfrey has been terrible this year. Their is no doubt about it. Instead of leaving us with something to be hopeful about, he went out and through another dreadful game. I have defended him in the past because of his stuff, but he simply doesn't appear to have the mental stuff to make it in NY.
- On to the NFL where the Bills and Lions are definitely the best stories of the season. Of the two however, I think the Lions have the better chance to make the playoffs. For me, it simply comes down to their division. I don't want to take anything away from the Bears because they are a decent team, but the Lions have Chicago and the defending champs in their division - the Bills have the Jets and Pats. I can accept the Lions being the second best team in the NFC north, but I can't accept the Bills being the second best team in the AFC East. I think the Bills were a little fortunate yesterday. Up to now, the Pats had no equal on offense, but their defense was almost as bad as the Huskies. Well, they encountered a team that could not only put points on the board, but they turned the ball over 4 times to help them put points on the board. Tom Brady had a rare bad game and the rest of the team couldn't get the job done.
The one thing that bothers me about the Lions though is the lack of a running game. They had 20 yards on 19 carries yesterday(!). At some point, that is going to come back to bite them in the ass. - Finally, a note on soccer with The Incident. It was really really fun. I did not feel competitive for a second (I made sure not to be That Guy who was decked out in full soccer gear) and I just loved being able to run around with her. I am excited for next Saturday.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Final Homestand of the Season
The long MLB regular season is finally coming to an end. After 156 mostly disappointing games, the Mets season will officially be done on Wednesday. Before I look back on the both the good and bad from 2011, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on one Mr. Jose Reyes.
Reyes, in case you live under a rock, is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. People around the game feel that he will be asking for Carl Crawford type money. Most people think he will be on his way out of town. Others think that he will take a hometown discount to stay with the organization he has been with since 1999 when he was a 16-year old.
My thoughts on what the organization have been well documented. I thought they should have tried to trade him before the deadline, when his value was highest. It's not that I don't like Reyes or don't value him - it's just that I thought we needed a fresh start. If we signed him to a long term contract, his knee or Achilles or hamstring or quad or ankle was sure to get hurt. If we traded him he was sure to stay healthy.
Regardless, the Mets didn't trade him and now face the possibility that he leaves and all we get are two compensatory draft picks that at best won't be ready to contribute for 3 years. After assuming he was gone early in the season, I actually think that there is a decent chance he might stay in NY. There just seem to be a lot of signs. First, with his recent injury problem I think the Mets have more of the upper hand. Why would any team, they will ask him, want to sign him to a 7 year contract when he can't go the entire year without being hurt. In June it looked like he might - in September, not so much. Second, the number of teams that could afford him are starting to decrease. Philly recently committed to Rollins. The Yanks are moving a recently resurgent Jeter. Boston seems to be tapped out after signing Adrian Gonzalez and Crawford. Cincy and SF are probably interested, but I can't seem them spending the money. Texas and Chicago have their star SS's. Maybe Anaheim? Third, recent reports indicate that Reyes really loves NY and might not want to go anywhere. I don't know...it's just starting to feel like we might be able to re-sign him.
Of course, what happens if we aren't able/willing to re-sign him? Well, first, Mets fans are going to be pissed. Even though Reyes and Wright have blood on their hands for the 2006-2009 season, Reyes is one of us. He came up through the organization and during his best year, provided a level of excitement we hadn't seen in Flushing since 1986. When he was rolling, our team was rolling. He was our catalyst. And long before we were disappointed by the likes of Fernando Martinez, he entered as the BIG prospect and instantly stole the show. But even with all the good moments, he has had some really down times. It is what being a Mets fan is about - in a way, he is one of us. For that, he will always be one of the most popular Mets ever.
If this six game homestand against the Phils and Reds is his last time in blue and orange, I want to thank him for all the exciting moments we had with him. He simply will not look right in red or in pinstripes.
Reyes, in case you live under a rock, is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. People around the game feel that he will be asking for Carl Crawford type money. Most people think he will be on his way out of town. Others think that he will take a hometown discount to stay with the organization he has been with since 1999 when he was a 16-year old.
My thoughts on what the organization have been well documented. I thought they should have tried to trade him before the deadline, when his value was highest. It's not that I don't like Reyes or don't value him - it's just that I thought we needed a fresh start. If we signed him to a long term contract, his knee or Achilles or hamstring or quad or ankle was sure to get hurt. If we traded him he was sure to stay healthy.
Regardless, the Mets didn't trade him and now face the possibility that he leaves and all we get are two compensatory draft picks that at best won't be ready to contribute for 3 years. After assuming he was gone early in the season, I actually think that there is a decent chance he might stay in NY. There just seem to be a lot of signs. First, with his recent injury problem I think the Mets have more of the upper hand. Why would any team, they will ask him, want to sign him to a 7 year contract when he can't go the entire year without being hurt. In June it looked like he might - in September, not so much. Second, the number of teams that could afford him are starting to decrease. Philly recently committed to Rollins. The Yanks are moving a recently resurgent Jeter. Boston seems to be tapped out after signing Adrian Gonzalez and Crawford. Cincy and SF are probably interested, but I can't seem them spending the money. Texas and Chicago have their star SS's. Maybe Anaheim? Third, recent reports indicate that Reyes really loves NY and might not want to go anywhere. I don't know...it's just starting to feel like we might be able to re-sign him.
Of course, what happens if we aren't able/willing to re-sign him? Well, first, Mets fans are going to be pissed. Even though Reyes and Wright have blood on their hands for the 2006-2009 season, Reyes is one of us. He came up through the organization and during his best year, provided a level of excitement we hadn't seen in Flushing since 1986. When he was rolling, our team was rolling. He was our catalyst. And long before we were disappointed by the likes of Fernando Martinez, he entered as the BIG prospect and instantly stole the show. But even with all the good moments, he has had some really down times. It is what being a Mets fan is about - in a way, he is one of us. For that, he will always be one of the most popular Mets ever.
If this six game homestand against the Phils and Reds is his last time in blue and orange, I want to thank him for all the exciting moments we had with him. He simply will not look right in red or in pinstripes.
Soccer With My Daughter, Vol 1
I try my best to keep my family life out of this blog. If you are reading any of my content, I know that you really only want to think about sports - not how amazing I think my daughter is. Well, this is my first venture into talking about my daughter, because, well, it ties into sports perfectly.
Tomorrow I start Daddy & Me soccer with my 2-year old. It is a day I have been excited about for some time and finally it is here.
A year ago The Wife convinced me that I should create a new blog discussing my experience with The Incident as she is introduced to the world of sports. She felt that other fathers might be able to relate and might be interested in reading what I had to say. I gave it some thought and given the success of this blog, I decided to put it on hold. However, since that day I have been writing about all the little moments - the day she first recognized my Mets hat, the day she wanted to go to the Sounders game with us, the day she first kicked a ball - in a journal that maybe one day she will want to read. At the very least it can be something I share with her. At the most, it might be something others care to read.
This is the premise of this entry and any future entries about this: I love my daughter. I love sports. I hope to write about their intersection.
************
I am really excited about tomorrow. I have loved the sport of soccer since I was 5 year old and I hope that someday The Incident will come to appreciate it as much as I do. I know that is probably not a healthy hope, so allow me to alter it slightly: at the very least I hope that she gets satisfaction and enjoyment out of playing the game at some time in her life.
I assume that when she is 5 years old, running around on a grass field and aiming to kick a soccer ball will be fun. What I don't know is how long that will last for her. Will she want to give up the sport at age 8? Will she want to give it up when she enters high school and has other priorities? Will she want to play college soccer? Hell, will she even want to play it age 30?
I don't have those answers, but I hope that she has fun. I have no expectations for tomorrow. Check that, I do have some expectations - I expect her to be on the field with me and 5 other groups from our parenting group. I expect her to kick the ball once and then want to pick dandelions or play on the set of swings in the distance. I think those are the only realistic expectations to have - I mean, she's 2.
If I go into it thinking that she is going to be the best player (or at least the most excited) then I am headed for a letdown. As much as I wish for her to have more talent than her old man, there is not a chance in hell that we will see it tomorrow. No, tomorrow is more about being a dad and having fun outside then it is being a dad teaching the game of soccer to his daughter. Tomorrow is not about showing off my skill and feeling tough because I am better and more knowledgeable than the other dads (already that is in question if my boy Irish Mike shows up), but rather an opportunity to be outside with my daughter and a group of people that I have grown close to.
I am very excited.
Tomorrow I start Daddy & Me soccer with my 2-year old. It is a day I have been excited about for some time and finally it is here.
A year ago The Wife convinced me that I should create a new blog discussing my experience with The Incident as she is introduced to the world of sports. She felt that other fathers might be able to relate and might be interested in reading what I had to say. I gave it some thought and given the success of this blog, I decided to put it on hold. However, since that day I have been writing about all the little moments - the day she first recognized my Mets hat, the day she wanted to go to the Sounders game with us, the day she first kicked a ball - in a journal that maybe one day she will want to read. At the very least it can be something I share with her. At the most, it might be something others care to read.
This is the premise of this entry and any future entries about this: I love my daughter. I love sports. I hope to write about their intersection.
************
I am really excited about tomorrow. I have loved the sport of soccer since I was 5 year old and I hope that someday The Incident will come to appreciate it as much as I do. I know that is probably not a healthy hope, so allow me to alter it slightly: at the very least I hope that she gets satisfaction and enjoyment out of playing the game at some time in her life.
I assume that when she is 5 years old, running around on a grass field and aiming to kick a soccer ball will be fun. What I don't know is how long that will last for her. Will she want to give up the sport at age 8? Will she want to give it up when she enters high school and has other priorities? Will she want to play college soccer? Hell, will she even want to play it age 30?
I don't have those answers, but I hope that she has fun. I have no expectations for tomorrow. Check that, I do have some expectations - I expect her to be on the field with me and 5 other groups from our parenting group. I expect her to kick the ball once and then want to pick dandelions or play on the set of swings in the distance. I think those are the only realistic expectations to have - I mean, she's 2.
If I go into it thinking that she is going to be the best player (or at least the most excited) then I am headed for a letdown. As much as I wish for her to have more talent than her old man, there is not a chance in hell that we will see it tomorrow. No, tomorrow is more about being a dad and having fun outside then it is being a dad teaching the game of soccer to his daughter. Tomorrow is not about showing off my skill and feeling tough because I am better and more knowledgeable than the other dads (already that is in question if my boy Irish Mike shows up), but rather an opportunity to be outside with my daughter and a group of people that I have grown close to.
I am very excited.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Two Bad Losses
It's times like this when I realize why no one reads this blog: that's right, a post not just dedicated to American soccer, but to the WNBA! I can hear the excitement right now.
Anyways, it's been a rough couple of days for local sports teams. First, there was a shutout loss by the Seahawks on Sunday. I make no comments on this because every time I do, I get accused of being "unfair" towards the 'Hawks. So I am going to wait until they start 0-6 before commenting. The following day, the defending WNBA champions Seattle Storm blew a 17 point second quarter lead at home (a place they have only lost 2 times in the previous 39 games) to the Phoenix Mercury (a team they had beaten in 11 of their last 13).
It was a startling loss - one I couldn't believe when The Wife told me. I mean, blowing a 18 point surely meant that they lost their cool along the way...turns out, I was right. The team couldn't handle the physicality of the game and wilted under the pressure.
There is no way that this should have happened. They steamrolled through the league, finishing with a 35-6 record (including 7-0 in the playoffs). They lost no one in the offseason (unlike 2004 when they lost 2/5 of their starting lineup) and actually brought in one of the top 10 players in league history - Katie Smith - to help with the long stretches of offensive ineffectiveness. Now I'm sure that the reason they ultimately did not repeat was lack of urgency, complacency and ego...but I'm going to blame it on Smith. Call me crazy, but from day 1 in the Storm lineup, I thought Smith just didn't fit. I only watched a few games this season, but every time I did, she was throwing up shots. Hell, maybe that's what she has always done, but not what we needed on this team. The fact that she played 30 minutes and went 0-9 from the field on Monday (0-6 3-pt) is no coincidence - I think she let this team down. [Ok, ok, ok...losing LJ for 2 months didn't help - she was never the same all season]
It was a terrible, terrible, terrible loss. There is no other way around it.
Now on to Tuesday, where the Sounders lost 1-0 to Herediano of Costa Rica (or Guatemala according to Tony Ventrella). It was not an entirely inspiring performance and one that I think could come back to bite them in the ass. I found out after the match that due to Monterrey's win against Communicaciones that even had the Sounders won, they would not have clinched a spot. So really, the loss isn't that huge...but I still can't help but feel uneasy about it. Look at their final two fixtures - on the road in Guatemala and then home against the defending CCL champions, a hungry, pissed-off Monterrey team. It is entirely possible that we finish 3-3 and miss out on the knockout stage, so even a point would have been nice last night.
I understand that Hurtado and Keller were the only full-time starters in the first 11 last week. I understand that Sigi had his hands time with respect to who was available. I understand that the team has heavy legs. I get it, I really do. I just know how easier the next few weeks would be had we been able to rest our starters in the final 2 group stage games. I only hope it doesn't come back to bite us.
I won't say it was a terrible loss...it was just a terrible game to watch. Herediano scored a beautiful early goal and then killed time for 50 minutes. I thought Fredy Montero looked great and I thought Sammy Ochoa was a bright spot, but overall, the game was just a letdown.
The boys have a big one this weekend against Vancouver - we owe them one after their miracle 2-2 tie earlier in the year. Come on you Sounders!
Anyways, it's been a rough couple of days for local sports teams. First, there was a shutout loss by the Seahawks on Sunday. I make no comments on this because every time I do, I get accused of being "unfair" towards the 'Hawks. So I am going to wait until they start 0-6 before commenting. The following day, the defending WNBA champions Seattle Storm blew a 17 point second quarter lead at home (a place they have only lost 2 times in the previous 39 games) to the Phoenix Mercury (a team they had beaten in 11 of their last 13).
It was a startling loss - one I couldn't believe when The Wife told me. I mean, blowing a 18 point surely meant that they lost their cool along the way...turns out, I was right. The team couldn't handle the physicality of the game and wilted under the pressure.
There is no way that this should have happened. They steamrolled through the league, finishing with a 35-6 record (including 7-0 in the playoffs). They lost no one in the offseason (unlike 2004 when they lost 2/5 of their starting lineup) and actually brought in one of the top 10 players in league history - Katie Smith - to help with the long stretches of offensive ineffectiveness. Now I'm sure that the reason they ultimately did not repeat was lack of urgency, complacency and ego...but I'm going to blame it on Smith. Call me crazy, but from day 1 in the Storm lineup, I thought Smith just didn't fit. I only watched a few games this season, but every time I did, she was throwing up shots. Hell, maybe that's what she has always done, but not what we needed on this team. The fact that she played 30 minutes and went 0-9 from the field on Monday (0-6 3-pt) is no coincidence - I think she let this team down. [Ok, ok, ok...losing LJ for 2 months didn't help - she was never the same all season]
It was a terrible, terrible, terrible loss. There is no other way around it.
Now on to Tuesday, where the Sounders lost 1-0 to Herediano of Costa Rica (or Guatemala according to Tony Ventrella). It was not an entirely inspiring performance and one that I think could come back to bite them in the ass. I found out after the match that due to Monterrey's win against Communicaciones that even had the Sounders won, they would not have clinched a spot. So really, the loss isn't that huge...but I still can't help but feel uneasy about it. Look at their final two fixtures - on the road in Guatemala and then home against the defending CCL champions, a hungry, pissed-off Monterrey team. It is entirely possible that we finish 3-3 and miss out on the knockout stage, so even a point would have been nice last night.
I understand that Hurtado and Keller were the only full-time starters in the first 11 last week. I understand that Sigi had his hands time with respect to who was available. I understand that the team has heavy legs. I get it, I really do. I just know how easier the next few weeks would be had we been able to rest our starters in the final 2 group stage games. I only hope it doesn't come back to bite us.
I won't say it was a terrible loss...it was just a terrible game to watch. Herediano scored a beautiful early goal and then killed time for 50 minutes. I thought Fredy Montero looked great and I thought Sammy Ochoa was a bright spot, but overall, the game was just a letdown.
The boys have a big one this weekend against Vancouver - we owe them one after their miracle 2-2 tie earlier in the year. Come on you Sounders!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Take Nothing for Granted, Part 2
When I last wrote about the Sounders, I encouraged them to take nothing for granted and to get a win in Costa Rica. Sure they were leading the group and in good position to move on to the knockout stage, but with schedule congestion and injuries to key players, it could get dicey later on in the season. They needed to get it done against a team that had yet to score a goal in 2 CCL games. They could not expect a gingerly stroll in the park.
Well, it turned out that they took my advice (ok, probably they took Sigi's advice) and not only won 2-1 at Herediano but then steamrolled over DC United 3-0 over the weekend. Since I last wrote, they picked up where they left off and seem ready to continue the success.
That brings us to tonight's game at home at Herediano. Convention says they only need a tie to advance. Convention also says that their opponent will have nothing to play for, as they sit 0-3 in the group with 1 goal scored. Here's the rub: anytime you play for a tie at home you're going to lose. And just because you think your opponent has nothing to play for, they can easily find some motivation. How about that the Sounders came into their stadium and beat them? How about that they have a new coach who will need to make personnel decisions? How about that they are paid to play. Bottom line is that it will not be an easy night tonight.
Oh, and did I mention that Mauro is out with an injury, El Flaco is out with yellow cards and both Alonso and Evans went 80+ on Saturday? I believe in Friberg, Carrasco and Neagle, but we obviously won't be starting our A-Team tonight. We need to be careful. Get the job done against the worst team in the group and experiment in the next two games. That is why I think Keller gets the start tonight. Some are suggesting we might see Josh Ford based on Sigi's comments about certain players getting opportunities, but I see that more as Sanyang, Ochoa and maybe even Estrada getting opps at this point. I want to see Ford, but not tonight. Let's get the win and then start him in the final two games.
So boys, let's not take this for granted. Get the job done.
Well, it turned out that they took my advice (ok, probably they took Sigi's advice) and not only won 2-1 at Herediano but then steamrolled over DC United 3-0 over the weekend. Since I last wrote, they picked up where they left off and seem ready to continue the success.
That brings us to tonight's game at home at Herediano. Convention says they only need a tie to advance. Convention also says that their opponent will have nothing to play for, as they sit 0-3 in the group with 1 goal scored. Here's the rub: anytime you play for a tie at home you're going to lose. And just because you think your opponent has nothing to play for, they can easily find some motivation. How about that the Sounders came into their stadium and beat them? How about that they have a new coach who will need to make personnel decisions? How about that they are paid to play. Bottom line is that it will not be an easy night tonight.
Oh, and did I mention that Mauro is out with an injury, El Flaco is out with yellow cards and both Alonso and Evans went 80+ on Saturday? I believe in Friberg, Carrasco and Neagle, but we obviously won't be starting our A-Team tonight. We need to be careful. Get the job done against the worst team in the group and experiment in the next two games. That is why I think Keller gets the start tonight. Some are suggesting we might see Josh Ford based on Sigi's comments about certain players getting opportunities, but I see that more as Sanyang, Ochoa and maybe even Estrada getting opps at this point. I want to see Ford, but not tonight. Let's get the win and then start him in the final two games.
So boys, let's not take this for granted. Get the job done.
Stop with the 27, Please
I have been giving a lot of thought recently to the typical Yankees' fan retort of "27 championships." As a Mets fan, it gets old. I mean, the Yanks won their first World Series in 1921, long before my grandparents were even aware of what baseball was. I get it - the Yanks are an amazing franchise, but I think as a fan, you shouldn't be able to claim championships that you were not involved in (meaning of course for fans, that they were unable to cheer for). The Yankees have 7 titles since 1970 so I think the most any Yankees fan of my generation can claim is 7 - still, way more than the Mets, but not 27.
And really, it goes even further than that. From 1901 to 1960 their were 16 total teams in the league. Based on random chance, that equates to 4 titles, already more than the Mets have in their history. All the credit to the Yanks for winning 17 titles during this span, but really the game was sooo different back then. The biggest difference was the lack of free agency - once a players signed with a club, the essentially owned that player's rights for their career. There was also no draft which meant that the teams with the most money could pay top price for the best players. So if a team had good scouting and their young talent turned out to be amazing, then they were set for the next decade. I won't suggest that signing Mantle, DiMaggio, and Gehrig were all luck, but you know the Yanks were allowed to throw around more money than say the St Louis Browns. And trading for Babe Ruth? Not exactly dumb luck, but there is no way they could have imagined what they were getting. No draft to evenly disperse incoming talent and the smaller player pool (due to the exclusion of black and Hispanic players) meant that rival clubs had no means of acquiring talent to catch the Yanks.
It seems crazy to think that the existence of free agency would have led to Joltin' Joe to take more money from another team, but it is entirely possible. In today's game, players move from team to team with ease. While there are Haves and Have Not's in terms of financial power, free agency has led to an amazing parity in terms of World Series winners. In the previous decade there were 8 different winners (6 during the 1990's and 9 during the 1980's compared to 5 in both the 1940's and 1950's). The Mets have been around since 1962 and really the first 5 years were lost because of expansion hurdles. Starting in 1969, the year that the Mets won their first title (which I don't claim as one of mine because I was not born yet), the league had 24 teams. That same year Curt Flood refused to accept a trade and became the catalyst for free agency. By 1969 the Yanks had won 20 of their titles.
If anything, I think the Mets caught a bad break of being born right on the fringe of free agency, in a league with 24 teams. The Yankees deserve credit for winning all their titles - I didn't do the exact math, but I feel confident in saying that the number was significantly higher than chance alone - but they were fortunate to play in a different era in which their stars didn't leave. Had the Mets been around since 1900, they would have 10 titles too. Less than the Yanks, but much higher.
So please, Yankees fans, please calm down with the "27 title" thing. We get it - you were lucky to be raised in a family that loved pinstripes...chances are your dad watched the team during their heyday when they won 10 titles in 16 years (1947 to 1964). That does not mean that you get to claim those titles. No, the Mick and DiMaggio belong to your dad. Jeter, Rivera and Posada belong to you. Let's agree that Mets fans will forever be allowed to talk about the best baseball team of the past 30 years, the 1986 Mets, AND that you can rub 7 titles in our face. It is the only fair way to go.
And really, it goes even further than that. From 1901 to 1960 their were 16 total teams in the league. Based on random chance, that equates to 4 titles, already more than the Mets have in their history. All the credit to the Yanks for winning 17 titles during this span, but really the game was sooo different back then. The biggest difference was the lack of free agency - once a players signed with a club, the essentially owned that player's rights for their career. There was also no draft which meant that the teams with the most money could pay top price for the best players. So if a team had good scouting and their young talent turned out to be amazing, then they were set for the next decade. I won't suggest that signing Mantle, DiMaggio, and Gehrig were all luck, but you know the Yanks were allowed to throw around more money than say the St Louis Browns. And trading for Babe Ruth? Not exactly dumb luck, but there is no way they could have imagined what they were getting. No draft to evenly disperse incoming talent and the smaller player pool (due to the exclusion of black and Hispanic players) meant that rival clubs had no means of acquiring talent to catch the Yanks.
It seems crazy to think that the existence of free agency would have led to Joltin' Joe to take more money from another team, but it is entirely possible. In today's game, players move from team to team with ease. While there are Haves and Have Not's in terms of financial power, free agency has led to an amazing parity in terms of World Series winners. In the previous decade there were 8 different winners (6 during the 1990's and 9 during the 1980's compared to 5 in both the 1940's and 1950's). The Mets have been around since 1962 and really the first 5 years were lost because of expansion hurdles. Starting in 1969, the year that the Mets won their first title (which I don't claim as one of mine because I was not born yet), the league had 24 teams. That same year Curt Flood refused to accept a trade and became the catalyst for free agency. By 1969 the Yanks had won 20 of their titles.
If anything, I think the Mets caught a bad break of being born right on the fringe of free agency, in a league with 24 teams. The Yankees deserve credit for winning all their titles - I didn't do the exact math, but I feel confident in saying that the number was significantly higher than chance alone - but they were fortunate to play in a different era in which their stars didn't leave. Had the Mets been around since 1900, they would have 10 titles too. Less than the Yanks, but much higher.
So please, Yankees fans, please calm down with the "27 title" thing. We get it - you were lucky to be raised in a family that loved pinstripes...chances are your dad watched the team during their heyday when they won 10 titles in 16 years (1947 to 1964). That does not mean that you get to claim those titles. No, the Mick and DiMaggio belong to your dad. Jeter, Rivera and Posada belong to you. Let's agree that Mets fans will forever be allowed to talk about the best baseball team of the past 30 years, the 1986 Mets, AND that you can rub 7 titles in our face. It is the only fair way to go.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Take Nothing for Granted
Last night in CONCACAF Champions League action, LA had a 1-0 lead as late as the 81st minute before losing on the road Morelia 2-1 while Colorado got spanked at home by Santos Laguna 4-1. So much for MLS being undefeated in CCL play (in matches including at least 1 non-MLS team of course)...and so much for feeling invincible heading into the Sounders home tilt against Herediano of Costa Rica. Obviously what LA and Colorado do have no impact on us, but it does help to remind me that nothing should be taken for granted. Just because we are in first place after 4-1 and 1-0 wins over Communicaciones and Monterrey, it doesn't mean tonight's game is going to be a cakewalk. Let's remember, we went 1-5 last year in CCL and looked thoroughly outclassed. I put a positive spin on the experience noting that we were up to the challenge but not quite ready to win. The truth is that Mexican and Central American teams have success in this competition against MLS squads because they match up differently then other league opponents, because the atmosphere is like none seen in the US and because, well, they are good squads. Just because Herediano is 0-2 in group play doesn't mean they aren't able to put a 3-0 whooping on us.
I'm not saying I don't have confidence anymore, I'm just saying, let's be careful tonight, boys.
Ok, so with that out of the way, what should we expect? Well, we know the following: Herediano has hired a new coach in the past week. Over the weekend they won their league game 4-0. The players are hungry to show that they belong in the squad. We also know that Alonso, Evans and Friberg all did not travel.
According to SounderAtHeart, they are going to go with a conservative side to start and then bring in offensive firepower when (if) needed. It's a strategy similar to what Sigi employed in Monterrey and one that I think can be successful, unless of course we give up an early goal and let the crowd get into it. I expect Kasey to be in goal because of the importance of the game. Some may point to it and say that we still have 4 games to get 4 points, but I think this might be the most important game of the group stage simply because we will be able to change our strategy moving forward if we get a full 3. Think about it, if we leave Costa Rica with a 3-0 record, then over the course of the next 3 games (2 at home) we can give Josh Ford, Amadou Sanyang, Taylor Graham and maybe even Sammy Ochoa a start. We can rest the likes of Keller, Rosales, Montero, Alonso and have them fresh for the MLS season. Bottom line: this is an important game, so Kasey should and will be in goal (oh, and I expect him to have forgotten about his gaffe on Saturday).
As for the rest of the team, I am ok with having Jaqua and Noonan on the field at the same time. I know people hate them and I know they are not exciting, but I trust them not to lose the game for us. They are steady if not spectacular. As for the midfield, we will probably need to start Flaco in front of Carrasco and have Neagle and Levesque on the wings. It's not perfect, but I don't think we can start a Carrasco-Sanyang combo. The defense should be fine with Hurtado, Leo, Riley and maybe Pat Ianni in the lineup. Then if for some reason we need a goal, we can bring in Rosales, Montero and Fucito to create some havoc up front.
I'm not in the business of making predictions, but I think 1-1 would be a fair result. Obviously we are capable of getting the win, but I just see something not going our way: an unlucky bounce, a referreeing mistake or an injury are all very likely. Hopefully nothing will happen and I can go into my Jersey trip feeling great about the men in rave.
Come On, You Sounders
I'm not saying I don't have confidence anymore, I'm just saying, let's be careful tonight, boys.
Ok, so with that out of the way, what should we expect? Well, we know the following: Herediano has hired a new coach in the past week. Over the weekend they won their league game 4-0. The players are hungry to show that they belong in the squad. We also know that Alonso, Evans and Friberg all did not travel.
According to SounderAtHeart, they are going to go with a conservative side to start and then bring in offensive firepower when (if) needed. It's a strategy similar to what Sigi employed in Monterrey and one that I think can be successful, unless of course we give up an early goal and let the crowd get into it. I expect Kasey to be in goal because of the importance of the game. Some may point to it and say that we still have 4 games to get 4 points, but I think this might be the most important game of the group stage simply because we will be able to change our strategy moving forward if we get a full 3. Think about it, if we leave Costa Rica with a 3-0 record, then over the course of the next 3 games (2 at home) we can give Josh Ford, Amadou Sanyang, Taylor Graham and maybe even Sammy Ochoa a start. We can rest the likes of Keller, Rosales, Montero, Alonso and have them fresh for the MLS season. Bottom line: this is an important game, so Kasey should and will be in goal (oh, and I expect him to have forgotten about his gaffe on Saturday).
As for the rest of the team, I am ok with having Jaqua and Noonan on the field at the same time. I know people hate them and I know they are not exciting, but I trust them not to lose the game for us. They are steady if not spectacular. As for the midfield, we will probably need to start Flaco in front of Carrasco and have Neagle and Levesque on the wings. It's not perfect, but I don't think we can start a Carrasco-Sanyang combo. The defense should be fine with Hurtado, Leo, Riley and maybe Pat Ianni in the lineup. Then if for some reason we need a goal, we can bring in Rosales, Montero and Fucito to create some havoc up front.
I'm not in the business of making predictions, but I think 1-1 would be a fair result. Obviously we are capable of getting the win, but I just see something not going our way: an unlucky bounce, a referreeing mistake or an injury are all very likely. Hopefully nothing will happen and I can go into my Jersey trip feeling great about the men in rave.
Come On, You Sounders
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
NFL Truths After Week 1
There are gonna be a lot of people jumping to conclusions after just one week of the NFL season. I am not one of them. Instead I will give you some NFL truths (as well as some opinions) as we enter week 2.
- First, I loved that the Dolphins sent out two kickers for the on-sides kick. Seriously, how the hell have I never seen that before? It is brilliant. (and I wonder why tackle football purists think seeing that it is so close to what happens in soccer)
- The Steelers will be fine. Their line is pretty terrible and might get Big Ben killed out there, but they have too much talent and experience not to make the playoffs. It won't be a Super Bowl year, but playoffs for sure. The 35-7 beating looks bad, but I doubt they will be turning the ball over 7 times anytime in the near future.
- The Ravens (and Anquan Boldin specifically) are going to benefit from having Lee Evans in the passing game.
- Cam Newton is going to break a lot of people's hearts. I'm not suggesting that he won't be good, but anyone who thinks that they can plug him into their fantasy lineup are going to have a rude awakening. The fact is that all rookie QB's will have up and down seasons. One week they will throw for 400 yards and the next they will throw 4 INT's. You have to take the good with the bad...and I know for sure that Newton got his A+ game out of the way early.
- The Giants are another team that I don't think will be terrible. For how much I don't like Tom Coughlin, the guy knows how to coach. Even with all the injuries, I think they will win somewhere between 7 and 9 games. I think Washington caught them on a bad week and road the emotions to a win.
- I like Tony Romo as a fantasy guy, but still dont think he has what it takes to win when it counts. Shoddy performances aside, I don't see how you can trust a 31-year old guy who still wears his hat backwards (ok, I wear my Sounders hat backwards and I'm 31, but I'm not the QB for America's Team)
- Donovan McNabb's terrible performance (7-15, 39 yards, 1 TD) was of epic proportions - he will undoubtedly be a little better...but notby much. I think he is done and Christian Ponder will be under center by week 10.
- Don't be fooled by Rex Grossman. He is still the same guy. Washington is going to wish that they had decided to Suck for Luck because neither Grossman or John Beck are the answer. It's gonna be another losing season in the Nation's Capital.
- I think Ryan Fitzgerald is for real. I don't think Buffalo will win more than 6 games, but I think Fitzgerald will put up great fantasy numbers. The dude has got a killer arm.
- The Colts streak of playoff appearances will come to an end. Without Peyton, they are as bad as the score indicated. If you're a Colts fan, you have to be pissed at the lockout. Word out of Indy is that Peyton didn't want to see anyone else besides the Colts team doctor, but wasn't allowed to during the lockout. So he waited all summer and didn't have the surgery until the pre-season. Now after his third surgery in a year, he might miss the entire regular season AND because it happened so late in the game, they have no other options besides Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter. They are in trouble.
- The announcers of the Carolina/Arizona game talked about how the trio of Beason-Anderson-Davis were playing for the first time since like 2008 or 2009. They spoke highly of the unit, syaing it was one of the league's best...So what happens? Jon Beason injures his ACL and is out all year long. Tough break for that up and coming defense.
- KC isn't as bad as their 41-7 home loss, but they are a fraud. I was a fan last year, but they had the advantage of playing a last place schedule and they got lucky. I think this year they get exposed.
- Regardless of their opening week win, this Cincy team still stinks. They will be competing for Andrew Luck this year.
- This just in - Tom Brady is good. Chad Ochocinco may not have gotten involved in much of his 511 yards and 4 td's in Week 1, but I am not worried... I think he will have a fine season. Brady spreads the ball around too much for him not to get 900+ yards and 6 td's.
- Chad Henne is the one QB who I don't know what to think of after one week. He might actually be good, but then again he might actually suck. I do know that the Dolphins are not going anywhere however.
- The Reggie Bush as full-time RB idea is not a good one. The guy is already banged up and only gained 38 yards and 11 carries. That being said, he is still the most dangerous open field runner in the game.
- Chris Johnson will be fine. Guaranteed he blows up for 150 and 2 td's sometime in the next 2 weeks. As for Matt Hasselbeck and the rest of the Titans? I think 8 wins will be generous. Here's hoping Coach Munchak realizes that Locker needs a little more seasoning before pulling the veteran. However, if they sit at 2-6 after 8 games, he might need to rethink it.
- Oakland will finish second in the AFC West. They will finish with a winning record for the first time since Rich Gannon stood under center.
- Denver fans, please stop calling for Tim Tebow. I know that you just lost to Oakland and that Kyle Orton didn't have a great game, but it's week 1. You finished with the second worst record in football last year for a reason - you don't have a good team. You're not losing because of Orton...so give him at least half a season before you jump off a cliff. If Tebow does become the starter and he sucks like most think he will, then where do you turn? Brady Quinn? Yikes.
- Green Bay is the best team in football. However, I'm not ready to crown them the champions yet. Last year, after week 3 I went with the defending champs, the Saints, to make it back to the Super Bowl. It turns out it is very very hard to repeat. Green Bay got super lucky when Tampa Bay couldn't beat the Lions on the final day of the season and snuck into the playoffs with a 9-7 record. They then went on to run over everyone in their way. This year the Pack look really really solid (man, that offense is awesome) but they are going to need some luck again to repeat.
- Finally, the NFL is in a good spot. I'm not talking about revenue and what not - no, they are in a good spot with all the young talent coming into the league. There are still some terrible QB's out there, but this young group of under-25 gunslingers (Bradford, Stafford, Freeman, Flacco, Ryan, Newton, Sanchez) are really ready to step up and take over for Brees, Manning and Brady when they retire (oh, and of course, Aaron Rodgers, the veteran 27 yeard old of the bunch). The NFL will be in good shape with any of these guys becoming the face of the league.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Mental Mistakes Doom Sounders
I went into the Sounders game on Saturday knowing that we were probably going to lose. I mean, it had all the makings of a letdown: Undefeated August; 10 days without a game (including 5 real days off); an underappreciated RSL squad; beautiful weather and a home crowd. Oh, and we stopped their streak at home with a late Lamar Neagle goal so they owed us one. To me, everything was pointing towards starting off sluggishly and not being able to come back.
At the end of the day, we did indeed lose and as expected, I don't feel terrible about it. I know that some people will say that there was nothing positive to take out of it - that under pressure we were unable to beat one of the best teams in the league at home. I say hogwash. I mean, look at their two goals. First one - a terrible gaff by Keller. He seems to make one a season (2000 - at home vs KC, 2010 - at home vs LA) so hopefully it is out of his system. He said after the game that he was caught in between two decisions and it showed. From the minute it happened I knew Saborio's run effed him up. It was unfortunate. Then the second goal came off of some bad clearing. Saborio's original shot pin balled off of Wahl and came right back to him. The finish was clinical, but the fact is he should have never gotten the second chance. Wahl didn't necessarily do anything wrong, he just got unlucky. Again, some might say this is typical, but I can't agree.
On offense, Mauro Rosales missed a PK after the keeper guessed the wrong way and a Tyson Wahl shot hit off of Nick Rimandos' face. I never like to play the IF game for events that are in the past, but seriously, if Keller makes the routine save AND Mauro makes the routine PK it easily could have gone the other way. We got a little unlucky and got hurt by some mental errors.
Of course, a lot of people will come away blasting the ref. I am not one to normally say anything, but I was particularly fired up on Saturday. I told The Wife that in honor of 9/11 and my plea for peace I was going to go the whole game without doing the You Suck @sshole chant, but instead I gave the ref the middle finger and booed him off the pitch. I wasn't so angry with the Hurtado red card (I was sitting right there - Hurtado hit him in the face....it was inadvertent, but there was contact), but just with the overall consistency. He missed a PK later in the first half, almost didn't realize that Tony Beltran was sitting on a yellow already and to show that I'm not too much a homer, missed what I thought could have been a red card against Carrasco. The guy is wreckless and clearly hit one of the RSL guys in the head with an elbow on a header...somehow the ref missed it and only gave him a yellow.
Soccer is a funny sport - one game you get a lucky goal and then ride the wave of excitement for 5 more. Another game you get unlucky with a goal against, miss a PK and have a shot go off the keepers face. After the game, Alan Hinton and Jimmy Gabriel were saying the team would need to put in some extra shooting practice over the next few training sessions - something that would have seemed crazy a week ago. I for one will not panic.
**********
So now we're off to Costa Rica to take on the last place team in the group, Herediano. If we can get a tie on the road and then come home to beat them at Qwest 6days later, we will beat 10 points and pretty much assured of moving on to the knowkcout phase. This would really be awesome for the Sounders (not just the achievement on moving on since they went 1-5-0 last year) because it would mean that they could probably sit Kasey Keller in the final two games. In case you hadn't heard, Terry Boss is out for the season with his second concussion and the team is having to decide what to do with the inexperienced Josh Ford the only other keeper on the roster. If we decide not to bring an experienced goalie in to back-up Keller, I think we will need to pray that Kasey doesn't get hurt, because I for sure don't want a rookie starting in goal for us in the US Open Cup Final, for the final 7 games of the season or for the playoffs.
One other thing that many people haven't talked about Kasey retiring at the end of 2011. He has said that he won't be coming back in 2012, even if the team makes the knockout phase of CCL. That means barring no signings we would either have Josh Ford or a recently concussed Terry Boss as our only options. Marcus Hahnemann, where are you??
At the end of the day, we did indeed lose and as expected, I don't feel terrible about it. I know that some people will say that there was nothing positive to take out of it - that under pressure we were unable to beat one of the best teams in the league at home. I say hogwash. I mean, look at their two goals. First one - a terrible gaff by Keller. He seems to make one a season (2000 - at home vs KC, 2010 - at home vs LA) so hopefully it is out of his system. He said after the game that he was caught in between two decisions and it showed. From the minute it happened I knew Saborio's run effed him up. It was unfortunate. Then the second goal came off of some bad clearing. Saborio's original shot pin balled off of Wahl and came right back to him. The finish was clinical, but the fact is he should have never gotten the second chance. Wahl didn't necessarily do anything wrong, he just got unlucky. Again, some might say this is typical, but I can't agree.
On offense, Mauro Rosales missed a PK after the keeper guessed the wrong way and a Tyson Wahl shot hit off of Nick Rimandos' face. I never like to play the IF game for events that are in the past, but seriously, if Keller makes the routine save AND Mauro makes the routine PK it easily could have gone the other way. We got a little unlucky and got hurt by some mental errors.
Of course, a lot of people will come away blasting the ref. I am not one to normally say anything, but I was particularly fired up on Saturday. I told The Wife that in honor of 9/11 and my plea for peace I was going to go the whole game without doing the You Suck @sshole chant, but instead I gave the ref the middle finger and booed him off the pitch. I wasn't so angry with the Hurtado red card (I was sitting right there - Hurtado hit him in the face....it was inadvertent, but there was contact), but just with the overall consistency. He missed a PK later in the first half, almost didn't realize that Tony Beltran was sitting on a yellow already and to show that I'm not too much a homer, missed what I thought could have been a red card against Carrasco. The guy is wreckless and clearly hit one of the RSL guys in the head with an elbow on a header...somehow the ref missed it and only gave him a yellow.
Soccer is a funny sport - one game you get a lucky goal and then ride the wave of excitement for 5 more. Another game you get unlucky with a goal against, miss a PK and have a shot go off the keepers face. After the game, Alan Hinton and Jimmy Gabriel were saying the team would need to put in some extra shooting practice over the next few training sessions - something that would have seemed crazy a week ago. I for one will not panic.
**********
So now we're off to Costa Rica to take on the last place team in the group, Herediano. If we can get a tie on the road and then come home to beat them at Qwest 6days later, we will beat 10 points and pretty much assured of moving on to the knowkcout phase. This would really be awesome for the Sounders (not just the achievement on moving on since they went 1-5-0 last year) because it would mean that they could probably sit Kasey Keller in the final two games. In case you hadn't heard, Terry Boss is out for the season with his second concussion and the team is having to decide what to do with the inexperienced Josh Ford the only other keeper on the roster. If we decide not to bring an experienced goalie in to back-up Keller, I think we will need to pray that Kasey doesn't get hurt, because I for sure don't want a rookie starting in goal for us in the US Open Cup Final, for the final 7 games of the season or for the playoffs.
One other thing that many people haven't talked about Kasey retiring at the end of 2011. He has said that he won't be coming back in 2012, even if the team makes the knockout phase of CCL. That means barring no signings we would either have Josh Ford or a recently concussed Terry Boss as our only options. Marcus Hahnemann, where are you??
Friday, September 9, 2011
My Plea for Peace
I have given a lot of thought as to whether I wanted to write about 9/11 and have decided that I will never be able to fully articulate my feelings about that infamous day. However, with the 10th anniversary of the attacks this Sunday I did want to say just a few things. Please forgive me for delving into this on what is meant to be a sports blog.
Let me start off by saying that I still remember vividly where I was 10 years ago and the horror that I felt in watching the day unfold. I may have been 4 hours away in central PA and I may have been lucky enough not to have lost anyone on that date, but the attacks still had a profound effect on me.
I remember how the country came together to fight through the pain. The days immediately following 9/11 were ones that all Americans should be proud of. We were down and collectively pulled ourselves back up. We were able to look past the differences in each other and realize that we had the most important thing in common - we were Americans. Unfortunately, 10 years later I no longer see this sense of community as we are once again a nation divided. Not only can't our two political parties function together on purely economic issues, but now there is an underlying difference in religious beliefs between the two.
And that brings me to my overall plea to everyone in this country. Feel free to continue to grieve in whatever way brings you the most peace. If you feel so inclined, be angry at those that attacked you and your country, but please try to separate your hatred. Don't hate the group of honest, good people who happen to share the same religion as those that attacked us. Don't hate people because they look different than you, speak a different language than you, have a different sexual orientation than your or are different in any way than you. In the end, we all just want the same things: the chance to have basic necessities, the chance to raise our kids and the chance to practice our faith. We are the same, just a little different.
To tie this into sports, the Mets were the first NY team to play in NYC after the attacks (even know the Yankees will get all the credit). On Sept 21, 2001 they played the Braves and provided a brief distraction from the pain and suffering. That night Mike Piazza hit a 2-run home run in the 8th inning to help the Mets win 3-2. A link to the moment is provided to the right continuously, but for those who have never seen, here is a link. I have never heard the crowd at Shea sound the way they did that night and still to this day I get choked up.
Let me start off by saying that I still remember vividly where I was 10 years ago and the horror that I felt in watching the day unfold. I may have been 4 hours away in central PA and I may have been lucky enough not to have lost anyone on that date, but the attacks still had a profound effect on me.
I remember how the country came together to fight through the pain. The days immediately following 9/11 were ones that all Americans should be proud of. We were down and collectively pulled ourselves back up. We were able to look past the differences in each other and realize that we had the most important thing in common - we were Americans. Unfortunately, 10 years later I no longer see this sense of community as we are once again a nation divided. Not only can't our two political parties function together on purely economic issues, but now there is an underlying difference in religious beliefs between the two.
And that brings me to my overall plea to everyone in this country. Feel free to continue to grieve in whatever way brings you the most peace. If you feel so inclined, be angry at those that attacked you and your country, but please try to separate your hatred. Don't hate the group of honest, good people who happen to share the same religion as those that attacked us. Don't hate people because they look different than you, speak a different language than you, have a different sexual orientation than your or are different in any way than you. In the end, we all just want the same things: the chance to have basic necessities, the chance to raise our kids and the chance to practice our faith. We are the same, just a little different.
To tie this into sports, the Mets were the first NY team to play in NYC after the attacks (even know the Yankees will get all the credit). On Sept 21, 2001 they played the Braves and provided a brief distraction from the pain and suffering. That night Mike Piazza hit a 2-run home run in the 8th inning to help the Mets win 3-2. A link to the moment is provided to the right continuously, but for those who have never seen, here is a link. I have never heard the crowd at Shea sound the way they did that night and still to this day I get choked up.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Curious Case of Scott Neidermayer
The Devils have announced that they will be retiring Scott Neidermayer’s number 27 sometime during this season (rumors suggest it will be December 16). He is one of my favorite players all time, if not THE favorite. It goes without saying that in my biased view, his number should be hanging from the rafters, never to be worn by the likes of the Mottaus or Tallacksons ever again.
Neidermayer was one of the most gifted skaters ever to play in the NHL. I wish that I could do anything half as well as he can skate. Hell, I wish I could walk half as well as he skates. Alas, my destiny is to constantly walk into things while he smoothly skates the periphery of the ice in around 4 seconds. But I digress.
In parts of 13 seasons with the Devils (and parts of 5 with the Mightiful Disney Ducks of Anaheim) he played in 1465 regular season and playoff games, amassing 838 points (197g, 641a). He was a key figure in all 3 of the Devils Stanley Cup championships (as well as the Conn Smythe award winner for the Ducks’ championship season in 2006-07). He finally won the Norris Trophy for best defenseman in 2003-04 (the only Devil ever to win the award). He is also the only player EVER to win every major North American and international championship: Memorial Cup, World Cup, Stanley Cup (4x) and gold medals in the World Junior Championship, IIHF World Championship and the Olympics (2x). So it’s safe to say he’s awesome. No brainer to retire his number, right, seeing how he will be remembered and everything he brought to the franchise for the equivalent of both my elementary and high school careers? He made Colin White look good for years. That has to count for something, right? Right?
Well, believe it or not, there is a lot of anger about this floating around the internet. What, anger and jealousy on the internet you say? Never. Well, maybe just this once (and by once I mean, 900 trillionth time).
The Devils beat the Ducks for the Stanley Cup in June of 2003. Playing on the Ducks’ third line was Scott’s brother, Rob. While winning the Cup is the ultimate prize in hockey and what every little kid hopes to do, it was clearly bittersweet for Scott. It was obvious that he wanted to share that joy with his brother and that it was hard for him to shake his hand afterwards. That was the moment I knew he would leave the Devils if LL couldn’t find a way to get Rob on the team. I believe he had tried to trade for him in the past, but was never able to bring him over. And seeing all of this, then Ducks’ GM Brian Burke overpaid Rob to stay in Anaheim. And so when Scott reached unrestricted free agency after the 2003-04 season, he left to play on the same team as his brother, eventually passing him the Stanley Cup in 2007. In fact, he left money on the table to do this (I think it worked out to a little more than $4 million).
I never blamed him for doing this. I got it. I still get it. He left a huge hole on the Devils’ blue line and in their leadership. He will never be replaced because there is nobody quite like him. But so it goes and like I said, I get it. But there seems to be a surprisingly large contingent of folks on the interwebs that believe he should piss off and his number should either never be retired or, at the very least, should be pushed off until after Brodeur and Elias retire first. It’s hard to understand that kind of bitterness, especially in light of what he did and the circumstances around him leaving. But then maybe I’m a little more rational than most people.
The Red Sox have 3 criteria for retiring a player’s number: 1) election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, 2) at least 10 years played with the Red Sox and 3) finish his career with the club. The Devils have no criteria that I know of for retiring a player’s number. Should there be a reason to withhold this honor from a player who so clearly deserves it? Should there be criteria that MUST always be met?
Anyway, I’m interested in what other people think about this. Not so much the specifics of Scott Neidermayer, but the number retirement in general. Should spitefulness win out in the end as we forget about a player’s complete body of work just because he didn’t spend his entire career with your team? Can the business side of things and the personal side of things be viewed from a rational perspective that includes both? Can’t we all just get along?
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Thursday Brain Dump
Ok, I'm back and have a lot on my mind. Let's not waste any time and get straight to it.
- Let's start with talking about the Mets. First on the docket - RA Dickey. He was an amazing story last year as he went 11-9 for the Mets with a 2.84 ERA. In the off-season they rewarded him with a 2 year $6.5 million contract (with a club option in 2013 for $5 million). We all knew he wouldn't be able to repeat last year, but still expected good things from him. At first he looked like a disaster as he sat at 1-5 with a 5.07 ERA as of May 14. Since then he is 7-6 with a 3.13 ERA, which is much more inline with a normal bump from last year. He will certainly end the year with a losing record, but I don't think there is one Mets fan who loves him any less. In Dickey We Trust.
- The Mets called up two new arms as of September 1. The first, Chris Schwinden gets his first major league action against the Braves on Thursday. The second, Josh Stinson has been lights out through his first 4 games, having not given up any runs in 5 2/3 innings. It is hard to tell whether he will be a long-term part of this team but so far so good. (Of course, we need to remember that Pedro Beato gave up 0 runs in his first 18 2/3 innings before being hammered for 12 runs in his next 7 2/3.) Let's hope for similar success from Schwinden.
- Finally, let's talk some Lucas Duda. He now has 17 doubles, 9 HR and 46 RBI in 86 games...extrapolate that to 150 games and it comes to 15 HR, 30 doubles and 80 RBI. Now take it a step further and take the 76 games after being re-called on June 10 and it would extrapolate to 18 HR, 33doubles and 91 RBI. I know that might be a little high, but even 80 RBI would be awesome when combined with what Wright and Davis could contribute (I'm not even mentioning Bay in this sentence).
- Moving on, this just in: Doug Fister loves being out of Seattle. Ok, I didnt really talk to him, but I assume such. Let's go over the numbers. In Seattle he had a very solid 3.33 ERA, but only got 2.33 runs of support when he started (1.8 if you exclude the 13-3 win over Oakland in April). This led to a 3-12 record. Since coming to Detroit he has a 2.64 era and has received 4.3 runs in support. This has led to a 4-1 record.
- I listened to an ESPN podcast with Taylor Twellman and J-Will's favorite, Alexi Lalas. Twellman made an interesting suggestion - play both Donovan and Dempsey up top. His reasoning - we have enough depth at midfield with Bradley, Jones, Edu, Holden, Torres and even Shea AND we already play them there late in games when we need goals. To him, they should just play there all game since Altidore is not ready to be a loan forward yet. I have to say - somehow I have never thought about this, but really, really like it.
- I did not get to see the US game versus Belgium, but was very happy with what I saw against Costa Rica in the first half. In reading most of the reports, journalists seem to be giving Klinnsman a pass as he looks for new players to play an important role in the team. We know about Dempsey, Donovan, Bradley and the rest, but I am hearing that Brek Shea, Timmy Chandler and Jose Torres were the most promising. I am not a huge Shea fan (well, because I think he is a punk with a horse haircut), but if he can put it all together, he is going to have a great career.
- Reports out of Mexico have former US Bob Bradley interviewing for the vacant Santos Laguna head coaching position. Am I the only one who is shocked by this turn of events? I mean, I understand the interest in the Egypt job, but how the hell does he have any respect in Mexico? I know the US team had some success against the Mexicans during his tenure, but this is the US we are talking about. I guarantee no one has any respect for American soccer minds - certainly not enough to trust them as to be their manager. Respect to the owner if he does hire him and props to Bradley if he takes the challenge.
- By now, you have probably seen the new Maryland football unis. If not, here are some pics...anyways, I might be in the minority, but I really like them. The thing I don't get is why Maryland is sooo proud of there flag. I honestly have never seen one state use there flag more as a symbol than Maryland. can someone help me understand...?
- Justin Verlander won his 22nd game on Wednesday. He has at least three starts left (4 depending on whether they need him to pitch on the final day of the season) meaning that he could easily get to 25 wins on the year (remaining schedule: at CHW, at OAK, vs BAL). Twenty-five wins would be the most since Bob Welch (27) for oakland in 1990. Since then, Randy Johnson('02) and John Smoltz ('96) are the only guys with 24. (more on Smoltz below)
- Any one else excited to have Strasburg back? Ok, maybe I'm not excited for this season - they really had no reason to bring him back - but I am stoked for next year
- Reading Don Banks bold predictions piece from SI, I learned that the Atlanta Falcons have never had back-to-back playoff appearances. That is a really really interesting stat and one that likely will come to an end this year.
- For the 3rd time in the last 4 co-ed soccer games, I got accused of diving. It really pisses me off. I mean, I'm 31 with a kid, playing in an over-30 league where half of the guys are lucky to be able to run around...why would I intentionally want to fall down and get rubber pellets in my shorts? Anyways...I figure there are three possible things going on here: 1. I am diving but just don't realize it. 2. I am a pussy who is just falling over at the slightest contact. 3. The other team is a bunch of idiots who don't know anything. Fuck off if you think #1 or #2 are the case.
- I listened to Grantland podcast with Jonah Keri and he said that Ryan Howard's contract extension doesn't kick in until NEXT year. Sure enough, he is right (never had any doubt in my mind)...Howard will get $20m in 2012 and 2013 and then $25 from 2014-2016. I know the guy is a home run and RBI machine, but wow that is a huge contract for a guy who hasn't hit over .280 in 5 years and has averaged 180 strikeouts during that same period. With the rest of the offense crumbling around him, his contract might become an albatross pretty soon.
- I really love what Steve Sarkisian is doing with this Huskies team. Good piece by Steve Kelly on how he is purposefully using the media to call out his team's lack of effort against Eastern.
- Speaking of the Huskies, I am very very excited for the game against Hawai'i this weekend. I really love watching the Warriors fling the ball around on offense, but am very scared of what they might do to the Huskies this weekend. I mean, the Huskies gave up 475 yards passing against a lower division team last week...and while Hawai'i QB Byran Moniz only threw for 178 yards last week against Colorado, he was the nations leading QB last year with a whopping 5040 yards and 39 TD's.
- I won't be able to watch the Huskies game because I'll be at Qwest for what should be the MLS match of the week between the boys in rave and Real Salt Lake. RSL is currently below us in the standings, but even with the season long loss of Javier Morales, I think they are one of the most talented teams in the league. What I am interested in seeing is how the Sounders respond to having 11 days without a game, 5 of which were spent without practice. Long-term having the guys have a vacation was the smart thing to do both mentally and physically, but I have a feeling it might make them ripe for the picking on Saturday.
- Speaking of the Sounders, four stories are worth mentioning. First, Roger Levesque cut his hair. This is hardly a style blog, but Roger cutting his hair needs to be reported on. Second, our newest striker, 24 year old former US U-20 player Sammy Ochoa is in camp training with the guys. I don't know what he will be able to contribute this year or moving forward, but it is nice to see that they did at least sign someone who may or may not be able to score goals. Third, James Riley had a 7v7 youth tournament and both Jeff Parke and Mauro Rosales showed up to support him and sign some autographs. Great job by both of those guys considering it was the day after a game. Finally, Terry Boss suffered a concussion while playing for Puerto Rico (yes, he plays for Puerto Rico - google for more info) and his season looks to be in jeopardy.
- Not sure if anyone saw, but Andy Roddick recently lashed out at Chris Fowler and tennis commentators in general (check out 2:17 of the clip). I have long been a Roddick guy, but it definitely came off as sour grapes. I have read that he is a good guy who just got caught up in the moment (hell, he didn't even shower before doing the interview), but come on man, you can't have such thin skin. The worst part was that he directed it towards Fowler, who I think is the man. Maybe it's just because he has the dream job (tennis, college football, soccer analyst), but Fowler can do no wrong in my book.
- Reports out of St Louis indicate that Albert Pujols turned down a 9-yr, $195 million contract last winter as he was searching for a 10-yr, $230 million contract instead. This is simply amazing to me and one of the reasons why I respected what Jared Weaver did a few weeks ago. I understand that Pujols is more valuable and deserves more than Joe Mauer for what he has done over the past decade, but the amount given for someone who is successful in 1 out of every 3 attempts is astonishing.
- OK, now I want to spend a little time looking at some stats for two different Hall of Fame worthy pitchers. First, I noticed that John Smoltz will be eligible for the Hall in 2014. In my opinion, he has to be a first ballot guy. Sure he only had 210 wins, but he is the only guy with 200 wins and 150 saves. He sat out the entire 2000 season with arm injury and then from 2002-2004 he averaged 48 saves. If you turn his 4 years of relief duty into time as a starter and have him average 15 wins a season, that brings him to 270 wins. That is not quite the magical 300 number, but good enough considering his strikeout rate. If you assume he never got hurt, its 285 wins then. The crazy thing is that in 1996 he was the BEST starter and then he transformed himself into the best reliever from 2002-2004. No one, not even Dennis Eckersley cane ever say he was the best starting and relief pitcher during his career. When he jumped back into being a starter, he went 44-24 from 2005-2007 as a 38 year old. Simply put, he has one one of the most deserving Hall of Fame credentials.
- When you look at baseball reference, you see that they compare Smoltz to Curt Schilling, who will be an interesting decision in 2012. Schilling only has only 216 wins and never won a Cy Young. However, he was the best player on 2 World Series winning teams including the one that brought Boston the title in 2003. Need I say more than 'bloody sock'? Given that this was the steroid era and numbers don't mean as much as they once did, shouldn't something as subjective as his leadership be enough? For me, I think it does. For the voters, I'm less convinced. [An aside - Schilling he did have three 20 win seasons and struck out 300 batters thrice.]
Hang in There With Me
We dropped The Incident off for her first two days of pre-school yesterday and today. I had no idea preparing for hew first day would take so much time, but couple with The Wife starting school again, i haven't had much time to blog recently. But don't worry, I'll be back within a day or two - just because I haven't written doesn't mean I haven't been paying attention.
I know about the Marlyand uni's and about former Mariners pitcher Doug Fister. I also know about the US National team and of course our favorite pirate, Roger Levesque getting a haircut. I'll be back to discuss them shortly, so hang in there with me.
I know about the Marlyand uni's and about former Mariners pitcher Doug Fister. I also know about the US National team and of course our favorite pirate, Roger Levesque getting a haircut. I'll be back to discuss them shortly, so hang in there with me.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
SEC's Most Hated Team
It's official - the SEC's most hated team is officially the Georgia Bulldogs.
For the past five years, all the talk in college football was how the Boise St Broncos should be given a fair shot to play for the national title. After all, they have a five year record of 63-3 including 4 undefeated regular seasons. Simply put, they have been the most successful program over the past five years. The rub however, is that conference of theirs. Critics railed on the Broncos, noting that they wouldn't even go .500 in the SEC, which has claimed the past 4 national champions. No matter what colors they wear, fans of the SEC HATED the idea that little Boise St deserved a shot. Finally the day had come when Boise St traveled down South to take on a big boy from the SEC, the Georgia Bulldogs. After Georgie sent them home with their tails between their legs they would never have to deal with Boise again.
Well, funny thing happened. The Broncos came down to Georgia and put it to the Dawgs 35-21. This will only add fuel to the fire. Fans from around the country will now point to this win if (more likely, when) Boise St goes undefeated this year. SEC fans are feeling sick right now.
But here's the rub: I'm a Dawgs fan, but this team isn't very good. They are merely a .500 team with an above average QB whose reputation proceeds them. Critics started to talk themselves into the Dawgs making run simply because of their easy schedule and their decade long success. Credit to Boise for coming down to SEC country and winning, but a true test would have been Alabama or LSU. Hopefully we can all see that come this January.
A few other notes about the opening weekend in college football:
For the past five years, all the talk in college football was how the Boise St Broncos should be given a fair shot to play for the national title. After all, they have a five year record of 63-3 including 4 undefeated regular seasons. Simply put, they have been the most successful program over the past five years. The rub however, is that conference of theirs. Critics railed on the Broncos, noting that they wouldn't even go .500 in the SEC, which has claimed the past 4 national champions. No matter what colors they wear, fans of the SEC HATED the idea that little Boise St deserved a shot. Finally the day had come when Boise St traveled down South to take on a big boy from the SEC, the Georgia Bulldogs. After Georgie sent them home with their tails between their legs they would never have to deal with Boise again.
Well, funny thing happened. The Broncos came down to Georgia and put it to the Dawgs 35-21. This will only add fuel to the fire. Fans from around the country will now point to this win if (more likely, when) Boise St goes undefeated this year. SEC fans are feeling sick right now.
But here's the rub: I'm a Dawgs fan, but this team isn't very good. They are merely a .500 team with an above average QB whose reputation proceeds them. Critics started to talk themselves into the Dawgs making run simply because of their easy schedule and their decade long success. Credit to Boise for coming down to SEC country and winning, but a true test would have been Alabama or LSU. Hopefully we can all see that come this January.
A few other notes about the opening weekend in college football:
- A HUGE win by #4 LSU without their suspended QB over #3 Oregon. Sure the game was in their backyward, but Oregon was unstoppable last year
- So much for Notre Dame running the table like some critics predicted. Now I know this doesn't take them out of the BCS race - voters still swoon over the Irish and will put them in the top 10 if they win 9 games - but it sure doesn't help. Huge props to USF Head Coach Skip Holtz for going into South Bend and getting the win. I wonder how his dad is feeling tonight.
- UW got the win over defending FCS champion Eastern Washington, but I think the game definitely showed some areas that need improvement. Can you say defense? The Huskies gave up 504 total yards, of which 473 came in the air. Now last year they couldn't stop the run, so it was good to see that improve, but wow, the Eagles definitely put it to them. They were lucky to have escaped with a win. Keith Price may have only thrown for 102 yards, but overall I really liked what I saw from him. It may not have been impressive, but I am excited for where this team might be able to go.
- I LOVE watching Hawaii play
- Terrible loss by Oregon St to FCS team Sacramento St. These are the games you are supposed to win
- Congrats to Baylor with their upset win over TCU. This is a team I have been hoping would make some noise because, quite frankly, I would LOVE to see their green and gold playing in a bowl game
- All the talk about relocation is making my head spin. Now the latest reports are suggesting Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, Texas and Texas Tech to the Pac 12. If the four schools stay put in the conference formerly known as the Big 12 then BYU might be the school to replace Texas A&M. Oh, and the Aggies to the SEC along with FSU may not be too far off. Just crazy stuff
- I can't believe that Greg Schiano has now been at Rutgers for 10 full years. He helped put the team on the map in 2006 with their 11-2 records but has since seen a slow decline (8-8, 8-5, 9-4 over the next three years). Last year they finished 4-8, the first losing season since 2004. This will be a key season for the Knights. You have to imagine he still has a long leash, but if they can't get to a bowl game, the pressure will start to mount. Now any rational observer would give him a long, long leash...I mean, Rutgers had NEVER been a contender before Schiano. He changed the culture and actually made it cool to support the Knights. Here's hoping 2010 was just a blip in the radar.
- Bucknell with a rare opening day win, 27-26 over Fordham. No analysis, just wanted to let everyone know
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