One quick complaint about ESPN

I have tried to keep my angry sports rants off of this blog. However, my never ending fight ESPN must take another step here on this blog.

ESPN always plays up to the big cities. That is why they hate the SEC (not in LA or NY). They push their people on us and forget reality. The latest example is a piece about how great the Lakers are how smart it was to trade away Shaq. That is just out right foolishness. The premise of the article is that six pieces of the Laker puzzle are linked to Shaq's departure. Included in that list is Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar, Pau Gasol, Adam Morrison, Shannon Brown, Andrew Bynum, and Derrick Fisher.

I am willing to grant that Odom, who came in the trade, and Farmar, who was drafted with a draft pick received in the trade, are linked to Shaq. The rest is a stretch including Fisher, who was already on the team when Shaq was there, left, and was re-signed.

In fact, I think the facts are the exact opposite of what this guy claims. The Shaq trade was a disaster that sunk the Lakers for a couple of years and they are now still not as good as they were. The Lakers missed the playoffs the next year and then were bounced in the first round for two years in a row while Shaq and the Heat won a title. Let us not forget that the Lakers basically back tracked on their blow up of the Laker team. They re-hired Coach Phil Jackson. They re-hired Derrick Fisher. The re-hiring of Fisher seems to indicate that the drafting of Jordan Farmar was a mistake. Farmar is the back up of Fisher, who is a sub-par point guard. Andrew Bynum is decent enough when he is not injured, but is he really better than Shaq? Maybe this year, but what about those other 4 years? Probably not a victory there. Remember Kobe wanted Bynum traded because he realizes that Bynum is not consistently good. Odom has the same problem. A good 6th man, but not a guy who lives up to potential ever. Other than Gasol, they are all bench players and the bench of the Lakers is their weak spot.

Gasol came to the Lakers in a fire sale going on over in Memphis. The key lynch pin of the Gasol trade was the rights to the younger Gasol, drafted by the Lakers. Add in the two first round draft picks. Was Kwame Brown really that important to the trade. If they had kept Shaq, and never gotten Kwame would that trade not have happened? Sure it would have. The Lakers had the younger Gasol's rights and draft picks to trade.

One other thing that needs to be mentioned is that the Lakers are not really on the top now. Two years ago they lost to the Celtics. Got whipped by the Celtics in fact. Last year the Celtics were the best team in the league again and then Garnett got hurt. The Celtics still took eventual Eastern Conference champs to seven games. Now they have Garnett back, and the Celtics are back in the Finals. Assuming the Lakers make it back, they need to defeat the Celtics to prove that they are back on top. I currently think the Lakers are defending champs because of an injury to Garnett. I bet the Lakers are going to get stomped on by the Celtics in the finals.

Either way, claiming the Shaq trade is the basis for this team is a re-write of history. The Lakers did what Kobe wanted, and they had to undo it by re-hiring their point guard and the coach. Kobe on his own failed. Kobe running the show failed. They had to go out and get Pau Gasol, a big man role that was filled by Shaq. It is true that Shaq is now past his prime and is not going to be a cog in a team. But, look, Shaq was on the team with the best record in the league. He was a role player for LeBron. Could he have done that for the Lakers? Probably. In the years after the trade the Heat were the better team. Shaq has since been traded twice. The Lakers had lots of other opportunities to get rid of Shaq without having to miss the playoffs for one year and lose quickly in the next two.

I just can't stand ESPN's constant playing lap dog to teams like the Lakers. How did that silly article get the top billing?

Hall of Fame snub

Hall of Fame votes are in and only Andre Dawson made it in. Bert Blylevin is ripped off again. But he is within 10 votes.

Jayson Stark cast his vote for his Hall of So-So Players, and posted it on-line at ESPN. He voted for 10 guys. All 10 that he was allowed to vote for. That is crazy. I am not sure what Jayson was thinking.

It appears that Stark thinks you just have to be better than the others at your position during your time to make the Hall of Fame (the other guys at ESPN all seem to have the same attitude). Clearly that is his main criteria, which confuses the Hall of Fame with the All Star game. And not surprisingly All Star Games and Silver Slugger awards become the standard Stark uses to put people in the Hall. Alomar is a maybe in my mind, but Larkin should be out. Stark’s big argument for Larkin is Silver Slugger awards. What? So what that only A-Rod has more Silver Slugger awards. They didn’t give out Silver Slugger awards during the days of players like Honus Wagner, who surely would have more. That is a false way to make it look like Larkin compares favorably to those guys in history. McGriff is also a no. Stark admits he misses the numbers that most consider as numbers that put you in the Hall, and fails to mention how long McGriff played to try and get those numbers. The numbers are inflated because of expansion and because of his extra time where people did everything they could to get him those extra 7 home runs to hit 500. But he didn’t, and it does matter that he didn’t. When you think back on the 90’s do you think of McGriff as a dominate first baseman? No. Edgar Martinez is a DH. Plain and simple that means he is out. He gets zero benefit for the field. And as a DH who did not have to go into the field, his hitting numbers should be higher than other HOF candidates. They are not. Thus, he is out. Dale Murphy is on his list again the only reason is that Dale Murphy was a power hitter during his time. Murphy is shy of 400 homeruns and his other numbers are good, but not great. Stark’s defense. “It is the numbers in their time that we are supposed to be looking at.” That is not true. You are supposed to decide if that person is an all time great or not. Dale Murphy was one of the most fearted right fielders of his time. But not of all time. Jack Morris too was good, but not good enough. A career ERA of almost 4 is too high. The only one on his list that belongs is Bert Blyleven and perhaps Andre Dawson. I would like some more time to think about Tim Raines and Roberto Alomar.

Let us just look at one major example of how Stark’s view of best in his own time backfires (other than it requires people to get in the Hall from every position for every generation) and is not good. We will use his favorite: Barry Larkin.

Let us look at Larkin compared to Ernie Banks. Both played 19 seasons, but Banks played almost 400 more games than Larkin. Which brings up a legitimate concern about Larkin, he was constantly hurt. Larkin has a higher AVG than Banks and a higher OBP, but a lower OPS. How can that be? Well, as much as Stark wants us to think that Larkin’s power and Silver Slugger awards changed the position, he did not garner nearly as many bases as Banks. Thus, why not say that Banks changed the position? His 500 HRs are why he is in the Hall. Larkin for all his slugger awards only hit 198.

But Stark wants us to examine Larkin only in regards to his own age. So let us do just that. Without names of course.

Player 1 = 1963 hits, 195 homeruns, 1123 runs, 860 RBIs, .265 AVG, .330 OBP, .759 OPS
Player 2 = 2340 hits, 198 homeruns, 1329 runs, 960 RBIs, .295 AVG, .371 OBP, .815 OPS
Player 3 = 2365 hits, 185 homeruns, 1231 runs, 1003 RBIs, .285 AVG, .352 OBP, .767 OPS
Player 4 = 2586 hits, 173 homeruns, 1285 runs, 1194 RBIs, .298 AVG, .365 OBP, .782 OPS

Which one is the sure fire Hall of Famer that Stark wants in? Can we find Larkin? Does he stand out from this group of contemporaries? Player 1 is Jay Bell who played fewer games and seasons than Larkin. Player 2 is Larkin himself. Player 3 is Alan Trammell and Player 4 is Julio Franco. Larkin does not really stand above any of them. Not a one of these players deserves the HOF. They were all good and did good work. They were all above average, but they are not HOFers. Add to that the fact that Trammell, Bell, and Franco all led the league in a category at least once in their careers even if that category was sacrifice hits. Larkin never led in any category ever. Not even sacrifices. Larkin fails even by Starks standards. Hall of Fame Players are supposed to be great, not just a little better than the other guys during his life span.

Bert is great. 60 shutouts is amazing. 6th all time in strikeouts is clearly Hall material. Add low ERA and two World titles, and what more do you need?

Bowl Game recap

I know the bowl season is not over. Tonight there is still show down between the MAC and the Sun Belt conference and the so-called title game between the SEC and the Big 12 where each conference will be battling to stay above .500 in the bowl season, but it is enough to talk about the sesson anyway.

If you look at this year’s bowl results, one thing should jump out at you. The smaller conferences are just as good as the so called BCS conferences. The Mountain West Conference went 4-1 in the bowl season. Their only loss was TCU to Boise State. Wyoming, Air Force, BYU, and Utah all won their games. Boise State by the way beat the Pac 10 champion during the regular season and the Mountain West Champion in the Bowl Game. What more do they need to prove before they are considered for the National Title?

The real problem with the BCS is that it claims to give us a national champion. That is why there is only two solutions to this problem. One is go back to the bowls the way they used to be, or go to a tournament where only conference champions get in. Once you allow "at-large" bids in then it is no longer a true national championship tournament, but a subjective way to make sure large schools win.

Did you know that only two teams have gone undefeated twice including a BCS bowl game win during the BCS era? Can you name them? No, not USC. They only did it once. They did it the year they won the one and only BCS title, and there were two other undefeated teams with BCS bowl victories that year. No, it is not Florida. They did it once, but the other national title year they had one loss to Ole Miss during the regular season. The two teams are Utah and now Boise State. That is right. The two most consistent programs in the country are Utah and Boise State. Their seasons ended with wins in BCS bowl games including Utah beating the stuffing out of Alabama last year. These teams deserve a shot to play for the national title.

We have to get rid of the BCS in the long run. It is a system based on two subjective polls, which should be your first warning sign. Then they add in the computers, which are supposedly not subjective. But if you have ever looked at the computer rankings they are awful. They ruined the BCS this year. The final computer ranking had Ohio State behind Iowa despite the fact that Ohio State beat Iowa head to head. It had TCU very far down so much so that it cost TCU the third spot in the ranking. Yes, if Texas had lost to Nebraska it would not have helped TCU play for the national title. The computers by the way also did not have Nebraska ranked in the top 25 either before or after their close game with Texas. The computer has to go.

I vote put it back like it was. Let the AP vote a champ and the coaches vote a champ and leave it be.

The Conference to watch in Basketball

The College Basketball season has started, and I just wanted to make sure that everyone is watching the right conference. Keep your eye on the Missouri Valley Conference.

Currently only Drake and Creighton are below .500, and Creighton (3-5) has beaten Nebraska, who beat USC and TCU earlier this year. They also have two undefeated teams. Missouri State (8-0) with wins over Auburn, Tulsa, and Eastern Michigan to name a few. Illinois State (7-0) is also undefeated, but with a weak schedule so far with the only win of any note being over Illinois Chicago. Wichita State (8-1) and Northern Iowa (6-1) have only one loss and are a bit stronger than Illinois State. Witchita State destroyed Iowa at Iowa and played Pitt close. Northern Iowa beat Iowa and Iowa St. in addition to Boston College on the road and East Carolina at home. Their only loss is to Depaul. The Conference has an overall winning record on the road and even Bradley (5-2) has beaten Illinois, who was ranked in the Top 25 at the time.

So just make sure you keep an eye on this conference. They are loaded with teams that have potential. It will be an exciting season and perhaps a multiple bid year for this confernce.

Joe Calzaghe: Best of the Era

I posted earlier this year about what a great loss to boxing the retirement of Oscar De Lahoya had been. I have failed to mention the retirement of who I believe was the greatest pound for pound boxer of my time, Joe Calzaghe. He retired in early 2009, but I held out hope he would do what all boxers seem to do: unretire. I have given up hope.

Calzaghe retired undefeated with the vast majority of his wins coming at the Super Middleweight level. And while this is not the level that one typically thinks of when he thinks of great boxers, Calzaghe owned it, nay, dominated it. He retired at a clean 46-0 and this includes winning a unification bout with then undefeated Mikkel Kessler. It is still the only loss on Kessler’s record. This fight, which Calzaghe won comfortably is a perfect example of how great he was. Kessler, who had never been defeated, said this afterward: “his punches weren’t particularly hard but it was confusing when he hit you twenty times.” Calzaghe’s hands were the quickest I have seen for a man his size and that includes Mike Tyson. Calzaghe was amazing. In the Kessler bout, CompuBox registers 1,010 punches thrown by Calzaghe doubling his opponent.

The real shame is that the broader audience never really got to enjoy Calzaghe because it was not until the end of his career did he venture out of his weight class for the big money fights. I remember how much Bernard Hopkins was celebrated when he defended his title 20 times. Calzaghe defended his 21 times. Third highest total in history for any weight class. Oh yeah, Calzaghe beat Hopkins a few years ago as well. Hopkins was dominated by Calzaghe in the middle and late rounds hitting Hopkins (according to CompuBox) more than any other fighter Hopkins had ever faced. Calzaghe never got tired. Never.

Calzaghe ended his career by beating an other big name: Roy Jones Jr. He too was battered by Calzaghe.

Some complain that Calzaghe did not have those mega-fights. But that was because the American superstars would not travel to England, and Calzaghe focused on defending his own title rather than jumping weight classes for pay days. He was stripped of his title (IBF only) when he went for a pay day against Peter Manfedo Jr. I watched that fight and it was a joke. I do think the ref stopped it early and that Manfredo was not real hurt. But even after only two rounds there was no way to justify Manfredo being in the same ring with Calzaghe. Calzaghe beat all the big names that came to him. Not just Hopkins and Jones Jr., but also the ones that were big names until he crushed them. Jeff Lacy was a heavy favorite before he was dispatched. He beat former champions Chris Eubank, Charles Brewer, and Robin Reid, and while an amateur Calzaghe apparently beat Chris Byrd, who would go on to be the World Heavyweight Champion.

Calzaghe was just a great fighter. He threw punches, and then threw more punches, and probably threw some punches you missed because they were that fast. I like Joe, followed his career, and now I am going to miss him. So will boxing.

Pirate Call Ups

The September Call ups for baseball are upon us. Usually it is a time for losing teams to get a glimpse of next year, but not so this year with the Pirates. The reason appears to be the current try-outs they have going on at the Major League Level. Primarily Lastings Milledge as well as Andy LaRoche and Steve Pierce. Charlie Morton pitching may also be trying out for the future.

The Pirates have only announced that they are calling up pitcher Daniel McCutchen, who will be starting on Sunday, and recent trade aquisition Jeff Clement. It is also known that the Pirates will also bring back Donnie Veal from the DL at that time as well. He is a Rule 5 pitcher who cannot go to the minors without the Pirates losing rights to him. One can also assume that if Jeff Karstens is able to get off the DL he will also return to the major league team. The other players one can only speculate at this time.

What we do know is who you are not going to see. You will not see Jose Tabata, who will be in the Arizona Fall League this year. You will not see Pedro Alvarez, which basically assures he will start off next year in Triple A. You will not see Brad Lincoln as a pitcher. These three guys have the potential to have a huge impact on next year's team although all three may start off in Triple A.

The only other players you are likely to see in Pittsburgh are Robinson Diaz, who filled in nicely while Doumit was hurt, and a few pitchers. Jose Ascino will probably get a call up, and maybe one or two more pitchers to help out in the pen. Virgil Vasquez, Jeff Suez, and Jon Meloan are the nominees. However, they will not all come and it is possible that none of them will come. The only real hope is that Neil Walker, the long expected Third baseman might get a call up. He had another lack luster year at Triple A, but is on a massive hot streak right now.

So Pirate fans will have to watch Jeff Clement as the only call up with a future for the Pirates. How well he does these last few weeks will determine whether he heads into the off season with the first base job or whether Steve Pierce is able to hold on to it. Milledge is improving at the big league level, but will he be able to hold off Jose Tabata for a starting spot in next years outfield? The Pirates are going to give him every plate appearance they can to judge him. Andy LaRoche too is on a ticker. Alvarez will probably follow the path of Andrew McCutchen. He will be ready right out of spring training, but will play Triple A for a few months to get his confidence high and maybe allow the Pirates to work a trade. This does not mean LaRoche is done in Pittsburgh. His glove has impressed, and a move to second could be in his future. How he hits in the next few weeks will impact their thinking on that one. As well as how Neil Walker plays if he is on the team. Neil could be the back up third baseman since he has more power than Andy.

Even the bullpen is not going to be the same next year. Dumatrait will probably get some starts down the stretch, which could be interesting. Expect Veal and Ascino to be in Triple A next year trying to make it as starters. Daniel McCutchen will be fighitng for the two open starter positions. So will Dumatrait. I guess since we are talking about Morton is fighting for one of those spots as well. Anyone else the Pirates bring up might have an outside shot at making next year's bullpen, but it will be an outside shot.

I guess in the end I am worried about whether the Pirate management is going to play to win next year. They have the talent in the organization now (with the exception of the pen) to make a push for at least an NL Central Title. I am just afraid they are going to stick it all in Triple A until it is too late.

Trade Deadline Winners and Losers

I will do a post in the next day or so on another forgotten reformer, but I have to post about the winners and losers of the MLB Trade Deadline. I have been amazed at ESPN's continued fantasy about Boston. Most of their radio hosts have claimed Boston was the big winner just edging out Philadelphia. That is completely wrong. Philly is the big winner because they got the best Pitcher available: Cliff Lee. They did not have to sell the farm system like they would have to get Roy Halladay, but they still got a pitcher to make them battle ready in the post season. Boston got Victor Martinez who does make them better. He will be able to make Boston injury proof at several positions and help management give Ortiz and Veritek "days off" so they can get someone who can actually hit in the line up. However, this was Boston's last big chance to win. They needed more pitching to do it. Dice K is awful and Smoltz is no longer starter material. A few young guys and Josh Beckett are not enough to pull off a title, or maybe even a trip to the post season this year. Boston tried to get both Lee and Martinez in one deal, but could not. Thus, Boston is the big loser. Note they are still dropping in the AL East. Plus, they did have to give away some young guys, and it only further depletes the Boston farm system. Their team is old. Ortiz is done. Veritek is done. Lowell is done. Their offense is not what it used to be. Beckett is having a good year this year, which means next year he will be a .500 pitcher. Add in the fact that their first title was basically proven to be on the back of massive steroid use, and you see the desperate need for a title this year.

The only other option for biggest loser is the St. Louis Cardinals or the Minnesota Twins who both failed to improve their club. The Twins have pulled off a post deadline deal, but it may not be enough. Seattle also made some trades where they gave up some young talent, and got almost nothing in return. They may well be a loser too.

The biggest winner has to be the Phils, who proved they are thinking about the post season match ups in a seven game series now. They needed another dominate pitcher to be comfortable against the Dodgers and they got that. I still think that they will disappear and miserably fail, but they have a much better shot at actually pulling it off now.

The real biggest winners are Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Toronto. Pittsburgh because of the sheer number of people they have added to their farm system. They now have five of the top 75 prospects in baseball. That is pretty good. Cleveland got a bevy of young guys as well. Toronto also is a winner because they got to keep Halladay. He gets one more year with the Blue Jays and they can add their young guys to him and maybe get a free agent to help out. It is a long shot because of the division they play in, but it is still a good thing for the fans of the Blue Jays. They still have the best in baseball.

Pirates are officially reloaded

The new look Pirates make their debut tonight. They have officially given up on this season with the trades they have made. People who started the year on the Pirates roster and are no longer with them include: Sean Burrnett, Erik Henskie, Adam LaRoche, Ian Snell, Nyjer Morgan, Jon Grabow, Jack Wilson, and Freddy Sanchez. Only the last three are missed. Also gone is the ace of last years staff Tom Gorzelanny, who did not start the year on the team, but did pitch from the bullpen some this year.

However the trades, with the possible exception of Morgan and Burnett to the Nationals, have all improved the long term prospects for the Pirates. The trades this year have also continued to build the Pirates in waves. The Pirates got some people who are going to be on the team right now and make a huge impact including pitcher Kevin Hart from the Cubs. I also expect you will see Jeff Clement at first base before the September call ups, but at least then. He will have a huge impact. Lastings Milledge will be up in September as well and his try out for the team will begin. I suppose we ought to count Ronny Cedeno here as well. He is the place holder at short stop. It is better than having to try Brian Bixler again at short, but he is just a place holder considering two short stops were drafted in the first four rounds last year. They also received a lot of people who will make their arrival next year including Jose Ascino from the Cubs (pitcher), Tim Alderson (pitcher for Sanchez) and Argentis Diaz (short stop for LaRoche) who will probably make a debut with the club sometime next year. Then a ton more prospects will show up after that including Aaron Pribonic (pitcher), Brett Lorin (pitcher), and Nathan Hadcock (pitcher), Casey Erickson (pitcher for Henskie), and Eric Flyer (outfielder/catcher for Henskie). This was a terrific year for trades for the Pirates and I am not sure I included all of the prospects we received.

I think the future of the Pirates looks very bright now. I have predicted that they will win the World Series next year, and I might have to lower that to simply win the NL. The reason is the bullpen. I am not sure what the Pirates will do next year for left handed bullpen support. They got rid of their two best this year leaving only Donald Veal, who is improving, and possible Phil Dumatrait assuming he does not win a starting job next year. That may hurt them, but they ought to have an amazing rotation next year. They will have a great increase in power with the addition of Pedro Alvarez (who I think will join mid season), and Jeff Clement at first. Let us assume that Garret Jones continues his power and is on the the team next year giving one more year for Tabata to mature, that will keep his power, and if Milledge takes the other corner spot then that is more power than Dwelven Young. The hole at first will be filled by Clement. The hole at third is filled by Alvarez. The hole at short created by Jack Wilson can be filled by Argentis Diaz, or perhaps Brian Friday. The hole at second is the biggest problem. It can be filled by Jim Negyrich (.272 in AA but season ended with a non-basbeball surgery) or Shelby Ford (hitting below .200 at AAA) or maybe moving Cedeno to second or Bixler (.262 at AAA but below .200 in several major league stints). One might could hope that they try to move Andy LaRoche to a new infield spot, but we are not going to get our hopes up for that one. Perhaps the idea that the Pirates will go with is to move Dwelven Young from outfield to second base. He played second once already this year and pulled off an amazing catch and he is hitting above .300. The Pirates management has hinted that will give this a try, and that would open up a spot for Milledge or Tabata to start in the outfield. If they do this, then they will have a real shot at winning the NL and perhaps the world series. Of course they need a healthy Ryan Doumit behind the plate, but they will not need him as much next year. He is the RBI guy and the power guy and without him this year we could not get the big hit when we needed it. Next year adding power with Alvarez and Clement along side the surprising Jones and a healthy Doumit should give us a lot of guys to fear with the bat. Put McCutchen at the top of the line up, and they will have lots of chances to drive in runs.

The rotation could be anything, which means if someone is failing they can do something about it. Brad Lincoln is ready as is Daniel McCutchen from AAA. Virgil Vasquez and Charlie Morton are showing good things at the major league level, Phil Dumatrait will be back from his injury. Zack Duke made the All Star team, Ross Ohlendorf has shown flashes and Jeff Karstens will compete for a place. Add in the can't miss prospect of Tim Alderson just received along with Jose Ascino not to mention Kevin Hart who showed he could win starts and pitch great with the Cubs, and the Pirates have an over abundance right now.

I am looking forward to all of these trades finally paying off.

Pirates First Half Analysis

The Pirates have had a disappointing first half. They really faltered right before the All Star break, and their inability to beat in division opponents is not a good thing. They can still make the .500 mark, but it will take a much better second half.

With that said, the Pirates have had some really encouraging things happen this year. McCutchen appears to be as advertized. Some young bullpen guys have developed like Evan Meek and Jesse Chavez. Yet a slump prone offense has been their undoing along with Ian Snell, who was demoted to the minors far too late to help the team.

What the Pirates really need is a Carrier. By that I mean someone who can carry the team when it hits those inevitable slumps. The great teams have more than one, but the Pirates do not have any. They have some guys hitting really well this year like Freddy Sanchez (.316) and Dwelven Young (.311). McCutchen (.292) and Robinson Diaz (.295) have done well but only have appeared in just over 30 games a piece. Garret Jones is also hitting .310 in 11 games. These guys are doing great, but these guys are all singles hitters with the possible exception of Garrett Jones. But it is too early to anoint Jones as anything. A Carrier needs to be someone who hits for extra bases. He does not necessarily have to be a big time homerun hitter, but someone who can and who gets lots of doubles. A Carrier can come to the plate and hit a homerun to give a slumping offense instant runs, or hit a double to put someone in scoring position immediately, or even double in the guy who is standing on first because of a walk. A Carrier also needs to be good in the clutch, so that he gets the RBI no matter how he does it. The Pirates do not have such a guy. I believe the Pirates were hoping that Ryan Doumit would be that guy, but he got hurt. If the Pirates are going to make a run at .500 Doumit has to be a Carrier for the second half of the season. The Pirates would have liked Adam LaRoche to be a Carrier, but he has flopped for years now. He is having a great year by LaRoche standards this year, but look at his stats. Adam has over a third of his hits go for extra bases. He is second on the team in doubles and first in home runs. A good sign for someone to be a Carrier, yet he barely ever gets hits. His average is .250. He has 39 RBI's five more than Freddy Sanchez and his brother Andy LaRoche. Freddy hits second in the line up and Andy hits sixth (he has moved around some). Jack Wilson the 8th hitter is only 8 RBI's behind Adam. Adam hits in the clean up spot and he has to come up with more RBI's. I fully expect him to be traded.

All in all I am excited to see the new look Pirates continue their play. Charlie Morton pitching is something I am interested in. The impact of a soon returning Ryan Doumit should have a positive effect. I also am hopefull that when the September call ups come we will get to see Jose Tabata. These are things that should keep Pirate fans coming to see the team. If only baseball went all year long.

Pirates News UPDATED

The Pirates are on the move again. They are only six games out of first place, which for most teams would mean they are in the race. Of course no one thinks the Pirates are in the race, but the next 13 games will tell if they are still in it. If they can stay within five games or so of first place at the All Star break, I think the Pirates would avoid off loading most of their team this year.

That said, they are going to make some moves no matter what. For example the recent trade of Eric Hinske Hinske was the obligatory off season free agent signed by the Pirates. He played mostly outfield with some third and first mixed in. He was not doing very well, and not giving them the power off of the bench they wished. So, they traded him. After calling up Steven Pierce, who can also play first and outfield, the need for Hinske was gone. They got two Single A prospects for him. The Yankees must be out of their minds. This can only be seen as a good deal. It gives Brandon Moss and Steven Pierce more playing time, and gives them two prospects. Garret Jones, who is generally not considered a part of the future of the Pirates but is hitting .307 with 12 homers in Triple A, has been called up to take Hinske’s place.

What should Pirate fans expect? I think they should expect one more deal no matter what. Garrett Jones is a full time outfielder and a left handed one at that. Steven Pierce is on the team right now as well, and supposedly was told he was going to play outfield. Pierce is a natural first baseman who for the past two years has been learning outfield. This year in Triple A they told him to go back to first base and was only told last week when he was called up to the majors, to play the outfield. I expect that along with the addition of Jones to the outfield this week means that Adam LaRoche will be dealt even if the Pirates remain in contention. Pierce will then become the full time first baseman. Adam is hitting better than normal and is a free agent in the off season. He is the best power hitter the Pirates can offer and is not a part of the future of this team. Expect Adam to go no matter what.

If the Pirates do fall out of contention in the next two weeks, you might could Jack Wilson go, although I am wondering if the Pirates would do this without a short stop who is big league ready right now. If they got the right offer, I think they would. The other possible trade is John Grabow, the lefty out of the bullpen. He would probably garner some interest, and could get a prospect or two in return. Now if the Pirates are still in contention, I think they keep both of those guys. If the Pirates are playing to win this year, you will know by the fate of Grabow and Wilson.

UPDATE: The Pirates have just traded Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett to the Washington Nationals for Lastings Milledge and a right handed pitcher named Hanarhan. It is a pretty bad trade for the Pirates. It is a major gamble that Milledge will be better than he ever has been before and that he will grow into the player people hope he will be. If that falls through this is a major mistake. I do think it might be an attempt to compete this year and not an indication of a large scale sell off. Morgan is a leadoff hitter, which the Pirates already have in McCutchen, and with Tyler Yates down with an injure the Pirates need a right handed power reliever. So, that is the logic I guess. Bad trade. First bad one of the new ownership in my mind.

A required post on the NBA draft

Look, I think we all know that I dislike the NBA. And if I am forced to pick an NBA team, I cheer for the Nuggets. However, I am really interested in what the Minnesota Timberwolves do in this year’s draft. They have four first round picks, plus the 15th pick in the Second Round in a draft that most agree is a deep draft. I have long thought that the best way to rebuild a team in the current NBA is not through free agents, but just trading everyone to get draft picks. This is what the Timberwolves have apparently done. They traded away their best player to get another draft and some other frontline guys to the Wizards just a few days ago. The Timberwolves were a lottery team last year, but ought to be a playoff team this next year.

Since the Timberwolves are drafting both 5th and 6th they ought to have at least two impact players. They seem to have a decent front court with Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, and Cory Brewer. Add in Sheldon Williams and Ryan Gomes just to name the young guys, and the front court seems okay. That is why I hope the Timberwolves do not trade up to get Hashem Thabeet. He will not be as good in the NBA, and they need back court help. They ought to be able to get Stephen Curry (of Davidson) and Tyreke Evans (Memphis). Either could play shooting guard or point guard. At 15 they can probably pick either Tyler Hansbrough or DeJuan Blair. I think Blair is the better pick, but both ought to be there. That gives them some more front line strength. They pick again at 28 where they can pick whatever overseas guy they like the best or they could pick Patty Mills from Saint Marys. That kid can shoot the lights out. Darren Collison from UCLA should also be there. Then take pick 45 and just get the best guy remaining on the board, probably an overseas guy, and you should be set for an exciting year.

If I were the Timberwolves, I would take Curry, Evans, Blair, and Mills. You would have three guys that can shoot the lights out, and one tough inside guy who could give some quality off the bench minutes as he develops into an NBA player. The starting line up for Minnesota in 2010 would be Evans, Curry, Brewer, Love, and Jefferson. Add in Blair and whatever European you got in round two to come off the bench with Gomes and Williams and the team has its rotation. The three guys they got from the Wizards are all pointless with only Songaila having any chance at playing. I hope they keep all the picks, and I hope they take Mills with their late pick. If they do, they could shoot their way to a Playoff appearance.

Seeing the Pirates and Joe Mauer

The NBA is nothing compared to Major League Baseball. If you watched the conference finals, you will now understand that the NBA is rigged or at least it is attempted. LeBron got every call he could possibly get and the Lakers did as well. That along with the Puppet Kobe and Puppet LeBron commercials should tell you who the NBA tried to put in the finals. The Nuggets beat LA in Game 1, 3, 4, and 5. Thanks to poor officiating they were only able to win Game 4. Oddly LA won Game 2, but the refs gave that one to the Nuggets. If the NBA is not rigged then the refs are the single most incompetent group of people on the planet. No reason to ever watch the NBA again.

But the main point of the post is to talk about the Pittsburgh Pirates. I will have the pleasure of seeing them in action this year as they come to Minnesota, and I am going to attend a game. This means I will also probably get to see the greatest player in the game today, Joe Mauer, catcher for the Twins. Mauer missed most of April with an injury, but hit .414 in May with 11 homers and 32 RBIs (.500 OBA and .848 Slug for those interested). He was the first catcher to ever lead the American League in Batting Average a couple of years ago and quietly last year he did it again. I have little doubt that he will win another batting title this year.

But the Pirates are still the main attraction. They are my pick to win back to back World Series titles starting next year. They will break .500 this year. They are five games below .500 right now, but I am not worried. They have spent all but a few games without their biggest bat, Ryan Doumit. They have also had their closer miss a few games and are still without their 8th inning guy, Tyler Yates. But the main reason to be excited about the future of the Pittsburgh Pirates is Greg Smith. Who is Greg Smith? Well, he is the front office guy in charge of the Pirates Draft. They Pirates had the best draft in the majors last year. They picked Pedro Alvarez and managed to sign him despite lots of dirty tricks by his agent. They signed 6 of their top 10 picks. Including the steal of the draft, Robbie Grossman, a high school outfielder in the 6th round. Grossman was a top two or three round talent that people avoided because he had committed to Texas and seemed adamant. The Pirates drafted him anyway and then gave him a one million dollar signing bonus, which is unheard of for a 6th round pick and for the Pirates who are notoriously cheap. Grossman is now playing for the Class A West Virginia Power. He has a .710 OPS and is 16 out of 18 in the stolen base department. Not bad for a kid right out of high school. The Pirates draft fourth in this year’s draft and get a complementary pick because they failed to sign their second round pick last year.

Another reason is the great trades the Pirates pulled off last year. They did have to lose Xavier Nady and Jason Bay plus some relievers, but they got back Jose Tabata from the Yankees, who will probably arrive in the Pittsburgh outfield in 2011 giving the Pirates great options with future Free Agents like Nate McClouth. Add to that Brian Morris who was the center piece of the Bay-Rameriez deal. Morris ought to be in the rotation by 2011. And after all of the draft day busts from past years, these sorts of deals are important. The previous front office guys drafted lots of pitchers who almost all failed. Everyone from Kris Benson to VanBenschoten to 2007’s Daniel Moskos (who might be an alright closer, but does not look so good as a started). This would explain why Greg Smith got the reigns of the draft last year and he looks good at it. Add to that the amazing re-emergence of Brad Lincoln (2006 first round draft pick who had Tommy John surgery the minute he pitched for the Pirates in the minors). Lincoln is on track to be part of the 2011 rotation as well.

This is all good news for the Pirates. By the end of this year we will get a glimpse of Andrew McCutchen, which will give the Pirates an amazing outfield. Steven Pierce will probably be a September call up for even more depth there or to replace a hopefully traded Adam LaRoche at first. By the end of 2010 we will see Pedro Alvarez at third and maybe Brad Lincoln in the rotation. That will help us fill the hole at third and get rid of Ian Snell, who is now officially in my doghouse for his inability to get anyone out in the first two innings and refusal to throw inside. 2011 will bring Morris and Tabata and the Pirates are looking good to be competitive for years to come.

MLB predictions

I have not made my predictions for this year's major league baseball, but better late than never.

First, let me say the Pirates are going to finish above .500. Yes, they are only 1.5 games out right now. That is amazing. If they can stay within 3 games of St. Louis during this stretch where Jack Wilson (hitting over .300) and Ryan Doumit (RBI leader last year) are on the disabled list and Nate McClouth (last year's all star) is missing a few games then the Pirates are going to compete for a Wild Card and perhaps the NL Central Title. This is a great start for them and they still have last year's bright spot Phil Dumatrait to add to the bullpen or rotation where ever he is needed as soon as Phil gets off the DL.

But the team to watch, and my pick to win the World Series is the Minnesota Twins. Right now they are under .500, but only 1.5 games out of first in their division. They are doing this without the person who should have won the MVP last year, Joe Mauer. Mauer led the AL in batting average last year, and when he gets back, the Twins will take off again. They have the best manager in baseball and a really good pitching staff. Expect the Twins to be in the post season this year.

As for the NL, I think you have to say that the Dodgers are going to win the NL. I hate to admit that, but I think Joe Torre is the second best manager in baseball, and they do not have a lot of competition out in the NL West. The Mets are going to fold down the stretch as always and leave the Dodgers without serious competition. I do not think that Pujols can keep the Cardinals in the running by himself and Chirs Carpenter is already hurt. The rest of the Cardinals are on steroids so you never know what you are going to get from them. The Cubs made a giant mistake in the offseason with Milton Bradley, and their pitching is not good enough. So, there you have it. My 2009 picks.

Oscar De La Hoya: A Sports Legend

You may not have heard, but Oscar De La Hoya retired the other day from boxing, and it could be very well be the end of boxing.

De La Hoya was overall 39-6 and sadly is most remembered for losing 4 of his last 7 fights. Yet, it needs to be remembered that he lost to undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr., boxing legend Bernard Hopkins, Sugar Shane Mosely twice one of which he admitted to using steroids, and Manny Pacquio who is the best pound for pound fighter in the world right now. His other loss was to Felix Trinidad, which was such a bad decision that an investigation was actually launched into the decision, but then again De La Hoya won a decision against Pernell 'Sweet Pea' Whitiker that was equally as bad.

But the important thing to remember about Oscar De La Hoya is his impact on the sport. He has single handed kept boxing a float in the past decade. He has not avoided the big time boxers. He fought and won titles in four different weight classes. He fought Mayweather and set records for PPV. He had previously set records with his bout against Felix Trinidad. He has also promoted several fights, such as the Mayweather bout, that have done great things for the sport. Yet, without De La Hoya boxing will probably die. Mayweather retired and then tried to come back versus Ricky Hatton, but that was not the success that boxing needed. Now Mayweather is back in retirement. Hopkins has retired, and Pacquio has no one of worth to fight plus he is not a draw in America. And the heavyweight division is destroyed and worthless.

The sport of boxing has always been of interest to me, but now it is being surpassed as it is full of drug users, violent criminals, and bad actors. It is a shame that the days of Sugar Ray and Marvolous Marvin Hagglar are all gone. It is a sad thing.

More March Cheating

As I pointed out a few years ago, the Sports announcers and the powers that be were upset when the Missouri Valley dominated the tournament and the Sweet Sixteen was one-fourth small conferences as was the Final Four. Last year we sat through ESPN complaining about the six small conference at large bids, historically a fairly low number, and arguing that small conferences should not even have Automatic Bids. Of course the NCAA continues to play up to the money and ESPN and lowered the number of At-Large Bids from 6 to 4. This is ridiculous. Just take a look.

The Big 10 sent 7 teams! 63% of this conference is in the tournament. Wisconsin is in without winning 20 games. You do not even have to finish in the top half of the Big 10 to make the tournament. The Pac-10 sent 6 proving the same thing in that league with 60% of the teams in. The Big East sent 7, but that means that just under half of the conference is in the tournament. Exactly half of the Big 12 is in the tournament. This includes Texas A&M who was 9-7 in their conference and lost to Tulsa (small conference) during the season. Texas lost even more than that and they still made the tournament. It is absolutely ridiculous.

The NCAA is also continuing their policy of eliminating these teams by making them play each other as I told you last year. Gonzaga vs. Akron is unnecessary. So is Xavier vs. Portland State. I could fix this without switching seeding. Let Gonzaga play Mississippi St. and Akron play Washington. Then if I can switch one seed, just let Portland St. play Florida State and then drop Wisconsin to play Xavier. Problem solved. But that is not what they want.

Let us also remember the insanity of their reasoning. They think that Small Conference schools cannot compete against the Big Boys, so let more Big Conference teams play. But just examine the results. Last year Memphis was in the Final Game (only bid from their league Conference USA), and Davidson made the Elite Eight (only bid from the Southern Conference). The year before that I believe Memphis made the Elite Eight and Butler (Horizon), UNLV (Mountain West), and Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley) made the 25% of the Sweet Sixteen small schools. 2006 was the year where 31% of the Sweet Sixteen were small conference schools 25% of the Elite Eight and George Mason (one of two schools from the Colonial that year) made the Final Four to make 25% of the Final Four. While 2005 was an off year with only UW-Milwaukee and Utah making the Sweet Sixteen, 2004 had St. Joseph’s(Atlantic 10) in the Elite Eight and UAB (C-USA) to reach the Sweet Sixteen along with Nevada and Xavier (Atlantic 10). Another 25% of the Sweet Sixteen. In 2003, Marquette reached the Final Four after defeating number one ranked Kentucky. Remember at that time Marquette was in Conference USA, a small conference (25% of the Final Four for the math challenged). 2002 small conference schools made up 13% of the Sweet Sixteen (Southern Illinois and Kent St.). 2001 had Temple in the Elite Eight and Gonzaga joining them in the Sweet Sixteen with Cincinnati, which was a small conference school then. That is about 19% of the Sweet Sixteen.

So examining the facts it really appears as if the Small Schools get better and better and fewer and fewer bids. They routinely got at least 5 and sometimes up to seven. Logic would dictate that perhaps 25% of the At-Large bids ought to go to the Small Schools. Instead this year it is around 11%. Despite out performing every year, the small conferences continually get snubbed.

The biggest losers this year are St. Mary’s whose conference has gotten two bids in the past, and San Diego State. Clearly, they both should have gotten in. One day sanity will take over, but until then please join me in routing against every team from the Big Conferences.

Pirates in 09

On Friday the Pitchers and Catchers are required to be in camp for the Pittsburgh Pirates in what ought to be an encouraging year for the club. Now, I do think that they will miss out on the playoffs this year unless they can grab a wildcard on account of other teams folding up with injuries, but it should be a year where they can reach .500 winning percentage. Next year will be the year they win the World Series or at least the NL. The first of a long line of championship seasons.

The thing to watch in camp is the pitchers. Only one starting rotation spot is set with Paul Malholm having that spot. Ian Snell, Tom Grozelanny, Zack Duke, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen, and Phil Dumatrait competing for the remaining four spots. Dumatrait was the best of that group in 2007 before he missed the rest of the season with an injury. Word is that he will probably even start this season on the DL rather than in the bullpen. He will probably take a second spot once he recovers. Ian Snell has not been promised a spot on the rotation, but he is making more money than the others, so I think he is likely in as well. If he would throw inside, he could be a great pitcher. The new pitching coach ought to be able to help Ian out and getting him back to top of the rotation status. This year’s success in my mind is attached to Ian Snell. If he has a bounce back year the Pirates are in good shape. If not, then they are going to be off to another slow start and the gloom will set in. Zack Duke is also making over a million dollars this season so it is hard to imagine him in Triple A, but his performance for years has been sub-par. I think he will be the message sent to players this year. If he does not earn it in camp, I think he will be sent down. McCutchen is too young, they won’t take a chance on him. Ohlendorf and Karstens are the two wild cards. They have great talent and if they can live up to part of that this year, then the Pirates will do well. Tom Grozelanny needs to regain his 14 win form in order to make the club. Another person to watch. I am not sure he will make it back.

The bullpen is also in flux, which is why I think they will miss the playoffs. Matt Cappas is the closer. Tyler Yates and John Grabow are the right and left hand short guys. I assume also that Sean Burrnett will make the team as lefties only hit .171 against him last year. That gives them another lefty in the pen and a middle distance kind of guy. The rest is up in the air. They picked up Donald Veal from the Cubs in a Rule 5 draft, which means they have to put him on the team or the Cubs could take him back. They did this last year with Evan Meek and put him on the team despite his obviously not being ready. I think they will do the same with Veal. Meek could make the team again. Craig Hansen was traded for, but really showed he was not so good. If he does not make the team, he is out of options, which means he will go on waviers. That would fill the roster, but I doubt Meek will make the team, so at least one more spot is open. Also Hansen could be one of those examples because he was really, really, bad last year.

The starting line up actually looks really good. The Pirates have Doumit and McClouth returning from great seasons. They still have Jack Wilson who can .300 as can a now healthy Freddy Sanchez. Nyjer Morgan looks ready for the Big Leagues and other outfielder Brandon Moss hit well from them last year after coming over from the Red Sox. The two LaRoche brothers at 1st and 3rd are the question marks. Will Adam continue starting slower than a car out of gas? Will Adam’s off-season swing change help him actually be able to hit the ball? Those are big questions. Thankfully, both have answers beneath them in the organization. The Pirates did sign Eric Hinske in the off season, and he can play either of those positions along with corner outfield. He will also add power from the bench, which has been missing. Neil Walker will be waiting in Triple A at 3rd and Steven Pierce will be a possible back up at 1st and the corner outfield spot from either Triple A or on the bench. It will be interesting where they put him. Back up catcher has a back log of talent. They got Jason Jaramillo in an off season trade for Ronnie Paulino, not to mention the star catcher from Triple A last year and the trade after the deadline that sent Jose Bautista to Toronto last year. Three catchers and one spot is a good problem to have.

In the end, the Pirates have the offense to compete. And they have the talent in the starting rotation, the question is will they put it together. Each year the start from the previous year has collapsed under the weight of being the ace. First it was Duke, then it was Snell, last year Grozelanny did not even stay with the big leagues he stunk it up so bad. This year it is Malholm. He has to respond. And one of the previous fallen aces has to return to form. They have plenty of other guys waiting with talent, but shuffling people around to find out who is going to perform is a recipe for a bad year. They need to get it right in Spring Training. The bullpen will fail them this year as well. They are putting together some arms down there, but they are not there yet. Too many Rule 5 picks to fill holes in the pen. That is a bad sign.

This year the Pirates have to find out who is big league material on their pitching staff. If they can do that this year, then next year the sky is the limit.

Sports Lessons from 2008

A few things we should have learned from this past year of sports. Lessons that I hope we will not soon forget.

1. The smaller conferences should pull out of the BCS. They have fielded the only undefeated team and were not allowed to play for a national title. They won their bowl game and will not be given the national title. Why stay? Let us also not forget that they had a second undefeated team during the regular season and that team was left out of the BCS altogether in favor of two loss Ohio State. Come on.

2. Brad Childress is the worst coach in the NFL. I will not call for him to be fired because I hate that. However, it cannot be denied that he has the best running back in the NFL, a serviceable quarterback, and a defense that is average, and the team stinks. He should never have benched Tavaris Jackson. And he should run a few roll-out plays when Jackson is in the game. The last possession of the first half in the play off game says it all. There is just under a minute left. They could have taken knees and gone into the half, and no one could complain. They could have made a few attempts to get a first down or two with their two remaining time outs and no one would complain. But Coach Childress runs on first down and the other team takes a time out. He throws incomplete on second down and then runs on third down. The other team takes their last time out and gets the ball back with a full 20 seconds left. That is unacceptable. That is the worst coach in the NFL.

3. The Yankees will continue to fail and will continue to do so spending giant amounts of money. I will go ahead and go on record. They will lose the American League East this year. They will add all sorts of new players, and they will still find ways to mess this up. That is the Yankee tradition. Since they have gone Free Agent crazy they have not won the World Series. They did win it when they relied on their own home grown talent like Jeter, Rivera, and Bernie Williams plus a few random old timers. Since they pay the big bucks for A-Rod and whoever else is on the market they stink.

4. MLB most valuable player awards are a joke. This year in the American League they gave the award to Dustin Pedroia. Why? Because he is from Boston. That is the only good reason. I think Justin Morneau had a better year and Josh Hamilton from Texas makes a better story. However, the guy who deserved the award led the league in Average. He is the only catcher to ever do it. Now he has done it twice. I am talking about Joe Mauer. This guy is the best in baseball. He took the Twins to heights no one thought they would be this year losing out on the playoffs on a tie-breaker game, #163 for the year. Mauer has gold glove quality defense and was leading a bunch of rookies on the mound. Glen Perkins, Nate Blackwell, and Kevin Slowey. He also had two second year players in Scot Baker and Nelson Lirano. That is a resume that screams MVP. I don’t care that Pedroia hit in four different spots in the line up. That is pointless. If you can hit in one you can hit in them all. Mauer could do that too, but his coach is not that dumb.

5. Tom Brady is the most overrated quarterback of all time. The debate about whether he is better than Peyton Manning is now over. Manning wins. Brady is worth about six wins more than a high school quarterback, maybe. Is Brady a system quarterback that thrived on being in the worst division in the history of the National Football League last year? Absolutely. Just as he took his job via injury, he has now lost it for good. So long Tom, it was nice knowing you.

6. I was right that the Nuggets were better off without “Ball Hog” Alan Iverson. They actually have a chance to do something good this year now that their big man is uninjured and they have a point guard. This is perfect. J.R. Smith can now play shooting guard, Melo at the wing and a champion point guard who knows how to play defense can anchor the point. If the NBA were not a league of thugs and pointlessness, I would be excited to watch the Nuggets this year.

Feel free to add your own lessons learns in this past year of sports. Although China being a nation of cheaters is not allowed because we have know that communism cheats in the Olympics for many, many years.

Just a few notes about sports

First the BCS. Everyone is complaining about the BCS. They all want an 8-team playoff so that Texas and Oklahoma can both get in. Even the President Elect weighed in for no real reason. The problem is that it solves nothing. An 8-team playoff still leaves out undefeated (one of only two teams) Boise St. Don’t forget that Boise St. defeated PAC-10 runner up Oregon St during the year. Utah, who will make the BCS, but not be allowed in a championship game despite being the only undefeated team in the BCS, also will get messed over. All the system did this year was prove that minor conference teams, even when they beat big conference teams, will not get a shot at the title. The problem is not that it is not a playoff. The problem is that it is completely based on subjectivity. The only fair way to do it is let all the conference champs play. And I mean all of them. Remember that ECU defeated Virginia Tech and West Virginia this year on their way to winning the Conference USA title. They fell out of the top 25 when they lost a couple of games. But, they are healthy now and probably could win at a lot of games in a playoff format. They did lose 13 starters this year and have started 44 different people. Of course Boise deserves a chance. Utah too. Until the BCS goes away it will only serve to oppress the smaller market schools even though they have better teams.

Second, the Hall of Fame of Baseball is being discussed a lot. Greg Maddox retired and is a first ballot Hall of Famer. I agree with that. However, people said the same thing about Mike Mussina. Let us examine that claim.

Player #1 Wins 270 Losses 153. Complete Games 57. Shut Outs 23. ERA 3.68. Post Season 7-7. Strike Outs 2813.
Player #2 Wins 287. Losses 250. Complete Games 242. Shut Outs 60.
ERA 3.31. Post Season 4-1. Strike Outs 3701.

Which one do you think is a first ballot Hall of Famer? I will give you a hint. The other one is not in the Hall of Fame after 13 years of balloting. Player #1 is Mike Mussina. Player #2 is Bert Blyleven. Blyleven has a better ERA, more strike outs, a better post season winning percentage including being undefeated in World Series play. He has more wins and more complete games. Now Bert did play three more years, but that is not too much. Mike would probably have more wins than Bert if they played the same number of years, but nothing else. Mike does not have a world series ring, Bert has two. Mike has more post season games because of the extra round of games. Bert also pitched a lot of time in the National League where it is harder to get complete games, and he has to bat. How can anyone argue for Mussina and not Blyleven? I am not sure. It just goes to show you. Modern Sports writers and ESPN losers no very little about baseball.

So much happened in the past few days in sports it is a must respond kind of post for me.

First, the Cincinnati Bengals won a game. Yes, it is the first. The season went south the minute Carson Palmer went down. Actually, it was done the minute they resigned Chris Henry. Now our Harvard quarterback finally pulled a win out of his hat. At least we did not lose them all.

The University of Tennessee finally fired Philip Fullmer. All I can say is this is at least 10 years too late. Philip Fulmer has a good record over all with over 150 wins, but the SEC was not always as dominate as it is now. Fulmer enjoyed feasting on the weak SEC, but cannot handle the new SEC where Georgia is good, the coach he cannot beat ever is at South Carolina, and in addition to the yearly loss to Florida, former arch-nemesis Alabama is good again. It is simply too much for Fulmer. He did win a national title in 1998, but if you cannot win a national title in the four years that Peyton Manning is your quarterback then you should be fired. That is all that needs to be said about him.

Finally, I am completely justified by the departure of Allen Iverson from the Nuggets. I predicted the Nuggets would stink with AI, and I was right. They did not improve at all during his time in Denver and in fact, it can be argued they got worse. AI cannot play defense, and is a ball hog. That does not work well in a team game. The addition of Chauncey Billups ought to improve both aspects that AI could not. It also lets J.R. Smith shoot the ball and play more. He is a better outside shooter and is a better fit for the team than AI. Billups is a big game player and can make clutch shots down the stretch. The Nuggets will be releasing McDyess, which is good as well. What they do with Cheikh Samb is anyone’s guess, but does having a 7 footer on your team ever hurt? No. Look for the Nuggets to make the playoffs and challenge to get out of the first round. That depends on how long it takes for the team to come together (which will affect who they play in the first round). If it does not take to long and the Nuggets can pull off a 5th seed or even a 6th, they might could sneak out of the first round.

One last word about Baseball

I cannot help myself, I must comment on baseball as it comes to a close for 2008. First the Tampa Bay Rays. This team lost the World Series, but has a real chance to make a dynasty. I am a little excited to see this team continue. They have lots of young players who are already producing at the major league level. What is even more interesting is that they have some of them already signed to long term deals. This team is built to last. Look out Yankees and Red Sox. The favorite to win the East next year is the Rays with only the Twins looking competitive with this team in AL.

Second, the Phillies avoided the dubious distinction of being the biggest team of underachievers ever. That title still belongs to the Atlanta Braves throughout the 90’s. The Phillies were supposed to be great going back 4 or 5 years, but Pat Burrell always disappointed. Think about it. The Phillies had the last two NL MVP’s, yet they still were losers. Don’t count on them this next year because the Phillies depend on the Mets imploding, which they will not do next year. The Phils will miss the playoffs next year as Howard continues to get worse and worse. I would strike out less at the major league level and that is saying something.

Third, and most importantly, the Pirates are going to be great. I can see the .500 mark for 09. Yes, they will be playing the Rays for the 2010 World Series title. Just go ahead and get used to the newest and best rivalry in baseball the Pirates versus the Rays. In 2010 the Pirates will have a load of offensive talent as top prospect McCutchen will be starting in the majors in the outfield. That will probably be the debut year for Jose Tabata as well, who was the lynch pin in the deal made with the Yankees this year. Pedro Alvarez, the top pick in this year’s draft, is scheduled to make his debut at third in 2010. The two pitching prospects we got from the Yankees showed signs of life this year and the one from the Red Sox will be ready by 2010. We drafted three middle infielders in the 2008 draft. One of them will be ready to take over short if Brian Bixler turns out to be a dud. If for some reason Pierce does not fit in at first, then Jamie Romak (aquired from the Braves in 2006) will probably be ready to add his bat to the line up.
Add to that line up the fact that we will be getting more for Jack Wilson and hopefully Adam LaRoche this next year. If Neil Walker looks good at third and Pedro Alvarez makes his way up as fast as expected, then we might could get rid of Andy LaRoche as well for prospects. The Pirates have four major league quality catchers, which means we could probably part with one of those for a stretch drive helper in 2010, and that will be enough to put us over the top. Surely enough pitching will show up in order to make the Pirates a contender in the years to come.

Look out world, the Pirates are back. I for one could not be happier.