I've been thinking a lot about Tom Glavine lately. It began on Sunday as I drove home from Boston. I was listening to my iPod through one of those jacks that goes through the cigarette lighter when all of a sudden the music cut out and a frowny face appeared on my iPod's display.
The face couldn't be talked to or reasoned with; instead, it's pixelated look of infirmaty taunted me, and I was forced to the indignity of terrestrial radio. Finding nothing worth listening to on I-90, I quickly made the jump to WFAN, where none other than Tommy the Spy was being interviewed.
Glavine was at some awards function or another along with Carlos Delgado and Ryan Howard, among others.
Like virtually every other interview he's given in a Met uniform, Glavine's interview ultimately touched upon his quest for 300 wins. There was nothing new here; Glavine mentioned that yes, he was excited; no he wouldn't let it overshadow the team; more of the same.
All of it got me thinking though as to how I expect the fans to react when Glavine records win No. 300, whenever that is. Tommy will get a standing ovation one way or another, that's obvious. But when he finally reaches the plateau, will we, as Mets fans, feel any ownership over that record?
It's an issue that comes up rather frequently in the era of free agency. Here are some highlights from last season:
1. Mike Piazza hits career home run No. 400... as a Padre.
2. Billy Wagner records save No. 300... as a Met.
3. Randy Johnson records strikeout No. 4500... as a Yankee.
All three of these guys have somewhat complex lineages. Ask a random group of fans what team they identify Piazza, Wagner or Johnson with, and chances are you'll get different answers. (I'd guess mostly Mets with Piazza, 50-50 split for Wagner Philly/Houston, mostly D-Backs for Johnson, some Mariners).
In any case, not one of those players would be identified as members of the teams they set their personal milestones with. None of that stopped the fans in San Diego from giving Piazza a rousing ovation when he hit his 400th career HR, but was their heart in it? Could it possibly have been?
(Note: I just gave a quick search on YouTube for the video of Piazza hitting that homerun off of Trevor Hoffman way back in the day. My search came up empty, but when you search for "Mike Piazza", on the second page of videos is one titled "Holy Homosexuals Part 3 of 3" -- that guy just can't win.)
It's not those fans' fault that they weren't there for any of the first 397 homeruns, but it leaves them at a loss when the big 4-0-0 comes around. When the big moment comes they stand and applaud, but they don't own the moment the way the fans at Shea would have owned Piazza's 400th.
Will it be the same for Glavine? By the time Glavine becomes a member of the 300-club, a grand total of 58 of his career victories will have come as a member of the New York Mets, slightly less than 1 in 5.
Glavine's career was clearly defined by his tenure with the Braves. I think a lot of Mets fans think of Glavine as one of their own by this point, but I doubt many of them kid themselves into thinking that Glavine will wear a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque someday.
Nevertheless, I find I feel a sense of ownership over Glavine's pursuit of 300. A not insignificant part of that ownership is likely thanks to the fact, mentioned earlier, that talk of 300 wins has surrounded Glavine since he signed with the Mets.
At the start of 2003 we wondered if he had enough good years left to reach the milestone. Before 2004 it looked like it would take a miracle. Before 2005 we reminded ourselves of Glavine's strong first half a year earlier, and decided he might have a chance if he pitched like that again. Before 2006 we reminded ourselves about his strong second half a year earlier and decided it'd take his first half of '04 and his second half of '05 to put him back in serious contention. And that's what he did.
The point is that we've been talking about this whole chase for as long as Glavine's been a Met. So when the day comes this June (hopefully) or July (perhaps more realistically) when Glavine notches career win No. 300, I expect the Shea faithful to give Glavine a rousing, heartfelt cheer.
It shouldn't be the same as it might have been had Piazza hit No. 400 as a Met -- many of Glavine's wins came at our expense after all, and that doesn't even touch on any playoff victories he earned against us (Game 3, 1999 NLCS, anyone?).
But in suffering along with us in 2003/2004 and being the ace of the staff during the best season we'd seen in 18 years, Glavine deserves his respect. And when the big moment arrives and Glavine puts win No. 300 in the record books, we as Mets fans deserve to feel like we've earned it, too.
(Note: A piece from A.F.O.M.G. will follow later this afternoon.)
What a wild and wacky week with the orange and blue. Just when you think they have finally succumbed to their own doo doo wackness, they shock the world... just like Babel at the Globes. I feel like the Knicks never have guys go for 50+, and they rarely beat the Lake Show at home, even without KB24 it's a big win.
So I'm watching the game last night for the second time on tivo with the one and only Chef Anthony Mason. Here are some of the comments made...
"He is a big man. Wow. That's impressive..." In reference to Jared Jeffries being listed at 6'11
"This is a team, Rhymes..."
"Eddy Curry needs to get a jump shot."
"He could challenge for NBA rebounding title. Look at him! He's a beast. David Lee is an absolute rebounding machine."
"I was watching footage of Malik Rose from 1999 yesterday, and even back then he looked old. It's 2007, that's wack."
His insight and intuitive feel for the game is invaluable. A true fan, hand down the pants, knows the team and its history inside out; it has been a true honor to watch this game on tivo with an old Knick fan and friend.
Good celeb sightings tonight. Spike, Jon Stewart, Nick Lachey with Vanessa Minillo but they didnt mention her or her flyness.
Ronni Turiaf is a circus clown. So glad he is not a Knick. His shit is cool and funny for about 5 games. What a douche. He will be out of the league in 2 years.
Am I spoiled by Big EC's 19pts and 7bds? Or do I deserve a 22 and 12 guy? No way he should be an All-Star. I am cool with that, and still very happy with dude's progress this season. I believe he is the truth, but the truth has yet to be told.
Dwight Howard, Ben Wallace, and the Big Diesel will get the spots in Vegas. Something tells me though that even if the call from the commish doesn't come for our Hood Boy in the Paint, the big guy will still be out in Vegas with a couple stacks and some dimes at a Diddy party... I love Diddy.
While the second Heat and Laker wins were solid and good building spots for the squad, the loses to the Nets, Suns, Heat the first time, and those pesky Bobcats. Even the Bucks were too mighty a task to accomplish.
But they need to start taking pride in defending their home court, which they did tonight. They are a better team with Q Rich, who was nowhere to be found tonight. So many turn overs. Jared Jeffries losing his contact lens was his highlight so far as a Knick.
In one of the worst decisions of my young life I agreed to go with Section 423 writer Chris Childs to a screening of "Because I Said So" - the new Mandy Moore/Diane Keaton flick - in exchange for a free dinner. He had to go for work and I have been trying to conserve the funds since the expensive road trip.
The trip to the movies, about 90 minutes of just pure badness (not even good chick flick shit) really had me thinking negative. How could this movie be made and while I'm still unemployed, I thought? Something's gotta give!
So I thought of other things that stink: Stomach aches, crappy Taco Bell, blisters and then it rang in my head..
It's been a while since I bashed the Knicks. Maybe it was all this sense of false optimism floating through New York City. Or maybe it was that I was on the road and I just didn't really care.
But since I have moved out to LA I have noticed a few things about the NBA. My roommates, two old friends since 5th grade, are both big basketball fans and huge Knick fans. Accordingly, I have NBA league pass in my house, one of the most underrated purchases any sports fan can make.
Of course I am a baseball guy first and then I am a football guy, but I don't hate the NBA. In fact, these days I am really loving it.
On any given night at any given time you can put on the NBA and find a game that is watchable. It takes very little - sad to say - to make my watchability list. Below is a list of criteria.
1. A winning team 2. A graceful team 3. An exciting superstar 4. An exciting young player
There are 30 teams in the NBA and of those teams I counted 25 of them that easily meet at least one of the criteria on the list above.
The only five teams that did not make the list?
1. The Sixers: REBUILDING 2. The Bucks: Young and Rebuilding 3. The Kings: Bad 4. The Sonics: Young and bad
I can't watch these teams play. Put two of them against each other and I would rather watch the Cooking Channel - another fixture in my house may I add.
The 5th team on this list, and by far and away the worst case of all the teams, your New York Knicks.
Take a look at the criteria above.
1. A winning team
The Knicks are not close. They are the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference in what may be the worst conference in the history of sports. They are 12-17 in conference and can lose to any team on any night.
2. Graceful
This they are not. I can watch the Spurs play at any time just because, for me, it is beautiful to watch a veteran team perfectly execute. The Knicks don't really have a semblance of an offense, they don't pass well... etc.
3. The exciting superstar
The Knicks have plenty of players paid like superstars but I don't think you can argue that the Knicks have any of the top 40 players in basketball. I'll say it again, top 40.
4. Exciting young players
Call David Lee's 10-10 exciting and I will make much stronger arguments for Kevin Martin, Luke Ridnour and Andre Iguodola. Lee has been great, but you do not watch a game to watch him play.
Do players get more boring than Channing Frye? He is Tim Duncan with 1/10th the skill.
Nate Robinson? His shtick is so tired. We all get it. You are little and you try hard. But all you do is take bad shots. Aren't little people by nature passers. Balkman? I'll say it again, I am a better shooter than Renaldo Balkman.
The fact is, the Knicks are pretty much an unwatchable product. The world's most famous arena is equipped with perhaps the world's most boring team.
There are a few positives out of all of this.
1. Due to a lack of cap flexibility and the Eddy Curry deal, this Knicks roster will remian virtually the same for the next couple of years, so at least we will get used to the boredom.
2.
Kevin Durant and Greg Oden will hopefully end up in the Eastern Conference, so at least we might get a chance to see them play 3-4 times next year instead of the potential 82 games that might have happened had we held onto our draft pick in one of the greatest drafts ever.
3. Isiah will be gone after this year or I might kill myself. In a recent interview Isiah claimed that he left David Lee on the bench because Lee was playing well and that is obviously because of him not starting. Why would you mess with success? In short, Isiah is truly a moron.
When you guys get a chance, peep the Pacers. They may look boring on paper, but Rick Carlisle really knows how to coach basketball. It is actually really refreshing.
Trees Grow in California, and Rose Bowls Never Bloom. Thanks Again.
(A piece from Sip will follow later this afternoon.)
Dear Insufferable Tree-Hugging Dipshits:
Hello. If you read this blog, you know me as the Y2K-U college correspondent. (Of course, I know that you don’t read this blog, because we don’t care for insufferable tree-hugging dipshits around these parts).
But before I was making the world a marginally better place for Sip and the Glass here at Y2K, I penned a column in one of the local rags. So I kinda know what it’s like to have a good portion of the town being irritated by you. To paraphrase Randy Jackson, I feel ya, dawgs.
But then again, I most assuredly do not feel ya, dawgs. Because you, and your kind, are personally responsible for derailing a $125 million project that would have made it a better world for all Cal students, as well as those of us alumni who don’t think it’s a mortal sin to have a reputable football team as well as happy students representing the alma mater. And for what? California oak trees. Yes, three dozen fucking trees.
And never mind that the school had promised to plant 100 of your beloved trees if the project had gone forward. Nor that the school will lose $8 to $10 million in construction costs when you lose your frivolous suit at trial. Nor that they’ve used yet more money to drill on the land to assure that it is seismically fit to withstand your other bullshit excuse for the lawsuit, that of the “it’s near a fault line and we’re scared, wah!”).
And certainly don’t worry that all this money will come directly out of the students’ pockets, and that no matter how much you dislike the University of California, your piece-of-crap town would turn into North GD Oakland if UC were ever to take its flagship school elsewhere.
Oh, and screw you, Zachary RunningWolf, who is quoted as saying how emotional it is to get this huge victory, but that he won’t come down from his beloved tree just yet. I don’t know Mr. RunningWolf, but my hunch is that he is a bit of an attention whore. Perhaps he could put his ample spare time into corresponding with a beautiful woman after his own heart in her current insatiable desire for the spotlight. That way, he could perhaps attend the Super Bowl instead of LIVING IN A &(*#&^ TREE!
Because I’ve been asked to wrap this up, I don’t have time to give my full thoughts on Berkeley mayor Tom “Whaddya mean it isn’t 1964 anymore???” Bates or Judge Barbara “I really want to be re-elected by the tree wackos, so you’ll have to excuse my ignorance of the law” Miller.
But I would be remiss not to give my final 18-inch, spiked anal probe of a “Fuck you” to Stephen Volker, who is representing the crucial interests of the California Oak Foundation. After all, as Mr. Volker so eloquently put it, the loss of 36 oak trees would be “irreparable and forever.”
You know what would be better than those trees forever, Mr. Volker? If the long-suffering Bears fans – and yours truly, by no means long-suffering but a possible donor nonetheless – could go to freaking Rose Bowl in our lifetimes!
But instead, we have you and your irreparable loss of oak trees. So for not only giving Californians a bad name, but our noble profession a yet worse one, I wish you a lifetime of irreparable loss of clients and joie de vivre.
One last note to the dipshits – please, follow my advice and e-mail the Super Bowl date girl above. That way, for once in your pathetic existences, maybe you’ll have a chance to actually get laid instead of just fucking over the rest of us.
I just saw Willie Randolph online at the unemployment office. He was trying to convince the government why he should get that extra $400 per week after taking pennies on the dollar to defend his National Leage East title.
It's Monday, but I have no case of the Monday's. That is because it is 75 degrees in LA every day. In New York when you're bored and broke you are relegated to your couch for entertainment, stuck in your apartment due to fear of cold weather.
You say to yourself, "I cannot watch anymore coverag about Peyton Manning's thumb or the all-black coaching battle in the Super Bowl," only to then tune back into ESPN with the prayer that something else might come on. That thing you see is the death of a horse and you want to shoot yourself.
Out here, things are different. A walk to 7-11 to get your morning cup of coffee and you don't get angry, you feel like you are on vacation.
In fact it is imposssible to have a case of the Monday's. You could be the biggest horse racing fan in the world and still not be upset.
Because Monday's are television heaven. I am not talking about what was perhaps the most boring Monday Night Football Season ever.
I am talking back to back 24 and and the second year man out of the pen.
You all know how I feel about 24. It is the Wright, Reyes, Beltran of television. It is my core. It has the talent, power and speed to dominate now and dominate in 5 years. This season hasn't really disappointed. Jack's vampire escape in the first episode was a top-5 Bauer moment.
24 is my crack. I never took drugs and we here at Yankees 2000 are a drug-free blog. But if 24 feels anything like heroin, then shoot it up fellas. I live for that.
I knew 24 would be there for me. She always is and she always will be. But games are won by the bullpen and I needed something else to close the night out.
I signalled for the Righty, Lauren Conrad, and the cast of the MTV smash, The Hills, and all was good.
Just like its mother show, Laguna Beach, the Hills started off decently in Season 1 only to emerge as a sensation in its sophomore season. Dare I say Duaner Sanchez? With LC getting dumber, Heidi getting hotter, the dude who is playing Heidi and Audrina and the out of nowhere emergence of Brody Jenner -- incapable of speaking in anything but cliched pick-up lines -- the Hills really has turned into Must-See TV.
It's been a while since I was last sucked into MTV reality. The Dual didn't do it for me and this recent class at Laguna Beach high didn't draw me in. Dare we say Anderson Hernandez?
But These Hills. Maybe it is that I live in Hollywood. Or maybe it's cause I hit LA's "Cool Lunch" scene and saw Jason and Talan at the table next to me. That's right, in LA, they don't just do lunch. They do "Cool Lunch."
All the waiters are models, the brunch is served "extra chill" and the food takes a backseat to "the being seen" factor.
LA is so weird.
But yeah, with the biggest thing in baseball being a recent signing of Aaron Sele - this guy had huge upside in 1991 - and the biggest thing in sports, other than the new look Pacers, is the death of a horse, it is time to curb your TV appetites and give some things a shot.
I am happy to have the debate about whether to wait for 24 to come out on DVD. I am also happy to forget that Season 5 of the show ever happened.
But if you want entertainment and you just can't wait for a DVD, then 10 p.m. tonight on MTV.
(Note: A piece from Sip will follow later this afternoon.)
It’s not every week that one’s favorite team in all the land scores the last 15 points of a game to win by 1, so, uh, let’s get right to it.
1. And elsewhere, it appears a pig has just flown outside my window.
Just last week and the week before in this space, yours truly was whining about how it was February of 2005 since Virginia had won a road game outside the Commonwealth. To channel my inner Verne Lundquist, then, “oh my!”, as the Cavs have swept an ACC road trip for the first time in five years or so.
The game yesterday, in which Virginia rallied from 63-49 to end the game on a 15-0 run at a top-20 ranked Clemson team was the crowning moment on the best stretch for the program in a long, long time. To pull out the old “this is why we watch” chestnut, it was pure goosebumps to hear the random announcer say during a different game, “the Cavaliers have put themselves in the middle of the ACC race.”
2. The best sports news I’ve heard this year.
It was obvious that one Virginia item would not do in this column, so let’s turn to Sean Singletary, the best player the Cavs have had in quite some time. It was the 6-foot Singletary, who jumped over two Clemson forwards to pull down a rebound in the final 20 seconds, land directly on his back, and still have the presence of mind to keep the play alive without traveling, leading to the game-winning tip-in. (You’ll excuse the run-on sentence, but I’m still excited hours later).
Singletary also announced earlier this week that he would return to Virginia next season for his senior campaign. If true, this is a Mark Mangino-big factoid for the Cavs.
3. In other superlatives, the least likely sentence to ever appear in this blog.
Yes, I’ll admit it, Gregg Doyel said it best. It may not be that your team gets the benefit of every close call in the history of ever, it’s more that you feel entitled to it. And sure, once or twice a year, the conference has to apologize for handing you a game, and maybe suspend the referees involved, but no matter because Mr. Leader-Not-A-Coach says how his players deserved to win.
And that celebration you saw, that pig-pile after eking past the basketball factory that is Clemson, yes, that celebration – pay close attention, Virginia Tech, because that’s what a “classy” celebration is all about. Indeed, Mr. Doyel said it right – “this is why people hate Duke.”
4. My apologies that all the interesting stories came out of the ACC this week.
Finally, the most impressive performance by any team out there over the past 7 days was put forth by North Carolina, who ran Arizona off its own floor in a 92-64 shellacking. It was the worst loss of Lute Olson’s home career in Tucson, and it came without UNC’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, Brandan Wright, who missed the game with an illness.
Since all the non-ACC fans have stopped reading, I’ll just say this—if not for Oden and Durant, then you’d sure hear a lot more about how absurdly talented Wright is. So Carolina is probably pretty good.
5. Take hands. Place on head in Manning-like fashion.
Not much happening in Jayhawk-land with a couple 20+-point victories against overmatched foes. But there was this. Yes, it’s another absurdly talented college player named Wright, probably wishing he was ill like Brandan.
6. Meanwhile, in the best conference in the land.
For the Pac-10 item of the week, let’s toss a bone to one of our more, uh, insistent commenters here at Y2K. After all, the Stanford Cardinal (named after the color, not the bird, and therefore obviously in the singular) deserve some more exposure in this here space.
So, here goes: Way to blow your big chance against UCLA, Trent! National TV, and that’s all you’ve got? Getting absolutely housed on your home floor? Pretty pathetic, if you ask me! What? They beat UCLA? From 17 points down? Brook Lopez is such a beast, and that’s a helluva comeback, if you ask me! Also, if you ask me if I’m an immature and envious owner of a Cal degree, then the answer is yes.
7. This guy here is dead! Cross him off, then.
Quickly, who is the second best team in the SEC? I could have saved this for final question, but it deserves a little more publicity. Namely, after Florida, the SEC really is nothing to see. Is it possible that the penultimate squad is Vanderbilt, who lost to Furman and Appalachian State? Is it Kentucky, who just lost at home to the Commodores?
No, at this point, it appears the answer is Georgia. Yes, Georgia, who dropped their second game of the year to Western Kentucky. Honestly, when looking at the Bulldogs’ roster, I felt like the GM in “Major League”. (“I've never heard of half of these guys and the ones I do know are way past their prime…” “… Most of these guys never had a prime….”)
8. Sorry you didn’t win the million dollars. Here’s a year’s supply of Tide.
Seemed like a lot of headline writers had some fun with Troy Smith outdueling Chris Leak to win the Senior Bowl. Well, to them I say this…okay, I got nothing. Kinda amusing, actually.
9. Club Fed.
Perhaps the most interesting debate of the weekend is Roger Federer against Tiger Woods for SportsPerson of the New Millennium. I think I come down with Federer on this one, for the simple fact that he may never lose again.
Aside from not dropping a set in the entire Australian Open, Federer’s greatness is now defined by the fact that there are no remaining humans who think they have a chance against him. For evidence, witness Andy Roddick, playing the best tennis of his life, just laughing at the postmatch press conference after being dismantled.
I just don’t think Tiger holding off Andrew Buckle and Charles Howell III is as impressive.
10. Final Question.
If this entry was too Virginia- and ACC-centric, how bad will it be if the Hoos take down the Evil Empire on Thursday in front of Dookie V? Stay tuned…
SENT: 01/25/07, 14:43 GMT FROM: Agent Cashman <"brian.cashman@newyork.yankees.mlb.com"> TO: President Hu <"hu.jintao@english.gov.cn"> CC: Agent Steinbrenner <"george.steinbrenner@newyork.yankees.mlb.com">, Agent Johnson <"randy.johnson@arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com">, Special Agent Emanski <"te@tom-emanski-baseball-videos.com">
SUBJECT: Our new venture
Well, it looks like they bought it? Can you believe it? Neither can I. A baseball factory in China indeed. I actually pitched a reporter on a lead comparing our new venture to the other famous academies throughout history - West Point, Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hogwarts. He almost went for it, the idiot.
Agent Johnson, I'm especially glad to see that your negativity remained unjustified. To be sure, we all agreed that China's lackluster performance in the World Baseball Classic would present something of an informational hurdle. The 40-6 aggregate scoreline was not what we had hoped for. And more outlets than we would have preferred led with the fact that China has never produced a minor-league player, never mind a major-leaguer.
But that's the news media for you. Dangle shiny concepts like "potential" and "growth" in front of their faces, and they'll walk right off a cliff. Like lemmings, but with slower reaction time. Comes from being fat and out of shape.
Agent Steinbrenner, I have you on tape at our previous meeting saying the following: "Who'll believe we would open an academy in a country where there's not a single damn prospect amongst a billion people?" Everyone, that's who. Your speaking privileges have been revoked.
Still, we must be ever vigilant. Information is out there that cannot be reclaimed, but continuing to manage details such as the following will go a long way toward keeping our true purposes concealed.
The Yankees have been working with the Chinese Baseball Association for more than six months to forge a relationship that would allow the Yankees to send coaches, scouts and trainers to China.
The media will not slumber forever. We know the project will not be completed without some information leaking out, and those digging for more will use nuggets such as the preceding paragraph to start their search. Proper preparation will allow all our representatives to deflect these inquiries with ease.
What kind of relationship is ours? "Completely apolitical. We just want to play beisbol."
What have these negotiations been concerning? "Nothing at all to do with this, and why are you asking?"
What kind of skills do your coaches and trainers have? "Why, we don't even know what a satellite is! This interview is over." In fact, the moment you hear anything like "kinetic kill vehicle" come out of the mouths of one of these reporter punks, consider Protocol Alcantara to be authorized. Let's see how curious they are after that.
Our visit to Beijing next week will take place as planned. Agent Levine and the rest of the delegation have received their orders, and have been briefed as to the pick-up and drop-off points for the items in question. They will also have the black and white cookies you requested. One of your men can pick those up at the hotel desk.
The front posture must be refreshed with the passage of time. I don't need to tell you that our cover will be immeasurably improved should our "academy" actually manage to produce a player of any worth.
Hahahaha. Sorry, I know. I can't help myself sometimes.
No, seriously, Special Agent Emanski, we appreciate your volunteering for such a thankless and inevitably fruitless task. The compensation alone, while ample, could not have been enough to persuade you to leave your back-to-back-to-back national champions in a country where the citizenry have actually heard of the game. Your patriotism is remarkable, and has not gone unrecognized in certain quarters.
I have nothing further at this point, aside from a reminder that while the new Secretary General and his co-conspirators in Tokyo can plant their people as close to our operation as they please, they can do nothing to affect our own security. Stay alert, be strong, and all will go smoothly.
And in nine months, we will have Agent Yi at our disposal, and the revolution can begin in earnest.
Farewell for now,
Agent Cashman
(Note: Images courtesy of mlb.com, telegraph.co.uk, and sportsmed.starwave.com)
(Note: The latest in our Section 423 column on the Knicks appears immediately below.)
My move to LA has been an interesting one. On Wednesday I played basketball with Nellie and Freddie Mitchell, even getting into a verbal battle with the man from the Lou only to then reunite at the bench press to talk some Big 12 basketball.
LA has been very LA. A lot of good, but one very big bad.
This city does not have any fucking key chains. Call me crazy. How hard can it be to find a key chain? Well that's what I thought. I figured you go to a 7-11, a CVS gas station and one of them would have a key chain. Apparently not. So I am very upset and now turning to you, my readers. If any of you have a good key chain for me let me know, this is really starting to irk me.
Irk indeed until I figured out where all the key chains went. They went to our manager, the king of the fresh toasted sub, and our favorite Yankee turncoat, Willie Randolph.
On Wednesday Willie signed a three year extension. When I saw this on the ESPN bottom line I assumed that the contract would be for somewhere between $9-12 million dollars. After all, this was the manager of the division champion Mets who share a city with Joe Torre, who makes around $7 million per.
So I was completely shocked when I found out that Willie was only getting $5.7 mil for the deal. Isn't that what Victor Zambrano is worth on the open market? The deal didn't make sense to me. Why was Willie getting paid so little to manage such a high profile team fresh off its best season in years?
That's when I returned to my key chain dilemma.
Using one of the many connections that the blogosphere has provided me with over the years, I called a friend who works for the Mets to dig up some dirt. He told me that Willie's stance in the negotiation was clear from the beginning.
He wanted good money, but more importantly his own subway sandwich commercial and a lifetime supply of keychains.
I get the subway thing. It was always Willie vs. Joe and this needs to be Willie's town. Right?
But keychains? Apparently Willie has a long list of "keys" to the Mets upcoming season. From Jose Reyes' comntinued improvement to the musical growth of Cowbell-Man, many "key" things would lead to a succesful 2007 campaign.
And so is solved my keychain dilemma. Willie has them all.
I am not bitter. They could not have gone to a better man and leader. I am happy to have Willie back on board. Willie does things Willie's way and that's cool with me.
What is not cool is that I have lost the key to my apartment like 10 times in four days and in fact, I have no idea where it is now. I dream of one of those lacrosse laniards where I can swing my key around all day long.
So again, to you my readers, someone break into Willie's office and make something happen. A happy Sip is a blogging Sip. Otherwise, more rants about keychains to come.
Stay low.
Vaya con dios,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of myspace, post-gazette.com, 2000magazine.com, billiardpro.com)
(Note: Sip will be in with a post later this afternoon.)
As me and the star of Woody Allen's 'Celebrity' do it big in Park City Utah for the Sundance Film Festival, it has become evident that the Knicks have turned the corner. The orange and blue are no longer the laughing stock of the league, or professional sports.
Sitting at a bankhead in Tao, the Utah edition, with Danny Masterson, we have a nice laugh about the Philadelphia 76ers. 'That 70's" dude actually knows his Knicks, knows that things won't really change until big E.C. starts dominating the glass. 7 boards a game is just unacceptable.
Josh Hartnett, a fellow douchebag turned cool dude, loved watching the boys in Indy struggle in a nail biter. Yankee hater Mike Dunleavy is crushed by the move to the midwest, but even more crushed by how Steph and co. handled business on the road earlier this week.
The Knicks are hanging tough, it's almost the All Star Game, and they are still in the playoff hunt, despite being under .500.
Would it be bittersweet if they made the playoffs, and got swept in the first round? Yes and no. It's obvious watching them play against the Heat that they are really a JV team, but still, bringing playoff basketball back to the Garden is worth it for me, no matter what happens.
Meanwhile, former ESPN dude, and recently turned Entertainment Tonight douche Kevin Frazier is the lone loser in Utah who thinks it would be a bad thing for the squad to make the playoffs. Go interview Tara Reid and suck my ass, son!!
It seems young Ryan had made a habit out of forging media passes so as to gain entry to parties and proximity to celebrities, meeting Sean "Diddy" Combs and Tom "Jesus" Cruise and posting the pictures on his MySpace page (OMG!).
Last August a different opportunity arose. Mike Piazza returned to Shea as a member of the San Diego Padres, so Leli forged himself a fake press pass and made his way into the visiting clubhouse where he proceeded to ask an annoying line of questions, the likes of which Kilgannon does not divulge.
It all got me to thinking; in the 24 years I've been a fan of this team, there really have been some great personalities. Divided into the 7 eras of Mets baseball over the past 24 years as I remember them, here are some of the players I would make a bogus press pass just to interview, and some questions I would ask. These aren't the only ones I'd want to speak with, mind you, just the first who come to mind:
1982-1986 - Building a Winner: Keith Hernandez
It was either Keith Hernandez or Raf Santana for me. I love Keith as a Mets broadcaster, as a Just for Men pitchman, and as a Seinfeld guest star. The truth is though, I don't know the man as a player, or as the emotional leader of a championship club.
Keith was with the Mets through 95 games of a dreadful 1983 season that saw our boys win 68 games. The next year it 90. Might have had something to do with Doc, sure, but Mex was a catalyst as well, batting .311 with a .409 OBP and 94 RBI.
If I could ask him one question: Did you ever, at any point in your career, consider the possibility that you wouldn't make the Hall of Fame?
1987-1990: Dynasty? What Dynasty?: Dwight Gooden
Dr. K. I can only imagine the excitement in this town when Gooden first came up, when he was winning Cy Young Awards, striking 260-plus batters out per year, winning ERA titles. I can't imagine how exciting that would have been.
In the years after the championship and before the team completely fell apart, Doc still had good years, but he wasn't what people had expected him to be. The sheer dominance was gone, as drugs began to wreak havoc on the good doctor.
1990 was his last hurrah as a Met. Seven years of at times stellar, always good production out of a guy should be enough. With Doc it never would be.
If I could ask him one question: What would you give to go back in time and refuse that first hit?
1991-1996: Holy shit this team is bad: Carl Everett
There's an old SportsChannel ad that used to run back in the day. The set-up was the Mets had just arrived at their hotel, and Everett was mobbed by fans asking for autographs. One fan hands him a ball, the next a glove, the next a card. Then someone hands him a kitchen sink, and as casually as the ball, glove or card, Everett lends his signature. It was bizarre but perfect; I don't know that I've seen a more humorous Mets ad since.
God knows Jurassic Carl wasn't my favorite Met from this era, nor was he the most notorious. But I have no doubt that he'd be a hell of an interview, whether discussing the Pentecost or the Pleistocene.
If I could ask him one question: Explain it to me one more time, what makes you think the dinosaurs never existed?
1997-1998: Resurgence: Rey-Rey
Remember when Rey Ordonez first came up? There was once a Continental Airlines featuring Bobby Valentine and Joe Torre. They were on a plane, unexpectedly sitting right next to one another. A series of statements flashed on the screen, a series of things the skippers didn't agree on before stating that they agreed on Continental Airlines.
In any event, one of those things was "They don't agree on who's got the best shortstop in town." Think about that. Any Met fan who was at Opening Day 1996, when Rey Ordonez threw out some Cardinal or other from his knees, loves Rey-Rey to this day. But honestly, there was never any debate here. Ordonez was a one-dimensional, basically shitty player with an entitlement complex. He was a Met.
If I could ask him one question: Rey, in 1999 you dyed your hair orange and proceeded to raise your average to .300. You hit .246 for your career. Did it ever occur to you to keep your hair orange, if only for the sake of superstition?
1999-2001: Legit again: Robin Ventura
This is a tough one as I find Bobby Valentine one of the most fascinating figures in recent Met history. Robin though, what a personality. There's the time at Yankee Stadium when he put on a fake mustache and did his Mike Piazza impression. There's the O.O.T.G.C.O.A.T., when Robin made two outs in one inning and said he did it so that the fans could see some fireworks. There's "L.A. Woman."
I think there's a generation of Mets fans out there who would love to sit down with Robin have a cold beer, talk some Mets, talk some Nolan Ryan.
If I could ask one question: Robin, did you ever see anything out of Piazza in the clubhouse that made you wonder if, you know... ahh forget it.
2002-2004: Holy shit this team is bad, redux: Cliff Floyd
This one needs no explanation. From all accounts he was the most entertaining interview in the Mets clubhouse the last 4 years, or if nothing else, the most honest. Cliffy spoke his mind, more than once irking management, but never more so than when he delivered his famous "There is no light at the end of the tunnel" declaration.
I'm glad to hear that a deal with his hometown Cubbies is most likely in the offing. The Cubs have spent a ton this offseason, and figure to be an interesting team in 2007. A solid clubhouse presence like Cliff always helps. He'll be missed.
If I could ask one question: Do you still have visions of hitting a game-winning 3-run homer against Adam Wainwright in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS? 'Cause I still do.
2005-2006: Next Year Is Now: Pedro Martinez
I was tempted to say Jose Reyes, but look, Mr. Glass and me are friends -- I don't need no phony press pass to talk to him.
But then there's Petey. Cute, loveable Petey, the man with the abnormally long fingers for mowing batters down and the implausibly green thumb for wrecking shit on the flora tip.
Only the arrival of Mike Piazza before him had remotely the kind of impact that Pedro's signing with the Mets did. Both moves transformed the franchise. The Mets were down and out at the end of 2004, but then Omar got Petey to sign, then Carlos Beltran, then Doug Mientki... well, you get the idea.
Overnight, the Mets were sexy again, dead sexy. And it all started with a jheri-curled trickster whose halcyon days were spent curled under a mango tree far, far away.
If I could ask one question: When you leave an organization and a town that loves you, what is that like?
* * * * *
And that's it for me. If you could speak to a Met from these or other eras, who would it be?
- A.F.O.M.G.
(Images courtesy of mlb.com, sportsresourcezone.net, and thefinkfile.blogspot.com)
The time was last August. The Mets and their fans smelled the postseason for the first time in six years, and the all around feeling surrounding the club was one of nothing but happiness and optimism.
In early August Omar Minaya secured a pair of what at the time looked like generous deals for his cornerstone infielders, David Wright and Jose Reyes (Wright - 6YR, $55 mil/Reyes - 4YR, $23.25 mil).
I remember receiving phone calls from the regulars talking about the extensions and whether or not the dollar figures made a lot of sense for players yet to hit arbitration.
At the time, both deals seemed solid. Today, they seem like highway robbery.
Earlier this week the Phillies signed 2B Chase Utley to a 7 YR, $85 million contract, avoiding arbitration with their superstar second baseman. Like Wright and Reyes, Utley has made a quick jump to superstardom with an even brighter future ahead.
Like Reyes and unlike Wright, Utley qualified for arbitration, but his contract was clearly the product of this crazy offseason, and the Mets are the better off for it; Utley's deal makes the Mets' deals seem like small potatoes.
The fact that the Mets are spending $78 million to have Wright and Reyes for a combined 10 years is just an utter steal, especially when you consider that the Phillies are paying more dollars for one less talented player. We are basically getting two better players for the price of one.
That's right, I said it. Our guys are both better than Utley. Take Utley or any Phillie out of Citizen's Park and then let's see where their numbers are. But that is not where I want to go with this.
Our left side steals lead to the question that we have asked so many times with Omar Minaya. Is he really smart or really lucky?
Did he know Duaner Sanchez would become a star relief pitcher?
Was John Maine more than just a throw-in in the Benson-Julio deal?
Did Omar know that he needed to sign his superstars before this offseason to avoid the backlash of a new CBA and crazy contracts or was he bored once the trade deadline had passed and needed something to do in the month of August?
These are all questions that have never really been addressed and could use some answering. It surely wasn't rocket science to overpay for Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran, but it may have been to know that overpaying for them would lead to veterans like Moises Alou taking pay cuts to play for the Mets.
Any way you hack it, the Mets are in a pretty decent situation. Despite a million question marks in the starting rotation, the Mets remain with what appears to be one shaky contract, Pedro's (if he ever pitches again), but otherwise a ton of reasonable deals for some exceptional players.
As for young Sip, I am still trying to adjust to my new California digs, find a job, a lamp, a couple of end tables and pictures for my room, an extra role in the upcoming Elisha Cutherbert slasher flick and then a little thing called dignity.
As for baseball, well, this is a slow time of year over here, it really is. Baseball is dead.
Agree with Cousin Dan -- big up to Sip and Cousin Tonks for completing their epic cross-country drive and finally reaching the coast. Like Lewis and Clark, these two, only better looking and with less chance of being hassled by unfriendly natives. Except, ironically, in L.A. That's life.
Speaking of better looking, while flipping through the Times' Arts and Leisure section yesterday (long story, please don't ask), I came across this write-up of a special night at the Opera:
"Kristen Chenoweth made a zany entrance onto the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House on Friday evening, outfitted in a New York Mets baseball shirt and cap, waving a banner and pretending to be a ditsy sports fan arriving late for a game ... After this clever feint Ms. Chenoweth, the tiny, explosively talented blond tornado from Oklahoma, whirled offstage for a few seconds before bouncing back looking like Daisy Mae, in a tight pink dress and grinning ear to ear."
Holy shit, that's hot. Really, really hot.
Wait a second ... yep. Still really hot. Jesus, it's warm in here.
I have no way of knowing how well-acquainted the Y2K readership is with Chenoweth, a wonderously intriguing 4-foot-11 sexpot out of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. She's most celebrated for her work in musical theater, which isn't really the purview of this blog. I've seen about a million ads around for that show "Wicked," the one about the witches from the Wizard of Oz, and Chenoweth was nominated for a Tony for that. The point is, she's apparently good at what she does.
On top of that, a couple of truly awful movies ("Bewitched," "RV"). She also showed up on the last two seasons of "The West Wing," which was funny because she'd previously gone out with "West Wing" creator and noted drugged-out lunatic Aaron Sorkin, who was so broken up by the relationship that he wound up writing "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" just to work through his emotional issues. Whoops.
If you've seen "Studio 60," Sorkin is basically writing himself as Matthew Perry's character and projecting a whole range of variously nauseating emotions onto the Chenoweth character. It's very nearly as creepy as the whole Kevin Williamson/"Dawson's Creek" exchange, and believe you me, friend, that's saying something.
So, talented and smoking superstar bursting out of a tiny little Mets t-shirt ... that should be enough, right? For a number of things, yes. But it goes beyond that. For Chenoweth, all her Broadway magic and curves considered, is at root a citizen of the heartland, and there's symbolism here worth elaborating upon.
I mentioned she was from Broken Arrow, a desolate little town outside of Tulsa which was NOT named after the Christian Slater joint. Chenoweth, in a nice twist, happens to be one-quarter Cherokee. She was also a pageant-winning sorority girl at Oklahoma City University (think Rutgers, but with fewer well-paid assistant football coaches).
Then, there's her religious side. She is apparently quite public about her faith, having released a CD of contemporary Christian music and appeared on "The 700 Club" to peform. (The avowedly athiest Sorkin made this the plot arc of "Studio 60"'s pilot episode). She doesn't drink or smoke, and she previously gave the Times this juicy quote: "I feel my purpose is to be a Christian actress, to show people that there are nonjudgmental, liberal Christians." This is hot.
But my fetishes aside, it's also meaningful. If the Mets are truly to become the best and most popular baseball club in these United States, they must be able to appeal to fans the country over. The brand must be grown; Mr. Met's family must be fruitful and multiply. Sip's been doing his part to create new supporters, going from city to city and bar to bar in his quest to spread the word about Y2K, and his outreach tour is undoubtedly paying dividends even as we speak.
But he's only one man, we are only one site, and you need to look at the demographics and ask yourself where these new Mets fans will come from. From the city and surrounding regions, yes, but many of these folks are already Mets fans, and the Yankees-Mets fan exchange process is largely a function of team success, and orthogonal to organic independent outreach.
Moreover, much of the team's current audience is well-saturated. The Mets already get the thinking man's vote, and have the urban hipster market on lock. I think it's safe to say that the Jewish contingent isn't going anywhere. The gays are pretty safely in the Amazins' camp. New immigrants to the city largely flow to Queens and Brooklyn, this making them in the current epoch Mets fans by default.
In other words, any true growth is going to have to come from elsewhere. Now, for the reasons contained in the above paragraph, you wouldn't think that red-blooded Oklahomans would be so quick to add some "NYM" gear to their closet full of Sooners swag. And indeed, you can certainly understand why your average meathead from Spavinaw might not think he has a lot in common with all those effete city-dwelling latte-sipping punks wearing the orange and blue and generally carrying on as if they'll be on the first train to Kansas City in the morning. It's a perception problem, and a sizable one.
But comes now an ally in Chenoweth, a real Bible-toting gospel-singing half-injun from the plains who -- get this! -- is down with the Mets. These people love this chick, and if she can teach them to love our team too, well, God bless her. This is what Y2K is all about.
(I know what you're thinking. "Cheddar, did you even read the article? Is she really a Mets fan? Isn't it far more likely that the whole Mets t-shirt thing was nothing more than an introductory word joke, that Chenoweth was just slumming it up at the Opera for a pun and a laugh? What's wrong with you?")
First of all, get out of my head. That's not cool. Secondly, if you don't have any imagination to speak of, that's your problem.Certain things in this world are worth standing up for, and saying, "That's just so damn cute."
(Note: The latest in our Y2K-U series appears immediately below this piece from Sip.)
I have a million reasons to be happy about Peyton Manning and the Colts beating the Patriots.
I like Peyton. I think that he is everything that is right with professional athletes. He is a good guy who works hard, loves his game and is a positive ambassador of it. In a world of felons and brawls, its nice to have a Peyton Manning around.
I also don't like the Patriots. They've won enough. They were once a nice story but now they have been the topic of too many Bill Simmons rants for me to give the time of day.
For me, you couldn't have drawn it up any better. Pats kicker makes big kick and Peyton leads the winning drive. There was the Vinatieri departure plotline and the dramatic Peyton Manning comeback. So many years later, and the monkey has been lifted off his back.
Peyton Manning is no longer a loser.
This, my friends, is why we as a community of Mets fans and Yankee haters should all be truly happy. Now, there is only one true LOSER in all of sports...
Alex Rodriguez.
This group used to include Phil Mickelson and Peyton Manning and it may very well one day include LeBron James. We can call this group, "The Anti-Vinatieri's." (Is he the biggest winner of all time?)
But right now, the only true superstar who has never won anything... once again, our boy, Alex Rodriguez.
I gotta tip the cap to my good pal Kenny From Camp. He was the first to unfold this tiny piece of truth. But it really is so true. A-Rod is now the poster child of losing. He has no close friends in his circle as he remains the one big name to never win the big one.
Sure, Peyton hasn't won the Super Bowl yet. But I don't think that is really important. He beat Brady, Belichick and the Patriots in the big stage. On Sunday he became a winner.
After 10-odd seasons in baseball, A-Rod still hasn't made it there. He has smiled for a lot of cameras, spoken a ton of cliches and put up monstrous numbers, but he remains a giant loser.
In this, we can all revel. If you hate Peyton, which many do, think of this as the ultimate positive.
That's all I got.
Live from Los Angeles, the city of brotherly love. Gorgeous.
(Note: Sip will be in with a post later this afternoon.)
I want to use the top space to give a shout out to Sip and Cousin Tonks, who just arrived in beautiful Los Angeles on Saturday. Very proud of the kids who decided it was time to root for the Mets on the cable Extra Innings package for a little while. I mean, what could possibly go wrong with that plan?
1. I left my heart in Pullman:
Let’s start with one of my favorite stories of the young season, which is taking place in the colonial outpost that is Pullman, Washington. The Wazzu Cougars absolutely clobbered their instate rivals from U-Dub on Saturday to improve to 16-3.
However, even though they’re in the top 20, I defy you to name three Cougs. I’ll start you off with leading scorer Derrick Low, one of a reasonably long list of gunners (see, e.g., Ahearn, Blake, and Graves, A.J.) who may actually be better shooters than, say, J.J. Redick. (More on J.J. later). Who you may know is coach Tony Bennett, son of former Wiscy coach Dick Bennett and a name in demand when the openings come this offseason.
2. Heartbreak is being behind the Sports Guy curve:
I wish I had talked about this one before so I could never be accused of copying Bill Simmons for college basketball knowledge. No matter, though, because it should be a bigger story that Grandpa Greg Oden isn’t even the best freshman in America.
Texas forward Kevin Durant, who at 6-9 seems to have even longer arms than Oden, is incredible insofar he gets almost all of his points starting by facing up 18 feet from the basket. Texas at 40-1 or so to win it all is pretty darn interesting right now because this guy has Carmelo-takeover written all over him. Just don’t forget Cousin Dan if you do make some bucks on it.
3. One-game losing streaks are unacceptable:
If you know me, then you know that I do frequent the college hoops message boards, especially the lunatics that follow Kansas basketball. (And I do mean lunatic is the nicest way).
In any case, Kansas lost a game on the road to the winningest coach of all time that was tied in the final minute, and the Jayhawk fans were out in force on their forum calling for Bill Self’s head. Self is a fantastic recruiter and only a decent game coach, so I can understand their frustration with a top-10 team. I will note, however, that there are about 307 Division I teams who would happily trade places.
4. Besides, it was the assistant who was the key to whole thing:
One of the fun theories put forth by my friends in item #3 is that the game-planning disappeared when assistant Norm Roberts left to take over St. John’s. Well, maybe they had a point yesterday, when the Johnnies took out red-hot Syracuse. And one of the native New Yorkers can jump in on this one, but I believe that a good St. John’s makes college basketball in this city a whole bunch more fun.
5. Perhaps leaving Milwaukee makes everyone happy:
Earlier this season, Marquette beat Duke (Yay!), then lost to some directional Dakota school (Huh?), then started losing to everybody (Zzzzzzz).
But now the Golden Eagles are back, winning at UConn, Louisville, and then Pittsburgh yesterday despite making just one field goal over the last few minutes of the game and overtime. The take here is that the Big East has a lot of good teams and no great one, and Marquette could be the best on any given day.
6. Nine times? Nine times:
Since Duke is clearly back on its way to the Final Four after handling the three worst teams in the ACC, let’s examine a more interesting subject: last year’s Dukies. You may remember J.J. Redick as the Single Greatest Shooter In The History of College Basketball. (This is how we prefer to remember him.) In any case, the SGSITHOCB has avoided the dreaded DNP-CD only nine times for the Orlando Magic this season and has already drained seven long-range jumpers.
In other hype machine news, Shelden Williams, the fifth pick of the entire draft and obviously a better choice than Randy Foye or Brandon Roy, has lit up the NBA, averaging a double-double thus far. That is, assuming the second double actually means “6.2”.
7. Update from the charity stripe:
In noting Virginia’s losses last week, the 88 free throws shot by Carolina Blue and Boston College, uh, Reddish were at the top of my mind. I guess someone got the memo, because the Cavs, pretty much playing their same offense, shot a preposterous 49 freebies of their own in Tuesday’s win over Maryland. Virginia will again search for its first win outside the Commonwealth since ’05 in visits to NC State and Clemson this week.
8. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:
When was the last time that the Big Ten had Ohio State, one other team, and nine pretenders? Oh yeah, football season. The Buckeyes and Badgers just keep winning – including Wisconsin’s impressive victory in Champaign this past Saturday.
The only game left in the conference that matters is February 25 in Columbus. Of course, that won’t stop the Worldwide Leader from inexplicably taking College Gameday to Michigan State for the big one with Indiana the night before.
9. Then he fell down:
Sure, Peyton marched ‘em, and Addai got in at the end. But I’ll go ahead and give the Y2K-U MVP to Marlin Jackson, for not “trying to score” after picking off the last pass, and striking a blow for the intelligence of defensive backs named Marlin everywhere. (Obviously, Marlons are still in doubt).
In other news, I have to admit that I haven’t been this happy about a sporting result in years. To see Peyton finally make the shot and Tom Brady-Bundchen finally miss one was just such a freakin’ treat.
10. Final Question (Non-College Division, But I’m Enjoying the NFL Right Now):
This one’s for Messrs. Irsay and Dungy after watching the postgame interviews – if the Bears somehow pull out the Super Bowl, will you then blame the Lord?
- Cousin Dan
(Images appear courtesy of media.scout.com, nba.com and images.nfl.com)
(Note: A piece from Cheddar Ben follows this one from A.F.O.M.G.)
I had an interesting experience watching football last weekend. I was out at a friend's place in the impossibly cool Williamsburg watching the Eagles-Saints match.
You know me, I don't really care about football. I vaguely dislike the Eagles because I think Philly fans, as a general rule, suck, and because they eliminated the Giants, but at the end of the day I didn't really care who won.
But watching along with me were four absolute diehard Eagles fans, and I'll tell you, it was really interesting to see the range of emotions unfold. They watched the game in varying degrees of elation and depression, hope and hopelessness as the Eagles and the Saints squared off in what was really an excellent game, one the Saints would end up winning, 27-24.
They're emotions that I recognized instantly, but I'd never really seen them displayed on someone else's face in an atmosphere in which I was completely impartial.
I saw a lot of Yankees-Red Sox playoff games in college, but I was always rooting for the Red Sox. I haven't known any diehard fans of the teams that've won the NBA Finals the last several years, or of the teams that lost. Same goes for football.
Last Saturday's Eagles-Saints game was different though. And when it was over, and I saw the miserable look on some of their faces, and heard the what-ifs tossed around and the scrutiny of Andy Reid's decisions, it was immediately familiar.
There's never enough winning to go around in sports. One team out of 30 or so wins, and the rest fall short.
They say the highs are never as high as the lows are low. I believe it, but I'm going to have to trust the conventional wisdom on that one. I've cheered Mets teams through 162 games, through to the World Series one year even, but I've never seen a winner, not that I can remember at least.
Sometimes I get to thinking that it's a kind of suffering that only somebody uniquely situated as a Mets fan can understand. Looking around at those Eagles fans this past weekend though, hearing them say "this always happens to Philadelphia teams" (how many times have I said to myself "this always happens to the Mets"?), it made me appreciate that in many ways, being a diehard fan of a team that's never won is perhaps the most unifying constant of all.
None of it means that I'm going to start rooting for the Eagles or the Phillies or whoever else just so that their fans can feel good, but I don't know, maybe some of that fan maturation stuff Sip was talking about yesterday has rubbed off on me.
I know the suffering of those Eagles fans, even if I don't know a thing about the Eagles. It's enough to keep me from making fun of them at least.
Besides, I don't need to get my laughs doing that, not when there's old footage of Mike Tyson available on YouTube. Honestly, some of The Champ's interviews are too much. Here's a little montage to send you off into the weekend.
Can You Throw It Like a Quarterback, Third and a Lot?
Screw all of the haters, man, it's a random thoughts type of Friday. Knamean?
Mr. Met = Joe Francis
Starting with the absolute best thing of the day, this NYT article from Lee Jenkins. Unlike many Mets fans whose bond with AAA Norfolk was forged over years and years of observation, I've got no dog in the affiliate fight. You can say that the response to the organization's decision to pick up New Orleans has been quite muted; if anyone's real pissed about this, they're keeping quiet about it.
Which is fine. I've got great memories of the Buffalo Bisons housing the Zephyrs back in the day. The club started off in Denver, of course, moving when the Rockies (New Rocks! Guest post coming ...) were anointed into the Show, starting up in '93. That first team had Jose Valentin and Jeff Cirillo on it, and a knuckleballer (Steve Sparks) who caught my eye 'cause the Bisons had so recently had Tim Wakefield around.
Oh, and they had a guy named Joe Kmak who we laughed at more or less constantly during games. Kmak. Ha. That's a funny name, Kmak.
Like I said, nothing against New Orleans as a baseball town, and I think it's great the Zephyrs will have a rich organization backing them up during the lean post-Katrina times. My only concern is the effect that being exposed to the Bourbon Street atmosphere will have on our impressionable young players. I'm looking at you, Mr. Thrilledge.
It's really troubling. You've got the food, which is incredibly fattening. You've got Spike Lee running around town with his lousy Super 8, filling people's heads with nasty and dangerous notions about how "the government" has "failed" the "black community." That's about as unhealthy as it gets.
Then, on top of that, you've got the whole circus of Bourbon Street, where even the most grizzled and respected veterans have been known to give way to the temptation of the moment and confuse themselves with a "Girls Gone Wild" producer. How's that, Jenkins?
Eager to make the woman’s acquaintance, Mr. Met tossed her a string of beads from the balcony, keeping with local tradition. So began the improbable relationship between New Orleans and the Mets.
What a pimp. We've just got to watch our back, that's all I'm saying.
PECOTA and Pelfrey
Baseball Prospectus came out with its Pecota projections earlier in the week. For those of you unfamiliar with BP or their predictions, they've basically swiped one of those computers from the Flintstones with a pterodactyl inside, a real top-class rig, and have one of the top performance projectors around. The short version is that player career paths tend to be extremely similar to one another; the pterodactyl identifies which other baseballers a player is most like, and extrapolates his stats from that.
None of these systems is perfect, or even 100 percent reliable, but this one is the best thing going, and certainly worth paying attention to. So, how did the Mets come out in this thing? As a subscriber, I don't mind sharing some of my paid-for information with you good folks, so here we go.
First of all, and perhaps most reassuringly, the system is halfway bullish on Mike Pelfrey, setting his weighted mean ERA for the upcoming season at 4.30. I think most of us would take that from Pelfrey, certainly.
Unfortunately, this projection doesn't think much of his future prospects, keeping his performance basically level over the next five years. Then, the system really tries to tell you he's going to flop. His top seven comparables are all losers (Pete Munro, Ryan Madson), and No. 8 is Kris Benson himself. Freddy Garcia shows up at No. 11, but so does Grant Roberts at No. 19.
Phil Humber gets more or less the same treatment. His WHIP is projected around the same 1.41/1.42 level, but Pecota thinks his ERA will be more up near 4.75. For the long-term, his five-year projection is disgustingly similar to Pelfrey's, and the only interesting comp on his list is Jon Papelbon at No. 11. And the system thinks All-or-Nothing Ollie will not solve his control problems, and winds up with a WHIP around 1.5 and an ERA in the 5.00 range.
Now, it's worth noting that this system is a very conservative beast, in general, and that unexpected breakouts happen every season. (What up, Uggla). Also, it's fun to see that Barry Zito's projected ERA is 4.20.
But for people like me who are fairly confident in the younger fellas' ability to step up and play well next season and into the future (notwithstanding these predictions), it helps to look at stuff like this. It keeps expectations at a reasonable level, and shows what other observers are thinking. I may not buy into, but I like to see it.
Shut Up, Buster
The rapidly-decaying mind of Buster Olney, on display this very morning, in regard to the trade that sent Adam LaRoche to Pittsburgh for Mike Gonzalez:
The Atlanta bullpen does not appear to be as strong as that of the Mets, but the Braves' staff is balanced, with Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano lined up in front of Bob Wickman, and a rotation of Smoltz, Chuck James, Tim Hudson, Kyle Davies and the recovering Mike Hampton. The Braves could reclaim the NL East if Hudson, Hampton, Smoltz, et al, stay healthy.
Sure, sure. They could also reclaim the NL East if a series of killer tornados swept through the Northeast in succession and wiped out every other team in the division. But I don't think that's about to happen.
To be clear, I don't mean to say the Braves aren't a threat in the division. But if they are, it's not going to be because of Mike Freaking Gonzalez, nothing more than a real nice setup candidate to go along with Raffy Soriano. Is this guy going to give Huddy his arm back or make Smoltz 10 years younger? Draw Jeff Francoeur a mental picture of the strike zone? No?
And you can call it "a great trade" until you're blue in the face; without acknowledging the danger involved in trading for relievers (certified unpredictable) or addressing where Atlanta's going to make up their first-base production, you're wasting our time. LaRoche has platoon problems, but he also hit 32 homers and was 10th in the NL in OPS. The AJC says his replacement's going to be Scott Thorman, who hit all of .234 in 133 plate appearances last summer. Shouldn't you, um, mention that, Olney?
Root, Root Root for the Home Team
Finally, for the weekend, Y2K has to take a stand on the AFC Championship Game. Our stance, and advice, is simple. Root for the Colts like you've got nothing else to live for. Alternatively, try this on for size -- root against the Pats like your life depends on it.
See, that's the one I prefer. You can tell the Lord's on my side by the way he's stricken the New England locker room with plague and boils this week. "Lo, Rodney Harrison fell to the earth dead, and it was good." That sort of thing.
It's possible AFOMG or Sip will chime in with a thought on the NFC contest, but I can't commit myself to rooting for either of these squads. Rooting for Chicago in the interest of keeping Y2K reader and dastardly genius The Big Fella happy is certainly an appropriate course of action, but it's tough to root against the happy-go-lucky Saints.
What I'd really like is for one of the Colts' defenders (Cato June, perhaps, or that exciting young safety Bob Sanders) to lay a hit like this on the Golden Boy.
That, in concert with a more favorable game result, should do nicely.
We all root for certain teams for certain reasons. As a kid I rooted for the Mets, Rangers, Giants and Knicks because my brother liked those teams and I followed him around and did whatever he did. Very simple. I'll bet most of your stories are quite similar.
I have been a fan of those teams for my entire life. What can I say I'm a New Yorker.
Over the last couple of years you have all seen me turn on the Knicks. It has nothing to do with them being bad, I love depression. I hated the Knicks because I hated the way they were run. As I have grown older and as I look towards a career in operations I treat with much greater seriousness the people that run the teams that I love and hate.
Over the last year another thing changed. My roommate in San Francisco was best friends with a kid who played professional basketball for the Warriors. When I moved out there a year ago this player became a friend and I went to all of the games, learned all the inside stuff and was immediately hooked. I rooted for the Warriors like I rooted for my boy Jawn's high school basketball team in the day. I was simply rooting for a friend.
Yesterday, my friend was traded to the Indiana Pacers.
And now I find myself with a dilemma. Does this make me a Pacers fan now? I guess the answer to that is an obvious yes. But the more difficult question for me is whether or not I still root for the Warriors.
I started rooting for the Warriors because I was connected to the team. Now I no longer have that connection.
It's a little different but in a way similar with the Mets. I started rooting for the Mets because of my brother, but my brother gave up baseball for economics about 10 years ago.
So where do our loyalties come from?
The other day my buddy KFC questioned how someone with my personality, someone who is so easily swayed, stuck with the Mets through all these years. I didn't take it personally. Over the course of this road trip I said to myself that I would move to about 9 different cities that I visited. I just like a lot of different things for a lot of different reasons.
So why stick with the Mets? Why stick with any team? Why even be a sports fan for that matter?
I think the answer is personal for everyone. My cousin is the biggest Rutgers football fan I know. He's been to every game since he was a freshman in '98 and finally he is seeing some rewards. The other day he told me that if it weren't for his friends who joined him at the games, he may never have gone.
I think friendship and family are the perfect reasons to like sports or to like a certain team.
For me, it is something a little more selfish. For me it is as cliched as it gets. It's just an inner peace thing.
I think better and happier when I am watching a baseball game. That is just the way I am. I know what is right and what is wrong better when I am watching the Mets play because I am the happiest with myself.
Over the next couple of months I will figure out the basketball thing.
As I grow up my childhood attachments to sports are starting to disappear and I find myself watching sports as more of an adult. I don't get as happy and I don't get as upset about games. I spend less time arguing or stressing and more time just enjoying the games that I am watching.
I'll know who to root for in basketball. I'm sure it will be the Pacers, I bet it is the Warriors and of course the Knicks still really hold my heart.
And for me, that is ok.
It used to be that when other people were fans like this in baseball, that I would berate them and then get really pissed off. I don't really do that any more.
People watch sports because it makes them happy. I might not agree with the teams they root for and they might not agree with the ones I root for. But in the end, if we are all cool with ourselves, we are enjoying sports for the right reasons.
(Note: Sip will be in with a piece later this afternoon.)
Anybody seen 'John Tucker Must Die'? Well the sequel, 'Caron Butler Must Die' was filmed last night in DC.
How does our new brace faced 'defensive specialist' give up a wide open dunk under the basket to win the game? Only in New York, kids, only in New York.
4 out of 6 against some of the league's worst teams is decent, even for these 'New Knicks', but let's be real, they have a long, long way to go before anybody outside of the 5 boroughs takes notice.
A deal has to happen. It's time. Two of the 3 amigos must depart us like Leo and Damon. Watching Crawford and Starbury combine for 18 points is starting to become unbearable. Crawford is great the last two minutes, but the other 46, he is a Safe Haven bench warmer. Steph just needs to be back with KG in the northwest, or even the NBDL, where he would be MVP, and a true 'star'.
I'm really looking forward to his new talk show which he recently announced. When I think of good TV, I immediately think of someone who can barely speak english, looks like a fire hydrant, and scored 900 on his SAT as a suitable host, don't you?
Keep getting those double doubles David Lee, your fat contract is just half a season away. Hope you like Miami, Denver, Cleveland, or the Lake Show, because something tells me Isiah and co. won't be smart enoguh to re-up, no matter what the cost.
Q-Rich going for 30 almost guarantees a Knicks loss. How about 25 and let's get the big fella a few more touches?
To the left, to the left, most of these Knicks are replaceable.
(Note: The column below contains spoilers on Seasons 5 and 6 of 24. All spoilers are written in white type and can be viewed by highlighting the white spaces in the text. You can practice here: you got it!)
Other than that, it appears that we've reached the dreaded dog days of winter. You know what I'm talking about here. The biggest thing going on in a given week is Jorge Sosa. The time to hope for Dan Haren, Joe Blanton or Dontrelle Willis has come and gone. Baseball is dead.
And it's not just baseball. Football's still there for you, but if you're anything like me, by this point you're grasping at straws when it comes to caring about who wins. I mean, I want to see Peyton Manning beat the Patriots, if only because I've seen Tom Brady win already, and variety is the spice of sport.
I'd also like to see the Bears win because my girlfriend is from Chicago, and because my friend Jawn left an indelible impression on me on Opening Day 2005 -- back when every other word about the team was "New Mets," there was Jawn rocking a knit Bears hat and yelling out "New Bears!"
But at the end of the day what's it really matter to me? If the Saints win I can feel good for the city of New Orleans. If the Pats win I can feel good for my sister's boyfriend. I just want a good game, there's no emotional involvement.
As for the New Knicks, I guess there's a little emotional involvement, but it's entirely different from how I feel about the Mets. If the Mets enter a season with a lousy group of players, I find a way to convince myself that the team can vie for a playoff spot, that hey, maybe they're not so shitty after all. For more on that, please refer to the years 2002, 2003 and 2004.
For these Knicks though, look, I like watching them sometimes. They're better than they were last year. They could yet prove a playoff team for hell's sake. But sooner or later they'll lose, and when it's over I won't really care. By then I'll have baseball, and life will make sense.
Until then though, what do I have? Here's my mid-winter survival guide. It features a lot of television. A lot.
Monday: 24.
TV's most explosive hour is back, and wow, it's back with a bang. It's off to a better start than last season, even if nothing so far has packed the emotional punch or shock value of David Palmer's assassination in the early moments of Season 5.
That moment aside, I felt that at times during the beginning of Season 5 it felt like the show was feeling its way a little bit, unsure of where to go next, or of what story it wanted to tell.
There's been no such dilly-dallying this time around. Hell, we're four episodes in and already a nuke has been detonated on an American city. Curtis is dead, or so it seems, and while he was always the good soldier, we never really got much back story on him. His death was surprising but not devastating; we're not talking about Edgar here.
In any event, the point is that Jack is back, and the show still rocks. It remains to be seen whether they can keep up the thrills throughout the course of the entire season, but they're off to a hell of a start.
Besides, this season features Scott William Winters as an FBI agent -- Scott William Winters! You don't know the name probably, but I'll bet you know the face. Think of the best speech in Good Will Hunting; it happens in a bar.
Tuesday: Wedding Crashers.
Chances are it'll be on that night. Cinemax or HBO or whatever network it is that owns the rights really can't get enough. Neither can me or Sip. Before Sip skipped town, text messages letting the other know that the Crashers were on television were tossed around pretty frequently.
Honestly, this movie just makes me happy. It's funny, and I'd give anything to lead that kind of lifestyle; not crashing weddings necessarily, but living in the Cleary household, that'd be pretty sweet.
Wednesday: Friday Night Lights.
I've only been tuning in to this gem the past couple weeks, but based on those two episodes, we're talking about an incredible piece of television right here, and believe me I was skeptical. I'm not a huge football fan. I was wary of watching a show about teenagers.
Forget it all. Friday Night Lights, or Wednesday Night Awesome, is the truth. The show is well written and features an excellent ensemble cast. The triumph of the show is how it demonstrates both how football is so important (to the players themselves, to the people of the town) and how it's also completely insignificant at the same time (the QB has a father in Iraq and has to care for his senile grandmother on his own, one player is paralyzed from the waist down).
Highly recommended, and it's never too late to start. Now I just hope for my sake tonight's episode doesn't suck.
Thursday: The Office.
First things first, it hasn't been as good this season as it was last year. It's still pretty effing good, and with the end of the season looming, you can be sure that the Jim and Pam plotline, the show's heart and the source of many laughs a year ago, will become more prevalent.
In episodes where their dynamic is prominent, the show is most successful; the Christmas episode for example. Seeing more of them in the coming weeks and months should be a boon to the show (which is still funny more often than not to begin with).
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: Enjoy yourself.
Whether it's pounding forties on a stoop, chilling the fuck out with some Magnetic Fields in the background, or all kinds of mischief in between, the weekend is your time to enjoy yourself. So that's on you.
If you need some help though, I gotta say, I caught some of 1 vs. 100 last Friday, wow, talk about a good concept. New Bob Saget!
- A.F.O.M.G.
(Note: the article above contains images courtesy of mlb.com, laerer.vucaarhus.dk and hollywoodhotline.typepad.com)
(Note: The latest in our Y2K-U series on college sports appears immediately after this one from Sip.)
It's been one week since I last stepped foot in the land of a thousand lakes, New York City. I've touched touched down in Philly, DC, Knoxville (Heaven), Nashville (Heaven Part II), Memphis, Little Rock, Dallas and now I come to you live from my fancy toilet seat at the Hilton in Austin, Texas, aka, the greatest place in the world.
It's been a great run and I have gained 10 pounds of pure Americana, and as I approach rock bottom I crave the comfort of home, or so I would have thought.
I don't really miss New York. Yeah I miss the parents, the big guy AFOMG, and all the millions AND MILLIONS of the Sip's fans back East, but the rest of our country is, as John Mellencamp so elequently puts it, "our country."
Nice people, pretty girls, cheaper food, greater respect for football, and bars that play live music and don't insist that you hand them more than $5 every time you want a cold beer.
Not really sure what more I need.
All these positive thoughts have been racing through my head and I could not be a happier guy. That is, until I woke up on Monday morning and wanted to do what I have done so many hundreds of times: grab a cup of coffee and a Post from my deli and spend a good hour at the office rocking out to the sweet sounds of Chris Martin and just chilling out.
New York has delis and it has the New York Post, two of the top 7 greatest things in the world.
I miss waking up every day, taking my $1.25 to 82nd and amsterdam and seeing my favorite locals who serve me with a smile.
My cousin has told me many times on this trip that I am a creature of habit. I think it is a pretty spot on analysis. I like to do the same things over and over again, including watching "Wedding Crashers" and "Passenger 57" a combined 5 times in 24 hours while visiting our nation's capitol.
But there is really nothing better than the NY Post. All the sports you need with a touch of gossip to keep you in touch with what is going down on the streets.
I miss New York. Fortunately it is not baseball season, cause that is when I get really home sick and usually make about 13 trips back.
Right now, it is Ivy league basketball season. And thanks to some insider tips from my good pal, business mogul/Male Model Yan Jeffries, I am off to a quick 3-0 start helping to fund what is turning out to be an ever so expensive trip.
I hope you are all well. If any of you happen to know someone who wants to hire me to do pretty much anything in Los Angeles, also say the word.
As of now, the main prospects are a Keanu Reeves tribute band and re-writing the American classic, "Fear."
That's all for now.
Welcome Jorge Sosa, you sure are mediocre.
Vaya con dios.
Sip
(Images courtesy of digitalfocus.net and media.movieweb.com)
(Note: Sip will be in with a piece later this afternoon.)
Welcome back to Y2K-U, as we enter the conference season in college basketball. A lot of folks may not be huge fans of college hoops in January and February, but your humble correspondent adores this time of the year.
Give me as much Big Monday matchups between Georgetown and Syracuse and Texas and Oklahoma State with the snow on the ground. Although Louisville-Marquette in the Big East yesterday? Kinda weird, ya know, for that to be in the Big “East.”
Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Corey Brewer have the NBA scouts excited by their abilities on the defensive end as anything else.
2. Exhibit A of who won’t play defense in March:
I wasn’t really paying attention to the game on Saturday, but apparently North Carolina lost a game to Virginia Tech something on the order of 135-130. Virginia Tech thus became the first team in several years to beat UNC and Duke in the same week. The Tar Heels want to run and run, but fundamental defense wins in March, and the Official ESPN Second Greatest Coach In The Game Today has his work cut out for him in Chapel Hill.
3. Apropos of nothing in March:
Meanwhile, across the Commonwealth, my beloved Virginia squad has lost two more in a row on the road. Of course, it’s death, taxes, and Virginia losing outside Virginia, where the Cavs haven’t won a Division I game since 2005. (Seriously!) All I can note from those two road losses is that the opponents shot 88 free throws to Virginia’s 30, and leave it at that.
4. Exhibit A of who will play defense in March:
Well, pretty much most teams in the Pac-10 not named Arizona and Washington, which is part of the reason why it’s the toughest conference in the country. UCLA and Washington State are two of the best lockdown squads out there, and the landmines are everywhere you look on the only true round-robin conference schedule left.
It is notable that you will hear nothing about the Pac-10 because of their asinine contract with Fox Sports Net, so that ESPN – who sets the sporting agenda – will never bring College Gamenight to UCLA-Arizona. Or even put the highlights in the A, B, or C blocks of SportsCenter.
5. Besides, those blocks are full with breaking down Jon Scheyer’s sweet stroke:
As expected, Duke lost its first road game last Wednesday, leading to more teeth gnashing over just how this great group, led by Mr. Not-A-Coach, Just-A-Leader Who-Happens-To-Coach could possibly ever lose two straight games. News flash: they’re not that good.
Kansas and Wisconsin have also continued their strong play to remain in the top-five in the polls this week, although the Jayhawks and Badgers have won their last four games by a combined 16 points.
KU has been particularly heart-stopping of late, including a 3-point win over Missouri yesterday night in which freshman guard Sherron Collins had seven of the last nine Kansas points in the final 2 ½ minutes.
In other news, Sherron Collins has been approved as an official potential “baby daddy” by the wife. In still other news, I should have taken Mizzou and the 15 ½ to soften the possibility of being dumped.
7. Ginn Jr. questionable (celebration):
One thing that may have been lost in Florida’s dismantling of Ohio State was the fact that Ted Ginn Jr. was hurt by his own guy in the post-kickoff-return orgy in the back of the end zone. On the bright side, there were far fewer burning pieces of furniture in Columbus last week.
8. Thanks for promoting me from high school coach to SEC offensive coordinator, and I shall reward your loyalty:
In the agate yesterday was the item that Arkansas offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who was coaching high school 12 months ago, decided to take the same job at Tulsa for a new head coach, Todd Graham.
You may remember Malzahn as the guy who was hired to get his high school quarterback Mitch Mustain, the number 1 prospect in the country in 2005, to come be a Razorback. Why he left, beyond the $1,000 raise he got, is beyond me, and allegedly the quarterback may follow him to Tulsa. Given that this was the infamous “parents of freshmen complaining to athletic director about playing time” situation, I can’t even figure out the right jokes on this one.
9. “I don't regret it because I would never try and just go down on the (ground). I want to score.”
That’s Charger CB Marlon McCree, who pretty much cost San Diego a spot in the AFC Championship game when he didn’t (a) knock down a fourth-down pass, or (b) just fall down with the interception in the waning minutes Sunday. Patriots players don’t necessarily want to score. They just want to win. And that’s why they’re moving on.
Congratulations on a highly successful first mission. You completed your assignment with discretion and a minimum of fuss. I don't mind telling you that there were others in the organization who put more initial stock in your abilities than I. Others who were more willing to put their faith in a new recruit from the hills of Mississippi such as yourself.
Well, they were proven to be justified, and I stand corrected. That is to your credit, Lieutenant.
That acclaim is even more deserved given your personal history with the two targets of the first mission. Yes, we here at HQ indeed knew about your prior friendship with subject Lo Duca [CODENAME: "Exacta"] and your longstanding acquaintance with subject Floyd [CODENAME: "Creaky"]. This was no minor point of worry.
Yet you disseminated your assigned information, just as we drilled. The Mets organization remains confused as to your meaning and motives, just as we intended. And look at their flailing, pitiful response to your mission. Your use of understatement and veiled language served you very well here.
They remain completely unaware of what awaits them.
All the while, and even more impressively, your biotags resembled those of a 10-year veteran. Your Sweat Index barely budged, your heart rate never even approached the danger zone, barely a flicker in the frontal cortex. Your mission commander heard not a peep of protest.
It's like you were born for spy work.
But prepared for this second life of yours or not, there will continue to be doubts. There always are for new recruits such as yourself, raw converts to this crusade of ours. We at the CSE have never found it easy to trust outsiders. Our mandate is too important.
You know as well as I do that the Toronto Blue Jays have not been to the postseason since 1993, the year the team last won the World Series. You were told that several individuals in the bunker at Medicine Hat find that fact totally unacceptable, and tasked us with clearing a path for their return.
I understand the bosses' frustrations. The home office has been a complete wreck since the Flames lost the Stanley Cup to those damn tobacco farmers last spring. Meanwhile, the Raptors drafted an Italian stringbean with the first pick in the draft, the Sabres have been running roughshod over us, and the first thing the B.C. Lions did after winning the Grey Cup was break it.
Teaching them the error of their ways ... oh, that was a fun weekend.
But your focus must remain on baseball, and on your mission parameters. The Blue Jays' ascent must necessarily come at the expense of other organizations, just as Canada's rise to world domination must inevitably follow the fall of her southern neighbor. The United States' favorite icons must be torn down and made an example of.
In this case, that meant the New York Mets, a wholesome and inspiring team that Americans will rally behind given half a chance. We must sow doubts about their intentions, their motives, their morals and their values. They cannot be allowed to capture the hearts and minds of the citizenry.
I was told you expressed surprise that your target was not an AL East rival such as the Yankees or Red Sox. Rest assured that both of those organizations are well in hand. We will go over the particulars with you and Lt. Matsuzaka when you both get back to base later this month.
As for the Yankees, well, let's just say we now have quite a bit of leverage over the man we now know as Comrade Jeter. I feel fairly confident saying he won't be winning his MVP Trophy in 2007. Not that Maj. Morneau was likely to let him have one anyway.
You will find your next set of orders on the south side of the Tim Hortons parking lot on Kipling Avenue near the airport in Mississauga. Your packet will include a new set of equipment, and details on the high-value target we need dealt with next. I feel it's time for subject Perez [CODENAME: "Joker"] to have some control problems.
Don't you? That was a joke, Lieutenant. Do try to lighten up.
Signed, Major Gordon F. Danzinger Batallion Commander, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(Note: A piece about Tom Coughlin from Sip, the Road Warrior, follows this one from A.F.O.M.G.)
I could hardly believe what I was reading. "SNY Replaces Cotter with Kevin Burkhardt" read the headline over at MetsBlog. My stomach dropped to the floor.
Could it really be true? Could SportsNet New York really be dropping Chris Cotter, the original Y2K legend and perhaps the best part of Mets broadcasts (which is really saying something when you consider the overall quality that Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling bring to bear every night)?
Thankfully, Matt Cerrone's headline proved somewhat misleading. Yes, Cotter won't return in the field reporter role next season, but don't pour some out for him just yet. Keep reading Cerrone's post and you'll see that Cotter is set to join the in-studio news team that features Matt Yallof and Lee Mazzilli.
All things considered you can't really blame Cotter for wanting to make the move. He won't have to get on a plane every three days, get to spend more time with trendy New York hair stylists and presumably hit up more keggers with his frat buddies.
But we're gonna miss the Cott here at Y2K. He really made the Matt Loughlin role his own last year, and it's a shame, for us, that it's one and done for him in that position.
I suppose his transition to the studio team may mean more face time, so that's a plus. But I don't know, part of his appeal was the wacky situations he'd find himself in, and the way the Gary, Keith and Ron would rib him about it.
I know I should be happy for Cotter, and I am. Somehow though I can't help but fear that Mets broadcasts on SNY won't ever be the same.
That's not a knock on this Kevin Burkhardt character, mind you. I'm largely unfamiliar with his work; if I've heard his voice on the FAN (his current employer), I wasn't aware of it.
I'm willing to give Burkhardt the benefit of the doubt, but replacing a legend is a tough job in this town. A-game or bust, Burkhardt.
Scott Schoeneweis
The Mets inked left-handed reliever Scott Schoeneweis to a 3-year, $10.8 million contract yesterday. The deal puzzled some, coming as it did months after the team made such a stink out of letting Chad Bradford walk because a 3-year deal wasn't what the team had in mind for a relief pitcher.
What makes Schoeneweis different? Almost certainly it's that he's a lefthanded pitcher, and frankly, that's a commodity this team needed badly.
Without Schoeneweis our one lefty in the 'pen, aside from Billy Wagner, would have been Pedro Feliciano.
Now look, I thought Feliciano had a real strong season last year. He did. For me though, Feliciano has "unreliable bullpen commodity" written all over him. It's not that I think he's incapable of being as sharp next season, it's that I don't think we should count on it. He's a lot like Juan Padilla in that way.
Schoeneweis gives us some protection in case we see a regression out of Feliciano. Three years is a lot of years for a relief pitcher, and truth be told, he's every bit as susceptible to regression as Feliciano is, if not more so.
Schoeneweis spent the first 7 seasons of his major league career in the American League, bouncing from Anaheim to the White Sox to the Blue Jays. His numbers in that time were uninspiring; that's different from bad, but if another person called his numbers bad, I wouldn't get too bent out of shape.
What's attractive about Schoeneweis is that he's lefthanded, he could probably make a spot start (he was a starter in 2000 and 2001) if he needed to, and when he went to the National League for a month and change last year, he absolutely dominated.
In 13.2 innings with the Reds, Schoeneweis allowed exactly 1 earned run, striking out 11 pathetic, possibly genetically inferior to their AL brethren, NL batters.
Needless to say, Schoeneweis won't put up those kinds of numbers over the course of the season. But he should be pretty reliable against lefties, who slugged a paltry .292 against him last year.
Three years may be a little rich for my blood, but ultimately I'm in favor of any move right now that gives us bullpen depth given the state of our starting rotation, which will either hit and hit well, or miss and miss badly.
So on a day of great sadness for us here at Y2K, avast, a silver lining.
(Note: A piece from A.F.O.M.G. will follow later this afternoon.) It was no coincidence that I received news of Tom Coughlin's extension at a gas station in Saltville, Virginia.
This place really exists and this extension truly is salt.
The only equivalent to this is me choosing to live at home with my parents for another two years instead of living anywhere else in the entire country.
Yes, it is familiar and I know my parents well. And yes, in the past things have worked out. I love my parents, I really do, but living with them is not the right thing, especially for an up and coming 24-year-old blogger.
I don't live with my parents because it is a dumb idea. So is giving Tom Coughlin a god damn contract extension.
Is this a joke?
How is it possible that a team that just had a very disappointing season with players that hate their coach, a young quarterback who has lost all confidence under his coach and a running back who is retiring because of his coach, decides to keep that coach?
Articles on the day of the team's playoff game talked about how the players all hated the coach that treats them like children.
I repeat, is this is a joke?
I am currently at a Best Western in Nashville, Tennessee. I stopped by the University of Tennessee, aka the greatest place in the world. Me and my cousin basically walked onto their football field and instead of them telling us to leave, they asked if we needed a bunch of pictures taken.
I then bought the most beautiful pair of warmup pants and then had a burger, fries and beer for about $3 at Knoxville's happening night spot.
Yesterday it was DC, pictures at the Lincoln Memorial and a ton of Wedding Crashers references.
And the day before that it was back to the U, Philly, Pat's and a lot of people who were making fun of Tony Romo.
All in all, so far so good from the road. You're in good hands with AFOMG.
Vaya con dios and Go Bengals!
Sip
PS -- With Webber being bought out by the Sixers does this mean the Knicks are going to get him? Cause that would be awesome.
PPS -- 13 mil for Mark Mulder? The guy doesn't have an elbow.
(Note: The latest in our Section 423 series on the Knicks appears immediately below this piece from A.F.O.M.G.)
"[Tony] Gwynn said 'we all knew' of players who used steroids. 'All you all knew. We knew. Players knew. Owners knew. Everybody knew. And we didn’t say anything about it.'"
Awkward enough was all the nastiness of congressional hearings, the earplugs worn by players anxious to drown out the booing of fans disgusted by steroid cheats, and the steroid speculation that surrounds any player who has an exceptional season (hello Ryan Howard). The results of the Hall of Fame balloting is an entirely different level.
Indeed, the Hall of Fame balloting is perhaps the most self-reflexive look we've had at the way baseball remembers the Steroid Era.
Of course, it's not MLB that votes on Hall of Famers, it's the writers. The same writers who failed all those years to make mention of the expanding biceps, triceps, and hat sizes of the suspected juicers. The same writers who Tony Gwynn is convinced knew all along.
For me, my hope is that this vote sets the terms for how MLB commemorates those who played in the Steroid Era. Mark McGwire isn't getting into the Hall of Fame, that much seems clear. I hope other players are rejected, too.
Look at Pete Rose. The guy's out for betting on baseball, and a strong precedent has been set. If it were discovered that Cal Ripken Jr. had bet on baseball, he too would be out (and just imagine how much he could have made with those betting when his consecutive games streak would end -- something to look in to, perhaps?)
I hope McGwire sets a similar precedent. I mean, if he'd played in any other era he would have been inducted first ballot. His hit total is lacking and his defense was never stellar, but 583 home runs speaks for itself; it's a number pretty damn close to 600, and historically the rule has been 500 HRs and you're in.
I'm not elated or crushed by the judgment handed down on McGwire, all I hope for is consistency. Truth is, I'm kind of the same mind as Buster Olney on the steroid era.
Because we can't know for sure which players were juicing, how much they were juicing, when they were juicing, etc., you have to assume all players during the era are tainted; or put another way, you have to accept as a fact that some players used steroids and some players didn't, but the fact remains that records were set and accomplishments acheived, and those numbers are certain in spite of the uncertainty of the era.
The alternative is an entirely subjective review of players, one that unfairly relies on rumor and innuendo.
I mean, look at that guy. His arms aren't small, it's plain he works out, but he looks more like Endy Chavez than Mark McGwire. Nevertheless, on April 3, 2005, Alex Sanchez became the first ballplayer suspended under MLB's steroid policy.
If you never would have guessed it about him, then what about Tom Glavine? Or what about Randy Johnson? Or any other rail-thin player? We can suspect the Albert Pujols' all day long, but really, what do we know? And besides, if we come to know that a juiced up McGwire was socking dingers off a juiced up Randy Johnson, what do we do with that?
It all means that subjectivity won't work, and in rejecting McGwire's candidacy, I hope the BBWAA has made an objective decision. Sammy Sosa? Roger Clemens? Barry Bonds? I hope several years down the road that the baseball writers maintain their objectivity and reject each of them for entry into the Hall of Fame.
But of course that'll never happen. Sosa will get the McGwire treatment, but Clemens is a first ballot HOFer.
The writers will tell themselves that Bonds was a great player without steroids, and sure enough he was. He hit 411 home runs through the year "Game of Shadows" alleges he began using steroids (after the 1998 season), was a menace on the base paths when he was younger, and won several gold gloves.
But shouldn't we ask for more? Why should the steriods issue be any different from the betting issue? Both undermine the integrity of the game. Both are illegal, at least on a national level. Is there a difference? Seemingly not in the eyes of Hall of Fame voters.
And in this instance, the eyes of the voters reflect the way baseball sees itself. Bud Selig didn't vote, but surely McGwire's meager tally is consistent with the 50-game suspensions he implemented, the Mitchell Investigation, the non-reception when Bonds passed Babe Ruth on the all time HR list.
McGwire has been rejected. Judgment has been passed on the fact of steroid use which was, as Gwynn noted, for so long willfully ignored. We'll see if baseball honors that judgment in the years ahead.
- A.F.O.M.G.
(Images appear courtesy of mlb.com and sptimes.com)
Section 423: Contender or Pretender? For Knicks, the Time Is Now
(Note: A piece by A.F.O.M.G. will follow later this afternoon.)
The wild, wild west has been settled, and taking 2 out of 5 these days is a big, big deal. After chowing down at Spago thanks to Malik Rose, the Knicks were lethargic and sloppy New Year's Eve against the struggling and then Cassell-less Clippers.
Things continued to unravel against the Kings as our boy Ron Ron reminded the world why he is the biggest hood legend of all time. Can you imagine him in the orange and blue? Wow, nothing gets me more tingly.
So after solid and convincing "1990's" style beatings of the Blazers (someone save Zack Randolph!) and the Sonics (RIP Rashard Lewis), it's back to the east coast and the friendly confines of The World's Most Depressing Arena.
Philly tonight is a must win, just because. The depleated and defeated 76ers have turned into the worst team in the league. A side note: C Webb owns Harriet Tubman's journal, the original.
When the squad takes care of Philly, they will be on a 3-game win streak, and only a few games under .500.
David Lee is a beast, with the 2nd most offensive rebounds in the league, and a legit double-double threat every night.
Got to love his quote the other day, when he said the only way for him to maintain his averages is if he counts his stats during the game. How real is that? He is the dude you get bunked up with at basketball camp. He looks like he would be really good at 'Knockout'.
So now is a time of questions for the New Knicks. Are they still a pretender? A team of overpaid stiffs and unerachievers? Or are we on the verge of something special in New Yourk? Will their youthful enthusiasm carry them into the postseason?
Only time will tell, and every game counts. The time for wins is now. Eddy Curry, stand up. Steph, stand up. Nate Robinsoin, please, please sit down... you are a circus clown.
We are approaching a big moment in the lives of all Mets fans.
Later this afternoon, when Hall of Fame votes are tallied up and the inductees are announced, Mets nation will be popping champagne bottles and dancing in the streets.
The reason: Our favorite son and all-time great Bobby Bonilla will be making his way into Cooperstown.
Bobby Bo. This guy was such a great Met that we didn't get him once but twice.
I'll never forget that day in Winter of 1992 when I got that important phone call from my barber to tell me that the Mets had signed Bobby Bo to a then all-time record 5-yr, $29.5 million deal.
The richest deal in baseball history belonged to the New Mets RF. We had our monster bat in the lineup with a long track record of winning in Pittsburgh.
Bobby Bo! Coming to Shea!
Bonilla tore thru the National League in 1992 with an overwhelming .249 BA to go along with his 19 home runs and 70 RBI. But when Bonilla wasn't filling up the stat sheet, he was leading the team to an impressive 72-90 record.
1993 brought more excitement to Shea. Bobby Bo bounced back to mash 34 dongs and drive in an astounding 87 RBI while tearing up National League pitching to the tune of .265.
But again, what Bobby brought to the stat sheet didn't reflect his contributions to the team's record. The Mets posted a 59-103 record in '93, perhaps the most disappointing season in team history. Bonilla's response to his improved stats and shittier record:
"I believe in inverse relationships. As long as Bobby Bo is Bobby Bo, we'll be cool."
Bonilla had another impressive 1.5 seasons at Shea before being shipped off to J Schubes O's for another Met great, the rifle-armed, hittingly challenged Alex Ochoa.
You might say we missed Bobby Bo.
We all remember the early late 90's. This was a time for the Mets to rebuild, the era when Generation K -- Izzy, Pulse and Paul Wilson -- were set to lead the Mets to greatness only to come up just short.
But 1999 was the year when the Mets finally got over the hump. In a season that many remember as one of the best in Mets history, Bonilla proved to a vital part.
He was acquired in November of 1998 for the flame throwing Mel Rojas, yet another Mets legend of the hill, a player that would be sorely missed.
Here's how the Milwaukee Sentinel wrote it up: "The Los Angeles Dodgers sent Bobby Bonilla to the New York Mets for reliever Mel Rojas on Wednesday, giving two high-salaried players coming off poor seasons an opportunity to revitalize their careers.
In addition, the deal paves the way for 20-year-old Adrian Beltre to play third base on an everyday basis for the Dodgers next year."
Bobby Bo came back to lead the Mets along with his good pal Rickey Time to a wild card and a trip to the NLCS where the Mets lost a heartbreaker to the Braves on a Game 6 bases loaded walk thrown by Kenny Rogers.
We all remember where we were for that pitch. I was standing on the front step to my living room, like I often do for big games.
But I am no future hall of famer. Bobby Bo is, which is why where he was is far more important than the location of a 17 year old Sip.
Where was Bobby Bo? He was where all great leaders and ambassadors of the game are at the end of the biggest game of the season against your most hated rival: playing cards in the locker room with fellow HOFer Rickey Henderson.
You want pokerstars, forget Fox Sports and take me back to that clubhouse. Bobby Bo unknowingly was starting the poker boom that has torn through the world in the new millennium.
So there you have it. Great player, winner, citizen and teammate, Bobby Bo.
When good old #25 gets his jersey immortalized in Cooperstown, I will shed a tear. This is perhaps the greatest of Mets, but more importantly, the greatest of people.
I feel priviledged to be a fan of a man that the Mets will be paying $2 million annually through the year 2021, just so they could rid their 2000 team of his talents, a move that was made at the time because other players just didn't feel worthy to share a clubhouse with Bobby Bo.
We will miss you Bobby, but more so, we are all so very proud of you.
Vaya con dios,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of augustasports.com, mbtn.net, mlb.com, talkingpoker.com)
They started it during training camp. It was tweaked and updated throughout the season. Anecdotes and incidents were added, attitudes were noted, a running account was developed. Themes emerged.
For the NFL writers and columnists in the New York area, Monday was a big day. From the smoky aftermath of the Giants' Wild Card-round loss to the Eagles, their prize possession was able to emerge from the dust -- their FIRE COUGHLIN column.
Oh, there's nothing sweeter than pulling out the heavy ammunition and tossing a few RPG rounds into the crumbling parapit of a coach under fire. These guys live for hunts like these. The chase provides plenty of fun -- all the insulting questions during midweek media sessions, all the innuendo between actual on-field incidents.
But then comes the coup de grace. When they've said a million times that Coughlin's team will be playing for his job, and the team goes out and loses, their moment has arrived. The whites of his eyes are in view.
Obviously, the writers went in a lot of different directions with their FIRE COUGHLIN columns. They sort of have to. For all the groupthink and collective doublespeak produced by a media echo chamber of the New York variety, the job description still involves standing out from the pack and coming up with something resembling a unique voice or fresh take. This, they give their best shot. Not always successfully.
"Coughlin Must Go," Gary Myers, New York Daily News
Hah. The thing with Myers is that there's never anything egregiously wrong with his articles, no obvious howlers like you'd see in a, say, Bill Madden piece. So, the fact that they're perpetually uninspiring and usually a waste of time has to be put down to some combination of bad writing and not knowing what the hell he's talking about.
This one is just about as rote and by-the-numbers as you would have expected. Lost the locker room? Yeah, whatever. Meltdown? Mmm hmm. No progress? No kidding. The conclusion -- "first move should be to fire Coughlin" -- is rather direct.
There is, of course, plenty of bad writing kicking around there. This line really pissed me off -- "Coughlin was in a predictable mood." Well, what precisely is a predictable mood? Was he flipping through the racing forms with his OTB slips out on the locker room floor? Myers goes on to say he was "defensive and a bit ornery," which is all very well and good, but next time, how 'bout having "predictably" modify the appropriate damn adjectives, ok?
"Coughlin Should Be Through With Little Blue," Steve Serby, New York Post
Serby is a better writer than Myers, which makes his epileptic fit in graf four all the more unexpected.
Maybe Coughlin wouldn't have sounded as if he were pleading to keep a job he deserves to lose when he started talking about how proud he was of the "fighters" who lost 23-20 to the Eagles when Little Blue could not stop David Akers from booting the 38-yard field goal as time expired "Absolutely no quit," Coughlin said, as if that is the new gold standard for the football Giants.
Fire him now!!!
Seriously, has anyone seen Steve's medication? Where is the training staff when you need them?
His point about Coughlin teaching Chicken Tika Barber how to hang onto the ball is well-taken. At the same time, he's still metaphor-skipping like he's on one of those "Most Extreme Elimination" challenges, hopping from one rolling wheel to another (the progression goes Hell, Messiah, magic wand, detention center, Nurse Ratchett, Patton, Lombardi ... whew).
He also closes weakly, with another spasmatic question and no real summation. For all the frothing at the mouth, the real Serby fire never shows up.
"Send Coughlin on his way today," Ian O'Connor, Bergen Record
O'Connor used to be at the Journal News up in Westchester. That was a Gannett paper, so he was regularly picked up by USA Today, giving him a rather comical level of national prominance.
Here, he's at his hackish best, coming across as completely creepy in the lede graf and getting Patton way up high, all the way in graf three. Then, he really gets inane.
Soaked by a loser's rain, not by a victor's Gatorade, Coughlin stood in the locker room assigned to the 1-11 Owls of Temple University and sounded like a desperate man campaigning for his job. The Giants had just lost a playoff game to the Eagles on a David Akers field goal in the final seconds, and Coughlin wanted to stay ahead of the story.
He wanted to blitz those trying to ignore the wild and crazy fourth-quarter drive that allowed the Giants to make it a 20-20 game. He wanted to sack anyone trying to turn this postgame routine into his last coaching rites.
So, what the fuck is "a loser's rain?" The East Wind was really using the scoreboard to decide whether or not to roll up? "Well, I'm not sure I like the Jints' third-down conversion percentage, Marv, and those penalties are pretty irritating, so let's send that cold front downtown right away."
I could also do without the phrase "victor's Gatorade." Nobody checks winning percentage before the coolers get put on the sidelines. Arizona and Oakland don't go thirsty just because they've embarassed their families.
Temple, of course, has nothing to do with anything, but it's another way of calling the Giants losers. Get it??? And then there's the Blitz-Sack routine, which is of course very fresh and not at all played out.
"There's More to Consider Than a Tailspin," Dave Anderson, New York Times
The thinking here is that Coughlin deserves to stay as the coach ... When the injury-depleted Giants tumbled into a 1-6 tailspin before salvaging an 8-8 record and a wild card, yes, Coughlin was the coach. But until that streak, Coughlin was the coach of mostly healthy Giants teams that over the 2005 season and half of this season were 17-7, not including a 23-0 loss to Carolina in the playoffs a year ago.
First of all, thanks for reminding us who the coach of the Giants was during that stretch. We were all really straining to remember that little factoid. Second, you've got to love that Anderson uses last year's record to make Coughlin look good, but then feels free to disregard the playoff loss completely. That makes perfect sense in some reality. Just not this one.
But the most frustrating thing about this passage is that Anderson has all the facts laid out right in front of him, and then stands on his head to avoid reaching the obvious conclusion. Let's see -- a coach who can get shut out in the first round of the playoffs when everything goes well and everybody's healthy, but panics and turns into Stalin's understudy when things go bad. That's a bad coach!
Injuries are the norm in the NFL, not the exception. You have to assume injuries, and praise the higher powers when you luck out and nobody important gets hurt. Shit, most schlubs can do decently well when they have their core together for a whole season (see: Mangini, Eric).
The Giants were hit by injuries this year, and Coughlin couldn't handle it. By no means were they the worst-off squad in the NFL -- they didn't lose their franchise quarterback, like some advancing teams we could mention -- and their woes were nothing out of what should be expected in any given season.
If you've got TimesSelect, you can go on to read about why a completely inflexible mind with a chunk on his shoulder and a massive temper deserves to continue to wade through mediocrity. If you're not a subscriber, well, you're not missing much.
"The Sons Will Rise," Shaun Powell, Newsday
The other real pro-Coughlin piece from the locals. Summary: the Giants are too smart to fire Coughlin. Just awful. The coach gets credit for calling Tika a good guy and being loyal to ownership ... the same ownership Powell says will be loyal to him. Quite a little circle-jerk you're approving of there, Shaun.
"Parting Not Sweet Sorrow for the Giants," Rick Carpiniello, Journal News "Eli Had His Chances," Brian Ettkin, Albany Times Union "Last Hurrah for Barber, and Maybe Coughlin Too," Michael David Smith, New York Sun "As the Record Shows, This Team is Only So-So," Jerry Izenberg, Newark Star-Ledger These four shankers pulled a Bartleby and refused to take a position on Coughlin's future, which really subverts the whole idea of having a column in the first place. For Christ's sake, we know the front office is going to think before they make a decision, and don't want to act rashly. Next thing, you'll be telling us they try to wear clean underwear (every day!) and want to target players in the draft with ability and upside.
You've got a column; I want an opinion. If you're not up for making snap judgements and anointing yourself all-seeing master of the sporting realm, is this really the business for you? When I say I want a blustery, partially informed diatribe, I mean it.
If you're interested, Izenberg's piece is easily the worst of the bunch. I mean, "Clearly, they were what their record said they were?"
(Note: The latest in our Y2K-U series by Cousin Dan follows this post from Sip.)
A hearty Y2K farewell to football in New York. You all know me as a Giants fan but I do want to tip my cap to Gang Green.
Going into this season no one gave them a chance. Broadway Chad was coming off two shoulder repairs, they had no running back, one decent receiver, a young line and a young defense. Find me a preseason projection that had the Jets winning 8 games and I will come by your house and sing you any Coldplay song that you want.
This year they won 10 games. Say what you want about their cake schedule or a disappointing Dolphins team, but 10 wins in the NFL remains impressive.
They lost on Sunday to the Patriots 37-16, a final score which misrepresents the competitiveness of the game. Up until that one lateral-fumble, the Jets were right in that game. They are just not the type of team that can rely on the Chad to make big plays coming from behind.
But Jets fans have a ton of reasons to get excited. The two first rounders on the line will only get better. The backfield of Houston and Washington has gone from "Who the fuck are these guys" status to "young and crowded" in one year.
The D will improve. Dewayne Robertson is finally looking like a nice player and the D has a ton of playmakers. Who knows where 2007 and a 2nd place schedule can take the boys in green, but I am certainly pulling for them.
There is one other thing that I am truly excited about.
This week's imminent announcement that the Giants will fire Tom Coughlin.
They absolutely have to. I refuse to ever watch that man crying on the sideline again. Not for a team I love. Cousin Dan paced around my house on Sunday freaking about two things: The Virginia CBB game and Tom Coughlin. He searched for ways that the Giants could win and Coughlin could still get fired.
Well the Giants certainly didn't win.
The Post had a great backpage on Sunday. The headline read "Army of One" referring to the Giants players playing for themselves and not their miserable, whiny coach. There was something about how the players confirmed that 95% of the team hated Coughlin and didn't want to win for him. There's a solid playoff foundation.
The disciplinarian led his team, which was, oh by the way, perhaps the most undisciplined team I've ever seen, to a disappointing 8-8 record.
How many personal fouls did Bob Whitfield have this year, 40?
The O-line had about 19 false starts on Sunday.
The perfect comparison is the Knicks bringing in Steve Francis to be a scorer. The only problem is that Steve Francis can't score. A scorer who can't score isn't a very good thing to have around a basketball team. Neither is a disciplinarian who can't discipline.
I am not as upset about this Giants loss as I normally would be. This is perhaps only because I know that Coughlin will be fired.
The Giants are a likable team and I have so many reasons to root for them, yet I hate their coach so much that it becomes hard. A new coach and a new outlook are needed desperately.
Looking forward to 2007 for Big Blue, they'll have an easier schedule and some happy players, and we can get ready to face the Bengals in Super Bowl XLII next year.
As for me, I'm hitting the road today. If any of our readers happen to live somewhere in Tennesee, let me know, I'll be in Nashville and Memphis on Wednesday.
(Note: Sip will be in with a post later this afternoon.)
Welcome back to Y2K-U, where we’re not too sad about the whole Barry Zito thing. After all, 7 years, $126 million seems like a lot for a guy who throws 88 mph and can’t beat the Yankees. Now, back to where they don’t play for pay that we don’t know about…
1. The SEC is super great, except for Tennessee. And Arkansas. And Alabama.
I’m pretty excited for the national championship game tonight, if only so Urban Meyer shuts up and just coaches a game. It is for that reason that I hope that Ohio State runs them out of the building. A week ago, I would have put my 6-1 record in this blog on the line on OSU, but I’m getting cold feet and probably will not play the game. The lean remains Buckeyes, though.
2. The hat thing is getting old, but HUGE news from the Banks.
Anthony Davis, by all accounts one of the top 20 high school players in the country, chose Rutgers Saturday, pulling that old chestnut of “I’ll pick someone else’s hat and then take it off and then put on the Rutgers hat.” Well, not actually an old chestnut in terms of the fact that he put a Rutgers hat on. Instead of an Ohio State or USC hat. Just read that sentence a couple more times.
3. Don’t cry for USC, though.
At least on the recruiting front, because of the Trojans’ 14 verbal commitments, 8 are of the 5-star variety. Having lived in California for a few years, it gets kind of old seeing Pete Carroll getting whatever players he wants. Well, except DeSean Jackson. We do so love DeSean Jackson.
4. And Coach K’s back is flaring up just…about…now.
You knew this item was coming, as Virginia Tech thoroughly outplayed the Dookies, and even the refs couldn’t take this one away now. Duke should fall all the way to #6 or #7 in the new poll. We also kind told you what you already knew about Greg Paulus, as in he’s horrific, and apparently likes male crotch in his face. And Duke actually plays a road game Wednesday. A Road Game!!!
5. We think Ben Howland will actually gut through the losses and not hand the reins of his team to an assistant coach.
Oregon’s McArthur Court is one of the toughest places in the country to play, and UCLA learned that the hard way in a 68-66 loss on Saturday. My hunch is that the UCLA guys were impressed by the surprisingly excellent talent level in Eugene.
Oh, and also in the Pac-10, Arizona lost in Pullman to Washington State, who is the quietest 14-2 team of all time. If Wazzu is good, Pullman is also a nightmare trip, because it’s 3 hours from everywhere and the students there have nothing else to do but get drunk and cheer on their Cougars.
6. This was going to be the excited Virginia item.
Then Virginia went and did what Virginia does, dropping a home game in which it was a 10-point favorite to Stanford yesterday night.
Knicks fans, remember when Allan Houston would shoot 100% from the line until the final six minutes until he’d miss two backbreakers? My beloved Wahoos have a player named J.R. Reynolds who’s been doing that for four years, and his miss with six seconds left led to the second buzzer-beater loss of the year. What makes this one so irritating is that this one will be squarely in the “Bad Loss” column when the committee explains why Virginia will be out of the Field of 65.
7. The weekly Jayhawk update.
One thing that will marginally cheer me up is seeing the wife smile after her Rock Chalkians walloped an SEC team, on the road, by double digits. Since you couldn’t see the game in 70% of the country, though, I’ll instead comment on actually being in Allen Fieldhouse last weekend seeing Kansas defeat Rhode Island.
Like Yankee Stadium, you walk into Allen and you just feel the history, and it’s rather indescribable. (Yes, I despise the Yankees, and the Stadium is a dump, but there’s still a pretty cool feeling when you’re inside. Sorry if that gets me banned from the site). Anyway, highest recommendation—check out a game at Allen if you ever get the chance.
8. The occasional women’s basketball item.
Tennessee and Connecticut are no longer the two best teams in the country every year, but it’s always exciting when the two teams get together. I mean it, exciting. And Candace Parker is starting to show why she may turn out to be the greatest player in the history of women’s college basketball. At least until Elena Della Donne comes along. And yes, I do believe I am the first male blogger ever to work Candace Parker and Elena Della Donne into a story.
9. This week’s non-college item.
Can’t say I was too sad that Tony Romo-Underwood muffed that snap the other night, because it is simply so great when Parcells loses. Unfortunately, my second favorite NFL coach to watch lose coaches my favorite team (Note: at least today, he still does, right?), which occasionally creates a conflict of interest.
And, of course, lose Tom Coughlin did yesterday. I think his new nickname – after he gets rid of “the Disciplinarian,” obviously -- should be “1st and 30”, to commemorate how the guy drafts his freaking son-in-law to commit 4th quarter penalties.
10. Final question.
After JaMarcus Russell out-out-outplayed Brady Quinn in the Sugar Bowl, can I call it racist when somebody takes the good-looking Catholic kid who will just OWN the Wonderlic over the, uh, much better quarterback?
Back to the Sand People, eh Randy? Back to the land of air-conditioned sprawl and irrigation and such, of long coyote nights and hot winter days. You apparently asked, and you apparently received.
There really does seem to be plenty of evidence that Johnson wanted to get out of NYC and back to Arizona, where he lives during the off-season. The point has been referenced almost any time the proposed trade has been brought up. Johnson has also seemed to confirm it with the quotes he's been giving out.
Being a prudent type, though, I then sent Young Sip over to the Bombers' front office yesterday to get a final word. But all our hero could get out of Brian Cashman was a quick "Get out of my face, that's all I ask," a baleful look and a shove of Sip's video camera down to the Yankee Stadium carpet.
Which was funny, because as far as I know, Sip doesn't even own a video camera, and bringing one in this situation would seem to serve only to piss the interview subject off. I know, it doesn't make any sense. Oh, well.
Still, while it does sound like the type of asinine mind-reading Steve Phillips and his merry band of idiots specialize in on ESPN ("Vernon Wells looks scared at the plate..," "Something's eating Jake Peavy...," "Jay Payton must have had a really bad dream last night..."), everything we've seen from RJ backs up the notion that he's not happy with the treatment he's gotten in New York.
There was the introductory camera shove, which was your basic platinum-edition bad omen with full video and audio to boot.
There was the highly embarassing paternity miff that dominated the News and Post for the better part of a week, a story that would have disappeared had Johnson been playing anywhere but New York or Boston. But the world got to see an ugly side of the Unit it hadn't seen before.
Even worse, it got a full look at the hideous daughter he had brought into this world. To be responsible for a creature like that, and then to not even kick in for the check ... well, a lot of nice little old ladies and down-to-earth fans were stripped of any lingering respect they had for RJ at that point. Cy Youngs be damned, this guy's sour-grapes routine was no put-on.
There were the injuries and the booing, which no player -- especially the sensitive types -- really likes. There was the counterproductive feud with that little bitch Posada, which I completely support and understand, but still wasn't especially helpful to team chemistry.
Add all that onto the stuff that happened behind the scenes that we didn't see, and you've got yourself plenty of reason to ask out of the Bronx and back to a less densely populated corner of the country.
All the same, two questions need to be answered. If Johnson really wanted out, should the Yankees have let him go? And if so, was this the right price to get for an aging deadbeat asshole?
I say no and no.
Getting to the alleged deal in a second, the fact remains that RJ may well have been the Yanks best pitcher heading into this coming season, even with all the concerns about his health and age.
For one thing, every Yank starter aside from Wang and Igawa has some combination of age or injury woe to account for. I'm including the overworked Scott Proctor and the still-extremely-young Phil Hughes in that accounting. There's no obvious replacement right there, and perhaps most interestingly, no free agent left to sign.
Johnson was still a) a lefty in a division where that matters more than average and b) a fairly respectable strikeout pitcher. His 5.00 ERA obviously matters far more than those 17 wins (next time you hear someone on the radio talk about "replacing" those wins, turn off the radio), but his 172 strikeouts were still tied for the team lead and eighth in the AL as a whole.
My point is that this isn't an Al Leiter situation, where an aging guy is about to see his strikeout rate crater, start walking folks by the bushel and have to get by on guile and good luck. Johnson's stuff is still there, still among the best in the business, and in a healthy season, you can expect very good numbers.
Well, what about a healthy season, then? It's really too hard to say. Back surgery is completely unpredictable, and you can't trust any of the information teams release on stuff like this.
But you can look at the price ($16 mil. this year, plus a $10 mil. extension for '08, with something like $2 mil. going to Arizona in the trade) and say that at current market rates, the contract is reasonable enough to hold onto. Make sure that if Johnson does come back, he does it on your dime and for you, at coin you can afford.
And you can look at the dowry the Yanks drew for him, and see that they got a fairly mediocre haul. No top prospect a la Detroit's Humberto Sanchez; three low-to-middling suckers, and a middling reliever.
Luis Vizcaino will be 33 next year. He had a nice little 2006 out of the pen (3.58 ERA, 1.22 WHIP), following up on a okay 2005 (3.73 ERA, 1.47 WHIP) with the World Champion White Sox. His home run rate is down from his time in Milwaukee, and if that keeps up, he could make a serviceable middle reliever. If not, he'll lose his job by May. Middle relievers are too unpredictable to have much value.
As far as the young guys, Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein didn't have a single one of these three guys (Ohlendorf, Steve Jackson and the honorable Alberto Gonzalez) on his D-Backs Top 10 Prospects list earlier in the offseason. (Here's the Mets list to see how he arranges them.)
Ohlendorf is a big dude (6-foot-4, 220) with a live fastball who could be a late bloomer, but he's a goddamn Princeton guy for Christ's sake, and hating fellow Tiger Chris Young out in San Diego is already taking up enough of my mental energy. Jackson and Gonzalez are nobodies.
Basically, the situation is such that if there was any chance at all, any chance, that Randy could gut through another season in New York, you had to try and hang onto him. "A little bit homesick" or even "Not pleased at all" wouldn't have been enough for me in Cashman's situation. It's not like he was a crucial clubhouse influence before, and a slightly more salty Unit is going to suddenly poison the well. Johnson is too potentially valuable to give away at this price.
Now, I can't say for sure that he didn't pull a Sheffield and start dropping hints he was going to tank, or not work hard to come back from surgery, or threaten to cut Jeter's hamstring when he wasn't looking. All of those are very real possibilities for one of the sincerely nasty people in the game.
But there's just so little upside here that it makes me extremely wary. And if Johnson comes back and looks like a stud, then you've basically wrapped yourself around a barrel cactus.
Get it? Like in Arizona, where they have those things ... oh, never mind.
P.S. How's the package of Javy Vazquez, Admiral Halsey and Dioner Navarro look now?
(Note: A Y2K Hall of Fame ballot, submitted by first-time/long-time Kenny from Camp, appears immediately below this post from Sip.)
So I stepped outside yesterday afternoon and it was once again 55 degrees. New York + January + 55 degrees. It just doesn't add up.
I've seen enough disaster movies to know that our time on this world may be a little shorter than we had hoped. Call me paranoid, that is what I am, but after doing some serious research and soul searching I found many other reasons why the world is coming to an end.
Yes, everyone, the apocolypse is upon us. See below and tell me you doubt me.
1. Matt Barnes, 3pt specialist
Does anyone else remember Matt Barnes, the Knicks' starting small forward on Opening Night, 2005?
Can anyone name the 5 teams he's played on in the last 4 seasons? And can anyone else tell me his best scoring year in college? (It was 14.5 PPG).
Last night when I was going to check on my beloved Warriors I checked the internet and saw a sure sign that the world was coming to an end: Matt Barnes, 44 minutes played, 16 3pt FG Attempts.
I sent an e-mail to my friends back in SF that read as follows:
"Did Matt Barnes really take 16 3's last night?
What the fuck?"
2. College coach gets $4 mil per year to coach
Aren't college sports supposed to be amateur? I was talking to Sr. about this last night; if and when Nick Saban takes Bama to a BCS, he will recoup the money for the school and a ton more.
It's just kinda weird to me. He gets paid $4 mil per year to coach players who supposedly play for free, and meanwhile I get paid ZERO to write for readers who read for free. Go figure that.
Hopefully Forrest Gump is smiling somewhere.
3. Wilmer...I don't mind him
For those who followed us in '06, you know about my absolute disdain for Wilmer Valderama. Here was a dude who became famous for being able to play a flamboyant immigrant better than anyone else, and parlayed that into marching around Hollywood banging out everything in US Weekly.
But for some reason, I have cooled on young Wilmer. I saw him on Leno and he seemed like a pretty decent guy who came from nothing only to live the dream.
I'm a guy that came from something still trying to live the dream. I plan on buying young Wilmer a few cocktails over some models at Hyde sometime in the immediate future.
4. Gil Meche, $55 mil
Not a lot to say here. But this guy is Steve Trachsel Jr.
5. Notre Dame loses 9th straight bowl game
Isn't this supposed to be god's team? Aren't we supposed to hold Notre Dame football sacred in the same way we hold the Bible?
They have a likeable coach, supposedly good kids, and a clean program.
They pray to god before every game -- or at least they do in Rudy -- but still, no love.
What's the deal, God?
6. Hollywood great Neve Campbell out of work
I was watching Scream II last night on Showtime. Just a little background. One of my three accomplishments in life is that I am responsible for the Scream trilogy taking off. Me and my buddy Jawn saw Scream during its opening weekend in a pretty much empty theater back in January of '97.
We saw the movie and loved it.
I told about 20 people to see it and saw it with them. Then they told 20 people, and they told 20 people, and so the chain goes. All I can say is BOX OFFICE, YOU'RE WELCOME.
So anyway, when Scream II hit theaters on an unsuspecting public later in 1997, my buddy from Section 423 took me to an advanced screening. I sat near Sarah Michelle Gellar, it was an all time great event.
Scream is long behind us and apparently so is Neve Campbell's acting career. Where has the Party of Five vixen gone?
I don't know if I can live in a world without Neve Campbell acting.
7. The Yankees -- Salary Dumpers
First it was Gary Sheffield, now it's Randy Johnson's turn.
The amazing part about the Yankees situation is that they are now being rewarded for all the money that they spent. All of a sudden players making $10 million for a couple of years are bargains, and the Yankees, shockingly, have a ton of these guys.
Randy Johnson, 43, coming off back surgery and a bad season could fetch them a ton, because this is a market where #4 on my list above takes place.
Getting Randy Johnson for 2 years, $32 mil is an insane bargain now if the guy can win 15 games.
Baseball went mad and still the Yankees come out on top.
Salt.
8. Sip moving to LA
I just can't sit still. That's the life of a blogger I guess.
Two years ago the thought of Los Angeles made me sick. I assumed the people were the worst, I certainly didn't know how to drive and it was far away from NY.
Here we are in 2007 though, and I am ready to make the move. I got a ton of good people out there. Cousin Tonks is making the trek West with me. I still don't really know how to drive (TBD), and I don't mind being far away from New York.
I realize now that while LA has a ton of Hllywood DB's, New York has a bunch of finance DB's. And what I have realized over my time is that there is nothing worse than finance people who suck, who make a lot of money and think they are worth a dime.
At least in LA, the assholes are starving artists, just like me, a struggling blogger.
Not to mention, I have strong plans of taking my Sexiest Blogger award straight to the Ivy for a shot at a bedding of the young and certainly vulnerable Lindsay Lo.
Again, if we all make it.
Couldn't think of 9-10. Will leave that to you the readers.
Vaya con Dios,
Sip
PS -- A special shout to Ed from Westchester, The Frenchmen and a few others. You aight, too.
(Pics couresy of hoopsvibe.com, philadelpihaweekly.com, photobucket.com, yimg.com, filmstarts.de, bostonsportshub.com,jubli.dk)
(Note: A hearty Y2K welcome to long-time fan, first-time writer Kenny from Camp. Sip will be in with a post later this afternoon.)
It's amazing how far Sip, Glass and everyone else involved in this site have come in one year. I know about the hit rate and the new domain. I heard about the Deadspin shoutouts and the legendary Julian Casablancas interview. We all know about Sip's dalliance with Elisha.
But, when Sip called me and told me that the BBWAA had given them a Hall of Fame vote, I knew they had arrived.
Normally, a voter needs to have been a member of the BBWAA for 10 years to be eligible to vote, but those of us who know Sippy know that he always finds a way -- and it's usually better not to ask how, just accept and move on.
When Sip told me of the membership, the skirting of the rules and the HOF vote, I assumed that he was taunting me and possibly recording my inevitable meltdown. But Sip has changed. "KFC," he said,"I want you to have it." I was overjoyed. It's been my lifelong ambition to vote for things of trivial relevance, and to flaunt my voting power on the internet.
A few notes on how I do this: 1. The main criteria is if the person feels like a Hall of Famer. To me, everything else -- stats, MVP voting, All-Star appearances, steroid suspicions, etc. -- is just an attempt to justify that end. I will still use those trivial things anyway in my arguments.
2. I'm going to rank everyone on the ballot, even though I'm only voting for a few.
3. I could care less about how good a player "could have been" had they played somewhere else or with someone else or whatever. We have the results. Speculation has no place here.
4. Compilers do nothing for me. I don't care if someone supplemented 4 great years with 15 average ones. I would take a Dale Murphy before a Harold Baines any day of the week.
5. I subscribe to Bill James' concept that just because Person A is in the Hall doesn't mean Person B, who has similar stats, should be as well. Tony Perez was a mistake. If we take all the Tony Perezes, it's not worth having an HOF in the first place. And those selected by the Veterans' Committee shouldn't be used at all when comparing players to Hall of Famers. The Veterans' Committee was a joke, and now hardly has the power to get people inducted.
6. The "best player at his position in his league for 10 years" test doesn't officially exist anywhere. It is a guideline some voters like to use, and will undoubtedly be used to justify their votes for Barry Larkin down the line.
Got that? Good. Let's see The Ballot.
Obviously: 1. Cal Ripken, 2. Tony Gwynn
These are the only guys who will actually get in.
As Well As: 3. Andre Dawson
Come on. Wasn't this dude the scariest black man ever growing up? Can you remember anyone who you feared more as a kid coming into Shea? Certainly not Dale Murphy, Jack Clark, Pedro Guerrero or any of those little Cardinals, Glenn Davis or any of those guys. Not even Schmidt, Sandberg or Bonds scared me like this guy.
Look at those names -- those were the best players in the NL in the 80's. Dawson wasn't only one of the three best outfielders in the NL in the 1980's, he, along with Schmidt, Sandberg and Murphy, was one ofthe four best players in the league. I personally have him at number 2 after Schmidt.
But you'd never know it from HOF ballots the last couple years. The voters are KILLING the 80's; hell, they've already moved on to the 90's (Gwynn and Ripken - and certainly McGwire - are 90's guys), and the only offensive guys who put up the bulk of their numbers in the 80's who are in are Schmidt, Sandberg, Molitor, Boggs, Kirby, Gary Carter, Ozzie, Dave Winfield, Eddie Murray and George Brett.
Lots of 3,000-hit guys (five). Only two-500 HR guys (Schmidt and Murray). And a lot of AL guys (only Schmidt, Carter, Ozzie and Ryne were really NL guys – Murray and Winfield played their primes in the AL).
Only ONE of those guys - Mike Schmidt -- is a pure power hitter (Murray is a compiler who never topped 33 HRs in a year and never finished in the top 3 in HR outside of strike-shortened 1981).
Are we to believe that home run hitters didn't exist in the 80's? Home runs were still hit, and if you could hit them, you still batted fourth and still scared the shit out of people in the bottom of the ninth – Dawson more than almost everyone else in baseball.
4. Jack Morris
I'm a real sucker for clutch performances (me and everyone else who really likes sports). In my life, there's never been a stronger clutch performance than Morris' turn in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series (10 innings of shutout ball, kind of a big win) for the Twins.
Cool thing about him is he has not just that one ring, but three others as well - and he was instrumental in all of them.
But he's not just Bob Horry (who, by the way, gets my vote). He has 254 wins (a lot of that in five-man rotations). But that doesn'treally matter. This is a good summation of the way Morris was perceived throughout his career (from Wikipedia, my second favorite website): "On Tuesday, April 6, 1993, Morris set a major league record by making his 14th consecutive opening day start, an impressive achievement since he played on numerous title-contending teams and the opening day start is usually given to either the best pitcher in the rotation or the pitcher with the highest level of respect among the players and coaches."
He was the undisputed ace on four World Champions over a 10-season span. He was that kind of difference maker. Still, I don't really see him getting in ever. Voters are still too hung up on 300 wins – that's why a bald, clownish loser like Don Sutton is in the Hall, but a MAN like Morris isn't.
5. Mark McGwire
I don't want him in the Hall of Fame, at all, because I think he's a coward and a geek. But I think it's ridiculous when reporters, who are mostly failed athletes who wish they had taken steroids and been big stars, take some moral high ground about steroids.
Don't let their newfound piety fool you: these are the same losers who clearly knew steroid abuse was happening but looked the other way "for the good of the game." As soon as it became "okay"to bash baseball's brass for looking the other way, they jumped on it.
It's the media's job to expose the truth. Clearly, steroid abuse was widespread since the strike, but the media looked the other way and never tried to tell this story. The fact that it took Ken Caminiti going public in 2002 to break this story is pathetic (which is over 10 years after Canseco said he started injecting).
If Woodward and Bernstein were able to expose Watergate (and put it in book form) in two years, one of these jerks (my colleagues) could have had something out there before 2002.
That doesn't necessarily mean anything to McGwire's candidacy. Fact is, he was a one-dimensional player, but at the height of his career, his steroid-aided body made him the best power hitter in baseball.
Without the non-answers at the Congressional hearing, he walks in with Gwynn and Ripken and they talk about 2007 as the best Hall class of all time (which it would be, at least since the early days of the Hall of Fame).
All the arguments for keeping him out (or putting him in) seem dumb. Yes, he cheated. But, yes, a lot of others cheated, including a lot of pitchers, so the field was level. And, yes, even if he cheated, he was the king of the cheaters.
But what about the guys that didn't cheat? How are we to know who they are – Juan Rincon is no bodybuilder. And even if he didn't use steroids, Gaylord Perry was a cheat, too, and he's in! And on and on.
I'm more than comfortable proceeding like it never happened. Maybe it's a cop out, but no more of a cop out than basing your vote on a hunch or trying to justify voting for a cheater with fabricated arguments about these faux-moral issues.
I'll go with the numbers and the memories for now – and probably always. No one can say I don't take my vote seriously. The only thing that could keep me from voting for him is if baseball put him on the disqualified list, like Pete Rose, and I couldn't vote for him.
I'll be the only one voting for Sosa, too. Palmeiro I will not be voting for, but I wouldn't have voted for Eddie Murray, either (Palmeiro is essentially Murray on steroids. If you thought Murray was a Hall of Famer, you oughtta vote in Palmeiro, too, unless you want to save future generations from the horrors of hearing stories about steroids they would inevitably hear if a forgettable player like Raffy was in the Hall).
The Cusp: 6. Jim Rice
Rice was the AL Dawson without speed. He's been killed because losers like Palmeiro and Sosa put up 500 HRs and made it look easy. People have clearly decided that the numbers of the 90's are phony, but there has been no correcting for past mistakes here.
Rice led the league in HRs three times. The only other guy to do that from 1970 to 1990 in the AL was Reggie Jackson (the AL Schmidt). It's as if my colleagues decided that Schmidt would represent all NL power hitters and Jackson would represent all AL power hitters.
I know that sounds like I'm should vote for him, but I still think Rice is that borderline player (the border between great and all-time great). Dawson had all five tools, Rice had two (albeit the two most important when it comes to the Hall of Fame).
If I were feeling generous, maybe he gets in. But you have to draw the line somewhere and I draw it here. Just because he was better than Orlando Cepeda doesn't make him a Hall of Famer. If Rice gets in the Hall of Fame, he's in the bottom 10% of Writers' selections. That's the 10% I wouldlike to eliminate from the Hall of Fame.
Still, I am struggling with this one. It's really hard to keep him out and put Dawson in. Rice's highs were higher, but Dawson did way more defensively (5 Gold Gloves) and on the bases (over 300 steals). At the end of the day I have the same gag reflex at the idea of putting a power hitter in the Hall of Fame who doesn't have 400 career home runs that so many writers have.
That said, I think that Rice will get in next year, in his last year of eligibility. There are really no new candidates who are going to blow him away and there's a significant groundswell of support for him.
7. Albert Belle
Boy, are the writers happy that this guy, based on his career totals, doesn't deserve it. Nevermind the fact that Jon Heyman of SI votes for Steve Garvey and Dave Concepcion and not Belle should cost him his BBWAA membership.
Look Belle up on baseballreference.com , ignore the weak career totals and look at the numbers he put up from 1991 through the end of his career – they're nearly Frank Thomas-esque – ten spectacular years.
He also got completely jobbed out of the 1995 MVP. He only doesn't make it because he happened to be putting up those numbers when Thomas, Juan Gonzalez, Griffey, Bagwell, Carlos Delgado, McGwire, Sosa, Manny Ramirez, Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza, A-Rod and Palmeiro were putting up similar or better numbers, while not being a terminal cancer and/or bringing something defensively.
He played a corner outfield position, poorly, and in the grand scheme of things he wasn't nearly as valuable as any of the guys above. (And Juan Gone isn't going to sniff the Hall – two MVPs and all. Delgado probably won't either – and, of course, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro and/or Bonds are on the"disqualified list").
Belle was not the A-Flight of his era, and only the A-Flight should get in the Hall of Fame.
No: 8. Alan Trammell
He's probably getting jobbed here. In a vacuum, he's better than Ozzie Smith (great hitter and fielder). But he wasn't Ozzie Smith. He was spectacularly solid, like Barry Larkin, but those guys aren't in the Hall for me.
(I wonder if Larkin's going to get in. On the one hand, he was clearly the best SS in the NL for 12 years. On the other, he only had one great season and had a habit of getting hurt in the second half of seasons, after his requisite All-Star appearance.
I'm not going to vote for him, but I bet he takes the Sandberg route and gets in around year 3 or 4 of eligibility. And then everyone immediately forgets about him.)
9. Jose Canseco
Fuck this shit. I'm tempted to put him in. Jose Canseco is going to be remembered very fondly. Granted, had he hit 500 homers (he's only 38 away), never had the dalliance with Madonna, never had the ball hit off his head, never tried to pitch and threw out his arm and wasn't such a purported jerk to everyone, never done steroids, and never would have written that book, he would have been a clear-cut HOFer -- but, as I said, I care about what happened, not what-ifs.
He DID write that book and did the dirtywork for all of the status-quo-maintaining writers who probably aremore upset that he sold more copies of his book than they ever will for anything ever.
Jose, on paper, couldn't sustain the brilliance of the first 40-40 season, so he's not in.
10. Dale Murphy
I always liked Murphy. He played on the pre-NL East Braves, when they were okay to like. He won two MVPs and was a legitimate 80's power hitter. If he played in the 90's he might have hit 550 home runs. But he didn't and that's too bad for him. He falls short on my ballot, and most other voters' too.
11. Don Mattingly
I bet that if he was on the '96 team, he'd be in already, but he wasn't 'cause he was a curse and a born loser. I can't wait until Torre retires and Don shows that you can actually do a worse job than Joe has done for the last 5 years with what will be a $300 million payroll.
12. Dave Parker
There's a reason most people our age remember him as the fourth OFer and DH of those sick Bash Brother A's teams of the late 90's (or, to some, as the face of the Pittsburgh drug scandal of the mid 80's).
Sure, he had very good career, but not that much better than Luis Gonzalez. Seriously. His similarity score puts him closer to Gonzalez than Dawson. Also, I just found out Parker's nickname was "Cobra." The fact that hehad such a sick nickname, and no one ever told me, is reason enough to exclude him. He's lucky to be twelfth.
13. Bert Blyleven
Seriously, I wouldn't have known he was any good had I based it only on what I remember growing up: He had a great, alliterative name; Berman gave him a funny nickname; he wore a beard; he was average. That's what I remember.
Seems that people who watched him then agree with me -- seeing that he was only on two All-Star teams. That's sort of humiliating, no? Jimmy Rollins has been on three. It just kills me that if he had 13 more wins, he would have made it on his first ballot.
14. Tommy John
Put him in because of the surgery and because it has led to one of my favorite points to make when old people talk about how the depth of pitching talent has been weakened by expansion (namely, 15-30% of pitchers 30 years ago had to shut it down when they blew out their elbow).
288 wins are great. I never would have guessed that he had that many. He played for the Yankees and the Angels and a bunch of other teams. I know nothing else of his career, and that's probably for a reason.
15. Orel Hershiser
If I were a pitcher, I'd take a few great seasons over 10 good ones. People remember the great seasons and few ever were better than Orel's 1988. The good ones just blend together and become Bert Blyleven.
16. Goose Gossage
Closers are usually flunky starters. Most pitchers want to start and only close or relieve cause they can't or they're hurt (Papelbon, Smoltz, Heilman).
Sure, it's a different role and demands a different set of skills, but there's a reason there are only 4 relievers in theHall. When I fill out the Y2K ballot 7 years from now, Mariano Rivera will be on it. That's it. Maybe Bruce Sutter was sick -- no one in the media made a point of telling me that until he couldn't make the Hall for 8 years (but they sure did tell me about Rollie Fingers). This matters.
Point is, a lot of people will vote for Goose Gossage this year. I will not. I only have him this high because everyone else below I know, with certainty, is not a Hall of Famer.
17. Lee Smith
The save is a bogus stat. Obviously most agree, as Lee Smith hasn't sniffed the Hall. Still, Trevor Hoffman, when he broke Smith's record, had a slight groundswell of Hall support (notably from Buster Olney), much to my chagrin, as I have a $5,000 bet with Sip on whether Hoffman makes it.
If, somehow, Sutter opened the door for marginal closers (and, in my opinion, everyone who hasn't served as a closer on a dominant dynasty and was instrumental in their success is a marginal closer), Gossage and Smith (and Hoffman) might get in.
In fact, Gossage has been bitching publicly so much that I half expect the doors to open for him the next down year, much as they did for Harry Carson in Canton after 10 years of whining.
18. Bret Saberhagen
When the Mets got him, we thought we were getting a sure Hall of Famer. Then he lost his mojo and threw bleach on reporters, which is never good for one's Hall candidacy.
The Rest: 19. Dave Concepcion
I've seen him on a few published ballots over the last 5 years or so. I really hadn't heard much about him (at least as an offensive player) before he was eligible. The clear mark of a non-Hall of Famer for me (who I didn't see play) is if I hadn't heard a thing about him being an all-timer before they were eligible. That's why Sutter is a fraud.
That's why Concepcion is a pretender (and why comparisons to Ozzie are ludicrous – Ozzie is a once-in-a-lifetime performer who dads telltheir kids about. There are some players for whom you must make exceptions).
20. Steve Garvey
Tons of All-Star appearances (11), a few Gold Gloves (4). Keith Hernandez had a few All-Star appearances (5) and tons of gold gloves (11). Garvey was a better power hitter (by a good margin), but Keith had a higher OPS (by a good margin). Both played big roles on World Series winners. Both have an MVP. Both went on to kill it on network TV shows.
Maybe Garvey was a tad better, but they both were contact hitters who played the position where you most covet a dong-masher. Outside of the twin disasters that are Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda, Hall of Fame first basemen either mash a lot of dongs or hit over .315 for their careers.
Plus, what I know about Garvey always sorta made him feel like a joke to me, a guy who was in it more for the celebrity than the sport (and after checking his wikipedia page, I know I was right. This guy is a clown). Maybe that's unfair. Maybe, but I'm the one with the ballot.
21. Harold Baines
When you heard he was close to 3,000 hits by the end of his career,weren't you shocked (and he was really close, one good season away)? This guy was a pretty good DH. Forget him.
Either way, I look forward to the Edgar Martinez debate. Guys who don't want to include a DH have the fact that Edgar fell short of 3,000 by a pretty wide margin. But he finished with a .312 career batting average. And the guy could flat-out hit. I don't think he gets in, though. Papi will probably break the DH barrier.
22. Eric Davis
Darryl's childhood friend was half the player Straw was. Although his career was hurt by cancer, not cocaine, Davis is no Hall of Famer. Darryl was one-and-done, Davis will be, too.
23/24. Paul O'Neill/Scott Brosius
Obviously O'Neil was the better player. Neither is close. Yankees 2000 side note: I always thought Bernie Williams would make the Hall of Fame (not that I'd vote for him), but now, I think he falls short – even though he's a Yankee and all and Phil Rizzuto can make it despite the fact that he's a completely forgettable player (or so Bill James told me).
From those Yankees teams, Jeter, Clemens and Mariano are the only locks, which seems like too few, considering the Big Red Machine has three offensive players already in, in addition to Pete Rose (and Concepcion has hung around way longer than he should have).
But, whoelse is going to make it? Andy Pettitte would need about 4 more big years (tough to do on a one-year contract). Posada doesn't measure up to Piazza or Pudge. Tino is like the guys above. Cone, Wells, Key, Gooden and El Duque and all the other starters don't stand much of a chance (or have already been voted on and are off the ballot).
Boggs isalready in, but he doesn't really count. The only other maybe is Tim Raines (if he counts). Baseball people love to say that he deserves it, but won't get in because he used to play baseball on cocaine. I'm not sure he deserves it. I have a sneaking suspicion these baseball people just want to let us know thatthey're not anti-all-drugs, just steroids. They know how to party.
25. Bobby Bonilla
Poker.
26. Tony Fernandez
Whatever.
27. Devon White
Never thought he was a candidate.
28. Mike Witt
Would have started him over Blyleven in RBI Baseball.
29. Wally Joyner
One of those guys, like Will Clark, who you thought was going to be like the best player ever.
30. Jay Buhner
Trade from Yankees led to a great Frank Costanza line
31. Ken Caminiti
Stole an MVP from Piazza. Saved baseball. Died.
32. Dante Bichette
Probably the guy who gets zero votes this year. There's usually one.
Next Year and Beyond:
No one new or interesting is eligible outside of Tim Raines. I expect im to get 40% or so. Since it's Rice's last year, you can expect to see him in the Hall of Fame. After that, Rickey is eligible in 2009 and, again, no serious threats in 2010 (this is the Edgar Martinez year, though).
Within the next three years, I expect Rice, Dawson, Gossage and Blyleven to find induction. Morris has a shot, but I'm not optimistic. McGwire very well could find himself off the ballot within three years – or, there could be a backlash against the backlash (as seen above) and McGwire could steadily movie up the ballot and get in in 8-10 years.
That's a sick thing about us Hall of Fame voters, we love to punish people for not being perfect.
There's not a hell of a whole lot going on in Met land today. That leaves me with an opportunity to tie up some loose ends.
Or well, I may not be able to tie them all up, but I will be able to raise a bunch of questions that seem pertinent to me. Maybe one of you can help answer them. Maybe I don't want to know the answers. Oh me, oh my.
So in no particular order, can I just ask...
What is going to happen to Shea Stadium once Citi Field is complete?
I was over at this website chronicling the development of the new Citi Field when I thought, wait a tick, this stadium is going up right next door to the old one! I know the Mets will continue playing at Shea through to 2008, and I know that Citi Field needs to be ready for the start of 2009 -- what the bugger are they going to do when it's time to say goodbye to Shea?
We've all seen stadium destruction footage before, haven't we? Old Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh was demolished that way, but it wasn't standing directly next to another living, breathing structure.
There's nothing stopping them from tearing Shea down brick by brick, and all things considered, that might be the best way to go about getting rid of the old girl. I don't think I could have beared to watch an explosion fell the old girl. Somehow a gradual destruction seems more humane.
Is this seriously the rotation we're going to enter the season with?
Glavine, El Duque, Maine, All-or-Nothing Ollie, and Pelfrey/Humber, eh? I'm sorry, this just isn't a playoff-caliber rotation. I've written about this before, and there were some interesting opinions expressed on the comment board. Coop has confidence in Oliver Perez. Patrick Reis wants to see the kids play. Nails hates Victor Zambrano. Etc.
Over on MetsBlog, the conversation has turned to Tomo Ohka, Tony Armas and Rodrigo Lopez. Ohka doesn't seem like a horrible option to pursue, but Armas does nothing for me, and evidently the asking price for Lopez is growing increasingly incommensurate with his performance last season.
I realize Lopez was better the two previous seasons, but still, I'm not looking to give up anything substantial for a guy who went 9-18 last year with a 5.90 ERA -- our reclamation quota begins and ends with Perez, as far as I'm concerned.
Where is the market for Steve Trachsel?
The ace of the Mets' staff in 2006, Trachsel appears to be the victim of the greatest act of owner collusion since Rafael Palmeiro. Seriously, this guy won 15 games for the division champs last year, people! His name even came up in Cy Young Award talks, at least in certain circles.
There's a part of me that wonders whether Mets brass ever considers bringing him back.
Is anything cooler than cyber beef?
It's Cousin Tonks vs. Cheddar Ben on the comment board. We haven't seen these kinds of fireworks since Sip threatened to fight someone who teased him about his pen name.
Ugh.
Is there a better comedy on television right now than The Office?
I've had a marathon through the first two seasons the past 10 days, and cot damn, what a show. I'd seen the vast majority of these episodes already, but watching them sequentially like that really added to my understanding of some of the key relationships and dynamics on the show. Good times.
Anyway though, I don't watch a lot of TV. Seriously, is there anything better? (And please, please, whatever you do, don't say "Yeah, the British version." I'm sorry, I tried, I just couldn't get into it.)
24: Better live or on DVD?
January 14 is finally, mercifully, the day we've all been waiting for. Jack Bauer, your hero and mine, is back to kick ass and take names.
A debate I've had with some friends: is it better to watch this show on DVD or week-to-week? A lot of people say DVD, and there's probably something to that, but I don't think I could resist. Plus, having something to look forward to Monday nights is too essential.
Do the Knicks set out to fall behind by 15 points every game?
I don't watch all of their games, but I'm fairly certain that in every single one I've seen they've trailed by 10 to 15 points in the first quarter. It's like clockwork. It would be less of an issue if they just got blown out all the time, but half the time they really make a game of it. Where is that intensity in the first quarter?
Am I wrong, or are the Jets a decidedly more likeable team than the Giants?
I rooted for the Giants pretty heavily last year, but this year, because of my long post-playoff exit downward spiral, I never really got into them. It wasn't a fare-weather thing: even when they were winning I didn't watch, I just didn't have it in me.
I do see the headlines though, and every week it's someone else bitching in the locker room. It's like, I get it, you guys don't like the coach. Chances are he'll be gone next year, in the meantime though, don't you owe it to yourselves and your fans to play out the string?
I haven't been watching but I can't think that 2-6 stretch to end the season was entirely Coughlin's fault. I hope they do well but honestly, I'll be kind of relieved when it's over for them.
The Jets, meanwhile, with the Manginius at the helm and Broadway Chad taking the snaps, now there's a likeable team.
There are 88 days until Opening Day.
Get comfortable.
- A.F.O.M.G.
(Images appear courtesy of gothamist.com, mlb.com, and laerer.vucaarhus.dk)
(Note: A piece from A.F.O.M.G. will appear later this afternoon.)
Last week witnessed three of the great finishes in NYK history, which culminated in what people are calling "The Jumper", by none other than the re-juvenated Channing Frye (still in a sophomore slump, not because he is any worse from last year, he just isn't any better).
Besides the special soul food feast at Spago hosted by Malik Rose, there hasn't been much to discuss on a positive note so far on the left coast swing.
Lots of old friends, (Frye had 45 friends and family come to the Phoenix debauchery). Lots of blunt smoke. (Crawford wasn't at the team Spaggo dinner because he went on a team weed run). And basically a loss of focus. A loss of toughness in the fine west coast sunshine.
We kind of felt this was coming. The goal was 2 out of 5. Still got two to go. (Seattle and Portland are now MUST wins, how desperate is that?). How did we end up here? The Knicks have simply not shown up for one of these games.
This is where concern sets in. They lose the lead in the first 5 minutes of the game... every... single... night now. It has almost become part of the game plan and rotation. I can see Isiah saying to himself, "OK, we're going to be down 13 with 4:40 left in the 1st quarter, I'll put in Malik to stabilize things and slow the game down".
Problem is, Rose drank two pints of kool aid and three plates of chicken and beans at Spago in Beverly Hills with everyone else on the team, except Crawford and Marbury who showed up for desert. How cute. True story.
Marbury was probably at a Steve & Barry's in Irvine signing kicks. Everyone at dinner rocked suits but Herb Williams, who one player remarked, "Stays rocking the Knicks gear".
Only on this team of under skilled, out classed, out worked wide eyeds, is someone considered an oddball for having pride in their team. The team that plays them millions of dollars, for the city that yearns for brighter days.
David Lee needs to play more. Bottom line. He has the second most offensive rebounds in the league.
Yes, Jeffries is a defensive "specialist", but what's so special about letting Baby Ron Ron Artest, ball out for a career high? Or allowing Shawn Marion to dunk from every angle and ex-Knick and an all time favorite, KT, 40 ounce Kurt Thomas, go for double digits in the first?
Who is he guarding and shutting down? He did against Teyshaun Prince, and they had success as a result. So is that to say that if Brace/Band-Aid Face Jeffries doesn't stop somebody cold, they lose? And lose bad?
After crossing the 20 loss column to start off the new year, it's safe to say the Knicks are looking at 30 wins as a goal to shoot for. Modest as it is, somehow this will keep me warm all winter long. The race to 30 will also be a test to see who stays, and who should go.
Curry stays. He is a beast, but needs to lose the laziness. He doesn't have a fire in his eyes, or a chip on his shoulder. Money and tats have that affect.
Marbury stays. He has bounced back after a rocky start and is in NYC legend form. Yeah he has had a terrible West Coast Smoke trip, but overall the last month or so we have seen him continue to take it to the basket, time and time again. He continues to hit the big free throws, and is a solid playmaker. He stays.
Francis goes. Or has he gone already? He was back in Texas for New Year's with the Mobley's,
So lot's to look for in these next two games. Hopefully a storm is brewing in the bellies of our boys. With this cast of characters, and Coach Popcorn, who knows?
- Chris & Mase
(Images appear courtesy of webmikey.com, static.flickr.com, and sportsnet.ca)
(Note: Cheddar Ben counts down the five top football movie ending plays following this piece from Sip. Also, please note that the post below features a pair of vaguely NSFW pictures.)
2006, SEE YA.
Happy New Year, all. Hope your vacations were great and that you are now readjusted to your office chairs.
If the Boise St. Oklahoma game is any indication of the year ahead in 2007, then we are in good shape.
But 2006 was a great one, especially for us here at Y2K. After AFOMG received the award for "Best Grammar" and Cheddar and I were both nominated for People Magazine's 50 Sexiest Bloggers we felt it was time to dish out awards here, as a recap for the great year of 2006.
Most Exciting Player, 2006: Mr. Glass
Glass turned the corner in 2006, changing from a player who got hurt a lot and refused to get on base to a player that made a lot of other teams sick. His numbers were outstanding across the board, he learned how to draw walks and he played great defense. He is the early favorite for Y2K NL MVP, 2007.
Best New TV Show: MTV's Two-a-Days
Say what you want about The Office, Heroes or Yo Mama, but Two-a-Days really took the two best things in the world -- high school football and MTV reality programming -- and put them together.
While I loved my NYC upbrining this show has inspired me to raise some little Sip's in Hoover, AL.
Biggest Chicken: Tom Coughlin and Isiah Thomas (tie)
Coughlin is the worst. I don't hate coaches but I hate this one. He looks like he is going to cry every two minutes of this game.
Meanwhile, Isiah Thomas saved his second franchise this spring, the Orlando Magic, when he traded Trevor Ariza and the expiring contract for that man they call Franchise.
Now the Magic are healthy under the cap. So are the Suns, thanks to the Marbury deal, and basically every team that has made a deal with Isiah since he jumped on board for his 9-year rebuilding project.
Citizen of the Year: Carmelo Anthony
This guy donated $2.5 million to Syracuse, another $1 million to his hometown of Baltimore, but served his greatest role as a citizen with his actions in the December brawl at the Garden.
The Garden has the most insane ticket prices in the world. Desperate Knicks fans sink in millions of dollars a year to see a really mediocre team. At least Melo, with his sucker punch, gave us something to smile about.
Anyone else excited for Melo vs. Iverson, live frm Denver on Valentine's Day? They will stop the game and J.R. Smith will referee this 12-round heavyweight fight. The winner gets to take the remaining 30 shots.
Best Film: The Departed
Just really liked this one. How's that for film criticism? Great cast included Y2K Favorite Matty D turning in another A+ performance. Jack Nicholson was awesome and the movie was just really fun and exciting. The lady in it from Boston pushed Boston accents forward about 20 years, so well done for her. All in all, two thumbs up.
Chicken Films of the Year: Miami Vice and Date Movie (tie)
Miami Vice was the worst movie ever made, period. It was thoroughly unwatchable. If my buddy hadn't smuggled in a bottle of Jack into the theater, I may have gone mad.
Date Movie. Made it through 8 minutes one lazy Saturday afternoon and I had to turn it off. And I am the all time biggest fan of spoof movies. I spoof. That's what I do.
Best DVD: Wedding Crashers
I'm no movie expert. But this movie had it all. It had weddings, dudes who crashed them and girls that attended them.
That is all I need.
Everytime this movie shows up on HBO, my eyes widen. It may not have been the most artistic or tasteful of films, but for those who know me, you know, that means very little to me.
I want to be entertained. This one did the trick.
Best Up and Comer: Duaner Sanchez and Jaden Smith (tie)
Everyone loves Duaner. Can he be our closer this year?
But Jaden Smith really was about the cutest kid I have ever seen in Pursuit of Happyness.
Maybe the most depressing movie I have seen in years, you guys should all see it too. It really makes you wonder why we complain every day, when we are all doing pretty ok.
Best Actor: Jason Wahler, Laguna Beach/The Hills
They called Heather Locklear a hero for doing Dynasty and Magnum PI at the same time. Yet J Wahl gets no credit for doing both Laguna beach and The Hills. Come on guys.
Some say it is not acting. I don't care. This guy knows how to steal a silver screen. He has it all: charisma, words and a fantastic goatee trimmer.
"I like Lauren." Need I say more?
Best Actress: Diora Baird
I just IMDB'd her yesterday because I needed to know. She was the temptress in Wedding Crashers, Vivian, who asks Owen Wilson if he is completely full of shit. Close your eyes and think of young Diora.
Then remember, buy low, sell high. It's the key to good business.
Best Song: When You Were Young, The Killers
This song always gets my emotions going. Me and AFOMG used to toast a few steveweisers to this song before we would head out to Shea. I really thought it was the one that I would remember. Either way, heck of a song and the drummer has the sickest mustache I have ever seen in my life.
Chicken Song of the Year: Show Me What You Got, Jay Z, and London Bridge, Fergie (tie)
I love Young hov. Where do you think Young Sip came from? But man oh man -- this song is terrible and considering that this guy has about 20 amazing singles, this is pretty sad.
Me and my buddies from the U were brushing shoulders off for about a year, well before it became popular even. But I have yet to show anyone what I got.
As for Fergie, I only have room in my musical life for one giant sellout, the GGD's. Fergie just annoys me. I don't find her attractive and I just really don't like her. Sorry Ferg.
Y2K Reader of the Year: Coop
This one was tough. It came down to Coop and Worndownboyboy -- don't worry Ed from Westchester, you were close too.
Chipper and Hound, you guys are both pretty sweet and when S.O.A.F.O.M.G made a post, it warmed my heart like none other.
But the reader of the year has to go to Coop. She stole our hearts much like Elisha Cuthbert did in The Girl Next Door.
Coop, we love you.
Best Game of the Year: Columbia @ St. John's, Saturday, Dec. 23
Columbia, +17, was my good pal and resident Insano Yanni from the Gym's five star lock of the week. We trekked up to Queens and checked this one out. The arena was buzzing. They heard one local celeb, Sippy, Momo was in the building. And of course, Columbia covered with ease.
Other more realistic nominees: Beltran's 16th inning game winner. The David Lee tip in. Any Warriors game.
Chicken Game of the Year: Giants vs. Saints last Sunday
This was the first sporting event I have left early in 20 years. I hate you, Coughlin!
Team of the Year: The Mets
New Mets! We really had an awesome run. Think back to a year or two ago (see pic above) and now think of where we are now. We used to be chickens. Now we just don't have pitching.
Chickens of the Year: The Yankees
Old Yankees! What a bunch of stiffs.
Steroid Abuser of the Year: Barry Zito
He doesn't take steroids, but his wallet certainly just did. Just wanted to put Zito and steroids in the same sentence for those googling it. Zito is a good guy who took more money to stay where he wanted to stay. Can't really fault him.
Parents of the Year: The Momo's
Thanks for putting up with the Sip. It's not easy being a world famous blogger and I would imagine it to be much more difficult to raise one. Now with all the paparazzi and groupies storming the house, all I can say is thank you.
People of the Year: You
If Time Magazine can do it, so can we. Keep reading, we'll keep writing.
I could give a shit about college bowl season. I know, I know, it's a great tradition and all. But unless you're a big fan of one of the teams involved, it can be surprisingly tough to get into a meaningless exhibition game played in a half-empty neutral stadium.
As for the people who fly halfway across the country to support their team in the Papajohns.com Bowl, they are indisputably deserving of some kind of slap. Pick one out of a hat for all I care, but someone please slap these folks.
But sometime around 9 a.m., I remembered that Boise State had trickified its way to a win over Oklahoma last night in the Fiesta Bowl. The final, in case you missed it, was 43-42 in OT, with Boise taking home the title on a game-winning Statue of Liberty 2-point conversion play.
Ah, the venerable Game-Winning OT Statue of Liberty 2-Point Conversion Play. Is there any football convention more cherished?
The dramatic potential of football has always been its hook. The NFL was put on the map by the 1958 Championship between the Colts and Giants, when Johnny Unitas led Baltimore to a sudden death OT victory on national television. In terms of building a national following (one that would eventually eclipse the far more established field of college ball), Alan Ameche plunging into the end zone was the first salvo.
Most of the famous football moments, the ones you know from heart, derive from last-second drama. The Immaculate Reception. Flutie's Hail Mary. Starr going into the end zone in the Ice Bowl. "The Catch."
Trick plays, though, have only occasionally figured into the mix , depending on how you characterize a play like Cal-Stanford's kick return. There are execptions. We can probably all agree the Music City Miracle was a successfully executed last-second game-winning trick play, just as I can agree to put off bashing my head into a wall until I've finished writing this post.
Still, the dramatic game-ending gadget gag has largely been ceded to Hollywood, the better to play with our expectations and sporting conventions. Boise State's got nothing on the script writers of Southern California.
In other words, the Top 5 Cinematic Game-Winning Plays are ...
Honorable Mention
Jamie Foxx airs it out ("Any Given Sunday"), Operation Mexican Secession ("Little Giants"), Falco doesn't choke ("The Replacements")
No. 5 -- Bakula puts it between the numbers ("Necessary Roughness")
The closest parallel to the Boise State game, as it happens. Plucky Texas State is keeping pace with Texas in the big game, scores a TD to get within one point. Coach Hector Elizondo calls for a fake extra point; QB Scott Bakula picks up the ball and scrambles around in the backfield looking for a receiver.
He finds his man Banks open in the back of the end zone, wearing the same No. 88 jersey worn by the tackling dummy Bakula passed to for years alone back on the farm. The ball comes in like an RPG, and the catch is made. Scene.
No. 4 -- The Hook and Ladder ("Varsity Blues")
Insert index finder into mouth. Tug. Make little kiddy paws up and down. That's the idea!
This was another Hollywood play with something of a real-life antecedent, the ur-example being the stunning H&L for the Dolphins in a 1981 playoff game against the Chargers (Don Strock passing to Duriel Harris, who pitched it back to a sprinting Tony Nathan). The score of that game was 41-38, at that point the highest-scoring postseason contest ever, and the Bolts eventually pulled it out.
But at least Tony Nathan was able to sprint. Nobody has ever accused Ron Lester of being a sprinter, not now nor then. But Billy Bob, the big fella, was the one charged with getting the lateral from Scott Caan, and he makes the catch.
Slowly proceeding toward paydirt, he knocks aside a couple of safeties. Then, he carries about half a platoon of Gilmer High defenders on his back and falls down across the goal line with the weight of the season across his shoulders, allowing James Van Der Beek to go to Brown and never play football again.
No. 3 -- The Home Run Throwback ("2000 AFC Playoffs")
I still get confused sometimes. It did happen, right? Sigh.
No. 3a -- Crewe's Plunge ("The Longest Yard")
The original, you asshole. You thought about it for a moment, and I hate you for it. Disgusting.
Anyway, Burt Reynolds needs the titular yard to beat the guards, and for dramatic reasons, another drop kick is out. So, he looks for a bootleg that isn't there, scrambles around the backfield for a while, and then goes over the top through a trio of linemen, Marcus Allen-style, for the win. Lee Corso almost fell out of his seat applauding.
The warden then almost has poor Burt killed for trying to retrieve the game football, confirming his spot on the short list of all-time evil prison wardens (another discussion in its own right).
No. 2 -- The Halfback Option Throwback ("The Waterboy")
The gutsiest call of all these plays, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, Coach Klein was entrusting the Bourbon Bowl to the arm of a player who may well have never have thrown a football before. You can't see many gridiron minds going in that direction. That's unorthodox.
For another, the Waterboy was targeting his new friend, played by noted Sandler friend/hanger-on Peter Dante; in any number of ways, the man was the least-talented cinematic quarterback any of us will ever see in this lifetime. So, again, a tough call.
But hey, Dan Fouts liked it. Can't hold anything back here.
No. 1 -- The Tec-9 Shuffle ("The Last Boy Scout")
This is cheating in a couple of ways. The play doesn't come at the end of the movie; it comes in the first couple of scenes. The game in question isn't central to the movie; indeed, it's almost a completely incidental throw-in.
The plot value is nearly nil. The general senselessness and gratuitous violence of the scene nicely illustrates why the pic was such a huge flop, even with a smoking young Halle Berry playing a stripper. (She's killed off far too soon ... the movie was made by amateurs).
But in terms of pure drama, nothing tops the end of that game between Chicago and Los Angeles under monsoon conditions at Soldier Field. Drug-addled RB Billy Cole (played by future Tae-Bo legend Billy Blanks!), needing 150 yards rushing on the day to satisfy his gambling masters, takes a pitch from the quarterback and runs left.
The hole he needs isn't there. So he whips out a gun. And starts firing.
A kneecap here, a chest shot there. The free safety takes one between the eyes.
The crowd goes nuts, and the other players stop pursuing him. Blanks trots into the end zone, drops the ball, and looks at the onrush of security and police about to take him down. Looking down the business end of dozens of guns, he puts his own to his head, and right before firing, asks, "Ain't life a bitch?"
If this ever happens in a bowl game, well, maybe my impression of college football will change.
Mets Extra is an independent sports website that is not affiliated with any other news outlet. Mets Extra (including its predecessor, Yankees 2000: Promote the Curse) is not affiliated in any way with the New York Mets, the New York Yankees, WFAN Sports Radio 66 ("The FAN"), Major League Baseball, the National League, the American League, or any other professional sports franchise or entity.
Mets Extra is an independent sports website that is not affiliated with any other news outlet. Mets Extra (including its predecessor, Yankees 2000: Promote the Curse) is not affiliated in any way with the New York Mets, the New York Yankees, WFAN Sports Radio 66 ("The FAN"), Major League Baseball, the National League, the American League, or any other professional sports franchise or entity.
Glavine was at some awards function or another along with Carlos Delgado and Ryan Howard, among others.
In any case, not one of those players would be identified as members of the teams they set their personal milestones with. None of that stopped the fans in San Diego from giving Piazza a rousing ovation when he hit his 400th career HR, but was their heart in it? Could it possibly have been?
Glavine's career was clearly defined by his tenure with the Braves. I think a lot of Mets fans think of Glavine as one of their own by this point, but I doubt many of them kid themselves into thinking that Glavine will wear a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque someday.
"I was watching footage of Malik Rose from 1999 yesterday, and even back then he looked old. It's 2007, that's wack."
Am I spoiled by Big EC's 19pts and 7bds? Or do I deserve a 22 and 12 guy? No way he should be an All-Star. I am cool with that, and still very happy with dude's progress this season. I believe he is the truth, but the truth has yet to be told. 
Kevin Durant and Greg Oden will hopefully end up in the Eastern Conference, so at least we might get a chance to see them play 3-4 times next year instead of the potential 82 games that might have happened had we held onto our draft pick in one of the greatest drafts ever.
Singletary also announced earlier this week that he would return to Virginia next season for his senior campaign. If true, this is a Mark Mangino-big factoid for the Cavs.
Aside from not dropping a set in the entire Australian Open, Federer’s greatness is now defined by the fact that there are no remaining humans who think they have a chance against him. For evidence, witness Andy Roddick, playing the best tennis of his life, just laughing at the postmatch press conference after being dismantled. 
But that's the news media for you. Dangle shiny concepts like "potential" and "growth" in front of their faces, and they'll walk right off a cliff. Like lemmings, but with slower reaction time. Comes from being fat and out of shape.
What kind of skills do your coaches and trainers have? "Why, we don't even know what a 
No, seriously, Special Agent Emanski, we appreciate your volunteering for such a thankless and inevitably fruitless task. The compensation alone, while ample, could not have been enough to persuade you to leave your back-to-back-to-back national champions in a country where the citizenry have actually heard of the game. Your patriotism is remarkable, and has not gone unrecognized in 
Last August a different opportunity arose. 
Keith was with the Mets through 95 games of a dreadful 1983 season that saw our boys win 68 games. The next year it 90. Might have had something to do with Doc, sure, but Mex was a catalyst as well, batting .311 with a .409 OBP and 94 RBI.
1990 was his last hurrah as a Met. Seven years of at times stellar, always good production out of a guy should be enough. With Doc it never would be.
God knows Jurassic Carl wasn't my favorite Met from this era, nor was he the most notorious. But I have no doubt that he'd be a hell of an interview, whether discussing the Pentecost or the Pleistocene.
In any event, one of those things was "They don't agree on who's got the best shortstop in town." Think about that. Any Met fan who was at Opening Day 1996, when Rey Ordonez threw out some Cardinal or other from his knees, loves Rey-Rey to this day. But honestly, there was never any debate here. Ordonez was a one-dimensional, basically shitty player with an entitlement complex. He was a Met.
I think there's a generation of Mets fans out there who would love to sit down with Robin have a cold beer, talk some Mets, talk some Nolan Ryan.
I'm glad to hear that a deal with his hometown Cubbies is most likely in the offing. The Cubs have spent a ton this offseason, and figure to be an interesting team in 2007. A solid clubhouse presence like Cliff always helps. He'll be missed.
Only the arrival of Mike Piazza before him had remotely the kind of impact that Pedro's signing with the Mets did. Both moves transformed the franchise. The Mets were down and out at the end of 2004, but then Omar got Petey to sign, then Carlos Beltran, then Doug Mientki... well, you get the idea.
In other hype machine news, Shelden Williams, the fifth pick of the entire draft and obviously a better choice than Randy Foye or Brandon Roy, has lit up the NBA, averaging a double-double thus far. That is, assuming the second double actually means “6.2”.
In other news, I have to admit that I haven’t been this happy about a sporting result in years. To see Peyton finally make the shot and Tom Brady-Bundchen finally miss one was just such a freakin’ treat. 
But watching along with me were four absolute diehard Eagles fans, and I'll tell you, it was really interesting to see the range of emotions unfold. They watched the game in varying degrees of elation and depression, hope and hopelessness as the Eagles and the Saints squared off in what was really an excellent game, one the Saints would end up winning, 27-24.
Sometimes I get to thinking that it's a kind of suffering that only somebody uniquely situated as a Mets fan can understand. Looking around at those Eagles fans this past weekend though, hearing them say "this always happens to Philadelphia teams" (how many times have I said to myself "this always happens to the Mets"?), it made me appreciate that in many ways, being a diehard fan of a team that's never won is perhaps the most unifying constant of all.
Over the last couple of years you have all seen me turn on the Knicks. It has nothing to do with them being bad, I love depression. I hated the Knicks because I hated the way they were run. As I have grown older and as I look towards a career in operations I treat with much greater seriousness the people that run the teams that I love and hate.
So where do our loyalties come from?
4 out of 6 against some of the league's worst teams is decent, even for these 'New Knicks', but let's be real, they have a long, long way to go before anybody outside of the 5 boroughs takes notice.
And it's not just baseball. Football's still there for you, but if you're anything like me, by this point you're grasping at straws when it comes to caring about who wins. I mean, I want to see Peyton Manning beat the Patriots, if only because I've seen Tom Brady win already, and variety is the spice of sport.
That moment aside, I felt that at times during the beginning of Season 5 it felt like the show was feeling its way a little bit, unsure of where to go next, or of what story it wanted to tell.
Forget it all. Friday Night Lights, or Wednesday Night Awesome, is the truth. The show is well written and features an excellent ensemble cast. The triumph of the show is how it demonstrates both how football is so important (to the players themselves, to the people of the town) and how it's also completely insignificant at the same time (the QB has a father in Iraq and has to care for his senile grandmother on his own, one player is paralyzed from the waist down).
I don't really miss New York. Yeah I miss the parents, the big guy AFOMG, and all the millions AND MILLIONS of the Sip's fans back East, but the rest of our country is, as John Mellencamp so elequently puts it, "our country."
My cousin has told me many times on this trip that I am a creature of habit. I think it is a pretty spot on analysis. I like to do the same things over and over again, including watching "Wedding Crashers" and "Passenger 57" a combined 5 times in 24 hours while visiting our nation's capitol.
Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Corey Brewer have the NBA scouts excited by their abilities on the defensive end as anything else.
But be sure to read Vitale’s 
Thankfully, Matt Cerrone's headline proved somewhat misleading. Yes, Cotter won't return in the field reporter role next season, but don't pour some out for him just yet. Keep reading Cerrone's post and you'll see that Cotter is set to join the in-studio news team that features Matt Yallof and Lee Mazzilli.
The Mets inked left-handed reliever Scott Schoeneweis to a 
Schoeneweis gives us some protection in case we see a regression out of Feliciano. Three years is a lot of years for a relief pitcher, and truth be told, he's every bit as susceptible to regression as Feliciano is, if not more so.
This place really exists and this extension truly is salt.
How is it possible that a team that just had a very disappointing season with players that hate their coach, a young quarterback who has lost all confidence under his coach and a running back who is retiring because of his coach, decides to keep that coach?
Awkward enough was all the nastiness of congressional hearings, the earplugs worn by players anxious to drown out the booing of fans disgusted by steroid cheats, and the steroid speculation that surrounds any player who has an exceptional season (hello Ryan Howard). The results of the Hall of Fame balloting is an entirely different level.
Look at Pete Rose. The guy's out for betting on baseball, and a strong precedent has been set. If it were discovered that Cal Ripken Jr. had bet on baseball, he too would be out (and just imagine how much he could have made with those betting when his consecutive games streak would end -- something to look in to, perhaps?)
I mean, look at that guy. His arms aren't small, it's plain he works out, but he looks more like Endy Chavez than Mark McGwire. Nevertheless, on April 3, 2005, Alex Sanchez became the first ballplayer suspended under MLB's steroid policy.
The writers will tell themselves that Bonds was a great player without steroids, and sure enough he was. He hit 411 home runs through the year "Game of Shadows" alleges he began using steroids (after the 1998 season), was a menace on the base paths when he was younger, and won several gold gloves.
Things continued to unravel against the Kings as our boy Ron Ron reminded the world why he is the biggest hood legend of all time. Can you imagine him in the orange and blue? Wow, nothing gets me more tingly.
Got to love his quote the other day, when he said the only way for him to maintain his averages is if he counts his stats during the game. How real is that? He is the dude you get bunked up with at basketball camp. He looks like he would be really good at 'Knockout'.
I’m pretty excited for the national championship game tonight, if only so Urban Meyer shuts up and just coaches a game. It is for that reason that I hope that Ohio State runs them out of the building. A week ago, I would have put my 6-1 record in this blog on the line on OSU, but I’m getting cold feet and probably will not play the game. The lean remains Buckeyes, though. 
Knicks fans, remember when Allan Houston would shoot 100% from the line until the final six minutes until he’d miss two backbreakers? My beloved Wahoos have a player named J.R. Reynolds who’s been doing that for four years, and his miss with six seconds left led to the second buzzer-beater loss of the year. What makes this one so irritating is that this one will be squarely in the “Bad Loss” column when the committee explains why Virginia will be out of the Field of 65.
Can’t say I was too sad that Tony Romo-Underwood muffed that snap the other night, because it is simply so great when Parcells loses. Unfortunately, my second favorite NFL coach to watch lose coaches my favorite team (Note: at least today, he still does, right?), which occasionally creates a conflict of interest. 
Can anyone name the 5 teams he's played on in the last 4 seasons? And can anyone else tell me his best scoring year in college? (It was 14.5 PPG).
Normally, a voter needs to have been a member of the BBWAA for 10 years to be eligible to vote, but those of us who know Sippy know that he always finds a way -- and it's usually better not to ask how, just accept and move on.
These are the only guys who will actually get in.
But you'd never know it from HOF ballots the last couple years. The voters are KILLING the 80's; hell, they've already moved on to the 90's (Gwynn and Ripken - and certainly McGwire - are 90's guys), and the only offensive guys who put up the bulk of their numbers in the 80's who are in are Schmidt, Sandberg, Molitor, Boggs, Kirby, Gary Carter, Ozzie, Dave Winfield, Eddie Murray and George Brett.
Don't let their newfound piety fool you: these are the same losers who clearly knew steroid abuse was happening but looked the other way "for the good of the game." As soon as it became "okay"to bash baseball's brass for looking the other way, they jumped on it.
Rice led the league in HRs three times. The only other guy to do that from 1970 to 1990 in the AL was Reggie Jackson (the AL Schmidt). It's as if my colleagues decided that Schmidt would represent all NL power hitters and Jackson would represent all AL power hitters.
Seems that people who watched him then agree with me -- seeing that he was only on two All-Star teams. That's sort of humiliating, no? Jimmy Rollins has been on three. It just kills me that if he had 13 more wins, he would have made it on his first ballot.
Sure, it's a different role and demands a different set of skills, but there's a reason there are only 4 relievers in theHall. When I fill out the Y2K ballot 7 years from now, Mariano Rivera will be on it. That's it. Maybe Bruce Sutter was sick -- no one in the media made a point of telling me that until he couldn't make the Hall for 8 years (but they sure did tell me about Rollie Fingers). This matters.
That's why Concepcion is a pretender (and why comparisons to Ozzie are ludicrous – Ozzie is a once-in-a-lifetime performer who dads telltheir kids about. There are some players for whom you must make exceptions).
From those Yankees teams, Jeter, Clemens and Mariano are the only locks, which seems like too few, considering the Big Red Machine has three offensive players already in, in addition to Pete Rose (and Concepcion has hung around way longer than he should have).
I was over at this 
Over on MetsBlog, 
There's a part of me that wonders whether Mets brass ever considers bringing him back.
Lots of old friends, (Frye had 45 friends and family come to the Phoenix debauchery). Lots of blunt smoke. (Crawford wasn't at the team Spaggo dinner because he went on a team weed run). And basically a loss of focus. A loss of toughness in the fine west coast sunshine.
Marbury was probably at a 
Who is he guarding and shutting down? He did against Teyshaun Prince, and they had success as a result. So is that to say that if Brace/Band-Aid Face Jeffries doesn't stop somebody cold, they lose? And lose bad?
He doesn't take steroids, but his wallet certainly just did. Just wanted to put Zito and steroids in the same sentence for those googling it. Zito is a good guy who took more money to stay where he wanted to stay. Can't really fault him.
