This is going to become a weekly post devoted to those in the world of sports and the world in general that make us say Who Are You?!
C. Vivian Stringer, the head women's basketball coach at Rutgers, appeared on ESPN First Take this morning and was interviewed regarding the two recent developments in the Don Imus/Rutgers womens basketball debacle. First that Imus finally reached a settlement with CBS and now is allowed to seek work with another broadcasting company and second that Rutgers leading scorer from this past season, Kia Vaughn has filed a law suit against Imus for the comments he made on April 4, 2007. In response to Imus' settlement and future employment opportunities Stringer said "everyone deserves an opportunity to work...We didn't really call for his firing, I think that was more of society and of the sponsors and that. We really sought to define who we were and resented the kind of things and remarks he said of us and the team." This seems to say that her teams seemingly overreacting to a joke made in bad taste had nothing to do with the amount of coverage and consequences that followed. If Imus had attacked the team in a Michael Richards like manner by violently and repeatedly disparaging the team this would be completely different. I also believe that if Stringer and the team truly are trying not to this less define them as a team and as a program the reaction and media attention would be different as well. This is shown through her own words when she explains "you can compete everyday and practice however many hours and put forth all of this and then in a matter of 54 seconds it can all be wiped away." Although my favorite sounds bite of the interview is when Stringer explains to all of us that "the cameras and attention is turned toward that which gathers attention." Not only is this funny because it is so weird, obvious, and useless a statement , but because one reaction to the negativity from others determines the amount of attention that that negativity will garner. And while I certainly believe that Imus was clearly in the wrong, the Rutgers team seems highly hypocritical in their handling of this terrible occurrence.
Barry Bonds today has hired a group of lawyers in an effort to crack down on private citizens making unsubstantiated claims against his him. Such as those who believe that he took steriods or those who think he committed tax evasion, or the slim few who profess he has cheated on his wife. Now I have absolutely no idea how much or if any of this is true, but I mean come on Barry how exactly do you expect this to stop people from bad mouthing you. Every time he seems to make a strong claim he always backs down. First, he says I am going to play until I am 100 and now its through next season. Then he was gonna sue the authors of Game of Shadows then he backed off of that. Barry, along with everyone else, just needs to RELAX. He should move to the AL and continue mashing for a couple more seasons and fade off into the sunset and out of fans minds for years to come much McGwire and even Canseco until recently.
Pacman Jones makes the cut do to his continual off the field antics. From my experience when people get into large amounts of trouble they tend to feel remorse and attempt to distance themselves from the wrong they have committed. This is not the case with Pacman Jones. After being suspended for the entire 2007 season he has decided to start a career as a professional wrestler which has since been disallowed by as he is still a member of the Titans and they have control over his athletic career. Now, instead of continually refuting the claims held against him and continually keeping his name at the top of the headlines by continuing his antics, Jones should take a sabbatical and go on a nice vacation. He should stay hidden for the next couple months and when he comes back he should profess how he has changed and how he is ready to comeback and turn around his career. Of course this will never happen, but then again decisions like this are always easier from the sidelines.
The Cleveland Indians have one of the worst records in the AL since the all-star break at
13-18 and have lost there last 4 games. Not to mention they are now 1 game back of Detroit in the division and 2 games back of Seattle in the wild card. However, it is not that they are losing that bothers me so much and why they are nominated this week, but it is their response to this struggle. In yesterdays Columbus dispatch both Wedge and Shapiro made frightening comments regarding the struggling Indians. Shapiro explained that "to play meaningful games at this point is an honor" and Wedge backed that up by saying that "we can't let our chins and pout about it." These comments make it sound like the Indians do not expect to win and that they are content to be in the position that they are in currently. Now this is a sign of scary things to come as the team no longer has the swagger and confidence that is necessary of a playoff team and World Series contender. At least the team is headed in the right direction by dropping Grady to the 3 hole and leading off Lofton, although it will take much more than changing the batting order to overturn the run of failure experienced by the Indians of late.
With all that said what do you think? Who is most deserving of this prestigious award?
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
The Best
Everyone has his favorite everything. Every fan their favorite team, player, and coach both of the present and of the past. Whether its a favorite brand, company, or style everyone will go to war for what he sees as the absolute best. I have many favorites. In college basketball they presently are the Tarheels, Wayne Ellington, and Roy Williams. In professional sports the Lebrons, I mean Cavaliers, Browns, and most obviously the tribe. When considering the profession that I someday hope to hold I also have my favorites. Some of these favorites include Kevin Towers, John Schuerholz, and Omar Minaya. However, just like every other fan on the planet among my favorites is a clearcut and dominating best.
Dave Dombrowski, the current GM/president/CEO of the rival Detroit Tigers, has demonstrated the ability to effectively put together winning teams using his aggressive approach for three different organizations. In fact, during my lifetime the only winning that the former Expos, the Marlins, and the Tigers have experienced came with Dombrowski at the helm.
Everyone speaks of how great the Expos were in 1993 and how they would have won it all had the 1994 season not been cut short. But how many of the fans know how the Expos got to be that way. Of all of the impact players for the Expos in 1993 on 3B Sean Berry(who) and 5th SP Denis Boucher(again who) were not acquired by Dombrowski. In 1994, the only player added to that list is Pedro Martinez acquired in 1993. So outside of one of the lower quality position players and a middle rotation starter each year Dombrowski completely assembled the successful Expos of the mid 1990's.
Then in 1992 the expansion Marlins came knocking and Dombrowski began his second great challenge. Within 5 years, mainly through the help of free agent talent and trades, Dombrowski was able to claim his first World Series title in 1997. This one was especially painful as this was the tribe's series to win and they let it get away. Dombrowski barely had enough time to cherish the World Championship as ownership mandated he clear much of the teams payroll. This was a daunting task, but Dombrowski was able to successfully move all of the overpaid players stockpiled the years previous and set the team up for any Series crown in 2003. In fact, Ivan Rodriguez is the only notable player not acquired by Dombrowski on the Marlins 2003 World Series team.
Dombrowski began his time with his current team, the Tigers, in 2002. The woeful Tigers had not made the playoffs since 1987 when Dombrowski was named president and CEO in 2002. After another subpar season from then GM Randy Smith, ownership named Dombrowski the new GM of the Tigers in 2003. His first year seemed to be a step in the wrong direction as the team lost a record 119 games, however they were able to win at least 70 games each of the next two years as Dombrowski was able to rebuild the team by rebuilding the farm system and adding supplemental talent through trades and free agency. His efforts came to a peak last season as the pitching heavy Tigers won 95 games on their way to the World Series.
What makes Dombrowski the best is not necessarily the fact that he his teams have won. If this were the only telling factor, I would be a bigger fan of Walt Jocketty than of say Terry Ryan and this is not completely the case. What makes Dombrowski the best is his aggressive and versatile approach. Each situation he has been thrust into has been unique and accordingly he utilized a unique strategy to manufacture success. Whether it is patiently waiting for drafted talent to emerge or quickly adding free agent talent to win now, Dombrowski has shown that he can certainly do it all.
The idea for this article comes from today's deadline to sign June draft picks and the reported contract agreement between the Tigers and their 1st rounder Rick Porcello. This is the 3rd out of the last 4 years that Dombrowski's Tigers have signed an amateur talent to a ML contract. In 2004 the Tigers gave Justin Verlander a $4.5 million ML contract along with a $3.12 million bonus. They followed this up with a ML contract worth as much as $7 million with a $3.55 million bonus for Andrew Miller in 2006. What makes Porcello's contract most remarkable is not the guaranteed money nor the bonus that appears to be 3 times higher than the slot value, but the fact that he is only 18 years old. Both Verlander and Miller were college pitchers around 21 years old and fairly polished on draft day. It will be interesting to follow Porcello's career and quick jump to the ML.
This tendency of Dombrowski's Tigers to aggressively draft and sign the players he drafts is something that is lacking within MLB. Due to the new draft rules this year teams have to have their draft picks signed by midnight tonight or they lose the rights to sign that player. Many teams have yet to sign their top round picks and this year looks to have by far the highest number of top 5 round picks go unsigned. The most notable are the top 3 picks of the draft that are all yet to sign. It is difficult to understand why a team would draft a player that they would not be able to sign. At least our beloved Indians were able to draft a player that was easily signed weeks ago. From all this it is important to know that if you are smart enough, brave enough, and willing enough to start something you must also be smart enough, brave enough and willing enough to follow through and finish it *cough*Indians*cough
Dave Dombrowski, the current GM/president/CEO of the rival Detroit Tigers, has demonstrated the ability to effectively put together winning teams using his aggressive approach for three different organizations. In fact, during my lifetime the only winning that the former Expos, the Marlins, and the Tigers have experienced came with Dombrowski at the helm.
Everyone speaks of how great the Expos were in 1993 and how they would have won it all had the 1994 season not been cut short. But how many of the fans know how the Expos got to be that way. Of all of the impact players for the Expos in 1993 on 3B Sean Berry(who) and 5th SP Denis Boucher(again who) were not acquired by Dombrowski. In 1994, the only player added to that list is Pedro Martinez acquired in 1993. So outside of one of the lower quality position players and a middle rotation starter each year Dombrowski completely assembled the successful Expos of the mid 1990's.
Then in 1992 the expansion Marlins came knocking and Dombrowski began his second great challenge. Within 5 years, mainly through the help of free agent talent and trades, Dombrowski was able to claim his first World Series title in 1997. This one was especially painful as this was the tribe's series to win and they let it get away. Dombrowski barely had enough time to cherish the World Championship as ownership mandated he clear much of the teams payroll. This was a daunting task, but Dombrowski was able to successfully move all of the overpaid players stockpiled the years previous and set the team up for any Series crown in 2003. In fact, Ivan Rodriguez is the only notable player not acquired by Dombrowski on the Marlins 2003 World Series team.
Dombrowski began his time with his current team, the Tigers, in 2002. The woeful Tigers had not made the playoffs since 1987 when Dombrowski was named president and CEO in 2002. After another subpar season from then GM Randy Smith, ownership named Dombrowski the new GM of the Tigers in 2003. His first year seemed to be a step in the wrong direction as the team lost a record 119 games, however they were able to win at least 70 games each of the next two years as Dombrowski was able to rebuild the team by rebuilding the farm system and adding supplemental talent through trades and free agency. His efforts came to a peak last season as the pitching heavy Tigers won 95 games on their way to the World Series.
What makes Dombrowski the best is not necessarily the fact that he his teams have won. If this were the only telling factor, I would be a bigger fan of Walt Jocketty than of say Terry Ryan and this is not completely the case. What makes Dombrowski the best is his aggressive and versatile approach. Each situation he has been thrust into has been unique and accordingly he utilized a unique strategy to manufacture success. Whether it is patiently waiting for drafted talent to emerge or quickly adding free agent talent to win now, Dombrowski has shown that he can certainly do it all.
The idea for this article comes from today's deadline to sign June draft picks and the reported contract agreement between the Tigers and their 1st rounder Rick Porcello. This is the 3rd out of the last 4 years that Dombrowski's Tigers have signed an amateur talent to a ML contract. In 2004 the Tigers gave Justin Verlander a $4.5 million ML contract along with a $3.12 million bonus. They followed this up with a ML contract worth as much as $7 million with a $3.55 million bonus for Andrew Miller in 2006. What makes Porcello's contract most remarkable is not the guaranteed money nor the bonus that appears to be 3 times higher than the slot value, but the fact that he is only 18 years old. Both Verlander and Miller were college pitchers around 21 years old and fairly polished on draft day. It will be interesting to follow Porcello's career and quick jump to the ML.
This tendency of Dombrowski's Tigers to aggressively draft and sign the players he drafts is something that is lacking within MLB. Due to the new draft rules this year teams have to have their draft picks signed by midnight tonight or they lose the rights to sign that player. Many teams have yet to sign their top round picks and this year looks to have by far the highest number of top 5 round picks go unsigned. The most notable are the top 3 picks of the draft that are all yet to sign. It is difficult to understand why a team would draft a player that they would not be able to sign. At least our beloved Indians were able to draft a player that was easily signed weeks ago. From all this it is important to know that if you are smart enough, brave enough, and willing enough to start something you must also be smart enough, brave enough and willing enough to follow through and finish it *cough*Indians*cough
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Deadline Has Come and Gone...
There is plenty to discuss as the dust settles from the passing of yet another non-waiver MLB trade deadline. It seems every year the deals that don't get done are as worthy of debate as those that did. This year is different, however, mainly due to the efforts of John Schuerholz. Yes, due to the 2 trades completed earlier today and yesterday the Braves have to be considered the dominating winners at this years deadline. Without further introduction I will outline this years biggest winner and biggest loser at the deadline along with analysis of the deals that were made, or weren't...
Biggest WINNER:
Atlanta Braves: The Braves gm John Schuerholz will surely dominate the trade headlines for the next day or so as the Braves were able to snag 2 very important pieces of their eventual world series run (more on that later). The first and flashiest of the deals sees Texas slugger Mark Teixeira along with 36 year old middle reliever Ron Mahay moving to Atlanta in exchange for the Braves 3 best prospects and 2 others. Shuerholz was able to capitalize in a big way on the league wide trend of overvaluing prospects. Teixeira makes the Braves especially dangerous as the only hole in lineup with the 9th best OPS in the majors is their league worst play at 1B by OPS. The Braves now have arguably the best lineup in the NL. Now as for the pitching, the Braves were able to add Octavio Dotel to the backend of their bullpen in exchange for the struggling Kyle Davies.
Biggest Loser:
Pittsburgh Pirates: To be completely honest, I thought that this was a prank when I first saw this deal being reported just minutes after the deadline. I mean why would the team with the second worst record in the game and a 38 million dollar payroll trade a young promising OF for a an old overpaid middle of the rotation starter. On one level I understand the idea of adding the value of an experienced SP to anchor a young and inexperienced staff. However, Morris is far too expensive and not nearly talented enough to make this trade worthwhile. Jim Rome put it best when he explained the irrelevance of Morris' success in PNC park by begging the question who do you think he was facing?
Tribe Outlook:
The Indians were only able to put together one deal before the deadline and that was the acquisition of former Indian Kenny Lofton. This deal will benefit the Indians on a number of levels. Most importantly Mark Shapiro was able to get great value back for offensively minded C prospect Maximilano Ramirez. Lofton will add the spark to the tribe that is necessary for them to push into the playoffs and behind. The intangibles that Lofton brings to the table are vast. He will bring leadership and enegry to a young and sometimes lethargic tribe roster. On the field Lofton will be able to help Sizemore set the table for the tribes mashers, eg. Vic and Pronk. Although I would have liked to have seen the Indians add a backend reliever, and from what I have heard Ben Francisco would have netted one, I understand and respect Shapiro's decision to stand pat. In fact, Shapiro is quoted as saying, "I will never trade an everyday player for a relief pitcher." While I agree with this in principle, sometimes the caliber and abundance of certain types of everyday players can override this rule. In any event, the Indians are in a great position to win the Central and to fight for a World Series title.
MLB Outlook:
It seems to easy a prediction to make, but with the moves made over the deadline the Atlanta Braves and Boston Redsox have each moved themselves to the forefront of their respective leagues. It would not surprise me to the Braves win the East by as comfortable a margin as 5 or more games and beat up on an inferior NL on their way to the series. As for the Redsox, with the Indians and Tigers struggling mightily the last 2 weeks I see no reason for them not to be the AL's World Series representative(as much as it pains me to say it). There is still a lot of baseball left, however, so lets not get too far ahead of ourselves as anything is liable to happen the rest of the year and it probably will...
Biggest WINNER:
Atlanta Braves: The Braves gm John Schuerholz will surely dominate the trade headlines for the next day or so as the Braves were able to snag 2 very important pieces of their eventual world series run (more on that later). The first and flashiest of the deals sees Texas slugger Mark Teixeira along with 36 year old middle reliever Ron Mahay moving to Atlanta in exchange for the Braves 3 best prospects and 2 others. Shuerholz was able to capitalize in a big way on the league wide trend of overvaluing prospects. Teixeira makes the Braves especially dangerous as the only hole in lineup with the 9th best OPS in the majors is their league worst play at 1B by OPS. The Braves now have arguably the best lineup in the NL. Now as for the pitching, the Braves were able to add Octavio Dotel to the backend of their bullpen in exchange for the struggling Kyle Davies.
Biggest Loser:
Pittsburgh Pirates: To be completely honest, I thought that this was a prank when I first saw this deal being reported just minutes after the deadline. I mean why would the team with the second worst record in the game and a 38 million dollar payroll trade a young promising OF for a an old overpaid middle of the rotation starter. On one level I understand the idea of adding the value of an experienced SP to anchor a young and inexperienced staff. However, Morris is far too expensive and not nearly talented enough to make this trade worthwhile. Jim Rome put it best when he explained the irrelevance of Morris' success in PNC park by begging the question who do you think he was facing?
Tribe Outlook:
The Indians were only able to put together one deal before the deadline and that was the acquisition of former Indian Kenny Lofton. This deal will benefit the Indians on a number of levels. Most importantly Mark Shapiro was able to get great value back for offensively minded C prospect Maximilano Ramirez. Lofton will add the spark to the tribe that is necessary for them to push into the playoffs and behind. The intangibles that Lofton brings to the table are vast. He will bring leadership and enegry to a young and sometimes lethargic tribe roster. On the field Lofton will be able to help Sizemore set the table for the tribes mashers, eg. Vic and Pronk. Although I would have liked to have seen the Indians add a backend reliever, and from what I have heard Ben Francisco would have netted one, I understand and respect Shapiro's decision to stand pat. In fact, Shapiro is quoted as saying, "I will never trade an everyday player for a relief pitcher." While I agree with this in principle, sometimes the caliber and abundance of certain types of everyday players can override this rule. In any event, the Indians are in a great position to win the Central and to fight for a World Series title.
MLB Outlook:
It seems to easy a prediction to make, but with the moves made over the deadline the Atlanta Braves and Boston Redsox have each moved themselves to the forefront of their respective leagues. It would not surprise me to the Braves win the East by as comfortable a margin as 5 or more games and beat up on an inferior NL on their way to the series. As for the Redsox, with the Indians and Tigers struggling mightily the last 2 weeks I see no reason for them not to be the AL's World Series representative(as much as it pains me to say it). There is still a lot of baseball left, however, so lets not get too far ahead of ourselves as anything is liable to happen the rest of the year and it probably will...
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