Blogging from the Duke-Purdue game was so much fun, that I'm taking the Ernie Banks attitude and playing two. Or blogging two, as it were.
I'll be at the Wooden Tradition on Saturday, December 20th blogging the double header that starts at 3 PM CT. The first game is Davidson and Purdue, followed by Southern Illinois and St. Mary's.
Click here for the live blog page.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
What'd I do?
Texas fans have been taking my name in vain all week, but they aren't alone. Apparently, people are lining up all over to take shots at me.
I received a surprising phone call from a friend this morning to tell me that the folks on the ESPN Sports Reporters show took aim during some BCS discussion.
It was a typical BCS discussion, whining about the ratings, especially the computers, the lack of a playoff, and the system in general. Very low-level stuff. High on outrage, low on ideas.
At some point, Mike Lupica of the NY Daily News says, "How many of these computer geeks, who have so much power in this sport, are gonna let the numbers fall, and the season hangs in the balance for Texas and Oklahoma, it's not right."
John Saunders, the moderator of the group, then says, "Computers are only 1/3 of the equation...But what a lot of people have a beef with is the Harris Poll, where a gentleman by the name of Jerry Palm is on the list."
Lupica interjects, "who sits in his basement in (simultaneously with Bob Ryan) Indiana!"
I've never met Saunders or Lupica. I'm surprised they have even heard of me, let alone know where I live. Perhaps they are confusing me with Jeff Sagarin, who also lives in Indiana. I don't know what I did to float to the top of their minds, and especially to inspire such disdain.
To be clear, I am not a voter in the Harris poll. If nominated, I would not run. If elected, I would not serve.
And one more thing: I sit in my attic, not my basement.
I received a surprising phone call from a friend this morning to tell me that the folks on the ESPN Sports Reporters show took aim during some BCS discussion.
It was a typical BCS discussion, whining about the ratings, especially the computers, the lack of a playoff, and the system in general. Very low-level stuff. High on outrage, low on ideas.
At some point, Mike Lupica of the NY Daily News says, "How many of these computer geeks, who have so much power in this sport, are gonna let the numbers fall, and the season hangs in the balance for Texas and Oklahoma, it's not right."
John Saunders, the moderator of the group, then says, "Computers are only 1/3 of the equation...But what a lot of people have a beef with is the Harris Poll, where a gentleman by the name of Jerry Palm is on the list."
Lupica interjects, "who sits in his basement in (simultaneously with Bob Ryan) Indiana!"
I've never met Saunders or Lupica. I'm surprised they have even heard of me, let alone know where I live. Perhaps they are confusing me with Jeff Sagarin, who also lives in Indiana. I don't know what I did to float to the top of their minds, and especially to inspire such disdain.
To be clear, I am not a voter in the Harris poll. If nominated, I would not run. If elected, I would not serve.
And one more thing: I sit in my attic, not my basement.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Football Saturday Live Blog
I decided that since I was going to be sitting around watching games all day, I should do a live blog. If you've ever been on one of my live blogs, it's like a souped-up chat session. It's easy for readers to participate, so I hope you will.
Click here for the blog page.
Click here for the blog page.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Live Blog from Duke @ Purdue
I will be live blogging from the Duke-Purdue ACC-Big Ten Challenge game at Mackey Arena on Tuesday night, December 2nd. The game starts at 8:00 PM CT, but I'll be on a little before then.
Click here for the blog page. You can go there before the game and set an e-mail reminder for yourself if you like.
The blogging program I use allows for things like reader input and polls, so we'll try to have fun with it. If it goes well, I may do some more games later in the season.
Click here for the blog page. You can go there before the game and set an e-mail reminder for yourself if you like.
The blogging program I use allows for things like reader input and polls, so we'll try to have fun with it. If it goes well, I may do some more games later in the season.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Very-bad-word next year!
All those white flags flying around the city with a big, blue "W" on them: that "W" stands for "WASTE!" What a very-bad-word waste this whole pointless very-bad-word season was! Why bother going through all that effort to make the very-bad-word playoffs when you're just going to very-bad-word choke again?! You can't very-bad-word hit, and you can't very-bad-word pitch, and you can't very-bad-word field with both hands around your very-bad-word necks! If baseball wanted teams that played like the Pittsburgh very-bad-word Pirates in the playoffs, they'd invite the Pittsburgh very-bad-word Pirates!
Here's what baseball should do. They should send the Cubs - the entire very-bad-word franchise - down to AAA and not let them come back until they win that league's championship.
No, I have a better idea. Let the Cubs play the first two months of the season. Then, make them stop and play in the College World Series. Then, if they win that - which they won't because it's against the very-bad-word law for them to win anything with the name "World very-bad-word Series" in it, including the very-bad-word Little League World Series - they come back to the major leagues and try to get into those playoffs. If they don't, they pack up and go home so they don't waste another entire very-bad-word year.
This year's Cubs' playoff MVPs are: Henry Blanco, Bobby Howry, Reed Johnson and Ted Lilly. Why? Because they never got into a very-bad-word game. Can't very-bad-word up on the very-bad-word bench.
I have another use for all those very-bad-word "W" flags. Wipe.
Very-bad-word! Very-bad-word! Very-bad-word! Extremely-bad-word!
There. I feel better now.
Wipe-on-a-Stick
Here's what baseball should do. They should send the Cubs - the entire very-bad-word franchise - down to AAA and not let them come back until they win that league's championship.
No, I have a better idea. Let the Cubs play the first two months of the season. Then, make them stop and play in the College World Series. Then, if they win that - which they won't because it's against the very-bad-word law for them to win anything with the name "World very-bad-word Series" in it, including the very-bad-word Little League World Series - they come back to the major leagues and try to get into those playoffs. If they don't, they pack up and go home so they don't waste another entire very-bad-word year.
This year's Cubs' playoff MVPs are: Henry Blanco, Bobby Howry, Reed Johnson and Ted Lilly. Why? Because they never got into a very-bad-word game. Can't very-bad-word up on the very-bad-word bench.
I have another use for all those very-bad-word "W" flags. Wipe.
Very-bad-word! Very-bad-word! Very-bad-word! Extremely-bad-word!
There. I feel better now.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Pitching follies
The Cubs gagged away home field advantage last night because Ryan Dempster was left in the game two batters too long.
Mishandling the pitchers was a problem (though by no means the only one) last year as well. In game 1 last year, he took out Carlos Zambrano, who was doing great, too early to save him for a game that never came. Then, in the next two games, he failed to realize his starter had nothing and left them in too long.
Same thing yesterday. Dempster never had control. He threw 109 pitches, but only 57 strikes (I can't believe it was that many), and walked seven. Three of them scored on a grand slam in the fifth. That was one of those rare strikes.
And that's the problem. By the fifth, he had so little control, I was afraid he would throw a strike. Because if you're wild out of the strike zone, you could be wild in the zone and leave a pitch fat. That's what happened, and it was game over.
But it wasn't just the walks that was indicative of a problem, it was all the guys who didn't walk that he got behind. It was how badly he was missing the target.
Entering the fifth, the pitch count was around 80. He struggled to get the pitcher Lowe and walked Furcal on five pitches. At this point, the bullpen should be working and the pitching coach should be on the mound, but that didn't happen. He gets Martin to fly out on a 3-1 pitch, but when he walks Manny after having him 0-2, it was time to call it a night. Unfortunately, he stayed in for two more batters and threw one strike too many.
Hopefully, if Zambrano is going good tonight, Piniella lets him keep going. The Cubs have to treat this as a must win though. If it's bad Carlos tonight, he needs to have a quick hook. There is no point in making the trip to LA if they lose tonight.
The Sox, on the other hand, made the shocking decision to start Javier Vasquez today against Tampa. Vasquez is not a big-game pitcher. At all. By any measure. So, either the Sox are conceding, or they must feel they can outscore whatever he gives up.
Mishandling the pitchers was a problem (though by no means the only one) last year as well. In game 1 last year, he took out Carlos Zambrano, who was doing great, too early to save him for a game that never came. Then, in the next two games, he failed to realize his starter had nothing and left them in too long.
Same thing yesterday. Dempster never had control. He threw 109 pitches, but only 57 strikes (I can't believe it was that many), and walked seven. Three of them scored on a grand slam in the fifth. That was one of those rare strikes.
And that's the problem. By the fifth, he had so little control, I was afraid he would throw a strike. Because if you're wild out of the strike zone, you could be wild in the zone and leave a pitch fat. That's what happened, and it was game over.
But it wasn't just the walks that was indicative of a problem, it was all the guys who didn't walk that he got behind. It was how badly he was missing the target.
Entering the fifth, the pitch count was around 80. He struggled to get the pitcher Lowe and walked Furcal on five pitches. At this point, the bullpen should be working and the pitching coach should be on the mound, but that didn't happen. He gets Martin to fly out on a 3-1 pitch, but when he walks Manny after having him 0-2, it was time to call it a night. Unfortunately, he stayed in for two more batters and threw one strike too many.
Hopefully, if Zambrano is going good tonight, Piniella lets him keep going. The Cubs have to treat this as a must win though. If it's bad Carlos tonight, he needs to have a quick hook. There is no point in making the trip to LA if they lose tonight.
The Sox, on the other hand, made the shocking decision to start Javier Vasquez today against Tampa. Vasquez is not a big-game pitcher. At all. By any measure. So, either the Sox are conceding, or they must feel they can outscore whatever he gives up.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Win or stay home
The White Sox spent the last week of the regular season trying their hardest to blow the Central Division, but they failed because Minnesota couldn't do much with the lowly Kansas City Royals.
So, the Sox had to make up a game with the Detroit Tigers yesterday that had been rained out in August. Then, they had to sit through a three-hour rain delay to get it started. They did win though, thanks to a grand slam from Alexei Ramirez.
I was listening to Detroit implode in the sixth inning on the radio on my way home, and as they were pitching to Junior, one of the radio guys (I forget if it was Ed Farmer or Steve Stone) says, "if they walk him, that will bring up our Ramirez, who is our slam guy." They did walk him as I was pulling in my driveway, and by the time I got in the house, it was 6-2 Sox.
Ramirez, a rookie, now has four grand slams on the season.
That had to be one of the worst-pitched innings in the history of baseball. Four guys walked. The first one walked, stole second and scored on two wild pitches before the second batter was finished walking. Then a third guy walked. There was another wild pitch, an intentional walk, and then the grand slam. Actually, I think Thome struck out in there somewhere as well. Four walks and three wild pitches leading up to the slam.
Now, the Twins come to town for a division tiebreaker tonight. The Sox are pitching John Danks on three days rest, but you can't blame them. Gavin Floyd pitched yesterday, Mark Bueherle on Sunday, so there really isn't anybody left. Javier Vasquez probably wouldn't get out of the first inning.
Minnesota counters with Nick Blackburn. The Sox have lit him up this year, although Blackburn did better the last time he faced the Sox, holding them to two runs in five innings and getting the win last week.
The prize for the winner? A trip to Tampa to face the Rays on Thursday.
So, the Sox had to make up a game with the Detroit Tigers yesterday that had been rained out in August. Then, they had to sit through a three-hour rain delay to get it started. They did win though, thanks to a grand slam from Alexei Ramirez.
I was listening to Detroit implode in the sixth inning on the radio on my way home, and as they were pitching to Junior, one of the radio guys (I forget if it was Ed Farmer or Steve Stone) says, "if they walk him, that will bring up our Ramirez, who is our slam guy." They did walk him as I was pulling in my driveway, and by the time I got in the house, it was 6-2 Sox.
Ramirez, a rookie, now has four grand slams on the season.
That had to be one of the worst-pitched innings in the history of baseball. Four guys walked. The first one walked, stole second and scored on two wild pitches before the second batter was finished walking. Then a third guy walked. There was another wild pitch, an intentional walk, and then the grand slam. Actually, I think Thome struck out in there somewhere as well. Four walks and three wild pitches leading up to the slam.
Now, the Twins come to town for a division tiebreaker tonight. The Sox are pitching John Danks on three days rest, but you can't blame them. Gavin Floyd pitched yesterday, Mark Bueherle on Sunday, so there really isn't anybody left. Javier Vasquez probably wouldn't get out of the first inning.
Minnesota counters with Nick Blackburn. The Sox have lit him up this year, although Blackburn did better the last time he faced the Sox, holding them to two runs in five innings and getting the win last week.
The prize for the winner? A trip to Tampa to face the Rays on Thursday.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Cubs win.
Note that the headline was punctuated with a period, not an exclamation point. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited that the Cubs won the division, but I've seen that before. What I've only seen one time is the Cubs winning a playoff series. And it goes without saying that I've never seen them in a World Series.
If all that happens this season is winning the division, then it's a team that fell short again.
Now, our attention turns to the Sox, who can wrap up the division in a 3-game series with the Twins in the Humpdome. The Sox magic number is five with six to play. Both Chicago teams in the playoffs at the same time? That's something I've never seen before! I don't think my stomach could take a cross-town World Series.
If all that happens this season is winning the division, then it's a team that fell short again.
Now, our attention turns to the Sox, who can wrap up the division in a 3-game series with the Twins in the Humpdome. The Sox magic number is five with six to play. Both Chicago teams in the playoffs at the same time? That's something I've never seen before! I don't think my stomach could take a cross-town World Series.
Monday, September 15, 2008
At least they finally got a hit
I don't know if it's the effects of being dislocated by a hurricane, or playing "neutral" games in front of a big Cub crowd at Wrigley North in Milwaukee, or if it's simply a case of a team this hot finally cooling off, but the Astros set a standard for futility in their two games against the Cubs this week.
The first 47 hitters they sent to the plate in Milwaukee failed to get a hit. Carlos Zambrano faced 28 in his no-hitter on Sunday, and Ted Lilly got into the 7th inning before finally giving up a hit to Mark Loretta.
That was it. One hit in two days. The Astros were outscored 11-1 in the series. They finally scored in the 8th of game two with two walks, a wild pitch and a sac fly. Even Bob Howry, the designated lead blower this season, couldn't give up a run.
The Cubs are the first team to ever put a no-hitter and a one-hitter back-to-back.
Meanwhile, in a very strange twist to the playoff chase, the Brewers fired manager Ned Yost today. Milwaukee is tied for the wild card lead entering the day, and although they have faded a bit in their chase of the Cubs, I can't remember a manager ever being fired in the middle of a playoff race like this. The Brewers have lost seven of their last eight, and collapsed in the second half of last season as well. Perhaps this is just a desperate attempt to shake things up.
Dale Sveum will take over for the remainder of the season. The Brewers are in Chicago for three beginning tomorrow.
The first 47 hitters they sent to the plate in Milwaukee failed to get a hit. Carlos Zambrano faced 28 in his no-hitter on Sunday, and Ted Lilly got into the 7th inning before finally giving up a hit to Mark Loretta.
That was it. One hit in two days. The Astros were outscored 11-1 in the series. They finally scored in the 8th of game two with two walks, a wild pitch and a sac fly. Even Bob Howry, the designated lead blower this season, couldn't give up a run.
The Cubs are the first team to ever put a no-hitter and a one-hitter back-to-back.
Meanwhile, in a very strange twist to the playoff chase, the Brewers fired manager Ned Yost today. Milwaukee is tied for the wild card lead entering the day, and although they have faded a bit in their chase of the Cubs, I can't remember a manager ever being fired in the middle of a playoff race like this. The Brewers have lost seven of their last eight, and collapsed in the second half of last season as well. Perhaps this is just a desperate attempt to shake things up.
Dale Sveum will take over for the remainder of the season. The Brewers are in Chicago for three beginning tomorrow.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Cubs and Astros move to Milwaukee
Because of hurricane Ike, the Cubs and Astros will now play two games in Milwaukee. They were supposed to play three in Houston this weekend, but obviously, nobody's playing anything down there right now.
It's ironic that the games are in Milwaukee. If you are a Brewers fan, who do you root for? Your team is chasing the Cubs for the division title, although it's slipping away. The Cubs' lead is up to 6 games and their magic number for clinching the division is 10.
Houston, meanwhile, is on your heels in the wild card race. Philadelphia is a greater concern at the moment because they are the current opponent and only two games back after beating the Brewers last night, but Houston is 2.5 games back.
So, do you want the Cubs to help watch your back in the wild card race, or do you want to hold out those fading hopes for a division title?
It's ironic that the games are in Milwaukee. If you are a Brewers fan, who do you root for? Your team is chasing the Cubs for the division title, although it's slipping away. The Cubs' lead is up to 6 games and their magic number for clinching the division is 10.
Houston, meanwhile, is on your heels in the wild card race. Philadelphia is a greater concern at the moment because they are the current opponent and only two games back after beating the Brewers last night, but Houston is 2.5 games back.
So, do you want the Cubs to help watch your back in the wild card race, or do you want to hold out those fading hopes for a division title?
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Oregon-Purdue live blog
While the Cubs continue their 1969 impression and slide deeply into oblivion (although they have won one game in a row!), I'm going to hide my head in the sand on Saturday and live blog the Oregon-Purdue game.
To follow along, click here.
To follow along, click here.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
A game not even a mother could love
The Marlins and Braves played a game on Wednesday afternoon in Miami in front of a measly 600 fans. 600 fans! There had to be more staff there than paying customers. Every fan probably had his/her own personal beer vendor.
The actual announced attendance was much higher, but the heat, humidity, and lack of meaning kept the fans away in droves.
Here is the game story off the wire.
The actual announced attendance was much higher, but the heat, humidity, and lack of meaning kept the fans away in droves.
Here is the game story off the wire.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Jay
Acerbic columnist Jay Mariotti abruptly quit the Chicago Sun Times on Monday after returning from Beijing. Just last summer, he signed a big contract extension to stay at the Sun Times, but after covering the Olympics, he decided newspapers are dinosaurs and to try to find his way on the web.
You can tell from this piece in today's S-T that he's missed by almost no one. I haven't read him for years, for many of the reasons detailed in the piece, so I don't miss him either.
You can tell from this piece in today's S-T that he's missed by almost no one. I haven't read him for years, for many of the reasons detailed in the piece, so I don't miss him either.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
OIympic undies in a bunch
At the Olympics, the coach of the New Zealand men's field hockey team (I didn't know men played field hockey) was ejected from a game because his team's underwear was the wrong color.
As my hero, Dave Barry, likes to say, I am not making this up.
I'm sure NBC will be all over this story in prime time tonight.
As my hero, Dave Barry, likes to say, I am not making this up.
I'm sure NBC will be all over this story in prime time tonight.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Bears pick Orton, ND moves back to Indiana
The Bears finally cut the cord with Rex Grossman and turned the offense over to former Boiler Kyle Orton. After watching the game with Seattle the other day, Rex better stay ready. There's a good chance Orton is going to get creamed.
The offensieve line couldn't block anything and wouldn't recognize a blitz in a police lineup. If that doesn't get fixed, the QB won't matter.
In other Chicago news, the Tribune has finally recognized that Notre Dame is in Indiana. Last week, I wrote about how their list of athletes with "Illinois connections" included someone whose only connection was that she attended ND. It took them a week, but she finally dropped off the list.
The offensieve line couldn't block anything and wouldn't recognize a blitz in a police lineup. If that doesn't get fixed, the QB won't matter.
In other Chicago news, the Tribune has finally recognized that Notre Dame is in Indiana. Last week, I wrote about how their list of athletes with "Illinois connections" included someone whose only connection was that she attended ND. It took them a week, but she finally dropped off the list.
Athletic, yes, but not a sport
I've always felt that one of the definitions of a sport is something where you can tell who won. Gymnastics and figure skating, which rely on judges to tell you who won, are more like athletic pageants than sports. Diving fits into that as well.
We saw another example again tonight. Nastia Liukin of the US appeared to have done a little better than He Kexin of China, but the judges ruled them tied, and He won on a tiebreaker. Another Chinese gymnast finished third, but she might have been better than the other two. Who can tell? Certainly not me, and even the announcers (who have a huge US bias to be sure) struggled with it.
He, who was below the minimum age required to compete in the Olympics before she miraculously produced a passport that said otherwise, had a worse low score that counted than Liukin did. That was the tiebreaker.
Another US-China matchup was pretty spirited as well. Today's 9-1 win for the US baseball team over China got a little intense. Five, or perhaps six (news reports conflicted), US batters were hit by pitches. Two US runners collided with Chinese catchers. One of those catchers, Wang Wei, got knocked out of the game in the 5th. Backup Yang Yang got steamrolled in the sixth, which made China's manager, Jim Lefebvre (the former Cubs manager) pretty irate. He argued the US runner's play was unnecessary and that he should have been kicked out of the game. Lefebvre was launched instead. The first batter for the US in the next inning, Matt LaPorta, was beaned and knocked out of the game. Maybe the next one too. That got the Chinese pitcher tossed along with backup manager Steve Ontiveros (the former MLB pitcher, not the former Cubs 3B).
The final act of sportsmanship came when Yang yanged one over the left field fence in the 9th for the only Chinese run. He ran the bases with his arm in the air in celebration like he hit a 10-run homer.
In the bigs, the next guy goes down and pretty much everyone in uniform gets ejected. Here, the teams just shook hands after the game.
Gotta love the Olympic spirit!
We saw another example again tonight. Nastia Liukin of the US appeared to have done a little better than He Kexin of China, but the judges ruled them tied, and He won on a tiebreaker. Another Chinese gymnast finished third, but she might have been better than the other two. Who can tell? Certainly not me, and even the announcers (who have a huge US bias to be sure) struggled with it.
He, who was below the minimum age required to compete in the Olympics before she miraculously produced a passport that said otherwise, had a worse low score that counted than Liukin did. That was the tiebreaker.
Another US-China matchup was pretty spirited as well. Today's 9-1 win for the US baseball team over China got a little intense. Five, or perhaps six (news reports conflicted), US batters were hit by pitches. Two US runners collided with Chinese catchers. One of those catchers, Wang Wei, got knocked out of the game in the 5th. Backup Yang Yang got steamrolled in the sixth, which made China's manager, Jim Lefebvre (the former Cubs manager) pretty irate. He argued the US runner's play was unnecessary and that he should have been kicked out of the game. Lefebvre was launched instead. The first batter for the US in the next inning, Matt LaPorta, was beaned and knocked out of the game. Maybe the next one too. That got the Chinese pitcher tossed along with backup manager Steve Ontiveros (the former MLB pitcher, not the former Cubs 3B).
The final act of sportsmanship came when Yang yanged one over the left field fence in the 9th for the only Chinese run. He ran the bases with his arm in the air in celebration like he hit a 10-run homer.
In the bigs, the next guy goes down and pretty much everyone in uniform gets ejected. Here, the teams just shook hands after the game.
Gotta love the Olympic spirit!
Monday, August 11, 2008
The University of Chicago at South Bend
One of my pet peeves about the Chicago Tribune sports section, and Chicago sports media in general, is that they treat the University of Notre Dame like it's the University of Chicago at South Bend. I understand that the school has a large fan base here, but I have always thought that it is a bit silly for the Irish to get better coverage than the University of Illinois. But, they do.
South Bend, by the way, is halfway to Ohio from Chicago. Milwaukee is closer to downtown Chicago than South Bend.
The most recent (and blatant) example of the geographic confusion is in the agate type on the Olympics page. There, you'll find a list of three dozen athletes with Illinois connections. There are people who grew up in Illinois, went to college in Illinois, or play professionally here. They might not even represent the US in the games, like Andres Nocioni of the Bulls, who plays for Argentina, but they all have a connection to the state, except one.
Near the bottom of the list is women's sabre gold medalist Mariel Zagunis. Her "Illinois" connection - she attended Notre Dame.
South Bend, by the way, is halfway to Ohio from Chicago. Milwaukee is closer to downtown Chicago than South Bend.
The most recent (and blatant) example of the geographic confusion is in the agate type on the Olympics page. There, you'll find a list of three dozen athletes with Illinois connections. There are people who grew up in Illinois, went to college in Illinois, or play professionally here. They might not even represent the US in the games, like Andres Nocioni of the Bulls, who plays for Argentina, but they all have a connection to the state, except one.
Near the bottom of the list is women's sabre gold medalist Mariel Zagunis. Her "Illinois" connection - she attended Notre Dame.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Favre and other frustrations
I can't think of any similar case where a legendary player for a team was so actively shunned. Maybe Bobby Hull with the Blackhawks back in the day.
It's probably just as well he's gone, although as a Bears fan, any distraction for the Packers is fine with me. I'm not as convinced as others that having Favre back makes the Packers better. Not if there's that much bad blood between him and the coaching staff.
A lot of folks around here would like to see Favre join the Bears, but that'll never happen. The Packers still own his rights, and there's no way they'll let him stay in the division. The Vikings would also love to have him and have made no secret about it, but once again, same division. Now, it looks like he'll be traded to Tampa for a bag of chips and a case of beer.
At least I have power. I live on a small street and usually if one of us has a power outage, we all do. Right now though, our house is the only one powered up on our side of the street. Very strange. Also, we're the only ones who didn't get water, thanks to a battery backup sump pump. Best investment I ever made.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Catching up
A lot has gone on since I last wrote:
I saw The Dark Knight. It was fantastic. I don't know that I have much to add beyond what most of the reviewers have already said. Heath Ledger stole the show and the story was great. If I have any complaint, it's that it gets a little speechy at times (is "speechy" a word?). It's pretty cool, as a Chicagoan, to see the way the city is used in this movie.
The Cubs keep rolling. They went up to Milwaukee and kicked the Brewers back to the Cardinals in the standings. The team didn't make any trade deadline moves, but their big trade came earlier in July when they picked up Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin, both of whom have done quite well, despite Gaudin blowing a lead yesterday. Jeff Samardzija, the former all-American WR at Notre Dame, was called up to fill Kerry Wood's spot on the roster and has done a pretty credible job as well. He's got nasty stuff, and once he nails down his control, he'll be a quality starter. That is, if they don't make a closer out of him. Rooting for ND guys is hard for me, but I guess I'll just have to get used to it.
I had another garage sale. This one didn't go as well as the first because the main road near my house is under construction, which kept down drive-by traffic. I may do one more, or I may not.
I signed up to coach soccer again this fall, but for the second season in a row, I didn't get a team. I'm starting to take this personally.
I have also been working on getting CollegeBCS.com going for the new season, so if you are a subscriber, you can find my bowl projections and commentary on the initial coaches' poll.
I also joined up with Facebook and LinkedIn. Links to my pages on those sites are on the right side of the page.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Drake scratches itchy trigger thumb again
I wrote about vacation fill-in ump Rob Drake and his itchy trigger thumb last month after a particularly bad performance in a Cubs-Sox game.
Well, he was back last weekend for the Marlins-Cubs series, and he got busy again. After blowing a call at first where he called Mark DeRosa out, he launched first base coach Matt Sinatro when he went to argue, and then threw out Lou Piniella as well shortly after he arrived from the dugout.
This guy really knows how to throw gas on a fire. Won't the game be so much better when this guy gets up to the bigs for good?
DeRosa, by the way, did one of those stupid head first dives into the base. I have no idea why guys do that, but all it does is slow you down.
Well, he was back last weekend for the Marlins-Cubs series, and he got busy again. After blowing a call at first where he called Mark DeRosa out, he launched first base coach Matt Sinatro when he went to argue, and then threw out Lou Piniella as well shortly after he arrived from the dugout.
This guy really knows how to throw gas on a fire. Won't the game be so much better when this guy gets up to the bigs for good?
DeRosa, by the way, did one of those stupid head first dives into the base. I have no idea why guys do that, but all it does is slow you down.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Rutgers losing arms race
One of the concerns of many in college athletics is what is called the "arms race," as teams try to build bigger and better facilities to try and remain competitive. That term is also applied to the ever escalating coaches' salaries.
Rutgers seems to be falling behind. In an effort to capitalize on their breakthrough season of two years ago, they decided to expand and renovate their football stadium. However, fundraising is going very poorly, according to this story in the Newark Star-Ledger.
My favorite line comes from the Rev. M. William Howard, the chairman of the Rutgers board of governors. He says, "We're looking at everything. I mean, Jesus, that's what prudent leadership is required to do."
In case you missed it, that's a reverend who is so frustrated that he was quoted taking the Lord's name in vain.
I'm sure that kind of thing never happens at Notre Dame!
Rutgers seems to be falling behind. In an effort to capitalize on their breakthrough season of two years ago, they decided to expand and renovate their football stadium. However, fundraising is going very poorly, according to this story in the Newark Star-Ledger.
My favorite line comes from the Rev. M. William Howard, the chairman of the Rutgers board of governors. He says, "We're looking at everything. I mean, Jesus, that's what prudent leadership is required to do."
In case you missed it, that's a reverend who is so frustrated that he was quoted taking the Lord's name in vain.
I'm sure that kind of thing never happens at Notre Dame!
Big Ten Media Day, Part 2
The second day of the Big Ten media festivities starts with some one-on-one-or-so time for the media with the coaches and selected players. A ballroom is set up with a table for each player and coach, and media types just float around the room to talk to who they want. It's a two hour session, and there are also tables for some of the Big Ten Network types and league officiating coordinator Dave Parry.
Unless I'm writing for someone else, I usually spend my time with Parry, the Purdue folks and the Big Ten Network guys.
As an ex-official, I always find the talks with Parry interesting, even though I never worked football. This year, I had questions about the new horse collar rule and the interpretation of unsportsmanlike celebration.
The horse collar rule only applies if the player is brought down immediately by the collar. I asked Parry why it was safer to bring the player down by the collar after a few steps, and he said it is because the player gets more of a chance to brace himself, and that the defender usually ends up grabbing something else as well, making it a safer play. I'm not entirely sure I agree with that, but we'll see how it's enforced.
I was also concerned that any individual celebration of a play might get penalized. That may not quite be true, but I think we are going to see a lot more of those flags this year. In short, anything choreographed, prolonged, and/or aimed at the opponent will be penalized.
If you take a flying leap into the end zone - penalty. If you take a flying leap into the stands after a touchdown - penalty. If you sack the QB, look down on him, and say or do anything - penalty.
Things like the entire Georgia team taking the field to celebrate a first quarter score will fall under "trespassers will be shot." Actually, that will just be something on the order of 60 penalties.
After that, I checked in with Purdue QB Curtis Painter. On his table was a bunch of calendars and videos promoting him as a Heisman candidate. That's probably a bit far-fetched, but you can't blame the school for trying.
Painter will have some new faces around him this year. In particular, he needs to find replacements for the production of TE Dustin Keller and WR Dorien Bryant.
Bryant will be easier to replace. He put up some big numbers, but was always a bit soft. Desmond Tardy will probably be an upgrade. Keller will be a little tougher. He was a first round pick after all, but Kyle Adams won't be too much of a dropoff.
As for Painter himself, he hopes to become more consistent. He cut his interceptions from 19 to 11 last year. He's looking for a similar improvement.
Joe Tiller enters his last year knowing more about his team than he usually does. That's because so many projected starters were injured in spring ball that a lot of backups got a lot more reps than they might have otherwise. That helped develop some depth, perhaps, but Tiller said he'd rather have had all his starters.
He also thought that put the team behind the curve a little bit entering fall camp. Although, it's not as bad as it might seem. Some of those 15 starters that missed spring ball were guys like Greg Orton and Sean Sester, who have been starters for a while. The missed time doesn't hurt guys like that as much.
The position of biggest concern may be linebacker. Tiller is hopeful that redshirt sophomore Kevin Green, a highly regarded prospect, has finally seen the light. Tiller said they recruited him because he was a physical player, but so far "has looked like Tarzan and played like Jane." He was much more physical in the spring, and if that carries over, "we'll have a hard time getting him off the field," Tiller said.
Tiller also talked about the situation he's in with his replacement being on staff. He said it wasn't his idea, but AD Morgan Burke's. He said he told Burke he was OK with it as long as the replacement was someone he was comfortable with.
There was a public flirtation with Wisconsin OC Paul Chryst that Tiller says probably would not have worked out for him. Neither he nor anyone on his staff knew Chryst or worked with him before, which would have made for an uncomfortable season.
Danny Hope, the man Purdue hired, was an assistant with Tiller at Wyoming and his first five seasons at Purdue. He's a friend of Tiller, so comfort is not a problem. Also, he's the offensive line coach this year, so he has an important job besides recruiting. Tiller is pleased with the way the line is shaping up under Hope, and the energy he brings to the job.
Once the media session is done, it's the fans' turn. Each school sets up a table for fans to come up and get trinkets and autographs. The Ohio St line seemed to wind all the way to lower Wacker Drive (or in that case, Wacko drive).
Following that is the luncheon, where fans get a good meal and hear each of the coaches speak about their teams. And take shots at each other.
The luncheon was hosted by ABC's Brent Musburger, who got off a few good lines of his own. He told of how the players were disappointed to see him instead of Erin Andrews. He also thanked Joe Tiller for providing the "snake oil and vinegar" dressing for the salad.
Most of the coaches introduce, or at least acknowledge, the players they brought with them, their AD, and/or their wives. Then, they talk about how excited they are about their team.
It used to be that you could tell what the coaches really thought of their teams by what they said. Coaches that mentioned their players "character" or "work ethic" usually had bad teams. Last year though, nobody used that phrase. This year, the only one who did was Tiller. Damn.
Tiller said he gets asked a lot about why he would retire back to Wyoming with it's rough weather. He said that the weather there is misunderstood. He explained that, "it's always clear and still. Snow clear up to your butt and still coming down."
He also said that since he announced his retirement, everyone has been very nice to him. In fact, "if I had known they would be so nice, I would have retired three years ago, and then came back. Then retired again, then came back."
While he was trying to welcome new Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez (a man he recently referred to as a snake oil salesman), he mistakenly called him "Rich Alvarez." He explained that he confused him with Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez because, "I need a haircut and Barry and I use the same barber."
He then decided he had to tell one story, even though he doesn't usually.
At the Ohio St game last year, the Buckeyes brought "43,000 fans with them. Fortunately, we didn't have 43,000 seats available. Out in the parking lot though, one of our long-time season ticket holders was trying to give away one of his tickets."
An Ohio St fan tried to buy it, but he was insistent on giving it away. He said it used to be his wife's, but since she died, he has no one to sit with at the game and he just wants some company.
The OSU fan asked if he didn't have any children or family who could go with him to the games. He said, "yes, but they're all at the funeral."
After the laughter died down, Tiller said that just shows the remarkable passion Big Ten fans have for football.
The only person who could follow Tiller to the dais was Joe Paterno. I can't write fast enough to keep up with him.
Commenting on Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald being elected to the Hall of Fame, he said, "it's great that he got in so young. It took me 58 years."
To Tiller: "Did I hear correctly, 'Snow up your butt?' It's going to take a lot of snow to fill your rear end."
He had the most fun though with Rodriguez.
"We played them once when he was a player at West Virginia. His wife was a cheerleader. Cute as can be! We took a picture together.
"Then he becomes a coach. Our first Nike trip together, his wife comes up to me and says 'Do you remember me?'
"I said, 'Do I remember you!' I'm old, but I'm not that old!
"I'm really couldn't care less that Rich is in our league now, no matter how much he payed to get in, but I'm sure glad his wife is here."
Then, he had Rodriguez wife stand up. Really, if Paterno wasn't so old, his fawning might have been creepy.
He also took a shot at former UM coach Lloyd Carr, who wasn't there to defend himself. "I always loved following him because he was such a lousy talker. Even his wife used to wait for me to talk."
And, it would be Joe if he didn't get a shot in at the refs. "Sometimes, in a game, you gotta wait for the refs to screw the other team, like with Purdue last year. Boy, they got screwed. That was one of the worst officiated games, wasn't it Joe (looking at Tiller)? But at least the calls all went our way."
Minnesota coach Tim Brewster seemed relatively calm, which means he was only much more wired than any other coach. He did have one funny moment when he tried to introduce his wife, but she wasn't there. "Is she here? Did she stay in the room?"
He also talked about, "change being a painful process. 1-11 is pretty painful."
Indiana coach Bill Lynch was the halfway point, and he said he'd be brief "because if you're like me, you'll have to go to the restroom soon."
He also made RB Maurice Thigpen stand up and model his fluorescent peach suit and suggested everyone come down to Bloomington for a game and pick one up for themselves in the clothing stores afterwards.
He also thanked disgraced outgoing AD Rick Greenspan. That got a bit of a groan from the room.
When Musburger introduced Rodriguez, he mentioned all the "Wanted" posters hanging up in West Virginia. Rodriguez said it's not the posters that concern him. "They sell a lot of guns in that state."
RR also told Brewster that, "change isn't just painful, it's costly."
Then, he told Lynch not to worry about Paterno. "He'll just get up and go when he has to, whether it's the middle of a luncheon or the middle of a game." Sure enough, later on, Paterno disappeared for a while.
He's also excited about Michigan fans, although he pointed out that of the 110,000 fans that show up on Saturdays, "109,000 are offensive coordinators. I don't think I'm going to hook them up to my headset just yet, though."
I'll leave you now with some of the thoughts of Wisconsin coach and comedian-in-waiting Bret Bielema.
"One thing I've learned is that the older you get, the more you get away with. One guy gets up here and talks about snow up to his butt. I didn't even know you could say 'butt' here. Another guy gets up and goes on about Rich's wife.
"I'll save some introduction time because I don't have a wife. If anyone stands up, I'm in trouble.
"One thing I'm going to miss about Joe (Tiller) is sitting next to him at these banquets. He keeps me thoroughly entertained, and he helps me translate Paterno."
As for people who think the league is down, Bielema says, "the easiest way to shut people up is to win."
Unless I'm writing for someone else, I usually spend my time with Parry, the Purdue folks and the Big Ten Network guys.
As an ex-official, I always find the talks with Parry interesting, even though I never worked football. This year, I had questions about the new horse collar rule and the interpretation of unsportsmanlike celebration.
The horse collar rule only applies if the player is brought down immediately by the collar. I asked Parry why it was safer to bring the player down by the collar after a few steps, and he said it is because the player gets more of a chance to brace himself, and that the defender usually ends up grabbing something else as well, making it a safer play. I'm not entirely sure I agree with that, but we'll see how it's enforced.
I was also concerned that any individual celebration of a play might get penalized. That may not quite be true, but I think we are going to see a lot more of those flags this year. In short, anything choreographed, prolonged, and/or aimed at the opponent will be penalized.
If you take a flying leap into the end zone - penalty. If you take a flying leap into the stands after a touchdown - penalty. If you sack the QB, look down on him, and say or do anything - penalty.
Things like the entire Georgia team taking the field to celebrate a first quarter score will fall under "trespassers will be shot." Actually, that will just be something on the order of 60 penalties.
After that, I checked in with Purdue QB Curtis Painter. On his table was a bunch of calendars and videos promoting him as a Heisman candidate. That's probably a bit far-fetched, but you can't blame the school for trying.
Painter will have some new faces around him this year. In particular, he needs to find replacements for the production of TE Dustin Keller and WR Dorien Bryant.
Bryant will be easier to replace. He put up some big numbers, but was always a bit soft. Desmond Tardy will probably be an upgrade. Keller will be a little tougher. He was a first round pick after all, but Kyle Adams won't be too much of a dropoff.
As for Painter himself, he hopes to become more consistent. He cut his interceptions from 19 to 11 last year. He's looking for a similar improvement.
Joe Tiller enters his last year knowing more about his team than he usually does. That's because so many projected starters were injured in spring ball that a lot of backups got a lot more reps than they might have otherwise. That helped develop some depth, perhaps, but Tiller said he'd rather have had all his starters.
He also thought that put the team behind the curve a little bit entering fall camp. Although, it's not as bad as it might seem. Some of those 15 starters that missed spring ball were guys like Greg Orton and Sean Sester, who have been starters for a while. The missed time doesn't hurt guys like that as much.
The position of biggest concern may be linebacker. Tiller is hopeful that redshirt sophomore Kevin Green, a highly regarded prospect, has finally seen the light. Tiller said they recruited him because he was a physical player, but so far "has looked like Tarzan and played like Jane." He was much more physical in the spring, and if that carries over, "we'll have a hard time getting him off the field," Tiller said.
Tiller also talked about the situation he's in with his replacement being on staff. He said it wasn't his idea, but AD Morgan Burke's. He said he told Burke he was OK with it as long as the replacement was someone he was comfortable with.
There was a public flirtation with Wisconsin OC Paul Chryst that Tiller says probably would not have worked out for him. Neither he nor anyone on his staff knew Chryst or worked with him before, which would have made for an uncomfortable season.
Danny Hope, the man Purdue hired, was an assistant with Tiller at Wyoming and his first five seasons at Purdue. He's a friend of Tiller, so comfort is not a problem. Also, he's the offensive line coach this year, so he has an important job besides recruiting. Tiller is pleased with the way the line is shaping up under Hope, and the energy he brings to the job.
Once the media session is done, it's the fans' turn. Each school sets up a table for fans to come up and get trinkets and autographs. The Ohio St line seemed to wind all the way to lower Wacker Drive (or in that case, Wacko drive).
Following that is the luncheon, where fans get a good meal and hear each of the coaches speak about their teams. And take shots at each other.
The luncheon was hosted by ABC's Brent Musburger, who got off a few good lines of his own. He told of how the players were disappointed to see him instead of Erin Andrews. He also thanked Joe Tiller for providing the "snake oil and vinegar" dressing for the salad.
Most of the coaches introduce, or at least acknowledge, the players they brought with them, their AD, and/or their wives. Then, they talk about how excited they are about their team.
It used to be that you could tell what the coaches really thought of their teams by what they said. Coaches that mentioned their players "character" or "work ethic" usually had bad teams. Last year though, nobody used that phrase. This year, the only one who did was Tiller. Damn.
Tiller said he gets asked a lot about why he would retire back to Wyoming with it's rough weather. He said that the weather there is misunderstood. He explained that, "it's always clear and still. Snow clear up to your butt and still coming down."
He also said that since he announced his retirement, everyone has been very nice to him. In fact, "if I had known they would be so nice, I would have retired three years ago, and then came back. Then retired again, then came back."
While he was trying to welcome new Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez (a man he recently referred to as a snake oil salesman), he mistakenly called him "Rich Alvarez." He explained that he confused him with Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez because, "I need a haircut and Barry and I use the same barber."
He then decided he had to tell one story, even though he doesn't usually.
At the Ohio St game last year, the Buckeyes brought "43,000 fans with them. Fortunately, we didn't have 43,000 seats available. Out in the parking lot though, one of our long-time season ticket holders was trying to give away one of his tickets."
An Ohio St fan tried to buy it, but he was insistent on giving it away. He said it used to be his wife's, but since she died, he has no one to sit with at the game and he just wants some company.
The OSU fan asked if he didn't have any children or family who could go with him to the games. He said, "yes, but they're all at the funeral."
After the laughter died down, Tiller said that just shows the remarkable passion Big Ten fans have for football.
The only person who could follow Tiller to the dais was Joe Paterno. I can't write fast enough to keep up with him.
Commenting on Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald being elected to the Hall of Fame, he said, "it's great that he got in so young. It took me 58 years."
To Tiller: "Did I hear correctly, 'Snow up your butt?' It's going to take a lot of snow to fill your rear end."
He had the most fun though with Rodriguez.
"We played them once when he was a player at West Virginia. His wife was a cheerleader. Cute as can be! We took a picture together.
"Then he becomes a coach. Our first Nike trip together, his wife comes up to me and says 'Do you remember me?'
"I said, 'Do I remember you!' I'm old, but I'm not that old!
"I'm really couldn't care less that Rich is in our league now, no matter how much he payed to get in, but I'm sure glad his wife is here."
Then, he had Rodriguez wife stand up. Really, if Paterno wasn't so old, his fawning might have been creepy.
He also took a shot at former UM coach Lloyd Carr, who wasn't there to defend himself. "I always loved following him because he was such a lousy talker. Even his wife used to wait for me to talk."
And, it would be Joe if he didn't get a shot in at the refs. "Sometimes, in a game, you gotta wait for the refs to screw the other team, like with Purdue last year. Boy, they got screwed. That was one of the worst officiated games, wasn't it Joe (looking at Tiller)? But at least the calls all went our way."
Minnesota coach Tim Brewster seemed relatively calm, which means he was only much more wired than any other coach. He did have one funny moment when he tried to introduce his wife, but she wasn't there. "Is she here? Did she stay in the room?"
He also talked about, "change being a painful process. 1-11 is pretty painful."
Indiana coach Bill Lynch was the halfway point, and he said he'd be brief "because if you're like me, you'll have to go to the restroom soon."
He also made RB Maurice Thigpen stand up and model his fluorescent peach suit and suggested everyone come down to Bloomington for a game and pick one up for themselves in the clothing stores afterwards.
He also thanked disgraced outgoing AD Rick Greenspan. That got a bit of a groan from the room.
When Musburger introduced Rodriguez, he mentioned all the "Wanted" posters hanging up in West Virginia. Rodriguez said it's not the posters that concern him. "They sell a lot of guns in that state."
RR also told Brewster that, "change isn't just painful, it's costly."
Then, he told Lynch not to worry about Paterno. "He'll just get up and go when he has to, whether it's the middle of a luncheon or the middle of a game." Sure enough, later on, Paterno disappeared for a while.
He's also excited about Michigan fans, although he pointed out that of the 110,000 fans that show up on Saturdays, "109,000 are offensive coordinators. I don't think I'm going to hook them up to my headset just yet, though."
I'll leave you now with some of the thoughts of Wisconsin coach and comedian-in-waiting Bret Bielema.
"One thing I've learned is that the older you get, the more you get away with. One guy gets up here and talks about snow up to his butt. I didn't even know you could say 'butt' here. Another guy gets up and goes on about Rich's wife.
"I'll save some introduction time because I don't have a wife. If anyone stands up, I'm in trouble.
"One thing I'm going to miss about Joe (Tiller) is sitting next to him at these banquets. He keeps me thoroughly entertained, and he helps me translate Paterno."
As for people who think the league is down, Bielema says, "the easiest way to shut people up is to win."
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Notes from Big Ten media day
Also, the horse collar tackle is now illegal, but only if the player is brought down immediately with the play. They showed an example where a defender caught the guy behind with the horse collar, but it took him a few steps to get him down. That is not supposed to be a penalty. I think that's an odd line to draw.
And, as usual, there is an emphasis on unsportsmanlike conduct. In short, just about any individual celebration of a play is going to get flagged. Anything remotely choreographed will get flagged. Any goose-stepping, flying leap, or other gyrations into the end zone will get flagged. It won't be long before bands get flagged for playing the fight song. Some probably should.
I hope to as Dave Parry, the coordinator of officials, about some of these things tomorrow when he is available.
There is one other rule change that got a lot of mention today. There is now a 40-second play clock that begins when the previous play ends. That figures to speed up the game a bit. Also, when a player goes out of bounds, the clock will now start when the ball is "ready for play" instead of at the snap, except in the last two minutes of each half.
Gone is the 5-yard incidental face mask penalty. Now, only the 15-yard variety gets called. Face masks must get twisted, turned or pulled to get the flag. Also gone is the sideline warning. Now, the sideline just gets penalized for delay of game. There's no warning.
He was asked about the biggest difference between playing Missouri this year and playing them last year. Zook said that last year, the coaches were still trying to teach the team how to win. This year, they know they can.
There are a lot of new faces around Fitzgerald. He has new coordinators on both sides of the ball, and a new boss in AD Jim Phillips, who Fitzgerald called "a great role model for sleep deprivation." But QB CJ Bacher and RB Tyrell Sutton are back, so NU figures to score a lot of points.
On Michigan's conspicuous absence from the media top three, he said it was a "misprint." After two more questions about Michigan, he chuckled and said, "it's good to be at a Michigan press conference."
He also patted himself on the back for picking Illinois as last year's conference sleeper. He hedged when asked this year, but came up with Michigan St or Indiana.
He said that having his successor on the staff (OL coach Danny Hope) is not a distraction at all because Hope was an assistant to him before and because they get along so well.
He was asked about some of his most endearing relationships with coaches on his staff or other at other schools. He said that he generally gets along well with pretty much everyone. "I like to think that if you can't get along with Joe Tiller, there's something wrong with you." He singled out Penn St coach Joe Paterno, "probably because I'm the closest one to his age."
He also felt that the one thing he'd miss is the camaraderie with his coaching staff. He said that they "gen-u-ine-ly" like each other and said that how well a guy might fit in with the group is at least as important as skills when he hired assistants.
He said (facetiously) that the fact that OSU is the overwhelming favorite does concern him because he thinks these picks haven't always been accurate.
He also said now that they have accomplished the goal of Play 13, the next goal is to win that game.
Lynch was also asked, given that IU plays eight home games this year, if they gave any thought to playing one of those games up in Indianapolis, where the questioner said they have a "tremendous fan base."
He said that they want to play all the games in Bloomington they can, so they aren't considering playing in Indy. However, the correct answer is that they have a tremendous basketball fan base in Indy. IU fans still don't really care about football and don't sell out their own stadium, so why play in an even bigger stadium in Indy?
When someone asked him about being the sleeper, he said his team expects to win every time they take the field and that their goal is to win the league. If they pull that off, it would be, um, outstanding.
The short version is that he feels that they have to get a lot better on defense if they're going to have any success. That happens not with better schemes, but with better players.
No, I'm kidding of course. We all asked him, over and over, when he was going to retire. This was after he said he got tired of answering that question because he doesn't know too many ways to say "I don't know." At one point, he got frustrated and spelled out "I D O N T K N O W"
He also chastised one writer for asking him how Terrelle Pryor would impact Ohio St. "That's a dumb question, even though you're a Penn St grad. You should ask Tressel."
He also felt honored to have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, but said, "when you've been around as long as I have, they gotta do something with you."
You can see the story here.
He did say that he hopes to hire a life skills adviser, or what he called a "Player Development Coach," to help players make better decisions.
He was also relieved that former Indiana WR James Hardy is now gone. "He doesn't have a brother or cousin there (at IU) does he? No? Good. We didn't cover him for three years. It was like he had poison ivy."
Mostly, people wanted to know about the goings on with West Virginia. He said that they settled the lawsuit because it needed to be put to rest so everyone could just go forward. He also said that he was sorry he didn't get his day in court to clear some things up.
What do you think of the perception that the league is down based on BCS results of the last two years?
In general, the coaches all feel the league is very competitive top-to-bottom. No surprise there. Tressel in particular felt it was unfair to paint the whole league because if his team's performance in the title game the last two years.
Why do you think the spread offense is so popular?
It's gives defenses trouble because it spreads the field. It also forces them into basic packages because you can just as easily run a four deep pattern as an option out of the same formation. You can also use it with almost any personnel. Although many run it with mobile quarterbacks, Purdue, for example, uses it with pro-style QBs.
What is retiring Purdue coach Tiller's legacy?
Zook: "He's a great football coach, he's been around and won an awful lot of games, and the things he's done with the Purdue program speaks for itself. Tiller's has come in and put Purdue in the upper echelon in the Big Ten, not once in a while but consistently. To be honest with you, I'm glad we don't play them this year"
Fitzgerald: "I think Joe Tiller will always be looked at in the Big Ten as an innovator on the football field. He'll be looked at, I believe, within our coaching ranks, as someone who has never changed who he is, his personality has always been the same, a tremendous sense of humor, and I'm very excited to have Coach Tiller move into retirement. (He's) been a tough on us at Northwestern against him. Just look at our record. I'm honored to call him someone I've had a chance to be a colleague with."
Bielema (who wasn't asked): "I'm a big Joe Tiller fan because he can walk in here without a tie. If I got up here without a tie, I'd get heckled, so I admire a guy going into his last year and can wear what he wants and no one is going to say anything."
Tiller: "I think number one, a number of people are still curious about me. Some
of the comments I've made, I'm coming here, by the way, from Wyoming and I'm going back to Wyoming to finish a little more trout fishing here before we head back to West Lafayette. I think the fact that when I went to Purdue they had 12 non-Bowl seasons and maybe 11 of the 12 had been losing seasons, what have you, to the fact where we've been competitive every year and will be once again this year, probably that's what most folks will refer to I suppose."
Paterno: "He brought in a whole new concept of what you could do, and he did it with a lot of class. I'm very fond of Joe. I'm sorry he's leaving."
Commissioner Jim Delany capped off our day. He was pretty sick with the flu, but if you only listened and didn't see him, you wouldn't know.
The one interesting thing he said was about the BCS meetings where the discussion took place as to whether or not to look into expanding the format. He said that two conferences were in favor of examining the idea - not in favor of expansion - just looking into it. He said they weren't really committed to expansion itself, at least not yet. The other five parties (four conferences and ND) weren't interested. The whole discussion took about two hours. He said that the Big Ten and Pac 10 have been taking all the heat for blocking a playoff, but really, there isn't a big movement anywhere for one. It's not just them.
More tomorrow.
Big Ten Media Day Live Blog - cancelled
It turns out that once again, internet access does not exist in the interview room. I'll post something at the end of the day. I might also get something up during lunch.
The order of the speakers today is:
Ron Zook
Pat Fitzgerald
Bret Bielema
Joe Tiller
Jim Tresssel
Bill Lynch
(lunch break)
Mark Dantonio
Tim Brewster
Joe Paterno
Kirk Ferentz
Rich Rodriguez
They start at 10:30 and go until 2. At 2, Jim Delany takes the floor for about an hour.
You can also watch all of this on Big Ten Network.
The order of the speakers today is:
Ron Zook
Pat Fitzgerald
Bret Bielema
Joe Tiller
Jim Tresssel
Bill Lynch
(lunch break)
Mark Dantonio
Tim Brewster
Joe Paterno
Kirk Ferentz
Rich Rodriguez
They start at 10:30 and go until 2. At 2, Jim Delany takes the floor for about an hour.
You can also watch all of this on Big Ten Network.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Brees gets another weapon
The Saints traded a couple of future draft picks to the NY Giants for TE Jeremy Shockey, giving Drew Brees another weapon in the Saint offense.
Brees has always been good to his tight ends. He helped make Tim Stratton at Purdue a Mackey Award winner and an all-American. He and Antonio Gates had a good thing going in San Diego as well. So Shockey can expect to get the ball if he gets open, which is what he does best.
Shockey was moved because of an attitude problem in NY. With the Saints, he's reunited with coach Sean Payton, who was his offensive coordinator his rookie year, which remains his best season, statistically. The Saints are counting on a change of scenery creating a change of attitude, and a very productive year.
Brees has always been good to his tight ends. He helped make Tim Stratton at Purdue a Mackey Award winner and an all-American. He and Antonio Gates had a good thing going in San Diego as well. So Shockey can expect to get the ball if he gets open, which is what he does best.
Shockey was moved because of an attitude problem in NY. With the Saints, he's reunited with coach Sean Payton, who was his offensive coordinator his rookie year, which remains his best season, statistically. The Saints are counting on a change of scenery creating a change of attitude, and a very productive year.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Another Uggly loss for NL
Some thoughts and notes from the all-star game.
It took a record-tying 15 innings, but the AL finally pushed the NL off the Lidge (Brad, the losing pitcher) for a 4-3 win.
In terms of time, it was the longest game ever.
Every available player on both rosters got in the game.
Winning pitcher, Scott Kazmir of Tampa Bay, wasn't supposed to play, but manager Terry Francona ran out of arms.
JD Drew was the MVP, and he deserved it.
Dan Uggla was easily the LVP, and turned in quite possibly the worst performance ever by an all-star. He was 0-4 at the plate with three strikeouts and a double play. On the DP and one of the strikeouts, he had a chance to give the NL an extra-inning lead by driving in a runner from third with less than two outs. He also made three errors, all by failing to field a ground ball cleanly. He fumbled another grounder as well, but still managed to get the out. Two of the errors came in one inning, but none of them led to a run.
It was a rough night for some others too. The umps blew calls on at least two tag plays, one at second and one at home. Even announcer Joe Buck made three silly mistakes, like miscounting hits and confusing positions.
Honoring the Hall of Famers is nice, but MLB went overboard. It took longer to announce the starting lineups (and not even in order) than to play the first four innings of the game.
Tim Lincecum of the Giants missed the game because he had been hospitalized that morning with flu-like symptoms. Still, I thought they should have "introduced" him with the rest of the NL reserves, and announced why he wasn't there. Instead, they just skipped him entirely, like he wasn't even named to the team.
The locals had kind of hit-and-miss games. Kosuke Fukudome, Geovany Soto, Carlos Quentin and Joe Crede were a combined 0-9. Aramis Ramirez batted once and walked. He immediately came out of the game for a pinch runner (who was caught stealing). The pitchers fared better though. Carlos Zambrano faced six hitters in two innings. He got a double play after giving up a hit in the third, and picked off a runner in the fourth. He was in line to pick up the win for the NL before Drew's HR tied the game. Ryan Dempster struck out the side in the 9th and Carlos Marmol struck out two of the four hitters he faced in the 13th. The only runner against Marmol reached on an Uggla error.
Washington SS Cristian Guzman played 3B for the rest of the game after pinch running for Ramirez, even though he has never played the position in the big leagues.
Colorado pitcher Aaron Cook pitched three adventurous innings, but didn't get scored on. In the 11th, he faced five hitters, the first four of which reached base. One was wiped out on a caught stealing and another was thrown out at home. Both of those calls were questionable.
Pretty bold of Budweiser to go on with the ad campaign referring to Bud as the Great American Lager, don't you think?
I could go the rest of my life and never hear another word about Yankee Stadium. And I like the place.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Billy packs it in
Billy Packer is gone from the airwaves of college basketball. CBS and Packer mutually agreed to end their relationship, and Packer will not broadcast ACC games on Raycom either. Packer says he is working on other college basketball projects.
Presumably, that will not involve learning about the tournament selection process. For a guy who was supposedly intelligent, that was a subject upon which he was woefully ignorant. I suspect that was by choice. I used to dread the part of the selection show where he would get to interview the selection committee chair because he would usually beat the drum for some completely irrelevant cause. My favorite was a couple of years ago when he whined ad nausem about the selection of several non-major at-large teams instead of middle-of-the-road ACC teams because the ACC had a better tournament history. As if that had ever mattered.
I have to say, I never really enjoyed listening to him call games either, mostly because he didn't seem to enjoy it. He seemed to be knowledgeable on the air, but there was no joy in his work.
Fortunately, I didn't watch him much because I have been to the last several Final Fours in person.
You may have noticed that I said he seemed knowledgeable "on the air." Off the air was different, and I say that from personal experience.
I met him when I was working at Michael Jordan's charity golf tournament in Chicago the summer before Glenn Robinson was to start playing for Purdue. I asked him if he thought the addition of Robinson would make Purdue a contender in the Big Ten and he said, and I quote, "I don't know. I never watch Purdue." He was a bit surly about it too.
I was floored. He has a reputation for being unpleasant off-camera, and he did not disappoint in that regard, so that's not why I was surprised. I could not believe a major national basketball analyst like him would admit to knowing nothing about Purdue.
I suppose he could have just been blowing me off, but it's not like I asked him about Prairie View A&M. You know, as annoying as Dick Vitale can be at times, he could tell you something about Prairie View. He has a passion for the college game. I just never got that from Packer - on air or off.
He'll be replaced by Clark Kellogg, who will be an improvement. Kellogg has always been one of my favorite analysts and it will be great to have him back courtside. Not that he was bad in the studio, but he should be doing games.
Presumably, that will not involve learning about the tournament selection process. For a guy who was supposedly intelligent, that was a subject upon which he was woefully ignorant. I suspect that was by choice. I used to dread the part of the selection show where he would get to interview the selection committee chair because he would usually beat the drum for some completely irrelevant cause. My favorite was a couple of years ago when he whined ad nausem about the selection of several non-major at-large teams instead of middle-of-the-road ACC teams because the ACC had a better tournament history. As if that had ever mattered.
I have to say, I never really enjoyed listening to him call games either, mostly because he didn't seem to enjoy it. He seemed to be knowledgeable on the air, but there was no joy in his work.
Fortunately, I didn't watch him much because I have been to the last several Final Fours in person.
You may have noticed that I said he seemed knowledgeable "on the air." Off the air was different, and I say that from personal experience.
I met him when I was working at Michael Jordan's charity golf tournament in Chicago the summer before Glenn Robinson was to start playing for Purdue. I asked him if he thought the addition of Robinson would make Purdue a contender in the Big Ten and he said, and I quote, "I don't know. I never watch Purdue." He was a bit surly about it too.
I was floored. He has a reputation for being unpleasant off-camera, and he did not disappoint in that regard, so that's not why I was surprised. I could not believe a major national basketball analyst like him would admit to knowing nothing about Purdue.
I suppose he could have just been blowing me off, but it's not like I asked him about Prairie View A&M. You know, as annoying as Dick Vitale can be at times, he could tell you something about Prairie View. He has a passion for the college game. I just never got that from Packer - on air or off.
He'll be replaced by Clark Kellogg, who will be an improvement. Kellogg has always been one of my favorite analysts and it will be great to have him back courtside. Not that he was bad in the studio, but he should be doing games.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Team charter gets no break
The Cubs added a NL record-tying eighth all-star to the roster today when recent whipping boy Carlos Marmol was selected to replace Kerry Wood, who will miss the game with a blister.
Marmol was selected because he had the highest vote total among relief pitchers on the players' ballot. He is the only pitcher on either roster who is not a starter or a closer.
The last team with eight all-stars was the 1960 Pirates. The 1958 Yankees had nine. Of course, two Cubs will not play because of injury (Wood and Alfonso Soriano) and a third, Ryan Dempster, may not be available because he pitched today.
The Cubs go into the break with a 4.5-game lead over St. Louis in the division and are tied with the Angels for the best record in baseball.
Oh, and let's not neglect the White Sox, which are also in first. They have a 1.5-game lead over the Twins at the break after both teams lost today.
It's the first time since 1977 that both teams were in first at the all-star break. Neither team made the playoffs that year. Here's hoping both teams get it right this time.
Marmol was selected because he had the highest vote total among relief pitchers on the players' ballot. He is the only pitcher on either roster who is not a starter or a closer.
The last team with eight all-stars was the 1960 Pirates. The 1958 Yankees had nine. Of course, two Cubs will not play because of injury (Wood and Alfonso Soriano) and a third, Ryan Dempster, may not be available because he pitched today.
The Cubs go into the break with a 4.5-game lead over St. Louis in the division and are tied with the Angels for the best record in baseball.
Oh, and let's not neglect the White Sox, which are also in first. They have a 1.5-game lead over the Twins at the break after both teams lost today.
It's the first time since 1977 that both teams were in first at the all-star break. Neither team made the playoffs that year. Here's hoping both teams get it right this time.
Cub All-star count falling
Cub All-stars are dropping like flies hit to Brant Brown.
Alfonso Soriano was officially replaced on the roster this week by Mets' 3B David Wright after Wright failed to win the final fan vote. Colorado's Matt Holliday will take Soriano's spot in the starting lineup.
Now, Kerry Wood has a blister on his finger and won't be able to play. He has not been replaced on the roster yet because the injury was only discovered yesterday.
By the way, that does not excuse Lou Piniella for leaving Carlos Marmol in to blow a five run lead against the Giants in the ninth inning yesterday. When Marmol is good, he's unhittable, but when he's bad, nobody is safe out there. Not the hitter, not the catcher, not the umpire, not even the guy in the on-deck circle. It's not hard to tell when Marmol is off his game because he misses the plate by feet, not inches.
Marmol hasn't been good much lately, and yesterday was no exception. Piniella did have the sense to get Sean Marshall up in the pen, but even after Marshall was ready, he left Marmol in to implode. Marmol's last outing was the other night against Cincinnati. He had a four run lead when he took the mound in the ninth. After getting the first two guys out, he lost it. He gave up a hit, threw a wild pitch, and walked two more before Wood came in and got the third out. This time, Lou didn't pull the trigger, and the lead went away.
That poor decision cost Rich Harden a win in his debut with Cubs. He pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out 10. It was a hot, humid day and he threw 96 pitches, so that's why his day was a little short.
The Cubs did come back and win in the 11th with a rally started by a lead-off single by Marshall, so the only victim of Piniella's slow hook was Harden.
However, Marmol's ineffectiveness has to be a concern going into the break. In his last 12 appearances, dating back to June 19 at Tampa, Marmol has retired every batter he has faced only four times. Keep in mind that he rarely pitches for more than one inning. In the other eight trips to the mound, he has given up 14 runs, 13 earned, 11 hits, 10 walks, 4 hit batters, and has watched his ERA balloon from 2.09 to 4.13.
Probably no Cub needs the all-star rest more than Carlos.
Alfonso Soriano was officially replaced on the roster this week by Mets' 3B David Wright after Wright failed to win the final fan vote. Colorado's Matt Holliday will take Soriano's spot in the starting lineup.
Now, Kerry Wood has a blister on his finger and won't be able to play. He has not been replaced on the roster yet because the injury was only discovered yesterday.
By the way, that does not excuse Lou Piniella for leaving Carlos Marmol in to blow a five run lead against the Giants in the ninth inning yesterday. When Marmol is good, he's unhittable, but when he's bad, nobody is safe out there. Not the hitter, not the catcher, not the umpire, not even the guy in the on-deck circle. It's not hard to tell when Marmol is off his game because he misses the plate by feet, not inches.
Marmol hasn't been good much lately, and yesterday was no exception. Piniella did have the sense to get Sean Marshall up in the pen, but even after Marshall was ready, he left Marmol in to implode. Marmol's last outing was the other night against Cincinnati. He had a four run lead when he took the mound in the ninth. After getting the first two guys out, he lost it. He gave up a hit, threw a wild pitch, and walked two more before Wood came in and got the third out. This time, Lou didn't pull the trigger, and the lead went away.
That poor decision cost Rich Harden a win in his debut with Cubs. He pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out 10. It was a hot, humid day and he threw 96 pitches, so that's why his day was a little short.
The Cubs did come back and win in the 11th with a rally started by a lead-off single by Marshall, so the only victim of Piniella's slow hook was Harden.
However, Marmol's ineffectiveness has to be a concern going into the break. In his last 12 appearances, dating back to June 19 at Tampa, Marmol has retired every batter he has faced only four times. Keep in mind that he rarely pitches for more than one inning. In the other eight trips to the mound, he has given up 14 runs, 13 earned, 11 hits, 10 walks, 4 hit batters, and has watched his ERA balloon from 2.09 to 4.13.
Probably no Cub needs the all-star rest more than Carlos.
Decluttering my life
I haven't written for a few days because I have been very busy preparing for, then executing, a garage sale.
There are two parts to a garage sale, deciding what to sell, and pricing it. Deciding what to sell is pretty easy for us. With four kids, and no more expected, we can try to get rid of clothes, toys and other things our youngest has outgrown. We also have a lot of furniture that we have acquired over the years, so we put the stuff sitting in my basement out as well. And then we grabbed a handful of things that we no longer used out (ok, junk) to see if we had any takers.
Pricing things is harder. Some of our furniture came from my grandmother and is pretty old, if not outright "antique." Some of it is in better shape than others. Some of the things we wanted to get rid of pretty badly, and some we wouldn't be disappointed to keep.
We ran our sale for six hours each on Friday and Saturday, and I was surprised that we made about the same amount of money each day. I thought Friday would be slower because it was a work day, but it was just as busy as Saturday. We did not sell any of our larger furniture items (couch, dining room set), but we did dispose of a dresser and some smaller tables and chairs. We were also able to find a home for a lot of our baby items, including a crib, bassinet and pack 'n' play.
And, amazingly, just about every knick-knack and piece of junk we were hoping to get rid was sold. We got rid of things like an old shake machine, a stationary, recumbent bicycle, and a couple of plastic, indoor trees.
One of the things I was least looking forward to was haggling, but even that wasn't too bad. Sometimes, people would ask if I would take a specific lower price for something (which I would accept or not based on how badly I wanted to be rid of the item), but most people just payed whatever I asked, or left it.
My expectations for this experience were pretty low. I didn't think I'd move very much. I didn't think I'd make enough money to make it worth my time. I was leery of having so many strangers traipsing about my place, even on the outside. I have to say though, it was a lot better than I thought. I can't say that I was "hooked" and that now I'll become one of those garage sale junkies, like the people down the street from us who have garage sales almost every week. I will probably try another one though. Just not this week. I need a nap.
There are two parts to a garage sale, deciding what to sell, and pricing it. Deciding what to sell is pretty easy for us. With four kids, and no more expected, we can try to get rid of clothes, toys and other things our youngest has outgrown. We also have a lot of furniture that we have acquired over the years, so we put the stuff sitting in my basement out as well. And then we grabbed a handful of things that we no longer used out (ok, junk) to see if we had any takers.
Pricing things is harder. Some of our furniture came from my grandmother and is pretty old, if not outright "antique." Some of it is in better shape than others. Some of the things we wanted to get rid of pretty badly, and some we wouldn't be disappointed to keep.
We ran our sale for six hours each on Friday and Saturday, and I was surprised that we made about the same amount of money each day. I thought Friday would be slower because it was a work day, but it was just as busy as Saturday. We did not sell any of our larger furniture items (couch, dining room set), but we did dispose of a dresser and some smaller tables and chairs. We were also able to find a home for a lot of our baby items, including a crib, bassinet and pack 'n' play.
And, amazingly, just about every knick-knack and piece of junk we were hoping to get rid was sold. We got rid of things like an old shake machine, a stationary, recumbent bicycle, and a couple of plastic, indoor trees.
One of the things I was least looking forward to was haggling, but even that wasn't too bad. Sometimes, people would ask if I would take a specific lower price for something (which I would accept or not based on how badly I wanted to be rid of the item), but most people just payed whatever I asked, or left it.
My expectations for this experience were pretty low. I didn't think I'd move very much. I didn't think I'd make enough money to make it worth my time. I was leery of having so many strangers traipsing about my place, even on the outside. I have to say though, it was a lot better than I thought. I can't say that I was "hooked" and that now I'll become one of those garage sale junkies, like the people down the street from us who have garage sales almost every week. I will probably try another one though. Just not this week. I need a nap.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Cubs answer Milwaukee
The Cubs went out and got one of the top starting pitchers in the AL when they acquired Rich Harden from Oakland.
The right-handed Harden is 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts. He has 92 strikeouts and 31 walks in 77.2 innings. He missed most of April with an injury, and that's the rub with Harden. He seems to be a bit fragile. He has not made more than 12 straight starts since he did that in 2005. That might concern the Cubs a bit since his current streak is 11.
The good news about his injuries is that he hasn't had surgery. Yet. But when healthy, he's been one of the best in the American League.
The Cubs also got Chad Gaudin, a righty who made six starts early in the season, but has been in the bullpen ever since. He is 5-3 with a 3.59 ERA.
Gaudin will probably be middle relief/setup, a similar role to that of Bob Howry and Scott Eyre. Obviously, he could spot start as well.
The Cubs gave up Sean Gallagher, a young guy who could have a promising future. They also gave up journeyman OF Matt Murton, OF/2B Eric Patterson (the Cubs also traded his brother Corey a couple of years ago), and minor league C John Donaldson, who is expendable because of the emergence of Geovany Soto. Donaldson played Ryne Sandberg at class A Peoria.
Harden, by the way, is from Canada. One of the Cubs best pitchers ever, Fergie Jenkins, is also Canadian. He will make his Cubs debut Friday or Saturday against San Francisco.
You'd be hard pressed to find a better top three starters than the Cubs have in Zambrano, Harden and Dempster.
The Cubs have also reportedly signed their top draft choice, TCU P Andrew Cashner.
The right-handed Harden is 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts. He has 92 strikeouts and 31 walks in 77.2 innings. He missed most of April with an injury, and that's the rub with Harden. He seems to be a bit fragile. He has not made more than 12 straight starts since he did that in 2005. That might concern the Cubs a bit since his current streak is 11.
The good news about his injuries is that he hasn't had surgery. Yet. But when healthy, he's been one of the best in the American League.
The Cubs also got Chad Gaudin, a righty who made six starts early in the season, but has been in the bullpen ever since. He is 5-3 with a 3.59 ERA.
Gaudin will probably be middle relief/setup, a similar role to that of Bob Howry and Scott Eyre. Obviously, he could spot start as well.
The Cubs gave up Sean Gallagher, a young guy who could have a promising future. They also gave up journeyman OF Matt Murton, OF/2B Eric Patterson (the Cubs also traded his brother Corey a couple of years ago), and minor league C John Donaldson, who is expendable because of the emergence of Geovany Soto. Donaldson played Ryne Sandberg at class A Peoria.
Harden, by the way, is from Canada. One of the Cubs best pitchers ever, Fergie Jenkins, is also Canadian. He will make his Cubs debut Friday or Saturday against San Francisco.
You'd be hard pressed to find a better top three starters than the Cubs have in Zambrano, Harden and Dempster.
The Cubs have also reportedly signed their top draft choice, TCU P Andrew Cashner.
Cubs better watch their backs
The Brewers picked up CC Sabathia from the Indians (for a ton of minor league talent) yesterday, sending a message to the Cubs and Cardinals that they intend to be in the Central race for the long haul.
Sabathia and Ben Sheets become one of the best 1-2 starter combos in the league. They're right up there with Brandon Webb and Dan Haren of Arizona, and the Cubs' Zambrano and Dempster.
There was talk that the Cubs would be in the market for Sabathia, but the Brewers made them an offer of minor leaguers that the Indians couldn't refuse and that the Cubs likely wouldn't have matched. The big name going to Cleveland is AA star Matt LaPorta, who already has 20 homers and 66 RBIs this year. LaPorta was Milwaukee's first round draft choice last year.
The Indians also got two other minor leaguers and a third as a "player to be named."
Sabathia and Ben Sheets become one of the best 1-2 starter combos in the league. They're right up there with Brandon Webb and Dan Haren of Arizona, and the Cubs' Zambrano and Dempster.
There was talk that the Cubs would be in the market for Sabathia, but the Brewers made them an offer of minor leaguers that the Indians couldn't refuse and that the Cubs likely wouldn't have matched. The big name going to Cleveland is AA star Matt LaPorta, who already has 20 homers and 66 RBIs this year. LaPorta was Milwaukee's first round draft choice last year.
The Indians also got two other minor leaguers and a third as a "player to be named."
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Real All star rosters
The all-star rosters have been announced, and there were a couple of surprises.
The AL starters held form. David Ortiz was voted as the starting DH, but because of injury, was replaced in the starting lineup by Milton Bradley of Texas, who was elected to the roster by the players.
Other AL reserves elected by the players include:
C: Jason Varitek, Bos (.218, 7 HR, easily the worst player elected by either fans or players - quite possibly the worst player ever selected as a reserve)
1B: Justin Morneau, Min
2B: Ian Kinsler, Tex
SS: Michael Young, Tex
3B: Joe Crede, Chi
OF: Carlos Quentin, Chi
Grady Sizemore, Cle
The players also selected pitchers Roy Halliday (Tor), Scott Kazmir (Tam), Cliff Lee (Cle), Jonathan Papelbon (Bos), Mariano Rivera (NY), Joakim Soria (KC), Frankie Rodriguez, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders (Ana).
Francona had five choices, but had to pick players from Baltimore, Detroit and Oakland, who were not represented among the players chosen by the fans and other players.
He picked Orioles' P George Sherrill, P Justin Duchscherer of the A's and Tigers' OF Carlos Guillen. He also picked Tampa's C Dioner Navarro and Twins' closer Joe Nathan.
So, five of the 24 players I would have chosen as pitchers/reserves were not among the 23 chosen on the AL squad today. I had AJ Pierzynski, who isn't terribly popular among players, Placido Polanco as the Detroit rep, Dice-K, Sox OF Jermaine Dye and Tampa 3B and desperate housewife Evan Longoria.
Longoria and Dye still have a chance. They are among the five "final vote" candidates. Fans can vote at mlb.com for one last player. The other candidates are Jason Giambi of NY, who will win, Baltimore 2B Brian Roberts, and KC OF Jose Guillen. I would vote for Dye.
In the NL, a last minute race between Kosuke Fukudome of the Cubs and Milwaukee's Ryan Braun for the final starting spot in the outfield ended up securing both of them spots and knocking out Cincinnati's Ken Griffey, Jr. In fact, Braun ended up the leading vote-getter at the position. So instead of Fukudome getting left off for the Cardinals' Ryan Ludwick, it was Junior who didn't make it.
The other NL starters were the same as the week before.
The player-elected reserves are:
C: Russell Martin, LA
1B: Adrian Gonzalez, SD
2B: Dan Uggla, Fla
SS: Miguel Tejada, Hou
3B: Aramis Ramirez, Chi
OF: Matt Holliday, Col
Nate McLouth, Pit
Ryan Ludwick, Stl
They also elected pitchers Aaron Cook (Col), Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood (Chi), Brad Lidge (Phi), Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson (SF), Ben Sheets (Mil), Edison Volquez (Cin), Brandon Webb (Ari).
Clint Hurdle's picks were SS Cristian Guzman, Washington's only representative, Atlanta C Brian McCann, pitchers Dan Haren (Ari) and Billy Wagner, the lone Met so far, and two guys that I cannot believe were not elected otherwise, Albert Pujols of St. Louis and Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs.
I missed on six reserves for the NL (counting that I mentioned I would take Ludwick if a spot opened for him). Two of the guys I missed, OF Carlos Lee (Hou), who gets my vote, and Pat Burrell (Phi) are among the five last chance finalists. The others are NY 3B David Wright, who will win, OF Aaron Rowand (SF) and OF Corey Hart (Mil).
One of those guys may get added when it is finally determined that Alfonso Soriano can't play. That's not official yet.
A couple of Cubs all-star notes. Soto is the first rookie to be elected to start as the NL catcher ever. He is also the first Cub catcher to get the honor since 1937 (Gabby Hartnett). Ryan Dempster's last all-star appearance was as a starter in 2002. He's a starter again, but last year, he was the Cubs closer. Kerry Wood's last all-star appearance in 2003 was also as a starter, but now he's the Cubs closer.
There are seven Cubs on the squad (even without Derrek Lee), and no other NL team has more than two. The Red Sox also have seven all-stars.
The AL starters held form. David Ortiz was voted as the starting DH, but because of injury, was replaced in the starting lineup by Milton Bradley of Texas, who was elected to the roster by the players.
Other AL reserves elected by the players include:
C: Jason Varitek, Bos (.218, 7 HR, easily the worst player elected by either fans or players - quite possibly the worst player ever selected as a reserve)
1B: Justin Morneau, Min
2B: Ian Kinsler, Tex
SS: Michael Young, Tex
3B: Joe Crede, Chi
OF: Carlos Quentin, Chi
Grady Sizemore, Cle
The players also selected pitchers Roy Halliday (Tor), Scott Kazmir (Tam), Cliff Lee (Cle), Jonathan Papelbon (Bos), Mariano Rivera (NY), Joakim Soria (KC), Frankie Rodriguez, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders (Ana).
Francona had five choices, but had to pick players from Baltimore, Detroit and Oakland, who were not represented among the players chosen by the fans and other players.
He picked Orioles' P George Sherrill, P Justin Duchscherer of the A's and Tigers' OF Carlos Guillen. He also picked Tampa's C Dioner Navarro and Twins' closer Joe Nathan.
So, five of the 24 players I would have chosen as pitchers/reserves were not among the 23 chosen on the AL squad today. I had AJ Pierzynski, who isn't terribly popular among players, Placido Polanco as the Detroit rep, Dice-K, Sox OF Jermaine Dye and Tampa 3B and desperate housewife Evan Longoria.
Longoria and Dye still have a chance. They are among the five "final vote" candidates. Fans can vote at mlb.com for one last player. The other candidates are Jason Giambi of NY, who will win, Baltimore 2B Brian Roberts, and KC OF Jose Guillen. I would vote for Dye.
In the NL, a last minute race between Kosuke Fukudome of the Cubs and Milwaukee's Ryan Braun for the final starting spot in the outfield ended up securing both of them spots and knocking out Cincinnati's Ken Griffey, Jr. In fact, Braun ended up the leading vote-getter at the position. So instead of Fukudome getting left off for the Cardinals' Ryan Ludwick, it was Junior who didn't make it.
The other NL starters were the same as the week before.
The player-elected reserves are:
C: Russell Martin, LA
1B: Adrian Gonzalez, SD
2B: Dan Uggla, Fla
SS: Miguel Tejada, Hou
3B: Aramis Ramirez, Chi
OF: Matt Holliday, Col
Nate McLouth, Pit
Ryan Ludwick, Stl
They also elected pitchers Aaron Cook (Col), Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood (Chi), Brad Lidge (Phi), Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson (SF), Ben Sheets (Mil), Edison Volquez (Cin), Brandon Webb (Ari).
Clint Hurdle's picks were SS Cristian Guzman, Washington's only representative, Atlanta C Brian McCann, pitchers Dan Haren (Ari) and Billy Wagner, the lone Met so far, and two guys that I cannot believe were not elected otherwise, Albert Pujols of St. Louis and Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs.
I missed on six reserves for the NL (counting that I mentioned I would take Ludwick if a spot opened for him). Two of the guys I missed, OF Carlos Lee (Hou), who gets my vote, and Pat Burrell (Phi) are among the five last chance finalists. The others are NY 3B David Wright, who will win, OF Aaron Rowand (SF) and OF Corey Hart (Mil).
One of those guys may get added when it is finally determined that Alfonso Soriano can't play. That's not official yet.
A couple of Cubs all-star notes. Soto is the first rookie to be elected to start as the NL catcher ever. He is also the first Cub catcher to get the honor since 1937 (Gabby Hartnett). Ryan Dempster's last all-star appearance was as a starter in 2002. He's a starter again, but last year, he was the Cubs closer. Kerry Wood's last all-star appearance in 2003 was also as a starter, but now he's the Cubs closer.
There are seven Cubs on the squad (even without Derrek Lee), and no other NL team has more than two. The Red Sox also have seven all-stars.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
All-Star Rosters
Not that Clint Hurdle and Terry Francona asked, but here's who should make the MLB All-Star teams, which will be announced tomorrow.
Note that I am listing 32-man teams, but only 31 get picked tomorrow. The fans then vote on each league's 32nd player, and that winner is announced July 10th. Also, each team has to be represented. Actually, I'm listing 33 because each team has a player who will be voted as a starter that will miss the game with an injury.
Kosuke Fukudome may not make the team if he doesn't get voted on. He's the only player among the likely starters in that position. If he doesn't make it, I would expect Ryan Ludwick (Stl) to take his place.
*- Likely starter
AL
C: *-Joe Mauer, Min
AJ Pierzynski, Chi
1B: *-Kevin Youkilis, Bos
Justin Morneau, Min
2B: *-Dustin Pedroia, Bos
Ian Kinsler, Tex
Placido Polanco, Det
SS: *-Derek Jeter, NY
Michael Young, Tex
3B: *-Alex Rodriguez, NY
Evan Longoria, Tam
Mike Lowell, Bos
OF: *-Manny Ramirez, Bos
*-Josh Hamilton, Tex
*-Ichiro Suzuki, Sea
JD Drew, Bos
Jermaine Dye, Chi
Carlos Quentin, Chi
Grady Sizemore, Cle
DH: *-David Ortiz, Bos (Inj)
Milton Bradley, Tex
SP: *-Justin Duchscherer, Oak
Roy Halladay, Tor
Scott Kazmir, Tam (L)
Cliff Lee, Cle (L)
Daisuke Matsuzaka, Bos
Ervin Santana, Ana
Joe Saunders, Ana (L)
RP: Joe Nathan, Min
Mariano Rivera, NY
Francisco Rodriguez, Ana
George Sherrill, Bal (L)
Joakim Soria, KC
By team (starters): 7-Bos(4), 4-Tex (1), 3-Ana, Chi, Min (1), NY (2), 2-Cle, Tam, 1-Bal, Det, KC, Oak (1), Sea (1), Tor
NL
C: *-Geovany Soto, Chi
Russell Martin, LA
Brian McCann, Atl
1B: *-Lance Berkman, Hou
Albert Pujols, Stl (DH)
Derrek Lee, Chi
Adrian Gonzalez, SD
2B: *-Chase Utley, Phl
Dan Uggla, Fla
SS: *-Hanley Ramirez, Fla
Jose Reyes, NY
3B: *-Chipper Jones, Atl
Aramis Ramirez, Chi
OF: *-Alfonso Soriano, Chi (Inj)
*-Ken Griffey, Cin
*-Kosuke Fukudome, Chi
Xavier Nady, Pit
Carlos Lee, Hou
Pat Burrell, Phi
Ryan Braun, Mil
Matt Holliday, Col
SP: *-Brandon Webb, Ari
Tim Lincecum, SF
Ben Sheets, Mil
Dan Haren, Ari
Edison Volquez, Cin
Carlos Zambrano, Chi
Johan Santana, NY (L)
Aaron Cook, Col
RP: Kerry Wood, Chi
Brad Lidge, Phi
Billy Wagner, NY (L)
Jon Rauch, Was
By team (starters): 7-Chi (3), 3-NY, Phl (1), 2-Ari (1), Atl (1), Cin (1), Col, Fla (1), Hou (1), Mil, 1-LA, Pit, SD, SF, Stl (1), Was
Note that I am listing 32-man teams, but only 31 get picked tomorrow. The fans then vote on each league's 32nd player, and that winner is announced July 10th. Also, each team has to be represented. Actually, I'm listing 33 because each team has a player who will be voted as a starter that will miss the game with an injury.
Kosuke Fukudome may not make the team if he doesn't get voted on. He's the only player among the likely starters in that position. If he doesn't make it, I would expect Ryan Ludwick (Stl) to take his place.
*- Likely starter
AL
C: *-Joe Mauer, Min
AJ Pierzynski, Chi
1B: *-Kevin Youkilis, Bos
Justin Morneau, Min
2B: *-Dustin Pedroia, Bos
Ian Kinsler, Tex
Placido Polanco, Det
SS: *-Derek Jeter, NY
Michael Young, Tex
3B: *-Alex Rodriguez, NY
Evan Longoria, Tam
Mike Lowell, Bos
OF: *-Manny Ramirez, Bos
*-Josh Hamilton, Tex
*-Ichiro Suzuki, Sea
JD Drew, Bos
Jermaine Dye, Chi
Carlos Quentin, Chi
Grady Sizemore, Cle
DH: *-David Ortiz, Bos (Inj)
Milton Bradley, Tex
SP: *-Justin Duchscherer, Oak
Roy Halladay, Tor
Scott Kazmir, Tam (L)
Cliff Lee, Cle (L)
Daisuke Matsuzaka, Bos
Ervin Santana, Ana
Joe Saunders, Ana (L)
RP: Joe Nathan, Min
Mariano Rivera, NY
Francisco Rodriguez, Ana
George Sherrill, Bal (L)
Joakim Soria, KC
By team (starters): 7-Bos(4), 4-Tex (1), 3-Ana, Chi, Min (1), NY (2), 2-Cle, Tam, 1-Bal, Det, KC, Oak (1), Sea (1), Tor
NL
C: *-Geovany Soto, Chi
Russell Martin, LA
Brian McCann, Atl
1B: *-Lance Berkman, Hou
Albert Pujols, Stl (DH)
Derrek Lee, Chi
Adrian Gonzalez, SD
2B: *-Chase Utley, Phl
Dan Uggla, Fla
SS: *-Hanley Ramirez, Fla
Jose Reyes, NY
3B: *-Chipper Jones, Atl
Aramis Ramirez, Chi
OF: *-Alfonso Soriano, Chi (Inj)
*-Ken Griffey, Cin
*-Kosuke Fukudome, Chi
Xavier Nady, Pit
Carlos Lee, Hou
Pat Burrell, Phi
Ryan Braun, Mil
Matt Holliday, Col
SP: *-Brandon Webb, Ari
Tim Lincecum, SF
Ben Sheets, Mil
Dan Haren, Ari
Edison Volquez, Cin
Carlos Zambrano, Chi
Johan Santana, NY (L)
Aaron Cook, Col
RP: Kerry Wood, Chi
Brad Lidge, Phi
Billy Wagner, NY (L)
Jon Rauch, Was
By team (starters): 7-Chi (3), 3-NY, Phl (1), 2-Ari (1), Atl (1), Cin (1), Col, Fla (1), Hou (1), Mil, 1-LA, Pit, SD, SF, Stl (1), Was
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Falling off the mountain
Last year, Dario Franchitti was on top of the racing world. He won the Indianapolis 500, only the second Scot to do so, and followed that up with a IRL series championship as well. He did all that as a member of Andretti Green Racing.
He saw that as an opportunity to follow the money to NASCAR. He signed with Chip Ganassi's team to drive the #40 car, becoming the first European to drive on the good ol' boy circuit. Things have not gone well for Dario since.
As of now, he is 41st in the point standings. That has him just above the Kyle Petty line (the NASCAR equivalent of baseball's Mendoza line). He has only started 10 races out of 17 and has finished in the top 30 only twice. His best finish was 22nd at Martinsville at the end of March. He missed the entire month of May with an ankle injury suffered in a NASCAR minor league race at the end of April. Two weeks ago, he failed to qualify at Sonoma, and had another DNQ earlier at Texas.
In racing though, all of that is forgivable as long as the sponsors are happy. But, in Franchitti's case, he didn't have a sponsor. He was running on Ganassi's dime and yesterday, Ganassi decided it was time to cut his losses. He announced that he was shutting down the #40 car for the year.
All this just 13 months after taking a sip of milk at Indianapolis.
Don't feel too bad for Franchitti though. At least he's still married to Ashley Judd.
He saw that as an opportunity to follow the money to NASCAR. He signed with Chip Ganassi's team to drive the #40 car, becoming the first European to drive on the good ol' boy circuit. Things have not gone well for Dario since.
As of now, he is 41st in the point standings. That has him just above the Kyle Petty line (the NASCAR equivalent of baseball's Mendoza line). He has only started 10 races out of 17 and has finished in the top 30 only twice. His best finish was 22nd at Martinsville at the end of March. He missed the entire month of May with an ankle injury suffered in a NASCAR minor league race at the end of April. Two weeks ago, he failed to qualify at Sonoma, and had another DNQ earlier at Texas.
In racing though, all of that is forgivable as long as the sponsors are happy. But, in Franchitti's case, he didn't have a sponsor. He was running on Ganassi's dime and yesterday, Ganassi decided it was time to cut his losses. He announced that he was shutting down the #40 car for the year.
All this just 13 months after taking a sip of milk at Indianapolis.
Don't feel too bad for Franchitti though. At least he's still married to Ashley Judd.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Sign of the day
"Get Fireworks Here!" outside one of the 100,000 fireworks shops in Dyer, IN. The thing that made this one different is that it was hung on the side of an ambulance.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Minor league umps who belong there
I was gone camping last weekend with my son's Cub Scout den, so I missed most of the Cubs-Sox rematch, which ended up a Sox sweep (payback's a pitch). However, I did get to watch some of the Sunday night game, during which two minor league fill-in umps showed why they are still in the minors.
The trouble started pretty quickly. In the bottom of the second, Joe Crede tried, but failed, to check his swing on what would have been strike three, except that home plate ump Rob Drake didn't call it a swing. On the appeal, first base ump Chad Fairchild also blew the call.
That set Lou Piniella off. He came out of the first base dugout and took a few steps toward Fairchild, and yelling at him about the call. Fairchild held up his hand and told him not to come out. Piniella stopped, and slowly headed back toward the dugout, still yelling at Fairchild.
Meanwhile, Drake moseyed over from home plate and threw Piniella out of the game - while Piniella had his back turned to him. In fact, Piniella never said a word to Drake, and didn't even know he had been ejected. Drake had to give him the thumb at least twice because Piniella didn't see it the first time. That really set Piniella off. He got right in Drake's face and gave him the business, following him all the way back to the plate. The third base ump finally came in to intervene and break things up.
Not a whole lot went right in this situation. Both umps blew the call. You're not allowed to argue balls and strikes (something the announcers overplayed), but debating whether someone swung the bat is different that arguing pitch location. It's more like arguing whether a ball is foul or fair. Piniella should get some leeway to debate that, and Fairchild - correctly - seemed ready to give him a smidgen.
Drake was way out of line ejecting Piniella. If anyone was going to do that, it should have been Fairchild. Drake wasn't even part of the discussion. It's one thing to have your partner's back, but at least wait for him to need the help. Fairchild isn't a baby. I'm sure he can take care of himself. In fact, he seemed to have the situation quite under control. Not five seconds had elapsed between the time Piniella came out of the dugout and Drake's ejection.
Later in the game, Fairchild blew another call on a play at first. Ronny Cedeno beat a throw, but Fairchild called him out. Manager pro tempore Alan Trammel came out to argue, and once again Drake moved into position to interfere, but Trammel finished before Drake could scratch that itchy trigger thumb.
Rough night for both guys (and I haven't even talked about Drake's strike zone yet). It was the kind of performance that gets you optioned back to AAA.
The trouble started pretty quickly. In the bottom of the second, Joe Crede tried, but failed, to check his swing on what would have been strike three, except that home plate ump Rob Drake didn't call it a swing. On the appeal, first base ump Chad Fairchild also blew the call.
That set Lou Piniella off. He came out of the first base dugout and took a few steps toward Fairchild, and yelling at him about the call. Fairchild held up his hand and told him not to come out. Piniella stopped, and slowly headed back toward the dugout, still yelling at Fairchild.
Meanwhile, Drake moseyed over from home plate and threw Piniella out of the game - while Piniella had his back turned to him. In fact, Piniella never said a word to Drake, and didn't even know he had been ejected. Drake had to give him the thumb at least twice because Piniella didn't see it the first time. That really set Piniella off. He got right in Drake's face and gave him the business, following him all the way back to the plate. The third base ump finally came in to intervene and break things up.
Not a whole lot went right in this situation. Both umps blew the call. You're not allowed to argue balls and strikes (something the announcers overplayed), but debating whether someone swung the bat is different that arguing pitch location. It's more like arguing whether a ball is foul or fair. Piniella should get some leeway to debate that, and Fairchild - correctly - seemed ready to give him a smidgen.
Drake was way out of line ejecting Piniella. If anyone was going to do that, it should have been Fairchild. Drake wasn't even part of the discussion. It's one thing to have your partner's back, but at least wait for him to need the help. Fairchild isn't a baby. I'm sure he can take care of himself. In fact, he seemed to have the situation quite under control. Not five seconds had elapsed between the time Piniella came out of the dugout and Drake's ejection.
Later in the game, Fairchild blew another call on a play at first. Ronny Cedeno beat a throw, but Fairchild called him out. Manager pro tempore Alan Trammel came out to argue, and once again Drake moved into position to interfere, but Trammel finished before Drake could scratch that itchy trigger thumb.
Rough night for both guys (and I haven't even talked about Drake's strike zone yet). It was the kind of performance that gets you optioned back to AAA.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Marmol finally gets hit
I was watching the Cubs last night when Carlos Marmol came in to pitch the eighth inning. Marmol was greeted with a leadoff single to right, which prompted Cubs announcer Len Kasper to point out, "that's the first hit he's given up since June 8th."
Of course, that doesn't mean he'd pitched well. In fact, he had been stinking up the joint lately. He hadn't given up any hits because he wasn't throwing strikes. He made seven straight hitless appearances before last night, and the first four of those were solid. But, last week against Tampa, he walked the first two batters he faced, then hit the next two, plating a run. Scott Eyre then came into the game and gave up a granny to Carl Crawford, so Marmol was charged with four runs, even though he didn't allow a hit.
In his next outing against the White Sox, he walked the bases loaded before allowing a run on a wild pitch. He did manage to get out of the inning unscathed otherwise.
Finally, in the first game against Baltimore, he seemed to have settled down some. Although he did hit another batter, he didn't allow anything else.
So, in three outings totaling two innings, he walked five, hit three more, threw a wild pitch and gave up five runs.
But no hits.
Of course, that doesn't mean he'd pitched well. In fact, he had been stinking up the joint lately. He hadn't given up any hits because he wasn't throwing strikes. He made seven straight hitless appearances before last night, and the first four of those were solid. But, last week against Tampa, he walked the first two batters he faced, then hit the next two, plating a run. Scott Eyre then came into the game and gave up a granny to Carl Crawford, so Marmol was charged with four runs, even though he didn't allow a hit.
In his next outing against the White Sox, he walked the bases loaded before allowing a run on a wild pitch. He did manage to get out of the inning unscathed otherwise.
Finally, in the first game against Baltimore, he seemed to have settled down some. Although he did hit another batter, he didn't allow anything else.
So, in three outings totaling two innings, he walked five, hit three more, threw a wild pitch and gave up five runs.
But no hits.
There's no need to fear, Wonderdog is here!
Fresno St won the College World Series 6-1 over Georgia last night, capping a remarkable postseason run.
Fresno entered the tournament with an RPI rating of 84, which basically means they only got into the NCAA tournament because they won their conference tournament.
Like basketball, the baseball tournament is a 64-team field. OK, technically, the men's basketball tournament is 65, but set that aside for the moment. In baseball, teams are broken into 16 regionals with the teams seeded 1-4 in each region. Fresno was a 4-seed in their region. That makes them roughly the equivalent to a 13-14 seed in the basketball field. So, Fresno winning the CWS is like Valparaiso winning the men's basketball championship.
Not just making the final four. Winning the whole thing.
For some perspective, when George Mason made the basketball Final Four in Indy three years ago, they were a 11-seed.
Oh, and the Bulldogs did all this without their best starting pitcher, Tanner Scheppers, who missed the CWS with an injury. Scheppers was the second round choice (48th overall) of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Wonderdogs, indeed.
For more coverage of this event, check out Eric Sorenson's Extra Innings blog.
Fresno entered the tournament with an RPI rating of 84, which basically means they only got into the NCAA tournament because they won their conference tournament.
Like basketball, the baseball tournament is a 64-team field. OK, technically, the men's basketball tournament is 65, but set that aside for the moment. In baseball, teams are broken into 16 regionals with the teams seeded 1-4 in each region. Fresno was a 4-seed in their region. That makes them roughly the equivalent to a 13-14 seed in the basketball field. So, Fresno winning the CWS is like Valparaiso winning the men's basketball championship.
Not just making the final four. Winning the whole thing.
For some perspective, when George Mason made the basketball Final Four in Indy three years ago, they were a 11-seed.
Oh, and the Bulldogs did all this without their best starting pitcher, Tanner Scheppers, who missed the CWS with an injury. Scheppers was the second round choice (48th overall) of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Wonderdogs, indeed.
For more coverage of this event, check out Eric Sorenson's Extra Innings blog.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Gorilla Ball
Rule #1 of attending a game is, "never leave your seat." That comes from when I took a friend of mine to his first Cubs game back in 1984. He got up in the bottom of the sixth to get a beer, and while standing in line and watching on TV, he saw his empty seat during the seventh-inning stretch as they showed our sheet sign, and then he saw it again a couple of batters later when a Cubs home run hit two rows below us in the right field bleachers. That was it for the Cubs offense in the game, and he missed it in the beer line. At least the Cubs won.
Apparently, this applies to watching on TV also. Last night, I was watching game two of the College World Series final between Georgia and Fresno St. I got to it a little late because of eating dinner, and when I turned it on, it was 5-0 UGa, withe Georgia still batting in the top of the 3rd. A few minutes later (now bottom 3rd), I had to put the little kids to bed. That only took 10-15 minutes, and when I came back, Georgia was up again in the 4th, but the game was now tied at 6. At the end of that inning, I went out to put up my grill - a relatively short task, but when I got back to the game, it was 8-6 Fresno. Runs were being scored at will, but only when I was away from the television.
I did manage to catch the last 15 runs of the game though, a 19-10 Fresno win that extends the series to a deciding game tonight. Pitchers, especially Georgia's, were hiding in the clubhouse, hoping not to get called into the game.
Check out my friend and CSTV colleague Eric Sorenson's coverage on his Extra Innings blog.
Apparently, this applies to watching on TV also. Last night, I was watching game two of the College World Series final between Georgia and Fresno St. I got to it a little late because of eating dinner, and when I turned it on, it was 5-0 UGa, withe Georgia still batting in the top of the 3rd. A few minutes later (now bottom 3rd), I had to put the little kids to bed. That only took 10-15 minutes, and when I came back, Georgia was up again in the 4th, but the game was now tied at 6. At the end of that inning, I went out to put up my grill - a relatively short task, but when I got back to the game, it was 8-6 Fresno. Runs were being scored at will, but only when I was away from the television.
I did manage to catch the last 15 runs of the game though, a 19-10 Fresno win that extends the series to a deciding game tonight. Pitchers, especially Georgia's, were hiding in the clubhouse, hoping not to get called into the game.
Check out my friend and CSTV colleague Eric Sorenson's coverage on his Extra Innings blog.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Not quite the big time
We had a chance to go see the Gary/South Shore Railcats on Saturday night. The Railcats play in the independent Northern League, with teams from Joliet and Schaumburg, IL, Kansas City, Fargo, and Winnipeg.
This is an interesting level of baseball. Most of these guys are minor league rejects. Some are local guys who tried out and latched on. A few are former major leaguers.
We saw Gary take on the Schaumburg Flyers, who has former Pittsburgh Pirate Jermaine Allensworth playing center field. Allensworth (who is from my wife's hometown of Anderson, IN and a fellow Boilermaker), played a few years in the bigs, kicked around the affiliated minors for a few more, and has been in the Northern League for the last five season. He played two years for the Railcats.
Guys like Allensworth stand out. He's better than everyone else. He never blows the routine play in the field. He has a polished swing. He doesn't make the silly baserunning error. You can tell he played pro ball once. He's just not good enough to anymore.
The rest of these guys might not be good enough to play on the teams I watch in the College World Series. There is a fair amount of slop (the home pitcher, warming up right before the start of the game, threw a wild pitch and the catcher overthrew second base by 30 feet on the throw down). The players play hard though, so it's fun to watch. They certainly aren't playing for the money. They get paid, but nobody makes a living.
Put me in coach!
Gary plays at the US Steel Yard, which is a nice, relatively new minor league joint. It seats about 6000, but almost none of it is in the outfield. There are a few seats near the RF line, and a hot tub section next to that, but otherwise, all the seats are in foul ground.
Like most minor league parks, there is a lot geared toward the kids. They even have a playground behind the hitting background in CF. There is also train tracks that run just past the left field wall, so we'll get a train going by every once in a while that gets every kid's attention. There are also not one, but two mascots, Rusty and Rascal. Rusty was my two-year-old daughter's favorite. They have kids competing for prizes between almost every inning. They also get to run across the outfield during one inning break.
My daughter's first crush
I missed quite a bit of this game (Gary won 6-5). I had the longest wait ever in a concession line - and I have been in a lot of concession lines. The line itself was short, but the guy right in front of me was ordering dinner for his family of six. It took the dimwitted woman trying to process this almost twenty minutes. Just waiting on this one guy, I missed the last two batters of the top of the fourth, the entire bottom of the fourth, and the first four batters of the fifth. I also spent an inning with my kids in the playground.
The game is almost besides the point though. The point is for the family to have a good night out without going broke, and we managed that.
We were all a little bleary-eyed when it was over
This is an interesting level of baseball. Most of these guys are minor league rejects. Some are local guys who tried out and latched on. A few are former major leaguers.
We saw Gary take on the Schaumburg Flyers, who has former Pittsburgh Pirate Jermaine Allensworth playing center field. Allensworth (who is from my wife's hometown of Anderson, IN and a fellow Boilermaker), played a few years in the bigs, kicked around the affiliated minors for a few more, and has been in the Northern League for the last five season. He played two years for the Railcats.
Guys like Allensworth stand out. He's better than everyone else. He never blows the routine play in the field. He has a polished swing. He doesn't make the silly baserunning error. You can tell he played pro ball once. He's just not good enough to anymore.
The rest of these guys might not be good enough to play on the teams I watch in the College World Series. There is a fair amount of slop (the home pitcher, warming up right before the start of the game, threw a wild pitch and the catcher overthrew second base by 30 feet on the throw down). The players play hard though, so it's fun to watch. They certainly aren't playing for the money. They get paid, but nobody makes a living.
Gary plays at the US Steel Yard, which is a nice, relatively new minor league joint. It seats about 6000, but almost none of it is in the outfield. There are a few seats near the RF line, and a hot tub section next to that, but otherwise, all the seats are in foul ground.
Like most minor league parks, there is a lot geared toward the kids. They even have a playground behind the hitting background in CF. There is also train tracks that run just past the left field wall, so we'll get a train going by every once in a while that gets every kid's attention. There are also not one, but two mascots, Rusty and Rascal. Rusty was my two-year-old daughter's favorite. They have kids competing for prizes between almost every inning. They also get to run across the outfield during one inning break.
I missed quite a bit of this game (Gary won 6-5). I had the longest wait ever in a concession line - and I have been in a lot of concession lines. The line itself was short, but the guy right in front of me was ordering dinner for his family of six. It took the dimwitted woman trying to process this almost twenty minutes. Just waiting on this one guy, I missed the last two batters of the top of the fourth, the entire bottom of the fourth, and the first four batters of the fifth. I also spent an inning with my kids in the playground.
The game is almost besides the point though. The point is for the family to have a good night out without going broke, and we managed that.
Monday, June 23, 2008
RIP George Carlin
He was one of the funniest [several words you can't say on television] comics ever.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Ozzie managing like Goldilocks
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has handled his pitching staff like Goldilocks this weekend, and that has helped cost the Sox the first two games against the Cubs.
In the first game, he took out starter John Danks toooo soon. He'd only thrown 85 pitches over six innings and had the Cubs bats looking weak. Still, he took him out and brought in Octavio Dotel. Dotel only needed six pitches to blow the lead, and the Cubs went on to win in the ninth.
You can make a case that this wasn't really a bad decision, but just bad execution. The Sox bullpen has been pretty reliable this season.
Yesterday, Ozzie took out starter Jose Contreras toooo late. Contreras gave up eight runs in the decisive fourth inning, including four home runs. Two of those were hit by Jim Edmonds, and a third was a three-run bomb by Aramis Ramirez. Mike Fontenot hit the other homer, right after Edmonds first one. Ramirez was the ninth batter in the inning, and eight of those nine hitters had scored before Contreras finally got the hook.
Edmonds greeted the new pitcher Boone Logan with his second blast of the inning, but by then, it was all gravy.
Sox fans are hoping today, Ozzie handles things just right. Of course, tonight, it might not matter. The Cubs are starting Ryan Dempster, who has been unbeatable at Wrigley so far this season. Also, there's a chance of rain, so it might not even get played.
Edmonds, by the way, became just the third Cub to homer twice in one inning. The first was Sammy Sosa in 1996. Mark Bellhorn also did it in 2002, and the switch-hitter hit one from each side of the plate.
It's also the third time the Cubs hit four home runs in one inning. They did it in 1930 and in 2000.
It wasn't all roses for the Cubs though. They put Carlos Zambrano on the DL with a mild shoulder strain. The good news is that he is expected to just miss the two weeks and not longer.
In the first game, he took out starter John Danks toooo soon. He'd only thrown 85 pitches over six innings and had the Cubs bats looking weak. Still, he took him out and brought in Octavio Dotel. Dotel only needed six pitches to blow the lead, and the Cubs went on to win in the ninth.
You can make a case that this wasn't really a bad decision, but just bad execution. The Sox bullpen has been pretty reliable this season.
Yesterday, Ozzie took out starter Jose Contreras toooo late. Contreras gave up eight runs in the decisive fourth inning, including four home runs. Two of those were hit by Jim Edmonds, and a third was a three-run bomb by Aramis Ramirez. Mike Fontenot hit the other homer, right after Edmonds first one. Ramirez was the ninth batter in the inning, and eight of those nine hitters had scored before Contreras finally got the hook.
Edmonds greeted the new pitcher Boone Logan with his second blast of the inning, but by then, it was all gravy.
Sox fans are hoping today, Ozzie handles things just right. Of course, tonight, it might not matter. The Cubs are starting Ryan Dempster, who has been unbeatable at Wrigley so far this season. Also, there's a chance of rain, so it might not even get played.
Edmonds, by the way, became just the third Cub to homer twice in one inning. The first was Sammy Sosa in 1996. Mark Bellhorn also did it in 2002, and the switch-hitter hit one from each side of the plate.
It's also the third time the Cubs hit four home runs in one inning. They did it in 1930 and in 2000.
It wasn't all roses for the Cubs though. They put Carlos Zambrano on the DL with a mild shoulder strain. The good news is that he is expected to just miss the two weeks and not longer.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Faith and the Cub fan
Jeff Passan writes a funny-but-true piece on the woes of the Cub fan at Yahoo!
He doesn't specifically mention 1984, which was the most painful moment for me. Ball rolls through Leon Durham's legs in game 5 (the inspiration for former Cub Bill Buckner's gaffe in the World Series two years later). Steve Garvey homers off Lee Smith in game 4. Not having home field advantage in spite of having the best record in the NL.
Not that I'm bitter.
He doesn't specifically mention 1984, which was the most painful moment for me. Ball rolls through Leon Durham's legs in game 5 (the inspiration for former Cub Bill Buckner's gaffe in the World Series two years later). Steve Garvey homers off Lee Smith in game 4. Not having home field advantage in spite of having the best record in the NL.
Not that I'm bitter.
Balls leaving (and entering) the yard
I watched most of two games yesterday with no shortage of dramatic home runs.
First, the opener of the Cubs-Sox series at Wrigley. The Cubs were coming off a sweep at the hands of the Devil Rays (I know, they dropped "Devil," but once you get a little of the devil in you, you can't get it out). That was the Cubs' first three-game losing streak of the season. Still, they had the best record in baseball, percentage points ahead of the Red Sox.
The Sox, on the other hand, appeared to have bounced back from a skid where they lost six of seven by sweeping Pittsburgh earlier this week.
Things looked good for the Sox early yesterday also. Jermaine Dye blasted a shot that still hasn't landed to tie the game in the second. Cub-killer AJ Pierzynski hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 3-1 and there they sat until the seventh.
Octavio Dotel came in to pitch for the Sox and Derrek Lee smacked his first pitch into the right field bleachers to make it 3-2. Just as the crowd was settling down from that shot, Aramis Ramirez made it back-to-back shots to tie it up. Those also cost WGN radio $10,000. They give a lucky listener 10Gs whenever the Cubs go back-to-back in the 7th inning.
The Sox started the 9th with a double against Kerry Wood, but couldn't do anything with it.
Scott Linebrink then came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth, but he didn't last long. Ramirez hit his second pitch into the center field shrubbery for the game-winner.
My nightcap was the College World Series elimination game between LSU and North Carolina.
They actually started the game the night before. Carolina had two runs in and the bases loaded with one out in the top of the first before the rains came and postponed the game to last night. LSU changed pitchers overnight and got a double play to get out of that jam.
It was 3-1 Heels in the sixth when Matt Clark, the nation's leading home run hitter, came up with a man on for the Tigers. Instead of pitching around him, UNC's Brian Moran went right after him. Big mistake. Clark bombs one out and the game is tied.
LSU was threatening again in the eighth with Clark at the plate, two on and one out, looking to duplicate Ramirez, when a streaker ran onto the field. The little delay seemed to suck the pressure out of the situation. Clark walked (NC pitched very carefully to him this time) and then ACC pitcher of the year Alex White got out of it.
On to the top of the ninth, where a single and two intentional walks (the first after a stolen base and the second after a sacrifice) loaded the bases. UNC catcher Tim Federowicz then hit the first grand slam in a CWS in eight years. White made that stand up and the Tar Heels save some face for the ACC.
The ACC entered the NCAA tournament with three of the top four seeds. #1 Miami and #4 Florida St joined the #2 Tar Heels. They all advanced to the CWS and were the top three seeds in Omaha. But Miami and FSU both laid eggs. The Seminoles went 0-2 and were the first ones gone. Miami managed to go 1-2, but their only win came over FSU. Carolina is now 2-1, with both wins over LSU. They will face the other FSU, Fresno St, next.
To see Eric Sorenson's take on the game yesterday, including exclusive photos of the streaker, check out his Extra Innings blog on the former cstv.com.
First, the opener of the Cubs-Sox series at Wrigley. The Cubs were coming off a sweep at the hands of the Devil Rays (I know, they dropped "Devil," but once you get a little of the devil in you, you can't get it out). That was the Cubs' first three-game losing streak of the season. Still, they had the best record in baseball, percentage points ahead of the Red Sox.
The Sox, on the other hand, appeared to have bounced back from a skid where they lost six of seven by sweeping Pittsburgh earlier this week.
Things looked good for the Sox early yesterday also. Jermaine Dye blasted a shot that still hasn't landed to tie the game in the second. Cub-killer AJ Pierzynski hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 3-1 and there they sat until the seventh.
Octavio Dotel came in to pitch for the Sox and Derrek Lee smacked his first pitch into the right field bleachers to make it 3-2. Just as the crowd was settling down from that shot, Aramis Ramirez made it back-to-back shots to tie it up. Those also cost WGN radio $10,000. They give a lucky listener 10Gs whenever the Cubs go back-to-back in the 7th inning.
The Sox started the 9th with a double against Kerry Wood, but couldn't do anything with it.
Scott Linebrink then came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth, but he didn't last long. Ramirez hit his second pitch into the center field shrubbery for the game-winner.
My nightcap was the College World Series elimination game between LSU and North Carolina.
They actually started the game the night before. Carolina had two runs in and the bases loaded with one out in the top of the first before the rains came and postponed the game to last night. LSU changed pitchers overnight and got a double play to get out of that jam.
It was 3-1 Heels in the sixth when Matt Clark, the nation's leading home run hitter, came up with a man on for the Tigers. Instead of pitching around him, UNC's Brian Moran went right after him. Big mistake. Clark bombs one out and the game is tied.
LSU was threatening again in the eighth with Clark at the plate, two on and one out, looking to duplicate Ramirez, when a streaker ran onto the field. The little delay seemed to suck the pressure out of the situation. Clark walked (NC pitched very carefully to him this time) and then ACC pitcher of the year Alex White got out of it.
On to the top of the ninth, where a single and two intentional walks (the first after a stolen base and the second after a sacrifice) loaded the bases. UNC catcher Tim Federowicz then hit the first grand slam in a CWS in eight years. White made that stand up and the Tar Heels save some face for the ACC.
The ACC entered the NCAA tournament with three of the top four seeds. #1 Miami and #4 Florida St joined the #2 Tar Heels. They all advanced to the CWS and were the top three seeds in Omaha. But Miami and FSU both laid eggs. The Seminoles went 0-2 and were the first ones gone. Miami managed to go 1-2, but their only win came over FSU. Carolina is now 2-1, with both wins over LSU. They will face the other FSU, Fresno St, next.
To see Eric Sorenson's take on the game yesterday, including exclusive photos of the streaker, check out his Extra Innings blog on the former cstv.com.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Two big TV deals
Two big TV deals were announced today.
First, NBC announced an extension of their contract to cover Notre Dame home football games. NDBC will now carry on through the 2015 season. The current deal, which paid the Irish $9M per year, was set to expire in 2010. No word on financial terms of the new deal. Notre Dame games on NBC had their lowest ratings ever last season.
The interesting thing about this deal is that it requires Notre Dame to play seven true home games and one off-site "home" game per year beginning in 2009. So, Notre Dame will play only four true road games per year. That will certainly making getting into a BCS game a lot easier.
Also, the war between the Big Ten and Comcast finally came to an end with a peace accord that will put the Big Ten Network on the cable provider's systems.
Comcast will initially offer the network on its expanded basic package in the Big Ten states. However, in Spring of 2009, Comcast will be free to move it to a more expensive (to the customer) digital package.
Outside the Big Ten states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin), the provider can offer it up any way it wishes, including as part of a sports package.
Comcast will also be able to offer up some BTN programming through its video-on-demand service.
There were no details on the amount Comcast will charge subscribers as a "Big Ten Tax." Look for that line item on your next bill.
First, NBC announced an extension of their contract to cover Notre Dame home football games. NDBC will now carry on through the 2015 season. The current deal, which paid the Irish $9M per year, was set to expire in 2010. No word on financial terms of the new deal. Notre Dame games on NBC had their lowest ratings ever last season.
The interesting thing about this deal is that it requires Notre Dame to play seven true home games and one off-site "home" game per year beginning in 2009. So, Notre Dame will play only four true road games per year. That will certainly making getting into a BCS game a lot easier.
Also, the war between the Big Ten and Comcast finally came to an end with a peace accord that will put the Big Ten Network on the cable provider's systems.
Comcast will initially offer the network on its expanded basic package in the Big Ten states. However, in Spring of 2009, Comcast will be free to move it to a more expensive (to the customer) digital package.
Outside the Big Ten states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin), the provider can offer it up any way it wishes, including as part of a sports package.
Comcast will also be able to offer up some BTN programming through its video-on-demand service.
There were no details on the amount Comcast will charge subscribers as a "Big Ten Tax." Look for that line item on your next bill.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Stretching the truth
It's not unusual for teams to fudge a little when listing the height of a player, especially in basketball. Guys who are really 6'1" show up as 6'2" or sometimes even 6'3" in the media guide. Since I cover basketball and get close to players, I can usually tell which ones are a little inflated and which ones aren't. That's especially true of guards, who are closer to my own height (6'1").
On rare occasion, you'll find a guy who looks taller than his listed height. Stephen Curry of Davidson is one of those guys. He's still growing, so when I saw him in Detroit, he looked a little taller than his listed 6'2".
The Bulls lucked into the #1 pick in the NBA draft, which means they'll choose between 6'3" Memphis G (and Chicago native) Derrick Rose and 6'10" F Michael Beasley of Kansas St. Beasley was in for a workout yesterday, and the big news out of that workout is that he only measured 6'7". A three-inch difference between listed height and actual is pretty remarkable.
Rose comes in later this week. Maybe we'll find out he's only 5'6".
On rare occasion, you'll find a guy who looks taller than his listed height. Stephen Curry of Davidson is one of those guys. He's still growing, so when I saw him in Detroit, he looked a little taller than his listed 6'2".
The Bulls lucked into the #1 pick in the NBA draft, which means they'll choose between 6'3" Memphis G (and Chicago native) Derrick Rose and 6'10" F Michael Beasley of Kansas St. Beasley was in for a workout yesterday, and the big news out of that workout is that he only measured 6'7". A three-inch difference between listed height and actual is pretty remarkable.
Rose comes in later this week. Maybe we'll find out he's only 5'6".
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Florida St goose-eggs
When I made my College World Series picks, I said I was risking making a fool of myself, and I did just that. Florida St, my pick to get through bracket 1, slinked home again without the trophy.
In the Noles first game against Stanford, they came back to tie it with three in the bottom of the eighth, only to give up 11 in the top of the 9th to lose 16-5.
In their elimination game yesterday with archrival and #1 Miami, they out-hit the Canes 18-11, but still lost 7-5. They left a whopping 17 runners on base. That's one short of a two-per-inning average.
So, FSU has now made 19 CWS appearances without winning it.
I did have Georgia at 2-0, so my picks weren't a complete disaster. The Bulldogs await the winner of Miami-Stanford, the two teams they beat.
In the Noles first game against Stanford, they came back to tie it with three in the bottom of the eighth, only to give up 11 in the top of the 9th to lose 16-5.
In their elimination game yesterday with archrival and #1 Miami, they out-hit the Canes 18-11, but still lost 7-5. They left a whopping 17 runners on base. That's one short of a two-per-inning average.
So, FSU has now made 19 CWS appearances without winning it.
I did have Georgia at 2-0, so my picks weren't a complete disaster. The Bulldogs await the winner of Miami-Stanford, the two teams they beat.
Here, the dead just vote
A village in Romania elected a dead person to be their mayor. There are cities here that might want to consider this option.
This would get Americans into soccer
Austria wins the preliminaries, but Germany won the one that counted. The Germans advance to face Portugal in the Euro 2008 quarterfinals.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
College World Series
The College World Series starts today, and I might get to watch it for a change. I have always been a big fan of this event, but I haven't been able to watch much of it the last few years for various reasons. I started watching when I was in college. At that time, someone I played little league with (Pete Stanicek) was playing for Stanford.
It was kind of funny back then. For a couple of years, our little league team had a future major leaguer (Pete) and the worst hitter in the history of organized baseball (me).
College baseball is a little harder to follow than football and basketball because it doesn't get nearly the TV coverage, but that is improving. I was able to follow the end of a pretty decent season by my Boilermakers on the Big Ten Network, and if you get one of the cable/satellite sports packages, you can see most of the good teams play in the regular season. Also, ESPN covers some of the tournament regionals on its basic channels. That's how I saw Stanford, which is the only CWS team I saw more than a few innings of this season.
Like every sport, the college game is different than the pros in the level of ability (advantage pros), and the spirit with which the game is played (advantage college). Baseball is the only one I'm aware of where there is a significant difference between the colleges and the pros in the equipment used. College baseball uses aluminum bats, which is a huge advantage to the hitters, especially if the ball doesn't hit the sweet spot. Bats don't break and balls travel farther. As a result of that (and the fact that pitching and fielding aren't as good), there's a lot more runs in college baseball.
And, if my friend and CSTV colleague Eric Sorenson is right, it might really be bombs away.
So at the risk of making a complete fool of myself, here are my picks for the CWS.
Bracket 1 (Miami, FSU, Georgia, Stanford)
Florida St over Stanford and Georgia over Miami today.
Miami eliminates Stanford, Georgia beats FSU.
FSU eliminates Miami, then beats Georgia twice to get to the title round.
Bracket 2 (North Carolina, Rice, LSU, Fresno St)
Fresno St over Rice and UNC over LSU tomorrow
LSU eliminates Rice, UNC over Fresno
LSU eliminates Fresno, but loses to UNC to send Tar Heels to the title round.
UNC beats Florida St 2-1 to win championship.
It was kind of funny back then. For a couple of years, our little league team had a future major leaguer (Pete) and the worst hitter in the history of organized baseball (me).
College baseball is a little harder to follow than football and basketball because it doesn't get nearly the TV coverage, but that is improving. I was able to follow the end of a pretty decent season by my Boilermakers on the Big Ten Network, and if you get one of the cable/satellite sports packages, you can see most of the good teams play in the regular season. Also, ESPN covers some of the tournament regionals on its basic channels. That's how I saw Stanford, which is the only CWS team I saw more than a few innings of this season.
Like every sport, the college game is different than the pros in the level of ability (advantage pros), and the spirit with which the game is played (advantage college). Baseball is the only one I'm aware of where there is a significant difference between the colleges and the pros in the equipment used. College baseball uses aluminum bats, which is a huge advantage to the hitters, especially if the ball doesn't hit the sweet spot. Bats don't break and balls travel farther. As a result of that (and the fact that pitching and fielding aren't as good), there's a lot more runs in college baseball.
And, if my friend and CSTV colleague Eric Sorenson is right, it might really be bombs away.
So at the risk of making a complete fool of myself, here are my picks for the CWS.
Bracket 1 (Miami, FSU, Georgia, Stanford)
Florida St over Stanford and Georgia over Miami today.
Miami eliminates Stanford, Georgia beats FSU.
FSU eliminates Miami, then beats Georgia twice to get to the title round.
Bracket 2 (North Carolina, Rice, LSU, Fresno St)
Fresno St over Rice and UNC over LSU tomorrow
LSU eliminates Rice, UNC over Fresno
LSU eliminates Fresno, but loses to UNC to send Tar Heels to the title round.
UNC beats Florida St 2-1 to win championship.
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