I decided to give up on doing a Top 25 since my Top 10 wouldn't be a whole lot different from the BCS Top 10 at this point. So instead I'm going to go conference by conference to see what teams are on the bubble to make it to a bowl game. Any BCS conference team with seven wins at this time is a lock and some with six wins are as well although it all depends on if their conference is going to have too many or too few bowl eligible teams. There are no preset open bids this year although a couple may open if a conferece can't fill it. If any bids do open up something to keep in mind is if there is an available 7-5 team, that bowl take them over a 6-6 team which is how Middle Tennessee got to the Motor City Bowl (Big Ten didn't couldn't fill their bid) last year over a few a BCS conference 6-6 teams. Of course no one should feel sorry for any team who didn't finish with a winning record being left home this holiday season.
ACC
Bowls: BCS/Orange, Chick-Fil-A, Gator, Champs Sports, Music City, Meineke Car Care, Emerald, Humanitarian
Locks: Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Virginia, Virginia Tech
Near Locks: Georgia Tech, Wake Forest
On the Bubble: Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, N.C. State
Now even though they both have six wins the reason why I have FSU as a lock and Wake Forest as a near lock is purely because of FSU's brand name. If the ACC were to end up with more than eight bowl eligible teams a 6-6 Wake Forest team could get left out but Bobby Bowden and company would definitley get an invite at 6-6. Georgia Tech has Duke and North Carolina the next two weeks so they should be fine. N.C. State has come out of no where to have a realistic shot at getting to six wins with home games against UNC and Maryland left. Maryland is reeling and I think they'll come up short. Miami is in big trouble after their loss to N.C. State as their last three games are against Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Boston College. UNC has to run the table to have a shot.
Big XII
Bowls: BCS/Fiesta, Cotton, Holiday, Gator or Sun, Alamo, Insight, Independence, Texas
Locks: Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech
Near Locks: Colorado, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M
On the Bubble: Kansas State, Nebraska
Colorado has Iowa State and Nebraska left so seven wins is very realistic. A&M will end up 6-6 most likely with Missouri and Texas left so there's an oustide chance they could be left without a place to go but the Big XII might end up with two teams in BCS bowls plus the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth is likley to be open (which I'll get to in the Pac-10) so I'd be very surprised if they are staying home. Oklahoma State should pick up win #6 against Baylor in two weeks, if they don't upset Kansas, but again a small chance they might not have an available bid. K-State has Nebraska, Missouri, and Fresno State left and all bets are off after their embarrassing performance against Iowa State. Nebraska is likely toast although beating K-State could provide a glimmer of hope.
Big East
Bowls: BCS, Gator or Sun, Meineke Car Care, International, PapaJohns.com
Locks: Cincinnati, Connecticut, West Virginia
Near Locks: Rutgers, South Florida
On the Bubble: Louisville, Pittsburgh
Again the great purge of the Big East leaves the conference with by far the most pathetic line up of bowl games of any BCS conferece. It'll get worse this year as there's a 99% chance that the Gator Bowl will excercise it's option to grab the Big XII #2 team this year. USF will get win #7 at Syracuse this week but left them out of the locks just in case the roof caves in, literally. Rutgers has Army and Pittsburgh in the next two weeks so seven wins is expected. Louisville has a tough final three games at West Virginia, at USF, and vs. Rutgers so getting that 6th win is far from guarenteed. On top of that a 6-6 Big East team without an available in conference bid is very likely to be staying home. Pitt is only alive in the most clinical of terms.
Big Ten
Bowls: BCS/Rose, Capital One, Outback, Alamo, Champs Sports, Insight, Motor City
Locks: Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Ohio State
Near Locks: Iowa
On the Bubble: Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern
Now here's a conference where it's almost a lock a 6-6 team will stay home. The mediocrity of the middle of the conference and everyone getting to beat up on sorry ass Minnesota has allowed a lot of teams to near bowl eligibility. They'll get helped out if Ohio State and Michigan both get in the BCS. Iowa looked awful most of the season but like N.C. State has turned it around and with Minnesota and Western Michigan left there's no reason they shouldn't get seven wins. Indiana could get left out in the cold if they can't pick up a 7th win and it's not a lock with a road trip to Northwestern and then at home against Purdue. They haven't been to a bowl game since 1993 so they have to be rooting for two teams from the conference to get into the BCS. Northwestern has Indiana and Illinois left while Michigan State has Purdue and Penn State left so both are longshots at this point if they don't win both games.
Conference USA
Bowls: Liberty, GMAC, Texas, PapaJohns.com, Hawaii, New Orleans
Locks: East Carolina, Houston, Tulsa, UCF
Near Locks: Southern Miss
On the Bubble: Memphis, UTEP
Reason #712 There are Way Too Many Fucking Bowl Games: Conference USA has six bids. This is a conference where half the teams aren't in the BCS Top 100. Memphis is ranked 103rd in the country yet they still have a shot at a bowl game. So since ECU, Houston, Tulsa, and UCF have six they are locks as it would be next to impossible for them not to get in that this point even if any of them lost out. Southern Miss still needs to get win #6 but they should pick it up against Memphis this week. UTEP only has four more wins and after Tulane this week they have Southern Miss and UCF left so the odds are against them which would be good news for those teams hoping for another open bid.
MAC
Bowls: Motor City, GMAC, International
Locks: None
Near Locks: Bowling Green, Central Michigan
On the Bubble: Ball State, Buffalo, Miami of Ohio, Ohio, Toledo
Awful, awful year for this conference as BGSU and CMU are the only two teams with winning records at the moment but both should win at least two of thier last three games to get to seven wins. After that it is anyone's guess as two gets the 3rd bid although Miami of Ohio does control their own destiny to win the East division to get to the title game but they better win their last two regular season games against Akron and Ohio or otherwise they'll be 6-6 and in a must win situation for the conference championship to remain bowl eligible.
Mountain West
Bowls: Las Vegas, Poinsettia, Armed Forces, New Mexico
Locks: Air Force
Near Locks: BYU, New Mexico, Utah
On the Bubble: San Diego State, TCU, Wyoming
BYU would have seven wins already if their game against SDSU wasn't postponed and they are a good bet to run the table in the conference. We could actually end up with more than four seven win teams in this conference which could create some problems for 6-6 BCS conference teams hanging their hat on grabbing an open bid. On the other hand one of the open bids will very likely be the Armed Forces Bowl (which again I'll get to) which will already have a Mountain West team so that will eliminate one option for this conference. There should end up being at least four seven plus win teams so any 6-6 team will definitely not be bowling.
Pac-10
Bowls: BCS/Rose, Holiday, Sun, Las Vegas, Emerald, Armed Forces
Locks: Arizona State, California, Oregon, USC
Near Locks: Oregon State
On the Bubble: Arizona, Stanford, UCLA, Washington, Washington State
With the conference being so top heavy this year and with the odds being very good at the moment that they will get two teams in the BCS, it is highly unlikely the Pac-10 will be able to fill all their bids. As previously mentioned the Armed Forces Bowl is pretty much a given to be open but the Emerald Bowl might also be available if UCLA fails to become bowl eligible. The Bruins have ASU, Oregon, and USC so it is looking bleak, although given their propensity to play to their competition watch them win two out of three. Oregon State has the Washington schools the next two weeks so they should win at least one of those games to become bowl eligible. The rest of the schools all need to run the table but it is unlikely any will do so.
SEC
Bowls: BCS/Sugar, Capital One, Cotton, Outback, Chick-Fil-A, Music City, Liberty, Independence
Locks: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee
Near Locks: Arkansas, Kentucky, South Carolina
On the Bubble: Mississippi State, Vanderbilt
Picking the locks and near locks are tough here as it is possible we could get 11 bowl eligible teams here which would obviously leave some 6 win teams without a SEC tie in bowl to go to. I went with Alabama and Tennessee as locks even though they still need that important win #7 over the other three as those two would be more attractive to bowls than the other three. Of the near locks South Carolina has the toughest road to get win #7 as they have Florida and Clemson left although both games are at home. Mississippi State will at least get win #6 when they play Ole Miss but the next two weeks are huge for them against Alabama and Arkansas as they must win one of them or otherwise they are very likely staying home. Vanderbilt also has the odds stacked against them while trying to end their 24 year bowl drought as they will definitely need to get seven wins to have a shot but they have Kentucky, Tennessee, and Wake Forest left on their schedule.
Sun Belt
Bowls: New Orleans
Locks: None
Near Locks: Troy
On the Bubble: Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, Middle Tennessee
Don't look now but the Sun Belt finally has a good team in their conference, that being Troy. I only have them as a near locks simply because they have to beat MTSU and FAU still to wrap up the conference but I expect they will. It's a real shame that Troy gets stuck going to the New Orleans Bowl as they would easily be the best team in both the MAC and Conference USA. FAU and MTSU could still win the conference if they upset Troy.
WAC
Bowls: BCS?, Humanitarian, Hawaii, New Mexico
Locks: Boise State, Hawaii
Near Locks: Fresno State
On the Bubble: Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Nevada, San Jose State
Pretty much in the same boat as last year with this conference as a lot will depend on whether they get a team in the BCS or not. Fresno has Hawaii and Kansas State the next two weeks so their season finale against New Mexico State may have to be where they get win #7. The rest all need to become bowl eligible and hope either Hawaii or Boise gets into the BCS.
After the Bills shocking loss to the Patriots last week I suppose anything is possible but I certaintly didn't think the Bills would lay another egg against the 2-7 Packers but that it is indeed what happened. With the Bills' second straight loss, the Dolphins have now moved into to tie for first place in the AFC East. Once you get past the two AFC East powers, Raiders, and Oilers, the rest of the conference is a mess with five teams at 5-5 going for the last two wild card spots. The Vikings had their six game winning streak snapped in an overtime loss to the Bears who try to keep their very slim division title hopes alive.
Week 11 Scores
Chicago 20, Minnesota 17 OT
CHI: 5-5, MIN: 9-2
-Neal Anderson: 92 yards rushing
N.Y. Jets 28, Indianapolis 27
NYJ: 2-8, IND: 3-7
-Mark Boyer: 5 rec, 132 yards
Green Bay 27, Buffalo 17
GB: 3-7, BUF: 8-2
-Sterling Sharpe: 5 rec, 149 yards
Cincinnati 20, Pittsburgh 17
CIN: 4-6, PIT: 5-5
-James Brooks: 80 yards rushing
N.Y. Giants 31, Phoenix 17
NYG: 8-2, PHX: 2-9
-Phil Simms: 187 yards passing
Philadelphia 45, Cleveland 7
PHI: 6-4, CLE: 5-5
-Browns Offense: 9 yards rushing
L.A. Raiders 30, Denver 24
RAI: 8-2, DEN: 4-6
-Marcus Allen: 86 yards rushing
Kansas City 21, LA. Rams 13
KC: 5-5, RAM: 5-5
-Christian Okoye: 81 yards rushing
Miami 24, New England 10
MIA: 8-2, NE: 3-7
-Tony Paige: 164 total yards
Washington 24, Atlanta 20
WAS: 7-3, ATL: 2-8
-Mark Rypien: 197 yards passing
San Diego 31, Seattle 28 OT
SD: 5-5, SEA: 5-5
-Marion Butts: 118 yards rushing
Tampa Bay 28, Detroit 10
TB: 3-7, DET: 2-8
-Bruce Hill: 4 rec, 108 yards
San Francisco 35, New Orleans 24
SF: 7-3, NO: 5-5
-Jerry Rice: 6 rec, 136 yards
Houston 21, Dallas 10
HOU: 7-3, DAL: 5-5
-Ernest Givens: 6 rec, 133 yards
Leaders thru Week 11
PASSING LEADERS
Rating
1. Phil Simms, 205.6
2. Dan Marino, 185.2
3. Joe Montana, 168.6
Yards
1. Warren Moon, 2568
2. Montana, 2498
3. Marino, 2315
Touchdowns
1t. Marino, 26
1t. Montana, 26
3. Moon, 24
RECEIVING LEADERS
Receptions
1. Jerry Rice, 49
2. Anthony Miller, 35
3. Henry Ellard, 33
Yards
1. Rice, 1256
2. Ellard, 875
3. Sterling Sharpe, 868
Touchdowns
1. Rice, 13
2. Ernest Givens, 10
3t. Many tied with 9
RUSHING LEADERS
Yards
1. Neal Anderson, 938
2. Johnny Johnson, 894
3. Thurman Thomas, 861
Touchdowns
1. Johnson, 12
2t. Many tied with 11
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Interceptions
1t. Joey Browner, 7
1t. Kevin Ross, 7
1t. Erik McMillan, 7
Sacks
1. Lawrence Taylor, 17
2. Bruce Smith, 15
3. Simon Fletcher, 14
SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
Field Goals: Jeff Jaeger, 12
Punting Avg: Rohn Stark, 51.4
Punt Return Avg: Jeff Query, 12.8
Kick Return Avg: Danny Peebles, 20.2
Next week (I think) the 2008 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot will be released. Last year I did individual entries on each player on the ballot and I plan on doing the same thing this year for the first ballot players. Of course there is no point in redoing the holdovers from last year's ballot, and I'm much too lazy to update them, so here's links to each entry listed in order of the percentage of the vote they received last year. None of my opinions have changed as I would still vote Mark McGwire, Bert Blyleven, and Alan Trammell.
1. Goose Gossage 71.2% (9th year on ballot)
2. Jim Rice 63.5% (14th)
3. Andre Dawson 56.7% (7th)
4. Bert Blyleven 47.7% (11th)
5. Lee Smith 39.8% (6th)
6. Jack Morris 37.1% (9th)
7. Mark McGiwre 23.5% (2nd)
8. Tommy John 22.9% (14th)
9. Dave Concepcion 13.6% (15th and final year)
10. Alan Trammell 13.4% (7th)
11. Dave Parker 11.4% (12th)
12. Don Mattingly 9.9% (8th)
13. Dale Murphy 9.2% (10th)
14. Harold Baines 5.3% (2nd)
Steve Garvey - First Baseman
Los Angeles Dodgers 1969-1982
San Diego Padres 1983-1987
Final year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1993: 41.61%
1994: 36.48%
1995: 42.61%
1996: 37.23%
1997: 35.31%
1998: 41.23%
1999: 30.18%
2000: 32.06%
2001: 34.17%
2002: 28.39%
2003: 27.82%
2004: 24.31%
2005: 20.54%
2006: 25.96%
Awards
1974 NL MVP
1974 NL Gold Glove - 1B
1975 NL Gold Glove - 1B
1976 NL Gold Glove - 1B
1977 NL Gold Glove - 1B
1978 NLCS MVP
1984 NLCS MVP
All-Star Selections: 10 (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985)
League Leader
1978: Hits
1980: Hits
Career Ranks
Games: 86th
Hits: 70th
Doubles: 91st
RBI: 89th
Total Bases: 78th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 12 (189) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 142 (107) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 31.5 (254) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 130.5 (101) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in the HOF: 1 (Orlando Cepeda)
Other Similar Batters: Al Oliver, Ruben Sierra, John Olerud, Bill Buckner, Mickey Vernon, Cecil Cooper, Chili Davis, Will Clark, Mark Grace
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1969: 0/0.0
1970: 2/1.0
1971: 6/1.9
1972: 8/2.4
1973: 11/2.4
1974: 27/7.1
1975: 25/9.1
1976: 26/9.2
1977: 21/6.1
1978: 25/7.6
1979: 22/8.0
1980: 22/6.9
1981: 13/3.9
1982: 15/3.4
1983: 14/3.9
1984: 15/4.4
1985: 17/5.7
1986: 10/1.3
1987: 0/-0.3
Career Win Shares: 279
Career WARP3: 84.1
Would he get my vote?
No. Was a good player for a long time but he's purely a career case as his peak was unimpressive especially for a first baseman. Had he been a slick fielding, middle infielder then he'd probably be a HOF. One could argue in his favor that his numbers were hurt playing the majority of his career in Dodger Stadium but he had only a 116 OPS+ for his career and never finished in the league's Top 10 in that category which simply isn't going to cut it for a first baseman.
Dave Parker - Rightfielder
Pittsburgh Pirates 1973-1983
Cincinnati Reds 1984-1987
Oakland Athletics 1988-1989
Milwaukee Brewers 1990
California Angels 1991
Toronto Blue Jays 1991
11th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1997: 17.55%
1998: 24.52%
1999: 16.10%
2000: 20.84%
2001: 16.31%
2002: 13.98%
2003: 10.28%
2004: 10.47%
2005: 12.60%
2006: 14.42%
Awards
1977 NL Gold Glove - OF
1978 NL MVP
1978 NL Gold Glove - OF
1979 NL Gold Glove - OF
1985 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1986 NL Silver Slugger - OF
1990 AL Silver Slugger - DH
All-Star Selections: 7 (1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1990)
League Leader
1975: Slugging %
1977: Batting Average, Hits, Doubles
1978: Batting Average, Total Bases, Runs Created, Slugging %, OPS, OPS+
1985: Doubles, RBI, Total Bases
1986: Total Bases
Career Ranks
Games: 55th
Hits: 55th
2B: 31st
HR: 80th
RBI: 47th
TB: 42nd
RC: 68th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 26 (68) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 145 (97) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 41.1 (138) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 125.5 (107) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 2 (Tony Perez, Billy Williams)
Other Similar Batters: Luis Gonzalez, Harold Baines, Andre Dawson, Al Oliver, Jim Rice, Rusty Staub, Chili Davis, Dwight Evans
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1973: 4/1.4
1974: 6/1.5
1975: 26/8.6
1976: 23/5.8
1977: 33/10.3
1978: 37/8.8
1979: 31/8.5
1980: 17/3.7
1981: 6/1.1
1982: 7/1.8
1983: 12/4.1
1984: 17/3.4
1985: 29/7.9
1986: 20/4.4
1987: 13/3.2
1988: 10/2.2
1989: 15/3.6
1990: 15/4.9
1991: 6/0.9
Career Win Shares: 327
Career WARP3: 86.3
Would he get my vote?
No. I'll always have a soft spot for the Cobra for the 1989 postseason where he pissed off all around douche bag Kelly Gruber for his flaps down homerun trot in the ALCS and also hit the first of many homeruns for the A's in the World Series. Also I'll say that for anyone who argues Jim Rice for the HOF they better also argue for Parker as well as I don't see how Rice is so close to being elected yet Parker has no chance at all. That being said I couldn't give him the imaginary vote mainly because when you get past his great peak of the late 70's he had a really ordinary career once the 80's started. Outside of 1985 in that decade he was an average and sometimes below average corner outfielder. Had a rifle for an arm and it appears he did deserve his 1977 Gold Glove (26 assists) but overall he was not a good defensive outfielder.
The NBA Draft is this week so time for a NBA Draftback. Now I've done this twice before for past NBA Drafts (1989 and 1993) but I do them differently from the NFL and MLB ones as I rank the players from the draft by their career totals in the basketball version of Win Shares. As always I have no idea how reliable the basketball version is but it is interesting way to compare the careers of players from an individual draft class.
Like when I chose the 1987 MLB Draft this year I picked the 1992 NBA Draft because most of these players careers are over or winding down. Also like the 1987 MLB Draft this draft featured one of the most hyped #1 picks ever and like Ken Griffey Jr. in 1987, Shaquille O'Neal in 1992 would go on to become an all-time great in his sport. Hey it also featured Baby Jordan!
1992 NBA Draft per Career Win Shares
1. Shaquille O'Neal, Orlando - 501 Win Shares (1st pick)
2. Alonzo Mourning, Charlotte - 262 (2nd)
3. P.J. Brown, New Jersey - 243 (29th)
4. Robert Horry, Houston - 199 (11th)
5. Christian Laettner, Minnesota - 176 (3rd)
6t. Doug Christie, Seattle - 167 (17th)
6t. Latrell Sprewell, Golden State - 167 (24th)
8. Clarence Weatherspoon, Philadelphia - 163 (9th)
9. Tom Gugliotta, Washington - 128 (6th)
10. Jim Jackson, Dallas - 112 (4th)
11. Jon Barry, Boston - 110 (21st)
12. Walt Williams, Sacramento - 97 (7th)
13. Anthony Peeler, L.A. Lakers - 94 (15th)
14. LaPhonso Ellis, Denver - 90 (5th)
15. Matt Geiger, Miami - 83 (42nd)
16. Bryant Stith, Denver - 79 (13th)
17. Hubert Davis, New York - 76 (20th)
18. Adam Keefe, Atlanta - 75 (10th)
19t. Tracy Murray, San Antonio - 66 (18th)
19t. Oliver Miller, Phoenix - 66 (22nd)
21. Popeye Jones, Houston - 57 (41st)
22. Malik Sealy, Indiana - 50 (14th)
23. Todd Day, Milwaukee - 48 (8th)
24. Sean Rooks, Dallas - 46 (30th)
25. Brent Price, Washington - 35 (32nd)
26. Don MacLean, Detroit - 27 (19th)
27. Lee Mayberry, Milwaukee - 21 (23rd)
28. Harold Miner, Miami - 13 (12th)
29. Sasha Donilovic, Golden State - 12 (43rd)
30. Byron Houston, Chicago - 11 (30th)
31t. Elmore Spencer, L.A. Clippers - 7 (25th)
31t. Chris Smith, Minnesota - 7 (34th)
33. Marlon Maxey, Minnesota - 6 (28th)
34. Tony Bennett, Charlotte - 5 (35th)
35. Litterial Green, Chicago - 4 (39th)
36t. Randy Woods, L.A. Clippers - 3 (16th)
36t. Chris King, Seattle - 3 (45th)
38t. Reggie Smith, Portland - 2 (31st)
38t. Robert Werdann, Denver - 2 (46th)
38t. Matt Fish, Golden State - 2 (50th)
41t. Dave Johnson, Portland - 1 (26th)
41t. Corey Williams, Chicago - 1 (33rd)
41t. Duane Cooper, L.A. Lakers - 1 (36th)
41t. Darren Morningstar, Boston - 1 (47th)
41t. Brian Davis, Phoenix - 1 (48th)
The Zero Club
Isiah Morris, Miami (37th)
Elmer Bennett, Atlanta (38th)
Matt Steigenga, Chicago (52nd)
Never Played in the NBA
Steve Rogers, New Jersey (40th)
Henry Williams, San Antonio (44th)
Ron Ellis, Phoenix (49th)
Tim Burroughs, Minnesota (51st)
Curtis Blair, Houston (53rd)
Brett Roberts, Sacramento (54th)
Most Win Shares with the Team they were Drafted by
1. Shaquille O'Neal, 142
2. Latrell Sprewell, 81
3. Alonzo Mourning, 73
4. Clarence Weatherspoon, 72
5. Byrant Stith, 64
6. Robert Horry, 59
7. LaPhonso Ellis, 57
8. Christian Laettner, 48
9. Hubert Davis, 46
10. Jim Jackson, 38
Since I'm on a bit of a 1986 trip right now I figured I'd take a look back at what was going on this week in 1986 in the world of sports with the help of PaperofRecord.com using their Sporting News archive which I did once before with 1994.
February 17, 1986
Cover Story: Baseball's Worst Ballpark. Gale-force winds gust through Candlestick Park by day and frigid temperatures set in by night. One Giants official calls it the weather "the worst in baseball in June, July, and August." Fans don't like it any better than players. They're staying away in droves. That's why in baseball is in jeopardy in San Francisco.
-Now just a hunch coming off a 100 loss season wasn't helping attendance either but Candlestick Park really was the worst place to watch a baseball game and the Giants came close to moving to St. Petersburg in 1993, and damn that would have been great (for me). The best part of the article was an insert about a Canadian firm was coming up with a "revolutionary idea" of doming already built stadiums with an air-filled balloon type structure. Now that would have been quite the eyesore.
Down and Up at Michigan
-In the college basketball section there were two articles regarding Michigan State's Scott Skiles and Michigan's Roy Tarpley. One of the articles talks about a player having off the court troubles with a marijuana possession and dui conviction. If you guessed that player was Tarpley, you'd be wrong. Apparently Tarpley's off the court problems weren't public knowledge at this point as he would later be banned from the NBA for multiple drug violations.
-There's a little notes section about the old Continental Basketball Association where it notes Albany head coach Phil Jackson has been suspended for two games for "physically confronting" a referee. Wonder what happened to that guy?
-In the NBA notes section the Lakers had beaten the Rockets 14 straight games in Houston. The Rockets would stun the defending champs in the Western Conference Finals in five games later that year.
-Brief article about rising 20 year old, rising star Mario Lemieux although it more focuses on Wayne Gretzky and whether Lemieux would reach the level of Gretzky. There's a little blurb about how if the Penguins hadn't drafted Lemieux the franchise would have left Pittsburgh.
-In the NHL notes section there's a proposed change to the All-Star Game format that would match-up the NHL All-Stars against a touring Soviet national team in a two game series. Other ideas are the Stanley Cup champs vs. All-Stars or Americans vs. Canadians.
-A proposed new stadium deal in New York for the Jets that would be built by Donald Trump had fallen through.
-Brief commentary about the fallout after the Super Bowl about the drug problems of several members of the New England Patriots. In some team meeting after the Super Bowl the Patriots agreed to drug testing which didn't sit well with union head Gene Upshaw (yes that idiot was already running things back then) and he had this fantastic quote:
-Cincinnati Reds had offered Rollie Fingers an non-roster invite to Spring Training on the condition that he shave his mustache. He would end up refusing.
-Phillies pitcher Dave Stewart was very close to signing a deal with the Yomiuri Giants but it fell through. Phillies would release him three months later.
-There's a few mentions in various parts of the MLB team notes sections talking about team sponsored drug testing but of course the main concern back then was cocaine not steroids.
ACC
Bowls: BCS/Orange, Chick-Fil-A, Gator, Champs Sports, Music City, Meineke Car Care, Emerald, Humanitarian
Locks: Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Near Locks: None
On the Bubble: Maryland, Miami, N.C. State
Maryland/N.C. State is a loser goes home game this Saturday and the winner likely goes to a bowl. I only say likely because if Miami some how gets it's shit together and upsets Boston College that will give the conference nine eligible teams with eight bids. Even if Miami upsets BC they are a longshot as they played in the Humanitarian Bowl last year so they'd have to hope the Emerald Bowl grabs them over a 7-5 team and then the Humanitarian would have to pick that team over the Maryland/N.C. State winner. You can't officially rule out any conference yet at getting two BCS bids but the only scenario the ACC has is if Virginia Tech beats Virginia this week and then loses to Boston College in the conference title game. The Hokies conceivably could still be in the Top 14 at the end of the year, and definitely Top 18 if the BCS is forced to expand the at large pool. Now assuming Miami loses and the Virginia Tech scenario plays out where they get a BCS at large bid then that would leave the Humantarian Bowl as an open bid.
Big XII
Bowls: BCS/Fiesta, Cotton, Holiday, Gator or Sun, Alamo, Insight, Independence, Texas
Locks: Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
Near Locks: None
On the Bubble: Colorado, Kansas State, Nebraska
I mistakenly said last week Oklahoma State had locked up a bid as for some reason I thought they already had six wins but they do. No changes from last week, Colorado/Nebraska will play for a bid on Friday, and Kansas State needs to beat Fresno State to become eligible. If they lose the Texas Bowl will be an open bid as there's no scenario where the Big XII doesn't get two BCS bids.
Big East
Bowls: BCS, Gator or Sun, Meineke Car Care, International, PapaJohns.com
Locks: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Rutgers, South Florida, West Virginia
Near Locks: None
On the Bubble: Louisville
Rutgers locked up a bid with their win over Pitt. Louisville needs UConn to beat West Virginia to win the Big East as that would likely give the conference two BCS bids as the Mountaineers would probably still be around the bottom of the Top 10. Then the Cardinals need to beat Rutgers a week from Thursday to become eligible. If West Virginia wraps up the Big East this Saturday, Louisville is done.
Big Ten
Bowls: BCS/Rose, Capital One, Outback, Alamo, Champs Sports, Insight, Motor City
Locks: Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Ohio State
Near Locks: Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue
On the Bubble: None
I have the three 7-5 teams as near locks because the Big Ten as things stand at the moment won't have enough bids for all three. Now it is still possible that Illinois, if enough things go there way, can slip into a BCS bowl which then would give the conference enough bids. If that doesn't happen Purdue is probably the odd team out but they'd be a good bet to grab the likely Armed Forces Bowl open bid. What they have to worry about is if the SEC ends up with a 7-5 team without a conference bid and if the Armed Forces ends up being the only open bid which then the Boilermakers could be sitting at home.
Conference USA
Bowls: Liberty, GMAC, Texas, PapaJohns.com, Hawaii, New Orleans
Locks: East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulsa, UCF
Near Locks: None
On the Bubble: None
Everything is set here beyond where everyone is going. Southern Miss and Memphis are ranked 86th and 90th respectively in the BCS yet they are locked up for bowls.
MAC
Bowls: Motor City, GMAC, International
Locks: Bowling Green
Near Locks: None
On the Bubble: Ball State, Central Michigan, Miami of Ohio
So in the MAC not everyone plays the some number of conference games, some play seven and some play eight. Now because of that the divisions are decided by divisional record only, not conference record. Follow me so far? Central Michigan and Ball State, the 1st and 2nd place teams in the West division, don't play each other this year. Who the fuck came up with this? As for the bids, Bowling Green is going, um, bowling and the rest is a mess.
Mountain West
Bowls: Las Vegas, Poinsettia, Armed Forces, New Mexico
Locks: Air Force, BYU, Utah
Near Locks: None
On the Bubble: New Mexico, TCU
While Conference USA steals bids, someone in the Mountain West is probably going to have it's heart broken and it will likely be an 8-4 New Mexico team (assuming they beat 2-9 UNLV). Now you'd think New Mexico would get to go to the New Mexico Bowl but the bowl put a rule in for itself that it couldn't pick the Lobos more than onece in three years. So because of that if TCU gets win #7 as expected over San Diego State, there will likely be no bowl game for New Mexico unless there ends up being three open bids or enough of the 6-5 teams lose their last game then they'd need two as obviously Purdue would get one before them. Again Memphis is ranked 90th in the country and is going to a bowl game, while an eight win team (or maybe an 7-5 SEC or Big Ten team) probably isn't.
Pac-10
Bowls: BCS/Rose, Holiday, Sun, Las Vegas, Emerald, Armed Forces
Locks: Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, USC
Near Locks: None
On the Bubble: Arizona, UCLA
Before Dennis Dixon went all Boobie Miles on Thursday, the conference seemed assured two BCS bids. Now it's still a good bet but we have to wait and see how Oregon recovers this week against UCLA. If the conference doesn't get two bids that would be bad news for the open bids hopefuls as it seemed for a while now not only the Armed Forces Bowl would be open but also the Emerald Bowl. I'm reading conflicting reports where some indicate the Emerald picks before the Las Vegas Bowl this year which would leave Vegas open but I'm not so sure about that. In any event if Oregon is a shell of it's former self now without Dixon, then UCLA can get win #6. U of A is suddenly hot but they'll need to pull off another big upset against rival ASU in order to get eligible for the first time since 1998.
SEC
Bowls: BCS/Sugar, Capital One, Cotton, Outback, Chick-Fil-A, Music City, Liberty, Independence
Locks: Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee
Near Locks: Arkansas, Kentucky
On the Bubble: Alabama, Mississippi State, South Carolina
I had Alabama as a lock the last couple of weeks as I though there was no way in hell they'd lose to ULM. Well so much for that. Now the conference is all but guaranteed two BCS bids so they'll have nine total but we could end up with nightmare scenario where we have six 7-5 teams with five available bids between them. Now any 7-5 SEC team will get picked over all others trying to get an open bid but there are scenarios where there could end up being no open bids so because of that I'm going conservative here. Auburn I have as a lock as I feel they'd be safe at 7-5 in that scenario while I could see Kentucky or Arkansas getting snubbed in this nightmare scenario. Hopefully either Auburn beats Alabama and/or Clemson beats South Carolina to send one of those schools to a very long offseason. The biggest shame would be if Mississippi State got snubbed in the nightmare scenario.
Sun Belt
Bowls: New Orleans
Locks: None
Near Locks: Troy
On the Bubble: Florida Atlantic
No changes, Troy/FAU play each other December 1st for the conference unless FAU is stunned by winless FIU this week. Hopefully Troy avoids the upset in that game as they deserve to go to a bowl game and a better one than the New Orleans Bowl against one of the awful 6-6 C-USA teams but that's not gonna happen.
WAC
Bowls: BCS?, Humanitarian, Hawaii, New Mexico
Locks: Boise State, Hawaii
Near Locks: Fresno State
On the Bubble: Louisiana Tech, Nevada
Of course the big game is this Friday. If your Louisiana Tech and Nevada your probably rooting for Hawaii as their chances are better than Boise's at getting into the Top 12 to get the BCS bid and a 4th bid for the conference. Neither has any business going to a bowl game mind you.
Jack Morris - Starting Pitcher
Detroit Tigers 1977-1990
Minnesota Twins 1991
Toronto Blue Jays 1992-1993
Cleveland Indians 1994
8th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
2000: 22.24%
2001: 19.61%
2002: 20.55%
2003: 22.78%
2004: 26.28%
2005: 33.33%
2006: 41.15%
Awards
1981 AL Sporting News Pitcher of the Year
1991 World Series MVP
All-Star Selections: 5 (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991)
League Leader
1981: Wins
1983: Innings Pitched, Strikeouts
1986: Shutouts
1990: Complete Games
1992: Wins
Career Ranks
Wins: 40th
IP: 48th
K: 31st
GS: 34th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 20 (88) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 193 (46) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 39.0 (73) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 122.5 (64) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: 6 (Bob Gibson, Red Ruffing, Amos Rusie, Burleigh Grimes, Bob Feller, Jim Bunning)
Other Similar Pitchers: Dennis Martinez, Tom Glavine, Luis Tiant, Chuck Finley
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacmenet Level (WARP3)
1977: 3/1.0
1978: 4/1.1
1979: 17/6.7
1980: 14/5.3
1981: 16/6.5
1982: 14/4.8
1983: 20/7.6
1984: 14/5.4
1985: 19/8.1
1986: 20/8.3
1987: 21/8.8
1988: 12/4.7
1989: 4/2.4
1990: 8/3.0
1991: 18/7.1
1992: 15/5.7
1993: 1/0.6
1994: 5/2.8
Career Win Shares: 225
Career WARP3: 89.8
Would he get my vote?
No. Morris was incredibly durable, throwing 240+ innings in 11 seasons, and very consistent but was rarely dominant. He never posted an ERA under 3 in his career which is fairness to him was in part to pitching in Tiger Stadium but his career ERA+ of 105 is very unimpressive. He does get a bonus for two excellent World Series but he also had an awful postseason all around in 1992. Now his comp pitchers paint him as a Hall of Famer as he has six current HOFs and one futuer HOF in Tom Glavine but Morris' ERA+ is worse than all of them with only Burleigh Grimes being close at 107 and he's a questionable HOF. His #1 comp is Dennis Martinez who is a very good comp for him but like El Presidente, Morris is not a HOF.
In my need to always find content after the 2007 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot is released I plan on doing individual entries on each player on the ballot, even the ones that have no business being on it. The profiles will mainly just be useless information on each player and then a short opinion by me on whether or not I'd vote for them into the Hall of Fame. So as a test run I decided to do one on an active player and Gary Sheffield seemed like a good choice since he has recently been in the news.
Gary Sheffield - Outfielder/Third Baseman
Milwaukee Brewers 1989-1991
San Diego Padres 1992-1993
Florida Marlins 1993-1998
Los Angeles Dodgers 1998-2001
Atlanta Braves 2002-2003
New York Yankees 2004-2006
Detroit Tigers 2007-
Awards
1992 Sporting News ML Player of the Year
1992 NL Silver Slugger - 3B
1996 NL Silver Slugger - OF
2003 NL Silver Slugger - OF
2004 AL Silver Slugger - OF
2005 AL Silver Slugger - OF
All-Star Selections: 9 (1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005)
League Leader
1992: Batting Average, Total Bases
1996: On Base Pct., OPS, OPS+
Career Ranks
OBP: 64th
SLG: 52nd
OPS: 47th
Runs: 70th
TB: 54th
HR: 31st
RBI: 46th
BB: 37th
OPS+: 48th
RC: 39th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 4 (401) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 118 (164) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 57.7 (37) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 132.0 (98) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 5 (Willie Stargell, Billy Williams, Duke Snider, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews)
Other Similar Batters: Jeff Bagwell, Ken Griffey Jr., Fred McGriff, Frank Thomas, Jim Rice
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacment Level (WARP3)
1988: 2/0.3
1989: 6/1.8
1990: 20/5.2
1991: 1/0.2
1992: 32/11.9
1993: 16/4.9
1994: 15/5.0
1995: 13/4.3
1996: 34/10.6
1997: 22/7.1
1998: 30/7.7
1999: 24/7.7
2000: 31/8.8
2001: 30/8.8
2002: 26/6.8
2003: 35/11.0
2004: 30/8.5
2005: 31/8.4
2006: 3/1.2
Total Wins Shares: 401
Total WARP3: 120.3
Would he get my vote?
Yes. Whether your a career voter or a peak voter Sheffield measures up. Although he never won an MVP and his black ink number is very low, the overall consistentcy of performing at a high level is deserving of a spot in the Hall of Fame. On the other hand because of his personality and some steroid questions due to his brief association with BALCO he might not be a slam dunk in the view of the baseball writers. But with now over 400 career Win Shares he should be.
Finally after nine months I've completed the three World Series DVD boxsets that were released last year, concluding with maybe the two most forgotten games in World Series history.
1975 World Series Game 7 - Reds 4, Red Sox 3 (boxscore and play account)
-They have some cancer kid throw out the first pitch, or at least they say "represents kids with cancer" so I don't know if the kid actually had cancer or if it was just someone's kid from the Red Sox front office and they needed an excuse to let him throw the first pitch. If he actually did have cancer all I could think of was that was pretty fucked up to make the cancer kid wait until a possible Game 7 to throw the first pitch.
-Some guy named Ned Martin calls the first half of the game and he was a longtime announcer for the Red Sox but I've never heard of him. He seemed like a bit of a homer or at least more so than Dick Stockton or Marty Brennaman.
-Don Gullet had zero control in this one, walking in two runs with the bases loaded in the 3rd.
-Bill Lee shockingly almost comes up with a huge bases loaded hit with two outs in the 5th as he crushed one to center, catching the slick fielding Cesar Geronimo a bit off guard as he was obvioulsy playing shallow but recovers to get the final out and prevent the Red Sox from potentially blowing the game open.
-Lee made a fatal mistake in the 6th against Tony Perez. Lee would occasionally throw a slow moving, eephus type, curveball. In Perez's first at bat Lee would freeze him for a called strike with this pitch. It was the only time in the game he'd throw this pitch yet he throws it a second time to Perez in the 6th, who of course seeing it once had the timing down and launched it over the Green Monster to cut the Sox lead to one.
-It's amazing that a Game 7 that was decided in the 9th inning would be completely forgotten but because of Game 6 that's what happened. Joe Morgan hit a little bloop, similar to Luis Gonzalez's hit in Game 7 of 2001, off of Jim Burton to score Pete Rose with the winning run. Rose led off the inning with a walk, Geronimo sacraficed him to 2nd, pinch hitter Dan Driessen grounded one to the right side to advance Rose to 3rd, and then came Morgan's winning hit. I think it is this sequence that created the "manufacturing runs" monster that Joe Morgan is today.
-Nothing too interesting in the extras on this disk with no additional, original game clips like the other two sets. Only thing of note would be Carlton Fisk's postgame interview after Game 6 but not sure why they didn't just tack it on to the Game 6 disk. Here's a list of the extras:
1. Championship Rally
2. Pre-Game Introductions of the Reds (before Game 3)
3. Pre-Game 1: Pete Rose, Carl Yastrzemski
4. Pre-Game 3: Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk
5. Pre-Game 7: Sparky Anderson, Darrell Johnson
6. Postgame 6: Carlton Fisk
7. Johnny Bench: The Big Red Machine
8. Pete Rose: Game 6
9. Pete Rose: Thrill of Game 7
10. Carlton Fisk: Homerun in Game 6
11. Carlton Fisk: Red Sox Beat Reds 3 Game to 4
12. Luis Tiant: Fisk's Homerun
13. Fred Lynn: Fisk's Homerun
14. Fred Lynn: Impact on Major League Baseball
15. Marty Brenneman: Game 6 the Best Ever
16. Joe Morgan: Game 6
17. Tony Perez: Reds Dominance
18. Tony Perez: Unmatchable World Series
19. Tony Perez: Game 7 Comeback
20. Tony Perez: Great Cincinnati Fans
21. Tony Perez: The Big Red Machine
1986 World Series Game 7 - Mets 8, Red Sox 5 (boxscore and play account)
-Game was delayed by rain for one day which appeared to be a big break for the Red Sox as it allowed them to bring back Bruce Hurst and skip over Oil Can Boyd.
-First time on the set the vid quality was some what poor for the first two innings but it is fine after that.
-Bill Buckner gets a loud ovation when he comes up for his first at bat. Now that's just mean.
-This was the postseason for homeruns off of outfielder's mits as Darryl Strawberry becomes the 3rd when a Rich Gedman shot in the 2nd goes off of his mit although it would have been a great catch by Strawberry if he had come up with it. Ron Darling hadn't allowed an earned run in his first two starts but was roughed up here as the Gedman homerun came right after a Dwight Evans homer.
-Back in Game 5 Gedman had seen six pitches from Sid Fernandez and swung and miss at all six. Here in the 5th inning against Fernandez again he swings and misses at his first and then takes strike three.
-Vin Scully mentions that Bruce Hurst had been named World Series MVP before the Mets miracle comeback in Game 6. This was kind of surprising to me as I figured Dave Henderson or Marty Barrett would gave won it although it would have been hard to argue with Hurst. It was just about after this conversation about Hurst that things come unraveled for him and the Red Sox in the 6th.
-Calvin Schiraldi was the real goat of this series as he follows up his awful performance in Game 6 with another one here. He pitches the 7th giving up a lead off homerun to Ray Knight to give the Mets the lead, a single to Lenny Dykstra, a wild pitch on a pitch out, which then would allow Dykstra to score on a hit by Rafael Santana.
-Red Sox stormed back in the 8th with two runs and had the tying run on 2nd with none out but Jesse Orosco, who was only about 51 at this time, saved the day to get the Mets out of the inning. Orosco would then have an rbi single in the bottom of the inning.
-Some idiot threw a smoke bomb on the field with two out in the 9th, delaying the final out for several minutes.
-All the extras were on a seperate bonus disk that I went over back in June.
That's it. Again it is good to see MLB actually doing something better than the NFL for once by releasing these sets. Although the two selections that have been announced so far for release this year (1987 & 1977) have been dissapointing choices, I'll definitely still be picking them up. Next up I'll try to start watching the Notre Dame set I picked up a couple of months ago but not sure yet how many writes up I'll do for that one, if any.
Warren Moon is the star of the week as he scorched the Bengals for 450 yards passing, which is pretty damn high for a simmed game on Tecmo, and helped the Oilers take sole possesion of first place in the AFC Central. The Browns lost their share of the lead after getting murdered by the league's best defense, the Steelers 41-0. In the NFC Central, the Vikings avoided an embarrasing loss to the Cardinals and in the process took an almost insurmountable four game lead as the Bears continue to struggle dropping one to the Saints this week 14-10.
Week 9 Scores
Atlanta 30, L.A. Rams 27 OT
ATL: 2-6, RAM: 5-3
-Mike Rozier: 115 yards rushing
Houston 44, Cincinnati 24
HOU: 6-2, CIN: 2-6
-Warren Moon: 450 yards passing
Seattle 24, San Diego 14
SEA: 5-4, SD: 4-5
-Dave Krieg: 195 yards passing
Minnesota 21, Phoenix 20
MIN: 7-2, PHX: 2-7
-Wade Wilson: 147 yards passing
New Orleans 14, Chicago 10
NO: 4-4, CHI: 3-5
-Dalton Hilliard: 97 yards rushing
Washington 21, N.Y. Giants 14
WAS: 5-3, NYG: 6-2
-Ricky Sanders: 6 rec, 122 yards
San Francisco 27, Philadelphia 9
SF: 5-3, PHI: 5-3
-Joe Montana: 201 yards passing
Dallas 24, Detroit 21
DAL: 4-4, DET: 2-6
-Emmitt Smith: 99 yards rushing
Kansas City 27, L.A. Raiders 10
KC: 4-5, RAI: 7-2
-Stephone Paige: 5 rec, 171 yards
Tampa Bay 14, Green Bay 9
TB: 2-6, GB: 1-7
-Bucs Defense: 4 interceptions
Pittsburgh 41, Cleveland 0
PIT: 5-3, CLE: 5-3
-Browns Offense: 77 total yards
New England 16, Denver 14
NE: 2-6, DEN: 3-5
-Steve Grogan: 162 yards passing
Bye Weeks: Buffalo (8-0), Indianapolis (3-5), Miami (6-2), N.Y. Jets (1-7)
Leaders thru Week 9
PASSING LEADERS
Rating
1. Dan Marino, 197.5
2. Phil Sims, 194.4
3. Jim Kelly, 176.9
Yards
1. Warren Moon, 2109
2. Marino, 1954
3. Joe Montana, 1939
Touchdowns
1. Marino, 23
2. Montana, 21
3. Jim Everett, 20
RECEIVING LEADERS
Receptions
1. Jerry Rice, 37
2. Anthony Miller, 32
3. Henry Ellard, 30
Yards
1. Rice, 977
2. Ellard, 761
3. Miller, 713
Touchdowns
1. Rice, 10
2t. Many tied with 8
RUSHING LEADERS
Yards
1. Johnny Johnson, 777
2. Christian Okoye, 775
3. Neal Anderson, 766
Touchdowns
1. Johnson, 11
2t. Anderson, 10
2t. Marcus Allen, 10
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Interceptions
1t. Joey Browner, 7
1t. Kevin Ross, 7
3t. Many tied with 6
Sacks
1. Lawrence Taylor, 14
2t. Bruce Smith, 13
2t. Simon Fletcher, 13
SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
Field Goals: Many tied with 9
Punting Avg: Sean Landetta, 51.0
Punt Return Avg: Henry Ellard, 12.8
Kick Return Avg: Danny Peebles, 20.6
I've finished watching Game 1 from each DVD so as I mentioned before I'm taking little notes while watching each game. Of course as i read some of my notes I'm not even sure what I intended on bringing up. Of course I won't go over every detail of the game as there is no point.
Interesting to note that for all three of these World Series that the winner of Game 1 was the team that ended up losing the series. Backs up Al's entry on playoff odds on how Game 1 is the least important game.
1975 World Series - Game 1 - Red Sox 6, Reds 0 (boxscore and play account)
-Announcers for Game 1 are Curt Gowdy, Dick Stockton, and Tony Kubek. Stockton was not a network announcer at this time as he was the local t.v. announcer for the Red Sox. They will be rotating announcers during the series as there will be a Reds announcer for Game 2. I guess this must have been common in the 70's as I remember watching Game 7 of the '73 Series on ESPN Classic a few years ago and old A's announcer Monty Moore was doing the play-by-play.
-Secretary of Treasury William E Simon threw out the first pitch. The crowd was shockingly unexcited by this.
-When Pete Rose is up in the first it is amusing how they bring up him being a huge fan of the game and always knowing what's going on in other games. If only they knew at the time why he was doing that.
-They say Johnny Bench has 50 foul ball homeruns in 1975. Now that sounds like bullshit to me. Who'd even keep track and how do you truly determine if a foul ball would have been a homerun?
-Why you can never predict the future: Bring up the great future of Reds starter Don Gullett who's career would end just three years later at age 27 due to shoulder problems.
-Joe Morgan sure did whine a lot to umpires when he played, not that I'm surprised.
-Kubek suggests that umpires should all be under one umbrella instead having seperate umps for A.L. and the N.L. which wouldn't change for another 20 years.
-God damn Sparky Anderson was only 41 in 1975? He already looked to be in his 60's.
-Luis Tiant started for the Red Sox and he was a lot fun to watch pitch...with no one on base. When someone was on base he is incredibly slow going to the mound.
-I had heard that was problems with the older stock footage and it shows up in the 6th inning as the audio suddenly is about five seconds ahead of the video and doesn't synch up again until the bottom of the 7th, thankfully when the biggest action of the game happens. The Red Sox scored all six runs in that inning.
-BULLPEN CART~!
-Gowdy does a promo for the first ever Saturday Night Live hosted by George Carlin that was to debut that night.
1979 World Series - Game 1 - Orioles 5, Pirates 4 (boxscore and play account)
-Announcers for the series are Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, and Don Drysdale.
-As you see in the picture the field is absolutely ripped to shreads and good example of why it's for the best that muti-purpose stadiums are almost now a thing of the past. It didn't help matters that Game 1 was rained the night before and it snowed over night. Game time temperature was 41 degrees and it most likley dipped below freezing by the end of the game. Many of the players just look miserable out there.
-Oh ya the black tops with yellow pants for the Pirates was not a good look. Although the Orioles orange unis would make a decent third jersey today.
-Pirates starter Bruce Kison came into the game 4-0 with a 0.41 ERA in his career in the postsason. He'd get knocked out after just recording one out in this game as the Orioles scored all their runs in the first although it was broken open by a bad throw by Phil Garner at 2nd.
-Not much of surprise that Cosell really brings nothing to the telecast except name dropping athletes who he had dinner with. One story that amused me was he brings up that he ran into Mike Flanagan's wife in Montreal and saying that she was visiting Flanagan's former teammate Ross Grimsley. Maybe it was just the general sleaziness of Cosell but the way he tells the story it almost sounds like he Flanagan's wife was cheating on him with Grimsley.
-They talk about Dave Parker's house and car being vandalized early in the season by fans because he signed a huge contract before the season. Yes how dare the defending MVP get paid! Anyone gone after A-Rod's house yet?
-Speaking of Paker I remember when he was with the A's towards the end of his career having a huge gut but here there is no sign of one. Guess cocaine is indeed slimming.
-Holy crap does ABC go overboard with showing player's wives. I should have kept count but I'd say they showed about 15 different players wives. Did the world really need to see Jim Rooker's wife? I'll give Doug DeCinces the award for having the hottest wife of the night although it was slim pickings. Everyone knows the groupies are hotter.
-I'm doubting Drysdale's analyst skills as in the bottom of the 8th Orioles second baseman Rich Dauer gets on base and Drysdale thinks he should steal. Jackson and Cosell both correct him pointing out that Dauer didn't steal a base all year. Nice research there Donny.
1986 World Series - Game 1 - Red Sox 1, Mets 0 (boxscore and play account)
-Announcers for the series are Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola.
-In the top of the first Garagiola brings up the Red Sox not being known for manufacturing runs. Now if this were Joe Morgan or most other ESPN anlysts this would be said with much disdain and followed by a mini-rant on why that doesn't work. But here Garagiola says it without being condescending and says it's worked for the Red Sox all year.
-Early in the game Scully brings up that he's surprised the Mets haven't tried to drag bunt down to first to take advantage of Buckner. How about a ground ball?
-It really is painful watching Buckner run as he has to hobble with every step.
-I didn't know Dwight Gooden had a gold cap on his front tooth. Don't think he wore it when he pitched.
-They mention that Darryl Strawberry was 0 for 45 in the August that year in Shea Stadium. Hmmm you think he was booed at all that month?
-In the 5th inning Scully mentions that there is a Mets pitcher who hates throwing to first base but he doesn't want to give that name away because he doesn't want to give a scouting report to the Red Sox. Maybe it was naive but it was kind of refreshing. Garagiola does get Scully to say the pitcher's name the following inning, that being Sid Fernandez.
-What everyone forgets about this series is the way the Red Sox won Game 1 on a play eerily similar to the final play of Game 6. In the 7th with Jim Rice on 2nd, Rich Gedman hits a ground ball to 2nd and it goes right through Tim Teufel's legs. Rice comes around and scores the only run of the game. There is a bizarre play at the plate which is what that screencap is of. When Rice comes home, Ron Daring goes to back up the throw at the plate while Dave Henderson tries to get into position to signal Rice to slide. The two don't see each other and completely wipe each other out. Both appear to be injured but both stay in the game.
-NBC producer's have a sense of humor as during Red Sox starter Bruce Hurst at bat in the 7th, they flash a graphic saying that Hurst has struck out in every at bat in his career. It was the first game he'd ever hit in. He struck out a 3rd straight time here.
-Red Sox manager John McNamara does in the 8th inning here what he didn't do in Game 6, replace Bill Bucker at first base with Dave Stapelton. Stapelton would make a play in the 9th inning on a Ray Knight bunt to get the lead runner at 2nd that there would have been no way for Bucker to have made the play and it possibly prevented the Mets from tying the game.
Before I get to my awards picks, here's my quick rundown of what I want out of this postseason.
1. No Red Sox/Yankees ALCS. Do I need to explain?
2. No Rockies/D-Backs NLCS. Do I need to explain?
3. D-Backs don't win the World Series. We have one 90's expansion team with two world championships already, we don't need another.
4. Indians win the ALCS. Besides the Giants, there are no teams in baseball that I would rather see less in a World Series than the Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels. The second the Indians are eliminated is the second I tune out from the postseason.
My gut feeling is we get another Yankees/D-Backs World Series with the Yankees prevailing this time. Finally Yankees' fans many years of suffering will be over! On to the awards.
I should note that when I post my player rankings for the year there may be some differences from my awards but mainly because I throw this together pretty quick. Last year I had C.C. Sabathia as 3rd for A.L. Cy Young but by the time I did the rankings for starting pitchers I had Sabathia about 5th or 6th. Also I'm going to be lazy and not bother with typing out players stats. You know where to find them anyways.
N.L. MVP
This was a wide open race all year with no one ever seeming to take a real strangle hold on the spot as favorite. The media has narrowed it down to Matt Holliday, Jimmy Rollins, and Prince Fielder but my choice is David Wright as he was just a tad better across the board. Any writer's who held out until the last second to submit their ballots probably filled in Holliday's name at #1 today and his late season surge I think will make him a PAC (Pefectly Acceptable Choice) but it's a shame that Wright is unlikely to finish better than 4th and the Mets' collapse has completely overshadowed his amazing season. Fielder would be a pretty uninspiring choice and Rollins would be almost on the level of Justin Morneau winning the A.L. MVP last year.
1.
2. Matt Holliday, Rockies
3. Albert Pujols, Cardinals
4. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
5. Miguel Cabrera, Marlins
6. Prince Fielder, Brewers
7. Chipper Jones, Braves
8. Chase Utley, Phillies
9. Jimmy Rollins, Phillies
10. Ryan Howard, Phillies
N.L. Cy Young
This and A.L. MVP are by far the easiest choices. Hopefully no idiot writers will decide to penalize Jake Peavy for lack of clutchiness on the mound last night as he was far and away the best pitcher in the N.L. and should be the unanimous winner. 2nd place was also very easy but 3rd place proved very difficult to decide but finally went with John Smoltz over Aaron Harang, subject to change of course when I do the pitcher rankings.
1.
2. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks
3. John Smoltz, Braves
N.L. Rookie of the Year
This will be my most questionable choice. ROY's I think can be very tough to choose because you are dealing with candidates who some played the whole season and others who were midseason call ups. Ryan Braun was an absolute force at the plate but he's also hacker (29 BB/112 SO) and a liabiltiy defensively. So I decided to go with Troy Tulowitzki, who was with the Rockies the whole season, giving them Gold Glover caliber defense at shortstop and by the end of the year had put up some strong offensive numbers.
1.
2. Ryan Braun, Brewers
3. Hunter Pence, Astros
A.L. MVP
Magglio Ordonez had a shockingly good rebound year and hung tough for a very long time in this race but by the end of the year he couldn't stick with A-Rod. All have to say about my ballot is, seriously what the fuck happened to Carlos Pena this year? Biggest fluke ever or best late bloomer ever?
1.
2. Magglio Ordonez, Tigers
3. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
4. David Ortiz, Red Sox
5. Vladmir Guerrero, Angles
6. Carlos Pena, Devil Rays
7. Victor Martinez, Indians
8. Grady Sizemore, Indians
9. Jorge Posada, Yankees
10. Curtis Granderson, Tigers
A.L. Cy Young
Josh Beckett is going to win the writer's award. There was so much hand wringing and phony outrage by the baseball writer's last year about there being no 20 game winners in either league that anyone who won 20 games this season with an ERA under 4 is going to win the award. Not to say Beckett will be a bad choice, just the wrong choice.
1.
2. Josh Beckett, Red Sox
3. Johan Santana, Twins
A.L. Rookie of the Year
Toughest pick of them all. Jeremy Guthrie has no shot at all at the writer's award due to having only a 7-5 record but he's my pick here in pretty much a coin flip over Dustin Pedroia. Hell I couldn't even find a picture of 2007 baseball card for Guthrie.
1. Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles
2. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
3. Brian Bannister, Royals
I decided to throw the DH rankings into the first base entry. Only difference from the other positions is I rank 14 players instead of 30.
First Basemen
2004
1. Albert Pujols
15. Ben Broussard
30. Doug Mientkiewicz
2005
1. Derrek Lee
15. Ryan Howard
30. Phil Nevin
2006
1. Albert Pujols
15. Kevin Youkilis
30. Travis Lee
2007
1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals
2. Carlos Pena, Devil Rays
3. Prince Fielder, Brewers
4. Mark Teixeira, Rangers/Braves
5. Ryan Howard, Phillies
6. Todd Helton, Rockies
7. Adrian Gonzalez, Padres
8. Lance Berkman, Astros
9. Derrek Lee, Cubs
10. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
11. Dmitri Young, Nationals
12. James Loney, Dodgers
13. Justin Morneau, Twins
14. Matt Stairs, Blue Jays
15. Paul Konerko, White Sox
16. Casey Kotchman, Angels
17. Adam LaRoche, Pirates
18. Ryan Garko, Indians
19. Conor Jackson, Diamondbacks
20. Scott Hatteberg, Reds
21. Carlos Delgado, Mets
22. Kevin Millar, Orioles
23. Dan Johnson, A's
24. Brad Wilkerson, Rangers
25. Mike Jacobs, Marlins
26. Sean Casey, Tigers
27. Nomar Garciaparra, Dodgers
28. Ryan Klesko, Giants
29. Richie Sexson, Mariners
30. Lyle Overbay, Blue Jays
Designated Hitters
Top DH 2004-2006
2004: Travis Hafner
2005: David Ortiz
2006: David Ortiz
2007
1. David Ortiz, Red Sox
2. Jim Thome, White Sox
3. Jack Cust, A's
4. Frank Thomas, Blue Jays
5. Travis Hafner, Indians
6. Gary Sheffield, Tigers
7. Jose Vidro, Mariners
8. Aubrey Huff, Orioles
9. Jonny Gomes, Devil Rays
10. Billy Butler, Royals
11. Jason Giambi, Yankees
12. Sammy Sosa, Rangers
13. Mike Piazza, A's
14. Mike Sweeney, Royals
Okay little late on this but it works as the subject, Roger Clemens, did have a start on May 13, 1991 and he's very much in the news right now as he does his best Bret Favre impression on whether he'll play this year or not. Or was Favre doing a Clemens impression? We've dealing with Roger's retirement questions for three years now.
Roger Clemens was off to a blistering start to the '91 season as he had won all six of his starts and at one point in early in the season had tossed 30 consecutive scoreless innings.
Clemens' 1991 statistics coming into May 13th: 6-0, 0.73 ERA, 51 strikeouts, 8 walks
Red Sox record going into May 13th: 18-10, 1st place in A.L. East, 1 game ahead of Toronto
Clemens on May 13th, 1991: No decision, 8 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Red Sox lose at home to the White Sox 4-3 in 10 innings. White Sox had an early 2-0 lead on two rbi hits by Robin Ventura. Red Sox took the lead with a three run 7th highlighted on a Steve Lyons single and Sammy Sosa error that led to two runs. Clemens was lifted after eight for closer Jeff Reardon but he blew the save on a two out, pinch hit homerun to Matt Merullo. White Sox win it in the 10th on a Ron Karkovice rbi single off of Jeff Gray.
Other MLB action on May 13th, 1991: Angels' Luis Polonia has five hits in a 9-5 win over the Indians...Blue Jays' Todd Stottlemyre improves to 5-0 with 8 1/3 strong innings, beating the Royals 4-2...Brothers Tony & Chris Gwynn both homer, Tony off of David Cone in the Padres 5-2 over the Mets and Chris, pinch hitting, off of Bill Sampen in the Dodgers 8-3 win over the Expos...Phillies' closer Mitch Williams blows a 3-1 lead in San Francisco in the 9th giving up a homerun to Steve Decker and an rbi double to Matt Williams but John Kruk homers off of Rod Beck in the 11th to give Philadelphia a 3-2 win.
Other sports action May 13th, 1991: Detroit Pistons beat the Boston Celtics 104-97 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semis, tying the series at 2-2...Nate Archibald and Dave Cowens are inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Fun With Google on May 13th, 1991: A discussion on whether or not Hal Morris could hit .400? Morris was hitting .402 thru May 12th. He'd go 0 for 5 on May 13th and never again get to .400. Google jinx!
For the two of you who care, I'll try to get around to finish my Tecmo Super Bowl sim at some point this month.
Last year I did weekly entries wrapping up the previous day of college football until I ran out of bad jokes which was about three weeks into the season. But never the less I'm going to give it a shot again this year making short and completely un-insightful observations about every game from the weekend that I watched for more than two seconds. My favorite thing about college football is the sheer number of games at one time you can flip through. This year for the first time I now have CollegeSportsTV thus giving me even more football goodness.
Tulsa 35, Louisana-Monroe 17. This was how the college football season kicked off. Not exactly USC/Virginia Tech from 2004, eh? The only thing I noticed about this game was whoever the announcer was for ESPN his voice sounded like he was calling the game on radio yet there were no audio difficulties. Very bizarre.
LSU 45, Mississippi State 0. Bulldogs scored as many points as there will be black coaches in the SEC after this year. Poor Sylvester Croom.
Oregon State 24, Utah 7. Welcome back Utah quarterback Brian Johnson from a torn ACL and goodbye now to a separated shoulder. What was crazy he stayed in for one play after injurying his shoulder and threw a pass. Now that's a real man.
Washington 42, Syracuse 12. I'm hoping this is a sign that the Pac-10 is even more loaded than people thought but its probably more a sign that Syracuse is complete dogshit.
Virginia Tech 17, East Carolina 7. ESPN exploiting tragedy for ratings? Never saw it coming. Does it make me a heartless prick to say that I'm really hoping LSU blows them out next week? Seriously the collective boner that network will get if the Hokies make a serious run at that national title would crush us all.
Michigan State 55, UAB 18. UAB is going to make a major run at being the worst non-Sun Belt team in the country this season. This game was the real downside of the Big Ten Network as in past years the Michigan game would have been on GamePlan and they could have switched to it the second half.
Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32. Okay I didn't see this game since I like 90% of the country don't have the Big Ten Network, not that I really want it as their game line up is awful although I certainly would have wanted it for this one. But forget Michigan for a second, how big of a disspointment would it be if App State doesn't three peat as I-AA/FCS/whatever the fuck we're calling it now this year?
Colorado 31, Colorado State 28. For a game that was tight and went to overtime I was Bored out of my mind for some reason.
Wyoming 23, Virginia 3. This game was so bad I don't remember a damn thing about it.
Georgia Tech 33, Notre Dame 3. Eh, this would have been a lot more fun if it had been Brady Quinn being murdered by the Yellow Jacket defense.
Wisconsin 42, Washington State 21. Would Paul Maguire drop dead already? He makes every game he calls completely unwatchable, amazingly even with the mute on. Brad Nessler and Bob Griese really pissed someone off at ESABCPN to get stuck with him for a second straight year.
Boston College 38, Wake Forest 28. Shame this game was going at the same time as the awesome Missouri/Illinois game or I would have watched more of it. Wake winning the ACC last year reminded me of Stanford winning the Pac-10 in 1999 and like it was for the Cardinal, last year will likely end up being a fluke for the Deacons.
Missouri 40, Illinois 34. Seriously this was the best game of the weekend and I think was the only one who watched the majority of it. Bad sign from Mizzou though to give up 400+ yards of offense to one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, even after knocking out their starting quarterback. Not that winning the Big XII North requires one to be any good.
UCLA 45, Stanford 17. You know things are bad for your program when this is considered progress. I do like that Jim Harbaugh does seem certifiably insane.
BYU 20, Arizona 7. Fomer Bills tackle and athiest Glenn Parker was the analyst for this one so being in the Mormon capital of the world must have been fun. Holy crap I just looked up his Wiki entry and he was born in the same town as me! I'm honored. And he's going to hell.
TCU 27, Baylor 0. My first ever I-A CSTV game and it was this. I watched for three seconds.
Georgia 35, Oklahoma State 14. God damn CFN for convincing me that Oklahoma State was actually going to be a serious threat this year.
Oklahoma 79, North Texas 10. Got to love Fox Sports Net as they always feel the nation needs to see crap like this.
Auburn 23, Kansas State 13. I'll pretty much steal from EDSBS on this one and say that Auburn is the master of playing like shit for three quarters and then pulling a win out of their ass in the 4th.
California 45, Tennessee 31. Must. Kill. EVERYONE. Seriously fuck you Tennessee as now I got to put up with Cal in the national title picture until USC beats them again. Volunteers? Volunteer to suck my dick.
UTEP 10, New Mexico 6. Oof this was ugly and I think a legit upset as UTEP didn't look like shit coming into this year.
USC 38, Idaho 10. I like USC and all but hell if I was going to sit through much of this. Did see Vidal Hazleton make a sick, one-handed touchdown catch though.
This is a bit of a throw away entry but I had been wanting to rundown the 23 MVP redos I've done entries for. I have other redos that I've done (including the entire decade of the 80's) but haven't done entries for yet. What I decided to do is group the redos into categories in terms of how good or bad the choice was by the writers. Thought it would be a good time to do this after the writer's awful choice of Justin Morneau. I had Morneau 9th on my 2006 A.L. MVP mock ballot.
Writers Made the Right Choice
1980 A.L. George Brett
1989 A.L. Robin Yount
1999 N.L. Chipper Jones
Writers Choice was Pefectly Acceptable (Writer's Pick/My Pick)
1985 N.L. Willie McGee/Dwight Gooden
1986 A.L. Roger Clemens/Don Mattingly
1988 N.L. Kirk Gibson/Will Clark
1991 A.L. Cal Ripken/Frank Thomas
1995 N.L. Barry Larkin/Greg Maddux
2003 A.L. Alex Rodriguez/Carlos Delgado
Writers Made the Right & Wrong Choice (Writer's Picks/My Pick)
1979 N.L. Keith Hernandez & Willie Stargell/Keith Hernandez
Bad Choices by the Writers (Writer's Pick/My Pick)
1979 A.L. Don Baylor/Fred Lynn
1987 A.L. George Bell/Alan Trammell
1991 N.L. Terry Pendleton/Barry Bonds
1998 N.L. Sammy Sosa/Mark McGwire
The Justin Morneau Achievement Awards (Writer's Pick/My Pick)
1960 N.L. Dick Groat/Eddie Mathews
1974 N.L. Steve Garvey/Joe Morgan
1981 A.L. Rollie Fingers/Dwight Evans
1984 A.L. Willie Hernandez/Cal Ripken
1987 N.L. Andre Dawson/Tim Raines
1992 A.L. Dennis Eckersley/Frank Thomas
1995 A.L. Mo Vaughn/Edgar Martinez
1996 A.L. Juan Gonzalez/Alex Rodriguez
1999 A.L. Ivan Rodriguez/Derek Jeter
Bert Blyleven - Starting Pitcher
Minnesota Twins 1970-1976, 1985-1988
Texas Rangers 1976-1977
Pittsburgh Pirates 1978-1980
Cleveland Indians 1981-1985
California Angels 1989-1992
10th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1998: 17.55%
1999: 14.08%
2000: 17.43%
2001: 23.50%
2002: 26.27%
2003: 29.23%
2004: 35.38%
2005: 40.89%
2006: 53.30%
Awards
None
All-Star Selections: 2 (1973, 1985)
League Leader
1971: K/BB
1973: Shutouts, K/BB, ERA+
1977: WHIP
1985: Innings, Strikeouts, Complete Games, Shutouts
1986: Innings, K/BB
1989: Shutouts
Career Ranks
Wins: 26th
IP: 13th
K: 5th
CG: 91st
SHO: 9th
K/BB: 44th
K/9: 99th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 16 (129) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 239 (24) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 50.0 (36) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 120.5 (68) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: 8 (Don Sutton, Gaylord Perry, Fergie Jenkins, Robin Roberts, Tom Seaver, Early Wynn, Phil Niekro, Steve Carlton)
Other Similar Pitchers: Tommy John, Jim Kaat
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1970: 10/3.7
1971: 20/8.4
1972: 19/7.4
1973: 29/12.3
1974: 23/10.0
1975: 21/8.7
1976: 20/9.3
1977: 21/8.2
1978: 16/6.2
1979: 13/3.8
1980: 9/2.9
1981: 14/8.2
1982: 1/0.2
1983: 10/4.3
1984: 20/9.2
1985: 23/9.9
1986: 18/7.9
1987: 18/7.5
1988: 4/2.2
1989: 22/7.9
1990: 3/1.3
1992: 5/2.5
Career Win Shares: 339
Career WARP3: 142.0
Would he get my vote?
Yes. Blyleven's plight to get into the HOF has been well documented by now. Many voters in the past have immediately written him off because he never won a Cy Young and because he had only two All-Star selections. Of course a player's total number of All-Star selections can be taken with a grain of salt since they are based mostly on what a player did the first three months of the season and with pitcher selections they are heavily influenced by their win/loss record. Blyleven for his career was 150-140 with a 3.47 ERA in the first half of the season but 137-110 with a 3.12 ERA in the second half, so he did his best pitching after the ASB. Another reason why Blyleven has been ignored in the past as well is as you see didn't lead his league in many categories. But for his career he was in the Top 10 ERA ten times, Wins six times, WHIP 11 times, Strikeouts 15 times, Complete Games 12 times, and Shutouts ten times. Nevermind of course he's in the Top 10 all-time in both strikeouts and shutouts. In addition of the eight HOF comps he has only Tom Seaver had a better career ERA+. Many writers are slowly coming around and long time holdouts are now voting for him. He certainly won't get in this year as no backloggers have a chance but within the next five years it appears he will get in.
Mark McGwire - First Baseman
Oakland Athletics 1986-1997
St. Louis Cardinals 1997-2001
Awards
1987 AL Rookie of the Year
1990 AL Gold Glove - 1B
1992 AL Silver Slugger - 1B
1996 AL Silver Slugger - 1B
1998 NL Silver Slugger - 1B
All-Star Selections: 12 (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
League Leader
1987: Homeruns, Slugging %, HR/AB
1989: HR/AB
1990: Walks
1992: Slugging %, HR/AB, OPS+
1995: HR/AB
1996: Homeruns, OBP, Slugging %, HR/AB, OPS, OPS+
1998: Homeruns, Walks, OBP, Slugging %, HR/AB, Runs Created, OPS, OPS+
1999: Homeruns, RBI, HR/AB, OPS+
Career Ranks
HR: 7th
RBI: 60th
BB: 34th
OBP: 78th
SLG: 10th
HR/AB: 1st
RC: 82nd
OPS: 13th
OPS+: 11th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 36 (41) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 110 (189) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 42.0 (126) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 169.5 (60) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 2 (Harmon Killewbrew, Willie McCovey)
Other Similar Batters: Jim Thome, Jose Canseco, Carlos Delgado, Manny Ramirez, Juan Gonzalez, Norm Cash, Jason Giambi, Dave Kingman
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1986: 1/-0.1
1987: 30/8.9
1988: 28/7.6
1989: 21/7.0
1990: 27/10.0
1991: 18/6.1
1992: 29/10.1
1993: 6/2.5
1994: 6/2.5
1995: 23/7.8
1996: 29/9.8
1997: 25/9.4
1998: 41/11.6
1999: 30/8.6
2000: 20/6.0
2001: 8/1.5
Career Win Shares: 342
Career WARP3: 109.5
Would he get my vote?
Yes. I thought about doing a very long rant about the entire issue regarding if McGwire should go into the HOF or not but we all know that when the results are announced Tuesday he will not have been elected so this issue is going to last for at least one more year so I'm not going to waste my time for now. What I will say when it comes to considering a player for the HOF who has either been proven to have used steroids or have likely used steroids I feel that if a player is a true borderline candidate that use of steroids can tip the scales against a player as being a deserving HOF. Mark McGwire is not a borderline candidate. 7th all-time in homeruns, 10th all-time in Slugging, 11th all-time OPS+, a .394 career OBP, and he averaged 50 homeruns for every 162 games played. Whether or not he will ever get in, it is too early to tell. The projection seems to be he'll get only 25-30% of the vote on this first ballot and this percentage should increase substantially next year as several voters are using an arbitrary one-year boycott for likely steroid users. What is revealed or not revealed in the following years about his use of steroids and the use of others during his playing days will determine if he ever gets in. No one should feel sorry for McGwire if he never gets in but I think it'd be a real shame if he didn't.
It seemed liked a forgone conclusion the Raiders would take the AFC West but not anymore. They lost to the Chargers this week for their third straight loss and the Bolts have now moved into a tie for 1st at 9-5. Oilers beat Steelers 21-9 in order to reclaim sole posession of 1st place in the AFC Central. The Bills have clinched the AFC East but again the game won't recognize it yet since the Dolphins can tie for 1st still but the Bills swept the season series. The Giants lost to the Eagles but the Redskins suffered a shocking defeat to the craptastic Cardinals, so the Giants may or may not have clinched the division but I'm too lazy to go through tiebreak scenerios beyond head-to-head which the Giants/Eagles split. The game did officialy recognize the 49ers division title win after their ninth straight victory this week. The Vikings were stunned by the Bucs, who still have a very slim chance at the playoffs, which now gives us a three-way tie atop the NFC. The 49ers would be the odd team out in a three-way tie as they lost to both the Giants and Vikings.
AFC
1. Bills 12-2
2t. Raiders/Chargers 9-5
2t. Oilers 9-5
4. Dolphins 10-4
5. Raiders/Chargers 9-5
6t. Chiefs/Steelers 8-6
Still Alive: Browns 7-7, Broncos 7-7
NFC
1t. Giants 11-3
1t. Vikings 11-3
1t. 49ers 11-3
4. Eagles 9-5
5t. Redskins 8-6
5t. Rams 8-6
Still Alive: Bears 7-7, Saints 7-7, Buccaneers 6-8
Week 15 Scores
Detroit 24, N.Y. Jets 17
DET: 3-11, NYJ: 3-11
-Robert Clark: 4 rec, 113 yards
Philadelphia 28, N.Y. Giants 24
PHI: 9-5, NYG: 11-3
-Keith Byars: 7 rec, 132 yards
Indianapolis 21, New England 14
IND: 5-9, NE: 3-11
-Albert Bentley: 92 yards rushing
San Francisco 31, Seattle 21
SF: 11-3, SEA: 5-9
-Joe Montana: 240 yards passing
Denver 21, Cleveland 17
DEN: 7-7, CLE: 7-7
-Mark Jackson: 57 yards receiving
New Orleans 20, Dallas 17 OT
NO: 7-7, DAL: 5-9
-Craig Heyward: 82 yards receiving
San Diego 20, Kansas City 14
SD: 9-5, KC: 8-6
-Bill Joe Tolliver: 154 yards passing
Buffalo 24, L.A. Raiders 21
BUF: 12-2, RAI: 9-5
-Thurman Thomas: 154 yards rushing
Phoenix 27, Washington 24
PHX: 3-11, WAS: 8-6
-Johnny Johnson: 110 yards rushing
Chicago 33, Green Bay 24
CHI: 7-7, GB: 5-9
-Ron Morris: 4 rec, 118 yards
Houston 21, Pittsburgh 9
HOU: 9-5, PIT: 8-6
-Ernest Givens: 4 rec, 108 yards
Miami 38, Cincinnati 14
MIA: 10-4, CIN: 5-9
-Mark Clayton: 6 rec, 158 yards
Tampa Bay 28, Minnesota 27
TB: 6-8, MIN: 11-3
-Vinny Testaverde: 266 yards passing
L.A. Rams 17, Atlanta 14
RAM: 8-6, ATL: 2-12
-Cleveland Gary: 82 yards rushing, leaves injured
Leaders thru Week 15
PASSING LEADERS
Rating
1. Phil Simms, 197.1
2. Dan Marino, 182.5
3. Randall Cunningham, 177.2
Yards
1. Warren Moon, 3593
2. Joe Montana, 3389
3. Jim Everett, 3228
Touchdowns
1t. Montana, 36
1t. Marino, 36
3. Moon, 34
RECEIVING LEADERS
Receptions
1. Jerry Rice, 66
2. Andre Rison, 49
3. Anthony Miller, 47
Yards
1. Rice, 1729
2. Rison, 1258
3. Henry Ellard, 1254
Touchdowns
1. Rice, 19
2t. Miller, 13
2t. James Lofton, 13
RUSHING LEADERS
Yards
1. Thurman Thomas, 1430
2. Neal Anderson, 1336
3. Bo Jackson, 1237
Touchdowns
1. Tom Rathman, 15
2t. Many tied with 13
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Interceptions
1. Kevin Ross, 10
2t. Many tied with 8
Sacks
1. Lawrence Taylor, 20
2t. Derrick Thomas, 18
2t. Reggie White, 18
SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
Field Goals: Jeff Jaeger; Morten Andersen, 16
Punting Avg: Mike Horan, 50.9
Punt Return Avg: Ellard, 12.8
Kick Return Avg: Tim Brown, 21.2
Jay Buhner - Rightfielder
New York Yankees 1987-1988
Seattle Mariners 1988-2001
Awards
1996 AL Gold Glove - OF
All-Star Selections: 1 (1996)
League Leader
None of note
Career Ranks
AB per HR: 31st
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Batting - 31 (733) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 25.8 (436) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 34.5 (502) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Hank Sauer, Jeromy Burnitz, Roger Maris, Cecil Fielder, Darryl Strawberry, Bob Allison, Danny Tartabull, Eric Davis, Dean Palmer, Jesse Barfield
Year-by-Year Win Shars & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1987: 0/0.0
1988: 7/3.4
1989: 8/2.0
1990: 6/1.7
1991: 13/7.0
1992: 16/6.8
1993: 22/7.7
1994: 13/7.7
1995: 16/5.0
1996: 22/6.3
1997: 19/8.0
1998: 8/2.4
1999: 8/1.8
2000: 16/4.3
2001: 0/0.3
Career Win Shares: 174
Career WARP3: 64.6
Would he get my vote?
No. Buhner's trade for Ken Phelps is a part of pop culture thanks to Seinfeld but he certainly won't be part of the HOF. Very consistent peformer when he was a line-up but he had several injuries at various parts of his career and only played more than 100 games once during the final four years of his career. Even if he had been healthy it's unlikely he would have kept up a level of performance high enough to warrant HOF consideration. His Gold Glove in 1996 was a complete joke even by the very low standards of the Gold Glove awards.
So we're now down to just eight teams and no World Champions as the '80 Yankees smacked the '83 Orioles around in four games, outscoring the O's 37-15. The '87 Blue Jays blew the division title the last weekend of the 1987 season but they aren't blowing it here as they took care of the '88 Red Sox in five games. In the West both series ended in thrilling Game 6's. The '88 Twins eliminated the '86 Angels on a Kent Hrbek homerun in the top of the 10th off of Doug Corbett. Then in the most improbable moment of the tournament, Jerry Dybzinski (3 homeruns in 909 career at bats) of the '83 White Sox hit a walkoff homerun against Dan Quisenberry in the 13th inning to eliminate the '84 Royals. With the elimination of the '83 Orioles, the '85 Cardinals are now the only World Series team to still be alive in the tournament.
Stats are for all three rounds.
A.L. West Semi-Finals
(12) 1988 Minnesota Twins def. (9) 1986 California Angels 4-2
Game 1: Angels 3, Twins 0
Game 2: Twins 5, Angels 2
Game 3: Angels 14, Twins 3
Game 4: Twins 9, Angels 4
Game 5: Twins 6, Angels 1
Game 6: Twins 5, Angels 2 10 innings
Gary Gaetti: .364/.395/.649, 77 AB, 15 R, 28 H, 2 3B, 5 HR, 19 RBI
Tom Herr: .333/.402/.469, 81 AB, 15 R, 27 H, 5 2B, 10 BB, 4 SB
(6) 1983 Chicago White Sox def. (10) 1984 Kansas City Royals 4-2
Game 1: White Sox 4, Royals 2
Game 2: Royals 6, White Sox 0
Game 3: White Sox 6, Royals 3
Game 4: White Sox 15, Royals 2
Game 5: Royals 4, White Sox 3 10 innings
Game 6: White Sox 5, Royals 4 13 innings
Rudy Law: .361/.411/.542, 83 AB, 20 R, 30 H, 5 2B, 5 3B, 11 RBI, 14 SB
Harold Baines: .363/.386/.550, 80 AB, 12 R, 29 H, 4 HR, 21 RBI
A.L. East Semi-Finals
(13) 1987 Toronto Blue Jays def. (9) 1988 Boston Red Sox 4-1
Game 1: Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 5
Game 2: Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 1
Game 3: Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 1
Game 4: Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 5
Game 5: Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 4
Lloyd Moseby: .270/.353/.514, 74 AB, 14 R, 20 H, 5 HR, 15 RBI
Jimmy Key: 5-1, 2.73 ERA, 3 CG, 56 IP, 50 H, 17 ER, 12 BB, 32 SO
(6) 1980 New York Yankees def. (2) 1983 Baltimore Orioles 4-0
Game 1: Yankees 13, Orioles 10
Game 2: Yankees 10, Orioles 4
Game 3: Yankees 5, Orioles 1
Game 4: Yankees 9, Orioles 0
Reggie Jackson: .339/.413/.857, 56 AB, 15 R, 19 H, 9 HR, 14 RBI
Willie Randolph: .396/.500/.642, 53 AB, 15 R, 21 H, 6 2B, 12 RBI, 11 BB, 4 SB
A.L. West Finals
(12) '88 Twins vs. (6) '83 White Sox
A.L. East Finals
(13) '87 Blue Jays vs. (6) '80 Yankees
Up Next: N.L. Elite Eight
