Can you believe that it will be 10 years since the McGwire/Sosa homerun chase and 10 years since the Yankees tore through the American League on their way to an 114 win season? I really have nothing to add to that and I am just posting one of my random lists, this time around every team's Opening Day/Night starter from the '98 season. I went to every A's Opening Night game from 1995-2002 and in '98 it was actually a fairly momentous occasion as they were playing the Red Sox in Pedro Martinez's first ever start for them. Pedro dominated as expected but glancing at the boxscore I forgot it was also Dennis Eckersley's first appearance in Oakland since 1995 as he played his final year with the Sox. On to the list...
Angels: Chuck Finley
Astros: Shane Reynolds
Athletics: Tom Candiotti
Blue Jays: Roger Clemens
Braves: Greg Maddux
Brewers: Cal Eldred
Cardinals: Todd Stottlemyre
Cubs: Kevin Tapani
Devil Rays: Wilson Alvarez
Diamondbacks: Andy Benes
Dodgers: Ramon Martinez
Expos: Carlos Perez
Giants: Shawn Estes
Indians: Charles Nagy
Mariners: Randy Johnson
Marlins: Livan Hernandez
Mets: Bobby Jones
Orioles: Mike Mussina
Padres: Kevin Brown
Phillies: Curt Schilling
Pirates: Francisco Cordova
Rangers: John Burkett
Reds: Mike Remlinger
Red Sox: Pedro Martinez
Rockies: Daryl Kile
Royals: Tim Belcher
Tigers: Justin Thompson
Twins: Bob Tewksbury
White Sox: Jamie Navarro
Yankees: Andy Pettitte
For the first time in 35 years the NBA Finals will feature two franchises who have never reached the Finals before. So like I did for the Clippers after their historic playoff series win, here are the Top 10 individual seasons for both franchises according to the basketball version of Win Shares.
I guess it shouldn't be surprising that the best individual season for both franchises are from this past season. The Mavericks list is dominated by one player who may end up holding the 10 best seasons in franchise history by the time he's done and appears on his way to becoming one of the greatest players of all-time.
Dallas Mavericks Top 10 Individual Seasons
1. Dirk Nowitzki, '05-'06, 52 Win Shares
26.6 PTS, 9.0 REB, 2.8 AST, 0.7 STL, 1.0 BLK, 1.9 TO
2. Dirk Nowitzki, '04-'05, 47 Win Shares
26.1 PTS, 9.7 REB, 3.1 AST, 1.2 STL, 1.5 BLK, 2.3 TO
3. Dirk Nowitzki, '02-'03, 45 Win Shares
25.1 PTS, 9.9 REB, 3.0 AST, 1.4 STL, 1.0 BLK, 1.9 TO
4. Dirk Nowitzki, '00-'01, 43 Win Shares
21.8 PTS, 9.2 REB, 2.1 AST, 1.0 STL, 1.2 BLK, 1.9 TO
5. Dirk Nowitzki, '01-'02, 42 Win Shares
23.4 PTS, 9.9 REB, 2.4 AST, 1.1 STL, 1.0 BLK, 1.9 TO
6. Dirk Nowitzki, '03-'04, 33 Win Shares
21.8 PTS, 8.7 REB, 2.7 AST, 1.2 STL, 1.4 BLK, 1.8 TO
7. Steve Nash, '02-'03, 32 Win Shares
17.7 PTS, 2.9 REB, 7.3 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.1 BLK, 2.3 TO
8. Steve Nash, '01-02, 31 Win Shares
17.9 PTS, 3.1 REB, 7.7 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.0 BLK, 2.8 TO
9. Rolando Blackman, '83-'84, 30 Win Shares
22.4 PTS, 4.6 REB, 3.6 AST, 0.7 STL, 0.5 BLK, 2.1 TO
10, Derek Harper, '89-'90, 30 Win Shares
18.0 PTS, 3.0 REB, 7.4 AST, 2.3 STL, 0.3 BLK, 2.5 TO
Miami Heat Top 10 Individual Seasons
-Yes Udonis Haslem but no Glen Rice. I've said before I'm not sure how reliable this is.
1. Dwyane Wade, '05-'06, 41 Win Shares
27.2 PTS, 5.7 REB, 6.7 AST, 1.9 STL, 0.8 BLK, 3.6 TO
2. Tim Hardaway, '96-'97, 39 Win Shares
20.3 PTS, 3.4 REB, 8.6 AST, 1.9 STL, 0.1 BLK, 2.8 TO
3. Alonzo Mourning, '99-'00, 38 Win Shares
21.7 PTS, 9.5 REB, 1.6 AST, 0.5 STL, 3.7 BLK, 2.7 TO
4. Tim Hardaway, '97-'98, 33 Win Shares
18.9 PTS, 3.7 REB, 8.3 AST, 1.7 STL, 0.2 BLK, 2.8 TO
5. Anthony Mason, '00-'01, 33 Win Shares
15.9 PTS, 9.5 REB, 3.0 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.3 BLK, 2.2 TO
6. Shaquille O'Neal, '04-'05, 32 Win Shares
22.9 PTS, 10.4 REB, 2.7 AST, 0.5 STL, 2.3 BLK, 2.8 TO
7. Dwyane Wade, '04-'05, 32 Win Shares
24.1 PTS, 5.2 REB, 6.8 AST, 1.6 STL, 1.1 BLK, 4.2 TO
8. Alonzo Mourning, '96-'97, 27 Win Shares
19.8 PTS, 9.9 REB, 1.6 AST, 0.8 STL, 2.9 BLK, 3.4 TO
9. Udonis Haslem, '04-05, 27 Win Shares
10.9 PTS, 9.1 REB, 1.4 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.5 BLK, 1.4 TO
10. Alonzo Mourning, '95-'96, 26 Win Shares
23.2 PTS, 10.4 REB, 2.3 AST, 1.0 STL, 2.7 BLK, 3.7 TO
Now that the college football season is over I finally had a Saturday morning to sit down and watch Game 6 of the 1975 World Series in one sitting and now eventually will be able to finish off all three World Series box sets. For the remaining games I'll do an entry for Game 6 & 7 of the '79 Series and then an entry for both Game 7's of the '75 & '86 Series.
On a side note while I was doing my post-Christmas shopping with some gift cards I received I found another box set of classic games at Best Buy that was put out by A&E Home Video, who did the World Series sets, but this one was not baseball related. I bought College Football's Greatest Games: University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish Collector's Edition. Ya I'm not proud of myself but it was on sale and I haven't seen a set like this before for college football before so I had to pick it up. Not all of the games are true classics as a few are blowouts that were important to Notre Dame but no one else but there a couple of games on the set I think I'll do future write ups for. Anyways moving on to Game 6...
1975 World Series Game 6 - Red Sox 7, Reds 6 12 innings (boxscore and play account)
-This game was delayed three days due to rain which allowed the Red Sox to start Luis Tiant who had been dominate in Games 1 & 4. They flash a graphic at the beginning of the game of Tiant's previous five starts at Fenway: 5-0, 45 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 20 H, 8 BB, 33 SO, 0.20 ERA. Red Sox had to feel confident after Fred Lynn spotted Tiant a 3-0 lead with a homerun in the first.
-The video quality has been spotty for this and the 1979 set but is very good for this game which is no surprise as I'm sure over the years people have made sure to keep the original footage of this game in good condition.
-Red Sox have a couple opportunities to blow this game open with bases loaded in the 3rd inning and 2nd & 3rd with one out in 4th inning but fail to score.
-Tiant shows his first signs of vulnerability in the series in the 5th when he walks light hitting Ed Armbrister, who was pinch hitting for the pitcher, which will help lead to the Reds first runs of the game. In this innings is the famous play when Lynn slams into the wall trying to catch a Ken Griffey flyball and appears to have been seriously hurt but stays in the game. Griffey ended up with a two-run triple.
-The game starts to reach it's classic level in the bottom of the 8th with the Reds up 6-3 and four outs away from the championship, when with two on Bernie Carbo hits his second pinch hit homerun of the series to tie it up off Reds' relief ace Rawly Eastwick.
-Red Sox nearly win it in the 9th as they loaded the bases with no one out but on a shallow flyball to left hit by Lynn, Don Zimmer sends Denny Doyle from 3rd and he is gunned down by George Foster at the plate for the double play.
-Some almost controversy in the top of the 11th as Pete Rose fakes his way into a HBP. Carlton Fisk argues but to no avail and replays show the pitch did not hit Rose. This would be erased when Dwight Evans makes a sensational catch to potentially rob Joe Morgan of a homerun (might have hit the wall if he doesn't get it) and doubles Griffey off of first to end the inning.
-Of course we know what happens in the 12th. It is still bizarre watching games like this and seeing fans among Fisks' teammates as they mob him at homeplate as we were still several years away from when MLB started to crackdown on fans running on to the field.
-This was one quite the hearbreaker for the Reds for blowing the three run lead in the 8th, Evans robbing Morgan in the 11th, and the Fisk walk off this could have been a crippling defeat for a franchise that hadn't won the World Series since 1940 and suffered a tough World Series loss three years earlier against the A's. But as we know it didn't turn out so bad for them.
My 1987 A.L. MVP Redo helped me find my next “Where’d They Go?” subject as there was one team that year that had three players in my top 10, that being the Boston Red Sox. Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, and Dwight Evans all had great years and having three players of that caliber playing for the defending A.L. Champs you’d think that'd lead to a successful year. They finished 78-84. What happened?
Obviously three stars can not lead a team of 25 to a championship. After you got past those three and Mike Greenwell the ’87 Sox were a terrible team. They spent just one day over .500 (8-7 on April 22nd) the entire season. The major problem was pitching as they posted 4.77 team ERA, only Baltimore and Cleveland were worse. The bullpen was particularly awful with an ERA of 5.42 and only 16 saves. Maybe the most glaring problem for the Red Sox was they were seemingly a completely different team on the road. They were a very strong 50-30 at home. They were a miserable 28-54 on the road.
C: Marc Sullivan (.169/.198/.238, -14.7 VORP, 2 Win Shares) – 14 OPS+. 14! How is that even possible for a non-pitcher? Sullivan was part of a three headed non-hitting monster at catcher for the Sox along Rich Gedman and John Marzano. The previously reliable Gedman heldout the first month of the season and then had a thumb injury midseason. How in the world was Sullivan in the Majors you ask? His dad Haywood Sullivan was co-owner of the Red Sox at the time. Aww nepotism. This would be Sullivan’s last year in the bigs.
1B: Dwight Evans (.305/.417/.569, 57.7 VORP, 25 Win Shares) – Dewey was moved to first in July after they released Bill Buckner. Evans struggled badly at first and I’m not sure why they chose to move him to first instead of rookie Todd Benzinger who got the majority of time in right field the remainder of the year. I guess maybe the thinking was with Evans being 35 they wanted to attempt to extend his career by moving him to first. Stayed with the Red Sox thru 1990 and spent his final year in Baltimore. Deserved a lot more support for the Hall of Fame than he got, which was almost no support at all.
2B: Marty Barrett (.293/.351/.351, 18.1 VORP, 16 Win Shares) – Barrett had a decent year after his career year of ’86. In 1989 a knee injury cut his year, and eventually career, short and rookie Jody Reed took his job from there. Left the Sox after 1990 and had a brief stint in 1991 with the Padres before being released.
3B: Wade Boggs (.363/.461/.588, 90.1 VORP, 32 Win Shares) – Boggs was well into his peek here with another MVP caliber season winning his third of four straight batting titles. This was the one year that Boggs showed serious power as he hit 24 homeruns in an assumed juiced ball year. His production dipped severely in 1992 and after that year he signed as a free agent with the Yankees where rebounded with a great year in 1994 and won his only World Series ring in 1996. Closed out his career with the Devil Rays, retiring after 1999. He actually gave his HOF cap rights to the D-Rays as part of his contract but thankfully the HOF changed it’s rules and players no longer are able choose the cap they wear on their plaque. Inducted with a Red Sox cap last year.
SS: Spike Owen (.259/.337/.343, 10.7 VORP, 9 Win Shares) – Owen sure made a career out of being a weak hitter and unspectacular defensive shortstop. Traded after 1988 to the Expos where he’d spend four years. Traded again after 1993 to the Yankees. In 1994 with the Angels he put up a shocking .310/.418/.422 line in 82 games but he went back to his usual numbers in ’95 which was his final season.
LF: Jim Rice (.277/.357/.408, 9.9 VORP, 8 Win Shares) – This was the year where Rice seemed to age about five years as he was hobbled with knee problems. Moved to DH the following year but that failed to really extend his career and he retired after 1989. His HOF support is continuing to grow and though he’ll have no shot for 2007 with the Ripken/Gwynn ballot, I will not be surprised if he is elected on the 2008 ballot over the more deserving Tim Raines.
CF: Ellis Burks (.272/.324/.441, 17.4 VORP, 15 Win Shares) – Solid rookie year for Burks who was just 22 at the time. Had his first of many injuries in 1989 when he was limited to 97 games due to a shoulder injury. In his 18 year career he only played more than 140 games in a season four times but when he was in the line up he was usually great. Signed with the White Sox in 1993 for one season and then signed with the Rockies. Traded in a deadline deal to the Giants in 1998 and played there thru 2000. Spent the next three years in Cleveland and made a return to the Red Sox in 2004 but only played in 11 games.
OF: Mike Greenwell (.328/.386/.570, 41.9 VORP, 17 Win Shares) – This was Greenwell’s “rookie” year but he had played parts of the last two seasons and started 61 games in left, 28 games in right, and 15 games at DH. Really broke out the following year finishing in the Top 5 in the A.L. in average, OBP, SLG, hits, rbi, and a few other categories. He finished 2nd in the MVP voting but would never come close to match that year again. Would spend his entire MLB career in Boston, leaving after 1996 to play in Japan.
DH: Don Baylor (.239/.355/.404, 9.7 VORP, 7 Win Shares) – Boston stats only as Baylor would be traded with a month left in the season to the Twins. He was playing on borrowed time at this point although he would have a great World Series. Played his final year in 1988 with Oakland.
Rotation
Roger Clemens (154 ERA+, 92.8 VORP, 28 Win Shares) – Who?
Bruce Hurst (103 ERA+, 40.2 VORP, 15 Win Shares) – Hurst was the only other competent pitcher on the Sox, starters or bullpen, although this wasn’t a particularly good year for him. Oddly enough made the All-Star team but Clemens didn’t. Signed as a free agent with the Padres in 1989 and had arguably his best year posting a 2.69 ERA. Had three good years in San Diego but a shoulder problem hampered him in 1992 and he found out after the season he had a torn rotator cuff. Only would pitch 51 innings after that, traded to the Rockies midseason in 1993 and then spent 1994 with the Rangers.
Al Nipper (84 ERA+, 4.5 VORP, 6 Win Shares) – Nipper was a junkballer who fooled some hitters a few years earlier when he first came up to the Majors but by this time he was figured out. Sox traded him and Calvin Schiraldi to the Cubs in an absolute fleecing to get Lee Smith. Nipper actually did pitch fairly well splitting time between starter and reliever in ’88. Was released right before the 1989 season and did not pitch in the Majors that year. Not sure if he was injured or in the minors. Pitched 24 innings for the Indians in 1990, his final year.
Jeff Sellers (86 ERA+, 10.7 VORP, 6 Win Shares) – Supposedly had great stuff but apparently never knew where it was going. Traded after 1988 to Cincinnati in the Nick Esasky deal and never pitched in the Majors again.
Bob Stanley (91 ERA+, 8.8 VORP, 5 Win Shares) – This was a forgettable return to starter for Stanley who’d only made two starts in the previous six years. The workhorse reliever was moved back to the bullpen the following season and had a good year but struggled in 1989, announcing his retirement at the end of the season.
Closer: Wes Gardner (84 ERA+, 7.0 VORP, 4 Win Shares) – Red Sox didn’t really have a closer for their awful bullpen but Gardner picked up 10 of the 16 saves. Spent the following year as a long reliever/fifth starter and had his only productive year in the Majors. Traded to the Padres after 1990, splitting his final year with them and the Royals.
Jim Rice - Leftfielder
Boston Red Sox 1974-1989
13th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1995: 29.78%
1996: 35.32%
1997: 37.63%
1998: 42.92%
1999: 29.38%
2000: 51.50%
2001: 57.86%
2002: 55.08%
2003: 52.22%
2004: 54.55%
2005: 59.50%
2006: 64.80%
Awards
1978 AL MVP
1983 AL Silver Slugger - OF
1984 AL Silver Slugger - OF
All-Star Selections: 8 (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986)
League Leader
1977: Homeruns, Total Bases, Slugging %
1978: Hits, Homeruns, RBI, Triples, Total Bases, Runs Created, Slugging %, OPS, OPS+
1979: Total Bases
1983: Homeruns, RBI, Total Bases
Career Ranks
Hits: 93rd
HR: 52nd
RBI: 52nd
TB: 63rd
SLG: 89th
RC: 79th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 33 (49) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 176 (56) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 42.9 (122) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 146.5 (82) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 4 (Orlando Cepeda, Duke Snider, Billy Williams, Willie Stargell)
Other Similar Batters: Andres Galarraga, Ellis Burks, Joe Carter, Dave Parker, Luis Gonzalez, Chili Davis
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1974: 1/0.1
1975: 20/4.8
1976: 17/4.2
1977: 26/7.4
1978: 36/10.4
1979: 28/8.2
1980: 16/4.9
1981: 15/6.3
1982: 21/6.4
1983: 24/9.1
1984: 17/7.3
1985: 14/5.4
1986: 28/9.4
1987: 8/2.7
1988: 9/2.6
1989: 2/0.1
Career Win Shares: 282
Career WARP3: 89.2
Would he get my vote?
No. A few years ago I was on the Rice bandwagon but I have since jumped off. He was fabulous from 1977-1979 but when you look at the rest of the career there's only two other great seasons and the offensive standards for a being HOF corner outfielder are almost as high as first basemen. He also benefitted from playing his entire career in Fenway Park and he had a large home/road split posting an OPS 131 points higher (.920 to .789) at Fenway than on the road. I think he needed two more good years to push him over the top but his skills eroded rapidly in his mid-30s so much so that he's become the poster boy for a player who has a sudden decline in production in their mid-30s. If he had been a great defensive outfielder or a great base stealer that could have also pushed him over the top but he was neither. I will say that he seems a tad underrated by WARP3. He is gaining support from the writers and I could see him getting a big bump in one his final two years on the ballot although he obviously no chance this year. There's a case to be made for him and I won't have a problem if he ever gets in but he doesn't get my imaginary vote.
Another entry flushed because I'm a dumbass. I had been working on for an hour and a half on a new "Where'd They Go?" entry, this one on the '91 Mariners but decided to be typing here in the blog instead of C&P from a Word file. I was almost done with their line-up and but I had to restart my computer and I hit restart before realizing I hadn't saved my entry. So this is a complete throw away entry and I'll just talk briefly about one thing.
-ESPN I'm going to let you in on a little something...you don't have Monday Night Football. You may have the name, you might be showing games on Monday nights this year, but you don't have Monday Night Football. Monday Night Football is now shown on Sunday nights. NBC landed the dream deal where they will be able select better games the last couple of months of the season while ESPN your stuck with your lousy schedule. What you have ESPN is Sunday Night Football on Monday nights. No shock at all NBC's presentation and coverage absolutely smokes ESPN's, even though NBC hasn't covered the sport since 1997. It's pathetic the way they've been hyping their preseason MNF games and then after the game ends they start SportsCenter with a 15 minute segment with extended highlights and analyzing the game people just saw, a meaningless exhibition. It's scary to think how much coverage and hype they'll give to their regular season MNF games.
Could it finally be, someone who I'd actually vote for on my imaginary ballot?
Rich "Goose" Gossage - Closer
Chicago White Sox 1972-1976
Pittsburgh Pirates 1977
New York Yankees 1978-1983, 1989
San Diego Padres 1984-1987
Chicago Cubs 1988
San Francisco Giants 1989
Texas Rangers 1991
Oakland Athletics 1992-1993
Seattle Mariners 1994
8th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
2000: 33.27%
2001: 44.27%
2002: 43.01%
2003: 42.14%
2004: 40.74%
2005: 55.23%
2006: 64.61%
Awards
1978 AL Rolaids Relief Award
All-Star Selections: 9 (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985)
League Leader
1975: Saves
1978: Saves
1980: Saves
Career Ranks
Saves: 17th
Games: 10th
K/9: 40th
ERA+: 55th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 9 (248) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 41 (580) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 19.0 (312) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 126.0 (61) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: 2 (Rollie Fingers, Hoyt Wilhelm)
Other Similar Pitchers: Lindy McDaniel, Stu Miller, Gene Garber, Kent Tekulve, Tug McGraw, Sparky Lyle, Roy Face, Mike Marshall
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1972: 3/0.2
1973: 0/-0.5
1974: 4/1.9
1975: 23/10.5
1976: 10/4.7
1977: 26/10.5
1978: 20/7.8
1979: 11/4.0
1980: 18/6.2
1981: 12/5.9
1982: 17/7.4
1983: 16/7.1
1984: 15/5.1
1985: 15/4.4
1986: 5/1.5
1987: 7/3.3
1988: 4/1.3
1989: 5/1.4
1991: 3/1.8
1992: 2/1.1
1993: 3/1.8
1994: 4/2.0
Career Win Shares: 223
Career WARP3: 89.5
Would he get my vote?
...No. Like I said in the Lee Smith entry I just have a hard time viewing someone who spent their career primarily as a reliever as being a true Hall of Famer. I absolutely agree that Gossage is much more deserving of enshrinement than that of Bruce Sutter. What's funny is that if Gossage had retired at 35 like Sutter did he probably would already be in the HOF as his greatness as a closer would have been remembered better by the short attention span of the writers. Gossage retired nine years after his last good season as a closer after bouncing around several teams as a moderately effective, situational reliever and he gets unfairly penalized for it. I will not argue with anyone who says Gossage deserves to get in and I will have no problem if he ever gets in, which I think will happen eventually after the big jump in support he's received the last couple of years. But on my imaginary ballot I just can't put him down.
Game of the Day: Notre Dame 40, Michigan State 37. It was almost like the Spartans decided they'd have a game that would mirror the way they usually play every season. Hot start, then a lousy finish. Being that this was on ESPN on ABC on ESPN2 on Disney this is now "one of the ages" or something. Of course if this game had been played in South Bend and thus been televised on NBC, ESPN probably wouldn't care that much. ESPN did nail it though in what this game meant as Notre Dame just earned $14 million last night with this win, though they seemed to celebrate the fact more than look down on it. The Irish simply don't have another challenging game the rest of the year until they travel to Los Angeles and even they get humiliated in that game they will still be guarenteed a BCS bowl. Like I said last week they will play themselves back into the national title picture whether you like or not.
WTF Score of the Day: Georgia 14, Colorado 13. There was no jaw dropping upset yesterday (sorry Ball State, you're barely I-A as it is) and this was as close as we were going to get. The Bulldogs were the Top 10 that was a mystery to people coming into this week. The mystery is over, they aren't a Top 10 team.
Other Games that I Make Little Analysis and Lame Jokes About
Arkansas 24, Alabama 23. You know people have been lynched in Alabama for a lot less than what kicker Leigh Tiffin did yesterday. Time to transfer to Florida State, kid. I'm guessing the good feelings Tide fans had for Mike Shula last year will dissapear in a hurry this year.
SMU 55, Arkansas State 9. Isn't there something in the NCAA rules that if you lose by more than 40 to SMU you are demoted to Division II the next day? I mean god damn, it's fucking SMU! Let's not forgot Arkansas State is the defending Sun Belt champions. I think a 46 year old Eric Dickerson could run circles around a Sun Belt defense.
Maryland 14, Florida International 10. Maybe it's time Ralph Friedgen started putting weight back on as the Terps were much better a 100 pounds ago.
Ohio State 28, Penn State 6. I was watching the A's game so I missed most of this one and I unfortunately missed sideline reporting about Joe Paterno almost shitting his pants during the game.
Houston 34, Oklahoma State 25. I only mention this game because Vern reads the blog and I won my match-up against him in my pick 'em contest yesterday because of this game. Kevin Kolb is yo daddy Vern!
Whack Pac Wrap Up
California 49, Arizona State 21. God damnit.
Washington 29, UCLA 19. Newsflash, the Huskies don't suck this year. Isaiah Stanback is becoming quite the competent quarterback.
USC 20, Arizona 3. Zzzzzz. Good lord was that boring. That Emmanuel Moody though is pretty damn good.
Oregon State 38, Idaho 0. If you're still wondering how Michigan State coul blow that game last night then remember that they acutally made Idaho look halfway decent in their opener.
Washington State 36, Stanford 10. Hey the Cardinal defense allowed 238 rushing yards, their best showing of the year. Progress! I wanna cry.
I'm not into making projections a month into the season, basically so I won't look stupid, and I like to wait until the final week of the season to make projections. Now these are purely based on every higher ranked team winning their game next week and obviously that won't happen but it makes it easier to make projections that way. Note Navy, Southern Miss, and Memphis have already accepted invites to bowls.
BCS: Missouri vs. West Virginia
Orange: Virginia Tech vs. Georgia
Fiesta: Kansas vs. Arizona State
Sugar: LSU vs. Hawaii
Rose: Ohio State vs. USC
Capital One: Florida vs. Illinois
Cotton: Kansas vs. Arkansas
Holiday: Oregon vs. Texas
Chick-fil-A: Boston College vs. Auburn
Gator: Oklahoma vs. Clemson
Outback: Tennessee vs. Wisconsin
Sun: South Florida vs. California
Alamo: Penn State vs. Texas A&M
Champs Sports: Virginia vs. Michigan
Music City: Mississippi State vs. Florida State
Insight: Texas Tech vs. Indiana
Meineke Car Care: Cincinnati vs. Wake Forest
Las Vegas: BYU vs. Oregon State
Liberty: UCF vs. Alabama
Independence: Kentucky vs. Colorado
Emerald: UCLA vs. Maryland
Motor City: Central Michigan vs. Michigan State
Humanitarian: Boise State vs. Georgia Tech
GMAC: Bowling Green vs. Tulsa
Texas: Houston vs. New Mexico
International: Rutgers vs. Ball State
Poinsettia: Navy vs. Utah
Armed Forces: Air Force vs. Purdue
PapaJohns.com: Connecticut vs. Southern Miss
Hawaii: Fresno State vs. East Carolina
New Orleans: Troy vs. Memphis
New Mexico: TCU vs. Louisiana Tech
Installment two of my whoever knows how long part series where I give very little insight to past NFL Drafts. The '93 draft had a lot intrigue going as it was your classic draft where the top two picks were expected to be quarterbacks but it was only a question of who the New England Patriots would select, Rick Mirer or Drew Bledsoe, and who the Seattle Seahawks would end up with.
1. New England - Drew Bledsoe, QB, Washington State
Okay so he isn't going to be a Hall of Famer but Bledsoe has put together a pretty good career that just peeked early. At least New England did pick the correct quarterback here.
2. Seattle - Rick Mirer, QB, Notre Dame
Boy Bill Walsh really took a hit in the "genius" department when he proclaimed Mirer was the next Joe Montana. He had a decent rookie year but it was all downhill from there.
3. Phoenix - Garrison Hearst, RB, Georgia
His first four years in the league were plagued with knee injuries and he was looking like a bust but turned his career around in San Francisco. Ended up with just under 8,000 career rushing yards.
4. N.Y. Jets - Marvin Jones, LB, Florida State
Jones was probably the #1 rated player going into the draft. Decent player but never became star everyone projected him to be.
5. Cincinnati - John Copeland, DT, Alabama
Just decent.
6. Tampa Bay - Eric Curry, DE, Alabama
Bust. Only 12 sacks in his seven year career.
7. Chicago - Curtis Conway, WR, USC
Decent career. More than 8,000 yards receiving and over 50 touchdowns is nothing to be ashamed of.
8. New Orleans - Willie Roaf, T, Louisiana Tech
Arguably has had the best career of any player from this draft and pretty much a lock for the Hall of Fame.
9. Atlanta - Lincoln Kennedy, T, Washington
Forgot he played for the Falcons. Was rated even with Roaf going into the draft, obviously didn't have the career of Roaf but was still a pretty good lineman.
10. L.A. Rams - Jerome Bettis, RB, Notre Dame
ESPN killed any love I could have for Bettis and they do that for a lot athletes for me. Anyways good pick for the Rams, too bad for them they didn't hang on to him.
11. Denver - Dan Williams, DE, Toledo
Workout wonder who moved up the board but was nothing special. Hey that never happens.
12. L.A. Raiders - Patrick Bates, S, Texas A&M
Bust. Lasted only three years, left the Raiders before the 1995 season without notice, lots of off the field problems.
13. Houston - Brad Hopkins, T, Illinois
Been a rock at tackle for the Oilers/Titans franchise, good pick.
14. Cleveland - Steve Everitt, C, Michigan
Pretty good but only lasted seven years.
15. Green Bay - Wayne Simmons, LB, Clemson
Showed flashes of brilliance early in his career but never reached his full potential. Was killed in a car accident a few years ago.
16. Indianapolis - Sean Dawkins, WR, California
Made a career out of being a second or third option but not what you want out of a 1st round pick.
17. Washington - Tom Carter, CB, Notre Dame
Average at best who cashed in on a big money deal with the Bears in 1997 who waived him two years later.
18. Phoenix - Ernest Dye, T, South Carolina
Injury riddled, short career that was spent primarily as a back up.
19. Philadelphia - Lester Holmes, G, Jackson State
Nothing special, started for three teams.
20. New Orleans - Irv Smith, TE, Notre Dame
I don't know why but I always thought he'd up being good. He wasn't.
21. Minnesota - Robert Smith, RB, Ohio State
Like Hearst injuries hampered him early in his career but he turned it around. Not your typical pro football personality as he had his best year in 2000 and then promptly retired.
22. San Diego - Darrien Gordon, CB, Stanford
Average corner but an excellent punt returner.
23. Pittsburgh - Deon Figures, CB, Colorado
Just another average corner.
24. Philadelphia - Leonard Renfro, DT, Colorado
Lasted two years, yup that's a bust.
25. Miami - O.J. McDuffie, WR, Penn State
Had a few decent years but lacked the size to become a great NFL wideout.
26. San Francisco - Dana Stubblefield, DT, Kansas
Maybe remembered more now for being a big contract bust for the Redskins but was a great pick for the 49ers.
27. San Francisco - Todd Kelly, LB, Tennessee
I remember my friends all thinking Kelly was going to be great and that we thought Stubblefield was a bad pick. Probably had to do with Kelly having a much easier name to say. Nothing career.
28. Buffalo - Thomas Smith, CB, North Carolina
Solid cover corner.
29. Green Bay - George Teague, S, Alabama
Decent player who's best known for being the guy who hit Terrell Owens when he posed on the Dallas Cowboys' star.
Other Players of Note
37. Cincinnati - Tony McGee, TE, Michigan
40. N.Y. Giants - Michael Strahan, DE, Texas Southern
52. Minnesota - Qadry Ismail, WR, Syracuse
70. Denver - Jason Elam, K, Hawaii
74. Kansas City - Will Shields, G, Nebraska
79. Minnesota - Gilbert Brown, DT, Kansas
82. Tampa Bay - John Lynch, S, Stanford
118. Green Bay - Mark Brunell, QB, Washington
170. Seattle - Michael McCrary, DE, Wake Forest
181. L.A. Raiders - Greg Biekert, LB, Colorado
196. Dallas - Brock Marion, S, Nevada
207. N.Y. Giants - Jesse Armstead, LB, Miami
214. Houston - Blaine Bishop, S, Ball State
219. San Francisco - Elvis Grbac, QB, Michigan
222. San Diego - Trent Green, QB, Indiana
One way to measure a player's value can be their ability to stay healthy. Obviously if a player can give at least average production for their position and stay in the line-up everyday their value might be higher than their statistics may indicate especially if their team lacks a suitable replacement. This can come up when considering someone for MVP. Some seasons there maybe a player who's peripheral numbers were superior to other candidates but they missed 30-40 games due to injury thus their value for that season decreased and the other candidates may have been more valuable simply because they stayed healthy all season.
That brings me to the 1980 A.L. MVP which was won by George Brett and he won it rather easily. Of course what is most remembered about Brett's 1980 season is that he had a .390 batting average, the closest a player had come to hitting .400 since Ted Williams had a pulled off the feat 39 years earlier. What many people don't remember is that Brett only played in 117 games that year due to injuries. In fact he barely qualified for the batting title as a player needed 502 plate appearances to qualify and Brett finished with 515. Now Brett didn't simply just have a high batting average, he also had a .454 OBP and a .664 SLG, both tops in the league. Although I typically discard RBI's his total was worth mentioning as he had 118 RBI in those 117 games. Even with his phenomenal numbers could he possibly be the run away MVP winner while missing 45 games?
The other candidates who received a lot of support were led by Reggie Jackson. At age 34 he had one of the best years of his career hitting .300 with 41 homeruns and playing on a Yankees team that won 103 games but he was a distant second to Brett. His teammate Goose Gossage finished 3rd and closers don't deserve the MVP, blah blah blah. Willie Wilson, Cecil Cooper, and Eddie Murray were the only other players to receive over 100 voting points. One very odd first place vote went to Yankees catcher Rick Cerone and just a hunch he was probably the heart of the team or some crap like that. Anyways he had a good year, especially for him, but no where near an MVP calibar season.
Actual Results
1) George Brett 2) Reggie Jackson 3) Goose Gossage 4) Willie Wilson 5) Cecil Cooper 6) Eddie Murray 7) Rick Cerone 8) Dan Quisenberry 9) Steve Stone 10) Rickey Henderson 11) Al Oliver 12) Tony Armas 13t) Al Bumbry 13t) Ben Ogilvie 15t) Mike Norris 15t) Willie Randolph 17) Robin Young 18t) Buddy Bell 18t) Mickey Rivers 20) Alan Trammell 21) Ken Singleton 22t) Miguel Dilone 22t) Tony Perez 24t) Fred Lynn 24t) John Wathan
#10
148 ERA+, 2.17 K/BB, 1.05 WHIP, 84.1 VORP, 25 Win Shares
#9
.326/.357/.421, 105 RC, 112 OPS+, .290 EQA, 49.4 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#8
.304/.397/.485, 113 RC, 142 OPS+, .313 EQA, 49.6 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#7
.304/.362/.562, 121 RC, 153 OPS+, .313 EQA, 52.9 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#6
.352/.387/.539, 131 RC, 155 OPS+, .321 EQA, 71.4 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#5
.318/.392/.433, 109 RC, 128 OPS+, .303 EQA, 58.4 VORP, 33 Win Shares
#4
.294/.427/.407, 89 RC, 133 OPS+, .316 EQA, 63.8 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#3
.303/.420/.399, 99 RC, 134 OPS+, .315 EQA, 54.0 VORP, 34 Win Shares
#2
.300/.398/.597, 122 RC, 172 OPS+, .335 EQA, 64.7 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#1
.390/.454/.664, 137 RC, 202 OPS+, .368 EQA, 92.7 VORP, 36 Win Shares
See I don't always just do redos to point out horrible choices by the writers. Okay the royally screwed Mike Norris out of the Cy Young but that's another redo.
Amazingly as it seems even though he only played 117 games Brett was the deserving choice and there's simply no one else to consider. As you can see it wasn't like there was a weak group of candidates but Brett out classed them all with one of the most incredible seasons of all-time.
Hey it's the one year anniversary of my blog...um, yay? I've been putting off several ideas such as a list of the Top 100 players of my "baseball lifetime" (1986-present) and also the Top 50 Oakland A's of all-time, shrunk from 100 since realizing that the list would be populated with guys who played two years or less with them. So I figured I'd do my biggest staple of my blog over the past year and that was the Award Redos. I originally was going to do the 1991 A.L. MVP but then rememebered, I already did it. But in that entry after I gave Frank Thomas both the 1991 and 1992 awards I wondered if the Big Hurt should have won four straight MVPs? So now to find out if his first real MVP should have been his 3rd overall.
There was zero controversy for the 1993 A.L. MVP as Thomas won it unanimously. Typically when a player wins an MVP unanimously he probably was at the very least a deserving winner and certainly it was no exception here. Although he didn't lead the league in any major category he was in the Top 10 in Average, Runs, OBP, SLG, Homeruns, RBI, Walks, and Total Bases while helping the White Sox to their first division crown in 10 years. Since there was no real race there was no other players considered serious contenders. The defending champion Blue Jays were loaded with stars with Paul Molitor and John Olerud finished 2nd and 3rd in the voting repsectively while Robert Alomar finished 6th. Homerun champ Juan Gonzalez and Ken Griffey Jr., who had his first big homerun year with 45, rounded out the Top 5.
Actual Results
1) Frank Thomas 2) Paul Molitor 3) John Olerud 4) Juan Gonzalez 5) Ken Griffey Jr 6) Roberto Alomar 7) Albert Belle 8) Rafael Palmeiro 9) Jack McDowell 10) Carlos Baerga 11) Jimmy Key 12) Joe Carter 13t) Jimmy Key 13t) Jeff Montgomery 15) Kenny Lofton 16t) Chris Hoiles 16t) Tony Phillips 18) Mo Vaughn 19t) Don Mattingly 19t) Cal Ripken 21) Alex Fernandez 22t) Greg Gagne 22t) Duane Ward 24t) Kevin Appier 24t) Cecil Fielder 24t) Randy Johnson
#10
.289/.432/.474, 101 RC, 147 OPS+, .343 EQA, 56.7 VORP, 25 Win Shares
#9
.310/.416/.585, 100 RC, 163 OPS+, .340 EQA, 60.4 VORP, 26 Win Shares
#8
178 ERA+, 2.30 K/BB, 1.11 WHIP, 82.7 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#7
.332/.402/.509, 131 RC, 142 OPS+, .325 EQA, 69.9 VORP, 29 Win Shares
#6
.326/.408/.492, 118 RC, 140 OPS+, .323 EQA, 75.3 VORP, 30 Win Shares
#5
.295/.371/.554, 123 RC, 150 OPS+, .327 EQA, 59.2 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#4
.310/.368/.632, 120 RC, 169 OPS+, .339 EQA, 67.8 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#3
.309/.408/.617, 146 RC, 172 OPS+, .343 EQA, 86.4 VORP, 29 Win Shares
#2
.317/.426/.607, 144 RC, 177 OPS+, .356 EQA, 79.0 VORP, 32 Win Shares
#1
.363/.473/.599, 156 RC, 185 OPS+, .372 EQA, 92.2 VORP, 37 Win Shares
THAT'S WHAT YOU GET YOUR TRAITOR!!!
Olerud had flirted with .400 for a little while as he was hitting .402 on August 1st but he tailed off after that and with the Blue Jays being loaded he couldn't garner a first place vote. He was better than Thomas across the board and was the easy pick here for me. If he could kept his chase for .400 a little longer he might have given Thomas a run for the MVP but maybe the writers thought he looked too much like a retarded kid running out to the field with his helmet on.
Been a little while now since the last MVP Watch as was waiting for Hardball Times to finally update the Win Shares totals.
Hey so did you hear that Ryan Howard is now the N.L. MVP winner? If your left handed and fat, this is your year! You know the media goo-goos and ga-gas over homeruns and RBI and then they wonder why players take steroids? Of course is Howard even the MVP of the Phillies is a more interesting question. As for the league he's in Top 10 but with a month left he's got no shot at the top spot on my ballot. Now as for the #1 spot things keep getting more interesting. I really, really wanted to give Beltran the top spot finally but I didn't pull the trigger but that might change a month from now. Also we may have a late 3rd candidate to the race as Miguel Cabrera clocks at a very strong #3.
#10 Nick Johnson, Nationals
.286/.423/.511, 93 RC, .312 EQA, 42.5 VORP, 22 Win Shares
#9 David Wright, Mets
.294/.369/.511, 97 RC, .294 EQA, 34.4 VORP, 24 Win Shares
#8 Ryan Howard, Phillies
.294/.382/.628, 96 RC, .313 EQA, 50.2 VORP, 22 Win Shares
#7 Jose Reyes, Mets
.298/.351/.488, 103 RC, .285 EQA, 47.9 VORP, 25 Win Shares
#6 Chase Utley, Phillies
.317/.385/.525, 94 RC, .296 EQA, 53.5 VORP, 23 Win Shares
#5 Alfonso Soriano, Nationals
.294/.365/.603, 110 RC, .303 EQA, 52.9 VORP, 28 Win Shares
#4 Lance Berkman, Astros
.308/.414/.614, 112 RC, .323 EQA, 54.7 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#3 Miguel Cabrera, Marlins
.337/.426/.585, 117 RC, .328 EQA, 64.8 VORP, 30 Win Shares
#2 Carlos Beltran, Mets
.286/.389/.631, 111 RC, .321 EQA, 63.1 VORP, 34 Win Shares
#1 Albert Pujols, Cardinals
.323/.424/.665, 114 RC, .337 EQA, 65.4 VORP, 30 Win Shares
For the A.L. it's still anyone's guess but by the way things are shaking out now Derek Jeter may win the real award by default and he's still in strongly my Top 5. I nearly had a new #1 here and originally had Manny Ramirez taking the top spot but changed my mind due the uncertain staus of his knee. The media favorite David Ortiz is now clutching his heart (awww I'm mean) and his season could be over. Joe Mauer is still in the Top 5 but he needs a strong September to grab the award.
#10 Vernon Wells, Blue Jays
.319/.374/.583, 93 RC, .310 EQA, 59.0 VORP, 21 Win Shares
#9 Jason Giambi, Yankees
.261/.420/.594, 101 RC, .330 EQA, 46.9 VORP, 22 Win Shares
#8 Jermaine Dye, White Sox
.326/.392/.649, 99 RC, .328 EQA, 59.3 VORP, 22 Win Shares
#7 Johan Santana, Twins
153 ERA+, 5.03 K/BB, 1.02 WHIP, 62.7 VORP, 21 Win Shares
#6 Jim Thome, White Sox
.294/.413/.615, 103 RC, .331 EQA, 53.9 VORP, 22 Win Shares
#5 David Ortiz, Red Sox
.287/.400/.633, 105 RC, .329 EQA, 61.0 VORP, 22 Win Shares
#4 Joe Mauer, Twins
.356/.434/.514, 91 RC, .322 EQA, 57.6 VORP, 26 Win Shares
#3 Derek Jeter, Yankees
.337/.413/.480, 108 RC, .311 EQA, 61.3 VORP, 25 Win Shares
#2 Manny Ramirez, Red Sox
.326/.442/.628, 108 RC, .345 EQA, 62.8 VORP, 26 Win Shares
#1 Travis Hafner, Indians
.307/.434/.643, 120 RC, .347 EQA, 74.6 VORP, 23 Win Shares
Greg Vaughn, Left Fielder
Milwaukee Brewers 1989-1996
San Diego Padres 1996-1998
Cincinnati Reds 1999
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2000-2002
Colorado Rockies 2003
Awards
1998 NL Silver Slugger - OF
All-Star Selections: 4 (1993, 1996, 1998, 2001)
League Leader
None
Career Ranks
Homeruns: 73rd
Best Performance
September 7, 1999 - Cincinnati at Chicago (Game 2 of DH)
Hits three homeruns against the Cubs.
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Batting - 22 (928) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 25.0 (418) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 50.0 (368) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Jeromy Burnitz, Ron Gant, Rocky Colavito, Roy Sievers, Andruw Jones, Darryl Strawberry, David Justice, Greg Luzinski, Dave Kingman, Jack Clark
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1989: 6/1.1
1990: 10/1.3
1991: 20/8.4
1992: 16/6.4
1993: 22/6.7
1994: 9/4.9
1995: 5/1.2
1996: 17/6.3
1997: 8/1.8
1998: 30/10.6
1999: 24/7.2
2000: 16/5.1
2001: 15/3.8
2002: 1/0.6
2003: 1/0.4
Career Win Shares: 199
Career WARP3: 65.3
My Stupid Opinion
Vaughn was your prototypical low batting average slugger. His one really standout year in 1998 was of course completely overshadowed by a couple of other sluggers who's names escape me at the moment. Really nothing special about him outside of his power.
You know I really did want to avoid doing three straight entries of the same feature but dammit I'm loving doing this and this blog is basically my own playground to geek out on useless information so might as well keep doing what I love. Besides there's only two of you reading this.
The 1979 N.L. MVP vote had the most unique result ever: a tie. A TIE!?!? What kind of a crap is that? There's no ties in baseball! I was only one year old at the time but I imagine there must have been riots across the country after this result was announced and if there wasn't there should have been. Fuck the hostage crisis, this was the biggest crisis in America in November 1979.
Keith Hernandez and Willie Stargell shared the award in '79. Well I don't know if they shared, I'd assume they made two trophies otherwise that'd be a pretty cheap thing for MLB to do. Now what was odd, beyond the tied result, was Hernandez easily beat Stargell in first place votes, 10 to 4. There's no rule for a tiebreak but clearly more voters felt Hernandez was the MVP. In 3rd place was Dave Winfield who received the same number of first place votes as Stargell although due to the Padres poor performance Winfield probably was left off a few ballots all together as he finished 61 points behind the co-winners.
So for over 26 years we've been stuck with this tie...until today. I will settle the debate. Get out your magic markers kids and get ready to cross out one of those names. Or will you be crossing out both of them?
Actual 1979 results:
1t) Keith Hernandez 1t) Willie Stargell 3) Dave Winfield 4) Larry Parrish 5) Ray Knight 6) Joe Niekro 7) Bruce Sutter 8) Kent Tekulve 9) Dave Concepcion 10) Dave Parker 11) Dave Kingman 12) George Foster 13) Mike Schmidt 14) Steve Garvey 15t) Omar Moreno 15t) Pete Rose 17) Gary Carter 18) Bill Madlock 19) J.R. Richard 20) Phil Niekro 21t) Joe Sambito 21t) Tom Seaver 23) Johnny Bench 24) Andre Dawson 25) Garry Templeton 26) Gary Matthews 27) Dave Collins 28) Bob Horner
#10
.314/.331/.458, 102 RC, 113 OPS+, .276 EQA, 63.4 VORP, 25 Win Shares
#9
.303/.395.449, 106 RC, 135 OPS+, .306 EQA, 55.7 VORP, 25 Win Shares
#8
130 ERA+, 3.19 K/BB, 1.09 WHIP, 68.7 VORP, 23 Win Shares
#7
.265/.372/.464, 100 RC, 128 OPS+, .306 EQA, 68.6 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#6
.331/.418/.430, 113 RC, 130 OPS+, .304 EQA, 54.7 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#5
.307/.357/.551, 107 RC, 146 OPS+, .307 EQA, 59.0 VORP, 28 Win Shares
#4
.310/.380/.526, 123 RC, 141 OPS+, .309 EQA, 58.1 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#3
.253/.386/.564, 119 RC, 154 OPS+, .317 EQA, 64.1 VORP, 33 Win Shares
#2
.308/.395/.558, 131 RC, 165 OPS+, .329 EQA, 68.7 VORP, 33 Win Shares
#1
.344/.417/.513, 132 RC, 152 OPS+, .322 EQA, 71.9 VORP, 29 Win Shares
There you have it, you can sleep well at night now that Keith Hernandez is the sole winner of the 1979 N.L. MVP. Someone please inform the widow Stargell that we must take away his half of the MVP award.
Really Stargell had no business even being considered for the award. As you can see the Pirates best player was Dave Parker, who won the MVP himself the year before but since his numbers weren't as good as the previous year the voters penalized him. Stargell was probably only about the 4th or 5th best player on the team that year. But the reason whey he got so much support was because he was really fucking old and he was the "heart and soul" of the We Are Family Pirates and baseball writers get chubbies thinking of stuff like that.
Game of the Day: Oregon 34, Oklahoma 33. YEAAAAAAAAH! DOING IT FOR THE CONFERENCE!!!
Anyways this was interesting as between the first two Oregon possessions and their last two possessions, the Sooners dominated this game by the score of 33-10. The talk of Dennis Dixon looking like Vince Young is funny just because it shows the media's lack of imagination. Hey look he's black and wear's #10...next Vince Young! This was definently the wildest finish of the year so far and as much as the refs screwed the Sooners on this their defense had a role in blowing this in the end. Good defenses don't blow a 13 point lead with under three minutes left in the game. In the end I think it's still tough to gague how good either one of these teams are.
The WTF Score of the Day: Southern Illinois 35, Indiana 28. Okay I'm stretching it here as beating the Hoosiers isn't really an accomplishment.
The "I always preferred the Bounty Bowl" Game of the Day: Clemson 27, Florida State 20. This was a wild game that was overlooked due to Clemson's loss to Boston College last week. It featured FSU blocking an extra point and returning it for two points and then blocking a field goal and returning it for a touchdown. This game is also another sign that FSU just isn't the program they once were as it used to be impossible for ACC teams to leave Doak Campell with a win.
The "What do you mean Brady Quinn isn't Jesus Christ?" Game of the Day: Michigan 47, Notre Dame 21. Not that my Pick 'Em contest is a proper gague of what the country thought of Michigan's chances but only one person out of 40 picked them to win. Quinn's Hesiman chances are gone but those stomping on the Irish's grave shouldn't get too excited just yet. If you look at their schedule they could still very well end up being 10-1 going into Southern Cal which means they'll be back in the national title picture come the end of November.
"New Orelans doesn't care about black coaches" Game of the Day: Tulane 32, Mississippi State 29. Hey I agree it took way too long for a black head coach to be hired in the SEC but the Sylvester Croom era needs to come to an end. Before a 22 point 4th quarter just make this a game, the Bulldogs had scored a total of seven points through the first 11 quarters of the season.
Whack Pac Wrap Up
Washington State 17, Baylor 15. Did a Wazzu/Baylor match-up really have enough demand to play it in Seattle? Anyways the Cougars may have a shot at a bowl game this year.
California 42, Portland State 16. Ooooo I'm so impressed.
Washington 21, Fresno State 20. Now here was an under the radar upset that received zero notice yesterday. Huskies blocked a Fresno extra point to tie the game with under five minutes to go.
Arizona State 21, Colorado 3. Gee you think they are having problems learning Dan Hawkins system in Boulder?
USC 28, Nebraska 10. This was a weird game because either people are getting on USC for not scoring more or for Nebraska for not making it closer. Really for me this game went about as expected beyond the Huskers suddenly deciding not to throw the ball.
Arizona 28, Stephen F Austin 10. Well if anything for the Wildcats the win over BYU is looking pretty good now as the Cougars crushed a decent Tulsa team in week 2 and then this week took BC to overtime on the road.
Navy 37, Stanford 9. They lost Mark Bradford for the season last week and now Evan Moore is hurt again. This is by far the worst BCS team not named Duke. Did I mention I hate football?
All weekend I had to hear how the A's Opening Night game against the Yankees was going to be a rainout. It rained all day here in the Bay Area and then suddenly tonight it clears up a bit. So I was happy at first that I wouldn't have to stay up until one in the morning tonight to watch the entire game but that changed pretty quick. Barry Zito was chosen as the Opening Night starter even though everyone knows the ace of the staff is Rich Harden. I think manager Ken Macha fell into the manager trap of letting the "veteran" get the start. Zito has a knack for getting into 3-2 counts way too often and against a patient team like the Yankees that will get you killed and they have killed him in recent years. Zito's line tonight: 1 1/3 IP, 4 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 3 K. Woof. It's 11-1 Yankees in the 5th inning as I type this so safe to say it's not the hometown heroes night.
In my aborted preview of the A's I had talked about Zito likely leaving after this season and might as well go briefly into that now. Now preface of course my thoughts aren't scewed simply because Zito pitched like Russ Ortiz tonight. I can pretty much predict the media outcry when Zito leaves for a big money deal to a big market team after this season but it will all be moot. He simply isn't worth the money he is going to get as starting pitchers are the most overpriced position in baseball right now. Just take a look at A.J. Burnett. Very talented but very injury prone and has yet to have that breakout season where he emerges as a top of the line starter yet he signed a 5-year, $55 million deal. Her certainly benefitted from a weak crop of free agent starting pitchers but it also shows how painfully overvalued starting pitching is. Zito has had a better career to this point than Burnett, has zero injury history (with his easy delivery he may never have arm problems), and is even slightly younger than Burnett. Barring a disasterous season he'll almost certainly parlay a contract that is at least worth as much as Brunett's and maybe even a a million or two more a year. Can anyone legitimately say Barry Zito is worth possibly $12-14 million a year? Now the fact that you can pencil him in for 220+ innings a year at above average production does certainly make him more valuable than maybe his peripheral numbers would indicate. But really that type of money should only go to the elite pitchers which Zito is by no means. The A's also have three good, young starting pitchers on their staff that they have under their control thru the end of the decade and money like that would be much better spent on a position player (or two).
Now 13-1, Yankees still batting in the 5th. It better be a rain free night with Harden pitching tommorrow or mother nature can kiss my ass. At least Frank Thomas homering in his first at bat with the A's didn't make this night a total loss.
-Brief Final Four thought, the "Greatest Tournament Ever" ended with a big thud. This was the first time since 1976 that the Final Four didn't have a game decied by single digits when Indiana finished off their undefeated championship run. And wow is that Noah kid from Florida is good...and wow is he one ugly mother fucker.
Hey look a reader request, Culloden Hastings writes:
Hey take away something from Kirk Gibson? No complaints from me.
Gibson winning the MVP in 1988 always seemed like an odd choice. It always appeared on the surface just to be your typical writer vote where the guy who is SCRAPPY~ or TOUGH~ or a LEADER~ gets more support than he deserves. Gibson's Dodgers have been romanticized by the L.A. media to the point that you'd think they were some dynasty rather than the complete fluke they actually were. It's likely Bill Plaschke pleasures himself every night to Game 1 of the '88 World Series.
Without looking that closely into it before I figured Will Clark or Darryl Strawberry should have won the award. Strawberry finished 2nd in the voting but split some votes with his 3rd place teammate Kevin McReynolds who had quite the good season himself. Clark finished 5th without any first place votes as the Giants hovered just above .500. Also someone of possible consideration was Gibson's teammate Orel Hershiser who went on a record scoreless inning streak at the end of the season.
So was Gibson a bad pick? Is there anyway it couldn't have been Clark or Strawberry? Will I discover time travel and kill Gibson and Hershisher before the '88 World Series?
Actual Results
1) Kirk Gibson 2) Darryl Strawberry 3) Kevin McReynolds 4) Andy Van Slyke 5) Will Clark 6) Orel Hershiser 7) Andres Galarraga 8) Glenn Davis 9) Danny Jackson 10) David Cone 11) Tony Gwynn 12) John Franco 13) Eric Davis 14) Bobby Bonilla 15) Andre Dawson 16) Randy Myers 17) Brett Butler 18) Steve Sax
#10
.273/.363/.489, 83 RC, 139 OPS+, .314 EQA, 48.9 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#9
.296/.347/.429, 86 RC, 119 OPS+, .294 EQA, 55.7 VORP, 28 Win Shares
#8
.274/.366/.476, 102 RC, 142 OPS+, .310 EQA, 50.5 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#7
.302/.352/.540, 113 RC, 149 OPS+, .314 EQA, 58.7 VORP, 25 Win Shares
#6
.288/.336/.496, 91 RC, 142 OPS+, .312 EQA, 48.3 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#5
.288/.345/.506, 104 RC, 143 OPS+, .312 EQA, 56.6 VORP, 28 Win Shares
#4
148 ERA+, 2.44 K/BB, 1.05 WHIP, 64.8 VORP, 25 Win Shares
#3
.269/.366/.545, 109 RC, 165 OPS+, .327 EQA, 54.4 VORP, 30 Win Shares
#2
.290/.377/.483, 98 RC, 149 OPS+, .324 EQA, 56.4 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#1
.282/.386/.508, 113 RC, 160 OPS+, .332 EQA, 63.1 VORP, 37 Win Shares
As much as it pains me Gibson wasn't a bad choice for MVP although Clark would have been a much, much better pick. So the biggest mistake by the writers wasn't Gibson winning but the lack of support for Clark. Maybe it had to do that the guy was a dick to the media or because his middle name was Nuschler...NUSCHLER! Is that even a name?
***OMG SPOILERS***
As I've mentioned I have purchased the 1975, 1979, and 1986 World Series box sets released by MLB this year. I decided to start by watching the bonus disks on the 1986 set before viewing the World Series games. The DVD sleeves are very cool as they have little facts on the cover of them and then on the back they have the boxscore to the game on that disk, then on the inside they have a completely play-by-play account of the game. There's two bonus disks on the 1986 set, one featuring the classic Game 6 of the '86 NLCS that went 16 innings and the other featuring a few clips and interviews. Here are the complete list of features on that bonus disk:
1. Mets Clinch Division Title (final out of game against Cubs on 9/17)
2. NLCS Game 3: Lenny Dykstra's Walkoff HR
3. NLCS Game 5: Gary Carter's Walkoff Single
4. Lenny Dysktra: Red Sox Premature Celebration
5. Keith Hernandez: Perspective On Game 6 Rally
6. Keith Hernandez: Nerve-Wracking Game 6
7. Kevin Mitchell: Coach's Tip Before Scoring in Game 6
8. Mookie Wilson: Mindset Of His Historic At Bat
9. Mookie Wilson: Unfair To Blame Buckner
10. Bill Buckner: Mookie Wilson's Gronder And The Error
11. Bill Robinson: Perspective On Buckner's Error
12. Ray Knight: Game 6 Memories
13. Lenny Dykstra: Full Team Effort
14. Mike Piazza And Mookie Wilson Discuss Game 6
15. Inside The Moments Of Game 6 (has a clip of Dave Henderson's Game 5 ALCS homerun)
16. Ray Knight: Confidence Entering Game 7
17. Keith Hernandez: Mound Conversation With Jesse Orosco
18. Gary Carter: Catching The Last Out
19. World Series Last Out, Clubhouse Euphoria
20. Trophy Presentation
21. Championship Clubshouse Interviews
22. 1987 Opening Day Ring Ceremony
The N.L. East clinching out was interesting because it gives a you a glipse of what no longer is allowed, fans storming the field like it was a college football game. Probably for the best as it looked like a riot was ready to breakout before the clip ends.
Of course the real treat is that other bonus disk with the complete Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS. The game itself clocked in at 4 hours and 42 minutes but with the commercials cut out the game and the postgame coverage clocks in at just about 4 hours on the disk. The game went so long that ABC's postgame coverage is short as they had to switch coverage to Game 7 of the ALCS that night.
I took down some notes as I was watching the game (no I didn't watch it all in one sitting). Keith Jackson and Tim McCarver were the announcers and McCarver was not nearly as annoying back then as he is now. I'm not going to go over every moment of the game of course so here's the boxscore and play account from retrosheet.org
-Bob Knepper started for the Astros on three days rest. They threw out a stat at the beginning of the telecast that Knepper was 14-5 with a 2.17 ERA on three days rest over the last three years.
-There were several empty seats in the upper deck when the game started. They did fill up a few innings but don't think it was a sellout.
-A sign in the crowd "Knepper + Scuffy = World Series". Scuffy was Astros ace Mike Scott and was known for allegedly scuffing the baseball by using sandpaper. It's very interesting during the game Jackson and McCarver often joke about Scott's possible cheating ways. Of course 20 years later there is all this phony moral outrage over cheating baseball players.
-Knepper was a being bitch on the mound the whole game. Almost every close pitch that was called a ball he'd slump his shoulders down and look straight at the umpire. In a regular season game he probably would have been ejected at some point. Until the 8th inning I thought Jackson and McCarver were calling the umpire "Brock Landers" but they they finally said his full name which was actually Fred Brocklander.
-That being said Knepper was throwing an absolute gem the first eight innings. Mets only had three baserunners with two singles and literally were hitting nothing hard.
-Jackson and McCarver mention the Mets set the record for most strikeouts by a team in an LCS and think it will last for a while. They casually mention that the record was held by the Royals just set the previous year and don't bother to bring up that it was the first year that LCS series were best out of 7 so of course strike out records were being broken with more games being played. I wasn't Bored enough to look up who holds the record now.
-I had forgotten that the Mets were down 3-0 going into the 9th of this game (I didn't look at the boxscore before viewing so I'd be mildly unaware of the events of the game). Dykstra hit a pinch hit triple to start the rally and it was first hard hit ball all day by the Mets.
-Astros closer Dave Smith was the goat of the series as he had given up the Dykstra homerun in Game 3 in his only apperance and came in here with it 3-2 with a runner on 2nd and one out. Tough situation but he proceeded to walk Carter (who the flash a graphic that he was 0 for his last 12 against Smith) and Strawberry before Ray Knight hits a sac flay to tie it. McCarver says it's unusual that Smith was having problems as he has "excellent command." On the year Smith's BB/9 ratio was 3.54. Not terrible but certainly not excellent.
-There was a wild moment in the Knight at bat with the bases loaded. The first pitch on the outside corner was called a strike, and it looked pretty good to me, but Knight being the dick he always was complained about it. Then on a 1-2 pitch a pitch clearly outside is called a ball but then the fun starts. Astros catcher Alan Ashby slams his fist and then Dickhead Knight complains about the call too claiming it was the same spot as the first pitch. Astros manager Hal Lanier runs out to the mind to talk to Smith all the while yelling at the umpire. Shorstop Dickie Thon then runs to the mound yelling at the umpire and Lanier has to restrain him to keep him from getting ejected. Again if this was a regular season game plenty of people would have been ejected.
-The signature moment of the game was actually by the losing team when Billy Hatcher hit a homerun in the bottom of the 14th to tie the game up after the Mets took the lead It was a majestic shot off the left field foul pole with Hatcher having his own Carlton Fisk moment as he ran backwards down the line hoping the ball would stay fair. Hatcher though in the top of the 16th would help the Mets to a three run inning by misplaying a fly ball by Strawberry leading off the inning that he would then let bounce over his head and allow Strawberry to go to 2nd. It was lamely scored a double.
I think I'll do little notes on all the games on each set and group each Game 1 in a single entry and then Game 2, etc. I'm looking forward to watching the '79 series as I know very little about the series itself beyond the ugly (or great?) uniforms.
I never got to truly appreciate the A's run in the late 80's and early 90's because really as a kid how can you appreciate or understand the major accomplishments of your favorite sports team? I was spoiled rotten by the A's and 49ers to point that I pretty much expected my teams to always be in the hunt for championships. I was 12 years old when the A's beat the Red Sox 3-1 in Game 4 of the 1990 ALCS to sweep that series and win their third straight A.L. pennant. That game of course is best known for the premature, and hilarious to me, ejection of Roger Clemens in the 2nd inning. The A's winning was expected and their postgame celebration was fairly subuded. The A's that year would be swept by the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series, a result that was even more shocking that their loss the Dodgers two years earlier. Little did we know it would be 16 years and five postseason failure later that the A's would win another playoff series.
1992 was the end of that dynasty and I unfortunately witnessed the nail in the coffin live in person, courtesy of the bat of Roberto Alomar. I attended Game 4 of that year's ALCS, the first A's playoff game I ever had a chance to go to. Well okay that isn't entirely true as I was at Game 3 of the World Series on October 17, 1989 but...that's another story. In that game in 1992 with Blue Jays leading the series 2 games to 1 the A's jumped Jack Morris with a five run third inning. They led 6-1 going into the 8th inning and the game was in the bag and the A's were back in the series. But Tony LaRussa pressed his luck a bit with an aging Bob Welch and left him in to start the 8th who was promptly met with an Alomar double. LaRussa hooked him for Jeff Parrett who had been very reliable during the regular season but became very unreliable here. He gave up back-to-back singles to Joe Carter and Dave Winfield to make the game 6-2. No matter, the A's had Dennis Eckersley and LaRussa would now rely on him to get a two inning save. But Eck would then give up rbi singles to John Oledrud and Candy Maldanado to make it 6-4. But it still seemed fairly secure but that ended quickly in the 9th. Eckersley just didn't have it that day as he gave up a lead off single to Devon White and then...Alomar hits one of the biggest LCS homeruns in history. I still remember those annoying Blue Jays wives sitting in one section waving around their blue "J's" as Alomar circled the bases. What did I do, along with my brother? We left. Ya too young and stupid to realize how lame it is to leave a tie game in the ALCS in the 9th inning but that's what we did. I would miss Mark McGwire bunt, yes BUNT, in the 9th inning and then a horrible baserunning miscue by A's fans cult hero Eric Fox that would send the game to extra innings. I would then miss the Blue Jays eventually win on that most exciting of baseball plays, the sacrafice fly, in the 11th. So really I didn't end up regretting our decision to leave early.
But thanks to Eric Chavez and Marco Scutaro I'll be going to another ALCS game, either Game 1 against Detroit or Game 3 against New York. I want to say how happy I am that Eric Chavez played a big role in today's win. The guy has been nothing but a scapegoat for irrational A's fans since fan favorite Miguel Tejada left. Sure he hasn't lived up to the hype and promise he showed just a few years ago but the guy deserved to finally shine in the spotlight.
And finally the starting pitchers to complete this year's rankings. The list is made up of the top 120 pitchers in games started. Francisco Liriano did not make the cut while Roger Clemens and Jered Weaver were among the last five to make it. I factor in the same stats as I did for the relievers but I also include ERA+ for the starters.
As I mentioned in my 2006 awards entry I wasn't sure if I'd end up changing my selection the 3rd best pitcher in the A.L. I picked C.C. Sabathia for 3rd when I posted the entry but as you'll see that changed here in the rankings.
2004 Top 10
1. Randy Johnson
2. Johan Santana
3. Ben Sheets
4. Curt Schilling
5. Jason Schmidt
6. Roger Clemens
7. Jake Peavy
8. Carl Pavano
9. Brad Radke
10. Oliver Perez
2005 Top 10
1. Roger Clemens
2. Johan Santana
3. Andy Pettitte
4. Pedro Martinez
5. Dontrelle Willis
6. Chris Carpenter
7. Jake Peavy
8. John Smoltz
9. Roy Oswalt
10. Mark Buehrle
2006 Starting Pitcher Rankings
1. Johan Santana, Twins
2. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks
3. Roy Oswalt, Astros
4. Chris Carpenter, Cardinals
5. Roy Halladay, Blue Jays
6. John Smoltz, Braves
7. Bronson Arroyo, Reds
8. Aaron Harang, Reds
9. John Lackey, Angels
10. Jason Schmidt, Giants
11. Mike Mussina, Yankees
12. Curt Schilling, Red Sox
13. C.C. Sabathia, Indians
14. Carlos Zambrano, Cubs
15. Jered Weaver, Angels
16. Derek Lowe, Dodgers
17. Chien-Ming Wang, Yankees
18. Dan Haren, A's
19. Chris Capuano, Brewers
20. Jason Jennings, Rockies
21. Roger Clemens, Astros
22. Scott Kazmir, Devil Rays
23. Erik Bedard, Orioles
24. Chris Young, Padres
25. Jeremy Bonderman, Tigers
26. Justin Verlander, Tigers
27. Brett Myers, Phillies
28. Barry Zito, A's
29. Josh Johnson, Marlins
30. Jake Peavy, Padres
31. Kelvim Escobar, Angels
32. Dave Bush, Brewers
33. Kenny Rogers, Tigers
34. Greg Maddux, Cubs/Dodgers
35. Matt Cain, Giants
36. Nate Robertson, Tigers
37. Kevin Millwood, Rangers
38. Tom Glavine, Mets
39. Jose Contreras, White Sox
40. Dontrelle Willis, Marlins
41. Jeff Francis, Rockies
42. Clay Hensley, Padres
43. Freddy Garcia, White Sox
44. Jon Garland, White Sox
45. Aaron Cook, Rockies
46. Ervin Santana, Angels
47. Jake Westbrook, Indians
48. Brad Penny, Dodgers
49. Andy Pettitte, Astros
50. Vincente Padilla, Rangers
51. Javier Vazquez, White Sox
52. A.J. Burnett, Blue Jays
53. Cole Hamels, Phillies
54. Jamie Moyer, Mariners/Phillies
55. Scott Olsen, Marlins
56. Felix Hernandez, Mariners
57. Woody Williams, Padres
58. Ted Lilly, Blue Jays
59. Zach Duke, Pirates
60. Jeff Suppan, Cardinals
61. Josh Beckett, Red Sox
62. Brad Radke, Twins
63. Miguel Batista, Diamondbacks
64. Pedro Martinez, Mets
65. Orlando Hernandez, Diamondbacks/Mets
66. Randy Johnson, Yankees
67. Cliff Lee, Indians
68. Mark Hendrickson, Devil Rays/Dodgers
69. Ian Snell, Pirates
70. Joe Blanton, A's
71. Doug Davis, Brewers
72. Jarrod Washburn, Mariners
73. Gil Meche, Mariners
74. Tim Hudson, Braves
75. Matt Morris, Giants
76. Livan Hernandez, Nationals/Diamondbacks
77. Jon Lieber, Phillies
78. Daniel Cabrera, Orioles
79. Noah Lowry, Giants
80. Jaret Wright, Yankees
81. Claudio Vargas, Diamondbacks
82. Cory Lidle, Phillies/Yankees
83. Tim Wakefield, Red Sox
84. Mark Buehrle, White Sox
85. Esteban Loaiza, A's
86. Kris Benson, Orioles
87. Paul Maholm, Pirates
88. James Shields, Devil Rays
89. Eric Milton, Reds
90. Rick Nolasco, Marlins
91. Chan Ho Park, Padres
92. Steve Trachsel, Mets
93. Byung-Hyun Kim, Rockies
94. Jamey Wright, Giants
95. Paul Byrd, Indians
96. Mike O'Connor, Nationals
97. Adam Loewen, Orioles
98. Josh Fogg, Rockies
99. Taylor Buchholz, Astros
100. Tony Armas Jr., Nationals
101. Elizardo Ramirez, Reds
102. John Koronka, Rangers
103. Rodrigo Lopez, Orioles
104. Mark Redman, Royals
105. Casey Fossum, Devil Rays
106. Scott Elarton, Royals
107. Jeff Weaver, Angels/Cardinals
108. Ramon Ortiz, Nationals
109. Sean Marshall, Cubs
110. Jae Seo, Dodgers/Devil Rays
111. Odalis Perez, Dodgers/Royals
112. Wandy Rodriguez, Astros
113. Carlos Silva, Twins
114. Jason Marquis, Cardinals
115. Jason Johnson, Indians/Red Sox/Reds
116. Joel Pineiro, Mariners
117. Runelvys Hernandez, Royals
118. Brian Moehler, Marlins
119. Shawn Chacon, Yankees/Pirates
120. Oliver Perez, Pirates/Mets
I don't have to repeat myself when it comes to what I think of the BCS and what I'd prefer to happen in college football...but I will anyways. I view the BCS as a bad compromise that was created to sort of give us the opportunity to have a clear cut national champion while sort of keeping the tradition of the bowls but fails on both levels most of the time. I personally either want a true 16 team playoff system, like every other level of college football, completely removed from any association to bowl games or just go back to the traditional bowl system where trying to match-up the #1 and #2 teams in the country was an afterthought and stop pretending that we're crowning a true Division I-A national champion when no such thing exsists.
But I'm not dellusional, neither of things I want will ever happen. A 16 team playoff would be a cash cow but would have some definite logistical issues where potentially some fan bases would have to travel four times in the span of four to six weeks. Obviously we're also never going to see the old bowl system comeback either. So I've come up with an idea that does in some way combine the playoffs and bowls.
First off there would be an 8 team playoff that would include the six BCS conference champions and two at-large teams. Now in a perfect world we'd just take the Top 8 teams in the country but no conference would ever agree to a playoff system that could possibly prevent them from getting a piece of the pie, which is partly why I think a 4 team playoff will never happen. The two at-large bids would be two highest ranked teams not to win their conference or would also include any non-BCS conference team that went undefeated. As good as Utah was in 2004 I don't think anyone thinks they were the best team in the country but they certainly had every right to prove that they could be beaten and the same goes for Boise State this year. If Boise State beats Oklahoma by double digits and Florida beats Ohio State won't on some level the Broncos would have some right to claim that they should be the national champs?
The first round games would be home goes for the higher seeded team and then the semi-finals would be played at two of the four major bowl sites and then of course at another bowl site for the finals. So for example this year the Fiesta Bowl would be the site of the finals with the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl as the semi-final locations. The Orange Bowl was at the bottom of the BCS pecking order this year so they would be seperate from the playoffs which I'll get to. So here is how the 8 team playoff would look.
Wake Forest at Ohio State
Louisville at USC
Oklahoma at Florida
Boise State at Michigan
Now as for my bowl idea I want to change how the bowls are selected. The preset bids I feel devalue the overall importance of the bowls and unfairly punish teams for how their conference has performed in the past. A pefect example is the Big East bids this year. Because of the purge of the conference a couple of years ago this year the Big East bids took a big hit. Their #2 bid, the Gator Bowl, now had a deal with the Big XII where they could have skipped over the Big East and send their second place team to the Sun Bowl which is very much a midlevel bowl. Texas' collapse at the end of the season and West Virginia's win over Rutgers prevented that from happening. Then their #3 bid, the less than prestigious Meineke Car Care Bowl, had a deal with Navy to take them as long as they became bowl eligible and leaving the Big East with no alternative. That would send the 3rd place team in the confernece to it's #4 bid, the "new" Texas Bowl which is replacing the Houston Bowl which went belly up to play the 8th place team in the Big XII. This has of course happened as Rutgers, ranked #16 by the BCS, is stuck playing a bowl game against the #55 team in the BCS, Kansas State who happens to be the lowest ranked BCS conference team with a winning record.
Now I understand why some bowls have certain conference tie ins. It wouldn't make sense to have a Pac-10 team play in the Outback Bowl, just as it wouldn't make sense for an ACC team to play in the Holiday Bowl. Travel has to be taken into account and it's completely understandable. But my proposal is have an actual bowl committee that places similar ranked teams in appropriate bowl games. With the current system they set themselves up for bad match-ups. The #9 team playing the #23 team in the Cotton Bowl. The #13 team playing the #28 team in the Gator Bowl. The #25 team is playing the #52t team in the Emerald Bowl. The #19 team is playing the #52t team in the Alamo Bowl. There has to be a better solution.
On the subject of the Alamo Bowl, why is a team like Iowa even in a bowl game? With the preset conference bowl bids they're awarding a team that went 2-6 in it's own conference while beating no one of note out of conference and give them a midlevel bid with a $1.9 million payout. Why is Miami in a bowl game? Half of their wins came against I-AA Florida A&M, winless FIU, and winless Duke. There are a handful of other examples of teams that have no business being a bowl game which comes to the next problem with the bowls, there are way too fucking many of them. 32 bowl games is absolutely nuts. More than half of Division I-A teams are going to a bowl game this year. What is this, the NBA Playoffs?
My proposal to go along with the bowl committee idea and eliminating preset bids is to cap the total number of bowls at 20, which would not include the bowl sites that are part of the playoffs. With the playoffs and the bowls you'd have 48 teams in the postseason which is plenty. Now going back to the Orange Bowl, since in this hypothetical scenerio it would not be part of the playoffs it would be host the two highest ranked teams in the BCS who did not qualify for the playoffs so this year it would be LSU and Wisconsin.
So here is the bowls I came up with using the BCS rankings trying to match-up closely ranked teams in appropriate bowl games. This is some what thrown together so you could argue with the order itself I have of the bowls. I would eliminate bowls that are to reliant on getting their home team into the bowl to hope to make money (Hawaii, New Mexico, etc.) and bowls where there is already another bowl game at the same site (Poinsettia, Champs Sports). Also no team that fails to finish with a winning record should ever to go a bowl game.
Orange: LSU vs. Wisconsin
Capital One: Auburn vs. Notre Dame
Cotton: Arkansas vs. West Virginia
Chick-fil-A: Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
Outback: Rutgers vs. Texas
Holiday: California vs. BYU
Gator: Texas A&M vs. Boston College
Alamo: Oregon State vs. Nebraska
Liberty: Penn State vs. Georgia Tech
Sun: UCLA vs. TCU
Music City: Georgia vs. Houston
Insight: Oregon vs. Hawaii
Independence: Clemson vs. Navy
Las Vegas: Arizona State vs. Central Michigan
Meineke Car Care: South Florida vs. South Carolina
Emerald: Maryland vs. Missouri
Motor City: Kentucky vs. Cincinnati
MPC Computers: Rice vs. Purdue
Texas: Texas Tech vs. Tulsa
GMAC: Southern Miss vs. Troy
All the talk on ESPN and the TWiB threads when it comes to the American League MVP award in 2006 is about Clutchie McClutchie of the Boston Red Sox being the MVP favorite. One debate that has creeped up again and will certainly be talked about as we get closer to the end of the season is whether or not a DH should win the MVP. In my 1995 A.L. MVP redo I showed that a DH should be able to win the MVP award. Well okay my original intention when doing the redo was to show the voter bias against Albert Belle by the media and then in turned out Edgar Martinez should have won the MVP. An everyday DH has never won the MVP award so I'll take a look back at the closest thing we've had to a DH winning the award.
Don Baylor won the 1979 A.L. MVP while splitting time between the outfield and the DH spot. He played 97 games in the outfield and 65 games at DH, the most games ever played at DH by an MVP winner to date. As usual it's not particularly hard to figure out why a player won the MVP. Baylor played on the A.L. West champion Angels and he led the league in RBI and runs scored. Baylor was also his very own Clutchie McClutchie as he hit .330 with RISP. Despite his high RBI total and also finishing 4th in the A.L. in homeruns who only finished 10th in the league in slugging. In fact the Angels team leader in slugging was not Baylor but Bobby Grich. But because of his 139 RBI Baylor won the award in a lopsided vote, taking 20 of 28 first place votes.
In second place was Ken Singleton who had the best year on the best team in the league but received only three first place votes as his RBI total was only 111. George Brett picked up two first place votes and then other three first place votes were for Mike Flanagan although he only finished 6th. He was the near unanmious choice for Cy Young but as you'll see he was agruablly not the best pitcher in the league. Ahead of Flanagan were two Red Sox, Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. Lynn led the league in average, obp, and slugging while playing a Gold Glove center field. Awww I just gave away my pick didn't I?
Actual Results
1) Don Baylor 2) Ken Singleton 3) George Brett 4) Fred Lynn 5) Jim Rice 6) Mike Flanagan 7) Gorman Thomas 8) Bobby Grich 9) Darrell Porter 10) Buddy Bell 11t) Jim Kern 11t) Mike Marshall 11t) Eddie Murray 14) Brian Downing 15) Sixto Lezcano 16) Roy Smalley 17t) Steve Kemp 17t) Willie Wilson 19) Mark Clear 20) Paul Molitor 21) Rick Burleson 22) Tommy John 23) Cecil Cooper 24t) Willie Horton 24t) Reggie Jackson 26t) Dan Ford 26t) Ron Guidry 26t) Mike Hargrove
#10
.322/.372/.469, 102 RC, 126 OPS+, .296 EQA, 59.6 VORP, 26 Win Shares
#9
148 ERA+, 2.54 K/BB, 1.19 WHIP, 72.6 VORP 24 Win Shares
#8
.321/.414/.573, 113 RC, 164 OPS+, .334 EQA, 56.0 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#7 (I couldn't find a 1980 or 1979 card for Grich, first time I've had that problem)
.294/.365/.537, 105 RC, 144 OPS+, .310 EQA, 62.5 VORP, 28 Win Shares
#6
.296/.371/.530, 122 RC, 144 OPS+, .310 EQA, 57.0 VORP, 29 Win Shares
#5
.291/.421/.484, 109 RC, 142 OPS+, .319 EQA, 59.5 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#4
.325/.381/.596, 141 RC, 154 OPS+, .317 EQA, 71.2 VORP, 28 Win Shares
#3
.295/.405/.533, 124 RC, 156 OPS+, .327 EQA, 58.7 VORP, 32 Win Shares
#2
.329/.376/.563, 137 RC, 148 OPS+, .313 EQA, 69.3 VORP, 33 Win Shares
#1
.333/.423/.637, 143 RC, 176 OPS+, .341 EQA, 82.8 VORP, 34 Win Shares
So what did we learn today? That outfield/DHs should never win the MVP! Wait okay that really doesn't make sense. Okay RBIs are overrated! Well you probably already should have known that. Okay we didn't learn anything but at least we had the first reference ever to Sixto Lezcano in this board's history and it's about fucking time.
I've been lazy with this blog for a few months now so no surprise I'm only getting around to second Draftback before the draft. Decided might as well do one from 10 years ago with the 1997 Draft and it is interesting to look at because one first rounder is in jail and another is dead. Can't beat that combo.
1. St. Louis - Orlando Pace, T, Ohio State
Not always glamerous to pick a lineman with the first pick overall but hard to argue with the Rams choice here. Selected to seven Pro Bowls.
2. Oakland - Darrell Russell, DT, USC
Lived up to the hype his first few years in the league but drug problems would derail his career among various other issues. Out of the league by 2004 and out of this life by 2005 when he was killed in a car accident.
3. Seattle - Shawn Springs, CB, Ohio State
Very good corner all be it a bit inconsistent at times during his career.
4. Baltimore - Peter Boulware, LB, Florida State
Would win Defensive Rookie of the Year and was selected to three Pro Bowls.
5. Detroit - Bryant Westbrook, CB, Texas
Not a total bust but pretty close to one considering he was a Top 5 pick.
6. Seattle - Walter Jones, T, Florida State
A complete bitch when it comes to contracts but he gets the job done. Six Pro Bowl selections.
7. N.Y. Giants - Ike Hilliard, WR, Florida
Okay receiver but when you take a receiver this high you'd hope they'd have at least one 1000 yard season and Hilliard has had none.
8. N.Y. Jets - James Farrior, LB, Virginia
The Jets had the #1 pick but they traded down. Farrior was considered a bit of a dissapointment while with the Jets but excelled with the Steelers.
9. Arizona - Tom Knight, CB, Iowa
It's the Cardinals, so really what did you expect? Three interceptions in his career.
10. New Orleans - Chris Naeole, G, Colorado
Big risk taking a guard this high but Naeole has been a solid player.
11. Atlanta - Michael Booker, CB, Nebraska
Not very good at all.
12. Tampa Bay - Warrick Dunn, RB, Florida State
Has a chance to pass the 10,000 yard mark in rushing this year and one of the true good guys in the NFL.
13. Kansas City - Tony Gonzalez, TE, California
Likley on his way to the Hall of Fame but he went to Cal so fuck him.
14. Cincinnati - Reinard Wilson, DE, Florida State
Well I guess on the plus side Wilson wasn't horrible like most Bengals' 90's first round picks but still not anything to get excited about.
15. Miami - Yatil Green, WR, Miami
Tore his ACL on literally the first day of training camp and never fully recovered. Only played one season in 1999.
16. Tampa Bay - Reidel Anthony, WR, Florida
I thought he'd be awesome. I was wrong.
17. Washington - Kenard Lang, DE, Miami
Average at best.
18. Tennessee - Kenny Holmes, DE, Miami
Another unspectacular Miami end.
19. Indianapolis - Tarik Glenn, T, California
Has developed into a very good tackle and selected to the last three Pro Bowls. But another Cal product, bleh.
20. Minnesota - Dwayne Rudd, LB, Alabama
A complete beast at Alabama...not so much in the NFL. Best known for his helmet tossing incident in 2002 that cost the Browns a game.
21. Jacksonville - Renaldo Wynn, DE, Notre Dame
Mediocre.
22. Dallas - David LaFleur, TE, LSU
LaSucked.
23. Buffalo - Antowain Smith, RB, Houston
Decent although he has to be one of the worst backs ever to have two 1,000 yard seasons.
24. Pittsburgh - Chad Scott, CB, Maryland
Has been a solid DB.
25. Philadelphia - Jon Harris, DE, Virginia
Two years. Two sacks. Bust.
26. San Francisco - Jim Druckenmiller, QB, Virginia Tech
Jesus tap dancing Christ, I had blocked this pick out of my memory. Horrible. Seriously do not know what the fuck they were thinking here especially with Jake Plummer on the board who seemed like a pefect fit for the 49ers offense at the time.
27. Carolina - Rae Carruth, WR, Colorado
Yessss it's everyone's favorite hiring a guy to kill your pregnent girlfriend and get found hiding in the trunk of your car wide receiver. Complete disphit.
28. Denver - Trevor Pryce, DE, Clemson
The string of mediocre ends, um, ends here. Four time Pro Bowl selection.
29. New England - Chris Canty, CB, Kansas State
Lasted four years and no one really noticed.
30. Green Bay - Ross Verba, G, Iowa
I just like the Deadspin entry on him.
Other Players of Note
34. Baltimore - Jamie Sharper, LB, Virginia
36. N.Y. Giants - Tiki Barber, RB, Virginia
42. Arizona - Jake Plummer, QB, Arizona State
43. Cincinnati - Corey Dillon, RB, Washington
44. Miami - Sam Madison, CB, Louisville
52. Buffalo - Marcellus Wiley, DE, Columbia
60. Green Bay - Darren Sharper, S, William & Mary
65. Dallas - Dexter Coakley, LB, Appalachian State
66. Tampa Bay - Ronde Barber, CB, Virginia
69. Chicago - Bob Sapp, G, Washington
71. Philadelphia - Duce Staley, RB, South Carolina
73. Miami - Jason Taylor, DE, Akron
91. Pittsburgh - Mike Vrabel, LB, Ohio State
98. Tennessee - Derrick Mason, WR, Michigan State
108. Chicago - Marcus Robinson, WR, South Carolina
229. N.Y. Jets - Jason Ferguson, DT, Georgia
