Throughout his career, Brandon Phillips has batted everywhere from leadoff to clean up and in between. While this is rare, it is not completely unheard of, but what is unheard of is Phillips' ability to adjust his hitting style to whatever role his is currently filling. Phillips began this season as the number 2 hole hitter for the Reds but was moved to cleanup after Ryan Ludwick went down with an injury and has stayed that way until a few days ago. From his first day as the cleanup hitter this season, Phillips has had one goal in mind: 100 RBIs and he is rapidly approaching that goal and will easily drive in over 100 runs this season. Why is this amazing? Phillips is not only on pace to break his personal high in RBI and top his goal of 100, but he is also in the race to lead the ENTIRE NATIONAL LEAGUE in RBI and has dominated all other second basemen in the category.
Let's take a look at this in comparison to the entire National League first, where he only trails Paul Goldschmidt and Allan Craig in RBI. Traditionally in baseball, the main run producing positions are first and third base and the outfield positions, so for a second basemen to be in the running for the RBI crown is not only rare, but extremely rare. Phillips would be the first second baseman to win the RBI title since 2001 when Bret Boone won it for the AL, but even more impressive is that he would be the first NL second baseman with the most RBI since Rogers Hornsby in 1925. That is 88 years.
Getting away from just comparing to second baseman makes Phillips' season, in terms of strictly RBI, even more impressive when you look at his RBI numbers compared to some names that you expect to be huge run producers. 14 more RBI than Adrian Gonzalez, 24 more RBI than Matt Holliday, 25 more RBI than Carlos Beltran and Carlos Gonzalez, 29 more RBI than Buster Posey and 41 more RBI than David Wright.
Phillips has improved his game this season when it comes to run producing in a couple of key areas. He is currently tied for 2nd in MLB with 8 sacrifice flies and is batting .355 with runner in scoring position. As part of that .355 average with runners in scoring position, Phillips is hitting .647 (11-17) with the bases loaded with 24 RBI in those situations. It is clear that he is focused on driving in runs and making that the main focus of his job, a job in which he is succeeding.
When Phillips has been asked to be a run producer in his career, he has been able to step up and produce as you would hope, but never to this level. In two previous season, Phillips has driven in over 90 runs with his career high being the 98 that he drove in during the 2009 campaign. With about a month to go in the season, Phillips only needs 4 more RBI to set a new career high. It seems pretty safe to say that he will set a new career high and will meet his preseason goal of topping 100 RBIs for the season.
Phillips has helped the Reds win by batting leadoff, second, third, and cleanup throughout the years. With each of those positions comes different duties, and Phillips seems to be one of the rare players that can adjust to any situation and position in the lineup. He is "The Chameleon Hitter".
Friday, August 30, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Thrice is Nice
1. What is the difference between 11-6 and 12-5? The difference is being 2.5 games back or 1.5 games behind the Pirates and Cardinals. Regardless of 2.5 or 1.5, the fact of the matter is that the Reds took care of the teams that they were supposed to beat and made up the ground that needed to be made up over the "Necessary 17". The Reds sat at 7 games behind the Pirates on June 8th but in the last two plus weeks have sliced 4.5 games off of that 7. Making up that number of games in that short of time is tough enough when playing the teams directly ahead of you, yet alone when you do not play a game against the teams ahead of you at all. My thought remains that the Reds are still in wonderful position to come from behind and take the Central. With that said...
2. Things get very real, right now. The Reds are heading into St. Louis for a HUGE three game series against the Cardinals. Busch stadium will be packed and electric for this series (wouldn't it be cool if that were the case at GABP?) The Reds have been outscored by the Cardinals 75-29 since dropping a 9 spot in the 9th inning on April 8th and honestly have looked outplayed nearly every meeting since. I think that Thom Brennaman says it best that the Cardinals show up expecting to beat the Reds and the Reds show up hoping to beat the Cardinals. That needs to end immediately. Remember when the Reds swept the Cardinals in St. Louis after the brawl in 2010? That was the last time the Reds really needed to go into St. Louis and make a statement, it's time that they make another statement tonight. I have a hunch that they do it.
3. I'm in the mood for some predictions, and I am feeling rather confident and perhaps too much so but I think that the Reds will be closer to the NL Central crown at the end of these three days than they are now. I think that the Reds will take 2 of 3 from the Cardinals by winning tonight and tomorrow. The Pirates are playing the Brewers in Pittsburgh, which is not as easy as it would seem. The Brewers are sending Kyle Lohse, Tom Gorzelanny, and Yovani Gallardo to the mound for the three game series. Lohse has been flat unhittable for the past 2 months, Gorzelanny is lefty with a sub 4 ERA and Gallardo probably has the best stuff of the three. The Pirates are not a good hitting team, so facing three pitches (2 of which can flat out dominate a game) who control a game pretty well makes it hard for the Pirates. I think Milwaukee takes 2 out of 3.
Today's Standings
Pirates 76-54
Cardinals 76-54
Reds 74- 57 (2.5 GB)
Thursday's Standings
Pirates 77-56
Cardinals 77-56
Reds 76-58 (1.5 GB)
Then, the Cardinals play the Pirates over the weekend. Someone has to lose, and that is when the Reds make their jump into 2nd place.
2. Things get very real, right now. The Reds are heading into St. Louis for a HUGE three game series against the Cardinals. Busch stadium will be packed and electric for this series (wouldn't it be cool if that were the case at GABP?) The Reds have been outscored by the Cardinals 75-29 since dropping a 9 spot in the 9th inning on April 8th and honestly have looked outplayed nearly every meeting since. I think that Thom Brennaman says it best that the Cardinals show up expecting to beat the Reds and the Reds show up hoping to beat the Cardinals. That needs to end immediately. Remember when the Reds swept the Cardinals in St. Louis after the brawl in 2010? That was the last time the Reds really needed to go into St. Louis and make a statement, it's time that they make another statement tonight. I have a hunch that they do it.
3. I'm in the mood for some predictions, and I am feeling rather confident and perhaps too much so but I think that the Reds will be closer to the NL Central crown at the end of these three days than they are now. I think that the Reds will take 2 of 3 from the Cardinals by winning tonight and tomorrow. The Pirates are playing the Brewers in Pittsburgh, which is not as easy as it would seem. The Brewers are sending Kyle Lohse, Tom Gorzelanny, and Yovani Gallardo to the mound for the three game series. Lohse has been flat unhittable for the past 2 months, Gorzelanny is lefty with a sub 4 ERA and Gallardo probably has the best stuff of the three. The Pirates are not a good hitting team, so facing three pitches (2 of which can flat out dominate a game) who control a game pretty well makes it hard for the Pirates. I think Milwaukee takes 2 out of 3.
Today's Standings
Pirates 76-54
Cardinals 76-54
Reds 74- 57 (2.5 GB)
Thursday's Standings
Pirates 77-56
Cardinals 77-56
Reds 76-58 (1.5 GB)
Then, the Cardinals play the Pirates over the weekend. Someone has to lose, and that is when the Reds make their jump into 2nd place.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
What has happened since J.J. gave up a run?
J.J. Hoover last gave up a run on June 9th. Over the last 71 days, Hoover has pitched 26.1 innings and has dropped his ERA from 5.40 to 2.72 while striking out 33 batters as compared to only walking 7 guys. It certainly is good thing that Walt and Dusty did not give up hope on these two, like roughly 95% of the rest of Reds Country.
71 days is a long time to go without giving up a single run, so it seemed as if it would be fun to see what things have changed since Hoover last gave up a run.
- Edward Snowden had yet to be charged with espionage and had not lived in airports for excessive amounts of time
- Facebook did not have clickable hashtags
- Kanye West was not a father
- Man of Steel was not released
- Justin Rose hadn't won the U.S. Open
- Iran, South Korea, and Australia had yet to qualify for the World Cup
- Miami Heat had yet to be crowned NBA Champs
- Nik Wallenda had not walked the Grand Canyon on a tight rope
- Under the Dome was not yet a TV Show
- Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act was still deemed Constitutional
- Aaron Hernandez had not yet be charged with murder
- Anthony Bennett was not a Cavalier
- The tragedy in Yarnell, Arizona and the loss of 19 heroes had not occurred
- Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII were not Saints
- Fred Perry, in 1936, was still the last Frenchmen to win Wimbledon
- George Zimmerman was not a free man
- Mariano Rivera had not won the All-Star game MVP
- Phil Mickelson had not won the Open Championship
- Ryan Braun was still allowed to play baseball
- More than 1,000 inmates had not yet escaped from prison Libya
- The Washington Post was not owned by Amazon
- ARod was not facing a 211 game suspension
- Jason Duffner wasn't the 2013 PGA Championship winner
- Yemen's weekends were still Thursday and Friday
- Oscar Pistorius was not yet charged with murder either
71 days is a long time to go without giving up a single run, so it seemed as if it would be fun to see what things have changed since Hoover last gave up a run.
- Edward Snowden had yet to be charged with espionage and had not lived in airports for excessive amounts of time
- Facebook did not have clickable hashtags
- Kanye West was not a father
- Man of Steel was not released
- Justin Rose hadn't won the U.S. Open
- Iran, South Korea, and Australia had yet to qualify for the World Cup
- Miami Heat had yet to be crowned NBA Champs
- Nik Wallenda had not walked the Grand Canyon on a tight rope
- Under the Dome was not yet a TV Show
- Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act was still deemed Constitutional
- Aaron Hernandez had not yet be charged with murder
- Anthony Bennett was not a Cavalier
- The tragedy in Yarnell, Arizona and the loss of 19 heroes had not occurred
- Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII were not Saints
- Fred Perry, in 1936, was still the last Frenchmen to win Wimbledon
- George Zimmerman was not a free man
- Mariano Rivera had not won the All-Star game MVP
- Phil Mickelson had not won the Open Championship
- Ryan Braun was still allowed to play baseball
- More than 1,000 inmates had not yet escaped from prison Libya
- The Washington Post was not owned by Amazon
- ARod was not facing a 211 game suspension
- Jason Duffner wasn't the 2013 PGA Championship winner
- Yemen's weekends were still Thursday and Friday
- Oscar Pistorius was not yet charged with murder either
Monday, August 19, 2013
Thrice is Nice
1. The Big 162 is getting very interesting as the Reds have pulled within 2.5 games of the division lead. The biggest problem is that there are two teams that must be jumped in order to take over the division lead, but I do not want to talk about problems today. Now in the thick of the "Necessary 17", the Reds have been doing exactly what they needed to do: making hay against teams that they should beat. These next four are very big and against a good, but not great, Diamonbacks team who will come in ready to play as they are the nearest competition to the Reds for the second wildcard spot. (I promise that to be my only reference to the wildcard spot, because I am in division winning mode.) Anyhow through the first 10 games of these 17, the Reds are 7-3. My guess was that for the Reds to pick up the needed amount of ground to be in a realistic spot they needed to go 12-5. That would mean they go 5-2 over the last 7 games. I honestly thought that 12-5 was a stretch to begin with, going 7 over in 17 games is no easy task but the Reds are heading down that path.
2. These next four games are very important. The Diamondbacks are the only team in this stretch of games that the Reds play with an outside chance at the playoffs and a winning record. With that said, they aren't playing the Tampa Bay Rays, the team from the desert is a pedestrian six games over .500 on the season, but four games under .500 on the road. The Reds are 17 games over .500 at home (37-20) and have been throwing lights out. Yes, this is a much more challenging series than the Reds have had against the likes of the Padres, Cubs and Brewers but they are a good, trending towards great team right now.
Arroyo vs Randall Delgado: Advantage Reds
Cingrani vs Corbin: Slight Advantage Diamondbacks
Leake vs McCarthy: Advantage Reds
Latos vs Cahill: Advantage Reds
Those are the pitching matchups and let's be honest, in August and September it comes down to arms and who's rotation can carry a ball club. Also, don't forget the Diamondbacks played 16 innings yesterday and their bullpen threw 111 pitches combined. That's not easy to come back from.
I think Reds take AT LEAST 3 out 4, and I am very excited to see the Cingrani vs Corbin matchup, two of the best young throwers in the game.
3. The Reds play the Diamondbacks, the Pirates have the Padres, and the Cardinals play the Brewers. It is unlikely that the Reds will get a lot of help from either the Padres or Brewers over the next few days so winning is essential. In the case of the Pirates, I'm predicting a lose for them tonight. It is simply too difficult to play 16 innings, lose a heart breaker, and then board a plane and fly across the country to San Diego.
Reds the team to beat? According to a certain ESPN writer: http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/39249/reds-now-team-to-beat-in-nl-central
2. These next four games are very important. The Diamondbacks are the only team in this stretch of games that the Reds play with an outside chance at the playoffs and a winning record. With that said, they aren't playing the Tampa Bay Rays, the team from the desert is a pedestrian six games over .500 on the season, but four games under .500 on the road. The Reds are 17 games over .500 at home (37-20) and have been throwing lights out. Yes, this is a much more challenging series than the Reds have had against the likes of the Padres, Cubs and Brewers but they are a good, trending towards great team right now.
Arroyo vs Randall Delgado: Advantage Reds
Cingrani vs Corbin: Slight Advantage Diamondbacks
Leake vs McCarthy: Advantage Reds
Latos vs Cahill: Advantage Reds
Those are the pitching matchups and let's be honest, in August and September it comes down to arms and who's rotation can carry a ball club. Also, don't forget the Diamondbacks played 16 innings yesterday and their bullpen threw 111 pitches combined. That's not easy to come back from.
I think Reds take AT LEAST 3 out 4, and I am very excited to see the Cingrani vs Corbin matchup, two of the best young throwers in the game.
3. The Reds play the Diamondbacks, the Pirates have the Padres, and the Cardinals play the Brewers. It is unlikely that the Reds will get a lot of help from either the Padres or Brewers over the next few days so winning is essential. In the case of the Pirates, I'm predicting a lose for them tonight. It is simply too difficult to play 16 innings, lose a heart breaker, and then board a plane and fly across the country to San Diego.
Reds the team to beat? According to a certain ESPN writer: http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/39249/reds-now-team-to-beat-in-nl-central
My day at the Western and Southern
I had never attended the Western and Southern tennis tournament before, and that makes me dumb. This was easily one of the best ran and organized events I have ever been too. I got the opportunity to watch John Isner, all 6'10" of him, play from about 12 feet away. It is amazing to think that each year, all of the best tennis players in the WORLD come to Cincinnati.
Center Court
Entrance to the Event
Djokovic Returning a Serve
Isner preparing to serve
Standing in a very cool bar while watching the ESPN broadcast being filmed below
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Thrice is Nice
1. Has there been a better trade for the Reds than Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena? Arroyo has been nothing besides the best pitcher in the National League since being brought to Cincinnati. Yes, you read that correctly, Bronson has been the best pitcher in the National League since the trade. He has the most innings pitched and most wins over anyone during that time. Personally, I believe that Arroyo is one of those guys that people think can be replaced, but it will be a very difficult thing to do. The guys throws a ball that looks like a Frisbee mixed with a plastic wiffle ball and he throws its from 1,000 arms angles at roughly 52 different speeds. He's one of a kind, and Cincinnati has been lucky to watch him pitch all of these years. Plus, the dude can sing.
2. I will be making my first trip ever to the Western and Southern open today, courtesy of our friends at Gameday Communications. I am not sure what to expect, but I am expecting to hear a lot of grunting and possibly some celebrities sightings. I plan on taking pictures throughout the day and I will upload them this evening. I feel like this event may be one of the most underrated in the city of Cincinnati, how often do the absolute best of the best all come to Cincy in any sport. Only once a year, and that's the Western and Southern Open.
3. Creeping back in are our fighting Cincinnati Reds. Sitting only .5 game out of the first wild card spot and 3.5 back of the Central lead. After completely the sweep the Reds are off to a 5-1 start in what we will refer to from now on as the "Necessary 17". I believed that the Reds needed to go 12-5 in these games in order to make up some ground to give themselves a change to win the Central again but that would mean that they would close out this stretch going 7-4. This is very logical and should be the bottom end of what to expect, they will not win every game against the Brewers but you have to win at least 5 out of the 7.
Bonus: If this doesn't give you goosebumps and get you excited for some pennant race baseball, I'm not sure what will. The greatest sports moment I've ever been a part of live. Hands down.
2. I will be making my first trip ever to the Western and Southern open today, courtesy of our friends at Gameday Communications. I am not sure what to expect, but I am expecting to hear a lot of grunting and possibly some celebrities sightings. I plan on taking pictures throughout the day and I will upload them this evening. I feel like this event may be one of the most underrated in the city of Cincinnati, how often do the absolute best of the best all come to Cincy in any sport. Only once a year, and that's the Western and Southern Open.
3. Creeping back in are our fighting Cincinnati Reds. Sitting only .5 game out of the first wild card spot and 3.5 back of the Central lead. After completely the sweep the Reds are off to a 5-1 start in what we will refer to from now on as the "Necessary 17". I believed that the Reds needed to go 12-5 in these games in order to make up some ground to give themselves a change to win the Central again but that would mean that they would close out this stretch going 7-4. This is very logical and should be the bottom end of what to expect, they will not win every game against the Brewers but you have to win at least 5 out of the 7.
Bonus: If this doesn't give you goosebumps and get you excited for some pennant race baseball, I'm not sure what will. The greatest sports moment I've ever been a part of live. Hands down.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Thrice is Nice
1. Sitting only 3.5 games out certainly feels nice considering the Reds were 7 games out as of Thursday. It is not often that you can make up 3.5 games in less than a week. If the Reds can win today, they will be either .5 games out of the first Wildcard spot or only 2.5 out of the division lead. Basically, they just need to win and let other things take care of themselves. If you remember, as discussed on a recent "Thrice is Nice" this stretch of games is where the Reds can and need to make up a lot of ground and put a lot of wins together. They have started this 17 game streak of games, with 13 against sub .500 teams off 4-1. That's what it takes to climb back into a race.
2. The Reds bullpen has shown itself to be one of the most reliable in the game for nearly the entire season, but recently it has taken off and become quite possible the best. Over the last three game, the bullpen has thrown 11.2 innings while giving up only 6 hits, 0 runs, and struck out 17 batters. J.J. Hoover has not given up a run in his last 21 appearances and Manny Parra has become a shutdown lefty (remember at the beginning of the year when everyone wanted Hoover sent down and Parra DFA'd?). This bullpen should only get stronger as Broxton gets his arm strength back and gets in a groove. Consider this: at the beginning of last season Broxton was closing for the Royals and Shawn Marshall was closing for the Reds. Now, Marshall has been hurt the majority of the year and Broxton is not even the 8th inning setup guys anymore. This is not a shot at their skills, but rather an eyeopening way to view how strong the bullpen has become. The Reds have at least three guys (Chapman, Hoover, Broxton) who could close for most ballclubs, which is why they can shorten a game to 7 innings. You win in September and October when you have strong bullpen (if you do not believe me, check out the 2012 San Fran Giants)
3. How does the NFL fix the preseason injury issues that are really hammering some teams right now? They have already cut back on the number of days you are allowed to hit and even practice, but it seems almost daily that we hear of another player going down with a season ending injury. Could it be that all of these "precautions" taken by the NFL are actually counterproductive? When a player is not in top fitness shape and tries to complete in an athletic event, injuries tend to happen more and since the new CBA shortened off season workouts and lessen the intensity of the workouts you are allowed, perhaps the players bodies are just not ready for training camp and are breaking down more easily?
2. The Reds bullpen has shown itself to be one of the most reliable in the game for nearly the entire season, but recently it has taken off and become quite possible the best. Over the last three game, the bullpen has thrown 11.2 innings while giving up only 6 hits, 0 runs, and struck out 17 batters. J.J. Hoover has not given up a run in his last 21 appearances and Manny Parra has become a shutdown lefty (remember at the beginning of the year when everyone wanted Hoover sent down and Parra DFA'd?). This bullpen should only get stronger as Broxton gets his arm strength back and gets in a groove. Consider this: at the beginning of last season Broxton was closing for the Royals and Shawn Marshall was closing for the Reds. Now, Marshall has been hurt the majority of the year and Broxton is not even the 8th inning setup guys anymore. This is not a shot at their skills, but rather an eyeopening way to view how strong the bullpen has become. The Reds have at least three guys (Chapman, Hoover, Broxton) who could close for most ballclubs, which is why they can shorten a game to 7 innings. You win in September and October when you have strong bullpen (if you do not believe me, check out the 2012 San Fran Giants)
3. How does the NFL fix the preseason injury issues that are really hammering some teams right now? They have already cut back on the number of days you are allowed to hit and even practice, but it seems almost daily that we hear of another player going down with a season ending injury. Could it be that all of these "precautions" taken by the NFL are actually counterproductive? When a player is not in top fitness shape and tries to complete in an athletic event, injuries tend to happen more and since the new CBA shortened off season workouts and lessen the intensity of the workouts you are allowed, perhaps the players bodies are just not ready for training camp and are breaking down more easily?
Fantasy Football Preview
Let me start this out by saying that I am by no means a Fantasy Football Guru, in fact I have never even won a Fantasy Football Super Bowl, but I do study the players and the game quite a bit and have come to some conclusions. Every year, there are guys that burst on the scene and have career years (James Jones) and guys who really struggle (Larry Fitzgerald), so its important to take a few educated chances on lower tier guys and pass on a few guys that you are taking for names sake. I am not a big fan of the idea of a player being a "boom" or a "bust" because I believe that it is all relative, for example if you drafted Larry Fitzgerald last year to be your number 1 receive, he was a bust, but if you drafted him for your flex, then he was fine. With that said, I have broken down some players at each position that I feel will be either overlooked or overvalued (which I know if basically the same things as boom and bust, but I have to personalize it somehow) I would like to point out that I do not think all the overvalued players will play poorly this year, simply that they will be draft much too high and in the same respect I do not think my overlooked guys will be the best at their position, but they will be better than some guys drafted become them.
Overvalued:
Russell Wilson, QB Seattle Seahawks: Someone in your draft will take Wilson about 3 or 4 rounds higher then where I really think he should land, roughly the 8th or 9th round, because they will be excited about the prospect of having a great quarterback. What they should be is worried, Russell will be entering his second year in the league which means teams will have adjusted to his game play and he had very few targets to throw the ball too. No Harvin really hurts Wilson, so unless you are still riding the stats from Sidney Rice's year with Brett Farve or think Golden Tate can become a true number 1 receiver, I'd stay clear of Wilson any earlier than late 8th round.
Alfred Morris, RB Washington Redskins: Do the names Mike Anderson, Olandis Gary, and Reuben Droughs mean anything to you? How about Roy Helu or Tatum Bell? These are all guys who had one huge year with Mike Shanahan and then pretty much fell off the face of the Earth. I am nervous that Alfred Morris will be the same way. My guess is that Morris will go either 1st round or early 2nd round depending on how many teams are in your league, and I think that his numbers at the end of the year will come up much below 1st or 2nd round standards. There is a reason that Morris was a sixth round pick in the real NFL draft. The biggest issue that Morris faces is that with the injury to RG3, the read option becomes less difficult to defend and everyone can key on Morris. Avoid.
Stevan Ridley, RB New England Patriots: What team led the NFL in rushing touchdowns last season? The New England Patriots with 25 rushing touchdowns, so why do I think that their starting running back is overvalued? Those 25 rushing touchdowns were scored by 5 different runners. You can not trust Bill Bellichick to stick with one running back ride that guy to victory. Especially, when Ridley's back is more explosive, more athletic, and a better receiver. Sitting right behind Ridley on the depth chart are Shane Vereen and LaGarrette Blount. Vereen was a fantasy sleeper last season and Blount was a fantasy monster only two years ago. Too many options in New England.
Julio Jones, WR Atlanta Falcons: Atlanta has one of, if not the, most explosive offenses in the NFL but that creates a problem for Jones as he has to contend with the other playmakers to get the football. Jones is a big play threat, but sometimes that is all that he is and if the Falcons do not connect on the long ball then he can be held to very small games. In fantasy football, a wide receiver must get "targets" to be valued, if he isn't getting the ball thrown his way, then he is not going to catch it. Jones ended up 20th in the NFL in targets last season, behind names like Justin Blackmon, Steve Johnson, and Brandon Lloyd. He had the same number of catches as Brandon Myers. Jones will be a stud in this year and likely will have a solid year, but please do not waste a 1st or 2nd round pick on him.
Miles Austin, WR Dallas Cowboys: This will be the classic "name value" pick that someone will make in roughly the 4th/5th round when he should be taken no higher than 10th round. Austin is too easily hurt and will be playing across from a top 3 wide receiver this season. We all have watched Tony Romo play, if he trusts you as a receiver he is going to throw the ball your way a lot, and unfortunately for Austin, that trust has shifted to Dez Bryant.
Kyle Rudolph, TE Minnesota Vikings: Rudolph was that under the radar player that people jumped all over after week 3 when he was averaging 10 points a game to that point in the season. It's funny how much longer people hold on to good fantasy weeks in their minds as opposed to bad fantasy weeks. The typical owner will remember the 5 games in which he scored in double digits, but will forget the 7 that he scored 2 or less points. Yes, in 7 games he scored 2 or less points.
Overlooked:
Carson Palmer, QB Arizona Cardinals: Palmer will forever be haunted by the fact that he was an elite quarterback before being taken down by injuries. Yes, Palmer throws a bunch of interceptions, but he also throws a bunch of Touchdowns and for a lot of yards. Fantasy football is about stats, not about whether someone is a winning player, in fact with a lot of quarterbacks its better to be on a team that loses because you are racking up the yards late in a game that can not won. Palmer had 14 or more points in all but 4 games last season, 2 of week were the last two weeks of the year in which he was pulled from the game or injured. That is 14 points a game throwing to people like Rod Streater and Darius Hayward-Bey. This year he gets to throw to Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, and Patrick Peterson. Expect a lot from a guy that you can probably draft in the 13th round.
Chris Ivory, RB New York Jets: Your quarterback is going to be either Mark Sanchez or Geno Smith and you do not really trust either of those guys, so how do you lessen the impact of their play on the game? You hand the ball off, and I mean you hand it off a lot. Ivory is going to be the workhorse for this ballclub on the ground and he has decent hands to catch balls out of the backfield. Even if he struggles and only averages 3.5 yards a carry, he is going to carry the ball 25 times a game. Thats 87.5 yards a game, or 8 points in a standard scoring system. 8 points a game not including receiving yards or touchdowns, that's plenty good enough for a flex play. Will probably average closer to 12 points a game.
Steven Jackson, RB Atlanta Falcons: All the reasons about the Falcons offense that I gave for not liking Julio Jones this year is exactly why I do like Jackson. Atlanta has not had a running back the caliber of Jackson since Jamal Anderson, Michael Turner could score touchdowns but could not do much in the middle of the field, Steven Jackson can. The overlooked aspect of Jackson's game is how great of hands he has and how good of a receiver he can be on swing passes and helping Matt Ryan (sleeper pick for fantasy football MVP) get rid of the ball when in trouble. My guess is that Jackson is 13th/14th running back taken in most drafts, but should be the 6th or 7th.
Dwayne Bowe, WR Kansas City Chiefs: Dwayne, meet Alex Smith. Alex is something that you have never had the option of working with, a real quarterback. Expect Bowe to end up in the top 10 point scorers for wide receivers this season. This guy is already a freak of nature when it comes to playing ability and now he gets the ball thrown to him from Alex Smith as opposed to Brady Quinn. Bowe can probably be had in the 7th or 8th round and will come with a lot of value.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR Houston Texans: I am not a big fan of putting a lot of trust in a rookie, but I do with Hopkins. The kid can flat out play and he has Andre Johnson being covered by the best corner on the other side of the field. The Texans' offense is elite and adding Hopkins will only help to make it better. The fact that he is a rookie actually helps because it will force him to fall in the draft to about 3 rounds lower than he should. Of all the guys on this list, I suggest watching for Hopkins the most because you will be able to grab him the latest in the draft and he will bring you great value. Matt Schaub has been begging for a number 2 receiver for that team. Watch out!
Jordan Cameron, TE Cleveland Browns: Cameron has been the sexy sleeper pick for a lot of people this season at tight end, and I am right there with them. Is it because Cameron has some incredible background of football skills? No, it's because he is a freak athlete with a head coach and offensive coordinator who LOVE to use the tight end. Rob Chudzinski made Kellen Winslow into a Pro-Bowler with his vertical attacking offense that highlights an athletic and capable pass catching tight end. This will be the second time that offensive coordinator Norv Turner has had the opportunity to work with a big and athletic guy at tight end. One of those guys is 6'5", 245 lbs and played college basketball while the other is 6'4", 260 lbs and played college basketball. The first guy? Jordan Cameron. The second guy? Antonio Gates.
Overvalued:
Russell Wilson, QB Seattle Seahawks: Someone in your draft will take Wilson about 3 or 4 rounds higher then where I really think he should land, roughly the 8th or 9th round, because they will be excited about the prospect of having a great quarterback. What they should be is worried, Russell will be entering his second year in the league which means teams will have adjusted to his game play and he had very few targets to throw the ball too. No Harvin really hurts Wilson, so unless you are still riding the stats from Sidney Rice's year with Brett Farve or think Golden Tate can become a true number 1 receiver, I'd stay clear of Wilson any earlier than late 8th round.
Alfred Morris, RB Washington Redskins: Do the names Mike Anderson, Olandis Gary, and Reuben Droughs mean anything to you? How about Roy Helu or Tatum Bell? These are all guys who had one huge year with Mike Shanahan and then pretty much fell off the face of the Earth. I am nervous that Alfred Morris will be the same way. My guess is that Morris will go either 1st round or early 2nd round depending on how many teams are in your league, and I think that his numbers at the end of the year will come up much below 1st or 2nd round standards. There is a reason that Morris was a sixth round pick in the real NFL draft. The biggest issue that Morris faces is that with the injury to RG3, the read option becomes less difficult to defend and everyone can key on Morris. Avoid.
Stevan Ridley, RB New England Patriots: What team led the NFL in rushing touchdowns last season? The New England Patriots with 25 rushing touchdowns, so why do I think that their starting running back is overvalued? Those 25 rushing touchdowns were scored by 5 different runners. You can not trust Bill Bellichick to stick with one running back ride that guy to victory. Especially, when Ridley's back is more explosive, more athletic, and a better receiver. Sitting right behind Ridley on the depth chart are Shane Vereen and LaGarrette Blount. Vereen was a fantasy sleeper last season and Blount was a fantasy monster only two years ago. Too many options in New England.
Julio Jones, WR Atlanta Falcons: Atlanta has one of, if not the, most explosive offenses in the NFL but that creates a problem for Jones as he has to contend with the other playmakers to get the football. Jones is a big play threat, but sometimes that is all that he is and if the Falcons do not connect on the long ball then he can be held to very small games. In fantasy football, a wide receiver must get "targets" to be valued, if he isn't getting the ball thrown his way, then he is not going to catch it. Jones ended up 20th in the NFL in targets last season, behind names like Justin Blackmon, Steve Johnson, and Brandon Lloyd. He had the same number of catches as Brandon Myers. Jones will be a stud in this year and likely will have a solid year, but please do not waste a 1st or 2nd round pick on him.
Miles Austin, WR Dallas Cowboys: This will be the classic "name value" pick that someone will make in roughly the 4th/5th round when he should be taken no higher than 10th round. Austin is too easily hurt and will be playing across from a top 3 wide receiver this season. We all have watched Tony Romo play, if he trusts you as a receiver he is going to throw the ball your way a lot, and unfortunately for Austin, that trust has shifted to Dez Bryant.
Kyle Rudolph, TE Minnesota Vikings: Rudolph was that under the radar player that people jumped all over after week 3 when he was averaging 10 points a game to that point in the season. It's funny how much longer people hold on to good fantasy weeks in their minds as opposed to bad fantasy weeks. The typical owner will remember the 5 games in which he scored in double digits, but will forget the 7 that he scored 2 or less points. Yes, in 7 games he scored 2 or less points.
Overlooked:
Carson Palmer, QB Arizona Cardinals: Palmer will forever be haunted by the fact that he was an elite quarterback before being taken down by injuries. Yes, Palmer throws a bunch of interceptions, but he also throws a bunch of Touchdowns and for a lot of yards. Fantasy football is about stats, not about whether someone is a winning player, in fact with a lot of quarterbacks its better to be on a team that loses because you are racking up the yards late in a game that can not won. Palmer had 14 or more points in all but 4 games last season, 2 of week were the last two weeks of the year in which he was pulled from the game or injured. That is 14 points a game throwing to people like Rod Streater and Darius Hayward-Bey. This year he gets to throw to Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, and Patrick Peterson. Expect a lot from a guy that you can probably draft in the 13th round.
Chris Ivory, RB New York Jets: Your quarterback is going to be either Mark Sanchez or Geno Smith and you do not really trust either of those guys, so how do you lessen the impact of their play on the game? You hand the ball off, and I mean you hand it off a lot. Ivory is going to be the workhorse for this ballclub on the ground and he has decent hands to catch balls out of the backfield. Even if he struggles and only averages 3.5 yards a carry, he is going to carry the ball 25 times a game. Thats 87.5 yards a game, or 8 points in a standard scoring system. 8 points a game not including receiving yards or touchdowns, that's plenty good enough for a flex play. Will probably average closer to 12 points a game.
Steven Jackson, RB Atlanta Falcons: All the reasons about the Falcons offense that I gave for not liking Julio Jones this year is exactly why I do like Jackson. Atlanta has not had a running back the caliber of Jackson since Jamal Anderson, Michael Turner could score touchdowns but could not do much in the middle of the field, Steven Jackson can. The overlooked aspect of Jackson's game is how great of hands he has and how good of a receiver he can be on swing passes and helping Matt Ryan (sleeper pick for fantasy football MVP) get rid of the ball when in trouble. My guess is that Jackson is 13th/14th running back taken in most drafts, but should be the 6th or 7th.
Dwayne Bowe, WR Kansas City Chiefs: Dwayne, meet Alex Smith. Alex is something that you have never had the option of working with, a real quarterback. Expect Bowe to end up in the top 10 point scorers for wide receivers this season. This guy is already a freak of nature when it comes to playing ability and now he gets the ball thrown to him from Alex Smith as opposed to Brady Quinn. Bowe can probably be had in the 7th or 8th round and will come with a lot of value.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR Houston Texans: I am not a big fan of putting a lot of trust in a rookie, but I do with Hopkins. The kid can flat out play and he has Andre Johnson being covered by the best corner on the other side of the field. The Texans' offense is elite and adding Hopkins will only help to make it better. The fact that he is a rookie actually helps because it will force him to fall in the draft to about 3 rounds lower than he should. Of all the guys on this list, I suggest watching for Hopkins the most because you will be able to grab him the latest in the draft and he will bring you great value. Matt Schaub has been begging for a number 2 receiver for that team. Watch out!
Jordan Cameron, TE Cleveland Browns: Cameron has been the sexy sleeper pick for a lot of people this season at tight end, and I am right there with them. Is it because Cameron has some incredible background of football skills? No, it's because he is a freak athlete with a head coach and offensive coordinator who LOVE to use the tight end. Rob Chudzinski made Kellen Winslow into a Pro-Bowler with his vertical attacking offense that highlights an athletic and capable pass catching tight end. This will be the second time that offensive coordinator Norv Turner has had the opportunity to work with a big and athletic guy at tight end. One of those guys is 6'5", 245 lbs and played college basketball while the other is 6'4", 260 lbs and played college basketball. The first guy? Jordan Cameron. The second guy? Antonio Gates.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Thrice is Nice
1. The Return of Ryan Ludwick will be helpful to the Reds. How helpful? That is a different story, and one that many different people will tell you different answers. Personally, I believe that Ludwick will struggle on his return to the majors this year and that he will not be a huge benefit to the club statistically. The one bright spot about Ludwick's return is that he can be slotted into the sixth spot in the order and allow for Todd Frazier to stay in the second spot. This is not good because Todd has been smacking the cover off of the ball but rather because if a pitcher has to face Todd Frazier with a runner on second and two outs or pitch to the possible MVP on deck, he is going to pitch to Frazier. This means more fastballs, which is the only pitch Frazier can hit consistently, pitchers could afford to throw slider after slider to Frazier when he had the likes of Zack Cozart or Ryan Hanigan hitting behind him, but not Joey Votto. While Ludwick may not make a huge difference with his numbers, his mere presence will make this team better, and hopefully Todd Frazier better.
2. Joey Votto is an MVP candidate. The fact that the majority of the people who just read that sentence did not 100% agree with it is laughable. Typically the MVP is the best player on the best team in a certain league, and the Reds are not the best team. This means that Votto is likely competing against the likes of Yadier Molina, Andrew McCutchen, Allen Craig and Freddy Freeman.
Batting Average Ranks: Molina (2), Votto (4), Craig (5), Freeman (6), McCutchen (7)
On-Base Percentage: Votto (1), Freeman (3), McCutchen (7), Molina (10), Craig (13)
Hits: Votto (3), Allen (3), McCutchen (5), Freeman (13), Molina (19)
Home Runs: Votto (12), McCutchen (19), Freeman (33)
RBI: Craig (2), Freeman (4), McCutchen (10), Votto (23), Molina (27)
Runs Scored: Votto (2), McCutchen (8), Freeman (12), Craig (13)
WAR: McCutchen (1), Votto (4), Molina (10), Freeman (19)
OPS: Votto (2), McCutchen (6), Freeman (7), Molina (13), Craig (18)
Looking at those numbers from an unbiased point of view, Votto is your MVP. The most likely outcome is that Andrew McCutchen will win MVP if the Pirates win the Central.
3. 4 out of 17. That's the stretch the Reds are in right now, four out of seventeen games are being played against teams above .500. If you recall my blueprint for the Reds, they have to make up a lot of ground in this stretch of games. They have crept back to within 5 games of the Pirates and can really put themselves in a great position by simply beating the teams you are supposed to beat the next two weeks. They have started out 2-1 which means that they need to go 10-4 over the next 14 to finish this stretch at 12-5. That's a logical number of wins against the likes of the Padres, Cubs, Brewers (7 times) and Diamondbacks.
Reds next 14 games:
Cubs: 3 Brewers: 7 Diamondbacks: 4
Pirates next 13 games:
Cardinals: 3 Diamondbacks: 3 Padres: 3 Giants: 4
Cardinals next 13 games:
Pirates: 3 Cubs: 3 Brewers:3 Braves: 4
This is the perfect time for the Reds to make up ground on both the Cardinals and Pirates. After this stretch of the games the Reds and Cardinals open, what will be, a huge 3 game series.
Current Standings
Pirates 70-47
Cardinals 67-50 (3 GB)
Reds 65-52 (5 GB)
Predicted Standings 14 games from now
Pirates 77-53
Reds 74-57 (3.5 GB)
Cardinals 73-57 (4 GB)
2. Joey Votto is an MVP candidate. The fact that the majority of the people who just read that sentence did not 100% agree with it is laughable. Typically the MVP is the best player on the best team in a certain league, and the Reds are not the best team. This means that Votto is likely competing against the likes of Yadier Molina, Andrew McCutchen, Allen Craig and Freddy Freeman.
Batting Average Ranks: Molina (2), Votto (4), Craig (5), Freeman (6), McCutchen (7)
On-Base Percentage: Votto (1), Freeman (3), McCutchen (7), Molina (10), Craig (13)
Hits: Votto (3), Allen (3), McCutchen (5), Freeman (13), Molina (19)
Home Runs: Votto (12), McCutchen (19), Freeman (33)
RBI: Craig (2), Freeman (4), McCutchen (10), Votto (23), Molina (27)
Runs Scored: Votto (2), McCutchen (8), Freeman (12), Craig (13)
WAR: McCutchen (1), Votto (4), Molina (10), Freeman (19)
OPS: Votto (2), McCutchen (6), Freeman (7), Molina (13), Craig (18)
Looking at those numbers from an unbiased point of view, Votto is your MVP. The most likely outcome is that Andrew McCutchen will win MVP if the Pirates win the Central.
3. 4 out of 17. That's the stretch the Reds are in right now, four out of seventeen games are being played against teams above .500. If you recall my blueprint for the Reds, they have to make up a lot of ground in this stretch of games. They have crept back to within 5 games of the Pirates and can really put themselves in a great position by simply beating the teams you are supposed to beat the next two weeks. They have started out 2-1 which means that they need to go 10-4 over the next 14 to finish this stretch at 12-5. That's a logical number of wins against the likes of the Padres, Cubs, Brewers (7 times) and Diamondbacks.
Reds next 14 games:
Cubs: 3 Brewers: 7 Diamondbacks: 4
Pirates next 13 games:
Cardinals: 3 Diamondbacks: 3 Padres: 3 Giants: 4
Cardinals next 13 games:
Pirates: 3 Cubs: 3 Brewers:3 Braves: 4
This is the perfect time for the Reds to make up ground on both the Cardinals and Pirates. After this stretch of the games the Reds and Cardinals open, what will be, a huge 3 game series.
Current Standings
Pirates 70-47
Cardinals 67-50 (3 GB)
Reds 65-52 (5 GB)
Predicted Standings 14 games from now
Pirates 77-53
Reds 74-57 (3.5 GB)
Cardinals 73-57 (4 GB)
Friday, August 9, 2013
Thrice is Nice... Football Style
1. Thank goodness that football is back and I do not care that the games do not count and the starters only play two series, it's still football! I wish I had to more to say about this, but the truth of the matter is that football season is back and that is really all that does matter.
2. No fan drive me more crazy than over reacting fan who suddenly thinks that their team needs to get rid of its best player or starter because some guy looked awesome against the other team's third string defense. There is a reason that this player is playing against non-starters. I'm looking at you Mr. Josh Johnson should be our starting quarterback. He is not better than Andy Dalton, if he were he would not have been cut by the Buccaneers, 49ers, Lions (Sacramento Mountain Lions that is), and the Browns. I am not even a Bengals fan, but I am smart enough to know that because a guy can make a few plays (a scramble does not really count as making a play) against some guys who are simply trying to make the team, does not mean he is good enough to be a starter. I am not just picking on these fans, but on all fans across the board who overreact to the pre-season in either a positive or negative manner. Let's consider this:
2012 Ravens' Pre-Season Record: 2-2
2011 Giants' Pre-Season Record: 2-2
2010 Packers' Pre-Season Record: 2-2
Those are the last three teams to win a Super Bowl and they have combined for a .500 record in the pre-season. Why? Because they have better 1st string players than everyone else, and not because they have a backup quarterback who looked good for a few plays against other backups. Stop proclaiming Johnson to be the best quarterback on the Bengals.
3. This is why I love the NFL Network, you can watch every preseason game of every team on the NFL Network. They simply roll through all the games and give every fan a chance to watch their favorite team, which is very cool. It's not like they are getting a lot of commercial money for an 8am airing of the Browns vs Rams, but they are making it so I can watch it. That's pretty cool.
Bonus Tidbit
I have three Fantasy Football drafts that I am in the process of preparing for with 2 on the 18th and 1 on the 24th. I still need ideas for a Fantasy Football team name. Remember that the best 3-5 will be put up for a vote and the winner will receive a prize. I promise its a real thing and you will enjoy it!
Comment on here, or Facebook and let me know your suggestions!
2. No fan drive me more crazy than over reacting fan who suddenly thinks that their team needs to get rid of its best player or starter because some guy looked awesome against the other team's third string defense. There is a reason that this player is playing against non-starters. I'm looking at you Mr. Josh Johnson should be our starting quarterback. He is not better than Andy Dalton, if he were he would not have been cut by the Buccaneers, 49ers, Lions (Sacramento Mountain Lions that is), and the Browns. I am not even a Bengals fan, but I am smart enough to know that because a guy can make a few plays (a scramble does not really count as making a play) against some guys who are simply trying to make the team, does not mean he is good enough to be a starter. I am not just picking on these fans, but on all fans across the board who overreact to the pre-season in either a positive or negative manner. Let's consider this:
2012 Ravens' Pre-Season Record: 2-2
2011 Giants' Pre-Season Record: 2-2
2010 Packers' Pre-Season Record: 2-2
Those are the last three teams to win a Super Bowl and they have combined for a .500 record in the pre-season. Why? Because they have better 1st string players than everyone else, and not because they have a backup quarterback who looked good for a few plays against other backups. Stop proclaiming Johnson to be the best quarterback on the Bengals.
3. This is why I love the NFL Network, you can watch every preseason game of every team on the NFL Network. They simply roll through all the games and give every fan a chance to watch their favorite team, which is very cool. It's not like they are getting a lot of commercial money for an 8am airing of the Browns vs Rams, but they are making it so I can watch it. That's pretty cool.
Bonus Tidbit
I have three Fantasy Football drafts that I am in the process of preparing for with 2 on the 18th and 1 on the 24th. I still need ideas for a Fantasy Football team name. Remember that the best 3-5 will be put up for a vote and the winner will receive a prize. I promise its a real thing and you will enjoy it!
Comment on here, or Facebook and let me know your suggestions!
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Are Corporate Sponsorships Ruining Sports?
Everything is a byproduct of
money, whether it is spending money or making money, all of sports are driven
by the all mighty dollar. As much as fans want to believe that their teams did
not “sell” out and use corporate sponsorship dollars to further their franchises,
that simply is not the case. Every team in every league at every level is
making decisions day in and day out based solely on the revenue that can be
produced from such ideas, but is that such a bad thing? Fans everywhere want
their teams to be the best and put the best product on the field, so why
wouldn’t the franchise want to bring in as much revenue to help offset expenses
as they possibly could? The idea of corporate sales and partnerships rubs a lot
of fans the wrong way because they claim billboards are taking over the
ballpark or that their sport is getting “NASCAR’ed”. The fact is that sports
franchises have been and will always look for ways to increase inflow of funds,
but the real question is if a franchise is hurting its connection with fans and
going against the legacy of sport by selling to the highest bidder?
The biggest argument against
franchises, or colleges, selling corporate signage and other forms of marketing
is that it is tainting the game and making stadiums and arenas look more like
shopping centers and outlet malls. To an extent this idea is true, and as sport
managers it is our responsibility to care about what our fans want to see and
what they do not want to see. If you were working for a very conservative fan base
who values tradition, it would not be wise, from a public relation standpoint,
to sell the naming rights to a path full of cherished statutes but from a
revenue and money standpoint, it would be brilliant. This is the issue that
faces all sports managers working in any type of corporate sales and will
continue to be an issue as technology continues to improve and allow for more
opportunities to sell more inventory.
Recently, they have been debates on
the merit of selling the stadium naming rights to Cowboy Stadium (AT&T
Stadium) and building a digital scoreboard and having signage at Wrigley Field.
The debate basically boils down to the
idea of history and tradition verse the ability to make money. The signage at
Wrigley Field is projected to bring in roughly 500 million dollars to be used
to fund the entire renovation of both the stadium and a nearby park, which
would feature a hotel. The problem with this idea is that it would block some
nearby residents’ view of the stadium and would cause Wrigley to lose some of
it’s traditional landmark feeling. The owners of the Cubs have been faced with
some negative backlash from citizens of Wrigleyville but also some positive
feedback from fans that want the ball club to do anything to excel and win a
World Series.
For future sport managers, if
Wrigley can successfully add signage and corporate sponsorship then it really
opens the door completely to corporatize everything in every ballpark. Baseball
is about as tradition based of a sport as there is in America and once they
move in to the 21st century, then the rest of the ballparks can
continue to grow. This would make it so that no area in any ballpark would feel
as if it is off limits to ownership to try to monetize, and thus would create
more opportunities for future sport managers to be creative and bring new ideas
to organizations.
AT&T has spent a reported, 17-19
million dollars a year, for the naming rights to former Cowboy Stadium. This
means that the Cowboys now have that additional money in their revenue stream
to be able to go out and improve not only the play on the field but the
experience for the fans. The Cowboys have stated that the stadium will have
increased WI-FI and mobile capabilities and that they have also entered into
large partnerships with other corporate partners for areas inside of the
stadium. The idea that the Dallas
Cowboys will no longer play in Dallas Stadium or Cowboys Stadium is a little
bit strange, but if you are a Cowboys fan you, would you rather a Super Bowl or
a name to a stadium?
The most common way for franchises
to bring in a large amount of money and not be overly invasive with corporate
partnerships is to sell the naming rights to a stadium similar to what the
Cowboys have done. This seems to be less bothersome to fans because they are
not being forced to read a sign everywhere they look, but rather simply be in a
place with a naming rights deal. The opposition to this notion is that by
naming the stadium after a corporation, it loses its historical value and
appeal. The fact of the matter is that nearly 75% of all professional stadiums
and arenas have naming rights deals and those that do not are losing money every
year that they are not selling the rights to the stadium and furthermore
putting themselves behind other teams in the league. The ironic thing behind
the argument that stadiums lose some historic value when they are named after a
company or corporation is that most individuals point towards Wrigley Field and
Fenway Park as models of ballparks that do not need naming right, when in fact
those may have been the first two stadiums to use naming rights. The first owner
of Fenway Park was also the founder of “Fenway Realty” and the owner of the
Cubs was also the owner of Wrigley Gum. While neither of these companies paid
to have their name on the stadium, they certainly can be seen as the first
stadiums to have naming rights.
As history has shown, the naming of
a newly built stadium seems to be handled by fans in a more positive light as
opposed to attempting to rename an old stadium. A perfect example of this would
be the Cincinnati Reds selling the naming rights of Riverfront Stadium to the
Cinergy energy company and renaming the stadium “Cinergy Field”. Reds’ fans
continued to refer to the stadium as Riverfront Stadium despite the naming
rights sale and were not pleased about the corporate sponsorship, but when a
new stadium was built in Cincinnati and named Great American Ballpark, after
Great American Insurance, there was little to no objection. This is another
issue facing sports managers, the sale of the ballpark is not always what
angers fans but rather when and who you sell the ballpark to. “Great American
Ballpark” does not sound like a corporate sponsored park, but it actually is.
Had the Reds sold their naming rights to Burger King and called their stadium “Burger
King Field”, there may have been more objections. The point is that when in a
position such as a sports manager, you must be able to see not only the revenue
objectives but also the viewpoint of a fan.
Moving forward, this topic is only
going to become more prevalent as more stadiums that have never had naming
rights deals will begin to succumb to the fact that they must. Beyond that, as
stadiums continue to grow and incorporate parks and bars within the stadiums
and arenas more naming opportunities will come available, for which sports managers
need to be able to sell. The days of having “Joey’s Pizzeria” in a ballpark are
gone as it is now more likely to be a Papa John’s or a Pizza Hut.
Sports managers have spent hours
upon hours trying to find the correct balance between creating a revenue stream
and creating a NASCAR feel within a stadium or arena. That balance remains
difficult to find because their jobs rely on revenue but their revenue relies
on people coming to watch the games. If you make the stadium too filled with
advertising that fans are put off then they will stop coming and people will no
longer want to advertise with you, but if you fill the place with fans then all
companies will want to advertise with you. The selling of advertising is a
necessary evil for all levels of sports, but is something that needs to be done
and done well.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Thrice is Nice
1. I am not happy about it but I was dead on about the Cardinals coming into town. They won Friday and Sunday (as predicted) and absolutely knocked the cover off of the ball. When St. Louis comes to town it really reminds me how different professional hitters are from swingers. The Reds, currently, have mostly swingers in their lineup whereas the Cardinals have hitters. What is the different you ask? The Cardinals' batters, every one of them (even the backup catcher who never plays), has a plan and idea of what they want to do. It is absolutely amazing how many of there players hit the ball right back up the middle and to the opposite field as opposed to trying to pull everything. It is small adjustments like that which make baseball teams very good as opposed to just good. I have read and heard all of this stuff about the "Cardinal Way" and I hated even thinking about it but while attending the games this weekend I decided to look at a few things besides the play on the field. From 1st to 9th inning of every game the Cardinals dugout was up on the top step and paying attention to the game while cheering on their teammates and when the national guard was walking the flags off of the field after the national anthem, not a single Cardinal moved from where they standing and showed respect until those flags left the field. The team in the first base dugout was not that engaged. What does this tell me? It tells me that when you arrive in St. Louis you are told that you will act in a certain manner and do certain things, and thats why they are always successful.
2. The road gets no easier for the Reds as the Athletics come rolling into town for a two game series starting on Tuesday. The A's very well may be the best team in baseball, and I have honestly no idea how or why but its true. They constantly just scratch and claw for wins. They have no real big names (congrats to anyone that can name five players besides Cespedes). This is another scary series for the Reds because the Diamondbacks are starting to creep up on their tails in the wild card standings. The bottom line? The Reds need to start winning more consistently and gain some confidence that they can beat good teams. This team has enough talent, they just need to start showing it.
3. Football is back, well sort of. No one is really playing any real games or hitting each other too hard as of yet but it is getting closer and closer. Football season is like no other sports season, because it is the only sport that can completely consume a nation for an entire weekend, every weekend. It's pre season so we all have lots of hope and belief that this is our year, which likely will all come crashing down right about September 8th but as of right now the Browns have the same record as the Patriots and the Bengals are undefeated so the state of Ohio can be excited and look forward to football. As everyone should.
2. The road gets no easier for the Reds as the Athletics come rolling into town for a two game series starting on Tuesday. The A's very well may be the best team in baseball, and I have honestly no idea how or why but its true. They constantly just scratch and claw for wins. They have no real big names (congrats to anyone that can name five players besides Cespedes). This is another scary series for the Reds because the Diamondbacks are starting to creep up on their tails in the wild card standings. The bottom line? The Reds need to start winning more consistently and gain some confidence that they can beat good teams. This team has enough talent, they just need to start showing it.
3. Football is back, well sort of. No one is really playing any real games or hitting each other too hard as of yet but it is getting closer and closer. Football season is like no other sports season, because it is the only sport that can completely consume a nation for an entire weekend, every weekend. It's pre season so we all have lots of hope and belief that this is our year, which likely will all come crashing down right about September 8th but as of right now the Browns have the same record as the Patriots and the Bengals are undefeated so the state of Ohio can be excited and look forward to football. As everyone should.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Thrice is Nice
1. I am nervous about the Cardinals coming to town following a horrible stretch through Pittsburgh. Despite scoring 13 runs yesterday, the offense for the Cardinals was terrible and the intensity you normally see from the Red Birds appeared to be lacking. Why does this frighten me? It certainly seems like in true St. Louis fashion they will right the ship and come into Cincinnati with a new found anger and sense of urgency that will be tough to beat. Speaking of a sense of urgency, is it not about time that the Reds show a little sense of urgency? My prediction for this weekend, Cardinals win tonight and Sunday while the Reds take Saturday. Hopefully, I am wrong and the banks of the Ohio River will be filled with brooms come Sunday sending the crybabies back to Missouri.
2. Does showing a lot of excitement mean you are invested and care about the team for which you are playing? For some reason, fans create a connection between playing hard, caring, wanting to win and showing emotion. These two things do not necessarily go hand in hand, yes if someone celebrates it makes it more noticeable but I do not think that just because Joey Votto does not hop up and down after driving in a go ahead run that he cares any less or does not want to win. I think that it means that he is a quiet guy who goes about playing baseball like you and I do about our jobs. We are supposed to be productive, so when we are, we act like we have been there before. I am not saying that I have a problem with individuals showing emotion and getting excited, in fact I think nothing is cooler than seeing a Major League Baseball player jump around in a dugout and be excited when his teammate hits a home run, but I do not think this is necessary to show your teammates that you care.
3. I am sick of hearing about Johnny Manziel and the fact that he gets drunk and does dumb things. Manziel is a 20 year old sophomore in college, do you remember how you acted when you were a 20 year old sophomore in college? Probably very similar. Just because he is a great college, never professional, football player does not mean that he has to be a role model. This notion that an athlete has to be a role model because he is an athlete makes zero sense. Michael Jordan was a gambling, smoking jerk who not a role model, but he was the best basketball player in the game. Ty Cobb, Pete Rose, Barry Bonds were all not role models but they were the best at what they did. Why do we suddenly think that superstar athletes have to be role models? They don't. If parents are mad because their kids can't look up to a professional athlete, maybe they should explain to their children that a real role model is the person taking care of them daily and that's who they should look up to. Or direct them towards Tim Tebow.
2. Does showing a lot of excitement mean you are invested and care about the team for which you are playing? For some reason, fans create a connection between playing hard, caring, wanting to win and showing emotion. These two things do not necessarily go hand in hand, yes if someone celebrates it makes it more noticeable but I do not think that just because Joey Votto does not hop up and down after driving in a go ahead run that he cares any less or does not want to win. I think that it means that he is a quiet guy who goes about playing baseball like you and I do about our jobs. We are supposed to be productive, so when we are, we act like we have been there before. I am not saying that I have a problem with individuals showing emotion and getting excited, in fact I think nothing is cooler than seeing a Major League Baseball player jump around in a dugout and be excited when his teammate hits a home run, but I do not think this is necessary to show your teammates that you care.
3. I am sick of hearing about Johnny Manziel and the fact that he gets drunk and does dumb things. Manziel is a 20 year old sophomore in college, do you remember how you acted when you were a 20 year old sophomore in college? Probably very similar. Just because he is a great college, never professional, football player does not mean that he has to be a role model. This notion that an athlete has to be a role model because he is an athlete makes zero sense. Michael Jordan was a gambling, smoking jerk who not a role model, but he was the best basketball player in the game. Ty Cobb, Pete Rose, Barry Bonds were all not role models but they were the best at what they did. Why do we suddenly think that superstar athletes have to be role models? They don't. If parents are mad because their kids can't look up to a professional athlete, maybe they should explain to their children that a real role model is the person taking care of them daily and that's who they should look up to. Or direct them towards Tim Tebow.
Why all the Joey Hate?
The Reds came into this season with the expectation of not only making the playoffs but contending for a World Series ring and let's be honest, it's be a frustrating and lackluster season to this point. In their defense, not many teams can say they are having a disappointing and lackluster season why still playing11 games over .500 and in position to go to the post season with a dominating pitching staff, where pitching really wins games. But I digress. Fans of the Reds have been throwing around blame all season and some of it is justified (injuries to important players from game one) and other not as justified (Zack Cozark's hitting: he has actually been the most productive shortstop of the three teams competing for the NL Central). There is one spot where blame has been completely unjustified and for some reason seems to be gaining momentum, at Joey Votto. Yes, Votto has struggled in the field while setting a career high in errors, but many people are complaining about his production at the plate. I did not think that this seemed logical so I looked a little deeper into the stats, so let's break down this "down" year for Joey Votto.
Current NL Ranks for Votto:
WAR: 7th
Batting Average: 6th
On Base %: 1st
On Base plus Slugging: 3rd
Games Played: 1st
Plate Appearances: 1st
Runs: 2nd
Hits: 2nd
Total Bases: 6th
HR: 11th
Walks: 1st
Singles: 5th
Runs Created: 1st
Adjusted Batting Runs: 1st
Adjusted Batting Wins: 1st
Times on Base: 1st
Intentional Walks: 1st
That would equal 16 different categories that he is in the top 10, 10 categories that he leads the league, and only one that he is outside of the top 10, and he is 11th.
It is always easiest to blame the best player or the person in charge, but certainly is not the smartest and never seems to make the most sense. We have the opportunity in Cincinnati to watch one of the best hitters in the game on a daily basis and people want to pick and complain about things as opposed to understanding how lucky they are. Votto is the kind of hitter that you will tell your grandchildren about seeing hit. Joey Votto is currently and will remain being the Reds best hitter, so lets celebrate that fact and stop pointing out that he has "only 49 RBI" which is more than Ryan Howard and Carlos Quentin. It is also only 3 less RBI than David Wright and 2 less than Matt Holliday. All guys who are supposed to produce huge numbers for their teams.
Joey Votto is actually having a great all around batting season and the Reds are in the playoff picture, let's stop being so negative and instead be positive and go cheer on the Reds this weekend!
Current NL Ranks for Votto:
WAR: 7th
Batting Average: 6th
On Base %: 1st
On Base plus Slugging: 3rd
Games Played: 1st
Plate Appearances: 1st
Runs: 2nd
Hits: 2nd
Total Bases: 6th
HR: 11th
Walks: 1st
Singles: 5th
Runs Created: 1st
Adjusted Batting Runs: 1st
Adjusted Batting Wins: 1st
Times on Base: 1st
Intentional Walks: 1st
That would equal 16 different categories that he is in the top 10, 10 categories that he leads the league, and only one that he is outside of the top 10, and he is 11th.
It is always easiest to blame the best player or the person in charge, but certainly is not the smartest and never seems to make the most sense. We have the opportunity in Cincinnati to watch one of the best hitters in the game on a daily basis and people want to pick and complain about things as opposed to understanding how lucky they are. Votto is the kind of hitter that you will tell your grandchildren about seeing hit. Joey Votto is currently and will remain being the Reds best hitter, so lets celebrate that fact and stop pointing out that he has "only 49 RBI" which is more than Ryan Howard and Carlos Quentin. It is also only 3 less RBI than David Wright and 2 less than Matt Holliday. All guys who are supposed to produce huge numbers for their teams.
Joey Votto is actually having a great all around batting season and the Reds are in the playoff picture, let's stop being so negative and instead be positive and go cheer on the Reds this weekend!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Thrice is Nice
1. Cheering for the Cardinals feels like a sin, or a crime at least, but that is exactly what I found myself doing last night while watching the end of the Cardinals and Pirates square off in game four of the rare five game series. For as bad as the Reds' fans feel about going 1-5 over the last 6 games, they can at least feel a little better that the Cardinals have gone 0-7 in their last 7 games. Remember when everyone was talking about how soon or later the Cardinals would hit a rough stretch and that's when the Reds could climb back into the race? Well the Reds were 5 games behind the Cardinals at the beginning of the Cardinals losing steak and now the Reds are 6 games behind the Pirates. Did not really work out that well huh?
2. 6 of the Reds 'final 9 games are against the Pirates. What does this mean? It means that they can either make up a lot of ground or lose a lot of ground in a very short period of time. Say the Reds go in 4 games back, they have a chance to make up the ground. The scary aspect of this is the idea that they playing such a high quality team so often at the end of the season could have the reverse effect if the Diamondbacks are only 3 or 4 games behind and the Reds do not play well. They could fall out of the race all together, in its truest form, this season is not over until the very last game. The bright side of this: they are no where near out of the race yet.
3. What are you thinking Riley Cooper? Cooper, who's playing time is about to explode with the injury to Jeremy Maclin decided that it would be good to look into a camera and say an incredibly racist thought. He can say all the apologies he wants, and claim that he has never said those kind of things before but it is obvious that this is not true. No person should ever use the N word, period. Some day professional athletes are going to have to learn that it is always better to say no words at all because regardless if you think that you are being watched, somewhere someone does see you and is probably taking a photo or video. The real concerning thing to me is that at the end of the video the camera is swung around to show a white woman doing the filming, which means that Cooper was looking for a fight and was having racist thoughts without being provoked. Unprovoked thoughts are real thoughts and tell a lot about his true feelings towards others. I am sick of hearing PR driven apologises when clearly the individual does not mean it. Shame on you Riley Cooper and I can not wait until you go across the middle week one and someone takes off your head.
REMINDER: This is SportsCenter Top 50 commercial countdown is on at 8pm tonight.
2. 6 of the Reds 'final 9 games are against the Pirates. What does this mean? It means that they can either make up a lot of ground or lose a lot of ground in a very short period of time. Say the Reds go in 4 games back, they have a chance to make up the ground. The scary aspect of this is the idea that they playing such a high quality team so often at the end of the season could have the reverse effect if the Diamondbacks are only 3 or 4 games behind and the Reds do not play well. They could fall out of the race all together, in its truest form, this season is not over until the very last game. The bright side of this: they are no where near out of the race yet.
3. What are you thinking Riley Cooper? Cooper, who's playing time is about to explode with the injury to Jeremy Maclin decided that it would be good to look into a camera and say an incredibly racist thought. He can say all the apologies he wants, and claim that he has never said those kind of things before but it is obvious that this is not true. No person should ever use the N word, period. Some day professional athletes are going to have to learn that it is always better to say no words at all because regardless if you think that you are being watched, somewhere someone does see you and is probably taking a photo or video. The real concerning thing to me is that at the end of the video the camera is swung around to show a white woman doing the filming, which means that Cooper was looking for a fight and was having racist thoughts without being provoked. Unprovoked thoughts are real thoughts and tell a lot about his true feelings towards others. I am sick of hearing PR driven apologises when clearly the individual does not mean it. Shame on you Riley Cooper and I can not wait until you go across the middle week one and someone takes off your head.
REMINDER: This is SportsCenter Top 50 commercial countdown is on at 8pm tonight.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Thrice is Nice
1. Today is the trade deadling which makes it deadline day for me and that is exciting. Deadline day falls right behind NFL Draft Day and Selection Sunday for me in my order of most important none game sports watching days. I will certainly be planted in front of my TV starting at roughly 2 pm watching all of the breaking headlines of trades that just happened, might happen, and most of the time will not happen. The only real decision that I have to make is whether or not I choose to watch ESPN or the MLB Network. Last year I decided to jump back and forth between the two only to realize that I was missing information on both. Today is going to take dedication and mental strength to avoid the channel jumping.
2. Peter King is my favorite journalist to read about football with his Monday Morning Quarterback column and his Tuesday Morning Quarterback column. Well recently, Sports Illustrated made the brilliant move of giving Peter King his own website and he has built a heck of a stable of writers. King is one of the reasons that I enjoy writing so much because I hope to one day have the opportunity to write for an audience such as his. The main article on the website today touches on the comments that Mike Brown made about concussions (the guy is not smart) so I suggest all Bengals fans reading this to check out the website today and everyday if you like sports. You will get more knowledge than you every expected from his ever expanding line of intelligent journalists.
http://mmqb.si.com/
3. It is nearly Fantasy Football time, well OK it hasn't stopped being fantasy football time since last season for me but it's almost time for everyone else to start caring. My fantasy draft is 25 days from today and I have to announce my two keepers by tomorrow but I am not sure that I really want to keep any of my guys. I have the first overall pick this season and am strongly considering keeping no one despite knowing that it seems like a terrible strategy for a keeper league. Anyhow, it's about that time to start reading injury reports, weekly projections, Matthew Berry's love/hate and questioning things like "Is Colin Kaepernick a flash in the pan?", " Can RG3 stay healthy?", "Who will be this season's Cecil Shorts?" I can almost guarantee that I know none of those answers but that I will spend countless hours each week trying to find out and still likely not succeed.
Also, I do not have a fantasy football team name yet for this season. Taking all suggestions and the best five will be put into a poll and voted on for one week during the Thrice is Nice entries!
2. Peter King is my favorite journalist to read about football with his Monday Morning Quarterback column and his Tuesday Morning Quarterback column. Well recently, Sports Illustrated made the brilliant move of giving Peter King his own website and he has built a heck of a stable of writers. King is one of the reasons that I enjoy writing so much because I hope to one day have the opportunity to write for an audience such as his. The main article on the website today touches on the comments that Mike Brown made about concussions (the guy is not smart) so I suggest all Bengals fans reading this to check out the website today and everyday if you like sports. You will get more knowledge than you every expected from his ever expanding line of intelligent journalists.
http://mmqb.si.com/
3. It is nearly Fantasy Football time, well OK it hasn't stopped being fantasy football time since last season for me but it's almost time for everyone else to start caring. My fantasy draft is 25 days from today and I have to announce my two keepers by tomorrow but I am not sure that I really want to keep any of my guys. I have the first overall pick this season and am strongly considering keeping no one despite knowing that it seems like a terrible strategy for a keeper league. Anyhow, it's about that time to start reading injury reports, weekly projections, Matthew Berry's love/hate and questioning things like "Is Colin Kaepernick a flash in the pan?", " Can RG3 stay healthy?", "Who will be this season's Cecil Shorts?" I can almost guarantee that I know none of those answers but that I will spend countless hours each week trying to find out and still likely not succeed.
Also, I do not have a fantasy football team name yet for this season. Taking all suggestions and the best five will be put into a poll and voted on for one week during the Thrice is Nice entries!
Help on the Way?
The non-waiver trade deadline is at 4 pm today and with the Cincinnati Reds struggling as bad as they have been struggling, losing 5 in a row while scoring a total of 5 runs, it opens the question of whether they will make a trade today for some offense. There are some obstacles in the way for them to complete a deal for a major upgrade: payroll, lack of quality prospects, lack of teams willing to sell. If you had asked me a week ago, I would have told you that I thought the Reds would stand pat but now as the season progresses and the wild card lead quickly is evaporating, I would say that the Reds have a much better chance of making a move than they did even 72 hours ago. They will have to overcome the obstacles I discussed earlier, but the savvy GM skills of Walt Jocketty leads me to believe that if there is someone out there that he thinks can significantly help this ball club, he will find a way to make it happen. Below are four possibilities that the Reds may be looking at and what it would probably take to get each of them.
1. Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants Outfielder
Salary: 13.8 Million
While I personally believe that Pence would bring a fire and some verbal leadership to the Reds there are just too many problems standing in the way of this trade taking place. Pence to the Reds has been a hot rumor over the last few days, but Brian Sabian (Giants GM) has said that he does not want to trade Pence and Pence has made it clear he would like to stay. All of that changes if the Reds present the Giants with a package of the players that they can not pass up. The Reds may be able to build a package such as this, but would they be able to take on the roughly 4.6 million still owed to Pence?
Estimated Package Needed:
Robert Stephenson
Jesse Winkler
Chris Heisey
Odds of Occurring: 3/10
2. Alex Rios, Chicago White Sox Outfielder
Salary: 12.5 Million (Under contract for 2014)
The White Sox have already shown that they are sellers this season and are willing to make deals after sending Jake Peavy to Boston. Rios would fit in nicely with the Reds, but much like with Pence he comes with a hefty price tag and the issue of once Ryan Ludwick returns of having too many high priced outfielders. Rios would bring a combination of speed (22 steals) and power to a lineup that desperately needs such things. Rios could fit nicely into the death trap that has been the #2 spot in the lineup. It seems like the Reds may be more interested in acquiring Rios because he is under contract for next year as well and could be shifted to center field in 2014 after the expected loss of Shin Shoo Choo. A small problem may have flared up last night as Rios left the White Sox game with a foot injury.
Estimated Package Needed:
Robert Stephenson
Phil Ervin
Neftali Soto
Odds of Occurring: 4/10
3.Marlon Byrd, New York Mets Outfielder
Salary: 700,000
A guy that no team wanted to touch in the off season suddenly has 17 home runs and 60 RBI while batting .282. Byrd is cheap and can play all three outfield positions while bringing some right handed pop to the order. He is not the typical #2 spot hitter but the Reds could position him into the cleanup spot and move Brandon Phillips back up to #2. Byrd has also hit these home runs while playing for the Mets in spacious Citi Field, imagine what he could do with the short fence in left field of GABP. Byrd is a free agent at the end of the season and will receive quite a pay raise so this would be a rental player by definition but may come cheaper than the previous two individuals discussed. Strangely, I have not seen any reports of the Reds connected to Byrd.
Estimated Package Needed:
Jesse Winkler
Low Level Pitcher
Odds of Occurring: 4/10
4. Rajai Davis, Toronto Blue Jays Outfielder
Salary: 2.5 Million
Davis has not been discussed as a possibility to the Reds by any reports that I have come across but I can see how a guy like Davis, who's price tag and required prospects is much lower, can help a Reds team needing to score some runs. The Reds could slot Davis in the leadoff hole (.282 BA, .327 OBP) where he would bring some much needed speed (31 SBs) and then move Choo into the #2 spot in front of Votto where he would see many more fastballs and way less off speed pitches. Davis is above average in the outfield, and once Ludwick comes off the DL would be a very feasible right handed bat off the bench who can steal you an important base late in a game.
Estimated Package Needed:
Ismael Guillon
Odds of Occuring: 2/10
Other Names to Keep an Eye On:
Placido Polanco, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Quentin,
Obviously, I have zero real knowledge as to what the Reds organization is thinking or planning on doing but these are some intriguing thoughts that could help out the ball club. I would almost be willing to bet that if Jocketty pulls the trigger on a trade it will be for someone that we are not expecting and haven't heard anything about, don't forget that he was the mastermind behind the Scott Rolen deal and bringing Jonathon Broxton here out of no where last season. He also brought Rolen, Woody Williams and Jim Edmonds to St. Louis at the deadline when those teams needed help. My gut tells me that the Reds make a move and it will be someone to surprise us all.
1. Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants Outfielder
Salary: 13.8 Million
While I personally believe that Pence would bring a fire and some verbal leadership to the Reds there are just too many problems standing in the way of this trade taking place. Pence to the Reds has been a hot rumor over the last few days, but Brian Sabian (Giants GM) has said that he does not want to trade Pence and Pence has made it clear he would like to stay. All of that changes if the Reds present the Giants with a package of the players that they can not pass up. The Reds may be able to build a package such as this, but would they be able to take on the roughly 4.6 million still owed to Pence?
Estimated Package Needed:
Robert Stephenson
Jesse Winkler
Chris Heisey
Odds of Occurring: 3/10
2. Alex Rios, Chicago White Sox Outfielder
Salary: 12.5 Million (Under contract for 2014)
The White Sox have already shown that they are sellers this season and are willing to make deals after sending Jake Peavy to Boston. Rios would fit in nicely with the Reds, but much like with Pence he comes with a hefty price tag and the issue of once Ryan Ludwick returns of having too many high priced outfielders. Rios would bring a combination of speed (22 steals) and power to a lineup that desperately needs such things. Rios could fit nicely into the death trap that has been the #2 spot in the lineup. It seems like the Reds may be more interested in acquiring Rios because he is under contract for next year as well and could be shifted to center field in 2014 after the expected loss of Shin Shoo Choo. A small problem may have flared up last night as Rios left the White Sox game with a foot injury.
Estimated Package Needed:
Robert Stephenson
Phil Ervin
Neftali Soto
Odds of Occurring: 4/10
3.Marlon Byrd, New York Mets Outfielder
Salary: 700,000
A guy that no team wanted to touch in the off season suddenly has 17 home runs and 60 RBI while batting .282. Byrd is cheap and can play all three outfield positions while bringing some right handed pop to the order. He is not the typical #2 spot hitter but the Reds could position him into the cleanup spot and move Brandon Phillips back up to #2. Byrd has also hit these home runs while playing for the Mets in spacious Citi Field, imagine what he could do with the short fence in left field of GABP. Byrd is a free agent at the end of the season and will receive quite a pay raise so this would be a rental player by definition but may come cheaper than the previous two individuals discussed. Strangely, I have not seen any reports of the Reds connected to Byrd.
Estimated Package Needed:
Jesse Winkler
Low Level Pitcher
Odds of Occurring: 4/10
4. Rajai Davis, Toronto Blue Jays Outfielder
Salary: 2.5 Million
Davis has not been discussed as a possibility to the Reds by any reports that I have come across but I can see how a guy like Davis, who's price tag and required prospects is much lower, can help a Reds team needing to score some runs. The Reds could slot Davis in the leadoff hole (.282 BA, .327 OBP) where he would bring some much needed speed (31 SBs) and then move Choo into the #2 spot in front of Votto where he would see many more fastballs and way less off speed pitches. Davis is above average in the outfield, and once Ludwick comes off the DL would be a very feasible right handed bat off the bench who can steal you an important base late in a game.
Estimated Package Needed:
Ismael Guillon
Odds of Occuring: 2/10
Other Names to Keep an Eye On:
Placido Polanco, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Quentin,
Obviously, I have zero real knowledge as to what the Reds organization is thinking or planning on doing but these are some intriguing thoughts that could help out the ball club. I would almost be willing to bet that if Jocketty pulls the trigger on a trade it will be for someone that we are not expecting and haven't heard anything about, don't forget that he was the mastermind behind the Scott Rolen deal and bringing Jonathon Broxton here out of no where last season. He also brought Rolen, Woody Williams and Jim Edmonds to St. Louis at the deadline when those teams needed help. My gut tells me that the Reds make a move and it will be someone to surprise us all.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Thrice is Nice
1. I am always the optimist when it comes to the Reds and I will always explain out why everything is not an issue, but even I am wondering if we should began to worry a little bit? Naturally, I could say that over the last two games the pitching staff has given up 3 runs in 20 innings, but at the same time the Reds have scored 1. This offense needs a shot in the arm, but I'm not sure where they are going to get it. Personally, I am not sold on Ryan Ludwick coming back and making a huge impact but I also thought Austin Kearns would end up being an All-Star. Hopefully I am wrong. The biggest problem is that the Reds, if they make the post season, will have to face the top of rotations and I am just not sure that they can handle that right now. On the bright side they remain 5 games back with 55 to play, which is certainly capable of overcoming but they need to get on a streak and they need to do it now.
2. How about Mike Leake and his ability to not lose ballgames. Leake went 7 shutout innings again last night and should have been rewarded with his 11th win on the season. At the beginning of the season we were all clamoring for Aroldis Chapman (How does Chris Denorfia own this guy?) to be the fifth starter and send Mike Leake to AAA. Can you imagine where this team would be if Mike Leake was not a starter? Dusty Baker takes a lot of blame on a lot of things, mostly that are not fault, and yet no one wants to give the guy credit for sticking by Leake and keeping him in the rotation. If at the beginning of the year I told you to name a Reds pitcher that will finish in the top 10 in Cy Young voting and you picked Leake, raise your hand. Now, put your hand back down because you are lying. The guy has had an incredible season to this point and does not appear to be stopping, now if only the Reds could start producing a few more runs for him.
3. I like young and fiery coaches because I think that they can get a little more out of their players and they excite the fans more often. Case in point, Rob Chudzinski, who at practice two days ago did not think that crowd at Browns training camp (all recording breaking 4,500 of them) was into the practice enough and that it was too quiet. The Browns were ending practice with an 11 on 11 Redzone drill with the first teamers pitted against each other. Before 4th down, Chud stopped the drill and walked over to the crowd and yelled to them that it's "Fourth down for the game" and began waving his arms up and down to entice the crowd to get all loud and rowdy as they could. I am not just saying this because I am a Browns fan, but rather because I have read articles and seen on the sidelines were coaches like Mike Tomlin and Jim Harbaugh act like they are a 27 year old linebacker celebrating with a player. My point in all of this? I do not really have an overlaying point beyond the fact that I think that a coach that is willing to get pumped up and show emotion will always be better for their players and more successful.
Programing Note: The top 50 "This is SportsCenter" commercials will be aired on Thursday at 8pm on ESPN. I highly suggest watching, and setting the DVR so you can watch again later. A sneak peak at my favorite "This is SportsCenter" commercial.
2. How about Mike Leake and his ability to not lose ballgames. Leake went 7 shutout innings again last night and should have been rewarded with his 11th win on the season. At the beginning of the season we were all clamoring for Aroldis Chapman (How does Chris Denorfia own this guy?) to be the fifth starter and send Mike Leake to AAA. Can you imagine where this team would be if Mike Leake was not a starter? Dusty Baker takes a lot of blame on a lot of things, mostly that are not fault, and yet no one wants to give the guy credit for sticking by Leake and keeping him in the rotation. If at the beginning of the year I told you to name a Reds pitcher that will finish in the top 10 in Cy Young voting and you picked Leake, raise your hand. Now, put your hand back down because you are lying. The guy has had an incredible season to this point and does not appear to be stopping, now if only the Reds could start producing a few more runs for him.
3. I like young and fiery coaches because I think that they can get a little more out of their players and they excite the fans more often. Case in point, Rob Chudzinski, who at practice two days ago did not think that crowd at Browns training camp (all recording breaking 4,500 of them) was into the practice enough and that it was too quiet. The Browns were ending practice with an 11 on 11 Redzone drill with the first teamers pitted against each other. Before 4th down, Chud stopped the drill and walked over to the crowd and yelled to them that it's "Fourth down for the game" and began waving his arms up and down to entice the crowd to get all loud and rowdy as they could. I am not just saying this because I am a Browns fan, but rather because I have read articles and seen on the sidelines were coaches like Mike Tomlin and Jim Harbaugh act like they are a 27 year old linebacker celebrating with a player. My point in all of this? I do not really have an overlaying point beyond the fact that I think that a coach that is willing to get pumped up and show emotion will always be better for their players and more successful.
Programing Note: The top 50 "This is SportsCenter" commercials will be aired on Thursday at 8pm on ESPN. I highly suggest watching, and setting the DVR so you can watch again later. A sneak peak at my favorite "This is SportsCenter" commercial.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Thrice is Nice
Hello! I hope everyone had a great weekend and hopefully a great next week.
1. Yasiel Puig is going to get hit very hard by a pitcher one day who does not enjoy his antics. I understand that he is just playing "with enthusiasm and excitement" but there is a difference between that and showing up an opposing team. In the 11th inning yesterday, Puig hit a walk off home to beat the Reds, and call me bitter, but I did not like the way he celebrated. Puig tossed the bat threw both hands skyward before jogging around the bases and sliding into home plate. Oh he wasn't finished, as he then leaped straight into the air as if he were superman taking off. You would think that his celebrating would be completed there, but still, it was not. Puig ripped off his jersey in celebration. Simply put, if there is game one of a three game series, Puig is taking one between the numbers tomorrow. And when that happens, any one want to wager with me if he overreacts or not? I'll take 20 that says he does.
2. The NFL training camp injury bug is hitting some teams very hard right now and we are only in the first week. I am not discussing borderline roster players either, I am talking about guys that were going to be vital to certain team's success or lack there of this season. The loss of Jeremy Maclin (torn ACL) is huge for the Eagles because without him, DeSean Jackson really struggles to get open as he has to contend with the number one defensive back on the opposing team. Dennis Pitta, in what sounds like the most painful injury in the world, dislocated his hip this weekend. Yes, his hip is no longer located where it should be. Pitta, lost for the year, is another piece of the defending champs arsenal who will not be playing this year. With the trade of Anquan Boldin, Pitta was expected to step up and become a playmaker for this team. With respect to these two, the most damaging injury sustained this weekend occurred in Englewood, Colorado when Dan Koppen tore his ACL. Koppen, the starting center for the Broncos, was the leader of an offensive line that protects Peyton Manning. The last thing that Broncos need is for Manning to end up on his back a lot.
3. Why are teams fighting each other for Greg Oden? True, he is a 7 foot, 25 year old former number one overall pick, in possibly the second worst decision in a draft ever (Bowie over Jordan, Oden over Durant). While all of that is true, he is also a player who has played a TOTAL of 82 games since the 2007 season. That would equal to one complete season over the span of 6 years. I understand talent and the idea of potential, but I do not understand a team thinking that they have to sign a guy who will give them seven minutes a game and average 2 points and 3 rebounds. Mostly though, I do not understand why ESPN feels the need to tell me all about Greg Oden, oh wait it is because the Heat are considering signing him. Tim Hardaway, now a Heat scout, even went as far as saying that they would win a third straight title if they signed Oden. Why? Because every championship contender needs to have a giant injured man waving towels on the sidelines leading the crowd in celebration?
Please remember once is good enough, twice is OK, but Thrice is Nice.
1. Yasiel Puig is going to get hit very hard by a pitcher one day who does not enjoy his antics. I understand that he is just playing "with enthusiasm and excitement" but there is a difference between that and showing up an opposing team. In the 11th inning yesterday, Puig hit a walk off home to beat the Reds, and call me bitter, but I did not like the way he celebrated. Puig tossed the bat threw both hands skyward before jogging around the bases and sliding into home plate. Oh he wasn't finished, as he then leaped straight into the air as if he were superman taking off. You would think that his celebrating would be completed there, but still, it was not. Puig ripped off his jersey in celebration. Simply put, if there is game one of a three game series, Puig is taking one between the numbers tomorrow. And when that happens, any one want to wager with me if he overreacts or not? I'll take 20 that says he does.
2. The NFL training camp injury bug is hitting some teams very hard right now and we are only in the first week. I am not discussing borderline roster players either, I am talking about guys that were going to be vital to certain team's success or lack there of this season. The loss of Jeremy Maclin (torn ACL) is huge for the Eagles because without him, DeSean Jackson really struggles to get open as he has to contend with the number one defensive back on the opposing team. Dennis Pitta, in what sounds like the most painful injury in the world, dislocated his hip this weekend. Yes, his hip is no longer located where it should be. Pitta, lost for the year, is another piece of the defending champs arsenal who will not be playing this year. With the trade of Anquan Boldin, Pitta was expected to step up and become a playmaker for this team. With respect to these two, the most damaging injury sustained this weekend occurred in Englewood, Colorado when Dan Koppen tore his ACL. Koppen, the starting center for the Broncos, was the leader of an offensive line that protects Peyton Manning. The last thing that Broncos need is for Manning to end up on his back a lot.
3. Why are teams fighting each other for Greg Oden? True, he is a 7 foot, 25 year old former number one overall pick, in possibly the second worst decision in a draft ever (Bowie over Jordan, Oden over Durant). While all of that is true, he is also a player who has played a TOTAL of 82 games since the 2007 season. That would equal to one complete season over the span of 6 years. I understand talent and the idea of potential, but I do not understand a team thinking that they have to sign a guy who will give them seven minutes a game and average 2 points and 3 rebounds. Mostly though, I do not understand why ESPN feels the need to tell me all about Greg Oden, oh wait it is because the Heat are considering signing him. Tim Hardaway, now a Heat scout, even went as far as saying that they would win a third straight title if they signed Oden. Why? Because every championship contender needs to have a giant injured man waving towels on the sidelines leading the crowd in celebration?
Please remember once is good enough, twice is OK, but Thrice is Nice.
Did Someone Mention Football?
Baseball is America's past time, but Football is America's passion. The Reds are in the middle of a heated playoff race and the NBA is in the middle of a free agency period but all America cares about is football. Matthew Berry tweeted this weekend that yesterday was the last Sunday of the calendar year to not have football, and that may be the best news I heard all week.
Training camps have started all over the NFL and the Hall of Fame game will be kicking off in Canton next weekend, so naturally that means that I am more excited than a little kid who just received his birthday key to enter the castle at Johnny's Toys. This also means that you will here every "pundit" and know it all tell you things between now and September 8th that they "know" will happen this football season. I am not so arrogant as to tell you that I will know anything for sure that will happen this season except that some people will win, some will lose and Tim Tebow will get camera time for no apparent reason. Despite this, I am going to tell you some things that I think will happen this season, and even though I am not an expert, I am the writer of this blog. So here are some NFC predictions for he upcoming season: some good, some bad, and some weird.
NFC East
Dallas:
- Dez Bryant enters the elite wide receiver conversation and is discussed with the likes of Calvin Johnson and AJ Green as a top three receiver.
- Someone not named DeMarco Murray leads the Cowboys in rushing yards.
NY Giants:
- Tom Coughlin is on the hot seat by week 8 after a 3-5 start to the season.
- Eli, despite throwing more touchdowns over those 8 weeks than any other quarterback, dodges the majority of the blame
Philadelphia:
- Chip Kelly's offense works and they put up 35 points in week one
- By week four, every team has enough film to stop all of the gimmicks and the offense begins to fail. Think: Wildcat Formation
Washington:
- RG3 starts and plays well in week one despite no playing time in the preseason.
- Alfred Morris proves to be yet another one year stud for Mike Shanahan and is replaced as the starting running back in week 10.
NFC North
Chicago:
- Jay Cutler has the best season of his career and leads the Bears to the NFC Championship game.
- Brandon Marshall gets ejected from a game and suspended two weeks.
Detroit:
- Comparisons to the "greatest show on turf" become legitimate
- Reggie Bush is an All-Pro with 2,000 total yards and double digit touchdowns
Green Bay:
- Eddie Lacy completes the most explosive offense in the NFL and wins Rookie of the Year
- Defeat Detroit in a game comparable to Madden. Final Score: 49- 45.
Minnesota:
- Christian Ponder proves how bad he really is.
- Greg Jennings plays six games
NFC South
Atlanta:
- JazQuizz Rodgers, not Steven Jackson, leads the Falcons in rushing yards
- Matt Ryan finishes third in MVP voting
New Orleans:
- Drew Brees throws for over 5,000 yards, again
- Drew Brees throws for over 30 interceptions
Tampa Bay:
- Revamped secondary helps to propel the Bucs to a top five defensive ranking
- Doug Martin proves to be the real deal and racks up 1,600 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns
Carolina:
- Cam Newton leads the Panthers in passing yards and rushing yards.
- Carolina ends the season with five wins.
NFC West:
Arizona:
- Carson Palmer, back near the West Coast, returns to form and looks like a viable NFL starter again.
- Ryan Williams becomes feature back by week five
San Francisco:
- Michael Crabtree returns in week 11
- Frank Gore gets injured week 1, and opens the door for LaMichael James, who becomes a star
Seattle:
- Percy Harvin never sees the field
- Marshawn Lynch becomes latest running back to run for 2,000 yards
St. Louis:
- Three running backs will each run for at least 500 yards but no one will rush for more than 700
- Tavon Austin = Bust
Playoff Picture
Division Winner:
San Francisco
Atlanta
Green Bay
Dallas
Wild Cards:
Chicago
Seattle
NFC Championship:
Chicago vs Atlanta
Atlanta Falcons will be the NFC Champions
Training camps have started all over the NFL and the Hall of Fame game will be kicking off in Canton next weekend, so naturally that means that I am more excited than a little kid who just received his birthday key to enter the castle at Johnny's Toys. This also means that you will here every "pundit" and know it all tell you things between now and September 8th that they "know" will happen this football season. I am not so arrogant as to tell you that I will know anything for sure that will happen this season except that some people will win, some will lose and Tim Tebow will get camera time for no apparent reason. Despite this, I am going to tell you some things that I think will happen this season, and even though I am not an expert, I am the writer of this blog. So here are some NFC predictions for he upcoming season: some good, some bad, and some weird.
NFC East
Dallas:
- Dez Bryant enters the elite wide receiver conversation and is discussed with the likes of Calvin Johnson and AJ Green as a top three receiver.
- Someone not named DeMarco Murray leads the Cowboys in rushing yards.
NY Giants:
- Tom Coughlin is on the hot seat by week 8 after a 3-5 start to the season.
- Eli, despite throwing more touchdowns over those 8 weeks than any other quarterback, dodges the majority of the blame
Philadelphia:
- Chip Kelly's offense works and they put up 35 points in week one
- By week four, every team has enough film to stop all of the gimmicks and the offense begins to fail. Think: Wildcat Formation
Washington:
- RG3 starts and plays well in week one despite no playing time in the preseason.
- Alfred Morris proves to be yet another one year stud for Mike Shanahan and is replaced as the starting running back in week 10.
NFC North
Chicago:
- Jay Cutler has the best season of his career and leads the Bears to the NFC Championship game.
- Brandon Marshall gets ejected from a game and suspended two weeks.
Detroit:
- Comparisons to the "greatest show on turf" become legitimate
- Reggie Bush is an All-Pro with 2,000 total yards and double digit touchdowns
Green Bay:
- Eddie Lacy completes the most explosive offense in the NFL and wins Rookie of the Year
- Defeat Detroit in a game comparable to Madden. Final Score: 49- 45.
Minnesota:
- Christian Ponder proves how bad he really is.
- Greg Jennings plays six games
NFC South
Atlanta:
- JazQuizz Rodgers, not Steven Jackson, leads the Falcons in rushing yards
- Matt Ryan finishes third in MVP voting
New Orleans:
- Drew Brees throws for over 5,000 yards, again
- Drew Brees throws for over 30 interceptions
Tampa Bay:
- Revamped secondary helps to propel the Bucs to a top five defensive ranking
- Doug Martin proves to be the real deal and racks up 1,600 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns
Carolina:
- Cam Newton leads the Panthers in passing yards and rushing yards.
- Carolina ends the season with five wins.
NFC West:
Arizona:
- Carson Palmer, back near the West Coast, returns to form and looks like a viable NFL starter again.
- Ryan Williams becomes feature back by week five
San Francisco:
- Michael Crabtree returns in week 11
- Frank Gore gets injured week 1, and opens the door for LaMichael James, who becomes a star
Seattle:
- Percy Harvin never sees the field
- Marshawn Lynch becomes latest running back to run for 2,000 yards
St. Louis:
- Three running backs will each run for at least 500 yards but no one will rush for more than 700
- Tavon Austin = Bust
Playoff Picture
Division Winner:
San Francisco
Atlanta
Green Bay
Dallas
Wild Cards:
Chicago
Seattle
NFC Championship:
Chicago vs Atlanta
Atlanta Falcons will be the NFC Champions
Friday, July 26, 2013
Thrice is Nice
Starting today I will post a daily "Thrice is Nice" column in which I discuss three of my main sports and non sports related thoughts for the day. I will still make other posts but each day at 3:00pm I will post the Thrice as Nice daily column.
1. I am excited to see how the battle of the AFC North plays out this season (spoiler alert: Previews of each AFC North team are coming soon). There are four teams in this division that I believe are a lot closer in ability than people realize and I firmly believe that all four teams will end the season somewhere between 7-9 and 10-6. I can't help but think how much of a negative impact trading Anquan Boldin mixed with the losses of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed will have on the defending champs, while Pittsburgh is relying on rookie running backs, the loss of Mike Wallace, and battling age. Positive youth movements in Cincinnati and, to a lesser effect, in Cleveland create two more very competitive teams. As of today, my pick to win the AFC North plays their homes game on the banks of the Ohio River. (That kills me to say)
2. The Redlegs keep winning and proving that they can now go out to the West Coast and compete with teams three time zones away. From 2005-2010 the Reds went 16-35 against the likes of San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles, but this year the fortunes have certainly changed. The Reds needed to win on this road trip out West and done it to this point. Winning 3 out of 4 in San Francisco and the first in LA has continued to build the recent momentum for the Reds. Winners of 8 out of 10 and 9 out of 12, the Reds are showing how strong of a team they can really be. Oh, and they will soon get Ryan Ludwick, Sean Marshall, Ryan Hanigan, and Jonathon Broxton back. Watch out St. Louis and Pittsburgh, the Redlegs are coming for you.
3. I am a not a fan of these year long retirement celebrations that are taking over major league baseball. Last season we had to watch Chipper Jones, who is one of my least favorite players of all time, receive gift after gift from every team they played. Now this year its Mariano Rivera, who honestly is easier to watch get celebrated on a night basis, but it is outrageous that we have to celebrate a player who does not play for our team simply because they are retiring. They did not do this for Jr. Griffey or Fred McGriff or Pete Rose but we do it for Chipper Jones? I miss the days that players did not like each other and did not want to hug, laugh, and high five each other. Please stop giving away gifts to everyone that retires.
Have a great weekend everyone and remember once is good enough, twice is ok, but Thrice is Nice.
1. I am excited to see how the battle of the AFC North plays out this season (spoiler alert: Previews of each AFC North team are coming soon). There are four teams in this division that I believe are a lot closer in ability than people realize and I firmly believe that all four teams will end the season somewhere between 7-9 and 10-6. I can't help but think how much of a negative impact trading Anquan Boldin mixed with the losses of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed will have on the defending champs, while Pittsburgh is relying on rookie running backs, the loss of Mike Wallace, and battling age. Positive youth movements in Cincinnati and, to a lesser effect, in Cleveland create two more very competitive teams. As of today, my pick to win the AFC North plays their homes game on the banks of the Ohio River. (That kills me to say)
2. The Redlegs keep winning and proving that they can now go out to the West Coast and compete with teams three time zones away. From 2005-2010 the Reds went 16-35 against the likes of San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles, but this year the fortunes have certainly changed. The Reds needed to win on this road trip out West and done it to this point. Winning 3 out of 4 in San Francisco and the first in LA has continued to build the recent momentum for the Reds. Winners of 8 out of 10 and 9 out of 12, the Reds are showing how strong of a team they can really be. Oh, and they will soon get Ryan Ludwick, Sean Marshall, Ryan Hanigan, and Jonathon Broxton back. Watch out St. Louis and Pittsburgh, the Redlegs are coming for you.
3. I am a not a fan of these year long retirement celebrations that are taking over major league baseball. Last season we had to watch Chipper Jones, who is one of my least favorite players of all time, receive gift after gift from every team they played. Now this year its Mariano Rivera, who honestly is easier to watch get celebrated on a night basis, but it is outrageous that we have to celebrate a player who does not play for our team simply because they are retiring. They did not do this for Jr. Griffey or Fred McGriff or Pete Rose but we do it for Chipper Jones? I miss the days that players did not like each other and did not want to hug, laugh, and high five each other. Please stop giving away gifts to everyone that retires.
Have a great weekend everyone and remember once is good enough, twice is ok, but Thrice is Nice.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Why Do We Love This Game?
Why do we love the game of golf? You never hear anyone say, "Yeah, I'm pretty good at golf and I love all the shots that I make." In fact, typically what you hear is closer to, "I am terrible at golf and I have no idea why." There is literally no other sport that people routinely participate in, that they know they will not succeed and they know that they will likely leave the course angry and disappointed. So why do we do it? We do it because of "hole 8".
Hole 8 is the one hole that every round of golf has that makes the golfer feel like they can one day become good. Obviously, it is not always hole 8, but it is the hole that you will go home and tell your friends, wife, girl friend, neighbor, homeless guy down the street and everyone on Facebook about. It is the hole that for some reason you managed to hit your driver down the middle of the fairway and backed that up with a great approach shot only to two putt for par, or better yet one putt for birdie. Yes, this will only happen roughly one to two times a round, and yet we will shovel out hundreds of dollars a year to go out and torture ourselves, all for that elusive "hole 8". We do not do this for anything else, I do not pay 30 - 40 dollars to go stand and sing poorly, so why do I consistently pay that amount of money to lose golf ball after golf ball? I do it for that one par, that one birdie, that one drive.
With this in mind, and of course the realization that regardless of how much I focus I will still stink, I went and played a round of golf today. I was sure that I was going to play the best round of my life and be able to tell everyone about it, and you better believe that I was going to tell EVERYONE about it. I already had my list of people to brag to prepared (I would like to point out that playing my best round would be breaking 94).
Yea, I am terrible. Or am I? The average weekend golfer in the United States shoots roughly a 100, or 5.6 strokes a hole, or 28 stokes over PAR! What does this tell us? It tells us that we all stink and we should most likely stop spending money to torture ourselves every Saturday and Sunday. Regardless, I gave it a shot today at Elks Run in Batavia.
(One of the more beautiful courses in Clermont County)
When you are a bad golfer, there is no worse feeling or greater level of anxiety than when people watch you golf and more importantly, watch you tee off. So naturally, as myself and Ben (the guy I was golfing with) went to our first hole, we were greeted by the ranger and a group of guys that were supposed to tee off in front of us. Of course, they were not ready when we got there so we were told to go ahead which only meant that they would be playing directly behind us and creating an unneeded amount of discomfort and terrible playing. Again, why are we spending money to play a game that we do not want anyone to see us playing and if we do, we are automatically more terrible than we already are?
I step up to the first tee box, we decided to play the second longest tees (we are idiots) and I am psyched and sure that I will be able to drive this ball exactly where I want to hit it and I will impress these guys playing behind us (did I mention idiots?). While on that subject, why are we always so certain that the people playing behind us and watching are great golfers? They probably stink too. Anyhow, I swing as hard as possible on the first hole and what do you know? I nearly knock over a tree by ramming the ball off of it as hard as possible and creating a noise that sounds as if lightning also struck the tree at the same time as my ball. In the truest form of being a bad golfer and a hopeless player, my greatest disappointed in this series of events is that my ball did not bounce off of the tree and into the fairway. Lost ball number one.
I decide that I will tee off a second time because it is the first hole and I deserve a practice drive. Wrong. I deserve nothing, in fact I probably deserve to go home and realize that I do not belong on a course that is nice. Despite this, I play and send my second drive roughly 200 yards to the right of the fairway into the parking lot. To my surprise, I do not hear a window shatter or a human scream out in pain. That's a win for me. Lost ball number two.
After roughly 115 more shots, which felt closer to 150 more shots I complete my round and feel like I should never set foot on a putt putt course again, yet alone a golf course. But I will, because on hole 8 I got a par. Sure, it was a par three and I did two putt, but to me that was a hole that I wanted to tell everyone about. That is the reason that we play, that one hole that sticks in our head. We do not remember the details of the terrible drives or the missed putts, but I can tell you that I used my 9 iron and landed my tee shot about 15 feet from the flag and then left my birdie putt about four feet short. Those were my five minutes of glory and I will not forget them, just like you will not forget your "hole 8" during your next round.
This should be embarrassing for me, except that at least half of the people reading this will be thinking to themselves that they know exactly what I am talking about and can imagine everything that I just described. We are all bad, we will all always be bad, and all the young people starting to play will also be bad. It is a game where being "less bad" makes you good. No less than 10 times I found myself today saying that golf was stupid or wanting to throw my clubs, but come Saturday or Sunday I will be ready to go out there again and make a fool of myself. So why do we love this game? We love it because of hole 8.
Hole 8 is the one hole that every round of golf has that makes the golfer feel like they can one day become good. Obviously, it is not always hole 8, but it is the hole that you will go home and tell your friends, wife, girl friend, neighbor, homeless guy down the street and everyone on Facebook about. It is the hole that for some reason you managed to hit your driver down the middle of the fairway and backed that up with a great approach shot only to two putt for par, or better yet one putt for birdie. Yes, this will only happen roughly one to two times a round, and yet we will shovel out hundreds of dollars a year to go out and torture ourselves, all for that elusive "hole 8". We do not do this for anything else, I do not pay 30 - 40 dollars to go stand and sing poorly, so why do I consistently pay that amount of money to lose golf ball after golf ball? I do it for that one par, that one birdie, that one drive.
With this in mind, and of course the realization that regardless of how much I focus I will still stink, I went and played a round of golf today. I was sure that I was going to play the best round of my life and be able to tell everyone about it, and you better believe that I was going to tell EVERYONE about it. I already had my list of people to brag to prepared (I would like to point out that playing my best round would be breaking 94).
Yea, I am terrible. Or am I? The average weekend golfer in the United States shoots roughly a 100, or 5.6 strokes a hole, or 28 stokes over PAR! What does this tell us? It tells us that we all stink and we should most likely stop spending money to torture ourselves every Saturday and Sunday. Regardless, I gave it a shot today at Elks Run in Batavia.
(One of the more beautiful courses in Clermont County)
When you are a bad golfer, there is no worse feeling or greater level of anxiety than when people watch you golf and more importantly, watch you tee off. So naturally, as myself and Ben (the guy I was golfing with) went to our first hole, we were greeted by the ranger and a group of guys that were supposed to tee off in front of us. Of course, they were not ready when we got there so we were told to go ahead which only meant that they would be playing directly behind us and creating an unneeded amount of discomfort and terrible playing. Again, why are we spending money to play a game that we do not want anyone to see us playing and if we do, we are automatically more terrible than we already are?
I step up to the first tee box, we decided to play the second longest tees (we are idiots) and I am psyched and sure that I will be able to drive this ball exactly where I want to hit it and I will impress these guys playing behind us (did I mention idiots?). While on that subject, why are we always so certain that the people playing behind us and watching are great golfers? They probably stink too. Anyhow, I swing as hard as possible on the first hole and what do you know? I nearly knock over a tree by ramming the ball off of it as hard as possible and creating a noise that sounds as if lightning also struck the tree at the same time as my ball. In the truest form of being a bad golfer and a hopeless player, my greatest disappointed in this series of events is that my ball did not bounce off of the tree and into the fairway. Lost ball number one.
I decide that I will tee off a second time because it is the first hole and I deserve a practice drive. Wrong. I deserve nothing, in fact I probably deserve to go home and realize that I do not belong on a course that is nice. Despite this, I play and send my second drive roughly 200 yards to the right of the fairway into the parking lot. To my surprise, I do not hear a window shatter or a human scream out in pain. That's a win for me. Lost ball number two.
After roughly 115 more shots, which felt closer to 150 more shots I complete my round and feel like I should never set foot on a putt putt course again, yet alone a golf course. But I will, because on hole 8 I got a par. Sure, it was a par three and I did two putt, but to me that was a hole that I wanted to tell everyone about. That is the reason that we play, that one hole that sticks in our head. We do not remember the details of the terrible drives or the missed putts, but I can tell you that I used my 9 iron and landed my tee shot about 15 feet from the flag and then left my birdie putt about four feet short. Those were my five minutes of glory and I will not forget them, just like you will not forget your "hole 8" during your next round.
This should be embarrassing for me, except that at least half of the people reading this will be thinking to themselves that they know exactly what I am talking about and can imagine everything that I just described. We are all bad, we will all always be bad, and all the young people starting to play will also be bad. It is a game where being "less bad" makes you good. No less than 10 times I found myself today saying that golf was stupid or wanting to throw my clubs, but come Saturday or Sunday I will be ready to go out there again and make a fool of myself. So why do we love this game? We love it because of hole 8.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
How to Make Up 4.5 Games with 63 Games to Play
There are two ways to look at being down 4.5 games to the best team in baseball with only 63 games to be played, you can either look at it and think there is no way that we can play five games better than a team with a .615 winning percentage or you can think that you still have 63 games to go to make up only five games. I prefer to take the second approach and here are five things that need to happen for the Reds to be able to win the Central Division.
Before we get this started, I want clarify that these will all be things that the Reds need to happen or need to do and not things that the Pirates or Cardinals need to have happen to them. The only team that the Reds can really worry about is themselves, if they win they will be in a good position and if they lose then they won't its that simple. The hard part is winning, but here are some helpful ways to make that happen:
1. Be Smart at the Trade Deadline
Baseball fans everywhere love the trade deadline because it means that your team might actually make a trade and pick up a big name. More than likely what it means is that your team will give away a prospect for an aging veteran that in two years will not be the player that you traded for this year. Yes, if that player helps put you over the top and sends you to a World Series ring (see Pence, Hunter and San Francisco Giants 2012) then you be all means do it but you do not stretch at the deadline and send great prospects for a mediocre player in return just becasue it will bring about change. Change for change sake is not good. In 2011, the Texas Rangers traded Chris Davis AND Tommy Hunter to the Orioles for Koji Uehara. Yes, that Chris Davis. Did Texas need bullpen help? Yes, but would they have made that same trade in February? No. That is the trickiness of the Trading Deadline, general managers begin thinking that they have to make a trade to make a splash as opposed to saying, "If the trade deadline were 6 months from now as opposed to tomorrow, would I do this?". Luckily for the Cincinnati Reds, they have Walt Jocketty at the helm and he is not one to panic or make a trade to simply make it. I have all the faith in the world that if the Reds make a trade, and I do think they will make a minor one, it will be a very well thought through trade that will not hinder the the future.
2. Get Healthy
Fans will want the Reds to trade for big names for the next couple of weeks and everyday there will be a new name attached to the team that everyone will be excited about, but if the player they are trading for is so good, why are they being traded? What if I told you that the Reds could trade Corky Miller, Curtis Partch, Logan Ondrusek, Denard Robinson, and Tony Cingrani for Ryan Hanigan, Jonathon Broxton, Sean Marshall, Ryan Ludwick and Johnny Cueto? That is exactly what the Reds can do by simply getting healthy over the next two months. For those of you not following along, the Reds can add a number one starter, great defensive catcher, right handed cleanup hitter, and a right and left handed set up guy and lose no one out of the organization. Getting these five individuals back and healthy would be the greatest haul of talent that anyone will get at the trade deadline this season. This team continues to hover without some of its most important pieces, they have a chance to explode when all those pieces finally come back together.
3. Have a Moment
This sounds dumb to begin with, I understand that, but really think about it. This Reds team has not had its signature moment of the season yet. Every great team has an unbelievable come from behind win or a special night that no one saw coming. Think back to the 2010 season, this Reds team had a moment but it is not what you are thinking. This is not Jay Bruce's moment. The 2010 moment was August 31st when Aroldis Chapman made his Major League Debut and the excitement overwhelmed the Cincinnati area. It was at that moment that people became believers and that is what this team needs now, they need a moment. They need that defining moment of the season when suddenly everyone in that dugout and everyone in this city begin to believe that we may have something special here, something along the lines of an unexpected walk off home run for a win that no one saw coming. The tough and amazing thing about predicting the having a moment, is that no one sees it coming.
4. Beat the Pirates and Cardinals
Simple right? You beat the teams that you have to jump over to win the Central. Yes, it is that easy but it also presents a huge opportunity for the Reds the rest of the way this season. There is no easier way to make up ground than to beat the team directly ahead of you. The Reds have 10 games remaining against the Cardinals including 7 at home, where they have more wins than any other team in the National League. The Pirates and Reds only face off 6 more times this season, but all in the last 9 games of the year. Combined that is 16 games against the teams directly ahead of you. If the Reds can go 11-5 or 10-6 in those games then they are right in the thick of things.
5. Beat Bad Teams
The Reds have been very good against bad teams this season, as you should be. While discussing this, why do so many people get bent out of shape about the fact that the Reds beat up on bad teams? A win is a win, and at the end of the year if you have more wins than the other teams, then you go to the playoffs. There is no such thing as a bad win in baseball. Anyhow, over the remaining 63 games the Reds play the Brewers, Astros, Mets, Cubs, Padres and Giants a combined 31 times. Those teams has a combined record of 250- 336, and that should only get worse as the Brewers will be playing without Ryan Braun and most likely Yovani Gallardo and the Cubs are trading everyone! August 9th-18th the Reds play 10 straight games against the Padres, Cubs, and Brewers and then on September 9th-18th they play 9 straight against the Brewers, Cubs, and Astros. Those are two stretches were the Reds need to put a lot of wins on the board. 31 games against those six teams should result in no less than 20 wins and you would hope closer to 23. I am a firm believer that you win a division by beating bad teams and doing mediocre against good ones.
If the Reds go 20-11 against bad teams and 10-6 against the Pirates and Cardinals that will bring their win total to 87 wins. They then have 16 games against solid, but not great teams remaining so even if they go 8-8 over that stretch, its a 95 win season and a trip to the Playoffs!
Before we get this started, I want clarify that these will all be things that the Reds need to happen or need to do and not things that the Pirates or Cardinals need to have happen to them. The only team that the Reds can really worry about is themselves, if they win they will be in a good position and if they lose then they won't its that simple. The hard part is winning, but here are some helpful ways to make that happen:
1. Be Smart at the Trade Deadline
Baseball fans everywhere love the trade deadline because it means that your team might actually make a trade and pick up a big name. More than likely what it means is that your team will give away a prospect for an aging veteran that in two years will not be the player that you traded for this year. Yes, if that player helps put you over the top and sends you to a World Series ring (see Pence, Hunter and San Francisco Giants 2012) then you be all means do it but you do not stretch at the deadline and send great prospects for a mediocre player in return just becasue it will bring about change. Change for change sake is not good. In 2011, the Texas Rangers traded Chris Davis AND Tommy Hunter to the Orioles for Koji Uehara. Yes, that Chris Davis. Did Texas need bullpen help? Yes, but would they have made that same trade in February? No. That is the trickiness of the Trading Deadline, general managers begin thinking that they have to make a trade to make a splash as opposed to saying, "If the trade deadline were 6 months from now as opposed to tomorrow, would I do this?". Luckily for the Cincinnati Reds, they have Walt Jocketty at the helm and he is not one to panic or make a trade to simply make it. I have all the faith in the world that if the Reds make a trade, and I do think they will make a minor one, it will be a very well thought through trade that will not hinder the the future.
2. Get Healthy
Fans will want the Reds to trade for big names for the next couple of weeks and everyday there will be a new name attached to the team that everyone will be excited about, but if the player they are trading for is so good, why are they being traded? What if I told you that the Reds could trade Corky Miller, Curtis Partch, Logan Ondrusek, Denard Robinson, and Tony Cingrani for Ryan Hanigan, Jonathon Broxton, Sean Marshall, Ryan Ludwick and Johnny Cueto? That is exactly what the Reds can do by simply getting healthy over the next two months. For those of you not following along, the Reds can add a number one starter, great defensive catcher, right handed cleanup hitter, and a right and left handed set up guy and lose no one out of the organization. Getting these five individuals back and healthy would be the greatest haul of talent that anyone will get at the trade deadline this season. This team continues to hover without some of its most important pieces, they have a chance to explode when all those pieces finally come back together.
3. Have a Moment
This sounds dumb to begin with, I understand that, but really think about it. This Reds team has not had its signature moment of the season yet. Every great team has an unbelievable come from behind win or a special night that no one saw coming. Think back to the 2010 season, this Reds team had a moment but it is not what you are thinking. This is not Jay Bruce's moment. The 2010 moment was August 31st when Aroldis Chapman made his Major League Debut and the excitement overwhelmed the Cincinnati area. It was at that moment that people became believers and that is what this team needs now, they need a moment. They need that defining moment of the season when suddenly everyone in that dugout and everyone in this city begin to believe that we may have something special here, something along the lines of an unexpected walk off home run for a win that no one saw coming. The tough and amazing thing about predicting the having a moment, is that no one sees it coming.
4. Beat the Pirates and Cardinals
Simple right? You beat the teams that you have to jump over to win the Central. Yes, it is that easy but it also presents a huge opportunity for the Reds the rest of the way this season. There is no easier way to make up ground than to beat the team directly ahead of you. The Reds have 10 games remaining against the Cardinals including 7 at home, where they have more wins than any other team in the National League. The Pirates and Reds only face off 6 more times this season, but all in the last 9 games of the year. Combined that is 16 games against the teams directly ahead of you. If the Reds can go 11-5 or 10-6 in those games then they are right in the thick of things.
5. Beat Bad Teams
The Reds have been very good against bad teams this season, as you should be. While discussing this, why do so many people get bent out of shape about the fact that the Reds beat up on bad teams? A win is a win, and at the end of the year if you have more wins than the other teams, then you go to the playoffs. There is no such thing as a bad win in baseball. Anyhow, over the remaining 63 games the Reds play the Brewers, Astros, Mets, Cubs, Padres and Giants a combined 31 times. Those teams has a combined record of 250- 336, and that should only get worse as the Brewers will be playing without Ryan Braun and most likely Yovani Gallardo and the Cubs are trading everyone! August 9th-18th the Reds play 10 straight games against the Padres, Cubs, and Brewers and then on September 9th-18th they play 9 straight against the Brewers, Cubs, and Astros. Those are two stretches were the Reds need to put a lot of wins on the board. 31 games against those six teams should result in no less than 20 wins and you would hope closer to 23. I am a firm believer that you win a division by beating bad teams and doing mediocre against good ones.
If the Reds go 20-11 against bad teams and 10-6 against the Pirates and Cardinals that will bring their win total to 87 wins. They then have 16 games against solid, but not great teams remaining so even if they go 8-8 over that stretch, its a 95 win season and a trip to the Playoffs!
IT'S BACK!!!!!
Hello Everyone! Sports According to Strine is making its triumphant, or not so much, return to the blogging world. It has been a while since I have had posted a new blog, but starting today I will be doing my best to write everyday again. I hope that for those of you that are starting to read again, you will begin to follow with as much enthusiasm and interest as you did before. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
I will not have time to write up a blog today, so instead I have found a few good reads and have them posted below. The writing and stories are probably better anyhow, so congrats on getting to read some professional writing for a change!
Scott Fajitia (NFL Linebacker) Op-Ed about Prop 8
Urinal Game at Minor League Ballpark
The 30 signs guys bring to games
Incredible High School Baseball Story
The most amazing football touchdown I have ever seen
(Not great quality of picture, but great quality of play)
One of the greatest fan running onto the field videos ever and then a full team brawl breaks out
Some of the best trick shots I have seen....
Scott Fajitia (NFL Linebacker) Op-Ed about Prop 8
Urinal Game at Minor League Ballpark
The 30 signs guys bring to games
Incredible High School Baseball Story
The most amazing football touchdown I have ever seen
(Not great quality of picture, but great quality of play)
One of the greatest fan running onto the field videos ever and then a full team brawl breaks out
Some of the best trick shots I have seen....
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