I was apprehensive to join Twitter because I knew that I would become addicted to it. I was out with some friends, about a year ago, and my friend talked me into signing up with her phone. I just posted a few “tweets” and then that turned into multiple “tweets” and now I’m on there all the time. I have around 1700 followers and it fluctuates daily. My Twitter name is @sweetbob and you can follow me by clicking here.
Here are the 22 sports people that you must follow on Twitter. Continue reading
You can’t really grade a draft in any league until 3 years later. I did a “re-do” post a year ago with the 2005 NBA Draft, you can see that HERE.
The NBA just had their draft last week and it will take a few seasons to see if they work out. The 2006 NBA Draft has had only one all-star so far, but a few stars are starting to emerge. The teams didn’t seem to know who they wanted during the draft, 5 out of top 10 picks were traded. Toronto had the first pick in that draft, would they still pick Andrea Bargnani? Here is what the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery would look like if it were held today. Continue reading
Not everyone can be drafted in the NBA Draft. Many players go on to become undrafted free-agents and sign on with teams. Most of these players will either sign with an NBA team, play in the NBDL, or go onto Europe and play. I was surprised that my boy, Ben Woodside, didn’t garner a late 2nd-round pick. He is small and played at North Dakota State, but the kid is a scoring machine. Jeremy Pargo and Josh Shipp were two others that surprised me, since they both come from good programs and were stars. Here is a list of the best players who didn’t hear their name called last night.
Josh Heytvelt – Gonzaga
Paul Harris – Syracuse
Dionte Christmas – Temple
Jerel McNeal – Marquette
Chris Johnson – LSU
Courtney Fells – NC State
Tyrese Rice – Boston College
Leo Lyons – Missouri
Jeff Adrien – Connecticut
Curtis Jerrells – Baylor
Eric Devendorf – Syracuse
Shawn Taggart – Memphis
Jeremy Pargo – Gonzaga
Ben Woodside – North Dakota State
A.J. Abrams – Texas
Josh Shipp – UCLA
Alex Ruoff – West Virginia
Andrew Lovedale – Davidson
You can’t judge a draft in any league for about three years, but everyone has a knee-jerk reaction to a team’s draft picks. The NBA Draft makes or breaks General Manager’s careers. If you miss on a guy, you’re screwed. If you pass up on a guy, you’re screwed. If you have a high pick, but draft for need, and a guy who is drafted after your pick turns into a superstar, you’re screwed. The draft has about a 75% failure rate and is the reason why you never see a GM without some gray hair. Here are my draft grades for the 2009 NBA Draft.
Boston Celtics – They only had one pick in the draft and it was a late one. They ended up picking Lester Hudson from Central Florida. He is a scorer and will probably be a NBDL all-star, but doubtful to make the team the next two seasons. Draft Grade: D
New Jersey Nets – The Nets also only had one pick, but their pick was in the Lottery. Terrence Williams will be a good player in this league, he’s eccentric and fun. He isn’t that mature and scouts say he loses focus, but he dominated in the Big East last season. Draft Grade: B-
New York Knicks – The Knicks need young talent, since after this season, they will have about $50 bucks on their payroll. They picked Jordan Hill and traded for Toney Douglas, good solid picks. This draft makes me miss the Isiah Thomas-led drafts. Where was the random Renaldo Balkman kind of pick? Draft Grade: B
Philadelphia 76ers – Jrue Holiday was their lone pick in this draft. I’m not a fan of Holiday, but he did upstage Darren Collison at times. He is a few years away, by the time he’s ready, Elton Brand will be ancient. Draft Grade: C-
Toronto Raptors – You can blame Tim Floyd for my low draft grade for the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan came into USC has a game-changing stud, but his numbers never took off. Toronto was reaching a little by picking him #9. Draft Grade: D+
Chicago Bulls – The Bulls made a good showing in the NBA Playoffs last season. They are still relatively young and need to build around Derrick Rose. Taj Gibson and James Johnson are two good pieces, only if Johnson grows up and learns to get along with his teammates. Draft Grade: B
Cleveland Cavaliers – The Cavs knew that they were not able to improve their team this year with this draft. They pick Christian Evenga and Danny Green, two guys that will not make the team this year. Evenga will probably stay in Europe and Green can help their NBDL affliate. Draft Grade: D
Detroit Pistons – Detroit had a typical Pistons draft. They got guys who showed defense ability and the ability to play team basketball. Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers will be Pistons and will contribute. Jonas Jerebko could be a decent bench player for a team that doesn’t need to add any expensive free agents. Draft Grade: B+
Indiana Pacers – Indiana shocked the world when they picked Tyler Hansbrough. Everyone thought that they were picking a point guard, but they waited until the 2nd round and got A.J. Price from UConn. It was a weird draft for them and took some risks. Draft Grade: C-
Milwaukee Bucks – The Bucks traded away Richard Jefferson and needed to add some offense. Brandon Jennings will not help you offensively, but could turn into a nice point guard. Jodie Meeks could step in and score points immediately. He could turn into a Ben Gordon-type player coming off the bench. Draft Grade: B+
Atlanta Hawks – The Hawks are re-building their backcourt and by drafting Jeff Teague, they have themselves a possible future star. He’s a combo guard and can run the point if Bibby leaves. Draft Grade: B-
Charlotte Bobcats – I don’t like the strategy the Bobcats use by only drafting UNC and Duke players in the first round. Gerald Henderson may have already reaching his ceiling and Charlotte should have went in another direction. The Derrick Brown and Robert Vaden picks could bolster their bench, but unfortunately Larry Brown and rookies go together as well as hot sauce and a guy with IBS. Draft Grade: D-
Miami Heat – The Heat needed some size in the paint, but drafted a guy who is small for his position. Robert Dozier is not great fit for the Heat, but with no first round pick, they had to pick from what was left. Draft Grade: F
Orlando Magic – The Magic didn’t have any picks in the draft this year.
Washington Wizards – The Wizards traded their lone draft pick to Houston.
Dallas Mavericks – The Mavericks are getting long-in-the-tooth and need youth to help re-build their team. Dallas acquired Rodrique Beaubois, who will likely stay overseas, and drafted Ahmad Nivins from St. Joseph’s. This draft was a wash and didn’t accomplish a whole lot. Draft Grade: D-
Houston Rockets – Houston didn’t have any picks in this draft, but they were active in acquiring players for future considerations and picks. Jermaine Taylor, Chase Budinger and Sergio Llull were gained in the draft process. I don’t know how their odds of making the team this year, but Budinger had a lot of upside. Draft Grade: C+
Memphis Grizzlies – Not only did Memphis get rid of Darko Milicic, but they had a pretty good draft. Hasheem Thabeet, DaMarre Carroll, and Sam Young are all big guys that should help them defensively. They were one of the worst defensive teams in the league and needed size. Draft Grade: A-
New Orleans Hornets – Chris Paul is a great point guard, but he is small. They needed a back-up for Paul, but they picked Darren Collison, who is just as small. Is this a swing and a miss? Draft Grade: F
San Antonio Spurs – The Spurs are known to always do their homework on European players and make the most of their 2nd round picks. They didn’t have a first round pick this year, but got DeJuan Blair, a first round talent, in the second round. He is missing both ACLs, but in San Antonio, he doesn’t need to play a lot of minutes. Jack McClinton was another great 2nd round pick, but his maturity is in question. Draft Grade: A
Golden State Warriors – The Knicks thought that they had Stephen Curry, but the Warriors stole him. The rumor is that they may send this pick to the Suns in the Amare Stoudemire deal. If Curry stays in Oakland, he will put up monster numbers in Don Nelson’s offense. Draft Grade: B+
Los Angeles Clippers – It isn’t hard to do well in a draft if you’re picking #1 in a one player draft. The Clippers will have to try really hard to mess this kid up. Draft Grade: A+
Los Angles Lakers – The Lakers came into the draft with three picks, but left with only one. The only player they kept was Chinemelu Elonu, who was picked in the late 2nd round. He will probably end up in the NBDL, but he could end up joining a team as a defensive replacement. Draft Grade: D-
Phoenix Suns – Steve Kerr has had a rough time as the Suns GM. The Shaq deal didn’t work out and he’s taking a lot of heat. He needed a great draft to distract from his rough start. Unfortunately for Mr. Kerr, he whiffed on another draft. The Earl Clark pick was a reach and someone should tell him that he wanted “Blake Griffin,” not “Taylor Griffin.” Draft Grade: D
Sacramento Kings – The Kings came into this draft needing impact players. They traded away a lot at the trading deadline last year and basically only have Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson as cornerstones. Tyreke Evans and Omri Casspi will help them immediately and I really love the Evans pick. They traded for Jon Brockman, so they will have an all-Huskies frontcourt in Sacramento. Draft Grade: A+
Denver Nuggets – Denver didn’t have much to do in this draft, but they did get a player that they coveted. George Karl is a UNC alum and he loved Ty Lawson. He can spell Chauncey Billups and will benefit from learning under him. Draft Grade:B-
Minnesota Timberwolves – The T-Wolves set themselves up for an extremely busy day. They traded Washington for their first round pick and ended up with a total of six picks for the day. They chose two point-guards with the #5 and #6 picks. It was a little confusing, but from what I hear, Ricky Rubio does not want to play in Minnesota. They could package a deal and receive instant talent and maybe a future #1. Jonny Flynn will be a good player in the NBA and I liked that pick a lot. Wayne Ellington and Nick Calathes was also picked by Minnesota, both fell down the draft to them and they clearly picked them as the “best player available.” Draft Grade: A+
Portland Trail Blazers – Jeff Pendergraph adds to the young talent in Portland. The late pick of Patrick Mills will only add to the excitement about the Blazers. Draft Grade: B
Oklahoma City Thunder – The Thunder are looking for the future. They have picked smart and the future is looking bright. James Harden will make their offense even more scary. B.J. Mullens is a nice addition, but needs a few years to mature.Draft Grade: B
Utah Jazz – The Jazz are smart and take players who have good fundamentals. Eric Maynor will be a great back-up for Deron Williams. Maynor may end up developing into something better than they expect. Draft Grade: B
I am running a live blog update during the 2009 NBA Draft. Click on the title of this post to view the up-to-date information and analysis on the NBA Draft. What are the odds that both the Jazz and Pacers pick white boys? I’m not a betting man (at least that’s what I tell my mother), I would bet the house.
7:27 – Why does Dick Vitale is wearing a shirt that matches his skin color…orange.
CLICK ON THE TITLE FOR THE REST….
7:37 – I’m suprised that the Clippers really waited this long to announce their pick. Donald Sterling was probably with a few of his “asian friends” and forgot what time it was.
The Los Angeles Clippers pick Blake Griffin
7:43 – I wonder if Griffin grew out his hair, would he look like Delonte West?
7:45 – Stu Scott is interviewing Mike Dunleavy. Everytime Dunleavy is on ESPN, Bill Simmons sheds a tear
The Memphis Grizzlies pick Hasheem Thabeet
7:46 – Can a tailor actually make suits that fit these guys? There is just too much fabric on suits for guys over 7 feet. They look like they are wearing stilts.
7:50 – Thabeet just explained the difference between soccer and basketball. I’m glad that I watched this or I would have never known.
The Oklahoma City Thunder pick James Harden
7:52 – Ricky Rubio was just shown clapping as if someone just stole his girlfriend.
7:53 – Is there enough points to go around in OKC? Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green, and James Harden will put up some nice offensive numbers.
7:55 – Harden is the early leader for the worst suit of the night. His bowtie screams Joakim Noah and his shirt/vest combo screams Hakeem Olajuwon.
The Sacramento Kings pick Tyreke Evans
7:57 – Evans and Griffin appear to be wearing the same suit. I like this pick, he’s tall and can get into the paint. The Kings really don’t have anyone else on their team, they are probably 3-4 years away from being competitive.
8:01 – ESPN is showing the resume of David Kahn, the new GM for the Minnesota Timberwolves. I have seen high school graduates with better credentials to be a GM.
The Minnesota Timberwolves pick Ricky Rubio
8:04 – Rubio’s suit was probably made by some European designer and cost a lot of money, but he looks like he’s either going to a funeral or re-fill my drink.
8:06 – This is either a Ricky Rubio interview or a promo for the movie “Bruno.”
8:07 – They are comparing Rubio to ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich and Steve Nash. Are they setting this kid up for disaster?
The Minnesota Timberwolves pick Jonny Flynn
8:10 – If Jonny Flynn drops a “passion bucket” in his interview here, the Minnesota Timberwolves will be the official team of the Dan Patrick Show. Is the NBA going to have two balls on the court now? I don’t quite understand going point guard/point guard here. Is there going to be a trade coming up?
8:14 – Ouch! No “passion bucket” reference, but he did say “overflowing passion”…close enough.
The Golden State Warriors pick Stephen Curry
8:16 – The Knicks fans boo, but I think Curry will fit well in Oakland. Doesn’t the Knicks have enough tweener guards? Trust me Knicks fan, you need more than Curry.
8:19 – I bet Curry gets carded everywhere he goes. The kid looks 15 years old and he was just picked in the NBA Draft.
The New York Knicks pick Jordan Hill
8:21 – Get used to the boos Mr. Hill, you’re going to be hearing them every night.
8:23 – Hmmm, a PF/C chosen by the Knicks #8 from Arizona…Channing Frye? How did that turn out for you guys? Oh, ouch!
The Toronto Raptors pick DeMar DeRozan
8:27 – The ESPN crew is going to have a hard time trying to talk up DeRozan. He had a bad year at USC for a guy expected to be a stud.
8:29 – DeRozan has a family with healthy issues AND he had to play under Tim Floyd. I don’t know which one to feel more sorry for him about.
The Milwaukee Bucks pick Brandon Jennings
8:33 – I love “Young Money”‘s flat-top. I am crossing my fingers that that hair-style will come back soon. By the way, it was rumored that he was going to drop in the 20s, I guess they were wrong. He sounds like he could be the next T.J. Ford, since he doesn’t have much of an offensive game.
8:36 – A player who struggled in Italy and did bad on his SATs…sounds like it could end horribly.
The New Jersey Nets pick Terrence Williams
8:38 – This kid could be my new favorite player. He looks like his suit is made out of satin. I heard this kid wears Spongebob socks and a Barbie backpack. I may need to get this guy’s jersey.
8:41 – The first awkward moment of the night. Williams kept talking as they cut to a shot of the crew.
The Charlotte Bobcats pick Gerald Henderson
8:45 – The Bobcats continue their solid “when all else fails, pick a guy from UNC or Duke, it could help attendance” plan.
8:46 – I can’t say this enough, but I hate the term “Basketball I.Q.” What the hell doesn’t that even mean?
The Indiana Pacers pick Tyler Hansbrough
8:50 – If you read the beginning of this post, I won. The team photo for the Pacers now looks like the 1940 Fort Wayne Pistons. The Indiana Pacers are still official team of “America’s White Boy.”
8:53 – All kidding aside, I think the Pacers needed a point guard, but Hansbrough will be a good player for the Pacers. Indiana could get a point guard in the early second round. This draft is deep at that position.
The Phoenix Suns pick Earl Clark
8:56 – Haha! Bradon Jennings randomly shows up. That was weird, it completely threw off the entire ESPN crew.
8:57 – Clark was #10 on the “Best Players Available” by Jay Bilas. I don’t like this pick here, they need to get a point guard to take Steve Nash’s spot when he leaves.
8:59 – The Pistons are picking next, can they just forfeit this pick? I doubt they really need to add more payroll at this point.
The Detroit Pistons pick Austin Daye
9:02 – The Pistons just drafted a Tayshaun Prince clone, but unfortunately he isn’t as talented.
9:04 – Jay Bilas said that Daye needs to get tougher. Maybe the Pistons need to send him to Jay Glazer for some MMA training, ala Matt Leinert.
9:06 – Dick Vitale loves the Tyler Hansbrough and Stephen Curry picks? I’m shocked! He just predicted that Curry would win Rookie of the Year. Every time he complains about players who leave college early and get picked on potential, he sound like a mean, old man that was just served cold soup.
The Chicago Bulls pick James Johnson
9:09 – Yikes, I don’t like this pick. Wake Forest had a stacked team and many blame Johnson for the team not living up to their potential. Apparently the kid didn’t get along with his teammates.
9:12 – I was going to say something about how Steve Kerr looks weird, but then my power went out. There is a bad storm oustide here in Columbus,OH.
My power went out for 5 hours….I guess that concludes the live portion of my “live coverage”….maybe next year. I am going to list the rest of the NBA Draft picks and some analysis.
The Philadelphia 76ers pick Jrue Holiday
Holiday is a few years away from being an impact player. The Sixers have a young team, they might be able to wait on him.
The Minnesota Timberwolves pick Ty Lawson *trades pick to Denver
Great, a “future considerations” trade for a mid-1st round pick? That proves how weak this draft is.
The Atlanta Hawks pick Jeff Teague
Teague is a combo guard that can score. I thought the Pacers was trying to move up to take him, but Atlanta is re-building their backcourt with him and trading for Jamal Crawford.
The Utah Jazz pick Eric Maynor
I like this pick. The Jazz are content with Deron Williams at point, but Maynor will be a key reserve off the bench.
The New Orleans Hornets pick Darren Collison
This is a bad pick by New Orleans, they already have a small point (Chris Paul), they would have been better suited to get more size at that position.
The Portland Trail Blazers pick Victor Claver
The Blazers missed out on Ricky Rubio, but picked up his countryman. The passed up DeJuan Blair here, good idea, the kid doesn’t have any ACLs.
The Sacramento Kings pick Omri Casspi
He was the other buzz-word European in this draft, other than Rubio. His name has been floating around for a few years. He has a great motor and doesn’t quit.
The Dallas Mavericks pick B.J. Mullens * traded to Oklahoma City
The Thunder are loading up on talent, but Mullens will take a few years to see what he can do.
The Oklahoma City Thunder pick Rodrique Beaubois *traded to Dallas
This kid has had upside, length, explosiveness, all the token adjectives to describe a draft pick.
The Chicago Bulls pick Taj Gibson
I like this pick, Gibson will replace Ben Gordon, it’s doubtful that he will re-sign.
The Memphis Grizzlies pick DeMarre Carroll
He had a good month last season and it translated into a 1st round. Mizzou came out of nowhere this year and a lot of it is because of this kid.
The Minnesota Timberwolves pick Wayne Ellington
This draft is the T-Wolves draft. If Ellington would have came out last year, he would have been a lottery pick.
The Los Angeles Lakers pick Toney Douglas *trade to New York
Douglas would have been a good fit for the Lakers, but even better for the Knicks.
The Cleveland Cavaliers pick Christian Evenga
Danny Ferry is trying to duplicate what he learned at San Antonio. Evenga will probably stay overseas and be ready in a couple seasons. He was a teammate of Ricky Rubio, he better thank him for helping out his game.
I will have live coverage and commentary during the 2009 NBA Draft. This is one of my favorite non-physical sporting events. I love that even the Thunder and Grizzlies fans can feel good about their team for at least one day a year. My favorite part is the horrible draft day suits. I want to leave you with two of my favorites to quench your thirst until tonight.
I love this picture. Hakeem Olajuwon looks like he’s either going to a prom or parking cars outside the event. I also like how David Stern looks like he’s a stand-in from Accounts Payable for the real commissioner.
Joakim Noah’s look is kind of a newer version of Olajuwon’s attire. He adds some extra flare with the unkept fro and jumbo bowtie.
The most exciting part of the NBA season is this week, the NBA Draft. Don’t get me wrong, I love the playoffs and think it’s great, but the NBA Draft is a time where every fan can feel great about their upcoming season, unless your a Knicks fan. This year’s draft is perceived to be a very weak draft, but it is very deep at point guard. As many as 8 PGs could be taken in the first round. I would expect a lot of trade this year, since many of the teams at the top of the draft are hurting for money and would rather invest that money in a proven talent, rather than wait three seasons for the prospect to mature.
Here is my mock draft for the 2009 NBA Draft.
1. Los Angeles Clippers – Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) – This is a no-brainer. Giffin is the best prospect in the draft and most think that he’s a lock. If the Clippers pick Griffin, they will find some way to turn him into Michael Olowakandi.
2. Memphis Grizzlies – Ricky Rubio (Spain) – The Grizzlies would much rather pick Hasheem Thabeet here, but he cancelled his workout. If Memphis picks Rubio, expect a trade of Mike Conley Jr. or even Rubio. They will be loaded at PG and that is not what their need is.
3. OKC Thunder – Hasheen Thabeet (UCONN) – Thabeet makes Dwight Howard post moves look great. In OKC’s offense, he wouldn’t need to put in many points. He isn’t a strong rebounder, but the Thunder needs some defense in the paint. The Thunder would be a great fit for Thabeet.
4. Sacramento Kings – James Harden (Arizona State – The Kings need a scorer and Harden can put a basket in about anywhere on the court. They are re-building and need a star, something that Harden could turn into rather quickly.
5. Washington Wizards – Brandon Jennings (Italy) – The Wizards need a lot to re-gain their form, but Jennings will help them deliver the ball. He didn’t do well in Europe, but his ceiling is higher than most. I’m hoping that he is still sporting his Kid N Play flat-top; I would buy his jersey.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves – Jonny Flynn (Syracuse) – Flynn came out of nowhere during the last month of the season. He had a great Big East tourney and went on to have a great NCAA tourney as well. He has pure point-guard skills and would be an improvement over Sebastian Telfair.
7. Golden State Warriors – Stephen Curry (Davidson) – Don Nelson’s days are numbered in Oakland, but Curry fits the mold of his type of player. He can score from all over the place and his point guard skills have tripled in just one season. Curry will be a great fit at Golden State, but look for a possible trade here.
8. New York Knicks – Tyreke Evans (Memphis) – If Curry is not on the board, Evans makes sense for the Knicks. He could either be an All-Star or become a very steady bench player in the NBA. He is young and can’t really put my finger on if he is going to be great. Evans had flashes of greatness at Memphis, but most of the season he played against sub-par talent.
9. Toronto Raptors – Jordan Hill (Arizona) – Hill has been climbing up draft boards over the last few weeks. Toronto needs to come to grips that Chris Bosh is heading out of town after this year. They need to rebuild their front-court and Hill would be a great start.
10. Milwaukee Bucks – Demar DeRozan (USC) – The Bucks are a few pieces away from being a playoff team. DeRozan is tall (6’7) and is a physical guard. He struggled at times at USC, but Tim Floyd was his coach, that could have been the reason.
11. New Jersey Nets – Terrance Williams (Louisville) – Williams was great for the Cardinals last year. He led them through the Big East and is a great indicator of how he will do in the NBA. The Nets would love to get Williams at #11, they are hoping that no other team will take him earlier.
12. Charlotte Bobcats – Gerald Henderson (Duke) – Henderson had a great workout and he fits the need for the Bobcats. Charlotte needs fans in the seats, by taking a local Dukie, it may help with attendance.
13. Indiana Pacers – Eric Maynor (VCU) – With Jrue Holiday and Ty Lawson still on the board, it would be ballsy for the Pacers to pick Maynor. Maynor is more of a pure point-guard than Lawson and Holiday at this point. VCU isn’t the best place to play, but Maynor made the most of his opportunities when facing top talent. His performance against Duke, a few seasons ago, helped cement his status of a future Lottery pick.
Last year, I did my 2008 Un-All-Star Team post in early May. A lot of my team ended up turning things around and a few of them actually ended up with career numbers. I wanted to do this year’s post a little deeper into the season. They are currently about 70 games in right now and some great players are looking like they need some extended spring training to regain their usually consistent form. About this time of year you can throw out the term “slow-starter” and begin using “bad year.”
Some of these players do have some power numbers, but I’m looking at average mostly. If you are still floating around the Mendoza Line and it’s almost July, you are having troubles. A few of these players have been trying to play through injuries (Alfonso Soriano), but his season isn’t living up to expectations.
Here is my list of the 2009 Un-All-Star Team sorted by position. The number next to the position players is their batting average as of today and the number next to the pitchers are their ERA.
Catchers
Kelly Shoppach .194
Dioner Navarro .218
Geovany Soto .222
First Base
Conor Jackson .182
Carlos Guillen .200
Chris Davis .200
Jason Giambi .212
Lance Berkman .241
Second Base
Alexi Casilla .180
Dan Uggla .216
Howie Kendrick .231
Kelly Johnson .227
Third Base
Garrett Atkins .205
Alex Rodriguez .212
Shortstop
Mike Aviles .183
Khalil Greene .213
Jimmy Rollins .223
Orlando Cabrera .235
Outfield
Ken Griffey Jr. .220
Grady Sizemore .223
Alfonso Soriano .229
B.J. Upton .229
Ryan Ludwick .234
Pat Burrell .236
Starting Pitchers
Chien-Ming Wang 12.30
Oliver Perez 9.97
Scott Kazmir 7.69
Fausto Carmona 7.42
Ricky Nolasco 7.15
Andy Sonnanstine 6.60
John Lackey 6.10
Francisco Lirano 5.91
Bullpen
Brad Lidge 7.27
Troy Percival 6.35
B.J. Ryan 5.71
Manny Corpas 5.40
J.J. Putz 5.22
If anyone has any recommendations for the 2009 Un-All-Star Team let me know.
I’m sorry if you found this post in hopes of trying to find shirtless photos of Grady Sizemore of any other of our players. It’s kind of a running joke on this blog, since it seems like I get a lot of hit from google from people trying to find shirtless photos from players from Grady Sizemore and Ryan Braun to the confusing duo of C.C. Sabathia and Prince Fielder.
Designated Hitter
David Ortiz .207
After dating me for a year, my addiction to writing has finally infected someone else. She signed up for her blog a few months ago, but she really got motivated today and she write her first post. I am happy for her and would like for some people to go check it out.
She is in grad school at Ohio State studying pharmacy, she also has done biological studies at the University of Missori and University of Illinois. She’s a smart girl who knows her stuff. There are a lot of novelty items that are sold in pharmacies and she finds them intriguing. She will be writing about homeopathic remedies and high-calorie foods. It will be a good read for people who may think homeopathic medicines like “HeadOn” actually work…as well as a possibly what a 12-egg omelet challenge at a local greasy spoon would do to a person’s body.
Her blog is check it out!
I have been a Cubs fan for as long as I’ve been alive. I am 28 years old and some of the earliest memories involved my dad and I watching afternoon games on WGN. I remember Jody Davis, Leon Durham, Rick Sutcliffe, and Lee Smith all fighting the Chicago summer heat. The times were special and moments that I wouldn’t change at all. The teams were bad and most of the crowd didn’t care, and I didn’t care too much either. I was a little kid who idolized the players with dreams of one day playing professional baseball too. Those dreams never came true, but I am still a Cubs fan, although I am a little confused of how happy I am about that today.
I was in middle school when the Cubs traded George Bell to the White Sox for a young outfielder, Sammy Sosa. I liked Bell for the few seasons that he was with the Cubs, but I kind of understood that they needed to get younger. I didn’t know much about Sosa, other than owning a few of his rookie cards. My lone opinion was that he looked extremely happy. Almost immediately, the trade for Sosa started to pay off. He was stealing bases and hitting more homers than I expected. The first season, I thought that he may be a better version of Shawon Dunston, since he didn’t strike out as much, which didn’t say much.
The Cubs didn’t win many games the first few seasons that Sosa was around. I can still hear Harry Caray yell out Sosa’s name after he jacked a 400+ foot home-run. Those moments gave me joy, about as much as an actual Cubs victory. Sosa’s home-run total kept creeping up, but the whispers of the ball being juiced calmed my fears of anything fishy going on. It wasn’t until the summer of ’98 that the homers were getting out of hand. I have to admit, I still didn’t care. Mark McGwire was hitting just as many homers as Sosa and he looked noticeably huge. I didn’t suspect much about steroid use, the only thing that was written was something new to me called “Andro.” I read about it and saw that it wasn’t illegal. I didn’t think anything was wrong, but I wanted Sosa to beat him. I think most people wanted Sosa to beat McGwire, if not for the fact that he was more likeable.
Every time that Sosa took the field in the first inning, he would run out into right field like a perfectly choreographed play. Everything Sosa did was more of a show for the fans. After 9/11, he hit a homer and ran around the bases with a little American flag.
Sosa’s numbers stayed the same as McGwire began to breakdown. Sosa’s average took a hit, since he looked like he was wanting to knock it out of the park with every swing. Finally, his behavior the last year with the Cubs was too much for the club to handle. They dealt him to Baltimore for a few young players. Sosa’s career was never the same, mainly because the cloud of suspicion was too great. To this day he denies all claims of using PEDs, but the revelation of a failed test in 2003 makes it all clear. Sosa apparently cheated, it doesn’t surprise many, but I’m just confused.
I believe that a large number of players used some sort of performance-enhancing drug during the same period of Sosa’s career. I believe he wanted an edge and once he had a taste of success, he couldn’t leave it alone. If he didn’t do it for himself, he did it for the fans. As I said before, my first opinion of Sosa was his smile. He didn’t lose his smile until the end of his career. He didn’t have his smile when he was testifying in front of Congress. If Sosa’s number isn’t retired and he doesn’t make the Hall of Fame, Sosa may never smile again. A decision to forgive and forget has to be made at some point. Some purists still have a big problem with “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and the Black Sox. I say that we still need to decide on what kind of punishment would suit the crime.
My opinion is for the Baseball Writers of America to have a conference. Everyone should take sides and maybe come to a conclusion. I would like to see all the alleged steroid users, that have Hall of Fame numbers, be inducted in the same class. You would be able to put that on Pay-Per-View and it would have a high buyrate. I don’t think it’s right that they used PEDs, but enough is enough. I want to move past this. It may take the player’s union to allow blood testing, it would be a step in the right direction.
The rumors of many NBA teams having financial problems have been floating around for the last few months. The NBA borrowed tons of money to try and keep the league afloat during the economic depression that we are facing. I personally think that they could rid themselves of the WNBA and get companies to sponsor NBA jerseys and the league would be as stable as the NFL. Many of the teams that could be moving look towards cities with a new NHL stadium as an easy fix. Columbus, Ohio has a great NHL stadium and was even in the conversation when the Sonics were moved to Oklahoma City (sorry Bill Simmons). What would happen if a team would move to Columbus, Ohio?
First I wonder what they would name the team. I think when the city of Columbus was given an NHL team, they had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get “Blue Jackets.” I can’t think of a logical team name right away. I would think that the term “Buckeyes” would work, but The Ohio State would like that very much. Here are a few names that I would like, but probably never get past the first brainstorming meeting.
– Columbus Hop (named after the Gallery Hop)
– Columbus Not Buckeyes
– Columbus Construction (see High Street)
– Columbus Twitter (first ever NBA team named after a company)
– Columbus Capitols
There are really no great names for a team here, but I do think that they should have a company buy the team’s name. Unfortunately for Columbus, Nationwide Insurance, Ohio Health, and Huntington Bank are three major players in town and none of them sound like a good team name.
I can’t see an NBA team flourishing here in Columbus. It has taken the city 10 years to really get behind the Blue Jackets. It took one season of making the playoffs for it to happen, but this city loves a winner. They kind of turn their backs on teams that don’t win, the people here are used to Ohio State winning football games.
Columbus is too close to Cleveland and with Lebron still there, I don’t see the Cleveland fanbase in Columbus jumping ship. Columbus would have to get a phenom in the first 2 or 3 drafts in order to stay here.
I do agree that Columbus is a great short-term fix for an NBA team that is struggling (New Orleans, Memphis, Milwaukee), but Kansas City would be more of a longer-term city to maintain an NBA franchise. I went to KC last month and walked by the new Sprint Center. It looks like a mix between a UFO and a diamond. I would like to throw out a name for a Kansas City….The KC Masterpieces. You like?
I had a post earlier today about Jerod Morris at Midwest Sports Fans. I thought that I would embed the video of his appearance. If you actually read his article and then watch the video, you can question Ken Rosenthal and the reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer if they have even read his article.
At points in the interview, Rosenthal rolls his eyes. I believe he may have just read the Inquirer’s article and not the source, which would have been at Midwest Sports Fans site.
Check it out and gather your own opinion.