Just when you thought the Gopher roster was set for this upcoming season and they had signed every mediocre player they could, they go out and snag mediocre shooting guard Chip Armelin from Louisiana.
Actually Armelin is a very interesting case. He doesn't rate highly on any of the recruiting websites, and doesn't appear to have very many basketball offers or interest, but that can all be easily explained: everyone thought he was going to play football.
Apparently, from what I can gather, Armelin was a pretty good HS hoops player in Louisiana, but decided that he would play football as well instead of just concentrating on hoops his senior year. He had a great season at wide receiver and was being heavily recruited to continue playing football by some good schools. Prevailing wisdom was that he would take a FB scholarship. Looks like that was wrong.
And despite the low rating, game reports and recaps paint a different picture of Armelin. The reports describe him as an amazing athlete, but one with a good shooting touch from deep (plus he's left-handed) and a solid ball-handler in both transition and the half-court.
He could be a solid sleeper, or he could simply be a poor man's version of Rodney Williams. I guess he could end up being both. I'm a little perplexed as to why they would use a scholarship on a guy like this when they don't really need him and are chasing so many higher profile players for next season, but I'm guessing Tubby sees something he likes.
One thing is for certain, this year's class is going to go a long way towards my opinion of Tubby. If these lesser touted and lesser recruited players end up as stars or even solid players it will certainly be impressive, and prove he still has an eye for talent. If not, well, he better hope he starts getting higher profile kids to come to Minneapolis.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Six Very Important Things this Morning 8.6.2010
I really don't intend every single post to be in this format, it just worked out that way this week. It's so easy and I like doing it. I do still intend to do some more in depth type of posts, and definitely will during basketball season. But for now, you'll get what you get and you won't get upset.
1. The bullpen tried like hell to blow the game. Luckily, the Twins were able to scrap together a couple of runs in the top of the ninth, mainly thanks to a Jason Kubel popup that hit the catwalk above the field and resulted in a hit and the first run, and then Matt Capps managed to shut the door. I didn't get to watch the game, being at work and all, so I don't have too much to add except that they really surprised me. Splitting a four-gamer on the road against a team like the Rays is a very positive outcome, especially considering they dropped the first two. If they can keep splitting with the good teams and win the series against the bad, they should be in good shape assuming Chicago decides to lose once in a while. With 63 games to go they probably need to go about 34-29 or so. That would get them to 95 wins, and I have to assume that would win this division. Again, assuming Chicago doesn't go 45-15 like they have recently.
2. Naturally the White Sox won as well. Because they never lose. Not even when world's worst closer and possible worst pitcher and human being ever Bobby Jenks gives up a 3-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game. Why he is still closing I'll never understand, especially since they have Thornton, Putz, and Santos who are all much better pitchers. It's that damn save statistic. Man, people are more obsessive and devoted to that then their bibles.
3. In case there weren't enough young pitchers making noise this year. Go ahead and add James McDonald to the list. McDonald, once a pretty good prospect in the Dodgers' system, made his debut for the Pirates after being acquired for Octavio Dotel at the trade deadline and pitched well. He had mainly been working out of the bullpen in his one full season with LA last year, but acclimated himself well, going six innings and allowing just four hits and no runs while striking out 8. I like what the Pirates are doing, maximizing the value on some marginal veterans over the last few years to acquire some possible future solid talent. I was going to list all the upside-y guys on their roster, but there's just too many. Just know that the Pirates might be finally starting to move in the right direction. They're young, they have some talent, and if some of these young prospects develop they could find themselves on the right side of .500 sooner rather than later. At the very least there seems to be a plan here, unlike, say, Kansas City.
4. Tiger Woods officially sucks at golf. Tiger shot a 74 today in the first round of the Bridgestone Invitational, which is +4, and you may think that's just a bad round and other golfers like Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas shot similar scores, but this is notable for one big reason: he completely dominates this course. Forget about Augusta, Pebble, or St. Andrews, Firestone is where he really dominates, having won this tournament something like 7 out of the last 10 times he's played it with a runner-up mixed in as well. That 74 is not only his worst score on this course by two strokes, but it also puts him in a tie for 70th - and there are only 81 golfers entered. He only shot better than seven golfers, several of whom barely even count, on a course he's owned. I think it's safe to say his career is pretty much over. Might as well retire and start collecting stud fees.
5. I guess Calipari didn't teach Josh Pastner everything. Slick Cal never seemed to have issues getting his recruits eligible (see: Rose, Derrick and Evans, Tyreke) but Josh Pastner has just run into some issues with Will Barton, Class of 2010's #2 rated shooting guard and #11 on the Rivals list. Barton has been ruled academically ineligible for the year, and if the NCAA doesn't pass him on appeal (they won't), it will be a major blow to Pastner's attempts to keep Memphis relevant. The question for Gopher fans is how will this affect Trevor Mbakwe and his possible choice between the Gophers and Tigers? There's some speculation that seeing Memphis suspend a player for the entire year would turn him off, but I don't really see it. If his trial is pushed back again and Minnesota won't let him play but some team promises he can suit up, whether it's Memphis or Morehead State, I have a feeling he'll be there. And then, in two years, we can watch both Royce White and Trevor Mbakwe make All-American teams while the Gophers grab yet another double-digit seed.
6. The Gophers will play Western Kentucky in the Puerto Rico Tip-off. And if they beat the Hilltoppers, and they should, they will likely have a date with Harrison Barnes and the North Carolina Tarheels. Can Tubby and the boys pull off another marquee win in an early season tournament to go with their wins over Louisville and Butler the last two years? I don't know, probably.
As far as WKU goes, they're generally amongst the top team's in the Sun Belt, but they are still a far cry from the sweet 16 team or the team led by Taco Hawk, and are losing their top player in guard A.J. Slaughter. Still, the Hilltoppers have proven over and over again that this isn't a program you can ever take lightly. They have four of their top seven back from the 20-12 team from last season, the same team that beat Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, and have a Rivals Top 150 player coming in guard Derrick Gordon (#126). Great, I've suddenly talked myself into being terrified for this game.
The rest of the schedule was released as well, and I sort of feel like it maybe deserves it's own post but ugh. Look at this: Northeastern State, Winona State, Wofford, Siena, NDSU, Virginia, Cornell, @ St. Joe's, Eastern Kentucky, and Akron. Woof. I know three of those teams were in the NCAA Tournament last year, but both Siena and Cornell were hit hard by graduations. Wofford is the only team on there that is likely to get a bid, although Siena could still grab one with what they have left. Overall pretty underwhelming. Just like your mom.
1. The bullpen tried like hell to blow the game. Luckily, the Twins were able to scrap together a couple of runs in the top of the ninth, mainly thanks to a Jason Kubel popup that hit the catwalk above the field and resulted in a hit and the first run, and then Matt Capps managed to shut the door. I didn't get to watch the game, being at work and all, so I don't have too much to add except that they really surprised me. Splitting a four-gamer on the road against a team like the Rays is a very positive outcome, especially considering they dropped the first two. If they can keep splitting with the good teams and win the series against the bad, they should be in good shape assuming Chicago decides to lose once in a while. With 63 games to go they probably need to go about 34-29 or so. That would get them to 95 wins, and I have to assume that would win this division. Again, assuming Chicago doesn't go 45-15 like they have recently.
2. Naturally the White Sox won as well. Because they never lose. Not even when world's worst closer and possible worst pitcher and human being ever Bobby Jenks gives up a 3-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game. Why he is still closing I'll never understand, especially since they have Thornton, Putz, and Santos who are all much better pitchers. It's that damn save statistic. Man, people are more obsessive and devoted to that then their bibles.
3. In case there weren't enough young pitchers making noise this year. Go ahead and add James McDonald to the list. McDonald, once a pretty good prospect in the Dodgers' system, made his debut for the Pirates after being acquired for Octavio Dotel at the trade deadline and pitched well. He had mainly been working out of the bullpen in his one full season with LA last year, but acclimated himself well, going six innings and allowing just four hits and no runs while striking out 8. I like what the Pirates are doing, maximizing the value on some marginal veterans over the last few years to acquire some possible future solid talent. I was going to list all the upside-y guys on their roster, but there's just too many. Just know that the Pirates might be finally starting to move in the right direction. They're young, they have some talent, and if some of these young prospects develop they could find themselves on the right side of .500 sooner rather than later. At the very least there seems to be a plan here, unlike, say, Kansas City.
4. Tiger Woods officially sucks at golf. Tiger shot a 74 today in the first round of the Bridgestone Invitational, which is +4, and you may think that's just a bad round and other golfers like Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas shot similar scores, but this is notable for one big reason: he completely dominates this course. Forget about Augusta, Pebble, or St. Andrews, Firestone is where he really dominates, having won this tournament something like 7 out of the last 10 times he's played it with a runner-up mixed in as well. That 74 is not only his worst score on this course by two strokes, but it also puts him in a tie for 70th - and there are only 81 golfers entered. He only shot better than seven golfers, several of whom barely even count, on a course he's owned. I think it's safe to say his career is pretty much over. Might as well retire and start collecting stud fees.
5. I guess Calipari didn't teach Josh Pastner everything. Slick Cal never seemed to have issues getting his recruits eligible (see: Rose, Derrick and Evans, Tyreke) but Josh Pastner has just run into some issues with Will Barton, Class of 2010's #2 rated shooting guard and #11 on the Rivals list. Barton has been ruled academically ineligible for the year, and if the NCAA doesn't pass him on appeal (they won't), it will be a major blow to Pastner's attempts to keep Memphis relevant. The question for Gopher fans is how will this affect Trevor Mbakwe and his possible choice between the Gophers and Tigers? There's some speculation that seeing Memphis suspend a player for the entire year would turn him off, but I don't really see it. If his trial is pushed back again and Minnesota won't let him play but some team promises he can suit up, whether it's Memphis or Morehead State, I have a feeling he'll be there. And then, in two years, we can watch both Royce White and Trevor Mbakwe make All-American teams while the Gophers grab yet another double-digit seed.
6. The Gophers will play Western Kentucky in the Puerto Rico Tip-off. And if they beat the Hilltoppers, and they should, they will likely have a date with Harrison Barnes and the North Carolina Tarheels. Can Tubby and the boys pull off another marquee win in an early season tournament to go with their wins over Louisville and Butler the last two years? I don't know, probably.
As far as WKU goes, they're generally amongst the top team's in the Sun Belt, but they are still a far cry from the sweet 16 team or the team led by Taco Hawk, and are losing their top player in guard A.J. Slaughter. Still, the Hilltoppers have proven over and over again that this isn't a program you can ever take lightly. They have four of their top seven back from the 20-12 team from last season, the same team that beat Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, and have a Rivals Top 150 player coming in guard Derrick Gordon (#126). Great, I've suddenly talked myself into being terrified for this game.
The rest of the schedule was released as well, and I sort of feel like it maybe deserves it's own post but ugh. Look at this: Northeastern State, Winona State, Wofford, Siena, NDSU, Virginia, Cornell, @ St. Joe's, Eastern Kentucky, and Akron. Woof. I know three of those teams were in the NCAA Tournament last year, but both Siena and Cornell were hit hard by graduations. Wofford is the only team on there that is likely to get a bid, although Siena could still grab one with what they have left. Overall pretty underwhelming. Just like your mom.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Six Very Important Things this Morning 8.5.2010
1. An ugly win is still a win. And any win over a team like the Rays is a good thing, but man did they do everything they could to lose this one. They wasted a monster outing from Scott Baker, the kind that reminds us that when he is on he is nearly unhittable. They missed countless opportunities to get more runs across, and ended up heading into the ninth with just a 1-0 lead that was promptly squandered by new closer Matt Capps, with a healthy assist to the piss-poor outfield that seemed to make mistakes all game long, only to have Baker pitch around them - something Capps couldn't do.
But despite their stunning ability to strike out on pitches out of the zone last night, they managed to squeak out a win over the Rays thanks to Delmon Young's big single in the 13th. Of course, that hit came with runners on the corners and nobody out, so you would have thought a big inning was coming, but this was the Twins, and much like the rest of this series they were unable to get anything resembling a timely hit after Young, ending up on the right side of the 2-1 victory thanks to Matt Guerrier's six straight outs.
I do realize I've been a bit hard on this team in this series, and if they can win tomorrow they end up with a split, and you can't really expect anything better on the road against a team like Tampa, but they have just been so close in every game. When two good teams matchup it's often the little things that make the difference, and do you really feel good with Gardy out there being the difference between a win and a loss (hello Guerrier vs. Upton two nights ago). He clearly does some things right, enough to make the playoffs more often than not, but he is not a good game manager. Sometimes that makes the difference. I'm not calling for his head or anything, but sometimes he can really piss me right the hell off. Seriously, go ahead and start keeping track of all the really good game decisions he makes. I'll wait.
2. Is it weird that nobody cares about this? A-Rod finally hit his 600th career home run yesterday afternoon, just a mere 12 games and 46 at-bats since he hit #599. I know everybody hates A-Rod, and for some reason the fans boo whenever he comes to bat, but I've never quite understood that. Because he makes a ton of money? They all make a ton of money. Because he used steroids? They all used steroids. I mean, 600 HR, even in this day and age, is still a pretty special thing. Only six other people have done it, with A-Rod being the youngest to reach that mark, and before you go spouting off about cheaters know that two other members, Bonds and Sosa, are cheaters too. And doesn't A-Rod's cheating seem slightly less grievous somehow than Bonds or Sosa. Bonds went from a great hitter to probably the second best of all-time, while Sosa went from a AAAA player to a home run hitting machine who still sucked. A-Rod, to me, just doesn't seem anywhere near that level. I actually kind of like the guy. I'm not saying I want to go pick out curtains or anything, but if he threw some money at me and there was a little wine and maybe a back rub involved, who knows?
3. There is no way Bud Selig will be able to handle this. You have probably heard the Texas Rangers are having all kinds of financial troubles, which is really too bad since they could make a run at the World Series this year. What you may not have heard is that they are currently up for auction and it's basically Nolan Ryan vs. Mark Cuban. So it's stoic, professional, respects the game ex-stud pitcher and maybe the most famous baseball name in history Nolan Ryan versus trashy, spazzy, do it his own way, insult every in power and get fined every five minutes Mark Cuban. Now I think Cuban would be good for baseball - he would treat his players great, spend on a Yankee-level for payroll, and give MLB its best villain since John Rocker - but I'm guessing Bud Selig disagrees. Of course, this is the same guy who thinks the All-Star game should mean something and almost wrecked the game twice (strike, steroids), so I like my chances.
4. This is what Carlos Gomez should have been. Sigh. Back in 2007, Carlos Gomez was one of the Mets top prospects while Carlos Gonzalez was one of the top prospects in the Arizona system. Both were centerfielders. Both were fast as all hell. Both were toolsy. Both were plus defenders. And neither understood the strike zone. Both have been traded since then (Gonzalez twice), but while we've seen Gomez struggle to become more than a fast, inconsistent player, Gonzalez has become one of the best in the game. After hitting two home runs today he now has a line of .319/.349/.559 with 23 home runs, 72 RBI, and 15 steals, numbers that rank him as #2 in the NL in batting average, #4 in slugging, #6 in RBI, #7 in homers, and #6 in OPS. Take heart though, Carlos Gomez fans (all one of you), most defensive metrics have Go-Go as a much better defender than Gonzalez. Take that! Although Gonzalez did have one unfair advantage - he go to learn from the great Todd Helton.
5. Edwin Jackson made me look like an idiot. Remember how I was all like, "Jackson will suck in the AL he's not even good in the NL" and "Chicago is so stupid they totally got stuck with Jackson" and "I'm smart"? Well I'm still an idiot. Jackson led the White Sox to yet another stupid win, which makes them something like 50-1 in the last two months, pitching seven very good innings, allowing just one run on nine hits and a walk while striking out six. Not a masterful shutdown performance, but pretty solid, even if it was against the suddenly punchless Tigers. Seriously, what is going on with the Sox pitching? It doesn't even matter who they throw out there, they are all Cy Young candidates. I don't know what kind of magic elixir they have in Chicago, but I suspect it has something to do with Dayton wings.
6. Brett Favre is a creepy perv? Favre retirement talk, with him finally coming out and saying it's all about the health of his ankle and that he hasn't made a decision yet, but that's not important. More interesting is that Jenn Sterger (pictured below), famous for having a large rack and being a Florida State fan in a cowboy hat, has told Deadspin that Favre used to send her pictures of his ding-dong when they were both employed by the Jets. Now, I'm all in favor of people sending each other pictures of themselves in various stages of undress, but generally only when it is something both parties are interested in (or the sender is a woman). When it's a dude sending pictures of his crank (or of him holding his crank while wearing crocs) to a chick who isn't interested, not to mention to a not interested chick who is 20 years younger than him, I get a little skeeved out. Like, Pete Rose in his underwear skeeved out. But doesn't this also seem like something Rose would do? Looks like my Favre = Rose comparison just continues to get more and more accurate.
But despite their stunning ability to strike out on pitches out of the zone last night, they managed to squeak out a win over the Rays thanks to Delmon Young's big single in the 13th. Of course, that hit came with runners on the corners and nobody out, so you would have thought a big inning was coming, but this was the Twins, and much like the rest of this series they were unable to get anything resembling a timely hit after Young, ending up on the right side of the 2-1 victory thanks to Matt Guerrier's six straight outs.
I do realize I've been a bit hard on this team in this series, and if they can win tomorrow they end up with a split, and you can't really expect anything better on the road against a team like Tampa, but they have just been so close in every game. When two good teams matchup it's often the little things that make the difference, and do you really feel good with Gardy out there being the difference between a win and a loss (hello Guerrier vs. Upton two nights ago). He clearly does some things right, enough to make the playoffs more often than not, but he is not a good game manager. Sometimes that makes the difference. I'm not calling for his head or anything, but sometimes he can really piss me right the hell off. Seriously, go ahead and start keeping track of all the really good game decisions he makes. I'll wait.
2. Is it weird that nobody cares about this? A-Rod finally hit his 600th career home run yesterday afternoon, just a mere 12 games and 46 at-bats since he hit #599. I know everybody hates A-Rod, and for some reason the fans boo whenever he comes to bat, but I've never quite understood that. Because he makes a ton of money? They all make a ton of money. Because he used steroids? They all used steroids. I mean, 600 HR, even in this day and age, is still a pretty special thing. Only six other people have done it, with A-Rod being the youngest to reach that mark, and before you go spouting off about cheaters know that two other members, Bonds and Sosa, are cheaters too. And doesn't A-Rod's cheating seem slightly less grievous somehow than Bonds or Sosa. Bonds went from a great hitter to probably the second best of all-time, while Sosa went from a AAAA player to a home run hitting machine who still sucked. A-Rod, to me, just doesn't seem anywhere near that level. I actually kind of like the guy. I'm not saying I want to go pick out curtains or anything, but if he threw some money at me and there was a little wine and maybe a back rub involved, who knows?
3. There is no way Bud Selig will be able to handle this. You have probably heard the Texas Rangers are having all kinds of financial troubles, which is really too bad since they could make a run at the World Series this year. What you may not have heard is that they are currently up for auction and it's basically Nolan Ryan vs. Mark Cuban. So it's stoic, professional, respects the game ex-stud pitcher and maybe the most famous baseball name in history Nolan Ryan versus trashy, spazzy, do it his own way, insult every in power and get fined every five minutes Mark Cuban. Now I think Cuban would be good for baseball - he would treat his players great, spend on a Yankee-level for payroll, and give MLB its best villain since John Rocker - but I'm guessing Bud Selig disagrees. Of course, this is the same guy who thinks the All-Star game should mean something and almost wrecked the game twice (strike, steroids), so I like my chances.
4. This is what Carlos Gomez should have been. Sigh. Back in 2007, Carlos Gomez was one of the Mets top prospects while Carlos Gonzalez was one of the top prospects in the Arizona system. Both were centerfielders. Both were fast as all hell. Both were toolsy. Both were plus defenders. And neither understood the strike zone. Both have been traded since then (Gonzalez twice), but while we've seen Gomez struggle to become more than a fast, inconsistent player, Gonzalez has become one of the best in the game. After hitting two home runs today he now has a line of .319/.349/.559 with 23 home runs, 72 RBI, and 15 steals, numbers that rank him as #2 in the NL in batting average, #4 in slugging, #6 in RBI, #7 in homers, and #6 in OPS. Take heart though, Carlos Gomez fans (all one of you), most defensive metrics have Go-Go as a much better defender than Gonzalez. Take that! Although Gonzalez did have one unfair advantage - he go to learn from the great Todd Helton.
5. Edwin Jackson made me look like an idiot. Remember how I was all like, "Jackson will suck in the AL he's not even good in the NL" and "Chicago is so stupid they totally got stuck with Jackson" and "I'm smart"? Well I'm still an idiot. Jackson led the White Sox to yet another stupid win, which makes them something like 50-1 in the last two months, pitching seven very good innings, allowing just one run on nine hits and a walk while striking out six. Not a masterful shutdown performance, but pretty solid, even if it was against the suddenly punchless Tigers. Seriously, what is going on with the Sox pitching? It doesn't even matter who they throw out there, they are all Cy Young candidates. I don't know what kind of magic elixir they have in Chicago, but I suspect it has something to do with Dayton wings.
6. Brett Favre is a creepy perv? Favre retirement talk, with him finally coming out and saying it's all about the health of his ankle and that he hasn't made a decision yet, but that's not important. More interesting is that Jenn Sterger (pictured below), famous for having a large rack and being a Florida State fan in a cowboy hat, has told Deadspin that Favre used to send her pictures of his ding-dong when they were both employed by the Jets. Now, I'm all in favor of people sending each other pictures of themselves in various stages of undress, but generally only when it is something both parties are interested in (or the sender is a woman). When it's a dude sending pictures of his crank (or of him holding his crank while wearing crocs) to a chick who isn't interested, not to mention to a not interested chick who is 20 years younger than him, I get a little skeeved out. Like, Pete Rose in his underwear skeeved out. But doesn't this also seem like something Rose would do? Looks like my Favre = Rose comparison just continues to get more and more accurate.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Six Very Important Things this Morning 8.4.2010
1. Looks like somebody's sick of not being the lead on Sportscenter. You are no doubt aware of this already, but the Pete Rose of football, Brett Favre, decided to make his retirement/non-retirement a story again, this time texting teammates the phrase "this is it" which somehow has been taken to mean he is retiring, despite the fact that I can think of a million other things that phrase could be referring to. Of course, this is the kind of thing you'd think could be easily clarified with a statement, but naturally Debbie Drama has kept silent on the issue.
It's freaking unbelievable. Every year. There were times I thought it might be a media obsession that created this circus every year, but it really is Favre. He completely creates this every where he goes. He's not the down home of the farm good ole boy, he's Paris Hilton. Seriously he makes Lindsay Lohan look shy and Spencer Pratt look media savvy. I'm ready to say good riddance to Captain Look-at-Me. Except that with him they are a Super Bowl contender, without they are a borderline playoff team, so I'll put up with it and then welcome him back with open arms. Oh my god I think I have battered wife syndrome.
2. Well Matt Guerrier certainly lit that candle, didn't he? I know I overreact to every loss. I admit it, and if I continue to write daily you'll see it as I write about each Twins game, but isn't it disheartening to see them just fail against good teams again and again? I mean, they had opportunity after opportunity to take control of that game and let them all pass by. When they finally manage to tie the game on a big and unlikely HR by Butera, Guerrier comes in and gives us one of the ugliest relief outings you'll ever see to give the game away. I'm not suggesting they can't win the division, being just 1.5 back of a very flawed Chicago teams means you're just another streak away from first, and they have the schedule where they could do it, but I am suggesting they have no shot in the playoffs to do anything other than fade away. Again.
When Morneau is back things could change, he's that good, but day by day this thing gets curiouser and curiouser. Perhaps most telling is the fact that Morneau seems to have gone into hiding. Maybe he has a huge lump on his head and he's embarrassed. Maybe he actually had an eyeball fall out when he got kneed. Or maybe things are really, truly bad up in his noggin. Like, really bad. I certainly hope not, because that would be a tragedy not just in the sports world but in the world world as well, but the comparisons to what happened to Corey Koskie are feeling more and more disturbingly apt.
3. I should probably update you on this. Since I talked yesterday about super phenom Carlos Santana getting run over at the plate and destroying his leg the day after I traded for him, you will probably be happy to hear the news that it ended up being just a knee sprain and Santana is now on the 15-day disabled list. Based on how bad that play looked, this is beyond good news for the Indians. Now he should be able to be back in time to shred Twins' pitching and knock them out of the playoffs.
4. What year is this, 2003? The Boston Celtics are about to sign Shaquille O'Neal. Seriously. You would have thought it near impossible for this team to get older, but it looks like they have done it. Seriously though, they easily have the best team of 2003. KG finished second in the MVP voting with Shaq finishing fifth and both were All-NBA first teamers and on the all-defensive team. Paul Pierce was third team All-NBA and was 13th in MVP balloting, with Jermaine O'Neal joining him on that all-NBA third team. Ray Allen was merely an all-star and won the Sportsmanship Award (wait, the what?). All they need to do is fill out their roster with the available Tracy McGrady (4th in MVP voting) and Allen Iverson (6th) and they would dominate. All they'd need is a time machine. Or a Hot Tub and an illegal Russian energy drink. Or even a Delorean and some plutonium. 1.21 Gigawatts!
5. Suck it, Chicago. When the White Sox were unable to consummate an Adam Dunn deal, despite committing self-rape in acquiring Edwin Jackson, their hope was that he would slip through waivers and they could claim him, at which point they could then work out a trade to acquire the services of the big donkey. The Nationals didn't waste any time according to reports, putting Dunn on waivers today, however it doesn't look like Chicago will get a crack at him. According to analysts there's is essentially no way Dunn will slip past both the Rockies and Giants, and since a waived player has to pass through his own league before the teams in the other get a chance, it looks like the Sox will just have to sit there with a limp wiener, the saddest kind of wiener. (and if you aren't a nerd like me and don't quite understand all this waiver stuff, here is a very excellent primer from excellent Twins' blog Twinkie Town).
6. Maybe this is why Favre is retiring again. According to reports, Donkey Kong Sue will sign with the Lions at some point today, putting his name to a contract worth $60 million over five years, with $40 million of that guaranteed. Nice. He did miss four days of practice and whoever the Lions new coach is (Jim Schwartz is his name. Seriously. Just go with Jim Shorts already) is all twisted up about the "missed opportunities" or whatever. Relax Mr. Shorts, I think he'll be ok. As noted poet and wordsmith Allen Iverson once said, "I know it’s important, I honestly do but we’re talking about practice. We’re talking about practice man. We’re talking about practice. We’re talking about practice. We’re not talking about the game. We’re talking about practice." Preach on, brother!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Six Very Important Things this Morning - 8.3.2010
1. Jeremy Hellickson had an awfully good debut. Nice outing for the rookie, even against a Twins lineup that didn't have Morneau or Mauer, but at least had 9 guys who aren't gigantic pussies. Seriously, has there ever been a team whose two best players missed this many games? The real M&M boys would be ashamed. Mickey Mantle drank a fifth of whiskey on a slow night and would regularly knock back enough to kill Nicolas Cage, washed it down with a couple big ole stogies, followed that up with a roll in the hay with some random broad, and then got two hours of sleep before rolling out of bed and going 2-4 with a home run. And everybody knows Roger Maris was functionally retarded, as is everyone from North Dakota, but he managed to have some of the better seasons of his era (and no, he's not a hall of famer. Don't be an idiot). Yet Morneau gets bumped in the head and Mauer is a little sore and they can't be bothered to play despite the team being in the middle of a good ole fashioned pennant race. Seriously pathetic. I say they trade them both. Except for Morneau.
2. The Big Ten is gonna make bank. With the Big 10 (11) changing to the Big 10 (12) next season, it also gains a championship game for football. This is good, because it's an extra game, and it's an extra game between two good teams (at least for the conference, not necessarily nationally - zing), so that means extra money. I read somewhere else that it would be approximately $5 million more bucks to the already cash-stuffed conference, which will also get a boost from adding Nebraska TV sets. If you click on the link and read the article there's a bunch more in there, but to be honest I got really bored and then scrolled down and it was way too long to keep reading.
3. The Reds are loaded with young pitching. Seriously, this team is going to be a serious NL contender for years with all the young stud arms, the latest example of which is Travis Wood, who tossed 7 innings of 2-hit ball last night, which isn't even his best outing of his seven career starts because he nearly tossed a perfect game in his third career time out, ending up with a one hitter. With him, Mike Leake (7-2, 3.57 ERA), Johnny Cueto (10-2, 3.32) they already have three guys under 25 who have shown they can do it and they still have Homer Baily (super talented but constantly injured), Edinson Volquez (recovering from injury but awesome when pre-injury), Aroldis Chapman (famous foreigner) and Matt Maloney who has only made two starts but has been solid (3.09 ERA, 1.11 WHIP). If you want to go deeper they have four other guys on John Sickels' top 20. I predict them to become a dynasty, but based on my history of predicting they're probably going to become the next Pirates.
4. So much for the Smoak monster. This happened over the weekend, but I didn't get around to mentioning it ever and I figured I should since I've been blowing so much Smoak about him: Justin Smoak was sent down from Seattle to AAA. I guess these days a .198 batting average and .624 OPS don't get you anything these days, what with all the politics and all. Seriously though, he's been successful in the minors, he's just 23 and in his third professional season, and he still shows good plate discipline (39 walks in 340 big league plate appearances). He'll be fine. Or he's the next Scott Stahoviak.
5. So much for that trade. Carlos Santana, rookie catcher, super stud, future star, the next Joe Mauer but less of a girl, non-guitar player or Rob Thomas collaborator, guy who would lead the Majors in OPS for catchers if he had enough at-bats, and guy I just MOTHER FUCKING TRADED FOR in fantasy baseball on Sunday ended up leaving the Indians' game last night with an apparent leg injury after Ryan Kalish of the Red Sox, who doesn't matter now and will never matter, barreled into him on a play at the plate. The best part of that article is the end, where they make sure you know that "Television replays showed his left leg buckled." Awesome. He was on my team for less than 24 hours. Wait, no. I mean this is a terrible blow to baseball and Cleveland and this poor young man's career or something else less selfish.
6. Is Miami-Dade the new convict U? I'll assume you are all aware of Trevor Mbakwe and his legal woes, and if you're not I think you're in the wrong place (unless you like crappy SyFy movies, in which case stay tuned)), but his Miami-Dade teammate Darnell Dodson is now in a bit of a pickle at Kentucky. Well maybe not a pickle, since there doesn't seem to be any definitive information out there, but John Calipari announced that Dodson will not be playing for Kentucky this season, although he seems to be academically ineligible. Apparently there has been some friction between Calipari and Dodson, so this isn't a huge surprise, but it could hurt the Wildcats since Dodson was their #1 three-point shooter last year. Of course, since basically the entire team turned pro, we don't really have any idea what their strenghts and weaknesses are next season. Although I feel comfortable saying a strenth will be sliminess and a weakness will be ethics.
By the way, dickmittens, start paying attention. I've now had two people who I know read this blog regularly say something like, "oh, you're on Twitter?" Yes, idiots. Look at the text bar at the very top of the screen. And then go sign up.
2. The Big Ten is gonna make bank. With the Big 10 (11) changing to the Big 10 (12) next season, it also gains a championship game for football. This is good, because it's an extra game, and it's an extra game between two good teams (at least for the conference, not necessarily nationally - zing), so that means extra money. I read somewhere else that it would be approximately $5 million more bucks to the already cash-stuffed conference, which will also get a boost from adding Nebraska TV sets. If you click on the link and read the article there's a bunch more in there, but to be honest I got really bored and then scrolled down and it was way too long to keep reading.
3. The Reds are loaded with young pitching. Seriously, this team is going to be a serious NL contender for years with all the young stud arms, the latest example of which is Travis Wood, who tossed 7 innings of 2-hit ball last night, which isn't even his best outing of his seven career starts because he nearly tossed a perfect game in his third career time out, ending up with a one hitter. With him, Mike Leake (7-2, 3.57 ERA), Johnny Cueto (10-2, 3.32) they already have three guys under 25 who have shown they can do it and they still have Homer Baily (super talented but constantly injured), Edinson Volquez (recovering from injury but awesome when pre-injury), Aroldis Chapman (famous foreigner) and Matt Maloney who has only made two starts but has been solid (3.09 ERA, 1.11 WHIP). If you want to go deeper they have four other guys on John Sickels' top 20. I predict them to become a dynasty, but based on my history of predicting they're probably going to become the next Pirates.
4. So much for the Smoak monster. This happened over the weekend, but I didn't get around to mentioning it ever and I figured I should since I've been blowing so much Smoak about him: Justin Smoak was sent down from Seattle to AAA. I guess these days a .198 batting average and .624 OPS don't get you anything these days, what with all the politics and all. Seriously though, he's been successful in the minors, he's just 23 and in his third professional season, and he still shows good plate discipline (39 walks in 340 big league plate appearances). He'll be fine. Or he's the next Scott Stahoviak.
5. So much for that trade. Carlos Santana, rookie catcher, super stud, future star, the next Joe Mauer but less of a girl, non-guitar player or Rob Thomas collaborator, guy who would lead the Majors in OPS for catchers if he had enough at-bats, and guy I just MOTHER FUCKING TRADED FOR in fantasy baseball on Sunday ended up leaving the Indians' game last night with an apparent leg injury after Ryan Kalish of the Red Sox, who doesn't matter now and will never matter, barreled into him on a play at the plate. The best part of that article is the end, where they make sure you know that "Television replays showed his left leg buckled." Awesome. He was on my team for less than 24 hours. Wait, no. I mean this is a terrible blow to baseball and Cleveland and this poor young man's career or something else less selfish.
6. Is Miami-Dade the new convict U? I'll assume you are all aware of Trevor Mbakwe and his legal woes, and if you're not I think you're in the wrong place (unless you like crappy SyFy movies, in which case stay tuned)), but his Miami-Dade teammate Darnell Dodson is now in a bit of a pickle at Kentucky. Well maybe not a pickle, since there doesn't seem to be any definitive information out there, but John Calipari announced that Dodson will not be playing for Kentucky this season, although he seems to be academically ineligible. Apparently there has been some friction between Calipari and Dodson, so this isn't a huge surprise, but it could hurt the Wildcats since Dodson was their #1 three-point shooter last year. Of course, since basically the entire team turned pro, we don't really have any idea what their strenghts and weaknesses are next season. Although I feel comfortable saying a strenth will be sliminess and a weakness will be ethics.
By the way, dickmittens, start paying attention. I've now had two people who I know read this blog regularly say something like, "oh, you're on Twitter?" Yes, idiots. Look at the text bar at the very top of the screen. And then go sign up.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Weekend Review - 8/2/2010
Remember how these Weekend Reviews used to be just for the weekend stuff, and then they morphed into the full week in review? Well, now that I'm doing daily postings, they're going back to weekend reviews only. I think. For now.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Kevin Slowey. You know, if he had just pitched like this all year nobody would be worried. When he's on he's just an excellent, efficient, strike-throwing, out-recorded machine. Obviously we haven't seen enough of that version of Slowey this year, leading to all the Haren/Oswalt/Lilly talk, but with Pavano and Liriano essentially dominant at this point if Slowey (and Baker) can start pitching well the Twins could end up being a serious problem for somebody in the playoffs. Or those two will continue to suck, leading to down-to-the-wire pennant race where the winner gets swept in the first round.
2. Francisco Liriano. Seven innings, 2 hits allowed, no runs, eleven strikeouts, and it's really just a ho-hum effort at this point. He's now tossed 21 straight scoreless innings, and is looking very close to his 2006 form. Honestly I'm almost getting sick of writing about him, even as he's getting more and more enjoyable to watch. Seriously, is there anything better than watching him carve up a lineup, and do it in a completely different way than Pavano? Man I really hope those other jackasses in the rotation get their shit together. This next week and a half is going to tell us a lot, with the next 10 games on the road including matchups with Tampa and the White Sox.
3. Stuart Appleby. Do you remember two years ago when Stewart Cink won the British Open and I had to say nice things about him because he won? Well I hate Cink, so that really sucked. This also sucks, because Stuart Appleby is basically nothing but a cotton-headed ninny-muggins, and he won the Greenbrier Classic this week because he shot a 59 on Sunday, and a 59 is a score that has only been reached like five times or something like that, so it's pretty impressive. Less impressive was Jeff Overton missing a 3-foot birdie putt on 17 that would have tied Appleby and then blaming a ballmark for the miss. Also, how is this thing called the Greenbrier "Classic" when it's in its first year of existence? Seems like false advertising.
4. Gavin Floyd. Why is he so good now? He pitched six perfect innings on Sunday against the A's before it was broken up, but finished with yet another sparkling outing. Since June 8th, here are his earned runs allowed by game: 1-1-1-0-2-1-1-1-0-0. That's ridiculous. And it feels like the entire team has started doing this crap. The Twins are a far better team than Chicago, but if they keep getting pitching like this they're going to be awfully tough to beat. Luckily the just acquire Edwin Jackson, so we're good.
5. Texas Rangers. Not because of their play this weekend, when they dropped two of three against the Angels, but because they have now positioned themselves as a darkhorse World Series candidate. The rotation was already pretty good with the emergence of Tommy Hunter, Colby Lewis, and C.J. Wilson and they added Cliff Lee. The bullpen is outstanding. Parts of their lineup were already stacked (Josh Hamilton, Elvis Andrus, Nelson Cruz, and Michael Young) and where they had weaknesses they went out and acquired pieces to address it: Cristian Guzman at 2B, Jorge Cantu at first, and Bengie Molina behind the plate. None of those guys are awesome or anything, but they all shore up weak areas for Texas. Look out for these guys, serious sleeper potential.
.
WHO SUCKED
1. Chicago White Sox. So let me get this straight. First of all, they weren't able to get the guy they really wanted, Adam Dunn, or either of there backup plans, Lance Berkman or Manny Ramirez, and they even had a deal in place for Berkman but he vetoed it. Then they end up trading for Edwin Jackson, a pitcher who has been on three teams in three years, has a 5.16 ERA in the National League this year, has a career 4.74 ERA, leads the NL in earned runs allowed, and is going to make $8.35 million this year. And they traded two of their top 10 prospects for him. And the only reason they traded for him is because the Nats made them think that getting him was the key to getting Dunn. Psych, I guess. Well played Nats, well played. White Sox? More like White Sux, am I right?
2. Seattle Mariners. Wow, way to not put up any resistance at all, and following up a sweep by the White Sox as well leads me to the conclusion that the Mariners are the most worthless team in baseball. Yes, the same Mariners that I said were a sleeper World Series candidate. Let's all agree that I never said that, k?
3. Bryce Harper. I'm pretty sure Bryce Harper is a douche. I mean, I already kind of did, considering he has been anointed a future star since he was like six and he wears war paint when he plays like some douche from Precision Tree, but check out his facebook profile (No, I didn't stalk him, this is from an article on yahoo)
I mean really. Between the picture and using his status as a tool to try to get a better contract? Ugh. Count me out. I hope Strasburg beans him in BP, assuming Bryce gets to the bigs someday. Really, I'd think a former Twin would raise his kid better than this.
4. Early season NFL injuries. Are there always this many injuries before practices even start? Dez Bryant. Knowshon Moreno. Percy Harvin. DeSean Jackson. Wes Welker. I mean, how are people getting hurt? Isn't this the part where they don't do anything but watch film and do non-contract drills? Sounds like a bunch of sissies to me. I guess we already know Harvin is, thanks to his Justin Morneau-like response to headaches. Just seems weird. Or maybe I'm stretching for subjects to write about.
5. Angelina. Seriously, why is she even there? None of the guys want her there. None of the girls want her there. She's only there because she's jealous of the fame these dorks have now achieved, however much they don't actually deserve it. Perhaps the best part is that she thinks nobody likes her because she left early last season, but in reality nobody likes her because she's a terrible person who talked trash about all of them. And why would anybody talk shit about JWoww. That chick would straight up murder you in your sleep if she so much as thought you looked at her wrong. Honestly as hot as she is if she wanted to sleep with me I'd turn her down because I'd be afraid that I wouldn't perform up to her standards and her response would be to break a bottle on the headboard and then stab me in the balls.
The End. I would have written more but it's Shark Week. Holla.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Kevin Slowey. You know, if he had just pitched like this all year nobody would be worried. When he's on he's just an excellent, efficient, strike-throwing, out-recorded machine. Obviously we haven't seen enough of that version of Slowey this year, leading to all the Haren/Oswalt/Lilly talk, but with Pavano and Liriano essentially dominant at this point if Slowey (and Baker) can start pitching well the Twins could end up being a serious problem for somebody in the playoffs. Or those two will continue to suck, leading to down-to-the-wire pennant race where the winner gets swept in the first round.
2. Francisco Liriano. Seven innings, 2 hits allowed, no runs, eleven strikeouts, and it's really just a ho-hum effort at this point. He's now tossed 21 straight scoreless innings, and is looking very close to his 2006 form. Honestly I'm almost getting sick of writing about him, even as he's getting more and more enjoyable to watch. Seriously, is there anything better than watching him carve up a lineup, and do it in a completely different way than Pavano? Man I really hope those other jackasses in the rotation get their shit together. This next week and a half is going to tell us a lot, with the next 10 games on the road including matchups with Tampa and the White Sox.
3. Stuart Appleby. Do you remember two years ago when Stewart Cink won the British Open and I had to say nice things about him because he won? Well I hate Cink, so that really sucked. This also sucks, because Stuart Appleby is basically nothing but a cotton-headed ninny-muggins, and he won the Greenbrier Classic this week because he shot a 59 on Sunday, and a 59 is a score that has only been reached like five times or something like that, so it's pretty impressive. Less impressive was Jeff Overton missing a 3-foot birdie putt on 17 that would have tied Appleby and then blaming a ballmark for the miss. Also, how is this thing called the Greenbrier "Classic" when it's in its first year of existence? Seems like false advertising.
4. Gavin Floyd. Why is he so good now? He pitched six perfect innings on Sunday against the A's before it was broken up, but finished with yet another sparkling outing. Since June 8th, here are his earned runs allowed by game: 1-1-1-0-2-1-1-1-0-0. That's ridiculous. And it feels like the entire team has started doing this crap. The Twins are a far better team than Chicago, but if they keep getting pitching like this they're going to be awfully tough to beat. Luckily the just acquire Edwin Jackson, so we're good.
5. Texas Rangers. Not because of their play this weekend, when they dropped two of three against the Angels, but because they have now positioned themselves as a darkhorse World Series candidate. The rotation was already pretty good with the emergence of Tommy Hunter, Colby Lewis, and C.J. Wilson and they added Cliff Lee. The bullpen is outstanding. Parts of their lineup were already stacked (Josh Hamilton, Elvis Andrus, Nelson Cruz, and Michael Young) and where they had weaknesses they went out and acquired pieces to address it: Cristian Guzman at 2B, Jorge Cantu at first, and Bengie Molina behind the plate. None of those guys are awesome or anything, but they all shore up weak areas for Texas. Look out for these guys, serious sleeper potential.
.
WHO SUCKED
1. Chicago White Sox. So let me get this straight. First of all, they weren't able to get the guy they really wanted, Adam Dunn, or either of there backup plans, Lance Berkman or Manny Ramirez, and they even had a deal in place for Berkman but he vetoed it. Then they end up trading for Edwin Jackson, a pitcher who has been on three teams in three years, has a 5.16 ERA in the National League this year, has a career 4.74 ERA, leads the NL in earned runs allowed, and is going to make $8.35 million this year. And they traded two of their top 10 prospects for him. And the only reason they traded for him is because the Nats made them think that getting him was the key to getting Dunn. Psych, I guess. Well played Nats, well played. White Sox? More like White Sux, am I right?
2. Seattle Mariners. Wow, way to not put up any resistance at all, and following up a sweep by the White Sox as well leads me to the conclusion that the Mariners are the most worthless team in baseball. Yes, the same Mariners that I said were a sleeper World Series candidate. Let's all agree that I never said that, k?
3. Bryce Harper. I'm pretty sure Bryce Harper is a douche. I mean, I already kind of did, considering he has been anointed a future star since he was like six and he wears war paint when he plays like some douche from Precision Tree, but check out his facebook profile (No, I didn't stalk him, this is from an article on yahoo)
I mean really. Between the picture and using his status as a tool to try to get a better contract? Ugh. Count me out. I hope Strasburg beans him in BP, assuming Bryce gets to the bigs someday. Really, I'd think a former Twin would raise his kid better than this.
4. Early season NFL injuries. Are there always this many injuries before practices even start? Dez Bryant. Knowshon Moreno. Percy Harvin. DeSean Jackson. Wes Welker. I mean, how are people getting hurt? Isn't this the part where they don't do anything but watch film and do non-contract drills? Sounds like a bunch of sissies to me. I guess we already know Harvin is, thanks to his Justin Morneau-like response to headaches. Just seems weird. Or maybe I'm stretching for subjects to write about.
5. Angelina. Seriously, why is she even there? None of the guys want her there. None of the girls want her there. She's only there because she's jealous of the fame these dorks have now achieved, however much they don't actually deserve it. Perhaps the best part is that she thinks nobody likes her because she left early last season, but in reality nobody likes her because she's a terrible person who talked trash about all of them. And why would anybody talk shit about JWoww. That chick would straight up murder you in your sleep if she so much as thought you looked at her wrong. Honestly as hot as she is if she wanted to sleep with me I'd turn her down because I'd be afraid that I wouldn't perform up to her standards and her response would be to break a bottle on the headboard and then stab me in the balls.
The End. I would have written more but it's Shark Week. Holla.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Six Very Important Things this Morning 7.30.2010
1. I'm unsure about this. Big move down Twins way, moving Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps, a deal that I now Super Twins Blogger Aaron Gleeman hates already, thanks to the miracle of twitter. I don't hate it, but I also don't love it. Kind of like the show Big Bang Theory. I'm not a fan of trading Ramos in a trade that isn't really the kind that will put you over the top, but Capps is better than Rauch, even if it's not a huge upgrade, he was absolutely lights out from 2006-2008, and he has significant closing experience. Maybe it's the last little bit of the nerd in me holding on to something old school but I believe there is value in having closing experience. The downside, of course, is that they traded their top prospect (top 3 at worst) for a rental, because Capps is a free agent after this year, and it makes me a bit queasy to trade a top young guy for a reliever. I need more time to really digest this, but I think I kind of like it but don't love it. Of course, I'm also a huge lover of trades because they're fun, so that bumps it up a notch.
2. A few other trades went down yesterday. The most high profile was Roy Oswalt to the Phillies for J.A. Happ and a couple of mediocre prospects, a steal for the Phillies since the Astros are paying $11 million of his salary next year and they didn't have to guarantee his 2012 option. This now gives Philly a 3-man playoff rotation of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Oswalt, and I think we have a Miami Heat situation brewing in the NL. Other trades include the shell of Miguel Tejada to the Padres for a middling minor leaguer, Jorge Cantu to the Rangers for a couple of promising pitchers even though Texas is broke, and an odd swap of minor leaguers between the Astros and Blue Jays involving one of the prospects the Astros had received just hours earlier in the Oswalt trade and a guy the Jays got in the Halladay trade last year. So basically the market for starters is crap, but the Twins overpaid for Capps. Awesome.
3. Sticking with baseball, we need a moment of silence. Stephen Strasburg is dead. Well shut down and on the DL, retroactive to his last start so he'll be back in about 10 days. But still. Apparently he's basically just got a sore shoulder with a little inflammation and it's not really a big deal, but because the Nats are going nowhere and Strasburg is basically Sidd Finch with a golden arm, there's no reason to put him at even a minuscule risk of further injury. Now if only they could find a team to give up a top prospect at a tough position to fill, like catcher, for a pretty decent but overvalued reliever. Oh, and you can also read how Jim Bunning is batshit insane if you follow that link.
4. R. A. Dickey is really starting to piss me off. He continues to somehow pitch well, so well in fact that the article title after his start tonight was "Dickey Dominates." After taking a 3-hitter into the ninth before running into some trouble and getting yanked, Dickey is now 7-4, but more importantly is sporting a 2.32 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP; ace-like numbers. That ERA is less than half his career number, his WHIP is almost a half base-runner per inning better this year, and for a guy who has only been a part-time starter in his career he's been able to go at least 6 innings in 12 of his 14 starts this year. And, in case you're wondering, his BABIP is right where it should be, so there's no reason to expect him to suddenly start to suck. Seriously, this is so far beyond a career-year that we need a new word for it. This is his Brady Anderson year.
5. The Jeremy Tyler saga continues. You might remember Tyler as one of the top incoming recruits for the class of 2010, who had signed on with Louisville and Rick Pitino. Then he decided the best move for him would be to leave high school after his junior year and play professionally in Israel until he became eligible for the NBA. He then quit after just 10 games (averaging 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in 7.6 minutes) after a series of issues including leaving a game at half time in protest that he wasn't getting enough minutes. He's now hooked up with a team in a Japanese League, and will presumably play over there next year unless he quits again. He will be eligible for the NBA Draft next season, so we'll find out if it was worth it. Pretty much a toss up right now between living in a land where you don't know the culture or the language, not getting along with teammates, and high levels of frustration versus being a star and banging a different coed every night. Tough call.
6. Northwestern's NCAA cherry takes a hit. This happened a few days ago but I haven't commented on it and I think it's big enough that I should make sure to mention, but Kevin Coble has decided to hang 'em up and has left the Wildcat basketball team. It's unfortunate for Northwestern, because between him and John Shurna they would have had two big weapons who could score from inside or outside, and with Michael Thompson and Drew Crawford back and highly rated freshman Jershon Cobb joining the team, they were looking very good for their first ever NCAA bid. They will still be good enough to make a run, but it will be tough without Coble, who led the team in scoring and rebounding all three years of his career, but was sidelined by a foot injury last year, and left the team to focus on his academics and get his degree. Just goes to show you can't trust a nerd.
I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on the Capps trade. Stay tuned.
2. A few other trades went down yesterday. The most high profile was Roy Oswalt to the Phillies for J.A. Happ and a couple of mediocre prospects, a steal for the Phillies since the Astros are paying $11 million of his salary next year and they didn't have to guarantee his 2012 option. This now gives Philly a 3-man playoff rotation of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Oswalt, and I think we have a Miami Heat situation brewing in the NL. Other trades include the shell of Miguel Tejada to the Padres for a middling minor leaguer, Jorge Cantu to the Rangers for a couple of promising pitchers even though Texas is broke, and an odd swap of minor leaguers between the Astros and Blue Jays involving one of the prospects the Astros had received just hours earlier in the Oswalt trade and a guy the Jays got in the Halladay trade last year. So basically the market for starters is crap, but the Twins overpaid for Capps. Awesome.
3. Sticking with baseball, we need a moment of silence. Stephen Strasburg is dead. Well shut down and on the DL, retroactive to his last start so he'll be back in about 10 days. But still. Apparently he's basically just got a sore shoulder with a little inflammation and it's not really a big deal, but because the Nats are going nowhere and Strasburg is basically Sidd Finch with a golden arm, there's no reason to put him at even a minuscule risk of further injury. Now if only they could find a team to give up a top prospect at a tough position to fill, like catcher, for a pretty decent but overvalued reliever. Oh, and you can also read how Jim Bunning is batshit insane if you follow that link.
4. R. A. Dickey is really starting to piss me off. He continues to somehow pitch well, so well in fact that the article title after his start tonight was "Dickey Dominates." After taking a 3-hitter into the ninth before running into some trouble and getting yanked, Dickey is now 7-4, but more importantly is sporting a 2.32 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP; ace-like numbers. That ERA is less than half his career number, his WHIP is almost a half base-runner per inning better this year, and for a guy who has only been a part-time starter in his career he's been able to go at least 6 innings in 12 of his 14 starts this year. And, in case you're wondering, his BABIP is right where it should be, so there's no reason to expect him to suddenly start to suck. Seriously, this is so far beyond a career-year that we need a new word for it. This is his Brady Anderson year.
5. The Jeremy Tyler saga continues. You might remember Tyler as one of the top incoming recruits for the class of 2010, who had signed on with Louisville and Rick Pitino. Then he decided the best move for him would be to leave high school after his junior year and play professionally in Israel until he became eligible for the NBA. He then quit after just 10 games (averaging 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in 7.6 minutes) after a series of issues including leaving a game at half time in protest that he wasn't getting enough minutes. He's now hooked up with a team in a Japanese League, and will presumably play over there next year unless he quits again. He will be eligible for the NBA Draft next season, so we'll find out if it was worth it. Pretty much a toss up right now between living in a land where you don't know the culture or the language, not getting along with teammates, and high levels of frustration versus being a star and banging a different coed every night. Tough call.
6. Northwestern's NCAA cherry takes a hit. This happened a few days ago but I haven't commented on it and I think it's big enough that I should make sure to mention, but Kevin Coble has decided to hang 'em up and has left the Wildcat basketball team. It's unfortunate for Northwestern, because between him and John Shurna they would have had two big weapons who could score from inside or outside, and with Michael Thompson and Drew Crawford back and highly rated freshman Jershon Cobb joining the team, they were looking very good for their first ever NCAA bid. They will still be good enough to make a run, but it will be tough without Coble, who led the team in scoring and rebounding all three years of his career, but was sidelined by a foot injury last year, and left the team to focus on his academics and get his degree. Just goes to show you can't trust a nerd.
I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on the Capps trade. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Gopher Hoops Recruiting Update
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm going to take a look at Gopher Basketball recruiting tonight. After they missed out on Jesperson, Tre Demps, and Uthoff, I relaized I didn't even know if I should be worried or not. How many other offers were out? Were they close on anybody? Seriously, I'm not even sure how many scholarships they have for sure (I think it's 3 for 2011, assuming Mbakwe ends up sticking around). So let's take a look together.
I am taking these "offer lists" from Rivals.com. No doubt they have inaccuracies as all recruiting sites do, but they are the one I have a membership to. The alternative would be to come through all the major sites to try to get the most up-to-date and accurate info, but seriously, I'm not a journalist I'm just bored and own a computer. So if you want to be more thorough, either do it yourself or go the the Gopher Hole. They have tons of info over there if you're willing to look for it.
I am not. And away we go:
As I said, according to Rivals the Gophers have offers out for 2011 to these players:
- Joe Coleman - 6-3 SG - Hopkins, MN - #32 SG/#111 overall. Might as well start with Coleman since as a home town boy he seems to be at the top of the "must get" list. He's really jumped up in the rankings this year, and it would behoove Tubby to get him to declare as early as possible before more attractive programs get him on their radar. Right now his other offers are from mid-tier programs, with Iowa State probably the tops, but there's no doubt other teams are starting to take notice since he's basically lit it up every time he's had a chance against top competition.
He's a "natural scorer" and a good athlete who has an improving jump shot, and would be an absolutely terrific addition to the team for 2011 and would be huge to keep the perception up that Tubby "has the borders locked down." Losing out on Coleman wouldn't be a disaster, but it would certainly shake the foundation, and there would have to be a seriously strong class to keep it from being a major disappointment.
- Josh Oglesby - 6-5 SG- Cedar Rapids, IA NR/NR - Other than Coleman this is the kid I keep hearing the most about, mainly because he's local-ish and mainly because the Gophers seem to be looking pretty good for him. He's a combo guard who sounds like he's more SG than PG, but supposedly he has pretty incredible range and is solid with the ball - like a more athletic Blake Hoffarber. The big wrinkle here is that Iowa just offered him, and there are some who think he's been waiting for that offer. Either way, there's midwestern teams involved here including Northern Iowa, so I'd say he's a longshot to be a Gopher at best.
- Naadir Tharpe - 5-11 PG - Wolfeboro, NH - #109 overall - He's not ranked as a PG on Rivals, but ESPN has him as their #8 point guard, and he had some good things to say about Tubby and the Gophers in this article at the Gopher Hole. I don't know what's going on with my former crush Ryan Boatright since Rivals doesn't list the Gophers as in his consideration set yet GopherIllustrated keeps covering him and Tubby keeps watching him, but if things don't work out with him I'll be just fine with Tharpe. I think I've been pretty clear that I love me a nice traditional point guard, and Tharpe fits the bill. In a story on ESPN.com they mention his phenomenal court vision and trademark playmaking skills. Yes please.
- Amir Williams - 6-9 C - Beverly Hills, MI - #3 C/#43 overall - He's a highly rated center from Michigan, which means the Gophers chances of landing him are extremely slim, but I'm including him because he still has the Gophers in consideration and it would be pretty freakin' sweet to actually land him. Of course by in consideration that means they are one of 19 teams he's still considering. Yes, 19. Gotta love those odds.
- Malcolm Brogdon - 6-5 SG - Norcross, GA - #35SG/#115 overall - The next highest ranked player on the list and another wing, I'd peg the Gophers' chances at landing Brogdon at fairly decent since I like Tubby's chances in Georgia. He's described as smooth and calm on the court and more of a shooter than an athlete, and as such sounds to me rather Devoe Joseph-y; as such, I 'm a big fan. However he recently landed an offer from Notre Dame, and when asked what he liked about the Irish he mentioned that the coach said he could "Come in and just play my game. I wouldn't really be put under any type of rules like a lot of college coaches do." If that's what he's looking for, stringent Tubby has no shot.
- Tommie McCune - 6-7 PF - Saginaw, MI - #29PF/#149 overall - The last of the Rivals Top 150 holding an offer from the Gophers, McCune is another Michigan kid so I don't know why Tubby is wasting his time. I mean, everything sounds good: athletic, range out to 20 feet, good rebounder, but if he's a Michigan kid he won't get out of the state unless Izzo doesn't want him. Although I guess with the way that program is going getting their leftovers might now be the worst thing in the world.
- Devin Coleman - 6-3 SG - Wynnewood, PA - NR/NR - A poor man's Rodney Williams, Coleman is described as an incredible athlete who can get to the rim whenever he wants, but isn't exactly known for his jump shot - which all sounds awfully familiar. At one point he was favoring Iowa, but recently he has said that Iowa seems awfully far from home and he might prefer some place like Rutgers (which doesn't exactly bode well for the Twin Cities). Although if your choices are Iowa or Rutgers, Minneapolis has got to look awfully good.
- Shelby Moats - 6-8 PF - Waconia, MN - NR/NR - Behind Joe Coleman and the two PGs I've mentioned Moats is my next biggest wish. Maybe not all that highly rated right now, but some of his descriptors turn me on: strong, good outside shot, cerebral, 4.0 GPA, textbook perfect left-handed shot. Drool. Apparently he's not that great an athlete and most of his offers come from smarty pants smaller schools (Ivy Leaguers, Bucknell, Lehigh, Holy Cross, etc.) but he sounds like the kind of player who takes a school like that to the next level and makes them a Cinderella threat. Why couldn't he help do that at the Barn?
So there's your update. I know there are probably other guys on the radar or whatever, and I will try to do a better job keeping up with all those rumors, but for now here's what you get. I don't have time to chase down every single link right now. Maybe you should go do it and stop being such a jerk all the time.
I am taking these "offer lists" from Rivals.com. No doubt they have inaccuracies as all recruiting sites do, but they are the one I have a membership to. The alternative would be to come through all the major sites to try to get the most up-to-date and accurate info, but seriously, I'm not a journalist I'm just bored and own a computer. So if you want to be more thorough, either do it yourself or go the the Gopher Hole. They have tons of info over there if you're willing to look for it.
I am not. And away we go:
As I said, according to Rivals the Gophers have offers out for 2011 to these players:
- Joe Coleman - 6-3 SG - Hopkins, MN - #32 SG/#111 overall. Might as well start with Coleman since as a home town boy he seems to be at the top of the "must get" list. He's really jumped up in the rankings this year, and it would behoove Tubby to get him to declare as early as possible before more attractive programs get him on their radar. Right now his other offers are from mid-tier programs, with Iowa State probably the tops, but there's no doubt other teams are starting to take notice since he's basically lit it up every time he's had a chance against top competition.
He's a "natural scorer" and a good athlete who has an improving jump shot, and would be an absolutely terrific addition to the team for 2011 and would be huge to keep the perception up that Tubby "has the borders locked down." Losing out on Coleman wouldn't be a disaster, but it would certainly shake the foundation, and there would have to be a seriously strong class to keep it from being a major disappointment.
- Josh Oglesby - 6-5 SG- Cedar Rapids, IA NR/NR - Other than Coleman this is the kid I keep hearing the most about, mainly because he's local-ish and mainly because the Gophers seem to be looking pretty good for him. He's a combo guard who sounds like he's more SG than PG, but supposedly he has pretty incredible range and is solid with the ball - like a more athletic Blake Hoffarber. The big wrinkle here is that Iowa just offered him, and there are some who think he's been waiting for that offer. Either way, there's midwestern teams involved here including Northern Iowa, so I'd say he's a longshot to be a Gopher at best.
- Naadir Tharpe - 5-11 PG - Wolfeboro, NH - #109 overall - He's not ranked as a PG on Rivals, but ESPN has him as their #8 point guard, and he had some good things to say about Tubby and the Gophers in this article at the Gopher Hole. I don't know what's going on with my former crush Ryan Boatright since Rivals doesn't list the Gophers as in his consideration set yet GopherIllustrated keeps covering him and Tubby keeps watching him, but if things don't work out with him I'll be just fine with Tharpe. I think I've been pretty clear that I love me a nice traditional point guard, and Tharpe fits the bill. In a story on ESPN.com they mention his phenomenal court vision and trademark playmaking skills. Yes please.
- Amir Williams - 6-9 C - Beverly Hills, MI - #3 C/#43 overall - He's a highly rated center from Michigan, which means the Gophers chances of landing him are extremely slim, but I'm including him because he still has the Gophers in consideration and it would be pretty freakin' sweet to actually land him. Of course by in consideration that means they are one of 19 teams he's still considering. Yes, 19. Gotta love those odds.
- Malcolm Brogdon - 6-5 SG - Norcross, GA - #35SG/#115 overall - The next highest ranked player on the list and another wing, I'd peg the Gophers' chances at landing Brogdon at fairly decent since I like Tubby's chances in Georgia. He's described as smooth and calm on the court and more of a shooter than an athlete, and as such sounds to me rather Devoe Joseph-y; as such, I 'm a big fan. However he recently landed an offer from Notre Dame, and when asked what he liked about the Irish he mentioned that the coach said he could "Come in and just play my game. I wouldn't really be put under any type of rules like a lot of college coaches do." If that's what he's looking for, stringent Tubby has no shot.
- Tommie McCune - 6-7 PF - Saginaw, MI - #29PF/#149 overall - The last of the Rivals Top 150 holding an offer from the Gophers, McCune is another Michigan kid so I don't know why Tubby is wasting his time. I mean, everything sounds good: athletic, range out to 20 feet, good rebounder, but if he's a Michigan kid he won't get out of the state unless Izzo doesn't want him. Although I guess with the way that program is going getting their leftovers might now be the worst thing in the world.
- Devin Coleman - 6-3 SG - Wynnewood, PA - NR/NR - A poor man's Rodney Williams, Coleman is described as an incredible athlete who can get to the rim whenever he wants, but isn't exactly known for his jump shot - which all sounds awfully familiar. At one point he was favoring Iowa, but recently he has said that Iowa seems awfully far from home and he might prefer some place like Rutgers (which doesn't exactly bode well for the Twin Cities). Although if your choices are Iowa or Rutgers, Minneapolis has got to look awfully good.
- Shelby Moats - 6-8 PF - Waconia, MN - NR/NR - Behind Joe Coleman and the two PGs I've mentioned Moats is my next biggest wish. Maybe not all that highly rated right now, but some of his descriptors turn me on: strong, good outside shot, cerebral, 4.0 GPA, textbook perfect left-handed shot. Drool. Apparently he's not that great an athlete and most of his offers come from smarty pants smaller schools (Ivy Leaguers, Bucknell, Lehigh, Holy Cross, etc.) but he sounds like the kind of player who takes a school like that to the next level and makes them a Cinderella threat. Why couldn't he help do that at the Barn?
So there's your update. I know there are probably other guys on the radar or whatever, and I will try to do a better job keeping up with all those rumors, but for now here's what you get. I don't have time to chase down every single link right now. Maybe you should go do it and stop being such a jerk all the time.
Six Very Important Things this Morning 7.28.10
1. The Twins blitzed the Royals again. Once again your beloved hometown 9 started the game strong, scoring two in the first (which could have been more but Denard Span has a serious aversion to staying on base), then coasted there way to an 11-2 win behind another offensive explosion from Danny Valencia. Another four hit game for the not-a-slap-hitter gives him back-to-back four hit outings and makes four straight games with at least 3 hits. Mauer, Hardy, Young, Cuddy, Span, and Butera each had at least two hits as well. This team is absolutely rocking the ball. Butera is nearly hitting .200 for christ's sake, what the hell is going on? Maybe most impressively, Pavano was clearly not on last night the way he has been lately, but he was able to pitch around trouble for his five innnings, allowing only one run, and the bullpen took it from there. They're really clicking right now, and if the non Pavariano starters can keep it together they could end up taking this thing. hahahahahahahahahahahamakeatrade.
2. Sticking with the Twins, apprently they're exploring Matt Capps. According to Tim K. at ESPN they aren't happy with Rauch and have looked into acquiring Capps, and learned that the Nats would want Wilson Ramos back. This is lunacy on so many levels. Capps is nearly identical to Rauch. Although he might be slighly better he's in no way Wilson Ramos better. Maybe a Matt Tolbert better. If this happens I quit being a fan. Let's hope the Twins leave the exploring of Matt Capps to either Mrs. Capps or various ladies of ill repute, ok? Speaking of which, ask me about Brendan Donnelly some time.
3. Just when you thought the Wolves offseason couldn't get any more bizarre. Newest news is that Jonny Flynn will be out 3-4 months due to hip surgery, which means the Wolves have now gone from three viable point guards to 1 + Bassy Telfair. If you're scoring at home, Kahn has now essentially cleared house, getting rid of nearly everybody from the previous regime and now getting started on moving out his own guys, as Sessions and Hollins were both Kahn signings last offseason. It's a bold move, and is it just me or does Kahn have a little Steinbrenner in him? Who else would sign someone to a four year, $16 million dollar contract just to trade him the next year for a player who was immediately cut? He basically kicked him out of bed in the middle of the night and didn't even supply cab money. Ain't right.
4. The baseball world holds its collective breath. Super phenom (and fantasy team savior) Stephen Strasburg was scratched from his start against the Braves last night after he was "unable to get loose" in the bullpen. That was the official explanation. They said there was no pain or anything, he was just unable to get loose. I usually find a couple of kamikazes does the trick. Seriously though, this could potentially kill baseball.
5. NFL Writers in Cincinnati are going to be busy. The Bengals, in keeping with their tradition of being a complete mess, have signed Terrell Owens. If you were in the same room as me right now you would see me showing how much I care about this by making fart noises with my mouth.
6. Best Second-Baseman Ever? Rickie Weeks went deep again last night, which makes three consecutive nights and gives him six home runs in his last ten games. For the year he's now up to 22 home runs, and is basically having the same season as Joe Mauer - if Mauer had 22 home runs, 7 steals, and played a god awful second-base. But who cares about fielding when you're destroying the ball? He might not have the average you'd always want and he strikes out quite a bit, but he also can take a walk and when he makes contact he hits the ball a ton. So exactly like the exact opposite of every Twins' middle infielder ever, and Gardy's worst nightmare.
I'm hoping tomorrow's post is going to be a gopher hoops recruiting rundown, something I've been really neglecting since I am spending basically all my energy on the Twins for some reason. Well, that and preparing the house for the new kid, who is really just going to be a time sink and money drain. Joy!
2. Sticking with the Twins, apprently they're exploring Matt Capps. According to Tim K. at ESPN they aren't happy with Rauch and have looked into acquiring Capps, and learned that the Nats would want Wilson Ramos back. This is lunacy on so many levels. Capps is nearly identical to Rauch. Although he might be slighly better he's in no way Wilson Ramos better. Maybe a Matt Tolbert better. If this happens I quit being a fan. Let's hope the Twins leave the exploring of Matt Capps to either Mrs. Capps or various ladies of ill repute, ok? Speaking of which, ask me about Brendan Donnelly some time.
3. Just when you thought the Wolves offseason couldn't get any more bizarre. Newest news is that Jonny Flynn will be out 3-4 months due to hip surgery, which means the Wolves have now gone from three viable point guards to 1 + Bassy Telfair. If you're scoring at home, Kahn has now essentially cleared house, getting rid of nearly everybody from the previous regime and now getting started on moving out his own guys, as Sessions and Hollins were both Kahn signings last offseason. It's a bold move, and is it just me or does Kahn have a little Steinbrenner in him? Who else would sign someone to a four year, $16 million dollar contract just to trade him the next year for a player who was immediately cut? He basically kicked him out of bed in the middle of the night and didn't even supply cab money. Ain't right.
4. The baseball world holds its collective breath. Super phenom (and fantasy team savior) Stephen Strasburg was scratched from his start against the Braves last night after he was "unable to get loose" in the bullpen. That was the official explanation. They said there was no pain or anything, he was just unable to get loose. I usually find a couple of kamikazes does the trick. Seriously though, this could potentially kill baseball.
5. NFL Writers in Cincinnati are going to be busy. The Bengals, in keeping with their tradition of being a complete mess, have signed Terrell Owens. If you were in the same room as me right now you would see me showing how much I care about this by making fart noises with my mouth.
6. Best Second-Baseman Ever? Rickie Weeks went deep again last night, which makes three consecutive nights and gives him six home runs in his last ten games. For the year he's now up to 22 home runs, and is basically having the same season as Joe Mauer - if Mauer had 22 home runs, 7 steals, and played a god awful second-base. But who cares about fielding when you're destroying the ball? He might not have the average you'd always want and he strikes out quite a bit, but he also can take a walk and when he makes contact he hits the ball a ton. So exactly like the exact opposite of every Twins' middle infielder ever, and Gardy's worst nightmare.
I'm hoping tomorrow's post is going to be a gopher hoops recruiting rundown, something I've been really neglecting since I am spending basically all my energy on the Twins for some reason. Well, that and preparing the house for the new kid, who is really just going to be a time sink and money drain. Joy!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Six Very Important Things this Morning 7.27.10
Hi folks. I just finished up an absolutely terrific meal I prepared myself (Grilled Marlin Steaks in a garlic lemon butter sauce) and as such I'm feeling pretty good so it's time to roll out an idea I've been kicking around for a while: Daily morning posts.
Usually during the week when something interesting happens but I don't feel it warrants an entire post, I just file it away to use for the Week in Review post on Monday, but that's irritating at times and a lot slips through the cracks, so from now if I'm not writing something about something more important like Twins' talk, Gopher hoops, or crappy SyFy movies, I'll try to put together a linksy/newsy like a respectable blogger for posting in the morning so you'll have something to do while you try to wake up at work.
Now, they will be shorter than the Week in Review posts (thank god is what you're saying), and I'm not guaranteeing this every morning, but I'm going to try to keep this going until I get bored. Also keep in mind that I go to bed around 11, so it's not going to be often that any West Coast games are going to be highlighted here.
Let's see how this goes. Without further ado, your first ever "Six Things":
1. Danny Valencia is sick of my calling him a nancy-boy slap hitter. Well, he didn't actually say that, but he said it with his bat, going 4-4 with his first career home run. He wasn't the only star for the Twins, with Delmon also chipping in with yet another 4-hit game and Joe Mauer going 5-5 with a home run and 7 RBI, all on their way to 19 runs on 20 hits, giving them 29 runs and 39 hits over he last two games. Lost in all this is the fact that Liriano tossed an easy breezy seven innings of 3 hit, no run ball for the win, and would have had a shot at a shut out (just 83 pitches) if the game wasn't such a massacre. The Twinkies have an easy schedule the rest of the way, and Detroit is falling apart at the seems, so this thing is right there for them if they want it. And then we can once again enjoy the yearly ritual known as "getting swept out of the playoffs." It's a magical time.
2. Al Jefferson hates Toyotas, T-Wolves. Ok, he had some nice things to say about Minnesota, but it's pretty clear he's not sad to be gone. I'm curious how he's going to fit in since Deron Williams is a pick-and-roll PG and he's not a pick-and-roll PF, but whatever. And Actually calling the T-Wolves a Toyota might be a compliment. I'd have been more specific, like calling them a '84 Toyota Tercel that for some reason has three semi-expensive steering wheels.
3. Matt Garza is feeling the heat from Delmon Young. Just when it was seeming like the balance of the Delmon/Garza trade might be swinging in the Twins favor, Matt Garza goes out and tosses a no-hitter, and damn near a perfect game with just a single blemish in the form of a walk to Brennan Boesch. Nice little outing. He's still no Delmon, but I'd say he's significantly better than Jason Pridie.
4. Matt Wieters is back. This week Snake and I were forced to bring Matt Wieters back aboard our fantasy team due to Miguel Olivo suddenly finding himself in a platoon with the hottest prospect of 2005, Chris Iannetta. We figured we'd give him one more week before cutting him for good, but that's probably not going to happen after he went deep twice last night against Toronto, increasing his season HR total by a whopping 33%. Bad news: They still lost because they're Baltimore. Good news: My autographed Matt Wieters ball just increased in value by 18%.
5. The Wolves continue to get weirder. This time the Kahner traded one of his three steering wheels (Ramon Sessions), last year's occasionally starting center (Ryan Hollins) and a second round pick for noted Lebron-mom banger Delonte West and second-time's the charm Sebastien Telfair, whose NBA career is clearly working out exactly according to plan. Except of course that neither of these guys will play a game, because West can be waived before August 5th, which would cost just $500k (compared to his $4.6 million salary) and Telfair will be re-traded or bought out as well. Let me tell you, there's nothing more satisfying for a fan than a trade which saves the team money but brings in no talent. This must mean cheaper beer next season, right?
6. Dez Bryant is probably going to steal Halle Berry too. The big news out of Cowboy Camp is that Dez Bryant refused to carry Roy Williams' pads after practice, as is customary at Dallas Training Camp, and everybody is all in a huff. I get that, there is something to be said for tradition, even if it's stupid and retarded, but this just smacks a little too much of a Darnell Jefferson/Ray Griffen situation if you ask me. The brash young rookie (Jefferson/Bryant) comes to the team (Dallas/ESU) with designs on stealing the underperforming incumbent starter's (Williams/Griffen) job. I think we know how this ends: Williams throws a crushing block to spring Dez for a key touchdown, helping a fresh-from-rehab led Tony Romo and the Cowboys to a Super Bowl victory while Demarcus Ware listens from a hospital room, tears running down his cheeks because he knows his career is over.
So there we are. The first ever 6 things. Hopefully it won't be the last, but I make no promises. I can be legendarily lazy, and get bored and distracted quic
Usually during the week when something interesting happens but I don't feel it warrants an entire post, I just file it away to use for the Week in Review post on Monday, but that's irritating at times and a lot slips through the cracks, so from now if I'm not writing something about something more important like Twins' talk, Gopher hoops, or crappy SyFy movies, I'll try to put together a linksy/newsy like a respectable blogger for posting in the morning so you'll have something to do while you try to wake up at work.
Now, they will be shorter than the Week in Review posts (thank god is what you're saying), and I'm not guaranteeing this every morning, but I'm going to try to keep this going until I get bored. Also keep in mind that I go to bed around 11, so it's not going to be often that any West Coast games are going to be highlighted here.
Let's see how this goes. Without further ado, your first ever "Six Things":
1. Danny Valencia is sick of my calling him a nancy-boy slap hitter. Well, he didn't actually say that, but he said it with his bat, going 4-4 with his first career home run. He wasn't the only star for the Twins, with Delmon also chipping in with yet another 4-hit game and Joe Mauer going 5-5 with a home run and 7 RBI, all on their way to 19 runs on 20 hits, giving them 29 runs and 39 hits over he last two games. Lost in all this is the fact that Liriano tossed an easy breezy seven innings of 3 hit, no run ball for the win, and would have had a shot at a shut out (just 83 pitches) if the game wasn't such a massacre. The Twinkies have an easy schedule the rest of the way, and Detroit is falling apart at the seems, so this thing is right there for them if they want it. And then we can once again enjoy the yearly ritual known as "getting swept out of the playoffs." It's a magical time.
2. Al Jefferson hates Toyotas, T-Wolves. Ok, he had some nice things to say about Minnesota, but it's pretty clear he's not sad to be gone. I'm curious how he's going to fit in since Deron Williams is a pick-and-roll PG and he's not a pick-and-roll PF, but whatever. And Actually calling the T-Wolves a Toyota might be a compliment. I'd have been more specific, like calling them a '84 Toyota Tercel that for some reason has three semi-expensive steering wheels.
3. Matt Garza is feeling the heat from Delmon Young. Just when it was seeming like the balance of the Delmon/Garza trade might be swinging in the Twins favor, Matt Garza goes out and tosses a no-hitter, and damn near a perfect game with just a single blemish in the form of a walk to Brennan Boesch. Nice little outing. He's still no Delmon, but I'd say he's significantly better than Jason Pridie.
4. Matt Wieters is back. This week Snake and I were forced to bring Matt Wieters back aboard our fantasy team due to Miguel Olivo suddenly finding himself in a platoon with the hottest prospect of 2005, Chris Iannetta. We figured we'd give him one more week before cutting him for good, but that's probably not going to happen after he went deep twice last night against Toronto, increasing his season HR total by a whopping 33%. Bad news: They still lost because they're Baltimore. Good news: My autographed Matt Wieters ball just increased in value by 18%.
5. The Wolves continue to get weirder. This time the Kahner traded one of his three steering wheels (Ramon Sessions), last year's occasionally starting center (Ryan Hollins) and a second round pick for noted Lebron-mom banger Delonte West and second-time's the charm Sebastien Telfair, whose NBA career is clearly working out exactly according to plan. Except of course that neither of these guys will play a game, because West can be waived before August 5th, which would cost just $500k (compared to his $4.6 million salary) and Telfair will be re-traded or bought out as well. Let me tell you, there's nothing more satisfying for a fan than a trade which saves the team money but brings in no talent. This must mean cheaper beer next season, right?
6. Dez Bryant is probably going to steal Halle Berry too. The big news out of Cowboy Camp is that Dez Bryant refused to carry Roy Williams' pads after practice, as is customary at Dallas Training Camp, and everybody is all in a huff. I get that, there is something to be said for tradition, even if it's stupid and retarded, but this just smacks a little too much of a Darnell Jefferson/Ray Griffen situation if you ask me. The brash young rookie (Jefferson/Bryant) comes to the team (Dallas/ESU) with designs on stealing the underperforming incumbent starter's (Williams/Griffen) job. I think we know how this ends: Williams throws a crushing block to spring Dez for a key touchdown, helping a fresh-from-rehab led Tony Romo and the Cowboys to a Super Bowl victory while Demarcus Ware listens from a hospital room, tears running down his cheeks because he knows his career is over.
So there we are. The first ever 6 things. Hopefully it won't be the last, but I make no promises. I can be legendarily lazy, and get bored and distracted quic
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