Brief Hurricane Update.

I don't actually have a whole lot to say about this, except that the devastation has obviously been incredible and that all the hotels here in the Shreveport/Bossier area are sold out. Subsequently, there are relief shelters at LSU/Shreveport, Centenary, and the arena that is adjacent to the Independence Bowl.

Last night from 11:30 PM to 4 AM I worked at the arena, folding clothes that had been donated. I guess I picked that time because I didn't figure that anybody would be there to help and that I would still be awake. (I'm also sort of nervous with large groups of people.) It is likely that the shelters will continue to fill to capacity as people leave SE Louisiana.

Anywho, donations are going to be needed for a long time, so you should probably contact the Red Cross or something.

Donation info: Red Cross- (800) HELP-NOW, Network For Good- networkforgood.org, Red Cross shelters- 800-469-4828, Habitat for Humanity- www.habitat.org

US Open

I've had a chance to watch a little bit of US Open tennis today, considering the fact that I pretty much sat in front of the TV the whole day alternating between tennis and Katrina.

I saw Gaston Gaudio lose; I saw Sharapova win really quickly and Kuznetsova lose about that fast. Karlovic won tonight, I'm watching Agassi right now, and I even saw some Donald Young. But the player I was most interested in seeing was the man to the left, in the really ugly outfit. This spandex capri-pant wearing man: Rafael Nadal.

Nadal is 19, and he can move. He can also play defense. His serve is servicable, and he pretty much forced his opponent into beating himself today, which is always the sign of a great player. He also is considered by many to have the best chance of beating Roger Federer.


All you need to know about Nadal comes from one point against Reynolds today. Reynolds serves it out wide, Nadal returns it and Reynolds hits a big forehand in the open court, which Nadal chases down. Reynolds hits in the other open court, which Nadal returns again as a defense lob. Reynolds hits a monster overhead which Nadal somehow chases down and hits back. Reynolds then volleys the ball into the open court, which Nadal chases down for a winning backhand down the line. I really think it's the best point I've seen this year.

Reynolds loses serve and the match is over.

Nadal has a chance, and he's fun to watch. I'm hoping for a better outfit in round two though. Yikes.

MLB Update!

I was in the Memphis International Airport on Saturday quite early a few days ago. While I sucked down a four dollar venti mocha from Starbucks, acting as pretentious as I could on three hours of sleep, I noticed a guy wearing a Miguel Cabrera shirt and donning a Marlins cap. Curiosity got the best of me, so when I discovered him on my flight to the big Shreve I thought maybe I would make a little bit of Marlins-related conversation. It turns out that the guy was a theater enthusiast (possibly an actor of some sort), which I gleaned from the acting magazine he read on the airplane. He was also a huge Marlins fan, and he explained to me that he knew someone in the Marlins front office, making Marlins tickets easy for him to acquire. Apparently he had also sung the national anthem at a Marlins game, which seemed reasonable given his set of interests and his singer-like appearance.

I thought this was interesting news, and as we discussed the Marlins' playoff chances off the plane he shared with me some relatively interesting Marlins commentary. He also discussed his Wild Card views (after some prodding) which seemed to consist of him being high on his Fish while simultaneously being down on the Phillies and worried about the Marlins. He also discussed his thoughts on Cabrera, who "could really hit despite not being able to field or speak English." He, like everyone else on the planet, was down on Mike Lowell, which was understandable.

So with this news, it's time to re-cap the NL Wild Card race.

Philadelphia:

I don't honestly know too much about the Phillies. I do know that they have Billy Wagner and a really good lineup. I don't know if that will be enough. Their starters are basically unknowns except for Brett Myers, who has emerged this year as a borderline ace. They're starting Cory Lidle and Jon Lieber, along with Vicente Padilla, which basically means that nobody knows how well any starter is going to pitch on any particular night. So the Phils have to score a lot of runs, which they've shown a propensity to do. Still, there's not a single team left on their schedule who isn't fighting for a playoff spot (or, in the case of the Reds, can't explode for a ton of runs). So the Phillies are going to have to pitch to win, which they may not be able to do. Overall odds of winning: 5-1.

Houston:

This team is the exact opposite of the Phillies, which means that I automatically think they have a better chance. Plus, they have three aces. They still aren't hitting very well, and really hurt themselves by not getting a hitter before the deadline. But they do get to play the Brewers, Pirates, and Cubs some, and this should really help their chances. (Note how I didn't mention the Reds, who are hitting the living crap out of the ball.) Overall odds: 2-1.

Florida:

This team is the best synthesis of pitching and hitting, but they're also maddeningly inconsistent. The D-Train has been the truth, which is really a side story: is Willis a legitimate ace now? I think the answer has to be yes. It's a must that they beat the Astros in that series on the road, because the Fish have a tough schedule coming in, including a series with the Cards this week. There are no teams with losing records. None. This could spell bad news for the Fish, but they have won a World Series and are crafty. Overall odds: 4-1.

NY Mets

This team is really strange, and they have Pedro Martinez. That alone should qualify them as contenders. Pedro has single-handedly kept this team's morale up by simply winning most of his starts. The confidence given to Benson and even Glavine from these results have been awesome. Plus, David Wright has been untouchable in August. Now, if they could just get Beltran to play well... hey, they are the Mets. Overall odds: 4-1 (they play the Rockies!)

Washington

I watched them play, and I will say that with their current lineup it is very unlikely that they can win. Jose Guillen is the best player in that lineup, but he is being protected (protected !?!?) by Preston Wilson and Vinny Castilla, two strikeout artists. Teams don't have to pitch to Guillen, and the other hitters can't make them pay. John Patterson, Chad Cordero, and Livan have been brilliant, but with their brutal September schedule it doesn't seem to follow that they can win this mess. Overall odds: 20-1.

Afternoon Baseball at the RFK...

Since I've been fortunate enough to spend a week in Washington, I thought it only prudent that I catch a Nationals game. After all, they are the Cinderella story of this year: the little team that MLB tried to get rid of, moving from place to place without a fan base, overachieving seemingly at will. Plus, it gave me an opportunity to visit another stadium, a plan that always seems to meet with my approval.

The Nationals, if you aren't familiar, used to be the Expos, and have managed to put together a rather competitive ballclub of solid players (no real stars, but they are owned by MLB). They're currently working out plans to build a new stadium, which seems to be a priority given the state of RFK...

I'll make this post about the Stadium, in Page 2-style. We'll rank RFK on twenty different categories, including seat comfort, hot dogs, concessions, signature food, beer, bathrooms, scoreboard, PA system, fun stuff, souvenirs, tickets, exterior, interior, access, ushers, trading up, fan knowledge, 7th inning stretch, scorecard, and "wild card," which catches all the intangibles.

RFK Stadium, or Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, named after the late Senator from California, was built in 1961. It can hold 45,016 people for baseball games, and more for Redskins games (and I assume less for DC United? Slight joke here.) Traditionally, it has been where the US President would throw out the first pitch for the start of the MLB season, and this year Bush followed in that tradition.

Ok, ok, enough of the hype, let's go to the tale of the tape.

1. Seat Comfort.

They were metal and didn't offer a lick of comfort, nor did they have any cupholders. However, this is to be expected; after all, the seats were made in 1961. From where I sat (about halfway down the first base line underneath the second deck) you could see perfectly. If, however, I had sat six rows higher, I would have had a problem, and this kind of has to lower the score a bit. There are definitely bad sight lines for costly tickets at RFK, something that has a bit of a negative.

Overall: 4 (out of 5)

2. Hot Dogs.

They looked good; the guy in front had one, as did the guys to the side. They definitely couldn't have been any worse than the ones for sale outside the stadium by the street vendors, which is the type I chose to buy. Overall, they looked like something I might want to eat, which is rare for the dogs.

Rank: 4.5

3. Concessions.

I just raved about the hot dogs, but I can't say the same for the concessions. The food reminded me sort of what I think food for a AAAA team would be like: better than AAA, but not as good as what MLB should be. First, all the food was made and distributed by Aramark, as I was reminded numerous times throughout the game. I didn't see anything distinctive, and a lot of the concession stands weren't even open when the gates opened. There was a lot of scurrying to get stuff ready, which normally doesn't happen in MLB stadiums. And the food looked average and expensive, though I did see that they sold Dippin' Dots.

Rank: 2.5

4. Signature Food Item.

I don't really know what this would be. Maybe it would be the Chicken Fingers and Fries, a bargain at only $8.50. Most likely it would be the bags of stadium kettle popcorn I saw people buying, which must have been better than the buckets of popcorn because it was all that was being bought. I almost bought a bag myself until I realized that it was just regular popcorn and not caramel. Disappointing.

Rank: 2

5. Beer.

Being 21, I'm now able to buy it, but I normally don't. I will say that the prices seemed in line with other ballparks on bottles, but not with tap. There were import taps, which were sold at higher prices and didn't seem to offer more than 12 ounces of drinking pleasure. I would say that if you choose to buy beer at a Nats game, you're probably getting ripped off more than even other ballparks would allow. They'd never stand for this in Busch.

Rank: 2.5

6. Bathrooms.

When I asked my dad if the bathrooms at RFK were nice, he responded with...

"They were so-so. The first time they were out of paper towels."

Rank: 3 (every stadium has so-so bathrooms).

7. Scoreboard.

I liked the scoreboard, mainly because it did all the things a good scoreboard is supposed to. It mathematically updated batting averages and ERAs during the game, it accurately measured pitch speeds by the radar gun, it was visible and in color, and it updated other games while in progress. Surprisingly enough, lots of stadiums don't get all of these right.

Rank: 5

8. Quality of PA System.

It was fine. The guy had to announce around 500 pitching and hitting changes by Frank Robinson and Jerry Narron, so he had quite a workout. He didn't mess any of it up, but he didn't have any personality doing it either.

Rank: 3.5

9. Fun Stuff to do other than the game.

There wasn't much, really. I looked around half-heartedly for the team gift shop and speed pitches, but didn't find either. I think that most of the other entertainment revolves around getting one's self on TV, which can be done considering that there are camera crews constantly circling the place. I will say that if you collect autographs, RFK is a nice pad; the ushers let you do whatever you want (more on that later) and both Reds and Nationals signed today. In fact, Jamey Carroll signed for about 30 minutes down the third base line, and I was very impressed.

Rank: 3.5

10. Price/Selection of Baseball Souvenirs.

Not good, although you don't really end up buying your Nationals souvenirs at the game anyway because the street vendors are more than willing to cut you a deal. The vendors have everything that you could buy at the game, for the most part. I went looking for the game-used bats that they said were in the gift shop by post 61, but there was no gift shop there. Oops.

Rank: 3.5

11. Ticket Price/Availability.

These tickets cost tooooooo much. I think the nosebleeds were all $15 each. So I decided to convince my dad to forgo the service fees and take our chances on the street, because the best seats available on the internet were in section 522. For $30 each, we got seats in row 310, which meant we paid... $0 over face value and no service fees. The scalpers are actually cheaper than Ticketmaster, providing your game doesn't sell out.

Now for the good part: if you buy $30 seats, they're actually pretty close to the best you can get. We sat maybe 30 rows up- and section 310 would be section 110 in a lot of ballparks. This is one stadium where you should look at the charts before you go, and you'll probably get a deal.

Rank: 3.5

12. Exterior.

It's both dismal and haphazard. The sign promoting the stadium on the outside is kind of impressive though. I should have walked all the way around the stadium, but I really didn't feel like it. I think I would have found more of the same: dismal concrete and a vintage multi-purpose feel. I'm actually fairly sure that this is the only multi-purpose park left in the country, and it shows. Form didn't follow function on this one.

Rank: 1

13. Interior.

Yikes. It's actually worse. It sort of reminds me of Riverfront Stadium, except for the fact that it isn't designed logically and concession booths just protrude out randomly. There's nothing interesting of note, except for the right field wall which gives out the members of the Washington Sports Hall of Fame.

Rank: 1.5

14. Access.

Apparently access can be kind of a problem, because parking passes sold for some money on the internet. But I had absolutely no problem taking the Metro to the Stadium, which was both cheap and easy (about $4). Plus, I had the added bonus of possibly buying a $5 Domino's pizza off the street after the game. A good thought, indeed.

Rank: 5

15. Ushers.

I didn't get my tickets checked, nor did I see an usher for my section. That has to be an absolute first. Kids could get autographs for pretty much the entirety of the game. If the ushers were mean and ugly, they didn't show it.

Rank: 5

16. Trading-Up Factor.

You could sit wherever you wanted, though I was perfectly happy with my seats. I think you could buy the cheapest seat in the park and move to the bottom with relative ease. Again, this won't be the case with a new park, but it's really nice for a year.

Rank: 5

17. Knowledge of Local Fans.

Yeah, they seemed knowledgable enough to boo Cristian Guzman, which is probably commendable. The fans that sat next to me were absolute dopes, but you can't hold that against them. There were a lot of late-comers and early-goers, and with the Reds bullpen around, leaving early almost backfired. You would think more people would want to stay with the Nats still in it.

I will say that I think there are a lot of older people who remember the first Nats team, and they are passionate about baseball.

Rank: 3.5

18. Seventh-inning Stretch.

Boring and uninspired. Some of the fans didn't recognize it, and there was no mention of it. But there was Toby Keith music. Wait, that doesn't help the ranking at all.

Rank: 2

19. Pre-game and Post-game Scene.

I think RFK is in the middle of a lower-class subdivision, so there's generally a mass exodus afterwards, and thus no scene to speak of. I also wouldn't hang around the stadium at night. If you want to go somewhere for a scene, skirt your buddies on the Metro to a local suburb that is more affluent. But on a side note, you really shouldn't need a scene for baseball anyway.

Rank: 1.5

20. Wildcard.

This all-encompassing rank from scale of 1 to 10 is given for any bonuses. I think that the fans were generally excited to be there, and that the stadium was generally fan-friendly. And that's it.

Rank: 4

Total: 67 (a D+)

Tear this baby down! (For baseball, that is. I have no expectations for the NFL.)

NBA Update...

Apparently while I was on a week-long hiatus from the world of sports, the Sacramento Kings did what the New Jersey Nets should have done: they signed Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Now I was excited about the idea of seeing four legitimate starters on the Nets, but since that dream was squashed, I'll have to be excited about seeing the Kings take another stab at contention.

Due to one of my friends being rather boisterous about Sacramento, I've never really cared much for the Kings. I have a particular distaste for Brad Miller, and Vlade Divac always got on my nerves. But since Sacramento got rid of Cuttino Mobley and signed Abdur-Rahim, I have to admit that I have a like for the way their team shapes up. It's conceivable that they could once again contend in the West, mainly because they have some depth and ability to score.

The ability to score in the NBA was trivialized until last year, when Phoenix and Dallas proved that it was quite necessary to be able to outgun your opponents every once in a while. Teams that scored a lot were viewed as gimmick teams that would immediately fold when a better defensive team put the clamps down. But if we looked at the makeup of teams that went to the Western Conference quarterfinals, we would see that they all could score in bunches.

Meanwhile, we'll have to remove the "Nets" from "contending." I like how they decided that Shareef Abdur-Rahim was good enough to sign, but worth less money after the physical. Yeah, he'll sign with you now... right. Here's a good lesson for all teams: if you don't improve much, and everybody else in your conference does, you've gotten worse.

Also, the Michael Finley saga is getting more interesting. Whoever he signs with will have a definite edge in their conference, because he can... score! That's right, we all learned last year that scoring is definitely a coup for any particular team.

In case you hadn't noticed, the Pistons drafted Jason Maxiell, and are looking at signing Dale Davis. Mark my words, they will not be out-thugged or out-toughed this year. (Actually, Davis and Maxiell aren't quite thugs, so this isn't too fair.) This begs the question: Do they intend to play Darko? Ever?

Oh, and in the earlier article related to the NBA, I forgot to mention Houston as a team that seriously improved, but they now have Derek Anderson, Luther Head, and Stromile Swift around, apparently to ensure that there will be at least someone able to shoot and rebound to go along with Yao and T-Mac whose name isn't Bob Sura. Of course, the real question will always be if they can make it out of the first round, but that's a battle for another time.

In the "What ARE they doing?" category must fall the Minnesota Timberwolves. Look at that roster and see if they're really trying to put a team together for KG. And I want you to search deep within your heart, and not to be blinded by the Final Four beauty of Rashad McCants.

And is it really true? Is the Clippers starting five really gonna be Sam Cassell, Elton Brand, Cuttino Mobley, Corey Maggette, and Chris Kaman, with Wilcox, Simmons, and Livingston off the bench? That sort of looks like a playoff team to me.

That's all for now...

Mike

It's all a sham.

I'm convinced that I've been had. Certainly I've been played; now the question is to figure out how badly I've been took and what I can do about it.

What am I talking about?

This blog is a farce, a tease, a futile attempt for me to enter the sensationalized world of sportswriting. I often joke about "creating a second career for myself if economics doesn't work out." What a joke.

You only have to sit and watch about thirty seconds of "Cold Pizza," "Quite Frankly," or "Around the Horn" to recognize that an entire profession is basically dying. Gone are the days where a player would get angry by reading something unkind (but possibly true) about himself in the newspaper. No, if a player wants to get served, he only has to turn on his TV, where he can get served 24 hours a day by a host of journalists, former athletes, and announcers, all of whom have their own take on a player.

I watched a little of "First and 10" this morning, and much to my chagrin, John Kruk had found his way on the screen to analyze football. He made some general points that could have been done by 1) robots, 2) 12-year olds, 3) anyone who had been to a fantasy football website in the last four years, 4) the band Simple Plan, and, well, you get the point. After Kruk made some ludicrous claim knocking the Saints, Skip Bayless (the calming force, the voice of reason) couldn't help but take a swipe at Kruk, which set off some testosterone-laden yelling match.

Last night, while watching Sportscenter, I saw Sean Salisbury take a stab at talking baseball with Peter Gammons, which was roughly equivalent to me talking economics with Milton Friedman. And I'm going to grad school in econ... Salisbury hasn't ever done anything baseball-related.

It's difficult to make something legitmate. It really is, and for some time, sportswriting was legitimate. When greats such as Dick Schaap ruled the landscape, sportswriters were noble, honorable, and admirable- not blood-sucking, cliche-weilding leeches like they are today.

But that's all changed. Sportswriters alternate between pandering to major stars (like Stephen A. did with Iverson on his recent interview, or pretty much everyone does to any major star) and hammering the ones who can't fight back (i.e. stars on bad teams, Hispanics, and QBs). There's no middle ground; and there's certainly no objectivity. I've heard tale that some writers are actually justifying Terrell Owens' behavior as "T.O. being T.O.," as if they're scared that the big bully Owens will read their writing and make fun of them in an interview. Worse yet, athletes who didn't play a particular sport are analyzing that sport, and are encouraged to do so on the fact that they are "sports personalities." Again, this appeal-to-improper-authority-style of sports journalism has become pervasive to the point at which John Kruk is writing articles for ESPN. Also, the major writers are now screaming their opinions at each other on the big screen (Kornheiser, Wilbon, Paige, Ryan, Mariotti, Lupica and the like), leading to scenarios where we remember one witticism over thirty minutes of semi-intelligent discourse.

The death of any profession is the erosion of talent in or use for that profession. And this is clearly becoming the case with sports writing and sports journalism. I don't even read the newspaper anymore because of it... and I don't even notice the turnover of good local journalists, such is when Pat Forde left the C-J to write for ESPN. This is the problem that faces the industry; this will be the straw that stirs the drink of desolation.

So maybe I'm being dramatic, but the majority of my point is still intact: sports journalism is quickly losing its luster for me. I liked reading and writing sports articles, and I still do. And it's my fault for tuning in. But I'm not going to pretend that sportswriting is legitimate anymore, not until we stop talking smack and starting changing back... to good journalism, that is.

Don't do it, Andruw!

To: Andruw Jones

From: Mike

Re: Your Home Runs

Cc: Miguel Cabrera

Andruw,

I love what you've done with your swing. I love the fact that you've finally figured out how to hit for power all the time, and not just arbitrarily when you want to. I like the fact that you're a legit MVP candidate on a team full of rookies. That really means a lot to me.

I want to believe that you're the best center fielder since Willie Mays, though I'm still partial to Junior. I'm glad to see you putting a new stamp on your career by being consistent for a full season. I'm excited to see that spring training really does matter; that your home runs in the Grapefruit League translated to the regular season. You're the story of baseball this year; you've become a true superstar. We can put you and Vladdy in the same sentence again.

And now I'm asking you to stop.

Andruw, stop hitting all these home runs. You've made your point. The Braves are going to win the NL East for the four trillionth time in a row, and it's all because of you. I'll give you my "Sports Talk" player of the month, or anything else you may want. Just stop hitting these homers.

See, Andruw, you're messing with history. You're what's keeping a guy by the name of Albert Pujols from winning the Triple Crown. And we haven't seen that done since Yaz. There are millions of fans who need to see this done this year, to put a stamp on baseball that doesn't involve a syringe.

Andruw, I can truly believe that Pujols will track down Carlos Lee in RBIs. I also believe that he will figure out some way to track down his Florida clone, Miguel Cabrera, though it may be tough. (I e-mailed Miguel tonight, telling him to stop hitting quite so well... with those starters, the Fish really only need a run a game). I even believe that Morgan Ensberg and Adam Dunn will wear themselves out, like Derrek Lee.

But I look at you and I see greatness, and I know that you're for real. I know that you're liable to hit 50 this year, and that will probably be too many. So I need your help. For the good of the game, Andruw, please stop hitting all these home runs.

Yours truly,

Michael

Why MVPs are arbitrary.

So I always thought that the MVP award was supposed to go to the player who had reasonably distanced himself from the pack as a hitter on a decent team. I was also willing to make exceptions for extraordinary pitchers. And then, on a whim, I decided to check out Tim McCarver's stats after finding some amazing "I hate Tim McCarver" websites. And I discovered something unspeakable; McCarver finished second in MVP voting in 1967.

Seeing that something was amiss, I immediately checked out the necessary information, trying to piece together why on earth somebody who hit .295 with 14 HR, 69 RBI, and 8 SB finished second in the MVP voting.

I found that St. Louis had won the World Series that year; I also found the following St. Louis Cardinals:
1) Orlando Cepeda, who finished first in MVP voting with a .325, 25 HR 111 RBI performance...
2) Lou Brock, who finished seventh; Brock had a slightly lower OPS than McCarver, but more steals, home runs, and a higher batting average.
3) Curt Flood, who finished thirteenth; Flood hit .335 that year...
4) Julian Javier, who finished eighth with numbers sort of similar to McCarver's.

And then I found out who finished third: Roberto Clemente, who hit .357 for an average Pittsburgh club, with an OPS that was 132 points better than McCarver's. Sadly, the news wasn't much better for fourth and fifth: Ron Santo and Hank Aaron shared those slots.

To recap, in 1967, McCarver- who was not statistically near the top of any category- who was not necessarily in the top 3 at hitting on his own team, finished second in MVP voting.

Wow.

Oh, but there are countless other "mysterious" finishes. Take 1965, where Zoilo Versailes beat out Twins teammate Tony Oliva for an AL MVP award. Here are the stats:

Versailes: .273, 19 HR, 77 RBI, 27 SB, OPS .781
Oliva: .321, 16 HR, 98 RBI, 19 SB, OPS .870

There's actually a whole book about this though which you can check out or buy, called "Cool of the Evening: the 1965 Minnesota Twins."

We could look at 1995 where Albert Belle got jobbed by Mo Vaughn (though Belle didn't exactly treat the media very well that year, and Vaughn played pretty well). You could also make a good case for Maddux in 1995, Pedro in 2000, and any number of other years where pitchers didn't win MVPs because they were pitchers. Seriously, isn't this one of the most ridiculous arguments ever? Pitchers can't win MVPs because they pitch only once every four or five days? There are some seasons where position players of a league are simply overmatched by a pitcher (in fact, this year Clemens is doing it to the NL). When those seasons are such that the pitchers completely overmatch even the best hitters, those pitchers are the "most valuable players" and should win MVPs.

Why is it that players who should win the MVP don't? Shouldn't sportswriters make sure to get it right all the time?

The answer is simple: those players should all win, and sportswriters ought to get it right. Here's hoping they do it this year.

Random Thoughts...

Last night, 4 NL West teams won. It appears that it finally dawned on those guys that they could make the playoffs... welcome to baseball.

I also have to take back my "Jason Schmidt is done" comments, though I still think the Giants are cooked. Kudos to Barry Bonds for stringing those guys along the whole year, letting them think that they had a chance. That's really an A+ quality move.

Speaking of the Giants, has anybody heard what that radio announcer said about their hitters? I believe the exact phrase was, "brain-dead Caribbean hitters who swing at slop." Wow, I thought this was remarkable that a) somebody in the U.S. was stupid enough to make a racial comment and have themselves heard doing it, and b) someone in the U.S. was stupid enough to try it with the Alous. And you know what, Moises Alou and Omar Vizquel, or as I will now call them, "the Caribbeans," are actually having pretty good years. Maybe the guy meant to talk trash about the Giants' pitching staff... I think that's where the money's at, although they've pitched well over the last few games.

I like how Minnesota has won two of their last three games. Apparently they wish to string me along a little longer as well, though at least they scored some runs for Brad Radke last night. It would still be really awesome if they could get back in this thing, though I don't think they have enough offense to do so.

You know, there are actually three contenders for the Triple Crown this year in the NL... if Miguel Cabrera could go on a hot home run streak, he would probably get there... of course, Pujols has the best chance, and there's that pesky Andruw Jones gummin' up the works with his home runs.

If you were ever going to give Mariano Rivera a Cy Young, this would be the year... the next best contender is Roy Halladay; but here's thinking the award will go to a member of the ChiSox. The NL is much dicier- Clemens is having an unbelievable year, but so is Chris Carpenter.

One out of two ain't bad...

So I pretty much screwed up the AL wild-card analysis, but I think the NL has been on par. I screwed up the AL Wild Card analysis because I forgot the three rules, which are, in order...

1) The A's never fade until the postseason.

Apparently I haven't learned from the 3 million times the A's have had where they go out and arbitrarily win a bunch of games, and so now I have to watch it all again and eat some crow on it. I swear, no matter what the Athletics' record is in the future, I won't give up on them until math does.

2) Low-budget teams that haven't pulled away won't (pull away).

I was being silly thinking that Minnesota would go out and get a hitter or another starter to make the playoffs. I was equally silly in thinking that the Indians, Tigers, or Blue Jays might try to pick up a player.

3) Look at the schedules.

I didn't actually pay attention to see who any of these teams were playing, and I suppose that would have been nice to know.

Now, the NL should have been a slam dunk for anyone; the Nationals were going to fade and the Astros were going to pull away, with Clemens, Oswalt, and Pettitte. It's hard to draw any hand that will consistently beat three aces. And the Nationals are in a world of trouble because they have to deal with the NL East for the rest of the year, which has more talent in it than any other division.

Here's an all NL-East Team...

C Mike Piazza, NY Mets
1B Carlos Delgado, Florida
2B Marcus Giles, Atlanta
SS Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia
3B David Wright, NY Mets or Chipper Jones, Atlanta
LF Miguel Cabrera, Florida
CF Andruw Jones, Atlanta or Carlos Beltran, NY Mets
RF Bobby Abreu, Philadelphia or Jose Guillen, Washington

SP: Pedro Martinez, NY Mets, Smoltz, Atlanta, Dontrelle Willis and Josh Beckett, Florida, Livan Hernandez, Washington

RP: Billy Wagner, Philadelphia and Chad Cordero, Washington

If you can't stand the Heat...

Get out 'da kitch-an!

Sorry, I had to put that last phrase; it's one of my favorite slang phrases of all time. And I know how pretentious that last sentence sounded, but whatever, it's the truth. Truth knows no pretences, anyway.

So yesterday the Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics, and New Orleans Hornets combined to trade a bunch of players to a bunch of different places, and here's my take on the whole matter.

Memphis finally showed us why they acquired Bobby Jackson: Jason Williams was headed somewhere else. And I actually like the hiring of Eddie Jones; he should be able to get some stuff done for the Griz as he'll be one of their top scoring options. Giving up Posey and J-Will to get him was a bit of a reach though. Still, you can't have two happy, competent point guards on one team, and there's no doubt that Bobby Jackson is probably easier to get along with.

What I don't understand is why Memphis has traded away all their depth without getting a superstar in return. It seems as if they'll need to do at least one more move to get near the playoffs next year, because they're teetering on Warrior-level talent right now.

It also appears that Boston has soured on 'Toine Walker again, trading him for a guy who got arrested for fighting his pet pit bull (Qyntel Woods) and a bust first-rounder (Curtis Borchardt). I never quite know what the Celtics are up to, and one just gets this feeling that they don't either. It's a good thing that they know how to draft, I guess. They'll be good in a couple years, presuming Al Jefferson lives up to his insane amount of hype. Those New Englanders really know how to jazz up the youngsters.

Inexplicably, New Orleans also found its way into the deal, getting Rasual Butler for not much. It pays to be alert these days in the NBA. Butler gives New Orleans a swingman, something they didn't have last year, if you can believe that. Maybe if Kirk Snyder shows up this year they'll win 20 or so games.

Ok, now you're probably wondering what the Heat get out of this deal. The answer is: a lot. For one thing, Jason Williams is an infinitely better ball handler than Damon Jones, a fact that has been sort of marginalized in the analysis so far. I'm sure it scared Pat Riley to death to know that D-Jones would be bringing the ball up, and you never want to wear down your scoring shooting guard by having him be the point guard. Second, James Posey is a gamer who will really show up. He needed out of Memphis badly; there were too many people who played his position there.

Finally, Antoine Walker joined the Heat, which is a bit mysterious. The Heat certainly don't need Walker, but it might be interesting to see how he plays with Shaq. One thing about Antoine: remember Game 6 of the first round against Indiana last year, when he carried them on the road to a tough win? That's the risk/reward that you get with Walker. Having Walker on the team gives Miami another guy who can create his own shot (sort of) and that might be useful in the playoffs.

I don't know how the chemistry will be on the Heat, honestly, but with Shaq around they should be able to figure it out. If 'Toine and J-Will can buy into the idea that D-Wade is the truth, this team should be dynamite.

How bad are the Rockies?

We know the Rockies are bad, but let's take a look at that roster to currently gage the nature of the badness...

Starters:
Jeff Francis- the one bright spot of the current roster, Francis has been off and on this year, brilliant at Coors, but "rocky" on the road... ha. It seems as if the former #1 pick will turn out to be pretty good.
Jamey Wright- journeyman Rockie.
B.K. Kim- just what he needed, a trip to Denver to fix his career.
Aaron Cook- great story.

Well, if you throw in Jason Jennings, the Rockies' pitching isn't horrid, but it certainly isn't very good at all. In fact, most of these guys have ERAs over 5, so it retains its status of being pretty bad.

Bullpen
Jose Acevado- former Red, will be a future journeyman trying to hang around. He's been OK this year, but not great.
Mike DeJean- former Rockie returns home, horrible with Mets but ok with Colorado.
Dan Miceli- ultimate journeyman
David Cortes- actually had pitched 4 games in '99 and 2 in '03 before getting some time with Colorado this year... let's start a theme.
Marcos Carvajal- rookie, Randy Williams- see Cortes, Aquilino Lopez- showed promise in Toronto before imploding, Brian Fuentes- an actual Rockie product!

*** The common theme here: cheap, adequate, and either inexperienced or journeymen. ***

Now let's look at the roster:
C: J.D. Closser and Danny Ardoin- I don't really need to explain this, but these are two of the worst catchers in baseball. Closser is hitting a paltry .224, and Ardoin is a good defensive catcher who can't hit.

1B: Todd Helton (injured)- Helton is great, but is the only name on this nameless roster. To replace him, the Rockies are playing Ryan Shealy, a rookie who has some power.
2B: Aaron Miles (injured)- Another in the long line of Lansing-type servicable second-basemen, Miles slipped this year. He is being replaced by Luis A. Gonzalez, a decent, light-hitting second baseman.
SS: Clint Barmes (injured)- The odds-on favorite for ROY, Barmes fell down some stairs and is out for the year. He is being replaced by career minor leaguer Eddy Garabito, who has retained the servicability of the roster spot, and recently-acquired Omar Quintanilla, a promising A's prospect who can hit.
3B: Garrett Atkins- Atkins is another young player who has some power and is in the .280 range, but really doesn't have any dominant characteristics. In fact, the lack of power and speed on the Rockies' infield makes it difficult for the team to score runs.

OF (It gets noticably rougher)...

Matt Holliday, Dustan Mohr, and Larry Bigbie- Holliday has been decent this year, as he is another young Rockie who has been given a chance during the struggles. Meanwhile, Bigbie has disappointed in Baltimore, and Dustan Mohr has hit poorly this year in Colorado, only batting .214... not surprising for a career platoon outfielder.

Cory Sullivan has also spot started as a rookie center fielder, and like the others, is hitting about .280. Jorge Piedra is a reserve, and Brad Hawpe started before getting injured.

What's the point? What's the bottom line?

The point is that this is one of the lowest collections of talent in recent memory, and that without Helton, it's very improbable that the Rockies win ever. It's interesting to note that most of the players starting are just promoted minor leaguers who were marginal prospects... a situation that can lead to complete franchise disillusionment. Bottom line... the Rockies need to spend some money and get some talent next year.

Niger...

This is my first non-sports post in awhile, but it retains some properties of the last few.

Niger is in trouble. Serious trouble. Their people are starving; their economy is non-existent, and the relief is slow. I watched Anderson Cooper last night go through clinics and shelters last night, and I watched kids whose ribs are their only defining characteristic.

I watched Anderson say, "these kids are hungry, but at least they're smiling."

What is so frustrating about this problem is the amount of money (on a larger scale) that would be needed to fix it. It's manageable. A million dollars would go a long, long way. If every American could give... well, we don't want to get into that line of thinking, because that idea could be applied to every problem. So let me say this. There are serious issues with the idea that signing petitions (Live 8) and complaining will get hungry people food. Hungry people need food, not ideas.

Apparently poor people don't need money, they need ideas... they need intellectual freedom and opportunity, not food.

How ridiculous. How hypocritical. You can't have someone think independently if they're too hungry to think.

And now these people are dying, at an even faster rate than before.

I'm sick of the idea that temporary solutions don't make a difference. I am. Because the fact is that while temporary solutions are only temporary, they are solutions nonetheless. Would it not have been better to have said, "We want to make a difference with Live 8. We want you to take action. We also need to put up a temporary dam against the endemic, pervasive poverty that is leading to death. Please donate if you can in any way."

This is our time for action. We can try to stop hunger personally. We can do what celebrities cannot.

You can donate to relief organizations through the links on the website. These are currently the best and most efficient ways to donate. Making a difference is of course not a prerequisite... it's just an idea. But ideas are worthless without action.

Palmeiro takes steroids.

So I made an entire post about how we didn't know if Palmeiro took steroids, and so we should give him the benefit of the doubt, and all of this. I tried to show that if Palmeiro didn't use steroids, then he should be in the HOF.

Well, the "if" portion of the statement isn't true, and thus the proof ain't so good anymore. Simple as that. What's worse, it looks as if Skip Bayless's argument is getting stronger, and that's just unbearable.