I wonder if we can somehow hypnotize Ryan Howard into thinking every game is played in his hometown of St. Louis. After last night’s 2-3 performance and 7th career grand slam the big first basemen is a .383 career hitter there with seven homers and 28 RBIs in 60 at-bats in his home town.
I know his struggles exist, but when Howard is swinging the bat god damn is it fun to watch him hit.
“I was going to get your name on there,” Ron Artest to Yao, in regards to what appeared to be Aztec designs shaved into the side of his head
With the NFL Draft just hours away its time to take stock of what exactly your Philadelphia Eagles have planned with the 21st pick in the draft.
What the fans want to do: Trade the pick for AnquanBoldin, who is the toughest receiver in the league to bring down once he has the ball. For years the Birds have lacked an elite level wideout, and the one time McNabb and Reid did have one they went straight to the Bowl. Â It’ll probably cost a one a three, and from what I gather the fans would be more than happy to give it up.
What I want: I know its becoming a bit of a bandwagon pick, but I want Knowshon Moreno. He is that good. Three times last season I was flipping between college football games and saw a back do something spectacular. Three times that back was Moreno. He may lack breakawayability but he’s shifty, quick, can block, and can catch passes out of the backfield. All last year I predicted that, in three years time, he’ll be a top 3 back in the NFL – it’s a prediction I’m sticking with.
What the Birds will do: Trade down three spots and draft AlexMack, the highest rated center on the board. Honestly, I’d love this pick too, for no other reason than it’d be a hilarious fuck-you not only to the fans but also their QB1 who demanded weapons in the offseason.
I know the Flyers made a statement, Cole Hamels went down and the 76ers are back home in a potentially huge playoff game tonight, but I have to lead with Harry - one last time.
This week’s column, Why Harry Matters, attempts to diverge from the tributes we’re been hearing. It isn’t that we think Harry shouldn’t be honored (we’re proud of our attempts to do a bit of that ourselves) but rather that, as the week passed, we became fascinated by just how many people Harry Kalas touched. As such, we wrote a second day story. Here is the main question:
[T]here’s an argument to be made that HK had a bigger impact on the lives of sports fans across this region than any sports figure, ever. And yet, never once did Harry Kalas directlyaffect the outcome of a game. He never played pro ball, nor did he coach it; he never made a personnel decision in his life. Analytically speaking, his role was that of a filter, an add-on. And yet, despite all this, he will be remembered as the most influential baseball personality of our lifetime. How is that possible?
Through the column we try to answer that question, and hope we at least touched on the heart of it. Either way, we feel its worth a real and hope you check it out.
Now, onto the news of the day …
from the flickr account of neat1325
Marty Biron, last night’s hero, tosses out an opening pitch.
“I don’t know what I can do. I can’t hit. My hitting days are over.” – Charlie Manuel
It took the 76ers overtime to win ugly against a LeBron-less Cavs team (he rested in preparation for the playoffs, as did the rest of Cleveland’s regulars), which is a far superior outcome to losing pretty. Their reward is the 3rd seed Orlando Magic, a team that came out of the gate like gangbusters and has since trailed off, due in no small part to the fact that The Magic with Jameer Nelson > The Magic without Jameer Nelson, and injuries have caused JameerNelson to miss the second half of the year.
Truth be told the Magic provide as opportune of an opponent as the struggling 76ers could hope for. Not only do the Magic live and die by the three, which not only means Dwight and co could theoretically beat themselves a game or two – obviously best case scenario for this 6ers team – but also that the 76ers might be able to get a fast break or two off of a long rebound. On top of all that, the Magic’s deserved reputation as top-notch defensive team (Stan Van Gundy is a magic man to have that group elite) is based around perimeter defense and Dwight Howard. Since Howard will likely be locked up on Dalembert, who the Sixers don’t call on to handle the scoring load as is, and Andre Miller doesn’t get his points in ways that can easily be shut down, the scoring will have to come through Thaddeus Young and AI2, neither of whom Orlando has a logical matchup for.
Nothing is going to make me confident the 76ers can pull if off, but this Magic team is primed for an upset, which is far more than you can say for the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics, who this time yesterday were all-but locked in as the 76ers opponent.
It isn’t an awful matchup for the fans either, which now get to see Howard for an entire series. Dwight is built like how foreigners who have only heard about NBA basketball imagine all NBA players are built like: he’s got the frame of an SUV and his shoulders are a normal person’s wingspan. We’ll have more of a Xs and Os breakdown before the series actually starts, but for now we’ll say there is finally a bright spot in the 2008-2009 76ers season. So what if it’s the other team?
photo via Joshua Gunter and the Cleveland Plain Dealer
the closest the league’s best player got to the floor last night
“We have to look in the mirror and say, ‘Are we satisfied we’re in the playoffs?’ ” – Andre Iguodala
Thoughts far and wide from a busy weekend in the world of sports …
PHILLIES
I don’t know if he has the best job in sports – the benefits of having the narrow goal of ‘hit a home run every time you get up to bat’ are probably tempered by the considerable pressure of actually having to do it once in a while – but Matt Stairs may well have the most interesting one: offensive lefty specialist. I wonder if he’ll inspire more managers to turn the 25th man into an all-or-nothing bat at the end of the bench.
Chan Ho Park looked awful, but so have all of the Phillies’ starters thus far and I think its pretty safe to say no one is losing sleep. As long as the Phils are still W.F.C.’s I refuse to worry about them at all – especially because 3-3 is the first time they’ve been at .500 after six games since 2003.
On Saturday Brett Myers faced the same problems he did his first outing – too many home runs, nothing else – and I’m fine with that, even considering Brett’s history with the long ball. At this point in the season one correctable nuisance is a lot more fixable of a problem for a pitcher to have than one who is getting small balled to death.
You gotta love that Obama is down to talk change with Hamels and Moyer on Tuesday but reportedly refused to throw out the first pitch at the nationals’ home opener this afternoon. Poor Nats.
SIXERS
For the second year in a row the 76ers lost continued a string losses in ‘must-win’ games against sub-par teams. That speaks volumes about their leadership (or, probably more aptly, their lack thereof), which is a shame. This 6ers team as assembled doesn’t have elite talent – if they want to compete with teams that are actually championship-level good they need to play smart, focused, disciplined basketball. Worse, since the 76ers are over the cap no matter if they bring back Andre Miller or not, they’ll be trotting out basically the same team back next year. It shouldn’t be a shock when they face the same problems come April 2010.
Speaking of, it’s an easy point to make today with AI2 is on the heels of a ten-turnover debacle when the 76ers needed his best, but good god did Stefanski misfire last offseason. Everyone points to Brand’s fat contract when they whine about the cap space, but Iguodala couldn’t have been offered more than 58 mil and he got 80.
Has he outplayed expectations? Sure, and I suppose there is a chance that he’d last years’ contract this year from a team dying to win 40 games for the next five years, but the next team that wins a chip built around a guy of his ilk will be the first in the history of basketball.
Speaking more of Iguodala, I love the potential for an emerging beef between Brian at Depressed Fan, a true stat head and one of AI2’s staunchest supporters, and this guy, who kissed Henry Abbot’s ring, and reportedly only cares about scoring or something. If NewGuy fires back maybe I’ll even play the real journalist and get to the bottom of the e-beef.
of course, there may be another option we’re glossing over – maybe Thad Young is fucking awesome
EVERYTHING ELSE
I know this is probably impossibly snobbish, but for the casual golf fan majors really have become various Tiger Invitationals. Maybe I’ll still follow the action if he’s not in it late, but even with a riveting finish like yesterdays I’m doing it far more for the simple joys of watching the course than I am for any potential excitement. I know rooting for the favorite is un-American, but at this point (aces aside) nothing else can even get my heart rate going.
You kinda gotta love that unambiguous reports that the Bills and the Eagles have not discussed Jason Peters haven’t even stemmed the tide of ‘Peters to the Birds’ rumors around these parts. Philly is such a football town.
“That’s why Stairs is on our team, man. Stairs is amazing.” – Uncle Cholly, preaching to the choir
The Game: In their first game playing under a ‘2008′ banner the Phillies fell to the Atlanta Braves, 4-1 in a game that might have displayed some of their flaws – a lefty closer shut down the Phils’ big lefties, they struggled to hit a ground-ball pitcher hard, and Brett Myers gave up the long ball – but probably was just one of those games.
The Goat: Myers made three mistakes, mistakes that mainly came from him trying too hard to turn his changeup into a weapon. Oh well, either he’ll get control of it and add a legit third pitch or he’ll go back to the hammer and use that whenever he gets down 2-0 to McCann. Right now we’re just hoping he keeps that weight off long enough to have plenty of shots at redemption.
The Race: The Phils fell a half game behind the Mets in the race for the NL East crown, which gives New York its very first chance to choke away a lead.
Other Notes …
I know everyone is freaking out about Mike Gonzalez getting Ibanez and Howard to strike out to end the game, but isn’t it also kinda important that the Phils got to him in the first place? They scored zero runs in eight innings against the righthanded Lowe and then one in one inning against the lefthanded reliever. Maybe it is good pitching, not specialized pitching, that is the problem.
I don’t know who Jacelynn is, but for the sake of that fat guy I’m hoping she’s the single greatest person in America, he looked like a moron all night long waving that sign.
It’s possible that Jordan Schafer is actually the goods. The rookie was tearing up the Braves system before he got hit with a 50-game before being a dirty cheater and everyone forgot about him – last night was a reminder.
Speaking of Schafer, boy is it fun to watch Brad Lidge pitch to a rookie.
The Phillies bullpen tossed three perfect innings: it isn’t crazy to expect that level from Lidge, but seeing Taschner, Eyre, and Durbin all get outs is encouraging.
About six weeks ago I had the chance to catch up with former Cardinal Dougherty/Villanova product KyleLowry before a before a game down at the Wachovia Center. Lowry, who has since been traded to the Houston Rockets, was on the sidelines for the Memphis Grizzles, hobbled by a sore right ankle and, as such, had plenty of time to talk. We talked about the state of the Nova team, JayWright’s style of play, the merits of versatile players on the college level, and his old team before moving back to the Sixers and some minutiae from the game at hand. Eventually Kyle began to get tied up with ticket requests and local media hand and, seeing as I had the notes I needed, I started to wonder out.
Before I did I had to get in one last question:
“Hey,” I injected, getting his attention back, “was it a travel?”
It was a blind question, and I’m expecting him not to know what I’m referencing. If you’re a Nova fan reading today you probably get it – I was talking about the final meaningful play of Kyle’s freshman year, a phantom travel call on Allen Ray in the regional semis that effectively ended the Wildcats’ season – but back early in February, in the middle of a conversation about HakimWarrick and the effectiveness of various defenses when it comes to starting a fast break, you might not have. In short, I was testing to see how ingrained that play was for the guys directly involved.
The answer, it seems, is very.
“No comment,” he shot back, shaking his head.
The wound was still raw. Today, with his close friend ShaneClark a hero and team finally got back to the Tourney’s final weekend, I’m guessing that pain has numbed just a little. Saturday, with those familiar baby blue uniforms back on the schedule in yet another crucial game, I’m guessing it is going to right back up high sensitivity.
FootballOutsiders.com is the Baseball Prospectus of the gridiron (literally. They publish ‘Football Prospectus’ each year). Led by creator Aaron Shatz FO has made its name by not accepting the conventional wisdom around football. Focusing on complicated-sounding stats like DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average, which measures the success of a given play) and ALY (Adjusted Line Yards, which is the first real attempt to separate an offensive lines’ effectiveness from that of the tailback behind it), FO is for the geeks. While that causes less disruption in football, a game that consciously constantly reinvents itself, than it does in baseball with its obvious bent towards the pristine unchanged, FO isn’t exactly universally hailed as a be-all end-all by, well, Football’s Insiders. But, like Baseball Prospectus, it’s creates better models of determining effectiveness than yards or catches.
It is most recent model change that I want to focus on this morning. The new change won’t be it’s most grounding, and technically speaking its pretty inarguably its simplest, but it may be important and if they can pull it off it could be one of its most fun: yesterday Football Outsiders added the element of trades and tradition to its mock draft.
Here is their impetus:
Mid-draft trades have resulted in changes in the first round’s draft order as far as we care to look back; last year, there were eight different trades in the first round alone.
Mocks also spend too much time focusing on need while ignoring the reality of how and why organizations value players. Not to pick on a frequent target, but Pat Kirwan’s mock at NFL.com is a good example. … there are some moves that make absolutely no sense considering the style of play the organizations run, or their history in selecting players.
On one hand this seems like an awful move. Trades are by definition the work of football insiders. While football outsiders can speculate on how teams would act if they were normative actors, it is no secret that NFL GMs rarely act in ways that appear to be in their narrow self-interest. FootballOutsiders mock (available here) will, almost certainly, be wrong, and be wrong a lot. Still, it is how Bill Barnwell and FO are focusing on the draft which makes it worth talking about. Instead of trying to simply rank the 32 best players in the draft, or even the 32 players who would be the best fit for the teams drafting them, the new mock rather looks at the teams’ history and works from there.
They explain:
What are the odds on the Patriots — a team that has refused to spend much more than the league minimum on cornerbacks since Bill Belichick arrived — spending a first-round pick on a cornerback? Why would the Colts spend a first-round pick on a middle linebacker when Gary Brackett has another year left on his deal and, more importantly, he’s the first linebacker Bill Polian has spent money on? Why would the Texans go after a halfback? The Lions — of all things — a linebacker?
It is no longer a shock that the Outsiders are better than the Insiders at the Outsiders game – namely, narrow backward analysis. It’ll be interesting to see if they can beat the Insiders at a consummate inside challenge.
Plus they have the Birds getting Moreno and Jason Peters, which I totally wasn’t about to not-plug.
“It’s my job to put players in a position to make plays.” – Andy Reid, in response to an inevitable question about playmakers from today’s upcoming press conference.
First the big news: We’ve danced around this topic long enough: Johari Smith is headed to playoffs. Or something like that. That’s right, a fellow grade/middle/high school alum of my alma mater will be gracing the pages of Playboy. Granted Johari, AKA Miss Jimmy Rollins, isn’t exactly conforming to Hef’s traditional standards (read: she’s wearing clothes) but still, the first time someone you know is indirectly linked to the adult industry it’s worth a note, no?
Jimmy Rollins is one of the most dapper Phillies, and he and girlfriend Johari Smithwill appear in a Playboy fashion feature, most likely in the June issue and on video on Playboy’s Web site.
This is at least as interesting as the time all those CHA boys found that Springside girl rocking her school kilt on that immoral interweb of hers, though probably less interesting than the infamous sex scandal.
Over the last forty eight hours I have spent an inordinate amount of time musing over the merits of the Cleveland State men’s basketball team, a team whose name I couldn’t tell you three days ago (it’s the Vikings) and now I feel the connection of a good-cousins-alma-mater to.
Cleveland State, with its 55 RPI, its swarming D, its wins at Butler and at Syracuse, and its matchup against a reeling Wake team has me and seemingly everyone else gushing over their upset potential – yesterday I was told by three different friends that Cleveland State was a virtual lock to take down the one-time #1 overall Demon Deacons. Now this was expected out Kozak, an old college friend who had the unfortunate luck to be born in Cleveland and reps any and everything that comes out of The Cleve like it was some new clever way to slice bread, but from my wider circles it came as a bit of a shock. Ruben and Juice, in a long gchat conversation that I was invited to and missed, both hyped up the Vikings as well, both on the basis of Ruben’s ” ‘Hubert Davis‘ Eye Test” theory and Juice’s measured observation that Wake kinda blew throughout the entire second half of the year.
Now that’s anecdotal, sure, and personally I’ve talked myself out of the pick, becoming one of the few who are going by rote with the Deacons, but it is also a main reason why we’re entering the best three weeks in American sports.
I just spent a solid half hour trying to figure out who the 55th best team in college football’s BCS rankings even was at the end of the year and still don’t have the foggiest idea. If I did know, no one would care: they’re about 52 spots too low to matter. But in college ball, 55 means something, 55 is interesting, 55 means upset potential, and upset potential means a can’t miss game between Wake Forest and Cleveland State in the middle of Miami.
A week ago half the nation didn’t know Cleveland even was a State, now you have would-be Joe Lunardi’s proclaiming their love for them from coast to coast.
“If you can find something everyone agrees on, it’s wrong.” – Mo Udall
Staff Blog
Morning Rounds, May 5th
