BERNing on Sports: By Jordan Bernfield with Scott Spinelli

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2009-04-05T23:59:00.002-05:00

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Just Hours From Now...BERNINGONSPORTS.COM

2009-04-05T20:41:00.000-05:00

A final reminder, if you want to find us tomorrow, go to berningonsports.com. That is our new home. It will no longer be this one by the time you wake up tomorrow!

Enjoy the new site! I know you will!

The Picks - Division Winners, Champions

2009-04-05T14:30:00.000-05:00

Scott mentioned how the preseason predictions of post season awards is ridiculous. And while many "experts" usually have better luck with the prognostication of division winners and eventual world series champions, there is always one team that makes us all look ridiculously dumb. Tampa Bay Rays anyone? I don't think any of the players down in St. Pete would have chosen them to win the American League Pennant. On that note, check this out in six months and let us know how stupid we are....

The Divisions:
AL East:

Scott: Red Sox - I don't necessarily think they've got such a great team, and the Manny-hole in the lineup will be apparent, all season. But, injuries to the Yankees will hurt them. The Rays bullpen will falter this year, ruining a great year from the rest of the team.

Jordan: Yankees - Scott's likely being a massochist by not picking the Yanks to win the division considering they spent a kagillion dollars this off season. But this year they have what they didn't have the last couple of years, a dominant ace. C.C. you back in the playoffs, Pinstripes. And the Red Sox seemingly never win the division. Even last year Tampa Bay won the East and not Boston.

AL Central:

Scott: Twins - Young guns (Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey) and the return of Francisco Liriano, coupled with a big year from Justin Morneau put this team on top of a division lacking any front runners. The Indians and White Sox will be around all year, though.

Jordan: Indians - You could really pick a name out of a hat for this division winner, but I expect a good year from Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez (both returning from injury), and they've added stability to the back end of the bullpen with Kerry Wood.

AL West:

Scott: Mariners - Again, not a great team, but I'm expecting big things out of King Felix and Erik Bedard. On top of that, I don't think the Angels are going to be as good as they have been in year's past, due to injuries and decline.

Jordan: Athletics - I've been thinking about this for a while, and maybe I'm insane. It doesn't appear this club has any pitching. But the Angels won't be as good, we agree, and while I think the M's could compete Oakland's lineup may be good enough to eek this out.

AL Wild Card:

Scott: Yankees - Nagging injuries to Joba Chamberlain, A.J. Burnett, and Alex Rodriguez will pester the Yankees, but their depth will allow them to put together a solid season to make the playoffs, getting strong and healthy just as October rolls around.

Jordan: Red Sox - Yankees Jr. get in again. Very good pitching, good line up, and a good bullpen. They're always balanced, and they appear to be a sure fire 90+ win team.

NL East:

Scott: Phillies - Bottom line, need to see the Mets not blow it in September. Need to see it, before I can predict it.

Jordan: Mets - It would be so Philadelphia for that team to not win the NL East the year after winning it all. And, the Mets have added two closers, so things have to improve in the back end of the pen. No collapse this year.

NL Central:

Scott: Cubs - Far and away, best team in this division, no questions asked. I may have them going to far (who doesn't want to be the guy picking them to win the World Series?) in the post season, but this team is far too talented and deep not to win this division.

Jordan: Cubs - Did you think I'd pick someone else? But seriously, who is better than the Cubs in the Central? Exactly. No one. They may not win 97 this year, but even if they win just 90 that should be good enough. And Scott, take it easy with this World Series talk.

NL West:

Scott: Dodgers - Poor division will allow the Dodgers to win this one. It'll be tight, because no one's really that good, but there's one difference between the Dodgers and the rest of the division: Manny Ramirez. The Giants and Diamondbacks don't have him (or any good hitters).

Jordan: Dodgers - What Scott said.

NL Wild Card:
Scott: Reds - Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto are primed to put together full, dominant seasons. A young core of Phillips, Votto, and Bruce will anchor the lineup in a good hitter's park. Expect better things from Aaron Harang. Not a bad thing either to play the Brewers, Pirates and Astros a bunch of times.

Jordan: Phillies - Scott's crazy about the Reds. The Phillies may not be as good as last year, because Joe Blanton and Brett Myers will probably return to normalcy. But this team will still be the rest of the rest in the NL, which is not all that strong. Pains me to say it, but St. Louis could win this too.

The Playoffs: The Division Series:

Scott: Cubs defeat the Mets, Dodgers beat the Phillies,
Red Sox top the Mariners, Yankees over the Twins

Jordan: Cubs defeat the Phillies, Mets beat the Dodgers
Yankees over the Athletics, Indians over the Red Sox

The Playoffs: League Championship Series:

Scott: Yankees beat the Red Sox, Cubs over the Dodgers

Jordan: Mets beat the Cubs (Jordan cries), Indians beat the Yankees (Scott cries)

The Playoffs: The World Series:

Scott: Cubs over the Yankees (Jordan is elated, Scott kills Jordan)

First time for everything, right? I picked them a few years back, and I was wrong then. Who knows. Maybe it's because I don't like picking my own team, but this Cubs team seems to darn talented. (Jordan thinks this is crazy but is elated at the thought)

Jordan: Indians top Mets (neither Scott nor Jordan watches)

I've been burned too many times to pick the Cubs. That's why I'll take my boys Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa to earn the glory in October. Plus, the Indians haven't won the series in 60 years or so, and they with a very promising team, they very well might.

The Fantasy Baseball Nerd: All Breakout Team

2009-04-05T10:37:00.001-05:00

Alright, I'll be honest, this one is basically for me, so that, at the end of the year, if any of these guys become big, or have break out (or bounce back) type seasons, I'll be able to shove it in anyone's face that I was right (once).

Before we get going, let me clarify what I term as breakout. For me, a breakout season can mean a number of things. It can mean the obvious of just coming from no where to have a huge season, a la Josh Hamilton. It can mean having a big year after many down years, like Ken Griffey Jr. in 2007. It can mean building upon previous good seasons, and putting it all together, like Derrek Lee in 2005. It can mean any of these things, and more. So, just because a guy was good last year, doesn't mean he can't have what I'm calling a breakout year this year.

As always, feel free to rip it apart in the comments.

C - Mike Napoli has already hit 46 homers in his career, 20 of which came last year. But, this year, he's going to do better. I'm talking 30 to 35 homers, better. The average won't be good, but with health and finally some full-time duties behind the plate, the burly catcher will rip it up. With that said, still don't expect much more than 80 or so RBIs.

1B - This is a tough one, because a lot of these guys have already had pretty good seasons. For instance, I'm one of many that thinks Joey Votto is going to have a big year, but it's not much of a surprise considering how well he hit last year. Another guy people have pegged is Billy Butler, who seems like he's been on lists like this for years. If he's healthy, the kid can hit, no doubt. He doesn't have a position, and seems to have more doubles-type power than homer-type power, but I think we'd all be happy with 20 and 100 from Billy B.

2B - A guy a lot of people are mentioning is Aaron Hill, but he already had what I'd call his breakout year two years ago. No, my guy is the speedster Alexi Casilla. Think Luis Castillo, but a better hitter. Way better. And, steals will come for Casilla. He only swiped 7 last year, but in the minors he averaged over 30 steals a season.

SS - Consider this my first divergence from the rules I set up above. Troy Tulowitzki already had his big year, two years ago. But, people seem to have forgotten about him on draft day this year. The guy was injured last year, never got it going, but he hasn't lost his stroke. Not to mention, he'll still be playing his home games at Coors Field, and with Matt Holliday gone, the Rocks will be counting on him to help fill in.

3B - Another guy that's on these lists a lot is Alex Gordon. I've heard that he's starting to try to go the other way more, not pull everything he sees. Which, is all well and good, but I need to see him hit well for more than a two week period before I endorse him. My guy here is another one that isn't really going to "break out". Ryan Zimmerman has had a few good years in his career, but like Tulowitzki, has completely fallen off people's radars. Zim can hit and now that he's healthy (not to mention, with Dunn in the lineup) he should resume his 25/110-type seasons.

OF - Adam Jones will steal at least 25 bases, David DeJesus could drive in over 90 runs batting in the 3-hole this year (if Bengie Molina can do it from the cleanup spot...), Coco Crisp with more playing time and no media to harass him should return to pre-Boston stats, once B.J. Upton returns on the 13th, he will tear it up (think power of 2007, speed of 2008), and not too far form 20/25 last year, Lastings Milledge will do big things from the leadoff spot for the Nats. I wouldn't sleep on Elijah Dukes either, who, if he keeps himself on the field, would be hard pressed not to go at least 20/20.

SP - They say the second year after Tommy John surgery is when you see a return to form, expect that from Francisco Liriano. He won 15 games last year, but Ricky Nolasco's ceiling is somewhere in the atmosphere. Matt Cain has only won 15 games the last two years while pitching to solid ERAs both times. I wouldn't expect his luck to be so poor for a third straight year. Figure between 12 and 16 wins. Another guy that's shown a ton of promise is Johnny Cueto, who I'd expect more consistency out of in his second full year. Bounce back year for Fausto Carmona, that heavy sinker is too good to ignore.

Again, I'm leaving off relievers because they're just too damn flimsy.

So, there you have it, my picks for guys to have break out or bust out or big or unexpected or kind of expected years. Agree, disagree, or simply ignore. You're choice. But, I'll still say I told ya so.

The Picks - Post Season Award Talk

2009-04-04T14:17:00.000-05:00

Arguably, the most ridiculous of all of the pre-season predictions are the awards. Which player will be the most valuable to his (or her) team? Which pitcher will have the best season? How about best rookie? The questions themselves seem simple enough, but when asked before a pitch has been thrown, they're a bit silly.

But, nonetheless, it's tradition. Before every baseball season, even if it's only in your own head, you have to think of some predictions, even if that only means picking your Silver Sluggers (and if that's your thing, more power to you...get it, more power to you. bah dumpt, chhhh). And so, Jordan and I have berned long and hard over these, stewing and brewing over predictions that will more than likely fall by the wayside due to injury or incompetence (on either the players' or our parts).

So, without further ado, the 2009 Berning On Sports Pre Season Award picks...

AL Rookie of the Year:

Jordan: Matt Wieters, BAL

Assuming he plays most of the season, this guy is bound for stardom. I expect once he comes up in May he'll hit near .300 and hit 15-20 home runs while making a big impact on the Orioles both offensively and defensively.

Scott: Same, BAL

I don't really know many other rookies. He's supposed to be good.

NL Rookie of the Year:

Jordan: Colby Rasmus, STL

This guy has been in the minors longer than the Cardinals wanted him there because of an already crowded outfield. Assuming he'll get plenty of at-bats this season, he'll do well because he plays for St. Louis and if you play for them, you hit, no matter what your name is.

Scott: Come on. My only other guess, Daniel Murphy, NYM. He'll bat second, and they say the kid can really rake, so long as his lack of a real position doesn't kill the Mets too bad.

AL Cy Young Award: J

Jordan: Jon Lester, BOS

He's an excellent pitcher primed for a huge year. With the benefit of a winning club that has a great offense, he'll win a lot of games, and statistically he's as good as anyone.

Scott: Roy Halladay, TOR

I love the pick of Lester, and while I'd love to echo Jordan's sentiment's a third time, I'm going to stay in the division, but head further north. The only thing holding him back is that he might not get enough wins playing for such a poor team, but his stuff and track record show nothing other than greatness and no signs of slowing.

NL Cy Young Award:

Jordan: Jake Peavy, SD

This one is harder because there are so many dynamite pitchers in the National League. But the 2007 Cy Young is going to be pitching with the extra motivation of wanting to be traded from San Diego so he'll have a huge year. The only way he doesn't get consideration is if he doesn't win enough games because his offense is so bad.

Scott: Johan Santana, NYM

This might seem like a pick made based on the fact that I live in his area, but he'd have likely won it if the Mets had any semblance of a bullpen at any point last season. He won 16 games with a league leading ERA last year, and now he has Frankie Rodriguez and J.J. Putz to lock down a few more W's for the resume.

AL Most Valuable Player:

Jordan: Mark Teixeira, NYY

The MVP almost always comes from one of the best teams that is playoff bound. Big Tex is a fantastic player as it is, but now he'll be the focal point of an already excellent offense since A-Rod will begin the season on the DL.

Scott: Justin Morneau, MIN

With Joe Mauer out of the lineup for a chunk of time, the Twins will count on the Canadian to pick up the slack, and he will. He might not slug you to death, but Morneau will carry the Twins all the way to a division title.

NL Most Valuable Player:

Jordan: Manny Ramirez, LAD

He's playing his first full season in the National League, which he destroyed last year. I understand it was in a contract year, but the guy mashes no matter where he is. The Dodgers will likely be NL West champs again, and Manny will be credited with leading them there.

Scott: Albert Pujols, STL

This is a give-up pick, but here's how I look at it: the guy's always great (which, I know can work against him for this award, a la Kobe Bryant or even Shaq), and no one on the Cubs stands out to me as a guy that would clearly deserve an MVP award. So, Pujols it is, if even by default. Again.

Jamaal Tinsley: Where Have You Gone

2009-04-04T10:38:00.000-05:00

It seems like it was only yesterday, my shaved headed, balding, questionably overweight point guarded friend, that you were turning the ball over at a rapid rate on a nightly basis.

Alas, you've been out of the media spotlight, or any spotlight for that matter, for quite some time now. Where are you, I wonder, as this 2009 NBA season comes to a close without so much of single glimpse of the former Cyclone.

Jamaal "Mel Mel The Abuser" Tinsley had it rough, right from jump street of his NBA career. In what would turn out to be a ill portent of things to come in his career, he was drafted near the bottom of the first round in 2001 to the Vancouver Grizzlies. Almost immediately, no one wanted him. On draft night, he was shipped to Atlanta, and from there, to Indiana. Three cities, one night.

"It was rough, no doubt," Tinsley said, reflecting on his early career. "I mean, I'd never been to Vancouver before, so when I heard that they had picked me, I was like, f**k that. Then, Atlanta woulda been aight, I mean, I hear there's a lot of black people there. But, damn, Indiana? How many black people are there?"

Unfortunately, a few too many, to the detriment of Tinsley's career, as it would turn out. If Anthony Johnson and Kenny Anderson hadn't been playing for the Pacers a few years into his career, Tinsley might have kept his starting job. It was not to be.

From that point forward, erratic play, weight issues, and other attitude related issues have plagued the Rucker Park-made point guard.

"Yeah, it was a struggle," Tinsley admitted. "There were times, no question, when I thought, hell with it, I'm gonna go back and play ball at the Rucker again. Forget this whole NBA thing. But then, I thought, nah, f**k that."

Only three times has he played over 70 games in a season. Only three times has he averaged over 10 points a game.

But, throughout his short career, he has turned the ball over at a phenomenal rate, and coupled with a sagging shooting percentage, few, including Tinsley himself, could figure out why he was treated so poorly this year.

"Basically, they were like, we ain't gonna need you for practice tomorrow. So I'm like, cool, day off. I'll see you tomorrow then? And they're like, nah, not then either. So I'm thinking, wow, four day weekend! But then, they were like, nah, it's not like that. We're just not gonna need you for anything. At all. Any more."

Suffice to say, he was stunned, and how could you blame him? He had played 39 full games the previous season, and managed to shoot under 40% for a second consecutive year.

"You know how hard it is to shoot that bad? I mean, everytime down, I'm thinking, what's the worst possible shot I can take, the worst decision I can make to derail my team's chances of scoring? Maybe a no-look? How about some wrap-around s**t? Or one of them pull-up, fadeaway joints? Point is, it ain't easy being as unreliable as I was."

Effectively, the Pacers put Jamaal Tinsley in timeout. For the rest of the year. He has been sent home, his name removed from the locker room, his memory erased from the minds of millions. His grievance case will likely be heard in the coming months, but, at this point, who really cares?

"I have to be honest, I'm kind of getting used to this whole getting paid for doin' nothing thing. It's kinda hot," a relaxed Tinsley said, sipping a Dunkachino outside his home earlier this week.

And so for now, dear friends, the question isn't, "where have you gone, Jamaal Tinsley?" but, more appropriately, "why did you not go there sooner?"

Reminder: BERNINGONSPORTS.com Coming Monday!

2009-04-03T19:30:00.000-05:00

This Monday our new Internet home will be berningonsports.com. There will be new content, features, and an easier way to access podcasts and recent posts.

Make our first day a special one, by visiting the site and checking out all the new things that will be part of it, including the "Procrastinate" page where you'll do just that, procrastinate, from whatever else you should be doing.

Once again, starting Monday, this will no longer be our blog site. It will be berningonsports.com! Thanks for reading, and for your continued support.

Have You Seen This Yet?

2009-04-03T15:30:00.000-05:00

I don't know whether to laugh or cry, but I suppose these guys are all good sports.

30 Teams In 30 Days

2009-04-03T10:00:00.007-05:00

Colorado Rockies: Ode To The Humidor
(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked. Except this is the last day, so maybe this message no longer applies. Yes, actually, it no longer applies. But I'm leaving it up here anyways.)

This Team Won the Pennant Two Years Ago
Remember that? The Rockies won their first and only National League pennant back in 2007, when they got wildly hot in September and early October to run all the way to the World Series. Of course, they lost to Boston in the Fall Classic, but at the time I was impressed with this team. I thought they were finally building a team that could win in that ball park, especially now that the humidor was "de-juicing" the baseballs and they had a lot of young and talented pitchers. Whoops! Last year sent Colorado back to irrelevance, as they finished 14 games below the .500 mark and they dealt with regression from players like Troy Tulowitzki (more on that later). If they want to be relevant again this year, they'll need their pitching staff to rebound, and for Tulowitzki to return to his excellent form of 2007. Otherwise, it's status quo in the Mile High city.

What The Hell Happened, Jeff Francis?
I would really like an answer, yet I know you won't be able to give it to me this year since you tore your labrum and will be out for the 2009 season. I thought you were good. I thought you'd be a star in this league that could buck the trend of pitchers faltering at Coors Field and you could anchor a pitching staff that would contend in the NL West for years to come. Yet last year you went 4-10 with a 5.01 ERA and were largely ineffective for the entire season. Maybe you can still be a great starter in the future and last year can be chalked up to your shoulder injury. I hope you get healthy, and I hope we have a chance to see what you can really be. Your franchise needs your arm, because while Aaron Cook was an all-star last year, the rest of that rotation could really use some help.

Buy Bleacher Tickets For Games When Jason Marquis Is Pitching
According to the Rockies website, to sit out in the outfield at Coors Field will only cost you no more than $15 dollars per ticket this season. So, Denver residents, if you want a good time, and a potential souvenir, go to the game when Jason Marquis is on the bump. It's incredibly affordable, and with this guy pitching in the think Rocky Mountain air, it's almost a certainty that once or twice a game the opposition will homer into your section, no matter where you sit in the outfield. Marquis was acquired by Colorado from the Cubs for Luis Vizcaino as a salary dump. And Marquis figures to only be in Denver one year, so if you want a home run ball you'll need to go to Coors this year. He seems like a nice guy, but he gives up a ton of home runs. He's allowed 167 home runs in his career in 198 career starts, and in a ballpark where the ball flies this could be a potential disaster.

Troy Tulowitzki Must Be the Face of This Franchise
When he burst onto the scene as a fantastic rookie in 2007, the Rockies had the best season in their franchise's history. "Tulo" not only played great on the field, but he embodied the spirit of what we thought was the start of something great on Blake Street. With last season's down year, he'll need to pick up the production to help carry this line up. Matt Holliday now plays for Oakland, and Todd Helton is old, so the youth in this group will have to perform. Guys like Garrett Atkins, who's a budding star, along with Chris Ianetta and Brad Hawpe will be counted upon to keep the Mile High City rocking, but it's Tulowitzki who has that David Wright/Derek Jeter like image if he's healthy that will keep the Rockies in the news.

Bold Predictions

Colorado will finish this season above .500, even with the pitching issues they have. Ubaldo Jimenez and Aaron Cook will be enough for this team to win maybe 84 games.
My boy Tulowitzki will return to form, and hit close to .300, with 20 homers and drive in 100.
Huston Street will save 30 games this year, and him and Manny Corpas will provide the Rockies with a nice 8th and 9th inning combo.

Up next....Post Season Awards...Playoff Picks

30 Teams in 30 Days

2009-04-02T17:30:00.000-05:00

San Francisco Giants: If They Only Had One Major League Quality Hitter...

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked)

Keeping It Real

This team's lineup is so f**cking bad, it's not even funny. Well, maybe a little funny. Though, to be honest, it was funnier a few years ago, when it looked like something out of Ken Griffey baseball game. Now, it's just sad. Why this team refused to go out and get a hitter, either via free agency or trading on of their million quality starting pitchers, I have no idea. I mean, come on already. Bengie Molina as the cleanup hitter? If this is Brian Sabean's idea of a joke, he really has one twisted sense of humor. The rest of the lineup (if it's possible) only gets less intimidating. The staff, as was the case with the D-backs as Eddie pointed out, is the only reason this team will remain competitive. Tim Lincecum is obviously legit, Matt Cain doesn't win too much (but who would when your team refuses to score for you) but he's pretty good, and Randy Johnson may still be a miserable SOB, but he should be OK in the Bay. Actually, as bad as the Diamondback's lineup is, consider that it scored 80 runs more than the Giants. Yes, the G-men are that bad.

Not One Offensive Player Remotely Scares Me

Aaron Rowand has had two seasons where he was a powerful hitter. Outside of that, nothing much. Then again, that's more than Mr. September, Pablo Sandoval, can say and he's scheduled to bat third. Randy Winn's rarely been a bad player, but, nothing worth worrying over. Same goes for Edgar Renteria, especially at this point in his career. You could go on and on. The problem is, there's no real big hitting prospect on this team. Matt Wieters ain't walking through that door, folks. So, for now, the Giants will have to hope that scoring under 4 runs a game will be good enough.

I'm Sorry, But One More Note Regarding How Poor Hitting Is In This Division

Four of the five teams in the division (damn you Colorado!) ranked in the bottom 11 in the league as far as runs scored is concerned. The only team to score fewer runs than the Giants? The Padres. Only a few spots above the Giants? The Dodgers. Go and get some hitters! These other divisions seem to have a bunch of them. Figure a way to get them to your division.

Beach Boys

If this Brian Wilson switched with this Brian Wilson, but put up similar numbers, would anyone outside of San Francisco even notice the difference. I mean, how many of you would be able to identify this Brian Wilson if he walked into the room you're in right now?

What Will Tiny Tim Do For An Encore?

So much for not being tall enough, not being big enough, having to funky of a delivery. Tim Lincecum lit it up all year last year, leading the NL in K's, while coming in the top 3 in wins, innings pitched, and ERA. His acting might not be Oscar-worthy, and his game may be downright terrible (go and get The Show if you're in the market for a baseball video game), but the 2009 Cy Young winner seems like he's the real thing. Not that anyone in the Bay Area is really surprised by this, but the question now is, what can he do to top it? Probably not a lot, and you'd have to expect his win total to shrink, if only because the law of averages says that such a terrible offense will wind up letting you down more often than not.

Bold Predictions

Matt Cain, not Tim Lincecum, will lead the Giants in wins this year.

Emmanuel Burriss, now officially the 2B for the Giants, will steal at least 35 bases this year.

For the second year in a row, not one Giant will hit 20 or more home runs. Last guys to do it? Pete Happy and Barry Bonds in 2007.

Bears Land Cutler

2009-04-02T16:29:00.002-05:00

Jay Cutler has finally been traded. And the Windy City is Cutler's new home.

From Chicago Sun-Times Reporter Mike Mulligan:

"The Bears acquired quarterback Jay Cutler today for No. 1 draft picks in 2009 and 2010, a No. 3 pick this year and Kyle Orton, the Sun-Times has learned. The Bears receive the Broncos' fifth-round draft pick this year.
Cutler, 25, is coming off a Pro Bowl season with the Broncos, but he became disgruntled and wanted a trade after learning Denver was considering a deal for quarterback Matt Cassel."

This is a shocking move considering the history of the Bears organization. They never trade for big named players, and more specifically they never go after talented quarterbacks. Now they have both. You know I'm a Bears fan, so I'm thrilled to see this. But still, a shocking development.

Finally, a quarterback for the Bears, for the first time since Sid Luckman.

Calipari Is Impressive

2009-04-02T16:03:00.003-05:00

John Calipari was introduced yesterday as the head coach at Kentucky. He's obviously an impressive coach, as he's taken both UMass and Memphis to the National Championship.

What I realized though watching his press conference is he's also a very impressive person. Watch the press conference, and feel free to comment if you feel the same way.

I have been to many press conferences in my time covering sports. The only other press conferences that gave me the same feeling were seeing Tim Brewster, the University of Minnesota football coach at Big Ten Media Day in 2007, and also Jim Tressel, the head football coach at Ohio State that same day.

Add Calipari to the list. What an impressive guy. I hope he does well at UK.

Is There Anything More Boring Than When Your Team Takes An Offensive Lineman In the First Round?

2009-04-02T10:16:00.003-05:00

Since ESPN's favorite sport is football, I've been hearing a lot of draft discussion lately. Granted, I'm not a NFL Draft fan. I actually think it is one of the most boring television events, period.

But since there's so much hype about it, and I'm always watching sports, I become inherently interested in what happens to some degree.

Then again, is there anything more boring than when your team drafts an offensive lineman in the first round? Especially when you've already waited two and a half hours just to get to your pick at number ten. Listen, I understand the importance of a good line, and I realize that no football team can be successful without those guys.

But offensive lineman are in a position in football that unless you're one of the Mark Schlereth's of the world, it's hard to track their progress.

Sure, you can watch them, and the average fan can figure out if the guy is letting up a bunch of sacks. But if he's not, how else do you measure whether he's good, pancake blocks?

The offensive line is the most disguised part of a football team. When they're doing well, you don't notice them. When they're not, you might notice them. Thus, it makes their jobs the least exciting of any other team in the NFL.

So if my team is drafting a Jason Smith out of Baylor this year, or a Jake Long last year, or any of these other guys, don't expect me to be excited. Could those players ultimately help my football team? Absolutely. But it's not fun to project the future for a guy who's going to be blocking the rest of his career.

With a receiver, a quarterback, or a running back, you can watch old highlights of them on YouTube and start to dream about how they would fit into your offense. Same thing with any great defensive player.

Yet you can't turn on a game of Madden so you can play as your team's newest offensive lineman. And if you could, how boring would that be?

April Fool's Day

2009-04-01T21:02:00.000-05:00

Where exactly this "holiday" came from, I have no flipping clue. It's hopelessly stupid, and every year, without fail, I'll come across someone that tries to pull some sort of poorly conceived prank or joke.

Now, I know that the first of April isn't much to celebrate, but, in honor of the big day, I present to you a few things in the sports world that, if you heard them, you would almost certainly be waiting for a loud, "APRIL FOOLS!"

New York Yankees Front Office: In light of the recent economic downturn, we've decided to scale back ticket prices. Tickets that originally cost nearly $2600 will now cost approximately $100 dollars. In fact, even when the economy rebounds, these more realistic prices will remain.

Gary Sheffield: All I want is for the team to get better. If that means me losing at-bats so that some of the young guys on this team can develop, I'm all for it. Honestly, I don't care if I ever get to 500 home runs. Winning comes first for me.

Barry Bonds: Alright, alright. You caught me. I did it. I took steroids. Phew, that feels like a load off, you know? Why I thought this whole aloof, tough guy thing would play well in the media, I have no idea. Can I just get back to playing the game I love so much now?

Gary Bettman: We really don't feel as if the strike hurt our league that much. In fact, we think we've come back stronger. More people that watch Versus on a nightly basis watch our sport than any other sport.

Shaquille O'Neal: From now on, I promise not to make mountains out of molehills, flop, or do anything else to stir the pot unnecessarily to bring my name back into the headlines. I will simply let the fact that I'm still playing at a high level (actually, true) speak for itself, and hope that does enough.

Albert Haynesworth: Yes, 100 million dollars for a defensive tackle is a bit steep. OK, it's down right ridiculous. Especially when you consider I've only really tried hard the last two years.

Jay Cutler: Josh, my bad. I've acted a little immature. Truth is, I can kind of understand the idea of wanting Matt Cassel instead of me. No big deal. I'll be there in a little bit.

LeBron James: I don't know what New York is getting so excited for, I'm actually going to go and play in Europe when my contract's up. Poland's where it's at, y'all!

David Stern: We truly believe that this year, it's anyone's game. Sure, the Celtics and Lakers are playing well, but it's not like we're rooting for them to make the Finals or anything.

Any Cubs Player In The Last 100 Years: No, the pressure never gets to us. Just bad luck and bad circumstances. We don't really buy into the whole "curse" thing.

The list of these is potentially endless. Any others in mind?

30 Teams In 30 Days

2009-04-01T16:30:00.000-05:00

Arizona Diamondbacks: If Only This Team Could Hit

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked)

The Starting Staff Is Great...

Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Jon Garland. 'Nuff said. But since this is a preview and you'd like to see more than names, allow me to explain. Webb didn't win the Cy Young last year but was a serious candidate all season. He won 20 games for a team that barely scored 20 runs all season, and consistently has an ERA below 3.50. For three consecutive years he's had an ERA at or below 3.30, and he has won at least 16 games per season during that stretch. Haren has finally developed over the last two years, winning at least 15 games a year during that span and has posted strikeout totals near or above 200. And Garland? After bursting onto the scene in 2005 as an integral part of the White Sox world series win in 2005, his numbers have dipped a bit, as his ERA has been above 4 each of the last three years. But he's a pretty good option as a third starter. Doug Davis and Yusmeiro Petit figure to finish this rotation, which is pretty good for Arizona, especially when you consider Davis was the number two starter for the 2007 outfit in the post season. This rotation is deep, and potentially excellent. It's the only thing keeping Arizona from being a complete and utter disaster.

...But The Starting Lineup Stinks

It really is terrible. I invite you to check out this depth chart on Yahoo! Sports and give me one name that you would want in your team's offense. If you can't find one, I don't blame you. Do they have some potentially good young talent? Sure. Chris Young is a potential star, if only for the reason that he's speedy and can rip home runs from the top of the lineup. The problem is he doesn't hit for a high enough average nor does he have the on base percentage to warrant hitting at the top of the card. Justin Upton could end up being an excellent player (more on this shortly) but he's not there yet, and Mark Reynolds is a strikeout machine (fanned 204 times last year) even though he can put up good power numbers. Connor Jackson doesn't put up the power numbers to be an effective first base option in the major leagues even though he's a nice hitter. And as far as Steven Drew is considered, I like him, but he's not a player that can carry the offense. This offense is an elephant-sized Achilles heal for Arizona.

Why Justin Upton May Be The Better Upton

Scott has been enamored with Justin's older brother B.J. ever since he was drafted. He loves B.J., and last year's playoff power explosion for him will have Scott and others projecting magical seasons from Justin's older bro. Yet I think Justin will be a better player. He's only played 151 major league games, but he has already belted 17 career home runs. Not a huge total, sure. But he's got speed, he's got the defensive prowess of his brother, and he'll have better home run power. He's basically B.J. with more power and while he won't put up 50 steals in a year, Justin will be the better all around guy. The rivalry of Upton brothers has started here on BERNing.

Eric Byrnes Should Stick to Being Jeanne Zelasko's Side Kick

He really should. He's a nice player who hustles and makes a great diving catch a few times a year. He put together a couple of statistically solid seasons in 2006 and 2007. But he was a really good television sidekick for Jeanne Zelasko on FOX's baseball coverage while injured or while the D'Backs were out of the playoffs the last couple years. And since he's really not all that great as a ballplayer, why not just start the new career now? Plus, Byrnes long flowing locks are the male hairstyle version of Zelasko's monster hairdo anyways.

Chad Qualls Is This Team's Closer

I don't think I need to spend time explaining what an atrocity this is. Bob Melvin better hope his starters set a modern day record for complete games. Because while Qualls has served as a mediocre middle reliever for years, he does not have closer stuff.

Bold Predictions

While I did spend the first paragraph of this post praising the D'Backs pitching staff, it's hard to consistently pitch well when the offense isn't going to score a lot of runs. It ranked in the bottom half of the National League last year and if it doesn't improve the starters won't be so effective. That's why I think the starting staff will struggle this year.

Justin Upton will hit above .270 and will hit 20 homers and drive in 80. Long live the little bro!

And, the Diamondbacks will finish 3rd in the NL West, behind the Dodgers AND the Rockies.

Up next...Thursday, Giants.

Aren't You Supposed To Be Injured?

2009-04-01T13:22:00.001-05:00

This photo was taken Saturday of injured Lakers center Andrew Bynum who was in attendance at a Playboy Mansion party. Here he is seen doing squats to help rebuild strength in his knees.

Hump Day Headlines

2009-04-01T00:38:00.000-05:00

In this April Fool's Edition of Hump Day Headlines, no fooling anyone in the AP All American Picks, the Broncos have finally decided to trade Jay Cutler, coaches not named John Calipari get new deals, and how far did the Notre Dame basketball program fall in just one year...

The AP First Team All-American team was announced yesterday, and all five picks seem obvious to me. Oklahoma's Blake Griffin was a unanimous pick (shocker!), while North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough, Davidson's Stephen Curry, Pittburgh's DeJuan Blair, and Arizona State's James Harden rounded out the rest of the first team. All five players are obviously deserving, and they show that while the college game has lost some great players to the NBA, there are still some fantastic players at the top in college basketball. How good these guys will be at the next level? It's hard to say. Blake Griffin will probably be the top pick in the draft, and figures to be an impact player right away. Scott was clearly not impressed with James Harden. Tyler Hansbrough's draft status is unclear, Steph Curry may or may not go pro this year (and if he does, is he the next J.J. Redick?) and DeJuan Blair might be too short to be an impact player as a back to the basket 6'7" forward. Whether they're good or not though at the professional level, let's enjoy the fact we got to watch these guys be great college hoopsters. As an avid college hoops fan, I enjoyed watching all of them.
The Denver Broncos soap opera released its latest episode today: the news that they will in fact deal their star quarterback somewhere. Jay Cutler will be on the move, and it appears that there are at least six teams that will be involved in some capacity to try and acquire the Pro Bowler's services. The Jets, Buccaneers, Bears, Lions, 49ers and Browns are all apparently interested, and the Jaguars "may" be interested. (You know who I'm rooting for in that sweepstakes.) There are also reports circulating that the Redskins might be interested even though they have Jason Campbell. Before you start complaining that this story is getting annoying, let me remind you one simple fact: at least we're not talking about T.O. or the Cowboys.
Missouri Head Coach Mike Anderson was awarded with a new seven year contract worth between 1.3 and 1.5 million dollars per year. This comes after he impressively took the Tigers to the Elite Eight this season. The former UAB head man has shown why he always had the Blazers competing down there and now at a bigger school his coaching efforts have realized their potential. Good for him. Another coach rewarded for his success was former Washington State head coach Tony Bennett, who has moved on to the ACC and the University of Virginia. Bennett will be paid $1.7 million annually after he lead Wazzu to a 68-30 record in three seasons out west. People need to start getting used to the fact that the football and basketball coaches are now the highest paid people at many Division I Universities.
Finally, remember when Notre Dame was a top ten team at the beginning of this college basketball season? This must seem like eons ago, because the Fighting Irish finished off a highly disappointing season by losing in the NIT Semifinals to Penn State. Notre Dame finished just 21-15, and Mike Brey must be searching for answers after he had second team all-American Luke Harangody (overrated, but still) Kyle McAlarney, Ryan Ayers and Tory Jackson on that team. Far too much talent to finish the way they did. Maybe Mr. Mock-Turtle himself should be considered for the hot seat? What a horrific year for Notre Dame sports teams. First more mediocrity from Chuck Weis, now this.

Bluegrass Turns Green

2009-03-31T19:40:00.004-05:00

So it's finally true. John Calipari is the new head basketball coach at Kentucky replacing Billy Gillispie.

The former Memphis coach has accepted a contract that will make him the wealthiest coach in Division I, and will place enormous expectations on him to have the Wildcats contend right away. He has reportedly signed for eight years and $35 million.

The move is a great one for Kentucky, even if they have doled out an unprecedented sum to bring Calipari to Lexington. Coach Cal is a great recruiter, and has taken both UMass and Memphis to the national championship. He is a great defensive coach, and always has great athletes playing for him.

Yet I questioned on the BERNing on Sports Podcast whether this is a good move for Calipari. Obviously, he's getting a huge sum of money that no one could pass up. I realize that Kentucky is the winningest program in Division I history and the chance to coach or play there is hard to pass up. I also know he'll inherit Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson for next year's team.

But when you consider that Calipari was already being comfortably compensated by Memphis, and he was part of a situation that set up extraordinarily well for his Tigers to succeed yearly in the NCAA Tournament, maybe Coach Cal is leaving a perfect situation behind.

After all, he's won more than sixty consecutive games in Conference USA. Last year he took the Tigers to the National Title game and with a team that lost Derrick Rose, they still earned a number two seed in this year's dance and likely would have competed for a similar position next year. Seemingly every year the last few years Memphis has earned the benefit of the doubt even though they play a weak conference schedule and they get a top seed. It seems that would be hard to leave behind.

Again, do I see why Calipari's off to Kentucky? Sure. Do I understand the lure of a school with so much tradition and history? Yes. Furthermore, do I think Calipari can do a great job and Kentucky can return to prominence under his tutelage? Yes.

But while the bluegrass seems greener on the other side, maybe it's not. Maybe this isn't the match made in heaven that many on the national networks have asserted it is. Maybe Coach Cal would be better served staying in his safety zone in Memphis where he's guaranteed success. He could still have that success at UK, but it's going to be a heck of a lot harder.

The Fantasy Baseball Nerd: All Bargain Team

2009-03-31T13:39:00.001-05:00

On Sunday night I went through the best part of any fantasy baseball season, bar none: the draft.

The excitement that accompanies each pick, wondering the seemingly eternal questions like, will this be the year Rich Harden stays healthy? It's great fun. After that, the season pretty much goes down hill.

The answer, by the way, is no.

Any how, we're all looking for bargains, players on the cheap that everyone else is going to sleep on. You know what I'm talking about, the proverbial Jermaine Dye, that produces way above where he's selected on average in most drafts.

And so, I present my All-Bargain Team. By the by, I'm judging what is a "bargain" on value as opposed to ADP (average draft position) in Yahoo drafts.

C - I've never understood the idea of taking any catcher before the, I don't know, 15th round? Maybe later. You really shouldn't have to. Ramon Hernandez and Kelly Shoppach are two guys that will have similar numbers (lower average, but still...) to most top tier catchers. Difference? You can get those two guys on average 15 rounds lower. I'd take the slight hit in BA.

1B - A deep position, no doubt, but you shouldn't have to go with a first basemen in the 1st round if you don't want to. Sure, guys like Mark Teixeira will put up .300/30/100+, but, so do 4th and 5th round guys like Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis. People sleep on Gonzo, and I don't know why. Forget the ballpark, forget how bad his team is. They've been bad and good for a while now, and the ballpark is the same size. 3 of 5 fantasy cat's have increased since he got to San Diego (R, HR, RBIs). As for the Greek God, he's another one that has trended upwards each year over the past 3, and plays in a great lineup in a great park.

2B - One idea I had here was Robinson Cano, primed for a bounce back year. But, if you're not much for banking on that type of thing, Jose Lopez (on average taken in round 15) is your guy. He'll be in the middle of the Seattle order (feigned Oh My!), has shown some pop (17 HRs) and only 2 other second basemen had as many RBIs as he did last year.

SS - The top few guys here are amazing, no doubt. Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins and Jose Reyes produce on a level that later round guys can not match. But, there are a few really good shortstops out there to be had later in the draft. J.J. Hardy and Jhonny Peralta are generally available in the 9th and 10th rounds. Both have hit over 20 homers each of the last two years, are improving, and don't have real first names.

3B - You could go with Youk here, but a name that seems to be garnering a ton of buzz in the fantasy world is Pablo Sandoval. People around baseball have been known to say that the two months not to pay attention to statistics in are March and September. If you hold to that belief, you might want to stay away from Sandoval. In a half of August and full September, the burly Sandoval (with catcher, 3b, and 1b eligibility, I believe) hit over .340 and knocked in 24. If he's for real, who knows, but someone needs to drive in runs for San Fran, and he'll get his shot.

OF - Mark Nickakis (either way, really) is one guy you can get in the 4th round on average, that's a good bet to get somewhere near .290/25/100. Magglio Ordonez isn't as fun or up-and-coming as a guy like Nate McClouth, but he's a near lock to mash. Over the last 3 seasons, he's never had less than 21 HRs, 103 RBIs, or batted under .298 (all, curiously, right near what his career averages are). Same goes for Raul Ibanez, especially in a hitter's park now. Mags' (6th round) and Ibanez's (11th round) statistics compare quite favorably to those a few rounds higher.

SP - My theory is, if you pitch in the NL West, you're A-OKay with me. There's one hitter, one real hitter in that whole division. You know who I'm talking about. So, in that line of thinking, the first guy I'd recommend is Chad Billingsley (7th round), who should be fine for Opening Day, already had his first big season innings-wise, and should be ready to stay strong the whole season this year. Teammates Derek Lowe (13th round) and Javier Vazquez (11th round) are consistently producing, and the National League never hurt anyone. Ted Lilly (17th round) is a steal, considering he could won that many games last year, and has had at least 15 three years in a row. Other post 10th round names are John Danks (14th, same as Billingsley, should be ready to handle full year of pitching after big innings year last year), Scott Baker (14th, over 3 to 1 K:BB ratio last season), and Zack Greinke (12th, don't let impending psychosis, team, or my man-crush get in the way).

I'm leaving RPs off this list because there so unpredictable. People in firm closer seats pop in and out all year, it's not worth getting excited over. What I will say is, you can find value late, and that it's not worth going too early for them. Brian Wilson, Joakim Soria, Jose Valverde had as many as or more saves than Jonathan Papelbon. Not saying those guys will do it again, but the point is, it could be anyone.

Coming up next...All-Breakout Year

30 Teams in 30 Days

2009-03-31T09:09:00.008-05:00

Texas Rangers: How Can This Team Continue To Let Kevin Millwood Be Their Ace?

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked)

Keeping It Real

Every year it seems, the Texas Rangers run into the same confounding problem: they can score runs with just about anyone in the league, but seem to have a little problem stopping the other team from doing the same. Last year, to no one's surprise, the Rangers ranked last in team ERA. They've been in the bottom half of the league in that category (more often in the bottom 5) since at least 2002. And that's only because Yahoo!'s database doesn't go back further. I'm sure they stunk before then. Either way, they did try to court Ben Sheets, which was a fine effort, but nothing came of it. Instead, they enter 2009 with Kevin Millwood and Vincente Padilla in contract years as the front members of a rag-tag rotation. The lineup is again loaded, though now more than ever with young, less-proven talent like Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Elvis Andrus, and Chris Davis. I don't doubt the ability of any of those guys, but outside of Hamilton, it might be a lot to ask them all to perform so early in there careers. Oh, and Andruw Jones has decided he wanted to put down the cheeseburgers and try playing baseball again. So that's exciting. Best of luck pal.

More Pitching Staff Ripping

The only thing I can say positively about this staff is that there aren't many retreads, besides Kris Benson. By the way, Kris, get over it. If you weren't drafted first overall, people would have long gotten over the fact that you're amazingly mediocre. On the other hand, who the hell is Matt Harrison? Or Scott Feldman? Or Tommy Hunter or Dustin Nippert? These are guys that I only know having been a fantasy nerd and having played in an AL-Only league for 3 years. I'm sure Nolan Ryan doesn't even know who some of these "young guns" are. The only uniting factors about these young guys are that they are, well, young and that they all sport ERAs near or above 6. As for Millwood and Padilla, I'm amazed they still are pitching in the front end of a rotation. These guys long ago proved they're not consistent, top-end pitchers. Neither throws hard or with a ton of command nowadays. Meatball city, in Arlington. Can't wait til my team gets to go down there.

The King Has Left The Building

Well, not really. In fact, prized shortstop prospect Elvis Andrus has just entered the building, but I couldn't really think of any Elvis-related slogans that made any more sense. Maybe, "Thank you, thank you very much" for moving a gold glover out of my position when I'm clearly not ready for a full-time gig. Yeah, that might have done better. Andrus hasn't hit over Double A yet and struggled mightily in the field last year (32 errors at short). Though he did produce well while there last year (.295 with 50+ steals), the expectations for him will (should be, at least) lower for him as he'll likely bat 9th. Why they felt the need to rush him up to the big leagues when there clearly wasn't a real reason for it, I'll never know. I just hope it's not one of those deals where his growth winds up being stunted because he came up too early. Not that I really care about Elvis Andrus, but, still, I'd rather not see it happen.

From Throwing Chairs, To Throwing Strikes

This is the tale of Frank Francisco, a cautionary one to be sure. Only a few short years ago, Francisco was a disgruntled reliever best known for being a psycho. A Tommy John surgery and a few anger management classes later, Francisco enters 2009 as the team's closer, something that they aren't too concerned about. In his final 12.2 innings of the last month plus of last season as the closer, Francisco didn't allow a run, saved 5 games, won another, and struck out 21 while only walking 4. Granted, it was a short span, but, maybe the Rangers might have a weapon in the bullpen. I don't think it's much of a coincidence that the last time the Rangers were over .500 (2004) was the year another unheralded Francisco burst onto the scene in the back end of the pen.

Bold Predictions

Someone will let fantasy owners down, big time. Maybe it'll be Chris Davis. Maybe Josh Hamilton, or Nelson Cruz on a lesser scale. Point is, not all of these guys are primed for huge offensive years. Usually doesn't work that way.

Frank Francisco won't be as good as his Franciscan predecessor, but he will enjoy a violence-free, solid season. Somewhere between 25-30 saves.

No one mentions this guy, but if it wasn't for a knee injury ending his season prematurely last year, he'd be all the rage. David Murphy will continue where he left off, expect 20 homers and near 90 RBIs out of the left fielder.

Up Next...Wednesday, Diamondbacks

A Little of This, A Little of That Pt. 2

2009-03-30T17:07:00.004-05:00

None of this deserves its own full posting, so I present a smattering (smorgasbord, even?) of some sports related information.

(ed. note: maybe I really am this dense, but it took me nearly a month to figure out the "NOT funny" comment after the last post in response to an opposite day video. well done, sir.)

According to the New York Daily News, the formerly inaccurate throwing and dog-slaying Michael Vick is looking for a book deal. A memoir, of sorts. First of all, I never got the idea of people trying to write stories about themselves before they've finished their careers (or, in his case, life in the public eye as a future playing career remains up in the air). Second, who wants to read about this guy, or his life? Chapter One...Why Didn't Roddy White Catch Like That For Me?...Chapter Two...Fido Had It Coming...Chapter Three...Pretend Remorse in an Attempt To Get Out Of Bankruptcy...
I never could stand Mark Cuban, ever. I realize what he does that is good, that if he was the owner of my favorite team, I'd love him. But, he owns the team I hate, he's constantly running his mouth, and he never shuts up about the referees. This time, it came on Twitter, where he complained about something else the refs screwed up for him. Here's what I want. I want Cuban to go out there and ref a game of any kind, at any level. Rec basketball, high school, college. A quarter, a half, a game. Anything. Go and do that, and once your done, let me know how much complaining you want to do. I'm not saying referees are infallible, but, jeez already, give them a break.
You can look at Dontrelle Willis' recent DL-stint for a blood related anxiety disorder in two ways. First and foremost, it's a bit sad how far he's fallen, if only because he's a guy that not much was expected of when he first started playing pro ball, and then in a few short years won 22 games. And, unlike so many other pro athletes, Willis legitimately seems like a really nice, likeable guy. The leg kick, the smile, the fact that he could hit better than most Marlins at the time. The whole bit. So, if only for those reasons, to see a guy that was dominating the National League only a few years ago not be able to get guys out in Single A is a bit depressing. The other side of things is, I wonder how much of his recent DL trip is a "I walked nearly twice as many guys as I struck out last year" thing, as opposed to a disorder thing. Not that I doubt the results of the test, but, somehow I feel like if he had rediscovered his command, he'd have found a way into that 5th spot this year, and not on the DL.
I love the guy, but, shouldn't this be a good thing?
Saw this on the BLS on Yahoo. Not sure who Fredi Gonzalez thinks he is having all of his players get hair cuts, but I guess I see the point of trying to make the clubhouse a bit more professional. Then again, I think it's fair to say that if a player (ahem, Hanley) decides wearing a "I'm Sick of This S**t" t-shirt is the grown-up way to handle things, maybe Gonzalez isn't so far off base.

New BERNing On Sports Podcast Available

2009-03-30T17:05:00.002-05:00

On today's podcast, Scott and I talk College Hoops again, as the NCAA Tournament moves towards the final four. We'll also delve into the John Calipari situation as he may move to Kentucky. We also have a longer Hail Mary segment where we throw out a bunch of topics including Michael Vick's memoir soon to hit the bookshelves.

Click Here to access this week's BERNing on Sports podcast.

As always, once this post moves down, you can find it on the red right tab. However, next week we'll be moving to berningonsports.com, which will make all this MUCH easier!

Enjoy!

30 Teams in 30 Days

2009-03-30T13:30:00.000-05:00

Seattle Mariners: Better A Year Late Than Never

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked)

Keeping It Real

The "team" the Mariners ran out there everyday last year was putrid. No questions about it. Guys like Richie Sexson and Kenji Johjima just aren't the kind of guys you want around if winning is your thing. Unfortunately, while Sexy is gone, Johjima is still manning the plate (trust us, Jeff Clement knows it's not about ability but rather a poor contract decision the Mariners would prefer we not discuss). Still, less poisonous members (in fact, down right peachy!) of the team return. Jose Lopez, Ichiro, Felix Hernandez and others form a group of guys that may not look like much, but keep in mind the division they play in. None of the teams in the AL West will run away and hide at any point, especially with seemingly every Angels starter beginning the season on the DL. The key, far as I'm concerned, is Erik Bedard returning to his top form. If he can, this team, believe it or not, will compete all season long for that division.

Does Erik Bedard Feel Like Playing Baseball This Year?

As I just mentioned, the Canuck is the key. The guy they acquired for sleepy prospect Adam Jones a year ago was one of the best left handed pitchers in the game, even if he'd yet to throw 200 innings in a season. His ERA had dropped each of the previous four years, and his strike out totals rose each of those years as well. A move to a real pitcher's park in Seattle seemed like a great move for Bedard. Then, he got hurt, and stories came out that he just didn't really care too much for giving it his all in baseball. Not good for one of your aces. This year, despite getting consistently shelled this spring, he says he feels fine. The Mariners should hope so.

The Kid is Back

This is all I have to show you. Oh, and, "Call me, call me, call me Junior".

The Lone Mariner To Show Actual Improvement

Jose Lopez seems to be, from what I've read and looked at, the only Mariner that improved from 2007 to 2008. While most guys were busy either not caring, not hitting, not improving, or simply moving their way out of baseball, Lopez actually trended upwards. More power, better average, more RBIs. No one on Earth talks about him, but he's a pretty good hitter. I'm not saying I'm comfortable with him as a meat of the order guy, but, there's worse options. Like, say, Richie Sexson.

Could This Be The Year For The King?

Felix Hernandez came up with Doc Gooden-esque hype. He's yet to reach it yet, and most people point to the fact that even still he's only 22 years old. Over the years, he's battled a number of ailments (shoulder bursitis, shin splints, ankle sprain, etc.) but appears to be (wink, wink) ready to go for 2009. He may not be in what many consider a desirable situation after the WBC, but King Felix insists he'll be fine. He's one of the harder pitchers to truly figure out, seeing as how electric he can be one outing, and how mediocre he can be another. To date, he's yet to put it all together. Will this be the year? I can't really say, as I've been part of the group saying each of the previous 3 years would be "the year".

Bold Predictions

Wladimir Balentien will issue a public apology for his name, finally admitting that a W/L combination in a name is nearly impossible to know how to pronounce.

Brandon Morrow, newly anointed as the team's closer, will save at least 25 games this year. Maybe I just caught him at his peak, but I'm in love with this kid.

Griff will be happy, the fans will be happy to see him. His season will be better than last, maybe 20 homers (maybe?), but nothing special. All in all, a nice ride off into the sunset for the Kid.

Up Next...Tuesday, Rangers

This Was Extremely Necessary

2009-03-30T01:41:00.005-05:00

Three knee surgeries in a year and a half? Check.

Two ill-attempted comebacks already? Check.

A team more than 40 games under .500? Check.

Nearly a full season gone by without so much as an update as to his whereabouts? Check.

Based on this impromptu checklist, it seems to me like Gilbert Arenas needed to come back, if only to rev up the nation's capital before they fully go to sleep when the Zimmerman Bros. come to town for the summer.

Why Agent Zero thought it would be a good idea to return to the Washington Wizards, with only nine games remaining, I can't really say with any certainty. Maybe he figured he had a whole bunch of extra time on his hands. Maybe, and more likely, he's the most selfish player this side of Ricky Davis. Only a player as selfish as Arenas, only a player as blinded by his own personal goals and desires would come back with so few games left in the season, and so little to play for.

The Wizards were a playoff team, as recently as last year. With a healthy Arenas and company in the East, they could again be a playoff team next year. How much of an accomplishment that actually would be is being investigated by our crack team as you read this.

Either way, stupidity and arrogance are the only factors at play. Though he came back for the final 9 games, he will only play in 7, as he's being held out of the second end of back-to-backs. Oh yeah, that's right, he's recovering from knee surgery. His third. Forgot about that.

A couple of the obvious possibilities that could result from this comeback are that he could get hurt or could wind up making it worse. But, something else to consider is that his presence could possibly sneak in a few more wins and lose a few ping pong balls for the Wizards.

I find it personally ironic that in a season for the Wizards that, basically since jump street has been all about praying for that number one draft pick, their superstar's first game back heroics were swatted away by Kwame Brown.

Sometimes, you can't make this stuff up.

My Final Four Is Gone

2009-03-29T17:06:00.002-05:00

Shows what I know about the NCAA Tournament.

First Syracuse lost. I'll give you that I shouldn't have picked them. It was a homer pick. Sue me. Then I had Memphis. So did a lot of people. Thanks for losing. Go back to the Conference USA.

I also chose Pittsburgh, which wasn't smart, apparently. Scottie Reynolds, thank you for that. Now Michigan State knocked out my national champion, Louisville. I should have known never to pick against Tom Izzo.

At least I still have North Carolina alive in my other bracket. But I may as well go ahead and burn my BERNing bracket. Good luck to those of you still in this thing, because like Ryan Seacrest, I'm out.

The New Play of the 2009 NCAA Tournament

2009-03-29T14:45:00.001-05:00

We've seen this play, the coast-to-coast game winner. But that doesn't mean it's not impressive. Scottie Reynolds sent his Villanova Wildcats to the Final Four for the first time since 1985 with this impressive bucket with 0.5 seconds left to win it.

Unquestionably the play of the tournament. The problem, though, which you don't see in this video, is that the basket was scored with 0.5 seconds left. The Villanova players had rushed the court already, and while listening on the radio play by play guy Kevin Kuebler (not sure if that's spelled right) had announced the game over. After deliberation Pitt got one final shot at the buzzer and from more than 70 feet away Panthers guard Levance Fields nearly drained a three at the buzzer to win. (It hit the backboard.)

Still, props to Scottie Reynolds. Great basket in traffic with the pressure on. UConn and Villanova represent the Big East in the Final Four. We'll see who else joins them this afternoon. (Maybe yet another Big East squad in Louisville.)

30 Teams In 30 Days

2009-03-29T11:15:00.002-05:00

San Diego Padres: Jake Peavy Is Still Their Employee

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)

Jake Peavy's Still A Padre

The only thing anyone heard this off-season regarding the Padres (other than their blockbuster free agent signing of catcher Henry Blanco) was whether former Cy Young award winning ace Jake Peavy would be wearing a new uniform come opening day. First we heard about a potential deal to Atlanta, then the rest of the off season seemed to be a game of chess between Cubs GM Jim Hendry and Padres GM Kevin Towers. Nothing ever happened, despite the fact he was found drunkenly singing "Go Cubs Go" at the winter meetings and he was signing autographs with "Go Cubs" below his name. He has since denied this, because he was drunk enough that he probably doesn't remember, but it was quite a scene at the Las Vegas Hilton and the Bellagio last December. Now that Peavy apparently isn't headed anywhere and he'll remain the Padres ace, that's means they have a good chance to win at least once every five days. Twice when you consider that Chris Young is apparently healthy again and ready to go as well. Not a bad one-two punch for a team that lost 99 games last year.

Peavy and Young, But Who Else?

Do the Padres have five starting pitchers employed for 2009? I'm really not so sure. After the aforementioned Peavy and Young, I suppose Cha-Seung Baek pitches the third day of 2009. After that, who? Yahoo Sports only has three pitchers listed in this rotation, which cannot be right, unless San Diego's pending ownership change has gotten so bad that they're trying to go with a three man rotation 1930s style. Better judgment suggests they might put Kevin Correia and Shawn Hill on the back end of the rotation, or pitchers of the like, and that tells you all you need to know about the lack of pitching depth on this team. Not to mention that long time closer Trevor Hoffman now gets his mail forwarded to Milwaukee and the Fathers will likely have to settle for Heath Bell as the closer. Yikes.

Where Hitters Go To Die

Remember the Brian Giles that played for Cleveland and Pittsburgh? He was one of the best hitters in the game. The one that has played for San Diego over the last six seasons is half the player he was before. Credit that to playing in the cavernous Petco Park, allege that he was a steroid user, do whatever you want. But this guy hasn't hit more than 15 home runs in any of the last four years. He's gone from great hitter to "walk machine". Other than Adrian Gonzalez, who is apparently so good this ballpark can't do him in, there's no one in this lineup that stands out as a guy who will have a significant impact on their offense. Kevin Kouzmanoff seems to be developing into a nice player, but can he be the right handed hitter the Padres could sandwich into the lineup between Giles and Gonzalez? Probably not. This offense stinks, flat out. And it will continue to stink, unless everyone in the lineup has a career year.

Moorad Takes Over

According to sources in San Diego, Jeff Moorad's ownership group, which currently owns 35 percent of the team, is going to be taking over the decision making for the Padres even though their transition to majority ownership may not officially occur for a few years. What does this mean for the product on the field? Well Moorad did a nice job running the Diamondbacks previously, as they made the playoffs and rebuilt with a young lineup in 2007. San Diego is hoping for the same thing. But the Padres will be strapped for cash over the next couple of years while things are in transition, and this could mean San Diego will eventually dump big contracts like Peavy's and others to the first taker. Stay tuned.

Bold Predictions

San Diego won't be nearly as bad as last year, and with Peavy and Young atop the rotation they may hover around the .500 mark until mid-season. But at that point they'll realize they can't contend with either the Dodgers or Arizona and they'll dump Peavy and maybe even Chris Young.
Kevin Kouzmanoff will hit 30 home runs this year. He'll also drive in a hundred runs. His offense however, will be the least productive in baseball.
The Padres will trade Brian Giles at the break to a contending team.

Speaking Of Funny Commercials

2009-03-28T21:19:00.001-05:00

This one is a great old gem. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Mark McGwire, and chicks who dig the long ball.

Enjoy.

Classic.

30 Teams In 30 Days

2009-03-28T16:15:00.002-05:00

Los Angeles Dodgers: Yes, I Know They Swept The Cubs in the Playoffs Last Season

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)

As I Was Saying...

I know the Cubs lost in a sweep last year in Los Angeles. So the jokes can end right here. Save your James Loney jeers and your comments related to Cubs playoff errors for some other forum. (Because you'll probably have more fodder for me this October.) Yet even though my beloved Northsiders played a horrifying series against L.A. last October, last year's playoff run showed you what this Dodgers team can be when their lineup is healthy. We'll have the obligatory Manny discussion (next paragraph) and his impact on the team. But the supporting cast for Ramirez is not only good when healthy, but potentially dangerous. Do they have any one great hitter other than Manny? Well, no. But they do have a line up full of good hitters like Andre Ethier, the aforementioned Loney and Russell Martin in the middle of the lineup. They also have two good table setters in Rafael Furcal and Orlando Hudson who should provide many pitchers problems with Manny coming up next. Casey Blake and the athletic Matt Kemp are solid guys as well. This is one lineup in baseball that top to bottom really has no weaknesses, and it's what should keep the Dodgers in contention for the next six months.

The Obligatory Man-Ram Discussion

How could we have a preview of the Dodgers without giving one of the most scrutinized players in the great game of baseball his own header? Exactly, so here goes. The whole off-season was just a series of non-stories until the inevitable conclusion that Ramirez would eventually be a Dodger finally came to fruition a couple weeks ago. The truth is, no matter what Ramirez cost, or whether there was a market for him or not, the Dodgers had no choice but to bring him back in the fold. He is one of the best hitters in the game, and assuming he doesn't significantly decline due to age, he's a game-changing player that makes the Dodgers a force just by his mere presence on the lineup card. Furthermore, you'd have to think his work ethic and approach to hitting can only be a good thing for the young guys in this lineup. You put up with his attitude, or his seemingly careless demeanor. Because the bottom line is, he's a masher, and they need him.

Can Dodger Stadium Save This Staff?

The Dodgers lost ace Derek Lowe to free agency this off-season, and without him this pitching staff should take a significant hit. He was outstanding down the stretch last year and other than Manny he was the biggest reason L.A. made it to October. Now Chad Billingsley will have to assume a bigger role anchoring the staff, as well Hiroki Kuroda and veteran lefty Randy Wolf. If those three pitch well and reap the benefits of pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium, L.A. should be okay. You can't rely on Clayton Kershaw to give you much, even though at times last year he showed promise, and if Claudio Vargas assumes an significant role that's clearly not a good thing. The Dodgers pitching staff is usually good even if the names aren't there just because that ballpark historically helps pitchers pitch. But what is normally a strength in The City of Angels could instead be a setback for the 2009 outfit.

Remember This Guy?

His name is Jason Schmidt, and what seems like eons ago he was a coveted top of the rotation pitcher. He has made just six starts for the Dodgers after they inked him to a now infamous three year contract worth forty-seven million dollars. Well this is the final year of the deal and Schmidt is nearly recovered from shoulder surgery. He is allegedly healthy now, but will start the season on a minor league rehab assignment to build up his arm strength. He hasn't had a banner year since 2o04, but if he is in fact healthy and is at all effective this could be the shot in the arm (no pun intended) that the Dodgers need in a pitching staff which lost its ace. I'm not saying the guy's going to win 17 games, but if he can come back and win ten games for this team, it could provide them the pitching depth they need to battle for a playoff spot again.

Bold Predictions

The Dodgers will win 90 games this year and win the NL West again. But their pitching staff with have a team ERA among the worst in the National League.
Chad Billingsley will finish in the top 5 in the Cy Young voting. He's the next great pitching star in the National League.
People will stop considering the Dodger Dog some kind of ball park delicacy. It's an overrated, average hot dog.

Up Next...Sunday, Mariners.

Sweet Turns Sour

2009-03-28T05:00:00.001-05:00

I'll still watch the rest of the tournament. I have already professed my love for the college hoops festival that is March Madness on this forum.

But Syracuse's loss to Oklahoma in the Sweet Sixteen turned my tournament experience from sweet to sour. It's not really that I'm upset. I'm just disappointed. I'm disappointed at how poorly Syracuse played and how they failed to show their talent on the grandest stage. For the first time, my school went deep in the tournament, and now their run is over.

Like Scott has mentioned in the podcast and in a post last week, it's satisfying just to know that this team made it to the Sweet Sixteen. I expected less at the beginning of the year. So the reality of seeing them in this game tonight was enough. Really.

Yet I raced home from work, listening to the game on the radio as I weaved through highway traffic like Jeff Gordon at Daytona, (like the NASCAR reference? Honestly, it took me a couple seconds to think of a driver to use here.) and made it to the sports bar with four minutes left in the first half. I saw the Orange down by four at the time, and then watched their deficit balloon to thirteen at halftime.

The second half was just heartbreaking. Oklahoma's lead swelled and I learned that Betty Crocker not only is a great cook but she also has a jump shot. Blake Griffin killed the Orange as was expected. It wasn't an enjoyable experience.

When the game ended, I barely noticed. My attention diverted to the other hoops games and the Blackhawks hockey game on the adjacent TV. I sat through two baseball games Friday afternoon anticipating the opportunity to watch Syracuse play for a chance at the Elite Eight. I didn't even watch it until the clock hit triple zeros.

And after a couple short hours, Syracuse's run was over.

That's how the tournament goes. But it's tough when your team gets trounced. Syracuse had a great year. I know that. They played the best college basketball game I have ever seen this year, won it, and went to the second weekend of March Madness. Next week I'll be excited to watch the Final Four, no matter who advances.

For the rest of this weekend though, it's going to be tough to watch college basketball. The Sweet Sixteen turned sour.

30 Teams In 30 Days

2009-03-27T19:33:00.003-05:00

Los Angeles Angels: Dropping The Ball, Ready To Fall

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked)

Keeping It Real

You want me to keep it real? OK, on the real, the Angels really were plain pathetic this off-season. They let their closer of record-setting proportions and their much needed big bat both walk for more money to New York. Then, they settled and added a closer who just a year prior had lost his job and an outfielder that can hit, but won't make a huge difference. And this team is still a top tier team? I don't think so. Besides John Lackey, their entire staff (nay, their entire team) seems to be sliding in production (more on that later). The Halos are counting on big years from Kendry Morales and Howie Kendrick (don't their names sound the same if you say them real fast?). That's not the worst prayer in the world, but I wouldn't put the house on it. If it wasn't for the fact that they're division is god awful, they wouldn't even be in contention this year. That's just how I feel.

Mike Napoli, Making Italians Everywhere Proud

Of players with a last name ending a vowel that were catchers in the major leagues last year, Mike Napoli lead them all with 20 homers. That has to make you feel good, if your an Italian. Unless, of course, if you're Chris Ianetta. 18 dingers. Good, but not Mike Napoli-good.

A Fading Bunch

It pains me to say it, but Vlady Guerrero has clearly seen his best days. "Shawn" Figgins also seems to have seen his better. Throw in that Jered Weaver (uh, he's a Weaver...) has seen his ERA rise each of the past 3 years, Ervin Santana is hurt now, Kelvim Escobar inevitably will be hurt and you've got a team filled with guys that aren't looking up. As I said above, they're still a good team, their bullpen is still solid, but their greatest strength is that they play in AL West.

Where Have You Gone Baby Sarge?

On another blog I wrote about two or three years ago, I wrote a post in tribute to the return (?) to glory of one Gary Matthews Jr. It was featured on Deadspin, and I must say, along with his All-Star selection, his career never got any better. Now, only two years removed from a comical (even at the time) 5 year 55 million dollar deal, Matthews has been relegated to 4th outfielder status. If his career path to this point is any indicator, the waiver wire could again be in his future, and that is sad for the proud, albeit known steroid user.

Bold Predictions

The Angels will not win the AL West, and thus will not make the playoffs.

Brian Fuentes will not be the Angels' closer for the entire season. Jose Arredondo should and will be given a shot.

Up Next...Saturday, Dodgers

Clogging Arteries, One Bite At A Time

2009-03-27T12:30:00.001-05:00

This is revolting.

The West Michigan Whitecaps baseball team (Single-A affiliate for the Detroit Tigers) is introducing a new item on its ballpark menu that will provide you 4800 calories in one sitting. It's a cheeseburger made of nearly two pounds of beef, five slices of cheese, almost a cup of chili, salsa and corn clips on an eight-inch bun. It weighs four pounds in all, and you can have it at a Whitecaps game for twenty dollars.

This is all America needs. Another glutenous way to make an already overweight country fatter.

To me, this isn't funny. Well, scratch that. The picture is pretty funny. It's hysterical, even though that burger looks disgusting. That's why I posted this on the blog in the first place. But this is an irresponsible move by the Whitecaps to offer this colossal burger to its customers.

I know what you're going to say. Ultimately, it's the fans problem if they order this cow on a bun. It's not like the Whitecaps concession people are force feeding this burger down people's throats. And I realize that at most parks you can't get a healthy thing to eat as it is. Trust me, the only thing my health-nut ex-girlfriend used to eat at ballparks was the soft pretzel without the salt. Even that isn't exactly healthy, though.

But this cannot be a good thing. It just can't. The Whitecaps are contributing to American obesity by offering this thing in the first place, and now you're going to have people that want to take the challenge to eat it. People entering the ballpark each day are going to be asking their buddies, "Dude, you gonna get that four pound burger?" And you know there will be plenty of fools ready to dive in. After all, if they eat the whole thing in one sitting they win a free t-shirt. (So worth it!) Not to mention they'll wash it down with a few 250 calorie each beers. Nothing like a nice 6,000 calorie night at the Whitecaps game.

Worse yet, you're going to make things VERY difficult on your janitorial staff who will likely be cleaning up a lot of cheeseburger-induced sicknesses at the park. Imagine trying to leave the ballpark restroom in the fourth inning when you get bowled over by some greasy fat guy ready to be sick from eating the behemoth burger. That should be a pleasant experience.

Remind me not to go to a Whitecaps game anytime soon. Then again, it won't be too hard to stay away. I just Googled it. The ballpark is 209 miles away and a good three and a half hour drive from my house.

The Fantasy Baseball Nerd: A Strategy For The Ages

2009-03-27T07:33:00.006-05:00

It doesn't help me get women. It's not considered "cool". I should grow up at some point. It's been called pathetic.

I know all of these things said about playing fantasy baseball. Trust me. My dad told me some of them last night as I watched ESPN's hour long fantasy baseball special. Then again, when one of your leading "experts" looks like this, can you really blame anyone for making those sort of assertions?

Thing is, I've been doing fantasy baseball for the past eight years, and I'd say I've become fairly proficient (read: my nerdyness and lack of social life has allowed me to be competitive on a year-in, year-out basis). And so, as we move closer to the start of the real baseball season, and throughout the year, I'm going to be putting up some fantasy baseball related posts. I wouldn't say to count on it, because you all know how bad unfulfilled promises can be. But, be ready.

Day 1: Strategy

Today, I'd like to talk strategy. For the purpose of this or any further discussion on the topic of fantasy baseball, let's assume a standard, 5 by 5, head-to-head league (BA, HR, RBI, SB, R for hitters and W, WHIP, ERA, SV, K for pitchers).

Some leagues I've seen, some of the categories included are just flat out ridiculous. One league a buddy of mine is includes CI. Yes, catcher's interferences are a category. I'm not sure who wins in that situation. The guy with more CI's, or less? I've also seen perfect games as a category. Plural. It's happened 17 times in 132 years. Come on.

The Idea, In Theory

Last year, I brewed up a scheme. Essentially, after years of doing stupid things like drafting players I liked and players I thought would be good, I wanted to try to monopolize a few categories and try to guarantee the most that I could. Further, I started to realize that the fluctuation in the pitching market from year to year (Aaron Harang, anyone?) really made it a crap shoot and guys like that were only helping you with strikeouts as wins were basically pot luck.

So...the idea. I figured, if I can lock up steals, I could lock up batting average and runs. Draft steals and saves, in heavy doses almost exclusively. See if you can get one of those closers that has SP eligibility so you can put another in your daily lineup. Go with guys like Jose Reyes and Ichiro and Grady Sizemore. With one or two of these guys in your lineup along with a few other guys that steal in the 20's you should be able to lock up steals every week. Following my logic, most guys that steal bases score runs. And, to score runs, you've got to be on base, so their batting average isn't terrible either. Of the 16 guys to steal at least 30 bags last year, only two didn't score at least 75 runs or hit at least .275.

On the other side, my idea had me going heavy with closers. The theory being that their ERAs and WHIPs would be extremely low each week, and you'd be in the mix for both of those categories. Logically, you'd take saves. Throw in a few cheap starters that are proven for some wins, like Chien-Ming Wang, Joe Saunders, and Derek Lowe and you're now in the mix for wins without having to gamble on guys like Joba Chamberlain or Rich Harden who seem to wind up hurting more than anything in the long run.

The Idea, In Practice

This failed miserably. I finished in 9th place, which is the lowest I've finished in a league since 2003, and the lowest ever in a 10 team league. I sucked major (insert phallic joke here). Then again, that could have something to do with the fact that my "locks" like Matt Holliday (dropped 49 RBIs from the previous year), Ichiro (BA dropped 40 points), and Vladimir Guerrero (worst full statistical year in career) all decided to have down years. In a big way. Then, another lock, Mr. Ming Wang, decided he couldn't handle running the bases.

Still, besides bitterness, the strategy didn't work as well as I had hoped. I did get a ton of steals and saves, but just like any other category, they came in fits and spurts. As you could imagine, during those dry spells my team stunk. More often than not, that was the case.

Coming up soon...All-Bargain Team

Top 5 SportsCenter Commercials

2009-03-26T18:05:00.002-05:00

Ok. After posting this last night and promising this post, here we go. I now present you the Top 5 SportsCenter Commercials of all-time.

(Disclaimer: Trying to pick the best five SportsCenter Commercials is very difficult. As I have said, it's the best ad-campaign that I've ever seen, and every commercial is funny. So making a list so exclusive is hard. And of course, if you disagree with my list, then post your favorites in the comments section. Many of them are on YouTube.

5. Studio Rivalries
The idea for this commercial is great, because it the idea of an anchor/reporter rivalry actually exists in some places, and maybe it did at one point at ESPN. But what makes this a standout commercial are the taunts and jeers between anchor and reporter, and the final scene. The interaction between Sal Paolantonio and Rich Eisen causes me to giggle every time. (And as a quick aside, don't you miss Rich Eisen on SportsCenter? I certainly do.)

4. Big Buddy
This is a hilarious mockery about ESPN giving back to the community, as anchors and former NBA players play basketball with children. The best part of course is how the anchors take the game far too seriously. I don't know which is better: the Stuart Scott block on one kid or Kenny Mayne's line at the end.

3. Gheorghe Muresan Dancing
Gheorghe Muresan was a great sport, and he's featured here in one of the best scenes in SportsCenter commercial history. The dance scene with Karl Ravech and Kenny Mayne makes me burst into hysterics every time. If you don't find this funny, well, you don't know what humor is.

2. Y2K Preparations
Remember when people actually thought the world would come to an end when the clock turned to the year 2000? ESPN does a great job of mocking the hysteria that was prevalent in the time, and there's nothing better than Charlie Steiner's role at the end. Fantastic mockery and fantastic commercial.

1. The International SportsCenters
I posted this one last night, but I'll post it here again. There is no better TV commercial out there now, and hasn't been one since this. This is perfectly acted by Dan Patrick and Kenny Mayne, and the absurdities of this commercial is what makes it great. I have never laughed harder at any commercial than at this one. And how can you not love the classic old brown set in the background?

Send us your suggestions. Like I said, there are so many great ones. But these are the top five.

30 Teams In 30 Days

2009-03-26T16:00:00.004-05:00

Oakland Athletics: Moneyball Madness
(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)

Finally Some Pressure To Win
The Oakland A's normal course of action when they have a top flight player entering their prime is to let him walk at the end of his contract or trade him for four or five prospects before his deal expires. Remember the Mark Mulder trade to St. Louis? Or when Tim Hudson was dealt to Atlanta? How about letting go of Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and Miguel Tejada, all in their respective primes? The rationalization for these peculiar management decisions was always that they could be replaced by players using Moneyball (more on that later). But considering Oakland is a combined 21 games below .500 over the last two years, management told General Manager Billy Beane to go get some bats in this lineup. Enter Matt Holliday acquired via trade, resigning an older yet still effective Giambi, picking up former White Sox shortstop Orlando Cabrera and taking Nomar Garciaparra off the scrap heap, all of a sudden this lineup may not be so bad. Is it great? No. But when was the last time Oakland was the team making key free agent acquisitions? Exactly, I can't think of a time either, at least before this off season. I'm not saying the A's will be good, but at least they'll be more watchable this season.

Would You Want Any Of These Five Men In Your Starting Rotation?
If you're an educated baseball fan, and you were told your opening day starter would be some girl named Dana Eveland (kidding), and he'd be followed by Justin Duchscherer (say that 5 times fast), Sean Gallagher, Dallas Braden and Gio Gonzalez, would you think your team had a fighting chance this season? The answer, clearly, is no. This rotation might be the weakest in baseball, at least in terms of name recognition, and as Scott pointed out, the Royals rotation at least has two viable pitchers in it. Beane usually constructs a pitching staff full of young talent, but other than Duchscherer, this staff has youth but not much talent. Starting pitching will be the Achilles of the A's all season long unless one of these guys blossoms in that big ball park (which is an atrocity, by the way). Otherwise, Oakland will struggle again in the AL West.

A Three Month Solution?
While I did give some props to the A's for acquiring Matt Holliday, let's reserve some of those props for the end of the season. Because those props go right out the window if the Athletics go par for the course and trade Holliday at the deadline or let him go after this season. Holliday is a young player, and while his splits do suggest he was helped a bit by Coors Field in Colorado, he's a good player who could be the the face of the franchise for a while if they keep him around. When asked about his future on "Jim Rome is Burning" on ESPN a couple days ago, Holliday said he was told by management he likely wouldn't be sticking around very long. As he put it, management told him they "don't really do long term contracts" and that they may not have the money to offer him anyways. We can cut the A's a little slack because they're trying to finance a new ballpark but can't get it, and the franchise appears to be in limbo. But if Holliday hits by the bay this year, this guy should be kept in the fold. Unless Beane has a left fielder in AA who has a .405 on base percentage. Groan.

How Great Is Moneyball Anyway?
Michael Lewis wrote a book about it, and the topic has been discussed and analyzed around baseball ever since it came out. The truth is, "Sabrmetrics" the system that is money ball has been around since Bill James came out with those boring stat magazines almost thirty years ago that no one took seriously at the time. Moneyball has certainly had an influence on the game since it was re-popularized by Beane in the 199os, in that on base percentage has become a far more important statistic than it ever was before. Bu the teams that seem to be most successful using Moneyball tactics also employ good baseball wisdom: signing good free agents, developing quality pitching, etc. I'm not saying that Beane hasn't or doesn't do that, because his track record certainly shows that he did and still does. But what I am saying is he relies too much on his system and not enough on common sense. Look at the pitching staff he has? It's terrible from top to bottom. I don't care how many of these guys throw a high percentage of strikes with a 1-1 count. It's still bad.

Bold Predictions

Oakland will finish in last place in the American League West. Yes, last place. This team won't be able to win enough games out-slugging people and their pitching is bad, as I have already mentioned.
Matt Holliday will prove his doubters wrong and have a big year in a big park. 30HR, 100RBI for the special occasion.
Nomar Garciaparra will return to being a good MLB hitter. If he gets the at-bats, expect 20 homers and 85RBI.

Up next...Friday, Angels.

Exclusive: Villanueva and Shaq Not Only Twits In NBA

2009-03-26T11:08:00.005-05:00

By now, you've definitely heard about Charlie Villanueva's little twitting adventure during halftime of a recent Milwaukee Bucks game.

The mercurial forward snuck away for a moment, and posted a Twit, that read as the following:

In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We're playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.

This drew a range of reaction, from Scott Skiles (who outlaws any and all forms of fun) reprimanding Charlie V, to people questioning how he even had the time, to people just not caring. Personally, my favorite reaction came from the man himself (who goes by the moniker, @CV31). Essentially, while he wasn't going to go against his coach's wishes, he didn't get what the difference was between taking a minute to tweet (or, is it, to twat?) or taking time at half to talk to a television reporter. Must say, I see your point Chuck.

Anywho, we here at BERNing decided it's time the rest of the Twittering world outs itself. Thus far, we have @the_real_shaq and @CV31. From a source who requested anonymity, we received a list of players, their Twitter names, and twits they've sent recently during practices or games. Apparently, this epidemic is spreading faster than anyone could imagine. Without further ado, we present some of this list.

@the_real_jamal_crawford -- sent 9:15 pm pacific, march 25th 2009 -- coach nelson and i dont like each other. dont tell no one but im not playing ne more this season. (expletive) him.

@youngsuperman (dwight howard) -- sent 9:25 pm eastern, march 25th 2009 -- i got away with one there. no way i didnt foul paul at da end. def a foul. wonder if svg will defend me still.

@rajonrondo (apparently, he doesn't have a nickname) -- sent 6:15 pm eastern, march 22nd 2009 -- steph has to go. dudes gonna tattoo my name on my head in my sleep if i dont watch out. he tried it on mikki last night, mik(e) slapped him.

@twolvescoach (kevin mchale) -- sent 7:15 pm central, march 13th 2009 -- why is anyone still watching our games? they cant still be charging for tickets. can they?

@stevie_novak -- date and time unknown -- how am i still in the league?

@bdiddy#1 (baron davis) -- sent 10:15 pm eastern, march 18th 2009 -- GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!! I IMMEDIATELY REGRET MY DECISION.

@truwarrior (ron artest) -- sent 11:15 pm central, march 24th 2009 -- tooth fell out tonite. thought about usin it to stab kyle korver. didnt think coach would like that. poked abrooks with it instead.

@maskandagun (jerome james) -- sent 12:15 pm central time, march 20th 2009 -- sittin down 4 lunch. back to da future 2 is on. some1 has the afternoon off!

@agentzero -- sent 4:15 pm eastern time, march 4th 2009 -- the league needs me. the nation needs me. dc needs me. barack obama needs me. i think im gonna dedicate my first game to him. hed like that.

Now, legally we can't continue to reproduce any more of the Twits, as the rest seem to get a bit more graphic from here on out. They range from the sexual (Adonal Foyle's twit about a magical vixen in a poem he's working on) to the crazy (Chris Andersen's decision to have George Karl's face tattooed over his own face) to the metaphysical (Darius Miles questioning the meaning of it all [that one's not all that bad, in retrospect]).

If we receive any more of these wild Twits, we'll certainly update you as soon as is possible. Stay tuned.

Oh The Joys Of YouTube

2009-03-25T23:12:00.002-05:00

When you procrastinate from your work, as I have the last few hours, you find some gems on YouTube that make you laugh, and make you smile.

Like this, for instance:

I'm a big fan of the "This is SportsCenter" ad campaign, but to me this is the best SportsCenter Commerical ever. Maybe I'll eventually do a SportsCenter Commercials Top 5, but for now, this one should give you a chuckle.

30 Teams in 30 Days

2009-03-25T16:45:00.001-05:00

Kansas City Royals: Officially Ready To Move On To Mediocrity

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. We finally got to them. Yippy! Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked)

Keeping It Real

Honestly, I can't express how much I love this team. I've loved the Royals since I was a young boy. Well, that's not exactly true. Maybe since my freshman year in college. But still, the infatuation is real. Last year was the first time in 5 years that the team didn't finish in dead last. They still weren't over .500 (something they've done only once---amazingly---since the strike), but I'm not giving up hope. The top two in the rotation are good (Zack Greinke and Gil Meche), the 9th inning with Joakim Soria is locked down, and the lineup will never wow you but shouldn't be laughed at. There seems to be a consistent thread of solid hitters, whether it's the Disgruntled One, Mr. I've Been A Permament DH Since I Was A Rookie, the Quietest Case of Assault You've Never Heard Of (yes, it's true), Coo-Coo for Co-Co Puffs, or Mr. They've Tried Me At Every Position But Nothing Will Stick Because They Keep Acquiring Better Players Than Me. OK, so maybe that last nickname is a bit long, but it makes the point. Anyway, the guys in this lineup aren't to be feared, but are fairly solid, 1-9. That makes for a much tougher out than the Royals would provide opposition in previous years. Remember one thing, these ain't your slightly older brother's Royals.

Unless You Are David DeJesus, I'll Bet You Didn't Know This

Or, if you're Trey Hillman. If you aren't either of those two, I can't imagine how you'd know that the Royals are planning on batting David DeJesus (Talk about you're clear cut steroid user. Jeez, could it be any more obvious?) in the number 3 spot. DeJesus, who's taken nearly 83% of his approaching 2500 hacks from the leadoff spot will be given a chance to drive in runs. The Royals logic (who knew they'd even had any?) is that he's their best hitter. While he suddenly won't start belting home runs, his ability to hit with runners on (career .317 BA) should translate into run production. I have to say, I happen to agree with the move. I've thought for a long time the Indians should do the same with Grady Sizemore, an even more traditional three hitter.

The Zack Greinke Sanity Meter

A few years back, we were decidedly in the red. In 2006, he looked like he'd gone off the deep end, Joaquin Phoenix-style. Then, after a prolonged sabbatical he returned, in 2007, seemingly not fully ready. Recently, we've seen him pitch quite well in 2008, and now, I'd have to say with confidence that the meter's has to be decidedly in the green. He re-upped with KC, finished 3 games over .500 and had a top-10 ERA in the American League. There was a time when rumors persisted that Greinke had a zillion pitches and could throw any of them at anywhere from 50 or so mph to near 95 mph. I'm pretty sure he's taken the bugs bunny curve ball out of his arsenal, but he doesn't seem to have suffered much from it.

Sidney Ponson Offered Another Chance To Prove How Bad He Really Is

I understand that each team needs a certain amount of starters. I understand the value of having someone throw a bunch of innings for you. But, when you're a team annually out of contention somewhere in the middle of April every year, why waste time with a veteran that has no upside, whatsoever. At least a guy like Livan Hernandez has a track record of winning (though precariously) and throwing a lot of innings. Sidney Ponson (his judge beating issues aside) hasn't thrown 200 innings since 2004, and hasn't won more games than he's lost or had a sub-4 ERA since 2003. Never has he ever been "good", just passable. He doesn't strike people out, he's not young, he gives up a lot of hits, there's been no sign that he's a great clubhouse leader, he's had attitude problems, he sweats a lot. Need I go further? Why is this guy still in the major leagues? Sorry, I had to get that off my chest.

Bold Predictions

The Royals will win upwards of 80 games this year, and while they won't make the playoffs, they'll be in that curious, "if they go on an insane run, maybe they could do it" position for most of the season.

Zack Greinke will win at least 15 games (not that bold considering he won 13 last year, but I wanted it marked down). I'm in love with him, in a strictly platonic fashion.

David DeJesus will drive in at least 85 runs, and Coco Crisp will steal at least 30 bases.

This will be a good year for the Royals. Strike that. I should say, it won't be a bad year for the Royals. Let's keep it under control.

Up Next...Thursday, A's.

Hump Day Headlines: Early Afternoon Edition

2009-03-25T00:15:00.001-05:00

In this week's Hump Day Headlines, we discuss UConn's recruiting violation, the open competition for the Browns Quarterback position, a Pirates prospect's wife steals an infant, and more...

According to a Yahoo! Sports exclusive, the University of Connecticut violated NCAA recruiting rules in pursuit of former guard Nate Miles. (Don't worry, I had never heard of him either. He currently plays for the College of Southern Idaho, after he was expelled from UConn for violating a restraining order in 2008.) This is according to a six month investigation by the website. According to the report, a former UConn student manager turned sports agent was providing Miles with a nice place to stay, transportation, meals from restaurants, and agent representation. The relationship between the player and the agent is a recruiting violation, as well as the fact that a UConn assistant coach reportedly knew about the relationship and looked the other way also violates NCAA rules. This story stems from an investigation of the role of agents in college basketball. Apparently they have gone from helping kids move to the next level, but are also recruiting them out of high school to find a college program. According to the report, there were more than 1,500 phone calls and text messages exchanged between the agent and the UConn coaching staff, including 16 from hall of fame coach Jim Calhoun. It's unclear what kind of punishment will come from the NCAA for this story's leak. However this really could change the balance of power in college basketball. For the first time since probably the sanctions against Michigan after the "Fab Five", a major power in college hoops has been probed and apparently caught. Not a good time for UConn to have this bomb dropped on them, especially as they ready to play 5th seed Purdue in the Sweet 16 tomorrow.
The Browns are going to have an open competition for their quarterback position in 2009, according to new head coach Eric Mangini. This means Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson will be working extra hard to make sure they aren't the one holding the clipboard and wearing the visor on the sidelines. Mangini announced the decision to hold an open competition at the NFL Meetings on Tuesday. This is the part where I'm supposed to tell you who I think should be under center for Cleveland this upcoming season, but neither guy really is a great option, right? Anderson had a Pro Bowl season in 2007, throwing nearly 30 touchdown passes for a pretty good Browns team and almost 3,800 yards. Then again, he was not very good last year as the Browns struggled. Quinn is the popular choice because everyone loves the backup quarterback, especially when that backup calls Notre Dame his alma-mater. But Quinn wasn't even remotely impressive in 3 games last year for the Browns before getting hurt. To be honest, I think Mangini is doing the right thing here, because why not give both these guys the chance to prove themselves? It's not as though either has proven anything on the field over the last calendar year...
Here's another heartwarming story in the world of sports. The wife of Pirates outfield prospect Jose Tabata is a suspect in the kidnapping a two month old. Apparently Amalia Tabata Pereira was questioned by Manatee County, FL police yesterday when they found the baby unharmed. Pereira is being arrested for taking the baby from a health care center there the day before. This woman is 43 years old, but is the wife of 20 year old Pirates prospect Tabata. That's disturbing in itself. But here's what Tabata had to say about the incident. "I was shocked to be told that my wife has been arrested for kidnapping. I am hurt, frustrated, and confused by her actions. I have and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement officials in anyway that I can. Until I have all of the facts, I cannot comment any further." Apparently his wife was posing as an immigration official to swipe the infant. Although this story has yet to be officially confirmed. Creepy, to say the least. And bad news for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as if that franchise need this to add to its already sterling on-field reputation.
Finally, make sure to check us out tomorrow for more NCAA Tournament news. Four games tomorrow, and four games Friday, before the Elite Eight pairs things down to two games a piece Saturday and Sunday. We'll provide the schedule of events right here on BERNing, with a short preview of each game.

Tommy Lasorda Asleep During an Interview

2009-03-24T22:30:00.006-05:00

This is some shockingly hilarious stuff.

My close friend David Kaplan, the host of Comcast SportsNet Chicago's "Chicago Tribune Live" and host of WGN Radio's "Sports Central" had long time Dodger manager and World Baseball Classic Ambassador Tommy Lasorda on his TV show. Little did he know he'd get an apparently hungover, half asleep old man sitting by the third baseline at Dodger Stadium on Friday.

This is hilarious. Enjoy.

If you want some fan reaction to this absurd, yet hysterical interview, check this link. Thanks for the tip, Kapper. And thanks for providing our readers here at BERNing some priceless comedy. Considering Lasorda was comatose, you still did a nice job.

30 Teams in 30 Days

2009-03-24T16:30:00.006-05:00

Milwaukee Brewers: Grab A Cold One, This Could Be a Long Year
(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)
Big Ben and C.C. You Later
The two reasons why the Brewers made the playoffs for the first time in 25 years are gone. C.C. Sabathia left for a boat load of cash in the Big Apple and Ben Sheets is hurt (shocking!). Sheets would have been signed by Texas had he not failed a physical this off-season, so even if he were healthy he's likely not coming back to 'Sconsin. Without the dynamic duo that was amazing for the second half of last season, say goodbye to the Brewers as playoff contenders. Unless Manny Parra and Yovani Gallardo can fill the giant footsteps left by those two men, the Brewers likely finish near the bottom of the N.L. Central. And that's not to say those two guys couldn't be good, because both seem to have promise, but you can't expect either to be even half of what Sabathia and Sheets were. As it was last year, the Brewers needed a B-list Cubs group (they had already clinched the division so they were playing the 40-man roster the last week) in game 162 to propel them into the post season, and C.C. had to pitch basically every other day down the stretch.

The New Texas Rangers
Now that the pitching won't be the strength of the 2009 outfit of the Brew Crew, they'll become the newest version of the late 90s-early 21st-Century Texas Rangers: they can hit, but they can't pitch. This lineup has plenty of thunder to earn that dubious nickname, as they have one of the best 3-4 hitter combinations in baseball with the Jewish Babe Ruth Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. As good as those two are, however, the lineup thunder does not end there. Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy are very good hitters in their own right, as Hart made the All-Star team last year, and Mike Cameron and Bill Hall also pack some home run pop. Last year the Brewers hit the 5th most home runs in baseball, and they'll likely be able to eclipse that number this year, now that Fielder has had a year to adjust to his new vegan diet.

Does Trevor Hoffman Have Anything Left?
That is a big question the Brewers will await the answer to as the season approaches. If the answer is yes, this team may be able to hang around until September. If not, the rest of the bullpen doesn't figure to have someone equipped to fill his role. The Brewers needed Hoffman, because their bullpen was a disaster last year, as Guillermo Mota was unable to do the job as closer and Hoffman at least gives them a stable presence in the pen. Problem is, Hoffman has proven not to be able to earn the clutch save when need be, so if the Crew is in a tight race down the stretch I'd like my chances against them. The rest of the pen is still very suspect, as Jorge Julio, Todd Coffey and David Riske are just three of the names that could be on the bump in the late innings. Considering it's most likely those guys will stink, it's imperative that Hoffman is good.

Rickie Weeks Is Bad
The sooner the Brewers realize this fact, the sooner they can find another option at second base. I don't care what he was projected to be. Weeks has not yet proven that he's anything more than a low average hitter at the top of the lineup. He had a good 95 games in 2006 in which he hit .279. But over the last two years, he has hit .235 ande .234 respectively. That's just not going to cut it for any lead off man, and all he's done the last couple of years is hamper what is a good lineup. (as mentioned above) Get this dude out of here, unless he can finally prove he's worth giving 400 at-bats a year to. Otherwise, he's going to continue to hinder the Brewers ability to succeed in a competitve NL Central.

Bold Predictions

Gallardo and Parra will combine for 23 wins this season They'll both show signs of future success, but they won't be able to carry the Brewers by themselves.
Tony Gwynn Jr. will eventually replace the strikeout machine Mike Cameron in the lineup.
The Brewers bullpen will stink, still, even with Hoffman. One of the bottom five in the National League, which will send Milwaukee to a 3rd or 4th place finish in the division.

Up next...Wednesday, Royals.

New BERNing on Sports Podcast Available

2009-03-24T15:05:00.002-05:00

In this week's podcast, Scott and I talk NCAA Tournament, of course. Particularly though, whether we like when the heavyweights advance or the underdogs and what makes a better and more interesting tournament. We also delve into a bevy of topics in the Hail Mary Segment, including whether Gilbert Arenas should come back this season to a Wizards team that is trying to gain as many ping-pong balls as possible to get Blake Griffin in the NBA Draft.

Click Here to access this week's BERNing on Sports Podcast.

And as always, this will always be available in the red right tab. Enjoy the podcast, and hope your brackets are doing well!

A Top 5 Pick? I Don't Know About That

2009-03-24T12:40:00.006-05:00

Let me first state, for the record, that sites like DraftExpress.com and NBADraft.net are fun only on a purely cursory level.

Get an idea of who is going where in the draft in a given year, have some fun with their ridiculous prediction about your favorite team not in the lottery (rendering their opinions entirely useless), and read over the NBA comparisons for your favorite college players.

As a quick aside, the comparisons on NBADraft.net seem to always follow a similar pattern, which is that the two people being compared more often than not look like one another. Check it out. Or here. (Maybe not so much here).

But, that last one brings me to the point of this post, James Harden.

The Pac-10 player of the year has drawn comparisons to everyone from Baron Davis to Manu Ginobili to Jason Terry. Even though he lead the conference in scoring and shot near 50% from the field, probably the most important stat the sophomore could boast about were his shots per game. Harden averaged just under 13 attempts a game, truly incredible when you consider he scored over 20 a contest.

All this was well and good. Until last week.

Now, I'm not one to trash a guy based on two tournament games, or say that he won't ever be any good based solely on a few contests. However, any team drafting in the top 5 with ideas of taking this guy has to be thinking twice.

Passive wouldn't even begin to describe the way Harden played. Against Temple in the first round, Harden made only one field goal all game (and it came in the second half). His next game (and possibly his last as a Sun Devil, though he's being quiet on that front as of now) wasn't much better. Scoring only 10 points in a loss to Syracuse, Harden was largely uninvolved, passive, and seemingly uninterested in taking shots, going to the rim, or taking over. You know that he can do it, he just didn't seem like he either cared to or wanted to.

Skill level doesn't seem to be an issue with Harden, at least from what I've seen. He won't be in the dunk contest any time soon, and he's certainly not an Olympian as far as athleticism is concerned. But, he can shoot, he can get to the hole, and he can fill it up efficiently (something not often seen nowadays...cough O.J. Mayo cough). All that said, if he doesn't have the killer instinct, a top 5 pick could a bit high.

It may be that James Harden picked the worst possible time to have three of his worst games of his college career (Pac-10 championship, and those 1st two rounds of the NCAAs). But, on the other hand, this passive play and lack of (ugh, I hate to say it, the cliche police should arrest me right this second) heart could be a more realistic indicator of what a team can expect from him.

I won't completely write Harden off just yet. But I will say that he can't get by on simply "being good" in the NBA because, quite honestly, he isn't that much better than anyone at the next level. I hope for his sake he's not as apathetic as he's looked in his last 3 games.

You Can't Have It Both Ways

2009-03-24T05:00:00.001-05:00

Sometimes the media completely baffles me.

A couple of years ago when the NCAA Tournament featured exactly zero top seeds in the final four, the media complained that while it was great to see a story like 11th seed George Mason reaching the Final Four, it would be better to see the heavyweights play against each other in the National Semifinals and the National Championship.

They complained that the competition isn't as great, that without the North Carolinas and Dukes and Connecticuts of the world the product is diluted.

This weekend we enter the Sweet 16 and most of the teams remaining are the top seeds. With the exception of 12th-seed Arizona playing top seed Louisville in the Midwest Region or the 5th-seed Purdue playing top seed Connecticut in the West Region, the chalk has advanced to the sweet 16. All I've heard on television and radio the last twenty four hours is this notion that the tournament has been "boring" and a "snore" and all we've seen is chalk.

Isn't this what everyone wanted just two short years ago? We're likely going to get some heavyweight match ups in the Final Four. Isn't that what the George Mason haters desired?

Some qualify this argument by saying they like the upsets the first weekend but ultimately hope that the heavyweights prevail. They'll say they love seeing 13-seed Cleveland State wipe out 4th-seed Wake Forest in the first round, but hope that the North Carolinas of the tournament ultimately prevail.

Well I'd like to have my cake and eat it too. In a perfect world we'd have the heavyweights and the underdogs battling it out the whole way through.

But you can't have it both ways.

Would it be nice? Sure. But is the tournament somehow bad if we don't see Duke and UConn battle it out in the Final Four? No. Is it bad if we don't have a cinderella team dance all the way to the final weekend? No.

Last year it was all chalk in the Final Four. It was great drama. The year before we were treated to a George Mason team in the Final Four and that was equally great.

The tournament is great, period.

It's great because you never know what will happen and whether the underdog or the heavyweight wins. It's great because of the atmosphere, the excitement, the passion and the heroics. It's great because it gives so many teams a shot at the prize, and teams from every conference and ever corner of America get to play on a grand stage.

Let's quit the crying. The tournament is great. Just enjoying for what it is.

The World Baseball Classic: It Sounds Fun

2009-03-23T22:39:00.003-05:00

That's about all I can say for the WBC. Honestly.

I've tuned in for bits and pieces of random games, read some recaps, watched some highlights. I even read a Jeff Passan column.

It's been discussed on the radio, on this blog, and in our podcasts, all with the general intent of diagnosing what's wrong with it.

All I can say is, I still don't care much, regardless of any David Wright heroics or Adam Dunn hysterics (the man's a butcher in the outfield...c'mon Matt Holliday, this has to make you want to play next time). The fact of the matter is, our team still treats this like it's an exhibition. Not all of our best players play, the regular season is more important, and that just isn't good enough to beat teams playing like its the 7th game of the Fall Classic (not to be confused with the World Baseball Classic, which isn't to be confused with the World Series).

From what I can gather, a bunch of these other teams are really getting into it. Apparently, the games played in San Juan were jumping. Watching only an inning of tonight's championship made it clear how nuts it was in LA.

And so, I'm happy for them. I still don't care. But, I'm happy someone does.

30 Teams in 30 Days

2009-03-23T16:15:00.000-05:00

Cincinnati Reds: Dusty Baker's Doing His Best To Ruin This Group Of Youngsters

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked)

Keeping it Real

Brandon Phillips, at 27, is one of the elder statesmen of this year's Cincy Reds. Gone are the Griffeys and Dunns and Sabos (wrong year?). Surrounding Phillips are a crop of young players including Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Edinson Volquez, and Johnny Cueto (who sounds like he should have his own comic book). The problem is, they're just not ready to put it all together right this minute. Combine that with a bunch of players that are either middling veteran players with significant holes in their games (Willy Taveras, Jerry Hairston Jr., Ramon Hernandez) or simply veteran players that have lost their touch in recent years (Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo). It makes for an odd (read: under .500) bunch, no? Thing is, Volquez is for real, he just ran into a wall last year as many pitchers do in their first years. Cueto, though his numbers wouldn't suggest it, is absolutely filthy. He could put it all together this year, and I wouldn't be surprised. Bruce had a great start to his MLB career, but really tailed off. The adjustments he makes will be interesting to see after the league adjusted to him. And finally, Phillips, after a down year across the board, will need to regain some of his swag if this team's going to be as powerful (offensively at least) as it could be. Maybe it's just the hope that Spring seems to bring every year for bad teams across this great nation, but it's hard for me to be too down on this team, if only on potential for growth.

Why Does It Seem Like There's Always A Million Outfielders On This Team

Because there are. Over the years, three of the guys that were breaking in were Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns and Wily Mo Pena (all of whom miraculously find themselves on the Nationals now...Jim Bowden, you dog!). Throw in that Ryan Freel was at one point serviceable and Griff was around too, and you had a verifiable logjam in the outfield that never (and hasn't) cleared up. Now, you've got Bruce and Taveras in right and center, which is fine. Battling for left, not as clear cut. There's Hairston, and then a whole other list of cast-offs, including Jacque Jones, Jonny Gomes, and Laynce Nix (remember when he was supposed to be good?). Now, it's not nearly as cluttered as it was back in the day (say, 2005), but it's still not clear.

You Can't Teach Speed (or How To Get On-Base, apparently)

Willy Taveras, despite an incredible dislike of getting on base consistently (or even hitting the ball in fair play and reaching base safely consistently) finds himself not only on another major league team this year, but starting in center field, and leading off. Why? Because the man can flat out swipe bags, Lloyd McLendon-style. More impressive than leading the league in steals (did anyone other than Rockies personnel know about this?), he was only caught 7 times (career percentage of over 80 percent is damn good). So, while Taveras wages his own personal campaign against Billy Beane and the moneyball-driven obsession with OBP, we can all just sit back and watch a man that really can run. And that's about it.

Aaron Harang Swears He Really Isn't As Bad As He Was Last Year

How in the hell do you go from winning 16 games to losing 17 in one year? How in the hell do you have three straight years with an under 4 ERA, in a pitcher's park, logging over 200 innings each year, to an ERA near 5 in under 200 innings? How? Forearm problems? Weight issues? No one is quite sure what went wrong in 2008 for Harang, but he did lose some weight and appears to be over any nagging injuries from the year prior. Was last year a sign of wear and tear and ultimate decline, or is he going to revert back to the reliable fantasy pitcher we all know and love. Not that I drafted him last year and held on to him for way too long as he killed me each and every week. Not that I did that, or anything...

Bold Predictions

Homer Bailey will get his last real shot this year with the Stockings. And while he won't be Roger Clemens (as he was touted to be) he will be serviceable (as he has never been) throughout this year.

Johnny Cueto will be over .500 this year, and while he won't be nearly as consistent as everyone would like, he will make a huge leap forward this year. I'm saying at least 4 or 5 more wins than last year, and an ERA right next to the number 4.

Two quickies: NO way on Earth Hairston lasts in LF til the All-Star Game (injury or inability, your choice), and Ramon Hernandez will again approach 25 bombs in a friendly hitter's park.

Up Next...Tuesday, Brewers

ESPN Asks SportsNation Whether Schilling's A HOFer

2009-03-23T16:01:00.001-05:00

Stupidity.

For more on this, read below.

Why Curt Schilling IS NOT a Hall Of Famer

2009-03-23T15:00:00.003-05:00

Let the debate begin right here, right now on BERNing on Sports. Now that Curt Schilling is retiring from baseball, the question whether he deserves hall of fame enshrinement arises.

Since I'm writing this post, I'll be the first to chime in, but I encourage your dissent or your agreement at the bottom of this article.

Let me be the first to tell you that answer to this question is a resounding NO. I know, you're not surprised, because I have probably made this claim on this forum before.

This is not to say that Schilling didn't have a great career. The combined longevity and post season excellence gives Schilling a decent (yes, only decent) case for hall enshrinement. But if I was a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, the panel that votes for these players, I would not put a check mark next to Schilling on my ballot.

Here's why:

Pitchers that warrant hall of fame induction exhibit a great level of consistent dominance over a long period during their career (unless their careers are ended prematurely by injury like Sandy Koufax's was). Schilling's dominant stretch came between 2001-2004, when he was considered arguably the best pitcher in baseball during that time. (He won 74 games over those 4 seasons.) Yet while he was considered a very good pitcher during the 1990s, which covers 10 of the nearly 20 seasons in his career, you'd be hard pressed to argue that he was considered one of the best or the most dominant in that time.

This is because if you examine his statistics over the first decade of his career, you'd find there was not one dominant stretch. His best year in the 90's was was the 1997 campaign in which he went 17-11 with a 2.97 ERA. He was certainly dominant that year, as he struck out a whopping 319 batters while only walking 58. But in the Phillies World Series year of 1993, while he had some incredible performances in the post season, his regular season was good, not great. He went 16-7, but his ERA was 4.02.

In the rest of the 1990s, sure, the Phillies weren't a great team, but Schilling didn't accumulate the win total of a hall of fame pitcher. He averaged just 11 wins per season, as he won 110 games during the decade. How many hall of fame pitchers do you know that averaged 11 wins a year for a decade?

He had some years where he had a sparkling ERA (the aforementioned 2.97 ERA in 1997, a 2.35 ERA in 1992, a 3.19 ERA in 1996), and racked up a lot of strikeouts (319 in 1997, 300 in 1998). For the most part, though, before the steroid era, he had some very good seasons, not great or hall of fame worthy statistics. And there are pitchers that are not in the hall of fame, like Bert Blyleven, who won 71 more games than Schilling and whose numbers compare or exceed Schilling's in many respects, who are not in the Hall.

After 2000, Schilling posted some banner years for his career, with Arizona in 2001 and 2002, and even without the win total he was still excellent in 2003. In 2004 he was phenomenal again, leading the Red Sox to the World Series title for the first time in 86 years and pitching some amazing post-season games, like the famed "bloody sock" game. In 2007 he was very good again, but great in the playoffs as Boston won yet another World Series title. Schilling won three titles in the final seven years of his career, and because two of them were with the beloved Red Sox people will overrate his career today.

The simple fact is, he was a really good pitcher who was outrageous in the playoffs. That doesn't make a hall of famer in my book.

Some people will say that the playoff performances alone should get Schilling in the hall of fame. And while I realize the objective of every team every year is to win it all, and Schilling certainly helped his teams do just that, how can we take 19 career post seasons starts and have them outweigh the other 569 games he pitched in during his career or the 436 other starts? While he was spectacular once the calendar turned to October, he was only spectacular for some of the 20 years he pitched during the regular year.

Hall of fame players are spectacular for the majority of their careers. That's why they're in the hall of fame. It wouldn't be the most exclusive club in all of sports if they were letting in just anybody.

To say Curt Schilling was just anybody would be undervaluing him, yes. But to enshrine him into Cooperstown would be to say that he was an elite pitcher for most of his career.

Look at the numbers. They're really good, but not elite. So Schilling shouldn't be in the hall of fame. Bottom line.

Best Play of the 2009 NCAA Tournament So Far

2009-03-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

In my opinion, it's got to be this one:

(forgive the spotty quality of this video, I didn't shoot it)

Forget the fact that Duke's Jon Scheyer had the presence of mind to fling that ball down to the other end of the floor, even though that alone is impressive. But more impressive is the fact that he could actually save a ball, off balance, and had the strength to throw it that far down the floor behind his back. It's really an amazing athletic achievement, besides the strategic value of it.

Props to the Blue Devils' guard. That's one hell of a play, and the play of the tournament so far.

Scott & I Attended Syracuse At The Worst Time

2009-03-22T17:27:00.002-05:00

As Scott previously mentioned, Syracuse is off to the Sweet Sixteen. Figures, it had to come the year after we graduated.

This doesn't mean I'm not ecstatic. It's great. For the first time, the school I attended is actually winning in the NCAA tournament. I could never say this before in my life.

But it's pathetic that in four years of school at a major university with a generally successful athletic department, the football team had its worst stretch in four years, the basketball team won exactly zero games in the NCAA tournament, and the lacrosse team which perennially wins NCAA championships didn't win one until we graduated and suffered their worst season in twenty-five years while we were there. (Then again, it's lacrosse, who cares.)

It's a bizarre feeling to watch this team, which we covered since before those guys were even in school, flourishing after we finished our careers covering them. We know so much about them as we had seen them playing every one of their college games prior to this year and many of them this season. Yet we're no longer there, watching from afar, as they finally flourish. As Scott might say, they're winning out of spite, just to mess with us.

Either way, I'm happy. I'm more than happy. I'm thrilled. And I'll tell you something right now. I like Syracuse to beat Oklahoma. We're taking down Blake Griffin. Can't wait till the next round.

I Can Buy My Shirt. I Am Happy

2009-03-22T13:45:00.002-05:00

Normally, my theory on apparel is, don't buy it until your team either wins or loses a championship.

No one wants to be the jackass with the AFC Championship sweatshirt before the Super Bowl.

I'm superstitious (read: stupid) enough to think that my purchase may or may not affect the outcome of the game. For this reason, I've held off on buying Division Championship shirts, Conference Championship hats, or anything of the like until my team has reached its final conclusion.

However, I'm bucking that trend this year. Syracuse, in a moderately interesting contest against a weaker Arizona State team, advanced to the Sweet 16. That was, in truth, all I really wanted.

As a fan, anything beyond this point is gravy. This was the bare minimum of what I wanted, because for some reason I doubt they make a NCAA Tournament Appearance T-Shirt, or a Terrific 32 cap.

Is the reasoning poorly formed, illogical, and above all, ridiculous? Yes, quite. But, this is coming from the same person who at one point thought his positioning on the couch and density of facial hair had an impact on the outcome of professional sporting events.

30 Teams In 30 Days

2009-03-22T10:43:00.000-05:00

Cleveland Indians: The Biggest Enigma In Baseball?
(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)

Can Lee And Carmona Be a Great 1-2?
Well, if the Indians want any semblance of a shot to win the AL Central this year, that answer must be a resounding yes. Cliff Lee was maybe the best pitcher in the game last year, winning the AL Cy Young award in the textbook definition of a career year. Dude went 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA, struck out 170 and walked only 34. Let the dominance of these numbers wash over you for a second. Now, let the fact that it was Cliff Lee of all people to put up these numbers wash over you. Yeah. Big question mark for this season. As for Fausto Carmona, after a great 2007, the 2008 season was a big step backward. He won eleven less games in 2008 than 2007, and his ERA jumped nearly two and a half runs. Now that C.C. Sabathia has left for some mega cash and the New York spotlight (he did start last season with the Indians, remember) the depth of this rotation will be be lacking. That's why Tribe General Manager Mark Shapiro is praying for good years from his new one-two punch every night before he goes to bed.

The New Guys From the North Side
One of the biggest points of criticism in my neck of the woods this baseball off-season was Cubs GM Jim Hendry's decisions to let beloved former starter turned closer Kerry Wood go to Cleveland (even though he wanted to return to the Cubs) and to deal the popular and versatile Mark DeRosa to the Indians for three minor league pitchers. Assuming health, which is a lot to assume with Wood who has already had an achy back in spring training, these two guys could be valuable pieces to the puzzle should the Tribe win the division this season. Since "Sweaty" Joe Borowski donned Tribe colors and held the closers role, the ninth inning at an Indians game was a roller coaster ride. With Woody replacing him roller coaster should become more of a merry-go-round. It'll have it's bumps along the way, but for the most part it'll run smoothly. As for DeRosa, he's one of the most valuable players in baseball if you ask me. He's a very good hitter (although he's coming off a career year) and he can play not only adequate but good defense at nearly every position on the diamond except center field or behind the plate. Good moves by the Tribe. (And, the Indians visit Wrigley June 19th, if you're looking for some drama during interleague play.)

Project Donkey
Those are the two words that were shortened to give Indians embattled D.H. Travis Hafner his endeering nickname "Pronk". Whether the man who was one of the most feared hitters in baseball in 2006 can return to that form this year remains to be seen, but boy could the Tribe use his production again. Last year Pronk played in just 57 games, and hit just .197 as he was hampered by a shoulder injury. Questions about whether he was on steroids have swirled, but that's true of basically every player in baseball at this point. With Hafner in the line-up, and hitting well, the Indians were legitimate competition in the AL Central. Without his bat last year they weren't serious contenders most of the season. They're working him back slowly in camp this spring and believe he's going to be back on track. He better be, for his sake.

Kobayashi Out of the Pen
Did you know the competitive eater was coming out of the bullpen to pitch for the Indians? I certainly didn't. I know the guy can eat 60-plus hot dogs in twelve minutes, but how does that translate as a right handed reliever? If you haven't figured this out by now, I'm kidding, it's not the same guy. The Tribe's reliever is Masa Kobayashi. The eating champ is Takeru Kobayashi. If only there could be a fourth "Major League" movie made, because imagine the comedic possibilities for famed Indians broadcaster Harry Doyle.

Bold Predictions

The Indians will compte all season, but will not win the AL Central as some others believe. I think the winner of this division will either be Minnesota or the White Sox.
Victor Martinez will come back from the injury-plagued 2008 season he suffered and have a big 2009. He'll lead all major league catchers in home runs.
Jeremy Sowers will finally put together a year showing the promise the Indians organization believes he has. 12 wins for the former 1st round pick.

Up next...Monday, Reds.

I'm Watching This Duke Game Now, But I haven't Watched Almost Any of the Tournament

2009-03-21T20:56:00.002-05:00

Except for Thursday.

Thursday I watched nearly the entire slate of games. But I missed all but about three minutes of the Syracuse game and the last minute of the Marquette game yesterday, and until I just got home tonight I hadn't seen a second of the games today. And the amazing thing is you can actually escape it.

Let me clarify something though. It's not that I didn't want to watch the games. If I wasn't working for the last 48 hours, I would have been parked on the couch with the TV on CBS all day and all night watching March Madness. I love the tournament, and always have, even if the teams I picked or the teams I root for don't win.

But having been completely removed from it, all I know about the last two days are the scores. And I didn't even know the scores from today's games until half an hour ago. It's a strange feeling, but I actually didn't know what was going on. Actually, I had no idea.

Prior to this experience, I thought the NCAA tournament was an event so large that even if you're not watching you somehow know what's going on. You'll overhear the scores at work, you'll walk into a restaurant to pick up some lunch and the games are on TV and you find out then. Somehow I managed to miss all this yesterday.

And I was working in sports.

Amazing, isn't it?

I realized that there are no sporting events so great that they're inescapable. Even the Super Bowl can be completely missed, because if you're working in an office without media at your disposal, how would you know?

For the first time I entered the bizarro world during one of the biggest sporting events of the year. I was in a world where I had no idea what was going on.

While I love the work I do, I'm not a fan of being kept out of the loop during the NCAA Tournament. It's a feeling I'd rather not have to experience in the future. It only comes once a year.

30 Teams in 30 Days

2009-03-21T11:29:00.006-05:00

Pittsburgh Pirates: If Pittsburgh Doesn't Care, Why Should Anyone Else?

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)

Keeping It Real

This team stinks. They've had 16 losing seasons in a row, they were last in the N.L. in starter and bullpen ERA, and as a team batted under .260 for the season. Did I say that they're not any good? The real problem is that a lot of the guys they have were (at one point) either good or supposed to be good. Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny (good for one year two years ago), and Zach Duke (good for half a season 4 years ago) all fit into this category. Paul Maholm pitched well last year, but given his track record of borderline mediocrity (at best), what makes you think he'll do it again? The lineup lacks punch, lacks consistency, and lacks proven ability. I'm sure I said it already, but just to make sure we're clear, I did say this team isn't good, right?

First Freddy Sanchez, Then Nate McClouth, Who Next?

Which largely middling player on the Pirates will miraculously turn around a career of irrelevance and become this year's surprise? Those of you Ronny Paulino supporters have seen time run out. Same with our pal Bryan Bullington. The logical choice would seem to be Ryan Doumit, as he seemed en route to a breakout season prior to breaking his thumb. As a dark horse, I'll throw in Andy LaRoche to the mix, if only to make things interesting. Working against him though is that he hasn't had nearly enough time to be as mediocre as Sanchez and McClouth.

There Manager Is Named John Russell

Just thought we should all know that. I didn't.

Finally, The LaRoche's Are Reunited

I can't tell you how badly I wanted this, since the moment I laid eyes on Andy. Like the brothers Benes before them, the LaRoche's are now part of a long history of brothers of mid-level talent to be united on the same team. The problem is Andy hasn't been able to hit at any point of a major league season, and Adam only hits in the second half of seasons. If we could only combine the two, we'd have one half of a whole ballplayer...

Bold Predictions

Nate McClouth's average, home run totals, and RBI totals will all head south towards there previous career norms.

Nyjer Morgan will steal 30 bases, and that's about all I have. If you care this much about the Pirates, you need to have your head examined.

Up Next...Sunday, Indians

30 Teams In 30 Days

2009-03-20T17:00:00.001-05:00

Chicago White Sox: The Young And The Old Collide

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)

Identity Crisis

Over the last few years, the White Sox success has been predicated on good veteran pitching and a balanced lineup of 30-somethings. Now, thanks to aggressive and crafty GM Kenny Williams there's been an injection of youth on the south side. Young guns John Danks and Gavin Floyd figure to anchor a rotation that ends with Sox lifer Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon. Both Contreras and Colon are older and coming off injuries, so who knows how much they'll be able to produce. Yet the White Sox are banking on them to visit the fountain of youth in 2009. Same thing goes for Chicago's lineup. You've got mainstays like Paul Konerko, Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye, who all good hitters, but are getting older, and are starting to decline. Now the Sox will be counting on young guys too, like last year's American League Rookie of the Year runner-up Alexei Ramirez, Carlos Quentin (who probably would have been the MVP of the American League had he not been injured last August), Jerry Owens in the leadoff spot, and Chris Getz at 2nd base. How good this makes the White Sox? It's hard to say. The move could have them moving towards a second consecutive AL Central crown, although experts seem to think this will be a rebuilding year.

Is Gavin Floyd Really That Good?

The White Sox would like to think that answer is yes, but it's hard to know. When the Sox traded for John Danks, they knew what they were getting. At the time they traded their top prospect pitcher Brandon McCarthy for the Rangers best arm in their system. So Danks' success last year wasn't all that surprising. Floyd's success on the other hand was astonishing. He won 17 games a season ago, after his first four seasons only yielded him eight combined wins. Now he didn't start more than eleven games in any of those previous years, so you could say that the twenty-six year old is now coming into his own. But this season will really be the litmus test to see how good he truly is. If he and and Danks can produce like they did last year, the Sox could win the division again. If they're not good, then you're hoping that Contreras and Colon are going to produce. And that thought will have Ozzie Guillen swearing uncontrollably for six straight months.

What about Carlos Quentin?

Just as prevalent as the question of what the White Sox will get from Gavin Floyd is the question of how much the Sox will get from Carlos Quentin. The former Diamondbacks top prospect was picked up in an unheralded move last off-season, but like I mentioned in the first graph, this guy would have won the AL MVP had he not gotten hurt. So Dustin Pedroia should be thanking Quentin every time he admires that trophy on his mantle. Quentin hit .288 while ripping 36 homers and driving in 100 runs, and he did all this in just 130 games. Imagine how those numbers might look had he finished the season. But like Floyd, this was a break out year for Quentin, as his previous career high was 9 home runs in rookie campaign of 2006. His production will be critical to the Sox offense, because their back-up option in left would be Brian Anderson, who has a hole in his bat.

Ozzie Guillen Is Great

Whether you're a White Sox fan or not, you have to love skipper Ozzie Guillen. Ozzie happens to be a fantastic manager, but the entertainment value he brings to the ballpark day in and day out is really great to watch. Unless you follow the team, you can't really understand him when he speaks, except you know that he's speaking quickly and his dialect is filled with four letter words. Furthermore, he is not afraid to say what he thinks, which might be he best quality of all. There's no BS when it comes to Guillen, and he has the respect of his clubhouse because he's not going to sugar coat things in the press. The Sox will always contend with this guy as the skipper, and hey, he brought the Sox their first world series in 88 years back in 2005, so he knows what he's doing. People like to rip Guillen for his inflammatory remarks, but he's the best thing the White Sox have going because in a city where his team plays second fiddle he keeps them relevant whether they're winning or not.

Bold Predictions

The White Sox will stay competitive in a middling AL Central this year, and if the breaks mentioned above go their way, they'll win the division again. If any of their guys don't produce like their being expected to, however, they could be the team that finishes ahead of the Royals (fourth) in the division as well.
Jerry Owens will last less than a month in the leadoff spot. This guy stinks, and when they realize he can't hit, DeWayne Wise and Chris Getz will platoon there the rest of the season.
Jermaine Dye was the subject of trade rumors all off-season but Williams never pulled the trigger on a trade. He will before the trading deadline July 31st.

Up Next...Saturday, Pirates

Today's March Madness Schedule

2009-03-20T13:00:00.000-05:00

Early Games:

(3) Syracuse vs (14) Stephen F. Austin (Miami, FL) 12:15 p.m. ET

Comment: This blog continues assuming Syracuse wins tomorrow. If they lose, Scott may be taking over permanently as I'll be eyeing the view from the top of the Sears Tower.

(8) Oklahoma State vs (9) Tennessee (Dayton, OH) 12:25 p.m. ET

Comment: Tennessee is determined to stick up for the S.E.C. the way L.S.U. did yesterday. However, I like the Pokes in this one because the Big 12 is a better conference and O.K. State is more battle tested. Plus, how can you root for Bruce Pearl when he's going to sweat through a bright orange sport jacket? Yuck.

(6) Marquette vs (11) Utah State (Boise, ID) 12:30 p.m. ET

Comment: If Dominic James was healthy, I'd tell you that Utah State has no shot in this game. I still like Marquette, but Utah State should make things interesting.

(3) Kansas vs (14) North Dakota State (Minneapolis, MN) 12:30 p.m. ET

Comment: The defending champs have a tough draw with a N.D. State team that is full of seniors and is in the tourney for the first time. And coach Saul Phillips is a protege of Wisconsin's great coach Bo Ryan. But KU is far too athletic for the Bisons to stay in it. Rock. Chalk. Jayhawk.

Mid-Afternoon Games:

(6) Arizona State vs (11) Temple (Miami, FL) 2:45 p.m. ET

Comment: I know it's stylish to pick Temple here, but the A-10 is down this year, and the Sun Devils have an NBA player in James Harden. I like the fellas from Tempe in this one.

(1) Pittsburgh vs (16) East Tennessee State (Dayton, OH) 2:55 p.m. ET

Comment: If you're picking against Pitt in this one, well, you're an idiot. This should be a 40-point win for the Panthers.

(3) Missouri vs (14) Cornell (Boise, ID) 3:00 p.m. ET

Comment: Missouri had a great year out of the Big 12 that not many would have expected, and they have a good draw, against a Cornell squad that will produce probably a few future hotel managers. But not basketball players.

(6) West Virginia vs (11) Dayton (Minneapolis, MN) 3:00 p.m. ET

Comment: Bob Huggins is doing some good things at his alma mater, and usually does well in the tournament. Dayton had a great year out of the A-10 winning 26 games, but while there's a regional playing on the Flyers home court, this game is in the Hump Dome. I'll take W.V.U.

Evening Games:

(1) Louisville vs (16) Morehead State (Dayton, OH) 7:10 p.m. ET

Comment: During the play-out game, some Morehead State fan was wearing a t-shirt that said "Bring on Pitino". That was dumb, because the 'Ville is going to crush this team.

(5) Utah vs (12) Arizona (Miami, FL) 7:10 p.m. ET

Comment: Maybe Arizona didn't deserve to make the tourney in the first place, but they have 3 good players that can help them beat Utah. Jordan Hill, Nic Wise, and Chase Budinger. I like the upset here.

(7) Boston College vs (10) U.S.C. (Minneapolis, MN) 7:20 p.m. ET

Comment: For some reason, I like U.S.C. here. Granted, the ACC is a better conference than the Pac-10, but I think Timmy Floyd's crew rides the momentum from their miraculous Pac-10 Tournament win.

(4) Xavier vs (13) Portland State (Boise, ID) 7:25 p.m. ET

Comment: Some people are picking this upset. I don't know a damn thing about Portland State. That's why I picked Xavier.

Late Games:

(8) Ohio State vs (9) Siena (Dayton, OH) 9:40 p.m. ET

Comment: I would have picked Siena, but somehow the Buckeyes got a home game. So I'll take Ohio State.

(4) Wake Forest vs (13) Cleveland State (Miami, FL) 9:40 p.m. ET

Comment: Cleveland State is a dangerous team, coming off the Horizon League Championship and going up against a titan in Wake Forest with nothing to lose. Yet I couldn't pull the trigger, and took Dino Gaudio's club.

(2) Michigan State vs (15) Robert Morris (Minneapolis, MN) 9:50 p.m. ET

Comment: My dad thinks Robert Morris could win this game. He's also ranked last in our bracket challenge currently. Sparty wins.

(5) Florida State vs (12) Wisconsin (Boise, ID) 9:55 p.m. ET

Comment: I picked Florida State because they have a ton of motivation to win this. Their program is mired in NCAA violations now, and this is probably their last shot for a few years to win anything. Tough to doubt Bo Ryan though.

Opening Day Mostly A Snore

2009-03-20T09:10:00.002-05:00

Aside from a late (and by late, I mean, after midnight on the East Coast) finish in Portland last night, there wasn't much to get too excited over.

Sure, Western Kentucky beat Illinois, further leading the nation to once again ask itself just what the hell a hilltopper even is. I will admit, I did have that one picked, but only by sheer luck. Here's how I pick my brackets.

Hmmm....I haven't picked an upset in a few games...I haven't seen Illinois play this year...Maybe they'll get upset...

As proof of how well this system works, I also had Northern Iowa taking down Purdue.

So, obviously, it's a fool proof plan. Then again though, anyone who honestly can see some of these upsets coming is not only annoying, but slightly impressive.

Some Random Thoughts and Musings

UCLA kept it way closer than Bruins fans likely wanted it, as they seemed totally disinterested in the evenings proceedings. For a large portion of the first half, as cliche as it sounds, their effort simply didn't match VCU's (and they were winning by 10 to close the half!). They spent possessions dawdling far from the 3 point line, while the smaller lineup of VCU continued to hound them. Then, when they finally kicked it into high gear courtesy of Josh Shipp and Jrue Holiday finally showing up, they couldn't make any layups. Clutch free throws from Aboya and what's been a Ben Howland staple for years now (straight up, gritty D) locked up the close win.
After all of these games, who are the players pointing in the stands to? I can't be the only one noticing random players from Western Kentucky or Maryland pointing all over the crowd, kissing their fingers to their lips, and raising their jerseys. Who are you looking at?
If there was a world where college basketball knowledge was currency, Jay Bilas would be running that world.
Maryland was just way, way better than Cal yesterday. They lead practically all game, and Greivis Vasquez was clearly the best player in the game. Not that anyone figured he wouldn't be. He struggled some in the first half, but turned it on when it counted with a big breakaway layup to seal the deal at the end of the 2nd half. As they say (and as Cal found out the hard way), when you live by the 3, you die by the 3.
Give Cal St. Northridge some credit. First, they hung in tough for about 30 or so minutes against an obviously superior Memphis team. Their zone, speedy guard play from Mark Hill and clutch shooting from guys like Rodrigue Mels and Kenny Daniels kept them in it way longer than anyone could have guessed. Also, big ups for getting FUBU to design their jerseys. At least, it looks like it, no?
Villanova played like horses#@t for most of the game, but lucked out on two accounts. One, they were playing American. Two, they were playing, as Jordan has said, a literal home game. Not just the same time zone, same region of the country. The exact same court. So, fair as that sounds, they came back to win because Garrison Carr couldn't make every 3 he took, and ultimately Nova started getting (and making) better looks at the basket.
Good thing UNC and UConn were tested in their first round matchups.

Hump Day Headlines: Thursday Edition

2009-03-19T10:45:00.005-05:00

I realize this week's Hump Day Headlines didn't come on Wednesday. Sorry, I was working. Sue me if you don't like it.

In this week's Hump Day Headlines, since it's late, we present the schedule of tournament watching so that those of you who are getting ready to watch games, (like I am) know when and where your team will be playing.

Early Games:

(8) L.S.U vs (9) Butler (Greensboro, NC) 12:20 p.m. ET
Comment: This is one of those classic first round match-ups for people who hate small conference teams and are hoping that the S.E.C's Tigers of Louisiana State win just to prove a point. I picked L.S.U. to win, because I like Tasmin Mitchell.

(2) Memphis vs (15) C.S. Northridge (Kansas City, MO) 12:25 p.m. ET
Comment: I don't know anything about C.S. Northridge. All I know is if Memphis loses, I'm screwed. So obviously I picked Memphis. And for the record? If there's a rare 15 over 2 upset, I don't think it'll be this one.

(8) B.Y.U. vs (9) Texas A&M (Philadelphia, PA) 12:30 p.m. ET
Comment: B.Y.U. can usually pick up a win in the tournament every year. They're always a solid choice. However I took the "upset" with A&M. Speaking of which, how dumb is it when the experts say that a 9 over an 8 is an upset?

Mid-Afternoon Games:

(5) Purdue vs (12) Northern Iowa (Portland,OR) 2:30 p.m. ET
Comment: If you're looking for the 5-12 upset, you likely won't find it here. With a healthy Robbie Hummel, Purdue is a very good squad. And he is healthy now.

(1) North Carolina vs (16) Radford (Greensboro, NC) 2:50 p.m. ET
Comment: Ty Lawson isn't playing, but does it really matter? It's a home game for Carolina against freaking Radford.

(7) California vs (10) Maryland (Kansas City, MO) 2:55 p.m. ET
Comment: Cal is playing the "no one respects us" card because everyone is picking Maryland. They're from the ACC, they beat Carolina, Scott Van Pelt has been propogating love for them on ESPN...so maybe Cal wins? I still took the Terps.

(1) Connecticut vs (16) Chattanooga (Philadelphia, PA) 3:00 p.m. ET
Comment: Jimmy Fallon started a Chattanooga cheering section on his brutal new late night show on NBC. UConn was going to win anyways, but since Fallon is behind Chattanooga the team has a worse chance of winning now.

Early Evening Games:

(4) Washington vs (13) Mississippi State (Portland, OR) 4:55 p.m. ET
Comment: I know that there's a love fest now for Mississippi State because they shocked everyone by winning the automatic bid with an S.E.C. title victory. But this is basically a home game for the Huskies. Adios, M. State.

Evening Games:

(7) Texas vs (10) Minnesota (Greensboro, NC) 7:10 p.m. ET
Comment: This should be a really good game if you get this in your area. Both teams had great starts and fizzled toward the end, but they're both talented clubs. I had a lot of trouble picking this game in my brackets, and I think I made a selection for who wins this one in each.

(7) Clemson vs (10) Michigan (Kansas City, MO) 7:10 p.m. ET
Comment: Michigan's 11-year tournament drought is over thanks to new coach John Beilein. Scott loves the Wolverines, but I'm feeling Oliver Purnell getting his Tigers to their first tourney win under his watch.

(3) Villanova vs (14) American (Philadelphia, PA) 7:20 p.m. ET
Comment: This literally is a home game for Villanova. They play all there big games on this very court at the Wachovia Center. Sorry American, but you were dealt the most unfair draw in the tournament. Nova will roll, or they're a disgrace.

(4) Gonzaga vs (13) Akron (Portland, OR) 7:25 p.m. ET
Comment: This has nothing to do with the game, but I'm still pissed that Syracuse football lost to Akron's Zips back in the 2nd week of the football season. Therefore, I hope the Zags win by 50. By the way, anyone notice this is a meeting between the Zips and the Zags?

Late Games:

(2) Duke vs (15) Binghamton (Greensboro, NC) 9:4o p.m. ET
Comment: I forgot about this one, probably because even though Tony Kornheiser's alma-mater is making its first ever NCAA tournament appearance, the Dukies are playing a game close to home and are motivated by previous tournament flops not to let it happen again early this year.

(6) U.C.L.A. vs (11) V.C.U. (Philadelphia, PA) 9:50 p.m. ET
Comment: U.C.L.A. hasn't been very impressive as of late, losing in big spots when they needed victories late to wrap up the Pac-10 regular season and then tournament crowns. I have a feeling V.C.U. which beat Duke in the tournament not too long ago, adds this upset win to its resume.

(5) Illinois vs (12) Western Kentucky (Portland, OR) 9:55 p.m. ET
Comment: It is en-vogue to pick against Illinois in this game, as many figure this to be the 5-12 upset. If Chester Frazier doesn't play, the Illini probably lose. If he does play though, Illinois can play defense, and the lack of respect card as motivation to win and prove the doubters wrong.

Enjoy the games!

30 Teams in 30 Days

2009-03-19T07:48:00.001-05:00

St. Louis Cardinals: Somehow, This Team Will Still Win at Least 80-Some Games

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)

Keeping It Real

OK, maybe that doesn't seem like a ton of wins. But, consider a few things. Well, only two things. First, consider that the Cardinals under Tony LaRussa have only failed to reach at least 80 wins twice. In 13 years. Second, take a look at this roster, the guys projected to pitch and hit for the Cards. Three of the guys projected in the starting lineup have a total of 48 career homers (Joe Mather, Yadier Molina, Skip Schumaker). And that doesn't include the pitcher's spot, wherever he happens to bat (more on that later). And the rotation? Wow, talk about a bunch of who's who and reclamation projects. Repeat performances may seem unlikely, but are necessary for guys like Kyle Lohse and Todd Wellemeyer. Despite that they don't have a closer yet, have one truly proven offensive player, and no truly proven pitchers, they'll still be good. Some how.

Tony LaRussa's A Genius?

I guess so. But, can we stop giving him so much credit for moving the pitcher out of the 9th spot into the 8th spot? Is this that big of a deal? If he moved a pitcher (Micah Owings anyone?) to a spot like the 5th or clean up or something and it worked out, I'd really be floored. But one spot up? Oh wow! And, on top of that, when has it really worked out so tremendously? If I was a Cardinal, and I was moved out of the 8th spot to the 9th spot for a pitcher, I wouldn't find that cute. Or the move of a genius. I'd find that offensive. I'd be like, Anthony, dude, you can't seriously think this is going to work. I take batting practice every damn day, and this is what I get?

Reclamation Galore

First it was Rick Ankiel. Then Ryan Ludwick and Todd Wellemeyer. Now, it's Khalil Greene. The Ankiel thing didn't really blow me away so much, as he didn't hit for a high average and struck out a ton of times. Most decent players given over 400 ABs could hit 25 homers with those other stats. Wellemeyer too didn't really blow me away, as he faded towards the end of the year. But Ludwick. Wowsers. 28 homers and 96 RBIs from 2002-2007. 37 and 113 in 2008. I'd pray he's not stupid enough to have used steroids, but nowadays, who knows. It sure smacks of Brady Anderson, doesn't it? Then again, we will see what he does for an encore this year. Greene, I'll admit, I do like. Prior to last year, his power was decent for a shortstop, and he can pick it. Away from Petco Park finally, he'll rebound.

Annoying Middle Infielders Come With Price Of Admission

Guys like Brendan Ryan, and David Eckstein and Skip Schumaker and Adam Kennedy piss me off. Maybe it's because I like my major leaguers like I like my coffee, tall and more athletic than I am. Not sure exactly what it is. But these pesky little S.O.B.s seem to always find their way on to the Cardinals roster. And, as it is annoying to hear mindless commentators call old lefties crafty but not old righties, I can't stand when (because he's little) a player is automatically scrappy. By the way, don't think I've forgotten about you, Bo Hart. Little bugger.

Bold Predictions

Khalil Greene will hit at least 20 homers, drive in at least 75 runs, and have a good season. Each would be significant upgrades from last year's stellar effort of .254/10/35.

Chris Carpenter appears ready to dial it up again this year. He won't ever be as dominant as he was a few years back, but expect him to last all season (bold right there) and also expect results similar to Lohse and Wellemeyer from last year.

Inexplicably, Ryan Franklin will get many chances to close games. Maybe Chris Perez isn't ready (or good enough, though who knows yet?), but how much more does Franklin need to do that proves he's nothing better than average.

Up Next...Friday, White Sox

Stan Van Gundy On Why The Cavs Are 30-1 At Home

2009-03-18T17:02:00.000-05:00

After a four point loss in Cleveland, Stan Van Gundy had this to say last night regarding a 3 second call made against Dwight Howard.

"You won't see that call again. That, I guarantee you," Van Gundy said. "You will not see, with the game on the line, a 3-second call in the last 10 seconds. That's part of the reason they're 30-1 at home. They're a very good team, and when you get calls like that [expletive], you're in pretty good shape."

Let's be honest, a 3 seconds call, with under 10 ticks in the game? How about a 3 second call at any point in the game?

ESPN showed the clip, with a little timer in the bottom right. The sissies that they are proved that he was technically in the lane for 3 seconds. However, he was on his way out. And, as SVG would further lament, that happened to be the first 3 second call of the whole game.

I'd say that's a bit ridiculous to make that kind of call at the end of the game. Far as I see it, Howard would have to be in there for six or seven seconds at least to make that call. When it's that close to the end of the game, and that call hasn't already been established prior in the contest, the violation needs to be egregious.

That's just me, though.

And, I got a kick out of Van Gundy's use of the word expletive.

It's Exciting, Even If You're Not Watching

2009-03-18T15:35:00.002-05:00

I have mentioned on this forum and in the podcast during the last few weeks that the biggest reason why the World Baseball Classic isn't front page news in the states is simply because Americans don't care.

I still think that's true, because while I consider myself one of the biggest baseball fans on the planet I'm waiting for this tournament to end so the real season can get started. And I know from talking to many others about this that I'm not alone.

But did you see last night's win for the Americans over Puerto Rico?

I was working last night, and when the game ended I drove to a local bar to watch the rest of the Bulls game with some buddies. We saw the end of the baseball game, however, and it was thrilling to say the least. The walk that sent Kevin Youkilis to the plate with the bases loaded, and the two run knock by David Wright to bring home the tying and winning runs. I was pumping my fist in celebration to see Team USA pull the game out. I have barely watched any of this tournament, but to see the comeback unfold, as a sports fan, was great entertainment.

There are obvious problems with the WBC, as Scott and I have pointed out before. Not all the best players are involved in the event. The rules limiting pitchers give some of the games a glorified spring training feel.

But the players are going all-out at all times. The passion and emotion they're displaying makes you forget it's March and makes you think it's October. Granted, last night was an exciting game, and I wouldn't be making this point after the American team got clubbed a couple of nights ago by the Puerto Ricans via the mercy rule.

Still, it was great theater and maybe more of us should be watching. The players care, whether we do or we don't. And it's better than watching spring training games, right?

An Ankle Is A Terrible Thing To Waste

2009-03-18T13:30:00.000-05:00

On Monday nights, I play pick up basketball at a local middle school. The company includes men with wives, men with kids, and some youngens (like myself). In one particular game, I happened to put a cross-over on one of these youngens, causing him to fall to the ground. I made the shot after he fell.

I was quite proud of myself.

And so, in honor of me, I present to you a group of people that are a little bit better than I am at the game of roundball doing this to their respective opponents.

Reminder: Sign Up For Our Bracket Challenge!

2009-03-18T12:22:00.002-05:00

Remember to sign up for the BERNing on Sports bracket challenge!

To do so, click HERE. The password is "berning". You must have a Yahoo! ID to enter your bracket. If you don't have one, it's free and easy to sign up for one. The details continue to be posted at the top of the red tab on your right.

We've got some members of the group already, but join on up! You are running out of time as the games get going tomorrow!

And like Scott said, if our NFL picks are any indication, you should be feeling good about your chances to win the pool. We'll give out a prize to the winner of the bracket.

30 Teams In 30 Days

2009-03-18T00:40:00.002-05:00

Houston Astros: Their Ballpark is Stupid, But They Might Be Decent

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing ever team in the majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)

Still Making Moves

Just a day ago, the Astros added catcher Ivan Rodriguez to their plethora of catchers within the organization (pending a physical since he's been playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic). Sad fact is though, Pudge is better than any of the other backstops in the system. No, he's not the same steroid pumped catcher that helped lead the Marlins to the world series crown in 2003 (allegedly), but he is still a good defensive catcher who can hold his own at the plate. He should fit nicely into a lineup that doesn't get a lot of credit but has a lot of quality in it (more on this in a bit). The Astros pitching staff has a lot of question marks, but Pudge's leadership behind the plate can only help a staff that needs to be effective if they want to contend with the Cubs and Cardinals in the NL Central this year.

Killer B's Are Gone, but the 'Stros Still Pack A Punch

If I asked you to come up with the best offenses in baseball, I bet the Astros lineup wouldn't enter into the discussion. But maybe they should. With the exception of Michael Bourn (can't hit) and Aaron Boone (generally bad, except for one swing in his career), the Astros lineup features some dangerous hitters. Lance Berkman looks like a fat version of Elvis, but he's probably the best hitter in baseball no one talks about. Carlos Lee (a.k.a. El Caballo) is a feared hitter from the right side of the plate, especially with that joke of a left field porch at Minute Maid Park. Miguel Tejada had a bad year last year and may be on the downside, especially with the off-field issues he's dealing with (namely lying, about taking steroids and about his age). But sandwiched between the right hitters and Tejada can still be a solid guy. And even though Hunter Pence has an allergic reaction to walks, he's still produces and has a lot of speed. Add in Pudge and Kaz Matsui and it's not a bad lineup, and potentially could be very potent if each of them plays to their capability.

No Matter How You Spin It, This Pitching Staff Is Not Good

Other than Roy Oswalt, there is not one starter projected to be in this rotation that I would want on my team. Oswalt though, is great. 17 wins again last year, and he continues to be a top flight pitcher in baseball despite not having a great team around him. But the rest of this staff is brutal. Wandy Rodriguez is pretty good at Minute Maid Park, but take the man out of there and he's a lost soul. His ERA was almost a run and a half higher away from home. Brandon Backe made it a habit to get tattooed once every couple of games last year, Mike Hampton hasn't been good in almost a decade, and he's usually hurt, and Brian Moehler, well, I shouldn't have to convince you why he's undesirable. The simple fact is this staff is just not good enough to win the division or contend for the wild card. And except for Jose Valverde, they don't have any effective arms in the pen. Unless the 'Stros make a move to help their pitching staff, they will not be able to sustain winning, unless their offense is outrageous.

As I Was Saying...

Their ballpark is stupid. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to make the left field fence 310 feet away and the center field fence 430 feet away? Why is there a hill in center field with a flag in play? I know, I know, it's honoring tradition. But it may be the dumbest thing in baseball. There's a reason why flag poles and hills aren't in any modern parks. They're dangerous and hazardous! Why not just put an obstacle course out in center field so that when Michael Bourn has to go after a fly ball he can jump hurdles and hula hoop to the ball? It's absolutely ridiculous. And, in left center field, the yellow line is indiscernible so half the time you don't know whether a ball that ricochets off the big wall there is a home run or not. They should build the Astros a new park and torch that monstrosity in Houston. I've never been to Minute Maid Park, and I don't care how clean the concourse might be or how good the food might be. The playing field is a joke. Get rid of this place.

Bold Predictions

The Astros will hang around the playoff race all year, but unless they trade for a starter they won't make the playoffs. However, they'll rank in the top five in the National League in home runs.
Michael Bourn will hit .260 this year, and the thirty-one point increase in his batting average will allow him to reach 50 steals this season.
Hunter Pence will make the all-star team in the National League.

Up next...Thursday, Cardinals.

Bad Hammy, Manny?

2009-03-17T12:50:00.005-05:00

Apparently there was no rush to get Manny Ramirez into Dodgers camp after all. Turns out the slugging left fielder has a bad hamstring that's going to keep him out at least a week of spring training games.

Man Ram injured his left hamstring running down a double to left by Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in the forth inning of a game last week, and was removed the following inning.

Now do you see why you didn't get the four year deal you so desperately coveted, Manny? It only took you a week to prove what many GMs already thought (besides your history of laying down)--you're too old for a long term contract.

Ramirez turns 37 May 30th. And while last year he was still arguably the best hitter in baseball, throughout history we've seen only guys hopped up on steroids can continue to produce at the same level when they're 38 as when they were 28. Manny could shake off this hamstring injury and wind up fine. But these injuries often linger for players and take away from their performance.

Good thing this contract likely only lasts one year. Because if Manny is hurt this year and can't produce than the off-season saga was a big waste of time and discussion.

30 Teams in 30 Days

2009-03-17T08:56:00.005-05:00

Minnesota Twins: Putting Prospects (Sometimes Yours) To Work

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)

Keeping It Real

If you're looking at the Twins roster at any point and your not a fantasy baseball nerd (check) or American League Central fan, the likelihood that you've heard of all of these guys is quite slim. Don't fret. The Twinkies, at just around 26 years of age, are the third youngest team in the league, loaded with their own prospects (Denard Span, Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Scott Baker, etc.), other teams former prospects (like John Bonser, Delmon Young, and Joe Crede), and other teams actual prospects (Carlos Gomez). It's fair to say that they've done quite well for themselves, losing big name players seemingly every year, and still competing. Considering the rest of the teams didn't do too much to improve themselves and that the Twins are now a year older after a 163 game regular season last year, they should find themselves in the thick of AL Central competition all season.

Joe Mauer's Achy Back

I'm not going to hide it, I've never been a huge fan of Joe Mauer. Not to take anything away from him, but I just never bought into this hype that had him imagined as a top flight MLB player. Sure, the numbers he puts up (for a catcher) are good and he can actually field the position (ahem, Josh Phelps). But, let's be honest about this dude. Three hitters that hit for a nice average, don't drive in more than 80 or so runs (in a good year), and can't hit more than 10 homers are called Bobby Abreu. Not, the best new young thing. OK, now that I've finished bashing the best young catcher in the league, his back injury has become something of a spot of worry for the Twins. No one seems to know exactly what is wrong or how long he'll be out. Regardless of his lack of power or run-producing ability, he'll undoubtedly be missed as the Twins lineup, while consistently solid, is already lacking in pop (only 3 guys had either 10 or more homers and 70 or more RBIs).

Proof That Home Runs Are Overrated

Last year, the Twins ranked 29th in the league in homers hit, but 4th in the league in runs scored. How in the hell? Well, first, they've got a lot of what I call the David Eckstein-annoying-as-hell-but-effective quotient. Scrappy little guys like Span and Alexi Casilla (expect some more steals this year you fantasy mongers) are able to outweigh the complete disappearance of power from a guy like Delmon Young or lack of it from Mauer. I know I can't be the only AL fan to lick his chops when the Twins come to town, thinking that they only have one real hitter to fear in their whole lineup (sorry, not you Jason Kubel). But, 6 of the 9 guys in their projected line up hit over .270 last year. Fact is, they hit. May not go a whole long way, but, it doesn't always have to.

A Quick Fantasy Note

Don't sleep on a guy like Scott Baker, please. Somehow, this guy isn't catching on big time yet. He was a solid to dominant pitcher for the last 4 months of the season last year. He won't compete for a Cy Young any time soon, but the strikeout to walk ratio is sure to surprise (3.5/1) and he's only now rounding into what should be his first full 200 inning season. Expect 15 wins, a sub-4 ERA, and near 175 K's. I'd say that's pretty good.

Bold Predictions

Francisco Liriano, who has had a terrific spring, will return to top form this year. Maybe not striking out 12 a game like 2006, but we will see more than just a flash of what made this kid the heir-apparent to Santana. Usually, the second year after Tommy John is when you see full recovery, and sometimes even improvement.

Despite a balanced, youthful, improving staff, the lack of a 8th inning guy to compliment Joe Nathan will hurt the team at some point. Guys like Jesse Crain, Luis Ayala, and Matt Guerrier just don't seem like they can (or ever have been able to) get it done. How much it will hurt, I can't say. I literally mean that, I'm not allowed. I do know, but the league won't let me tell you. Sorry.

Up Next...Wednesday, Astros

You Know More Than We Do! Or Do You?

2009-03-16T11:56:00.002-05:00

Everyone fills out brackets. My mom fills them out with us ever year. My grandma (the one that died three or four years ago) has still somehow been coming in the top 5 in my family's pool.

So, don't tell me you're not dying to fill out a bracket, and go head to head with Jordan, myself, and hopefully a bunch of people that "read" this site.

Here's the link, and the password is "berning". If this post gets buried by a ton of other boring and typically standard posts from Jordan or myself, the link and password will be in the upper right hand red bar of the site. See it now?

Ok, so sign up, join, and let's get our bracket on.

New BERNing On Sports Podcast Available

2009-03-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

On this week's podcast Scott and I discuss the NCAA Tournament and the double-standard that's held between the small and power conference teams. We also have an extended Hail Mary segment for you, in which Scott and I may have found a good way to decorate our rooms...

Click here to listen to the newest installment of the weekly BERNing on Sports Podcast.

And remember, as always you can consult the red tab to your right to find this and any other podcast we've done in the past. Make sure you sign up for our NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge too. All that info is at the top of the tab.

Enjoy the podcast, and happy bracket picking!

30 Teams In 30 Days

2009-03-16T01:00:00.001-05:00

Chicago Cubs: When Will "Next Year" Be Here?

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)

The Pressure's Always On

The Cubs may be entering the 2009 season coming off back to back division titles, a feat they hadn't accomplished since they won the World Series in back to back seasons in 1907 and 1908. But the fact remains Chicago's National League ball club has been swept in back to back playoff series spiraling its fervent fan base into a whirlwind of disappointment. The 2007 sweep by the Diamondbacks can be chalked up to a the fact that the 85-77 Cubs really weren't all that good. But the 2008 outfit won 97 games and was the clear-cut favorite in the national league until walks, errors and James Loney sent the Cubs home early last year. The pressure on the Cubs to win in 2009 is, like always, extraordinary, especially now that the glory drought on the north side has reached year number 101. And consider skipper Lou Piniella is in the final year of his contract and the team isn't getting any younger.

Lefty Loosey, Righty Tighty

One of the most prominent rationalizations for why last year's Cubs didn't bring any hardware to Wrigley Field in late October was that their lineup was too right-handed. So they traded Mark DeRosa to Cleveland, signed switch hitting right fielder Milton Bradley from Texas, and picked up Aaron Miles, another switch hitter, to platoon at various infield positions. They also added back up catcher Paul Bako, a left handed hitter (to replace right handed hitting Hank White) and the speedy light-hitting (but left-handed) Joey Gathright to battle for a back-up outfield spot. You might say none of these moves were significant other than the Bradley signing. And you might be right. But the Cubs will be far more balanced this year than they were last year. Sweet Lou hopes the Kosuke Fukudome from the first half of 2008 shows up this year and not the one who looked like a top spinning itself into the left handed batters box in the second half of last season. The Cubs are also banking on a breakout year from 2nd baseman Mike Fontenot. The opening day lineup figures to feature three lefties in the starting nine and a bunch of options off the bench. So if they don't win it this year, at least we can't say they didn't have left-handed hitting.

They Didn't Get Jake Peavy...

So they better hope their pitching staff can replicate, for the most part, the success of last season. I say for the most part because even though the staff ranked 5th in baseball in ERA and compiled the most strikeouts of any team in the bigs, they also had some shaky performances from ace Carlos Zambrano down the stretch. Yes, he threw a no-hitter September 14th last year against the Astros, which I happened to attend (I know you're happy for me). But after an excellent first half of 2008 (10-3 2.84 ERA), his second half was porous (4-3 5.80 ERA). If the first half Zambrano returns, the Cubs will have that anchor atop their rotation they need and not landing Jake Peavy doesn't seem so bad. If not though, the Cubs may be forced to trade for him in July. Ryan Dempster had a fantastic year in 2008 transitioning from a mediocre closer to an All-Star starter. They'll need him, Ted Lilly, and the oft-injured but un-hittable when healthy Rich Harden to all replicate their success from last year. Look for Sean Marshall to get plenty of work this year as well, not only as a fifth starter, but as the man to take the ball in place of Harden when he has his yearly shoulder issue.

He blew it for the Dominicans, so will he blow it for the Cubs?

That's the overreaction that's been infiltrating sports talk stations all over the Windy City over the last week or so. The question whether the heir-apparent to the beloved Kerry Wood, Carlos Marmol, is capable of handling the closer's role now that Woody's in Cleveland. (That, and why in the hell is the Sears Tower now called the Willis Tower?) Other than one bad month over the last two years, Marmol has been virtually untouchable as the Cubs set-up man. In fact, a Sports Illustrated poll last year confirmed that Marmol was the most feared relief pitcher in the National League according to Senior Circuit hitters. But whether he can move seamlessly into the closer's roll remains to be seen. If not, Kevin Gregg and his interesting choice of spectacles will handle the 9th inning for Chicago.

Bold Predictions

The Cubs will win the NL Central Crown for the third straight time, probably more because their competition is weaker than their off-season retooling. (Not so bold, but figured I'd throw it out there.)
Catcher Geovany Soto will have a bit of a sophomore slump. The reigning National League rookie of the year will still be good, but not quite as good as last year.
Alfonso Soriano will eventually be moved out of the leadoff spot as a panic move by manager Lou Piniella. And, because he's not an ideal lead-off man by any stretch.
Milton Bradley will have a great year, and Cubs fans won't dog him like fans have in the past. Expect 30 home runs and 100 RBI from the board game in Right Field.
Micah Hoffpauir will be the centerpiece of the deal that brings Jake Peavy to the north side sometime during the season. The other major piece of that deal will be 2008 3rd overall pick Josh Vitters.
Don't expect me to finish this segment with the prediction that this is the year the Cubs finally win the World Series. What do you think I am, an idiot?

Don't answer that.

Up next...Tuesday, Twins

Christmas in March

2009-03-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

How great is Selection Sunday?

The hour between 6 and 7 p.m. on the East cost, 5 to 6 p.m. for those in my neck of the woods was pure bliss. Granted, this year Syracuse was comfortably in the tournament as opposed to the last two years when they were left out. I know, that makes a difference. I can't say it doesn't.

But I still love this day, and I love this tournament. Unlike Scott, and like many of you, I prefer the college game to the NBA game. And not for the stupid reason people usually give that the college athletes are playing for the name on the front rather than the name on the back, or that they care about the passion of the game and NBA players don't. Exhibit A for why that argument is ridiculous are guys like Dwyane Wade, Kobe or LeBron.

It's the grand nature of it. It's the controversy, the pairings, the anticipation of weekends filled with game after game after game. It's the match-ups that pit David vs. Goliath. It's the ability to participate in a pool. It's the constant barrage of entertainment and the countless hours of discussion.

Oh how I love it. And it begins on Thursday. I can't wait.

Things That Make Me Mad About March

2009-03-15T13:18:00.003-05:00

By and large, I realize how rare (and ridiculous) it is that I tend to enjoy a good NBA game more than a good college basketball game.

Trust me, I get it.

But, I still get off on these next couple of weeks. The conference tourneys, the over-usage of the phrase "dancing", Selection Sunday, (formerly) Billy Packer, that theme song, and of course, the actual N-C doubles.

Still, I am a cynic at heart, and there are things that bother me (about everything) 'round this time of year. Here are some of them, in no particular order.

Everyone and their mother's Facebook stati (why people feel the need to keep updating these things, I have no idea) says something stupid like "MARCH MADNESS BABY!!!!!".
Around this time of year, you can't walk more than 30 feet without encountering someone that has a definitive opinion about which team should be getting a 6th seed in the West Regional. You didn't watch the A-10 or the WAC or the PAC-10 or any other conference out of your geographical area enough to talk like that.
People rooting for the underdog. Here's my "underdog theory": they're only fun to root for if you're team has no chance of losing to them either because they're not playing or have already been eliminated. I bet no one in Cincinnati really loved the DePaul story. People in the SEC didn't likely think Georgia's little run was so cute last year.
Everything after the first few days of the tournament. Let's be honest, those first few days when it seems like there's 70 games going on at once at every point of the day from 8 AM on, that's the most fun. The rest really is dependent on the match-ups, what miracle teams keep winning. The "madness" of those first few days is really all I truly love.
The Selection Committee's (should they be capitalized?) decision to value how a team finished the season. Why is that important? Why does it matter if a team had a great run to end the season? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that games in December are as important as games in February. Syracuse's usual all-Onondaga County non-conference schedule is proof of that. But, as an example, let's say Notre Dame finished the season hot, does that negate how poorly they played earlier in conference play? The same could be said for Wisconsin. When we're talking about conference play, the first 8 or 10 games should be just as important as the last 8 or 10 games.
Statistics like RPI and rankings and strength of schedule. RPI is the worst of all of them. No one truly knows what this means. I'd imagine that the same people that figure out each team's RPI are the same people that know the calculations behind the QB Rating.
Anyone that wins their bracket. Because that's never me.
Anyone that wins their bracket picked on any of the following. 1) Funny/cool team names, 2) best weather, 3) places you've visited, 4) jersey color.
Being scolded for taking too many upsets, or too many chalks. No one knows how this damn thing goes! It's mad, remember!

30 Teams In 30 Days

2009-03-15T10:15:00.002-05:00

Philadelphia Phillies: Stop Complaining, Philadelphia
(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)

We Shouldn't Be Hearing From You Anymore, Philly fans...

But you know we will. I was happy for the Phillies fans last year that they final got a championship in their city for the first time in 25 years. But I still contend that their drought really wasn't that bad and we shouldn't have heard so much about it. (After all, anyone over the age of 35 in Phliadelphia would remember the Sixers title in 1983 or the Phillies last world series crown in 1980.) Philadelphians like to whine and complain a lot, so it's not surprising, but now that the Phillies took home the 2008 World Series crown, we shouldn't be hearing from these complainers anymore. Enjoy your championship, and don't complain if they don't win it again this year. Although they still have a good team, and should contend to win another.

Pat The Bat vs. Raul Ibanez's Bat

Pat Burrell took a lot of heat during his nine year run in Philadelphia. The former number one pick in the 1998 draft was placed with enormous expectations immediately and the city of Philadelphia isn't exactly forgiving, or rational, about their sports teams most of the time. Burrell didn't hit for a high average during his teure in the city of brotherly love and could be frustratingly inconsistent, but he did hit a lot of home runs. 251 in fact. And most recently, Burrell provided that lethal right handed bat to sandwich between lefties Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. That was one of the biggest reasons the Phillies couldn't be beaten in last year's run through October. Replacing him is another lefty, Raul Ibanez. He's an excellent hitter who should fit into the offense quite nicely, assuming that the soon-to-be 38-year old doesn't tail off his production. He and Burrell are both weak defensive players, so Philadelphia doesn't really gain or lose anything there. But will he be a better fit than Burrell? I'm not so sure.

Pitching Still A Problem

Cole Hamels established himself as a brilliant pitcher in the playoffs last year if he hadn't already established this fact before. His presence at the top of the Phillies rotation anchored their run to the World Series title, and will key whatever run Philadelphia ever makes in the future. But maybe even more important to the Phils success in October was the suprising performances of Brett Myers, Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer. (Both Myers and Blanton were hitting homers in the playoffs, which should have been the sign from above that the Phillies were going to win it all.) Sure, Myers had a great second half after being sent to the minors to figure things out after an abysmal first half. But can he sustain a good year for the entire season? Can Joe Blanton, who has been a fairly average pitcher for most of his career, be the pitcher he was in the post season for an entire year? And is Jamie Moyer getting the senior citizen discount at the movies yet? The Phils rotation has a lot of questions to answer, as usual. If their rotation is good, they're the favorites again in the NL East despite the Mets high-priced additions. But if not, they'll have trouble winning their third consecutive division crown.

Would the Real Brad Lidge Please Stand Up?

Last year was an incredible year for the Phillies closer, as former GM Pat Gillick looks like a genius now for acquiring the guy who had worn out his welcome in Houston. He didn't blow a save last year except for in the All-Star game, and was absolutely unhittable and spectacular. And yes, he has been that good before, prior to the torpedo he served up to Albert Pujols in the 2006 NLCS. But I'm not totally convinced that he'll be as good this year as he was last year. If he is, the Phils are all set in the late innings. But with the ups and downs Lidge has had over the last few seasons, I'm not so sure we can expect Lidge to be as great as he was for another year.

Bold Predictions

Ryan Howard will hit .275 or higher this year, finally returning to the form he had when he hit .313 in is MVP award winning 2006 season.
Shane Victorino will have his first 20-20 campaign, finially reaching the 20 homer plateau while continuing to steal well over 20 bases.
And the Phillies will still win the NL East, despite the moves made by the Mets to improve.

Up Next...Monday, Cubs.

Even In Defeat, It Was Still An Amazing Run

2009-03-14T22:18:00.004-05:00

Sometimes even in a loss, there's a victory.

I just finished watching the Big East Championship, a game in which my Syracuse Orange lost to Louisville by ten points. They lead by eight at half time, but fell apart in the second half, committing turnover after turnover to allow the Cardinals to outscore them 46-28 in the last twenty minutes.

But at the end of the game, I wasn't angry. I stood up from the desk chair in my bedroom and clapped.

I clapped for a team that in defeat showed amazing heart and courage. I clapped for a team that played in seven overtimes over the course of the previous two days, but still managed to advance to the Big East Championship. I clapped for a group of players that put forth an incredible effort, but just ran out of gas at the end. I clapped for a team that, over the last few days, played some of the most inspired basketball I have ever watched.

When Jim Boeheim removed Jonny Flynn from the game in the final minute, Flynn basically collapsed on a chair at the Syracuse sideline. His head was down. He was so physically and emotionally spent he couldn't even sit up. As sports fans, you can't help but applaud an effort so great. Sure, Syracuse didn't win the Big East Championship, but their effort was more than extraordinary. What more could you possibly ask for?

So often in sports we see athletes that seem uninspired and seem not to put forth the effort necessary to succeed. I like to believe that the athletes that I watch and admire put forth their best effort at all times. But Syracuse's effort over the four days of the Big East Championship was beyond all expectations.

However they fare in the upcoming NCAA tournament, they have endeared themselves to people who may have doubted them before, myself included. Because while this team is flawed, and may not always play to its talent level, it showed an incredible desire and heart. It demonstrated what it's capable of doing when its talent is realized. And as we saw over the last four days, when Syracuse plays to its potential it's a scary and dangerous team.

So even in defeat, I applaud them. It doesn't even matter that they lost. The last few days have spoken volumes about the character and heart this team possesses. I just hope now they're rewarded with a couple of wins next week in the NCAA Tournament.

Here's Something I Don't Understand...

2009-03-14T21:08:00.000-05:00

Why does everyone care so much about whether a pitcher starts on opening day?

Here in Chicago, the talk has been whether Carlos Zambrano would start opening day for the Cubs for a couple of weeks. Turns out he is. I've heard discussion about whether Johan Santana can start opening day for the Mets, or whether he'll pitch the day after or the day after that. This discussion seems to take place in many cities in the country.

But why is that so important? What's so great about starting on opening day? Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's one game and doesn't count for more than one win, right? How is it so much more important than any other game?

Listen, opening day is like a holiday for me, because the realization that baseball's back is thrilling. I love watching my team play an afternoon or early evening game on the season's first day and think about how great it is that there are 161 games to follow.

At the same time, though, it's not that important. Opening day is just game one of 162. And when you look at any team in September, it is usually markedly different than it was on the season's first day.

Spare me this argument how the opening day start is so important it's worth discussing. Because the truth is, it doesn't matter one bit.