Saturday, February 28, 2009
UPDATE
Since I wrote the previous post, word has spread that Matt Cassel has been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. We don't have details yet but I didn't want you guys to read the other post and think, "wow Sean failed to mention Cassel." I'll have my thoughts later on once we hear what the Patriots will be getting in return.
Pats Moves
With NFL free agency off to an exciting start, I thought that I would take a look at some of the moves that the Patriots have made so far. That said, I know a lot of people are sad to see Mike Vrabel go but lets see where this is headed - a lot of people are thinking this is setting up another big move. Even if nothing else comes of it I still don't think it is a bad move. Vrabel's numbers have been on the decline the last few years, he's still solid, but he isn't getting any younger. This saves the Pats $4.3 million against the cap (it isn't a lot) which is money that they can spend elsewhere. I think Pierre Woods, Shawn Crabble, and Tully Banta-Cain will do just fine filling in. I especially like Crabble and hope he stays healthy this season. The Pats will also try draft a linebacker and with Mayo leading the way combined with the aforementioned players, a positon that was a problem a season or two ago looks to be getting younger and much improved.
The signing of Fred Taylor gives the Pats more running back depth which you can never have too much of. I think people should stop comparing this to getting Corey Dillon - Dillon rushed for over 1,500 yards his first season in New England and while Taylor won't rush for half of that's fine because he isn't being brought in to be the main back. With Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, and now Taylor the Pats have the most depth at running back in recent memory. They will all split carries which means more fresh legs come playoff time. All around this is just a great signing.
Signing Chris Baker will hopefully give the Pats a tight end that will produce. Ben Watson and David Thomas are both free agents after this upcoming season and I don't expect Watson to be around after that. I think Thomas will have the chance to stick around if he improves and doesn't continue to cost them games with stupid penalties. At least with the Baker signing we won't have to listen to stories during training camp about how Ben Watson is "going to break out this year."
We are less than 48 hours into free agency and it has been eventful so far and with players coming in and out of Foxboro (Leigh Bodden please sign here) it should be an eventful March leading up to the draft in April.
The signing of Fred Taylor gives the Pats more running back depth which you can never have too much of. I think people should stop comparing this to getting Corey Dillon - Dillon rushed for over 1,500 yards his first season in New England and while Taylor won't rush for half of that's fine because he isn't being brought in to be the main back. With Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, and now Taylor the Pats have the most depth at running back in recent memory. They will all split carries which means more fresh legs come playoff time. All around this is just a great signing.
Signing Chris Baker will hopefully give the Pats a tight end that will produce. Ben Watson and David Thomas are both free agents after this upcoming season and I don't expect Watson to be around after that. I think Thomas will have the chance to stick around if he improves and doesn't continue to cost them games with stupid penalties. At least with the Baker signing we won't have to listen to stories during training camp about how Ben Watson is "going to break out this year."
We are less than 48 hours into free agency and it has been eventful so far and with players coming in and out of Foxboro (Leigh Bodden please sign here) it should be an eventful March leading up to the draft in April.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Marbury
Stephon Marbury appears to be headed to Boston which I think is a very nice additon to the Green (along with Mikki Moore) and I don't get why some Celtics fans don't want him. They say he is a "bad teammate" and "didn't want to play when the Knicks asked him to." I have to side with Marbury on that one. He was all set to play this season and then when the season started Mike D'Antoni said Marbury wasn't in the long term plans so he stuck him on the bench and said he wouldn't play him. Several weeks into the season, the Knicks run into some injuries and ask Marbury to suit up and play but he refuses. Can you blame him? He clearly has enough talent to be playing but they make him sit all season until they are desperate. Naturally the media makes it out like he is this big, bad villan who decided from training camp not to play for the Knicks when that isn't the case at all.
People are also saying that teams actually become better once Marbury leaves and they always use the 2001-2002 Nets as an example. But when you take a closer look you see that there were many reasons why the 2000-2001 team struggled and the 2001-2002 made a leap from missing the playoffs to the NBA finals. In '00-'01 the Nets had a lot of injuries to their main players. Kerry Kittles missed the entire season, Keith Van Horn missed over 30 games, Kendall Gill missed 50 games and even Marbury missed 15 games. Also consider Kenyon Martin was only a rookie and you have to figure it just wasn't going to be the Nets year. You can't place fault on Marbury when he was one of only two players in the NBA that season to avg. over 20 ppg., 7 apg., and 3 rpg. (Gary Payton was the other). So what happens the next season? Kerry Kittles is healthy and plays in every game; Van Horn plays 81 games; Martin improves after a year under his belt; they draft Richard Jefferson who has a solid rookie season; and they add some much needed size with the additon of 7 footer Todd MacCulloch. It's not hard to see why this team improved. Of course everyone just credits the additon of Jason Kidd and the departure of Marbury which I don't think is fair to say.
Marbury gets labeled as bad teammate for refusing to into the game against Detroit earlier this season but which is worse: refusing to go into a game or punching a teammate? That's right, everyone's favorite teammate Kevin Garnett not only punched a teammate but did it on two seperate occasions. The first teammate was Wally Szczerbiak back in 2000 after the two got in an argument over which game was better - Donkey Kong or Mortal Kombat (or something like that). The second was Rick Rickert during practice. The story goes that Rickert was dominating KG during practice and KG didn't like that this second round pick trying to make the team was trying so hard. After Rickert made another hoop on KG he was met by Garnetts fist which led to Rickert needing stitches to close up the wound. Now I love KG but lets not forget he wasn't always the model teammate.
One last thing on Marbury - people talk about him being labeled a "loser" but at what point in his career was he on a team that you could say was a title contender? Think about Garnett, Pierce and Allen: how many times did they make the finals before last season? Zero...just like Marbury.
Marbury is going to come into the Celts and fit in perfectly. He'll play how many minutes Doc tells him to and hit some shots and be a good teammate.
People are also saying that teams actually become better once Marbury leaves and they always use the 2001-2002 Nets as an example. But when you take a closer look you see that there were many reasons why the 2000-2001 team struggled and the 2001-2002 made a leap from missing the playoffs to the NBA finals. In '00-'01 the Nets had a lot of injuries to their main players. Kerry Kittles missed the entire season, Keith Van Horn missed over 30 games, Kendall Gill missed 50 games and even Marbury missed 15 games. Also consider Kenyon Martin was only a rookie and you have to figure it just wasn't going to be the Nets year. You can't place fault on Marbury when he was one of only two players in the NBA that season to avg. over 20 ppg., 7 apg., and 3 rpg. (Gary Payton was the other). So what happens the next season? Kerry Kittles is healthy and plays in every game; Van Horn plays 81 games; Martin improves after a year under his belt; they draft Richard Jefferson who has a solid rookie season; and they add some much needed size with the additon of 7 footer Todd MacCulloch. It's not hard to see why this team improved. Of course everyone just credits the additon of Jason Kidd and the departure of Marbury which I don't think is fair to say.
Marbury gets labeled as bad teammate for refusing to into the game against Detroit earlier this season but which is worse: refusing to go into a game or punching a teammate? That's right, everyone's favorite teammate Kevin Garnett not only punched a teammate but did it on two seperate occasions. The first teammate was Wally Szczerbiak back in 2000 after the two got in an argument over which game was better - Donkey Kong or Mortal Kombat (or something like that). The second was Rick Rickert during practice. The story goes that Rickert was dominating KG during practice and KG didn't like that this second round pick trying to make the team was trying so hard. After Rickert made another hoop on KG he was met by Garnetts fist which led to Rickert needing stitches to close up the wound. Now I love KG but lets not forget he wasn't always the model teammate.
One last thing on Marbury - people talk about him being labeled a "loser" but at what point in his career was he on a team that you could say was a title contender? Think about Garnett, Pierce and Allen: how many times did they make the finals before last season? Zero...just like Marbury.
Marbury is going to come into the Celts and fit in perfectly. He'll play how many minutes Doc tells him to and hit some shots and be a good teammate.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sports Blast February 17-19, 2009
Thursday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-19-2009
Wednesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-18-2009
Tuesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-17-2009
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-19-2009
Wednesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-18-2009
Tuesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-17-2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Patrick O'Bryant
With the Patrick O'Bryant era ending the other I thought I would reflect on the Top Ten moments of this great era:
1. When O'Bryant showed up for the first practice no one knew who he was. When he introduced himself to Danny Ainge, Ainge thought it was a joke. He thought with a name like Patrick O'Bryant that he was signing a sharpshooting white kid.
2. After the big four (as O'Bryant likes to call them) combined for 48 points (Pierce-13, Garnett-14, Allen-19, Obie-2) in a win over Portland on Dec. 5th, Garnett gives O'Bryant the nickname of little known superhero: Brother Power the Geek (Superman was already taken by Pierce).
Brother Power was a mannequin that was hit by lightening and came to life with super strength and other limitless magical powers. Since he was a dummy you couldn't kill him or even really hurt him. Essentially Brother Power was more powerful than even Superman. I mean, in a fight between Superman and Brother Power, Brother Power could technically win considering that his powers were untapped and Superman can be harmed by magic. Anyways, Brother Power lived amongst the flower people and preached love and peace and fought against "the man" and "the establishment", which pretty much fits O'Bryant perfectly.
3. January 14th: O'Bryant wakes up in the middle of the night with a tummy ache from having too many Obie smoothies (a mixture of chocolate pudding, gummie bears, twizzlers, and a $5 footlong meatball sub, blended and served cold). He's on the road and has Tony Allen as a roommate. Allen tells him to call a Doctor. O'Bryant calls Doc Rivers. After trying to explain that it is just a nickname and he is not really Doctor, Rivers tells O'Bryant to drink a bottle of Pepto Bismol and go to sleep.
4. December 9th: Gets yelled at about the locker room music when he decided to play a mixtape he made of himself singing Naughty by Nature's 'OPP' only instead he changed it to 'POB, You down with POB!' Sadly no one is down with POB.
5. O'Bryant refuses to show up to the fourth game of the season because he claims an alien keeps talking to him on the bench. He claims that no one else can see the alien because he doesn't actually play. He says the alien talks about his rocket all the time. It turns out to be Sam Cassell talking about winning two titles with the Houston Rockets.
6. On Christmas day in L.A. O'Bryant is starstruck by all the celebrities so before the game he gets all of the actors' autographs - Jack Nicholson, Will Smith, Mark Whalberg. He loses his cool when his boyhood idol, the man he modeled his game after, is wearing a Celtics uniform and is in the lay up line: the one and only Jesus Shuttlesworth. O'Bryant runs over to Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn and tells them with Pierce, Garnett, Allen and Shuttlesworth the Celts will repeat. Mike has to hold back Tommy back from kicking a Tommy Point up into O'Bryants colon.
7. November 21st: O'Bryant records his first triple double against the T-Wolves. He played 10 min, had 10 turnovers and missed 10 shots. Asked after the game about the rare feat O'Bryant says, " Dang, it ain't nothing but a chicken wing".
8. After seeing Michael J. Fox in 'Teen Wolf' one night, O'Bryant goes to the butchers shop and straps 45lbs. of raw meat to his body and goes jogging naked through the woods at midnight during a full moon. He is later arrested and when he tells the officers that he plays for the Celtics and his name is Patrick O'Bryant the officer tells him that if he is going to lie about playing for the Celts that he shouldn't use the red head's name.
9. When his Celtic teammates questioned "how could he have been a top ten pick in the draft?" Obie tells them about his college days at Bradley University. When no one had heard of it they finally figure out that the tape he sent out to teams before the draft was from Sean Bradley's Camp For Unathletic Tall Guys
10. When informed yesterday that he had been traded to Toronto,O'Bryant breaks down into tears in the locker room. When Paul Pierce comes over to tell him that it is alright and he will play more up there O'Bryant said "That's the thing Paul, I won't play more for the Maple Leafs because I can't skate."
1. When O'Bryant showed up for the first practice no one knew who he was. When he introduced himself to Danny Ainge, Ainge thought it was a joke. He thought with a name like Patrick O'Bryant that he was signing a sharpshooting white kid.
2. After the big four (as O'Bryant likes to call them) combined for 48 points (Pierce-13, Garnett-14, Allen-19, Obie-2) in a win over Portland on Dec. 5th, Garnett gives O'Bryant the nickname of little known superhero: Brother Power the Geek (Superman was already taken by Pierce).
Brother Power was a mannequin that was hit by lightening and came to life with super strength and other limitless magical powers. Since he was a dummy you couldn't kill him or even really hurt him. Essentially Brother Power was more powerful than even Superman. I mean, in a fight between Superman and Brother Power, Brother Power could technically win considering that his powers were untapped and Superman can be harmed by magic. Anyways, Brother Power lived amongst the flower people and preached love and peace and fought against "the man" and "the establishment", which pretty much fits O'Bryant perfectly.3. January 14th: O'Bryant wakes up in the middle of the night with a tummy ache from having too many Obie smoothies (a mixture of chocolate pudding, gummie bears, twizzlers, and a $5 footlong meatball sub, blended and served cold). He's on the road and has Tony Allen as a roommate. Allen tells him to call a Doctor. O'Bryant calls Doc Rivers. After trying to explain that it is just a nickname and he is not really Doctor, Rivers tells O'Bryant to drink a bottle of Pepto Bismol and go to sleep.
4. December 9th: Gets yelled at about the locker room music when he decided to play a mixtape he made of himself singing Naughty by Nature's 'OPP' only instead he changed it to 'POB, You down with POB!' Sadly no one is down with POB.
5. O'Bryant refuses to show up to the fourth game of the season because he claims an alien keeps talking to him on the bench. He claims that no one else can see the alien because he doesn't actually play. He says the alien talks about his rocket all the time. It turns out to be Sam Cassell talking about winning two titles with the Houston Rockets.
6. On Christmas day in L.A. O'Bryant is starstruck by all the celebrities so before the game he gets all of the actors' autographs - Jack Nicholson, Will Smith, Mark Whalberg. He loses his cool when his boyhood idol, the man he modeled his game after, is wearing a Celtics uniform and is in the lay up line: the one and only Jesus Shuttlesworth. O'Bryant runs over to Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn and tells them with Pierce, Garnett, Allen and Shuttlesworth the Celts will repeat. Mike has to hold back Tommy back from kicking a Tommy Point up into O'Bryants colon.
7. November 21st: O'Bryant records his first triple double against the T-Wolves. He played 10 min, had 10 turnovers and missed 10 shots. Asked after the game about the rare feat O'Bryant says, " Dang, it ain't nothing but a chicken wing".
8. After seeing Michael J. Fox in 'Teen Wolf' one night, O'Bryant goes to the butchers shop and straps 45lbs. of raw meat to his body and goes jogging naked through the woods at midnight during a full moon. He is later arrested and when he tells the officers that he plays for the Celtics and his name is Patrick O'Bryant the officer tells him that if he is going to lie about playing for the Celts that he shouldn't use the red head's name.
9. When his Celtic teammates questioned "how could he have been a top ten pick in the draft?" Obie tells them about his college days at Bradley University. When no one had heard of it they finally figure out that the tape he sent out to teams before the draft was from Sean Bradley's Camp For Unathletic Tall Guys
10. When informed yesterday that he had been traded to Toronto,O'Bryant breaks down into tears in the locker room. When Paul Pierce comes over to tell him that it is alright and he will play more up there O'Bryant said "That's the thing Paul, I won't play more for the Maple Leafs because I can't skate."
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Time to Trade Bergeron
With only 2 weeks left before the NHL trade deadline, I thought it would be a good time to mention that the Bruins should think about trading Patrice Bergeron. I know he has been through a lot the last two seasons and he is very popular amongst the fans, but like I always say: you make moves with your head not your heart.
Looking forward to next season you have Phil Kessel and David Krejci as restricted free agents and you have to figure the Bruins will lock them up long term. Then you have Tim Thomas who most likely will be signed to a new three or four year deal (paired with Tukka Rask). Matt Hunwick is another RFA who will be signed to a new deal. When you're looking at just those deals alone plus the other players still on the books plus any free agents that sign with Boston and the smart move is to look to free up so money somewhere. That said, Bergeron's there making 5 million this season, 5 million next season, and 5.7 million the season after that. Taking into account his injuries, I think trading him would be a smart move to free up some of that money.
Looking even further ahead to after the '09-'10 season, you have Milan Lucic, Blake Wheeler and Tukka Rask as a few of the youngsters that will be looking for long term deals. I know Bergeron is young too and he has been looking better the last few weeks (which is good because I think you can get a better deal now that he is showing some signs of life) but I just think it will be wise to trade him to free up more money.
On the bright side, this is the first time in years the Bruins roster has been so stacked that they've needed to free up some money.
Looking forward to next season you have Phil Kessel and David Krejci as restricted free agents and you have to figure the Bruins will lock them up long term. Then you have Tim Thomas who most likely will be signed to a new three or four year deal (paired with Tukka Rask). Matt Hunwick is another RFA who will be signed to a new deal. When you're looking at just those deals alone plus the other players still on the books plus any free agents that sign with Boston and the smart move is to look to free up so money somewhere. That said, Bergeron's there making 5 million this season, 5 million next season, and 5.7 million the season after that. Taking into account his injuries, I think trading him would be a smart move to free up some of that money.
Looking even further ahead to after the '09-'10 season, you have Milan Lucic, Blake Wheeler and Tukka Rask as a few of the youngsters that will be looking for long term deals. I know Bergeron is young too and he has been looking better the last few weeks (which is good because I think you can get a better deal now that he is showing some signs of life) but I just think it will be wise to trade him to free up more money.
On the bright side, this is the first time in years the Bruins roster has been so stacked that they've needed to free up some money.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Lowrie: Top 5 in the A.L.?
On yesterday's Sports Blast I said I that I thought that Jed Lowrie would be a top 5 shortstop in the American League. I got a few laughs from my co-hosts but then they couldn't come up with anyone better. Let's see if there are in fact 5 American League shortstops better than Jed.
A.L. East
Yankees: Derek Jeter
At first glance you might say Jeter is better than Lowrie but going by 2008 I think that Lowrie can match Jeter's numbers. Jeter's avg/obp./slg. have all dropped each of the last 3 seasons and I don't think that all of a sudden at the age of 35 they are going to go back up. Last season Jeter's line looked like this: .300/.363/.408. Lowrie last season in 260 at bats batted .258/.339/.400. Don't forget he played hurt in September after getting hot in August. August line: .284/.353/.490 September line: .213/.333/.313
If he stays healthy for a full season I think he could put up better numbers than Jeter had last year. When you consider that Jeter keeps trending downward and Lowrie keeps improving it looks even more likely. Even though his best years are behind him, I would still put Jeter in the top 5 shortstops in the A.L.
Blue Jays: John Macdonald
Macdonald is great with the glove but doesn't know how to hit. I'm sure he tried really hard when he was younger to learn how to hit but it just never clicked. His career high ops+ in a season with over 200 at bats is 66. Lowrie wins this one.
Orioles: Cesar Izturis
Last season Izturis had a whopping 14 extra base hits in 414 at bats. Lowrie had 30 in 260 at bats, If you add up Izturis' '07 and '08 he had a combined total of 30 extra base hits in 728 at bats. Another win for Lowrie.
Rays: Jason Bartlett
A .329 obp. isn't very good. A .361 slg. is not very good either. Bartlett cranked out 29 extra base hits in 454 at bats.
Looking at this divison, Jeter is the only one I could see putting up similar numbers to Lowrie.
Rankings so far
1. Jeter - Due to a longer track record.
2. Lowrie
3. Bartlett
4. Izturis
5. Macdonald
A.L. Central
Indians: Asdrubal Cabrera
Another young switch hitting shortstop who is making the move over from second base. Cabrera had similar numbers to Lowrie last year. Cabrera batted a .259 compared to Lowrie's .258. Also he had a slightly better obp. .346 to Lowrie's .339. Lowrie outslugged him by 34 points .400 to .366. I think both Cabrera and Lowrie will improve on their numbers from last year so for the sake of this argument we will call it a push and put Cabrera in the top 5.
White Sox: Alexi Ramirez
He isn't good with the glove and he doesn't seem to know that if the pitcher throws the ball out of the strike zone you don't have to swing at it. He only walked 18 times last year in 500 at bats. Since he does have some pop in his bat, hitting 21 home runs last year, I guess I will put him in the top 5.
Royals: Mike Aviles
Aviles quietly had a good rookie season finishing 4th in the Rookie of the Year balloting though he should have finished second behind Evan Longoria. My only problem with Aviles is that he was 27 and will be 28 come opening day this year. Is he just a one year wonder like Bob Hamelin? Or is he just someone who took a long time to develop? The truth is he is just keeping shortstop in KC warm until their top prospect Mike Moustakas is ready. I think Aviles falls off this season but for now I would put him in the top 5.
Twins: Nick Punto
He will be 31 and has never had a season with an ops+ above 100, so he is a below average hitter his whole career and I don't see that changing.
Tigers: Adam Everett
If you combined Everett and John Macdonalds hitting skills you would probably get Jeff Frye. One thing about Everett is that he is the best defensive shortstop and gets screwed out of gold gloves every year because he can't hit, which of course should have no bearing on gold gloves, but the writers have voted for the likes of Derek Jeter and Michael Young for gold gloves.
Rankings after 2 divisons
1. Jeter
2. Lowrie
3. Aviles
4. Ramirez- would be higher but needs to learn how to take pitches.
5. Cabrera
A.L. West
Rangers: Elvis Andrus
Andrus is a good up and coming shortstop who is a big upgrade with the glove over Michael Young who got moved to third due to more or less sucking in the field (do you know he won the gold glove last year, have I mentioned that yet?). He came over from the Braves in the Mark Teixeira trade in 2007 and batted around .300 in Double-A last season. Don't expect him to hit much as a rookie but if we did this list 2 seasons from now I bet Andrus is in the top 5.
Mariners: Yuniesky Betancourt
You can't make the top 5 if you walked 17 times in 559 at bats.
Angels: Erik Aybar
Doesn't get on base,.314 obp, doesn't hit for power, 26 extra base hits in 346 at bats, etc. I know Brandon Wood hasn't done much the few times he has been called up the last two seasons, but I would rather give Wood the starting job and let him play for a full season and see what he can do. Remember 3 years ago when Wood and Howie Kendrick were suppose to be the best up the middle combo in baseball? That hasn't really gone according to plan.
A's: Bobby Crosby
He hit 22 home runs in his first 545 at bats, in his last 1,608 at bats he has 33. He hasn't had an ops+ above 100 since 2005. Has there been a worse four year stretch of Rookies of the Year besides Eric Hinske, Angel Berroa, Bobby Crosby, and Huston Street?
Final Rankings
1. Jeter
2. Lowrie
3. Alvies
4. Ramirez
5. Cabrera
Now I know I was talking about certain players obp. and Lowrie's was .339 which wasn't great, but like I said before if he didn't play hurt in September his numbers would be much better. It's not as though he is some no name guy that came out of nowhere. He has been a top prospect with the Sox the last few years. I think his numbers will improve greatly this season. I also think he wins the starting job over Lugo and will be in the running for an All Star spot come July.
A.L. East
Yankees: Derek Jeter
At first glance you might say Jeter is better than Lowrie but going by 2008 I think that Lowrie can match Jeter's numbers. Jeter's avg/obp./slg. have all dropped each of the last 3 seasons and I don't think that all of a sudden at the age of 35 they are going to go back up. Last season Jeter's line looked like this: .300/.363/.408. Lowrie last season in 260 at bats batted .258/.339/.400. Don't forget he played hurt in September after getting hot in August. August line: .284/.353/.490 September line: .213/.333/.313
If he stays healthy for a full season I think he could put up better numbers than Jeter had last year. When you consider that Jeter keeps trending downward and Lowrie keeps improving it looks even more likely. Even though his best years are behind him, I would still put Jeter in the top 5 shortstops in the A.L.
Blue Jays: John Macdonald
Macdonald is great with the glove but doesn't know how to hit. I'm sure he tried really hard when he was younger to learn how to hit but it just never clicked. His career high ops+ in a season with over 200 at bats is 66. Lowrie wins this one.
Orioles: Cesar Izturis
Last season Izturis had a whopping 14 extra base hits in 414 at bats. Lowrie had 30 in 260 at bats, If you add up Izturis' '07 and '08 he had a combined total of 30 extra base hits in 728 at bats. Another win for Lowrie.
Rays: Jason Bartlett
A .329 obp. isn't very good. A .361 slg. is not very good either. Bartlett cranked out 29 extra base hits in 454 at bats.
Looking at this divison, Jeter is the only one I could see putting up similar numbers to Lowrie.
Rankings so far
1. Jeter - Due to a longer track record.
2. Lowrie
3. Bartlett
4. Izturis
5. Macdonald
A.L. Central
Indians: Asdrubal Cabrera
Another young switch hitting shortstop who is making the move over from second base. Cabrera had similar numbers to Lowrie last year. Cabrera batted a .259 compared to Lowrie's .258. Also he had a slightly better obp. .346 to Lowrie's .339. Lowrie outslugged him by 34 points .400 to .366. I think both Cabrera and Lowrie will improve on their numbers from last year so for the sake of this argument we will call it a push and put Cabrera in the top 5.
White Sox: Alexi Ramirez
He isn't good with the glove and he doesn't seem to know that if the pitcher throws the ball out of the strike zone you don't have to swing at it. He only walked 18 times last year in 500 at bats. Since he does have some pop in his bat, hitting 21 home runs last year, I guess I will put him in the top 5.
Royals: Mike Aviles
Aviles quietly had a good rookie season finishing 4th in the Rookie of the Year balloting though he should have finished second behind Evan Longoria. My only problem with Aviles is that he was 27 and will be 28 come opening day this year. Is he just a one year wonder like Bob Hamelin? Or is he just someone who took a long time to develop? The truth is he is just keeping shortstop in KC warm until their top prospect Mike Moustakas is ready. I think Aviles falls off this season but for now I would put him in the top 5.
Twins: Nick Punto
He will be 31 and has never had a season with an ops+ above 100, so he is a below average hitter his whole career and I don't see that changing.
Tigers: Adam Everett
If you combined Everett and John Macdonalds hitting skills you would probably get Jeff Frye. One thing about Everett is that he is the best defensive shortstop and gets screwed out of gold gloves every year because he can't hit, which of course should have no bearing on gold gloves, but the writers have voted for the likes of Derek Jeter and Michael Young for gold gloves.
Rankings after 2 divisons
1. Jeter
2. Lowrie
3. Aviles
4. Ramirez- would be higher but needs to learn how to take pitches.
5. Cabrera
A.L. West
Rangers: Elvis Andrus
Andrus is a good up and coming shortstop who is a big upgrade with the glove over Michael Young who got moved to third due to more or less sucking in the field (do you know he won the gold glove last year, have I mentioned that yet?). He came over from the Braves in the Mark Teixeira trade in 2007 and batted around .300 in Double-A last season. Don't expect him to hit much as a rookie but if we did this list 2 seasons from now I bet Andrus is in the top 5.
Mariners: Yuniesky Betancourt
You can't make the top 5 if you walked 17 times in 559 at bats.
Angels: Erik Aybar
Doesn't get on base,.314 obp, doesn't hit for power, 26 extra base hits in 346 at bats, etc. I know Brandon Wood hasn't done much the few times he has been called up the last two seasons, but I would rather give Wood the starting job and let him play for a full season and see what he can do. Remember 3 years ago when Wood and Howie Kendrick were suppose to be the best up the middle combo in baseball? That hasn't really gone according to plan.
A's: Bobby Crosby
He hit 22 home runs in his first 545 at bats, in his last 1,608 at bats he has 33. He hasn't had an ops+ above 100 since 2005. Has there been a worse four year stretch of Rookies of the Year besides Eric Hinske, Angel Berroa, Bobby Crosby, and Huston Street?
Final Rankings
1. Jeter
2. Lowrie
3. Alvies
4. Ramirez
5. Cabrera
Now I know I was talking about certain players obp. and Lowrie's was .339 which wasn't great, but like I said before if he didn't play hurt in September his numbers would be much better. It's not as though he is some no name guy that came out of nowhere. He has been a top prospect with the Sox the last few years. I think his numbers will improve greatly this season. I also think he wins the starting job over Lugo and will be in the running for an All Star spot come July.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Sports Blast February 9-11, 2009
Wednesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-11-2009
Tuesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-10-2009
Monday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-9-2009
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-11-2009
Tuesday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-10-2009
Monday's Show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-9-2009
Duke vs. UNC
The best college basketball rivalry continues tonight as the Duke Blue Devils take on the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. Instead of a generic preview of tonight's game (game preview: when #5 takes on #3 at home it's typically a good game) I thought I'd give you my top 5 favorite Blue Devils and my top 5 least favorite Tar Heels (believe it not, I didn't hate all of them).
Favorite Duke Players (in no particular order):
1. Jason Williams
His performance against Maryland back in '01 when he scored 8 points in the final minute to send the game to OT where the Blue Devils would hold onto the win on the road is one of my favorite Duke wins of all time. He and #2 on this list were the two main guys on a stacked team that won the 2001 national championship. Williams was great all three seasons he was at Duke and is in the top ten all time in points, assists, and steals. It's a shame what has happened to him since the motorcycle accident after his rookie season with the Bulls. At least we got to enjoy him for three year at Duke.2. Shane Battier
Battier was Mr. Everything for the Blue Devils. He is in the top ten in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals. After fellow classmates Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, and William Avery bolted for the NBA following the '99 loss in the championship, Battier stuck around and won a title in 01. 3-5: Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, and Christian Laettner
With apologies to Antonio Lang and Thomas Hill, these three guys are why I became a Duke fan. I was young but I can still remember wearing a pair of Duke shorts during Hurricane Bob back in '91. Looking back on these three players you realize that they should have some neat nickname like the "fab five." The actual "fab five" won nothing thanks in part to these 3 beating them for the championship in '92. The three of them were a part of the most successful stretch of Duke basketball. Laettner won two titles, played in 3 title games, and 4 final fours. Hurley won two titles, and played in 3 championship games. Hill won the 2 titles his freshman and sophomore years then, after getting bounced in the second round, came back his senior season with a whole new cast of teammates and lost in the finals to Arkansas. From Laettner's first year in '89 until Hill's last year in '94 they made the final four every year but one. The year after Hill left they didn't even make the tourney.
I picked guys who won championships, but I loved other guys that didn't win titles - Chris Carrawell, J.J. Redick, and Sean Dockery. I could go on and on, it's not hard with all of the great players who have come through Durham.
Least Favorite Tar Heels
1. Jerry Stackhouse
He was lucky to play at UNC during the two down years Duke had in between Hill's last season and before the Brand, Battier, Maggette, and Avery class came in. That didn't stop him from acting like he was the greatest player and to this day he is so happy that he can say he never lost to Duke.
2. Eric Montross
He was good at UNC, so that is one strike against him. He sucked for the Celtics so that's number two. In this game two strikes and you're out. I never liked Montross.
3. Sean May
I actually didn't mind that '05 championship team, of course I wanted Illinois to beat them but I liked the way they played - except for Sean May. Not sure what it is, but I just never liked him. Maybe it was the way he was just a fat mess and was lucky to be playing with so much talent around him. I just laughed when I saw Larry Brown bench him for being unfit this season. 4. Danny Green
I hate the way he dances before games. Also he has improved over his four years there so that's another reason I don't like him. I like to see Tar Heels that don't improve but decline instead.5. Brendan Haywood
Haywood was there for four years so by his senior year I was sick of him. Also I had to pick someone from that bunch of players but I actually didn't mind Jamison, Carter, or Cota. Should be good tonight and my unbiased pick is Duke-79 UNC-71.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Lebron vs. Kobe
After their great performances at Madison Square Garden this week, the great "Lebron vs Kobe" debate has been heated up. I'm on the Lebron side because, well, he is just all around better than Kobe. That said, let's take a look at those silly numbers we call stats.
This season Lebron has a PER. of 31.96 which is the highest PER. of all time. He's also averaging. 28.5 ppg., 7.0 Assists, 7.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.3 blocks. All this while shooting 49% from the field. Kobe is avg. 27.5 ppg., 5.1 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and 0.4 blocks while shooting 47% from the field, with a PER. of 25.35.
I know all the Kobe fans are going to say how Kobe is, "so great in the fourth quarter and Lebron is not." Truth is James is averaging more points, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals in the 4th qtr. than Kobe is.
Kobe fans also like to say, "Kobe is more clutch when it comes to game winning shots." In reality, since the 03-04 season Lebron leads the league with the most game winning shots (24 seconds or less left in the game, team with the ball, and is either tied or down by 1 to 2 points) with 17 made out of 50 attempts. Kobe has made 14 out of 56 attempts. Kobe actually leads the league in missed game winning shots with 42.
No knock on Kobe - he's clearly one of the all time greats, but he is no Lebron, in fact no one compares to Lebron. He is Jordan, Bird, Magic, The Big O all rolled into one superfreak of a basketball player not to mention that he is still only 24 years old and is getting better every second. Soon enough those Kobe fans will realize that Lebron is the best in the NBA today, tomorrow and maybe the greatest of all time. Only time will tell if King James takes the crown from MJ as the NBA's greatest (something Kobe couldn't do).
This season Lebron has a PER. of 31.96 which is the highest PER. of all time. He's also averaging. 28.5 ppg., 7.0 Assists, 7.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.3 blocks. All this while shooting 49% from the field. Kobe is avg. 27.5 ppg., 5.1 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and 0.4 blocks while shooting 47% from the field, with a PER. of 25.35.
I know all the Kobe fans are going to say how Kobe is, "so great in the fourth quarter and Lebron is not." Truth is James is averaging more points, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals in the 4th qtr. than Kobe is.
Kobe fans also like to say, "Kobe is more clutch when it comes to game winning shots." In reality, since the 03-04 season Lebron leads the league with the most game winning shots (24 seconds or less left in the game, team with the ball, and is either tied or down by 1 to 2 points) with 17 made out of 50 attempts. Kobe has made 14 out of 56 attempts. Kobe actually leads the league in missed game winning shots with 42.
No knock on Kobe - he's clearly one of the all time greats, but he is no Lebron, in fact no one compares to Lebron. He is Jordan, Bird, Magic, The Big O all rolled into one superfreak of a basketball player not to mention that he is still only 24 years old and is getting better every second. Soon enough those Kobe fans will realize that Lebron is the best in the NBA today, tomorrow and maybe the greatest of all time. Only time will tell if King James takes the crown from MJ as the NBA's greatest (something Kobe couldn't do).
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
"You know what really grinds my gears?"
You know what really grinds my gears? All of this Matt Cassel talk. People are actually saying that the Pats might want to think about trading Brady. I don't think I need to explain why that is a stupid thing to say. Another thing I'm hearing is that Cassel has "proved that he is a legit NFL starter." Frankly I don't agree. Cassel put up decent numbers against some bad defenses. 11 of Cassel's games were against teams in the bottom 13 in passing defense and he didn't even play well against those teams. In fact he threw zero touchdowns vs the Chargers who were second to last in passing defense. He threw 1 touchdown vs Seattle who were last. Against the Steelers and Colts (two teams in the top 6 in passing defense) he combined to throw 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
Cassel took over the greatest offense in NFL history. In 2007 the Pats scored 589 points while this season they scored 410. That looks even worse when you consider that the Patriots had one of the easiest schedules this season thanks to playing the AFC and NFC west. The Pats beat two playoff teams and 3 teams with records above .500 records: the Jets, the Cards who were 9-7 (I know they were 38 seconds away from the title but they had nothing to play for when they came into Foxboro), and the Dolphins who were 11-5. Last season the Pats had one of the toughest schedules in which they beat seven playoff teams and eight teams that were above .500.
If the Pats trade Cassel don't be shocked if it's not for a first and a second round pick. It might only be a second round pick and that's a good deal for a mediocre QB. Think about the Derek Anderson with the Browns. He had a solid 2007 against weak opponents and instead of trading him they kept him. After his struggles this season the Browns would be lucky to get a 5th rounder for him (but of course the Browns will be fine thanks to Brady Quinn).
Matt Cassel Era: Sept. 7 2008-Dec. 28 2008.
Sounds good to me.
Cassel took over the greatest offense in NFL history. In 2007 the Pats scored 589 points while this season they scored 410. That looks even worse when you consider that the Patriots had one of the easiest schedules this season thanks to playing the AFC and NFC west. The Pats beat two playoff teams and 3 teams with records above .500 records: the Jets, the Cards who were 9-7 (I know they were 38 seconds away from the title but they had nothing to play for when they came into Foxboro), and the Dolphins who were 11-5. Last season the Pats had one of the toughest schedules in which they beat seven playoff teams and eight teams that were above .500.
If the Pats trade Cassel don't be shocked if it's not for a first and a second round pick. It might only be a second round pick and that's a good deal for a mediocre QB. Think about the Derek Anderson with the Browns. He had a solid 2007 against weak opponents and instead of trading him they kept him. After his struggles this season the Browns would be lucky to get a 5th rounder for him (but of course the Browns will be fine thanks to Brady Quinn).
Matt Cassel Era: Sept. 7 2008-Dec. 28 2008.
Sounds good to me.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Sports Blast February 2, 2009
Sorry that I couldn't get Friday's show up - 'technical difficulties.'
This morning's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-2-2009
This morning's show:
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/archive/joeymurr-the-sports-blast-with-joey-murr-february-2-2009
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