Gigging Themselves

Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne went on a show called the “Aggie Hour” in Dallas this week and noted that the Aggies never seriously considered moving to the SEC during this summer’s conference shakeups because “I was concerned with changing conferences that we may not be ready for the level of competition if we decided to leave.”

I’m not sure if Mr. Byrne has watched the Aggies in the past decade, but I don’t think he has to worry about changing conferences to not be ready for the level of competition.

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Nyjer Morgan Is That Guy

Would this were the WWE instead of Major League Baseball. At least then you know Washington Nationals’ outfielder/leadoff hitter/catcher assassin Nyjer Morgan would get what was coming to him, if only at the upcoming pay-per-view.

D.C. Sports Bog has a full list of Morgan’s interesting last couple of weeks, but, as discussed in the story, he took things to a whole other level Wednesday night.

The story starts in St. Louis when Morgan went WAY out of his way to run into Cards catcher Bryan Anderson. Manager Jim Riggleman called the move “unprofessional” and sat Morgan the next day, ostensibly because he didn’t want the two teams throwing at each other all day Sunday. Morgan wasn’t happy, naturally, and said he would “be as professional as [he] can be about the situation” and that “next time, [he'll] slide.”

It’s interesting that he said that last part because he trucked Marlins catcher Brett Hayes Tuesday night, putting the catcher out for the season. While not completely dirty, there is plenty of video evidence suggesting he should have slid into home plate. He might even have been safe. Suddenly, this running into the catcher thing became a pattern, and the Marlins threw at him Wednesday night. Twice. The second time happened most likely because Morgan stole second and third base with the Marlins up big in the middle of the game. Baseball Tonight’s talking heads lambasted him for padding his stats and the cardinal sin of not playing the right way.

Morgan charged the mound after Chris Volstad threw behind him the second time and was subsequently ejected.

Knowing the little about baseball that I do, I think the Marlins dropped the ball. Morgan deserved a way worse beating than what he ended up getting after charging the mound.

But mainly, Jim Riggleman has to do something. Nyjer Morgan is an out-of-control player on a last-place team. He’s already hurt one catcher and started a brawl because of his bush-league antics. It’s no longer about baseball for him. Hell, he’s in the process of appealing a seven-game suspension because he chucked a ball into the stands and injured a fan. The guy’s out of control.

Ideally, this will turn into a Jose Mesa/Omar Vizquel situation. Baseball needs more vendettas like that. Calling out a former teammate for blowing the World Series is messed up.

So is targeting catchers for no reason. This will, of course, get taken care of on the field. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next team the Nats played threw at Morgan just out of principle.

Posted in MLB | 23 Comments »

USA Dispatches Iran, Tunisia Awaits in Final Preliminary Game

Have you been paying much attention to the 2010 FIBA World Championship? We venture to guess probably not since games are played in the early afternoon most times.

It’s probably even less interesting because Team USA doesn’t feature the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard or basically any of the other stars we watched during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

But this version of Team USA does feature some great young talent in guys like Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Eric Gordon and Steph Curry, among others.

So, this squad is kind of interesting to watch. It’s also kind of scary.

As is the case in a lot of international tournaments, Team USA is the most athletic team in the field. And they’re probably not the favorite to win this thing.

One would say Spain, except it has already lost twice and will suffer from a bad draw in the knockout stage when/if it qualifies. Greece will get some love, but it has lost too. Argentina? Maybe. But who’s to say the States isn’t he best team going in this tournament?

We will soon find out one way or another.

Team USA did away with Iran by a 88-51 score this afternoon and will play winless Tunisia in the last game of group play Thursday.

When it’s all said and done the United States will roll through Group B without a loss, but it could set up a quarterfinal matchup with Spain if things break the right (er, wrong?) way. If Spain gets rolling, kind of a big if at this point, that’s not a game the U.S. wants to play so early in the knockout stage.

Either way, don’t you think Team USA will be favored in every game moving forward? We do. But that doesn’t mean it will happen.

Team USA’s biggest issues — and this really isn’t a surprise — will be defending the pick-and-roll on defense and running a set offense. There’s no doubt Coach K will try to use pressure to speed teams up and create easy offense. But during critical moments late in an international tournament game the best teams can execute half court offense and convert buckets.

In theory Team USA should be really, really good at that too. If it continues to develop that ability to execute it will at the very least contend for a gold medal and could bring the first World Championship back to the States since 1994.

If not we could be frustrated by the end of next week.

Posted in 2010 FIBA World Championship, Iran, USA! | No Comments »

Trevor Hoffman Is Likely Headed For Retirement

The Milwaukee Brewers have sent Trevor Hoffman through waivers and are currently looking for a buyer for the future Hall of Fame closer. Currently, there are no takers for the all-time saves leader and it doesn’t look like a destination will emerge for Hoffy.

What does that mean for the 42-year-old best closer of all-time? It means that most teams obviously feel that Hoffman’s carrer as a solid pitcher are behind him. And it’s hard to argue with that assessment.

This has, without a doubt, been the worst of Hoffman’s 18 seasons in the bigs. He has appeared in 46 games, pitched 43.1 innings and has allowed 46 hits, 30 earned runs, eight home runs and 19 walks while striking out just 29 hitters. He currently has a 2-7 record, a 6.23 ERA, a 1.50 WHIP, eight saves and five blown saves.

For an example of how far he’s fallen, last year Hoffman pitched 54 innings with a 1.83 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP, 37 saves and only four blown. He gave up just 35 hits, 11 runs and two home runs. That’s a huge swing in the span of less than a year.

Hoffman currently has 599 career saves and will likely get a chance in the last month of the season to notch No. 600. After that, there’s really no reason for him to stick around any longer.

It’s obvious that Hoffman’s stuff isn’t even close to what it was even two to three years ago. He’s one of the great hurlers of his generation and continuing to limp along just wouldn’t be his style.

Hoffman should get No. 600, retire, come back home to San Diego and be some kind of representative for his real team, the Padres.

Hoffman doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. He’s one of the most respected ballplayers in all of Major League Baseball. He’ll be 43 by the time spring training rolls around in 2011. It’s time for Hoffman to ride off into the sunset and wait for Cooperstown to call.

Posted in MLB, MLB Rumors, Rumors | No Comments »

Wait, Yi Jianlian Is Actually Impressing People?

Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either, but the No. 6 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft may have actually improved. Despite the fact that he’s been the most disappointing Chinese import since those toys with lead in them, and he’s already been traded twice in three years, Jianlian has apparently looked fantastic at the 2010 FIBA World Championships.

Yi had 26 points and 14 rebounds against Greece on Saturday and added 26 more points and nine rebounds against the Ivory Coast on Sunday. Now, I know those aren’t exactly two world powers, but the fact that he’s actually putting the ball in the basket is a stark improvement over the past few years.

Apparently Yi is showing much more aggressiveness on offense. That’s a good thing for a 7-footer with good range and ball-handling skills. How he hasn’t been aggressive before is shocking to me.

Thus far in his career, Yi has averaged just 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. That’s awful considering his size and skill-set. During his NBA tenure he’s shot just 40.2 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from beyond the arc. This past season his points per game jumped from 8.6 to 12.0, and his rebounds went from 5.3 to 7.1. But the fact that after those improvements the New Jersey Nets traded him to the Washington Wizards for a random backup like Quinton Ross speaks volumes about how the Nets felt about the 22-year-old Yi’s future.

That said, with guys like John Wall, JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche on the roster with him on the Washington Wizards, Yi might have a chance to do some things offensively. Then again, if his career to this point is any indication, we may just be getting set up to be disappointed by Yi.

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College Football Preview: Everyone’s A Question Mark

You know how they say that, at this point in training camp, every NFL team is a Super Bowl contender? It’s the opposite in college football, especially this year. Everyone is nothing but a series of question marks and doubts. No one knows what kind of team their school has yet.

If there ever was a year to highlight the pointlessness of preseason polls, it’s the 2010 season.

Have a look at the AP poll this week. There isn’t one team on that poll that doesn’t have some sort of major issue heading into the season. And, you know, since this is a sports blog and all, I thought I’d run through a few of those teams to make my point. It’s nearly fall and cynicism’s in the air, after all.

(1) Alabama

Oh sure, they’ve got the Heisman trophy winner, Mark Ingram, coming back and Trent Richardson behind him on the depth chart. Julio Jones is still on the outside and their nameless, white quarterback-of-the-moment can still get him the ball once in a while.

But everyone knows that last season’s Alabama team didn’t win the title because its offense was so amazing. Their defense lost its two key players (Terrence Cody and Rolando McClain) to the NFL and have to prove that they can be as stunningly effective as they were last year. I mean, yeah, it’s a Nick Saban defense, but did you watch ESPN’s Training Days: Alabama Football? Sure, Rob Ezell is funny, but Saban spent the rest of the time yelling at the team for being lazy and making mental mistakes.

I realize that every coach gives those same speeches during fall camp, but to put them on television when you’re about to start a national title defense? Yikes. Either ‘Bama’s going to take a step back, or Saban doesn’t give a f*ck what you or I thinks. Maybe both.

(2) Ohio State

The main justification for the Buckeyes’ chances at the national title is Terrelle Pryor. He is supposedly the key to doing what only Maurice Clarett and Craig Krenzel could do: win the BCS title game.

So…lemme get this straight. A quarterback who completed 56% of his passes and threw 11 interceptions AND only averaged 4.8 yards per carry is supposed to take such a big leap that the always horrible OSU offense  is going to suddenly light the world on fire? Yeah right. Pryor is, or was, I guess, supposed to be good at both passing and running. Turns out he’s not really amazing at either. Sure he’s fast, but he’s not particularly elusive. Yes, he has a good arm, but he couldn’t hit Kirstie Alley from five yards away.

Worse, there is no offensive coach worse suited for using a spread quarterback than Jim Tressel. The man just doesn’t have it in him to put Pryor or anyone else in the shotgun and run the read option all the time. He’s even got Pryor under the illusion that he can make him into an NFL passer through some sort of hybrid offense that lets him run but also has him throw pro-style routes.

Quick, name one good quarterback from OSU produced by Jim Tressel. Didn’t think so.

So that means it’s going to come down to the defense, DeVier Posey, and whoever the running back is going to be to make the difference. Just like every other OSU season. This team is at least two bad losses waiting to happen.

(3) Boise State

Biggest problem here is that no matter what happens, how well they play, or who they beat, they’re still Boise State. The BCS will never respect them or give them a shot at the championship. The move to the Mountain West is nice, but it’s still the Mountain West, and that isn’t until a year or two from now anyway.

Look, I really hope they go undefeated again, but it’s time to be realistic (fatalistic?) about the collusion between major conferences and corporate sponsors that is the BCS.

(4) Florida

Replacing every meaningful skill position player that got them a national title two years ago and a BCS win last year. Including Tim Tebow. Even Urban Meyer thinks they suck right now.

(5) Texas

You saw the BCS title game.

Actually, this isn’t just about replacing Colt McCoy with Garrett Gilbert (or that I’m old enough to remember his father playing in the NFL).

Texas doesn’t have one returning offensive player to rely on. Not one. Everyone is unproven on that side of the ball. No way do they make the BCS title game again.

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Posted in College Football | 4 Comments »

USC To Start Two True Freshmen In Opener

It hasn’t happened since records began being kept after World War II. USC will start a freshman at wide receiver, and a freshman will also start at cornerback. USC has never opened a season with a true freshman at either of those spots since WWII. That’s insane.

Robert Woods, rated as the No. 1 athlete in the country, and No. 6 prospect overall by Rivals.com last year, beat out fifth-year senior David Ausberry, sophomore De’Von Flournoy and fellow freshman stud Kyle Prater to earn the nod at wide receiver. Woods has had a fantastic summer and will start opposite senior Ronald Johnson, who is primed for a huge year.

We all know the Trojans will certainly rotate tons of players at the wide receiver spot, but the fact that this kid was picked to start says a lot about his ability.

At cornerback, four-star recruit (and owner of a fantastic name) Nickell Robey will open the season opposite senior Shareece Wright. Robey, who stands at just 5’8 and 165 pounds, has impressed USC’s coaches with his ball-hawking ability and willingness to mix it up with bigger receivers…which is pretty much all of them. Robey has the mold of a playmaker and a pest in the secondary.

Coming out of high school, he was ranked as the No. 9 cornerback in the country and No. 111 player overall by Rivals.com. Robey committed first to Georgia, but was recruited hard by then coach Lane Kiffin’s staff at Tennessee. When Kiffin made the move to USC, he continued to hound the Frostproof, Florida native. Robey then dumped the Bulldogs for the Trojans just before signing day.

Frankly, Robey is starting because of injuries to other cornerbacks. Junior T.J. Bryant was the likely starter before he got banged up in fall camp, but that doesn’t mean Robey hasn’t impressed.

These two moves really don’t say a whole lot about the situation at USC, other than the fact that the staff is clearly trying to appeal to recruits with the old Trojan style of “the best player will play, regardless of age.”

With the scholarship limitations USC now faces, everyone on the roster will likely play at some point this season. Woods and Robey will just be the first of the freshmen to see the field, but you can bet, many more will follow.

Posted in College Football | 1 Comment »

Why The New York Jets Showed Nick Mangold The Money

NFL offensive linemen are rarely the subject of praise, much less lucrative deals. These gridiron giants battle like behemoths in the trenches, making it possible for the Emmitt Smith’s of the world to receive first-ballot Hall of Fame recognition and for the Ochocinco’s to star in D-list celeb-reality TV bombs.

The New York Jets have all but reversed the trend of O-line undervaluing with one mighty stroke of the pen. On Tuesday, the Jets signed All-Pro center Nick Mangold to a deal worth an estimated $55 million over seven years, $22.5 million of which is guaranteed money.

This is entirely unprecedented for a center and easily puts Mangold atop the list of the highest paid centers in NFL history.

But there’s a reason why the Jets inked Mangold to a huge deal while star cornerback Darrelle Revis is holding out and not with the team: Mangold has gone about his business the right way.

Mangold has been a stud since arriving at the Jets via Ohio State University in 2006. He instantly lived up to his first-round billing and has since made two Pro Bowls and was an intricate part of a Jets’ AFC Championship bid last season that barely fell short.

Mangold, for all intents and purposes, is also a clean-cut athlete. When you think about big contracts for big players, there’s usually a good chance the recipient has a big mouth and a propensity for getting into big trouble. Mangold hasn’t even been caught up in a video roulette or strip club scandal, much less some purple sizz-yrup drama like other first-round, high-paid picks.

But with $22.5 mil in guaranteed funds, Nick certainly has a few dimes to play slots online should he ever feel the urge. Let’s just hope he steers clear of more unsavory avenues. Money be damned, a bumpy road always leads to a crash.

The Jets are betting the immediate future of their league-best running attack on the physical prowess and overall between-the-hashes mental acumen of Mangold. He started off on the right foot when time for negotiations, and that already shows a lot of promise in the young athlete in terms of demeanor and not letting celebrity go to his already naturally swollen head.

Nick didn’t hold out from training camp. He wasn’t holed up with Ricky Williams somewhere playing online video poker. He still put the work in. He still showed up when it mattered. And that’s why he got the big contract.

Unlike teammate Darrelle Revis, another in a long line of hot-streak hold-out athletes who think they’re entitled to some Bill Gates money, Mangold breathes the team concept, eats football, and lives by a man’s code. He’s been amply rewarded because, and will undoubtedly prove his worth when the season starts.

Posted in NFL | 2 Comments »

What’s Wrong With Tim Lincecum? Who Cares?!?

August 2010 has pretty much been the worst month of San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum’s career. He’s given up 18 runs in 19.1 innings, a scary set of numbers made even scarier by the fact that he only got out of the sixth inning once and didn’t make the fifth inning in two starts. You do have to love that many are worried about a pitcher who is 11-8 with a 3.72 ERA and 173 strikeouts to 64 walks. But something is definitely wrong with the Giants’ ace and there are, conservatively, eleventy billion theories as to why.

As a Padres fan, I didn’t really care why he was sucking just as long as it kept the Giants safely away from first place. I still don’t really care, but I don’t know. Why AM I writing about this? I mean besides because I felt like screwing around on Fangraphs for a while.

Here’s what we all know: Lincecum’s fastball velocity is down. Way down. Two years ago, he averaged 94.0 mph on his fastball. It went down to 92.4 mph last year, and in 2010 he’s averaging 91.2 mph. Worse, his fastball velocity decreases up to four miles per hour the further into games he goes, so he’s topping out in the 80′s if he makes the seventh inning.

So what gives? Here’s are what seem to be the two dominant theories:

He’s thrown too many innings and pitches in his career

Lincecum has been over 220 innings pitched each of the last two years, rarely leaving a game before throwing 100 pitches. In college and in his first two years as a professional baseball player, he never even approached that number. With the conventional wisdom in baseball today saying that it’s essentially a crime to increase a pitcher’s innings as dramatically as Lincecum’s have been increased. For example, Padres phenom Mat Latos has been a professional player for one year less (2007) than Lincecum (2006). Latos threw 122.6 innings in 2009 and, according to the Verducci Effect, should only have a 20% increase in his work load in 2010, about 146 innings. He’s already at 142, and the Padres are seriously debating whether to shut him down.

In 2006, Lincecum threw 125.1 innings in college and then another 31 in the Giants’ minor league system for a grand total of 154-ish innings. In 2007, his first full pro season, he threw 176 innings between AAA and the majors, an increase of less than 20 percent. However, in 2008, his first Cy Young season, Lincecum threw 227 innings, a huge increase of 51 innings or 29%. He threw 225 innings the next year and is on pace to throw 210 this year.

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Posted in MLB | 3 Comments »

San Diego Padres Match Win Total From Last Season Already

I know we’ve mentioned this just a few times on this here blog, but the San Diego Padres have made an absolutely epic turnaround this season.

Last night after a 5-0 domination of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Padres notched their 75th win of the season. That means the Friars have matched their win total from all of 2009…on August 24th.

To put it another way, the Padres have as many wins as they did last year and still have 38 games remaining.

How crazy has this whole thing been? Well on August 24 last year, the Padres were enjoying an off day as they sat at 52-74, 22 games below .500 and 22.5 out of first place in the National League West.

As they wake up this morning the Padres are 75-49, 26 games over .500. They also currently hold a 5.5 game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the NL West, and have the National League’s best record by three games over the Atlanta Braves.

Several other amazing facts are readily available:

-The Friars are the only team in Major League Baseball with just one three-game losing streak this season. That string of losses came at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers who finished off a sweep of the Padres all the way back on May 16.

-The Padres’ run differential (plus-128) is third-best in baseball behind only the New York Yankees (plus-167) and Tampa Bay Rays (plus-146). Last year the Padres finished the season with a minus-131 run differential.

-San Diego has allowed a Major League-low 423 runs all season long for a 3.24 team ERA. Second place in the category belongs to the St. Louis Cardinals who have allowed 462. That’s not even close. Meanwhile, in 2009 the Padres’ team ERA was 4.37.

-Opposing batters are hitting just .235 against Padre pitching on the season. Last year, the number was .258.

-San Diego notched its 16th shutout of the season last night in the team’s win over Arizona.

-The Padres are the only National League team to total 1oo home runs and 100 stolen bases this year.

Posted in MLB | 2 Comments »