June 15, 2005
Lockout
I miss hockey! If you listen to the media, I don't exist. According to the conventional wisdom, the NHL died and nobody noticed.
Not true. I miss the NHL and can't wait for it to return. I'm excited by the progress in the negotiations, which I am following increasingly closely in the past few weeks. I am very optimistic that the next season will be saved and will start on time, featuring the moment I've been waiting for over a year to see: the raising of the Stanley Cup championship banner at the St. Pete Times Forum. We got cheated out of that thrill last year, but as the saying goes, better late than never.
Not true. I miss the NHL and can't wait for it to return. I'm excited by the progress in the negotiations, which I am following increasingly closely in the past few weeks. I am very optimistic that the next season will be saved and will start on time, featuring the moment I've been waiting for over a year to see: the raising of the Stanley Cup championship banner at the St. Pete Times Forum. We got cheated out of that thrill last year, but as the saying goes, better late than never.
June 13, 2005
Trade Baez, Not Huff!
Much commotion here in the Tampa Bay area over the sorry state of the Devil Rays, and manager Lou Piniella's angry quotes in this weekend's newspapers. Of course Lou's upset - he was (apparently) promised an increased payroll to lure him here, and then the payroll shrank! But of more immediate concern is what moves the Devil Rays have planned for next month's trading deadline.
It has been widely reported that the Devil Rays are expected to try to move closer Danys Baez and right fielder/first baseman/third baseman/designated hitter Aubrey Huff. Baez is a no-brainer. With the benefit of hindsight, he should have been traded during the off-season, before his poor performance this season sapped his trade value. But regardless of his 2005 performance, he should be traded -- he is an eminently replaceable veteran commodity who can: a) get something of value in return and b) be replaced by someone younger and cheaper (in either or both of Lance Carter and Chad Orvella), without a significant drop-off in expected results.
Huff should not be traded. Trading Huff is a clear sign that the Devil Rays simply don't get it, and are just out to slash payroll, mindless to the on-field consequences. Huff is a veteran commodity for whom something of value could definitely be obtained. However, he cannot be replaced by anyone the Devil Rays currently own, without a sharp drop-off in expected results. Simply put, Aubrey Huff is currently the Devil Rays' best all-around hitter. Crawford has the incredible speed and developing power, but Huff has established a consistent track record of hitting for a high average with 30 HR power. Trading Aubrey Huff would be foolish, unless the Rays acquired a #1 starter in return. And frankly, that's just not likely. Any team looking to trade for Huff is probably not going to offer a #1 starter. Any team looking to trade for Huff is probably trying to make a playoff run, and those teams don't get rid of #1 starters.
In my opinion, the Devil Rays should hang on to Crawford and Huff and use them as the nucleus of their offense going forward, then add B.J. Upton and Delmon Young when they are ready. Rocco Baldelli is expendable, as are Joey Gathright and Alex Sanchez. Jonny Gomes should be given more of a look at the major league level to see what he can offer. He will then likely be trade bait, but his trade value is being depressed by his being left to languish in Durham while the Reggie Taylors and Chris Singletons of the world get major league playing time in his stead.
The Rays should look to use Baldelli/Gathright/Sanchez to land a quality, established, top-of-the-rotation starter. This probably cannot be done mid-season, so it may need to wait until this coming off-season. But this should be job one. The Rays' offense actually isn't bad. The pitching is horrendous. Scott Kazmir is their only quality major league starting pitcher. Jeff Niemann can hopefully be #2, and perhaps Wade Townsend may make a third quality starter in a few years. But the Rays need a bona fide "stopper" in the rotation in order to move forward toward respectablity, and with their stable of young offensive talent they should be well-situated to get one.
It just doesn't seem as if they're trying, if the press reports are even remotely true. And, as with most things Devil Ray, that's disappointing.
It has been widely reported that the Devil Rays are expected to try to move closer Danys Baez and right fielder/first baseman/third baseman/designated hitter Aubrey Huff. Baez is a no-brainer. With the benefit of hindsight, he should have been traded during the off-season, before his poor performance this season sapped his trade value. But regardless of his 2005 performance, he should be traded -- he is an eminently replaceable veteran commodity who can: a) get something of value in return and b) be replaced by someone younger and cheaper (in either or both of Lance Carter and Chad Orvella), without a significant drop-off in expected results.
Huff should not be traded. Trading Huff is a clear sign that the Devil Rays simply don't get it, and are just out to slash payroll, mindless to the on-field consequences. Huff is a veteran commodity for whom something of value could definitely be obtained. However, he cannot be replaced by anyone the Devil Rays currently own, without a sharp drop-off in expected results. Simply put, Aubrey Huff is currently the Devil Rays' best all-around hitter. Crawford has the incredible speed and developing power, but Huff has established a consistent track record of hitting for a high average with 30 HR power. Trading Aubrey Huff would be foolish, unless the Rays acquired a #1 starter in return. And frankly, that's just not likely. Any team looking to trade for Huff is probably not going to offer a #1 starter. Any team looking to trade for Huff is probably trying to make a playoff run, and those teams don't get rid of #1 starters.
In my opinion, the Devil Rays should hang on to Crawford and Huff and use them as the nucleus of their offense going forward, then add B.J. Upton and Delmon Young when they are ready. Rocco Baldelli is expendable, as are Joey Gathright and Alex Sanchez. Jonny Gomes should be given more of a look at the major league level to see what he can offer. He will then likely be trade bait, but his trade value is being depressed by his being left to languish in Durham while the Reggie Taylors and Chris Singletons of the world get major league playing time in his stead.
The Rays should look to use Baldelli/Gathright/Sanchez to land a quality, established, top-of-the-rotation starter. This probably cannot be done mid-season, so it may need to wait until this coming off-season. But this should be job one. The Rays' offense actually isn't bad. The pitching is horrendous. Scott Kazmir is their only quality major league starting pitcher. Jeff Niemann can hopefully be #2, and perhaps Wade Townsend may make a third quality starter in a few years. But the Rays need a bona fide "stopper" in the rotation in order to move forward toward respectablity, and with their stable of young offensive talent they should be well-situated to get one.
It just doesn't seem as if they're trying, if the press reports are even remotely true. And, as with most things Devil Ray, that's disappointing.
June 11, 2005
On Sports - Part One
Well, if I'm going to begin with a topic, it might as well be my favorite.
Let's start with a little background, since everything makes more sense with context. I love baseball and hockey. I really like football. I like NCAA basketball a little. I don't pay much attention to golf or tennis. I pay practically no attention to NBA basketball. I make fun of soccer and auto racing. So don't expect to see a lot of posts about NASCAR, or Danica Patrick, or the NBA Finals, or the World Cup, or the outrage over Malcolm Glazer purchasing Manchester United, or whether Annika Sorenstam could win on the PGA Tour, or whether Tiger will ever win a major again, or about which Williams sister is better. Well, that last one's easy: Serena.
In those sports that I care about, my favorite teams are Boston (where I grew up and went to school) and Tampa Bay (where I live now). Usually, but not always, in that order. Similarly, in college sports, my favorite teams are the Boston College Eagles (alma mater) and the University of Florida Gators (no affiliation, just like them). (Note: from what I've learned, it's OK to call the Florida teams the Fighting Gators. From personal knowledge, I know that it is NOT OK to call the BC teams the Golden Eagles. They're not the Golden Eagles. Just the Eagles.)
As you can tell from putting all of the above together, the last four years have been the best sports years of my life. It all started in April 2001, in Albany, New York, when Krys Kolanos took a pass and sped down the left wing, cut in at the bottom of the faceoff circle, used his reach to get the puck around a pokecheck by goaltender Karl Goehring, and slid the puck into the open net, winning the national championship in overtime for my beloved Boston College Eagles hockey team.
Then in 2002, in New Orleans, Louisiana, in one of the greatest upsets in sports history, Tom Brady got the ball deep in his own territory with almost no time left, and thankfully didn't listen to John Madden suggesting from the television booth that Brady's New England Patriots would take a knee and play for overtime. Instead, Brady led them on a last minute drive against the heavily favored St. Louis Rams, culminating in a game winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri to give the Patriots their first Super Bowl championship.
The next year, in San Diego, California, the worst professional sports team for the entire decade of the 1980's finally reached the promised land, as Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Warren Sapp, Ronde Barber, Dexter Jackson, and the rest of Monte Kiffin's stifling defense led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a romp over the favored but overmatched Oakland Raiders for a victory in the team's first ever Super Bowl appearance.
In 2004, the sports success jumped right off the charts. More on this later. So many good things happened that this post will get even more unmanageable than it is already. So I'll deal with 2004 sometime soon.
Let's start with a little background, since everything makes more sense with context. I love baseball and hockey. I really like football. I like NCAA basketball a little. I don't pay much attention to golf or tennis. I pay practically no attention to NBA basketball. I make fun of soccer and auto racing. So don't expect to see a lot of posts about NASCAR, or Danica Patrick, or the NBA Finals, or the World Cup, or the outrage over Malcolm Glazer purchasing Manchester United, or whether Annika Sorenstam could win on the PGA Tour, or whether Tiger will ever win a major again, or about which Williams sister is better. Well, that last one's easy: Serena.
In those sports that I care about, my favorite teams are Boston (where I grew up and went to school) and Tampa Bay (where I live now). Usually, but not always, in that order. Similarly, in college sports, my favorite teams are the Boston College Eagles (alma mater) and the University of Florida Gators (no affiliation, just like them). (Note: from what I've learned, it's OK to call the Florida teams the Fighting Gators. From personal knowledge, I know that it is NOT OK to call the BC teams the Golden Eagles. They're not the Golden Eagles. Just the Eagles.)
As you can tell from putting all of the above together, the last four years have been the best sports years of my life. It all started in April 2001, in Albany, New York, when Krys Kolanos took a pass and sped down the left wing, cut in at the bottom of the faceoff circle, used his reach to get the puck around a pokecheck by goaltender Karl Goehring, and slid the puck into the open net, winning the national championship in overtime for my beloved Boston College Eagles hockey team.
Then in 2002, in New Orleans, Louisiana, in one of the greatest upsets in sports history, Tom Brady got the ball deep in his own territory with almost no time left, and thankfully didn't listen to John Madden suggesting from the television booth that Brady's New England Patriots would take a knee and play for overtime. Instead, Brady led them on a last minute drive against the heavily favored St. Louis Rams, culminating in a game winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri to give the Patriots their first Super Bowl championship.
The next year, in San Diego, California, the worst professional sports team for the entire decade of the 1980's finally reached the promised land, as Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Warren Sapp, Ronde Barber, Dexter Jackson, and the rest of Monte Kiffin's stifling defense led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a romp over the favored but overmatched Oakland Raiders for a victory in the team's first ever Super Bowl appearance.
In 2004, the sports success jumped right off the charts. More on this later. So many good things happened that this post will get even more unmanageable than it is already. So I'll deal with 2004 sometime soon.
June 10, 2005
In the Beginning . . .
There was a blog. Only time will tell if it was good.
With luck, this blog will be entertaining, informative, perhaps even insightful on my better days. I recognize that I am starting out with an audience of one: me. So most of all, the aim is to entertain. If you learn something along the way, so much the better.
Expect to see a lot of rants. Some will make sense. Others won't. Some you'll agree with. Others, you won't. Some I'll come to my senses later and back away from, realizing the error -- or at least the excess -- of my ways. Others, I won't.
In due time, I'll tell you more about me. For now, those who know me well already have a good guess whose blog this is, simply from the name and the URL.
And now, let's begin . . .
With luck, this blog will be entertaining, informative, perhaps even insightful on my better days. I recognize that I am starting out with an audience of one: me. So most of all, the aim is to entertain. If you learn something along the way, so much the better.
Expect to see a lot of rants. Some will make sense. Others won't. Some you'll agree with. Others, you won't. Some I'll come to my senses later and back away from, realizing the error -- or at least the excess -- of my ways. Others, I won't.
In due time, I'll tell you more about me. For now, those who know me well already have a good guess whose blog this is, simply from the name and the URL.
And now, let's begin . . .
