First try at a podcast... Corresponding blog post to come later today.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Chill out people...
Hearing people complain about the Cincinnati Reds' season is making me sick. It has been thirteen games. The Reds are 5-8. You know what that means? NOTHING. The 2010 NL Central Champion Reds were also 5-8. After thirteen games last year, the World Series Champion Cardinals were 6-7. I know that every game counts, but we've seen it the last two years that whoever is hot at the end of the season is the team that makes the splash ('11 Cardinals, '10 Giants), and what's really more important? You can complain about Latos, or Dusty, or Willie Harris, that's all legitimate. But with the Reds as my second-favorite team and my general fandom of all of baseball, it disgusts me to see the comments like, "I thought the Reds were supposed to be good this year," and "Looks like the Reds wasted a lot of money and talent on this team," on Twitter and Facebook by people who consider themselves "fans" of the Cincinnati Reds. Must be on the bandwagon because they don't understand baseball.
Want to look at another example? How about my Cleveland Indians. Last year they were a MAJOR LEAGUE LEADING 21-9 after thirty games, and had a 4.5 game lead over the Kansas City Royals. At the same point in time, the Detroit Tigers were 13-17 and 8 games out of first place. The Tigers went to the ALCS, won the division by like 15 games, and the Indians finished with a glamorous 80-82 record. The Reds have an EXTREMELY talented team; things will absolutely turn around.
I briefly mentioned Mat Latos and would also like to dish out some facts on him. For those of you who are worried that this was a raw deal for the Reds, keep in mind the following facts:
(1) Latos' career record in April is 1-8 **including this year** - His overall career record is now 27-31 (2) His career ERA is 3.54 (including an 8.22 mark in 2012)
(3) In 2010, the 14-10, 2.92 ERA year (and the year Reds' fans got excited about) he was 1-4 to start the year and 0-5 to finish it.
There are bigger problems than Mat Latos on this team. To make a deep run into the playoffs and make a serious push for the World Series, you have to have a deep bench. The Reds don't have that. Chris Heisey and Ryan Ludwick in the outfield is working right now, and hopefully it continues... but if Willie Harris keeps getting all the playing time he has, that is a recipe for disaster. There's going to need to be someone to play third base too if you want Scott Rolen for the playoffs. It's completely unrealistic to expect him to play every game anymore. Having a deep and reliable bench to get you through the regular season is one thing, and it becomes the most important thing when you're making a double-switch in the 8th inning against the Phillies in the NLCS... Right now the Reds have to choose between Harris and Wilson Valdez. (I just mentally pictured all 45 of the readers of this column shuddering).
If Cincinnati is still 3 games under .500 and trailing by 4 games at the end of May we can revisit all of these things and try to figure out how to right the ship. For now just remember, it's April, chill out people.
Want to look at another example? How about my Cleveland Indians. Last year they were a MAJOR LEAGUE LEADING 21-9 after thirty games, and had a 4.5 game lead over the Kansas City Royals. At the same point in time, the Detroit Tigers were 13-17 and 8 games out of first place. The Tigers went to the ALCS, won the division by like 15 games, and the Indians finished with a glamorous 80-82 record. The Reds have an EXTREMELY talented team; things will absolutely turn around.
I briefly mentioned Mat Latos and would also like to dish out some facts on him. For those of you who are worried that this was a raw deal for the Reds, keep in mind the following facts:
(1) Latos' career record in April is 1-8 **including this year** - His overall career record is now 27-31 (2) His career ERA is 3.54 (including an 8.22 mark in 2012)
(3) In 2010, the 14-10, 2.92 ERA year (and the year Reds' fans got excited about) he was 1-4 to start the year and 0-5 to finish it.
There are bigger problems than Mat Latos on this team. To make a deep run into the playoffs and make a serious push for the World Series, you have to have a deep bench. The Reds don't have that. Chris Heisey and Ryan Ludwick in the outfield is working right now, and hopefully it continues... but if Willie Harris keeps getting all the playing time he has, that is a recipe for disaster. There's going to need to be someone to play third base too if you want Scott Rolen for the playoffs. It's completely unrealistic to expect him to play every game anymore. Having a deep and reliable bench to get you through the regular season is one thing, and it becomes the most important thing when you're making a double-switch in the 8th inning against the Phillies in the NLCS... Right now the Reds have to choose between Harris and Wilson Valdez. (I just mentally pictured all 45 of the readers of this column shuddering).
If Cincinnati is still 3 games under .500 and trailing by 4 games at the end of May we can revisit all of these things and try to figure out how to right the ship. For now just remember, it's April, chill out people.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Lin vs. Tebow
I know that there are plenty of articles talking about the meteoric rise of Jeremy Lin, and I vowed that I would not join that train, yet here I am. I heard this morning, once again, a comparison of Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow, and I have a tremendously difficult time making sense of it. Don't get me wrong, I think both are amazing stories, tremendous athletes, wonderful advocates of the Christian faith for their respective sports, and both are exceeding expectations, but think about this:
Jeremy Lin was offered "spots" on teams out of high school. Stanford, UCLA, and Cal offered positions on their teams, which is commonly referred to as a "preferred walk on," and Harvard and Brown offered him a position as well. Ivy League teams don't offer athletic scholarships.
Tim Tebow had to decide between every school in the country. He reportedly had scholarship offers from every major school in the SEC (Florida, Alabama, LSU) and was considered the top quarterback recruit in the nation.
Jeremy Lin didn't make any splashes until his sophomore year, when he made 2nd Team All-Ivy League. His junior year he was the only NCAA DI player in the top ten in their league in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocked shots, field goal, free throw, and three-point percentage, but no one considered him a future NBA star. When he repeated the feat his senior year, no NBA franchise salivated over it. He was the first player in Ivy League history to finish with over 1,450 points, 450 rebounds, 400 assists, and 200 steals. He went undrafted.
Tim Tebow saw limited time as a freshman as well (hey there's a similarity), but did end up with the second-most rushing yards for Florida. He had some key touchdowns in key games (in the National Championship against Ohio State for instance), but people still questioned about him being named starter in 2007. He then went on to win the Heisman Trophy and Davey O'Brien Award (best QB) as a sophomore, broke the school rushing TD record (previously held by Emmitt Smith), won a second national championship and the Maxwell Award as a junior, and then iced the cake with his record breaking 51st rushing touchdown (previously held by Georgia's Hershel Walker) as a senior. Oh let's not forget to mention he had 5 NCAA, 14 SEC and 28 Florida Gator statistical records by the time he graduated as well. "Experts" questioned his draft stock, and he was taken 25th overall by the Denver Broncos.
Jeremy Lin decided to sign with his hometown Golden State Warriors, who notoriously cut Lin to make room for a player (DeAndre Jordan) that never came. He made the opening day roster for the 2010-11 season and was placed on the inactive list. He didn't get much playing time because Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis are the stars, and honestly, who would you rather have had the ball? Lin made his NBA debut on "Asian Heritage Night" for the Warriors (seriously) against the Los Angeles Clippers. Lin got the 12th man treatment that you see at a lot of high schools: at the end of a game where the outcome was decided, fans started chanting for Lin to enter the game. He was then released, signed by Houston, and released again. He was signed by a guard-depleted Knicks team, bounced around between them and the D-League, and then Baron Davis suffered another injury setback, forcing the Knicks to play this little-known Ivy Leaguer. He's now scored 146 points and dished out 57 assists in six starts, and "has a role in All-Star Weekend," whatever that means.
Tim Tebow DID have a rough start to his career. I'm not going to try and paint the picture that he had his road paved for him by all his aforementioned success. He was a backup for the majority of his rookie season, but did see some marginal success. He was named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week twice, threw for 654 yards, five touchdowns, three interceptions, and also rushed for 227 yards and six touchdowns. Tebow was being criticized from all sorts of media personalities, from former players and coaches, to so-called "experts," to writers (PTI and Around the Horn guys/gals). Everyone had something to say about Tebow. John Fox named him the starter against the Miami Dolphins after the Broncos started the season 1-5, and the legend was born.
Another point that was brought to my attention by Dan Patrick yesterday is that this doesn't happen in the NBA. The NFL just had a tremendous story with Arian Foster that is a more rags-to-riches story than Tebow, and in baseball you have it all the time thanks to the high population of Latin American players. The NBA doesn't have surprises like that. Sure, there are players who grew up with nothing and found their passion and way out in basketball, but those players are top recruits and draft picks once high school hits.
Oh yeah, and this just came to mind:
Jeremy Lin earns $800,000
Tim Tebow earns a base salary of $11.25 million, and can make as much $33 million through performance-based incentives.
Both men have faced adversity to get to the point that they are at now. People are still questioning whether Tebow can start in the NFL, and no one thinks Jeremy Lin can be good once Carmelo Anthony returns to the Knicks. There stories have similarities, but Jeremy Lin-like stories don't come along often. Let's all just sit back and enjoy it.
Jeremy Lin was offered "spots" on teams out of high school. Stanford, UCLA, and Cal offered positions on their teams, which is commonly referred to as a "preferred walk on," and Harvard and Brown offered him a position as well. Ivy League teams don't offer athletic scholarships.
Tim Tebow had to decide between every school in the country. He reportedly had scholarship offers from every major school in the SEC (Florida, Alabama, LSU) and was considered the top quarterback recruit in the nation.
Jeremy Lin didn't make any splashes until his sophomore year, when he made 2nd Team All-Ivy League. His junior year he was the only NCAA DI player in the top ten in their league in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocked shots, field goal, free throw, and three-point percentage, but no one considered him a future NBA star. When he repeated the feat his senior year, no NBA franchise salivated over it. He was the first player in Ivy League history to finish with over 1,450 points, 450 rebounds, 400 assists, and 200 steals. He went undrafted.
Tim Tebow saw limited time as a freshman as well (hey there's a similarity), but did end up with the second-most rushing yards for Florida. He had some key touchdowns in key games (in the National Championship against Ohio State for instance), but people still questioned about him being named starter in 2007. He then went on to win the Heisman Trophy and Davey O'Brien Award (best QB) as a sophomore, broke the school rushing TD record (previously held by Emmitt Smith), won a second national championship and the Maxwell Award as a junior, and then iced the cake with his record breaking 51st rushing touchdown (previously held by Georgia's Hershel Walker) as a senior. Oh let's not forget to mention he had 5 NCAA, 14 SEC and 28 Florida Gator statistical records by the time he graduated as well. "Experts" questioned his draft stock, and he was taken 25th overall by the Denver Broncos.
Jeremy Lin decided to sign with his hometown Golden State Warriors, who notoriously cut Lin to make room for a player (DeAndre Jordan) that never came. He made the opening day roster for the 2010-11 season and was placed on the inactive list. He didn't get much playing time because Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis are the stars, and honestly, who would you rather have had the ball? Lin made his NBA debut on "Asian Heritage Night" for the Warriors (seriously) against the Los Angeles Clippers. Lin got the 12th man treatment that you see at a lot of high schools: at the end of a game where the outcome was decided, fans started chanting for Lin to enter the game. He was then released, signed by Houston, and released again. He was signed by a guard-depleted Knicks team, bounced around between them and the D-League, and then Baron Davis suffered another injury setback, forcing the Knicks to play this little-known Ivy Leaguer. He's now scored 146 points and dished out 57 assists in six starts, and "has a role in All-Star Weekend," whatever that means.
Tim Tebow DID have a rough start to his career. I'm not going to try and paint the picture that he had his road paved for him by all his aforementioned success. He was a backup for the majority of his rookie season, but did see some marginal success. He was named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week twice, threw for 654 yards, five touchdowns, three interceptions, and also rushed for 227 yards and six touchdowns. Tebow was being criticized from all sorts of media personalities, from former players and coaches, to so-called "experts," to writers (PTI and Around the Horn guys/gals). Everyone had something to say about Tebow. John Fox named him the starter against the Miami Dolphins after the Broncos started the season 1-5, and the legend was born.
Another point that was brought to my attention by Dan Patrick yesterday is that this doesn't happen in the NBA. The NFL just had a tremendous story with Arian Foster that is a more rags-to-riches story than Tebow, and in baseball you have it all the time thanks to the high population of Latin American players. The NBA doesn't have surprises like that. Sure, there are players who grew up with nothing and found their passion and way out in basketball, but those players are top recruits and draft picks once high school hits.
Oh yeah, and this just came to mind:
Jeremy Lin earns $800,000
Tim Tebow earns a base salary of $11.25 million, and can make as much $33 million through performance-based incentives.
Both men have faced adversity to get to the point that they are at now. People are still questioning whether Tebow can start in the NFL, and no one thinks Jeremy Lin can be good once Carmelo Anthony returns to the Knicks. There stories have similarities, but Jeremy Lin-like stories don't come along often. Let's all just sit back and enjoy it.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Memory Lane
As I was cleaning my room (for literally freaking hours) I ran across a lot of my old high school English papers. Of course, before I threw them away I had to read them. One particular passage caught my eye and made me miss my baseball playing days. This was for Thomas Teckman's AP English class and had a due date of May 3rd.
"To our little town of Fort Loramie, baseball means nothing. When I came through there was a group of guys that gave all they had to the sport. We were always putting in the extra work to get better and always willing to sacrifice anything for each other. We had a passion for both the game and each other that, even if we only graduate with memories, will last a lifetime."
No, it's not really worded the best, but its 100% true. This is the part about baseball I miss the most. Guys competing together with a jaded sense of what's really important in life, and having a blast doing it. Hour and a half practices, 30 minute lifting sessions, and playing football and basketball to get in shape. Playing baseball was never like that again.
And the best part? We won the 2007 State Championship a little more than a month later.
"To our little town of Fort Loramie, baseball means nothing. When I came through there was a group of guys that gave all they had to the sport. We were always putting in the extra work to get better and always willing to sacrifice anything for each other. We had a passion for both the game and each other that, even if we only graduate with memories, will last a lifetime."
No, it's not really worded the best, but its 100% true. This is the part about baseball I miss the most. Guys competing together with a jaded sense of what's really important in life, and having a blast doing it. Hour and a half practices, 30 minute lifting sessions, and playing football and basketball to get in shape. Playing baseball was never like that again.
And the best part? We won the 2007 State Championship a little more than a month later.
Friday, September 9, 2011
The Interesting Case of Justin Verlander
MVP or not? That is the question I'm addressing today. First of all, let me say this. He is a deserving candidate, and if I had a vote, it would go to him (as long as he doesn't blow up in the final month), but I don't think he will win it. Why? Well here are a few reasons:
1) He plays in Detroit, not New York or Boston, and there are some Yankees and Red Sox having great years. It's unfortunate, but that means that ALL of the east coast writers are voting for Granderson (NYY), Gonzalez (BOS), or Ellsbury (BOS), before they even think about casting a vote for Verlander. Is it right? I don't believe so. Here's why... Thanks to my good friend Ryan Mosher for pointing these facts out: Verlander is 14-0 when pitching after a Tigers loss this season. That alone is eye-popping. He also has a WAR (wins above replacement) of 6.4 according to fangraphs.com, and of 7.7 according to baseball-reference.com. Granderson is at 6.8 on fangraphs and 5.3 on baseball-reference. Gonzalez is 6.1 on fangraphs and 6.4 on baseball-reference. Ellsbury is an 8.2 on fangraphs and a 6.8 on baseball-reference. So of the other "candidates," only two have a higher WAR according to fangraphs.com. This isn't even counting defensive WAR though, because Granderson could be replaced by literally anyone in the minor leagues. Anyways, moving on!
2) His numbers are comparable to Cy Young winners from the past. For example, in 2008, Cliff Lee went 22-3 for the Cleveland Indians. He led the league in wins, ERA (2.54), shut outs (2), home runs per 9 innings (.5), walks per 9 innings (1.4), and WAR (7.3). Lee finished 2nd in complete games (4), ninth in strikeouts (170), and averaged 7 1/3 innings pitched per start. The Indians finished that year 81-81, so without Lee they would have been 59-78, 19 games under .500.
Verlander's numbers are similar with a few starts left to go. He's 22-5 and leading the league in ERA (2.44), strikeouts (232), and WAR (7.7). That's the triple crown for pitchers. Even though it's more common than the batting triple crown, it's still only been done 25 times in baseball history. He's tied for 4th in shutouts (2), tied for second in complete games (4), and is 7th in walks per 9 innings (2.0). He doesn't crack the top 10 in home runs allowed per 9 innings, but also averaged 7 1/3 innings pitched per start. The Tigers record without Verlander, as of right now, would be 59-57, two games above .500.
For the record, Lee won the AL Cy Young award in a landslide, but finished 12th in the MVP voting.
3) The writers' assumption that since a pitcher doesn't play every day, they can't be the most valuable player. I hate it, but that's the argument, and they're the ones who vote. For another look at an even better comparison, here's an article by Tom Robinson of The Virginia Pilot that points out if Steve Carlton didn't win the MVP in 1972, no pitcher should. If you don't have time to read the article, his numbers dwarf Verlander's (it was a different sort of baseball back then), and he ended up finishing fifth in the MVP voting. The specifics are mind-boggling.
4) The Tigers have other pitchers. As Robinson's article points out, the most any other Philly pitcher won in 1972 was four. FOUR! Detroit has Max Sherzer and Rick Porcello that have 15 and 14 wins respectively, and who knows how good Doug Fister's record would be if he wasn't playing in Seattle for the first half of the year (he's 4-1 as a Tiger, matching all 1972 Phillies not named Carlton).
Finally, this is just a tidbit about one of the stats sometimes used to judge a pitcher: the "if the Tigers didn't have Verlander they'd be a .500 team" argument. This isn't a factor that screams MVP. Sure, if you take Cliff Lee away from the 2011 Phillies they're still 35 games above .500, and if C.C. Sabathia isn't in New York they go from 33 games over .500 to 21 over. But look at some of the very legitimate 2011 NL Cy Young award candidates. Ian Kennedy is 19-4. With him the DiamondBacks are the feel-good story of the season with an 83-61 (21 games over .500) record. Without him, their record would be 64-57 (just 7 games over .500) and they'd be looking up at the San Francisco Giants. Perhaps an even better instance is Clayton Kershaw, who at 17-5 is leading the Dodgers through a horrific season. They are 70-72 overall (2 games under .500) and without him they would be 53-67 (14 games under .500). I don't think it's as useful of an argument as others do.
I love the season that Justin Verlander is having (even though he's killing my Tribe). It's so much fun to watch pitching dominate a league that was not so long ago ruled by the long ball. It excites me that we are looking at a starting pitcher and considering him for the MVP, but I can't make myself believe he'll win it.
And that, my friends, is the interesting case of Justin Verlander.
1) He plays in Detroit, not New York or Boston, and there are some Yankees and Red Sox having great years. It's unfortunate, but that means that ALL of the east coast writers are voting for Granderson (NYY), Gonzalez (BOS), or Ellsbury (BOS), before they even think about casting a vote for Verlander. Is it right? I don't believe so. Here's why... Thanks to my good friend Ryan Mosher for pointing these facts out: Verlander is 14-0 when pitching after a Tigers loss this season. That alone is eye-popping. He also has a WAR (wins above replacement) of 6.4 according to fangraphs.com, and of 7.7 according to baseball-reference.com. Granderson is at 6.8 on fangraphs and 5.3 on baseball-reference. Gonzalez is 6.1 on fangraphs and 6.4 on baseball-reference. Ellsbury is an 8.2 on fangraphs and a 6.8 on baseball-reference. So of the other "candidates," only two have a higher WAR according to fangraphs.com. This isn't even counting defensive WAR though, because Granderson could be replaced by literally anyone in the minor leagues. Anyways, moving on!
2) His numbers are comparable to Cy Young winners from the past. For example, in 2008, Cliff Lee went 22-3 for the Cleveland Indians. He led the league in wins, ERA (2.54), shut outs (2), home runs per 9 innings (.5), walks per 9 innings (1.4), and WAR (7.3). Lee finished 2nd in complete games (4), ninth in strikeouts (170), and averaged 7 1/3 innings pitched per start. The Indians finished that year 81-81, so without Lee they would have been 59-78, 19 games under .500.
Verlander's numbers are similar with a few starts left to go. He's 22-5 and leading the league in ERA (2.44), strikeouts (232), and WAR (7.7). That's the triple crown for pitchers. Even though it's more common than the batting triple crown, it's still only been done 25 times in baseball history. He's tied for 4th in shutouts (2), tied for second in complete games (4), and is 7th in walks per 9 innings (2.0). He doesn't crack the top 10 in home runs allowed per 9 innings, but also averaged 7 1/3 innings pitched per start. The Tigers record without Verlander, as of right now, would be 59-57, two games above .500.
For the record, Lee won the AL Cy Young award in a landslide, but finished 12th in the MVP voting.
3) The writers' assumption that since a pitcher doesn't play every day, they can't be the most valuable player. I hate it, but that's the argument, and they're the ones who vote. For another look at an even better comparison, here's an article by Tom Robinson of The Virginia Pilot that points out if Steve Carlton didn't win the MVP in 1972, no pitcher should. If you don't have time to read the article, his numbers dwarf Verlander's (it was a different sort of baseball back then), and he ended up finishing fifth in the MVP voting. The specifics are mind-boggling.
4) The Tigers have other pitchers. As Robinson's article points out, the most any other Philly pitcher won in 1972 was four. FOUR! Detroit has Max Sherzer and Rick Porcello that have 15 and 14 wins respectively, and who knows how good Doug Fister's record would be if he wasn't playing in Seattle for the first half of the year (he's 4-1 as a Tiger, matching all 1972 Phillies not named Carlton).
Finally, this is just a tidbit about one of the stats sometimes used to judge a pitcher: the "if the Tigers didn't have Verlander they'd be a .500 team" argument. This isn't a factor that screams MVP. Sure, if you take Cliff Lee away from the 2011 Phillies they're still 35 games above .500, and if C.C. Sabathia isn't in New York they go from 33 games over .500 to 21 over. But look at some of the very legitimate 2011 NL Cy Young award candidates. Ian Kennedy is 19-4. With him the DiamondBacks are the feel-good story of the season with an 83-61 (21 games over .500) record. Without him, their record would be 64-57 (just 7 games over .500) and they'd be looking up at the San Francisco Giants. Perhaps an even better instance is Clayton Kershaw, who at 17-5 is leading the Dodgers through a horrific season. They are 70-72 overall (2 games under .500) and without him they would be 53-67 (14 games under .500). I don't think it's as useful of an argument as others do.
I love the season that Justin Verlander is having (even though he's killing my Tribe). It's so much fun to watch pitching dominate a league that was not so long ago ruled by the long ball. It excites me that we are looking at a starting pitcher and considering him for the MVP, but I can't make myself believe he'll win it.
And that, my friends, is the interesting case of Justin Verlander.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Indians' Social Suite Experience
Today was almost perfect. Summer is officially gone and fall has arrived, especially with the winds off Lake Erie blustering around Progressive Field. I got to spend a lot of quality time with my father, bonding over perhaps our strongest passion: the game of baseball. We got to the game two hours early so we could watch the Indians’ batting practice, and it was just like old times. My childhood centered around trying to catch home run balls or begging players to toss me one, and so being in the right-field bleachers with dad again was like a blast from the past. The only difference today was that we BOTH got baseballs, instead of none like before. Even though the Indians dropped 8.5 games out with the loss, it was fun to see the players during BP. We normally don’t get there soon enough to watch the home team hit, or in time to see the pitchers shagging balls in the outfield. Indians’ All-Star closer Chris Perez was hysterical. He was running all over the place, chucking sinkers at the batboy, and talking to people in the crowd. It was great.
My actual experience in the Cleveland Indians Social Suite was great. I had never been in a suite before, so this was completely new for me. Now, it was a free pair of tickets so I wasn’t expecting much, and there wasn’t any free food (unfortunately), but it was so much fun to spend that time in a great environment with my dad. It started on the ceremonial first pitches when Cleveland Browns wide receiver Greg Little and cornerback Joe Haden tossed strikes to Jason Donald. Haden was wearing a half Colt McCoy and half Grady Sizemore jersey, pretty funny. It was nice because the suite provided some warmth on the chilly evening, but the comfort didn’t last long.
No, I’m not talking about the five-run first inning the Tigers had, or even the three run second. I’m talking about the annoying suitemates that joined us. I have never felt so trapped at a baseball game before in my life. The amount of ignorance coming out of her mouth was incredible. I’m sorry, but just because someone has responded to you on Twitter before doesn’t mean your friends. And I assure you that you screaming to the umpire will not change his mind. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that Miguel Cabrera can’t even hear you telling him he sucks. Lastly, just because a guy had a bad outing (seems like every time for Fausto Carmona), it doesn’t mean he is a bum and needs demoted. Saying that you read an article that the Dolans are just trying to make the team look attractive to a buyer so they can move the team out of town isn’t original. It’s the freaking plot to Major League. Give me a break. She was soon joined by an annoying twit of a boy who kept yelling at Jhonny Peralta. Like Jhonny chose to leave Cleveland last summer when the Indians traded him? Sheesh. I blame poor parenting.
Aside from the annoying sound of a voice ringing in my ears the entire time, it was great. It was the first time I got to watch an Indians game with Tom Hamilton playing in the background. Unfortunately, that woman was talking so much nonsense that I could hardly hear him.
I did learn something about major league baseball today. I have officially declared that Miguel Cabrera has now become a “stop-what-you’re-doing-to-watch” player when he’s hitting. He is an incredible hitter, and if Tigers fans were smart they’d stop crying for Verlander to be MVP and focus on their legitimate MVP candidate.
The social suite was an incredible experience, and it is definitely something that will catch on throughout all of sports. There are plenty of stadiums and arenas that have unused suites at every game, and there are hundreds of thousands people using social media and the connection will be brilliant.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Another New Day
Last Wednesday, Jesse and I decided to do something a bit different, again. Just a week or so after we did the game re-creation, we decided to do another blast from the past and broadcast from the stands. We tossed our phone line out the window and plugged in right behind Section J of Cooley Law School Stadium. This one was my idea. Jesse asked me what I wanted to do, if anything, and I was reminded of a movie I got for Christmas. My dad got me the PBS documentary on this guy named Harry Caray, and broadcasting from the crowd was something he did a couple of times every year. It was a ton of fun! We had people sitting around us and listening in to what we were saying, there were people taking pictures with us and of us, and I got to get some in-game ice cream! It was a lot of fun and something that I hope I can do for years to come.
Tomorrow the final leg of the 2011 season begins against the Dayton Dragons, and it brings a whole new excitement level to the broadcast booth. The game is the same, but there are some key differences. For example: couple of runs in the first two innings in a regular season game can be considered a rough start for a pitcher, but if he rebounds and finishes six innings its, "no harm done and its a good outing," even if the team is losing. In the playoffs though, it's more like, "I can't believe ______ gave up so many runs and put us behind the eight-ball!" It's a whole new ballgame now!
On another note, tonight is a special night for my dad and I. Why? Because we are sitting in the Cleveland Indians Social Media Suite! I know that all the haters can say that I shouldn't be that excited to watch a series that will make the Indians an afterthought in the AL Central race, but I still have faith. In all honesty, the fact that the Tribe is still considered "in" the race in September is a bonus to a season of fun. The fact that both ESPN the Mag and Sports Illustrated picked the Indians to finish fourth in the division and here they are in second place and the only challenge to the top team in the AL Central, I am proud. I was one that was pretty sure this year would be another miserable season, but the team surprised everyone.
The next couple of years in the AL Central are going to be a blast. The Royals are up-and-coming, the Tigers are the veterans and the Indians are somewhere in between. The exciting thing to look at for each of these teams is how old each of the starters are. The Royals are all very young, everyone knows that, but the Indians and Tigers are young too. You might be surprised that I'm saying this about the arch rival Tigers, but they have a great combination of youth and experience. Justin Verlander is the clear-cut Cy Young award winner and best pitcher in the American League. Oh yeah, and he'll be 29 next year. Scherzer, Fister, and Porcello are a very solid rotation, and their ages on opening day will be 27, 28, and 23. Then they have young Jacob Turner waiting in the wings, who will be 21. There's a legitimate candidate for MVP at first base in Miguel Cabrera, who will be 29, and probably the 2011 Comeback Player of the Year at shortstop with Jhonny Peralta, 30. Those guys can be considered the "old guys" when you look at Alex Avila, 24, Austin Jackson, 24, and Delmon Young, 27. What's my hair-brained idea for the Tigers to take it to the ultimate level? I know they have some money to spend, and that second base and third base are needs for the 2012 season... but what if a top-line pitcher becomes available? One who happens to be left-handed, in the prime of his career, and used to tear up the Tigers? Yes, I'm talking about C.C. Sabathia, who can opt out of his Yankees contract after this year if he wants to. Can you imagine that rotation? Verlander, Sabathia, Fister, Scherzer, Procello or Turner. Incredible. Sorry, that rant went a little longer than expected.
Don't worry readers, I'm going to daydream about my two favorite teams (the Tribe and the Cincinnati Reds) after my post-game report from the Social Suite!
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