Quick Reactions

I do not consider myself to be a huge fan of hockey, but come playoff time, I watch most of the action (that could be attributed to the fact that the regular season is virtually meaningless). This post-season was an interesting one, as some of the top teams fell early. However, in the end, the NHL’s best team came out on top. After struggling in their first seven games, sporting a record of just four and three, the Chicago Blackhawks went on an absolute tear, winning twelve of their next fifteen games, including , at one point, seven in a row, and a sweep of the number one seeded Sharks. Chicago, led by an incredible combination of speed, youth, and experience, came out on top over the Flyers after a very competitive, exciting, goaltending-optional, 6 games.

For anyone who didn’t watch much of the Blackhawks this postseason, you missed out a treat. How can someone not like these guys? Their captain, Jonathan Toews and winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, recently turned 22 years old, making him the second youngest captain to ever win the Stanley Cup. Then you have Patrick Kane, the 21 year old, who just scored the game-winning goal in overtime. The two young stars are many things, but similar is not really one of them. Toews is the leader of the squad and exhibits maturity, poise, and leadership that far exceed his age. In postgame interviews, he needed to excuse himself so he could find his family. Kane, on the other hand, is more wild and carefree. In his postgame interview, he was told to behave during the approaching festivities, to which Kane replied, “Not a chance!” He also told Barry Melrose that his biggest problem now is finding women. “That shouldn’t be a problem,” replied Melrose, between gasps of laughter.

Then there is the other collection of stars on the team. The toothless wonder Duncan Keith, at a seemingly elderly 26 years of age, is still yet to replace those 7 teeth that he lost earlier in the postseason. Only a hockey player would choose to gum at his food for a few weeks, rather than get some prostatic teeth put in. Could you imagine if Ron Artest got his front teeth wacked out? I don’t care how tough he is supposed to be; his mouth would have undergone rapid reconstruction immediately.

Marian Hossa, the right-winger, was maybe the happiest man of them all. For the third consecutive year, Hossa advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, very interestingly with three different teams. He lost the first two, so essentially, he needed to win this year to avoid a Buffalo-Bills-like feeling of missed opportunities. He almost gave it away at the start of the second period, when he turned the puck over to Simon Gagne, who ended up on a breakaway. However, Gagne shot in a hurry and no goals were allowed because of Hossa’s mistake.

My favorite Blackhawk, though, has to be Dustin Byfuglien, whose ass I have already kissed in my recent article, “The New NFL Offseason.” I don’t care, I’m going to do it again. Just to recap, Byfuglien is enormous, standing at 6-3 and weighing 250 lbs. The guy used to be a defender, until Chicago realized he’s also fast enough to play the wing. I counted three pucks last night that Byfuglien was able to chase down, utilizing his tremendous closing speed. He had a goal in last night’s game, as well as some crunching hits. Overall, it’s just not fair that one person can get size, strength, and speed. What about the rest of us?

Antti Niemi, the 26-year-old Blackhawk goalie, was relatively inconsistent this postseason. There were six games in which Niemi posted a save percentage of 95% or better. However, only one of those games came in the finals. In the other 5 games, Niemi allowed a combined 21 goals, including some softies last night. Yet, the goaltending situation seems to be heading in the right direction for Chicago, since Niemi started every game this postseason, leading them to the championship.

On top of the guys mentioned above, Chicago is equipped with other talented young players, like defenders Niklas Hjalmarsson (23) and Brent Seabrook (25), and forwards such as Andrew Ladd (24) and Kris Versteeg (24). If Chicago can keep Toews, Kane, Byfuglien, and a core group of all the other guys mentioned in this article, I expect them to cruise to at least 3 more Stanley Cups over the next decade or so. The Blackhawks’ future is the most promising of any team in the NHL and perhaps in all of American Sports.

Say, that’s a great idea. Here is a list of the most up-and-coming teams in each of the four big sports. If the teams have not made the playoffs recently, expect them to make the playoffs within the next 2-3 years. If they already have made the playoffs, look for the teams to compete for championships within the same time frame.

NHL:
Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadians

NBA:
Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Memphis Grizzlies

MLB:
Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays

NFL:
Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, and Houston Texans

Well, that just about does it for today and for Late Night Thoughts until the middle of August. Thanks to all my readers for the support and the feedback, positive and/or negative. I wrote on Tuesday that if you want to talk sports you should send me an email. That is still the case. Additionally, if you have any thoughts or ideas for future blogs, feel free to post them as comments to this article. Have the best summer of your lives. Between the LeBron sweepstakes, a highly competitive baseball season, and the World Cup, sports certainly have you covered. Keep reading and spreading the word. I’m out!

-AW

STD Day, Week 4

I haven’t written anything since last Thursday as I just finished up school (finally). But, I am back for my final STD day until August. I will be spending the majority of this summer at a sleep away camp as a water-ski instructor. Writing is going to be a near impossibility, so my article this Thursday will be the last one for the next two months. Feel free though the shoot me some emails if you want to talk sports. Maybe I’ll be able to get you an answer.

NBA Finals
It’s a nightmare, these NBA finals. Boston and LA; who do I want to lose less? If you read my May 17, article, The Greatest Rivalry, you would know that there is absolutely no way I can root for Boston, even if they are playing the Lakers. I mean, I just hate them. I hate the fact that the same people in attendance at the Celtics games also show up at Fenway. I hate Garnett and his un-reprimanded dirtiness. I hate Rajon Rondo and his monstrous hands. I hate the fact that it always looks like Paul Pierce just got smacked in the face (Seriously, look at him anytime he’s talking. His clothes are all over the place and his eyes are either glazed over or rolling around uncontrollably. Reminds me of Brad Miller after Rondo got him with the right hook in last years NBA playoffs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpPoZAxgYws ).

All this said, I love the “Freddy vs. Jason”-esque rivalry between the two teams; two evil beings, who, for some reason, just don’t get along. Then again, when you have KG, Ron Artest, Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, and Phil Jackson all in the same series, things are bound to get interesting. Apparently I should add Pau “The Llama” Gasol (shout out to Kevin for the nickname) to the list for his negative comments about Garnett. When I need to add Pau Gasol, the gentle giant who was more interested in being a doctor until he grew to seven feet tall, to a list of antagonists, you know that the intensity is of monumental proportions.

The win by Boston in LA Sunday night was the biggest win of the season for the team. Thanks to the disgracefully unjust 2-3-2 format (top seed gets the first two games, lower seed gets the next three, and top seed has final two) in the finals, Boston, the lower seeded team, now has an enormous advantage. The next three games will be in their home stadium. Now that I think about, it’s almost better to be the lower seed in the NBA finals. If we are working off the assumption that the home team is the favorite to win, which we obviously are since the top team gets more home games, then the team that gets three in a row at home can put serious pressure on their opponent. Anyways, the win has to be attributed to the ageless Ray Allen. Anyone that watches Sportscenter for at least twenty minutes a day knows that his 8 three pointers in the finals Sunday night were the most ever by a single player in one Finals game. As much as I hate Boston, I could not help but be in total awe of some of the shots Ray Allen easily made. I’ll admit it, I was getting exited when he started off the game 7 of 7 from behind the ark. I guess I just love steaks of any sort. Good streaks, bad streaks, whatever. It doesn’t matter to me.

Despite the major turn in the series, I still like the Lakers to prevail in 7, as I predicted at the beginning of the series. Tonight’s game is pivotal and I believe the Celtics come out on top by the score of 101-97, led by 24 points from the disoriented Pierce and another 17 from Rondo. However, the Lakers even the series at 2 in game four, when they win 98-90. I’m looking for Kobe to put up 31 in that effort, leading all scorers. In game five, the final one in Boston, I expect the Lakers to defeat the Celtics 114-110, after an additional 5 minutes of overtime. Game six, in LA, will be a surprisingly easy win for the Celtics. Their experienced players have their best games of the series (aside from Ray Allen, whose best game was Sunday). Celtics win 94-82. Lastly, game seven will be won by a super-fired up Lakers team. Bryant and Gasol both eclipse the 25-point mark, with Gasol contributing 13 rebounds as well. The Lakers get revenge on Boston for the 2008 NBA finals and Pau Gasol is awarded Finals MVP.

The Stan Van Gundy Face Creating Moment of the Week:
Back for the third consecutive week, the SVGFCMW is looking to be among the most prestigious awards in all of sports. One of the headlines of ESPN.com is “Clip shows boy with beer bottle.” Essentially, somebody took a video of a four-year-old boy putting a beer bottle, which most believe to be empty, up to his lips during the Phillies-Padres game from last Sunday. This situation is probably deserving of the award on its own, but as I continued to read the article, I realized that I may have encountered one of the most amusing articles on ESPN I have ever come across.

What is really bizarre about this situation is that everyone seems to acknowledge that there was no actual beer in it. So, what then, is the issue? I suppose it’s dangerous to be playing with beer bottles, but is that worthy of a front-page story on ESPN.com? And even if it had beer in it, a sip of beer is not going to harm anyone. It’s not as if the vendor handed out the beer to the four year old saying something like, “How was I supposed to know it was a fake ID?” The boy just picked it up.

As I continued to read the article, the writer addressed an earlier issue where, “a drunken fan intentionally vomited on an 11-year-old girl.” Now that is really, really bizarre. How can he “intentionally” vomited on her, you may ask? Well, “Clemmens stuck his fingers down his throat and vomited on Michael Vangelo.” Apparently the two were arguing about some sports related issue and some of the vomit wound up getting on the daughter. That is a new method to arguing that I have never seen before. Let’s predict future uses of this practice.

Defense Lawyer: Your Honor, my client had an alibi at the time of the murder-
Prosecutor: Objection, that alibi was proven to be entirely unverified.
Defense Lawyer: What do you mean? He was at home with his wife!
Prosecutor: Well, this video (shows the tape) was taken at 9:42 PM outside of the Walmart located downtown. You can see here that the defendant’s wife is seen loading up her car with a full shopping cart’s worth of canned tomatoes, parsley, garlic cloves, capers, and fresh oregano, most likely for her spaghetti sauce, I believe. Is that correct, Emeril?
Emeril Lagasse: Yes, indeed. Mrs. Carter is a fine chef. In fact, if you looked more carefully in the cart you would have also seen a bottle of 1995 Quintarelli Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico Riserva.
Defense Lawyer: Ah yes, that is a fine bottle of red wine, is it not?
Emeril Lagasse: Bam! Right you are. In fact –
Judge: Gentlemen, if we could get back on track please! I have a lunch reservation downtown that I would like to make.
Emeril Lagasse: Where is it, may I ask.
Judge: Bistro Dulce. Ah, god-dammit, no Emeril, you may not ask. What the hell are you even doing here? Actually, don’t even answer that. Let’s just get back to the case, please.
Prosecutor: Sorry Your Honor. Anyways, Mrs. Carter was clearly not with her husband at the time of the murder, thus rejecting his alibi. In addition, this gun (shows gun) has fingerprints on it that appear to be consistent with those of Mr. Carter.
(very long pause)
Defense Lawyer: Bllleeehhhhhhh (chunks everywhere).
Judge: Interesting counterpoint.

Prince Albert
Every sport seems to have an ongoing argument as to who is its best player. Kobe or LeBron, Crosby or Ovechkin, Manning or Brady. All three of these rivalries/comparisons get a fair amount of public attention. Sports highlights focus on them, even when they do absolutely nothing. “And Varejao gets the pass from Gibson and throws it down hard! LeBron, on the sideline, clapping and loving it!” The debates seem destined to continue between these pairs for at least the next five years. Then there is baseball. The most likely comparison is between A-Rod and Albert Pujols. However, my problem, is that I don’t think there is enough attention given to these two players and how they rank against each other, especially in the case of Albert Pujols. Perhaps it is not the nature of the game, but I don’t think the average person realizes just how good Albert is.

As of today, Pujols leads the NL in homeruns, RBIs, and is 9th in batting average. Last year he finished the year with the most homeruns in the NL, the third most RBIs, and the third highest batting average. On top of that, he has six stolen bases this year! He had 16 in 2009. That is an aspect of his game that gets seriously overlooked. Want to know what Albert averages each year? Well, I’m going to tell you regardless. 41 home runs, 124 RBI, .333 batting average, .625 slugging percentage, 7 stolen bases. When you add on the fact that he has never played less than 143 games in a season, he is the absolute definition of consistent excellence. At some point in his career, Pujols will probably win the triple crown, which has not been done since 1967. Add on that he has never been involved in the steroid scandal, and you have to put him down with Griffey as the most respected and feared hitter in baseball over the last 20 to 25 years. He is now in his tenth year in the league and only 30 years old. If he continues to exhibit the longevity he has shown thus far, the career home run record could be his. In fact, if he continues to average the numbers he is producing now, Pujols will go down as one of the 5-10 greatest hitters in baseball history. Everyone knows he is good, but does everyone know that a hitter like Pujols may not come around again for another 20 to 30 years?

Just for Fun:
Career averages, and HR,RBI,SB/seasons in the league(excluding 2010)

Pujols: .333BA, .625SLG, 41HR, 124RBI, 7SB
A-Rod: .305BA, .573SLG, 39HR, 114RBI, 20SB
Griffey: .284BA, .538 SLG, 30HR, 87RBI, 9SB
Bonds: .298BA, .607SLG, 35HR, 91RBI, 23SB
Babe Ruth: .342BA, .690SLG, 32HR, 101RBI
Ted Williams: .344BA, .634SLG, 27HR, 97RBI

Albert has the best offensive numbers of the four most recent players. He averages the most homeruns and RBIs per season and has the highest slugging percentage and batting average. His numbers are also comparable to baseball legends like Ruth and Williams. When he retires, Pujols will be in the conversation of the greatest baseball players of all time.

More STDs for my readers in August.

-AW

The New NFL Offseason

It’s almost officially summer. That means that the football season is only a few months away. Yeah, there’s still basketball and hockey playoffs, baseball, tennis, and the World Cup, but lets be honest, something is missing. Therefore, I have a proposition. Why not let non-NFL athletes compete in the world’s greatest sport. In fact, why not just transform them into football players all together. Instead of extended draft coverage and listening to long winded, passive-aggressive, arguments between Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr., the NFL offseason could be devoted to following the evolution of various athletes into football stars!

I now present, the NFLOA, the National Football League of Other Athletes. But who would participate? Here is the list of the best players, taken from any sport other than football, for each NFL position. The athletes selected are without a doubt the best choices for each position. Arguing this would be an act of futility.

QB: ROGER FEDERER.
Why select Roger Federer to play the most important position in football, and possibly, all of sports? (Yeah, I know, “It’s the center!” or “It’s the left tackle!” That may be true, but let’s be honest here; everyone pays the big bucks to see the quarterbacks.) Well, for one, I think Federer needs to be considered one of, if not the, greatest current athlete in professional sports. Therefore, he is a perfect fit for quarterback. He can handle the pressure. Aside from that, The Maestro has quick feet, has shown an incredible ability to remain healthy, and can think on the fly. Plus, his serving motion will serve as a good starting point for a throwing motion. At 6-1, 187, think Drew Brees with a kind of weird, very subtle accent.

RB: DERON WILLIAMS and CARLOS TEVEZ.
Williams at running back ranks among the most natural fits. He’d be a little tall at 6-3, but he has enough weight (207 lbs) to complement his height. As a point guard, he has demonstrated his agility and power when driving to the hoop. Williams would be a taller version of Adrian Peterson bred with Ray Rice (not something I’d really like to watch happen). As for Tevez, he would serve as a more elusive back, but like Williams, would still be able to take a few hits. Given his smaller height of 5-7, Tevez would play a role similar to that of Leon Washington with the Jets.

WR: LEBRON JAMES, USAIN BOLT, and JUAN PIERRE.
The first two are obvious and don’t need much explaining. They are arguably the two most physically gifted individuals on the planet. To compensate for my copout, I needed to get a little more create for the NFLOA slot receiver. Outfielder, Juan Pierre, was a perfect fit. He ranks among the top in stolen bases each year and has an Ichiro-esque swing involving a quick, compact motion, often employing bunts to reach first base. In order to play baseball like that, Pierre needs good hands and acceleration abilities that will make him a perfect slot receiver.

TE: JOSH SMITH and ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC
At 6-9, 240 lbs, Josh Smith would be a very large tight end, but he is surprisingly quick for his size. He also has a tremendous leaping ability, as seen in his dunk contest appearances. Added bonus about Smith: he cannot attempt ill-advised three pointers in football. Soccer forward, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, stands at six foot four, but has a lightweight of 185 lbs. However, the fitness staff of the NFLOA is known for their miracle work. He could easily put on an additional 40 pounds and poof, you have Dallas Clark.

O-Line: RT-GLEN DAVIS (6-9, 289), RG-CARLOS BOOZER (6-9, 266), C-NIKLAS BACKSTROM (6-2, 196), LG-MAGNUS SAMUELSSON (6-8, 350), LT-ADAM DUNN (6-6, 287)
A very diverse group, the offensive line is composed of 2 basketball power forwards, a hockey goalie, a World’s Strongest Man Champion, and a MLB slugger. Davis and Boozer are very tall, but both have a fair amount of weight to them already, especially Big Baby who looks like he’s about to have one. Center Niklas Backstrom is certainly undersized, especially for this mammoth line, but he is also going to attend the Zlatan Ibrahimovic school of eating. I needed someone who I knew could respond quickly and lead the line. A hockey goalie was a perfect choice. Samuelsson is the most NFLOA ready of the five athletes, as he has near perfect height and weight. Eh, what the hell, he could eat a few more T-bone steaks too. Finally, Adam Dunn protects Federer’s blind side. This is a risk, given his “homerun or strikeout” philosophy for baseball. Hopefully he doesn’t swing and miss too many times at incoming defensive ends.

Speaking of defensive ends…

DE: RON ARTEST and MILAN LUCIC
Artest is the kind of crazed animal you need coming off the edge. He has long arms and already clubs guys in the face as much as Julius Peppers does. Throw some Gatorade in his face and he can go really crazy (this dangerous task will be given to the teams water boy, 13-year-old and future-USC QB, David Sills). Lucic, the Boston Bruins Left Winger, is big (6-4, 220) and hits almost as many guys per game as Artest. The two will come to be known as Ravenous Ron and Lunatic Lucic.

DT: ZACH RANDOLPH and ZDENO CHARA
Randolph, the Grizzlies power forward, and Chara, the Boston Bruin defenseman, both stand at 6-9 and weigh an identical 260 lbs. Randolph, a bigger-but-less-crazy version of Albert Haynesworth, will clog up the middle of the field along with Chara, the second Boston Bruin represented on the defensive line. They are recognized by their infamous nickname of Z squared. Randolph, when asked how he felt about the sport change said, “At least I’m out of Memphis.”

This brings up an interesting question. Where exactly is the NFLOA based?

The home for the NFLOA squad is the proposed stadium to be built in Los Angeles. For those of you not familiar with the situation, Edward P. Roski, a partial owner of both the L.A. Lakers and L.A. Kings, recently announced plans to build a football stadium in L.A., with the hope that an NFL team will move to the large city, where there is currently no representative football organization.

Side note: I called my dad last night to discuss the tragedy of Joyce and Galarraga. Somehow we got onto the topic of the “Free Agent Summit.” I find it totally hilarious that more and more free agents are dying for an invitation to the coolest party of the year.

Chris Bosh: “I want to come!”
Popular Kids: “Sure, why not, you’re a baller, but you do kind of look like a Raptor. Now that we think about, you look a lot like that chic from Baylor, Brittney Griner, too.”
Amare Stoudemire: “Can I come toooo?”
Popular Kids + Bosh: “Sure, you’re aight, but bring some girls, please.”
Dirk Nowitzki: “Vhat aboot me?”
Popular Kids + Bosh + Stoudemire + Girls: “Yeah, but you need to do something about your hair first.”
Carlos Boozer: “Hey, why didn’t I get an invite?”
Popular Kids + Bosh + Stoudemire + Girls + Nowitzki: “Cause we don’t want to see you, loser!”

Anyways, this rich dude in Los Angeles should consider buying a NBA team, moving them to the new stadium, converting that NFL stadium into an NBA one, dropping everyone on the basketball team, and picking from 3 popular kids to create the best NBA team for the next decade.

Back to the NFLOA roster…

MLB: DUSTIN BYFUGLIEN and JOSH HAMILTON
Perhaps the only better fit in the NFLOA than Deron Williams at running back is Dustin Byfuglien at middle linebacker. He has perfect size, already, standing 6-4 and weighing 246 lbs. On top of that Byfuglien is fast enough to play right wing in hockey. As if the Byfuglien situation could not get any better, he has the most hits of any player in this year’s NHL playoffs. Byfuglien is Lawrence Taylor playing in the middle. Hamilton may come as a less obvious pick, but his 6-4, 230 frame is close to ideal for the middle linebacker position. Like his partner, Hamilton is surprisingly quick for his size. The only down side, he has a history of being injury prone.

OLB: JASON HEYWARD and CARMELO ANTHONY
Heyward, the youngest player on the team, is a front-runner for the NFLOA Rookie of the Year award. He stands at 6-4, a terrific height for the outside linebacker position. Reminds me of a LaMarr Woodley/Calvin Pace type of pass rusher. Anthony will work as a tremendous mentor for Heyward. Much like him, Melo entered the league with very high expectations. After years of being compared to LeBron, Melo is able to end the discussion by playing on the other side of the ball.

S: MIKE GREEN and DIDIER DROGBA
Mike Green, one of the most aggressive defensemen in the NHL, will use that aggression at safety. He is also among the best hitters in the league, another ability that correlates to his new position. If he were to put on twenty pounds, he’d have a nearly identical body type to future hall of fame safety, John Lynch. Drogba, the center forward for Chelsea, has the size, speed, and vertical jumping ability to be a hard-hitting safety. Like Green, putting on an additional twenty-ish pounds would give Drogba a similar body type to another good, past NFL safety; Sean Taylor. Having played professionally since 1998, Drogba is the captain of the highly feared defensive unit. Both Green and Drogba are among the best fits for their positions.

CB: RAFAEL NADAL, RAJON RONDO, and DERRICK ROSE
Nadal would be a terrific corner, especially when used in a zone defense. He has experience covering vast amounts of space when playing tennis and is a far more physically gifted individual then people give him credit for being. Who would you rather have on your basketball team, Rondo or Rose? While you’d probably get around a 50-50 split on that question, it is irrelevant now. The two point guards will play side-by-side, employing aggressive bump-and-run man coverage. Both players are terrific in the air and seem to know where their teammates are located at all times. They won’t even need to look at the guys they’re guarding.

Kicker and Punter: Doesn’t really matter. No matter who plays the position they’d all be inconsistent, streaky (in a bad way), and exist only to let the fans down.

So there you have it. Here is the list of how many NFLOA participants each sport contributed.

NBA: 10 players
NHL: 5 players
MLB: 4 players
Soccer: 3 players
Tennis: 2 players
Track and Field: 1 player
World’s Strongest Man: 1 player

It’d be interesting to see these guys actually on the field together.

-AW

June Atrocity

“A lot of pitchers would have lost it there, and they would have been right to.”

I was originally going to write an article for today about creating the ultimate football team from non-football athletes. However, after witnessing the conclusion of the Detroit Tigers game, I changed my decision. That article will be moved to tomorrow.

Armando Galarraga took a near perfect game into the ninth inning. In his third season in the MLB, Galarraga was on the verge of reaching the greatest accomplishment of his entire life. There have been 20 perfect games thrown in the history of baseball. Remarkably, Galarraga was attempting to pitch the third of the season, all of which coming over a one month span.

With two outs in the ninth, Jason Donald hit a ground ball in between the first and second baseman. Miguel Cabrera, the first baseman, moved to field the ball and Galarraga went to cover first. Cabrera delivered the ball back to Galarraga, who stepped on the bag about a step before Cabrera. Galarraga put his hands up in celebration; I jumped off my seat and cheered with a few friends. Now here’s the kicker, first base umpire, Jim Joyce, called the runner safe. This is a serious problem.

The call made by Joyce was, and this is not a Gruden-like superlative, the single worst call, given the situation, that I can remember ever seeing. Ever. Earlier in the year I thought the no-call on Thierry Henry’s handball to win the game against Ireland was the worst call I had ever seen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxw1-Id91lQ&feature=related). This travesty by Joyce has topped it.

A few moments after the conclusion of the game, Joe Morgan appeared on ESPN and said the following, “If you are doing something magical, like Galarraga was doing, you should get the benefit of the doubt… I mean, that is a once in a life time experience.” Absolutely correct, Joe. What is Joyce trying to prove? What could possibly go through his mind to make that call? Even if Donald was safe, wouldn’t you still want to call him out? If Galarraga has been, literally, perfect for the entire game, doesn’t it seem like you would want to reward that and give him the benefit of the doubt? Even if it were a tie, which goes to the runner, Joyce should call him out! Doesn’t he want to give Galarraga the accomplishment of a lifetime? Galarraga could have reached baseball immortality. He could have had a story to tell his children and grandchildren. But the call was not even close to being close to being close. He was out by at least a step and the ump was right there. How did he get it wrong?

This decision is unforgiveable. I don’t care about anything Joyce has accomplished in his career. Certain actions get someone fired. This is one of them. If I were Bud Selig, I would call Joyce, personally, tomorrow and tell him, “Listen, we just cannot have you in the majors anymore. You have been great, you truly have, but what you did last night was intolerable. I know this is hard for you, and I’m sure you believe my decision is very reactionary, but frankly, that doesn’t matter. When Bill Buckner allowed that ball to roll between his legs, he was released from the team that off-season. I’m afraid I must do the same for you. Thank you for your contributions to the game but your services are no longer needed.” And that’s that. End of story. No rebuttal or big deal with the press. Make it something personal, simple, and fair. The best officials in sports go unnoticed. They do not bring the attention on themselves. Joyce brought the attention to himself by making a call he must have known would result in personal spotlight. Said Joyce shortly after, "It was the biggest call of my career."

So by now most people are probably assuming that I am going to present a solution to the problem. “Use instant replay, fools! Don’t you want to get the game right?” That is probably the response most people are giving across the sports world at the moment. I am not one of those people. That’s right (Steve), I am not in favor of the expansion of instant replay use in Major League Baseball. Why? Well for one, most people feel that baseball is already too slow moving. Yeah, I’m sure when instant replay is further introduced, which will undoubtedly happen, (and quite possibly within the next week, which would actually be a rash move by the commissioner when firing Joyce is not) it will start out with restrictions. For example, each manager can use a “challenge” only once per game. But then what? What happens when there are two atrocious calls in one game? After all, the use of replay was originally introduced for only homerun use. And what’s the next evolution in replay use? Hey, if we can tell if a pitch is a ball or a strike, why not use replay for that too. Here’s my proposition. Either we keep the replay use as it is, and just find some better umpires, or we cut the use of umpires almost altogether. If we have the technology to determine whether every pitch is a ball or a strike, and if every runner is safe or out, why not just have one umpire in the middle of the field and leave everything else up to the computers and the guys upstairs looking at the cameras? Unconventional, yes. But effective, also, yes.

Galarraga missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime. He will never go down as one of the pitchers to have thrown a perfect game, but I will always remember that he should have. I hope everyone else does too.

-AW

STD Day, Week 3

Irregular balls, a walk-off balk, evidence for the greatest curse in professional sports, and injustice everywhere! Yes, it has been a very interesting week.

The Rasheed Wallace “I’m Still Really Immature” Realization of the Week:
Here is a new award inspired by the always-childish Rasheed Wallace. We may all think he is a total fool, but that doesn’t mean will don’t appreciate his clownish antics. I know I love them. Unlike most awards, this one is actually meant to be awarded to myself.

In a shocking turn of events, soccer players from every position and nation have voiced complaints about the World Cup soccer ball. I am, of course, being sarcastic. The complaints are about as predictable as the conclusion to the film, Valkyrie. Now, things got really interesting when Adidas decided to fire a response back. In an article taken from ESPN.com, entitled, “Adidas: Ball feedback had been positive,” the company attempted to defend themselves. But that is really irrelevant. This is an award about immaturity, not rationality. Therefore, I will not be listing the three most legitimate responses by Adidas, but rather, the top 3 sexual innuendoes.

3. “Casillas said the balls were ‘in an appalling condition.’” – After playing soccer in the hot South African summer for 90 minutes, I’d say that would be expected.

2. "It hurts a little, but if you hit it right, it flies.” – If the initial pain was only described as “a little,” I do not want to imagine the agony when it is hit right and “flies.”

1. “Asked why the ball behaved differently at altitude, where many of the games will be played in South Africa, Van Schaik said that applied to all balls.” – That seems like a gross generalization that Van Schaik could not possibly know.


Huge Win
The victory of the Duke lacrosse team over Notre Dame to win the NCAA Championship was an incredible event to witness. Lacrosse was never too popular when I was in middle school or high school, so I never got involved in following the sport. However, on Monday afternoon, I experienced a level of happiness comparable to what I felt when the Duke basketball defeated Butler to win their respective national championship in April of this year. This wasn’t because of my support of Duke or of Lacrosse, but because of the terrible connotation of when the two words are paired together: Duke Lacrosse.

At this point, probably everyone reading this is already familiar with where I am going. Beginning in March of 2006, three Duke lacrosse players were under attack for allegations of raping a young woman who was a student at North Carolina Central University and who also worked as a stripper. Given the fact that the accuser was black, and that all three Duke players were white, there were many who classified the potential rape and assault as an example of a hate crime as well. After over a year of a witch-hunt-like series of accusations and findings, the three men were finally proven innocent (interesting that they were first treated as guilty). In my mind, the oppression imposed by local enforcement and Americans across the country on the Duke lacrosse team, the school, and the players and their families, was an absolute disgrace. Because of the chaos, the remainder of the 2006 Duke lacrosse season was terminated and head coach Mike Pressler, who coached the team for 16 years, was rashly fired.

Somehow, Duke managed to pull everything back together. The seniors of this year’s team were freshman at the time of the unjust disaster. As new students, people who were considered despicable in the eyes of many surrounded them. The championship won by Duke, the first in school history, has meaning that goes far beyond the sports world. It is proof that the university has overcome one of the most turbulent times in its rich history. Congratulations. Go Duke!

If this isn’t foreshadowing, I don’t know what is!
Quick, what is the biggest curse in professional sports?
The Sports Illustrated cover jinx? No.
Curse of the Bambino? No.
Heisman Curse? No.
Super Bowl Hangover? No.
The Color Red? Is that one even real? (Reds, Phillies, Bucs, Indians, Red Sox, Cavaliers, Chiefs. Hmm, on second thought maybe teams shouldn’t wear red anymore. But still, No!)
The most imposing, consistently damaging, and cursing curse in modern professional sports is the one and only Madden Curse. It’s almost not even a curse anymore, but a certainty. If you are on the cover of the Madden NFL video game, you will either get injured or have a woeful year. Let’s recap the disaster.

Daunte Culpepper, Madden 2002. After leading the Vikings to the playoffs the previous year, Culpepper threw 23 interceptions, broke the record for must fumbles in a season, and led the Vikings to a 5-11 record.

Marshall Faulk, Madden 2003. Previous Year: Previous year: 1382 yards, 5.3 yards/carry, 12 touchdowns. Next year: 953 yards, 4.5 yards/carry, 8 touchdowns. It was the first full season in which he rushed for under 1,000 yards, a number he would never reach again.

Michael Vick, Madden 2004. Vick breaks his leg in the pre-season, forcing him to miss 12 games

Ray Lewis, Madden 2005. One of the only survivors. He suffered a wrist injury in week 15, but when you’re getting compared to season ending injuries, a week 15 injury seems insignificant.

Donovan McNabb, Madden 2006. McNabb suffers a series of injuries such as a sports hernia in week 1 and an ACL tear that put him on the IR.

Shaun Alexander, Madden 2007. After winning the MVP award the previous year, Alexander suffers from a foot injury that takes him out of 6 games. Says Alexander (actually, this is not made up) “Do you want to be hurt and on the cover, or just hurt?"

Vince Young, Madden 2008. Young misses just one game and throws for 3 less touchdowns and 4 more interceptions than the preceding season. A moderate curse effect.

Brett Favre, Madden 2009. For a period of time, Favre was retired following his appearance. He then returned playing for the Jets, during which he started off promising, but suffered a torn bicep that caused the Jets to go 1-4 over the final 5 games. Favre threw 2 touchdowns compared to 9 interceptions over that time.

Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald suffered from no symptoms, but Polamalu sprained his MCL in the first game of the season, returned for 3 games later in the year, but was then subjected to another injury.

Out of a total of 10 players, 4 went down with major injuries, 4 put up numbers that ranked among their career worsts, 1 suffered a minor injury, and 1 went unharmed. Yikes.

This year, Drew Brees, the quarterback for the Super Bowl winning Saints, is on the cover of Madden. When I first heard this information about a month ago, I immediately told whoever was listening that I no longer believe the Saints will make the playoffs. That may seem like a crazed decision made by someone who believes too much in a silly little curse.

Mark it down, Adam Weinberger, on June 1, 2010, at 6:42 pm stated that the New Orleans Saints will fail to make the playoffs in the 2010-2011 NFL season.

Apparently, I am not alone. Now on ESPN is the article, “Big Question: Who is Brees’ backup.” Big question!? Why is that a big question? I have never heard the question of who is backing up one of the 3 best quarterbacks in the NFL be referred to as a “big question.” The only explanation, of course, is that the Saints are bracing themselves for an injury to their most important player. Pat Yasinskas writes, “They’re pretty much set at every spot, except backup quarterback. They’re not done there yet. Sometime in the coming weeks, the Saints have to bring in a backup with some experience who can handle the team in case anything happens to Brees.” Yeah, he knows it’s coming too.

The “Stan Van Gundy” Face Creating Moment of the Week:
Back for a second straight week, the Van Gundy Face awarded is given to Arizona Diamondback pitcher, Esmerling Vasquez, for his walk-off balk.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, with Casey Blake on third and the game tied, Vasquez made the illegal move towards third. Blake, who is apparently a wilily veteran, made a fake stutter step towards home plate. When Vasquez saw him moving, he stopped his motion, thus, balked. Blake was allowed to literally walk off the field for the win.

My Van Gundy face for this one was probably dead-on accurate. What the hell was Vasquez thinking? Who would try to steal home, in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied? Nobody would try that! In fact, Vasquez shouldn’t have even been looking at Blake. Casey Blake has been in the MLB since 1999. Over that stretch he has 35 total stolen bases! I think in order to be worried about a guy stealing home, the man on third base needs to average at least 35 stolen bases per season! Vasquez’s decision to make sure Blake didn’t steal home would be like a bank teller sounding an alarm when a 14-year-old girl walked into the bank.

“Norman, why would you do that?!”
“Gee, I don’t know boss, she looked suspicious.”
“Suspicious, she’s not even 16 years old. What was suspicious?”
“You see that bag she’s holding, I thought there was a gun in there!”
“Well, thanks to you, our entire work day has been ruined. Good work. Someone should probably fire you…”

More STD’s for my readers next week.

-AW

World Cup Preview

For most people around the planet, this summer’s World Cup is the most important event in sports. Actually, the World Cup is more than that. It is an event that transcends sports and becomes as much about national pride than about supporting a team. I’m not going to profess to know too much about football, but I think I know enough that I can at least bullshit this article while retaining some sort of credibility.

One of the biggest stories of this year’s World Cup revolves around Argentinean superstar, Lionel Messi, and manager Diego Maradona. Messi, who plays for Barcelona, scored 34 goals this past season, four short of the single season record. For his accomplishments, Messi was awarded the FIFA World Player of the Year. However, internationally Messi continues to play below the level that he does for his club team.


Much like Messi, Maradona was considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time while still playing. In international play, however, Maradona was also sensational. The pinnacle of his play came in the 1986 World Cup, in which he served as captain for an Argentina team that won the tournament. He was awarded the Golden Ball award (tournament MVP) as well. Maradona is now responsible for coaching the Über-talented Messi.

For Barcelona, Messi plays the wing, which allows him to use his tremendous speed and ball control to take the ball, from the outside, towards the net and score. Very similarly, Maradona often employed long sprints down the sideline of the field, which he then turned into goals for either his teammates or himself. To highlight the similarities, you simply need to look at the similarities between these two absolutely insane goals(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYet49BToLw - hyperlink isn't working). If you didn’t just click on my link, please reconsider as both goals are truly spectacular.

Most football fans around the world cite Diego Maradona as the reason for Messi’s disappointments internationally. Instead of playing Messi on the wing, where he can do the things we just saw, Maradona employs him as a deep striker. In other words, Messi plays more in the middle of the field. Maybe I just don’t understand soccer enough, but in my mind, the decision making of Maradona is something simply not scene in American sports. A team’s best player in almost any sport essentially determines the team’s strategy. Could you imagine if Phil Jackson decided one day that, no, Kobe Bryant will no longer be playing shooting guard, but instead, he’ll play the point. He’s still a guard, just a different kind of guard. That would never, ever happen! Kobe has made a career out of scoring, not passing. A move like that one would be absolutely ludicrous; totally unheard of; unacceptable. Yet, for whatever reason, Argentina allows Maradona to be a mad scientist, as he attempts to concoct unconventional and damaging formations. If Argentina wants to advance beyond the second round, during which they will most likely play Mexico or Uruguay, then Messi will need to either adapt to his new role or Maradona will need to let him play the wing.


Moving now to our own country, this year appears to be a very promising one for the United States. To say that many Americans are not interested in soccer would be an understatement. However, the popularity of the sport has increased since the last World Cup. One of many causes for this phenomenon is the fact that ESPN will be providing coverage for every World Cup Match. This means that the “worldwide leader in sports” needs to provide anticipation leading up to the big event. One needs to look no further than some of the most recent “This is Sportscenter” commercial’s to see an example of this.

Another reason for increased US interest has been the emergence of several talented American players. The list includes Landon Donovan, probably the greatest American soccer player of all time, Oguchi Onyewu, who plays for A.C. Milan and, when healthy, is a fine defender, Jozy Altidore, who scored 6 goals in 2010 World Cup Qualifiers, Clint Dempsey, a talented player who is dangerous as both a winger and forward, and Tim Howard, one of the best goalies in the world. Also potentially dangerous is Herculez Gomez, whose 10 goals are tied for the league lead in the Mexican Primera División.


The World Cup is organized so that each team is placed in an initial Group that contains three additional countries. Each team within the group then plays each other, in a round-robin format. The two teams with the best record advance to the round of 16, which is the first elimination round. The United States has benefited greatly by being placed in Group C, along with Slovenia, England, and Algeria. England is obviously the strongest country in the Group, and will probably advance with a record of 3-0. However, you have to like the chances of the US to beat out Slovenia and Algeria, two teams that are ranked lower than the United States. Then again, most people would probably not have picked Ghana to advance out of the pool containing the United States, the Czech Republic, and Italy, the eventual World Cup champions, in the 2006 World Cup. It’s going to be tough, but I like America’s chances of reaching the field of 16.

It’d probably be judicious of me to continue to concentrate on the analysis of various nations. It’d probably be judicious of me to discuss some of the best players in the world such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Xavi, Kaka, and Didier Drogba. It’d probably be judicious for me to read the ESPN article about the World Cup from May 26 entitled, “How to sound smart at the watercooler.” It’d probably be judicious for me not to reveal that I did not actually read that article. Yet, I did not read that article and I will not be discussing any of the previously mentioned things. Instead, I will spend that page space discussing Zakumi , the mascot of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Zakumi, who appears to be a perfect cross between a leopard and a Dragon Ball Z character, is a fictional character whose date of birth is June 16, 1994. This has raised questions across the world as to whether or not Zakumi is too young to handle the responsibility that comes with being the World Cup mascot. If I am not mistaken (who really knows) some mascot rights organizations have had a serious problem with this, as they view the treatment of Zakumi as the taking advantage of a minor. Even more disturbing than the potential mistreatment, is the thing’s motto: “Zakumi's game is Fair Play.” Um, excuse me? Did Zakumi just speak in the third person? I don’t think he’s reached the stage in his career to speak in such a fashion. This is exactly why you cannot give characters the ability to be a mascot until they reach at least the age of 18. All the fame is going to Zakumi’s head. Although, on a more serious note, is “Zakumi’s game is Fair Play” the best that the FIFA people could think of? Really!? I understand that in previous years, sportsmanship has been hard to come by. However, if I was forced to devise a more generic, blah statement than that one I’m pretty sure that I’d fail miserably.


Zakumi Prediction: Zakumi performs well when it doesn’t matter but quickly crumbles under the pressure of an elimination round. Look for him to misrepresent the spirit of the World Cup come the Round of 16. Zakumi Question: Who will be seen on ESPN more this World Cup, Zakumi or Messi? Zakumi Observation: Messi and Zakumi kind of look alike.

Moving back to the actual tournament, it can be very difficult to do any type of bracket for the World Cup, since the seedings can be rearranged depending on each nation’s record in their respective pools. Therefore, I will simply predict my final four teams left and go from there.

Semifinal 1: Portugal vs. Germany

In order to reach this stage, Portugal is going to need to defeat some of the finest teams in the world, beginning with advancing out of the strongest group, Group G, which contains Brazil, Ivory Coast, and North Korea. If they can make it out of the group, they will most likely need to play Spain, considered by many as the most talented team in the World Cup, and Italy, the defending World Cup champions. This said, I believe they will come out on top in all those matches. Led by Cristiano Ronaldo, the explosive forward, and Ricardo Carvalho, a dependable defender, Portugal is a highly experienced team that, despite limping into the World Cup with some less than satisfactory performances, will be able to pull it all together for the biggest tournament of their lives.

If Germany can advance from Group D with the strongest record, they will likely face first, the United States, and then Argentina. The road may be easier than that of Portugal, but that is not to say they will not encounter strong opposition from the Americans and then, obviously, the potentially dangerous Argentina. Many of Germany’s players, such as recently appointed captain, Philipp Lahm, and vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, are a part of a Bayern Munich team that finished second in the Champions League that concluded earlier this month. Much like Portugal, the German squad has its fair share of experienced players, like the aforementioned Lahm, but is also replete with young talent in the forms of forward, Thomas Müller, midfielder and likely future German icon, Toni Kroos, and the 6' 3" defender, Jerome Boateng.

Verdict: Because a combination of experience, youth, and a winning traditional from all their Bayern Munich stars, I like Germany to pull the mini-upset over Portugal, by a score of 2-1.


Semifinal 2: Brazil vs. France
Upon receiving a relatively easy draw, with the likes of Mexico, Uruguay, and the host-nation, South Africa, France is able to advance to the field of 16 with relative ease. The next game will most likely be against Nigeria or Greece, neither of which should be able to defeat France. Then, in what will be the most entertaining match thus far in the tournament, France will come out on top over the favored England team. France is another experienced team, and will be led by midfielder, Frank Ribery, and a fine defensive unit compossed of Eric Abidal, Gael Clichy, Patrice Evra, and William Gallas. Look for the defensive group to lead the way throughout the tournament and against Brazil.

Brazil, the number one seed in the World Cup, will advance out of the challenging group G with the best record. Look for them to then defeat whoever they are paired against in the Round of 16, and probably win over the Netherlands, a talented but often disappointing team. They are ranked number one in the world for a reason, as the team is composed of several of the planet’s top players, such as Kaka, Felipe Melo, Thiago Silva, Daniel Alves, and goalkeeper Julio Cesar. Interesting observation about the team; of the 23 men on the roster, 14 of them are listed as having a single name.

Verdict: Brazil comes out on top to head to the World Cups finals again to compete for their sixth championship, the most of all time. France puts up a good fight, but falls 1-0.

Finals: Germany vs. Brazil
The finals will feature the number one ranked team in the world against the sixth ranked nation. If Brazil is to be considered the most successful team in World Cup history, then Germany is probably number two. The final is a rematch of the 2002 World Cup final, won by Brazil, which was the first and only time the two have competed against each other in World Cup competition. History will repeat itself as Brazil defeats Germany, in overtime, by the score of 2-1. Kaka is presented with the Golden Ball, as he continues a tradition of great Brazilian football stars.

Well, that concludes my World Cup preview. Then again, what do I really know? Let’s hope enough to maintain any glimpses of dignity I’ve garnered thus far.

-AW

Statistics in Baseball

Today's been pretty busy for me and I have not had the time to write a new article. However, since I know how eager and expectant everyone is on a new article at least 4 days a week, I have decided to post an excerpt from a paper I wrote last winter. The paper is essentially about the modern use of statistics in baseball. It's pretty interesting so I thought maybe people would enjoy it. That said, it was for a research class, and thus, pretty void of humor which, assuming that there is humor on this blog site to begin with, is a bit unfortunate.

As for the poll question, we had a tie (gasp! no, not a tie!) for the world cup and a personal story. So, I will attempt to write both at some point within the next week and a half.

Enjoy the excerpt!

"In 1977, James wrote his first book, the Baseball Abstract, which he advertised in various baseball publications. In this book, James questioned commonly held baseball theories. “’People say things about baseball,’ explains James, ‘and I want to find out whether they are true. So I have to figure out how to find out if they are true. I write about the process of finding out and about the results.’” This baseball analysis is known as sabermetrics, named after the Society for American Baseball Research. James’ abstracts had a small response but over the years, as he continued to improve them, his audience broadened. James introduced new statistics to evaluate players. His most notable ones were “Runs Created,” which combined total bases, hits, and walks, and “Range Factor,” a method of evaluating fielding beyond the number of errors made. By 1984 James found himself at the center of the baseball numbers’ world. His abstracts became perennial bestsellers and statistics in baseball had emphasis like never before.

Coinciding with James and his abstracts was the creation of rotisserie or Fantasy Baseball. In his highly respected book, Curve Ball: Baseball, Statistics, and the Role of Chance in the Game, Jim Albert writes, “Next to stock market analysis, [Fantasy Baseball] may be the most widespread application of statistics in the United States.” The roots of this craze can be traced back to Dan Okrent. In 1980, Okrent assembled a group of his friends and proposed an idea to make watching baseball more exciting. He claimed that “Rotisserie baseball,” which was named off the restaurant where they met, gave the common fan the opportunity to manage a baseball team vicariously, and without needing millions of dollars. On the first Sunday of the season, Okrent and eleven others drafted real baseball players onto their imaginary teams, which would be judged based on how each team’s players hit and pitched. It was not long before Okrent’s creation began to dominate the group’s lives. He said, “’Each morning, all of us ran to the box scores, manically searching the agate type for news.’” The following spring, Okrent wrote an article in Inside Sport and explained his creation. Across the country, Fantasy Baseball leagues formed. By the time the original twelve people were selling their book, Rotisserie League Baseball, there were hundreds of thousands of fans participating in rotisserie leagues.

The popularity of Okrent, James, and their respective creations can be attributed to the emergence of computers. In as early as 1965, various companies, such as General Electric and Information Concepts, Inc., were creating massive computers to grind out numbers to be used by statisticians. The Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia was published in 1969 and created entirely by a computer program. Corporations with computers had means of calculating statistics faster, and with more accuracy. Once computers became available for personal use, individuals were given the same opportunities to calculate a wide range of statistics. In its infant stage, Fantasy Baseball required participants to sieve through the newspapers to find their players’ numbers. Finding and calculating data became simple with the invention of the computer, more specifically the Internet. In 1985 a program was created that instantly calculated Rotisserie League standings. According to the Sporting News, “’The Rotisserie phenomenon has a lot to do with the development of the personal computer. The computer makes it easier for everyone to get involved.’” The Internet is also responsible for the camaraderie that emerges because of online discussion. This will be discussed more in depth later.

A broad examination of statistics in Major League Baseball as a whole is well beyond the scope of this project. However, by analyzing one team, the Boston Red Sox, we can see how their recent actions epitomize the power of numbers in baseball today. At the end of 2002, the Boston Red Sox decided to take a statistical approach to winning baseball games after an 84 year World Series drought, during which they used a more traditional method. The front office for the Red Sox brought in Bill James to be an analyst. This move by the Red Sox was viewed as “cutting edge” by various baseball figures. He supplemented scouting operations and evaluated trade potentials. In addition, James was finally given an opportunity to test some of his long held beliefs. One of James’ theories is that closers should not be limited to ninth inning appearances. In many cases, these games are no longer close. James argued:

Essentially using your relief ace to protect a three-run lead is like a business using a top executive to negotiate fire insurance. If you have a fire and you’re not insured, obviously that’s a huge loss. But the reality is that, even if you don’t carry any insurance, you’re not likely to have a fire. And while you may desperately need insurance, that doesn’t mean that it is therefore essential to assign your best executive to negotiate it. There are other people who can take care of that kind of work.

The Red Sox announced that in 2003 relievers would be used, “according to logic, not legend.” However “logical” James’ theory may have been, the strategy failed miserably. Boston relief pitchers’ had an ERA of 4.83, third worst in the major leagues. Management attributed this to weak pitchers, not poor strategy. Nonetheless, the Red Sox were able to make it to the playoffs and the American League Championship Series. This is where the problems for the organization really began.

The Red Sox were in Game Seven of the ALCS against the New York Yankees. In the eighth inning, the Red Sox led five to two and were just five outs away from the World Series. When superstar pitcher Pedro Martínez gave up three straight hits and a run, manager Grady Little approached the mound, spoke with his ace, and decided to leave in Martínez. Little claimed his decision was based on his instincts, but he knew that after one hundred pitches, Martínez was a “ticking bomb.” The Boston Red Sox had arguably the most statistically adept front office in all of baseball, led by Bill James, yet they would suffer a downfall because of neglected data. Martínez was one of the best pitchers prior this benchmark but according to Peter Gammons, “afterward, nothing close.” The Yankees rallied against Martínez, won the game in the eleventh inning, and Little was fired.

Boston replaced Little with Terry Francona, a younger man who was supportive of the use of statistics. Apparently, the Red Sox wanted to have “’one unified organizational philosophy [towards statistics].’”However, management quickly realized that these words were too strong and clarified the above statement by saying that the Red Sox would not be a, “’stat geek organization.’” Even with the increased respect and use of statistics, the label of a “stat geek organization” is one that the front office fears. They could not risk a direct identification with the number-regurgitating, laptop-carrying figures who run the statistical world. The Red Sox needed to remain pure to the game of baseball and maintain its integrity. One general manager, Billy Beane, who is known for his respect of statistics, once responded to the notion of attending a SABR gathering with the words, “’That would be like Captain Kirk going to a Star Trek convention.’” Even after such tremendous evolution of statistics, managers must still make decisions based on other factors than pure statistics.

New statistics are created everyday to measure production, to prove a theory, or to reject a commonly held belief. In a project of any size, it would be an impossible endeavor to detail all of these obscure forms of measurement. Instead, we will look at one intriguing theory that has grown considerably in popularity over the last decade or so. For all of baseball’s existence, stories have been told of great hitters coming through in the clutch. Some of the most recognizable nicknames have been given based off this apparent skill. Reggie Jackson, whose plaque at Yankee Stadium reads: A prolific hitter who thrived in pressure situations, is known as Mr. October because of his “clutch” play during the playoffs. Statistical analysts would reject this notion claiming that “clutch hitting” does not actually exist.

The major argument is that no player consistently performs better in the clutch. Good players merely go on hot streaks. Sometimes these streaks occur during important situations but more commonly, they take place during insignificant points in the season. Statisticians contend that a player will eventually come to maintain his average in all situations. “’The problem with the postseason,” argues Keith Law, senior writer for Scouts Inc., “’is that we run into such small samples.’” One player that is typically viewed as clutch in modern baseball is Derek Jeter, “Mr. November.” Jeter is a career .316 hitter. With runners in scoring position he hits .311 and when there are two outs and runners in scoring position, he bats .317. In the postseason, the period in which he is best know for clutch hitting, Jeter has a .309 batting average. His numbers in pressure situations are very good, however they should be expected given his high career batting average.

In Curve Ball, Jim Albert lists the averages of the entire American League in various situations, which range from pressure-free to intense. A pressure-free situation would be batting lead off and an intense situation would be batting at the end of an inning with runners in scoring position. In total, there are ten different situations. The key observation is that the batting averages in those situations vary little. Between the lowest and highest averages there is only a twenty-seven-point difference. Therefore, even in so-called pressure situations, most players are not hitting significantly worse. When a player like Derek Jeter is able to maintain a high batting average in all situations, he is performing how major league baseball players do as a whole. Statistics are manipulated to prove a point convincingly in this analysis of clutch hitting.

The other widespread use of baseball statistics is in Fantasy Baseball. The evolution of Fantasy Baseball has reached new heights within the last few years. In his exploratory study of Fantasy Baseball, “Gambling in a Fantasy World,” Bo J. Bernhard discussed the evolution of Fantasy Baseball and the game’s pros and cons. Like real baseball, Rotisserie Baseball began as an activity for a specific group of people. Baseball was originally associated with the burly American and Fantasy Baseball was tied to socially challenged “geeks.” Over time Fantasy Baseball became a mainstream game and resultantly, an enormous industry. Bernhard estimates that 1.65 billion dollars are spent on Fantasy Baseball annually.

There are several pros surrounding Fantasy Baseball. The entire game is numerically based and several individuals have pointed to it as beneficial on the cognitive level. Bernhard discusses one school’s pre-algebra course that encouraged students to participate in Fantasy Baseball leagues. In addition, the nature of Fantasy Baseball lends itself to in depth discussions over the Internet, further benefitting the learning process. While this argument might seem rather farfetched, similar learning connections have already been found to exist in video games.

A more obvious benefit of Fantasy Baseball is that the game provides an outlet for competition. Rotisserie Baseball was originally created to validate the common fan’s claim that he or she can run a baseball team better than actual managers. Through playing Fantasy Baseball people can not only test this theory, but can see whether their friends can succeed in the same objective. Since people are most likely participating in a league with friends, Fantasy Baseball also builds camaraderie. This is done through lengthy online discussions as well as to face-to-face interactions at venues like the workplace.

For all of its positives, several people see Fantasy Baseball as an unfortunate phenomenon. As Bernhard’s title suggests, Rotisserie Baseball is a form of gambling and resultantly, has some negative effects. Most leagues involve some type of monetary incentive. People will naturally become more consumed. He sites several factors that contribute to diagnosing a gambling problem such as preoccupation, loss of control, restlessness, and irritability, all of which can develop through Fantasy Baseball. Participants are often consumed by their team and spend hours on their computers, often instead of performing their jobs.Fantasy Baseball can become so engrossing that one office in Chicago displays a sign, which reads, “’No Rotisserie in company common areas.’”

Another perceived problem with Fantasy Baseball is that it takes away loyalties. In a letter to Sports Illustrated, one irate fan expressed his feelings stating, “’[Fantasy sports] are a plague. Because individual statistical gluttony is the objective, the fantasy player’s rooting interests are perverted (who cares who wins, as long as my guys get their numbers?), and the true virtues of sports – teamwork and sacrifice – are obliterated.’”Historian Christopher Lasch calls Fantasy Baseball the epitome of a “’culture of narcissism.’” Furthermore, one critic protested that actual baseball has been buried “under the manipulation of stats and the exertion of wills.” Whether the manipulation of statistics in baseball is beneficial is a matter of opinion, but there is undeniable evidence that statistics have profound effects on the game.

Statistics control decisions made by managers and executives in baseball today and are the center of entertainment for the fans. Beginning with Chadwick’s simple introduction of the box score in baseball, the value and use of statistics have steadily grown over the last one hundred and fifty years. Statisticians, writers, players, and common fans have all increased the value of numbers in baseball. There is evidence for both the usefulness and inefficiency of these statistics. While managers like Terry Francona value statistics in the decision making process, they still like to make moves based on other factors. Bill James admits he is frequently wrong and often raised questions for which he does not know the answer. On the other hand, the Red Sox have won two World Series titles since bringing James aboard. Although it often seems that figures have been calculated for every situation, people continue to find more innovate and detailed methods of evaluation. For example, Ron Antinoja, a fifty-year-old former software engineer, invented an elaborate computer program that could chart hot and cold zones of any hitter facing any pitcher, in any situation imaginable with a click of the mouse. After witnessing Antinoja’s innovation, Bob Bowman, the CEO of mlb.com, clunked his forehead on his desk in amazement, exclaiming, “’That’s the slickest fuckin’ thing I’ve ever seen in my life.’” As these innovations continue to be made, statistics will continue to hold the interest of baseball fans."