by Timothy Weisberg | Nov 19, 2010 | Blog
For once in a very long time, the voters got something right.
Congress may be divided as oil and water after this year’s midterm elections, but there was public discourse on the Cy Young voters decision for this year’s AL Cy Young award. And the winner? Felix Hernandez from the last-place Seattle Mariners.
Hernandez won the Cy Young with a 13-12 record, but boasted a major league best 2.27 ERA. While the win column is deceiving, Hernandez is deserving of the nod.
He beat out 21-game winner C.C. Sabathia from the Yankees, and is the first player during a non-strike season to win the award with less than 15 wins.
So it brings up the great debate: do wins really matter? When you boast an ERA close to two and you are only a game over .500, there is something seriously wrong.
He played for a team that lost 101 games last season. Also take into consideration many people believed off-season free agent signees of third baseman Chone Figgins and first baseman Casey Kotchman, as well as landing Cliff Lee, put the Mariners in contention for the AL West crown.
It was quite the contrary, as the Mariners were last in nearly every offensive category, and provided virtually no run support in Hernandez’ starts.
The Mariners scored two runs or less in 15 of Hernandez’ starts, and were 2-10 in those games with an ERA of less than three, and an ERA less than two in nine no-decisions.
He might have been 18th in wins, but led the AL in many other statistical categories including ERA (2.27), innings (249 2/3), hits per nine innings (7.0) and opponents batting average (.212).
Imagine how many wins he would have gotten say the Mariners averaged four runs of run support?
You could easily be looking at a 20-game winner. And for once the Cy Young voters looked at the overall body of work, rather than just the amount of wins.
Sports is about winning, but if the body of work leads the league and you are 13-12, that in itself is deserving of a Cy Young award.
If anything, this exemplifies the parity of baseball, and allows fans to recognize how a pitcher was able to overcome adversity, making due with little to no run support.
The award is based on the league’s best overall pitcher, not merited on how many wins they compile.
Pitchers have control over ERA, opponents batting average, innings pitched, and the amount of strikeouts, but have no control over the amount of run support they receive.
Sabathia got his run support, David Price from the Tampa Bay Rays also had a more productive offense to back his decisions up.
My colleague David Lopez put it very well: justice has been served.
It is unfair to slight these pitchers who put up even better statistical numbers than pitchers on winning teams, and leave them on the outside looking in.
Amounting the winner of the award to wins in a season is solely arbitrary and takes the control out of the pitcher’s hands. The performance-based award should always be in the player’s control.
Anytime a different approach is taken, it sparks controversy, but the Cy Young voters did it for all the right reasons. Their decisive decision for the Cy Young turned an arbitrary system of judgment into something that can take into account all aspects of a pitcher’s performance, whether its ERA or number of victories.
Great players should be recognized, regardless of the team’s talent level or performance during the course of the season.
Justice has been served.
Even Cy Young cannot help but grin from high above at the way his award was recognized in 2010.
by Timothy Weisberg | Nov 17, 2010 | Blog
The infamous stick your hand out only to pull it back handshake ordeal was the latest post game snub pulled off by Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley after a blowout loss to the Denver Broncos.
My theory is that the elevation got to him. He was simply pointing at McDaniels and ordering him to get Haley an oxygen tank, and the handshake snub was simply an accident.
So Haley doesn’t belong to the mile-high club? There are no pressurizers and add in the constant yelling after a measly performance by your team, and maybe you really are that out of breath.
Well obviously this is not the case, but would be an entertaining thought to counteract the devious behavior from an NFL head coach.
Even in youth soccer teams gather together and chant “2, 4, 6, 8 who do we appreciate?! (Team name here). But it is plausible to believe Haley never learned sportsmanship. Didn’t Michael Jackson claim to never have a childhood.
While this isn’t Neverland, Haley’s poor act of sportsmanship cannot even amount to Will Ferell calling a bunch of 10-year-olds losers in another distasteful film with an SNL actor in Kicking and Screaming. In fact, I am pretty sure a five-year-old can comprehend the concept of good sportsmanship, but somehow at the professional level they fail to live up to what they are: professionals?
Granted he apologized Monday in a press conference, the modus operandi will be a mystery even the Hardy Boys would not be able to solve.
This incident reminded me of Lebron James’ sore loser mentality when he stormed off the court after being eliminated from the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Come on Haley. Don’t you know you need to finish off the fake handshake with the hand swiftly slicking the hair back. Can’t pull the excuse it was to fix the hair because you were wearing a hat.
It would have been even better if he pulled an Adam Morrison during the 2006 NCAA tournament and fell on the ground crying, as other teammates and coaching staff went over to congratulate the Broncos.
But this is coming from a head coach. The post game snub of the century will live on, and sooner or later, Haley will no longer be the “chief” of the Chiefs.
Next incident I predict something even more entertaining: after a Chiefs loss, Todd Haley will go ahead and shake the opposing coach’s hand, but will soon break away and smack the coach upside the head. Maybe even throw the headset at him. Or even smack him with the laminated playbook.
Either way, nobody likes a sore loser. Don’t expect Haley to conduct a lecture on the principles of sportsmanship anytime soon.
by Timothy Weisberg | Nov 16, 2010 | Blog
The Pittsburgh Pirates have hired former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle to lead a franchise that has not boasted a winning record in 18 seasons.
The Pirates currently have the league’s lowest payroll, but have promising young talent with outfielder Andrew McClutchen, third baseman Pedro Alvarez and second baseman Neil Walker.
The Pirates are coming off a 105-loss season, and have remained cellar dwellers, aging like fine wine.
But this is baseball, and the Pirates have learned that they can’t always rely on young talent to get better with age. Patience is a virtue for wine connoisseurs, but in baseball the matriculation needs to occur at a more faster rate.
So in comes Hurdle, who managed the Rockies for 8 seasons from 2002-09, leading the Rockies to the 2007 World Series.
That year, the Rockies won 14 out of the last 15 games to end the regular season to force a memorable one-game playoff, a game in which the Rockies came from behind to win the game and clinch their first playoff berth since the team’s inception in 1992.
The Rockies won seven straight games to reach the World Series, before being swept by the eventual champion Red Sox.
Although Cinderella was short lived, Hurdle has the capability of creating a group of pretenders into contenders. He was the hitting coach for the Texas Rangers in 2010, a team that made a surprising run to the World Series, and was one of the top offenses in the American League during the regular season.
Hurdle was also in the running for the Mets managing job, the only other team with a manager vacancy, but opted to accept an offer to manage the Pirates.
This is a great hire for the Pirates, who were last in earned run average and had the second lowest team batting average (.242) last season.
The offensive-oriented Hurdle is taking a different approach and becoming defensive-oriented, making pitching his number one priority this off-season.
For a low-market team that relies so heavily on young talent and a strong farm system, the Pirates are far from contenders. But Hurdle was hired into a similar position with the Rockies before eventually leading them to a World Series appearance.
So maybe there is no Willie Stargell or Roberto Clemente in the long-forgotten Pirates force during the late 70s, but an experienced manager is just what the Pirates may have needed.
Maybe the sixth time is the charm–the amount of managers the Pirates have gone through since they last had a winning season (1992).
Jim Tracy did not cut it and the irony of it all is that Tracy is now coaching the Rockies.
Hurdle said it best with a mentality that any coach should have when taking over a stagnant franchise: “I’m proud to be a Pirate and we are not going to back down from anyone.”
For Hurdle, you can knock the Pirates up but won’t knock them down. The team with the low payroll and the small market has chosen to micromanage its option for a new leader.
Hurdle is that void. The question is: many shoes have been tried on but none of them fit…is Hurdle the man who will finally find the shoe that fits?
by Timothy Weisberg | Nov 10, 2010 | Blog
A sad revelation in sports took another turn for the worst amidst the allegations against Auburn quarterback Cam Newton.
A week after ESPN.com reported last week that a man claiming to represent Newton during the quartberack’s recuitment out of Blinn College in Texas last year supposedly sought payments close to $200,000 dollars to secure Newton’s “John Hancock” on a national letter-of-intent, the story has unraveled further.
According to reports leaked by two sources, Newton was facing possible expulsion from the University of Florida for academic cheating, an incident in which he was caught three times. He eventually transferred from Florida and attended Blinn College for a year before committing to Auburn.
Sure you can argue the allegations came to light in part to his success with the Tigers, a team that is currently No. 2 in the nation and has their quarterback second in the Heisman race.
But the damage has been done. The seal has been broken, and an unidentified source has left a confidential message in a bottle on the steps of Auburn University that has been uncorked for the public to see.
But that doesn’t stop Tigers head coach Gene Chizik from vehemently denying the allegations, calling them “garbage.”
Although the NCAA has not filed a letter of inquiry to Auburn, what Newton told the media about his involvement with academic cheating at the University of Florida has left people to believe that he is associated with the guilty party.
“I’m not going to entertain something that took place not three months, not six months, not a year but two years ago,” Cam Newton said. “I’m not going to sit up here and say anything about it, whether I did or did not do it, because I don’t want to beat a dead horse talking about it. It’s not going to affect me any way, shape or fashion.”
The fact he neither denied nor admitted to the allegations puts himself and the university in a very difficult position. Now that they have supported him, they are in jeopardy of being a responsible party for very serious allegations.
Not only is it alleged that an agent was used to recruit Newton, but that Newton had a price tag for his commitment to a university.
What can unfold for Auburn if this is true? Massive loss of scholarships, years of probation and if the school is responsible, how about the death penalty?
The epidemic has reached an all-time high, and it appears that collegiate sports has found a legality in cheating. Instead of admiring a coach’s success or a team’s storied run, questions are raised and suspicion is drawn.
The last team to receive the death penalty in Division I sports? The 1987 Southern Methodist University (SMU) football program. The power to ban institutions for competing in sports.
This is the worst-case scenario, but it appears Auburn is in a pickle they might not be able to get out of.
There is no legality in cheating, and Newton will pay for his actions. Another sad day in sports where another phenomenal athlete can be discredited.
Neither denying or admitting to something might as well be an admission of guilt. All it does is ponder more speculation.
Sorry Auburn. Death penalty or not, your reputation has been tarnished and Cam Newton is going down. That’s about as far as the cookie crumbles
by Timothy Weisberg | Nov 9, 2010 | Blog
The TCU Horned Frogs 47-7 road victory over Utah has propelled them to the No. 3 spot in the USA Today Coach’s Poll, leapfrogging the Boise State Broncos.
A game featuring two undefeated teams turned out to be a nightmare for the Utes. The Horned Frogs ran all over them, and made a compelling case as the true BCS buster.
And what did coach Gary Patterson do to motivate his group? According to the USA Today, he showed his players clips of the movie Hoosiers, where small-town Hickory High wins the all-classes state basketball title on a last-second shot.
The play was titled “The Picket Fence,” and the way the Horned Frogs are playing, they might not need Tom Sawyer to paint that picket fence a shiny white for them.
In a highly anticipated Mountain West showdown, the Horned Frogs embarrassed the Utes on their own turf. If TCU can beat 7-2 San Diego State and one-win New Mexico, the ultimate question is whether or not the Horned Frogs deserve a chance to play for a national title.
The solely arbitrary system is telling me that it will be Oregon and Auburn if these top two teams stay undefeated. Hate to break it to the Horned Frogs, but if you can go undefeated in the SEC, that in itself is deserving of an automatic bid to the title game.
But do not count out Oregon. They still have to play their “Civil War” game against Oregon State. Heavily-favored USC lost to UCLA in 2006, costing them a chance to play for a national title, so do not count rivalry games out.
During the Joey Harrington days, the Ducks were one win away from a Rose Bowl berth, but Harrington threw five interceptions, en route to the worst game of his collegiate career in a loss in the “Civil War” game. It’s college football, where any team can beat anyone, anywhere and at any time.
But if either the Tigers or the Ducks lose and the Horned Frogs remain undefeated, those BCS computers might be given a deadly virus that no arbitrary system would ever be able to contain.
If that happens, it is history in the making and the leaning tower of BCS computers will officially be knocked over, the hardware fried and the first time a team has ever been able to break the reinforced concrete barrier that guards non-BCS teams from playing for a national title.
If the Horned Frogs want that one shot, they better pray every night either Oregon or Auburn loses. Because if not, they will be on the outside looking in, and there will be no chance to play the role of Hickory High and run “The Picket Fence.”
Cinderella will turn into a pumpkin, the leaning tower will be leveled out and the BCS system will stay in tact.
The Broncos ran their picket fence play against Oklahoma in the 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, titled the “Statue of Liberty,” but that wasn’t for the almighty crystal football.
Where’s Gene Hackman when you need him? If the Horned Frogs want to leapfrog their way into the forbidden territory of the BCS national title game, they need some help.
Until then, don’t expect any Hickory High magic. Unless its a spell cast upon either Auburn or Oregon.
by Timothy Weisberg | Nov 8, 2010 | Blog
When it comes to the storied UCLA-USC rivalry, UCLA traditionally took basketball and USC football. After all, the Bruins once had the Wizard of Westwood himself coach the team to 10 national titles in 12 years during the 60s and 70s.
USC dominated football during the early 2000s under the Pete Carroll Era. And even of recent years, Bruins basketball coach Ben Howland led the Bruins to 3 consecutive Final Fours from 2006-2008. But after a 14-18 season, it appears that USC has an edge in both football and basketball, even with major recruiting sanctions working against them.
So while Howland struggles to revitalize the success he once had, the Bruins are attempting to revitalize a stagnant football program under the direction of Rick Neuheisel.
The third year has not proved to be the charm for Neuheisel, as the Bruins are off to a 4-5 start and in danger of not becoming bowl eligible. Even Neuheisel’s predecessor, Karl Dorrell, had a successful campaign during his third season. That was in 2004, when the Bruins went 10-2 and won the Sun Bowl, its only ten-win season this decade.
So the Bruins lured offensive guru Norm Chow from USC, where he led a prolific offense to national titles in 2003 and 2004, and coached two Heisman Trophy winners.
But the same success has not carried over to Westwood. The Bruins offense has been anemic for quite some time now, and whether its the assurances from Neuheisel that the team is improving, the patience of Bruin nation is wearing thin.
While Neuheisel not only skates on thin ice, but ice that is quickly melting away under a giant heat lamp, Chow might not be the guru or the Dali Lama of offense he once was thought to be.
The Bruins signed Chow to a two-year extension earlier this summer, making him one of the highest paid assistant coaches in the NCAA. So while Chow makes six-figures, the Bruins have failed to create a potent offense that is worthy of putting itself in a position to win.
The Bruins are currently ranked 100th out of 119 FBS teams in total offense, averaging a measly 20 points a game. Let’s not forget they were shutout at home by Stanford and scored seven points in Apple Valley.
What was Chow’s recipe for success in Trojan land? Well, he did have the talent. UCLA does not boast multiple five-chip recruits that permeated the Trojan roster while Chow was under Carroll.
And while the defense has shown signs of life and improvement, the offense is lagging behind. And this isn’t a turtle race.
Certainly you can argue that UCLA did not and still does not have the recruiting base USC has, but sometimes you watch the game and wonder what Chow was thinking?
The Bruins will be in the red zone. It’s third and 14, basically a third and long situation, and Chow will call a wide receiver tunnel screen, or a half-back draw.
The calls are so conservative even Rush Limbaugh would be sitting back and holding his chest in pain. The calls are beyond conservative. Whether its a lack of confidence at the depleted quarterback position or simply taking advantage of a strong kicker like Kai Forbath, conservatism is the ideology Chow appears to live by in Blue and Gold.
If UCLA wants to make any serious attempt at revitalizing its program, it needs to score points. Field goals don’t cut it in football. It’s about scoring touchdowns.
Defense wins championships, but you can’t live and die by the defense. There are going to be times when you need to play catch-up or need to score points fast. If the Bruins are down the game is pretty much over.
Bruins athletic director Dan Guerrero will have none of Neuheisel’s pleads for patience and time. Time is of the essence in Westwood, and like all prominent athletic programs, anything short of winning is a failure.
Luckily, the Bruins play Washington, Arizona State and rival USC to finish the regular season, all winnable games. But they need two out of three to become bowl eligible, and if they lose all three, you might find that the Neuheisel Era has come to a quick and abrupt end.
Defense wins championships, but field goals don’t win you anything. It’s even questionable to live and die by the three in basketball. You live by seven points in football. This isn’t chess, but a game of checkers, and the next three games will decide what the next move will be for the Bruins program.
100th in total offense? Are you sure this is where champions are made?
