Well that's enough about NCAA basketball, my brackets are both shot to shit after weekend one, so let's focus on what I really want to talk about, FANTASY BASEBALL...
I've drafted in three of my four leagues already, and I'm confident that in each of the three, I've assembled the best possible team that I could. Today, in homage to one of my favorite sports writers, I'm going to recount the draft in the Yahoo! Sports league that I am running. I kept notes as the draft went on, so hold on tight. For those of you that were there, I'm probably going to tear your teams apart, unless you actually had a good draft.
To start, here's the league info. 15 teams, 162 games per position, 2000IP limit. Each team can have 1 of each position player, 2 starting pitchers, 2 relievers, 2 utility pitchers, 1 utility hitter, and 2 total bench spots. It's a Roto league (obviously, what else) with the following categories... Hitters: R, HR, RBI, SB, BB, K, TB, AVG, E. Pitchers: W, CG, SV, K, ERA, WHIP. So with 15 teams and 14 categories, a perfect roto score would be 210 points.
Welcome to the First annual Big D Boston Red Sox (yes I waited around on Day 1 until leagues were open to make sure I got that name) Roto League Draft! Since our participants are spread out around the country, and today, the world, we are each drafting in the comforts of our own homes or apartments. Lowers the trash talking just a notch or two, but still. Next year I say we get together and do this face-to-face.
Right off the top, we notice that about 6 of the 15 people haven't showed up in time to draft. Tough break for them, let's hope the computer can autopick them a nice team. There's nothing I hate more than someone who drafts a fantasy team only to leave the league and lock all of their players so that other teams can't use them.
The draft selection has been randomized, meaning that Frank has the first overall pick. For those of you who don't know, "randomized" is a nice way of saying "We're going to f*ck D over with his selection". In my own league, I got stuck with the 14th pick of 15 teams. At least the snaking rounds means I get 2 picks relatively close to each other.
Just before Frank's pick, I opened my trash talking by informing that having the first overall pick would give Frank his first opportunity to screw up a pick. I was right. "With the First Overall Selection in the 2004 Boston Red Sox Roto League Fantasy Draft, 'The Hot Corner' (Frank) Selects... Alex Rodriguez!"
Not to say that A-Rod is not a top 2 pick, but this was a predictable pick from a die-hard Yanks' fan. Personally, I'd take Albert Pujols #1 in this league. The offensive numbers are about the same, with Pujols having a slight edge in average, but A-Rod with the power numbers and a better lineup. But look at the positions. Where errors can hurt in this league, A-Rod is switching to a new position at 3B, where he'll have plenty of opportunities to make a boo-boo. Pujols is playing first, where as long as people make a decent throw, he can't screw up. And if it's not a decent throw, it's not an error on him anyway.
Apparently Vinny agreed with me, because "With the second overall pick in the 2004 Boston Red Sox Roto League Fantasy Draft, 'Chindiana Jones' (Vinny) selects Albert Pujols!" That is met with a chorus of "Nice Picks" and of course, the ever-present "Shit, I wanted him". 9 times out of 10, I'm the one saying the latter.
The third pick goes to our first absent GM - Brian, owner of "Mike Greenwell's Foot". Great name. The computer picks Alfonso Soriano. In any other season, Brian would be pissed with this pick, but since Soriano is in Texas and not NY, he's thrilled. Very good #3 pick; gives Brian a shot at the TB crown right away. Next is another absent GM, Chris with his "Soston Bed Rox". Another creative name, coming from the same guy who had the Green England Packtriots and New Bay Patriers in football season. He ends up with Gary Sheffield. Tough spot for Sheff. He's a first rounder, for sure, but for some reason I can't see him in the top 5 this year. There's a ton of offense in that lineup, and he'll probably score about 100 runs. But I've got a feeling he'll spend most of the year with a slashing swing because of the thumb injury. Just my thoughts, if he's the MVP, I'll shut up.
Fifth pick to "Gets By Buckner" (Dom, you bastard) - Todd Helton. Whose career do you think has been helped more by playing in Coors, Todd Helton or Larry Walker? Seriously. I'd vote for Helton; he's still a great hitter on the road, but there's plenty of solid hitting 1B's around. By hitting at Coors, his numbers are certainly padded just a bit. Walker had a good career in Montreal BEFORE going to Coors, Colorado just extended it a few more years.
I always gauge a person's pick by how many compliments or insults it receives. Normally, compliments mean more, but often, especially with this group, a well-timed bar shows just how much that pick meant. Needless to say, I get more than enough well-timed barbs.
Next pick to Tex. Tex is a good friend of mine who knows nothing about baseball unless it involves the Astros or Red Sox. And even then... He's also absent today because he's touring Europe. Tool. Anyway, somehow he grabs Eric Gagne #6 to a round of people complaining about the pick. Honestly, I was secretly hoping that Gagne would fall to 14th so I could just smile and steal him. Eh, I'll get my shot.
The people in this league are an eclectic mix of friends from home, friends from school, friends from work, and school friends' friends. That all makes sense, no? Anyway, the people from home and work are certainly more Boston sports skewed, which is evidenced by this next team name. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Seventh Pick to Tim, or as his team is named, "ARod = AnalRod". Heh heh heh. That's appropriate. My team name in 3 other leagues is "Jeter Swallows A Rod", so... Anyway, he's not here either, so he gets "stuck" with Barry Bonds. Bonds at 7th?? Had him top 5, easy, if not top 3. Total Bases and Walks ARE categories in this league people...
Next up are the "Brookline Dodgers", A.K.A. Rob. Very nice name. Rob is a great baseball mind, one of the few people I know who can rival my trivia knowledge of MLB in the past 20 years. Unfortunately, Rob knows NOTHING about drafting a Roto team, and he shows his lack of skills by taking Carlos Delgado eighth overall. Not that Delgado isn't good, but last year was a statement year, this year is a contract year, and that's it. He'll hit his 40 HR's, but in that lineup, he's going to be second fiddle to Vernon Wells. Don't be surprised if Delgado is traded by the ASB, and I'd look for the Dodgers to step up and make an offer to Toronto.
"Boners House Of Pain" has the ninth pick and takes Mark Prior. Hmm... Isn't Prior going to miss 2 starts? Good thing power pitchers don't need the Achilles' tendon on their back leg or anything...
After Manny goes in the right place, tenth to "NJ Shore Clamdiggers" (Andy), "History Year" (Don), takes Carlos Beltran. This pick really pissed me off. Don isn't even here and he took away my pick. I really thought I could get Beltran with the 17th overall, second in the second round. He's a machine, and he's about to carry K.C. to the playoffs.
Vlad Guerrero goes twelfth to "He Looks Glorious" (Aaron), which is about 10 picks before I had him. Back problems don't just go away in six months, and that constant swinging motion ain't gonna help. Again, if he's amazing this year, I'll shut up.
"SuperPats38" (Jay) takes Jim Thome thirteenth, just in front of me at 14. I had Thome last year, and I liked him so much that after trading him away before the break, I traded for him two weeks later. I know, I know... I'm a tool.
Now it's my turn. My plan had always been take a power pitcher first, followed by a #1 hitter, then a top closer, then fill in my roster as needed with what was available. I looked over the draft board and almost passed out when I saw that Pedro, Schilling, and Nomar were all still available. I've wanted Pedro or Nomar or both in every league, because I'm convinced that both is headed for a career season in a walk year. The problem was, the team after me is run by someone who is as big a Sox fan as me. Who to grab first? Well, I took Pedro 14th, and crossed my fingers. Only two more picks, and then I could grab Schilling, Nomar, or maybe....
WHAT?! "Florida Escape" (Tom) took Schilling 15th and Nomar 16th, leaving me staring blankly at my screen. "Tom, are you even here" I asked. No response. That made it even worse. He wasn't even here and he'd taken my next 2 picks. SHIT. I had to scramble to find a replacement, as people jeered Tom for taking Nomar that early. Finally, I settled on Vernon Wells 17th overall, setting off an even louder round of insults. Hey, I like Wells. I had him last year and he helped me tremendously.
It wasn't until after I took Wells that I realized that there were at least 2 OF's that I would have liked ahead of him, Magglio and Ichiro. Damnit, I'm sunk.
By the time my spot came back around, every single person in my top 20 was taken. I scribbled a note on my draft sheet when I realized I was going to have to forego the closer plan and just start filling in gaps. The note? "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck..." I wrote that next to every person I wanted that was already gone.
Only one real surprise in the third round; Frank with the first pick in the round taking Aubrey Huff. I love Huff, and he's primed to really have a big year after last year's breakout season. But I think he'd have still been available in the 5th round, or maybe even later. Just my own opinion. I took Jeff Kent in the third and Mike Lowell in the fourth, hoping that between them there would be no repeat trips to the DL. It's never a good sign when your top two infielders have a history of either cancer or being a motorcycle stunt-man.
At this point, Jay took his third #1 starter in 4 rounds. His team now consisted of Thome, Halladay, Mussina and Loaiza. Let's just say he'd win the IP category, if there was one.
Once again, no real surprises until Frank came up in the fifth with Miguel Cabrera. Great young player, but not a fifth rounder. I had him on my radar at about the end of the 10th round. And I don't think he'd have been gone by then.
But then a strange thing happened. An absent GM got truly screwed with a pick. A case could be made for Chris getting screwed with Jeff Bagwell in the third round, but Brian just got stuck with Frank Thomas in the fifth. Ouch. At least Bags is a first-ballot Hall-Of-Famer. Thomas is a first ballot Pain-In-The-Ass. He and Ozzie Guillen should be at each other's throats in about a week or two.
After that, everything was quiet until I gave everyone a reason to talk. That's right, with the 14th pick in the fifth round, 74th overall, "D" takes... Ryan Klesko. At least it wasn't Phil Nevin like last year.
"I like him here" was all I could muster up about my pick. Truth be told, I needed someone at first who could hit, and Klesko was it. He's going to get some protection from Giles and Nevin in that lineup, but Klesko in the fifth round? I might as well have taken Frank Thomas.
Sixth round was my shot at a shortstop, and I was torn between Rafael Furcal and Orlando Cabrera. I ultimately chose Cabrera because of his defense compared to Furcal. Last year Dom had Furcal, Aramis Ramirez, and some other guy who combined for roughly 782 errors in the season; I was determined not to have that happen this year.
Seventh round I got my second steal of the draft. Some people (Vinny) disagree, but I think Jason Varitek, a switch-hitting powerful catcher who doesn't have to catch a knucleballer and therefore has a low error total is pretty solid, to me at least. And in the 7th? I couldn't pass him up. I rounded out my back-to-backs by finally getting a closer in Jason Isringhausen. Should have about 40 saves, if his arm doesn't fall off. It was at this time that someone asked "How does it feel to know that you're not going to make a pick for another 20 minutes?" It was true, there was a solid twenty minutes between each round of picks. Well, at least I had time to go to the can.
The rest of the draft was rather uneventful, most players going where they should have, with the exception of Ugueth Urbina going mid-8th round.
"Has he even signed yet?" someone asked.
"I hope Japanese league stats count here" I answered.
Finally, I got my one good quip of the night. That's it and that's all folks. Be sure to tip your waitresses. Good Night!
So my team ended up looking like this: Hitters - Varitek, Klesko, Kent, Cabrera, Wells, Podsednik, Baldelli, J.D. Drew as my Utility, and my bench of Bobby Crosby and Bernie Williams (a 17th round STEAL). Pitchers: Pedro, Odalis Perez, Ted Lilly, Rich Harden, with Izzy, Danny Kolb and Lance Carter (who I dropped for Rocky Biddle) closing.
All in all, I'll take it. I'm pretty happy, and if not, that's why we can trade.
BTW, I'm pretty good at answering fantasy questions, so if any of you have questions about trades or such, feel free to ask me. I'll try to help, regardless of how it affects my team. Unless of course I'm proposing the trade to you, then I'm just going to tell you to take it, no matter what. E-mail me at BigD29x@gmail.com or else reach me on AIM, you should all have the screen name.
Next week, more bracket recaps, let's see how far I can go.
Special Early-week column... It's all about the BRACKETS!
OK, many of you have signed up for the FalconeShow.com NCAA Tournament Pick-'Em contest that I am participating in. Well, I'm the scorer, but here's the deal. Those of you that haven't filled out your brackets yet, her's a quick insider look at how it's gonna go down. I can't play an actual bracket in the contest, but I filled one out for fun anyway. Here's my picks:
St. Louis Region (Midwest):
Lehigh will win the play-in game, but get destroyed by Kentucky. Not even close, I'll say Kentucky by about 35. Washington will squeak past UAB, Providence will not be the annual 12-5 upset. Kansas will dominate UIC (I don't even know what UIC stands for). BC, well I hate to say it, but they will advance past Utah, and G-Tech should have no trouble with Northern Iowa. Finally, Michigan State and Gonzaga will advance into the next round.
In the second round, Kentucky and Providence will move to the sweet 16, and so will G-Tech and Gonzaga. Kentucky and G-Tech will move to the Elite 8 with Kentucky moving to the Final Four.
East Rutherford Region (East):
St. Joseph's, although a shaky #1, shouldn't have much trouble with Liberty. Tx. Tech, Florida, and my biggst Round 1 upset VCU will advance. Wisconsin won't have any trouble with the Spiders, Pitt will CRUSH UCF (How the hell is Pitt, a team that was 29-4, a #3 seed? PUH-LEEEEEZE). South Carolina and Oklahoma St. will round out the first round.
St. Joe's will send Coach Knight home, and VCU's cinderella story will only have 1 chapter after meeting Florida. Pitt and Oklahoma St. will advance to setup the best Sweet 16 game this year, which Pitt will win. Finally, the Panthers wil take out St. Joe's in the Elite 8, setting up a game with Kentucky in the Final Four.
Atlanta Region (South):
Duke, well I've got them going for awhile, so Alabama St. shouldn't pose much of a threat. I think Arizona will take out Seton Hall (Sorry Vin), while Murray St. is my 12-5 upset pick this year. Cincinnati is a good looking teamthis season, as are UNC and Texas. Xavier dominated previously undefeated St. Joe's, and I think they can roll over crumbling Louisville, and finally, Mississippi St. got jobbed by having to be in this bracket with Duke.
Second round, Duke over Zona, Cincinnati over Murray St., Texas over UNC, and Miss. St. over Xavier (no surprises). Third round, Duke rolls again, but it will be a tough game against the Bearcats. Texas, yes TEXAS, I think can take out Miss. St. Finally, Duke can and will drop Texas to reach yet another Final Four.
Phoenix Region (West):
Stanford?! Shaky as hell, but they can take out UT-San Antonio. Southern Illinios, now we've found my dark horse for this year. The Saluki's are a pretty solid team that went 25-4 this year in a tough conference. Watch them go far. Otherwise, I've got Syracuse over BYU, Maryland (sooooo underrated) over UTEP, W. Michigan over Vanderbilt (waaaay overrated), NC State over UL Lafayette, Dayton over Depaul and UCONN over Vermont.
Now in the second round, here's the upset of the second round, S. Illinois can and will take out Stanford. Syracuse will take down Maryland, NC State shouldn't have much trouble with W. Michigan, and Dayton will take out UCONN because Emeka Okeafor will be sore after his first round game. In the third round, The Salukis will beat Syracuse, and NC State will take out Dayton. Final Four time.... Yeah, Southern Illinois, at a #9 seed, will make it to the Final Four.
Final Four:
Duke, Kentucky, Pittsburgh and Southern Illinois. These are three great teams and team that is playing very good basketball. Unfortunately, Southern Illinois won't have enough to take out Duke, and Kentucky - Pitt will be a great game to watch, with Kentucky taking a close one.
Finally, I think Duke takes it all, with an 84-76 win over Kentucky in San Antonio.
So good luck with your brackets, and if I'm wrong, oops.
Alright, I've been skirting these issues long enough, so it's time to address the biggest stories in sports for quite awhile. Today I'm going to talk about college recruiting practices, steroids in baseball, and the Todd Bertuzzi situation. I figured I'd give you all a quick heads up so that if it doesn't interest you, I won't waste your time.
First, college recruiting. Here's the thing; if the allegations of rape turn out to be true, then something is SERIOUSLY wrong. But if they turn out to be nothing more than allegations, then how many rules were really violated?
Last time I checked, it wasn't against any law to go to a strip club, as long as you're 18. And although the legal drinking age is 21, if any of these so-called "outraged" parents think their kids don't drink before their 21st birthday in college, they're sorely mistaken and very naive.
Everyone drinks in college unless they are morally against it or religiously against it. It's a very simple fact. The kids that choose to wait until their 21st birthday to try a sip of beer, well, odds are they weren't recruited for their basketball or football skills anyway.
College drinking is more or less overlooked and swept under the carpet with maybe a fine or a reprimand from the college or university. My freshman year, 22 kids (including me) got caught in the room next to mine with a total of 3 empty beer cans in the garbage. The people in the room got put on notice that one more offense would result in probation, and one more offense would result in suspension from housing. Not from school, just from housing. Both of the kids in that room moved off-campus the next year anyway; what the hell did they care?
Getting college recruits drunk is not a big deal. If the colleges are going to overlook drinking once the kid becomes a student, then why not extend it a few months to cover the recruiting phase.
Now, if that drinking leads to rape, that's a whole different story. Hiring a stripper to entertain the new recruits is not a crime. Hiring a stripper to "entertain" the new recruits probably is. Except in Vegas. Damn I wish I'd gone to UNLV.
But bringing women to parties specifically for the purpose of getting some pre-frosh running back laid is certainly over the line of what is right and what is wrong. Or, even worse, a coach or a school knowing about allegations and simply ignoring them as "boys will be boys" is completely wrong.
This is where colleges need to step up and alert outside authorities. Yes, it might give the school a black eye, but when a controversy breaks around it years later, it gives the school a concussion. Schools need to take allegations more seriously and report them to the proper authorities, and I don't mean the rent-a-cops who work for the school and take the same "boys will be boys" stance. It seems like it takes a death to really get outside officials involved with on-campus incidents.
Again, referring back to my freshman year, a girl at school alleged a rape in the same dorm I lived in. Her story was turned back against her because she admitted to being drunk while underage. The school never really looked for the alleged rapist, and she was expelled for violating the "substance abuse policy". She went to the real police and the rapist was caught within a week; she then was forced to sue the university to gain readmittance, three years later. I think she's finishing her degree this May.
Colleges really need to step up and take responsibility for things that happen within their walls. If students screw up, don't weigh the message that expelling them will send vs. the profit loss from reduced TV revenues at your home games! Investigate it, and DO THE RIGHT THING!
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Todd Bertuzzi is not a goon. He is not a thug, or an enforcer, or even an experienced fighter. He is a goal scorer who, in the mold of Mario Lemieux and Eric Lindros before him, happens to be very big and very strong.
But he crossed the line.
Bertuzzi's hit on Steve Moore late into a 9-2 Vancouver loss to Colorado last week was absolutely disgusting. There is no other way to put it. He blind-sided Moore in retaliation for a LEGAL hit that Moore laid on Bertuzzi's teammate Markus Naslund over a month ago. Naslund got a minor concussion and was out for three games. Bertuzzi gave Moore the same concussion, plus a broken neck.
I'm all for fighting in hockey, it's part of the game. Hockey and lacrosse are two of the most physical and violent sports in the world, with football close behind. The difference is that with hockey, fighting is allowed and encouraged. Remember the old saying "I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out"? Well it's true; fans don't go to NHL games because of the high-octane offenses and easily pronounceable names, they go to see players fly around the ice at 20 mph and slam into each other at full throttle.
But Todd Bertuzzi's blind sucker punch was out of line and blatantly pre-meditated. And his punishment of a suspension through the end of the playoffs is enough ONLY if Commissioner Bettman extends it into next season for at least another 20 games.
I don't blame Bertuzzi for the broken neck, although it only happened as a result of the punch. Steve Moore was out cold as soon as he was punched; he would have fallen to the ice on his own and could have snapped the two vertebrae without Bertuzzi landing on him. In fact, there's no way to know when his neck was broken; because he was unconscious, he can't tell us.
And I don't think Bertuzzi meant to pile on after the punch. He grabbed the back of Moore's sweater and probably just didn't have a chance to let go as the limp, "dead weight" body fell forward. However, the attempted punch after Moore hit the ice was a bit much, and that's why he deserves the extra 20 games. In any other fight, once a body hits the ice, unconscious or not, it's over. It's a standard practice that if you knock your opponent down, no matter if it takes one punch or one-hundred, the fight is over; you win.
I really hope the NHL doesn't use this as an excuse to tone down the violence in its game. Hockey is really the last oasis for people who want to watch pure, unadulterated violence. Even boxing is rigged. If the NHL blows this chance to send a message to both the players and the fans, they'll probably lose what few people still follow the sport, myself included.
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Now, to steroids. Yes, there's really no doubt that steroids have infiltrated baseball, just like they infiltrated football and the Olympics. But each of the other sports has a solid testing system in place. In the NFL, test positive for ANYTHING on the banned list, lose 4 games. Twice, lose 8, three times, lose a season. In the Olympics, test positive once, lose any medals and get suspended for a long time. Do it twice, lifetime ban.
Major League Baseball has essentially told the fans "We know that players are doping. We know which ones it is. But it would violate their privacy to tell anyone else or to suspend them. And it would also violate their privacy to test randomly." Puh-leeze! I don't know about you, but at the last three jobs I've had I had to submit to a drug test upon hire and random testing throughout my employment. Simple as that. I couldn't argue "violation of privacy"; I'd be laughed right out the door!
And the worst part about the whole thing? MLB won't even test for most of the drugs that are considered ILLEGAL in America! They don't test for pot, coke, crack, H, X, NOTHING! If Robert Downey Jr. could throw a curve the Yankees could sign him today, no questions asked!
So if it's illegal, (which most steroids including the infamous THG are), then why can't these athletes be tested for it? Because the MLBPA is the most powerful union in the world, and they've still never lost a dispute. If I had tested positive for cocaine, for example, I'd have been fired and probably reported to the authorities for arrest.
It's not like we, the fans, are asking for a little black book of all the bad boys in baseball. We just want to have a little piece of mind that the game we love, the game we live for, isn't tainted beyond repair. Is that really too much to ask?
This was supposed to get put up here yesterday afternoon, but Xanga has been having server issues, so it got postponed. Sorry.
Since I often poke fun at my mother for doing or saying stupid things, I think that it’s about time to look in the mirror. That’s where I’m going to start before actually getting into this column. If you’ve seen me on AIM recently, you may have seen this already. Just bear with me for a few seconds.
Last Friday, I had a very busy day. I had a job interview in the morning, followed by a trip to a local college for information on graduate school and/or certification classes. Then I went to get an oil change. After that I went to my cousin’s house to say hi, and later, I had another job interview. I got home just in time to eat dinner, only to go right back out for the night with a friend. I didn’t have any time to just sit down and take a breath.
At the bar, after imbibing a few frosty beverages, I had to use the facilities. Nice way of saying I’d had a few beers and needed to use the can. I went to the bathroom and something just wasn’t right. This was, of course, the first time all day I had had time to stop and go to the bathroom.
I looked down, and realized my underwear was on backwards. Yes, I’m a tool.
I was laughing so hard I had to leave and go home so I could fix my drawers. I couldn’t even fix them in the bathroom; it was just way too funny.
So turnabout is fair play. Not that any of you respected me before, but hopefully if you did this won’t lower that level too much.
Onto today’s topic. I know that the calendar might say 2004, but to me, and my friend Andy who suggested this, this is The Year Of The Trade. Is it just me, or does team loyalty not mean anything anymore? Since January 1st,
there have been marquis names moved in all four major sports at a rate that has goon from unusual to downright ridiculous. If we go back for just a twelve month period… wow.
How’s this list of big-name star athletes sound? Alex Rodriguez, Curt Schilling, Kevin Brown, Javier Vasquez, Billy Wagner, Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Terrell Owens, Clinton Portis, Champ Bailey, Mark Brunell, Rasheed Wallace, Keith Van Horn, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Jaromir Jagr, Brent Johnson, Jan Hrdina, Sergei Gonchar, Michael Nylander, Petr Nedved, Brian Leetch, Alexei Kovalev, Viktor Kozlov, Peter Bondra, Robert Lang etc. And there are still at least three marquee names that have been mentioned as possible trade bait in baseball and football: Drew Henson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Moss.
There are so many awards, records, and so much potential in that list that it is absolutely staggering. Most of those players have changed teams via the trade within the last 2 months, although many of the baseball moves did occur in November or December. There’s no doubt that the NFL will have its share of big names changing teams soon, since the first day to actually make trades was just this past week. The NBA is done for now with its trading deadline passed, and the NHL is quickly approaching its deadline.
So what does all this mean? Are teams just tired of shelling out ever increasing salaries to the same players? Perhaps the American attention span is so short that fans grow bored with a player after just a year or two. Or in Brian Leetch’s case, seventeen. How else can we explain the trades of the best player in baseball, one of the top 5 starting pitchers in baseball, one of the top 5 relievers in baseball, one, and maybe two of the top 3 receivers in football, probably the best your RB in football, one of the best, if not most sane power forwards in basketball, and one of the most prolific goal scorers of the 90’s? Hell, if we want to go way back, David Beckham, the most recognizable soccer player in the world, and perhaps the most recognizable athlete in the world, was traded from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a Babe Ruth like move, meaning he was essentially sold.
It’s pretty simple. Each of these moves was made for nothing more than financial reasons. Most of the teams involved were simply trying to shed salary, while the buyers considered money to be of no consequence. Except the NY Rangers. They apparently took a page from the 2001 Montreal Expos playbook of player management by deciding they had a shot at the playoffs and adding every high priced free agent they could, and upon seeing they wouldn’t make it, dumping anyone that could be moved. I mean, EVERYONE makes the playoffs in hockey, 16 out of 28 teams! How do you miss the playoffs in hockey?!
Sorry, random tangent for a minute. I’m OK now.
Back to the moves. Football is going to be the next sport to experience a complete overhaul on just about every roster. Most people can’t identify their teams’ linemen, either offense or defense, or the defensive secondary. The biggest stars in the game are the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and linebackers. I can’t remember a season where so many of these players either became free agents, were waived, or were on the trading block. Had TO and Clinton Portis been the only names to move teams all season it would have been a busy offseason. But just in this week alone Jevon Kearse, Ted Washington, Robairre Smith and a host of others have changed uniforms via free agency. And it’s only been a week!
Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s money. But I like the feeling of being able to watch a player for years, follow his career from the time he comes to my team to the day he RETIRES, not the day he ships out with his free agent class. Or the day he gets moved for salary restraints.
I realize that this flies in the face of my last two columns crying for a salary cap and salary base for all teams in all leagues, and I’ll take the criticism that comes with flip-flopping on an issue more than a political candidate. But there is a way to keep the core of a team intact so that the fans can truly enjoy their teams.
Before my time, fans got used to dynasties. The Celtics. The Canadiens. The Big Red Machine. The Steel Curtain. What dynasty do we really have today? The Free-Spenders. The Haves. The Salary-Cappers.
It becomes increasingly hard for average fans (and by "average" I mean people who, unlink me, DON’T have 12 hours a day to spend researching pro sports) to follow their favorite players when their favorite players keep changing teams. This is almost like playing a video game as a GM and overriding the trades that other teams don’t want to make.
Hmmm, Terrell Owens for a 2nd round pick. Well, it seems a bit lopsided, but what the hell, I’ll take it! I just hope the 49ers can find a way to get a QB, RB and WR out of that pick, since they’ll need one of each.
Someday, I’ll be a GM (pffff) and I’ll have to make these same decisions. I hope that I will be able to deal with these problems, and not ship out my best players each year in order to save cash. But if you’re a fan of a "have-not", no matter what league, the season is over before it starts.
But on the plus side, buy the jersey of your team’s best player. In a few years, it’ll be a collector’s item as a "retro throwback". Cha-Ching!
