Letters to the Editor
-
NL playoffs
I was just reading an AP report about MLB's nightmare scenario -- what happens if the Mets, Phillies, Padres, D-Backs and Rockies all finish with the same record. Apparently it would take four days of tiebreakers to untangle that mess. It might not be a classic pennant race but it would surely be one of the most memorable finishes in baseball history.
-
baseball vs. football
Baseball is dead to me until it gets a salary cap and revenue sharing.
Otherwise you're just watching one stacked deck playing against another stacked deck, year after year. No thanx.
All football, all the time.
-
Buster
Buster: Atlanta
I like your kid, King. He's got moxy.
-
Yea
Except the only problem is, when was the last time the Yanks won the WS? Or the Phillies/Rockies? I think the cap is actually becoming a red herring too. i mean look at the NFL, for all the talk of "parity" for the most part its the same teams: Pats, Colts, Eagles, Steelers always seem to be in the mix. I'm sure I am leaving some out. Yea, you get a precocious Saints team and stuff like that, but you get that type of thing in baseball too.
I just think the single-elimination format and small sample size allows for teams to pop up too, giving the illusion of more parity than there really is. We still see the usual suspects in football as well. And at that point your accountant and capologist are almost as important as coaching staff. Don't believe me? try to untangle the Redskins. You have bad cap managers, and you end up with zero depth and dead money.
-
The Rockies are no fluke
The Rockies are having their best year ever, which honestly isn’t saying all that much -- they broke their prior best win total of 83 this week. They are young, mostly homegrown, and they play good, smart ball. They have the best defense in the league, and the best team ERA and NL record since May 22nd. And that after three starting pitchers got injured for the year in July. The bullpen has been incredible since the all-star break. They may have pulled it all together a smidgen too late, but their future has never been brighter.
Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitski should be NL Rookie of the Year. Ryan Braun, of the Brewers, has put up big numbers on offense (34-95, .325), but his fielding percentage is .892, which means he makes an error on more than a tenth of his chances. Tulowitski is leading the majors in chances by a wide margin and leads shortstops with a fielding percentage of .987. He broke Ernie Banks’ records for home runs and RBIs by a rookie shortstop (23-94, .292). And he has become a leader in the clubhouse, while the Brewers have a losing record during the time since Braun was called up. Braun will probably get the award, but Tulo has been the more valuable player.
LF Matt Holliday has the best overall offensive numbers in the NL and should get a serious look for MVP. And before anyone even thinks Coors Field, it is tenth this season in homers rendered and sixth in runs. The parks in Philly and Milwaukee have been far more friendly, with Citizens Bank Park among the hitter-friendliest of all time. If Holliday’s numbers are discounted for playing at Coors, will those of Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, and Braun be too? Coors is still a hitter-friendly park, but no more than several others now, and certainly not enough that the numbers of its players should be singled out and discounted in comparison to the rest of the league.
The eleven game winning streak is the longest in the majors this year, and the longest in Rockies history. If they sweep the D-Backs at home over the weekend, they earn at least a tie-breaker playoff. With a little help, who knows. It’s probably too late, but the Rox haven’t played meaningful games this late in the season in 12 years. And this time the team isn’t a patched together fluke built around pounding homers. Even if they fall short, their wait-til-next-year will finally have a little umph behind it this time.
-
ADD: 51 Points hung on Cincinnatti
Hey, King
You forgot to mention anything about The Browns hanging 51 on the Bengals!
Man, sometimes you miss the big stories!
-
Niners O-line woes
The problem with the Niners' offense isn't Alex Smith (who's doing just fine, considering the circumstances) or Frank Gore, or even the mediocre collection of pass receivers.
Their offensive line, which was strength of the team last year, has suddenly gotten old. Larry Allen has at last become "football old," and Jonas Jennings isn't matching past performances either except for his ability to sustain injuries. Center Eric Heitmann hasn't recovered his quickness from his broken leg up in Seattle last year. In short, half of the offensive line isn't doing the job. On the other side they have a new stud tackle in Joe Staley, but he is a rookie.
When there is no push off the line and no holes created, Frank Gore, who hardly needs a step beyond before he's getting big gains, is negated. When the run game is shot Smith has almost no time to throw. Additionally, his receiving corps has only one real speedster, Lelie, whose bad mojo at Denver and Atlanta has apparently followed him here to the bench. The rest get little separation and have no time to run their routes before there's a fire drill behind the line.
Even Hostler's playcalling hasn't been terrible, or wouldn't be if the O line did its job. Either Allen et al will wake up, there'll be some substitutions, the Niners will begin to use a lot more trickery, or they're going to face a season with a great young defense and no offense.
-
a new strategy
After three weeks of generally piss-poor choices, I remain woefully dead last in my office pool. No really, dead last. Even further down than the middle-aged ladies that picked the Browns over The Bengals 'cause they like the colour brown!
So this week, with nothing to lose, (my dignity already in tatters) I've gone and used all of your choices (even the WTH).
With any luck your pigskin prognosticatin' will help me reclaim even just a shred of self-worth!
(wow, now I know what addicts mean about hitting rock bottom! Here I am taking my cues from a cartoon sports writer, like some kind of sucker. ;)