Sharks 2009 Wrap Up

Every once in a while I leave the diamond for the ice, and as we get ready to flip the old page on the calendar once again, I thought now would be a great time to review how my hometown team San Jose Sharks, are doing so far in 2009.

Overall, the Sharks are leading the Pacific Division with 47 points, the second best total in the Western Conference (the Blackhawks lead the way with 49 points). However, the club is just 4-3-3 in their last 10 games as they have struggled to win at home for the first time since Todd McLellan took over the club at the start of last season (they have still lost only two of 16 home games in regulation going 9-2-5 despite the recent rough stretch).

Now on to the player report cards.

Joe Thornton – Grade A: Leads the NHL with 39 assists and 48 points. He could shoot the puck more frequently, but why quibble with greatness?

Dany Heatley – A: Tied for fourth in the NHL with 21 goals, he is second with 10 on the power-play in his first season in SJ.

Patrick Marleau – A: Stripped of the captaincy, he has lit it up this season with 21 goals (tied with Dany H.) leading to 37 points in 35 games

Dan Boyle – A: A fiery leader, Boyle has been beat up all year but still has 29 points in 35 contests.

Scott Nichol – A: A putrid fantasy performer with only four points and a (-7), his effort has brought the right amount of spunk to a team in need of energy. He is also dynamic in the face-off circle with a 61.9 percent mark, the second best total in the league.

Ryane Clowe – B: Started out very slowly but rounding into shape nicely with 19 points in his last 21 games.

Evgeni Nabokov – B: The .920 save percentage is great, and the 2.35 GAA isn’t too shabby, but his 17-5-7 record could improve if he limited the cheap goals a bit more.

Joe Pavelski – B: Limited due to injury, “Little Joe” is death to goalies in the shootout and not to bad during the regular game either with 15 points and a +7 in 20 contests.

Manny Malhotra – B: Not much offense to speak of (13 points) but he was signed for his two-way play and face-off prowess.

Jason Demurs – B: An undrafted rookie, he has spent some time in the minors but he brings a nice right-handed shot to the power-play (13 points, six with the man advantage, in 28 games).

Douglass Murray – B: Seven points, +7 and 37 PIM. Those numbers don’t come close to striking the fear in opponent’s hearts like his thundering checks do.

Rob Blake – C: Hard to judge his first year effort at Sharks’ captain given injury, but his on ice production is down (2g, 6a, +2 in 24 games).

Devin Setoguchi – C: With nine goals in 23 games his scoring pace is that of a30-goal man over the course of a full season, but the young scoring star has only one goal in his last 11 games.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – C: Rarely makes a mistake or gets caught of position while playing big minutes.

Kent Huskins – C: You don’t usually recognize that he has played, not necessarily a bad thing for a mostly stay at home defenseman.

Jed Ortmeyer -C: One of those grinders every successful teams need, Jed has chipped in four goals and four assists for the club.

No matter what the grade is for any of the players that I’ve mentioned, the only thing that matters in San Jose this year is getting a chance to win the cup. If the club fails to advance in the playoffs it won’t matter if every guy on this list ends the regular season with an “A” next to his name. This team will be judged by the number 16 – the total number of victories needed to hoist the cup.

By Ray Flowers

Hazy NFL Thoughts

JaMarcus Russell giving the thumbs up. After all, he had just completed a pass in practice, and that alone was cause for celebration.

Some days I sit here and I have a clear vision of the day. Other times I drift around in a bit of haze, inundated from all sides by a bevy of ever changing sports information (I know, cue the violins right – my life is so tough). Today I’m in one of those floating moods, so here is random sampling of what’s going on in my noggin.

Dwayne Bowe was suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s ban on performance enhancing drugs (he will be out until Week 15). Speculation is that Bowe, who came to camp channeling his inner Fat Albert, took some kind of diuretic to help him shed the 30 extra pounds he was carrying. Here is my advice – try eating less ding dongs, get some sleep, and avoid devouring every piece of food put in front of you. Really, for a pro athlete to put on 30 lbs in an offseason simply boggles my mind. I haven’t left my house in like 11 days, have been eating cheesy poofs and Butterfingers from Halloween, and I haven’t gained a pound.

Speaking of staying in shape, JaMarcus Russell could learn a thing or two about avoiding the all-you-can eat Korean buffets at 12:30 at night after you’ve pulled back on a baker’s dozen o’ beers. A noted workout fiend, and by workout I mean that he attacks the dessert menu with abandon, Russell has been historically awful this season. Through nine games he has completed 47.1 percent of his passes with two scores, nine interceptions, and an average of less than 119 yards a contest leading to a 47.9 QB Rating. I’m being totally serious here – I could literally practice for about two weeks and step in and do that well. I’m not kidding, I used to chuck a mean 15 yard out with that orange Nerf ball when I was a kid.

Didn’t you used to be Terrell Owens? After catching a mere 26 passes for 366 yards and a touchdown I could have sworn you were Roscoe Parrish. Perhaps you should have spent less time with that reality TV show that attempts to show you as a smooth ladies man and more time trying to build a rapport with his quarterback.

For those that think the NFL is the No Fun League, here is some further support for the position. Listed below are the fines you receive from the league for committing said infraction.

Exposing a knee, roughing the passer, chop block: $5,000
*** That first one refers to a player whose sock has slipped down his leg revealing his exposed knee, and no, I’m not making that up.

Oh, and the best one? How about a $25,000 fine if you wear a college hat on the sidelines. Are you kidding me? You get a $25K bill for wearing a hat from your school while chilling out, but you can chop block a guy, potentially ending his season or his career, and pay only $5K? Something seems wrong with that doesn’t it?

Is Brady Quinn really that bad? Through nine career appearances Quinn has completed 52.2 percent of his passes with three scores and seven interceptions. As awful as he has been in five games this season, his 51.0 QB Rating is actually a massive upgrade over the 36.2 mark of Derek Anderson. And you thought Russell was bad.

Oh, I forgot to mention above, when discussing Russell, that prior to the Raiders last game that their wide receivers had 28 receptions on the year, or literally half as many as the next worst team, the Bucs. Think of that. The Raiders entire wide receiving corps was 50 percent worse than the next to last team, not the first team, the 31st team. Pathetic.

By Ray Flowers

Consider Me Skeptical

Sometimes everything just clicks. You know, like when you swing the bat in that smooth arc, make contact with the ball, and literally don’t even fell anything other than a soft push back as the ball arches toward the seats. Or when you line up the guy with the ball and plant your facemask right in his gut as you can literally hear the wind shoot out of his lungs as you drive right through him on the tackle. It may not have all “clicked” Thursday night at the Shark Tank in San Jose, Evgeni Nabokov still needs to stop more pucks, but on the night that the Sharks raised the banner for their President’s Trophy award from last season (for most points in the league), an awful lot went right for the home town club.

For those of you who aren’t intimately schooled in the art of the Sharks, here is what has happened.

The Sharks have been tremendous regular season performers, highlighted by that President’s Trophy last season, but once the playoff roll around they have been perpetual underachievers, a storyline that I, depressingly, had to detail in a piece back in late April entitled When is Enough, Enough? Looking to change the culture of the team, the organization made a huge move this offseason sending fan favorite Jonathan Cheechoo and solid scoring winger Milan Michalek to the Senators in exchange for sniper Dany Heatley (you can read my thoughts on that deal in Heatley Finally Moved). For one night, it was the bestest move the team has made in team history, other than that little trade with Boston a few years back that netted some guy named Joe Thornton.

On Thursday night, the Columbus Blue Jackets felt the full brunt of how good this Heatley-Thornton team can be. The final score of 6-3 didn’t even remotely tell the story of the contest. After a couple of lackluster efforts the Sharks simply demolished the Jackets after spotting them a 1-0 lead, and at the center of nearly everything were the two superstars who combined for, sit down before you read on, three goals, five assists, and a +10 rating. Here is how it played out.

Heatley recorded a hat-trick, he also added an assist, on his way to becoming the first Sharks’ player in team history to record a hat-trick in his first home game. He also posted a Sharks’ record +6 on the night (tying Michael Sykora’s mark from 1996). Through four games he now has four goals and five assists.

Thornton recorded four assists and a +4 in the tilt to tie a Sharks record for helpers in game that he already holds. “My job is really easy,” said Thornton. “Just give it to Heater and Setoguchi.” Thornton now has eight assists in four games.

The third member of the line, Devin Setoguchi, had a hell of a game but no one really noticed (one goal, one assist), and blueliner Dan Boyle also had a goal and two assists in another fine outing by the alternate captain. As mentioned earlier, about the only “star” who didn’t have a great night was Evgeni Nabokov who had another ho-hum effort in which he stopped 24 of 27 shots. He has plenty of time to turn things around, and he surely will, but his work through four games has been spotty at best (3.68 GAA, .859 SV%).

But in the end this isn’t the Sharks blowing out of the water a team that they are clearly superior to. It isn’t about Joe Thornton, the best passer in the game, racking up another huge assist game, and it isn’t about Dany Heatley signaling to the faithful that he is indeed the real deal. None of this matters to me, and it shouldn’t matter to a single Sharks’ fan. The only thing that matters is the number 16 – the number of victories it takes to hoist the Stanley Cup. Regular season success is great, but we’ve seen it in these parts before. The time for moral victories is gone. It’s now time for this team to do some heavy lifting when it matters most, and that isn’t in October, it’s in June.

Until that happens, consider me nothing more than a slightly interested spectator.

By Ray Flowers

Game On!

You remember the old NHL tagline of “Game On” right? Well it’s Game On as the NHL prepares to get underway on Thursday night.

To that end, I participated in the third annual experts hockey league last night, the top event of its kind on the internet (last year I finished in third place, a respectable showing, that you can read about by clicking on the link to the Yahoo! Experts League).

I thought I would take a moment to get you all in the pucking mood by listing for you my squad, with a little note for each guy.

* The first number is the round the player was taken in, the second number in () is the overall spot the player was taken in the 12-team draft.

One final note. Each club kept four players from 2008-09 (any position), and the league uses four starters at LW, C, RW, six at D, and two in G.

Fanball – Flowers

1. (1) Joe Thornton (keeper) – 86 points is a 4-year low with Sharks.

2. (24) Corey Perry (keeper) – Devastating combo of points (72) and grit (109 PIM).

3. (25) Rick Nash (keeper) – Only 25, coming off first 40-goal season.

4. (48) Marc Savard (keeper) – Has 269 points in 238 games with the Bruins.

5. (49) Marc-Andre Fleury – 35 wins and a Cup to his credit last season.

6. (72) Sheldon Souray – 49 goals, 117 points and 233 PIMs last two healthy seasons.

7. (73) Nikolai Khabibulin – 2.33 GAA, .919 SV% last year. Now in Edmonton.

8. (96) Rob Blake – 10 goals, +15, 110 PIM and 198 shots for Sharks’ captain.

9. (97) Milan Lucic – Second season led to 17 goals, +17 and 136 PIMs.

10. (120) Ryane Clowe – Ready to bust loose after 22 goals, 30 assists.

11. (121) Kevin Bieksa – Name to remember as he scored 11 goals with 97 PIM from blue line.

12. (144) Craig Anderson – First year he will be given a true chance to start in net.

13. (145) Kimmo Timonen – Steady as she goes – 40-points in 7-straight years.

14. (168) Mike Smith – Over concussion symptoms, had a .916 SV% last year.

15. (169) Bryan McCabe – Still can score a goal (15 last year).

16. (192) Justin Williams – Injured last two years, before that was 30-goal man in 2005-06.

17. (193) Shawn Horcoff – Bombed last year with 53 points after All-Star selection in ’07.

18. (216) Marco Sturm – Leg is healed and had scored at least 20-goals previous 6-years.

19. (217) Stephen Weiss – Nothing exciting but did have 61 points and +19.

20. (240) Steve Downie – Could skate on top line with Bolts.

21. (241) Segei Shirokov – Talk of Canucks camp. Could be breakout star.

22. (264) Maxim Afinogenov – Signed with Thrashers. Will he rebound alongside Kovalchuk?

23. (265) Adrian Aucoin – May be slightly boring, but 10-goals in four of last seven seasons.

24. (288) R.J. Umberger – Needed depth late. He scored 26 goals with 234 shots last year.

25. (289) Nikolai Zherdev – Not on a team, but has to be the most talented 25th round pick ever.

Overall Thoughts:

* We only start two goalies but I figured I would add depth after missing out on the elite. MAF should be a horse who racks up the wins, and my other three keepers all could be considered legitimate starters. They may not be great, but some other teams will certainly be scrambling for help after I grabbed four of the top-30.

* Top-2 at center are massive in the point categories (Thornton, Savard). If Horcoff reaches his potential, and Weiss merely repeats, this is a strong group.

* I really like my LW. Not many better than Nash, and I think Lucic and Clowe could both be 30-goal scorers. Wanted to get one, but I got both. Sturm should be healthy and a 20-goal threat, possibly higher if he skates on first line with Savard.

* This is where my season might hinge. Perry is a stud, but after that, I need some luck. Zherdev and Afinogenov could surprise, but they could also be totals busts. The same can be said for Shirokov, but he has been uber-impressive this preseason, should skate on the second line, and might get first unit power-play time. Downie is a nice mix of offense and a pugnacious attitude, and if he skates on Tampa’s first line, that would be huge. And Williams out in LA, if the man could just stay healthy he would appear to be a lock for at least 25 markers.

* The D could be another strength, especially when you consider that five of my six starters scored at least 10 goals last season, while the other (Timonen) was a +19 with 43 points.

So there you have it. A solid unit that could certainly garner another top-3 finish this season, and with just a little luck from a couple of those foreign born skaters that I grabbed late, who knows, maybe I’ll have a chance to finish even higher this

By Ray Flowers

The Dream Begins

I’m sitting here at the airport in Las Vegas, and unlike that killer flick The Hangover, I actually remember what I did my entire time here (and for those of you that saw the movie, no, I’m not wearing my jock strap right now). For those of you who didn’t read my previous post, and shame on you if you didn’t because it was one hell of a read (Vegas Baby!), I’m in Las Vegas, not just to get my swerve on, though I cannot confirm or deny that something like that did or did not happen, but to help facilitate the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC). Here are some of my thoughts on my time at the event.

* I saw two leagues where guys drafted three consecutive wide receivers in the first three rounds in 14-team leagues. The leagues are point-per-reception with a bit of a twist – RBs only receive 0.5 points per catch while WR/TE/QB receive a full point. I know there is a RBBC in something like 50 percent of the backfields anymore leading to even more value at the wide receiver position, but I still think it takes a lot of guts to pass on backs until round four in such a deep league. I’ll keep an eye on how that strategy works out.

* It was great to meet the fans and to get a chance to interact face-to-face instead of just through email or instant messaging. If you can believe it, and I’m not making this up, I ran into a guy who literally lives on my block back in California. How is that even possible, that I traveled all the way to Sin City and ran into a guy who literally lives 1000 feet from me down the street? That’s just crazy.

* James Davis – welcome to fantasy relevance. Reports continue to swirl out of Cleveland that Jamal Lewis is basically done. In fact, there was fairly widespread speculation that Lewis might actually be cut because of the money he is due this season. Wasn’t it just a month ago that Jerome Harrison was all the rage? Well, Harrison was hurt (leg) and into that void Davis has clearly asserted himself. By mid-season we might be looking at Lewis either being on the street or operating as the third choice out of that backfield. Davis was clearly one of those players who was drafted much earlier than his ADP value over the weekend.

* Who had the idea of starting a mecca of pleasure like Vegas in the desert? I mean it was like 106 degrees during the day, who needs that?

* Drew Brees and Tom Brady seemed to be going early, somewhere in the 9-14 range, and then there was a good 10-15 selection spread before we saw Peyton Manning go off the board. I wouldn’t take any of the three that early, but if I was of that ilk I would certainly prefer Manning at the end of the second than the “B” boys at the end of the first.

* I had no idea that the Flamingo had a clothing optional pool (that’s where the event took place – not at the nudie pool, but at the hotel). I’ll never say a bad word about the Flamingo again.

* Someone, hello law enforcement, needs to get those guys off the street that try to hand you those little “hey I’m cute, call me for a good time” cards. Everyone knows you can find that stuff in Vegas, after all it is called Sin City, but I don’t want to slip on those Zerva that Magnificent cards on the sidewalk when I’m walking around in a drunken stupor late at night. Oops, I mean I don’t want drunk people to slip on all those discarded cards.

* Last year we gave away about $850,000 in the event. Yeah, that’s nearly a million dollars in prizes awarded to the hundreds of people that participated (the grand prize is $100,000).

* Totally off topic, but I was utterly shocked to see so many babies in Vegas. Walking around the strip on Saturday night it seemed like every 15th person was a mother pushing a stroller with a kid in it. I don’t know about you, but I think I would wait to introduce my child to “Sin City” until they were at least old enough to vote.

So there are a couple of thoughts from the event in Vegas (it was held simultaneously in Chicago and New York as well). Good luck to everyone who participated, and for those of you who didn’t, the National Fantasy Baseball Championship is a mere seven months away. Now I gotta shut off this computer and get on the plane. Is it just me or do you miss getting those peanuts or pretzels on the plane? I know the economy has taken a bit of a downturn, but really, I can’t get me a free bag of some nuts on the place? I mean, what do they cost, 25 cents?

By Ray Flowers

Vegas Baby!

Trent: They’re gonna give daddy the Rainman suite, you dig that?
Mike: Do you think we’ll get there by midnight?
Trent: Baby, we’re going to be up five hundy by midnight!
Mike: Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhh!
Trent: Vegas baby! Vegas!
Mike: Vegas!

– Swingers (1996)

Great flick if you haven’t seen it by the way.

No, you haven’t stumbled into some drunken rant by yours truly, you merely have the pleasure of seeing just how excited I am to be traveling to Vegas this weekend. I’m not going to confirm or deny the rumors of gambling, carousing with the ladies and general debauchery that continue to follow me around, but let’s just say that some good times have been had in Vegas in the past. I will fully admit that the upcoming weekend will involve some merriment, but I’m not merely going to Vegas to have some stories to share with my friends, I’m actually off to do some business as I will be helping Greg Ambrosius and Charlie Wiegert run the National Fantasy Football Championship.

What is the NFFC? It is the premier, big ticket fantasy football event in the country with the grand prize winner being guaranteed a check for $100,000. The event is held, live, in Vegas, Chicago and New York simultaneously, and if you are unable to attend any of those live shindigs you can always participate via the online leagues that are available for the event. To learn more about everything NFFC click on the link to Fantasy Football Championship.

As a side note, for those of you wondering what I look like away from the computer, you can also go to the baseball site for the Fantasy Baseball Championship and look for me to appear amongst the pictures on the home page (I’m wearing an Angels’ jersey along side our head honcho, Ryan Houston). Oh yeah, we are now unable to participate in either event moving forward, after all “we” purchased the company, so all of you out there won’t have to worry about having to defeat the best fantasy team that Fanball has to offer (that’s right, Mr. Houston and myself have a pretty fair track record going).

For those of you that will be in Vegas, don’t forget to come up and say hello. I’d love to hear from you my loyal fans, and no, I didn’t just call you “The Loyal” like Criss Angel calls his followers. I will tell you that I love that guy’s magic/illusionist act which you can see on A&E or live if you visit the Luxor in Vegas. Hey, maybe I can get in to see him on Saturday night? That has to be one wild show with Cirque Du Soleil. Could do without all the makeup and dark nail polish though.

Anyway, I’m off to Vegas, so I may not be posting for a few days. Hey, you don’t expect me to turn down a chance to have some good old fashioned fun to write about sports do you? Your right, I’ll probably be typing up a report pretty soon because my chances of going “crazy” in Vegas are about as good as Bengie Molina winning the NL MVP.

By Ray Flowers

Is This It?

When the Sharks excited the playoffs last season in the first round, after the most successful season in franchise history in which the won the President’s Trophy awarded to the team with the best record in the league, the front office vowed that the culture of the team would change. Most assumed that would mean that a big ticket item would be brought in, Dany Heatley’s name being prominent amongst those mentioned, and many thought that the team would move parts such as deposed captain Patrick Marleau. Alas, we are mere weeks from the start of training camp and there has yet to be anything remotely approximating a culture shift in San Jose despite the trade today that sent Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich to the Vancouver Canucks for Patrick White and Daniel Rahimi. I know, earth shattering eh?

“This trade speaks to the confidence we have in the young players coming up through our system who have earned the right to compete for a spot on this team,” Sharks GM Doug Wilson said. “It also creates some flexibility in our team payroll for potential future transactions as the season progresses…”

White is a 20 year old center and a former first round draft pick who is currently skating with the University of Minnesota, while Rahimi is a blue liner who has been skating in the AHL for a couple of seasons. The Sharks, as mentioned, will be saving a few bucks as Ehrhoff is scheduled to make $6.2 million the next two seasons while Lukowich is set to make just over $1.5 million in the coming campaign.

The Sharks traded for Kent Huskins at the deadline last year and he should be able to replace the loss of stay at home defensemen Lukowich, but the loss of Ehrhoff will be harder to overcome. Though he often had no idea where his howitzer was going after firing the puck, Ehrhoff did a much better job putting the biscuit on net last season and the result was his most offensive season of his five year career, and I mean that in a good way as he recorded 42 points with 25 coming with the man-advantage.

Still, this deal is as much about what it wasn’t as what it was.

The Sharks saved some money and got two parts that might one day amount to something. At the same time this move certainly weakens the club at present, that is unless they use the extra salary cap space to bring in a top-6 forward. Heatley continues to say he wants out of Ottawa, and he and Joe Thornton have had success skating with each other in international play, so perhaps this move will accomplish the goal of bringing the sniper west to Silicon Valley. However, don’t go writing this down as a done deal by any means as one of the pieces often discussed in the potential Sharks-Senators deal was the now departed Christian Ehrhoff.

The Sharks need to do something. That much is clear. And while this may be the first step leading to the “real” move the club has been planning for months, if this is it, there are going to be plenty of disappointed fans at the Tank this season. Still, I’m willing to bet that Doug Wilson has something up his sleeve. Just read the following quote which was uttered in late April after the Sharks bowed out to the Ducks.

“Changes will be made,” Wilson said. “This is pro sports and winning is the only thing that matters…This organization will win and if unpleasant decisions have to be made, they will get made.”

By Ray Flowers

I Wanna Puke

Did I miss something here? I know Brett Favre is one of the most loved athletes in football history, but someone, for the love of god, tell me why this story is so all pervasive in the sports landscape? I mean my goodness, you would think that Favre invented football or something (all he did was decided to end his self imposed retirement by signing a 2-year deal with the Vikings).

I don’t like Brett Favre.

I don’t like his ‘it’s all about me’ attitude, or the fact that you simply CANNOT trust a word out of his mouth as he clearly has no idea what he is doing as one day he is retired, the next day he is unsure, and the next days he is playing. Honestly, how could his wife, friends or teammates trust anything he says? When he finally decides to end his football career, who knows he might play until he’s 45, he should either (a) become a spy where lying is prized, (b) become an actor (we know he can cry on cue even when he isn’t certain that he is speaking the truth), or (c) maybe he could become a politician because we all know how those men and women break out into hives when they tell the truth.

Really, I can’t be the only one about to vomit every time I hear his name mentioned, can I? Of course, that didn’t stop Favre-center (Brian Kenny even used the term at one point), I mean Sportscenter, from spending, literally, the first 38 minutes of the show talking about Favre. That’s right, Sportscenter, reportedly a show about SPORTS, spent the first two-thirds of their hour talking about Favre. We got a full two minutes on the Nationals signing of Stephen Strasburg at that point, but right after that we were back to all Favre, all the time. Maybe we can get an All-Favre TV station? I don’t know what’s a bigger shock to me, that Sportscenter was completely dedicated to Favre, or that for the first time in five years it wasn’t dominated by coverage of the Yankees and Red Sox?

I know that Favre has nearly appeared in 300-consecutive games, a record unmatched in the annals of the game, but the man is 39 years old (40 in October), and that body will eventually break down (he has a minor rotator cuff tear in his shoulder in addition to the biceps that was recently operated on, though neither injury is expected to be a factor this season). In addition to that, there is this – his play suffered a massive drop off last season over the final four games of the season when he completed less than 57 percent of his passes with two scores, eight interceptions and a sickly 53.3 QB Rating. Sure he was hurt, but that is some awful work is it not? Moreover, Favre finished 21st in the NFL in QB Rating last year (81.0), threw for fewer yards than David Garrard (3,620 to 3,472) and led the NFL with 22 interceptions. I know he has the “name,” and I know that the two guys they had under center weren’t great options (Sage Rosenfels, Tarvaris Jackson), but has anyone paused in the euphoria of the signing to realize that he simply isn’t better than about 15-18 other NFL quarterbacks at this point of his career?

I wish Favre all the best, and in truth I’m happy that he finally signed so we will be spared having to talk about him every time a Vikings QB threw an interception this season.

By Ray Flowers

Busy Day in Beantown

The Red Sox made two deals on Wednesday, and while neither one can match the earth shaking move from last season when they dealt the head case that is Manny Ramirez for Jason Bay, each move was meant to tweak a Red Sox roster that is need of a pick me up. In what follows I’ll give my thoughts on both moves, as well as spending a few moments detailing the demise of professional baseball in Pittsburgh.

Adam LaRoche was traded from the Pirates to the Red Sox in exchange for two minor leaguers you have never heard of – SS Argenis Diaz and SP Hunter Strickland. The reason you have never heard of them is that they are both young and haven’t yet appeared above Double-A. If you want to read more about all three guys and the move in general, please give LaRoche Headed to Beantown a read as I spend a good bit of time breaking things down. The early consensus is that the Pirates got a guy who can field with the best of them but hits like his eyes are closed, as well as a nice control artist who one day might be a solid 4th starter. Should the club have gotten more for the power-hitting LaRoche? Working against them was the fact that LaRoche is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season, and teams are shying away from adding talent that they can’t control as the downturn in the economy has finally begun to make teams cautious of those “rent-a-players” who only spend a couple of months with the club before signing with someone else the following year.

Regardless of that, I just don’t get it. Three weeks ago I wrote Will It Ever End? in which I questioned the commitment to winning in Pittsburgh. The deal currently being discussed has done nothing but buttress the feelings that I illuminated in that previous piece. I was ready to continue to lambaste the Pirates organization for their further ineptitude but my colleague, the always astute Ted Carlson, beat me to it with his piece Updated Pirates Scorecard. I could add my two cents, but I think the two links do justice to what has become a laughable situation in Pittsburgh. If I was a Pirates fan, I think I would go on permanent strike.

The other deal that the Red Sox made was to send disgruntled SS Julio Lugo to the Cardinals in exchange for struggling outfielder Chris Duncan. As I write this the deal isn’t “official,” but what we believe is that the Red Sox will likely pay the majority of the $13 million that Lugo is due this season and next. As for his work on the field, Lugo has hit .284 in his 109 ABs this season. Injuries to his legs have limited him to just three steals on the year, and without that asset his game isn’t very valuable, but it should be pointed out that has exceeded his career batting average (.271) and OBP (.335) this season (his current OBP is .352). With the Cardinals no longer trusting Khalil Greene at shortstop, and with ample reason, the only man in Lugo’s way to substantial playing time is the .276 hitting Brendan Ryan who has all of one home run and a .313 OBP in 214 at-bats. Do you really think Lugo won’t be able to garner the majority of playing time in St. Louis given that competition? Don’t forget that a move to St. Louis late in the year did wonders to awaken the bat of Felipe Lopez.

As for what the Red Sox got in the deal, Duncan has been a mess this year hitting .227 with five home runs in 260 ABs. Whether or not his back will ever be sufficiently healed to allow him to return to the 20-HR plateau he has reached previously is open for debate, but it’s not debatable that dude simply cannot hit left handed pitching with a .206/.269/.346 career line in 228 ABs. As a result of his struggles this season it is believe that the Sox will send him down for some work in the minors (with the addition of LaRoche there would be no room for him at first, so he will only be called up when the team feels they have a need in the outfield). To me, this is a negligible move and one that lessons his already meager fantasy value.

Overall you gotta like what the Red Sox did on this day. They added two left-handed bats that could potentially provide some nice pop as well as given them two solid veteran type hitters for depth plays if their frontline performers struggle or go down with injury.

By Ray Flowers

It’s Surreal

Normally I pull on my glasses, open up the spreadsheets, and go to town. If you’ve ready any of my work you know that I love numbers, the universal language as they call it, and I sprinkle them liberally through most of my work. Sometimes I also toss in a pulp culture reference or two, I’m always fond of dropping a Jessica Alba or Britney Spears reference, and sometimes I even attempt to draw out a laugh or two with my quirky sense of humor (you can hear more of that each day, Monday through Friday, on the Fanball.com podcast that I co-host with Kyle Elfrink at 8-9 AM, PST). As a result of all of that, I usually avoid outright opinion pieces, but with some of the goings on in the NFL of late I felt it would be worth my time to address some things.

With everyone in the world freaking out about performance enhancing drugs and how their presence has tainted basically a decade worth of accomplishments in major league baseball, it seems to me that football has largely been getting a free pass by fans and the media, and I’m not quite sure why that is. Not to dwell on the negative, but here are a few NFL stories that have made the rounds of late.

The Tragic Death of Steve McNair: It appears that McNair, married with four kids, was having an affair with a 20 year old woman who, it appears, shot him while he slept four times before turning the gun on herself. It does little good to harp on a man who has lost his life, but what he heck was a married man doing running around with a gal who could have almost been his daughter (McNair was 36 years old)?

The DUI/Manslaughter Case of Donte Stallworth: Donte Stallworth was drunk with a blood alcohol level of .126, well above the legal limit in Florida of 0.08, when he struck and killed a pedestrian (there are also unconfirmed reports that he may also tested positive for marijuana). He was forthcoming with the police from the start, a fact that played into the court sentencing him to just 30 days in jail for his crime (he was released six days early for good behavior). I have no idea what kind of penal system we have in the United States these days when you can be drunk and kill someone in your car yet get less time in jail then some months have days, but at least the NFL got it right when commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Stallworth indefinitely, especially since this is not his first run in with the league and its substance abuse policy.

The Buffon – aka Travis Henry: Former star running back Travis Henry is currently awaiting sentencing for his involvement in a cocaine trafficking venture he was busted for being a part of. He likely faces years in jail, potentially up to 10, for his crimes. His lawyer is claiming his client was “duped” into joining the drug ring and therefore should be given a light sentence. Maybe he was also “duped” into having nine children with nine different women as well? Henry is a disgrace to humanity.

The Suspension of Calvin Pace: The Jet’s linebacker tested positive for violating the league’s performance enhancing substance clause – i.e. he got popped for steroids. As a result he was suspended for four games. Of course his defense was the usual – it wasn’t steroids but a tainted over the counter supplement that got him in trouble. Will anyone ever step up to the plate and just admit the truth? You think this excuse would work in baseball?

And that’s kinda the whole point of this rant today. In baseball a player suspected of once upon a time taking steroids is thrown to the wolves. Guys like Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa have all likely had their legacies tarnished to the point that they will never recover, regardless of the fact that none of them ever tested positive for steroids. Yet in the NFL we have a guy suspended for steroids and he’ll be back and playing soon enough with no one giving a rat’s ass as long as he makes plays on Sunday’s. Even worse, the NFL has become a stomping ground not just for cheaters but drug addicts, spousal abusers, womanizers and worse – a place where the on the field violence has seeped into to pretty much every aspect of these players lives to the point where many of them no longer seem capable of making rational, adult decisions. Maybe all you football lovers out there should think of that the next time you down a baseball player for possibly ingesting a PED, because in comparison to what is common place in the NFL anymore, my get-up-out-of-my-seat-outrage at baseball players just doesn’t exist.

By Ray Flowers