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

The Day After

The day after the MLB All-Star game good thoughts permeate the atmosphere of the world of baseball. Here are some of those as well as a few other things on my ornery mind.

It’s official – Joe Mauer has the prettiest swing in the game. The balance, the fluid stroke that is exceedingly flat through the zone, and the precision of it – simply amazing. If you want your kid to learn how to hit, tape a bunch of Twins games and stick the tape in your VCR for your son to watch over and over again on Saturday morning (I may be dating myself with that reference, perhaps it would be better to TiVo a few of his games). You can sum up the greatness that is Mauer in that one at bat last night where he had an RBI double to the opposite field. He stayed back on the ball and seemed to keep the bat in the zone for an amazingly long period of time before shooting that liner to left. I touched on his statistical greatness in a piece earlier today that you can find a link to in my By The Numbers – Hitters piece.

How bad an outing was that for Tim Lincecum last night. Too bad he failed to come through under the bright lights of the nation’s eyes. Even so, he is still the single most exciting pitcher to watch in the game today. Hopefully he will be able to use this pressure packed scenario to his advantage later in the year when he will need to keep his composure to help lead the Giants to the playoffs. Yeah I said Giants and playoffs in the same sentence.

Speaking of the game, how great was it to see Carl Crawford get the MVP award for his defensive contributions? In today’s day and age of statistics and fantasy baseball that almost exclusively focus on a player’s ability to hit, it was nice to see that some deference is still being given to those men who flash the leather on defense. Speaking of the focus on defense, did any of you catch one of the latest pieces written by Alan Schwartz detailing a new computer invention that will help to give us a better understand of how to analyze defensive prowess? If you missed it, make sure to give Digital Eyes Will Chart Baseball’s Unseen Skills a read.

Speaking of Crawford, did you see that interview he had right after being presented the MVP Trophy by Bud Selig? Talk show host Chris Rose broke the cardinal rule of interviewers – he didn’t ask a question. Guys, when you are interviewing someone ASK THEM A QUESTION. Statements of fact like “that was a good game tonight” or “you really looked locked in while making that play” – those are not questions. Just makes me wonder how those guys got to where they are. We “fantasy guys” are often snickered at and looked down upon as not being real journalists, but I can tell you this – on my podcast show ever morning at 8-9 AM PST with Kyle Elfrink, you will never, and I mean never, catch me asking a guest a non-question during an interview. I just don’t get that (you can access the show each morning on the Fanball Homepage.

In other baseball news — first overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg hasn’t signed with the Nationals yet, hardly a surprise given the massive dollar figures that he is said to be seeking (a minimum of at least $15 million even though the record for guaranteed money given to a starting pitcher is, I believe, the $10.5 million given to Mark Prior when he came out of USC). I cannot see anyway that the Nats don’t eventually sign the phenom, but at the same time don’t expect it to happen until possibly the last day which is August 17th.

While the signing of Pedro Martinez is getting all the publicity, it appears another former All-Star is closing in on a return to the bigs, and that man is lefty Mark Mulder. According to a recent report by Jon Heyman of SI, Mulder is reportedly back to 95 percent with his injured shoulder. Don’t know if I buy that at all, and even if I do I’m certainly not at all excited given that he has tossed just 12.2 innings since the start of 2007. Still, I do hope that Mulder can make it back to the field, he is just 31 years old, and from 2001-05 he averaged 17.6 victories a season. If he is at 95 percent, does that mean does that mean he can post 16.7 victories a year at this stage of his career? Honestly, I might settle for 16.7 innings in the bigs the rest of 2009.

* Photo courtesy of Ryan Houston

By Ray Flowers

Getting Warmed Up

On a Monday with everyone is jazzed up about the Home Run Derby that will start in mere minutes, here are some of my thoughts as I try to stay focused enough to write something worthy of reading before I put on my “fan” cap to watch the event.

What’s wrong with rookie contracts? Take this example to heart. Tim Lincecum, you know the guy who won the Cy Young last season and the guy who is starting the All-Star game for the NL after an even better first half this year (10-2, 2.33 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 149 Ks in 127.2 IP), will make $650,000 this season, this a year after he made barely $400,000 during his Cy Young season. So, what in the world is Stephen Strasberg thinking when he and his representation have floated the idea that they are looking for a deal that potentially could reach $50 million before he has thrown a single major league pitch? Sheer folly. That doesn’t mean that Strasburg won’t get $15-20 million though, which just goes to show you that potential, beyond production, still holds sway. For those of you interested in learning more about the 100-mph throwing Strasburg, click on the link to MLB Draft Thoughts who was drafted first overall by the Nationals in the June Entry Draft.

I touched on it the other day in It’s Surreal, but here is yet another reason to be concerned about the direction of the NFL. The Chargers’ Antonio Cromartie admitted that it was hard for him to focus last season because of the off field distractions he faced. What were those distractions? “Last year my head wasn’t in there,” Cromartie said. “I was dealing with my kids and their moms. It had my mind somewhere else.” Apparently the DB has seven children with five women in five different states. There is nothing illegal about doing that, it’s not like he is out dealing drugs like Travis Henry, but I just can’t get my head around why it’s so hard for so many of these professional athletes to practice safe sex? Maybe they should have paid more attention to sex ed in school and less to how much weight they could bench press.

Here are some random thoughts.

Harold Reynolds loves his job. That guys was hoping all around during early BP at the All-Star game on Monday with a huge smile on his face. He may not always seem to be the brightest guy in the world, but he brings passion to his job.

Speaking of the MLB broadcasting teams, Joe Magrane is a bore whereas Al Leiter brings all kinds of passion an insight.

Alex Gordon should be back with the Royals on Friday after missing three months due to hip surgery. Don’t know what to expect from him exactly, but he started off his minor league rehab stint hitting well with a .364 mark through 11 games. No matter what happens I feel confident in stating that I believe he will do better than he did at the start of the season when he hit .095 with a .507 OPS in 21 ABs.

Don’t know how many of you saw it, but minor leaguer James McOwen just lost his minor league hitting streak at 45-consecutive games. “I’m pretty happy with the way the last month and a half has gone. There’re no regrets and, hopefully, I’ll start another one tomorrow.” McOwen, a Single-A outfielder for the Mariners, is batting .347 on the season with 53 RBI in 73 games thanks to the streak that saw him hit a rather amazing .398 over the course of 181 ABs. McOwen did set a California League record, the previous mark was 35 games, but his streak of 45 games was actually just the 8th longest streak in minor league history. Two men, Joe Wilhoit in 1919 and Joe DiMaggio in 1933, both had streaks of over 60 games – Wilhoit went 69 games while Joe D. posted a 61 game streak while playing for the San Francisco Seals. Isn’t it amazing to think that DiMaggio had two hitting streaks of over 55 games?

By Ray Flowers

MLB Draft Thoughts

Today was the day that dreams were made. Kids who have spent their whole life dreaming of what it would be like to have their shot at major league glory took that first step on this day as the 2009 MLB First Player Draft began. Here are some of my thoughts after watching the first round on television.

* The Nationals didn’t screw it up and took Stephen Strasburg with the first overall pick in the draft. The kid has amazing stuff including a fastball that normally resides in the 96-98 mph range and has been clocked as high as 103 mph (that’s not a misprint). Not just a tools guy, Strasburg’s results in college were phenomenal this year including the fact that in just 109 innings he posted a 1.32 ERA, racked up 195 Ks (that’s a K/9 mark of over 16 folks), and walked just 19 batters leading to a 13-1 record. Yeah, on top of the heat and the massive strikeout totals this kid just throws darts leading to a 10.26 K/BB mark. Could he be effective in the big leagues today? Quite possibly. However, the question at this point isn’t about his talent, it’s about how long it will take him to sign with the Nationals since his agent is Scott Boras. Mr. Boras has been thought to be pushing for something along the lines of at least $20 million to sign the flamethrower with some reports tossing out the $50 million figure. Newsflash Mr. Boras – this isn’t the NFL, players don’t get that much dough on their first deals in baseball. Will the Nats pony up that much dough if that’s really what Strasburg is looking for? I know he might be a once in a generation talent, but a 6-year deal for $50, if the reports are accurate, would be just crazy for a guy without a single pitch in a big league uniform. Just my two cents.

* How many times can someone use the word “signability?” Seriously, we get it. Some guys want a lot of dough, more than teams want to pay, but really, can’t we use some other term? Is it just me or does signability sound like a word someone made up one night when they had pulled back one too many beers?

* I love the MLB studios where the draft was held. Looks just like a real baseball field with a diamond, outfield walls etc. Great look.

* Nine of the first 12 picks were pitchers this year, and 15 of the first 22. I know you build championships with pitching so it makes sense from that angle but with all the arm problems that hurlers have anymore would you want to build your franchise around an 18 year old fresh off his high school graduation? Seems to me that it might be a better idea to go with a position player that early, but like Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars it seems like the lure of the “dark side” is often too powerful to pass up (Anakin becomes Darth Vader for those of you who don’t know Star Wars, and shame on you if you don’t).

* Is Bud Selig a robot? I know I’m always on the guy, but really, how could you not be? He cannot pronounce Cincinnati or Los Angeles, said this was the 19– draft, and looked like he was reading a teleprompter every time he made an announcement. He caught himself in mid-sentence with the year snafu, and we all say stupid things at times, but really it’s 2009 Bud so get your head out of that place where the sun doesn’t shine.

* Oh yeah, there is also this note. I opined on my thoughts on the Phillies stupidly hanging on to the belief that the ninth inning answer for the club right now was Brad Lidge despite the mountain of evidence that said otherwise on May 24th in my piece titled A Change is Needed. Now, a mere two and a half weeks later, the Phillies finally listened. Lidge has been placed on the DL with a knee issue, and into the ninth inning role goes Ryan Madson who has been the vastly superior hurler this season. To read my thoughts on what Madson brings in great depth, read my latest IMPACT REPORT. Bout time Phils.

By Ray Flowers