Not that it's any surprise.
This will have to do for this week's analysis of the game, as I'm trying to cram 6 days worth of work into 4 days, in hopes of getting out of town Thursday afternoon.
Tuesday I'm teaching ladies Bible class and also hosting a Bible Study, Wednesday is class and Berean Club devotional in small auditorium. Thursday will probably be spent packing and winding a few things up.
This week is going to fly by.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Week [Weak] 7 Analysis: 4-3
Wow. That was just embarassing. On both sides of the ball, all kinds of mistakes were made. I've been saying for weeks that the Cowboys are not playing like a Super Bowl team. Now, they aren't even playing like a playoff team.
Roy Williams (safety) and Anthony Henry kept pointing at each other everytime a pass was completed at one of the guys they were covering. If you can't take responsibility for your mistakes, get off of the field.
I realize that we were without our starting QB, but our problems go far beyond that. There's no control. There's no discipline. The only pro bowlers I see on this team are Witten and Ware. There were lazy tackles, mental mistakes and unnecessary penalties.
Offense:
Brad Johnson, uh, yeah. The Rams played him, pretty much giving Brad Johnson anything deep. They knew he wouldn't (and couldn't) throw it deep. He didn't. His longest past was a 36 yarder, but credit some of that to YAC yardage.
It wouldn't have mattered even if Johnson could throw deep. He was missing his targets all day. He threw them short, he threw them wide, he threw them to the Rams. He had a good opening drive, but that was about it. It was downhill from there. Total, Johnson was 17 for 34 with 234 yards with 1 TD and 3 INTs. He fumbled it once and had another near fumble. We have a backup quarterback that we simply cannot rely on and I wouldn't be surprised to see Romo return early, possibly even next week. Even with these weapons, Brad Johnson wasn't getting it done.
Witten was the reception "champ" for the Cowboys this game, catching 6 passes for 44 yards. Bennett had the most yardage, 2 catches for 67. He also had the lone reception TD.
Marion Barber is the clear offensive mvp "by default". He had 18 rushes for 100 yards and a rushing TD. It wasn't really a spectacular performance, but really is the only performance that was average-above average. Unfortunately MB3 also fumbled yet again. If MB3 doesn't get control of the football, he should fear losing his starting job. It's kinda weird to be saying this about the offensive mvp for yesterday's game.
Roy Williams (who IS #11, I received inaccuarate information apparently) didn't have a catch, but also didn't play every down either. This will probably be taken way out of proportion by the media this week. He's probably still learning the play calling system.
Defense:
Demarcus Ware.
There, that's it. I'm done on defense. DeMarcus Ware was the only player we had playing defense. Sure, James and Ellis also had a sack (Ware had 3). However, keep in mind that the Rams are sporting one of the weakest offensive lines in the NFL. Jenkins, the rookie CB starting in place of Pacman, looked absolutely lost. I know exactly where I'd throw it if I was an opposing QB. Jenkins will probably get more reps in practice this week.
Run defense wasn't very good either. All you have to do is not run in Ware's direction and you're probably going to get a good gain. Ellis has clearly lost a step. Stephen Jackson ran all over us.
All in all, we were playing as if this game didn't matter, similar to how we lost against the Redskins late last year. You could clearly see only a half effort look on most of the players. There is something else on their minds. Was it that the Rams weren't good and the Cowboys thought they could get an "easy win"? Was it that they are so used to relying on Romo to make a play for them? Was it that they were thinking about Pacman? I don't have the answer, but the football game did not have the Players attention.
The good news: Last year, if you would have picked the NY Giants to win it all after week 7, you would have been laughed at. They rebounded well. These next two weeks will be "do or die" for the Cowboys. They've been humbled. One of two things will happen after a humbling, either you realize you've got work to do and you work hard or you point fingers and go down playing the blame game, possibly even missing the playoffs.
This is a roster full of pro bowlers. The majority of the problems I see are simply an issue of laziness. Bad tackling (using arms instead of body) and penalties (our many false starts and illegal motions) were the majority of our problems against the Rams. If we simply use our brains a bit more, we'd see huge improvements.
Since the start of the season, the Cowboys have gradually gotten worse and worse. However, the good news is that I don't think that will happen next week. Our performance was at an all-time low this season. There's nowhere to go but up **knocks on wood**.
It doesn't get any easier, Bucs next week, then the Giants. It will only get harder.
Roy Williams (safety) and Anthony Henry kept pointing at each other everytime a pass was completed at one of the guys they were covering. If you can't take responsibility for your mistakes, get off of the field.
I realize that we were without our starting QB, but our problems go far beyond that. There's no control. There's no discipline. The only pro bowlers I see on this team are Witten and Ware. There were lazy tackles, mental mistakes and unnecessary penalties.
Offense:
Brad Johnson, uh, yeah. The Rams played him, pretty much giving Brad Johnson anything deep. They knew he wouldn't (and couldn't) throw it deep. He didn't. His longest past was a 36 yarder, but credit some of that to YAC yardage.
It wouldn't have mattered even if Johnson could throw deep. He was missing his targets all day. He threw them short, he threw them wide, he threw them to the Rams. He had a good opening drive, but that was about it. It was downhill from there. Total, Johnson was 17 for 34 with 234 yards with 1 TD and 3 INTs. He fumbled it once and had another near fumble. We have a backup quarterback that we simply cannot rely on and I wouldn't be surprised to see Romo return early, possibly even next week. Even with these weapons, Brad Johnson wasn't getting it done.
Witten was the reception "champ" for the Cowboys this game, catching 6 passes for 44 yards. Bennett had the most yardage, 2 catches for 67. He also had the lone reception TD.
Marion Barber is the clear offensive mvp "by default". He had 18 rushes for 100 yards and a rushing TD. It wasn't really a spectacular performance, but really is the only performance that was average-above average. Unfortunately MB3 also fumbled yet again. If MB3 doesn't get control of the football, he should fear losing his starting job. It's kinda weird to be saying this about the offensive mvp for yesterday's game.
Roy Williams (who IS #11, I received inaccuarate information apparently) didn't have a catch, but also didn't play every down either. This will probably be taken way out of proportion by the media this week. He's probably still learning the play calling system.
Defense:
Demarcus Ware.
There, that's it. I'm done on defense. DeMarcus Ware was the only player we had playing defense. Sure, James and Ellis also had a sack (Ware had 3). However, keep in mind that the Rams are sporting one of the weakest offensive lines in the NFL. Jenkins, the rookie CB starting in place of Pacman, looked absolutely lost. I know exactly where I'd throw it if I was an opposing QB. Jenkins will probably get more reps in practice this week.
Run defense wasn't very good either. All you have to do is not run in Ware's direction and you're probably going to get a good gain. Ellis has clearly lost a step. Stephen Jackson ran all over us.
All in all, we were playing as if this game didn't matter, similar to how we lost against the Redskins late last year. You could clearly see only a half effort look on most of the players. There is something else on their minds. Was it that the Rams weren't good and the Cowboys thought they could get an "easy win"? Was it that they are so used to relying on Romo to make a play for them? Was it that they were thinking about Pacman? I don't have the answer, but the football game did not have the Players attention.
The good news: Last year, if you would have picked the NY Giants to win it all after week 7, you would have been laughed at. They rebounded well. These next two weeks will be "do or die" for the Cowboys. They've been humbled. One of two things will happen after a humbling, either you realize you've got work to do and you work hard or you point fingers and go down playing the blame game, possibly even missing the playoffs.
This is a roster full of pro bowlers. The majority of the problems I see are simply an issue of laziness. Bad tackling (using arms instead of body) and penalties (our many false starts and illegal motions) were the majority of our problems against the Rams. If we simply use our brains a bit more, we'd see huge improvements.
Since the start of the season, the Cowboys have gradually gotten worse and worse. However, the good news is that I don't think that will happen next week. Our performance was at an all-time low this season. There's nowhere to go but up **knocks on wood**.
It doesn't get any easier, Bucs next week, then the Giants. It will only get harder.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Cowboys News
Yesterday was a very eventful day for America's team. I realize that since I'm a day behind on this post, everybody and their grandparents know, but:
Adam Jones has been suspended
and
Roy Williams was acquired at the trade deadline
First Pacman:
Yes, it's a big blow. A secondary that is already missing Terence Newman and [the other] Roy Williams certainly needs someone to step up. My guess was that it would be Pacman...which HE DID step up, but not in the direction I had in mind.
Personally, as much of a Cowboys fan as I am, I'm kind of glad that this happened. Jerry Jones needed to be humbled. I don't like his strategy of collecting thugs. I figured something like this needed to happen for Jerry to start looking at character. We'll see what happens.
As far as punishment, I tend to want to be harsher on punisments than most people, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I don't really consider myself hard-nosed, but I believe discipline should not be taken lightly, regardless of what your job or position is.
I'm probably going to be shunned for saying this, yes, I'm a Dallas fan, but I'd be fine if Jones was suspended the rest of the season. Does that seem harsh? Possibly, but how many more "second chances" are you going to give Pacman? Has the guy truly repented of his ways? Apparently not. Didn't he write a letter to the Titans organization saying how sorry he was? What happened to that Pacman? If Goodell wants to clean up the image of the NFL and make a statement, this is his chance. What kind of statement will he be making if he lets Pacman back in after a month?
The Pacman gamble did not pay off, we lost a draft pick on this guy. If I was Jerry, I'd just accept the loss and move on.
The secondary continues to be a problem, even after being addressed in the draft. Until Newman returns, Anthony Henry and Mike Jenkins will man the perimeter. Jenkins, the first round draft pick in April has a good balance of speed, smarts, and agility but is only 5'10'' and will have to prove he is tough enough to play every down. If I was an offensive coordinator, I would point most of my running plays in his direction. I'd also spend about 1/3 of my passing plays testing Jenkins, mixing up the routes and receivers and see if Jenkins can respond. But I'd also throw to my #1 receiver often, because Henry is no #1 corner. This is going to be an interesting defense to watch. Jenkins is going to have to step up.
This really limits our flexibility because we can no longer use our single safety, 3 cornerback package that we often use against a 2 tight end set, or a 3rd and short. Honestly, the best thing I see happening that would help this defense is to step up the pass rush. If guys like Tank Johnson, Marcus Spears, and Greg Ellis were to get to the QB more, it would take a lot of pressure off of this undermanned, unproven secondary that we'll see until Roy and Newman return.
Now, onto Roy Williams (uh..the NEW one. Man this is gonna get confusing):
No doubt he was expensive. He costs a 1st, 3rd and 6th pick in the 2009 draft, and a seventh in 2010. But at the same time, we were able to extend his contract and he is going to be a Cowboy for the next 5 years.
One of those picks that we traded away, was no doubt going to be used to get a WR. It was though that we would get one in the mid-late rounds of the previous draft, but that never happened. Instead, we continued to address the secondary (with good reason). And the odds are that we would not have drafted a WR that was as good or proven as Roy Williams 11 (is that the best way to differentiate between the two?). But yes, he was indeed expensive. Lions fans everywhere are thanking the Cowboys for so many extra picks to rebuild. Too bad the Lions canned Millen or I'd say the Cowboys traded one WR for 4 WRs. But since Millen is no longer employed by the Lions I'm going to assume they'll draft a different position occasionally. I suppose I should actually talk about the Roy Williams trade and discontinue making fun of the Lions.
------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: I just learned that Roy Williams will be wearing #83 as a Cowboy. So apparently the Roy Williams 11 thing won't work. Of course, giving him jersey #83 only makes perfect sense because Roy Williams the safety wears jersey #38. Sheesh. You'd think they'd at least try and make this easy for me.
------------------------------------------------
The biggest impact that the trade had was this - "The Player" will not be double teamed as much. That alone helps this team out greater than having one extra body. Roy Williams will move to the 2 slot slipping Crayton to the slot, where he is much better suited. I've always though Crayton was a bit overrated and I like him much better as a #3 receiver. He doesn't match up well against a lot of cornerbacks, I've never seen Crayton dominate a corner the way I see many top receivers dominate. Crayton's numbers have very visibly dropped since moving to #2 and I think a move back to the slot will help him.
All in all, I think this trade was necessary, although expensive. It is clear that we are going to have to rely more on our offense this year, due to an injured and underperforming defense. This trade will also make Brad Johnson's time behind center a bit more bearable, since he has so many weapons to help him while we wait on Romo's pinkie to heal. (There are talks about Romo taking the advice of Favre and playing though it, I hope that is just speculation. Romo is being paid a lot of money for a lot of years, I wouldn't risk permanently messing with his throwing hand over 4 games.)
In one day our team strategy completely changed and we're going to have to take the "just try and stop our offense" approach. Roy Williams was expensive, but necessary. Sometimes when you need it bad enough, the price is justifiable.
HELP NEEDED! I'm trying to look at the overall picture of the Pacman trade. If I remember correctly (which it's quite possible that I don't) when we acquired Pacman from the Titans there were other stipulations such as (a) if he gets significant playing time the Cowboys give another pick to the Titans and (b) if he gets suspended and/or doesn't get reinstated the Titans give a pick back to the Cowboys. Can somebody help me/update me on how the Pacman suspension impacts that trade?
Adam Jones has been suspended
and
Roy Williams was acquired at the trade deadline
First Pacman:
Yes, it's a big blow. A secondary that is already missing Terence Newman and [the other] Roy Williams certainly needs someone to step up. My guess was that it would be Pacman...which HE DID step up, but not in the direction I had in mind.
Personally, as much of a Cowboys fan as I am, I'm kind of glad that this happened. Jerry Jones needed to be humbled. I don't like his strategy of collecting thugs. I figured something like this needed to happen for Jerry to start looking at character. We'll see what happens.
As far as punishment, I tend to want to be harsher on punisments than most people, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I don't really consider myself hard-nosed, but I believe discipline should not be taken lightly, regardless of what your job or position is.
I'm probably going to be shunned for saying this, yes, I'm a Dallas fan, but I'd be fine if Jones was suspended the rest of the season. Does that seem harsh? Possibly, but how many more "second chances" are you going to give Pacman? Has the guy truly repented of his ways? Apparently not. Didn't he write a letter to the Titans organization saying how sorry he was? What happened to that Pacman? If Goodell wants to clean up the image of the NFL and make a statement, this is his chance. What kind of statement will he be making if he lets Pacman back in after a month?
The Pacman gamble did not pay off, we lost a draft pick on this guy. If I was Jerry, I'd just accept the loss and move on.
The secondary continues to be a problem, even after being addressed in the draft. Until Newman returns, Anthony Henry and Mike Jenkins will man the perimeter. Jenkins, the first round draft pick in April has a good balance of speed, smarts, and agility but is only 5'10'' and will have to prove he is tough enough to play every down. If I was an offensive coordinator, I would point most of my running plays in his direction. I'd also spend about 1/3 of my passing plays testing Jenkins, mixing up the routes and receivers and see if Jenkins can respond. But I'd also throw to my #1 receiver often, because Henry is no #1 corner. This is going to be an interesting defense to watch. Jenkins is going to have to step up.
This really limits our flexibility because we can no longer use our single safety, 3 cornerback package that we often use against a 2 tight end set, or a 3rd and short. Honestly, the best thing I see happening that would help this defense is to step up the pass rush. If guys like Tank Johnson, Marcus Spears, and Greg Ellis were to get to the QB more, it would take a lot of pressure off of this undermanned, unproven secondary that we'll see until Roy and Newman return.
Now, onto Roy Williams (uh..the NEW one. Man this is gonna get confusing):
No doubt he was expensive. He costs a 1st, 3rd and 6th pick in the 2009 draft, and a seventh in 2010. But at the same time, we were able to extend his contract and he is going to be a Cowboy for the next 5 years.
One of those picks that we traded away, was no doubt going to be used to get a WR. It was though that we would get one in the mid-late rounds of the previous draft, but that never happened. Instead, we continued to address the secondary (with good reason). And the odds are that we would not have drafted a WR that was as good or proven as Roy Williams 11 (is that the best way to differentiate between the two?). But yes, he was indeed expensive. Lions fans everywhere are thanking the Cowboys for so many extra picks to rebuild. Too bad the Lions canned Millen or I'd say the Cowboys traded one WR for 4 WRs. But since Millen is no longer employed by the Lions I'm going to assume they'll draft a different position occasionally. I suppose I should actually talk about the Roy Williams trade and discontinue making fun of the Lions.
------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: I just learned that Roy Williams will be wearing #83 as a Cowboy. So apparently the Roy Williams 11 thing won't work. Of course, giving him jersey #83 only makes perfect sense because Roy Williams the safety wears jersey #38. Sheesh. You'd think they'd at least try and make this easy for me.
------------------------------------------------
The biggest impact that the trade had was this - "The Player" will not be double teamed as much. That alone helps this team out greater than having one extra body. Roy Williams will move to the 2 slot slipping Crayton to the slot, where he is much better suited. I've always though Crayton was a bit overrated and I like him much better as a #3 receiver. He doesn't match up well against a lot of cornerbacks, I've never seen Crayton dominate a corner the way I see many top receivers dominate. Crayton's numbers have very visibly dropped since moving to #2 and I think a move back to the slot will help him.
All in all, I think this trade was necessary, although expensive. It is clear that we are going to have to rely more on our offense this year, due to an injured and underperforming defense. This trade will also make Brad Johnson's time behind center a bit more bearable, since he has so many weapons to help him while we wait on Romo's pinkie to heal. (There are talks about Romo taking the advice of Favre and playing though it, I hope that is just speculation. Romo is being paid a lot of money for a lot of years, I wouldn't risk permanently messing with his throwing hand over 4 games.)
In one day our team strategy completely changed and we're going to have to take the "just try and stop our offense" approach. Roy Williams was expensive, but necessary. Sometimes when you need it bad enough, the price is justifiable.
HELP NEEDED! I'm trying to look at the overall picture of the Pacman trade. If I remember correctly (which it's quite possible that I don't) when we acquired Pacman from the Titans there were other stipulations such as (a) if he gets significant playing time the Cowboys give another pick to the Titans and (b) if he gets suspended and/or doesn't get reinstated the Titans give a pick back to the Cowboys. Can somebody help me/update me on how the Pacman suspension impacts that trade?
Monday, October 13, 2008
Week 6 Analysis: 4-2
Over the past few weeks you might have heard phrases from this blog such as "The NFC East is just that tough" (in reference to the Redskins loss) or "one of those classic fell asleep and woke up scenarios" (in reference to the Bengals 'close call').
But let's make no mistake about it. Those cheesy cliche' phrases that justify a poor performance are no longer valid. This team is clearly performing below it's capabilities.
Plus, we lost Romo for about a month. While at first the thought of the Cowboys without Romo scared me, I read (and loved) this view of the team without Romo.
After all, last February - March the UNC Tar Heels mens basketball team improved all around without Ty Lawson in their lineup. Sometimes teams need a reality check. It worked well for the Tar Heels, we'll see about these Cowboys.
Offense:
Well, Romo didn't throw an INT...but he fumbled 3 times. The passing game was unlike any Dallas air attack we've seen. Romo couldn't get anything done downfield to Witten or the player, so close to half of the team's receptions were on those desperation swing routes to the running back, often a QB's last choice. Marion Barber led the team in receptions and yards with 11 for 128 including a 70 yard catch-and-run TD in the 4th quarter. Crayton had 3 for 84 with a TD, Witten had 4 for 55, the player had 4 for 36, and was thrown to WAAAAY more than 4 times (I don't have the numbers, but it seems like close to 60% of the incompletions were thrown towards the player).
All in all, Romo had 321 yards, 3 TDs, and *gasp* no INTs. We still need to get those fumbles under control. Romo can usually be counted on to have a multi TD game, but he still gets a little too turnover happy. The Cowboys WILL NOT be the team to beat in the NFC (NFL?) until Romo can decrease his turnovers, of any type.
As far as rushing, Marion Barber had 17 for 45 yards. Felix Jones had 3 for 22 yards. You can't say we didn't try with the run. We had plenty of opportunities, our O-line just didn't execute.
In fact, the Arizone D-Line dominated the cowboys offense, rattling Romo all night long. This is the most pressure that Romo has seen this year. The O line, especially Flozell Adams, got pushed around like older brothers dominating their little sisters.
Defense:
Quite frankly, someone is going to have to step up on defense besides Demarcus Ware. Newman is out, Romo is now out...so players on both sides of the ball can no longer rely on one of their teammates to do the work. This is a TEAM game.
Ken Hamlin had an INT, so it's nice that a defensive player not named Ware or Ratliff can make plays. Demarcus Ware led the team with 6 tackles. Adam Jones was next with 5.
Not a whole lot else to say, it was a typical Cowboys defense where they are getting beat at their own game. They stop the run pretty well but opponents pass all over them.
The Key:
I haven't mentioned this, but really the difference in the game was special teams. We let them return a kickoff for a TD to begin the game, and they blocked a kick and returned it for a TD in overtime. Our special teams allowed 2 scores, which was more than the difference in the game.
I realize I end nearly all of these with the same phrase, but it becomes truer and truer each week: We've got work to do.
But let's make no mistake about it. Those cheesy cliche' phrases that justify a poor performance are no longer valid. This team is clearly performing below it's capabilities.
Plus, we lost Romo for about a month. While at first the thought of the Cowboys without Romo scared me, I read (and loved) this view of the team without Romo.
After all, last February - March the UNC Tar Heels mens basketball team improved all around without Ty Lawson in their lineup. Sometimes teams need a reality check. It worked well for the Tar Heels, we'll see about these Cowboys.
Offense:
Well, Romo didn't throw an INT...but he fumbled 3 times. The passing game was unlike any Dallas air attack we've seen. Romo couldn't get anything done downfield to Witten or the player, so close to half of the team's receptions were on those desperation swing routes to the running back, often a QB's last choice. Marion Barber led the team in receptions and yards with 11 for 128 including a 70 yard catch-and-run TD in the 4th quarter. Crayton had 3 for 84 with a TD, Witten had 4 for 55, the player had 4 for 36, and was thrown to WAAAAY more than 4 times (I don't have the numbers, but it seems like close to 60% of the incompletions were thrown towards the player).
All in all, Romo had 321 yards, 3 TDs, and *gasp* no INTs. We still need to get those fumbles under control. Romo can usually be counted on to have a multi TD game, but he still gets a little too turnover happy. The Cowboys WILL NOT be the team to beat in the NFC (NFL?) until Romo can decrease his turnovers, of any type.
As far as rushing, Marion Barber had 17 for 45 yards. Felix Jones had 3 for 22 yards. You can't say we didn't try with the run. We had plenty of opportunities, our O-line just didn't execute.
In fact, the Arizone D-Line dominated the cowboys offense, rattling Romo all night long. This is the most pressure that Romo has seen this year. The O line, especially Flozell Adams, got pushed around like older brothers dominating their little sisters.
Defense:
Quite frankly, someone is going to have to step up on defense besides Demarcus Ware. Newman is out, Romo is now out...so players on both sides of the ball can no longer rely on one of their teammates to do the work. This is a TEAM game.
Ken Hamlin had an INT, so it's nice that a defensive player not named Ware or Ratliff can make plays. Demarcus Ware led the team with 6 tackles. Adam Jones was next with 5.
Not a whole lot else to say, it was a typical Cowboys defense where they are getting beat at their own game. They stop the run pretty well but opponents pass all over them.
The Key:
I haven't mentioned this, but really the difference in the game was special teams. We let them return a kickoff for a TD to begin the game, and they blocked a kick and returned it for a TD in overtime. Our special teams allowed 2 scores, which was more than the difference in the game.
I realize I end nearly all of these with the same phrase, but it becomes truer and truer each week: We've got work to do.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The Cowboys are easy targets...
There's been a lot of negative talk about the Cowboys this week.
Right now we are easy targets. We let a winless Bengals team get back in the game after jumping off to a 17-0 lead. That's all it is, we are just easy targets.
Here's my question...
Dallas beat Cinci by 9 points.
The Giants beat Cinci by 3 points in overtime.
Why didn't we hear this about the Giants?
Right now we are easy targets. We let a winless Bengals team get back in the game after jumping off to a 17-0 lead. That's all it is, we are just easy targets.
Here's my question...
Dallas beat Cinci by 9 points.
The Giants beat Cinci by 3 points in overtime.
Why didn't we hear this about the Giants?
Monday, October 6, 2008
Week 5 Analysis: 4-1
Even before I begin with the stat breakdown, what we all really care about, is that Ocho Cinco didn't score a touchdown and didn't kiss the star.
Now that we got that out of the way:
Offense:
Romo threw yet another pick. Do you think maybe he'll go a game without throwing an INT? He did throw 3 TD passes though.
It was kind of a reverse problem of last week. Last week everyone (myself included)was screaming that our running game was non existant, only giving The Barbarian 8 attempts and Felix Jones not receiving a single touch. This week, we ran and ran and ran while Romo only threw the ball 23 times (14 completions)
The reception leader was Jason Witten, who had 8 for 79 yards and a TD. "The player" only had 2 catches for 67, one of them a TD catch. He was doubled up all night but probably lays awake at night wanting to know why we don't throw it at him while he's in double coverage (or, as is the case last week, wonders why we didn't throw it at him when we threw it at him 20 times).
Even though it limits the damage he can do on the field, I still don't mind him being double-teamed. Why? Well, if you take away those 3 players ("the player" plus the 2 players defending him" then we have an advantage by playing 10 on 9 football. Make sense?
Now to the running game. Marion Barber had 23 touches for 84 yards. Felix Jones had 9 touches for 96 yards and 2 TDs.
Throughout much of the past few seasons, Cowboy fans (or even non-Cowboy fans) were claiming that although Julius Jones was starting, Marion Barber was the better back. I wonder when the same thing is going to be said about Felix Jones. I haven't heard too many people mention it yet, but it's coming. Look at the numbers. Felix Jones is averaging 9 yards/carry (27 attempts - 244 yards). In those 27 touches he hasn't fumbled the ball. Marion has fumbled 3 times in his 93 attempts while "only" averaging 4.2 yards/carry.
OK, obviously Felix won't keep up 9 yards/carry if he's getting 25 chances each game and there is nothing wrong with a back who averages 4.2 yards/carry. It's just something interesting to keep an eye on. I wonder when the mumbling will start.
Defense
Make no mistake about it, we won't be a Super Bowl team if our defense continues to play at this level. We are week at coverage from our Strong Safety. We are weak at the pass rush (at least 5 of our front seven players are.) Ware and Ratliff each had a sack in this game. Besides Ratliff, none of the other linemen can be counted on to get to the quarterback.
On the season our linebackers are outsacking our lineman...not that that is absolutely horrible, but our linebackers don't get quite as many chances. Greg Ellis, formerly a DE but now a LB has 2, Zach Thomas has 1, Demarcus Ware has 5. However across the line, we know Ratliff can sack, Chris Canty has one but we dont' have any from Tank Johnson or Marcus Spears.
As far as the rest of our defense goes on the game, Adam Jones led the team with 5 tackles. Greg Ellis had an interception. No Newman.
Other comments:
Well, it's hard to say exactly if you call this a close call or not. True, we almost let a 17 point lead get away from us, but we did win by 2 scores. I'll chalk this up to one of those cases where you come back from halftime and fall asleep because (you think) it's in the bag. I'm hesitant to say that "we got away with this one" although that's what a lot are saying. Some also are saying that this was a "less than impressive win". So exactly how do you beat a team that's 0-5 and still impress people? Maybe I took that a big too far, we shouldn't have let them come back like that.
As each week passes we are showing more and more signs of weakness. We continue to slip in the power rankings. We have the Cardinals next week, let's see if we can straighten a few things out.
Now that we got that out of the way:
Offense:
Romo threw yet another pick. Do you think maybe he'll go a game without throwing an INT? He did throw 3 TD passes though.
It was kind of a reverse problem of last week. Last week everyone (myself included)was screaming that our running game was non existant, only giving The Barbarian 8 attempts and Felix Jones not receiving a single touch. This week, we ran and ran and ran while Romo only threw the ball 23 times (14 completions)
The reception leader was Jason Witten, who had 8 for 79 yards and a TD. "The player" only had 2 catches for 67, one of them a TD catch. He was doubled up all night but probably lays awake at night wanting to know why we don't throw it at him while he's in double coverage (or, as is the case last week, wonders why we didn't throw it at him when we threw it at him 20 times).
Even though it limits the damage he can do on the field, I still don't mind him being double-teamed. Why? Well, if you take away those 3 players ("the player" plus the 2 players defending him" then we have an advantage by playing 10 on 9 football. Make sense?
Now to the running game. Marion Barber had 23 touches for 84 yards. Felix Jones had 9 touches for 96 yards and 2 TDs.
Throughout much of the past few seasons, Cowboy fans (or even non-Cowboy fans) were claiming that although Julius Jones was starting, Marion Barber was the better back. I wonder when the same thing is going to be said about Felix Jones. I haven't heard too many people mention it yet, but it's coming. Look at the numbers. Felix Jones is averaging 9 yards/carry (27 attempts - 244 yards). In those 27 touches he hasn't fumbled the ball. Marion has fumbled 3 times in his 93 attempts while "only" averaging 4.2 yards/carry.
OK, obviously Felix won't keep up 9 yards/carry if he's getting 25 chances each game and there is nothing wrong with a back who averages 4.2 yards/carry. It's just something interesting to keep an eye on. I wonder when the mumbling will start.
Defense
Make no mistake about it, we won't be a Super Bowl team if our defense continues to play at this level. We are week at coverage from our Strong Safety. We are weak at the pass rush (at least 5 of our front seven players are.) Ware and Ratliff each had a sack in this game. Besides Ratliff, none of the other linemen can be counted on to get to the quarterback.
On the season our linebackers are outsacking our lineman...not that that is absolutely horrible, but our linebackers don't get quite as many chances. Greg Ellis, formerly a DE but now a LB has 2, Zach Thomas has 1, Demarcus Ware has 5. However across the line, we know Ratliff can sack, Chris Canty has one but we dont' have any from Tank Johnson or Marcus Spears.
As far as the rest of our defense goes on the game, Adam Jones led the team with 5 tackles. Greg Ellis had an interception. No Newman.
Other comments:
Well, it's hard to say exactly if you call this a close call or not. True, we almost let a 17 point lead get away from us, but we did win by 2 scores. I'll chalk this up to one of those cases where you come back from halftime and fall asleep because (you think) it's in the bag. I'm hesitant to say that "we got away with this one" although that's what a lot are saying. Some also are saying that this was a "less than impressive win". So exactly how do you beat a team that's 0-5 and still impress people? Maybe I took that a big too far, we shouldn't have let them come back like that.
As each week passes we are showing more and more signs of weakness. We continue to slip in the power rankings. We have the Cardinals next week, let's see if we can straighten a few things out.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Back to "The Player"
Well, it was fun while it lasted, but I will now return to the old ways of referring to Terrell Owens as "the player", coined from the nickname originated by Bill Parcells.
This decision is based on remarks made from the player after the loss to the Redskins. He has "apologized" (or really...he just made an excuse) in a way that doesn't convince me he is truly regretful for what he said.
Here are a few quotes from the player...
"It's not going to be the last time you hear me say I need the ball..."
"Everybody recognized that I wasn't really getting the ball in the first half. ... I'm pretty sure everybody watching the game recognized it, people in the stands recognized it. I think my team recognized it."
And this next one is my favorite...
"I am not going to be able to catch every ball thrown my way. Every pass was not a valid catchable pass."
OK, sorry, but now this is a bit ridiculous. He had the ball go right through his hands on a pass that could have won the game! Now he's saying that he can't catch every ball thrown his way. Duh!
Look, the player, The Redskins were double covering you all night long. You should take it as a compliment that you are being double covered. That means the other team thinks you are a threat. You had seven catches for 71 yards as it is. If you are wanting Romo to throw it to you while you are being doubled up, then you aren't much of a team player (well, that was a given).
I referred to you by name longer than I thought I would, so enjoy the return of your nickname.
This decision is based on remarks made from the player after the loss to the Redskins. He has "apologized" (or really...he just made an excuse) in a way that doesn't convince me he is truly regretful for what he said.
Here are a few quotes from the player...
"It's not going to be the last time you hear me say I need the ball..."
"Everybody recognized that I wasn't really getting the ball in the first half. ... I'm pretty sure everybody watching the game recognized it, people in the stands recognized it. I think my team recognized it."
And this next one is my favorite...
"I am not going to be able to catch every ball thrown my way. Every pass was not a valid catchable pass."
OK, sorry, but now this is a bit ridiculous. He had the ball go right through his hands on a pass that could have won the game! Now he's saying that he can't catch every ball thrown his way. Duh!
Look, the player, The Redskins were double covering you all night long. You should take it as a compliment that you are being double covered. That means the other team thinks you are a threat. You had seven catches for 71 yards as it is. If you are wanting Romo to throw it to you while you are being doubled up, then you aren't much of a team player (well, that was a given).
I referred to you by name longer than I thought I would, so enjoy the return of your nickname.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Week 4 Analysis: 3-1
In every game The Dallas Cowboys have played this year, they have had more turnovers than their opponents have had. Not a very comforting thought even though they've been getting away with it (up until yesterday at least).
Even though their turnovers were down yesterday (only 1) the Redskins didn't turn the ball over a single time.
Offense:
I've mentioned in the past that Defenses playing against the Dallas Offense usually have to pick 2 of the following 3 options, and can't do all 3:
1 - Pay attention to T.O.
2 - Don't give Witten anything in the middle of the field.
3 - Rush Romo
The Redskins had a very unique strategy and chose to go with options 1 and 2. They didn't focus on the pass rush that much. Turns out, it worked. Romo wasn't sacked but often times had to settle with trying to squeeze something into the tight coverage. The Washington safeties did a good job of keeping the play in front of them.
Credit does need to be given to the Redskins secondary. I haven't seen a team do this good of a job taming T.O. Period. He pretty much wasn't a factor until the second half (after all of our short passes forced them to change their coverage.
T.O. ended with 7 catches for 71 yards and a TD. Again, most of that was in the second half. Witten had 7 catches for 90 yards and a TD. Patrick Crayton had his best game since Week 1 against Cleveland, catching 7 passes for 87 yards. Miles Austin had the other TD.
All in all, Romo passed for 300 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. He completed 28 of his 47 pass attempts.
It might be worth mentioning that T.O. dropped a pass late that possibly would have given Dallas a win. For being such a star receiver (and having the ego to go with it) he sure does drop a lot of passes
Now, let's talk about our run game. I might be biased when I say this, but I believe that Jason Garrett is one of the 3 best offensive coordinators in the game. But I really question his use (or lack therof) of Marion Barber and the run game. It's understandable late in the game, when we needed a lot of yards fast due to the Redskins 7 minute clock eating drive.
But for Marion Barber to only get 8 chances in the entire game is inexcusable. It almost makes too much sense, "Hey, the Redskin corners and safeties are really tight on Witten and T.O, let's run the ball to get them out of their rhythm." But no. 8 attempts. Felix had no attempts. Marion had 8. Garrett was calling plays like we were down 3 touchdowns. No wonder the Redskins knew exactly how to play defense against us, they only had to worry about the pass.
Washington knew exactly what to do. Still, we scored 24 points, and 24 points is enough to win many ballgames. Romo's INT/game is getting frustrating as it was the difference in this game.
Defense:
Terence Newman is getting paid a lot of money to be a bigtime defender in the Dallas secondary. I'm about ready for him to step it up and start doing that. I counted 4 times where Newman was nowhere near where he needed to be. Santana Moss owned him. 4 times Moss shook him and caught a bomb with Newman 10 yards away from Moss. When Newman was drafted Dallas was looking for a big time corner with speed (The Deon Sanders of this decade). Like Sanders, Dallas was wanting someone quarterbacks would fear throwing at.
Jason Campbell was not afraid to throw at Newman. I wouldn't be either. He needs to step up his game, especially at that salary.
But I don't think that was near as costly as our run defense. The Redskins offensive line owned the Dallas front 7. How many times have you seen a running back run directly at Ware and Canty? Not many, normally that side is the no run zone. Not yesterday. Clinton Portis ran the ball 21 times for 121 yards. Although I don't have the numbers, I would guess that most of those attempts were to the left, right towards Ware and Canty, and eventually past them. The Washington fatties completely pushed us backwards all night long.
Coincidentally, Ware and Canty had the only sacks of the game.
Closing Comments:
I've probably made it sound like we were completely dominated. While some of the stats lean heavily in Washington's favor, the game was never out of reach. Dallas made some mistakes and didn't execute. One dropped pass could have won the game. We came about as close as you can come to recovering our own onside kick. He had it but lost it.
It was close. We have some things to work on, particularly on defense. I guess this loss is best summed up by saying, "Well...That's life in the NFC East for ya"
It's difficult to say how much this loss will end up hurting us. True, the Redskins beat us, but last year we beat the Giants twice in the regular season, but it was the playoff game between the two that seemed to matter more. But a regular season lost must be noted. After all, last year the only NFC East team not in the playoffs (The Eagles) went 8-8.
To coin what Parcells would always say, "you are what your record is" and we are 3-1.
That's a .750 win percentage and I'd take that for any of my teams in any sport at any level.
But there is always room for improvement, which we must to do be a Super Bowl threat.
Even though their turnovers were down yesterday (only 1) the Redskins didn't turn the ball over a single time.
Offense:
I've mentioned in the past that Defenses playing against the Dallas Offense usually have to pick 2 of the following 3 options, and can't do all 3:
1 - Pay attention to T.O.
2 - Don't give Witten anything in the middle of the field.
3 - Rush Romo
The Redskins had a very unique strategy and chose to go with options 1 and 2. They didn't focus on the pass rush that much. Turns out, it worked. Romo wasn't sacked but often times had to settle with trying to squeeze something into the tight coverage. The Washington safeties did a good job of keeping the play in front of them.
Credit does need to be given to the Redskins secondary. I haven't seen a team do this good of a job taming T.O. Period. He pretty much wasn't a factor until the second half (after all of our short passes forced them to change their coverage.
T.O. ended with 7 catches for 71 yards and a TD. Again, most of that was in the second half. Witten had 7 catches for 90 yards and a TD. Patrick Crayton had his best game since Week 1 against Cleveland, catching 7 passes for 87 yards. Miles Austin had the other TD.
All in all, Romo passed for 300 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. He completed 28 of his 47 pass attempts.
It might be worth mentioning that T.O. dropped a pass late that possibly would have given Dallas a win. For being such a star receiver (and having the ego to go with it) he sure does drop a lot of passes
Now, let's talk about our run game. I might be biased when I say this, but I believe that Jason Garrett is one of the 3 best offensive coordinators in the game. But I really question his use (or lack therof) of Marion Barber and the run game. It's understandable late in the game, when we needed a lot of yards fast due to the Redskins 7 minute clock eating drive.
But for Marion Barber to only get 8 chances in the entire game is inexcusable. It almost makes too much sense, "Hey, the Redskin corners and safeties are really tight on Witten and T.O, let's run the ball to get them out of their rhythm." But no. 8 attempts. Felix had no attempts. Marion had 8. Garrett was calling plays like we were down 3 touchdowns. No wonder the Redskins knew exactly how to play defense against us, they only had to worry about the pass.
Washington knew exactly what to do. Still, we scored 24 points, and 24 points is enough to win many ballgames. Romo's INT/game is getting frustrating as it was the difference in this game.
Defense:
Terence Newman is getting paid a lot of money to be a bigtime defender in the Dallas secondary. I'm about ready for him to step it up and start doing that. I counted 4 times where Newman was nowhere near where he needed to be. Santana Moss owned him. 4 times Moss shook him and caught a bomb with Newman 10 yards away from Moss. When Newman was drafted Dallas was looking for a big time corner with speed (The Deon Sanders of this decade). Like Sanders, Dallas was wanting someone quarterbacks would fear throwing at.
Jason Campbell was not afraid to throw at Newman. I wouldn't be either. He needs to step up his game, especially at that salary.
But I don't think that was near as costly as our run defense. The Redskins offensive line owned the Dallas front 7. How many times have you seen a running back run directly at Ware and Canty? Not many, normally that side is the no run zone. Not yesterday. Clinton Portis ran the ball 21 times for 121 yards. Although I don't have the numbers, I would guess that most of those attempts were to the left, right towards Ware and Canty, and eventually past them. The Washington fatties completely pushed us backwards all night long.
Coincidentally, Ware and Canty had the only sacks of the game.
Closing Comments:
I've probably made it sound like we were completely dominated. While some of the stats lean heavily in Washington's favor, the game was never out of reach. Dallas made some mistakes and didn't execute. One dropped pass could have won the game. We came about as close as you can come to recovering our own onside kick. He had it but lost it.
It was close. We have some things to work on, particularly on defense. I guess this loss is best summed up by saying, "Well...That's life in the NFC East for ya"
It's difficult to say how much this loss will end up hurting us. True, the Redskins beat us, but last year we beat the Giants twice in the regular season, but it was the playoff game between the two that seemed to matter more. But a regular season lost must be noted. After all, last year the only NFC East team not in the playoffs (The Eagles) went 8-8.
To coin what Parcells would always say, "you are what your record is" and we are 3-1.
That's a .750 win percentage and I'd take that for any of my teams in any sport at any level.
But there is always room for improvement, which we must to do be a Super Bowl threat.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Youth Ministry: The Armchair Profession
We are all familiar with the term "armchair quarterback". On Saturdays and Sundays we sit in our chairs with popcorn in our laps and drinks by our side criticizing every move the quarterback of our team makes.
"No! What did you throw to the tight end for? Your slot was open 15 yards down field?"
"Way to go, that intentional grounding was just what we needed to make sure the other team has good field position."
or one that I am familiar with this season...
"Crompton!!!! You're supposed to throw the ball at the ORANGE jerseys!!!!"
Let's face it, we are really good at criticizing others: quarterbacks, coaches, politicians, actors, war generals, parents, the list goes on for miles.
But when it gets down to it, we can criticize the quarterbacks all we want, but they are the ones out on the field. If I was a quarterback hearing criticism towards me from a fan, my number one response would most likely be, "Well, would you like to try scanning the field, analyzing the coverage, and hitting the receiver of choice all while a 325 LB. beast is charging towards you (something we don't have when we are screaming at our so called incompetent quarterbacks).
There's something to be said about one who is in the trenches struggling, verses one who is not doing a thing while criticizing.
Take my job for example (for the record, I'm not asking for a pity party. I just have a need to express what is on my heart). Everybody seems to think they can do it. My response: So come help!
One of the most popular questions I am asked is, "What do you do all day?" Thus, every time I'm seen on facebook (facebook tells you if you are currently logged in, a teen messages me and says "So this is what you do all day!" I often have people insinuating that I don't do much at all. About 4 hours before VBS began, I was told "I'm glad it's VBS week. It must be tough for you though, Chris. This is one of the 4 weeks in the year you have to work."
Understand, both of the above examples were said to me in joking manners, and weren't meant to be hurtful. I'm close friends with the people that joked that I only work 4 weeks a year and the teen I talked to on facebook is a very active and loyal part of our youth group (by the way...should I have asked what she was doing on facebook while at school?). I know both of those examples were said to me in playful, harmless manners, but I think (fear?) that that stereotype for youth ministers is all too common.
But let's go to a not so joking comment. How about another question that is quite common for me to hear: "So, like, what are your office hours?"
This is a very unique question to answer. I'm not really required to serve a set amount of time in my office. I do spend a lot of time in it, preparing lessons, making phone calls, organizing events, etc. But I also spend a lot of time making visits (sometimes as late as 10:00 at night) and running errands (if I need to get something for an illustration in class). Nonetheless, I need to answer this question as briefly as possible.
My usual response is, "While I'm not required to spend a set amount of time in my office, on average I'm there from about 9:00 - 3:30, maybe 4."
And now we're off.
"NINE O'CLOCK TO THREE THIRTY! Can I apply? Is there an opening? Man that must be nice!"
Of course, I didn't mention that sometimes I'm in the office for a lot longer, slammed with extra duties. I didn't mention the visits. I didn't mention the misc confrontations I need to make if I need to "straighten a kid out". I didn't mention that I'm on call if a teen is rushed to the emergency room at 4:00 a.m. (yes, that has happened).
I could mention it, but no. I don't want to ruin their rant of envy (if that's even what it is). So I continue to listen.
"Wow, how cool it would be to have a job where you are only in the office for 5 hours and then you get to go play video games with teenagers. Man your job must be so easy."
OK, now I think we need to stop here. Do I play video games with teens? Yes. Am I only in the office for 5 hours. On some days, yes. But let's look at a fact and compare it to a common misconception.
Fact - The average youth minister tenure at a church is 18 months.
OK, so if being a Youth Minister is so easy, then why does the average youth minister only last 18 months? Is it because he is bored? Guess again. Is it because he needs to make more money? OK, well that might be part of it. But maybe, just maybe it isn't that easy. Maybe it goes a lot deeper than what most people see on the surface.
I'm trying hard. I've made a ton of mistakes since I've been here. I imagine that plenty more will follow. But to all of those armchair youth ministers who let me know when they disagree with my discipline strategy, or whatever other mistake, come join me in the trenches! It's harder than it looks.
It's almost ironic. People whisper among each other, "I could be a better minister than this person". But aren't we all ministers? You are a minister. I am a minister. Ministry is not about me. I'm not doing this so that people will look at me and say, "Wow, that person is cool." I want others to see Jesus, not me. Take me out of the picture, I won't mind. It's what John the Baptist did. He came and simply pointed men towards Christ.
Ministry is messy. It can be an absolute island sometimes. I'd love to expand on details on the political problems that occur when ministering to close to 40 different teenagers and parents, but this isn't the place, nor is it really important. Just believe me. It's tough.
"No! What did you throw to the tight end for? Your slot was open 15 yards down field?"
"Way to go, that intentional grounding was just what we needed to make sure the other team has good field position."
or one that I am familiar with this season...
"Crompton!!!! You're supposed to throw the ball at the ORANGE jerseys!!!!"
Let's face it, we are really good at criticizing others: quarterbacks, coaches, politicians, actors, war generals, parents, the list goes on for miles.
But when it gets down to it, we can criticize the quarterbacks all we want, but they are the ones out on the field. If I was a quarterback hearing criticism towards me from a fan, my number one response would most likely be, "Well, would you like to try scanning the field, analyzing the coverage, and hitting the receiver of choice all while a 325 LB. beast is charging towards you (something we don't have when we are screaming at our so called incompetent quarterbacks).
There's something to be said about one who is in the trenches struggling, verses one who is not doing a thing while criticizing.
Take my job for example (for the record, I'm not asking for a pity party. I just have a need to express what is on my heart). Everybody seems to think they can do it. My response: So come help!
One of the most popular questions I am asked is, "What do you do all day?" Thus, every time I'm seen on facebook (facebook tells you if you are currently logged in, a teen messages me and says "So this is what you do all day!" I often have people insinuating that I don't do much at all. About 4 hours before VBS began, I was told "I'm glad it's VBS week. It must be tough for you though, Chris. This is one of the 4 weeks in the year you have to work."
Understand, both of the above examples were said to me in joking manners, and weren't meant to be hurtful. I'm close friends with the people that joked that I only work 4 weeks a year and the teen I talked to on facebook is a very active and loyal part of our youth group (by the way...should I have asked what she was doing on facebook while at school?). I know both of those examples were said to me in playful, harmless manners, but I think (fear?) that that stereotype for youth ministers is all too common.
But let's go to a not so joking comment. How about another question that is quite common for me to hear: "So, like, what are your office hours?"
This is a very unique question to answer. I'm not really required to serve a set amount of time in my office. I do spend a lot of time in it, preparing lessons, making phone calls, organizing events, etc. But I also spend a lot of time making visits (sometimes as late as 10:00 at night) and running errands (if I need to get something for an illustration in class). Nonetheless, I need to answer this question as briefly as possible.
My usual response is, "While I'm not required to spend a set amount of time in my office, on average I'm there from about 9:00 - 3:30, maybe 4."
And now we're off.
"NINE O'CLOCK TO THREE THIRTY! Can I apply? Is there an opening? Man that must be nice!"
Of course, I didn't mention that sometimes I'm in the office for a lot longer, slammed with extra duties. I didn't mention the visits. I didn't mention the misc confrontations I need to make if I need to "straighten a kid out". I didn't mention that I'm on call if a teen is rushed to the emergency room at 4:00 a.m. (yes, that has happened).
I could mention it, but no. I don't want to ruin their rant of envy (if that's even what it is). So I continue to listen.
"Wow, how cool it would be to have a job where you are only in the office for 5 hours and then you get to go play video games with teenagers. Man your job must be so easy."
OK, now I think we need to stop here. Do I play video games with teens? Yes. Am I only in the office for 5 hours. On some days, yes. But let's look at a fact and compare it to a common misconception.
Fact - The average youth minister tenure at a church is 18 months.
OK, so if being a Youth Minister is so easy, then why does the average youth minister only last 18 months? Is it because he is bored? Guess again. Is it because he needs to make more money? OK, well that might be part of it. But maybe, just maybe it isn't that easy. Maybe it goes a lot deeper than what most people see on the surface.
I'm trying hard. I've made a ton of mistakes since I've been here. I imagine that plenty more will follow. But to all of those armchair youth ministers who let me know when they disagree with my discipline strategy, or whatever other mistake, come join me in the trenches! It's harder than it looks.
It's almost ironic. People whisper among each other, "I could be a better minister than this person". But aren't we all ministers? You are a minister. I am a minister. Ministry is not about me. I'm not doing this so that people will look at me and say, "Wow, that person is cool." I want others to see Jesus, not me. Take me out of the picture, I won't mind. It's what John the Baptist did. He came and simply pointed men towards Christ.
Ministry is messy. It can be an absolute island sometimes. I'd love to expand on details on the political problems that occur when ministering to close to 40 different teenagers and parents, but this isn't the place, nor is it really important. Just believe me. It's tough.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Week 3 Analysis: 3-0
I'm really enjoying Sunday part of the 2008 football season. As for the Saturday part, I'm practically ready for the season to end.
The Cowboys are playing well, meanwhile the University of Tennessee is playing like a bunch of "volunteers" (Hey Coach! Can I try football? Let me play! let me play!)
That's another post, though. Let's get to Dallas' game against the Pack attack at Lambeau.
Offense:
Back in his home state, Tony Romo began the game with a bit of a struggle, throwing a pick. Although I have no numbers to back this statement up, I feel like Tony Romo might be amongst the best in the league at recovering from a mistake. He did it last week after fumbling in the end zone against the Eagles. He did it yesterday after throwing a pick, he begins the next drive ready to prove that that wasn't his best.
Romo ends up throwing for 260 yards, going 17 for 30. With 1 TD and 1 INT. Not really outstanding numbers, but Romo seemed to be able to connect when it mattered most (3rd down conversions).
The reception king of the game, as usual, is Jason Witten with 7 catches. Miles Austin had only 2 receptions but went a total of 112 yards. The Packers had T.O. doubled all night, sticking Woodson on him from the first snap to the last. It's a choice defenses have to make. You have to pick 2 of the 3: Double T.O., Double Witten, or have a good pass rush. Yesterday the Pack attack sacrificed rushing the QB. Green Bay dropped their safeties back and Dallas took what the Packers' secondary gave them. It wasn't until late in the game when we started going over the top(a la Miles Austin), but that was when the Packers began changing their schemes a little bit because of the damage MB3 had done.
Speaking of Marion the Barbarian, he rushed 28 times for 146 yards and a TD. Also, Marion lost the first fumble of his career. Felix Jones wasn't bad on the ground either, going 6 for 76 yards and a TD, giving him a TD in each of his first 3 games.
Another first of this game, was Romo's very first intentional grounding penalty, twice! Romo had never been flagged for that in his career, until yesterday. Other than that, penalties weren't horrible. This was the first game I can remember in a long time when our opponent had more penalty yardage than we did (68 to our 54).
Defense:
This was a very good defensive game for us. The entire game, the Pack attack had two devestating passing plays (one to Jennings, one to Driver). One was a mental mistake from Adam Jones (I still don't know if I'm allowed to call him Pacman?) and another was a missed tackle from A. Henry. Other than that our defense wasn't giving much of anything. The longest run we gave up was 9 yards. Grant was held to 54 yards on 13 attempts. Jennings did catch 8 passes for 115 yards, but other than the already mentioned 26 yarder, it was just a few year and a few there.
We got to the quarterback 5 times. That makes it a total of 9 times between yesterday's gamed and last week's game, meaning we got to the quarterback 9 times against the NFC's two best offenses besides our own. The pass rush was what Wade was known for when he was with San Diego and it's nice to see that his system is working with the big D as well.
Solid execution on both sides of the ball yesterday. We'll need the same next week when we are back home against the Redskins. Life in the NFC East is crazy, with over half of your games being rivalry games.
Week 3 game ball - Marion Barber
The Cowboys are playing well, meanwhile the University of Tennessee is playing like a bunch of "volunteers" (Hey Coach! Can I try football? Let me play! let me play!)
That's another post, though. Let's get to Dallas' game against the Pack attack at Lambeau.
Offense:
Back in his home state, Tony Romo began the game with a bit of a struggle, throwing a pick. Although I have no numbers to back this statement up, I feel like Tony Romo might be amongst the best in the league at recovering from a mistake. He did it last week after fumbling in the end zone against the Eagles. He did it yesterday after throwing a pick, he begins the next drive ready to prove that that wasn't his best.
Romo ends up throwing for 260 yards, going 17 for 30. With 1 TD and 1 INT. Not really outstanding numbers, but Romo seemed to be able to connect when it mattered most (3rd down conversions).
The reception king of the game, as usual, is Jason Witten with 7 catches. Miles Austin had only 2 receptions but went a total of 112 yards. The Packers had T.O. doubled all night, sticking Woodson on him from the first snap to the last. It's a choice defenses have to make. You have to pick 2 of the 3: Double T.O., Double Witten, or have a good pass rush. Yesterday the Pack attack sacrificed rushing the QB. Green Bay dropped their safeties back and Dallas took what the Packers' secondary gave them. It wasn't until late in the game when we started going over the top(a la Miles Austin), but that was when the Packers began changing their schemes a little bit because of the damage MB3 had done.
Speaking of Marion the Barbarian, he rushed 28 times for 146 yards and a TD. Also, Marion lost the first fumble of his career. Felix Jones wasn't bad on the ground either, going 6 for 76 yards and a TD, giving him a TD in each of his first 3 games.
Another first of this game, was Romo's very first intentional grounding penalty, twice! Romo had never been flagged for that in his career, until yesterday. Other than that, penalties weren't horrible. This was the first game I can remember in a long time when our opponent had more penalty yardage than we did (68 to our 54).
Defense:
This was a very good defensive game for us. The entire game, the Pack attack had two devestating passing plays (one to Jennings, one to Driver). One was a mental mistake from Adam Jones (I still don't know if I'm allowed to call him Pacman?) and another was a missed tackle from A. Henry. Other than that our defense wasn't giving much of anything. The longest run we gave up was 9 yards. Grant was held to 54 yards on 13 attempts. Jennings did catch 8 passes for 115 yards, but other than the already mentioned 26 yarder, it was just a few year and a few there.
We got to the quarterback 5 times. That makes it a total of 9 times between yesterday's gamed and last week's game, meaning we got to the quarterback 9 times against the NFC's two best offenses besides our own. The pass rush was what Wade was known for when he was with San Diego and it's nice to see that his system is working with the big D as well.
Solid execution on both sides of the ball yesterday. We'll need the same next week when we are back home against the Redskins. Life in the NFC East is crazy, with over half of your games being rivalry games.
Week 3 game ball - Marion Barber
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Week 2 Analysis: 2-0
Before I begin with my analysis of last nights game, I would like to say, WOW! When I turn on a football game and watch two of the top teams play each other, that is the type of game I'm wanting. If you missed this game, you truly missed a beauty. It had it all, lead changes galore, costly turnovers, and yes, even stupidity, a la DeSean Jackson
Offense:
On our first first drive, it appeared as if the unique Eagles' blitzing scheme was going to make it a long night for Romo and the O-line after. After facing a 3rd and long, Romo converted. Then on the very next sequence, third an long again. This time, it was a 72 yard bomb to T.O. (I'll be saying his name this year because it's been awhile since T.O. has been an idiot. I reserve the right to switch back to Parcell's "the player" at any time I wish, although T.O will determine that by his actions and mouth).
After another Eagle field goal, Felix Jones took the Kick off return 98 yards into the end zone.
The second quarter was when a lot of the drama happened. Romo fumbled in the end zone (was it three times on the same play?)for an Eagled TD. This was a costly turnover that gave the Eagles the lead.
But on the next drive, Romo drove down the field for yet another T.O. TD pass.
After that drive, was one of those unforgettable moments of laughter when the Eagles hooked up with a long pass with DeSean Jackson, but Jackson decided to start his end zone celebration one yard too early, but more on that when we discuss the defensive side of the ball.
Both teams then kicked a field goal which brought us to halftime.
In the second half, Dallas realized that they have a running back, so they figured they might as well give it to him a few times. Marion the Barbarian responded. In the second half he had a 1 yd rushing TD and a 17 yd TD reception. Add in a couple more Folk Field goals and Dallas limiting Philly to one TD in the second half, and Dallas rode the Marion the Barbarian to a victory as he wound down the clock in the 4th.
Witten led the team in receptions and yardage, with 7 for 110 yards. T.O. had 3 for 89, two of those three were TDs.
MB3 rushed 18 times for 63 and had 1 TD. Nearly all of his damage was done in the second half, particularly the 4th quarter.
[Lack of] Defense:
Well, the other team scored 37 points. So...how do you think our D was? Exactly.
It might be worth mentioning that T. Newman only played in the nickel package. Hopefully he'll be back to 100% next week. Still, it's difficult to say how much he would have helped.
In the first half, there really isn't much to write about. Neither team had much of a defense whatsoever (the exception, of course, was the Asante Samuel INT). It's almost like both teams were just running through their plays like they do in practice without a defense.
The defense on the DeSean Jackson play was interesting. Pacman (am I not supposed to call him that anymore?) Jones was burnt by Jackson, but as we already know, Jackson decided to throw the ball behind him at the 1 yard line. I'm not really sure if I should be upset with Pacman for not jumping on that ball. When you think about it at first, you think, "Well yeah, of course he should have jumped on it. Then it would be Dallas ball and Jackson would have looked like a moron." But at the same time, if you think about it long enough, the refs blew the whistle and signaled a touchdown, would jumping on the ball do any good? I know a lot of fans are upset that he didn't jump on it, but I think I'm going to give Pacman the benefit of the doubt. Not because I'm a Cowboy fan or because I think Pacman is a great guy (ha!), but because rarely do you see somebody like Jackson do such a stupid thing. That was absolutely ridiculous and he's lucky that they ended up with a TD on the next play.
In the second half, our defense improved greatly.
Burnett and Watkins ended the game as the team leaders in tackling, with 6 each. Ellis had 2 sacks, Ware and Ratliff each had one.
Other comments:
Penalties, ouch! 10 penalties for 108 yards. Penalties was this team's achilles heel last week in the Cleveland game and penalties was this team's achilles all throughout last year. Although this team has been more successful under Wade (thus far) than it was under Parcells, Parcells was much better about keeping the penalties under control. I know that everybody expects Dallas to go deep into the playoffs, but it's going to be tough to win in the playoffs if we are giving the other team a free 100 yards.
Everyone talked about the unique blitzing scheme that Philly uses to confuse the offensive line. True, Philly does a lot of fake blitzing and are usually quite successful at getting to the QB. But the O-line gave a very encouraging performance. Romo wasn't sacked the entire game.
The ESPN camera crew loves looking at Jerry Jones.
That's it! Next week we have a tough one against Green Bay.
Offense:
On our first first drive, it appeared as if the unique Eagles' blitzing scheme was going to make it a long night for Romo and the O-line after. After facing a 3rd and long, Romo converted. Then on the very next sequence, third an long again. This time, it was a 72 yard bomb to T.O. (I'll be saying his name this year because it's been awhile since T.O. has been an idiot. I reserve the right to switch back to Parcell's "the player" at any time I wish, although T.O will determine that by his actions and mouth).
After another Eagle field goal, Felix Jones took the Kick off return 98 yards into the end zone.
The second quarter was when a lot of the drama happened. Romo fumbled in the end zone (was it three times on the same play?)for an Eagled TD. This was a costly turnover that gave the Eagles the lead.
But on the next drive, Romo drove down the field for yet another T.O. TD pass.
After that drive, was one of those unforgettable moments of laughter when the Eagles hooked up with a long pass with DeSean Jackson, but Jackson decided to start his end zone celebration one yard too early, but more on that when we discuss the defensive side of the ball.
Both teams then kicked a field goal which brought us to halftime.
In the second half, Dallas realized that they have a running back, so they figured they might as well give it to him a few times. Marion the Barbarian responded. In the second half he had a 1 yd rushing TD and a 17 yd TD reception. Add in a couple more Folk Field goals and Dallas limiting Philly to one TD in the second half, and Dallas rode the Marion the Barbarian to a victory as he wound down the clock in the 4th.
Witten led the team in receptions and yardage, with 7 for 110 yards. T.O. had 3 for 89, two of those three were TDs.
MB3 rushed 18 times for 63 and had 1 TD. Nearly all of his damage was done in the second half, particularly the 4th quarter.
[Lack of] Defense:
Well, the other team scored 37 points. So...how do you think our D was? Exactly.
It might be worth mentioning that T. Newman only played in the nickel package. Hopefully he'll be back to 100% next week. Still, it's difficult to say how much he would have helped.
In the first half, there really isn't much to write about. Neither team had much of a defense whatsoever (the exception, of course, was the Asante Samuel INT). It's almost like both teams were just running through their plays like they do in practice without a defense.
The defense on the DeSean Jackson play was interesting. Pacman (am I not supposed to call him that anymore?) Jones was burnt by Jackson, but as we already know, Jackson decided to throw the ball behind him at the 1 yard line. I'm not really sure if I should be upset with Pacman for not jumping on that ball. When you think about it at first, you think, "Well yeah, of course he should have jumped on it. Then it would be Dallas ball and Jackson would have looked like a moron." But at the same time, if you think about it long enough, the refs blew the whistle and signaled a touchdown, would jumping on the ball do any good? I know a lot of fans are upset that he didn't jump on it, but I think I'm going to give Pacman the benefit of the doubt. Not because I'm a Cowboy fan or because I think Pacman is a great guy (ha!), but because rarely do you see somebody like Jackson do such a stupid thing. That was absolutely ridiculous and he's lucky that they ended up with a TD on the next play.
In the second half, our defense improved greatly.
Burnett and Watkins ended the game as the team leaders in tackling, with 6 each. Ellis had 2 sacks, Ware and Ratliff each had one.
Other comments:
Penalties, ouch! 10 penalties for 108 yards. Penalties was this team's achilles heel last week in the Cleveland game and penalties was this team's achilles all throughout last year. Although this team has been more successful under Wade (thus far) than it was under Parcells, Parcells was much better about keeping the penalties under control. I know that everybody expects Dallas to go deep into the playoffs, but it's going to be tough to win in the playoffs if we are giving the other team a free 100 yards.
Everyone talked about the unique blitzing scheme that Philly uses to confuse the offensive line. True, Philly does a lot of fake blitzing and are usually quite successful at getting to the QB. But the O-line gave a very encouraging performance. Romo wasn't sacked the entire game.
The ESPN camera crew loves looking at Jerry Jones.
That's it! Next week we have a tough one against Green Bay.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Cowboys coming soon...
Traditionally, on Mondays of football season I do a recap of the Cowboys game. Unfortunately, that will not be happening this week. I'm preaching this Sunday so I have a lot more writing to do this week than I normally do.
I'll very briefly comment on the game: It was good to start out the season with a multiple TD victory over a borderline playoff team, but we still have a lot to improve on if we are to be a threat deep into the postseason.
I know that's not a lot, but it'll have to do for this week.
I'll very briefly comment on the game: It was good to start out the season with a multiple TD victory over a borderline playoff team, but we still have a lot to improve on if we are to be a threat deep into the postseason.
I know that's not a lot, but it'll have to do for this week.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Way out in the outfield....
Continuing our theme on the future of the Braves, I'd like to focus our attention now on the outfield.
We are on the verge of Kotsay being traded to the Red Sox, which would mean that our best outfielder is Gregor Blanco (I'm not counting Infante as an outfielder even though he plays outfield quite often. See my previous post for my thoughts on Infante), who began the season as the team's 4th outfielder.
We have the worst outfield in the major leagues, it's not even close. It's very possible that Jeff Francoeur single handedly cost us the season. Although I've never been a fan of blaming a team's demise on one person, Frenchy comes close.
Enough about this year's outfield. Let's look ahead to the future.
In the FA market, we have the likes of Adam Dunn and Pat Burrell among a few other interesting names. The Braves do have enough money to go after an outfielder, but as I've already posted, we also have a more expensive need for pitching.
In the minors we have:
Jordan Schafer (Drafted one round after Yunel Escobar) who is sporting a 1.111 OPS in August.
Brandon Jones (Nondrafted Free agent) has a .981 OPS in August.
Josh Anderson (Drafted by the Houston Astros) has a .978 OPS in August which includes an on-base % of .419. His average for the month of August is .376. Anderson has also stolen 42 bases in the minors this year.
The above minor leaguers have all been on fire the month of August and they are pretty much all competing for a spot on the 2009 roster. Obviously the above stats won't carry over to the major leagues. All of these prospects will have their growing pains.
The big problem we have, as we all know, is Jeff Francoeur. Even though he's amongst the worst outfielders (arguably - THE worst) in the majors, I wouldn't be surprised if Bobby thinks he's amongst the best. The Braves certainly treat him that way at least.
As much as I and everybody else wishes he wouldn't be our starting RF next year, the reality is that he will be back in Rightfield in 2009 whether we like it or not. This is unfortunate, but realistic. In the beginning of July, when Frenchy was sent down, Wren made it clear that he works for Frenchy, not vice versa.
Here's what we are looking at - Frenchy in right field, probably a newly acquired free agent in leftfield, whomever that might be. Centerfield is up for grabs. It's highly possible that they'll go with Blanco in CF for 2009, but it'd be nice to get some pop on occasion.
We have so many questions -
1. What about Diaz? He hasn't been mentioned much here, but will there be a spot for him next year?
2. Blanco and Anderson are kind of the same player - which one (if any) do we keep?
3. Will Brandon Jones and Jordan Schafer need another year of seasoning in the minors?
4. Will I actually watch a game after the September call-ups?
We are on the verge of Kotsay being traded to the Red Sox, which would mean that our best outfielder is Gregor Blanco (I'm not counting Infante as an outfielder even though he plays outfield quite often. See my previous post for my thoughts on Infante), who began the season as the team's 4th outfielder.
We have the worst outfield in the major leagues, it's not even close. It's very possible that Jeff Francoeur single handedly cost us the season. Although I've never been a fan of blaming a team's demise on one person, Frenchy comes close.
Enough about this year's outfield. Let's look ahead to the future.
In the FA market, we have the likes of Adam Dunn and Pat Burrell among a few other interesting names. The Braves do have enough money to go after an outfielder, but as I've already posted, we also have a more expensive need for pitching.
In the minors we have:
Jordan Schafer (Drafted one round after Yunel Escobar) who is sporting a 1.111 OPS in August.
Brandon Jones (Nondrafted Free agent) has a .981 OPS in August.
Josh Anderson (Drafted by the Houston Astros) has a .978 OPS in August which includes an on-base % of .419. His average for the month of August is .376. Anderson has also stolen 42 bases in the minors this year.
The above minor leaguers have all been on fire the month of August and they are pretty much all competing for a spot on the 2009 roster. Obviously the above stats won't carry over to the major leagues. All of these prospects will have their growing pains.
The big problem we have, as we all know, is Jeff Francoeur. Even though he's amongst the worst outfielders (arguably - THE worst) in the majors, I wouldn't be surprised if Bobby thinks he's amongst the best. The Braves certainly treat him that way at least.
As much as I and everybody else wishes he wouldn't be our starting RF next year, the reality is that he will be back in Rightfield in 2009 whether we like it or not. This is unfortunate, but realistic. In the beginning of July, when Frenchy was sent down, Wren made it clear that he works for Frenchy, not vice versa.
Here's what we are looking at - Frenchy in right field, probably a newly acquired free agent in leftfield, whomever that might be. Centerfield is up for grabs. It's highly possible that they'll go with Blanco in CF for 2009, but it'd be nice to get some pop on occasion.
We have so many questions -
1. What about Diaz? He hasn't been mentioned much here, but will there be a spot for him next year?
2. Blanco and Anderson are kind of the same player - which one (if any) do we keep?
3. Will Brandon Jones and Jordan Schafer need another year of seasoning in the minors?
4. Will I actually watch a game after the September call-ups?
Thursday, August 21, 2008
2B or not 2B, is Kelly the question?
Continuing our theme on the future of the Braves, I would like to turn our attention towards one position, specifically, one player. Second baseman Kelly Johnson.
Let's look at his career splits for a moment. Kelly Johnson has some of the more interesting splits you'll ever see players have. Despite the way Cox uses him, he has a significantly higher average against left handed pitchers, although his BABIP suggests luck has helped him with that. However, his slugging % is down against the lefties. Curiously enough, his OPS+ is practically even in both platoon roles.
Another interesting split - in games the Braves win Kelly hits, reaches, and slugs .311/.403/.533. However, in losses Kelly is only sporting a line of .214/.294/.316. I think this split speaks volumes.
He's pretty even home vs. road. And he's a touch better in the first half.
Kelly is at an advantage because he is a second baseman...depending on which stat you use as your base, you'll find him ranking amongst the middle of the pack when comparing him to all other second baseman around the majors.
That's pretty much what Kelly is. He's a mediocre hitter with an mediocre glove.
The flip side is that we also have 2 other hitters, Martin Prado and Omar Infante, who are swinging well enough to justify getting more at bats. So...what do we do.
Well, here's what I'd do - trade both Prado and Infante. It's pretty simple. Right now the return we'd get for them is as high as it (most likely) will ever be. Infante has never hit this well in his career. Prado, while he was a .300 hitter in the minor leagues (career), has never slugged as well as he has been in 2008. Prado is not going to be much with a career slugging % under .400 and he's not a basestealing threat. But it's a good time to trade him while he's slugging this well.
BABIP says they've been lucky this year. We've sold low all too often, it'd be nice to sell high for a change. Besides, the last time (that I can think of) that we sold high during a trade was the Edgar Renteria trade, and look how that worked out! I bet we could get a very decent return for one or both of them.
I know the drawback in doing this. Our bench would take a hit. That's probably going to be the #1 problem people have with my suggestion. However, after the results we've had this month, I really don't think we should be concerned about bench depth. We've got to get some decent starters before we start complaining about our bench. As soon as we fill out a roster full of proven mlb starters, then we'll talk about our bench. But right now, two-thirds of our regulars would be bench players on most clubs, if they are even on the roster at all.
So, I'd trade Prado and Infante. But what about Kelly? Kelly is a tough call because when he's on, the Braves win quite frequently (as the above split indicates) but when he's off, he's Francoeuresque. If you're able to figure out a pattern in his slumps and streaks, you are a pretty good detective. Best we can do is put him in when he's swinging well and let him swing himself out of the lineup. But can he catch fire again while riding the pine for a month?
What would you do?
Let's look at his career splits for a moment. Kelly Johnson has some of the more interesting splits you'll ever see players have. Despite the way Cox uses him, he has a significantly higher average against left handed pitchers, although his BABIP suggests luck has helped him with that. However, his slugging % is down against the lefties. Curiously enough, his OPS+ is practically even in both platoon roles.
Another interesting split - in games the Braves win Kelly hits, reaches, and slugs .311/.403/.533. However, in losses Kelly is only sporting a line of .214/.294/.316. I think this split speaks volumes.
He's pretty even home vs. road. And he's a touch better in the first half.
Kelly is at an advantage because he is a second baseman...depending on which stat you use as your base, you'll find him ranking amongst the middle of the pack when comparing him to all other second baseman around the majors.
That's pretty much what Kelly is. He's a mediocre hitter with an mediocre glove.
The flip side is that we also have 2 other hitters, Martin Prado and Omar Infante, who are swinging well enough to justify getting more at bats. So...what do we do.
Well, here's what I'd do - trade both Prado and Infante. It's pretty simple. Right now the return we'd get for them is as high as it (most likely) will ever be. Infante has never hit this well in his career. Prado, while he was a .300 hitter in the minor leagues (career), has never slugged as well as he has been in 2008. Prado is not going to be much with a career slugging % under .400 and he's not a basestealing threat. But it's a good time to trade him while he's slugging this well.
BABIP says they've been lucky this year. We've sold low all too often, it'd be nice to sell high for a change. Besides, the last time (that I can think of) that we sold high during a trade was the Edgar Renteria trade, and look how that worked out! I bet we could get a very decent return for one or both of them.
I know the drawback in doing this. Our bench would take a hit. That's probably going to be the #1 problem people have with my suggestion. However, after the results we've had this month, I really don't think we should be concerned about bench depth. We've got to get some decent starters before we start complaining about our bench. As soon as we fill out a roster full of proven mlb starters, then we'll talk about our bench. But right now, two-thirds of our regulars would be bench players on most clubs, if they are even on the roster at all.
So, I'd trade Prado and Infante. But what about Kelly? Kelly is a tough call because when he's on, the Braves win quite frequently (as the above split indicates) but when he's off, he's Francoeuresque. If you're able to figure out a pattern in his slumps and streaks, you are a pretty good detective. Best we can do is put him in when he's swinging well and let him swing himself out of the lineup. But can he catch fire again while riding the pine for a month?
What would you do?
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Offseason spending spree
I and all of the other Braves fans are saying "see you next year" in mid August for the first time since I was pushing my toy trucks around the basement after I got home from First grade (I think). Still there will be a lot to watch for between now and spring training. If you search through the Braves blogs you'll see writers looking forward to seeing which prospects perform well in the September call-ups, how our DLed relievers are doing, which players have Dr. James Andrews on their speed dial.
OK, so nobody cares about that. Let's not kid ourselves and just get out there in the open what we are all thinking about. The Braves have close to half of their payroll to spend on new arms and bats this winter.
Let's look at some of the key players looking for new contracts:
**Disclaimer: It's only mid-August, and a lot can happen to change the status of some of these players. Some guys not listed have a player, club, or mutual option for '09. The following list is a "as of right now" kind of scenario...
Key Bats (Outfield):
Manny Ramirez
Adam Dunn
Pat Burrell
Two of these guys (Burrell and Dunn) are similar in a lot of ways. They are very inconsistent. They'll have 1 great week, 1 terrible week, and 1 mediocre week.
Manny might be out of our price range. Manny is currently at 20mil/year and the way he is swinging the bat right now in LA doesn't suggest a discount due to his age. Besides, it's been since John Rocker since we've had a personality like his in Atl. I don't think Manny would fit very well in Atlanta and I don't think Manny would like playing in Atlanta anyways.
Key Arms:
A.J. Burnett (might opt out)
Ryan Dempster
Ben Sheets
C.C. Sabathia
Well, what would you do? Guys like Burnett and Sheets have had injury problems. The obvious choice is Sabathia, but he has to make you a little nervous with all of those innings he has logged at his age.
Realistically, I don't see Sabathia happening. I could be wrong, but it is important to note that the Yankees will also be shopping for a starter, and you know they are going to go for the best available - C.C. I don't think it matters that the Braves have half their payroll to spend, the Yankees will outbid anybody when they are desperate enough.
Sheets has to make you nervous also, it's been 4 years since he's thrown 200 innings. I know arm injuries aren't contagious, but being surrounded by Braves pitchers with new ligaments probably won't help him. Still, this is the best chance I see the Braves having of improving their staff via free agency, as the pitching market is pretty thick this year. And I think Braves fans are getting impatient of waiting on Jo-Jo Reyes to prove himself and as injury prone as Hampton is, at least Sheets won't make me laugh like Mike Hampton does. Anyways, I say all this to say, you're not going to improve your club if you don't take chances. Here's what I'd do...
Sign Adam Dunn - 5 yr/85 mil (17 mil/year)
He made 13 mil in 2008. I figure Dunn will probably join the 17-18 per year club of outfielders joining A. Soriano, V. Wells, A. Jones and others soon to join. It seems kind of steep, especially when comparing him to Soriano. He has always struggled with batting average but who cares. We need his on base percentage almost as badly as we need his 40 homers. I'd say anything cheaper than 17 mil/year is a steal if acquiring him as a free agent. If a lot of teams are interested, look for his price to rise.
Sign Ben Sheets 4 years/60mil (15mil/year) with opportunities to make up to $3 million/year more through innings pitched, cy young votings, etc.
Sheets is a bit tougher to predict his price tag. My prediction is most likely way off. Names on his "most similar to" list include A.J. Burnett, John Lackey, and Brad Penny also makes an appearance in the age listing. It's unrealistic to expect him to make every start, but when he's on the hill he's producing results. He made 11 million this year and it's been one of his better years in health and performance combined. I think what makes it especially tough to predict his payroll is that (to my knowledge) an injury prone pitcher of Sheets' quality hasn't received a new contract lately. Santana and Zito didn't have an injury history when they were signed (although some say claim they predicted Zito's velocity to drop). Right now, Peavy is at 17 million/year, so that has to be a standard somewhere to start at. Even with his injury history, he's still going to be expensive, as the price of pitching is always rising. It would be a mistake to not have any performance/durability incentives in Sheets' contract.
Sign Ryan Dempster: 3 years/36 million (12 million/year)
I realize that Ryan Dempster's 2008 campaign is most likely a fluke. He's never put up numbers this good before. He's been a reliever the past several years, so that probably does make this a pretty special case. But I really doubt we'll be able to afford two top of the rotation starters and an outfield powerbat. If we get a leftfield (or maybe rightfield, but doubt it) bat, then we'll probably only be able to purchase 1 ace and possibly a second, but most likely a third starter, bringing us to Dempster.
True, he's not incredible. However, his ERA+ has been 96 or higher each of the past 5 seasons, 112 or higher in 3 of those 5 seasons. After what Braves fans have experienced this year, I think we'd be pretty satisfied for anybody who throws about 180 league average innings. I guess it all just hinges on if the Cubs resign him or not. With a rotation Already consisting of Zambrano, Harden, Lilly, and Marquis you figure the competition will be tough for Dempster, who until this year was a reliever since 2004.
Some of you readers may disagree, but I'm gonna guess that 12 mil/year is a fair market value for Dempster. It may seem a little on the low side if he's a starter, and if you solely look at 2008, it is low. But remember his career ERA is 4.60. Much more money than that and he's getting elite pitcher money, and Dempster is not among the Elite.
Well, that's 44 million per year on those guys. It has been calculated that about 50 million will be available for spending, but a lot of that depends on if Glavine retires after seeing his MRI. I'm a bit skeptical if it's really that much, but if that number is accurate, we can use the remaining 6 million to plug up holes in the bench or bullpen.
I'd go to war with that Rotation...
Sheets
Dempster
Jurrjens
Campillo
Reyes/Morton/Whoever????
As far as the lineup...
Escobar
Kotchman
Chipper
Dunn
McCann
Johnson
Frenchy
Whatever minor leaguer plays CF for us next year
Pitcher
The ineup might could use a bit of tweaking still, but we can see clearly that the addition of Dunn is quite an improvement alone.
OK, so let me have it. Tell me how wrong I am. Do you disagree with my signings? Are my contracts too low or too high paying? I admit, I'm not an agent nor am I a GM. What do you think?
OK, so nobody cares about that. Let's not kid ourselves and just get out there in the open what we are all thinking about. The Braves have close to half of their payroll to spend on new arms and bats this winter.
Let's look at some of the key players looking for new contracts:
**Disclaimer: It's only mid-August, and a lot can happen to change the status of some of these players. Some guys not listed have a player, club, or mutual option for '09. The following list is a "as of right now" kind of scenario...
Key Bats (Outfield):
Manny Ramirez
Adam Dunn
Pat Burrell
Two of these guys (Burrell and Dunn) are similar in a lot of ways. They are very inconsistent. They'll have 1 great week, 1 terrible week, and 1 mediocre week.
Manny might be out of our price range. Manny is currently at 20mil/year and the way he is swinging the bat right now in LA doesn't suggest a discount due to his age. Besides, it's been since John Rocker since we've had a personality like his in Atl. I don't think Manny would fit very well in Atlanta and I don't think Manny would like playing in Atlanta anyways.
Key Arms:
A.J. Burnett (might opt out)
Ryan Dempster
Ben Sheets
C.C. Sabathia
Well, what would you do? Guys like Burnett and Sheets have had injury problems. The obvious choice is Sabathia, but he has to make you a little nervous with all of those innings he has logged at his age.
Realistically, I don't see Sabathia happening. I could be wrong, but it is important to note that the Yankees will also be shopping for a starter, and you know they are going to go for the best available - C.C. I don't think it matters that the Braves have half their payroll to spend, the Yankees will outbid anybody when they are desperate enough.
Sheets has to make you nervous also, it's been 4 years since he's thrown 200 innings. I know arm injuries aren't contagious, but being surrounded by Braves pitchers with new ligaments probably won't help him. Still, this is the best chance I see the Braves having of improving their staff via free agency, as the pitching market is pretty thick this year. And I think Braves fans are getting impatient of waiting on Jo-Jo Reyes to prove himself and as injury prone as Hampton is, at least Sheets won't make me laugh like Mike Hampton does. Anyways, I say all this to say, you're not going to improve your club if you don't take chances. Here's what I'd do...
Sign Adam Dunn - 5 yr/85 mil (17 mil/year)
He made 13 mil in 2008. I figure Dunn will probably join the 17-18 per year club of outfielders joining A. Soriano, V. Wells, A. Jones and others soon to join. It seems kind of steep, especially when comparing him to Soriano. He has always struggled with batting average but who cares. We need his on base percentage almost as badly as we need his 40 homers. I'd say anything cheaper than 17 mil/year is a steal if acquiring him as a free agent. If a lot of teams are interested, look for his price to rise.
Sign Ben Sheets 4 years/60mil (15mil/year) with opportunities to make up to $3 million/year more through innings pitched, cy young votings, etc.
Sheets is a bit tougher to predict his price tag. My prediction is most likely way off. Names on his "most similar to" list include A.J. Burnett, John Lackey, and Brad Penny also makes an appearance in the age listing. It's unrealistic to expect him to make every start, but when he's on the hill he's producing results. He made 11 million this year and it's been one of his better years in health and performance combined. I think what makes it especially tough to predict his payroll is that (to my knowledge) an injury prone pitcher of Sheets' quality hasn't received a new contract lately. Santana and Zito didn't have an injury history when they were signed (although some say claim they predicted Zito's velocity to drop). Right now, Peavy is at 17 million/year, so that has to be a standard somewhere to start at. Even with his injury history, he's still going to be expensive, as the price of pitching is always rising. It would be a mistake to not have any performance/durability incentives in Sheets' contract.
Sign Ryan Dempster: 3 years/36 million (12 million/year)
I realize that Ryan Dempster's 2008 campaign is most likely a fluke. He's never put up numbers this good before. He's been a reliever the past several years, so that probably does make this a pretty special case. But I really doubt we'll be able to afford two top of the rotation starters and an outfield powerbat. If we get a leftfield (or maybe rightfield, but doubt it) bat, then we'll probably only be able to purchase 1 ace and possibly a second, but most likely a third starter, bringing us to Dempster.
True, he's not incredible. However, his ERA+ has been 96 or higher each of the past 5 seasons, 112 or higher in 3 of those 5 seasons. After what Braves fans have experienced this year, I think we'd be pretty satisfied for anybody who throws about 180 league average innings. I guess it all just hinges on if the Cubs resign him or not. With a rotation Already consisting of Zambrano, Harden, Lilly, and Marquis you figure the competition will be tough for Dempster, who until this year was a reliever since 2004.
Some of you readers may disagree, but I'm gonna guess that 12 mil/year is a fair market value for Dempster. It may seem a little on the low side if he's a starter, and if you solely look at 2008, it is low. But remember his career ERA is 4.60. Much more money than that and he's getting elite pitcher money, and Dempster is not among the Elite.
Well, that's 44 million per year on those guys. It has been calculated that about 50 million will be available for spending, but a lot of that depends on if Glavine retires after seeing his MRI. I'm a bit skeptical if it's really that much, but if that number is accurate, we can use the remaining 6 million to plug up holes in the bench or bullpen.
I'd go to war with that Rotation...
Sheets
Dempster
Jurrjens
Campillo
Reyes/Morton/Whoever????
As far as the lineup...
Escobar
Kotchman
Chipper
Dunn
McCann
Johnson
Frenchy
Whatever minor leaguer plays CF for us next year
Pitcher
The ineup might could use a bit of tweaking still, but we can see clearly that the addition of Dunn is quite an improvement alone.
OK, so let me have it. Tell me how wrong I am. Do you disagree with my signings? Are my contracts too low or too high paying? I admit, I'm not an agent nor am I a GM. What do you think?
Friday, August 1, 2008
Netflix Friends
I'm in the process of trying to take advantage of the Netflix friends application. It's a great way to share movie tastes and opinions with each other.
I sent out several invitation, but if I missed you, either give me your email address or just send me an invitation.
Watch the Braves tomorrow and look for the Central Youth group in left center field.
I sent out several invitation, but if I missed you, either give me your email address or just send me an invitation.
Watch the Braves tomorrow and look for the Central Youth group in left center field.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Not huddy too...
Huddy reportedly needs TJ surgury, but has decided to toughen it out.
Why? If he has the surgery now, he can still pitch the last bit of 2009. Seems to me like if he waits, he just delays the inevitable.
We don't need Huddy in 2008 anymore, the season is a bust. Please, Huddy, go under the knife.
Perhaps Brian McCann will be back by Saturday, making him the best hitter in the lineup by far (instead of Johnson or Infante). It'd be nice to see him back in the lineup when the Central Youth Group heads to the Ted this Saturday. But DO NOT RUSH HIM BACK!
While I'm on the subject...if any more of our Young starters throw more than 90 pitches in a start, I think I'm gonna bang my head against a wall. Jurrjens throwing that many pitches last night was inexcusable, especially in a season/situation such as this.
I guess it's a good thing that we aren't very good at losing.
Why? If he has the surgery now, he can still pitch the last bit of 2009. Seems to me like if he waits, he just delays the inevitable.
We don't need Huddy in 2008 anymore, the season is a bust. Please, Huddy, go under the knife.
Perhaps Brian McCann will be back by Saturday, making him the best hitter in the lineup by far (instead of Johnson or Infante). It'd be nice to see him back in the lineup when the Central Youth Group heads to the Ted this Saturday. But DO NOT RUSH HIM BACK!
While I'm on the subject...if any more of our Young starters throw more than 90 pitches in a start, I think I'm gonna bang my head against a wall. Jurrjens throwing that many pitches last night was inexcusable, especially in a season/situation such as this.
I guess it's a good thing that we aren't very good at losing.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The Braves throw in the towel...
The Braves officially threw in the towell yesterday. As most of you have probably heard by now, the Braves traded Mark Teixeira for Casey Kotchman and Stephen Marek. My thoughts on the trade are a few paragraphs down. But as far as throwing in the towel goes, can't really say it broke my heart. I had personally given up a month ago, hoping the Braves would go on a losing streak so Wren wouldn't think we had a chance this season.
Pop Quiz, who is the best hitter in the current Braves lineup?
If you are a OPS+ guy it's - a tie between Omar Infante and Kelly Johnson (Martin Prado doesn't have enough at bats.
If you are a runs created guy it's - Kelly Johnson
If you are a WPA guy it's - Omar Infante??
So, yeah, if that was the case for my team, I'd give in too. Infante is (supposed to be?) a backup/super utility player and Kelly Johnson is a #6 type hitter in most lineups, maybe higher when he's riding one of his streaks.
All we can do now is look ahead to next year, which as I pointed out, I have been doing for close to a month now anyways.
This brings me to the trade. All-in-all, I give it a B-
I guess a lot of it depends on how high on Kotchman you are. Some are high, some aren't. For a firstbaseman, his career .274/.337/.426 isn't awesome. His declining walk-rate can be a little worrisome, but unlike fellow free swinging teammate Jeff Francoeur, Kotchman doesn't really strike out that often so I don't have as much of a problem with it.
Kotchman's numbers may not be outstanding, but he's cheap and is better than any internal option.
Stephen Marek, he's a pretty unimpressive throw-in to the deal. But I think Wren was smart to want to get a pitching arm of some type out of the deal. We'll see what he pans out to be. He's more valuable to us as a starter obviously, but the Braves do have a thing for minor league relievers.
We need to make some outfield adjustments and possibly add another arm or two, because as we have learned this season, you can't have too many. It's almost humorous how we began the season with "too many" starting pitching options and now we're bandaged up so badly that Mike Hampton is actually pitching.
My only eyebrow raising issue with the trade is this, why so soon? Braves fans last year remember Teixeira's price kept rising and rising the closer we got to the deadline. Why not wait until teams get more desperate and up the ante? I think we might could have gotten more had we waited.
If you would have told me that the Braves traded for a young, inconsistent veteran and a mid-level prospect, I probably would have assumed it was for Will Ohman.
It's going to be a busy offseason.
CP
Pop Quiz, who is the best hitter in the current Braves lineup?
If you are a OPS+ guy it's - a tie between Omar Infante and Kelly Johnson (Martin Prado doesn't have enough at bats.
If you are a runs created guy it's - Kelly Johnson
If you are a WPA guy it's - Omar Infante??
So, yeah, if that was the case for my team, I'd give in too. Infante is (supposed to be?) a backup/super utility player and Kelly Johnson is a #6 type hitter in most lineups, maybe higher when he's riding one of his streaks.
All we can do now is look ahead to next year, which as I pointed out, I have been doing for close to a month now anyways.
This brings me to the trade. All-in-all, I give it a B-
I guess a lot of it depends on how high on Kotchman you are. Some are high, some aren't. For a firstbaseman, his career .274/.337/.426 isn't awesome. His declining walk-rate can be a little worrisome, but unlike fellow free swinging teammate Jeff Francoeur, Kotchman doesn't really strike out that often so I don't have as much of a problem with it.
Kotchman's numbers may not be outstanding, but he's cheap and is better than any internal option.
Stephen Marek, he's a pretty unimpressive throw-in to the deal. But I think Wren was smart to want to get a pitching arm of some type out of the deal. We'll see what he pans out to be. He's more valuable to us as a starter obviously, but the Braves do have a thing for minor league relievers.
We need to make some outfield adjustments and possibly add another arm or two, because as we have learned this season, you can't have too many. It's almost humorous how we began the season with "too many" starting pitching options and now we're bandaged up so badly that Mike Hampton is actually pitching.
My only eyebrow raising issue with the trade is this, why so soon? Braves fans last year remember Teixeira's price kept rising and rising the closer we got to the deadline. Why not wait until teams get more desperate and up the ante? I think we might could have gotten more had we waited.
If you would have told me that the Braves traded for a young, inconsistent veteran and a mid-level prospect, I probably would have assumed it was for Will Ohman.
It's going to be a busy offseason.
CP
Titletown
I took some photos at the titletown extravaganza. But, truthfully, they aren't very good. Only about half of them are even somewhat decent. There were just too many heads popping in and out of my camera view.
So, instead of posting my pictures...I'll just link you to better pictures.
So, instead of posting my pictures...I'll just link you to better pictures.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Titletown!
We won! ESPN's summer promotion, Titletown, concluded today at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium at 2 pm eastern (it aired about 15 minutes ago on the 6:00 Sportscenter). I'm glad they didn't do it live, that was crazy.
With only 48 hours notice, the word quickly spread that ESPN's Wendy Nix was coming back to Valdosta (of course this lead to the assumptions...would they come all the way back for second place?). We were all there. Valdosta High, Lowndes High, Georgia Christian, Valwood, Valdosta State, Open Bible. It was awesome. During football season we are as segregated as can be, Valdosta hates Lowndes and vice versa. But there was none of that today. We assembled in that stadium, supporting our different school colors, but we are united this time. We are Titletown.
It was extremely hot, but no one seemed to care, at least they didn't show it. My experience at the stadium ultimately defines "organized chaos". It was chaos organized by ESPN. ESPN told us to scream when the camera came by our faces (I was on the 40 yard line). Then they told us to be quiet so Wendy could interview Jesse, then ESPN told us to go crazy again. Then ESPN told us to watch at 6 pm. Then ESPN told us the trophy will be displayed on the field for us to take pictures. Then, after I reached the field finally and headed towards the long crowd around the trophy, they told us the trophy had to go in 5 minutes....? Wow, thanks a lot.
We took some pictures but have not yet downloaded them. I'll share as soon as I get the chance (which, quite honestly, will probably be Wednesday, I'm slammed tomorrow).
Oh, and for those of you traveling to (or just passing by) Valdosta on I-75, you'll see a new sign. What does the new sign say?
Welcome to Valdosta.
Titletown, USA.
With only 48 hours notice, the word quickly spread that ESPN's Wendy Nix was coming back to Valdosta (of course this lead to the assumptions...would they come all the way back for second place?). We were all there. Valdosta High, Lowndes High, Georgia Christian, Valwood, Valdosta State, Open Bible. It was awesome. During football season we are as segregated as can be, Valdosta hates Lowndes and vice versa. But there was none of that today. We assembled in that stadium, supporting our different school colors, but we are united this time. We are Titletown.
It was extremely hot, but no one seemed to care, at least they didn't show it. My experience at the stadium ultimately defines "organized chaos". It was chaos organized by ESPN. ESPN told us to scream when the camera came by our faces (I was on the 40 yard line). Then they told us to be quiet so Wendy could interview Jesse, then ESPN told us to go crazy again. Then ESPN told us to watch at 6 pm. Then ESPN told us the trophy will be displayed on the field for us to take pictures. Then, after I reached the field finally and headed towards the long crowd around the trophy, they told us the trophy had to go in 5 minutes....? Wow, thanks a lot.
We took some pictures but have not yet downloaded them. I'll share as soon as I get the chance (which, quite honestly, will probably be Wednesday, I'm slammed tomorrow).
Oh, and for those of you traveling to (or just passing by) Valdosta on I-75, you'll see a new sign. What does the new sign say?
Welcome to Valdosta.
Titletown, USA.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The Author Speaks (a.ka. - the mystery game)...
I've been busy defending myself on the web. It was an honest mistake. Here's the story.
As many of you know...Valdosta is in the running for Titletown, USA at ESPN. On the voting page they just happen to choose my essay as the featured essay (truthfully though, it's only about 1/3 of it, as they cut off all of the good meat, leaving only my introduction).
I felt kind of honored (I guess) that my essay was the one chosen. But there is a slight problem with this...there is an error in my introduction. The two teams never actually played each other (I'll get onto why I said they did in a little bit). Although I didn't know this at the time (I mean, c'mon, I wasn't even alive in 1971) but the High School National Championship game is just voted upon, never actually played.
OK, so what made me think that they did play? Did I just make that up? Well, no. You see, before typing an essay like that I want to make sure I have all my facts straight so I don't make a fool of myself (uh...too late for that???). I stumbled across a webpage that featured a downloadable boxscore (scroll down on the page) for Valdosta High School Wildcats vs. T.C. Williams High School in 1971.
Long story short, I leave town for a week, come back, check the voting, and I'm getting all kinds of interesting replies (mostly individuals from Virginia upset that their team lost a game that wasn't really played, but you can throw in a few upset Valdostans because I "made a fool of the Valdosta Titletown page").
Turns out...I should have read the website more carefully. If I would have read the other matchups more closely, I would have noticed some of the 2004 Team X verses 1995 Team Z box scores.
Anyways, I'm kind of embarassed to say the least. But I guess I want you to know that I wasn't tipsy, or as one comment read, "a red-neck football fan in the south with just 4 teeth".
I was actually using a source (though - not a very good one). That's what I get for being in a hurry I guess.
Sorry to the Valdosta fans for "ruining the Titletown page" and sorry to my friends in Virginia (but they probably won't call me a friend) for claiming that your team lost a game it really didn't.
I hope I have explained that the mistake I made was an honest one. I did not look at the other matchups with boxscores until it was too late.
I have sent an email to ESPN asking them to select another essay as featured article and kindly take mine down, but being that there are two days left in the voting, it's probably too late.
It's a weird sequence of events - Friends ask me to write essay, I write essay, friends get upset at my essay. Oh well.
I do want to thank those of you who have kindly understood and accepted my apology. As I have noted, I didn't pull anything out of the air, I mistakingly thought I had a reliable source.
To the few of you in Virginia who haven't accepted my apology and insist on continuously insulting me in the comments section, on your own blogs, or wherever else...all I can say is...well...the ball is in your court. I've apologized, so what you do with that apology is up to you.
Sorry peeps!
I'm probably the last one you want to hear this from, but Vote for Valdosta - Titletown. Rumor is we are doing well.
As many of you know...Valdosta is in the running for Titletown, USA at ESPN. On the voting page they just happen to choose my essay as the featured essay (truthfully though, it's only about 1/3 of it, as they cut off all of the good meat, leaving only my introduction).
I felt kind of honored (I guess) that my essay was the one chosen. But there is a slight problem with this...there is an error in my introduction. The two teams never actually played each other (I'll get onto why I said they did in a little bit). Although I didn't know this at the time (I mean, c'mon, I wasn't even alive in 1971) but the High School National Championship game is just voted upon, never actually played.
OK, so what made me think that they did play? Did I just make that up? Well, no. You see, before typing an essay like that I want to make sure I have all my facts straight so I don't make a fool of myself (uh...too late for that???). I stumbled across a webpage that featured a downloadable boxscore (scroll down on the page) for Valdosta High School Wildcats vs. T.C. Williams High School in 1971.
Long story short, I leave town for a week, come back, check the voting, and I'm getting all kinds of interesting replies (mostly individuals from Virginia upset that their team lost a game that wasn't really played, but you can throw in a few upset Valdostans because I "made a fool of the Valdosta Titletown page").
Turns out...I should have read the website more carefully. If I would have read the other matchups more closely, I would have noticed some of the 2004 Team X verses 1995 Team Z box scores.
Anyways, I'm kind of embarassed to say the least. But I guess I want you to know that I wasn't tipsy, or as one comment read, "a red-neck football fan in the south with just 4 teeth".
I was actually using a source (though - not a very good one). That's what I get for being in a hurry I guess.
Sorry to the Valdosta fans for "ruining the Titletown page" and sorry to my friends in Virginia (but they probably won't call me a friend) for claiming that your team lost a game it really didn't.
I hope I have explained that the mistake I made was an honest one. I did not look at the other matchups with boxscores until it was too late.
I have sent an email to ESPN asking them to select another essay as featured article and kindly take mine down, but being that there are two days left in the voting, it's probably too late.
It's a weird sequence of events - Friends ask me to write essay, I write essay, friends get upset at my essay. Oh well.
I do want to thank those of you who have kindly understood and accepted my apology. As I have noted, I didn't pull anything out of the air, I mistakingly thought I had a reliable source.
To the few of you in Virginia who haven't accepted my apology and insist on continuously insulting me in the comments section, on your own blogs, or wherever else...all I can say is...well...the ball is in your court. I've apologized, so what you do with that apology is up to you.
Sorry peeps!
I'm probably the last one you want to hear this from, but Vote for Valdosta - Titletown. Rumor is we are doing well.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Valdosta - Titletown, USA
I was at camp all this week, but that didn't stop me for looking for some of you on the TV cast which can be found all over the web.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Titletown USA
Reminders like this have been going around Lowndes County like crazy today, so if this is the 27,000th time you've been reminded about this, my apologies.
But don't forget - ESPN will be at Bazemore-Hyder stadium at 5:00, tailgates start as early as 3:30 from what I hear.
They'll be here filming the Valdosta segment of Titletown, USA, since Valdosta is one of the top 25 finalists.
But don't forget - ESPN will be at Bazemore-Hyder stadium at 5:00, tailgates start as early as 3:30 from what I hear.
They'll be here filming the Valdosta segment of Titletown, USA, since Valdosta is one of the top 25 finalists.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Bad deal
It's been awhile, and I don't really have time for an extremely informative post, I'm a little bit behind after my recent trip to see the last 3 Braves games.
Well, I hate to end on a sour note, and I especially hate to have a negative reaction on Mark Teixeira since he was the hero of last night's marathon. But have you seen what the Brewers gave up for Sabathia? Compare that with what the Mets gave up for Santana, and yes, well, we gave up way to much for 1.5 years of Tex.
Well, I hate to end on a sour note, and I especially hate to have a negative reaction on Mark Teixeira since he was the hero of last night's marathon. But have you seen what the Brewers gave up for Sabathia? Compare that with what the Mets gave up for Santana, and yes, well, we gave up way to much for 1.5 years of Tex.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Putting the Braves in perspective...
It's been awhile since I've posted anything. Sorry, for those of you who missed me. If you didn't miss me, then why are you reading?
The Problem
I heard someon mention at our softball game yesterday that they now no longer care if the Braves win, as long as Chipper gets 2 hits. That's a pretty good intro...
Look, I'm not the biggest fan of Pythagorean Records. Why? Well, the Braves' Pythagorean Record tells us we are one of the better teams in the league.
Um, sorry, but we aren't. I don't need a math formula to tell me otherwise.
Sure, it's nice to know where our record "should" be. But it all boils down to the fact that we aren't there.
We have a super utility and a backup infielder splitting time in LF. We have the league's worst right fielder. We only have 1, arguably 2-3 if you count the LOOGYs, reliever who can be labeled "reliable." We have only one starter who can go past the 6th consistently. We only have 2 starters that can go past the 5th consistently.
Sorry Mr. James, but the above is not a formula for success. Common sense beats the calculator here.
Is it that bad?
Probably not, but we'll see in September. I hear a lot of moaning and groaning about 1 run losses. There is some validity in those groans (we do need a better bullpen, for example) I like how Bobby worded it in an interview yesterday when he said "we're in every game". By that he means, we don't get blown out, yesterday's game excluded which is bound to happen every now and then. I do think it is a positive sign that we really don't get destroyed that much in our games this season.
The injuries are going to happen. In the 90s it seemed like we never lost a key player for an extended period of time (Justice, Galaragga, and Smoltz are the only ones I can think of in about 10 seconds of thinking.). Since we were a bit injury lucky in the 90s it seems to be catching up with us in the current decade. Is it random chance? Possibly. However Smoltz of this decade is 10 years older than Smoltz of last decade. Plus, Leo Mazzone has a better (I'd argue - The best) philosophy of pitcher maintenance which he documents in his book (oh and by the way, he's available to return to coaching). Still, injuries are going to happen.
Where do we go from here?
We probably need to think about restocking on prospects more than we have been. I'm not saying we should forfeit the season, but there are going to be a lot of changes in the next 2 offseasons with a lot of money to spend. Plus, IMHO, we haven't fully recovered from the prospect drainage in the Tex trade.
We paid too much for him. I'm sorry to those who disagree, there are plenty who do. If you don't believe that we paid to much, compare that trade to the Johan Santana trade, or the Bedard trade. The Dan Haren trade?
Yeah, we gave up too much. Oh, and don't look now but Salty has been sporting a nice OPS+.
So where do we go from here?
I do think there are a few things that could be done to get a few more wins out of this squad.
The first issue I see is the Lineup. If you ask 10 different Braves fans what the lineup should be, you'll probably get 10 different answers, regardless if the fan is a Bill James junky or not. It's tough to build a lineup on stats when stats are changing after every game. Still, the Braves have a problem in this area. Our two best hitters (Chipper and McCann) rarely hit in the same inning. Frenchy is continually occupying the middle of the order (anybody else noticed he hit 3rd yesterday with Chipper out?) while being a GIDP machine. What a rally killer. Even with Tex heating up we seem to be stranding runners on base like crazy.
I used Baseball Musing's Lineup Simulator, plugged in the stats (I used Hudson's hitting stats for the pitcher spot and I used Infante for the LF spot), and it came up with this lineup:
Chipper
Tex
Infante
B-Mac
Yunel
Frenchy
KJ
Pitcher
Blanco
The simulator is several years old. There might be a better one out there now. But that's the lineup it came up with and its pushes out 5.649 runs/game. You may or may not agree with this. On first glance it looks as if Chipper won't get very many RBIs with the Pitcher and Blanco hitting in front of him. But hey, I can't argue with Chipper getting more at-bats.
The other thing that could use a bit of tweaking is bullpen management. It's tough to say what the future holds for Soriano. Sometimes he feels pain, sometimes he doesn't. I think when Mike Gonzalez comes back many of our problems will be solved. But I question the use of Manny Acosta. He should either be bumped to low leverage situations or demoted to the minors. I'd suspect a move will be made even after Mike Gonzalez returns. There is way too much unreliability out there. Bennett and the 2 LOOGYs are the only ones that don't drive me crazy right now.
Soo...
The longer we stay at .500 the tougher the road is for us in August and September. Right now we've played 65 games. Not exactly the halfway point but close enough. If the Phillies play .500 ball for the rest of the season they'll end up with 87 wins (I had the Phillies at 90 wins at the beginning of the season).
For the Braves to end the season with 87 wins they'll have to play win .567 of the time. Can we play .567 while they play .500?
I guess we'll have to wait and see.
The Problem
I heard someon mention at our softball game yesterday that they now no longer care if the Braves win, as long as Chipper gets 2 hits. That's a pretty good intro...
Look, I'm not the biggest fan of Pythagorean Records. Why? Well, the Braves' Pythagorean Record tells us we are one of the better teams in the league.
Um, sorry, but we aren't. I don't need a math formula to tell me otherwise.
Sure, it's nice to know where our record "should" be. But it all boils down to the fact that we aren't there.
We have a super utility and a backup infielder splitting time in LF. We have the league's worst right fielder. We only have 1, arguably 2-3 if you count the LOOGYs, reliever who can be labeled "reliable." We have only one starter who can go past the 6th consistently. We only have 2 starters that can go past the 5th consistently.
Sorry Mr. James, but the above is not a formula for success. Common sense beats the calculator here.
Is it that bad?
Probably not, but we'll see in September. I hear a lot of moaning and groaning about 1 run losses. There is some validity in those groans (we do need a better bullpen, for example) I like how Bobby worded it in an interview yesterday when he said "we're in every game". By that he means, we don't get blown out, yesterday's game excluded which is bound to happen every now and then. I do think it is a positive sign that we really don't get destroyed that much in our games this season.
The injuries are going to happen. In the 90s it seemed like we never lost a key player for an extended period of time (Justice, Galaragga, and Smoltz are the only ones I can think of in about 10 seconds of thinking.). Since we were a bit injury lucky in the 90s it seems to be catching up with us in the current decade. Is it random chance? Possibly. However Smoltz of this decade is 10 years older than Smoltz of last decade. Plus, Leo Mazzone has a better (I'd argue - The best) philosophy of pitcher maintenance which he documents in his book (oh and by the way, he's available to return to coaching). Still, injuries are going to happen.
Where do we go from here?
We probably need to think about restocking on prospects more than we have been. I'm not saying we should forfeit the season, but there are going to be a lot of changes in the next 2 offseasons with a lot of money to spend. Plus, IMHO, we haven't fully recovered from the prospect drainage in the Tex trade.
We paid too much for him. I'm sorry to those who disagree, there are plenty who do. If you don't believe that we paid to much, compare that trade to the Johan Santana trade, or the Bedard trade. The Dan Haren trade?
Yeah, we gave up too much. Oh, and don't look now but Salty has been sporting a nice OPS+.
So where do we go from here?
I do think there are a few things that could be done to get a few more wins out of this squad.
The first issue I see is the Lineup. If you ask 10 different Braves fans what the lineup should be, you'll probably get 10 different answers, regardless if the fan is a Bill James junky or not. It's tough to build a lineup on stats when stats are changing after every game. Still, the Braves have a problem in this area. Our two best hitters (Chipper and McCann) rarely hit in the same inning. Frenchy is continually occupying the middle of the order (anybody else noticed he hit 3rd yesterday with Chipper out?) while being a GIDP machine. What a rally killer. Even with Tex heating up we seem to be stranding runners on base like crazy.
I used Baseball Musing's Lineup Simulator, plugged in the stats (I used Hudson's hitting stats for the pitcher spot and I used Infante for the LF spot), and it came up with this lineup:
Chipper
Tex
Infante
B-Mac
Yunel
Frenchy
KJ
Pitcher
Blanco
The simulator is several years old. There might be a better one out there now. But that's the lineup it came up with and its pushes out 5.649 runs/game. You may or may not agree with this. On first glance it looks as if Chipper won't get very many RBIs with the Pitcher and Blanco hitting in front of him. But hey, I can't argue with Chipper getting more at-bats.
The other thing that could use a bit of tweaking is bullpen management. It's tough to say what the future holds for Soriano. Sometimes he feels pain, sometimes he doesn't. I think when Mike Gonzalez comes back many of our problems will be solved. But I question the use of Manny Acosta. He should either be bumped to low leverage situations or demoted to the minors. I'd suspect a move will be made even after Mike Gonzalez returns. There is way too much unreliability out there. Bennett and the 2 LOOGYs are the only ones that don't drive me crazy right now.
Soo...
The longer we stay at .500 the tougher the road is for us in August and September. Right now we've played 65 games. Not exactly the halfway point but close enough. If the Phillies play .500 ball for the rest of the season they'll end up with 87 wins (I had the Phillies at 90 wins at the beginning of the season).
For the Braves to end the season with 87 wins they'll have to play win .567 of the time. Can we play .567 while they play .500?
I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Who goes down?
According to AJC, MLB.com, and a host of other news sites, the Atlanta Braves are to prepare for the return of Soriano, Smoltz, and Gonzalez.
This creates a logjam. We have 3 to send down. The way the bullpen has been throwing lately, it isn't going to be an easy decision. Let's speculate.
1. Jorge Campillo came up for Soriano.
2. Jo Jo Reyes came up for Smoltz (technically, it was Chuck James, but through a series of events it Reyes ended up being the replacement).
3. Gonzo wasn't on the 25 man roster at the start of the season.
It's interesting, because Jo Jo Reyes won't go back down when Smoltz returns. You don't send down a starter when a reliever returns (of course, when a Starter goes down and returns as a reliever, everything gets out of whack. With Smoltz and Soriano in the pen, we'll have a Closer being paid Starter money, and a setup being paid closer money. Perfect).
All we can do is speculate. Here are some things to consider:
1. We know one of our LOOGYs will go. There's no way we'll have Ring, Ohman, and Gonzo. It's a shame, because I like Ohman and Ring. Even if they aren't that bad at getting righties out, Bobby is too old school to go with three southpaws in the pen.
2. Even though Campillo was originally up to replace Soriano, I doubt Bobby sends him down. He's done a decent job. He was magnificent in his spot start, although I'm not a fan of putting him on the pedastal that many commentors on the blogs have been doing. (It was one start - 78 pitches, people). Let's determine his value after 3-4 of those. I'm not trying to downplay what he did though. It'd be foolish to ask for anything more than that from a spot starter in a situation like that. He threw 78 pitches and about 70 of them were beauties!
3. There's always the possibility that Bobby will take someone who is out of options (Chris Resop, for example) and do one of those not really hurt DL stints to keep him from having to go to waivers. He did this with Pena just over a week ago. The thing is though, if Resop were DFA'd I would be shocked if another team claimed him. I mean, if you spell his name backwards it's "Poser" which is what he is when he's throwing those 97 mph fastballs right at the barrel of the battter's bats. They don't stay on the barrell long though. Quite often the ball then goes to the outfield, if we're lucky.
4. Some have suggested that we send down one of our many backup infielders. It's not a bad suggestion, but I don't think it will happen. We won't go with 13 pitchers. We did this last year for a stretch and the lack of bench drove me crazy (and Bobby Cox, I'm sure). Just seems like a bad idea. Plus, I like our bench this year. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like this year we have a better group of reserves than we've had in quite awhile (ignoring the fact that none of them play SS adequately). I'm not necessarily a fan of have so many bench players that have the same role (backup infielders that don't play SS that have the same (in general) hitting style. Anyways...
OK, so I'm gonna take my shot at it. 3 pitchers are coming up. Three are going down. Who would I send down? Well, I'll answer the question...but just know it won't happen:
Stockman
Acosta
Resop
That's who I'd send down. I know, I know, I didn't cut any of the Loogy's. Again, this isn't what will happen. Bobby is too old school to go with three lefties in the pen. I like Ohman and Ring as the Loogy's and I'd use Mike Gonzalez to get the Lefties AND the Righties out. What, relievers can do that?
So that's who I'd send down. As for who will actually go down? My guess is:
Stockman
Ring
Acosta
Note: Buddy Carlyle made the decision pretty tough as well. Remember, he is also on the DL. If he was healthy, Bobby would probably cut Carlyle before Acosta. If it was me, As soon as he got healthy I'd just send him back down. Just thought I'd mention that he makes it kind of tough because you can't replace Carlyle's spot if he's DLed.
That's my thoughts. What about you? Who would you send down?
This creates a logjam. We have 3 to send down. The way the bullpen has been throwing lately, it isn't going to be an easy decision. Let's speculate.
1. Jorge Campillo came up for Soriano.
2. Jo Jo Reyes came up for Smoltz (technically, it was Chuck James, but through a series of events it Reyes ended up being the replacement).
3. Gonzo wasn't on the 25 man roster at the start of the season.
It's interesting, because Jo Jo Reyes won't go back down when Smoltz returns. You don't send down a starter when a reliever returns (of course, when a Starter goes down and returns as a reliever, everything gets out of whack. With Smoltz and Soriano in the pen, we'll have a Closer being paid Starter money, and a setup being paid closer money. Perfect).
All we can do is speculate. Here are some things to consider:
1. We know one of our LOOGYs will go. There's no way we'll have Ring, Ohman, and Gonzo. It's a shame, because I like Ohman and Ring. Even if they aren't that bad at getting righties out, Bobby is too old school to go with three southpaws in the pen.
2. Even though Campillo was originally up to replace Soriano, I doubt Bobby sends him down. He's done a decent job. He was magnificent in his spot start, although I'm not a fan of putting him on the pedastal that many commentors on the blogs have been doing. (It was one start - 78 pitches, people). Let's determine his value after 3-4 of those. I'm not trying to downplay what he did though. It'd be foolish to ask for anything more than that from a spot starter in a situation like that. He threw 78 pitches and about 70 of them were beauties!
3. There's always the possibility that Bobby will take someone who is out of options (Chris Resop, for example) and do one of those not really hurt DL stints to keep him from having to go to waivers. He did this with Pena just over a week ago. The thing is though, if Resop were DFA'd I would be shocked if another team claimed him. I mean, if you spell his name backwards it's "Poser" which is what he is when he's throwing those 97 mph fastballs right at the barrel of the battter's bats. They don't stay on the barrell long though. Quite often the ball then goes to the outfield, if we're lucky.
4. Some have suggested that we send down one of our many backup infielders. It's not a bad suggestion, but I don't think it will happen. We won't go with 13 pitchers. We did this last year for a stretch and the lack of bench drove me crazy (and Bobby Cox, I'm sure). Just seems like a bad idea. Plus, I like our bench this year. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like this year we have a better group of reserves than we've had in quite awhile (ignoring the fact that none of them play SS adequately). I'm not necessarily a fan of have so many bench players that have the same role (backup infielders that don't play SS that have the same (in general) hitting style. Anyways...
OK, so I'm gonna take my shot at it. 3 pitchers are coming up. Three are going down. Who would I send down? Well, I'll answer the question...but just know it won't happen:
Stockman
Acosta
Resop
That's who I'd send down. I know, I know, I didn't cut any of the Loogy's. Again, this isn't what will happen. Bobby is too old school to go with three lefties in the pen. I like Ohman and Ring as the Loogy's and I'd use Mike Gonzalez to get the Lefties AND the Righties out. What, relievers can do that?
So that's who I'd send down. As for who will actually go down? My guess is:
Stockman
Ring
Acosta
Note: Buddy Carlyle made the decision pretty tough as well. Remember, he is also on the DL. If he was healthy, Bobby would probably cut Carlyle before Acosta. If it was me, As soon as he got healthy I'd just send him back down. Just thought I'd mention that he makes it kind of tough because you can't replace Carlyle's spot if he's DLed.
That's my thoughts. What about you? Who would you send down?
Monday, May 5, 2008
Ryan Perrilloux might be on campus...
I have a bad taste in my mouth regarding Ryan Perrilloux. I watched him lead LSU past the Vols in the 4th quarter of the 2007 SEC Championship game, only to watch Ainge choke in response.
Now there is a possibility of watching him beat my alma mater, Harding University this fall.
Perilloux was recently kicked off of LSU's team after failing a drug test. Says he is considering Valdosta State.
If he finishes his semester at LSU, he will keep his eligibility for next season. Coincidently, Valdosta State plays Harding University at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium this October.
There is a possibility that, for the second time in a 1 year span, I will watch Ryan Perrilloux dismantle the defense of a team I favor.
I'll be sitting in the visitors section, probably one of 10 people.
Story Here.
Now there is a possibility of watching him beat my alma mater, Harding University this fall.
Perilloux was recently kicked off of LSU's team after failing a drug test. Says he is considering Valdosta State.
If he finishes his semester at LSU, he will keep his eligibility for next season. Coincidently, Valdosta State plays Harding University at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium this October.
There is a possibility that, for the second time in a 1 year span, I will watch Ryan Perrilloux dismantle the defense of a team I favor.
I'll be sitting in the visitors section, probably one of 10 people.
Story Here.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Stadium Rankings
This is kind of fun. SI.com has an interesting chart ranking the baseball parks using a number of different factors (affordability, food, parking, etc).
The Braves Stadium is #19 overall. We rank #11 in hospitality. Oh, and we didn't come in dead last in food rankings...so apparently some people actually like that Aramark stuff, or whatever it is.
The good news (I guess) is that there is only 1 NL East team (Phillies) ahead of us in the rankings.
It's pretty interesting. Click on the link above and play around with it.
The Braves Stadium is #19 overall. We rank #11 in hospitality. Oh, and we didn't come in dead last in food rankings...so apparently some people actually like that Aramark stuff, or whatever it is.
The good news (I guess) is that there is only 1 NL East team (Phillies) ahead of us in the rankings.
It's pretty interesting. Click on the link above and play around with it.
Looking at the splits...
Say what you want about the Braves. They have been quite frustrating to watch. After another one-run loss last night, things aren't looking too good.
Side note: Are the one run losses really that bad? Think about it...we've lost 15 games, 9 of them have been by one run. I'm not a stat junkie, but is it that horrible to discover that we when we lose, we only lose by a little bit? That might not be the most intelligent way to view it, but it sure seems like this one run stuff has been blown way out of proportion. Sure, it'd be great to have had a bullpen that could hold onto some leads, or an offense that wouldn't strand so many runners, but we seem to be hanging in there and not getting blown away. Isn't that hopeful? Again, perhaps 1 run games mean more than I think they do, but a loss is still a loss.
End Side Note.
I want to reveal some splits to unmask these Braves and see if we can discover what is going on. I'm going to post some of these splits, and I'm not going to comment on them. Just look at them. Some of them are fascinating.
Batting Splits:
Home: .308/.373/.471
Away: .252/.314/.410
High Leverage Situations: .231/.292/.313
Medium Leverage Situations: .257/.329/.415
Low Leverage Situations: .322/.379/.524
NL OPS Rankings:
23rd in OPS with Runners in Scoring Position
27th in OPS in "Close and Late Situations"
Yet...3rd in OPS overall
We probably need someone in the clubhouse who is experienced in performing the Heimlich maneuver because we have a lot of chokers (oops, I said I wouldn't comment, my bad).
Side note: Are the one run losses really that bad? Think about it...we've lost 15 games, 9 of them have been by one run. I'm not a stat junkie, but is it that horrible to discover that we when we lose, we only lose by a little bit? That might not be the most intelligent way to view it, but it sure seems like this one run stuff has been blown way out of proportion. Sure, it'd be great to have had a bullpen that could hold onto some leads, or an offense that wouldn't strand so many runners, but we seem to be hanging in there and not getting blown away. Isn't that hopeful? Again, perhaps 1 run games mean more than I think they do, but a loss is still a loss.
End Side Note.
I want to reveal some splits to unmask these Braves and see if we can discover what is going on. I'm going to post some of these splits, and I'm not going to comment on them. Just look at them. Some of them are fascinating.
Batting Splits:
Home: .308/.373/.471
Away: .252/.314/.410
High Leverage Situations: .231/.292/.313
Medium Leverage Situations: .257/.329/.415
Low Leverage Situations: .322/.379/.524
NL OPS Rankings:
23rd in OPS with Runners in Scoring Position
27th in OPS in "Close and Late Situations"
Yet...3rd in OPS overall
We probably need someone in the clubhouse who is experienced in performing the Heimlich maneuver because we have a lot of chokers (oops, I said I wouldn't comment, my bad).
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Obama hoops with the big boys...
Obama hoops with the Tar Heels!
I learned a few things about our Mr. Obama. First, he's left handed, well, either he's left handed or he has horrible shooting form.
I checked the photos and unfortunately I didn't see Obama throwing any elbows. However there is a photo of Obama driving the lane like a Mack Truck!
Story and PhotosHere.
I learned a few things about our Mr. Obama. First, he's left handed, well, either he's left handed or he has horrible shooting form.
I checked the photos and unfortunately I didn't see Obama throwing any elbows. However there is a photo of Obama driving the lane like a Mack Truck!
Story and PhotosHere.
Letter to DirecTV
Dear DirecTV,
I now get the Braves games on Peachtree TV. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
Love,
Chris
I now get the Braves games on Peachtree TV. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
Love,
Chris
Monday, April 28, 2008
Got a few things on my mind...
What I'm thinking:
-I'd review the Dallas Cowboys draft, but Raf did a better job than I could ever do, plus I'd end up just repeating what he says anyways...so for a review of the Dallas Cowboys end of the draft check out what Raf says here or here.
-Two more injuries for the Braves, Yunel Escobar and Chipper Jones, although these injuries most likely aren't that serious. There's also a lot of whisper that something is wrong with Hudson and that John Smoltz may have to miss a start here and there. This could go down in history as one of the most injury plagued teams I've ever followed. I'm actually not at all discouraged that the Braves continue to tread at the .500 mark considering the circumstances. It could be A LOT worse!
-I've got tons of thoughts on ministry right now, but If I were to post it'd be way too long for anyone to read (including myself). I'll shorten it up and then see if it's "postable" then.
-I'd review the Dallas Cowboys draft, but Raf did a better job than I could ever do, plus I'd end up just repeating what he says anyways...so for a review of the Dallas Cowboys end of the draft check out what Raf says here or here.
-Two more injuries for the Braves, Yunel Escobar and Chipper Jones, although these injuries most likely aren't that serious. There's also a lot of whisper that something is wrong with Hudson and that John Smoltz may have to miss a start here and there. This could go down in history as one of the most injury plagued teams I've ever followed. I'm actually not at all discouraged that the Braves continue to tread at the .500 mark considering the circumstances. It could be A LOT worse!
-I've got tons of thoughts on ministry right now, but If I were to post it'd be way too long for anyone to read (including myself). I'll shorten it up and then see if it's "postable" then.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
We have our answer...
A couple of posts ago, I asked who you thought would be on the Madden 2009 cover
Well, Favre was on Letterman, and he announced the answer: himself!
Madden 2009
Well, we know the curse won't happen this year...unless you think the curse forced his retirement.
Well, Favre was on Letterman, and he announced the answer: himself!
Madden 2009
Well, we know the curse won't happen this year...unless you think the curse forced his retirement.
Adam Howard update
Yesterday Adam Howard pitched against his hometown Chattanooga Lookouts at Bellsouth park.
He went 4.1 innings, 4 H, 2 ER, 6 K, 4 BB in the no decision.
He went 4.1 innings, 4 H, 2 ER, 6 K, 4 BB in the no decision.
Cubs 10,000th win
I always hate stuff like this. Nothing against the Cubs...but it's just one of those pointless milestones. Essentially, it's a celebration of the Cubs being an old, old, franchise instead of a good, good, franchise.
So they won 10,000 games. In 8-10 years they will reach 10,000 losses. Do they celebrate then?
But before that happens, something really weird will happen.
It's difficult to say exactly when it will happen, probably 5 years from now or so...but sometime around then the Atlanta Braves will win their 10,000th game and lose their 10,000th game. And there is a good chance that that will happen in the same year.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/
So they won 10,000 games. In 8-10 years they will reach 10,000 losses. Do they celebrate then?
But before that happens, something really weird will happen.
It's difficult to say exactly when it will happen, probably 5 years from now or so...but sometime around then the Atlanta Braves will win their 10,000th game and lose their 10,000th game. And there is a good chance that that will happen in the same year.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Draft stuff...
I'm not the best drafter, evidenced by my fantasy baseball team (but we could chalk that up to lack of preparation). I know you probably aren't interested, but I might have a post or two on fantasy baseball. Let's just say I am a champion when it comes to drafting players who will perform below expectations (Justin Verlander, Ryan Howard, Ted Lilly, Adam Dunn have all started out killing me).
However, I think the draft of all drafts (NFL Draft) Saturday should be interesting, and I have a few things that are of interest to me that I will particularly be looking for.
Pretty much, the draft has already started. We know what the Dolphins are doing. So that gives the Rams, Falcons, etc an even longer time to decide what they are going to do and review trade offers.
A couple interesting tidbits..
1. There are going to be a whole lot of trades...
There weren't a ton of trades last year, but I think this year will more than make up for it. I predict trades will be flying on Saturday, more so than most drafts. For a couple of reasons. Many of the teams at picks 11-20 are needing those players expected to go 5-10. The many OTs, DTs, and DEs I predict are going to go quick...one of them is already gone and it's not even Saturday yet.
With McNair's retirement, I can see the Ravens trading up to try and get Matt Ryan if the Ravens feel threatened that ATL will get him. Realistically, the Ravens probably shouldn't trade this pick and the Falcons should probably avoid Matt Ryan in my most humble opinion (but again, refer to the first sentence of this post).
2. I'm worried that the Cowboys are going to trade up, when I'd rather them trade down. During the draft, the Cowboys will most likely focus on CB, WR, and RB, not necessarily in that order. They are sitting pretty at pick 22 with a possibility of Felix Jones, Limas Sweed, or one of those late 1st round corners...Talib, Jenkins, Rodgers-Cromartie. If McFadden slips, his price will be pretty high but I can see Jerry Jones, Mr. Razorback, licking his chops at McFadden. McFadden will be a good back but he will probably be too expensive to trade for on draft day. Besides, I'm fine with Felix Jones, if for any reason than our running back tandem will still be "Barber and Jones"...Felix Jones could be #21 so those who purchased Julius Jones jerseys can hang on to them :)
With the 28 pick, it's difficult to say what to do. If we drafted a corner at 22, then Jones could fall to 28 because the Steelers, Titans, Seahawks, Jaguars, and Chargers seem to have more important needs than RB. So we could get Jones at 28...but Jonathon Stewart from Oregon might also be available if Jones gets selected before 28 (and if Dallas doesn't get him at 22). I'd prefer a trade down though.
3. Enough Rambling about Dallas, which I could do for awhile. I personally feel that whoever lands Matt Ryan is making a mistake. I'm not a scout by any means, but the Alex Smiths, David Carrs, Ryan Leafs, make me too skeptical to believe that every top QB of his draft will be a "franchise QB". The verdict is still out on Jamarcus Russell. But Matt Ryan doesn't seem to be the QB you'd want to invest so much in. Again, I may end up eating my words here, but that's just my humble opinion.
4. The draft is always when they start running the commercials for the new Madden game. Any guesses on who is on the cover? Rumors include Adrian Peterson, Tony Romo, Randy Moss, Eli Manning.
However, I think the draft of all drafts (NFL Draft) Saturday should be interesting, and I have a few things that are of interest to me that I will particularly be looking for.
Pretty much, the draft has already started. We know what the Dolphins are doing. So that gives the Rams, Falcons, etc an even longer time to decide what they are going to do and review trade offers.
A couple interesting tidbits..
1. There are going to be a whole lot of trades...
There weren't a ton of trades last year, but I think this year will more than make up for it. I predict trades will be flying on Saturday, more so than most drafts. For a couple of reasons. Many of the teams at picks 11-20 are needing those players expected to go 5-10. The many OTs, DTs, and DEs I predict are going to go quick...one of them is already gone and it's not even Saturday yet.
With McNair's retirement, I can see the Ravens trading up to try and get Matt Ryan if the Ravens feel threatened that ATL will get him. Realistically, the Ravens probably shouldn't trade this pick and the Falcons should probably avoid Matt Ryan in my most humble opinion (but again, refer to the first sentence of this post).
2. I'm worried that the Cowboys are going to trade up, when I'd rather them trade down. During the draft, the Cowboys will most likely focus on CB, WR, and RB, not necessarily in that order. They are sitting pretty at pick 22 with a possibility of Felix Jones, Limas Sweed, or one of those late 1st round corners...Talib, Jenkins, Rodgers-Cromartie. If McFadden slips, his price will be pretty high but I can see Jerry Jones, Mr. Razorback, licking his chops at McFadden. McFadden will be a good back but he will probably be too expensive to trade for on draft day. Besides, I'm fine with Felix Jones, if for any reason than our running back tandem will still be "Barber and Jones"...Felix Jones could be #21 so those who purchased Julius Jones jerseys can hang on to them :)
With the 28 pick, it's difficult to say what to do. If we drafted a corner at 22, then Jones could fall to 28 because the Steelers, Titans, Seahawks, Jaguars, and Chargers seem to have more important needs than RB. So we could get Jones at 28...but Jonathon Stewart from Oregon might also be available if Jones gets selected before 28 (and if Dallas doesn't get him at 22). I'd prefer a trade down though.
3. Enough Rambling about Dallas, which I could do for awhile. I personally feel that whoever lands Matt Ryan is making a mistake. I'm not a scout by any means, but the Alex Smiths, David Carrs, Ryan Leafs, make me too skeptical to believe that every top QB of his draft will be a "franchise QB". The verdict is still out on Jamarcus Russell. But Matt Ryan doesn't seem to be the QB you'd want to invest so much in. Again, I may end up eating my words here, but that's just my humble opinion.
4. The draft is always when they start running the commercials for the new Madden game. Any guesses on who is on the cover? Rumors include Adrian Peterson, Tony Romo, Randy Moss, Eli Manning.
Friday, April 18, 2008
4-0, Here comes Central
It's kind of funny. When I was first introduced to softball at Central, I was casually interested. I wasn't really into it a whole lot, just kind of thought it was a good way to get off the couch and get the potato chips out of my hand.
But now, after a rookie season that ended early due to injury, I find myself into it more than I ever thought I would.
We are 4 games into the season, Central is 4-0. Yesterday we beat St. John's Catholic 21-0.
After the first 4 games, I'm 5 for 9 with 1 walk, 1 sac fly, 5 RBI, and 1 Run scored. I'm still new to slow pitch softball, it's difficult to say if that is a good batting line or not. A few things concern me though. Our team has scored a lot of runs. I've only scored 1. I suppose that's not my fault. I'm not getting thrown out on the bases, they're just leaving me stranded.
It's tough to say if the 5 RBI is a good total or not. 2 of those RBIs tied a game in the bottom of the last inning...setting up the next batter for a walk off single.
We can debate all we want on if that is a good batters line or not, but I think we can safely say that I'm not hurting this team.
I'm having fun this season. I'll probably post a few more updates on Central's quest to regain the championship.
But now, after a rookie season that ended early due to injury, I find myself into it more than I ever thought I would.
We are 4 games into the season, Central is 4-0. Yesterday we beat St. John's Catholic 21-0.
After the first 4 games, I'm 5 for 9 with 1 walk, 1 sac fly, 5 RBI, and 1 Run scored. I'm still new to slow pitch softball, it's difficult to say if that is a good batting line or not. A few things concern me though. Our team has scored a lot of runs. I've only scored 1. I suppose that's not my fault. I'm not getting thrown out on the bases, they're just leaving me stranded.
It's tough to say if the 5 RBI is a good total or not. 2 of those RBIs tied a game in the bottom of the last inning...setting up the next batter for a walk off single.
We can debate all we want on if that is a good batters line or not, but I think we can safely say that I'm not hurting this team.
I'm having fun this season. I'll probably post a few more updates on Central's quest to regain the championship.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Oh Dear Gracious me...
Recently I've posted my thoughts towards Jerry Jones' aggresiveness in acquiring snotty football players.
Tank Johnson
"The Player"
Possibly Pacman Jones as well.
But now it gets worse...
From dallascowboys.com:
So make your own interpretation of Jones' answer Wednesday when asked by local reporters if he would consider making a draft-day trade for a veteran receiver such as Roy Williams, Chad Johnson or Anquan Boldin.
"Yes," Jones said before a long pause, followed by a smile and a wink.
Wow. So not only do we have the thugs listed above but Jones' could also be interested in Chad Johnson, who is unhappy and wanting out of Cincinnati.
Wow. "The Player" and Chad Johnson. Wow. That tandem could put up amazing numbers...but I really don't like the odds that they both could get along. In fact, "odds" is probably a bad word. They won't get along. Period. Chad Johnson is a good receiver. But please, Jerry, use your head. Those two, plus Tank, maybe even Pacman (hopefully not). We don't need anymore snotty attitudes. Please Jerry, don't do it.
I'm rooting against it (and the Pacman trade/situation). Dallas has two first round picks. My fear that Dallas will make horrible mistakes with those picks continues to grow.
Tank Johnson
"The Player"
Possibly Pacman Jones as well.
But now it gets worse...
From dallascowboys.com:
So make your own interpretation of Jones' answer Wednesday when asked by local reporters if he would consider making a draft-day trade for a veteran receiver such as Roy Williams, Chad Johnson or Anquan Boldin.
"Yes," Jones said before a long pause, followed by a smile and a wink.
Wow. So not only do we have the thugs listed above but Jones' could also be interested in Chad Johnson, who is unhappy and wanting out of Cincinnati.
Wow. "The Player" and Chad Johnson. Wow. That tandem could put up amazing numbers...but I really don't like the odds that they both could get along. In fact, "odds" is probably a bad word. They won't get along. Period. Chad Johnson is a good receiver. But please, Jerry, use your head. Those two, plus Tank, maybe even Pacman (hopefully not). We don't need anymore snotty attitudes. Please Jerry, don't do it.
I'm rooting against it (and the Pacman trade/situation). Dallas has two first round picks. My fear that Dallas will make horrible mistakes with those picks continues to grow.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Why I'm not worried...
I feel like there has been a lot of panic in the Braves Community. It's true, the Braves season thus far has had many disappointments, but I feel like panic time has not arrived. There are plenty of reasons why we shouldn't panic yet:
We're playig horrible. We are 13 games into the season. There is plenty of Baseball to come still.
We're fourth in the Division But we're only 3 games back. And the Marlins aren't going to continue to win games at the pace they are unless their pitching gets better (The Braves aren't helping).
The Braves have a bad bullpen, yes. But so do 10 other NL teams. But the difference with the Braves is that they don't HAVE to make a trade to improve their pen. It will get better in June when Gonzalez comes back. It will get better when Moylan and Soriano come back, assuming that "elbow tendinitis" isn't anything more serious. The Braves could make a trade to improve their pen (and I think they should), but it will improve even without a trade.
Kelly Johnson and Mark Teixeira are rally killers. Obviously there is truth to this one. I'm not the biggest fan of hitting these two in the 1 and 4 spot of our lineup while they stink it up, but I'm rarely a fan of Bobby's batting order anyways. I'm more worried about Teixeira than I am KJ. KJ has always been streaky and has had stretches like this before. Teixeira however has the burden of having higher expectations set on him (for good reason). Plus, I think most would agree that we began this season relying more on Teixeira at the plate than KJ. It's too early to say that Teixeira:2008::Andruw:2007. It is important to note that over Teixeira's career, April has always been his worst month. Although this could be one of the worst Aprils he has had, he historically has put up his worse numbers in April. Is he a slow starter? The splits say he is. But if it's mid-late May and Teix still hasn't shaken out of it, he'll have Braves fans screaming. Not to mention Scot Boras.
Look at all those injuries! Yes, the Braves have a long list of important names on their injury list (Soriano, Hampton, Glavine, Gonzalez, and now Moylan). But...look at the Mets list...Alou, Castro, Pedro Martinez, O. Hernandez, Matt Wise. They've got some key role players out as well, and many of those look to miss more time than a lot of the Braves injured players.
I see plenty of reasons not to panic. While the Braves haven't started the season firing on all cylinders, I don't think we should say the engine has totally broken down.
We're playig horrible. We are 13 games into the season. There is plenty of Baseball to come still.
We're fourth in the Division But we're only 3 games back. And the Marlins aren't going to continue to win games at the pace they are unless their pitching gets better (The Braves aren't helping).
The Braves have a bad bullpen, yes. But so do 10 other NL teams. But the difference with the Braves is that they don't HAVE to make a trade to improve their pen. It will get better in June when Gonzalez comes back. It will get better when Moylan and Soriano come back, assuming that "elbow tendinitis" isn't anything more serious. The Braves could make a trade to improve their pen (and I think they should), but it will improve even without a trade.
Kelly Johnson and Mark Teixeira are rally killers. Obviously there is truth to this one. I'm not the biggest fan of hitting these two in the 1 and 4 spot of our lineup while they stink it up, but I'm rarely a fan of Bobby's batting order anyways. I'm more worried about Teixeira than I am KJ. KJ has always been streaky and has had stretches like this before. Teixeira however has the burden of having higher expectations set on him (for good reason). Plus, I think most would agree that we began this season relying more on Teixeira at the plate than KJ. It's too early to say that Teixeira:2008::Andruw:2007. It is important to note that over Teixeira's career, April has always been his worst month. Although this could be one of the worst Aprils he has had, he historically has put up his worse numbers in April. Is he a slow starter? The splits say he is. But if it's mid-late May and Teix still hasn't shaken out of it, he'll have Braves fans screaming. Not to mention Scot Boras.
Look at all those injuries! Yes, the Braves have a long list of important names on their injury list (Soriano, Hampton, Glavine, Gonzalez, and now Moylan). But...look at the Mets list...Alou, Castro, Pedro Martinez, O. Hernandez, Matt Wise. They've got some key role players out as well, and many of those look to miss more time than a lot of the Braves injured players.
I see plenty of reasons not to panic. While the Braves haven't started the season firing on all cylinders, I don't think we should say the engine has totally broken down.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
To my chattanooga friends:
If you are not in the Chattanooga area, you have my permission to ignore this post. But if you are in the choo-choo city....
Adam Howard, a fellow OHS 2002 graduate is a starting pitcher for the AA Mobile BayBears (And might I add...with a 0.82 ERA/WHIP of 1.18 he isn't embarassing himself). I've blogged about Adam before, but I'm particularly excited. His AA Mobile BayBears will be playing the Chattanooga Lookouts at Bellsouth park April 19-23. Adam Howard will most likely start one of those games, but the probables have not yet been posted. I'm guessing he'll start the last game of the series on the 23rd, but it's difficult to say.
If I was in the Chattanooga area still, I'd show my support and go to that game, but unfortunately I'm way south. So, Chattanooga friends, if you are remotely interested in Baseball/Ooltewah High School, please show your support to Adam and watch him pitch. Keep an eye out on which game he starts, I'll do the same.
This Adam Howard commercial was brought to you by Three Musketeers:
Adam Howard, a fellow OHS 2002 graduate is a starting pitcher for the AA Mobile BayBears (And might I add...with a 0.82 ERA/WHIP of 1.18 he isn't embarassing himself). I've blogged about Adam before, but I'm particularly excited. His AA Mobile BayBears will be playing the Chattanooga Lookouts at Bellsouth park April 19-23. Adam Howard will most likely start one of those games, but the probables have not yet been posted. I'm guessing he'll start the last game of the series on the 23rd, but it's difficult to say.
If I was in the Chattanooga area still, I'd show my support and go to that game, but unfortunately I'm way south. So, Chattanooga friends, if you are remotely interested in Baseball/Ooltewah High School, please show your support to Adam and watch him pitch. Keep an eye out on which game he starts, I'll do the same.
This Adam Howard commercial was brought to you by Three Musketeers:
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
I wouldn't have done it...
Billy Buckner threw out the first pitch at Fenway.
Bill Buckner is a more forgiving person than I am. He did something I would not have done.
One of the reasons I hate the Red Sox franchise is their fans. Red Sox fans tend to be fickle, ignorant, and obnoxious. In my eyes, it was not Billy Buckners fault that the Red Sox lost the 86 series. Yet most Red Sox fans will tell you it was his fault.
For almost 20 years Beantown has been swearing is name. They've placed undeserving blame on Buckner. If it was me, I'd avoid Boston for the rest of my life, regardless if I felt I was to blame or not. I admire Buckner for going back to Fenway to throw out the first pitch. I couldn't have done it. Again, if AN ENTIRE CITY blames me for something that was a team effort, I'd head for the west coast.
And of course...when Buckner returned to Fenway to throw out the first pitch, the fans cheered? I'm confused. Sheesh, make up your mind, Red Sox Nation.
Why Boston's 1986 World Series lost was not Buckner's fault:
1. Buckner's error was in Game 6. It might be a little bit more justifiable if this happened game 7...but it was game 6. Boston had another chance in Game 7 (and Boston did have the lead for part of game 7).
2. The play-by-play for the bottom of the tenth inning reads like this: Flyball out, Flyball out, Single, Single, RBI single, Wild pitch (runner scores), E3 (runner scores). If someone can explain to me how Buckner gets more blame for the E3 than the pitchers for giving up 3 singles and a wild pitch, then I'd be impressed. There isn't a Boston Red Sox fan who wouldn't know the name of the firstbaseman who made that error but I wonder how many of them could tell you the names of the pitchers who couldn't close out the tenth (C. Schiraldi gave up the 3 singles, B. Stanley relieved him and threw the wild pitch).
3. Something similar happened in the 5th inning but it was a Red Sox player that wasn't Bill Buckner who fumbled a ball. While the Mets were batting in the 5th, Dwight Evans misplayed a ball hit to him (with a runner already on first) that allowed a runner to get to third base with no outs. The next batter GIDP and that runner on third scored (though it wasn't an RBI and it was an unearned run). After that there was a groundout. The runner would not have scored if Evans hadn't misplayed the ball in RF. Without his error, there wouldn't even be a need for a 10th inning, thus there would be no Buckner error. Why not blame him?
4. I know this probably isn't as deep as any of the above points but I find myself repeating it often...IT'S A TEAM SPORT. DON'T BLAME ONE PLAYER FOR A LOSS WHEN AN ENTIRE TEAM IS INVOLVED!!!! Could we not say the Red Sox offense should have scored more runs in the top of the 10th allowing more of a cushion for Buckner's error?
5. Dave Stapleton, a late inning defensive replacement for the Red Sox, was sitting on the bench while butter hands Buckner was out on the field. Blame the manager for not bringing in the sure handed fielder (who replaced Buckner even in other 1986 World Series games).
As we can see, I've always felt blaming Buckner was harsh. I've listed some top reasons above, but more can be added.
You gotta admire Buckner for coming out and throwing out the first pitch. If I was in Buckner's shoes, and Red Sox treated me that way...I'd be more likely to throw out a pitch for the Mets.
Perhaps Pedro Martinez would be my catcher.
Bill Buckner is a more forgiving person than I am. He did something I would not have done.
One of the reasons I hate the Red Sox franchise is their fans. Red Sox fans tend to be fickle, ignorant, and obnoxious. In my eyes, it was not Billy Buckners fault that the Red Sox lost the 86 series. Yet most Red Sox fans will tell you it was his fault.
For almost 20 years Beantown has been swearing is name. They've placed undeserving blame on Buckner. If it was me, I'd avoid Boston for the rest of my life, regardless if I felt I was to blame or not. I admire Buckner for going back to Fenway to throw out the first pitch. I couldn't have done it. Again, if AN ENTIRE CITY blames me for something that was a team effort, I'd head for the west coast.
And of course...when Buckner returned to Fenway to throw out the first pitch, the fans cheered? I'm confused. Sheesh, make up your mind, Red Sox Nation.
Why Boston's 1986 World Series lost was not Buckner's fault:
1. Buckner's error was in Game 6. It might be a little bit more justifiable if this happened game 7...but it was game 6. Boston had another chance in Game 7 (and Boston did have the lead for part of game 7).
2. The play-by-play for the bottom of the tenth inning reads like this: Flyball out, Flyball out, Single, Single, RBI single, Wild pitch (runner scores), E3 (runner scores). If someone can explain to me how Buckner gets more blame for the E3 than the pitchers for giving up 3 singles and a wild pitch, then I'd be impressed. There isn't a Boston Red Sox fan who wouldn't know the name of the firstbaseman who made that error but I wonder how many of them could tell you the names of the pitchers who couldn't close out the tenth (C. Schiraldi gave up the 3 singles, B. Stanley relieved him and threw the wild pitch).
3. Something similar happened in the 5th inning but it was a Red Sox player that wasn't Bill Buckner who fumbled a ball. While the Mets were batting in the 5th, Dwight Evans misplayed a ball hit to him (with a runner already on first) that allowed a runner to get to third base with no outs. The next batter GIDP and that runner on third scored (though it wasn't an RBI and it was an unearned run). After that there was a groundout. The runner would not have scored if Evans hadn't misplayed the ball in RF. Without his error, there wouldn't even be a need for a 10th inning, thus there would be no Buckner error. Why not blame him?
4. I know this probably isn't as deep as any of the above points but I find myself repeating it often...IT'S A TEAM SPORT. DON'T BLAME ONE PLAYER FOR A LOSS WHEN AN ENTIRE TEAM IS INVOLVED!!!! Could we not say the Red Sox offense should have scored more runs in the top of the 10th allowing more of a cushion for Buckner's error?
5. Dave Stapleton, a late inning defensive replacement for the Red Sox, was sitting on the bench while butter hands Buckner was out on the field. Blame the manager for not bringing in the sure handed fielder (who replaced Buckner even in other 1986 World Series games).
As we can see, I've always felt blaming Buckner was harsh. I've listed some top reasons above, but more can be added.
You gotta admire Buckner for coming out and throwing out the first pitch. If I was in Buckner's shoes, and Red Sox treated me that way...I'd be more likely to throw out a pitch for the Mets.
Perhaps Pedro Martinez would be my catcher.
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