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Tuesday Morning Roundup

Because I had one too many Newcastles last night to think for myself this morning:

[Fox Sports] — Michael Rosenberg is another media member who thinks the Patriots are getting off easy. I’m with you buddy. One thing is for sure — Goodell’s office is definitely acting suspiciously.

[MVN] — The amateur baseball draft is coming up soon. Take a look at the top prospects, and who the Giants might snag.

[Baseball Musings] — Interesting Ryan Howard slump theory.

[That’s On Point] — Not the greatest season for Americans in the Premier League.

[Joe Posnanski] — If you’re a baseball fan, you have to make Joe Posnanski’s blog a daily routine.

[WaPo] — Obama’s campaign, wisely, doesn’t make public the racist bullshit getting slung at them.

Fantasy Baseball Advice — Checking in on my Predictions

One of the fun things about this blog, from my perspective, is the ability to look back on some of the boneheaded things I was thinking two weeks, two months, or two years ago.

It’s fun in that I can see what paths my mind has traveled since then — but I also hope it’s fun for anyone reading to get a glimpse of my dementia and the glorious turns it takes.

Back in March I gave out some free fantasy baseball advice. Today I’ll judge, 6 weeks into the season, if that advice looks good, bad, or somewhere in between.

1. Go young. If I’m trying to make a decision between two players with similar stat projections, I’m going with the younger one. Younger players tend to be injured less and more likely to have an even better season than you would expect. As an example, if you’re looking for a #1 outfielder in your AL-Only league and you’re trying to decide between Bob Abreu and Alex Rios.. go with Rios.

2. In a mixed league, try to take one closer from the AL and one from the NL. It really sucks when your closers are playing each other.

3. With Johan Santana gone, there’s no sure things in the AL for top-tier pitching. Take a chance on some guys who just came off “down years” — like Jeremy Bonderman.

Those were three general principles I was going to follow at my auction and draft this year. #1 looks like sound thinking to this point — especially in the pitching department. Guys like Gavin Floyd, Jarr Jurjens, Edwin Jackson, Clay Buckholz, and Tim Lincecum are tearing up the league. I could name five or six more guys.

Many of the hyped young hitters aren’t making as big of a splash — Carlos Gomez is OK if you need steals. Adam Jones isn’t making any noise. Jeff Clement, a top catching prospect for the Mariners, has had a rough start to his career.

So maybe that piece of advice is more like a mixed bag to this point.

#2 on my list isn’t really anything capable of judging. Outside of St. Louis and Milwaukee, closers have been more reliable than usual this season.

#3 however, at least the specific player I named, has been a complete disaster. Bonderman has been hit in nearly every game he’s pitched. He’s been wild, too — issuing 29 walks in 45 innings. Not a good start for the 26-year old.

Let’s move on to some player specific advice I had that day. I listed some guys to have on your radar, and some guys to keep off:

Guys On My Radar:
Dustin McGowan (SP, Blue Jays) — Coming off what was quietly a very good second half.Jack Hannahan (3B, Oakland A’s) — Eric Chavez mystery injury sounds like it could keep him out for a while. Hannahan may not smack a ton of homers, but he’s hit for average at every level.

Jeremy Bonderman (SP, Detroit) — Coming off a down year so stock could be low. Only 26.

Jeremy Guthrie (SP, Baltimore) — Future ace in Baltimore

Jeremy Accardo (Closer, Blue Jays) — BJ Ryan is not ready for full-time duty and may not be for some time.

Edwin Encarnacion (3B, Reds) — Ready for a breakout year.

McGowan: This guy is a stud, even with the dud against the Indians over the weekend. He strikes out a ton of guys and he’s got three fantastic pitches. He’s young and will have some inconsistent moments, but this is a guy you could build an AL staff around.

Bonderman: Booo!

Jeremy Guthrie: This is another inconsistent youngster, though he’s giving more good innings than bad. He’s got a solid WHIP (1.26) — but predictably doesn’t get much run support.

Jack Hannahan: He’s been a disappointment so far. He does walk a ton, but that doesn’t really help any fantasy team. He’s started to heat up a little bit of late (6 for his last 13), so keep an eye on him.

Jeremy Accardo: Was pitching well until he hurt himself. Dud.

Edwin Encarnacion: 8 home runs so far. That could be fantastic production from a guy you should have taken late.

Guys I’m staying away from:
Josh Beckett (SP, Boston) — Let someone else pay a king’s ransom for him. He came in to camp fat and he’s already injured.

Any Hitter on the Giants — **Tear…

Jermain Dye (OF, Chicago) — Getting old, due for an injury, and if the White Sox are in trouble could be traded out of the AL (they have Carlos Quentin waiting).

Nick Markakis (OF, Baltimore) — Everyone is talking about him, and he has no protection in that lineup any more.

Richie Sexson (1B, Seattle) — Do not even consider him. Just cross him off before you start.

Carlos Delgado (1B, NYM) — For whatever reason, people still consider him a legitimate #1 first baseman. He’s not.

OK, so I was wrong about Beckett. He’s been fantastic. Jermain Dye had a difficult April, but may be coming around. He has six homers. Nick Markakis is predictably having a difficult time finding guys to drive in. Richie Sexson is a disaster, as is Delgado. I couldn’t have been more right about those two.

In summation, a mixed bag. I did a great job on some (McGowan, Encarnacion, Sexson, and Delgado) but completely missed on others (Hannahan, Beckett). If you’re interested, I’ve included a screenshot of my 12 team 4×4 AL-only roster after the jump (I’m currently in 5th).

Read the rest of this entry »

Jevon Kearse: Moron

This is funny. Yep, Jevon — it was the Eagles’ fault.

At Titans camp this weekend, Kearse seemed to put the blame for his failings on the Eagles’ defensive scheme, rather than a decline in his ability brought on by age or injury, according to an interview with the Tennessean’s Paul Kuharsky.

“I’m still the same player, but that scheme up in Philly was different,” he said. “All I’ve got to say is proof is in the pudding, so I can’t even talk about it. Just watch and see.”

It was the Eagles fault you couldn’t keep your weight up. It was the scheme’s fault you tore up your knee. It was the team’s fault you spent your summers partying and being lazy rather than getting stronger and bigger. It was the team’s fault you always seemed to be limping off the field crying, even when “healthy.”

I, for one, won’t care if this guy tears up the league with the Titans this year. He was flat-out awful last season for the Eagles, and it wasn’t going to get any better this year. If this is what the guy needs to do to motivate himself — good riddance.

Rams Dodge a Bullet

And the Eagles miss a potential opportunity to get some value for Lito.

St Louis doesn’t have a quality defensive backfield.  Things nearly got a whole lot worse when the team got word that one of their starting corners, Fakhir Brown, tested positive for a banned substance.  He was already in the abuse program, and it could have resulted in a one-year suspension.

But Brown’s attorneys managed to convince the league office not to issue a one-year suspension based on what was determined to be a urine sample that was too diluted to be tested — which the league calls a positive.

What does this mean for the Eagles?  Not much, other than the Rams would have been in pretty desperate shape if they had lost Brown for the entire year.  Perhaps desperate enough to make a move for you know who.

Anyway, keep an eye on the situation — Brown may still get suspended for some lesser length of time.

Rec Sports

I realize things have been slow here over the last week.  Life has been kind of crazy for a few different reasons, and fortunately that is coming to an end.

Last night offered a bit of a respite as well — my team and I had our first adult (co-ed) kickball league game.  Sounds ridiculous, right?  Well, it is.

Alcohol is allowed on the field of play and it flows freely.  I don’t really know what event triggered it, but at one point both teams were forced to elect a member to compete in a guzzling contest that determines an out or a single.

What’s more, we play at a public park, and I have no idea how it’s legal.  It’s going to be a fun 6 weeks.

Hard Knocks

As you likely know by now, HBO’s fantastic NFL training camp documentary-ish program “Hard Knocks” is going to feature the Cowboys this season. I’m giddy.

Mr. Goodell, please re-instate PacMan. I want the entire cast of clowns to be present while the cameras are rolling. I want them fighting for camera time. I want Jerry Jones sneaking into coaching meetings and the locker room. I want TO celebrating after catches during practice.  I want Tony Romo’s attention whore of a girlfriend to be stopping by wearing something skimpy.

This could really be awesome.

Thoughts on Les Bowen’s Thoughts

I’m enjoying what the beat writers have going on over at Eagletarian, it’s fun to get a glimpse of their personalities in these posts — even if what they are saying is a bit goofy sometimes.

Today Les Bowen — who, out of the three of them I prefer most of the time — takes a few shots at Andy Reid. Bowen noted that Reid seemed grumpy during mini-camp with the media, and Bowen thinks it was unwarranted.

All that said, I have no idea why Reid got snarky yesterday when radio reporter Brian Seltzer asked a perfectly legitimate, respectful question. Seltzer wondered if the fairly smooth minicamp that ended Monday was an improvement over the situation a year ago, when Reid was still dealing with the aftermath of his sons’ arrests, and Donovan McNabb was still sidelined following ACL surgery.

….

If Reid was talking about finding negative stories last year, well, I thought everybody in the local media handled Reid’s family problems with dignity, empathy, and courtesy…

While I think that notion is debatable, it doesn’t keep Bowen from giving Reid some advice:

All is well, dude, or as well as it ever gets around here. Relax.

Les, here’s something for you to consider. Andy Reid is a football coach. He’s not an anchor on the E! network. He enjoys talking football. He doesn’t enjoy talking about the drama that the Enquirer, the Daily News, ESPN, and everyone else enjoys so much.

If I were him I’d be tired of addressing all of that crap too. So if you ask the football coach questions about football, I’d bet he’ll give you an answer without a hint of contempt. If you venture into the realm of the soap operas, you might get some attitude.  Even though Reid knows he has to answer most of those questions, he doesn’t have to like it.

You shouldn’t be surprised by it.  And if you want to write about the soap operas — deal with it.

ESPN Covers Minicamp

If ESPN insists on attempting to turn every professional franchise into The Hills, they should be honest about it and just hire Lauren Conrad as a correspondent.

Pro Athletes and Guns

Saw something interesting posted by Michael David Smith at Profootballtalk.com today. While giving an update on the Marvin Harrison situation, he cited a portion of the NFL policy on guns.

In some circumstances, such as for sport or protection, you may legally possess a firearm or other weapon. However, we strongly recommend that you not do so.

Now, the last thing I want to do is turn this blog into anything resembling a political site, but that particular policy strikes me as incredibly short-sighted. Perhaps the league office only cares about covering their asses in the event of something terrible happening with one of its players involved.

But NFL players are going to keep and carry guns. Former Eagle training camp fodder Jabar Gaffney was once quoted as saying that he thinks 90% of players have firearms.

And I think it’s wise for them to do so. This may surprise many of my friends, who might describe me as a raging liberal on most issues, but if I was a player I’d certainly be keeping a gun in my home and I might even get a license to carry one.

These guys are targets for criminals — just look at what happened to Rashard Mendenhall yesterday.   I wouldn’t be giving up any real chance I had to defend myself against someone willing to do me harm.

Look at the Sean Taylor situation. These were guys trying to rob him, and if he had a gun instead of a knife he might still be alive.

Perhaps the NFL has decided to let the NFLPA handle advising its players on intelligent gun ownership — because there’s no way they can seriously expect a majority of players to follow their “don’t own a gun” advice.

Jeff Fisher Thankful for the Cowboys

Because we all need a laugh on Monday morning:

Titans coach Jeff Fisher, appearing as a guest on Fox Sports Radio, asked if any other teams asked about Pacman Jones. “No, there were no other teams, first off. Dallas was the only team that expressed interest. And we did not have any second thoughts. We huddled when the season was over, as an organization, and made the decision. And then we just hoped that we could put something together. And fortunately the Cowboys were interested.”

Well, it was either going to be Jerry Jones or Dan Snyder. And really, Pacman is way too young for Snyder to be interested.

Someday we won’t have those two to kick around any more.