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November 2007 Archives
What better time to bang out this week's edition of the Gig List than following a tough Knicks loss. Overall, the Knicks looked good against a fired up King James on the road. Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry prospered on the floor together, Nate Robinson looks much improved both offensively and defensively, D Lee has polished his offensive game a bit and Jamal Crawford continues to develop as both a scorer and passer. Many positives to take into the home opener Sunday against the artists formerly known as the 2006-07 Boston Celtics, the Minnesota T'Wolves. I am going to hold off assessing this Knicks team until the 5 game mark, at which point all GOY readers should be ready for some analytical fury!
Anyway, this has been a loaded sports week. The Red Sox championship has made their fans 45% (arbitrary number) more obnoxious and unbearable while Martina Hingis showed us that the 1986 Mets have nothing on her in the drug department. Guess she doesn't mind the all-white outfit requirement at Wimbledon eh! A lot of good giggin candidates this week, so lets get to it:
1. Scott Boras & A-Rod - Scott Boras chose the 8th inning of Sunday night's World Series game 4 to announce that A-Rod was opting out of his Yankee contract and would become a free agent. While critics claim that the timing for the announcement was classless and this was a blatant attempt to overshadow the game, Boras explained that it was the only time he had available to send out the email. "You have to understand, I am a busy man. Between all the high-profile athletes that I represent and the added shifts I had to take on tending the gates of hell in exchange for JD Drew's 70 million dollar contract, there was simply no other time I could have made the announcement." Boras went on to add that he has nothing but the utmost respect for the Red Sox organization and general manager Theo Epstein. "Theo has done a great job building the Red Sox roster. If it wasn't for his savvy desicion-making do you think I'd be talking to you from this lavish yacht, the SS Heist? I think not. Now if you'll excuse me I need to grab my pitchfork, the Prince of Darkness does not tolerate tardiness."
2. Curt Schilling - Not to be outdone, Curt Schilling super-blogger/genius/plus-size pinup model rediscovered the art of the handwritten letter this week, penning letters to each of his Red Sox teammates bidding them farewell. Fortunately, we found one of the letters Schilling wrote crumpled in the trash can behind Fenway Park and would like to share it exclusively with our loyal GOY readers. Addressed to staff ace Josh Beckett the letter read:
Dear Josh,
Your performance in this year's playoffs was awesome. However, you have a long way to go before you can be considered in the same class as me, the great Curt Schilling. Come talk to me when you pitch with a bloody sock or have a hair style that rivals my awesome spikes "ace."
Best Wishes,
Curt
PS - Don't even think about starting a blog because you are not as smart as me.
Interestingly, when asked about his letter from Schilling, Kevin Youklis had no idea what we were talking about. "Oh Kevin, he didnt receive a personal handwritten letter from me," Schilling said. "I found out the other day Kevin is a Jew and since his people killed my lord and savior Jesus Christ, I have nothing to say to him."
3. Andy Reid - Andy Reid's two sons Britt and Garrett Reid were sentenced to 23 month prison terms, resulting from a slew of drug and gun charges. Reid, regarded as one of the top coaches in the NFL as well as one of the curviest, made it clear today that he will stay on as the head coach of the Eagles despite his family turmoil. Adding insult to injury, Judge Steven O'Neill gave a damning description of the Reids calling their home a "drug emporium" and stating that they are a "family in crisis." Reid said that he is grateful for all of the support he is receiving from the NFL community. "Michael Irvin has reached out to us as have Ricky Williams and Bam Morris. The funny thing is, they each asked for Britt and Garrett's cell phone numbers at the end of our conversations. I had to remind them that the boys are not allowed to have cell phones in jail." The Reid boys, raised on the mean streets of Montgomery county (an affluent suburb of Philadelphia) went as far as to proclaim they enjoyed "dealing drugs in the hood." Now it appears, they'll have to worry only about protecting their trunks.
4. Roy Williams - Taking time out from getting beat deep by WRs on the practice squad, Roy Williams responded to Donovan Mc Nabb's assertion that the Eagles are still the team to beat in the NFC east due to the fact they won the division last year and 5 times since 2000. Williams, whose Cowboys play the Eagles on Sunday in Philly where they have lost 7 of their last 8, responded with the following:
"Right now, they are in no position to talk about 'everything goes through Philly.' Some teams went to Philly and they beat them. No one is worried about 'You have to go through Philly. 'You have to go through Dallas, you have to go through Washington and you have to go through New York, too. Everybody feels they are the best. Right now, it's just about how you play ont he field, that proves you are the best."
After a reporter pointed out that all of the NFC East teams are aware they must play each other on the road this season and that his closing lines were a simple-minded cliche', the strong safety chased the reporter into the parking lot, dragging him down from behind by the collar of his sports blazer. Williams was penalized 15 yards for the tackle and the press conference was ended prematurely. The reporter (ACL) is out for the season.
5. Joe Torre - An unlikely candidate to be on the Gig List, Torre was nominated this week by Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Scott Proctor. Formerly of the Yankees, Torre used Proctor in 12 of 17 games earlier this year. The excessive workload would eventually send the reliever to the DL with a tired arm. He was traded to LA soon after in exchange for Wilson Betemit. Upon hearing of Torre's hiring as the new Dodgers skipper, Proctor legally changed his name to Chad Curtis in hopes of being thrown under the bus by Torre and traded. When that failed, Proctor sawed off his right arm in order to as he put it "quit delaying the inevitable."
Big Game Prediction: Pats 31 Colts 21
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It is amazing how many quirky in-game promotions sports franchise run these days, often at the bidding of a large corporate sponsor. I've always been particularly interested in those that give us fans some burn, whether it is a t-shirt launch leading to a small scrum for the right to own a cavernous XXXL t-shirt that would serve as Grady Jackson's pajamas or a moment on the jumbotron making a fool of ourselves.
While light-hearted in nature, many of of these in-game promotions pose some inherent dangers to certain fans in attendance. The over-zealous fan (pictured above) reaching aggressively for a t-shirt who accidently falls over the upper deck railing without Reggie Jackson to break his fall on the ground (long-awaited, well-placed Naked Gun joke). The married man casually attending a ballgame with his attractive mistress who gets caught on Kiss Cam. Or how about this scenario: It's bat day in Philadelphia and the drunken Phillies fan next to you just realized you are related to JD Drew.
Eventually one of these gags was bound to go wrong and it was revealed this week that in 2006 it did indeed. A lawsuit filed against the St. Louis Cardinals by the mother of a 17 year-old Illinois girl (identified in court papers as "A.B.") alleges the team failed to properly screen the text messages being posted on the ballpark's message board as part of a phone company promotion. The incident occured during a school field trip to the big Cardinals-Royals game (the midwest's answer to the heated Orioles-Nationals in-state, interleague rivalry back east that eats up all the headlines each summer) and the text was apparently sent by one of the girl's classmates. The result was the posting of a message on the big screen at Busch Stadium reading "A.B. has an STD. Eww."
The girl is suing the Cardinals for 25k in damages and while (according to court papers) she does not have an STD, her story has hit home with athletes ranging from Michael Vick to Michael Vick.
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Coming into the NBA season, my plan was to wait five game before writing any material regarding the play of the New York Knicks. This is because during the Zeke regime in NY, I have experienced a myriad of dizzying highs and lows which have often occured in a span of just a few days. Thus, I am conditioned not to shell out praise prematurely and to take every win with a grain of salt because disaster is always lurking with this team... whether it be at an afterhours HORSE game or in the backseat of a truck.
Watching the Knicks pull off a classic win against the Denver Nuggets at a MSG last Tuesday, I was compelled to jump on the computer and bang out a gushy post applauding all the wonderful things I had just seen. Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph effectively coexisting on the court. Jamal Crawford and Stephon Marbury looking like a two-headed floor general, showing a great ability to score as well as make the right pass. The knicks young, versatile bench players - D Lee, Nate and Balkman - providing a little bit of everything be it defensive grit, scoring or rebounding when the team needed it most. Balkman's sick "Hustle Harder" tattoo which is spread out on the back of his calves. Lastly and most importantly in my mind, Isiah Thomas coming into his own as a coach and sticking to an 8 man rotation with defined roles.
However, as much as that win brought back memories of the old days at MSG, when opponents knew it would take a hard-working 48 minutes of basketball to beat the Knicks in NY, I stopped myself from writing and decided to wait the extra two games as originally planned. I cannot begin to describe how much things have changed in one week but I also cannot honestly say I am shocked either.
Stephon Marbury has looked terribly out of place ever since the Denver game in which the Knicks played a more wide open run and gun style to match that of the free wielding Nuggets offense. Against the Magic and Heat, two teams that play conservative, slow-down styles on offense, Steph struggled to run the Knicks half court offense effectively and the team looked better with Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson and Mardy Collins at the helm. Marbury's reluctance to sacrifice scoring in favor of consistently feeding Curry and Randolph in the post coupled with his bad habits of driving wildly to the rim early in the shot clock and forcing shots when he is not prominently involved in the scoring all take their toll on the flow of an offense.
The news of Steph leaving the Knicks before their game in Phoenix and returning home broke Tuesday, just as I was getting ready to pen my first Knicks post and as such I decided to let all the details unfold. Basically the Cliff Notes version of the confrontation goes as follows. During the plane ride to Phoenix, Steph learned through Eddy Curry that he would be coming off the bench for the Suns game. Steph then confronted Isiah and they got into heated argument on the plane. Finally, Steph left Phoenix and headed back home but not before telling teammates (according to the Daily News):
"Isiah has to start me, I've got so much (stuff) on Isiah and he knows it. He thinks he can get me. But I'll get him first. You have no idea what I know."
Quite a mess; however, it may take an incident of this magnitude to remove Marbury from this roster, a move i feel will improve the team this year and into the future. The fact is, the Knicks have a very above average young roster and Marbury's ball hoggery and poor decision-making has stunted their growth. The core guys - Curry, Randolph, Crawford, Nate, David Lee, Mardy Collins, Balkman and Q Rich - are unselfish, hard working and collectively display a variety of complementary skills. I feel that once given the opportunity, these guys will function well as a unit and develop into a winning team together with (i can't believe im saying this) Isiah Thomas being the right man to oversee their growth.
I am as heavy a critic as Isiah as you'll find; however, if he sticks to his guns with Marbury and either benches, or buys him out (a move I have been waiting over 2 years for as trading is out of the question regardless of what Chris Sheridan says) this organization can finally get out of neutral and dive head first into the process of grooming a winner in the not-to-distant future.
Marbury has shown his hand Isiah, now its your move.
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So guess what? I just got my shiny new League Pass in my shiny new house in my shiny new city.
Well I guess none of it is "new," per se. But my roommate just hooked up the League Pass today, and I just moved into this house and this city less than 3 weeks ago. So it's new to ME, dammit.
Anyway, in honor of the above, and to announce my triumphant return to the blogosphere…and mostly to keep my mind off the fact that the bar exam results are available in about 12 hours…I'm gonna liveblog this game. And by "liveblog," of course I mean "stream of consciousness," as I always do. Yes, I COULD attempt to do that whole "timestamp" thing that the "pros" do, but it's fucking amateur hour in here. Unless someone wants to pay me. Wait….
Let it be known that if tomorrow I jump off my building due to the news of bar failure and a ten-year A-Rod contract, I spent my last night deliberately watching the Nets get obliterated by the Celtics. No, that's not an attempt at a jinx, I'm just super duper smart. 
If you dare, friends, follow the "jump," as the kids say....
Continue reading "Pain is pleasure and pressure burst pipes" »
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Yesterday, I posted with my thoughts on the state of the Knicks and the fallout from Stephon Marbury going AWOL. I approached this ugly situation with my glass half full and considered Marbury's actions as the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I also chose to defend Isiah's desicion to bench Marbury, seeing it as a sign that he is growing as a coach, realizing the negative impact Steph has on the young roster. The final line of my post read as follows:
"Marbury has shown his hand Isiah, now it's your move."
Essentially, Isiah had finally reached the crossroads of his Knicks coaching tenure and this was his chance to give his "team first" mantra some teeth. He was in a position to prove to the 14 other players on the Knicks roster as well as the fans that Marbury's selfish, me-first actions would not go unnoticed this time. He had the opportunity to set a refreshing precedent in the Knicks locker room that if you feel you are above the team, your detrimental actions will be met with the appropriate discipline whether it be a fine and/or suspension (both of which were more than warranted in this instance). Most importantly, before yesterdays game Isiah Thomas had the opportunity to begin to change the culture of a downtrodden franchise by putting a hefty dent in the tyrannical reign of Lord Stephon over the Knicks roster.
Unfortunately for Knicks players and fans, Isiah Thomas' response spoke volumes about the sorry state of the New York Knicks. The cover-my-ass mentality of the team's upper management was on full display for the world to see as anyone who cares about this team got to see first hand the dirty motivations that drive descion-making around these parts. Stephon Marbury was not punished for skipping out on his team, rather he sat out the first 9 minutes of the game before playing 34 minutes including crunch time late in an 84-81 loss.
Earlier today, a damning article surfaced (reported first by Johnny Ludden of Yahoo! Sports) stating that before the Clippers game, Isiah Thomas had sent Jamal Crawford to gauge whether the team felt Marbury should play in that night's game. Ultimately, Isiah told Jamal Crawford that if one guy spoke out against Marbury playing, he would be benched. As it turns out, Crawford and the Knicks held a vote which unanimously declared that Marbury should not play in Wednesday night's game.
After reading this article I felt like a fool. I had put my faith in Isiah calling him the right man to oversee the growth of this roster. Given his tremendous leadership qualities and no nonesense attitude as a player, I expected him to make the right move. I was certain he would vouch for the 14 guys, all of whom he has brought in and molded in his tenure in NY, over the one guy that he was finally done placating. But it was not to be and remained business as usual at MSG - save your ass first focus on the success of the team second.
Now, perhaps Isiah was caught in a Playmakers scenario, with James Dolan playing the role of Wilbanks and Stephon being a carbon-copy of DH without the game-changing talent. However, Isiah had to of known that even if he appeased the owner in order to keep his job, his actions would lose him the respect of his players and hit him where it hurts most - the team's on court performance.
Ultimately in New York, if you don't win, you don't stick around long. Ask Larry Brown, Ray Handley or the immortal Richie Kotite. To date, Isiah has defied this logic but given the events of 11/14, the end of the Zeke regime is just around the corner.
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Earlier today, many Met fans found themselves up in arms as the team acquired Ryan Church along with Brian Schneider in exchange for the young Lastings Milledge. The outrage could be seen across internet message boards, comment sections, sports talk radio and my company email inbox as Mets fans lashed out at management for dealing one of the organization's more promising young positional players. The deal was not only lambasted by fans but also by respected baseball analysts including the venerable Keith Law, one of the better judges of talent among the experts.
On the surface this deal looks like a "heist" (as Law so bluntly put it) by the Nats. However, upon examining the numbers and considering the New York Mets current situation, this is a potentially beneficial deal in the short-term (next 2-3 years) given the following stipulation: the Mets go out and land a front-line starter such as Erik Bedard, Danny Haren or to a lesser extent Joe Blanton.
Ryan Church is an intriguing player in my eyes. Similar to Xavier Nady when he was acquired prior to the 2006 season, Church hasn't gotten the opportunity to play everyday in his career, but has performed well in a platoon role with limited at-bats. Last season, while playing in cavernous RFK stadium in a poor lineup, Church hit .272 with 15 HRs and 70 RBIs, good for a share of the team lead, in only 470 ABs. His OPS was around .800 where it has stood for most of his career; a good indicator his numbers are not a fluke and he may have room for improvement. While not eye popping, those numbers in regular playing time which is roughly 550 ABs extrapolate out to approximately 18 HRs and 81 RBIs, well above the average production for a #7 in an NL lineup where he will most likely hit with the Mets.
Church is also a solid defensive outfielder with the ability to play all three outfield positions. He will serve as a defensive upgrade in right field and pair with Carlos Beltran to cover a lot of ground. Outfield defense is especially important for the Mets as their pitching staff is comprised of fly ball pitchers that put a lot of balls in play.
The other player acquired in this deal is Brian Schneider, an excellent defensive catcher who provides the Mets with stability at the catcher position. Schneider's ability to throw out baserunners is a big asset in the NL east, a division laden with speedy base stealers. Given the Mets offensive prowess, he is a better fit than Johnny Estrada who is very poor defensively and Ramon Castro who is injury prone.
I believe that given this team's aging key pieces - Pedro, Alou, Castillo, Delgado and Wagner - the window for fielding a championship team falls in a 2-3 year window. The additions of Church and Schneider bring great intangibles in terms of defense and leadership (Schneider is great at handling young pitchers and has worked with Maine in the past) in the short-term. These players are the type of role players that can put a talented roster over the top. However, if the Mets fail to land a frontline starter using their remaining chips - Carlos Gomez, Mike Pelfrey, Phillip Humber and/or Aaron Heilman (on the verge of a total implosion) - then this deal's immediate impact will be marginal and the Lastings impressions may be disastrous.
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