Billy Beane Turns Rebuild into Reload

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Jeremiah Graves

Billy Beane

What a difference a day makes.

On Friday, we covered what – at the time – appeared to be the Oakland Athletics waving the white flag on 2015 in preparation for a return to competitiveness down the road.

Naturally, Billy Beane decided to do what Billy Beane does and – by Saturday afternoon – the apparent A’s fire sale looked more like it was a setup for a quick reload.

Since the end of the World Series, the Athletics shipped out Jeff Samardzija, Josh Donaldson, Derek Norris, and Brandon Moss in a series of trades to acquire minor league talent and replenish the farm system.

Beane also opted to let Jon Lester, Jason Hammel, Luke Gregerson, Jed Lowrie, and Kyle Blanks walk via free agency rather than get into a bidding war for their services.

All the while, he brought back good, not great big league replacements in Brett Lawrie, Billy Butler, Ike Davis, and Jesse Hahn.

The Athletics looked like a club ready to play .500 ball in a treading water type of season while they waited for the prospects they’d acquired in the aforementioned trades to hit the show in a year or two and return the club to its winning ways.

Beane was either running a smoke screen the entire time or simply decided he didn’t have the patience for yet another systematic rebuild when he pulled the trigger on a major deal that sent John Jaso and minor leaguers Boog Powell and Daniel Robertson to Tampa Bay for middle infielders, Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar.

The move immediately changes the dynamic of the 2015 Oakland Athletics.

In one move, the Athletics retooled the entire middle infield and bolstered an offense that looked ho-hum on paper, all the while losing nothing of substance from the big league roster.

The club will now feature a completely rebuilt infield with Davis at first, Zobrist at second, Escobar at shortstop, and Lawrie at third.

The loss of Donaldson is still significant, but this offense – with the addition of Butler and a return to health for outfielders Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp – could be one of the more potent lineups in the American League West.

There are still some holes in the armor: Stephen Vogt may be stretched as an everyday catcher and the club could use an upgrade over the Sam Fuld/Craig Gentry platoon in left field, but there are still plenty of free agents available and trades to be made.

The rotation – despite the losses of Samardzija, Lester, and Hammel – still figures to be one of baseball’s best. Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir make an imposing one-two punch and they’ll be followed by some combination of Jesse Chavez, Drew Pomeranz, Hahn, Chris Bassit, Sean Nolin, and Kendall Graveman.

All the while, the club has two potential front-line starters in A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker working their way back from Tommy John surgery. The pair could very easily serve as potential mid-season additions to the rotation that would rival any trade deadline acquisition.

The club is ready to compete as it’s currently comprised and there is a new crop of young talent waiting to join the ranks in the coming seasons to continue the crusade for a World Series title.

Needless to say, the club is no longer waving the white flag for next season.

Rather, the Athletics are geared to make a run for another division title in 2015…and 2016…and 2017…and so on and so on.

What a difference a day makes.

Posted in A.J. Griffin, AL West, American League, Baseball, Ben Zobrist, Billy Beane, Billy Butler, Brett Lawrie, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Free Agency, Ike Davis, Injuries, Jarrod Parker, Jeff Samardzija, Jon Lester, Josh Donaldson, MLB, MLB Trades, Oakland Athletics, Scott Kazmir, Sonny Gray, Tampa Bay Rays, Yunel Escobar | 2 Comments

Pittsburgh Pirates Finalize Deal with Jung-ho Kang

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Jeremiah Graves

Jung-ho Kang

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Korean infielder Jung-ho Kang have agreed on four-year, $16 million deal.

According to ESPN’s Jim Bowden, the deal also includes an option for a fifth year in 2019.

The Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization also received a $5 million posting fee from the Pirates to negotiate with Kang, bringing the total cost to land the infielder at $21 million guaranteed.

Kang, 27, posted an absurd .356/.459/.739 batting line with 36 doubles, 40 home runs, and 117 RBI – all career highs – in 117 games for Nexen in 2014.

Despite cashing in on a career year, he doesn’t look like a flash in the pan. Throughout his nine-year carer in the KBO, Kang was a .298/.383/.504 hitter with 139 home runs and 545 RBI in 902 games.

It’s not immediately clear where – or if – he’ll start for the Pirates as they already have Neil Walker at second base, Jordy Mercer at shortstop, and Josh Harrison at third.

Kang would be overpaid as a utility fielder, but both Mercer and Harrison are coming of unexpectedly strong seasons and may be due for regression as every day players.

He’ll likely be angling to win a job in Spring Training from either of those two if his bat is able to translate well from KBO to the big leagues.

Today’s move continues a very busy, but under-the-radar off-season for the Pirates. Thus far, the club has signed three free agents: outfielder/first baseman Corey Hart, right-hander A.J. Burnett, and – this year’s reclamation project for pitching coach Ray Searage – lefty Clayton Richard. The club also re-signed left-handed starter Francisco Liriano during the Winter Meetings and traded for utility fielder Sean Rodriguez, catcher Francisco Cervelli, and left-handed reliever Antonio Bastardo.

The Pirates made the post-season for the second straight-year in 2014, but got bumped off by the eventual World Series Champion San Francisco Giants in the Wild Card round.

It’s hard to say if any of these moves put the Pirates in a better position to move deeper into October in 2015, but general manager Neal Huntington clearly has a plan and – with Spring Training just over a month away – the addition of Kang might be the final piece.

Posted in Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Free Agency, Jung-ho Kang, MLB, National League, NL Central, Pittsburgh Pirates | Leave a comment

“Macho Man” Randy Savage Finally Getting Inducted to WWE Hall of Fame

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Jeremiah Graves

"Macho Man" Randy Savage

Oooooohhhhhhh yeah…dig it.

The “Macho Man” Randy Savage is finally getting inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

That’s the announcement coming from WWE.com:

It’s not official yet, but it is expected that “Macho Man” Randy Savage will be announced tonight on Raw as the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015, WWE.com has learned.

It’s a better late than never situation for Savage as he’s long been worthy of induction.

The grappler is one of the most memorable superstars of the ’80s and ’90s wrestling boom. His bright colors, raspy voice, trademark catchphrases, chaotic in-ring style, intense promos, and – of course – his Slim Jims were a huge part of the wrestling experience for fans prior to the turn of the century.

Savage is a former two-time WWE Champion, a four-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 1987 WWE King of the Ring, and the winner of the 1995 WCW World War 3 battle royal.

Savage suffered a heart attack and passed away in May of 2011. He was only 58-years-old.

The 2015 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place on Saturday March 28, the night before WrestleMania 31. There has been no announcement about who will formely induct Savage into the Hall of Fame during the ceremony, but options include WWE owner Vince McMahon, Savage’s long-time rival Hulk Hogan, or Savage’s brother Lanny Poffo who wrestled briefly in the then-WWF as “The Genius.”

This induction is long-overdue and many believe the delay was due to a falling out between Savage and McMahon in the ’90s. There was also rumors that Savage’s family was protesting a potential induction for many years.

It seems that no matter the cause for the delay, the issues have been settled and Savage will finally take his rightful place in the Hall of Fame.

Posted in Professional Wrestling, Randy Savage, Vince McMahon, WWE, WWE Hall of Fame | Leave a comment

Rays’ Ben Zobrist traded to Athletics for Jaso and Daniel Robertson

Posted on January 10, 2015 by stevenkunkel
picture from rayscoloredglasses.com

picture from rayscoloredglasses.com

Of all of the places I thought Ben Zobrist would land, Oakland is not where I imagined he would end up.

Athletics’ GM, Billy Beane, has been in the midst of a fire sale this offseason trading away or letting walk almost every valuable veteran that was on his roster from Jeff Samardzija, Derek Norris, Josh Donaldson, Jon Lester, Jed Lowrie, etc. Needless to say, most viewers of the baseball landscape figured the Athletics were in rebuilding mode.

picture from mlbreports.com

picture from mlbreports.com

However, today’s move by Billy Beane, trading his top prospect SS Daniel Robertson and John Jaso for Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar does not feel like a rebuilding type of move. It feels like a reshuffling type of move and the Athletics sure look like they’re ready to compete again by filling the two largest holes in their offense by replacing Sogard with Zobrist at second and Semien with Escobar at shortstop.

With Ike Davis, Billy Butler, and Brett Lawrie on the corners and now Yunel Escobar and Ben Zobrist up the middle, the Athletics have a more potent offense now than they did at any point last year; even with Josh Donaldson manning third base all of 2014.

What may be getting under reported with all of these moves is the Athletics now have a slew of young, hot name, pitchers to go with this revamped offense. Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir continue to headline their staff, but now they’ll slot Drew Pomeranz, Jesse Chavez, and Jesse Hahn, who they received in the Derek Norris trade with the Padres, full time into their rotation to make up for the departures of Samardzija and Lester. With Beane, it’s just the type of move that could work and work for a long time. Lets also not forget Kendall Graveman and Sean Nolin who the Athletics received in that Donaldson trade are expected to make some impact in 2015 as well.

In addition, this trade also helps the Rays. After acquiring Asdrubal Cabrera this offseason, the Rays had too many middle infield options between Escobar, Zobrist, and Cabrera, along with the heir apparent Nick Franklin waiting in the wings down in AAA. The Rays got Franklin in the David Price trade in 2014 and he likely deserved to be on the roster from day one. However, with Escobar and Zobrist entrenched, there was simply no opening to be had.

By trading the Rays’ most valuable trade chip, Ben Zobrist, the Rays have now given room for Nick Franklin to shine. They have also received ample compensation in the form of Athletics 20-year-old top prospect Daniel Robertson who had an .873 OPS in 132 games in High-A ball last year and improve upon their current catcher combination by attaining former and now current Ray, John Jaso.

Overall, it looks like a win-win for both clubs. Something you can’t always say.

Posted in Cheap Seat Chronicles | 3 Comments

Examining the Oakland Athletics Fire Sale

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Justin Kunkel

Josh Donaldson

Holy crap. What is going on in Oakland?

The Athletics have cleaned house this winter. They moved Jeff Samardzija to the White Sox. They sent Brandon Moss to Cleveland. They shipped Derek Norris to the Padres.

…but that wasn’t the biggest move of the bunch.

I’ll be the first to say that I think Billy Beane is a genius who should never be questioned, but it’s not every day that a genius trades away his best player for an oft-injured young third baseman and a handful of prospects.

Yet, that’s exactly what Beane did with third baseman Josh Donaldson back in November.

Over the past two years, Donaldson has put up a .277/.363/.477 batting line with 68 doubles, 53 home runs, and 191 RBI. His potent offense is coupled with top-notch defense thanks to an incredible glove and tremendous range at the hot corner.

Not only was Donaldson the Oakland Athletics best player, but he was second only to the best position player in all of baseball and reigning American League MVP, Mike Trout in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) at 7.42.

Yes, we’ve all seen Billy Beane do some of what we would like to call “absurd” moves in his time as the General Manager of the A’s. The thing about these moves is that they always seem to work out in his favor in the end. I must repeat, Billy Beane is better at GM’ing than you and I.

The Josh Donaldson trade might have been crazy to our standards because – obviously – the dude could rake, field, and led the A’s to division titles, but it was also a necessary move. Despite all of that talent, Donaldson wasn’t long for the Athletics.

Oakland is an organization that operates with many financial restrictions and after going all-in, and failing, last season. They needed to regroup. Donaldson is 29-years-old and was set to make a large amount of money in his first year of arbitration, an amount of money that would have priced him out of the A’s long-term plans.

Beane needed to do some drastic and he did just that.

The haul for Donaldson includes a former prized prospect in Brett Lawrie, who has shown all the ability in the world offensively and defensively, but has never been able to put together a full season due to injury.

Lawrie is only 24-years-old and under team control for three more seasons, so it’s possible getting off the turf in Toronto could help him stay healthy, and productive, moving forward.

The Athletics also received a pair of minor league pitchers who could both reach the big leagues next year, in Sean Nolin and Kendall Graveman.

The kicker, however, is likely shortstop Franklin Barreto. He is believed by many to be “the guy” tabbed to replace Addison Russell who was moved to the Cubs last summer for Samardzija and Jason Hammel as part of the A’s “going for it” attempt.

In the short-term, the Blue Jays are clearly the better team as a result of the trade. They added one of the best third basemen in the game and the Athletics took on an oft-injured former prospect and a handful of kids who may or may not live up to their hype.

…but Billy Beane has a plan; and these “crazy” moves aren’t that crazy.

Beane learned a long time ago, that he had to run a small market team a certain way to keep performing, winning ball games, and capturing AL West Division crowns.

His knowledge in advanced statistics is second to none, and he should easily have, at the very least, a World Series appearance under his already stellar resume. He hasn’t gotten it yet, but this move may have laid the ground work for it a little ways down the road.

The Oakland Athletics sold out on the 2015 season – sorry Oakland fans – but they’re buying in on a much brighter future.

Posted in AL East, AL West, American League, Baseball, Billy Beane, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Jeff Samardzija, Josh Donaldson, MLB, MLB Trades, Oakland Athletics | 2 Comments

At the Very Least, Torii Hunter is Pretty Funny

Posted on January 8, 2015 by stevenkunkel

Torii Hunter

Twins fans everywhere this Winter have either been celebrating or dreading the fact that the Twins anteed up $10M to a player worth probably more to the Twins for nostalgia than on the field production.

To those who have dreaded, I might ask one key question, in baseball, is $10M for a player who can still hit enough to be above league average still a lot of money?

This year, the average major league salary rose to $3.39M. Again, that was the average and overall, baseball player salaries as a percentage if revenue is around 40%, easily the lowest in all of major sports.

So, really, in my viewpoint, I don’t know why anyone is upset by the money spent on Hunter outside of the fact that the Twins could have possibly filled the hole with a better defensive player like Nori Aoki for less money, but then you wouldn’t have any of that nostalgia that might actually sell tickets in another lost season.

Also, this certainly wouldn’t be as funny…

Posted in AL Central, American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Free Agency, Minnesota Twins, MLB, Torii Hunter | Leave a comment

A Manning amongst Men

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Ryan

Peyton Manning

There are a few people in this world that seem to be created specifically to excel at what they do. For some reason, the universe decides to create someone who has the rare combination of talent and desire to show us what the high end of human achievement can look like. Peyton Manning was a gift to us mortals, to show us what was possible.

I believe in “spheres of intelligence”. What that means is that my IQ might be higher than, say, a plumber, but that it really means the plumber and I have spent our time learning completely different fields. The plumber would think I’m an idiot for not knowing something simple like replacing a pipe, and I might think the plumber is an idiot for not knowing where the warp whistles are hidden in Super Mario Brothers 3 (yes, the plumber has more “useful knowledge” than I do). Either way, there would be a disconnect between our knowledge levels, leading to exasperation in our conversations.

Imagine being a genius. Imagine spending your whole life studying and practicing one field. Imagine the frustration you would feel if no one understood what you saw on the same level you did.

Maybe that’s why this happens:

That is nothing less than a football god finding his teammates unworthy. That is one man knowing if he had just ten other Peyton Mannings on the field, he would never lose a game.

But he’s lost plenty, at least on the big stage of the playoffs. Going into this weekend his playoff record is 11-12. That’s not bad, considering the level of competition, but it’s not a good record for a top-5 all-time quarterback. Tom Brady is 18-8, Joe Montana was 16-7, John Elway was 14-7. Manning’s record is closer to that of Dan Marino, whose career playoff record was 8-10. Manning’s time to improve upon this record is coming to a close, fast.

He lost a year because of four neck surgeries. There was a thought he might never play again, much less have full control of his talent. He came back and had the best passing year of any quarterback in history. But he lost the Super Bowl. Towards the end of this season, we’ve seen him limp around a little and be very un-Peyton. Maybe he’s injured, maybe he’s just getting old.

Manning is of that age now where we talk about what his “legacy” is. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s a top five, if not top three all-time quarterback. But he’s only won one Super Bowl, and that was against the Bears. Playing the Bears in the Super Bowl is like getting to the final fight in “Punch-Out!!” and seeing your opponent is Glass Joe. On the biggest stage of all, his team lost to the Saints (“Great Tiger” if we’re continuing the “Punch-Out!!” thing) and the Seahawks (“Mister Dream”). For a while he was thought of as someone who couldn’t win the big game until he beat the Bears. But winning just one big game doesn’t make someone a “big game quarterback”.

Manning doesn’t need another Super Bowl, playoff win or even one more completed pass to go down as one of the best of all time. But for a man who was created specifically to play football, I’ll always feel like his actual accomplishments will be lacking compared to his potential.

 

Posted in Cheap Seat Chronicles, Football, NFL, Peyton Manning | 1 Comment

The Oregon Ducks Looking for a Crystal Beak

Posted on January 8, 2015 by stevenkunkel
From uniformcritics.com

From uniformcritics.com

The Oregon Ducks, led by Mark Helfrich, are the epitome of new age college football.

In fact, they’re absolutely flamboyant about it – whether it is their vast array of jerseys or their controlled-chaos brand of football – the Oregon Ducks do everything with a style only they appear to be able to perfect.

Utilizing an offensive spread option established by Helfrich’s predecessor Chip Kelly and expanded upon by Helfrich himself, the Oregon Ducks may be the fastest team on the planet. Case in point, they managed to run an offensive snap every 20 seconds in their first college playoff game vs. Florida State. They do things with an efficiency no other team has been able to replicate with the same type of precision – and there are a lot of schools attempting to copycat the Oregon Ducks.

You see, this is the Ducks’ second National Championship appearance in five years, their previous appearance occurring in 2011 where they narrowly lost to the Auburn Tigers, and ever since that 2010 season when Oregon first put the duck wings on their uniforms, they have been flying well above the rest of college football in recruiting and on-field success.

In fact, this has been their ranking at the end of each season since 2010:

2010 – #2 (12-0)
2011 – #4 (11-2)
2012 – #3 (12-1)
2013 – #9 (11-2)
2014 – #2 (12-1)

That’s an absurd 58-6 over the last five seasons and the type of team the Ohio State Buckeyes need to be prepared for next Monday.

While the success of the Oregon Ducks feels like a recent development in comparison to the history of their National Championship counterpart, what can’t be ignored is their 59-20 drubbing of last year’s National Champions in the Rose Bowl and the fact that this team has certainly been there before with four BCS bowl games in the last five years. No longer will they be blinded by the bright lights of the big stage and you can bet the Ducks are hungry to put one final stamp on what they’ve been building since 2007.

There is one big reason why many college football fans I speak to think that the Ducks will finally bring home this year’s crystal football – Marcus Mariota. I don’t want to dabble in hyperbole, but there are already articles touting that Marcus Mariota could be the greatest college football quarterback of all time.

While similar articles have probably been written about every single Heisman quarterback ever, what can’t be ignored is that Mariota has gone 37-2 as a starter. He leads the nation in quarterback rating, passing efficiency, coolest name, and he has soared above any Pac 12 player in conference history by accounting for 12,661 total yards and 134 career touchdowns.

Mariota personifies the great quarterback and what we as fans of this game keep learning about football over the last decade is that the team with the best quarterback often wins the battle. Period.

You never know, a year from now, when Mariota enters the NFL, we may be calling him a system quarterback, but he’s mastered that system and that makes these Ducks a completely dangerous team for the Buckeyes.

From oregonlive.com

From oregonlive.com

A lot will continue to be written and said about this offense. Especially since over a 14 game span so far, the Ducks have put up point totals of: 62, 46, 48, 38, 24, 42, 45, 59, 45, 51, 44, 47, 51, and 59. That’s an average of 47 points per game.

Good luck trying to stop them, Ohio State. You’re going need it.

Posted in College Football, College Football Playoff, Florida State, Football, Marcus Mariota, National Championship, NCAA, Ohio State, Oregon | Leave a comment

Jameis Winston is Going Pro

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Jeremiah Graves

Jameis Winston

Controversial Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is NFL-bound.

That’s the news coming from Winston’s father via ESPN:

Initially, Antonor Winston said his son planned to wait until after the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T to announce a decision, but instead, Jameis Winston came to a firm decision Tuesday night that he was ready to enter the NFL draft.

Winston is projected by most as the second-best quarterback available behind 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. rated Winston as the sixth player overall on his latest Big Board.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the first pick and could use a franchise quarterback, so it’s likely Winston won’t be leaving the Sunshine State anytime soon.

In addition to video-game statistics and piles of wins, Winston’s time at Florida State was also filled with a number of off-field incidents which could bring his maturity into question for some teams.

Given his special skill-set it’s likely talent will trump personality and Winston will be off the board very quickly in April.

Winston’s father said the original plans to delay the decision were changed due to intense media coverage.

A formal announcement from Winston is expected Wednesday afternoon.

Posted in College Football, Florida State, Football, Jameis Winston, NCAA, NFL | Leave a comment

Stephen Drew Returns to the Yankees on One-Year Deal

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Jeremiah Graves

Stephen Drew

Stephen Drew isn’t going to make the same mistake twice.

The 31-year-old infielder has agreed to a one-year, $5 million deal to return to the New York Yankees.

Drew hit free agency a year ago coming off a solid season in Boston and a World Series win. He was expecting to find multiple long-term, big dollar deals. Unfortunately for Drew, that’s not exactly how things played out.

Drew had turned down a one-year, $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Sox and teams were not willing to give up a draft pick for a good, not great shortstop who was also going to cost big bucks. As such, Drew held out through Spring Training and beyond Opening Day waiting for a team to get desperate and give him a call.

He’d get that call eventually, from a very familiar source. The Red Sox struggled out of the gate last year and brought Drew back in late May. Things didn’t work out well for anyone involved. The Sox continued to stink and Drew looked like a player who had missed Spring Training.

The Red Sox dealt him to the Yankees at the trade deadline for utility fielder Kelly Johnson. In New York, Drew split his time between shortstop and second base; all the while continuing to do very little at the plate.

On the whole he “hit” a paltry .162/.237/.299 with seven home runs, 14 doubles, 26 RBI in 85 games played.

The move should solidify the Yankees infield with Drew expected to become the starter at second base, recently acquired Didi Gregorius at shortstop, recently re-signed Chase Headley at third, and Mark Teixeira at first. Alex Rodriguez is slated to return after his suspension as the club’s regular designated hitter, but it’s possible he could finagle some innings at either corner infield spot as necessary.

Drew has the potential for a bounce-back season with a regular off-season and Spring Training ahead, but adjusting to regularly playing second base could cause some growing pains as he looked very uncomfortable at the keystone corner in 34 games late last season.

Ultimately, it’s a safe move for both the player and the club. The Yankees can let their young infield prospects get some more seasoning in the minors and Drew can try to rebuild his value before hitting the market for one last shot at a big deal next off-season.

Posted in American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Free Agency, MLB, New York Yankees, Stephen Drew | Leave a comment

Ohio State Single-Handedly Changing College Football Landscape

Posted on January 6, 2015 by stevenkunkel
Picture from deadspin.com

Picture from deadspin.com

Ohio State, no one expected you to be here.

The Big 10 was left for dead in week two when the conference had a disastrous showing in their non-conference schedule. When Michigan State lost to Oregon, Ohio State was sunk by unranked Virginia Tech, and Northwestern dropped a stinker to Northern Illinois; it was viewed by every non-Big 10 enthusiast and SEC apologist (read: ESPN) that the conference would not be able to recover in the public eye enough to reach the coveted college football playoff.

Nevermind that in that same week, the SEC’s three top ten ranked teams were playing Lamar (8-4), San Jose State (3-9), and Florida Atlantic (3-9). The Big 10, apparently, was a complete embarrassment.

Surely, of the five “power conferences,” a term I’m still not willing to completely adopt, the Big 10 would be the one that would be staying home. TCU and Baylor were too strong. The SEC West was exploding with power defense vs. power offense with four teams in the top ten as of week 13. Florida State was riding a 29-game winning streak and Oregon was being carried by their run away Heisman quarterback, Marcus Mariota.

Then December 6th happened. One week after the Ohio State Buckeyes lost their Heisman hopeful backup quarterback J.T. Barrett to a broken ankle, they marched into Indianapolis to Lucas Oil Stadium and laid a 59-0 whuppin’ on a strong Wisconsin team – a team that later beat #19 Auburn 34-31 in a bowl game – with their preseason third string quarterback Cardale Jones. Jones has, in fact, performed so well that it’s become recent fodder in Big 10 country to think that Ohio State might have the top three quarterbacks in the conference after viewing Jones’ most recent two starts.

Despite what could have appeared to be an embarrassing championship game for the Big 10, it actually offered hope to Big 10 fans everywhere. In our new world of playoff college football, the Buckeyes did the most important thing a brand name football team currently on the bubble of entering the 2015 playoff’s elite company could do; they set themselves apart from every other team that week by being simply dominating.

From housedvidedflags.com

Picture from housedvidedflags.com

I might agree that Ohio State was certainly aided by being, well, Ohio State in the committee voting process. TCU and Baylor don’t carry the same name recognition as Ohio State does and, unfortunately, being the first college football playoff, I can guarantee there was heavy pressure to make this one – maybe more than any playoff following – as much of a financial success as ever.

I’m enough of a conspiracy theorist to believe that if you replaced either Baylor Bears or TCU Horned Frogs with the name Texas Longhorns, you would have likely seen a much different playoff result than what occurred. The playoff selection committee certainly put themselves in a pretty precarious position by leapfrogging Ohio State over both Baylor and TCU in the final week of the process. Had Ohio State gone to the Super Dome on January 1st and been beaten up 35-14 by a tough Alabama team outrage would have ensued. In fact, my guess is the Big 12 propaganda machine was ready to come out in full force after an obvious soon-to-occur Big 10 humiliation.

However, that’s not how it played out. Ohio State, lead by their incredible coach Urban Meyer, faced off vs. college football’s version of a coaching god Nick Saban and prevailed, winning 42-35.

In doing so, the Buckeyes completely made the Big 10 relevant again. They’ve been the darling of this week’s media attention and even garnered apologies for the whole Big 10 from writers everywhere, including ESPN’s Mark Schlabach:

“It’s September 7, not December 7. I would hate to think after two weeks we’d pick any teams for anything.” [said Big 10 commissioner Jim Delany]

You know what, Mr. Commissioner? You were right, and I was wrong. In fact, I was dead wrong. When I wrote that column on Aug. 19, I had a momentary lapse of judgment. I forgot who was coaching Ohio State.

Ohio State coach Urban Meyer may have even had one of the top ten moments in post game press conference history with his infamous quote: “Oregon won by 40? We got to get ready!”

Overall, it’s been a week full of met expectations for Urban Meyer, excitement for Ohio State, and a transformative week for the Big 10 in the eyes of the college football-loving public.

Just one more week to go. One more week to prove everyone wrong vs. a very tough Oregon Ducks team that might be the best they’ve ever been. One more week to set in stone Urban Meyer’s legacy and to change the college football landscape.

Good luck.

Posted in Big 10, Big 12, College Football, College Football Playoff, Football, NCAA, Nick Saban, Ohio State, SEC, Urban Meyer | Leave a comment

They call me…

Posted on January 6, 2015 by BeantownGiant

“…Willie Mays Hayes. I hit like Mays, and I run like Hayes.” ~Major League [1]

warm Up…

Nicknames are irresistible: The Sultan of Swat, The Say-Hey Kid, Pat the Bat, Billy Country Breakfast Butler… They are found in many forms, from a short moniker (Babe, Rocket) to features of a player (Red), word play (John I Am Not A Kruk), and rhyme (Slim Jim)[2] while others are in the form of truncated names (J-Up, CarGo). These are but a scant selection of past and present nicknames. Baseball writers have covered the area of nicknames quite well too, but this is not about the greatest nicknames. No, this concerns a chief complaint filed against modern nicknames and so I turn to you, the reader, for your opinion on the matter. Critics maintain that these nicknames lack the imagination that once permeated the good ol’ days of the radio- and print-era ballplayer. Apparently modern baseball succumbed to lazy puns, shortened surnames and commonplace commercialism that do not convey information about the player. Beware of the Big Macs and A-Rods of the world. As tempting as this argument may be to some, it does not take into consideration the function and usage of nicknames. They are used in baseball to connect player and fan and functions in the clubhouse to identify a player’s status within the team.

So, what does a nickname do for an athlete and more importantly, who decides what it is? Are these nicknames as significant in modern times as they were in the past. As a softball player, I knew the moment my teammates nicknamed me Countess that I was an important part of the team. When I recently asked a teammate why I was given the nickname, he said that for starters my name is too damn long and too easy for short monikers such as Ali, Adri or the awful monosyllable, A. (For all those out there that understand how boring that would have been, thank you.) Alas, my marvelous teammate felt I deserved a regal moniker that held meaning and so the nickname Countess was born.

Let’s be honest, the same applies to professional baseball players.

play ball…

Former San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval is a prime example of a player receiving a nickname from a teammate and the media embracing it. When brought up to the bigs in 2008, the happy-go-lucky Sandoval would leap into the air, blow an immaculate pink bubble, and tag the incoming base runner with an uncanny finesse—something not expected of a person of his gait.


catch

This was the same year that Sandoval received the nickname “Kung Fu Panda” from teammate Barry Zito after watching Sandoval nimbly juke past the tag of catcher Danny Ardoin to score a run against the Dodgers from second base on a single hit by Bengie Molina. Since then Sandoval has embraced this name based on a cartoon about an overweight panda overcoming the odds and becoming an unforgettable, dexterous ninja. There you have it folks: a rookie given a nickname for his cartoonish agility that is rich in imagery and narrative. And a pretty darn creative one that moved the Giants nation to purchase (at $30 a pop) and sport that magical panda hat like we were 10 years old again.

7th inning stretch...

In 2009 Ben Zobrist had a breakout year with a .297 batting average and 27 long balls (or as we like to call them in San Francisco, “souvenirs”). Zobrist came out destroying any timid ball that came across the plate. It is not hard to imagine why the former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon nicknamed him, “Zorilla.” The 2009 All-Star caliber year may have unconsciously implanted the seed that lead to Maddon spurting out to beat writer Marc Topkin “here’s ZO-brist…[the] ZO-rilla.” [3]

zorilla fan

As history has it, Zorilla finished eighth that year in the American League Most Valuable Player ballot—a monstrous year indeed for the switch-hitting utility player. Zorilla is no stranger to nicknames. He was also referred to as “Zobi Wan Kenobi,” “Zoby,” “Zo” and a few others.[3] You can even catch the Rays selling Zorilla tees and bobbleheads at the ballpark.

In my opinion, Zorilla would make a great addition to the wild animals of AT&T Park, but some people have another destination in mind. [4]

post-game wrap...

The list of nicknames is a large one that is colorful in name and backstory. To say they are lazy and boorish is an unwarranted statement. Imaginative names describing the old Spittin’ Bills and Fat Freddies are out there, just look to our present-day Big Papis and Freaks.[5]

So my question to you is: Are modern nicknames truly lacking in creativity or are critics selling us short? More importantly, should nicknames carry forward when a player leaves the team? As a diehard Giants fan, I considered the same question and with great angst I can only reply… maybe. Does a panda always remain a panda or do red stockings create a whole other creature? I leave it up to you to answer this pickle.

@BeantownGiant

Footies:

[1] Title is from the motion picture, Major League. http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0011519/

[2] For a longer list of nicknames check out: http://www.baseball-reference.com/friv/baseball-player-nicknames.shtml

[3] Zorilla nicknames and more: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/tampa-bay-rays-tales-dont-mess-with-zorilla/1012093

[4] Read more about a potential trade destination for Zorilla here: https://cheapseatchronicles.com/2014/12/30/ben-zobrist-the-ideal-twins-trade-target/

[5] “Big Papi” is the nickname of Boston Red Sox, David Ortiz. “The Freak” is the nickname of the San Francisco Giant, Timothy “Tim” Lincecum.

Articles Concerning… The Complaint Against Modern Nicknames:

Markusen, Bruce. Cooperstown Confidential, Apr. 19, 2000. http://www.oaklandfans.com/coopconf9.html

Diamond, Jared. Remember when baseball nicknames weren’t lame? WSJ. Dow Jones & Company Inc, 15 Mar. 2013. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324532004578360412803598252

Posted in Baseball, Ben Zobrist, Cheap Seat Chronicles, MLB, Pablo Sandoval | Leave a comment

MLB Hall of Fame Primer: History in the Making

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Jeremiah Graves

Johnson | Smoltz | Martinez | Biggio

The wait is nearly over, because later today – 2pm Eastern to be precise – the results of the BBWAA 2015 Hall of Fame election will be announced.

In an interesting twist, it seems as though the often stingy Baseball Writers’ Association of America is on pace to make some serious history with this year’s election results.

Before I get in-depth on the potential history in the making of this year’s Hall of Fame class to be, let’s take a quick peek at where things stand heading into this afternoon’s announcement.

A player needs to receive 75% of the vote to be elected into the Hall of Fame. This has not been an easy feat in recent years. Here is a quick rundown of the total number of players voted into the Hall of Fame in each of the last ten years.

2014 – 3 (Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, & Frank Thomas)
2013 – 0
2012 – 1 (Barry Larkin)
2011 – 2 (Roberto Alomar & Bert Blyleven)
2010 – 1 (Andre Dawson)
2009 – 2 (Ricky Henderson & Jim Rice)
2008 – 1 (Rich “Goose” Gossage)
2007 – 2 (Cal Ripken & Tony Gwynn)
2006 – 1 (Bruce Sutter)
2005 – 2 (Wade Boggs & Ryne Sandberg)

As you can see, short of last year’s “bumper crop” of three no-doubt Hall of Famers, the members of the BBWAA have been very frugal with their votes.

This wouldn’t be so maddening if the ballot weren’t completely overloaded with players deserving of enshrinement into Cooperstown.

Luckily, it seems as though a larger portion of those with votes are finally coming around and we are currently on pace for a Hall of Fame class with four – and maybe even five – inductees this year.

In the interest of citing history, the last time four players were elected by the BBWAA in a single year was 1955, when Joe DiMaggio, Gaby Hartnett, Ted Lyons and Dazzy Vance were all enshrined.

In the entire history of the voting process the only other time the writers elected four men came in 1947, when Mickey Cochrane, Frankie Frisch, Lefty Grove and Carl Hubbell were all elected.

That’s right, this could mark this first in 60 years – and just the third time EVER – that four players make the cut at the same time. If the BBWAA manages to elect five, which is within the realm of possibility, this year’s election will go down as one of the most historic of all-time.

To date the only time that five players were inducted in the same year was the inaugural Hall of Fame class of 1936 when the writers elected Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner.

Yeah. It’s been quite a while.

So who are the four front-runners and our one dark horse?

According to two different tools, Ryan Thibs’ Hall of Fame Tracker and Baseball Think Factory’s 2015 HOF Ballot Collecting Gizmo, we’re looking at Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez as locks for induction in their first go-round on the ballot. They are followed by fellow first-timer John Smoltz and holdovers Craig Biggio and Mike Piazza.

As of Tuesday morning 187 voters have made their ballots public via Thibs’ Hall of Fame tracker. That number is just shy of 33% of the total ballots – based on last year’s total of 571 returned ballots – and as of right now, all five players have received at least 75 percent of the votes: Johnson (98.93%), Martinez (98.4%), Smoltz (87.7%), Biggio (83.42%), and Piazza (75.94%).

Over on the HOF Ballot Collecting Gizmo, they count total ballots – regardless of who has made theirs public – and they have gotten information about 191 ballots, which accounts for 33.5% of the total ballots – again, based on last year’s total of 571 returned ballots – and the numbers are very, very similar to Thibs’ HoF Tracker: Johnson (98.9%), Martinez (97.9%), Smoltz (86.9%), Biggio (84.3%), and Piazza (75.9%).

Obviously, Piazza is just barely hanging on and could lose ground after the ballots that haven’t been made public are counted. Piazza – like Jeff Bagwell – is a player who suffers from suspected performance enhancing drug connections, despite never failing a test or having any substantial evidence connecting him to PEDs.

Those connections tend to carry more weight with the inactive writers who make up most of the non-public ballots and are generally proponents of keeping the Hall of Fame very small and exclusive.

While it’s possible that Piazza still misses the cut, the other four are looking more and more like locks as we draw closer to the announcement of the results this afternoon. These vote totals bode well for Piazza making it into the Hall of Fame in the near future, even if he’s shut out again this year.

Even if we don’t see a historic class of five elected later today, at least the BBWAA appears to be working to clear some of the logjam of talented, deserving players by electing larger classes into the Hall of Fame.

The next obstacle will be to get the writers to vote for players tainted by PED connections based on their numbers and not their morals. As it stands, there are plenty of PED users, shady characters, cheaters, and other rotten people in the Hall of Fame. Let’s stop acting like we were victims of the “Steroid Era” and just put the best players in Cooperstown where they belong.

For what it’s worth, I shared my fictional Hall of Fame ballot back in November and, although I’d prefer a world where Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Jeff Bagwell are in the Hall of Fame already, I think this year’s potential Hall of Fame class is a very deserving one and a huge step in the right direction for the BBWAA.

Posted in Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Craig Biggio, Hall of Fame, John Smoltz, Mike Piazza, MLB, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson | Leave a comment

Philadelphia Phillies Sign Aaron Harang

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Jeremiah Graves

Aaron Harang

The Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly agreed to a one-year, $5 million deal with free agent starter Aaron Harang.

The move is a far cry from years past where the club traded for Roy Halladay or signed free agent Cliff Lee, but it’s a good move for where the club is at right now.

The Phillies may be rebuilding, but they need someone to eat up innings next season and if Harang is good for anything, it’s gobbling up innings.

Harang, 36, has bounced around the league quite a bit since his mid-aughts glory days with the Cincinnati Reds, but he put together a solid season with Atlanta in 2014 winning 12 games with a 3.57 ERA, 1.400 WHIP, 161/71 K/BB ratio in 204.1 innings.

While Harang’s 2013 campaign was a complete dumpster fire, he’s actually been a fairly reliable back-of-the-rotation option since leaving Cincinnati following the 2010 season.

He still gives up way too many free passes and is prone to the long ball, but he’ll be a solid complement to the Phillies current rotation and his durability will prove a welcome addition.

The Phillies are still working to move Cole Hamels for a truckload of prospects and – if he can prove himself healthy – Cliff Lee figures to be moved by mid-season as well, so Harang should have a very long leash on the mound next season.

It’s a safe move for Philadelphia, as they land a starter capable of pitching 200+ innings without killing the team on the hill.

As for Harang, it’s not the two-year deal he was reportedly seeking, but he still lands a pretty solid payday in a market that appears all but dried up for the remaining, non-marquee starting pitchers still available.

Now we’ll wait and see if this signing is a harbinger of an impending Hamels trade.

Posted in Aaron Harang, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Free Agency, MLB, National League, NL East, Philadelphia Phillies | Leave a comment

James Shields Reportedly has a 5-year, $110M Offer

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Jeremiah Graves

James Shields

Well, by golly, that sure escalated quickly.

We posted earlier that Miami had joined the market for free agent starter James Shields.

Despite being the number three free agent starter available, the market for Shields had been slow to develop this off-season.

He was, like so many others, waiting for Jon Lester to sign to set the marketplace value for free agent starters. It has been speculated that he’d wait until after Max Scherzer signed as well to maximize his value to the remaining teams in need of a front-of-the-rotation starter.

In our previous post we mentioned that the addition of the suddenly aggressive Marlins might speed up the process and increase the urgency teams felt toward signing Shields.

Now it’s looking as though that might actually be the case, according to the latest report from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:

…a number of executives tell FOX Sports they expect the free-agent right-hander to land a contract of at least five years, $100 million.

Two execs say it is their understanding that Shields has a five-year, $110 million offer and is looking for an even higher guarantee.

Rosenthal doesn’t indicate which team reportedly made the five-year, $110 million offer, but he does offer some insight about the many teams that have been linked to Shields thus far with nearly all of them downplaying their interest in signing the right-hander.

The lack of interest from the general managers is likely posturing for negotiation purposes and it’s not unheard of for a player’s agent to float news of “mystery team” making a big offer in hopes of drumming up additional suitors, and dollars, for a free agent.

Scherzer is still the biggest fish in the pond, but it’s looking more and more likely that James Shields is going to cash in much bigger than most would have predicted at the beginning of the off-season.

Posted in Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Free Agency, James Shields, Jon Lester, Max Scherzer, MLB | 2 Comments