Saturday, January 28, 2012

Tampa Bay's Head Coaching Decisions

Let us hearken back to the halcyon days of the end of the 2009 season. The Tampa Bay Buccanneers, then coached by Jon Gruden, managed to finish 9-7, just missing out on the playoffs. At the time, Rahim Morris, then the defensive co-ordinator for the Bucs, was the hot young assistant coach. In fact, he seemed poised to take over as the Denver Broncos next head coach. So, in a panic move, the Bucs’ ownership fired both Gruden and the general manager, giving Morris the job. Why? Because they were afraid to lose such a talented coaching prospect.

Fast forward to the end of the 2011 season. Morris has been fired, following a disastrous season where the Bucs went 4-12, losing their last eight games in a row. Josh Freeman, who appeared to be on the verge of stardom, regressed. The defense was shredded by the opposition, both on the ground and through the air. If you can’t stop anyone, and cannot score, then it’s a long season.

So, in the quest to find a head coach that can consistently win, they looked through several rejects and retreds. Really, Mike Sherman, Brad Childress, or Rob Chudzinski are actually getting interviews for head coaching positions? So, finally the Bucs decided to hire a college coach, Chip Kelly. He refused. So, on to Plan B – Greg Schiano, the man who coached Rutgers. Yes, Rutgers.

Schiano spent his initial press conference talking about how he wants to bring accountability and disipline to the Bucs. Funny, since players he was recruiting to bring to Rutgers learned that he took the Bucs job by watching SportsCenter. That is still better than how his assistants found out – when Schiano did not appear during recruiting treks. Interesting how someone who is stressing accountability seems not to have any.

The Schiano hiring will, in all likelihood, be another two or three year footnote in the history of terrible head coaches that the Bucs have had. So what does this all mean? That the Bucs should have never fired Gruden in the first place. Yes, he had his issues and flaws, but the man won a Super Bowl with Brad Johnson as his quarterback. He made Brian Griese and Chris Simms appear competent. He resurrected Jeff Garcia’s career. Imagine what he would do with Josh Freeman.

The Bucs should have swallowed their pride and done everything they could to bring back Gruden. Instead, they will suffer for their panic move back in 2009.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Blow Up The Celtics

Last year at the trading deadline, GM Danny Ainge made a controversial move in trading Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. This trade was intended to help the Celtics for both the future and the present, yet it backfired horribly. Point guard Rajon Rondo went into a deep mental funk that he could not escape from, and the Celtics appeared to have lost their heart.

This offseason, Ainge attempted to make a major move for the Celtics, in his efforts to deal Rondo in a package deal for Chris Paul. This inevitably did not happen, and it was discovered that the rest of the NBA regards Rondo as some sort of head case, someone who, despite his obvious talent, will never reach his potential as a player. As such, the Celtics were stuck with an emotionally fragile Rondo, which may have ended up as an unmitigated disaster on all sides.

Ironically, Rondo is the one of the two players on the Celtics, along with Greg Stiemsma, who appear to care about this season. Kevin Garnett has emotionally and mentally checked out on this year, knowing that he is in the final year of his contract and is not coming back. Ray Allen just does not have the same quickness any longer, and would be better off as a bench scorer at this point in his career. Paul Pierce has been injured off and on all season, and just does not look the same. The Celtics have an aging roster, which does not bode well for playing 66 games in 120 days, especially when younger, more athletic teams will have the advantage with this type of schedule.

So, what should the Celtics do at this point? Presently, they sit at 5-9 in a weak Eastern Conference. With the talent on their roster, they should be able to make the playoffs, where the theory is that they would turn on the competitive juices. Yet, the Celtics have yet to defeat a good opponent, their victories coming against the Detroit, Washington twice, New Jersey, and Toronto. Not exactly the best teams the NBA has to offer.

Given the present mindset of future free agents, where they want to play in cities like New York, LA, or Dallas for endorsements and/or marketability, the Celtics would seem to be on the outside when it comes to signing marquee players. As such, the Celtics need to make trades to acquire players for the long term. Given the value of the expiring contract, the Celtics actually have two trade pieces in both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Both veterans would help a contending team that would be able to put talent around them. Garnett needs a change of scenery as of yesterday. Suppose, hypothetically, he ends up with the Clippers. Being matched up with Blake Griffin and Chris Paul would reignite the spark for him, as he would see the possibility of getting a second championship. Or picture Ray Allen on a team like the Bulls, where he would be an upgrade over Kyle Korver. Both teams mentioned have pieces that would allow the Celtics to build for the future, and possibly even make a run at this year’s playoffs.

At any rate, the Celtics need to make some moves, and they need to make them now. Find a couple of pieces that, with Rajon Rondo, they can form a legitimate nucleus for long-term success. Otherwise, they will find themselves perpetually stuck in mediocrity, which is the worst place to be in the NBA.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Sports and God

So, a lot is being made of the random statistical anomalies from the Broncos-Steelers game on Sunday, and the religious connection. Tim Tebow’s favorite biblical verse is John 3:16. Tebow threw for 316 yards. Ben Roethlisberger threw a crucial interception on third and sixteen. The Steelers had the ball for 31.6 minutes, and Tebow averaged 31.6 yards per completion. Naturally, all of these statistics mean that God caers about football, right?

Um, no. Let’s be serious here – if whatever gods really care more about the outcome of some sporting even than the injustices and problems of the world, then maybe it’s time to get some new gods. Whatever higher powers one believes in definately have better things to do than to make sure that some scatter armed quarterback wins a football game. And if they don’t, then they have a severe issue with figuring out priorities.

Meanwhile, after every game, it’s customary to hear various athletes thanking God for their victory. So why don’t the players on the losing teams blame God for the loss? Steve Johnson of the Buffalo Bills did, and was soundly criticized for it. In all reality, he was right – if the gods want the opposing team to win, then they must want the other team to lose. And they certainly are in position to make sure that happens.

Sports comes down to strategy, skill, and luck – not some random higher power deciding who to favor based off how holy their life is. If that was really a major factor, then how did Roethlisberger win two Super Bowls? How do all of these people that no one would ever want to be around succeed time and time again? The reason is that they are, for that moment in time, simply better.

Tebow hit four passes that he may never complete again. Let’s not go overboard here. Sometimes a coincidence is just a coincidence.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

2012 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

It’s that time of year again, when the fans of baseball sit around, eagerly awaiting to find out who the next players are that are being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. As always, debates rage on about the candidacy of the various players, and chuckles are met at seeing certain names on the ballot (for this year, that list includes Brad Radke, Terry Mulholland, and Phil Nevin).

Even though we here at the blog do not have a vote, that is not going to stop us from going over the players we feel should be inducted, and highlighting reasons why some big names should not be. So, enjoy.

The following players should get their due:

1. Jeff Bagwell. Quick question – how many first basemen have 400+ home runs and 200+ stolen bases? Um, that would be Jeff Bagwell. His career WAR of 79.9 ranks 57th all time, ahead of such players as Rod Carew, Ken Griffey Jr, Reggie Jackson, and Robin Yount. He was an MVP and a Gold Glove winner. So why is he not in the Hall? Because, even though he never tested positive for any PEDs, nor was he named in Jose Canseco’s book, he still falls under that cloud. Get over the moral indignation, and let Bagwell in.

2. Barry Larkin. Larkin was overshadowed throughout his entire career by other shortstops: Cal Rpiken and Ozzie Smith at the beginning of his career, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez at the end. Through it all, Larkin managed to be a 12 time All-Star, a three time Gold Glove winner (while Ozzie Smith was playing), won nine silver slugger awards, and was an MVP. He also was a major offensive force, turning in a 30-30 season, being the only shortstop to steal over 50 bases during the entire 1990′s, having a career OPS that was 137 points higher than the average shortstop, and a slugging percentage 83 points higher. Add it all together, and Larkin flat out dominated as a shortstop during his ear. That states hall of Fame player.

3. Rafael Palmeiro. The writers of the BBWAA need to get over themselves. If they are truly going to be outraged over players cheating, then how did they allow Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton into the Hall? Also, they are ignoring the era in which Palmeiro played, where it is believed that roughly 50% of players were on the juice. Despite all that, Palmeiro still managed to be in a tier above, getting over 3000 hits and 500 home runs. Players that hit both of those benchmarks are the truly elite in the game, and deserve enshrinement. Palmeiro, despite the steroids, needs to be inducted.

4. Tim Raines. Everyone knows that Rickey Henderson was the greatest leadoff hitter in the history of the game. But how many people realize that Tim Raines was probably the second best? Raines reached base more times than such players as Tony Gwynn, Honus Wagner, and Lou Brock. In an era when most leadoff hitters were slap singles hitters, Raines had an OPS+ of 123. He finished fifth all time in stolen bases, and, as a leadoff hitter, managed to get intentionally walked 148 times, 47th on the all time list. Raines deserves his due, and is a Hall of Famer.

The following players are not quite Hall of Fame caliber.

1. Mark McGwire. Again, ignore the PED scandal. What you have is a player that was only capable of hitting home runs. Yes, his 583 is an impressive number, but he only had 1043 other hits. In fact, his total of 1626 hits ranks behind Tim Salmon, Eric Young, and Alfredo Griffin, amongst others. None of those players are sniffing the Hall of Fame unless they purchase a ticket. McGwire was also a black hole defensively. If he was not hitting the ball into the stratosphere, he provided absolutely nothing on the field. McGwire was a great power hitter, but he was not a Hall of Fame player.

2. Jack Morris. Morris gets a lot of support for how he pitched in the postseason, specifically for being the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. These accomplishments overshadow the truth that Morris was not a dominant pitcher in his era. His 3.90 ERA would be the highest of any pitcher enshrined. Morris’ career statistics are actually very similar to both Jamie Moyer and Dennis Martinez. You don’t see a lot of support for those players getting inducted. Basically, his support comes down to a mystique that he truly never deserved. Morris was an innings-eater, and a solid middle of the rotation starter. He was not a Hall of Famer.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

What Are The Chargers Thinking?

So, who exactly does Norv Turner have pictures of? Did the ownership of the San Diego Chargers happen to be involved in a Mexican ‘dog and pony show’ while ol’ Norv just happened to have a cell phone with a camera? Is he blackmailing Dean Spanos by kidnapping his children and holding them hostage until he has truly pushed the Chargers into oblivion? Is there some sort of vendetta against powder blue?

All of the aforementioned scenarios are more likely than the actualaty that Norv Turner is still allowed to be a head coach in the NFL. However, for some reason that defies all sense, logic, and statistical evidence; Turner will be back for the Chargers for the 2012 season. The sound you hear right now is that of Philip Rivers crying himself to sleep, and Charger fans rocking back and forth telling themselves it would be ok.

Remember back when Marty Schottenheimer was coach of the Chargers? If not, lay off the bong, because it was only 2006. That season, the Chargers went 14-2, then promptly got bounced in the playoffs, which is not a shock since ‘Schottenheimer’ is German for ‘collapsing under pressure’. Following the most predictable early playoff exist since the last time Schottenheimer took a team to the playoffs, the Chargers fired him, promptly bringing in Norv Turner.

Now, the Chargers have a lot of talent. Turner is still, somehow, widely respected as a viable football coach. Despite all the evidence that points to him being only a good co-ordinator, he keeps getting second, third, and even fourth chances to prove people wrong. In fact, despite all the talent on that team, the Chargers have not even made the playoffs for the last two seasons. Know what they have been? The same Chargers as they were under Schottenheimer, right down to a similar winning percentage (.613 for Turner, .588 for Schottenheimer).
So, what exactly has been gained by keeping Turner? Not Super Bowl appearances. Certainly not progress. In fact, NOTHING has been gained by keeping Norv around. Much like the music of Paris Hilton, he should be put out of his misery and removed from being the head coach of the Chargers. However, that won’t happen, since Norv has pictures proving that Chargers ownership bankrolled their purchase by being part of the Columbian drug cartels. It’s the only reason that makes sense.