Tuesday, April 27, 2010
As I mentioned on my previous post, I graded all of the teams' drafts based on a normal curve. So, in analyzing the rest of the teams, its not that all of these teams had terrible drafts, or even bad ones, just that they were lower down on the curve in comparison to the teams I mentioned before. So here is the bottom half of the draft in grades.
C is average, right?:
Denver Broncos (C+) - A lot has been made of the reach they made in drafting Tim Tebow. Clearly this is a risky pick, and if it pans out they will be geniuses and everyone will forget about it. If it doesn't, the Broncos will have a new coach. I will say the rest of their draft is solid. I like Demaryius Thomas in terms of raw talent, but think Dez Bryant was better on the board. Late round picks Eric Decker (WR, 3rd) and Perrish Cox (CB/S, 6th) are solid and they got some rotation guys for the offensive line.
New York Giants (C+) - I really like what they did with their first four picks in bulking up a defense that struggled last year, after once being the strength of the team. They picked good values at their slot every time they picked it seem. Jason Paul-Pierre (DE, no. 15), Lindval Joseph (DT, 2nd), and Chad Jones (S, 3rd) could all start and Philip Dillard (ILB, 4th) can add some depth to their linebacker corp. Not the sexiest draft, but a solid one.
Atlanta Falcons (C) - I like Sean Witherspoon in the first round, he'll start from day one, but pretty uninspired draft the rest of the way. The defense needs to improve, thats for sure, but I don't know that they got a lot of difference makers here.
Chicago Bears (C) - I will say that I really liked what the Bears did with what they had. They didn't have a first (Cutler) or second (Gaines Adams) round pick, which hurts, but they got a starting safety in third round (Major Wright), a rotation/part-time starter at defensive end in Corey Wootton, a solid backup corner in the fifth (Joshua Moore). All of those guys I think will contribute next year, and I think Wootton was one of the bargains of the draft. I even liked a the sixth round pick of Dan Lefevour as a developmental quarterback and seventh rounder J'Marcus Webb, who was saw time as a true freshman at Texas prior to a stop in juco. Make no mistake though, their free agent signings were the focus of their offseason.
Green Bay Packers (C) - Started off great when Bryan Bulaga fell to them at no. 23, matching a great value with a great need. That said, the rest of the draft was kind of up and down for me. Michael Neal (DE) was a stretch pick in the 2nd, though I liked Morgan Burnett (S, 3rd) and James Starks (RB, 6th). Ultimately they may have got rotation guys, but I don't know if they drafted anybody that's going to start this year.
Miami Dolphins (C) - I thought the Dolphins made some solid picks including Jared Odrick in the 1st, Kao Misi in the 2nd, John Jerry in the 3rd, and Reshad Jones in the 5th, but Jerry was the only offensive pick they made in the entire draft. This team needs to get more tools around Henne if he's going to succeed, which is not a sure thing in my books.
New York Jets (C) - I like the value of CB Kyle Wilson in the first, but I'm not sure about drafting a position of strength in the first round. They essentially traded Leon Washington for Joe McKnight, don't really love that, and decided to roll the dice on replacing Alan Faneca on the best o-line in football with a rookie in Vladimir Ducasse. The draft was just a little puzzling to me.
Pittsburgh Steelers (C) - None of these picks just jump out at me, but I do think that the Steelers they improved the interior line with Maurkice Pouncey (C, no. 18) and Chris Scott (OG, 5th). Jason Worilds (DE/OLB, 2nd) seems like a Steeler if he can stay healthy. The possible steal in their class is RB Jonathan Dwyer, a productive back that didn't wow with his forty time, which likely made him slip.
Indianapolis Colts (C) - The Colts draft well, they just never draft high. They got a great value in the first by drafting Jerry Hughes, which just reminds you of a Colts DE - quick and undersized, but productive. Other than that, nothing too exciting in this draft, maybe some rotation guys and starters down the road.
St. Louis Rams (C) - They got their "franchise quarterback", supposedly, in Sam Bradford in the first. I suppose they had to take him to energize the franchise and get the value out of this pick, but I think its evidence that I have my doubts about him and don't about the three of the guys drafted shortly after him. Roger Saffold in the second round is a good pick in getting someone to protect Sam Bradford, but they've drafted plenty of offensive linemen in past drafts and they need to get some guys who can catch around Sam Bradford. Their only means of doing so was Mardy Gilyard in the third round, but that wasn't near enough in my opinion.
Houston Texans (C-) - I don't think its that they got bad players, but that I think there were better values in the position they were drafting at the pick they were drafting. I liked CB Kyle Wilson over Kareem Jackson at no. 20. I think their were some better big backs then Ben Tate in the second round, and actually I think they could have waited and gotten a guy like Anthony Dixon or Jonathan Dwyer in the 5th or 6th round. The one pick that I think could be strong if they find a way to use him is the versatile tight end Dorin Dickerson (TE, 7th), undersized but a good athlete.
This might hurt the ol' GPA (luckily most football players don't worry about that):
San Diego Chargers (D+) - They got a starter in the first round in Ryan Matthews, obviously the running back they coveted, but they gave up way to much to draft him way too high. The first real threat to take him was Houston at no. 20, and instead they jumped to 12 and had to give up a lot in doing so. I did like Donald Butler (ILB, 3rd) and Cam Thomas (DT, 5th), but Jonathan Crompton as a developmental quarterback in the fifth round, when guys like Tony Pike and Dan Lefevour are on the board is a joke.
Minnesota Vikings (D) - I thought Chris Cook (CB, 2nd) was a project more than a starter and Toby Gerhart was not the guy to team with Adrian Peterson. They are saying he's a change of pace back, but I think he's more of the same type of runner without the speed. Don't get me wrong, I like Gerhart, but given that they traded out of no. 30 where they could have had Jahvid Best, a true change of pace back, it's puzzling. The only pick I really liked in their draft was Everson Griffin (DE, 4th) who had late first or early second round talent.
Washington Redskins (D) - Their draft was Donovan McNabb, that needs to be said first, but I thought the rest of the draft was shaky, though Shanahan has never been noted as a great draft guy. Trent Williams is a top ten pick, but I think Russell Okung was the better tackle, and there are some risks with Williams in terms of his "want to." In terms of the rest of the draft, I just didn't really like any of their picks, but I could be wrong.
Buffalo Bills (D-) - CJ Spiller is an exciting player and a possible game changer, but this team has neither a quarterback nor an offensive line. I think they had bigger needs at no. 9, especially now that it appears they are hanging on to Marshawn Lynch. They stretched in round two to draft a nose tackle, waited until the fifth round to try to address the offensive line, and passed on Jimmy Clausen, a possible franchise quarterback, twice. Just didn't like they way they addressed their needs.
The Ugly, unfortunately you can retake this draft:
Jacksonville Jaguars (F) - In the normal curve of grades, someone has to fail. They stretched big time on Tyson Alualu (DT, no. 10), a guy I hadn't even heard of (which is saying a lot). My only explanation is that they wanted CJ Spiller and when he was drafted right ahead of them, they stumbled and just blurted out this guy. They then drafted the same position in the third round and only drafted one offensive player, a running back, in the sixth round. It was a confusing draft.
Well, those are my thoughts. Obviously, we won't truly know how good these drafts were for another 2 or 3 years, but that's my early take.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
As the three day extravaganza came to a close yesterday, and Mr. Irrelevant (Timothy Toone) was being drafted by the Lions, Mel Kiper started doling out his top prospects for next year. Mel will probably have a "Big Board" on Monday and a mock draft, projecting where people will draft and who they will draft, out by Friday. There's a lot of football to be played on both the college and professional level before then, so I'm going to look at what the teams did over the last three days to make their teams better. Beings as though I am an MBA student, I decided to grade out all of the teams' drafts on a nice normal distribution (if you are unfamiliar: linky), something I am intimately familiar with.
Top of the Class: Seattle Seahawks (A+)
As much as I would rather not give Pete Carroll credit, I loved pretty much everything they did in this draft. It helps to have two first round picks, but you have to use them well. They replaced franchise LT Walter Jones with the best tackle in the draft in Russell Okung and followed up at pick 14 with a great value in Earl Thomas, a versatile safety who has corner-like cover skills. I like the ball skills and value of Golden Tate in the second round, as well as the value picks of Walter Thurmond (CB, 4th), Kam Chancellor (S, 5th), and Anthony McCoy (TE, 6th). They were also able to do a pick swap that cost them practically nothing to get LenDale White, a bruising goal line running back, and traded a 5th round pick for Leon Washington, a lightning quick running back and return man coming off of injury. Overall, loved this draft.
Other Top Performers: Baltimore Ravens (A), Carolina Panthers (A), San Francisco 49ers (A), and Cincinnati Bengals (A-)
Baltimore Ravens (A) - They wanted Dez Bryant in the first round at 25 but the Cowboys jumped ahead of them at 24 and picked him. Unfazed, Ozzie Newsome traded back with the Broncos (who picked Tebow) and got 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round picks - great deal. What did they do with their later picks? In the second round they drafted two first round talents, and great fits for their defense in DE/OLB Sergio Kindle and NT Terrence Cody. Between Cody and Haloti Ngata, the buffet table should be empty and the opposing offensive line occupied. I liked their next two picks as well in TEs Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta, which should provide some nice targets for Joe Flacco in the middle of the field.
Carolina Panthers (A) - The Panthers thought about trading up in the 2nd round but didn't want to pay the price, and they were still able to get their guy in QB Jimmy Clausen, thought to be a top ten pick. For a team that needs a quarterback, this couldn't have played out better. I also like the picks of Brandon Lafell (WR, 3rd), Eric Norwood (OLB, 4th), Greg Hardy (DE, 6th), and David Gettis (WR, 6th). They gave up a 2nd round next year to draft QB/WR Armanti Edwards in the 3rd round, an intriguing prospect, but a high price. Overall though, I thought they had great value and I thing Hardy really has a chance to be a tremendous steal in the 6th if he stays healthy.
San Francisco 49ers (A) - They sured up the line with Anthony Davis (OT, no. 11) and Mike Iupati (OG, no. 17), both good value picks - I admittedly like building with the lines. They got a punishing safety with first round talent in the second in Taylor Mays, a nasty linebacker in the third in Navorro Bowman, and a bruising running back that I think has real potential to contribute in Anthony Dixon in the 6th round.
Cincinnati Bengals (A-) - I really like the Bengals draft but I am a little hesitant as they continue to draft some character issue players. Jermaine Gresham, the best tight end in the draft, will be a great weapon for Carson Palmer. They also got great values in terms of talent in Carlos Dunlap (DE, 2nd), Jordan Shipley (WR, 3rd), Geno Atkins (DT, 4th), Roddrick Muckelroy (ILB, 4th), and Dezmon Briscoe (WR, 6th). Dunlap was a top ten pick before he ran into some issues this past year and people started questioning his desire on the field, and Briscoe was likely a middle round pick but his attitude came into question causing him to slip. If they can keep their talents in line, it's a great draft.
Not fantastic, but really solid:
Detroit Lions (B+) - They may actually building something here. Obvioulsy love the Suh pick at no. 2, but also liked the defensive back help with Amari Spievey in the 3rd and offensive line help with OT Jason Fox in the 4th.
New England Patriots (B+) - Bill Belichik continues to do what he does. Trade down and acquire picks. They picked twelve times and law of averages says that a good number of those are bound to pan out. I liked their tight end picks Rob Gronkowski (2nd) and Aron Hernandez (4th), receiver Taylor Price (3rd), and defensive standouts Devin McCourty (1st) and Brandon Spikes (2nd).
Arizona Cardinals (B) - I really liked what they did defensively in getting the drafts top nose tackle, Dan Williams, as well as linebackers Daryl Washington (2nd) and O'Brien Schofield (4th). I also like the potential of small school picks Andre Roberts (WR, 3rd) and John Skelton (QB, 5th).
Dallas Cowboys (B) - Didn't have a whole lot of picks in the draft but I really like what they did in trading up to grab the top wide receiver in Dez Bryant at no. 24, especially because he was likely off the board at no. 25. I think they also got good value with Sean Lee (ILB, 2nd), Akwasi Owusu-Ansah (CB, 4th), and Sam Young (OT, 6th).
Kansas City Chiefs (B) - They didn't draft necessarily to needs but got some great values and athletes. They needed an offensive tackle but I absolutely thought Eric Berry was the right pick at no. 5, a Ed Reed type safety who will make a difference on the back end of the secondary.
New Orleans (B) - Solid picks throughout but really got value in finding tackle Charles Brown at the back end of the second round and great athlete with a high ceiling in tight end Jimmy Graham at the end of the third.
Oakland Raiders (B) - Strange to think they had a good draft, but they waited to get their combine babies until the third day and got starters in Rolando McClain (ILB) in the first and Lamar Houston (DT) in the second. They were able to get Bruce Campbell, mentioned in a pre-draft blog, in the 4th. Their most notable move was trading a 4th round pick next year for Jason Campbell, a good move to get a quarterback.
Philadelphia Eagles (B) - Did their best to act like the Patriots, moving back and accumulating picks. They were able to get difference makers in Brandon Graham (DE, 1st) and Nate Allen (S, 2nd), and values late.
Tennessee Titans (B) - They got the top defensive end in the draft in Derrick Morgan at no. 16 and I liked Damian Williams (WR) and Rennie Curan (LB) in the third round. I also like that they grabbed Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle in the 6th round, a great kid that should be given a chance.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (B) - They improved the middle of their defense in the first and second round in drafting defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Brian Price, both who were first round talents who will likely start. Wide Receivers Arrelious Benn (2nd) and Mike Williams provide help for Josh Freeman on offense, both having the potential to start.
Cleveland Browns (B-) - Downgraded a little because I thought they overdrafted in some cases, but they also made some very good picks. I liked CB Joe Haden in the first, but I thought Earl Thomas was a better value at no. 7. In turn, they then drafted safety T.J. Ward in the early second round, when he was probably a third or fourth round player. They did, however, get Colt McCoy in the 3rd, safety Larry Asante (I'm biased) in the 5th, and Carlton Mitchell (WR) in the 6th. Mitchell may have been my favorite pick in their draft.
Well, that's the top 50% of the draft. If you didn't read about your team in this blog, you'll have to check in for part 2 to see what I didn't like about your team's draft.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
After the first day of the class, here are my first day winners and losers:
Winners:
1. Seahawks - I love this draft for them. They had two picks after nabbing the Broncos 1st round pick last year and landed most people's top left tackle in Okung, at no. 6, and Earl Thomas, a top ten talent, at no. 14. Fits needs on both sides of the ball and great values.
2. Cowboys - Traded the no. 27 and a 3rd rounder for no. 24 and a 4th rounder to get Dez Bryant. As much as I don't like to give Jerry Jones and the Cowboys any love, this was a really good move. Bryant is the elite wide receiver prospect in this class and a great value. I'm not as worried about the "character issues" of his contact with Deion. Randy Moss had character issues too, worse than Bryant's.
3. Cardinals - Arizona has had a tough offseason losing their best defensive player in Carlos Dansby, their quarterback, Kurt Warner, and Anquan Boldin, a pro bowl wide receiver. They needed something to go well this year and getting Dan Williams, the top pure nose tackle in the draft. Could have gone in the top ten but didn't find a fit till no. 26 - great value.
4. Packers - The cheeseheads had Bryan Bulaga, projected as high as no. 5, fall right into their laps at no. 23. Offensive line is definitely the top need for this organization, especially considering how many times pro bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers ended up on the ground. This also feels like a good organizational fit between player and team.
5. Lions (Suh @ no. 2), Buccaneers (McCoy @ no. 3), and Chiefs (Berry @ no. 5) - They picked who people generally thought they were going to pick, but these are great players and picks. Lions did well with Jahvid Best in trading up to no. 30 as well.
Also liked: Raiders (did I say the Raiders?) - Rolando McClain @ no. 8, 49ers - Anthony Davis @ no. 11 and Mike Iupati @ no. 17, Titans - Derrick Morgan @ no. 16, Pittsburgh - Maurkice Pouncey @ no. 18, and Bengals - Jermaine Gresham @ no. 21.
Losers:
1. Jimmy Clausen - The only thing going for him today is that he didn't choose to be in New York, because he would need to extend his stay another night. Rumored to be in the top ten, considered by the Rams for the no. 1 overall pick, and plummets out of the first round.
2. Jaguars - They took Tyson Alualuwho? I haven't even heard of this guy, and that's saying something. After doing some research, it appears as though his highest projection was at the end of the first round, I hadn't seen him that high anywhere that I had looked before. Needless to say, the Jaguars are looking rather suspicious here. My guess is that they were so shocked that the Bills took CJ Spiller (whom they were rumored to like) that they didn't know what to do and at last finally just said Alualu? Speaking of ....
3. Bills - Nothing against CJ Spiller, but he's the best pick for the Bills? With all of their needs and no quarterback? This could look great if they harken back to the Chargers draft in 2001, Tomlinson in the first and Drew Brees at the beginning of the second. If the Bills can get Clausen... and pray.... maybe. Too many holes here, but not the kind that CJ Spiller's looking for.
4. Rams - They got their "franchise quarterback" at the top pick, what's not to like? Well, I'm not sold on Bradford for one. The second thing for me is obviously a hindsight thing, but if they were seriously considering Jimmy Clausen with the no. 1, which granted could probably be a smokescreen, he is now sitting where they are drafting at the top of the 2nd round. I just think there was a lot more risk in drafting Bradford than a Suh or McCoy.
5. Broncos - I'm still confused as to everything they did today with the four trades they made. In terms of actual picks, I'm actually a little torn. I don't mind either of their picks per say, but I don't necessarily like where they were drafted. Demaryius Thomas has a lot of upside (DANGER), but I think Dez Bryant is more NFL-ready and was still on the board. I don't hate on Tebow as much as some of the "experts" but they gave up a lot to move up farther then they probably needed to. Maybe the other trades add up to making this better, but it was too much work to figure it out. Josh McDaniels is going to live or die with this Tebow pick, I will say that.
It'll be interesting to see how the rest of it shakes out and how teams build on Day 1. The biggest question of course is where will the QBs, Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy, go? I expect some trades being made overnight to get higher in the second round to possibly land one of these guys. We shall see!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The NFL Draft is one of the funniest "events" of the sporting world. The media devotes so much time and money writing articles, speculating this and that, projecting where players may get drafted, and creating 7 versions of their mock drafts. This goes on for four months culminating with a now three day "primetime" event where there is no competition, unless of course Mel "the hair" Kiper and Todd "don't call me Ryan Seacrest" McShay debate which late-round quarterback could potentially be a Tom Brady-like steal (I'll save them some time, none). The whole event is people just sitting around for 15 minutes for the commish to come up announce somebody's name. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the sports world the NBA playoffs and NHL playoffs are underway. I admit, it's all just a bit ridiculous and it makes no sense that people would watch this. And yet I do... and love it. I'm really fascinated by personnel issues and I really think it stems from this natural progression as a sports fan where you get to the point where in your head you think "I could do better than (insert GM name here)." If the name you inserted was ex-Lions GM Matt Millen, you're actually correct.
So having that said, these are few thoughts I have going into the draft:
1. If you have a top 10 pick, and don't have a QB - GET BEN ROETHLISBERGER. If he can really be had for a top 10 pick, this is an absolute no-brainer. Is he a good guy? No. Is he a hell of QB? Yeah, in fact, one of the top five or six in the league. Though he may not be a model citizen, or even a good one, he hasn't proven to be toxic in the locker room, which has a greater effect on the football field. (You're not gonna compete next year if you're in the top 10 anyway, so who cares about the 4-6 game suspension... as long as there isn't another.)
2. The Raiders draft board probably looks something like this:
- S Taylor Mays, USC - had the fastest forty time of any of the DBs at the combine while weighing in at 6'3 240 lbs, forget the fact that he lacks football instincts.
- OT Bruce Campbell, Maryland - Forty time originally reported at 4.77s (later said to be more like 4.85), while coming in at 6'7 315 lbs, so what if he can't block?
- DE Jason Paul-Pierre, USF - Youtube clips show that he can do 15 consecutive flips, sounds draft worthy to me.
- CB Akwasi Owusu-Ansah - don't know who this kid really is but I saw him on ESPN's First Take this morning and apparently he's a corner that runs a 4.3 and is projected as athird round draft pick. The Raiders are probably worried that he'll be off the board and will thus take him at no. 8 overall.
- S(printer) Usain Bolt, Jamaica - Al Davis will try.
3. Three steps to fixing the Lions:
- Draft Ndamukong Suh. This is easy. The Rams are going to pass on the best player in the draft (I'm biased, but seriously, he is), to take a "franchise quarterback" in Sam Bradford, who is far from a guarantee in my books. This drops Suh, the closest thing to a guarantee, right into your lap. Don't listen to Todd Seacrest... er McShay with all of his Gerald McCoy talk, draft Suh.
- Change your freaking jerseys/colors. I personally rank the Lions jerseys among the worst in any of the major sports. And blue and silver, how did these colors become associated with Lions. Granted, tan or "brownish-gold" would be a lame color, but you had your choice and you came up with blue and silver?!? I mean who picks silver? The Lions have to be the only professional sports team that has silver as one of its primary colors. This just screams "We're shooting for second, if we can just get to second..."
- Tank another year and get a top 3 pick again. OK, so I didn't say I was fixing this thing in one offseason. After three straight years of good picks in the top 3 of the draft, I think they may have a chance.
Sidebar: Jim Schwartz ranks among my favorite coaches in sports for two reasons. First of all, the "use the Schwartz" Spaceballs/Star Wars jokes are endless. Second of all, it looks like Ben Linus stepped right off the set of "Lost" and onto an NFL sideline (if this were true, it would only make sense that its the Lions and had to be a Matt Millen hire). Serious doppelganger thing going on here. Speaking of which, maybe he has the answers to all of my "Lost" questions....
4. If you didn't watch Jon Gruden's QB Camp on ESPN, you missed out. ESPN comes up with a lot of bits that are terrible, but they hit a home run with this one. Gruden schooled the "top four" QBs in different aspects of being a QB and the things he specifically saw in their games that needed some attention. The best part was when he was making fun of how Colt McCoy talks, and then proceeded to walk him through film of him being dominated by Suh. The sessions did change my impression somewhat of the QBs. I would count myself not a fan of Jimmy Clausen, because I don't like his intangibles and leadership abilities which are necessary at the QB position, but his studious approach to the game (equally necessary) impressed me. Sam Bradford came off as a little cocky and not very responsive to Gruden's coaching. McCoy and his "aw shucks" personality/voice are annoying - OK, so that wasn't new. The biggest insight to me was Tim Tebow. They talk about the intangibles a lot obviously, but when you watched him work with Jon Gruden you could see that he was incredibly coachable - incredibly. He will put in the work, he will watch film, and he will listen to his coaches. If he can't be a NFL QB, no one in the Tebow-mold can be. I'm going to say that I think he does it.
5. There's of course a lot of talk about teams towards the top of the draft wanting to move back in the draft and acquire more picks. It sounds like such a good idea when you have so many holes, but it rarely works out. Trades realistically won't start till at least after the top 5 picks, if not later. The thing to watch in this draft, I think, is trades involving getting a QB. Bradford's locked in to no. 1, and that's not going to change. However, there is a lot of variability with Jimmy Clausen, ranging from no. 7 to late in the first round. A team may get impatient or think another team is targeting him and move up to get him. I think the same thing could happen late in the 1st round, possibly early 2nd, involving Colt McCoy. I wouldn't rule out a similar scenario with Tim Tebow, whom GMs either love or hate. And of course, there's Ben Roethlisberger, who could shake up the draft significantly if traded.
Well, time to put on the GM hat and start critiquing. Happy Drafting!
Some additional quick notes....
Shocked that the Cubs front office and Lou Piniella had the balls to put Carlos Zambrano and his $17 million a year contract in the bullpen. Absolutely the right baseball move, just surprised they actually did it.
I've heard a couple of rumors recently about Big 10 expansion. The first has UConn joining the Big 10, Colorado and Utah joining the Pac 10, leaving TCU to join the Big XII. Makes a decent amount of sense, especially with the Pac 10 and Big XII moves, eventhough I don't like adding another team from Texas to the Big XII. UConn to the Big 10 is a bit odd in terms of geography, though a great add for the Big 10 in terms of their actual sports programs. The other rumor is Nebraska being the top choice after Notre Dame, who has balked at joining the Big 10. Don't love the move for Nebraska, but could possibly warm up to it.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Monday marked the start of baseball in 96-year-old Wrigley Field, and in attendance was yours truly. The great thing about opening day at Wrigley is the buzz and excitement of a new season that hasn't been around long enough for Cubs fans to get too pessimistic. There may always be a certain amount of pessimism, but this early there is still a glimmer of hope mixed in. On the whole the game was rather similar to any regular season game at Wrigley, however, there is definitely a buzz and excitement as the crowd begins to arrive in Wrigleyville and flood into the park for the real start of summer in Chicago. It was a fun experience, and of course a 9-5 win always helps.
My friend Rob and I wanted to drink in the experience of opening day, so the morning started at 7:15 a.m. with a nice 45 minute trip up the red line into Wrigleyville. Our first stop was at the Cubbie Bear to try to catch part of Mike and Mike, who are on a book tour with this stop taking them to Chicago. We arrived a little after 8 to catch new Cubs owner Tom Ricketts being interviewed by the Mikes. I will say that I'm pretty optimistic about the Ricketts family ownership, as I think it will provide better ownership than the corporate ownership of the last 25 years by the Tribune. Unfortunately, I was unable to get to Mr. Ricketts to inquire about a job prior to his departure. Following the show, I got to meet Golic and Greeny and get a book signed. Golic is a big fella, though P90X has the big guy looking pretty svelte.
Our next stop was the Salt & Pepper Diner to grab some breakfast. Though this doesn't appear to be a very noteworthy event, as we were leaving I casually mentioned that I had eaten at the Salt & Pepper diner two of the last three times I had gone to a game at Wrigley. Upon further thought, it turns out the two days I went to the S&P Diner they won, and the day I didn't they lost. The result of opening day, a victory. Will I be visiting the S&P Diner the next time I go to Wrigley Field? You betcha!
After breakfast we cruised around the park a little and ended up hopping in the line for the bleachers, which was already rather lengthy. The bleachers section is the one part of the park that is general admission, so upon the opening of the gates there is a made rush for the front of the bleachers in left field. Besides the booing of anyone wearing the attire of another baseball team, probably the most noteworthy thing that happened in the line was the sighting of a man wearing stilts that made him about seven-foot tall covered in ivy from head to toe with incredible hulk hands gloves, a green face, and 368 feet sign on his stomach. There was also a guy who came with various beer cans glued to his head - opening day brings out some interesting characters. As the gates opened the race for the front row began and baseball was ready to begin.
The bleacher bums were in midseason form as the taunting of opposing players.... and Alfonso Soriano began during batting practice. Multiple taunts were tossed at former Cub Jim Edmonds in regards to his status as an AARP member. All of the Brewers were of course booed during introductions (obviously the better the player, the louder the boo) and much of this would continue as the game progressed and the beer flowed. One of my favorite cheers is when the opposing bleachers would taunt the opposite bleachers (left field vs. right field), thus telling fellow Cubs fans that they suck... it was kind of a funny practice. The more I go to sporting events, the more I realize how unique the Nebraska fans at Memorial Stadium truly are. Nebraska fans represent great sportsmanship that cheer the other team and are in fact more likely to boo their own team/players than they are others. Very unique these days in sports at all levels.
As I mentioned, the beautiful day (65ยบ in April in Chicago!) was made even more beautiful with a 9-5 victory over the Brewers. This was my 5th game in the last couple of seasons and the Cubs are 4-1 when I am in attendance. As I currently have nothing lined up after graduation, I'm thinking I need to make attending Cubs games a regular occurrence until I can convince the Cubs to pay me to attend game as a good luck charm. I think that truly would be my dream job. I should probably continue searching for jobs just in case this plan doesn't pan out.
Cheers!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
This week is one of the better sports weeks of the year in terms of the span of significant sporting events. It starts with the National Championship in men's basketball and opening day and baseball, and ends with Championship Sunday at the Master's. Toss in a one-time event in Tiger Woods' press conference at Augusta, and yesterday was quite an eventful day. If Monday was any indication for the week, it should be a good one.
I'll start with the most significant event, the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. Duke, playing the role of Goliath in this modern day replay of an ancient days duel, stumbled but did not fall to the stone of Butler. But Butler put up a great fight and provided one of the better National Championship games in recent history. The difference in this game though was quite simply the length of Duke, which comes from being able to recruit that length. Their length caused them problems as they went to the hoop, and you could see it when they went into the paint. Shots were blocked (Duke had 7, Butler none) and altered all night, resulting in a 34.5% shooting night for Butler. Though the rebounding margin wasn't as significant as I would have thought, the real difference came from the way in which Butler had to rebound. They sent four or five guys to the boards every time on the defensive end which essentially eliminated fast break opportunities, which meant that they were stuck in a half court offense that had to deal with Duke's length. That difference though, was only two points. Great game plan by Butler coach Brad Stevens, they belonged.
On a related note, I can't help but think that Duke just stole a National Championship. Not to discount their achievement, they were consistent and won six games in a row, but this was far from Coach K's best team. This group was easily his least talented championship team, and there are probably a number of teams he has coached that didn't win a championship that were better, but things just seemed to fall their way. They were put into a bracket widely regarded as the easiest region of the four (selection committee conspiracy?), played a Hummel-less Purdue team, a PG-less West Virginia team, and were able to avoid the giants (Kentucky, Syracuse, Kansas, Ohio State, etc.) to get to Monday's final where they faced a 5-seed. They took advantage of the opportunity put in front of them, but something just feels wrong about this one.
In regards to Major League Baseball's opening day, it could not have gone worse as a Cubs fan. Zambrano was able to raise his 5.88 opening day ERA by allowing eight runs while recording only four outs. The Cubs are now 1-5 on opening days with Zambrano as the starter, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what should have been done here prior to yesterday's debacle. Soriano looked as good as he did most of last year in going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts, Smardzija continues to look clueless on the mound, and the defense looks to be poor again this year. The "encouraging" items from the game are that Aramis Ramirez is back and still hitting, the lefties in the bullpen (Marshall, Russell, and Grabow) looked solid, and Zambrano didn't throw a temper-tantrum after sucking. I know it's VERY early, but signs point to a long year. Hopefully I'm wrong.
Other opening day notes: True aces are easy to identify (see Halladay, Santana, Lincecum, and Carpenter), there is a reason these guys pitch in big games and have won Cy Youngs and are always in contention to win another. Albert Pujols is still the best player in baseball - he now has four home runs in his last two opening days. Jason Heyward is legit - having watched his entire game against the Cubs, this kid is gonna hit a lot. His swing and the way the ball jumps off his bat is just a thing of beauty. The Phillies showed why they are the favorite in the NL, winning in dominating fashion (granted, they played the Nationals). Red Sox v. Yankees is still the best rivalry in all of sports, already two four hour games in the books with seventeen games to go in this season's series. And finally, if you didn't see the Mark Buehrle play from yesterday - youtube it.
Lastly, I just want to say that Tiger Woods' interviews at least seem to be getting a little more real and bearable. He continues to look more comfortable and genuine in talking with the media. Sure, he still shies away from the questions the reporters really want him to answer, but he did answer most questions that were fired his way. This was clearly more of his type of interview situation. Now it will be interesting to see if he can find his game on the golf course. I wouldn't say I expect him to win it, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
With the turn of spring comes Opening Day for Major League Baseball - the best part of the season if you are a Cubs fan like myself... because there's still hope. This year I hope to drink in some of that hope with a trip to Chicago for the Cubs home opener. Though hope will surely be in abundance come opening day, to say that I think "This is the year" would be a stretch. The Cubs are getting up there in age, questions abound in the bullpen and the back end of the rotation, and health is always a big if with this team. If all these things fall in to place, they could certainly make the playoffs, but that's probably asking a lot. As for the teams that do have a shot, here are my winners:
AL West: This is somewhat of a crap shoot, and I think as long as you don't go with the A's you very well could be right. The Angels have lost a lot of parts in the last few years, but have one of the best managers in the game in Mike Scioscia. The Rangers can kill the ball on offense, but can they pitch the ball? And the Mariners have possibly the best 1-2 starters in baseball, but may not have a player hit more than 25 homers. Until they are unseated, I'm going with Mike Scioscia and the Angels. He always seems to get more out of less and will adjust his strategy to the team he has.
AL Central: Probably a battle between the White Sox and the Twins, with Detroit being the dark horse behind a good pitching staff and Miguel Cabrera. However, I'll take the Twins over the White Sox. Twins boast one of the best defenses in baseball, which will make their ace-less pitching staff look better than it is, and the best offense in this division with Mauer, Morneau, and Kubel in the heart of their lineup. The White Sox have better pitching, but they are an aging team and I think health issues may linger in by the end of the season - if not earlier.
AL East: The best division in baseball will surely have two teams in the playoffs, the question is which of the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays will be there. All have good if not great pitching, all have very good lineups, and all now have legit closers. The edge in starting pitching (at least from a depth perspective) goes to the Red Sox, bullpen goes to the Yanks with Rivera, lineup probably goes to the Yanks, and defense goes to the Rays ahead of the Sox. Who's gonna win? I don't know. I'll go with the Yankees because its hard to go against them now that they have their confidence back, and the Red Sox as the Wild Card. Its unoriginal, but usually right.
NL West: The Rockies are the popular pick here, but I'm going to go with the Dodgers to repeat. I think both will make the playoffs, but I think the Dodgers take the division off a very good young lineup thats bound to get better, not to mention Manny in a contract year. Defense might be slightly behind the Rockies, but I like the Dodgers staff anchored by Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley, with Broxton closing out games. I think the Rockies do take the Wild Card though to make their third playoff run in the last four years.
NL Central: I wish I could take my Cubbies here, but I don't see enough improvement to think this team is any better than last year. I think the Cardinals will repeat, though they are very dependent on the health of some key cogs including Carpenter, Wainwright, Pujols, Holliday, and Yadier Molina. They have the best top end talent in the division, but not the best depth of talent. All of these guys except Wainwright have had some injury issues throughout the spring. If any of these guys miss an extended period of time, it opens the door for the Cubs and Brewers.
NL East: No real question here - its the Phillies. Best lineup, best pitching staff, and best defense in the east. Not only are they the best team in the NL East, they are the best team in the National League. They added the best pitcher in baseball, Roy Halladay, to a two-time NL pennant winner. That's not even fair. I do think that the Braves and Marlins could make a run at the Wild Card, but the NL East - no.
Preseason World Series Pick: It's boring and uninspired but I'm going to take the Yankees and the Phillies in the World Series again. When you get to a playoff format, the Yankees top of the rotation is hard to beat. The Red Sox have the depth, but in the playoffs it becomes a wash with the shortened rotation. That brings it down to their lineups, and the Yankees can just hit more. I think the Phillies are the class of the National League, and though the Cardinals become difficult in the playoffs with a 1-2 in Carpenter and Wainwright, I think the Phillies still come out on top with the depth of their lineup and a better defense. In the series, I'll take the Phillies over the Yankees, getting revenge for their loss in the World Series last year.
It may look a certain way on paper, but they'll have 162 games to prove me wrong. Let's Play Ball!
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