Nice Return for Buckner


First of all, let's congratulate the University of Tennessee Women's basketball team for winning yet another invigorating women's tournament....I think I actually watched 5 or 6 minutes of this year's classic event. I'm sorry, these women are talented, but after watching the likes of Hansbrough, Curry, Love and Rose.. the women just don't cut it. And can someone please tell me why Candace Parker wore a long sleeve T-shirt in the final 4??? Did she think this was some kind of hot yoga class? I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it, I wouldn't have made 4 laps up and down the court before gnawing those sweaty sleeves off my arms. Anyway, to the meat of this post...

People outside of the Boston sports world may have missed what happened opening day at Fenway Park on Tuesday. All day leading up to the game WEEI (local Boston sports radio) was saying that the person throwing out the first pitch would be special, and "moving." Brainstorming the possibilities the best I could come up with was Kevin Millar, and by no means am I proud of that statement. I mean come on, is there any other player in MLB that would more blatantly rather be on another team? I think Kevin Millar would play for the Sox for free if Theo would let him. (check out this video of Papelbon interviewing Millar, He disects the entire Sox team without mentioning the Orioles. My favorite part is the end of the video where he says" the Sox will win by default--it's cheating").

To my most heartbreaking disappointment it was not Kevin Millar. Sitting on my couch at 2 in the afternoon (yes home from work, 3 bud lights deep), I was shocked to see the infamous Bill Buckner walk out of the Green Monster to the mound to throw out the first pitch. It was a truly touching moment for all Sox fans, and quite apparently to the teary eyed Buckner as well. I don't need to get into the details of what Bill Buckner is famous for, unfortunately this is pretty much all anyone knows about him. What I would like to point out is the other side of the story; the very decent 22 years that Bill Buckner played baseball. First of all, anyone that plays baseball for 22 years in the bigs knows what they're doing, clearly that is not an easy accomplishment. Buckner finished up with a very respectable .289 lifetime BA, 1,208 RBI, and hit over .300 7 times including .324 in 1980. In 5 of his 22 years he even received MVP votes. He finished with a career .992 fielding percentage. 99.2% of the time the guy fielded the ball cleanly....what an unfortunate time to have the .8 kick in huh? Even with that though, the Sox still had the opportunity to win that game (game 6) and game 7 of that series in 1986. So anyway, it was nice to see the Sox fans give Buckner a 2 or 3 minute standing ovation....the poor guy deserved it.

I agree with Rob. I, too, am making a bigger effort to watch the NHL playoffs this season. My Bruins are playing the Canadiens, who have been the Bruins' daddy's all year (7-0 against the black and gold). But it is the playoffs, you never know what can happen with this great rivalry. I will be at the game on Sunday night at the Garden, I'll let you know how it goes....

Put it on Ice

I have dedicated myself to watching the NHL playoffs in their entirety this year. The Devils are my squad which makes it nice that they feature the best goalie in hockey history. You will hear lots of people argue for George Hainsworth and his impeccable goals against averages but he played around the time FDR's New Deal was being radio broadcast into people's living rooms. The game has changed and so with it the requirements for claiming the #1 spot. Patrick Roy had a phenomenal career, but if you want to get technical and look strictly at statistics, Martin Brodeur tops more statistical categories than the other roughneck frenchman. The fact is that as far as active goalies are concerned, Brodeur, Belfour, and Curtis Joseph have posted the most impressive career numbers in regards to wins, shutouts, playoff wins, playoff shutouts, and goals against average. Dominik Hasek can't go without mention but he's been around the same amount of time as Brodeur (15 seasons) without nearly the numbers. Brodeur has proven a winner too, having hoisted the Stanley Cup 3 times. Whatever the measure, Brodeur has to be argued as the game's best.

I post this with a couple of motives. One, to praise and commend Martin Brodeur for his accomplishments during a very impressive career. And two, to defend the guy after allowing 4 goals last night in a 4-1 romp at the hands of some team that doesn't really matter. The match-up between the Devils and Rangers couldn't be more inviting as a first round battle. The Devils finished the season better than the Rangers but the season series sways strongly in the favor of the Rangers (7-1). I'm not scared. Three of those losses were decided in OT or a Shootout and the remaining games were decided by no more than 2 goals in any case. On top of that, the most recent clash had the Devils victorious moving into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The game is played on ice but it is all about who gets hot.

The bottom line is that the NHL playoffs are bigger than the Devils-Rangers first round series. There are excellent teams in the post-season and no one team is clearly dominant. The Red Wings and the Sharks come in as the teams to watch, but how about the surging Capitals that came from last place to clinch a shot at the cup? The Flames showcase Jerome Iginla who can change a game every time he touches the puck. You've got gritty veterans like Shanahan, Jagr, Fedorov, and the aforementioned Hasek. You've got young phenoms in Crosby, Ovechkin, and Fleury. These players have to show up and make fireworks. Their teams need it. The NHL needs it.

Where's the Slipper?!

75-68 F/OT. Thank god. If there were any tremblings about this year's March Madness not living up to the usual billing, they were quickly quieted after the National Championship Game. Sure, my bracket didn't pan out the way I would have liked to see but that hasn't put a damper on my view of the tournament. Granted we didn't see the proverbial Cinderella go on a tear into the Final Four a la George Mason; Davidson was the closest thing. Although, anyone watching Stephen Curry and Jason Richards had the feeling that maybe Davidson was just a good team. But, we did get something out of it. The top 4 seeds made up the final four for the first time in history. Kansas made easy work of the Tar Heels/Tyler Hansbrough... you ever notice the goofy bug-eyed kid that is somehow good even shares initials with the mascot? Anyway, Memphis went on a charge behind a special Freshman that seems to have an extra hundred horsepower over the next fastest guy. The emergence of stars told the story of this years tournament. We saw a lot of things but I firmly believe that had the National Championship game not transpired the way it did, we would have been left feeling a little cheated. It just perpetuates the mystique of a tournament that seems destined not to fail. Name another playoff system that generates the same excitement and anticipation as March Madness. It is a pool of 64 teams, not even the top 64 teams in the country, mind you, and yet the competition is always second to none. Now draw comparisons to the depravity of the BCS in college football. It really is a shame. So I want to thank you again March Madness for living up to the reputation that so precedes you.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Looks as though the start of this baseball season will start the same way it has over the past few years. Fresh off a disappointing Duke loss in the NCAA tourney, I look to my trusted New York Yankees for a pick-me-up. However, to no avail, we see the most anticipated offense in baseball bring a meager 17 runners across home plate over 6 games; an average of less than 3 runs a game. However, I am a believer in the law of averages. Duke will rebound next year, literally and figuratively, and the Yankees will find themselves closer to the 6 runs a game that the 2007 lineup boasted (prediction count: 1). And I know all of this because of one sustainable fact: The Orioles are in first place through the first week of the 2008 season. A feat that has Vegas odds of 1 to 1. Just as sure, September will have the Orioles finding themselves defending fourth place only to allow it to slip away to a respectable Rays team (prediction count: 2). This plays into another indisputable fact: That the AL East is the only division which truly matters and the Yankees and Red Sox are the only teams within the division that truly matter. With all due respect to the other teams as they will surely give us our licks throughout the season only to see fate wrap its fingers around the game as the Sox and Yankees finish one, two respectively as September draws to a close (prediction count: 3).

The beauty of baseball is that the law of averages applies nowhere else as strongly as it does to the sport of baseball. Albert Pujols hit 14 home runs in April two seasons ago, ending the season with 49. Alex Rodriguez matched the April home run barrage a year later, finishing the season at 56. To be sure, these are no numbers to scoff at but the point is that they didn't end the season flirting with 100 round trippers. In 1998, Juan Gonzales had 101 RBI at the break, only to end the season with 157. Once again, an impressive figure, but not worthy of shattering Hack Wilson's 68 year old record, a record no one will ever break (prediction count: 4).

You may wonder where exactly I am going with this so I will end all of the suspense. The Yankees will have a poor showing in April. But April showers bring May flowers. They will end April hovering around .500 (prediction count: 5). They will leave the month of May, entering the dog days of summer, atop the AL East leader board (prediction count: 6). They never fail. Spoken like a true modern-era Yankees fan (1985-present). I never suffered through the miserable eighties of hapless last place finishes and players whose only evidence of MLB employment is a 1984 Fleer wax-pack baseball card complete with chewing gum residue on the back. Perception is reality and I see the Yankees finishing strong, per usual.

Naturally, the question arises of where such lofty expectations came to be. I assure you, I won't be spuming with positivity down 1 run to the Red Sox in the 3rd inning (those are sure losses, just ask Erik). But, the scales always find a way to level out. So my advice to you is not to mind all of the analyst mumbo jumbo or color commentators gushing over how the highest payroll in baseball is struggling mightily on the field. It is merely something that comes with the territory. The Detroit Tigers are the only winless team in baseball to this point, meanwhile they flaunt the second highest payroll in the league. Yet, there are no warnings of Rome burning down quite yet. I posit that the headlines would be different if the Yankees started with an 0-5 mark.

P.S. I promise nothing by making predictions. I commiserate with Mike Greenberg of Mike&Mike in this respect.

Opening Day-The Outfield Assist

For my first post, I felt nothing was more appropriate than to write about the outfield assist. Not only a great title for our site due to its quirky insinuations, I firmly believe (and I know Rob does as well) that the outfield assist is one of the most highly underrated plays in all of sports. There are few sports plays that are packed with as much anticipation and uncertainty as the outfield assist. The real beauty of the outfield assist for me is two fold:

The first major component is that you can see the entire play unfold. Sure you can see a touchdown play develop, or anticipate a great goal in soccer in the middle of a series of precise passes. But it's not the same. Seeing a runner from first make the decision to round second and go to third on a single to right, as a right fielder with an arm the likes of a Ichiro Suzuki scoops up the ball causes all 39,000 fans at Fenway Park to stand up every time...and nothing has even happened yet. I can still see in my head the video of Valdimir Guererro playing right field for the Expos at Olympic Stadium in Montreal and uncorking a 300 foot seed from the right field corner to third to throw out a sliding baserunner. Truely amazing.

The second major component is that its a relatively rare play. Other exciting plays in sports such as a Home Run, a hard hit in football, a fight in hockey, all happen somewhat frequently. But the outfield assist, a play that generates a stadium of excitement, might happen only once every 5 or 6 games. Even further, outfielders with the best arms are not even tested that much and given the opportunity for an assist. One of the best indicators of an outfielders arm, without actually seeing a ball thrown, is the third base coach's decision to hold or send a runner on hits to the outfield. Johnny Damon could be standing on the pitchers mound with the ball and I still would send the runner from third. But an Ichrio or a Vlad? To even get the opportunity to see them try and throw out a daring runner would for sure be a topic of conversation and make a sportscenter highlight reel.

An article on outfield assists would be wasted without mentioning that the act of it can cause one of the few brute physical plays involved in baseball. A runner absolutely train-wrecking a catcher on a close play at home is one of the coolest plays, if not the coolest in baseball. I can't tell you how many times I've screamed at my televison screen for a runner to "lower the boom!" on a catcher at home. Whenever a runner decides to do his best Pete Rose hustle play on a catcher...things get loud.

Many argue that the late Roberto Clemente had the best arm of all time. He led the NL a record 5 times in outfield assists. Carl Yaztremski, with the aid of the Green Monster and a short left field has the record for most AL assist titles claiming it 7 times. Then there is the old story of Enos Slaughter shagging fly balls against the right field fence and lacing ball after ball on one bounce into a barrel laid over third base. More concrete, Tris Speaker is the all-time leader in outfield assists with 449, 52 more than second place Jimmy Ryan who played for Chicago in the late 19th century.

While there certainly are some good arms in baseball now, Delmon Young, Ichiro, an aging Vlad, and yes, I have to say, the underrated arm of Manny Ramirez (led the AL in assists in 1996, had 17 in 2004), there does not seem to be as much emphasis put on arm strength and throwing skill. Maybe it is because the Home Run has become the staple wow factor skill to have. Personally I think its just that kids aren't throwing a baseball in sandlots all day like they used to. Regardless, the next time you get lucky enough to see an outfield assist, don't take it for granted--you might not see another one for a while.