Double Bagels...And I Ain't Talkin' Lenders...

Mark Blount finally got called out in the Boston papers today. Both the Herald and Globe finally decided to rip him and tell the thruth. Blount sucks. He got his 6, 42 million dollar contract in the off season and is now sitting on it and stealing Celtic fans of their hard earned money. His lack of desire is only matche dby his lack of skills. He's 7 feet tall, but still manages to get out played by smaller centers and power forwards. He can't rebound to save his life. He's the only center who's game revolves around his standing at the top of the key like he's hiding from the ball. Could you contest a shot, pleaee. Just one. Show us you have a pulse. His pathetic 5.60 rebounds (that's def. and off.) per game is a joke. He's a 7 footer. he should be hauling in an average of 10+ a game. Al Jefferson, a rookie, all of age 19, in 13 minutes less a game is averaging 4.80 rebounds per game. That's less than one rebound difference. Against the Bulls on 1/19/2005, Blount fired up a double bagel in the win against the Bulls: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 0 blocks, 3 fouls, all in 22 minutes. He also averages a little under 2 and a half T.O.s a game to go along with his sour 10.4 points a game. Is that worth 42 million? I say not even 42 dollars. he has hands of stone. 3 times the Celtics dished it to him in the paint against the Bulls and he dropped it like the ball had A.I.D.S. He might be better off with no hands. Point is Blount f'd the Celtics. He was hungry last years and showed his potential. He then got his money and has gone back to being the player he was 2 years ago. Doc Rivers should bench Blount, move Raef to center and start Big Al at PF. Blount isn't doing a thing on the floor so why not let him rot on the bench and let Kendrick Perkins pick up a few more minutes here and there. His 3 points, 9 board and 3 blocks against Chicago was audition enough for me. And have you seen Blount try to set a pick? Oi! Vey!

Pedro can't hide his jealousy

Here's my issue with the whole Pedro thing. I don't care that the Sox didn't sign him. He's not going to be in the league in 4 years and why have that money tied up. Good luck in New York, I hope everything works out. You have 4 great seasons ahead of you pictching for a non playoff team. My problem is his overwhelming jealousy of Curt Schilling. Yes, Schill's face is on 76 commercials, on posters, banners. He has 1,000 causes and basically puts his mug out there every chance he can get. Schilling is savy. He's no idiot, hell I'm eating out of the palm of his hand. He could say the forrest has no trees and I'd believe it. The point is, it took Schilling (not just him, but you get the idea) to get the Red Sox a World Series title. Something Pedro couldn't do. And by the time Pedro got his ring, he wasn't the ace, the star, the shining light on the team. He was number 2, and there was no doubt about it. No controversy here. Just simple: Pedro dropped to number 2 and his larger than life ego took a huge hit. And like every other prima dona before him, it tore him apart.
Schilling came in, took over the town and did something Pedro never could: pitched hurt. Hell, even had surgery before a start and made the Yankees look silly. Oh, and Schilling can beat the Yankees. Something Pedro couldn't do if he was spotted 12 outs and 5 runs.
Pedro's over the top portrayal of the Red Sox management's lack of respect was disgusting. In Pedro's world $ equals respect. Not how you carry yourself as a human or how you've been treated in the past or what the game has done for you, but $$$$$$$$. Management offered Pedro what they wanted and in the end caved and gave him a third year. The Mets offered the 4th and after coiming back to Boston and being told to get lost, Pedro signed in NY. Good for him. Money rules the world and I can't say that if someone offered me 53 as opposed to 40 million that I wouldn't take it.
I just want Pedro to look in the mirror and say this just once and say it clearly: Schilling was better and I'm a jerk for being such a pussy about it. That's all. Schilling delievered in the clutch when it finally mattered for Boston and you didn't. Simple. Done. Over.
53 million is a lot for 100 pitches. But I guess some of that is going to his ego. Good forbid Tom Glavine starts to win. This could be an interesting season for the Mets. Personally, I'll take guys like Clemens and Schilling over whiny bitches like Pedro anyday. Even at this stage in their respective careers.

You're right, I was #2. 

Do numbers matter pre-1997? 

Do numbers matter?

I got an e-mail today talking about Hall of Fame numbers and why things are different today then they were "back then" and it got me thinking. One of my main Hall of Fame issues that I am passionate about is Jim Rice's induction or lack there of into baseball's HoF. Rice has always stated that to this day, if he gets in great, if not no biggie. He's a believer in letting the numbers do the talking. Looking at his numbers and the time he played, I think his numbers are very HoF suitable. For 11 seasons (75-86) Rice was the most dominant and feared hitter in baseball. In that span he was Al MVP in 1978 with a monster season: .315, 46 hr's and 139 rbi's and finished in the top 10 of the MVP voting 6 times, placing no lower than 5th. His career slugging percentage is .502 which puts him 85th all time and his career home runs and rbi place him 48th all time. I won't break down all the numbers because that will get old and you can check the link to get everything.
My point is, the game has changed. Whether it's juiced balls, rarified air, juiced players, expansion or waterdown pitching (all of which I think are to blame), the numbers have been greatly inflated. Guys who used to hit between 17-25 homers are now blasting 38-45 homers. The spike in Barry Bonds' numbers, not mention weight, have increased since he moved to San Fran, which is when this whole steriod thing came up. and it's not just him. Todd Helton comes out of nowhere and starts pounding the ball. Is it easier with the air quality in Colorado for 81 games a year? I don't know, I just ask the questions. Brady Anderson hasa career year and then dissappers. The Detriot Tigers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays have probably a combined 5 pitchers worthy of noting on their combined staffs.
The point is, the game has changed. Dramatically. With each passing season, numbers that were considered impossible to reach are being destroyed. That puts guys like Rice in no man's land when it comes to the Hall. I will say this. He has gotten boned on the ballot due to the timing of the end of his career. Nolan Ryan, Robin Yount, Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Carlton Fisk, etc. have gone on the ballot and his numbers don't compare. Many due to the length of some questionable careers (Eddie Murray retiring at age 200 with 12,000 seasons of DH under his belt). Whether it's lack of knowledge by the player, relations with the writers (which I don't buy because the local writers vote for Rice, whom he was not friendly with) or the squeing of numbers due to the change int he game, the HoF voting should change with the times. If a guy like Fred McGriff or even a star like the andro-fueled mark McGwire can make The Hall on their time and career numbers, guys like Rice should as well. If the rules (or lack there of) ans way the game is played have chnged, then so should the voting.
In the grand scheme of things, this matters not to the person at home. But purists and people who love the game for what it was and what it is, this is an issue. The greatest sports Hall of Fame will be loading itself with cheaters in the next 10-12 years and guys who did it by hard work and talent will sit on the outside because they chose to life weights and work hard as opposed to cramming needles in their asses. It's a shame.

Teddy Ballgame didn't need the juice! 

Asterisk or Deletion of Stats?

With Giambi coming out and saying he juiced, Bonds linked to 'roids and Ken Caminiti admitting he took the stuff, the records, awards and accomplishments these players and any who received steroids should be wiped out. Simply put: Hank Aaron hammered the baseball for years, many longer than modern day players will play and did with quick wrists. Jim Rice's 78 season's 46 and 139 were done with wrists. Teddy Ballgame hit all his homers on practice, hard work and talent. The point? Those guys and people like Ruth, Mantle, and Mays did all their damage in era's where there were less teams which in turn meant better pitching. Todays players could easily jack 50-60 homers without performance enhancers due to the watering down of pitching staffs. Most staffs today are lucky to have a #3 who's servicable. Drop the juice and pick up the bats. The records should wipe dout or there should be a note that says "cheater" next to their names. Fans want to see homers. Casual fans love to see records fall. People who worship the game and love the purity and games within the game love baseball. Pure and simple baseball. No drugs, no b.s. Just talented atheletes who work hard to accomplish their goals. Giambi, Sosa, and Bonds have done neither.

When will we see this and do people care? 

NHL Recovery?

With the NHL lockout seemingly never ending and fans caring less and less over the past years, can hockey ever recover? In hockey towns, where fan interest and overall coverage of the league is falling, how can small towns recover. Places like Calgary, Atlanta, Nashville, San Jose, etc. can't compete with the likes of Boston, Chicago, Detroit, places where hockey started. Even places like Montreal are having a hard time drawing and now with the ice and arena's empty the NHL has a huge PR nigtmare ahead of them. Baseball had it with it's strkie and respond with the Sosa/McGwire slugfest that drew everyone back in. I don't see the NHL having one of those to fall back on. Hockey has never been accepted as a mainstream sport. The rules are foreign and complicated to the casual fan. The fighting turns people off left and right. And unless you live in one of the original 6 towns, hockey might as well be soccer. I don't know what the NHL has to do to get it's own fans back and at the same time get new fans invloved. Lowering ticket prices is an option, but after a lockout for a full season, the teams need to make up lost revenue, so that is out of the question. The league players and fans probably can't name 5 other players on 2 different teams. The days of Gretzky, Lemeuix, Bourque, Bossey, Guy Lefleur, the Hartford Whalers, and the mighty Canadiens are over. The league expanded too fast and put teams in places they don;t belong. You'll never get the league to fold teams because the players union will have fit. Much better to load the league with teams and then watch them fail, move them to a different city and watch them flounder there and ruin the league. The NHL took a leap past the NBA by locking itself out. The NBA is floundering in cities where people don't care and it hurt the league. The NHL jumped early into expantion and killed the league with bad teams in bad cities. I watched an old Bruins vs. Capitols game the other night from 1992 and remembered how good hockey used to be. Hockey has a tough road ahead of it. If you think it's going to be hard to put people in over priced seats in way to big arena's to watch a bad product is hard in places like Toronto, Boston and Chicago, good luck in Florida, San Jose and Phoenix.

Is Ricky Looking to Be Santa? 

Rick Spielman and Ricky Williams.....

Ricky Williams has decided to put off his re-un-retirement. I guess he doesn't need the money after all. Funny thing is, he still owe's Miami a ton of cash. Like 8 million in cash. Not only is he screwing the Dolphins on the cash he owes them, he's also screwing them on a trade. Oakland was interested and most likely this would have been a 3rd rounder and the pick would have increased with his stats from the year before. So with Ricky Williams screwing Miami on that deal, Rick Spielman should instantly get the axe. His deal of a 3rd rounder to St. Louis for Lamar Gordon is probably the worst deal in history. So not only does Miami lose out on that blockbuster, but sending a 3rd rounder to Philly for A.J. "Leads The League In Interceptioms Returned For Touchdown's" Feely, looks even worse than it did when the deal was made. And let's face it, Spielman's "we're hoping A.J. becomes the next Jake Delhomme" statement was probably the most insane thing ever uttered. Custer probably thought out his last stand longer than that foolishness.
Point being, Miami is now in line for the #2 slot in the draft, behind the 49'ers who they beat int he most meaningless meaningful game in the history of each franchise. Wandstache took the hint and bailed early. Spielman refuses to believe his job is in jeopardy and would prolly be the only guy on the Titanic who would think the ship could make it to port. He needs to go, forget Ricky Williams ever existed, take that number 2 an draft and turn it into one of the top 3 rb's in the country (Benson, Brown or Willams), or trade that pick (if it stays #2 into 3-4 picks) and revamp their offensive line. If they get the #1 pick it's a no brainer, you take Leinart. There are so many options with Shaun Alexander being free as well as Edge, not to mention Drew Brees being available. The only downer is guys like Zack Thomas and Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain may be playing elsewhere.

Pierce Gets His....

Doc Rivers showed who's in charge last night by sitting Pierce in the middle of a tight game. Doc can downplay it all he wants, but he's sending a message. The message? I'm in charge. If you don't like it, fine, I've got other guys who want to play. His increasing confidence in the 4 kids off he bench, especially in crunch time, shows Doc isn't afraid to let others step up while some sulk. This is uncanny wisdom in today's game and Doc should be applauded. If Pierce doesn't want to hustle or wants to cry about how the game is run, let him. He can cry from the first seat of the bench, while the future of this team learns on the fly and shows it's continual hunger.