NBA, Trailblazers, Greg Oden Happy

FROM "The Thought Spigot"
http://www.thethoughtspigot.com/

Greg Oden has would have no luck, if he didn't have bad luck. Oden is out 2-4 weeks with a "sprained right ankle," after an MRI revealed nothing substantial. The Portland Trailblazers first round pick, of 2007, had "micro-fracture surgery" ending his whole 2007 campaign, and in the first quarter of the first official game of the year, he is down with the "ankle sprain." The big man for the Trailblazers was to be a huge impact, in the paint, on the glass, and doing battle with the whole array of Western Conference big men (such as, Shaq, Duncan, Bynum, Staudomire, and a big mix of others). However, as of now, Portland will have to lean on either a substantially smaller line-up, or they will go with a substantially less talented rotation of big men.

The Western Conference is by far the superior conference, as whole, and the Trailblazers were looking to take the sixth thru eight playoff spot, with Oden in the line-up. As the NBA is looking to the "next big thing" (no pun intended), Oden was a poster boy, coming out of high school. In the next two weeks, he was to go against Shaq, Yao Ming, Dwight Howard, and Tim Duncan (with that line-up of Centers, it might be good he was hurt, when he was, keeping him fresh). Those match ups will not be happening in a row, but will be happening later in the season. Two to four weeks are not the end of the world, and the NBA season is a hard, long, and grueling one, especially for the big men (of the league).

Portland's GM & Owner, players and fans were all holding their collective breaths. They can now exhale, knowing Oden is not out for a substantial period of time, looking at big weight gain and rehab. However, their is still going to be some major questions for Greg this year. The twenty year old, shot blocking guru, will be considered injury prone, until he isn't. This is not a fair shot at such a young man, but the bigger you are the harder you fall (pun intended), there is more wear and tear on a big man's body, and the physiology of big men, playing a sport at the level they do and against other alike, is a situation for critical mass. Stepping on a foot, is a potential broken ankle, every dunk is a potential ACL/MCL tear, and even just knocking knees in the paint of the NBA can break/dispose a knee cap (ask the Laker's Andrew Bynum). Time will tell, but I am sure the NBA, all of Portland's team and fans, and the fans around the NBA (not to mention fantasy basketball fans) are all pulling for "Mr. Oden" to come back, bigger and stronger, with a well rested body, for the remainder of the season. All eyes will be on Oden, when he emerges from the tunnel, in two to four weeks.

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TITANS SHOW THE AFC WHO IS BOSS

Don't look now, but the Tennessee Titans have finally bucked the AFC "non-challenged" moniker, off of their backs. On Monday Night Football, in prime time, the Titans smacked the Indianapolis Colts, 31-21. The Titans season began, in a very auspicious way, with the physical and emotional injury to franchise QB, Vince Young. Sportswriters, then began with quips like, "they have not played anyone" and "wait until the Colts come to town." Well, the Colts have come and gone, and the Titans are 7-0.

Monday Night, the Titans were hitting on all cylinders, with a mounting offense, hard hitting defense, and even some highlight reel plays (which most feel is odd, as the Titans are not looked at, as an offensive team). The beginning of the game started off with an "uh-oh" type feel, with Peyton Manning hitting Dallas Clark with two TD throws, in the sending the Colts out to a 14-6 lead (with the Titans only getting two Bironas FGs), just into the third quarter. Then everything change. It really was not like the defense wasn't doing their job, in those opening quarters, they were just missing. An interception slipping out of Michael Griffins hands, Haynesworth and the D-line just missing Manning in the pocket, and they were "keeping things close."

Then the Titans showed the rest of the country what they already knew, at this point in the season, "they are the team to beat in the AFC." Given, this is not the same NFL, as it has been over the last three to four seasons (with Brady's leg injuries, the Cowboys imploding, Peyton having "timing issues" and the list goes on), but every Sunday to this point the Titans have gotten it done. After the Dallas Clark TD, the Titans went on a 24 point run. Big LenDale White had two TD runs, one was a spectacular goal line play, where he just stretched over the goal line, after a Manning INT. Then the "D" came into the game, big time, where Chris Hope came up with his first two INT's of the season, in the second half. The second interception sealed the game for the Titans. Kerry Collins was solid with a 193 Yard night (with no ints/no TDs), Chris Johnson rushed for 77 yards and a game ending TD, while LenDale White put two into the end zone, as stated.

Going into the second half of the season, the Titans are ahead of the other AFC teams by a full two games. The Bills, Steelers, and Patriots are all at 5-2, and in their own division the Houston Texans are 3-4. The Titans are a lock to win their division and are looking to go deep into the playoffs. For the first time since Steve McNair's retirement, the Titans fans have something to cheer about, besides the "Music City Miracle" season. They have a defense that will not quit, two dominate running backs (Chris Johnson looking for rookie of the year status, possibly), and a veteran QB who does not do to much and makes very little, in the way of mistakes. The Titans have the possibility to beat any team in the NFL, now. Monday night proved, they can win games with scores which are more than 14-10, or the low scoring games. As long as they stay healthy, the Tennessee Titans are in it to win it. It is just a matter of "any given Sunday," now.

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"Sweet Lou" Loses Game 1 For Chicago Cubs, in Playoffs

The "Billy Goat Curse," a sense of tension caused by a 100 year drought, or just a regular "on any given day, any team can beat another" may be the reason the Cubs lost to the Dodgers (in game one) in the playoffs tonight. The Chicago Cubs came out to play, in game one of the playoffs, and looked like a team facing extinction. In a five game series, there is countless strategies involved, and Lou Pinella can take full responsibility for the loss in game one. It wasn't a curse, no billy goats, history was not against the "loveable losers," instead it was Pinella playing for game two, rather than playing for a lead in the playoffs and for game one.

Ryan Dempster is a fine pitcher, but he is not a Carlos Zambrano. Carlos Zambrano is the ace of the staff, the "C.C. Sabathia" of the Cubs, and he is clutch, a man/player who feeds off of emotion, and a great hitter (one of the best, as a pitcher) to boot. Yet, "Sweet Lou" started Ryan Dempster, in game one. Some may ask themselves why, or maybe they are not giving it a second thought, but there is only one reason. Lou Pinella thought, if the Cubs lose game one, then he will be able to bring "Big Z/Baby Bull" out for game two, and there is a lock. Pinella played for the split, at home, in front of a sell out Wrigley Field crowd, with the best National League team (possibly the best overall Cubs team, since 1984), and there is nobody to blame, but Lou Pinella. In a short series, teams have to play for the day, using momentum, and every single advantage at their disposal. Pinella did not utilize his most prize possession, in game one, momentum and his ace.

The whole Cubs team looked tight, not confident and timid, and they lacked a leader on the field, to pull them out of this funk (from beginning to end). If Carlos Zambrano was on the "bump" for game one, the Cubs would have had a completely different feeling, going on the field. Zambrano is a fiery, no frills, flame thrower, who also has three other dominate pitches. Maybe, three, or even two years ago, Zambrano (like other fiery pitchers before them) would have been "to excited/fired up," but not this "Z". He has been able to harness his most beneficial asset, his fire, drive, and love for the game, to make him a constant top five Cy Young pitcher year in, year out. Starting Zambrano, who had more than enough rest (6 days), who had a 14-6 record, 3.81 era, 130 K's and a 1.21 WHIP, all with a month out in the middle of the season (also bringing a .337 avg., 14 rbi's and 4 home runs). The Cubs are the only team that did not start their ace (with the exception of the Brewers, who had to pitch C.C. Sabathia, three times on three days rest, to get to the playoffs). A team's ace is not always the player with all the best stats, either.

The bottom line, with Zambrano sitting game one, he is not going to have the option of pitching two times, if the series goes to five games (which it now may). 24 of the last 28 teams to have won game one, of a five game playoff series, have gone on to win the series. When the time comes to "play to stay," a team's manager must put their most dominate, player with the most situational prowess, and mostly the pitcher who makes the whole team better (both in the field, at the plate, but most importantly to the team's psyche). Lou Pinella did not only let the Chicago area down, the Cub fans around the world down, his team down, but he also let Carlos Zambrano down. The energy he would have channeled thru a 2-0 lead (after the 2 run homer from Mark DeRosa) would have gone a long way with "Z" and the team. Instead, the constant back and forth panning of the camera, to Zambrano, showed him stewing and flipping a ball in the air, but now his energy in game two will be set to a "can't lose effort," rather than giving him the ball in game one, for a possible win and game five appearance. The Dodgers now have the momentum, but more importantly (Lou Pinella) has given the Cubs a huge desperation feeling of, "Oh no, not 101 years, without a World Series win." Nice going "Sweet Lou," nothing like playing behind the eight ball, but the Cubs would have it no other way.

Hopefully, I am wrong, and they come back and sweep, the next three.

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A Natural Player Will Clark Vs. Rafeal Palmeiro A Roid Player (by the stats)

There are very few players who can be compared over their careers, in baseball, in a sense of a "steroid player" vs. a "non-steriod player" and see almost perfectly what steroids can do. Over a career, there are not a lot of players who balance each other out. Some are faster than other players, others have a lot more power numbers, still some have more awards and even others played in different era's. However, there is an almost perfect example of two players, who fit the bill and are scarily identical. Will Clark and Rafeal Palmeiro, are those two players. I do not know why there has never been a full on comparison, but there is one now.

Will Clark and Rafeal Palmeiro both played their college baseball, were All-Americans, and competed feverishly, for the Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team. Will Clark and Palmeiro were both recruited, as first baseman, but thru superior defensive skills Clark beat out "Raffy" sending him to right field (where Palmeiro was not comfortable playing, but they needed him in the lineup everyday). Both Clark and Palmeiro came out of college, in 1986. Will "The Thrill" Clark jumped right into the San Francisco lineup out of college, and Palmeiro took two years of minor league seasoning (which is nothing, in a MLB career and is not a strike on Raffy). In Clark's first year, he finished 5th in the "Rookie of the Year" balloting, and in his second year he was fifth in MVP voting (as well as, in his 3rd year, 4th year he finished 2nd and was named an All-star). Palmeiro did not step out of his shell until the third major league season, with the Cubs, but was traded to the Texas Rangers (in his 4th year). Looking at the records and statistics of Will Clark and Rafeal Palmeiro, there is not any doubt, Will Clark was a major stand out and was crushing Palmeiro in almost all departments, accolades, and overall leading the Giants and Orioles in offensive (and was a Gold Glover, at first, as well) categories, thru 1992. In 1992 thru 1995, something really changed in Palmiero's game and numbers?

He went from a player that never hit over 26 home runs (one time, in 1991), over 89 RBI's, and had over a .322 AVG. (.389 OB% & ..532 Slugging %), to having standout and double production years? While Will Clark had his most success in his the years, between the years of 1988 thru 1994 (in the MVP race and an All-star each year, but one), when he would have been in his late 20's and early 30's. In that same time period, Palmeiro was an above average player, being an All-star one time (with good statistics, for the time frame of baseball). However, after the strike year of 1994 (when most experts think, the heat was on to "bring the fans back to ball parks, with the long ball"), Palmeiro struck out into the stratosphere. Between the years of 1995-2003, "Raffy the Roid Boy" never hit less than 38 home runs, under 104 RBI's, under .546 Slugging % (minus the two years he had injury problems, where he still slugged over .504). Will Clark in the years after the strike, continued with his regular numbers (that were held as A.S. numbers, until the "chicks dig the long ball fever, Steroid Fever" began). They slowly began to decline, in the "POWER DEPARTMENT," yet Clark (who had 20/4 eye sight, like Ted Williams, his idol) did not hit under .302 (except for one year), until his retirement.

A look at these two players statistics, the way they played the game, the crowds reaction to them, and most of all the way they treated the game shows a lot. Before the Congressional hearing, nothing said anything more about the two All-stars, than "The Thrill" and "The Natural". The two nicknames given to Will Clark, who's eye blacked cheeks, divisive glare at the pitcher and the game, and his heart for the game, defined the game for fifteen years. A player (Clark) who punished pitchers, but was liked by all, stood down when he felt his time was thru with the game. Maybe not because "The Thrill" could not play anymore, but because he had more respect for players, the fans, and most of all for the love and pristine nature of the game, he loved so much. Will Clark is off, maybe in a fishing boat, or in a hunting blind, somewhere in the world, with the same love, respect, and overall passion for life. If only the passion, for the game and the sacred treatment of the diamond, could get players like Don Mattingly, Paul O'niel, and Will Clark into the Hall of Fame, justice would be done. Though, no one will hear Will Clark complain, which is for the best (as he did not desecrate the game, or himself, for glory). However, "Raffy" will always be remembered, wagging his finger at Congress, stating, "I never, ever took steroids." All things considered, Will Clark is probably glad, he is remembered for what he did between the lines, rather for the lies he told (with his body and mouth). Always will an asterisk, by his name, and doubt in all of the fans hearts.


WILL CLARK's STATISTICS (as a professional):

===================================================================
Year Age Games Runs Hits HR RBI AVG. OBP SLG% Awards

1986 22 111 66 117 11 41 .287 .343 .444 RoY-5

1987 23 150 89 163 35 91 .308 .371 .580 MVP-5

1988 24 162 102 162 29 109 .282 .386 .508 MVP-5, AS

1989 25 159 104 196 23 111 .333 .407 .546 MVP-2, AS

1990 26 154 91 177 19 95 .295 .357 .448 All-star

1991 27 148 84 170 29 116 .301 .359 .536 SS ,MVP-4, AS

1992 28 144 69 154 16 73 .300 .384 .476 All-star

1993 29 132 82 139 14 73 .283 .367 .432

1994 30 110 73 128 13 80 .329 .431 .501 All-star

1995 31 123 85 137 16 92 .302 .389 .480
1996 32 117 69 124 13 72 .284 .377 .436
1997 33 110 56 128 12 51 .326 .400 .496

1998 34 149 98 169 23 102 .305 .384 .507

1999 35 77 40 76 10 29 .303 .395 .482
2000 36 130 78 139 21 70 .329 .418 .546

===================================================================
Total Years Games Runs Hits HRs RBI AVG. OB% SLG% Awards
15 Seasons 1976 1186 2176 440 1205 .303 .384 .497 Top 5 MVP (4)
All-star (6), SS (1)
===================================================================

Rafeal Palmeiro's Statistics (as a professional):

Year Age Games Runs Hits HR RBI AVG OBP SLG% Awards

1986 22 22 9 18 3 12 .247 .295 .425
1987 22 84 32 61 14 30 .276 .336 .543

1988 23 152 75 178 8 53 .307 .349 .436 All-star

1989 24 156 76 154 8 64 .275 .354 .374

1990 25 154 72 191 14 89 .319 .361 .468

1991 26 159 115 203 26 88 .322 .389 .532 All-star

1992 27 159 84 163 22 85 .268 .352 .434

1993 28 160 124 176 37 105 .295 .371 .554

1994 29 111 82 139 23 76 .319 .392 .550

1995 30 143 89 172 39 104 .310 .380 .583

1996 31 162 110 181 39 142 .289 .381 .546

1997 32 158 95 156 38 110 .254 .329 .485

1998 33 162 98 183 43 121 .296 .379 .565 SS, All-star

1999 34 158 96 183 47 148 .324 .420 .630 SS, MVP(5) All-Star

2000 35 158 102 163 39 120 .288 .397 .558

2001 36 160 98 164 47 123 .273 . 381 .563

2002 37 155 99 149 43 105 .273 .391 .571

2003 38 154 92 146 38 112 .260 .359 .508

2004 39 154 68 142 23 88 .258 .359 .436
2005 40 110 47 98 18 60 .266 .339 .447

===================================================================

Seasons Games Runs Hits HRs RBIs AVG. OB% SLG% Awards
20 2831 1663 3020 569 1835 .288 .371 .515 2 Silver Slugger/4 A.S.
MVP (5th)
===================================================================

From DMAN, at TheThoughtSpigot.com
http://thethoughtspigot.com/
"Where the news, sports, politics, and public opinion collide in one site"

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RAYS BRANDISH STYLE, OF BASEBALL'S PAST

"Speed kills" and it is also the ultimate weapon, in major league baseball. Some teams are not built for the "chicks dig the long ball," way to win. Yet, they still win with speed, team play, and "small ball." Going into the MLB season, this year (in the AL East), the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees were to do battle until the death. Then possibly the other would be the "wild card" team (with just a small shot at the Blue Jays, in the East, being any kind of problem). However, the Tampa Bay Rays are the best team in the East, and the Red Sox and Yankees are playing catch up.

The last team to look like this and go to the playoffs (and ultimately lose in the World Series) was the St. Louis Cardinals (1985). They were a team of pieces to a puzzle, solid pitching (not a staff full of aces), dominate defense, and HUGE amounts of speed. Through the whole 1985 regular season, here is a map of the Cardinals way of winning. Focusing on steals, batting average and on base percentage (as only Jack Clark (22) hit more than 20 home runs, for the whole year).

1985 St. Louis Cardinals
Pos. Players Stolen Bases Avg. OB%

2B Tom Herr 31 .309 .379

3B Terry Pendleton 17 .240 .289

SS Ozzie Smith 31 .276 .355

LF Vince Coleman 110 .267 .320
CF Willie McGee 56 .353 .384
RF Andy Van Slyke 34 .259 .335
OF Lonnie Smith 12 .260 .377


2008 Tampa Bay Rays (1/2 way thru the season)
Pos.--Players-- Stolen Bases-- Avg.-- OB%

3B Evan Longoria 6 .276 .353
INF Akinori Iwamura 5 .275 .351
SS Jason Bartlett 18 .258 .302
OF Carl Crawford 23 .267 .308
OF B. J. Upton 30 .269 .378
INF Eric Hinske 7 .254 .344
OF Johnny Gomes 8 .195 .308

Playing out the final half of the season, aside from Vince Coleman's 110 (massive amount) of steals, there will be a very close comparison, to the Cardinals of 1985. Scott Kazmir is a solid and sometimes dominate pitcher, but aside from him, there is not a set of three starters, needed for playoffs wins. There is not a huge presence in the middle of the lineup, that is going to bring 3-4-5 hitters, that strikes fear in pitchers, changing a game with three swings, either. Yet, the Rays are the best team, in maybe the best division in baseball. Only certain fans and real hard-core fantasy players may see a big correlation to the '85 Cardinals. However, play out the rest of the season (according to first half stats, for the Rays). There will be three players stealing over 36 bases and another set (4 players) stealing close to 20+ bases.

The 1985 Cardinals (like the Rays) also had defense, just in the outfield, Willie McGee (CF and batting champ), Coleman (LF), Slyke (RF had a hose, and in his prime was a five tool player). Ozzie Smith, a hall of famer and "The Wizard" at shortstop, Tommy Herr (.993 fielding percentage) and Pendleton at third was a very solid player, defensively (having a 15+ year career). Looking at the Rays defense, they are in the exact same position. The team's outfielders can flat out fly and get any ball hit. Bartlett at short, is not an Ozzie Smith (but who is), makes every routine play and sometimes the spectacular. Evan Longoria and Iwamura are rookies, but field their respective positions and play above their rookie status, day in and day out.

It is way to early to see what the Rays will do, having a one game lead, going into this week and playing in the division they do. However, they are in good company, with some of the older teams in baseball's great past, like the '85 Cards, '82 Cards, 75 Reds, 85 Royals (even). Where they go from here, will mainly be decided by picking up some pitching, getting a little luck, but mainly stealing bases, playing fundamentally sound baseball and using their speed, speed, speed!

From DMAN, at TheThoughtSpigot.com
http://thethoughtspigot.com/
"Where the news, sports, politics, and public opinion collide in one site"

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