Top 10 Reasons The NFL Salary Cap Must Stay In Place

I know, duh right? But with the 2011 season getting closer and closer with each passing day, I’ve taken it upon myself to take a look at some of the reasons having no salary cap would be a bad idea. Okay, fine -- so I wanted to do another top ten. Sue me! While it’s pretty easy to think of a bunch of reasons why no salary cap would be bad, it’s always hard to compile these things and rank them in an order so people won’t disagree and make fun of you. And by hard, I mean fun. And when I hint that I tried to make it as controversy-free as I could, I’m lying. So let’s just let the good times/disagreements/witty insults roll!

10. The league minimum? Uh, not so minimal.

If you think kickers had the life now, forget it when the league average and minimum are upped due to no salary cap. Such a high minimum salary for such horrible athletes who barely play. Awesome! But hey, at least it will make everyone hate kickers and punters even more and that’s always a good thing! The league minimum and league average should rise hand in hand, since if either goes up, so must the other. And they would both have to go up if there’s no salary cap. So, there you go.

9. Think you’ll finally rid yourself of Peyton Manning? Think again!

The answer to this is obvious, but the thought did cross my mind: Would Peyton Manning finally give up all his damn commercials if his already lucrative contract was enlarged to even larger proportions? The answer to this is a resounding no, which is a shame. Such an occurrence would have been a major plus in the anti-salary capper's campaign.

8. “Hey, is that Freddie Mitchell?” AAA NFL football!

With many teams unable to compete with the rich, heavy-hitting owners, a lot of teams will undoubtedly be forced to be less competitive. The likely solution would be to drop some teams into a IA or AAA type league. While I’m all for a AAA football minor league, having it hold host to the reemergence of Freddie Mitchell, Maurice Clarett, Charles Rogers and many other sub-par former football players instead of it being a breeding ground for not-yet-there rookie athletes would ruin the entire concept. Besides, would anyone even want to see Freddie Mitchell play again, even if it was in minor league football?

7. “Wait, the current rookie contract fiasco could get worse?”

Yes, young man, yes it could. While it may seem impossible for a thing that’s already in such disarray to get even worse, lifting the salary cap would open other fronts in the situation that could damage the league for years to come. With the league average and minimum being upped, the entire draft would basically be a jackpot in which every college football player and their brother would be trying to get in on. Four years of college? Uh, no. It would be more like one and done. What that would mean is less college football experience and less college experience means less talented rookies. Less talented rookies means a shittier league years down the road. As for the current dilemma -- what NFL teams are doing, basically, is offering multi-million dollar managerial positions at top notch restaurants to the best cashiers Burger King has to offer. To be fair, they are Burger King cashier All-Stars, but still. Why in the world are they getting so much money when they haven’t even played in an NFL game yet? And haven’t we learned from the past that there’s not that much of a difference between a player drafted in round one and a player drafted in round five, save for media attention and the desire to succeed? Last time I checked, you couldn’t measure drive and determination through retarded drills with no pads on in Indianapolis. Teams need to stop putting so much stake in what their scouting department says about the players. The NFL Combine is an absolute joke and it amazes me that no one has come up with something better yet. I really hope Matt Ryan pans out for you Mr. Blank, unless you don’t mind throwing nearly 100 million dollars down the drain. Fin.

6. “Wanna go halves on some dogs and beers?” “Sure, here’s my thirty bucks!”

With owners pouring out their wallets in hopes of winning the Super Bowl with it, they will likely need to get a substantial return on their investment through merchandise, tickets, food and beverages at the games. The prices of these would skyrocket to ridiculous proportions. The hardcore, purely fan-filled atmosphere that we currently enjoy at a football game would be threatened due to such expensive tickets. The stands could very well drift into an aristocratic, “Shall we go to the game on Sunday my darling?” type place. I don’t think I need to emphasize on why having football stadiums mimic the atmosphere at Lakers home games is bad, so I won’t.

5. Presenting, The Detroit Zoo Lions!

Tying into number six, owners very well could outsource their team names to advertising companies for even more income revenue. Sure, it would probably seem harmless at first, with something like the Detroit Zoo Lions. But then, it would be the Kansas City A1 Barbeque Sauces. Then, eventually we’d be having games between the New England Downy Softeners and the Dallas Instant Relief Ex-Lax. Um, thanks but no thanks. I’m perfectly fine with some commercials and those ads that are on MMA mats. Keep the stupid product sponsoring where it belongs: In Europe.

4. Like to bet on football? Have fun raking in a whopping $3 when the Dallas Instant Relief Ex-Lax destroy the Detroit Zoo Lions!

Now I don’t want to come off as a gambling junkie or anything, but I’ve bet on some teams from time to time. Thing is, I’ve never had more than $20 to bet, so it would all go towards a four team parlay that would fail miserably and then completely ruin my Sunday. Word of advice: Do not bet on parlays. It’s tempting, because instead of winning $10 you could win four or five times as much. But just remember that you’ll never, ever win and you should be okay. Anyway, with the drop off of good teams to horrible teams being so steep due to the disparity in spending, you can throw parity in regards to your betting out the window. Sure, you’ll have some nice match ups from time to time, but nothing like what you enjoy now. You’d be stuck betting on either the heavily undermanned underdog (effectively losing all of your money) or the mammoth favorite which would net you about $5 or $6 for every $50 you put down. To make any real money, you’d have to put down hundreds -- which would be impossible thanks to that $212 dollar jersey you just bought.

3. The full wrath of Daniel Snyder’s wallet will finally be unleashed upon the world!

You know you deserve a high spot in the top ten when you’re one of the first things and/or people that everyone thinks of when the topic of no salary cap comes up. Would it surprise anyone if Snyder goes so overboard after the salary cap is lifted and the league places a special penalty salary cap on him? You can’t blame Redskins fans for not caring. Either way, Snyder will likely spend his cash lavishly on all the wrong players, coaches and assistant coaches to the assistant coaches. Does the film guy have an assistant yet?

2. Loyalty? What’s that?

R.I.P. long term contracts and home town discounts. Hello short term, no-strings-attached ones! With so much money being thrown around in all directions, even players not named Chad Johnson would be grinning with glee. “Loyalty? Sorry, but I got’s to get my money!” You couldn’t blame them either, money would be flowing around like a Pacman Jones visit to the strip club. I don’t say that in a condescending way either. Making it rain is tons of fun, even if I, unlike Pacman, do it with four one dollar bills. Anyway, don’t expect many long term contracts if there’s no salary cap, either. Why would there be? Remaining loyal and being a team player on one particular team for many years would be a thing of the past. In fact, if you did it in the no salary cap era, you’d probably be made fun of and beaten up in the parking lot. One to two year contracts would be flowing like.. a waterfall. Although skill positions and the super-duper stars would likely get medium sized contracts, everyone else would essentially become mercenaries for hire for a year or two.

1. The 512 million dollar, payroll backed Indianapolis French Lick Sandwiches just won the Super Bowl? Weird..

Ah, number one. It was an easy choice. The worst thing that having no salary cap in the NFL could do would be phasing out champions built on knowledgeable sculpting of the team as a whole. I for one consider this to be one of the best parts of the game. Although other sports require tinkering of the team, only football requires the delicate balancing of 52 players and the placement of the correct people in certain situations. We’ve seen owners try and win with just money and we’ve watched them fail. That’s not how the task should be approached especially when it’s been proven you need to have knowledge, acquire key players and position them all correctly in the chess match that is an NFL season. The road to the Lombardi trophy is paved with hard work, sweat, blood, tears and teamwork. Not money.

Pinstripe Pulse: Yankees First Half Report Card

The first half of the 2008 season has been a mixed bag for the Yankees, injuries, inconsistent play, and disappointing pitching have resulted in their current third place standing and a surprising W/L record of 44-37. Heading into the season, my expectations were not as high as some prognosticators, for many reasons. The Alex Rodriguez announcement during the World Series began a chain of events which would last throughout the off-season and into Spring Training. The departure of Joe Torre, while unfortunate, was expected. The hiring of Joe Girardi as his successor, was unfortunate and unexpected. Uncustomary to The Boss, not only die the Yanks lose out on the prime off-season prize, they lost him to their disfunctional neighbors to the southeast, the Mutts Mets. Andy Pettitte followed ARod and opted out, then opted back in. The ongoing Roger Clemens fiasco. Jose Canseco linking Rodriguez to steriod use. Almost to a man, the beginning of the season was a relief, they could concentrate on playing baseball and forget about all the off-field drama.


(Numbers following the player's name indicates games started at the position)


Catcher

Jose Molina (41), Jorge Posada (21), Chad Moeller (17), Chris Stewart (1)

When the Yankees first announced the signing of Posada to his new four year contract in the off-season, my first reaction was OMGWTF!. After a couple shots, I realized the signing was a good one, for a couple reasons. First, Jason Giambi will not return in 2009, (thank goodness!). Second, Jose Molina is the best backup catcher in baseball, finding another catcher with the same skill set will be much easier cheaper than finding a first baseman with 35 HR potential. Posada has some first base experience, but his longterm future, as the contract indicates, will be as the full time DH. Posada has appeared in just 31 of the Yanks 81 games to this point due to an extended DL stay due to rotator cuff inflammation. Adequately backed up by the defensive-minded Molina, the Yanks have gone 20-16 in Molina's starts. Even more importantly, Molina has thrown out 18 of 43 runners attempting to steal, while Posada has managed to nail only six of 31. Journeyman Moeller has played well defensively when given the chance to play, in the event of another setback with Posada's shoulder, the Yanks wouldn't hesitate to stick him back in the lineup. Offensively, Posada's been the bright spot to date with a .302 average, although with just 3 homers and 19 RBI in 116 AB's, his offensive output has been disappointing.


Grade: C


First Base

Jason Giambi (54), Shelley Duncan (12), Wilson Betemit (10), Morgan Ensberg (3), Chad Moeller (2), Johnny Damon (1)

All you need to know about the Yankees struggles at the right corner is to look at the names following Giambi on the list. Matter of fact, look at Giambi's in particular. At this point of his career, he's a DH. Offensively he's still a force, after the worst start of his career, he has managed to get his average up to a respectable .268, ( he didn't reach the .200 mark until May 19th). As a full no-trade guy, Giambi's not likely to go anywhere, and at $23 million for this year, no one would want him anyway. The others on this list are non-factors and not worth spending any time on.


Grade: D+


Second Base

Robinson Cano (76), Alberto Gonzalez (4)

As puzzling initially as the Posada signing was, at least I was able to digest it for awhile before realizing its validity. I can't say the same thing about the four year deal given to Robinson Cano. This guy is, plain and simple, a bad baseball player. Offensively, his numbers have dropped each year since his apparently unconscious .342/17/78 second season. Defensively, while improved somewhat, Cano is still a below average player, his intangible skills, especially on the bases, are horrendous. He had the distinction this off-season of being the Yankees only marketable player, he could easily have been dealt in a way where the Yanks would have improved themselves at two positions. In four years, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Posada will either be gone or towards the end of their prime, leaving Cano as the cornerstone of the Yankees team. This to me is an uncomforting thought.


Grade: D-


Shortstop

Derek Jeter (75), Alberto Gonzalez (5), Wilson Betemit (1)

Jeter started off strong, his average was over .300 as recently as May 27th. Since then, he has struggled, hitting rock bottom (.270) on June 13th, a hot streak since then has his average back to a more respectable .285. Surprising has been his lack of production, not a homer hitter by any stretch, Jeter has just 22 extra base hits in over 300 plate appearances. Despite being on pace for his eighth career 200 hit season, Jeter is on pace for his career low HR and second lowest full season RBI totals. Defensively Jeter has also uncharacteristically struggled, ranking a shade below average in overall efficiency. Regardless, he's still the captain, the undeniable leader of the team, a reasonable second half will put his numbers closer to where they should be.


Grade: B


Third Base

Alex Rodriguez (57), Morgan Ensberg (13), Alberto Gonzalez (6), Wilson Betemit (4)
Another position which has yet to avoid contact with the injury bug, Alex Rodriguez continues to feel the effects of a quad strain which forced him to the DL earlier this month. Rodriguez has performed adequately at third defensively, coming in slightly above average in fielding percentage and slightly below average in range. Offensively, he ranks second and third, respectively in homers and RBI, and his .325 average trails only Hideki Matsui. Personally, I would like to see ARod blow off the All-Star game to rest his legs, with the game in New York that scenario is unlikely at best.


Grade: B-


Left Field

Johnny Damon (59), Hideki Matsui (20), Justin Christian, (3)

Pitching inconsistencies aside, the single determining factor in the Yankees slow start to this point has been the on-going problems with Matsui's left knee. Placed on the DL this past weekend for the second time this season, and with the possibility of surgery now looming, his absence in the middle of the order, and, more importantly, in the outfield, has hurt the Yanks big time. A healthy Matsui forces a now healthy Johnny Damon back to CF, and Melky Cabrera into the fourth outfielder role his talent level requires of him. Surprising to many, but not to me, Damon is back healthy and playing Johnny Damon-type baseball, he leads the Yankees in stolen bases and hits, and is second (by one) in runs scored, and is playing an above average outfield. During the short period when his knee wasn't bothering him, Matsui was his usual, stellar self in the outfield. With a 100% Matsui in left, and a 100% Damon in center, the Yankees are a much better team on both sides, when one of them is hurting, it shows.


Grade: A+


Centerfield

Melky Cabrera (79), Johnny Damon, (6)

Plain and simple, Cabrera may be the worst regular outfielder in baseball. Defensively, he is below average in fielding and range, and on the offensive side, he is contributing a mighty .312 OBP. All the trade rumors to this point have the Yankees looking at pitching, whether they can turn this year around and make a serious run will be decided on if they can pick up an outfielder.


Grade: F


Rightfield

Bobby Abreu (75), Shelley Duncan, (3), Hideki Matsui, (2), [[Justin Christian, (1), Melky Cabrera, (1)

Abreu had off-season surgery on both knees to correct some cartiledge issues, and his play is reflective on the difference. He is playing his best rightfield since his heyday with the Phillies six, seven years ago. Offensively, he is again a threat, on pace for his first 20 homer season since 2005, and is on pace also to surpass his career high RBI total of 110, set in 2001. Abreu's production has lacked in the past couple years, with his knees being at least a contributing factor, the fact remains he is still a career. .300 hitter. As with Matsui and Damon, an injury or an extended slump would cause serious problems offensively and defensively, but, for now, Abreu is playing his best baseball since coming to New York.


Grade: A


DH & Bench

Matsui has been the Yankees primary DH year to date, and while his .323/7/34 numbers are outstanding, he is more beneficial to the Yankees in the outfield. In his absence, Jason Giambi has been the primary DH, the Yankees are certainly better off with Giambi in the dugout when on defense. Production wise, the Yanks get an "A" from the DH spot, but with the inconsistencies caused by Matsui's health and the effect it has elsewhere in the lineup, the grade drops to a B. Benchwise, the Yankees have already released Morgan Ensberg, signed, released and re-signed Chad Moeller, and have Shelley Duncan riding the express route between the Bronx and Pennsylvania. The great Yankee teams of the late '90's all had one thing in common, a dependable bench. From Luis Polonia, to Luis Sojo, to David Justice, Joe Torre never had concern with making a move. Now, the Yankees have no choice but to keep players in the lineup who are playing with injuries and otherwise should be resting.


Grade: B


Pitching

In the Yanks 82 games to date, eleven pitchers have started at least one game. By reflection, the Red Sox have used eight starters, Tampa seven, the White Sox six, and the Angels seven. Unexpected injuries, (Philip Hughes and Ian Kennedy), and inconsistent performance has the Yankees dialing up the Scranton-Wilkes Barre express far more than they would have liked. This is a team expected to be right in the thick of the race all season, and working on a streak of thirteen consecutive postseason appearances, yet they've called upon the likes of Darrell Rasner, Dan Giese and the immortal Sidney Ponson to start games? Of the seven pitchers to start five or more games, only Joba Chamberlain and Chien-Ming Wang have allowed fewer hits than innings pitched. With the only marketable trade options being from the AL, the Yanks hope for the rest of the season pitching wise is a quick return to health for Hughes or Kennedy.


Grade: C


Bullpen

Mariano Rivera is a perfect 22-22 in save opportunities, with a 0.74 ERA and just 17 hits allowed in 36 1/3 innings. His most telling stat, however, is not that he has finished 33 of his 34 appearances, is twelve of his appearances were not save opps, or almost 35% of his total. By comparison, Francisco Rodriguez, has finished 34 of his 38 appearances, with 35 being save opps, or 93%. At 38 years of age, the Yanks should be looking to reduce Mo's workload, not increase it with unnecessary innings. The rest of the bullpen has been abysmal at best. Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy Hawkins have contributed nothing but headaches and are clearly past their primes, (if they ever had one). Only Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras have pitched with any reasonable consistency, it would be nice if they could pitch every day, unfortunately this isn't a feasible option.


Grade: D


Manager

Joe Girardi is not the right guy for this team. Maybe Don Mattingly voiced his personal, off-field issues to Brian Cashman before hand, thus eliminating himself from consideration. Maybe Girardi was signed because he was cheap. Either way, his micro-management has already fractured the clubhouse, and his questionable decisions on the field certainly aren't winning him any friends either. I have no doubt Girardi is an up and coming managerial prospect, he's just not in the right place for his skills.


Grade: C-


Second Half Outlook

Last year at this time, the Yankees were 38-41 and ten and a half games behind the Red Sox. Despite a third place standing now, they're six games over .500 and trail the Rays by just five and a half games. Their second half schedule is a mixed bag of good and bad. Out of their remaining 71 second half games, just 38 are against teams with winning records, with 20 of those at home. Other than a one game makeup of a rainout with Detroit, the Yanks are done for the season with the Tigers and Indians. The only concern is six of their nine remaining games with the Red Sox are in Beantown, and six of ten with the Angels are in LA. Although overall they have more home games in the second half than roadies, most of their road schedule takes place in September.

If Matsui has knee surgery and misses most of, if not all of, the second half, the Yanks may not be able to replace him sufficiently enough to pick up ground. Trade rumors have both the Red Sox and Rays making moves before the deadline, if the Yanks stand pat their chances of catching either one are slim. It's likely both Minnesota and Chicago will fade, leaving the likely wild card winner coming from the East. Despite a closer standing and a better record, the Yanks are farther away from the postseason this year at the same time than last.
My original prediction this year was the Yanks finishing third, barring a Mark Teixeira or Roy Oswalt type acquisition, I don't see them finishing any higher than that, regardless of what Tampa and Boston do, or don't do. Overall, I would say while their W/L record is a bit surprising, their place in the standings isn't.


Overall First Half Grade: C

Authored by Chuck but posted by Josh due to technical difficulties.

Daily Video: Jim Rome "Layeths the Smacketh Down" on Tom Brady's 1st...errr...3rd Option

Oh, you heard me right. Our fellow blogspotians at "HuggingHaroldReynolds" decided to watch Jim Rome Today.

Ok, stop laughing.

Anyway, while we agree, its stunning that anyone actually watches Rome is Burning, its pretty awesome when another well known media douche bag digs deep into the Pats. And naturally the Patriots "Nation" (or whatever they'd like to be called) is a little uppity. We're so glad Wes Welker knows so much about championships...probably just as much as most Eagles...and their fans...

And while I have a tendency to disagree with Rome on a lot and as a fan I'd like to believe that some players care more about rings than money, the fact of the matter is Rome's pretty much dead on...and Samuel already has rings, so why not?

Click here to see the video courtesy of HuggingHaroldReynolds!

Top 5 Free Agents On The Market

Monday evening they declared, and now the bidding wars have begun. NBA free agency opened up, and there is some solid talent out there. The biggest question is will your team be able to land that talent and change the fortune of your favorite team? Just look at what the Celtics did with their free agent acquisitions.

1) Elton Brand: I did not see this one coming, Brand still had a year on his contract with the Clippers, and he is coming off major surgery on his Achilles heel. However, all indications are his injuries are healing well. Brand is a very big fish and will make an immediate impact on any team. The problem is he will want max money and not many will be able to afford him, most likely Brand will resign with the Clippers, but test the waters just helps him to get the most money possible.

2) Baron Davis: Despite telling Dan Patrick he would be a Warrior just last week, Davis chose to opt out in Golden State. There is no doubt that Davis is one of the top scoring point guards in the league. However, due to his style of play it is difficult to place him on most rosters if they run a set system offense. That won’t stop him from getting a big payday. It is doubtful that will be with Golden State as both sides are far from agreeing on a deal, and this will be a setback to what the Warriors began.

3) Gilbert Arenas: Agent 0 has made a name for himself in the last two years with his ability to hit clutch shots and be a prolific scorer. He was slowed by knee injuries this past season, but even with that, he was a threat when he had the ball in hand. In many ways Arenas and Davis are cut from the same mold. I personally like Arenas a bit more to build a team around but because he is already closer to a deal he is knocked down a peg on this list. The Wizards have offered Gilbert 124 million in a max deal and are awaiting his arrival in China where he will talk on the phone with GM Ernie Grunfield. With Antwan Jamison already resigned the safe money says Agent 0 will go to work in D.C. again next year.

4) James Posey: Posey is not the most talented free agent available but he may be the best overall basketball player. He knows how to fit in and play a roll and give a team the boost they need. He was a staple in the Celtics lineup and as good a reason as any as to why they won their championship this past season. Look for some team to pay him starter money, when he really a 6^th man. Good for James though.

5) Corey Maggette: Personally I have never been a fan of Maggette’s play. I still believe a couple more seasons at Duke would have done him well. Nonetheless, he is an athlete and he can handle the ball well as well as put it in the bucket. His asking price is too high but if a team can get him to come down in price he could turn out to be a real steal.

Notable Mentions: Kurt Thomas, Beno Udrih, Michael Finley

It's Beautiful. Why Must They Ugly It Up?

I have been priviledged to see the mercurial rise of the lowly "Devil Rays" and the blossoming of the new "It" team from very close and from far away. Sure I was shit-lucky in having Matt Silverman accidentally "win" me and my services. But I really did ask for it. I DARED someone to make me a Rays fan.

And I have LOVED every second of it!

I didn't Fear what the consequences were. Nor do I Fear the reality that is Here.

The Ugly Duckling has effectively shed it's downy chick feathers, has leapt from the nest of 5th place (hey, at least they were never WORSE than 5th!!!) and now swims gracefully atop the rising tide of the AL East. And the Swan is just learning how to preen it's beautiful feathers...
Yet, as quickly as a national media can corner a story ("Holy Crap! the Rays -blah, blah blah- for the first time in Franchise history!"), they can just as quickly smother it.

I have seen the following words in the afterglow of the national media spotlight:

"The Rays winning is BAD for baseball"

"I'm sick of hearing about the Rays, Rays, Rays"

"They're going to blow it anyway and be in last place by September"

Seriously.....?

Grapes can make a beautiful wine. Even a tasty red wine that Joe Maddon would have ready to un-cork in his office after another satisfactory win.

Grapes however can also be sour. Why must people thrash, flail and essential deny reality when it comes to CHANGE? Why does Fear thrive in a world where information and knowledge can be obtained faster than ever?

Face reality. Embrace reality. The Rays are Here. The Rays will continure to be Here and the Future of the AL East will revolve around the Continuation of what has already begun. This team wasn't built for 2008. This team was built for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and beyond.

This team was built to be the New Atlanta Braves... to win perennially in a market oversaturated with poor attitudes and a long history of losing. Look at what the Braves did for the 20 years prior to 1991 and see if it reeks familiar.

There is no other team in baseball with more young, developing, talented pieces producing Now (a.k.a "Here"). There is NO team in the game with more prospective pieces that are developing and ready to be chips to fill the gaps and/or be traded to fill gaps.

The Rays have seriously built this team the Right way. The players play the Right way. They are building a foundation of high quality baseball for years to come.

I have to say, having the Rays become the sudden media darling has been a wonderful exercise in determining which national journalists are full of shit and which actually might know their shit...

If you think THAT is bad for baseball - well then maybe YOU are bad for baseball!!!!!

Go RAYS!!!!

- - - - - Manny Stiles, your brother in the fight against the ignorance...


P.S. - 9=8 minus 7 = We Are One Team

SI.com Calls it...Rays Going to Play Entire Regular Season Schedule

This little snipit is from SI.com’s John Donovan front page story today. Believe it or not, the Rays may be playing in September…coincidently, they’ll be doing it for the 10th time in franchise history.

Don’t blame Donovan, his article was coherent and thorough, but you’d think the other editors would at least reread a sentence before hitting the “Ok” button.

But more surprising is that Time Warner hasn’t allowed SI to go the way of CNN…Which is to allow publishing of stupid headlines and then when someone realizes their editor made a boo-boo, they slap a little “Buy a T-shirt of this so you have proof we’re dumbasses” on it and call it a day…

And I thought Capitalism was all charm…

Baseball Notebook

It looked like a typical ending to a Reds game last night with the Reds trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the ninth inning. Ken Griffey Jr. wrote a different ending to the usual scenario by hitting a two run walkoff homer that gave the Reds a 4-3 win over the Pirates. Even more important the homer lifted the Reds out of last place to a one point lead over the Pirates. The Reds are only a game and a half behind the fourth place Astros in the NL Central.

Rays Defeat Red Sox 5-4
Upton, Gross Hit Homers

The Tampa Bay Rays took a 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox as they stretched their lead over the Red Sox to a game and a half. James Shields 6-5 outpitched Justin Masterson 4-2 and is 2-2 against the Red Sox this season.

I have to admit I was not too enamored with the Rays trading for Gabe Gross but it has turned out to be a good move for the Rays and for Gross. In 43 at bats with the Brewers Gross hit .209 with no homers and 6 RBI's. In 127 at bats with the Rays Gross has hit 6 homers and drove in 20 runs and is slugging .449 after slugging .279 with the Brewers. B.J. Upton also homered for the Rays.

Willy Aybar may not have done anything spectacular while filling in for Carlos Pena but is hitting .264 and has a respectable .361 on base percentage and has more walks than strikeouts. The depth of this team is really showing with the loss of Pena not being that noticeable. This is a solid team and I expect them to be in the playoffs in 2008.

Around the Bases

Mike Mussina 10-6 had a quality start yesterday against the Rangers but the Yankees offense could only manage four hits off of Rangers pitching. Scott Feldman 2-3 won for the first time since May 9th. He had 2 losses and 6 no decisions since his last win. Alex Rodriguez hit his 16th homer of the season which moved him into a five way tie for fourth place in AL behind league leaders Josh Hamilton, Grady Sizemore and Carlos Quentin. He has 44 RBI's which is 36 behind AL leader Hamilton who has 80. 22 American Leaguers have more RBI's than Rodriguez this season.

The White Sox jumped out to a 8-1 lead and then hung on to win 9-7 as they defeated the Indians in a AL Central contest. Jim Thome hit his 16th homer and the 523rd of his career. If Thome hits 600 homers he should strengthen his chance for the Hall of Fame even though he needs 1019 more hits to reach 3000 hits and with him turning 38 in August that is very unlikely.

Nick Swisher ended his best month of the season with a grand slam homer and drove in 5 runs giving him 7 homers and 23 RBI's for the month after having only one homer and 6 RBI's in May and hitting .176. He hit .315 in June and slugged .630. Gavin Floyd 9-4 is making a bid for the AL comeback player of the year after having a 1-5 record in 2007. The White Sox win coupled with the Tigers defeat of the Twins yesterday moved the White Sox to 2 1/2 games ahead of the Twins.

Tonights game will feature John Danks 5-4 who has allowed a total of one run in his last 3 starts encompassing 18 innings. Danks will be facing Cliff Lee 11-1 who lost only once in the first half of the season and is second in AL in ERA with a 2.34 and Danks is third with a 2.62 ERA.

The Tigers won their 6th in a row as they moved to within 2 1/2 games of the second place Twins in the AL Central....Rays are 7-3 in their last ten games while the Yankees, Orioles and Red Sox are 4-6 in their last ten games....Brewers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning but lost to the Diamondbacks 6-3 with Dave Bush 4-8 reminding Brewers fans of how much they miss Yovani Gallardo who hasn't pitched May 1st.

Greg Smith 5-6 of the A's is 11th in the AL in ERA with a 3.44 mark among pitchers with enough innings pitch to qualify for the lead. The A's made a wise decision to move Justin Duchscherer to the starting rotation. He has far exceeded their expectations and he is only pitcher in majors with an ERA of under 2.00 with a 1.99 ERA.

Tonight's Top Pitching Matchups

The best pitching matchup of the day should be when Cliff Lee 11-1 takes the mound against John Danks 5-4. Lee is 2nd in ERA in AL with 2.34 mark while Danks is 3rd with a 2.64 ERA....In a game that the matchup is not that great but it is a very important start for Edinson Volquez 10-3. After having his worst start of the season against the Blue Jays when he gave up 5 runs and 6 hits in 4 innings and struck out no batters this game could be crucial for Volquez to get back on the winning track. Confidence is a pitcher's best friend along with double plays and if Volquez loses the confidence he had before the bad start last week he could see a reversal of fortune in the second half of the 2008 season. Zach Duke 4-5 will be his opponent tonight.

Rich Harden 5-0 will face the Angels and Ervin Santana 9-3 in a very important game for the A's who need to stay close to the Angels....

Who Would Have Thought?.....

That the Rays would have a 50-32 record on July 1st and a game and a half ahead in the AL East over the Red Sox after having a 33-47 record last July 1st and 16 games behind those same Red Sox....That the 49-32 first place Indians on July 1st last season would be the last place Indians of this year on the same date with a 37-46 record and 10 1/2 games behind the first place White Sox.

That Barry Zito, Aaron Harang, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz would have only 12 wins between them at the halfway mark of the season with Brandon Webb winning 12 games by himself this season....That Carlos Quentin who hit .214 and hit 5 homers and drove in 31 runs in 2007 would in half a season with the White Sox have 19 homers, 61 RBI's and hit .284 in only 56 more at bats....That Kyle Lohse would have a 10-2 record after not having a winning season since 2003 and a 32-48 record since the start of the 2004 season.

That Josh Hamilton in half a season has equaled his total of 19 homers last season and has 33 more RBI's in only 29 more at bats than last season and that with 102 hits could have a 200 hit season after having only 87 hits in all of last season....That Dan Uggla who had 31 homers and 88 RBI's in a full season would have 23 homers and 58 RBI's at the halfway mark of the 2008 season....That Chase Utley's 23 homers this season is one more than he hit all of last season.

That Tim Lincecum would be leading the NL in strikeouts with 114 at halfway mark after having 150 all of last season....That Cliff Lee would be 11-1 after a 5-8 season last year. The Indians even sent Lee to the minors last season he was pitching so badly. His 2007 ERA of 6.29 would be almost four runs per game lower this season with a 2.34 ERA good for second in the AL behind Justin Duchscherer who has the only sub 2.00 ERA this season with a 1.91 mark.

That Cristian Guzman would be leading the majors in hits with 112 hits after having 57 all of ast season....That Ian Kinsler who had 127 hits last season already has 111 this season....That Jose Guillen had 28 doubles in 593 at bats last season has 28 doubles in only 324 at bats this season....That Ryan Braun had 7 homers and 25 RBI's at the end of June last season but has 20 homers and 58 RBI's at the end of June this season and finished last season with 34 homers and 97 RBI's.

That Chipper Jones would be leading the NL in batting average with a .394 mark while the AL leaders Hideki Matsui and Joe Mauer are hitting .323 which 71 points lower than Jones. That despite the wide lead in batting average the NL has only 13 hitters hitting over .300 while the AL has 18 hitters hitting over .300.

That the Rangers lead the majors in runs with 458 while the Nationals are the worst with only 305 runs....That the Marlins lead the majors in homers with 119 while the Giants and Dodgers are last with 53 each....That the Rays lead the majors in stolen bases with 88 in 82 games while the Pirates have 23 in 82 games.

That Barry Zito is 16th among Giants pitchers this year in ERA with a 5.99 ERA and that he had 131 strikeouts to 81 walks last season but this season has 53 walks to 50 strikeouts and that his two wins this month came against last place Indians and Nationals. Despite his problems this season he has given up only 3 homers in his last 9 starts which encompasses 45 innings. Zito has not pitched 7 complete innings yet this season.

Your Daily "Linkin' Logs" (7/1/2008)

Another day, another set of Linkin' Logs. This time BNB steps into the realms of July and the good news is the site's been in existence to the point where we inexplicably post enough stuff to read daily.

On a serious note, one of our (my) goals at BNB is to not only give you some of the more interesting headlines in the world, but to have some fun...because its sports...and win or lose, it doesn't really matter...

With that said, on to the links!

• Janny Hu of the San Fran Chronicle let's us know how Baron Davis's 40 shots a game will most likely be leaving the Golden State...coincidently, he's also refusing more money than many will make in a lifetime
• Jose De Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle informs us that the MLB Players Union will be providing a staunch middle finger to things like ethics, morals and what have you as they file a grievance on behalf of Shawn Chacon...if only we knew what the grievance was for...
• Regardless of statistics, mindless Red Sox fans have managed to place David Ortiz in the All-Star game, but Jeff Horrigan of the Boston Herald let's us know Ortiz is still out and Mark Feinsand of the NY Times gives us the details on A-Rod pussing out on the Home Run Derby (A.K.A. Fun Time)
• As Reported by Mark Berman of the New York Post, King James lets us know his 2010 free agency plans may include New York...but his favorite Burough isn't Manhattan
• Mike Underwood of the Boston Herald tells us this time a Patriot us upset that someone else is cheating!
• Kurt Mensching of the Marquette Mining Journal gives us the scoop on what Mooch really thought of Matt Millen and the Ford Family...fact of the matter is, he's got the same opinion as most of Detroit
• The AP of Minnesota tells us the T-Wolves aren't attempting to resign everyone...I'll give you a hint, its an underachieving point guard who didn't go to college...
• Phillies Beat Writer Todd Zolecki (Of Philly Inquirer Fame) reports Jimmy Rollins is talking again, and this time he thinks the Phillies need to get some pitching...duh Jimmy
• Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News furthers the truth that the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys are total dicks...I would never pay $2,000 a piece for the rights to purchase tickets...(scroll down a few articles)
• And the Associated Press tells us that the Punch Out! Champ might be in more legal trouble...I'm talking bigger than Robin Givens legal trouble