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MLB General

MLB Cost Index for May 21 2007


The MLB Cost Index is one measure of how well your GM did over the course of the offseason and during the season. The Index takes a look at the payrolls for each team and calculates a Cost per Win number. Pretty simple stuff right? But in the wide open world of baseball with no salary cap, it’s the best way we can think of to judge teams on a level (monetary) playing field.

It’s hard to believe that we’re already 1/4 of the way through the 2007 season. Looking back at the first MLB Cost Index of the season, we find that some of the earlier struggling teams like the Phillies, Giants, and Astros have climbed into respectability with regard to the Cost Index.

Meanwhile, looking at the past week, not much as changed except the Royals making a big leap based on wining 5 of their last 7. Sure, they’re still firmly in last place but if you’re a Royals fan, you have to take any good news you can get.

The complete Major League Baseball Cost Index after the jump.

Continue reading “MLB Cost Index for May 21 2007”

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Quick turnaround doesn’t hurt the Spurs in Game 1



The Spurs were slam Duncan the Jazz
in Game 1.

1. Spurs continue to dominate Jazz in SA
The Utah Jazz took a beating in the second quarter of Game 1 against the Spurs in the Western Conference finals on Sunday and Jerry Sloan’s boys were never able to recover as San Antonio went on to take the opening game 108-100. Game 1 marked the first time that Utah had made it to the conference finals since 1998, and it showed as the club had the bewildered look of a team in unfamiliar surroundings (all except Derek Fisher, of course). San Antonio, on the other hand, appeared to have the routine down as they calmly executed their offense through Tim Duncan who finished with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds (27 pts, 10reb) for the tenth straight playoff game; that’s just two shy of Shaq’s all-time record. This is the fifth time in nine seasons that the Spurs have made it to the finals out west (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007) and they are hoping that their fifth appearance will help to eventually yield their fourth ring. The Jazz have now lost 17 straight games in San Antonio in a streak of futility that lasts back to 1999.

2. T-Mac needs a new coach to hold him down

We all basically knew that the droopy-eyed Jeff Van Gundy had probably coached his final game on the Houston Rockets bench and on Friday the club fired him. Now, with four seasons under his belt, Eddie Jordan from the Washington Wizards is the longest tenured coach in the NBA except for the two guys in suits on the sidelines of the West finals. It’s funny that Van Gundy would get fired considering that Tracy McGrady said that if the Rockets lost their first round series to the Jazz it would all be on him. Guess the fellas in the front office weren’t quite ready to fire T-Mac. Wonder why? Anyways, don’t feel bad for JVG; like a cat, he landed on his feet after the Rockets tossed him out. In fact, Van Gundy spent his first day off from coaching by calling the Spurs/Jazz Game 1 on Saturday for ABC.

3. Brotherly love
The NBA is all about symmetry. So, if one Van Gundy brother gets fired then the other one is probably about to get hired. It’s like cowbell; the NBA needs more Van Gundy. Stan Van Gundy appears to be the leading contender for the head coaching vacancy in Indiana where Rick Carlisle was given the boot after the Pacers failed to reach the playoffs. But Stan has options; after spending Friday in Indy with the Pacers, he will be out in Sacramento today for an interview with the Kings. Looks like Ron Jeremy Stan Van Gundy will be back on the sidelines by next season, and he should be after the job he did in Miami. Hell, if it wasn’t for Pat Riley’s enormous ego, SVG just might have been the first Van Gundy brother to grab a ring.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Deron Williams @ San Antonio 42 min, 34 pts (FG: 13-23, 3FG: 2-5, FT: 6-7), 7 reb, 9 ast, 1 stl

Buzzer Beater: Tonight starts the fifth straight conference finals for the Detroit Pistons as they graciously welcome LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavalier companions over to the Palace for Game 1. And don’t think for a second that either of these teams has forgotten exactly what happened during their series in last year’s playoffs. The Cavs had Detroit on the brink of elimination after winning three straight games to go up 3-2 but, unfortunately for Cleveland they were playing an experienced, veteran club who wasn’t willing to just go away. The Pistons would go on to win the final two games and shockingly eliminate LeBron from the postseason. Both teams have improved significantly last year, so while the series might be tweaked from a year ago, you can still expect to see a pair of clubs not giving an inch in this conference championship. Don’t sleep on the East; this should be another down to the wire series with these two growing rivals.

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MLB General

The Full Count: And now back to your regularly scheduled rivalries


1. Another Yankees Starter: The Yankees have started more pitchers this year than any other team in the majors, with 11. Seven of those have been rookies, including Tyler Clippard on Sunday against the Mets. After Clippard’s first three pitches struck out Jose Reyes, it seemed like he would be one of their better pitching experiments this year. And he was. Clippard was efficient in 6 innings, allowing one run, only three hits, and striking out six. He won as the Yankees avoided a sweep in the Subway Series. The Yankees’ offense featured homers from Derek Jeter, A-Rod, and Jorge Posada as they shelled John Maine for five runs. The Yanks are still 10.5 back behind Boston, as the Red Sox took 2 of 3 from the Braves over the weekend.

2. World Series Revenge: The Tigers-Cardinals matchup was a rematch of last year’s World Series, and the result was a complete reversal. The Cards won the series 4-1 last October, but this time around, the Tigers swept struggling St. Louis. Sunday’s 6-3 win for Detroit was highlighted by Justin Verlander’s fourth straight win. Verlander pitched 8 innings, gave up just two runs, and improved to 5-1 on the year. Verlander has quietly been even better than he was last year, with a team-leading 2.68 ERA. Now they are tied with Cleveland atop the AL Central, while St. Louis is in fifth in the NL Central. The Cardinals just cannot find any starting pitching, and their batter have hit a major-league low 20 homers.

3. Interleague Results: The weekend was highlighted by many strong Interleague matchups. Cross-town rivalries included the Yanks-Mets, Cubs-White Sox, Angels-Dodgers, and A’s-Giants. The Cubs took two of three from the White Sox, though the White Sox won 10-6 on Sunday after smashing Carlos Zambrano for seven runs in six innings. The Angels swept the Dodgers by a combined score of 19-4 using some excellent starting pitching. Kelvim Escobar finished the series with an 8-inning shutout performance as the Angels won 4-1. Oakland won the first two games of their series against the Giants, but San Fran won 4-1 on Sunday behind a complete-game outing from Matt Morris. Barry Bonds continued his slump, and he has no homers or RBIs in his last ten games. The next Interleague action will be the second week of June, with some of these same rivalries.

Player of the Day: Mark Teixeira, Rangers: 4-6, 2 HR, 3 RBIs in a 14-1 rout of the Astros. Teixeira has been on fire lately with 6 homers, 20 RBIs, and a .349 average in his last 22 games.

Stat of the Day: Randy Johnson’s 5.2 inning, 10 strikeout game on Sunday was his first career double-digit strikeout game with fewer than 6 innings pitched, according to Elias Sports. Johnson has 28 strikeouts and is 2-0 in his last three starts.

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Atlanta Braves

Odds and Ends: Clearing up this whole Craig Sager thing

Craig Sager,the NBA sideline reporter with the ridiculous wardrobe, has been getting a lot of play today because it was mentioned that he was one of the people running alongside Hank Aaron when he broke Babe Ruth’s record. You’ve probably seen the clip 1,000 times by now but it’s below if you have been living under a rock for the past 20 years.

Anyway, the problem is that some bloggers think Sager’s one of the two fans who ran alongside Aaron around 2nd base. No no no. Sager is the creepy guy in the white trench coat that runs with Aaron from third to home and waiting to to interview him.

Just thought we’d clear that up.

In other news…

[Hockey Rants]: Mike York’s Wife will kick your ass

[Can’t Stop the Bleeding]: Dough Christie and his wife have a book coming out.

[6ABC]: NJ officials want Rutgers to redesign its logo.

[KDSK]: Video of door coming off plane in Fred Taylor African safari incident

[Our book of Scrap]: This Almost Makes Me Wish I Was A Gators Fan (Almost)

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MLB General

May 18 2006 MLB Power Rankings Roundup

Well, once again, the Red Sox and their .700 record are unanimously the best team in the land. Behind them, the Mets, Tigers and Brewers fight it out for the next couple of places. Not much changed in the power rankings this week. Even the biggest moves up and down were simply by a few slots. The Tigers and Angels moved up while the Twins and Indians were the big losers this week. Expect the Brewers to be knocked down a few slots in next weeks’ poll after losing half of their last 10 games.

Here are the major power rankings this week:

Rank Sportscolumn ESPN FoxSports Sportsline USA Today TSN.ca
1 Red Sox Red Sox Red Sox Red Sox Red Sox Red Sox
2 Mets Mets Tigers Mets Mets Brewers
3 Braves Dodgers Mets Tigers Brewers Mets
4 Brewers Brewers Indians Brewers Braves Dodgers
5 Indians Indians Braves Braves Tigers Tigers
6 Tigers Braves Brewers Indians Dodgers Braves
7 Dodgers Tigers Dodgers Dodgers Indians Angels
8 Angels Angels Angels Angels Angels Indians
9 Padres A’s Padres Padres Padres A’s
10 D’backs Padres White Sox White Sox White Sox Giants
11-30 more more more more more more

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Philadelphia Phillies

Letting it all hang out in Philly


Most TV broadcasts won’t show fans who run onto the field. It’s a smart policy to deter any other fans from doing the same thing in order to get their 15 seconds of fame. So for the guy who risks a $1500 fine and up to a year in prison just to show off his goods to a baseball stadium, the blogs are the last place to turn for some infamy. And we’re happy to comply.

We wonder if part of the job description for “ballpark security guard” includes covering up the junk of pasty streakers. The Phillies all got a laugh out of it though:


It was funny,” Nunez said. “I laughed. I couldn’t help it. He was dancing and moving. He was all skin. I never saw anything like that in my life. The guy is crazy. He either won some money or was very intoxicated.

Links:
[Philly Burbs]: Streaker brings smiles after loss
[Shoutfan]: The Phillies Are Streaking

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Dallas Cowboys

A Cowboy rescues a horse. Go figure.


Big Leonard Davis left the Cardinals for the Cowboys during the off-season but the offensive lineman still owns a home out in Arizona which is where he was on Wednesday. And there is one particular horse, yes horse, named Ranger who is very happy that Davis was in town.

See, the former Longhorn was heading to his home in Chandler, Ariz. after playing in a golf tournament for the Boys when he noticed a horse stuck in a mudhole down the street from his ranch. Being a good ol’ boy at heart, Davis jumped in his John Deere tractor and sprung into action by strapping up the horse and hoisting it to safety.

I was just doing what anybody else would have done,” Davis said. “I wasn’t scared at all. I grew up on a farm pulling cows and horses out of the mud. No big deal.

It might not be that big of a deal for you Leonard, but we think it’s pretty admirable. We’re proud of you, man! At least somebody in the world of sports cares about animals.

Oh, and for all you future reporters out there, here’s an example of how not to write this story.

Links:

[KVUE.com]: No horsing around: Davis comes to the rescue

Categories
Satire

$1M Barbaro Bonus at stake in the Preakness


Not to be outdone by those promotional whores from the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness folks have created their own Barbaro tribute. There will be a $1 million bonus at the Preakness on Saturday if a horse breaks his leg within 6 1/2 lengths — the same area where Barbaro broke his leg last year.

The bonus would be divided among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent, it was announced on Monday. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

The so-called Bamfecta will be paid by Purina Brands, the Preakness’ presenting sponsor for the second consecutive year and subsidiary of Nestle. To pay the bonus, the Missouri company took out an insurance policy.


Scott Lunders, VP of Marketing and Promotion said, “There’s no way you don’t see Barbaro coming out of that starting gate, coming down that track. We wanted to make sure the memory of Barbaro was preserved by putting a bonus in place in case it happens again. It would be an ultimate tribute to Barbaro if a horse would collapse out of the starting gate and that horse deserves a bonus.

Barbaro could not be reached for comment.

Links:
[Chicago Sun Times]: Visions of Barbaro take center stage

Categories
San Antonio Spurs

Is Jesus rooting for the Spurs?

The Phoenix/San Antonio series is quickly becoming one of the most exciting match-ups in recent history and the two fan bases are slowly becoming more and more desperate to put a hurtin’ on the other. But, in reality, there is nothing that the faithful fans can do other than root, root, root for the home team. Or is there? The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio think they might have a secret weapon lined up to help their boys beat those darn Suns. His name…God!

So, will the Lord will the Spurs to victory tonight? Or does he want to see a classic Game 7 back in Arizona like the rest of the nation? Guess we won’t find out until the Game 6 wraps up this evening, but we’re just glad that it sounds like God is going to forgive Robert Horry for his forearm shot to Steve Nash. It would have really sucked to be banned from heaven over a flagrant foul.

Links:

[WOAI.com]: Divine Team Spirit: Local Nuns Pray For The Spurs

Categories
All Other Sports

This Floyd Landis case is out of control


What was supposed to be a small (medium sized?) cheating case in the Tour de France has turned into a year long ordeal by Floyd Landis to find the real killers dopers. Well, that’s not all folks, it’s time to mix in a little blackmail and sex.

According to reports, Greg LeMond (legendary cyclist for you youngins) had a phone conversation with Landis where Landis leaned towards an admission of performance enhancing drug use. LeMond then confided to Landis that he was sexually abused as a child by his uncle.

But it doesn’t end there. The night prior to LeMond’s testimony at the Floyd Landis hearing, someone called LeMond cell claiming to be his uncle and said “they would play hide the weenie tomorrow”. Well, there goes thousands of dollars in therapy out the window. The cell phone call was traced back to Will Geohagen, Landis’ friend and manager. Geohagen admitted making the call and was promptly fired by Landis.

Obviously, LeMond was not happy about this painful childhood memory being a matter of public record and lashed out at Landis and his crew:


It was a real threat, it was real creepy, and I think it shows the extent of who it is,” LeMond said before leaving the Pepperdine law school after his spellbinding day. “I think there’s another side of Floyd that the public hasn’t seen.

Actually, the public doesn’t want to see another side of Floyd Landis. The public would like Landis and his A sample s and B samples and urine to just go away. Permanently.

(Photo note: when we think child molestation, we think Gordon Jump.)

Links:
[Steroid Nation]: Landis friend admits making threatening call to LeMond