Categories
MLB General

MLB Cost Index for Mon May 22 2006

Not much change in the MLB Cost Index this week as the Angels and Cubs remain the most hopeless teams in the league with bloated payrolls and lack of wins. Say what you want about the Yankees and their $200M payroll but they will most likely be right in the thick of things in Sept. We’re not so sure we can say the same about the Cubs.

** all $ are in millions.

Rank (Pv) Team 2006 Payroll GP Wins YTD Payroll Cost/Win
1 (1) Marlins $15.0 42 11 $3.89 $0.35
2 (2) Rockies $41.1 44 25 $11.17 $0.45
3 (3) Devil Rays $35.4 44 20 $9.62 $0.48
4 (4) Reds $59.5 44 25 $16.16 $0.65
5 (5) D’backs $59.2 43 24 $15.72 $0.65
6 (6) Brewers $56.8 44 23 $15.42 $0.67
7 (11) Indians $56.8 44 22 $15.43 $0.70
8 (12) A’s $62.3 43 22 $16.54 $0.75
9 (10) Tigers $82.3 43 29 $21.85 $0.75
10 (14) Pirates $40.2 44 14 $10.93 $0.78
11 (8) Rangers $65.5 43 22 $17.38 $0.79
12 (7) Padres $69.7 44 23 $18.94 $0.82
13 (15) Cardinals $88.4 44 29 $24.02 $0.83
14 (9) Blue Jays $71.9 43 23 $19.09 $0.83
15 (13) Twins $63.8 44 19 $17.33 $0.91
16 (18) White Sox $102.9 43 28 $27.31 $0.98
17 (17) Orioles $72.6 44 20 $19.71 $0.99
18 (16) Phillies $88.3 43 23 $23.43 $1.02
19 (20) Mets $100.9 43 26 $26.78 $1.03
20 (19) Astros $92.6 44 24 $25.14 $1.05
21 (23) Giants $90.9 44 23 $24.68 $1.07
22 (22) Nationals $63.3 44 16 $17.18 $1.07
23 (24) Dodgers $99.2 44 24 $26.94 $1.12
24 (26) Braves $92.5 44 22 $25.11 $1.14
25 (21) Royals $47.3 41 10 $11.97 $1.20
26 (25) Red Sox $120.1 41 25 $30.40 $1.22
27 (27) Mariners $88.3 45 20 $24.53 $1.23
28 (28) Cubs $94.8 43 18 $25.17 $1.40
29 (29) Angels $103.6 44 17 $28.15 $1.66
30 (30) Yankees $198.7 42 24 $51.51 $2.15

Categories
Boston Red Sox

David Wells is a blowhard

How is it that the Boston Red Sox have two of the biggest blowhards in the game? Curt Schilling is the biggest media whore this side of T.O. and David Wells will open his big trap to comment on anything.

Last year, Wells blasted Selig on the steroid issue and now he’s dragging ex-teammates through the mud.

You see a little, bitty guy hitting 30 home runs… what, Dellucci, I guess? How many home runs did he hit last year? Twenty-nine. Has he ever done that in his career? How many has he hit this year? So, the numbers have gone down tremendously since all this has come up… I know Dave, I’ve never suspected him of doing them.

Delucci responded that his home run numbers are down because he’s now a bench player. David Wells is such an ass that Red Sox manager Terry Francona and Curt Schilling (there he is again) had to apologize to Delucci on behalf of the entire Red Sox organization.

Today, Wells attempted to sweep the issue under the rug by claiming he was just “making conversation”.


I’ve known David for a long time. I’ve been a teammate. The guy busts his [expletive] in the gym, and he works out hard. We were just making conversation.

I wasn’t accusing him or anything of the sort. So the [expletive] who did it, or the [expletives] who did it, I think they need to [expletive]. And you can quote me on that. [Expletives].

Hey, and you know, when we accused David Wells of being a fat blowhar, we were just making small talk.

Links:
[Philly.com Remarks prompt apology to Dellucci
[Boston.com]: Wells attempts to clear the air

Categories
All Other Sports

7-year-old swims froms Alcatraz to San Francisco

You know what the problem with kids is today?  They’re making the rest of us look bad.  In march, a  10-year-old kid bowled a perfect game in league play and now a 7-year-old boy has swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco in 47 minutes.

Braxton Bilbrey read about a 9-year-old who accomplished the feat and wanted to do it himself. His coach said he’s just an average kid but had “the determination and mental toughness to swim cold, dark, choppy water” and trained for 2 hours a day, 4 times a week.  Meanwhile, this is what most of us were doing at age 7.

Links:
[SF Gate]: Boy, 7, swims from Alcatraz to SF
[AZ Central]: Alcatraz breakout: Boy seeks record

Categories
College Football

Community award winning Alabama LB arrested

Alabama Crimson Tide starting linebacker Juwan Simpson was arrested on Saturday for receiving stolen property, possession of marijuana and carrying a pistol without a license.  He was pulled over by an officer because he was eratic driving.  The officer then smelled marijuana and found the gun.

In today’s world of stupid athletes, this wouldn’t much register on the radar, except that just a month ago, Simpson received the Derrick Thomas Community Award.

In a bid to overtake Eugene Robinson in the ironic arrest category, Simpson was also pursuing a second degree in Criminal Justice.  Good thing he wasn’t pre-med.

Links:
[Montgomery Advertiser]: Tide’s Simpson arrested

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for Mon May 22 2006: Recapping the Subway series

1. Playoff intensity in June: The Mets-Yankees was likely the most interesting series in this weekend of interleague play. While there were two other intercity rivalries, this was by far the most intense. The teams split the first two games of the series with two huge comebacks, but the third game was slightly less exciting. The Mets beat the Yankees to win the series, 4-3. The Yankees offense dominated during the first few innings, yet they were only able to put 2 runs up. The Mets quickly answered with 4th inning homeruns from Carlos Delgado and David Wright, both complete shots off Aaron Small. They produced 4 runs, which was all of the Mets needed to win this series. Tom Glavine, pitching in his 48th MLB season, went 6 innings and picked up his seventh win of the year. The Mets are up 3 in the East now, while the Yanks have fallen 1.5 back of the Red Sox. That could be resolved when the two teams square off each of the next 3 days.

2. King Albert: The Cardinals-Royals “rivalry” turned out to be just as one-sided as everyone thought. St. Louis disposed of the weakling Royals in a 3-game sweep, and Albert Pujols took advantage of KC’s weak pitching. Pujols homered in all three games to bring his season total to 22, which is on pace for 84. His 54 runs batted in also lead the majors. Why aren’t teams starting to give him the Bonds treatment? It’s beyond us. The Cardinals have now won 8 out of 10 to take a 4 game lead in the NL Central. Expect them to sweep through this division with ease unless the Astros can sign Roger Clemens.
 

3. Last place dominance: The Devil Rays may suck, but they can sure beat the other bad teams in the league. They swept the Royals earlier this season, and Sunday’s 3-0 win over the Marlins gave them another sweep. The pitching matchup was excellent for this highly unanticipated game. Dontrelle Willis and Scott Kazmir faced off, and Kazmir was able to add another win to his total. Kazmir struck out 11 and shutout the Marlins to improve to 7-2. Compare that to last year, when in 32 starts he went 10-9. He is quickly becoming the first ace the Devil Rays have ever had. Meanwhile, Willis’ struggles continued as he is now 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA. The Devil Rays now have a surprising 20 wins on the year.
 

4. Return of the King?: The White Sox’s Jose Contreras had been the king among major league pitchers this season until he was put on the DL. Yesterday he returned to pitch against the Cubs, but the results were only so-so. Contreras pitched 7+ innings and allowed 4 runs, and he got a no-decision on the day. It was the White Sox’s bullpen that blew the game, as they allowed 3 runs to the lowly Cubs. The Sox lost 7-4 to end chances of a sweep against the other Chicago team.
 

5. When will 715 come?: It took Barry Bonds over a week to hit no. 714, which he did on Saturday against the A’s in case you were in a coma. So how long will it take him to hit 715? The Giants play at home against St. Louis the next three days, then they play Colorado for three in San Fran. We are just guessing here, but it would more likely come against the Rockies based on their crappy pitching. Either then or the Giants’ June 27-29 series against the Rangers, if Bonds waits it out like last time.

Categories
NBA General

The NBA would like you to know

…that the WNBA is back! That’s right folks. In the middle of one of the most fantastic NBA playoff runs ever, the NBA is still shoving the WNBA down our throats.

Did you know the WNBA starts tomorrow? They got next… they got game… they got us changing the channel. Please NBA, we know that you want to promote the league but no one cares. NO ONE.

(Yes, it’s a slow news day…)

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for Fri May 19 2006: What’s the best division?



No longer doormats

1. Divisional Wars: If you go solely by record, the NL West has been the best division in baseball so far this year. Every team in the West is over .500, and they are packed within 2 games of each other. However, this is by no means the most talented division, as the teams have won games beating up on each other. The best division in the NL would likely be the Central, as four teams have at least 22 wins. In the AL, the East once again looks super-competitive. The Red Sox and Yankees, as always, are battling for the division lead, while the Blue Jays have nearly caught up to both of them (they’re a game out). Honorable mention goes to the Central division, which houses the AL’s best two teams–Detroit and Chicago.

2. End of their run?: The Los Angeles Angels, who have dominated this division the past few years and made the ALCS last year, have looked abominable so far this season. With a 17-24 record, they are battling for 3rd place with the Mariners while the A’s and Rangers dominate the division. Last night, their struggles continued, as they lost to Toronto 8-4. Toronto’s Roy Halladay, who pitched two complete games last week, had a mediocre game in which he allowed 4 runs in 7 innings. The game was tied after 9 innings, but the Blue Jays put up 4 runs in the tenth to effectively end the game. Toronto is in third place in the East at 23-17.

3. Beginning of their run?: The Detroit Tigers, once the laughingstock of baseball, are now rolling through the AL. They have the best record in the entire majors at 27-13, and their pitching staff’s ERA leads the league. Last night, they defeated Minnesota 5-3 to extend a 7-game winning streak. It is the team’s longest winning streak since 1993. Kenny Rogers allowed no runs in almost six innings last night, improving his record to 7-2. Rogers is the first pitcher this year to record seven wins, and he has made the Rangers’ decision to dump him look stupid. If they can continue this at all, the Tigers have a great chance of making the playoffs. Who knows what will happen then…

4. Class of the NL: We knew that the Cardinals-Mets series this week would likely prove which is the best team in the National League this season. The Cardinals won last night 6-3, and they also won the series 2-1. Not even a day off for Albert Pujols could stop St. Louis, as they knocked out Mets starter Jose Lima in the 5th inning. Jason Marquis pitched decently, allowing 3 runs in 7-plus innings. The Cardinals, at 26-15, will likely stomp over the rest of the league again this year. They won the pennant in 2004 and fell just short last year. The Mets still lead the division at 24-16, though the Braves are starting to get on track.

5. DL time is over: Kerry Wood is quite used to being on the DL, as he is injured more often than he plays. Now that he is back off the DL, how many more starts can he give? It’s at least one, because he was uninjured in the Cubs’ game against the Nationals. Unfortunately, he performed poorly. Wood pitched only five innings and gave up four runs, all off of homers. Wood’s usual control problems were not present, however, as he didn’t issue a walk and threw 52 strikes in 71 pitches. Alfonso Soriano was among the many who homered for the Nationals, giving him a surprising 13 on the year. Both teams are still next-to-last in their divisions.

Categories
MLB General

MLB Power Rankings Roundup for May 19 2006

The various sites in our rankings survey publish their lists at different times throughout the week. That should be noted because Sportsline put the Phillies at #2 three days ago. That’s exactly when the Phils went on a 3 game slide. So Sportsline gets a pass this week.

Meanwhile, the A’s and Padres are the odd ducks in the top 10 this week, making only one list each. It’s hard to argue against the Padres who are playing tremendous ball but the As are only 5-5 in their last ten. Maybe ESPN is letting Stephen A Smith do the baseball power rankings now.

Rank Sportscolumn ESPN FoxSports Sportsline USA Today TSN.ca
1 White Sox White Sox Tigers White Sox White Sox Tigers
2 Cardinals Tigers White Sox Phillies Cardinals Yankees
3 Mets Red Sox Cardinals Red Sox Mets Red Sox
4 Tigers Cardinals Yankees Tigers Yankees Phillies
5 Red Sox Yankees Mets Cardinals Red Sox Dodgers
6 Yankees Mets Red Sox Yankees Tigers Cardinals
7 Reds Blue Jays Diamondbacks Mets Blue Jays Mets
8 Blue Jays Diamondbacks Padres Blue Jays Reds Blue Jays
9 Astros As Blue Jays Reds Astros Rockies
10 Rockies Phillies Phillies Astros Phillies Reds
11-30 more more more more more more

Categories
General Sports

The Weekly Sports Roundup Podcast for May 17 2006

Welcome to another episode of the Sportscolumn podcast. If you’d like to be a guest on the podcast (which is recorded Tuesday nights) or you want to suggest a topic, drop me a line at [email protected].

You can download this week’s podcast directly (running time 40 mins) or subscribe to the feed.  

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

This week’s topics include:

  • NBA playoffs
  • Sharks blow it
  • waaaay too early NFL discussion
  • college hazing
  • American League discussion

Hope you guys enjoy the podcast.  If you did enjoy it, please give us a good rating below so we can rise up in the rankings. If you didn’t, send us an email ([email protected]) and give us some suggestions. Thanks for listening.

Categories
General Sports

Three more colleges investigating hazing photos

Badjocks.com posted photos from 12 college team initiations and now the fun is over for everyone. Three more colleges, Quinnipiac, Kenyon, and Catholic University are investigating whether the photos are evidence of hazing taking place.

We don’t promote or condone making people do things against their will but a little underaged drinking and strippers isn’t really that bad. As long as there’s no sticking fingers in players rectums, what’s the harm in a little team bonding?

We have to give credit to Quinnipiac for not overreacting in the wake of the Duke lacrosse scandal.

John Morgan, a spokesman for Quinnipiac — which had pictures purporting to be of some baseball team members dressed in women’s underwear posted — said: “We’ve seen some pictures that have come to our attention, but it’s not clear to us that our baseball players are involved in anything that raises concerns. We’re looking into it.

Links:

[USA Today]: More colleges investigating alleged hazing
[SI]: Catholic U looks into lacrosse party