Curveballs and Sliders 03.23.07
Posted by Jared Marcus on 03.23.2007
This week in Curveballs and Sliders we switch around a bit and cover several different topics including Fantasy Baseball sleepers and my own draft results, WWE wrestlers and steroids versus MLB players and steroids and Tubby Smith leaving Kentucky. Plus the 10 greatest coaching jobs in sports.
LEADING OFF
Hello all and welcome to the pre-preview edition of Curveballs and Sliders. Yes that is right, the beginning of the season is now just over a week away which means that next week will be Curveballs and Sliders annual Season Preview complete with all analysis and predictions for the 2007 season. What that also means is that there really isn't that much to get to this week in terms of baseball, so bear with me while I jump around to a few different topics.
THE TWO HOLE
I would like to start by once again apologizing for the lateness of this column. Earlier this week I had my fantasy baseball draft and that took precedence over….well pretty much everything else in my life. You see I was always a perennial championship contender but I have now missed the playoffs in my league the last two years in a row. This season I am on a mission to return to the top of the standings. As I said, I did have my draft earlier this week and it was one of the more bizarre drafts my league has ever had. This year is unique in that the depth of talent is probably greater than in any fantasy league I have ever seen. Potential starters at 1B and 3B literally go 20 deep and there are no shortage of great players in the outfield either. Because of that, many very good players slipped in my draft to the point that is was ridiculous. However, don't by any means take that as a sign of bad owners, my league has 14 teams and everyone one of them has been in this league for years and years. In other words, players didn't slip because of weak general managers, every GM in my league knows every player in baseball, it was just a weird, weird draft. Anyway, here is a look at the team I drafted, again it is 14 team league, with 25 players drafted per team and the categories are Hits, Runs, RBI, HR, Total Bases, Avg., and OPS for hitters and Wins, Losses, ERA, WHIP, Saves, K's and K's per 9 ip for pitchers. Also know that this is a head-to-head league, now here is my team:
C Josh Bard
1B Paul Konerko
2B Ray Durham
SS Stephen Drew
3B Chipper Jones
RF Jermaine Dye
CF Ken Griffey Jr.
LF Matt Holliday
UT Travis Hafner
BN Jim Edmonds
BN Mark Teahen
BN Casey Blake
SP John Smoltz
SP C.C. Sabathia
SP Justin Verlander
SP Anibal Sanchez
SP Freddy Garcia
RP Bobby Jenks
RP Joe Borowski
RP Pat Neshek
BN Daniel Cabrera
BN Gil Meche
BN Zack Greinke
BN Mike Pelfrey
BN Russ Ortiz
Not exactly the complete powerhouse team I wanted, but still probably one of the top three teams in the league. I know what you are thinking…..a lot of question marks with injury prone guys like Chipper, Griffey and Edmonds and unproven guys like Bard and Drew, but I still really like this team. I have a legitimate starter in Teahen to back up Chipper should he go down and I have Edmonds and Griffey for center, so I just have to hope they don't get hurt at the same time. All in all, with a 14 team league of 25 man rosters, the depth that I have is unheard of, and that is what I most happy about. Of course, only time will tell how things will go, but if you are betting man/woman, bet the farm against me………….ALWAYS!!!
For a more detailed look at the fantasy baseball season you can check out Neil Borenstein's full fantasy preview: here
I will however give you some small tips of my own if you haven't yet done your draft. Here are my top sleeper candidates for Fantasy Baseball 2007:
Catcher: Josh Bard, Ronny Paulino
First Base: Conor Jackson, Aubrey Huff (yes, he is a sleeper once again after his dismal '06). Ryan Shealy
Second Base: Jose Vidro, Kaz Matsui, Ian Kinsler
Shortstop: Jhonny Peralta, Troy Tulowitzki
Third Base: Wes Helms, Akinori Iwamura (Don't be scared away by his dreadful spring stats), Andy Marte
Outfield: Casey Blake, Chris Young, Matt Murton, Jason Kubel
Starting Pitching: Gil Meche, John Maine, Randy Wolf, Ian Snell, James Shields, Zack Greinke, Jason Hirsh, Adam Loewen, Edwin Jackson
Relief Pitching: Octavio Dotel, Matt Lindstrom, Henry Owens, Trever Miller
That will do it for fantasy talk, let's move on…………
BATTING THIRD
The big news out of this past week was that several high profile WWE wrestlers (Edge, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio among them) are implicated in an online steroid ring that also involves baseball players such as Gary Matthews Jr. I really have quite a bit to say on this matter and it obviously does tie into baseball because of the link steroids currently have with the game. However, we have covered steroids in baseball enough in this column and I want to focus more on the fact that WWE wrestlers are involved, and I have four distinct points that I would like to make on the subject:
1) NO KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The idea that wrestlers using steroids is some sort of earth shattering newsflash is just insane. Like my friend Pat said "It's not exactly like they uncovered the Rosetta Stone". But the way the mainstream media picked up this story you would think it was the Girl Scouts of America who were implicated rather than a band of muscle bound men who beat each other up for a living. Steroids have been an issue in wrestling (well, at least they were known to be) long before they were an issue in any other sport/entertainment area. Back in the 70's wrestlers like Superstar Billy Graham began taking steroids and everyone knew. In the 80's it was well known that most wrestlers were using steroids, including wrestling's biggest star Hulk Hogan and WWE owner Vince McMahon. The WWE (then WWF) even went to trial for their possible involvement with steroids in the early 90's. To this day, few wrestlers are ever shy about admitting that they had used steroids at one time or another, including Edge who was named in this story like it was a shocking piece of news, when in fact he admitted that he used steroids a few years earlier. The fact is that the mainstream media just likes to take every chance they can get to jump on professional wrestling, whether it makes sense or not.
2) IT'S NOT REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Either the media as a whole is really just too stupid, or it ties into the statement above, that they just have it out for the WWE regardless of common sense. Its hysterical to me that in a story that linked both pro wrestlers and pro baseball players to steroids, the wrestlers actually took the headlines. As I said, the mainstream media loves to use wrestling as a punching bag, but at least mention that there is an ENORMOUS difference between the two. In one of them you are paying you're hard earned money to see what is supposed to be a legitimate, real sporting event where you expect the competition to be as pure as possible. In the other you are paying to see a show. People are angry about steroids in baseball because it taints the game if certain players are using supplements and others aren't. Even more importantly, people are angry about the fact that steroids are possibly tainting the record book and the history, which is arguably the most important aspect of the game (at the very least it is what makes it special compared to other pro sports). Wrestling on the other hand is, dare I say it…..FIXED!!! Yeah that's right, believe it or not, Vince McMahon, the bookers, the wrestlers, hell even the fans, know who is going to win before the show even begins. Steroids have absolutely no effect on the product you are paying to see except for the fact that maybe you are getting more of your money's worth if the wrestlers use steroids because they look bigger and more believable. Steroids may help certain wrestlers get over with the crowd and move up the ladder of success, but that is all behind the scenes stuff that has no impact on the fans. Wrestlers using steroids don't affect the fans at all. It's no different than Sylvester Stallone using steroids to play Rocky or Arnold using them to play Conan, and no one would give a rats you know what about that. So if the mainstream media insists on making this steroid story into a federal case against the WWE, then do so, but at least acknowledge there is a big difference with wrestling instead of lumping them together with other sports, or in this case, giving them even more heat than other sports. It's just ridiculous and everyone comes off looking foolish.
3) THIS IS NOT A MORALITLY ISSUE!!!!!!!
As much as the media may want to make this into a morality issue, it just isn't. There aren't any baseball fans that are mad at Major League Baseball or their players for steroid use because it is unhealthy and there sure aren't any that are angry because the players are doing something illegal. Let me say this as clearly as possible….PEOPLE COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THOSE ISSUES!! As I said above, people are only concerned with seeing a tainted product or being sold a false bill of goods. With wrestling that is not possible because it is what it is, there are no delusions of seeing something real. It is all planned out before hand, therefore no one can have an edge (no pun intended) over anyone else in terms of competition, because there really isn't any. If a wrestler wants to take the health and legal risks associated with using steroids then they can be my guest, it doesn't harm the fans or the product. If a baseball player wants to do the same, I guess they can be my guest as well, after all it's a free country, but that choice should mean that you are leaving Major League Baseball behind. Because when a baseball player does it, it does harm the fans and the product and they should not be paid millions of dollars to cheat people.
4) THE MEDIA ARE HYPOCRITES!!!!!!!!!!
The story is very maddening to me but on some levels it is also very comical. It really is surreal how the mainstream media will bend any fact or change any story to suit whatever message they are trying to get across that day. As I have said, it is no secret that most of the mainstream media either despises the WWE and pro wrestling or pretends that it just doesn't exist. Media members from Mike and the Mad Dog to Bill O'Reilly constantly do things such as mispronounce wrestling names on purpose to undermine the product as well as distance themselves from it. After all no "real" media member would want to admit to following pro wrestling, they are all above it in their minds eye. Yet, then when there is a negative story to be told, like this steroid scandal or whenever a wrestler tragically dies young, all of the sudden they all flock to it. So while they don't even know how to pronounce the name Rey Mysterio or admit that he exists for 51 weeks out of the year, as soon as steroid scandal comes up they use the entire week convincing everyone just how important he is, after all it wouldn't be a great story if it was a nobody that was involved in the scandal. So in other words, wrestlers are not important until they do something wrong, then Edge becomes Mickey Mantle. Again, it defies all logic and common sense. On that same note, my buddy Max pointed out the fact that most media members, like sports writer Phil Mushnick, when they do talk about wrestling in regards to other sports, seem to spend a great deal of time discounting their athletic ability and saying they cannot be considered athletes. They are often referred to as "glorified actors" or even "sideshow carneys". Yet now, when they are involved in a steroid scandal, the media can't wait to compare them to baseball players, football players or any other type of legitimate athlete. So which is it media? How can wrestlers be considered nothing more than "glorified actors" for the last 10 years, but then when a steroid scandal hits it's a bigger deal than baseball players using steroids? Say it with me this time…….IT MAKES NO SENSE!!!!
I could go on and on about this topic as more than anything, the hypocritical nature of it just drives me absolutely bananas, but I will end it here. Suffice it to say, the whole thing is ludicrous and WWE wrestlers should barely be mentioned in these stories as a footnote, let alone as a headline. Let's move on before my head explodes.
CLEANING UP
Again no baseball topics to really get to this week in "The Greatest", so I thought I would tie it into a current news story that completely shocked me. That story is the news that Tubby Smith is leaving Kentucky and heading to the University of Minnesota. I almost passed out when I first heard this news as I had not even heard a whisper of it before it came down. As far as I knew there was no real chance that ‘Ol Tubby would leave Kentucky, but sure enough, I was wrong again. And if the fact that he was leaving the top basketball program in the country wasn't enough of a shock, when I heard where he was headed I nearly ended up in the emergency room……again. While Minnesota is a Big 10 school and a premier program, one that would be a big step up for 250 or so division one coaches, it is a huge step down for Tubby Smith. Coaches work their whole lives to get to a school like Kentucky, they don't leave Kentucky to go to Minnesota. However, neither I, nor anyone else can truly say what Tubby's motivation is and perhaps it is actually a really smart decision. He has all the money he needs I am sure and it's not like Minnesota won't be paying him a fortune, and he already won a title in 1998, so why continue to deal with the pressure and expectations that I am sure drive him mad on a daily basis. Much like the Yankees, Kentucky basketball is expected to win a title or at least compete for one ever year and falling short of that goal is nothing less than a failure. I am sure at this stage of his career he is sick of that and doesn't need it anymore, plus he was never truly embraced by the Kentucky faithful they way most of his predecessors were. Why not go to Minnesota, turn the program around, make a few NCAA tournaments and be considered a God. I really do understand the choice and feel it is a good one, but most pro coaches don't have the same mindset that I do (lazy, aimless, likes to steer clear of pressure) and that is why I found it so shocking, as I am sure many of Tubby's peers did as well.
Well its all said and done now anyway, so all we can say is good luck to Tubby in the future at Minnesota and then wait and see who gets the Kentucky job, one of the premier jobs not only in college hoops but really in all of sports. And with that we finally get to the point of this whole rant, which is, what are the greatest coaching/managing jobs in sports? This whole thing really got me thinking about that and today we are going to look at them in this week's installment of "The Greatest".
Now keep in mind these are not necessarily the greatest jobs in terms of comfort level or even money, just in terms of what they mean in the sports world and the prestige that they carry with them. So without further ado, here are…………….
"The 10 Greatest"……………………….Coaching/Managing Jobs in Sports
(Note: The current holder of each job is listed in parenthesis)
10) Tie: Ohio St. Football Coach (Jim Tressel) and Michigan Football Coach(Lloyd Carr)
09) Kansas Basketball Coach(Bill Self)
08) Los Angeles Lakers Coach (Phil Jackson)
07) UCLA Basketball Coach (Ben Howland)
06) Green Bay Packers Coach (Mike McCarthy)
05) North Carolina Basketball Coach (Roy Williams)
04) Dallas Cowboys Coach (Wade Phillips) – This could have ranked higher, but let's be honest, the fact that Wade Phillips now holds the position really takes some of the shine off. Cowboys fans be thankful that it still ranks this high.
03) Kentucky Basketball Coach (TBD)
02) New York Yankees Manager (Joe Torre)
01) Notre Dame Football Coach (Charlie Weis)
That will do it for this week, it was a shortened column, but again, there wasn't much to get to. Be sure to check back next Thursday though when we present the Curveballs and Sliders 2007 Full Season Preview. It will feature overall rankings of all 30 teams, predictions for all six divisions as well as picks for the playoffs all the way through the World Series. Also predictions for all-star teams and all the major awards, plus much more. See you then and as always, until then………………………………….
