The #1 Pick - Oden or Durant?

When the Blazers won the rights to the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, they found themselves with a problem that any team would love to have. Who should Portland take with the top pick?

The two standout choices were both college freshmen last season: Ohio State's Greg Oden & Texas standout Kevin Durant. While the Blazers seem to be leaning towards Oden, a 7-foot man-child, a strong case can also be made for choosing Durant, who has smoothness and skills oozing out of him, a la Tracy McGrady.

In a current NBA fan poll, the question is asked: "Who will have the better NBA career?"
Oden leads Durant by a slim 53% to 47% margin.

Looking at the Blazers, there are two pressing needs. One is for a dominant big man (Oden). The other is for a sharp-shooting two-guard or small forward (Durant). Let's look at the two players and how they might fit into the Blazers' plans...

Greg Oden is the best big man to come out of college since Tim Duncan. You can't teach size, and Oden will immediately improve the Blazers defensively, and has good offensive skills as well. Despite missing some games last year with a hand injury, he averaged double-doubles shooting only with his off-hand! Oden has a fantastic work ethic, too. In the NCAA championship game against the Gators (best front line in college hoops) , he scored 25 points and ripped down 12 rebounds.
Dominant centers have been the cornerstones of championship teams in recent years. Look at the number of rings that Duncan, Shaq and Hakeem Olajuwon have won. We might not see another center of Greg Oden's caliber for another ten to twenty years.

Kevin Durant is a 6-foot-nine wunderkid who can do pretty much everything on the basketball floor. He's a dangerous outside shooter, but has the drive-and-slash game to match. There is probably no one in the NBA who could effectively match up defensively against Durant. He also may not be done growing, which is a scary thought. Durant will probably never be the defensive stopper that Oden will, but he promises to be much more dangerous on the offensive end.

In 1984, Portland drafted 7-footer Sam Bowie with the #2 pick (Olajuwon went #1). The next pick was some guy named Jordan who went to Chicago. Years after Bowie had left Portland as a bust, Michael and the Bulls were trouncing the Blazers in the NBA championship on their way to six titles. Yes, Olajuwon worked out well for Houston, but the point is that Bowie did not. You never know when big-men's knees are going to fail to stand up to the rigors of the NBA game. Oden will be a great shot-blocker, but the Blazers already have a nice, young center in LaMarcus Aldridge. Durant supplies what the Blazers have been missing ever since Clyde Drexler retired - a perimeter shooter who can always get his shot off, or drive by you in a nanosecond.

As a Blazer fan, I'm hoping they go against all reason, and choose Kevin Durant with the top pick in this year's draft.

Your thoughts?

Ventura Highway Meets the Ryan Express

It's one of my favorite baseball moments ever. August 4, 1993.

After getting plunked by 46-year old Nolan Ryan, a young, brash, Robin Ventura took two steps toward first base, then inexplicably charged the mound. What resulted was one of the funniest brawl scenes of all time. Ryan simply side-stepped Ventura's moundrush, got him into an unbreakable headlock, and started pounding away mercilessly on his skull, face, and stomach. I can't tell if Nolan was smiling while he was pummeling Ventura. I imagine he had the same gleeful look on his face that Ricardo Montalban did in Naked Gun when he was about to shoot the queen.

Here's a poor version of the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUfJ1C8pGI4

We should all feel sorry for Ventura, who went on to have a nice career. I wonder if Alex Cora will charge Roger Clemens any time soon...

Jones Achieves Remarkable Feat

Above: Andruw Jones swings at a pitch in Sunday's game

When a player strikes out four times in a game, he is given the symbolic "Golden Sombrero". The sombrero moniker derives from the hockey term 'hat trick', for a three-goal performance.

Sunday, Braves' slugger Andruw Jones did what no player has done since Alex Rios July 29, 2006. Jones struck out five times in the Braves' loss, gaining the "Platinum Sombrero". This award has been achieved several times throughout the history of the game. In fact, it happened four times in '06, but once by pitcher Clay Hensley, and once by Nick Swisher in a 14-inning game. Players struck out in five at bats only 18 times before 1970, but it has occured nearly twice per season since then.

What's special about Jones' performance is that all five K's were of the swinging variety. I'll have to do a little more research to find out how many times that has happened. This was Jones' response to being moved down to the sixth spot in Atlanta's order. I'm not saying he did this on purpose, but some of those pitches he swung at were a foot outside the zone.

Meanwhile, Andruw is having a miserable season, hitting around the .215 mark. In fact, he has just six hits in his last 40 at bats, with 18 strikeouts. If you play in an NL or mixed fantasy league, and Jones becomes available at a discounted price, you might want to consider snatching him up. He has had slumps like this before (see 2004), but he always pulls out of it at some point. He hit .239 in April of 2005 before finishing with 51 homers.

Jack Cust - The Greatest Player of All Time

Jack Cust's resume is not impressive, even though his stats are. Before his debut with the Oakland A's on May 6, he had 204 home runs, but just five of those were in the majors. Known for years as a 'Quadruple-A' player - someone who could crush AAA pitching, but whiffed in the show - Cust destroyed Triple-A last year with an OPS well over a thousand.

Now, getting a chance with his 5th major-league team, he has homered seven times in his first six games for the offense-challenged A's. Not only does he crush the ball, but he also knows how to draw a walk. He can't play the field worth a darn, which makes him a purrrfect fit for those Moneyballers in Oak-town. My only question is: What took the A's so long to call him up from AAA? He's been there a week and he already leads the team in dingers.

Cust is on pace for about 150 home runs this year, and in four more years he will have made Barry Bonds chase of Hammerin' Hank's immortal record a moot point. In fact, if he plays ten years, Cust will have put up almost two thousand homers. The A's will win the World Series every year as long as Mr. Cust is around to knock the cover off the ball.

Greatest ever...bar none.

MLB Player Blogs

And now, for our lite reading section...here are some blogs written by a few of our favorite major leaguers...Enjoy!

Curt Schilling (Red Sox)
Pat Neshek (Twins)
CJ Wilson (Rangers)
Curtis Granderson (Tigers)
Nate Robertson (Tigers)
John Rodriguez (Cardinals)
John Lackey (Angels)
J.A.Happ (Phillies)
Akinori Otsuka (Rangers... in Japanese)

MLB 2K7 ... AAAARGHHH!

Last month, I got MLB 2K7 for my xbox 360 system. I hadn't played it much right away, but lately I've played a few exhibition games and started a team in franchise mode.

I selected 'fantasy draft' and redrafted the entire league. I figured that since this would be a multi-year franchise, I would avoid most of the high-priced players, and concentrate on young, cheap talent. I only ended up spending about 35 Million out of a $134 Million budget. Here are my starters:

C Johjima (injured in 1st game, out for season)/ R. Paulino
1B Broussard
2B Kinsler
SS H. Ramirez
3B Zimmerman
LF C. Duncan
CF Baldelli
RF Delmon Young

SP B. Webb
SP Bedard
SP Sheets
SP Hendrickson
SP Gorzellany

CL J. Frasor/T. Coffey

So far, we have played 2 games in franchise mode as the Cubbies. In our first game, we broke out the whippin' sticks and hit 15 SOLO HOME RUNS to beat the Reds 15-8. I was hoping that hitting that many home runs was just a fluke. However, in my second game, I hit 10 more dingers, but lost 21-19! I have the game on PRO difficulty setting. How in the world do I get this game to behave more realisitically? Hanley Ramirez has 7 home runs in 2 games! Broussard has four, and D. Young has five!
I know that my pitching is not good, and I re-read the manual last night & figured out why I'm throwing so many meat pitches and wild pitches. So, I'm sure I can fix my pitching. But that hitting is just out of control!
If anyone has any tips for a more realistic experience in franchise mode, let me know. I'm afraid to raise the difficulty level because I'm not very good yet...

Today's Games --- May 10, 2007

Saw this on the Mariners' blog, Lookout Landing and had to crack up!

For only $8,325,000
You too can have the following results:

IP H R ER HR BB SO
2.0 7 7 7 1 2 1 (BOS) ERA: 31.50
6.0 10 7 7 1 1 3 (MIN) ERA: 15.75
3.0 7 3 3 0 0 3 (LAA) ERA: 13.91
0.1 7 6 6 0 1 0 (KC) ERA: 18.27
5.2 9 6 6 0 3 3 (NYY) ERA: 15.35
5.0 10 6 6 2 2 0 (DET) ERA: 14.32
Jeff Weaver. So easy, a caveman can hit it.

That has to be the worst $8 million spent in the history of baseball.

Umpire Stats Revealed

When choosing a lineup in fantasy baseball, every little edge can mean the difference between winning and losing. If you're deciding between Odalis Perez and Joe Blanton for your fifth starter, you'll want to know who is calling those balls and strikes behind the plate. If the umpire for today's game has a small strike zone, you might want to sit that mediocre starting pitcher.

Keep in mind that an umpire's statistics can be swayed by ballpark, league, quality of offense and pitching, and other factors. Here are some meaningful 2006 stats for the umps who called a minimum of 20 games (courtesy of Baseball Prospectus):

Highest K/BB Ratios:
Doug Eddings 3.1
Charlie Reliford 2.69
John Hirshbeck 2.67
Brian Gorman 2.49
Bill Miller 2.42

Lowest K/BB Ratios:
Andy Fletcher 1.52
Ed Montague 1.54
Randy Marsh 1.6
Sam Holbrook 1.62
Greg Gibson 1.64

Lowest ERA:
Doug Eddings 3.64
John Hirschbeck 3.82
Tom Hallion 3.93
Bruce Froemming 3.98
Mark Carlson 4.01

Highest ERA:
Jerry Crawford 5.90
Mike Everitt 5.25
Marty Foster 5.20
Ed Montague 5.18
Larry Poncino 5.07

Lowest Batting Avg:
Doug Eddings .249
Paul Nauert .252
Jim Reynolds .253
Brian Gorman .258
Laz Diaz .258

Highest Batting Avg:
Jerry Crawford .296
Brian O'Nora .292
Rob Drake .288
Bruce Dreckman .288
Marty Foster .288

Thus, you can see that Doug Eddings and John Hirschbeck are consistently favorable to pitchers, while Jerry Crawford and Marty Foster tend to promote more offense.
You can find a wide range of umpire stats at Baseball Prospectus, including stats for 2007 and past years.

What's In a Name?

The Bambino and Iron Horse

Nicknames have been part of baseball lore for over a century. Guys like "Shoeless Joe", "Dizzy" and "the Say-Hey Kid" are fondly remembered as much by their alternate names as their real ones. Applying a colorful nickname to a player has seemingly become a lost art (Chris Berman's contributions aside).

However, today's players are not short on their own nicknames. Here are a few of the better known nicknames for current players:

The Rocket - Roger Clemens
Gonzo - Luis Gonzalez
Flash - Tom Gordon
Junior - Ken Griffey Jr.
El Duque - Orlando Hernandez
Izzy - Jason Isringhausen
Big Unit - Randy Johnson
Chipper - Larry "Chipper" Jones
Moose - Mike Mussina
A-Rod - Alex Rodriguez
K-Rod - Francisco Rodriguez
Big Papi - David Ortiz
Pudge - Ivan Rodriguez
The Big Hurt - Frank Thomas
Boomer - David Wells

All of those players have put up big numbers in their careers, and are well known.

Here are some nicknames for players that you might not have heard before (some are quite humorous):

The Mayor - Sean Casey
Shaq - Shawn Chacon
X-factor - David Eckstein
El Duquecito - Adrian Hernandez
Hurricane - Bobby Hill
The Freak - Todd Hollandsworth
Shrek - Kevin Mench
Kung Fu - Magglio Ordonez
Fish - Tim Salmon
The Big Toe - John Smoltz
Ichiballs - Ichiro Suzuki
Reverend - Mike Sweeney

Here are some of the most well-known baseball nicknames of all time:

Charlie Hustle - Pete Rose
Stan the Man - Stan Musial
The Splendid Splinter - Ted Williams
Sultan of Swat - Babe Ruth
Wizard of Oz - Ozzie Smith
Hammerin' Hank - Henry Aaron (and HOF'er Hank Greenberg)
Mr. October - Reggie Jackson
Georgia Peach - Ty Cobb
The Yankee Clipper - Joe DiMaggio (also Joltin' Joe)
Iron Horse - Lou Gehrig
Yogi - Lawrence Berra

and some of the most colorful nicknames:

Nails - Lenny Dykstra
The Mad Hungarian - Al Hrabosky
Psycho - Steve Lyons
Crime Dog - Fred McGriff
The Bird - Mark Fidrych
Space Man - Bill Lee
Wild Thing - Mitch Williams
Big Mac - Mark McGwire
Pops - Willie Stargell
The Cobra - Dave Parker
Chairman of the Board - 'Whitey' Ford

As an added bonus, here's a link to a long list of "Bermanisms", nicknames created by ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman.

What's your favorite baseball nickname of all time? Feel free to add any that I've left out.

Mets Winning Now & Later

Traditionally, the New York Mets have been a franchise that tried to build a winner primarily through free agency. They would sign big-name players and often receive mediocre production in return.

The Mets' squad that easily won the NL East in 2006 was built not only through free agency and trades, but also with superior talent developed from within. Third-baseman David Wright and shortstop Jose Reyes were two of the game's better players in 2006, and should be all-stars for years to come. But, the Mets are not content with those two studs. A host of top-notch young players are already in the big leagues or very close, including pitchers Phil Humber and Mike Pelfrey. The Mets have prospered with their first-round draft picks in recent years, where they have signed Humber, Pelfrey, outfielder Lastings Milledge and pitcher Aaron Heilman. They also signed super southpaw Scott Kazmir in the draft's first round, only to deal him to Tampa Bay for Victor Zambrano - one of the worst trades in recent memory.

Further down on the farm, the Mets have a few very young but intriguing prospects which could ensure the team's competitiveness for many years. In 2005, GM Omar Minaya spent over $2 million on a couple of Latin-American players that were both 16 years old. Let's take a look at those two players:

Fernando Martinez, OF, Age 18
Martinez is a left-handed power hitter who demonstrates all five tools needed for future stardom. Hailing from the Dominican Republic, the youngster impressed onlookers in the lower levels of the Mets' farm system.
Spending most of 2006 between Low-A Hagerstown and High-A St. Lucie, Martinez hit .333 at Hagerstown. There, he showed a wide range of skills, collecting 21 extra base-hits in 192 at bats, including 5 home runs and 7 steals.
At St. Lucie, he struggled somewhat, hitting only .193 in 119 at bats with 24 strikeouts. He also hit 5 homers in the High-A league. When you consider that his peers were 3-4 years older, it's no wonder that prospect watchers are projecting him as one of the best-looking players in years to come.
After a slow start in Double-A Binghamton this year, the outfielder is hitting .293 in 20 games with a homer and three steals. That's a very impressive performance for an 18 year old.

Deolis Guerra, RHP, Age 18
Just having celebrated his 18th birthday, the 6' 5" Venezuelan pitcher has turned heads already in St. Lucie with a 3.60 ERA and a WHIP under one in 2007. Guerra hit 96 MPH on the radar gun this spring, up from the low-90s previously. That has caused some to put him in the Top 10 pitching prospects in all of baseball. He is still growing into his large frame, and needs to continue to develop coordination and consistency with his pitches.
In 2006, Guerra dominated in Low-A Hagerstown, posting a 2.20 ERA, and only surrendering 59 hits in 81 innings.

Pujols gets 3/4 of a Walk

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols barely even noticed the premature walk he received during St. Louis' 7-1 loss against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.

But Brewers starter and former teammate Jeff Suppan did.

Suppan, part of the Cardinals' championship team last season, was rolling along to his 16th complete game of his career when Pujols came to plate with one out in the sixth inning.

Suppan got ahead of Pujols 0-2 before Pujols fouled off a pitch, took two balls and fouled off another. After the next pitch he was awarded first base by home plate umpire Dan Iassogna.

"I was mad at myself for going to 3-2 after being up 0-2, and then I saw him walking to first," said Suppan, who figured that maybe it was his mistake and he had walked him. "I looked at the umpire expecting him to call him back, but no one said anything. I just moved on and it didn't end up hurting me."

Pujols was erased a few moments later on a double play by Scott Rolen to end the inning.

Official scorer Tim O'Driscoll confirmed Pujols, who extended his hitting streak to nine with a single in the first, walked on the third ball of the at-bat.

This explains why the Brewers haven't won anything for 20 years. Didn't anybody else notice that the count was 3 balls, and if so, didn't anybody care enough to say something about it?

Playing the Ballpark Percentages

We all know that certain ballparks have displayed tendencies toward pitching or hitting. In some cases, this is a reflection of the home team's ability or inability to produce or prevent runs. Let's take a look at certain stadiums and their effect on home runs, and see if we can exploit any trends in 2007:

PNC Park - Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates

Construction on the Pirates new home was finished in 2001. Despite the short porches down the lines (325' to left, 320' to right), and the relatively short distance to the center field wall (399'), there are not many home runs hit at PNC compared to other parks. In fact, in 2006, home runs at PNC occurred only about 82% as often as they did at other parks. Blame the weak-hitting Pirates if you like, but consider that there were 26% more doubles hit there in '06 than at other ballyards. That means that if a player (say Adam Laroche) gets traded to Pittsburgh, you can expect a slight Home Run production dropoff.

By the way, the Pirates have managed only six dingers at home so far this year (last in MLB), compared to 12 on the road.

Chase Field - Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks
(also known as Bank One Ballpark, or the BOB)

The BOB was the most prolific park for hitters in 2006, near the top in several offensive categories. When you realize that the other teams in the NL West are not exactly offensive juggernauts, this ballpark is having a tremendous effect on runs scored throughout the year. Home Runs and triples occur quite a bit more here than they do in other stadiums, producing more runs. The BOB also sees more hits, walks and doubles than other parks do. Thus, if your fantasy pitcher is getting a couple of starts in Arizona soon, you might want to give him a seat on the bench.

Fenway Park - Home of the Boston Red Sox

Home of the Green Monster, Fenway has been the host to some of the game's most memorable home runs. Although the Red Sox pitching underperformed in 2006, there were not a huge amount of homers hit at Fenway. The monster takes away a good number of shots to left field, and the cavernous center field turns many homers into doubles or outs. While Fenway ranked 13th in runs in '06, it ranked 29th in Home Runs, and 1st by a wide margin in doubles. Guys like Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis will flourish in Boston, but don't expect them to hit too many out of the park.

Petco Park - Home of the San Diego Padres

Always known as a pitcher's park, Petco has kept Home Run hitters from donning the Padre uniform simply because they knew their home run totals would suffer. Or would they?

In 2006, San Diego's home field ranked a very average 16th in home runs, above average in triples, and about average in walks. The Padre ballpark yielded fewer doubles than any other park, and likewise, fewer runs than any other park.

The NL West is the most interesting division when it comes to ballpark effect. Besides Arizona and San Diego, which were mentioned above, the division also features AT & T park in San Francisco, which was dead last in home runs, but 16th in total runs. Also in the division is the notorious Coors Field, which has become strangely normal the last few years, although it was 2nd in runs and 10th in home runs in 2006. The LA Dodgers have recently been known for their good pitching, but Dodger Stadium was 10th in runs and 7th in home runs last year.