This is a topic that just will not go away. Every time I think and hope it fades away, it pops back up. The topic is similar to another in its persistence – Brett Favre. It is like steroids. It is just a plain ole’ bad penny… it is always showing up! Yes, we are talking about Congress getting involved in sports issues. Either the Mountain West Conference commissioner is presenting a playoff scenario to Congress, or a former beloved slugger shows up on Capitol Hill to say, “I’m not here to talk about the past.” These situations are in addition to the issues and past occurrences brought up by Sports Geek in the debate intro.
Political figures do get involved in sports. While I am always weary of that fact, I do not really have a problem with First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden coming to the World Series tonight, even though I doubt they have any rooting interest in the game. They are, after all, planning on visiting a veteran’s medical center later this afternoon, and they are to be commended for that. But, for Congress to have any say in any sports topics and issues is wrong and totally unnecessary.
I have looked far and wide in researching this particular debate and nowhere did I see that one of the roles of Congress has is to intervene in sports activities. The United States Congress has several powers and all of those powers, either directly or indirectly, are tied to the federal government. The BCS system, and any type of playoff system in college football, have absolutely NOTHING to do with the federal government. Steroids in sports have absolutely NOTHING to do with the federal government.
And before you say it… I will go ahead and say it for you – this is a sports blog and we call it The Sports Debates. It is not The Political Debates and it is not Capitol Hill Debates. In the same sense, Congress is a group of politically-minded men and women. Senators and representatives are experienced at making decisions regarding what they and their constituents believe is best interest of our country. They have studied the numbers and studied the laws of our Constitution. They are well-qualified to make those decisions (well, some of them at least!).
What members of Congress are not qualified to do is make decisions involving athletics and sports. Do members of Congress have time to analyze what is best for a particular sport? Sports Geek, Bleacher Fan, and I watch countless hours of college football and then read numerous articles about what we have watched every week and college football in general. To this day we have yet to figure out the best postseason solution is for college football. What makes members of Congress believe they know the answer
Sports Geek pointed this out in the intro, but it is important to remember that sports, as a whole, are purely a form of entertainment. Yes, jobs are often at stake. But, not to those who are being entertained. My life and well-being as a fan of baseball is not in any danger no matter what MLB does in baseball. Baseball is a form of entertainment and a passion of mine, and it has no business being discussed by Senators and Representatives who are in session.
In case you have not noticed, there are countless other things that DO affect lives and DO affect the well-being of others that need to be addressed while Congress is in session. How about our nation’s unemployment rate during this recession? How about healthcare reform? How about the War in Afghanistan, which began in 2001? Heck, Mark McGwire was still playing in 2001!! These are issues that affect our well-being. Congress, and our government as a whole, needs to protect the citizens of this country so we can enjoy things like sports. The government has their hands on everything else. Can’t the government just leave sports alone? Get your priorities in order Congress!
The 2009 World Series matchup has been set, featuring the Philadelphia Phillies against the New York Yankees. Although it will be torturous for Cleveland Indians fans like myself to watch C.C. Sabathia pitch against Cliff Lee in game one, the stage is set for what should be a very exciting Fall classic! (If it is any consolation, Tribe fans, at least you can take comfort in knowing that Manny Acta is your new manager, and he is really good at… ummm, nevermind!)
Both sides are loaded with talent, but when questioning the most important player in the series, the answer is Phillies first-baseman Ryan Howard.
Simply put, Howard is an RBI machine! During the 2009 postseason, Howard has already batted in 14 runs (which is the highest total in baseball) with a .355 batting average including two home runs, four doubles, and – yes – even a triple for the 255-pounder! He is the most productive hitter of the postseason, and that will have to continue if the Phillies hope to repeat as World Series champions this season.
It is Howard’s position in the lineup that makes him so dangerous (and so important to the Phillies). Hitting in front of Howard are Shane Victorino and Chase Utley, both of whom are batting above .300 with an on-base percentage of .439 this postseason. They should have no problem setting the table for Howard because they give Howard ample opportunity for even more RBI in the World Series, even against the likes of C.C. Sabathia.
Simply having consistent hitters in front of the best hitter in a lineup is not enough, though. Howard also has the luxury of being followed in the batting order by Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez, who have had nearly the same success as Howard in the RBI category, combining for an additional 19 postseason runs batted in between them. Collectively, Howard, Ibanez, and Werth alone have combined for 33 of the Phillies 54 total RBI. With a great supporting cast around him Yankees pitchers will have no choice but to pitch to Howard, often with runners on base.
It is a familiar cliché, “good pitching wins championship.” But, the Yankees and Phillies BOTH have good pitching this season. The 2009 World Series will be decided by the team that can still figure out how to score runs despite the dominant pitching on the bump. The Yankees, a team that is not a slouch at the plate withhitters like Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and Derek Jeter, will manage to put runs on the board against Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and the rest of the Phillies pitching staff. It will be up to Howard, who is the leader of a Phillies offense that is the most prolific of this postseason, to make sure that his team can get ahead early, giving his pitchers the cushion they need to be successful.
The matchup for the World Series is finally set after last’s night Yankees victory over the Angels. The Phillies have been waiting since last Wednesday after defeating the Dodgers in just five games. Game one of the World Series is Wednesday night in New York. I think many can agree that this is probably the best matchup, with last year’s champion facing off against the all-mighty Yankees who remain one of the most loved and hated franchises in all of sports.
Our discussion today centers around which player we think is the key to this series. Who is the most important player? I gave serious consideration to Cliff Lee. What a pitching matchup we have in store for Game one with Lee facing off against his former teammate, C.C. Sabathia. But, even more than Lee, I think the most important player of this series is Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge.
The Sports Debates had a debate centered on Brad Lidge over a month ago. I took the stance that Lidge should be left off the postseason roster because of his ineffective regular season (7.21 ERA with eleven blown saves). But, thankfully for Phillies fans, manager Charlie Manuel did not consider Loyal Homer’s opinion. Lidge has been perfect for the Phillies this postseason with five scoreless innings, three saves, and a win. Not to mention he is very confident right now as he seems to have regained his 2008 swagger. It could not have come at a better time for the Phillies who are trying to enter rare air and repeat as World Series champions.
Everyone knows how good the Yankees’ lineup is, and that they all appear to be getting hot right now. Everyone knows that many of the players are postseason veterans. Everyone knows that Yankee Stadium is extremely hitter friendly.
But, Brad Lidge is battle tested in the postseason, also. Yes, I still think of Albert Pujols’s shot off of him in the 2005 NLCS (still one of the longest home runs I have ever seen), but he overcame that last year. Keep in mind that Lidge is used to pitching in a hitter friendly park in Philadelphia.
If the Phillies can get good starting pitching from Lee, Cole Hamels, and whoever Manuel decides to plug in after that (Pedro Martinez, Joe Blanton, or J.A. Happ), then Lidge is definitely going to get his opportunities. He proved how dominant he can be during the 2008 season and postseason and if he continues his strong postseason this year, chances are good that the Phillies will successfully defend their World Series title.
As I was watching two dramatic playoff games yesterday, I was reminded once again how much I love baseball. What baseball fan would not love watching the Los Angeles Angels win and the Philadelphia Phillies win with walk off hits? Well… if you are a New York Yankees fan or a Los Angeles Dodgers fan, I guess you have not enjoyed them at all! Anyway, yesterday was postseason baseball at its best. I was talking to a casual baseball fan at work one day last week and we were having a “water-cooler” talk about the playoffs. He said, “You know, I like baseball, but that regular season is just so long!” Now, as I stated, I love baseball, but after looking at the length of baseball’s season from all angles I have to agree, the season really is too long!
Bleacher Fan stated in the intro that many of the teams this year had essentially clinched playoffs berths early, and that realistically many teams had been eliminated from playoff contention early. Those are valid reasons for trimming baseball’s season to a degree. But, that is not my focus.
I am focusing on the fact that the longer the season drags on, the more opportunities there are for other sporting events to distract the viewer and/or fan from baseball.
For example, this past Sunday night, a regular season NFL game between the Chicago Bears and the Atlanta Falcons – in Week six, I might add – received a higher television rating than Game four of the National League Championship Series between two big market teams. A closer look at the numbers shows that the NFL game amazingly drew higher in Los Angeles, despite the fact that the Dodgers were in the game and that the Bears and Falcons have no specific ties to the Los Angeles area. Have people in LA, not to mention the entire country, lost interest in baseball in mid-October? If the regular season had not dragged on for so long, perhaps there would be fewer of these postseason matchups going up against regular season football for several weeks.
It has been documented that if the World Series goes the full seven games, then Game seven would not take place until November 5th. It should also be noted that eight weeks of the NFL season (almost half) would already be in the books. This is a full seven months after the MLB regular season began on Sunday, April 5th in Philadelphia. Seven entire months of meaningful baseball! This does not even count spring training! The regular season alone ended on October 4th (October 6th if you count Game 163 between the Tigers and Twins). That is six months of regular season play. That sure seems a little long and drawn out to you, especially when compared to other leagues.
It should also be noted that the NBA starts its regular season a week from today on October 27th. This means that the World Series, the NHL regular season, the start of the NBA regular season, and the NFL regular season will be going on at the same time. Obviously, there is split attention for all three of those. And, unless your team is in the World Series, I am not convinced the general sports fan is going to be focused on the World Series.
If the regular season was trimmed, there would be no interference from the NBA and significantly less interference from the NFL. There would be more eyeballs on Major League Baseball, and I guarantee you that is what Bud Selig wants. The game of baseball needs it!
This is sure to be an interesting and unique debate, and it is appropriate that Sports Geek and I debate it. We both have backgrounds in various types of media, both on-air broadcast and print. Plus, we are both fascinated with sports media. Heck, we read the same TV media columns, including our favorite written by USA Today columnist Michael Hiestand.
Bleacher Fan asks us what qualification makes for a better in-game sports analyst. And to me, a better analyst is someone who has played the game. A better analyst is someone who can break down the X’s and O’s and the nuances of the game he is analyzing. In his intro, Bleacher Fan asks Sports Geek to argue that the better analyst possesses “an ability to communicate in a manner that makes the sport compelling to watch.” The onus should fall on the play-by-play commentator to do that.
Let’s use a couple of examples. I will hopefully prove that this is an excellent way to get the point across and it is something that only someone who has played the game can talk about.
Don Sutton, a Hall of Fame pitcher who won 324 games, is currently a commentator for the Atlanta Braves radio network and very underrated as an analyst. He was and still is a student of the game. What he does better than most is go inside the head of a pitcher. When a situation comes up in a game he will often talk about what is in the head of a pitcher from a psychological perspective. He’ll break down scouting reports of not only pitchers, but also hitters. He often breaks down what a pitcher does – or should do – on his non-throwing days. It really does vary from pitcher to pitcher. He can talk about this and have instant credibility because of his background as a Hall of Fame pitcher. He is someone listeners trust. His words mean more than someone like Steve Phillips when he says something to about a pitcher. I respect Phillips and his front office background. He did, after all, build a team that made it to the World Series (2000 New York Mets). But, what does he know about pitching? If Sutton was not in the broadcast booth, he could be in the dugout as a pitching coach. Having met the guy in person, he is a heckuva nice guy… and even comes across that way on air.
Another analyst and former player I like is Troy Aikman. When Aikman was first hired by FOX in 2001, I thought it was a match made in hell. Aikman never came across to me as someone who could break down a game the way an analyst should. Folks, I was wrong. He has quickly shot up the FOX chain of command and is now the analyst on the lead crew with Joe Buck on FOX. Aikman’s dry wit and smooth persona go along with his deep knowledge of the game. He is able to see things in the coverage of defenses that Tony Kornheiser can’t see (to be fair, that was not Tony’s role on Monday Night Football). Perhaps Aikman keeps his eye on linebacker or a safety from the booth – much the same way he did on the field – and is able to express how Peyton Manning was able to hit Dallas Clark over the middle. These are little things that make a broadcast more effective… these are little things that Kornheiser might study film and be able to say that, but he is not a Hall of Fame quarterback. He is not Troy Aikman. Whose opinion do you value more when discussing football? It is nothing against Kornhesier. I absolutely love him on Pardon the Interruption. But again, he is not Troy Aikman and would probably tell you so.
Imagine you are at a doctor’s office awaiting a consultation with your cardiologist. You are talking to the nurse and she says, “What they usually do is go in and…” Now, ten minutes later, you talk to your doctor and he tells you, “Loyal Homer, I have done hundreds of surgeries like this. What I will do is connect this valve to this valve and…” Now, who makes you feel better there?
Analysts analyze. Just ask yourself… can you really effectively analyze if you have not been in that position yourself? No you cannot!
This is a fascinating situation to me. And, quite frankly, I’m surprised this type of situation doesn’t happen more.
You know, for the sake of “Bleacher Fan has suffered enough” I am ruling in favor of him. Bleacher Fan wins! Finally! No more six debate losing streak!!
Pop quiz… which happened more recently? Bleacher Fan winning a court room debate or the Chicago Cubs winning a World Series? (Kidding of course!)
To the verdict explanation.
I’m on record as saying I am a fan of Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun. I’m a huge fan. If I’m starting a team, I want his bat in my lineup. But, his comments have soured me. He basically threw him teammates under the proverbial bus. Yes, the Brewers pitching rotation has struggled, sans Yovani Gallardo, as Sports Geek pointed out. However, he could have taken up his concerns with them behind closed doors. That, Sports Geek, is what a real leader does. There is no need to air the dirty laundry out in the media, even though the media and the fans love it.
Second, he indirectly put his general manager, Doug Melvin, on the hot seat in public – and that’s a no-no. In any other profession, Braun would have been fired or suspended. He definitely would have gotten more than an “I’m ticked off” comment from the boss in the press, though I admit it is hard to compare baseball to everyday life. Let’s face it, not everyone makes millions of dollars.
It’s Braun’s job to perform out on the field. It’s Braun’s job to continue to put up the numbers he has been. If he wants upgrades, I’m sure Melvin will be glad to talk to him PRIVATELY in that comfy office he probably has. It is admittedly going to be hard for the Brewers to go out and get someone the stature of Toronto Blue Jays starter Roy Halladay. Heck, the only big bargaining chips the Brewers have are first baseman Prince Fielder and Braun. Nonetheless, be a TRUE leader and handle it behind closed doors.
Well folks, MLB has reached the All-Star break. The all stars get to enjoy the festivities in St. Louis, rest, and get ready for the second half of the season.
Five of the six divisions are yet to be decided with exciting races up on the horizon (Loyal Homer has seeded the NL West to the Los Angeles Dodgers). This parity gives a lot of hope to many of the teams and keeps fans interested in these cities at a time when attendance is down six percent, as Sports Geek pointed out last week.
The Sports Debates has decided to give you a sneak peek at the second half of the season, as we’re excited about the next two and a half months. Sports Geek will argue that the NL Central is the most exciting division race in the second half of the season while Bleacher Fan will argue why the AL Central is the most exciting race.
Meanwhile, I have decided the NL East is the most exciting division race.
As it stands now, the world champion Philadelphia Phillies hold a four game lead over those pesky Florida Marlins. The Atlanta Braves are currently six games back, with the slumping/walking-wounded Mets six and a half games back.
This race was actually closer 10 days ago, before the Phillies went on a 9-1 tear that opened things up a bit. But, I don’t think those Marlins are going anywhere.
The Marlins, led by All-Star starting shortstop Hanley Ramirez, just keep hanging around. They aren’t supposed to be here, but yet, here they are. Ramirez is quietly having an MVP-type season. The youth and energy of this team is contagious. Too bad no one in Florida has caught the fever (see attendance numbers). I’m not sure this team is ready to take the next step yet, but they aren’t going away and they could steal this division. Keep in mind that the Marlins won a World Series in 1997 and in 2003. That’s six years apart. Six years after 2003 is 2009. Hmmmm????
The Braves, while maddeningly inconsistent offensively, can’t be counted out because of their starting rotation. Starting pitchers Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens, rookie sensation Tommy Hanson, and Kenshin Kawakami form a rotation with a combined ERA under four. On offense, the Braves think they have added by subtracting the Jeff Francoeur with a recent trade. On paper, this team doesn’t have enough offense to catch the Phillies. However, there’s a lot of time left.
The Mets haven’t played with their regular team pretty much all season. First baseman Carlos Delgado hurt his hip early in the going, and he was joined on the disabled list by shortstop Jose Reyes and center fielder Carlos Beltran… among others. The Mets think they have provided a spark with the addition of Francoeur, and judging by the last two games, the spark is there. But, the Mets starting rotation is weak once you get past Johan Santana. However, once those guys come off the disabled list, they can certainly make a run.
The Phillies come into the break red hot. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins has finally broken out of his year-long slump and has been the catalyst to this recent hot streak. But, like the Mets, the Phillies rotation leaves a lot to be desired. Perhaps that’s why they are looking closely at Pedro Martinez. That offense is one of the best in the league, with Rollins, first baseman Ryan Howard, second baseman Chase Utley, outfielder Raul Ibanez, and underrated outfielder Jayson Worth. Then again, every offense would be stacked if they played in a homer friendly ballpark like the Phillies do. (Remember that 1995 Colorado Rockies team with the Blake Street bombers hitting balls out of Coors Field… in the pre-humidor days?)
The weakness of the starting rotation of the Phillies gives the other three teams a chance in this division. Also, the four teams will be beating up on each in September. Whatever team gets hot in September is the one that is going to take the division!
Hello friends of The Sports Debates. Until the intro written by my colleague Bleacher Fan, did you even realize that the College World Series was going on? Any takers? Last call? Yeah that’s what I thought! Complete silence!!! So instead of calling it the CWS, let’s just call it the WCS!!!
Chances are good that you knew the answers to all four of those questions. But for those who didn’t know the answers… the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series, the New York Giants won the Super Bowl, the LSU Tigers won the BCS Championship, and the Kansas Jayhawks won March Madness.
Now, here’s a tough question for you. Who won the College World Series in 2008? As a bonus, tell me the team that finished second in the College World Series. I’m waiting guys (key Jeopardy final question theme music). What is your answer?
What is?????????
I’ll bet you that Sports Geek doesn’t know the answer! Honestly, Sports Geek, did you know? I actually did know the answer because I live in the middle of SEC country. I’ll be honest though. Any other year and I wouldn’t have known. In last year’s CWS, in the battle of the Bulldogs, Fresno State defeated Georgia.
It’s too early to break down ratings for this year’s CWS, but last year, the CWS averaged a whopping 1.4 million viewers on ESPN and less than 1 million viewers on ESPN2. You know what the sad thing is? It was the highest rated College World Series ever!
Excuse me while I laugh!!! And this weekend, I will bet you that the U.S. Open in golf will draw at least 4 times as many viewers, and even more if Tiger Woods is in contention.
I’ll tell you while it is rated so low. Quite simply, there is no name recognition with the players. Can you name one player off of last year’s Fresno State team? I didn’t think so! It’s the same reason no one tunes in for the MLB Draft. The vast majority of college baseball games are not televised. Thus, it is harder for the regular John Doe sports fan to follow any of the teams. Mr. Doe doesn’t develop that “relationship” with the players and the team the way he would with a major league player and team.
Is the College World Series entertaining? To a degree… yes. But if I am flipping through the channels and I come across it, chances are I will keep on flipping!
Posted by Loyal Homer 
The What Makes a Better In-Game Analyst Debate – Analyze This!
August 5, 2009Read the debate intro and read Sport’s Geek’s argument that someone with no playing experience makes a better in-game analyst.
This is sure to be an interesting and unique debate, and it is appropriate that Sports Geek and I debate it. We both have backgrounds in various types of media, both on-air broadcast and print. Plus, we are both fascinated with sports media. Heck, we read the same TV media columns, including our favorite written by USA Today columnist Michael Hiestand.
Bleacher Fan asks us what qualification makes for a better in-game sports analyst. And to me, a better analyst is someone who has played the game. A better analyst is someone who can break down the X’s and O’s and the nuances of the game he is analyzing. In his intro, Bleacher Fan asks Sports Geek to argue that the better analyst possesses “an ability to communicate in a manner that makes the sport compelling to watch.” The onus should fall on the play-by-play commentator to do that.
Let’s use a couple of examples. I will hopefully prove that this is an excellent way to get the point across and it is something that only someone who has played the game can talk about.
Don Sutton, a Hall of Fame pitcher who won 324 games, is currently a commentator for the Atlanta Braves radio network and very underrated as an analyst. He was and still is a student of the game. What he does better than most is go inside the head of a pitcher. When a situation comes up in a game he will often talk about what is in the head of a pitcher from a psychological perspective. He’ll break down scouting reports of not only pitchers, but also hitters. He often breaks down what a pitcher does – or should do – on his non-throwing days. It really does vary from pitcher to pitcher. He can talk about this and have instant credibility because of his background as a Hall of Fame pitcher. He is someone listeners trust. His words mean more than someone like Steve Phillips when he says something to about a pitcher. I respect Phillips and his front office background. He did, after all, build a team that made it to the World Series (2000 New York Mets). But, what does he know about pitching? If Sutton was not in the broadcast booth, he could be in the dugout as a pitching coach. Having met the guy in person, he is a heckuva nice guy… and even comes across that way on air.
Another analyst and former player I like is Troy Aikman. When Aikman was first hired by FOX in 2001, I thought it was a match made in hell. Aikman never came across to me as someone who could break down a game the way an analyst should. Folks, I was wrong. He has quickly shot up the FOX chain of command and is now the analyst on the lead crew with Joe Buck on FOX. Aikman’s dry wit and smooth persona go along with his deep knowledge of the game. He is able to see things in the coverage of defenses that Tony Kornheiser can’t see (to be fair, that was not Tony’s role on Monday Night Football). Perhaps Aikman keeps his eye on linebacker or a safety from the booth – much the same way he did on the field – and is able to express how Peyton Manning was able to hit Dallas Clark over the middle. These are little things that make a broadcast more effective… these are little things that Kornheiser might study film and be able to say that, but he is not a Hall of Fame quarterback. He is not Troy Aikman. Whose opinion do you value more when discussing football? It is nothing against Kornhesier. I absolutely love him on Pardon the Interruption. But again, he is not Troy Aikman and would probably tell you so.
Imagine you are at a doctor’s office awaiting a consultation with your cardiologist. You are talking to the nurse and she says, “What they usually do is go in and…” Now, ten minutes later, you talk to your doctor and he tells you, “Loyal Homer, I have done hundreds of surgeries like this. What I will do is connect this valve to this valve and…” Now, who makes you feel better there?
Analysts analyze. Just ask yourself… can you really effectively analyze if you have not been in that position yourself? No you cannot!