Upon a Decent Lineup

1) Damon

2) Jeter

3) Teixeira

4) Rodriguez

5) Posada

6) Cano

7) Nady

8 ) Matsui

9) Swisher/Cabrera/Gardner

Upon a Spirited Debate

Below you will find a back and forth debate between a classmate and I on the subject of the potential removal of OJ Simpson from the Hall of Fame. I think it produced some interesting reading. Both positions were assigned, and may or may not represent the views of the authors:

 

In light of his criminal cases and convictions, should OJ Simpson be removed from the Hall of Fame?  

Point: Charles Geier 

OJ Simpson is infamous because of his connection to the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. His criminal trial captivated the nation, and changed his public perception forever. Gone were the Hertz commercials and the movie appearances, replaced with the indelible images from his criminal and civil trials for a double homicide. Simpson was recently convicted for his role in an armed heist in Las Vegas, bringing one of the most notorious defendants of this generation back into the public eye. However, despite all the negative light which has been cast on his post-football career, OJ Simpson was a figure in the public consciousness because of his collegiate and professional sports careers.    

While he was on the gridiron, Simpson was one of the most talented and skilled running backs the game of football has ever seen. His accomplishments as a player are undeniably outstanding. Each level of football he played on has its own hall of fame, and merit their own discussion.   

In college, Simpson etched his name into the history books by garnering some of the game’s most prestigious honors, including the Walter Camp Award, the Maxwell Award, and the Heisman Trophy. After starring for two years in junior college, Simpson was awarded a scholarship to the University of Southern California. In each of his two seasons at “Tailback U”, Simpson led the nation in rushing yards, and was a two-time consensus All American.  Simpson is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. As AP College Football Ralph D. Russo notes “The College Football Hall of Fame has no written morality or ethics clause”.  

After his time in the NFL, Simpson was enshrined in Canton, Ohio, next to the all-time NFL greats. He was a 6-time Pro Bowl selection, and 5-time first team All-Pro. He led the NFL in rushing yards four times, and rush yards per-game and yards from scrimmage three time each. Simpson was the first player in NFL history to eclipse 2000 yards rushing in 1973, and only four other players have recorded more rushing yards for a single season. He was elected into the NFL hall of fame in his first year of eligibility.  

OJ Simpson amassed statistics in his football career which the selection committees of the collegiate and professional halls of fame felt warranted his inclusion in their respective institutions. He has not been accused of anything on the field, or even during his playing days. There is no cause to remove him from these halls of fame which doesn not amount to moral legislation, which has no place in this discussion. 

Counter Point: Drew Biedermann 

Upon A taste of their own medicine

About the only good thing a Jet did yesterday

Upon the Hot Stove Moves Thus Far

The  New York Yankees made some big  deals last week, adding free agent pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett to their rotation. A rumored trade of Melky Cabrera for Mike Cameron has not come to pass as of this evening. The Yankees paid handsomely for their acquisitions, with Sabathia’s deal stretching for 7 years and approximately $161 million, and Burnett’s going for 5 years and $82.5 million.

Predictably, the naysayers have weighed in immediately on the moves, deriding the Yankees for being financially irresponsible. “The economy!”, they cry, “How can the Yankees spend money like that in times like these?” The criticism has not been limited to bloggers, talk show hosts and Boston haters. Florida Marlins President David Samson also subtly insulted the team, initially suggesting they were spending like “drunken sailors”, before later apologizing for the comment.

So have the Yankees spent their money in an imprudent manner? I would (probably not surprisingly) argue that they haven’t.   First, the Yankees needed pitching. Mike Mussina, who was the team ace in the absence of Wang last year, has retired. Andy Pettite may or may not return.  Sidney Ponson  and Darrel Rasner made double digit starts in 2008, which speaks volumes. The Yankees were after a #1 starter, and got the best available in Sabbathia. Last year, the Mets gave Johan Santana the biggest pitching contract in history, and also gave up players to get him in a trade with the Twins. The Yankees had to up the ante to get CC, and this is the way baseball works. Santana set the market, the Yankees get a price markup because players and agents know they can get it from them, and what you have is a $161 million dollar deal.

Let me make a point I have made many times throughout the years: Every team in major league baseball is permitted to spend money according to the rules set out for free agent signings. Every team. The Yankees offer the contract they feel will bring them the player they want. End of story. If you don’t feel this is fair, either write to Bud Selig and petition him to change the rules, or to the owner of your favorite team and request that he spend more of his millions on improving the ballclub.

So, contract talks aside, did the Yankees improve their ballclub? I think Sabbathia is a no-brainer as the #1/#2 starter for the Yankees. (I believe Wang is a stud too, say what you want). The contract is long-term, but again, you have to give the back-end to get the front end (see also Giambi, Jason). I do have some questions about the motivation of a guy who is now as rich as he probably could ever have imagined, but reports from people who know him well from his time in Cleveland peg Sabbathia as a “winning is everything” type of guy. Any knock on him was of the trying to do too much variety, not of the lack of motivation.

What about Burnett? Much less of a sure thing. ESPN .com described his enigmatic ways:

Burnett can be quite the enigma. In eight full big league seasons, he has made 30-plus starts exactly twice; coincidentally, both of those came in contract years. (I’m figuring, of course, you’d have known he was destined to opt out of his deal with the Blue Jays this winter, an obvious assumption.) He has a Tommy John surgery on his résumé. But he also has a no-hitter, a World Series ring, an 18-win season and two 200-strikeout campaigns on that very same résumé. For his career, Burnett has been the ultimate boom-or-bust candidate.

 Some other notes on Burnett: He is 6-3 with at 2.43 ERA lifetime vs the Yankees. He is 5-0 with at 2.56 vs Boston. 7-4, 2.98 vs Tampa. Burnett has great numbers vs the AL East leaders, and so the Yankees are getting a guy who has killed them and their main foes as well.

I would slot Burnett in as the 3 in the rotation, and I think he is a decided upgrade over last year. The boom-bust argument is a fair one, but again, it is mostly valid in terms of the contract. Money is not a problem, so if all goes wrong, the Yankees aren’t dead by any means.

The Yankees now have a proposed rotation of Sabbathia, Wang, Burnett, Hughes, and Chamberlain. I would slot that group right now as the best in the league top-to-bottom, despite Hughes being unproven. If one of the other pitchers who have been discussed as potential Yankees come over(Ben Sheets, Derek Lowe), or if Andy Pettite decides to return, the Yankees can either allow Hughes to develop in Scranton or leave joba in the pen.

Thoughts?

Upon an Article Dump

The below represent some of the articles produced in by-far my favorite graduate class ever.

 

Hofstra Men’s Basketball v Fordham

 

 

Hofstra Uses a Big Second-Half to Handle the Rams

 

 

The Hofstra University men’s basketball team defeated visiting Fordham last night 60-40, utilizing solid defense and timely hoops from several contributors to pull away after a close first half. Captain Charles Jenkins overcame a rough shooting night from the field, scoring 11 points and dishing out 9 assists to lead the team to victory over the winless Rams.

            Hofstra struggled shooting the ball in the first half, hitting on only 34% of their field goals, and going just 4-9 from the free throw line. Fordham fared even worse, connecting on just 27.6% of their shot attempts. After the game Hofstra Coach Tom Pecora noted the shooting woes of both teams, commenting that the game “certainly wasn’t an oil painting”.   Swingman Zygis Sestokas of the Pride connected on 3 of 5 from long-distance to lead the team at the half with 9 points. Fordham guard Mike  Moore scored 11 points and helped his team go into halftime trailing only 27-23.

            In general, the first half was characterized by poor shot selection, and stagnant play calling on both sides. The teams combined to shoot 25 three-pointers, but made only nine. Both clubs regularly settled for quick jumpers, and Fordham ran the same high screen-and-roll play countless times with little success.

            Whatever coach Pecora said to his team at the half must have hit home, because they looked like a different ballclub in the final 20 minutes. Jenkins came alive in the stanza, scoring nine points, with four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Fordham attempted to throw several zone defenses at him to slow things down, but to no avail. Jenkins noted “When they try to take me out of the game like that, it just sets up opportunities for my teammates. One teammate who benefited was 6’10” sophomore forward Greg Washington who finished with his first career double-double and added four blocked shots, as Hofstra began to impose their will on the Rams.  Fordham’s field goal percentage dipped to just 25%, and they were dominated on the glass, as Hofstra finised with a 47-29 rebounding edge. Fordham forward Brenton Butler, who had shown an ability to get into the paint, went down several times grasping what appeared to be an injured ankle.

After the game, the coach seemed pleased with his team’s turnaround. “It was a tale of two halves out there”, Pecora said. “When you play a local team like this, records go out the window. We really turned it around once our guys started making shots and kept them off the glass.” The coach was also pleased with the balanced scoring effort, which saw four different players finish in double figures for scoring. He noted that in the past the team would get out of the way and wait for former standout Antoine Agudio to make a play. “Now,” he said “when we play as a team, everyone can contribute.”

Hofstra improved their record to 6-1, and open their CAA conference schedule with a road game against Towson on Saturday.