Sports Chains-Volume 1.1

Try your hand at the game of irrelevant sports information.

SPORTS CHAINS

Terminology

A ‘link’ is a sports player’s name.

A ‘connection’ is the bond between links.

A ‘chain’ is an alternating string of links and connections.

Rules

A chain can be made using a player’s first name*, a player’s last name*, the franchise they play for, the college they played for, the city they played in, or the number they wore (optional).  Olympic and All-Star teams do not count, nor do positions like quarterback or shortstop.

*Names that are pronounced the same can be used as connections, as can common short names.  Mike = Michael = Mychal, and Bird = Byrd.  Johnston = Johnson as well.

No real-life tie needs to exist between links in the chain.  This is not a degree of separation game.

Michael Jordan—Possible connections:  Michael— Jordan —Bulls—Wizards—North Carolina Tar Heels— Chicago —23

An example from each of Michael Jordan’s Sports Connections listed above:

Michael Vick

Ricky Jordan

Bill Wennington

Gilbert Arenas

Julius Peppers

Carlton Fisk

LeBron James

The game continues with the next link, using the same criteria above.

Single Player Game

A starting and ending link are given.  The starting link needs to connect with another given number of links to end on the final link.  The first and last links always count in the total.  A stipulation may also exist, directing a player through a certain player, city, franchise, or college.  There is no one right answer and creative links are encouraged.

Example:  Connect Larry Bird to Mark McGwire in 7 links by going through New Orleans , stating the reason for linking.

1. Larry Bird
2. Paul Pierce—Celtics
3. Antonio Pierce—Pierce’s
4. Antonio Davis—Antonio’s
5. Baron Davis— Davis’s (in New Orleans )
6. Stephen Jackson—Warriors
7. Mark McGwire– Oakland

In this example, Baron Davis brought the connection to Oakland , a city played in by Mark McGwire.  But since his link was one short, another Oakland athlete was needed to make the connection.

Alternate Single Player Game

A partially completed chain can be filled in to play the game as well.  If all connections are present, name the links to win.  If all links are listed, use connections to complete the game.  Or a mix-and-match of connections and links may present a challenge.

Example:  Fill in the missing connections/links in the chain below.

1. Bo Jackson
2. Charles Barkley—
3. –Suns
4. —Johnsons
5. Adrian Peterson—Vikings
6. Stacey King–
7. –Stacey’s
8. Larry Johnson
9. –Knicks
10. Warrick Dunn–

Possible answer:  Auburn —Kevin Johnson—Brad Johnson—Vikings— Oklahoma —Stacy Augmon—UNLV—Charlie Ward— Florida State .

Multiplayer Game:

Drop some names!  Start with a link and keep building your chain and try to stump your friends.  While there is no score to keep, using dubes or other obscure players to dig your way out of a tough jam in Milwaukee or with the Seahawks could earn big-time sports cred with your buddies.

Connections don’t need to be stated when building the chain, only justification when asked.

SPORTS CHAINS is the perfect game to play before a wedding, family gathering, commencement ceremony, or any time boredom could be done away with.

Fun With Math–Volume 3

When $100,000,000 is not enough

 The nearly $3.5 trillion federal budget that is due to haunt our nation for years to come had been place under “scrutiny” by our infallable leader, President Barack Obama.  He has asked his department heads to come up with $100 million in cuts, saving the American taxpayer (how that phrase is worn out at this point) a great deal of money that all can appreciate.

The problem with this move is that it is 100% symbolic.  $100 million in Washington isn’t real money when the 600 pound gorilla in the corner has a $3.5 trillion price tag pinned to his collar.  By the numbers, this great cut that Obama is looking for is a paltry 0.0029% of the original budget proposed:

$100,000,000 / $3,500,000,000,000 =  1/35000 or .000029

As with the prior Fun With Math experience dealing with the March Madness brackets, let’s give this number some scale.  Say that you are fortunate in life and make $100,000 in your household in a given year.  Let’s also say that you have allocated your resources at 100%, which is under what the federal government likes to operate on, as they love to run up deficits, but let’s go with it.

Now your wife comes along and asks you to trim some of the budget to save money.  If you are a cool-handed popular cat like Obama, you make a similar moven (slash 0.0029%) by cutting out $2.90 from the yearly budget.  $2.90 barely buys you ONE LOAF OF BREAD these days!!!  And this isn’t just cutting this out every day, every week, or every month, it is only cutting it out one time annually!!!

If you are in the median household income level across the nation, that being $50,233 in 2007 according the U.S. Census Bureau, you would be cutting out $1.46 on a per annum basis.  That is basically the going rate of a 20 ounce Pepsi at the local convenience store.  But make sure you only do it once!

Now, Republicans as well as Democrats are to blame for this atrocious state of the economy that we all find ourselves in.  But, as a conservative, I find it infuriating that Obama can pass this miniscule cut off to the general public as a good thing.  Let’s cut out BILLIONS, not MILLIONS, and see what kind of savings we’ll experience then. 

Instead, what’s the point?  When your ship is going down, why bail the water out with a thimble?

~Greg

Movie Review: Observe and Report

Presenting....you're Everyman.

Great dark comedies have one thing in common – not everyone get’s the joke.  Observe and Report manages to include more people than usual.  There are enough dark moments for those with the crudest sense of humor, and enough light-hearted moments for the lighter of heart.

Observe and Report is a very polarizing film.  There are a lot of touchy subjects that are vaguely touched on, including racism, date rape, chemical dependence, violence, sexual harassment and more.  However, director Jody Hill manages to skirt these issues with just the right amount of humor to keep anyone from really having to think.

The beauty of this movie isn’t in the dark humor or the crude behavior of the characters.  The beauty is that Seth Rogan plays more than a mall cop.  More and more, he is the image of the Everyman.  As doctors fuel more and more people with drugs to combat disorders that may or may not be affecting them, more and more people will be like Rogan’s Ronnie – a power tripping mall cop complete with a misguided sense of importance and a lack of self awareness.  And not that Ronnie isn’t aware of his surroundings, but of his own place in the world.  He is so bent on catching perverts and thieves and he ends up botching more than solving.

After a watch, everyone will think of their Ronnie, the one guy they know who means well but always ends up looking like an asshole.

More important than this, however, is that every guy has a little Ronnie in him.  Sometimes you just hope you run into the hottest chick you know after she has had a few beers.  Sometimes you need to see your best friend for what he is so you can see yourself a little better.  And sometimes, you just need to shoot something.

Rogan has a shown a tendency to play loser makes good roles, without really making good.  That’s a lot like real life.  Hopefully, we all try to be better than Ronnie, but one thing is for sure, we could all be a lot worse.

Down Goes Gordon

Another Alex Gets Hip Surgery

As a life-long Royals fan, one becomes a realist in a hurry.  Things rarely work out as planned, and just when things start to come together, they all come crashing down like so many hopes and dreams.

That being said, it is a rare thing indeed to go through a grueling 162 game schedule (plus a ridiculous 36 spring games) without your team experiencing at least one major injury.  Players come on and off the disabled list throughout the season, and those that are most damaging are those to your starting pitchers.

Alex Gordon having to undergo arthroscopic hip surgery to repair a cartilage tear is a blow to a young team that he is very much is at the center of.   As of the publishing of this post, I had not heard any timeline on his return.  But judging on what transpired to some other guy who plays third base named Alex Rodriguez, it won’t be short and it won’t be long, but somewhere in the middle.  Rodriguez is to resume baseball activities here shortly, after undergoing a very similar operation late in spring training.

The Yankees have employed a journeyman infielder named Cody Ransom in A-Rod’s absence, with poor results.  The Royals will counter Gordon’s trip to the DL with Mark Teahen, a player who manned the hot corner in 2005 and 2006.  The Royals appear that they can absorb an extended absence of their third baseman longer than the Yankees can, as they may well fall very far behind what could be  a great Rays team and a very good Red Sox squad.  The Royals should find themselves in contention in the mediocre AL Central.

What makes this development one of concern is the fact that right fielder Jose Guillen is also on the DL with a hip injury.  Guillen’s is not going to require surgery, but having what projected as your cleanup  hitter (Guillen) and your 5-6-7 hitter, depending on pitching match-ups (Gordon) out of the lineup is not a good thing.

Projected starting lineup until April 25th (when Guillen is eligible to come off the DL):

1. Coco Crisp  CF
2. David DeJesus  LF
3. Mark Teahen  3B
4. Billy Butler  1B
5. Mike Jacobs  DH
6. Mike Aviles  SS
7. Alberto Callaspo  2B
8. Miguel Olivo/John Buck  C
9. Mitch Maier  RF

Not much pop, but the Boys In Blue weren’t exactly making balls fly out of the park.  Maier has been serviceable in past callups from Omaha, where he was having a great start to the season.  This improves the defense in the outfield, since they can employ 3 above-average defenders across the board.  Teahen vs. Gordon at third base is a wash, and Callaspo is capable at 2nd.

All that said, it will be the pitching that carries this team for the next several weeks until Gordon can return, if he can.  The top 4 starters have been excellent; even Sidney Ponson has turned in a ‘quality start’.  The bullpen needs to avoid the occassional meltdown, as the margin for error has been reduced for sure.

2009 Kansas City Royals Preview

KC will need Greinke and Co. to come up big to contend in 2009.

There is never more hope and optimism bounding about in the sports world as right now.  Spring training camps have broken up and the 30 major league teams are preparing for Opening Day.  Every team thinks they have a chance at contending, and even though 8 squads actually reach the postseason, every player, manager, owner, and fan dreams about October in April.

Before beginning the preview of the 2009 edition of the Kansas City Royals, I want to put a disclaimer out there.  The last time I was this excited about a Royals team was in 2004.  The team had just come off a surprise run at the Central Division crown and signed a few sluggers like Juan Gonzalez in the offseason.  The team skidded to a horrendous 58-104 mark, the 2nd worst record in franchise history (topped by 2 games in the succeeding year).  So I tend to temper my enthusiasm with a healthy dash of 2004 and move on.

Bold = Active player, Italics = Departed player

ROTATION

Any good team can look to its starting rotation for the root of its success.  The Royals go with the $55 million man Gil Meche for his 3rd straight Opening Day start.  Meche struggled out of the gate last year, but rebounded quite nicely, going a solid 12-3 to close the year out.  He throws a lot of pitches and rarely works beyond the 7th inning, but generally Meche will give you a great shot to win.  He has posted ERAs under 4.00 in both years with the Royals after signing that big contract in 2006, and I (along with most other fans) have been extremely pleased with his performance as our staff ace.

Zack Greinke will be the #2 starter behind Meche, being one of the best #2 men in the league.  Greinke inked a big 4 year deal in the offseason, as the Royals effectively bought out 2 years of free agency and keep their one homegrown ace since Kevin Appier in Kansas City.  Greinke has been terrific since overcoming social anxiety problems that plagued him since 2005, as he posted a 13-10 campaign with a tidy 3.47 ERA.  He tied Meche for 5th place in the American League with 183 strikeouts, making for a nice one-two punch atop the rotation.

Kyle Davies, acquired at the trade deadline in 2007 for reliever Octavio Dotel, has had an up-and-down career with Kansas City thus far.  What gave hope to fans and teammates alike was his 4-1 September, where he brought his ERA down to a respectable #3 level starter level of 4.06.  He has had a fairly good spring thus far and should deliver a solid year for the Royals.

The next 2 spots in the rotation has left more than myself scratching my head.  Late Spring Training signee Sidney Ponson was essentially handed the #4 position, all in the name of what manager Trey Hillman calls “organizational depth”.  Ponson threw fairly well in the World Baseball Classic and garnered the attention of Royals scouts.  He has been roughed up for the most part in the Cactus League appearances, but he does deliver a veteran presence and will knock out a judge if required.  He is also a knight, so you can address him as Sir Sidney Ponson.

Horacio Ramirez was also handed a job gift wrapped all because he throws with his wrong left arm.  Ho-Ram has perhaps been more brutal in his spring outings, but the front office likes lefties and they like the ground ball potential he brings.  Since the April schedule for most teams does not require a regular 5th starter for the first 3 weeks or so, Ramirez will likely serve as the second lefty out of the bullpen.

The last two hurlers being included in the starting 5 means sending Brian Bannister and Luke Hochevar down to Omaha.  I would have preferred to have Hochevar on the team, but a little seasoning will be good for him as he continues to develop.  Bannister’s rookie season in 2007 went against all odds, as his stuff equates out to a below-average starter.  That was what Royals fans were treated to last year, as he struggled to a 9-16 record with an ultra-high 5.76 ERA.  I would guess both of these guys will be with the big club before the end of May.

Grade:  C (for now, potentially B if Hochevar called up and is effective over fat Arubans and no-strikeout Ho-Rams)

BULLPEN

Any conversation about the Royals’ bullpen should begin with the ending.  Joakim Soria headlines a very capable, if not potentially dominant relief corps.  Soria was fantastic in his sophomore season in 2008.  He had 42 saves and a spectacular 1.60 ERA that earned him a mid-season contract extension, making him incredibly affordable for the next several years.  His repertoire of pitches probably better suits him in the rotation, but why mess with a good thing?  His 90 mph fastball goes along with a nice slider, an effective changeup, and his fun-to-watch “stupid maker”, a 60 mph curve, simply buckles batters’ knees.  Soria was an All-Star last year and figures to be the rock of the bullpen in ‘09 again.

Free agents signees Kyle Farnsworth and Juan Cruz will take the setup duties that were handled last year by Ramon Ramirez and Leo Nunez, both shipped off in trades (see below).  Both Farnsworth and Cruz are flamethrowers, able to consistently get their heaters up into the upper 90s.  Both have career K/IP ratios above 1.00;  in other words they average a strikeout an inning.  More strikeouts lead to fewer balls in play, and therefore, fewer runs scored.  That would be true if it weren’t for the fact that both have a penchant for walking opposing hitters, and Farnsworth has had a career-long problem of giving up the long ball.  Kauffman Stadium is a spacious place, so perhaps this will be less of a problem.  Cruz has had more good years than bad in his past, and the current trend is for him to have as good or better of a year now that he is out of homer-friendly Chase Field in Phoenix.

Ron Mahay was terrific last year as the left-handed setup man for Soria until a heel ailment significantly limited his effectiveness in August.  He had been carrying an ERA around a buck and a half, but settled for a 5-0 record with an ERA of 3.48.  He claims to have recovered from surgery in fine fashion, although Hillman scaled back Mahay’s duty in Arizona to make sure he was fresh.

Beyond these 4 members of the ‘pen, the picture gets a little fuzzy.  General Manager Dayton Moore signed righty Doug Waechter of the Florida Marlins to a major league deal at the Winter Meetings, but he has been limited due to a blister problem this spring, and when he has pitched, it hasn’t been pretty.  Still, he had a good 2008, which hopefully will transfer over to the AL.

Robinson Tejeda, another righthanded flamethrower, was effective for the Royals after being lifted off the waiver wire from the Rangers.  Jamey Wright could make the team, also lately of the Rangers.  John Bale, a valuable lefty who failed as a starter in ‘08, has been sidelined with thyroid surgery early in March, but will figure prominently in long relief when he returns from the disabled list.  Brandon Duckworth probably will start in Omaha, but he has proven to be a reliable #5 starter in the past when the injury or incompetenet bug bites, or a long reliever.

Grade:  A- (with potential to be great)

CATCHERS

Miguel Olivo and John Buck are basically one in the same.  Olivo hits for a slightly better average, but Buck draws more walks.  Buck calls a better game, but Olivo throws out more would-be basestealers.  Olivo was given the primary catching role when agreeing to his mutual option, which should only mean the Royals get more offense.  The beefy Dominican hit 12 homers in half a season of ABs, but walked an astonishingly low 7 times.  Buck was distracted for a good chunk of the season as his wife and twins were having problems in the hospital (boy, do I know all about that), leading to a .224 average and a dip in power (9 homers vs 18 in ‘07).  Even with their limitations, Olivo and Buck should present a fairly good combination behind the dish.

Grade:  B-

FIRST BASE

One of the big splashes made in the offseason came hardly after the World Series had concluded.  Moore shipped Nunez off to the Marlins for slugger Mike Jacobs, who had swatted 32 homers in South Florida.  He does have his drawbacks, as he has a reputation of having hands of stone and no range, plus he is a low OBP guy.  His one major plus (other than power) is that he is not Ross Gload.

Gload was traded to the Marlins (how ironic) just this week for the infamous player to be named later.  He leaves a very small hole to fill, as he managed only 3 bombs and 37 RBI, which is a very paltry total for a corner infielder.

Jacobs, a lefty who struggles against lefties, probably will split some time with Billy “Bilbo” Butler, a 23 year old right handed DH/1B.  Butler slaughtered lefty pitching a year ago, and Hillman will almost have to consider sitting Jacobs against the tough southpaws in favor of Butler.  Neither present much with the glove, and with Gload’s good leather in Florida now, the overall infield D will probably suffer.  How much is yet to be determined, of course, but with a shaky second baseman, the impact could be much bigger.

Grade:  B-  (defense poor, but hitting numbers dramatically improved over G-Load Money Unit)

SECOND BASE

The main position battle in Surprise was over second base.  Mark Grudzielanek had manned the keystone position for the past 3 years and did a great job, hitting for average and even winning a Gold Glove.  But he was getting old and turned down arbitration.  Alberto Callaspo hit over .300 last year after coming over from the D-Backs, but has shown very little in terms of range or speed, making a commitment to him a difficult thing for management to do.

Willie Bloomquist was signed as a free agent from Seattle and while he can field, he cannot hit for power.  He registered exactly one extra base hit in 2008, which has to be some sort of record.  He has logged time at every non-battery position in his career, so he will be valuable in resting regulars in a grueling schedule.

Trying his hand at his 4th position in 4 seasons, Mark Teahen looks to be the winner in the second base battle.  His monster spring training hitting tear has raised the hope amongst Royals fans of the 2006 Teahen who tore up the league from June to September before shoulder surgery ended his campaign.  He has looked very shaky at times, especially when ranging for grounders and turning tough double plays.  He did play second in college for a time, but learning on the fly is hardly what you would want from a position as important as what Teahen is attempting to play.  And at 6′3″, he will be one of the tallest players at that position ever.

Grade:  C- (Defensive woes battle offensive potential, but ‘06 Teahen could make this a B+)

THIRD BASE

Alex Gordon is due to experience a breakout season.  He has improved in each of his two seasons as a pro, displaying better plate discipline as a sophomore last year.  I would look for him to hit in the .280 range with 20 homers and drive in 85 this year at a minimum, with a very good OBP.  His glove is average, but this might be Gold Glove compared to the right side of the infield.

Grade:  B (again, could be A- or so if Gordon improves as expected)

SHORTSTOP

A more than pleasant surprise in his rookie year in ‘08, career minor leaguer Mike Aviles was spectacular with a .325 average, 10 homers, and 51 RBI in little more than half a year.  He replaced Tony Pena, Jr. in late May and cemented his position with the Royals as a 27 year old.  Everyone in the blogosphere is expecting Aviles’ numbers to regress mightily this season, as pitchers will have time to analyze how to pitch to him.  I agree, but to a point.  The real question is how much more production the Royals get out of an Aviles at full time, compared to the Aviles-Pena two-headed monster last year.  Royal shortstops, even with Aviles’ awesome line, hit only .270 and had an OBP of .296.  Thank you, TPJ.  Now please ride the pine.  And take your OPS+ number of 7 with you (which basically means he was 93% worse than your average hitter).  He will be a valuable late-inning defensive replacement, probably enabling Aviles to shift to second, possibly even moving Teahen to first and removing Jacobs/Bilbo.

Grade:  B

OUTFIELD

The other big splash in the offseason was made when Moore relinquished reliable righthanded reliever Ramon Ramirez (how about that for alliteration?) to Boston for the now-expendable Coco Crisp.  Jacoby Ellsbury had pushed him out of a starter spot in center field, and the Royals were more than willing to part ways with a setup man to get an igniter at the top of the lineup.  What is very interesting about this transaction is where the beginning and end of it are:

Tony “Italian Sausage” Graffanino–>Milwaukee–>Jorge De La Rosa–>Colorado–>Ramon Ramirez–>Boston–>Coco Crisp–>???

Essentially, in 2 1/2 years, Moore turned Graffanino into some decent starts by George of the Rose, a great relief campaign in ‘08 from Ram Squared, and then procured a top glove and leadoff man (plus a GREAT name) in Coco Crisp.  Nice.

Given a full year in the everyday lineup, Crisp is bound to approach some of the numbers that he was putting up in Cleveland, when he was hitting around .300 and hitting 15 homers a year.  Some people have poo-pooed this trade in regards to Crisp’s leadoff abilities.  Okay, just settle down.  Pull back to this point, which probably doesn’t resolve the leadoff question, but he replaces Joey “Car Leaping” Gathright.  He of the 4 XBH all of last year and a 59 OPS+.  Crisp replaces him with 7 times as many extra base hits and a better upside.  Give me that trade any day.

David DeJesus put together his best season (albeit not injury-free) where he hit .307 and led the league in average with runners in scoring position at an obscene .419 clip.  Acquiring Crisp will allow DDJ to move to left field, which probably better suits him.  This trade basically upgrades the outfield defense dramatically.  It is still up in the air where DeJesus will actually hit in the lineup set by Hillman, but the tendencies in spring ball were to have him hit in the 2 or 3 slot.  His 73 RBI mostly out of the leadoff spot should translate over nicely lower in the lineup, but he did struggle somewhat when placed in the 3 hole.

Jose Guillen, the highest paid member of the squad, was somewhat of a disappointment last year.  He was brought over from Seattle for 3 years/$36M to drive in runs, and he did lead the team with 97 RBI.  His attitude leaves something to be desired, but he was an upgrade over fellow sourpuss Emil Brown in the outfield, who led the Royals with 86, 81, and 62 RBI the previous 3 years (you read that right, 62 RBI led the team in ‘07, and somehow they scored fewer runs last year).

Without knowing what the final shakedown of the last few position players on the 25-man roster, I don’t know who will be the 4th outfielder.  If Teahen grabs the second base job as expected, Shane Costa could get that last spot on the roster.  He has the potential to be a good fill-in when needed and has played parts of several seasons with the big club.  Mitch Maier will undoubtedly get a minor league callup if demoted to Omaha as I expect.  The other wild card here is catcher/utility man Brayan Pena, a switch-hitter with no options remaining and would more than likely get plucked off the waiver wire by a catching-starved team.

SUMMARY

Additions: Mike Jacobs (1B/DH), Coco Crisp (CF), Sidney Ponson (RHP), Kyle Farnsworth (RHP), Juan Cruz (RHP), Doug Waechter (RHP), Jamey Wright (RHP), Willie Bloomquist (UT)

Losses: Ross Gload (1B/OF), Leo Nunez (RHP), Ramon Ramirez (RHP), Jimmy Gobble (LHP), Joey Gathright (OF), Mark Grudzielanek (2B), Esteban German (UT)

Probable Lineup:

1. Coco Crisp  CF
2. David DeJesus  LF
3. Mark Teahen  2B
4. Jose Guillen  RF
5. Mike Jacobs  1B
6. Billy Butler  DH
7. Alex Gordon  3B
8. Miguel Olivo  C
9. Mike Aviles  SS

With Aviles hitting 9th, this lineup just got dangerous.  There are no clear weak spots this year, as Hillman at times could have employed a lineup featuring black holes like Gload, Pena, and Gathright.  Jacobs, Aviles, and Crisp respectively are all major improvements over their predecessors.  I like this lineup, although I see Teahen not hitting .400+ like he did in Arizona (duh) and swapping with Gordon eventually.  I could also see Guillen getting moved to 6th when lefties allow Bilbo to crush in the cleanup spot.  But I’d wager he’d create a fuss and call Bilbo a baby again.  Don’t you love 32 year old kids?

The pitching staff will evolve as every team’s will over the course of a 162 game schedule.  Look for Hochevar and Bannister to return from Omaha sharpened and honed as it were, reclaiming their position at the end of the rotation.  The bullpen will carry this team towards contention.  Injuries will play a major role as well, as the Royals have been fairly fortunate the past 2 seasons in regards to relief health.

I predict a good showing (maybe not an improvement in standings however) from KC in 2009, but with all of the talking heads calling them “This Year’s Rays”, they have me more than worried.  I really don’t want a bunch of analysts eating big heaping servings of humble pie in October.  I can see anywhere from a division title to a doormat finish.  It all depends on how the other teams fare as well;  the Royals do not exist in a vacuum.

AL CENTRAL PREDICTED FINISH

1. Cleveland Indians
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Detroit Tigers

~Greg

Soria vs Hamilton? A Rule 5 Debate

The Mexicutioner has my vote.

A recent article in the Kansas City Star piqued my interest concerning this very topic.  The Rule 5 draft of December 2006 was stocked with good talent, something that has happened in the past, but is not all that common.  The Royals and Rangers (by way of the Cubs and Reds) came away with literal diamonds in the rough.

What is the Rule 5 draft, you might ask?  I will do my best to explain it, but basically it allows for young players trapped behind a superstar player on the organizational depth chart to get their chance at the big leagues.  Think of any Orioles shortstops in the 80s and 90s with Cal Ripken playing your position for over 2,000 games in a row.

The everyday rosters that we see on TV, hear on the radio, and read about in the paper of every baseball team consist of 25 players.  Only those 25 are allowed to play in a game on a particular day.  Many of the transactions we hear about are concerned with this roster.

However, there is another roster, the 40 man roster, which allows teams to protect 15 additional players from being exposed to the other 29 teams in the majors.  Players that have not met certain minor league service guidelines are not required to be placed on the 40 man roster, as they will not be exposed to the waiver wire or the Rule 5 draft.

Those players that meet the minor league service time and not placed on their organization’s 40 man roster are eligible to be drafted by the other teams, provided they have a roster spot open themselves.

The draft order is determined by the previous year’s finish, meaning the worst team gets to select first.  Teams may choose not to participate.

When a player is selected, a $50,000 purchase price is paid to their former club and he is placed on the 40 man roster.  After spring training, the player MUST be placed on the active 25 man roster and remain there for the entire upcoming season (barring stints on the disabled list) or be offered back to their prior team for $25,000.

This is how the Marlins came up with Dan Uggla, an All-Star second baseman who is mostly bat and little glove, but a very good player nonetheless.  It is also how Johan Santana, he of the Cy Youngs, got his start in the bigs.

Tampa Bay had the first selection, taking OF Ryan Goleski from the Indians (later traded to the A’s).  The Royals’ brass was extremely pleased that Joakim Soria of the Padres was left in the #2 position and they snatched him up.  The scout who had seen him pitch in Mexico was adamant about the kid’s potential.

The Cubs had already traded their 3rd pick to Cincinnati, who selected troubled recovering drug addict (and former overall #1 draftee in ‘99) Josh Hamilton, an unproven commodity putting the pieces of his life back together in the Tampa Bay system.

The day after the Royals selected Soria, he tossed a perfect game in the MexicanLeague.  That instilled a great deal of confidence in our new scouting department under just hired general manager Dayton Moore.

This is where the debate starts.  The ensuing 2007 campaign saw Soria emerge as a force in the Royals bullpen, as he recorded 17 saves to go along with a tidy 2.48 ERA.  After the club traded Octavio Dotel to the Braves for starting pitcher Kyle Davies, Soria was given the closer’s role.

Hamilton’s first taste of the major leagues with the Reds came part-time as an outfielder, but he made the most of his time there, hitting for .294 average, 19 homers, and 47 RBI in what amounted to roughly half a year.  He had proven that he could produce at The Show, and proved he could overcome his demons that had plagued him for the past decade.

2008 was a big year for both.  Soria dominated opposing teams, posting 42 saves, 2nd in the AL only to Francisco Rodriguez of the Angels and his record-setting 62 saves.  Soria was so good, he was named as the Royals’ representative to the All-Star game, not because they had to have their mandatory one pick, but because he absolutely deserved it.  He finished the year with a superb 1.60 ERA.

Hamilton wowed fans all year, but particulary before the All-Star break.  He finished 2008 with a .304 average, 32 homers, and led the American League with 130 runs batted in.  Plus, he won the Home Run Derby.

The Star article looked at these two players and noted that the franchise that is starved for a great offensive performer (Kansas City) gets the standout pitcher in Soria, while the franchise that is pitching-famished (Texas) would end up with the slugger.

Texas has long produced or employed great offensive players in the recent past, including Juan Gonzalez, Ivan Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Mark Teixeira, Milton Bradley, and Alex Rodriguez just to name a few.  Perhaps the reason for having great offense and historically poor pitching is linked:  it is very hot in Arlington, Texas during the summer, where pitchers melt and hitters swat.  Offensive numbers tend to be born in these conditions.

Kansas City hasn’t exactly been a hotbed of pitching prowess, but is historically better than the Rangers.  No one will question the fact that the Royals have not had dominant offense in a quite some time, but the time that they did should illustrate perfectly the question of pitching or hitting.

The year 2000 ought to settle the debate of whether the Royals did right in selecting Soria over Hamilton on that day in December, 2006.  Kansas City was fully into another youth movement, incorporating young stars such as Johnny Damon, Mike Sweeney, Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye, and Joe Randa into the lineup.

This quintet helped establish a team-record for runs scored that season, piling up an impressive 879 runs.  This is a full 200 tallies above what the squad from 2008 totaled in the same number of games, falling more than a full run and a quarter under that loaded 2000 team.

One would expect that they probably won several more games than the 75 posted by the 2008 team.  Wrong. 77 wins was all this team could muster in Y2K, just a scant 2 wins more than last season’s anemic offense.

What the difference was between the two was the admirable effort turned in by the pitching staff in 2008, as they allowed 781 runs compared to the 930 allowed in 2000.  Starting pitching contributed by Gil Meche, Zack Greinke, and others were much better than 2000, but the bullpen spearheaded by Soria was the main difference the team was able to nail down a comparable amount of victories despite having nearly 1.25 runs less to work with than the pitching staff did at the turn of the millenium.

Here is a brief comparison of Soria versus the collection of trash Royals fans were treated to in the closers role in 2000 after Jeff Montgomery called it a career the year before:

Joakim Soria

2008   2-3, 63 games, 42 saves, 1.60 ERA, .861 WHIP

Closers in 2000

Ricky Bottalico:  9-6, 62 games, 16 saves, 4.83 ERA, 1.459 WHIP

Jerry Spradlin:  4-4, 50 games, 7 saves, 5.52 ERA, 1.440 WHIP

WHIP, for those of you not aware, is Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched.  In other words, Bottaliradlin or Spradalico allowed nearly twice the amount of baserunners per inning that Soria did.  This translates into more runs allowed and when they are in the game in save situations (3 run lead or less), that translates to more blown saves and more losses.

A young team like the Royals had to experience a blow to their collective confidence when Bottalico or Spradlin would trot out to protect a 1 run lead in the 9th, only to see it blown.  Bottalico’s 15 decisions in not quite a full season as closer is a testament to how many times he took the game into his own hands and frazzled his manager, teammates, and fans nearly every night.

The following January, the Royals front office jettisoned Johnny Damon to Tampa Bay in exchange for closer Roberto Hernandez.  This deal was hailed at the time as a chance to shore up the bullpen and enhance the ability to tack to wins in the 9th inning, but in reality was a panic move to address the burning wildfire that existing in the closer’s role.  Damon had just come off a career year in 2000, hitting .327 with an obscene 136 runs scored, 16 bombs, 88 RBI from the leadoff spot, and 46 steals.

Hernandez did not pan out the following year, which sent Allard Baird (the GM) into full panic mode.  He dealt Jermaine Dye to the A’s for Neifi Perez, beads, a blanket, and $24.  The smoke and mirrors 2003 campaign gave undeserved hope to the fanbase, but Carlos Beltran was shipped off in June of 2004, and Mike Sweeney’s back, knees, and age got in the way, making his huge salary an awful liability.

With 2009’s outlook a one of competitiveness and the ever-present Spring Training hope, one has to believe that the youthful core of Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Mark Teahen, David DeJesus, Mike Jacobs, Mike Aviles, and Greinke will all benefit greatly from knowing that the 3-2 game they deliver to the back end of the ‘pen will be when The Mexicutioner is called out, and he will nail it down with one of his trademark 62 mph curves, making opposing hitters look stupid.

Having Hamilton’s bat in the lineup would certainly add more runs to the huge new scoreboard in center, and perhaps enhance the numbers of the other hitters just by being that presence KC has lacked since George Brett retired.  My argument is that this would not necessarily lead to more wins, as the Year 2000 might repeat all over again, as the new-age version of Ricky Bottle Licker rears his ugly head and makes a promising young team auction off their talent to the lowest bidder.

For my part, I would much rather struggle on offense at times yet know when a late lead is handed off to my closer, I not only know it will be a victory, it will also be enjoyable.  Soria became just the 12th pitcher ever to record more saves than hits allowed.  Give me that any day.

~Greg

Fun With Math-Volume 2

March Madness Edition

The idea behind this post was hatched in my 2nd period Algebra II class while teaching 3 years ago when a student of mine filled out bracket after bracket for the upcoming NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (instead of doing his homework, of course). 

I asked him if he was trying to try to fill out the perfect bracket by filling out every possible bracket.  Then I asked myself (and the class) how many brackets would it take to ensure you had the right one.  Here is the math:

(All of this ignores the completely idiotic “Opening Round” game and instead goes with the appropriate 64 teams bracket)

A 64 team tournament features 63 individual games, as the number of games played in a balanced (power of 2) tournament is the number of teams – 1.

In a 4 team tournament, there are 3 games and 8 total outcomes if no placement games are played. 

2^Number of Games

Therefore, a 64 team bracket would yield 2^63 outcomes.  This is a staggeringly high number, being roughly 9.223 x 10^18 outcomes, or for the rest of this post, separate sheets of 8.5 x 11 inch (letter-sized) paper.

How big is 9.223 x 10^18?  Big enough to have its own name:  We’ll dub it a Bracketplex.

That’s 1.8446 x 10^16 reams of paper, as 1 ream of paper = 500 sheets.  Allowing for 2 inches per ream, stacked one on top of another, this would represent a pile 5.8226 x 10^11 miles tall.

Given that the distance from Earth to the Sun is roughly 92,000,000 miles (1 Astronomical Unit or AU), the stack of brackets would therefore be over 6,260 AU long.  It is also a given that light travels at the approximate speed of 187,000 miles / second.  For light to travel this staggering distance of 6,260 AU, it would take 54.06 days (.148 light years) to get from one end to the other.

The numbers are even more staggering if the sheets are laid end to end.  The length of a Bracketplex jumps to 1.6012 x 10^15 miles, or enough for 17,217,369 AU (remember that’s a trip to the Sun from Earth), or enough to make 3,202,430,556 round trips to the Moon.

The Earth’s surface area (the amount of area it would take to wrap the planet like a gift) is roughly 7.906 x 10^17 square inches.  A simple area calculation gives us 93.5 square inches for 1 sheet of paper (or one bracket).  Covering the entire planet with a Bracketplex equates to laying down 1 sheet 1,090 times, wallpapering Earth with over 2 reams worth of paper, adding up to about 4.36 inches deep.  This includes the oceans and lakes of the world.

Speaking of the world, what kind of production will the quest for the perfect bracket require to complete?  The selection committee does not release the final bracket until Sunday evening  at approximately 6:00 pm Central.  The first game tips on Thursday morning at 11:00 am, allowing about 87 hours to complete our Bracketplex.

Given that there are about 6 billion people on the planet, it would take a gargantuan effort from every person, no matter how old or young, no matter what state of health or basketball knowledge.  Each person on Earth would need to complete:

1. 17,668,582 brackets per hour
2. 294,476 brackets per minute
3. 4,907 brackets per second

Keep in mind that while the Worldwide Printing Press is going, each bracket from each person has to be UNIQUE…each bracket filled out has to be distinctly different from every other sheet completed.

Sticking to the United States, if we were to make an 8-lane interstate completely out of a Bracketplex what would it look like?  First, the amount of highway miles in the US Highway System currently sits at 4 million miles.

If we were to pave the US highways with brackets it would constitute a road 240 feet wide, stretching all 4,000,000 miles, and be a whopping 394 feet thick.  That’s thicker than Rick Barry.

I performed a search on the internet about how many sheets of paper an average tree could yield.  The results varied greatly, from 9,000 sheets to 80,500 sheets.  Let’s go with the upper end to hopefully depress the number of trees we will have to slay.

It would take 1.1456 x 10^14 trees to fill out a Bracketplex.  That amounts to 361,484 trees per square mile of Earth, regardless of water, mountains, ice sheets, or people and animals.  Limiting it to just land, the figure rockets to 1,246,5000 trees per square mile.  And they all have to cut down and processed this year…then regrown before next March.  Madness indeed!

All of this, of course, has to be repeated next year.  Let’s all do our part and plant those trees and recruit your neighbor and his kids to fill out 2010’s Bracketplex to make sure we get that $1,000,000 prize offered for the Perfect Bracket.

~Greg

TOP TEN–Movie Badasses

Who is the baddest?

10.  Eric Qualen–Cliffhanger–John Lithgow.

“Kill a few people, they call you a murderer.  Kill a million, and you’re a conqueror.  Go figure.”

A great movie will a great bad guy.  He gets the nod due to this quote, along with “You want to kill me Tucker?  Well, take a number and get in line.”  Classic Stallone movie, but this shows the acting talent of Lithgow, who can go from sentimental hunter in Harry and the Hendersons to cool killer in Cliffhanger.

9.  Darth Maul–Star Wars I:  The Phantom Menace–Ryan Park.

“At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi.  At last we will have our revenge.”

Darth Maul doesn’t get too many lines in the resurrection of the Star Wars franchise, but he carries what could have been a crappy flick.  The only thing better than Darth Maul taking on two Jedi with his double-edged light saber would have been to skewer Ja Ja Binks.

8.  Harry Callahan–Dirty Harry–Clint Eastwood. 

“I know what you’re thinkin’.  Did he fire six shots or only five?  To tell you the truth in all of this excitement, I’ve lost track myself.  But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you have to ask yourself a question.  ‘Do I feel lucky?’  Well, do ya punk?”

The rare good guy, Clint Eastwood proves you can be on the right side of the law and still be a badass.  His penchant for getting into trouble with his superiors and getting his collar make him a classic character.

7.  Liberty Valance–The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance–Lee Marvin.

“Stand and deliver!”

There aren’t that many good quotes for Liberty Valance, but being that this is the greatest Western out there (in my opinion), that really doesn’t matter.  John Wayne?  Jimmy Stewart?  AND Lee Marvin?  It can’t get much better than this.

6.  The Jackal (not pictured)–Jackal–Bruce Willis.

“Ooh, that’s bad.  The blood’s almost black, that means the bullet’s in your liver.  You have about 20 minutes to live.  If the pain gets to be too much, you can take your hand away.  Then you’ll be dead in 5 minutes.”

Another actor who primarily plays guys in the white hat, Bruce Willis delivers a spine-chilling performance as the international terrorist for hire known as The Jackal.  He lights up Jack Black like a Christmas tree.  That has to be worth something.  I hear he’s in a band…both of them.

5.  Clubber Lang–Rocky III–Mr. T.

“Do you have any predictions for the fight?”  “Prediction?”  “Yes, prediciton.”  “Pain.”

I feared Clubber Lang as a 4 year old growing up.  He was so menacing, and how dare he beat Rocky and kill Mick?  A few quotes are enduring (like the above), but so would the brain damage if one of his hooks hit you upside the noggin’.

4.  The Terminator–Terminator–Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

“It can’t be bargained with.  It can’t be reasoned with.  It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear.  And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.”

The perfect part of Schwarzenegger, a nearly non-speaking role, just play a menacing, unstoppable killing machine hell bent on destroying Sarah Connor.  Still, this quote by Kyle Reese, the man sent back in time to protect Sarah, is great.  So good in fact, it is my brother Jeff’s slogan on his paintball gun tank.  Mine is the Lord of the Rings’ One Ring inscription. 

3.  Darth Vader–Star Wars–David Prowse and James Earl Jones.

“Apology accepted, Captain Needa.”

While it pains me to not have Darth Vader any higher, he has the consolation that he held the top spot until the last calendar year.  His dogged pursuit of Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back is fantastic, and throw in the light saber duels, choking people out over video conference call, and his turn back to good makes him a shoe-in for Top 5 consideration for good.

2.  The Joker–The Dark Knight–Heath Ledger.

“Because some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money.  They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with.  Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

It’s truly unfortunate that we will never get to experience Heath Ledger’s performances again, but he went out with a terrific effort in the newest Batman flick.  It is a true pleasure when he is on the screen, and pure terror for everyone else.

1.  Anton Chigurh–No Country For Old Men–Javier Bardem.

“Who are you?”  “Me?”  “Yes.”  “Nobody, accounting.”  “He gave the Mexicans a receiver.”  “He feels, he felt…that more people looking…”  “That’s foolish.  You pick the one right tool.”  “I see.  Are you going to shoot me?”  “That depends.  Do you see me?”

This  guy is the stuff nightmares are made of.  In fact, I had one about his dude just last week.  Completely unrelenting and completely terrifying, Chigurh’s character is the epitome of badass.  And he gets away with everything too, leaving nobody alive in his wake.

~Also receiving votes:  Devil, End of Days, Gabriel Byrne.

~Greg