The Black Sox Faction

The White Sox pursued three major outfielders this off season, and seemingly got their third choice in Nick Swisher. They first went after Tori Hunter and Aaron Rowand to fill in the holes in the outfield but did not get either. This forced them to trade prospects to acquire Swisher. Although it was terrible to trade the prospects*, when one looks @ the three players in a variety of contexts the Sox seem to have come out on top (simply comparing @ the players straight up, not the prospects given up).

Hunter has played in the AL Central his whole career, and he's a great player. He's a two time all star, seven time Gold Glover, and has been in the top 25 of MVP balloting four separate years. He would have been great in the Sox outfield, but no. His $90m/5y contract is so far above what the Sox would pay, he went to California. It's nice to see him out of the division so the Sox don't have to pay him 18 times a year.

Sox fans favourite, Aaron Rowand, would have also looked great back in the outfield. Last year was his best year- 22d in NL MVP voting, an all star appearance, and a gold Glove. He his still on the upside of his career, and I expect him to get 100 rbi's this year. And don't forget, of the three players, he's the only one with a championship.

And then there's Nick Swisher. No all stars, no gold gloves, no world series- but given his age, his salary, his disposition, and that he is a lefty- the Sox seemed to have picked up the player with the biggest upside- despite having to pay heavily in prospects.

With the Sox, it's always salary first. Swisher had just signed an extension that will pay him $26.75 over the next five years. Hunter will make $90, Rowand a bit less than $80. So, for less than 30% of Hunters salary, the Sox get someone who has nearly the same stats- but is just entering his best years. Hunter, 32, will be a productive player for the next few years- but expect swisher to really come into his own. The savings of $11m a year on just one position will allow the Sox to scrimp and save in other areas (shit, what is this- the '78 Sox??).

The same stats?? c'mon, we've heard so much about Hunter, and had the complete enjoymnt watching Rowand in the beginning of his career - and how much have we heard of Swisher? But crunching the batting numbers gives us interesting totals. Swisher comes out really bad in some categories- for example, (all numbers in these comparisons are from the last three years) , his is the lowest battering average of the three by far- .251(s), .279 (h), and .283 (r). He also has the highest strikeout totals of the three - 131(s), 91(h), and 103(r).

But in most other batting stats, he's got better numbers. He leads the three in homers, runs scored, doubles them in walks, and is only 5 rbi behind Hunter. Another clincher is his OBA. Although his batting average is the lowest of the three, his OBA is highest. I was too lazy to figure out what the OBA's for the last three years are, but check out this:

'05/'06/'07

Swisher .322/.372/.371

Hunter .337/.336 /.334

Rowand .329 /.321 /.374

And this hitting in the worst stadium for batting in the majors. To think what numbers he will put up in Comisky is exciting.

These are only batting numbers, and numbers only tell part of the story. Rowand and Hunter are better fielders, although Swisher has that 'run into the fence' quality Sox fans dug fromRowand. Rowand is a champ, and got some all start love this year when he was 29. Hunter has been a regular all star, first when he was 26. Both have recieved Gold Gloves and MVP votes. But given that they both cost about $10m/year more than Swisher, Swisher has generally better or the same stats, he is youngest of all three (having just turned 27 last month) and just entering his best years, is an extremely good teammate, and he's a lefty (to two righties).

It was hard to give up the prospects, but who knows who will make it. Swisher is a known quantity, and we'll be enjoying this player for years to come. There's no way the Sox ill ever pony up $341 million in an off season - just uses that extra $10 on relievers......oh, I guss that's why there are two new relieveres in the Sox pen.

I have to imagine that there will be more moves. There are two shortstops, although I can see Juan Uribe @ second. Then there is the case of third base. Knowing the Sox, it will be Crede and his salary to go. Although the Sox made some moves in the off seaaon, there was not the total redo many thought would happen. In all truth, I could see the Sox recome to-gether as they did after what many thought was a terrible off season after '04. Hopefully last year was just an abberation. We'll have to wait on developments.

Spring training very soon. Very exciting.

..................................................................

*= on the other hand, I am still waiting for Lorenzo Barcelo's star turn.

MLB Payroll-How far we've come

Phil Rogers had a great look at MLB payrolls recently. With the Sox Dotel signing an $11 mill deal, the Cubs and the rest of the league now have a payroll of $2.6 billion. To put that in perspective, Chicago's budget is 5 billion. Here are the projected payrolls;

Largest;
1. Yanks $230mill
2. BoSox $170mill
3.Tigers $133mill
4.Angels $125 mill
5.The CUB $120mill
6. Sox $118 mill

Smallest;
27. Pirates $50
28. Nationals $42
29. Devil Rays $40
30 Marlins $17

Payroll Trends
Increasing; 19 teams
Decreasing; 8
holding steady 3

Al vs. NL

American 14 teams
$102
National 16 teams.
$75

Al ave w/out Yanks and Bosox;
$85

The most obvious conclusions to draw here are threefold.
1. Money may not buy you a title, but it buys you a damn good contending team.
2.You can run a pro team in the MLB for only $17mill
3. For all the grousing of Sox fans that the Cubs spend too much money, this year you'll only spend $2mill less. Put up or shut up!!!!

The Hilts/Namath Award of the Week

And the winners are.....

1967- Eli Manning, yes Eli! What a string of games this kid has had. Against improbable odds in "frozen tundra" Green Bay, Eli of the Manning clan did his best Joe Willie of 1967. Mixing runs and passes well enough to keep Green Bay on its heels. What's the saying, "if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere", well he's just about made it. The Super Bowl set up is much like Jets vs. Colts with the Jets as 16.5 dogs. Can Eli beat the mighty Pats and complete the J.W.N

1976- Brett Favre-gunslinger. He's always had the Namath gunslinger mentality, but now he's got the age to match a transitional Joe Willie on his way to the Rams. Was it just me, or did Favre's face look ancient out there. He looked incredibly unconfortable out there. He is done! Yes the team had a great year, but they should take all of the pieces they have and start tutoring a young QB. Favre will always have the Namath arm, but unfortunately he also has the J.W.N decision making!

Super Bowl nominees next!

NFL Championships

Except for the obvious choice of the Patriots-who would have guessed! Think of it, last years lowly Packers are one game away from the Super Bowl. Marty's firing in San Diego actually worked to further progress. Most surprising are the woefull Giants, a back door entry to the playoffs.


NFC Championship; Giants @ Packers line Pack by 7

It will be Packer weather on Sunday- high of 6 degrees. For the Giants to have even a shred of a chance, Eli will once again have to impersonate Peyton. He is the singular key to this game. Farve should play well enough to earn another and most remarkable return to the Super Bowl.

My pick Packer's by 4.


AFC Championship; Chargers @ Patriots line Pat by 13.5

With injuries to Rivers and L.T., this game is entirely the Patriots to lose. If Voleck starts, the Chargers don't have a chance. The Chargers didn't look that great against the Colts. The Pats should roll.

My pick Pat's by 20

Joak's on them!

Enough already! The Joakim gets suspended by his teammates? This is the NBA - vile personal language is spewed towards coaches everyday. I understand that he's a rook and the head coach had to suspend him, but the team as well is not right. The team meeting was called by Wallace and Adrian Griffen. I'll be honest I don't even know who this guy is or was. As for Wallace, what a Joak. He treated the player's coach Flip Saunders like an English piss bucket. He then proceeded to get Skiles chased out of town.

What is it with Noah? Is it his pedigree that the players don't like. Because if that's the case, they all come to have the arrogance that Noah now has eventually. The bottom line is that he's been suspended for 2 games and they have been killed in both of those. He brings energy and length to everygame, which is much more than Wallace provided these days.

Tom Brady Wannabe!

Tom Brady is the 21th century's Joe Namath. Joe was the best ever very briefly, but he always got the best women and the most press coverage and the most commercials. Tom Brady is now the best ever and he certainly is working on catching Namath in the other categories.

Like Namath, Brady has an innate ability to understand the game better and faster than anyone else on the field. Manning studies endlessly and has a Phd in boring. Like Namath, Brady stars in the "American Hero" as quarterbaback. He has Giselle, the paparazzi, the illegitimate kids, and the Super Bowls. I remember reading Brady say he idolized Namath after his first Super Bowl. He wanted to be as good as him. Well its now Namath wishing he had been Brady.

Scrubs!

The Super Bowl champs are out! Beaten by a San Diego team minus L.T. and Rivers. How is this possible- in Indy of all places. Manning looked mediocre with 2 ints and two failed 4th down conversions. It was more the Colts failure than any dominance by the Chargers. What a way for Indy to go down- to a bunch of Scrubs at home. This does deny us of the Pats/Colts matchup. The Pats should roll over the Chargers-the matchup entirely benefits the Pats. The big question remaining is whether Dungy will remain the coach. Apparently Dungy's kids are enrolled in school in Tampa Bay. Stay tuned...

NFL Playoff Picks

Here we go-the reason we watch pro ball.

Seahawks at Packers / line Pack by 8.
The Seahawks don't impress me at all. Alexander is a shadow of himself and their pass game has always been suspect. Pack is very strong in bad weather at home and well rested.

Pick; GB 31/ Seattle 13

Jaguars at Patriots / line Pats by 13.5
The Jags give the Pats a lot of problems and aren't intimidated at all. They can run on the Pats and that will open up the pass. Brady and Moss will score, but may have difficulty running. This may be the Pats toughest game. They will win, but it may be very close.

Pick; Pats 35/ Jags 28

Chargers at Colts / line Colts by 9
Chargers must rush Manning hard. Tomlinson has been useless against the Colts. Manning played one of his worst games in the SD loss and they still almost won. This should be a reality check for the Chargers-they just aren't very good.

Pick; Colts 38/ Chargers 18

Giants at Cowboys/ line Cowboys by 7.5
I still insist that Eli is worse than Rex. He will fold under the pressure and is no match for the Dallas D which isn't even that great. This is entirely the Cowboys game to lose. Romo needs a great game to get the press off his back and make up for last years botched hold.

Pick; Cowboys 28/ Giants 17

The Black Sox Faction

Goose!!

It's always great when an old Sox player makes it into the Hall of Fame, and yesterdays raising of Rich Gossage into the Hall was well deserved. Growing up in the Seventies and Eighties, he and another Chicago icon Bruce Sutter were the two most mind blowing closers in the game. Since the advent of a position of "The Closer" on teams seemed to gain full steam during these players careers, I have always felt that these two did more than any other to popularize that spot.

Although it is funny to think now, also was a starter. Coming up in the White Sox system, he won his first seven games a long reliever. He became the Sox's closer in 1975. On a terrible team, he was the All Star: 9-8 record, 26 saves, and a 1.84 ERA.

He made the All Star team again in 1976- the only player to ever make it in consecutive years as both a reliever one year and a starter the next- but he had a rough year. He had a decent ERA, but on a miserable team he went 9-17. Ouch.

What will seem familier to Sox fans, he was traded the next year for richie Zisk's one year run in the South Side Hit Men. Most of Gossage's career stats were achieved after leaving Chicago. However, one of my favourite Goose moments came back in Chicago as a Texas Ranger in 1991. He was 40yo and nearing the end of his career- well, he had a few more years- but still being called into games with the outcome in doubt. In July of that year, the Sox were losing 8-6 when they loaded the bases against Goose in the bottom of the ninth. Now remember, I love any old Sox player and I'm not rejoicing in this particular defeat of the Goose- but this game I remember for more reasons than baseball (the girl @ the time, the context, that nite), and so it's always stuck in my mind. The Sox loaded the bases, and Robin Ventura hit one of his near record career grand slams to win in the ninth.

Thanks, Goose, for it all. That fastball. That facial hair. The pitching style. The effect he had on the closer position. And for conjuring up that context. On many levels, I rejoice in the Goose making it to this stage.

Well done.

Bowl Anarchy Society

We take note of L.S.U.'s win against Ohio State in the final bowl game of the 2007 NCAA season. We also note that they can now claim the 'mythical' college championship for this year. Too bad they can't ACTUALLY claim the 2007 NCAA championship, because there is no way to fairly claim the championship these days.

But maybe babysteps are on the way. The important news is not the result of one of the bowl games, no matter how highly touted as a "championship", but rather the possibilty of a four team" after the bowls" playoff. Not exactly what the public needs and deserves - @ least 16 teams, please- but a start.

Black Sox Faction

Swish or Klank??

I'm not that remiss to the Sox trade= Nick Swisher actually seems to be a positive addition to the team, although heavy prospects were given up. It's a gamble, but the Sox have lost super pitching prospects before. Worth it ?? Context is everything.

First, the positives. By all reports, he's a solid positive teammate who bats left and can play CF or first. While not the leadoff man the Sox are looking for (3 SB's last year), he gets on a lot=.381 OBA last year w/ 100 BBs. He also hit 27 HRs, down from 35 the year before. In addition, he is signed through 2012- one imagines that may have been the biggest attration to the Sox organization. So, the Sox were able to pick a real nice player who has lots of serious upsides with no discernable downsides outside of his strikeouts (131 last year- yeesh!!). Good addition- but the price?

Three prospects gone. Ryan Anderson.......err.......Sweeney was one. But the two keys were pitchers Gio Gonzalez and Fautino de los Santos. Both are prospects that have huge upsides, de los Santos in particular. Although this is the third Sox trade Gonzalez has been in, he also was tagged as a potential Sox starter in the furure- even a star.

But strange as it seems, this trade was done for the future. Swisher, only 27, has proven himself and is just entering his best years. He's signed for five more years, and is exactly the sorta player the team should rebuild around. I can't fathom yet how this team is going to do in 2008- changes are not yet done - but I can't imagine the Sox contending with Detroit or Cleveland, let alone Boston etc... But given that the Sox lost out on the available free agent OF's with the laughably high numbers other teams threw @ the players, the Sox as always have to be creative. This trade added a solid player to the team who will be around for a long time. Although the prospects given up may very well hurt them terribly in four or five years when they hit their stride- it's still in four or five years and if they hit their stride. I think this is a gamble-but not a huge one.

Sox in 2009.

Great Idea

Unless it's the Stanley Cup playoffs or the Olympics, I rarely watch entire hockey games anymore that don't involve the Hawks. But yesterdays "Classic" was a total treat, watched from the opening drop puck till the end of the shootout. The idea to stage a nationally televised game outdoors in a football stadium - Rich Stadium in Buffalo- was inspired. That a massive snowstorm would rage during the game and totally affect play only made the game that more compelling. And given that the 70k+ crowd were treated to -despite the elements- a well played game featuring superstar Sidney Crosby, the afternoon was a great success for the NHL.

Today's NYT has a story about the horrible condition of Heinz Field for the upcoming NFL playoff game in Pittsburgh. A rain contributed to the fall of Heinz's condition= that 3-0 game a few weeks back in the water/mud of the field.

The article makes a point that some of the "terrible condition" NFL games are celebrated to this day- it mentions Vintierra FG in the snow and the Ice Bowl, but I also remember these games= My favourite game of all time, the Bears beating the giants in a freezing snowy Meadowlands, a Denver- Green Bay 1978 MNF game in a blizzard, and the Fog Bowl in the 1988 playoffs. If I remember correctly, the TV ratings went up for each of these games as the contest went on.

It was a good idea for the NHL, and the conditions outdoors contributed to this success. Everything went right. Now, I'm not saying stage this sorta game every week- but I will be looking forward to seeing what the elements will be for the next classic. Here's to staging a Hawks game Soldiers Field next season- and having it on free tv.