Jeter and Tex Bring Home Gold

The trophies just keep coming for the Yankees. This time it is in the shape of a glove, as Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter each won the Gold Glove at their respective positions. For Jeter it is his fourth and Teixeira his third. Jeter should honestly give his to Teixeira too. I mean anyone who watched the Yankees this year noticed Jeter's improved range, but it is a lot easier for him to win the Gold Glove when you consider the fact he is throwing to a Gold Glove first baseman.

And honestly why do pitchers have a Gold Glove category too. Yea some of them are much better at fielding their position than others, but still, They have some many fewer opportunities to be judged on it that bias slips in deeper there than anywhere else. That's part of the reason that of the 104 Gold Gloves in both leagues there have only been 26 different winners among pitchers... the fewest of any position.

Think about that.

NFL Hyperbolic Statements-Week 9

Ugly uni's inspire a win. From heroes to zeros. A piece of human garbage gets what he deserves. And I have a better chance of playing a 16 game NFL schedule than this guy...

Most Useless Player Ever: Bob Sanders, Colts. Don't get me wrong. I love the way this guy plays. He's a human missile and a real difference maker... on the rare occasion that he's actually on the field. After missing five games with a knee injury, Sanders tore his bicep against the 49ers in the seventh. He's even more useless than the 52nd guy on the team. At least you know he isn't going to play and no one really cares. It's not going to effect anything. When an integral piece like Sanders is in and out, in and out, it creates havoc. I actually think his injuries have been a distraction. The Colts build their defense around him, and his absence seems to effect the Colts D psychologically at times. Sanders games played over the years: 6, 14, 4, 15, 6, 2. In 2007, when he played 15 games, he won Defensive Player of the Year. Shame.

The Universe Finds Balance: Wearing their old orange eyesore uni's in which they once lost 26 straight, the Tampa Bay Bucs broke their seven game losing streak that started this season. I'm sure there's some cosmic significance to this. I just don't know what... yet.

intimidating.

Worst Slide Ever: New York Football Giants (just in case you confused them with the New York Kickball Giants). Once upon a time (30 days ago) the Giants were rolling along, taking care of business and sitting pretty at 5-0. Four games later, they're 5-4, ahead only of the Deadskins in the NFC East. Now they must likely go 5-2 the rest of the way to even consider the playoffs. And what's worse, since the Eagles laid an egg Sunday (rim shot), the #@!* Cowboys are first in the division. Thanks a bunch (superfluous use of parenthesis).

Restoring My Faith In Humanity: Kansas City Chiefs. In a season when everything is wrong, they finally did something right. They cut woman-abusing cretin Larry Johnson. I know in reality Johnson's release is more because of his 2.7 yard average and off-color comments regarding the Chiefs and the fans, but I can't stand any sub-human who would lay his hands on a woman, least of all a 250 pound pro football player. You're a real winner, Larry. I hope you never see a football field again. What's even more satisfying is that the Chiefs cut Johnson just 75 yards short of Priest Holmes' team rushing record.

File This One Under WTF: Sammy Sosa, what the crap is this?!

So Long Jason: The Red Sox declined Jason Varitek's option and it appears that this is the last we've seen of Jason in Boston. It's been a great career for Varitek, which included two rings. He is also the only man to catch four no-hitters. It is time; however, as it is clear that 'Tek's skills have abandoned him. It will be very strange not to see him out there. I wish him all the best.

Some Parade Photos

So here are a couple of shots I took while taking in the ticker-tape parade down Broadway. I might have gotten more except it is difficult to take a good shot when you are only 5'5" tall and in a sea of three million people. Here are some of the better ones including some of what might be the overzealous moron who actually tossed real documents and paperwork out of his office window when he ran out of shredded paper.

Hot Stove Already Burning Strong

The Yankees hadn't even had their parade before some of baseball's teams began wheeling and dealing. We have already mentioned the Rays and their dumping of Akinori Iwamura for a prospect in order to save cash, but there were a lot more notable names on the move with Iwamura.

The first was Jeremy Hermida who was dealt to Boston for prospects Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez. The Sox didn't really give up anything that they would feel. Jones and Alvarez are not top of the line prospects. The reality is Hermida is no longer an up and coming star. He still has time to be a solid player, but he is a long way away from the potential he showed in his first major league at bat when he jacked a grand slam off of Al Reyes.

After a solid 2007 season when he had an OPS of .870, he began a steady decline. Last season he hit .259 but the real decline was shown in his slugging percentage which dipped under .400 to .392.

I'm not sure what the Sox plan on using Hermida for. My initial thoughts drifted to the Sox walking away from Jason Bay and replacing him with the younger and cheaper Hermida. Then I realized that Theo Epstein is not that dumb. At this point Hermida might be best used as a fourth outfielder who could easily step in for J.D. Drew when he misses his standard 25 games per season or simply as a bargaining chip with any potential outfield free agents.

The other big move to take place was a deal between two small market teams exchanging underachieving players. The Brewers gave up on J.J. Hardy and sent him to the Twins for Carlos Gomez.

I would say that the Brewers got fleeced because Gomez is nothing more than a glorified Joey Gathright: All speed and no bat. The reality is the Brewers had to move Hardy while they could still get something for him since Alcides Escobar was easily going to take the job from Hardy who had an off 2009. Hardy will be big for the Twins and if he can return to his 2007-2008 form then that Twins lineup will be solid.

If Hardy is successful in Minnesota then Twins GM Bill Smith will look a little better for his dealing of Johan Santana in 2008. Even with Santana's resent surgery, Smith looked like all he got for the talented lefty was a bag of peanuts. Hardy could change all of that.

So far the hot stove is looking like it wont disappoint. With limited talent in the free agent class we could see a lot more deals going down and that's always a good way to keep baseball at the forefront throughout the off season.

Girardi makes a Difference off the Field

Even I admit this is an awesome story. Good work Joe.

Shut Up Haters

I hate the Yankees. But not for all the reasons you may think. I hate the Yankees because they are the Red Sox rival and rivalries are fun. I am entirely sick of corn-fed Midwesterners, fans sad sack baseball teams with skinflint owners, moaning and crying that the Yankees win because they spend the most money. This of course is a fallacy. Their wealth and spending certainly keeps them and the Red Sox in contention every year. But let's look at the real reason some teams have money and some don't.

Sox and Yankees fans just care more. Rabid fans spend more money. That money translates to resources and eventually rings. This type of disparity is true in ALL sports except the NFL. Example: University of Texas has fans who are crazed for college football. They want to win. They spend mountains money on merch and devoutly attend games. College football is king in Texas, but not so in Connecticut, where we are. UConn couldn't even fill a 40,000 seat stadium the first game after poor Jasper Howard died! A player died and people don't even come to show support.

Admittedly, it's a bit of a chicken and egg thing. Were the Yankees not so successful for about 90 years would the fan base be so passionate? Hard to say. But let's look at two examples that contradict that theory. The Red Sox, of course, went 86 years with no titles and only three World Series appearances. Yet the Red Sox fans continued to come back year after year and sell out games, buy caps and shirts, and watch faithfully every night on TV (ad revenue).

Conversely, the Tampa Bay Rays, perennial AL East whipping boys, finally broke through and made it all the way to the World Series, and they were having trouble selling out ALCS games! Believe me. When contracts for B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria come up, you can bet your Yankees World Series hat that the Tampa front office will tighten their purse strings. The Rays will be back in the basement before long. Someone needs to hold these owners accountable for running teams into the ground while turning a profit, but thats a different story.

Except for the NFL, all sports are largely regional. On the East Coast it's baseball. On the West Coast it's the NBA. The South and Midwest drool over college football and NASCAR. It's about culture and tradition that's all. You care more and you get what you want for a sports product.

A Little Short on Space?

Not sure where 2009 goes, but I'm sure they'll sqeeze it in there somewhere.