The Inverted W

Big shout out to my brother Steven for bringing this article to my attention today! With the news that the great and powerful Stephen Strasburg has been put on the 15 Day Disabled List due to a strained shoulder, it has opened the debate floor as to why Strasburg already has arm problems. The best part about this article is that it was written over a year ago. 

I had always been aware of power pitchers who are guilty of bringing their elbows higher than their shoulder plane were usually ripe for devasting injury which sometimes required the dreaded Tommy John surgery i.e. Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Joel Zumaya to name a few. I wasn't aware that there is an actual term for that mechanical flaw, and it's called The Inverted W (pictured above). Maybe it's part of the reason why Strasburg has shoulder problems already, or maybe it isn't. I tend to think it is, especially in light of Strasburg's 90 Mile an Hour Changeup.

One thing I can say with confidence however, is that I don't think we as baseball fans should be expecting a long career from one of the most legendary draft picks to ever come out in Baseball History.

15 Second Rule

I've been meaning to get to this, but just in case you were wondering I LOVE that Rick Pitino being nothing more than a hypocritical dirtball scumbag is now officially public record. One of the things that makes Pitino absolutely deplorable is that he will use death as a means to try and convince people that he's a nice guy, and/or people should leave him alone. His list of deaths that he's used over the years include his late son Daniel's death of a congenital heart defect at the age of 6 months, his brother in law Billy Minardi's death on 9/11, and even Ted Kennedy's death when Pitino had his infamous press conference when told the media to stop reporting these "lies". Pitino, who once wrote a self-help book called (and I'm not making this up) "Success Is A Choice" despite running the Boston Celtics into the ground as well as have a "holier than thou" arrogantly catholic approach to his life and family, while being the subject of numerous recruiting violations over the years.

Now comes word that Mister Integrity himself not only has affairs (albeit 15 seconds worth) outside of his perfect marriage - even though once again he demanded that the media stop reporting these "lies" - but also didn't mind putting aside those supposed die hard catholic beliefs aside so that his WHOOOOARE could have an abortion.

Deadspin and Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio are covering the public flogging of Pitino like a blanket, and they couldn't have found a more deserving target. No one escapes their past Rick, especially when it's built on lies and hypocrisy.

What......WHAT?!

So I'm sure you have all heard the bizarre nature of this equally bizarre story by now yes? To quickly sum up : It was on ESPN.com, then it was removed, Deadspin recovered it and made it available, ESPN gave a B.S. Spin Cycle answer of "it was inadvertently put on the server", as to why it was removed.
After reading it, I can honestly say it wasn't really that entertaining, or intriguing, or shocking for lack of a better word. By all other stories I've read or heard about celebrities or athletes in Las Vegas, LeBron's experience was incredibly tame, to the point where I'm convinced that I'M actually capable of partying way harder than LeBron when I'm in Vegas!

There are any number of theories as to why it was pulled from the website. Everything from, "It makes LeBron look like a child" to "It looks bad if it seems that many NBA players go to Las Vegas all the time because of the gambling availability" and so on, are all perfectly good enough guesses. If I had to come up with a reason as to why, I would guess that it's mainly because it specifically names Maverick Carter as the man behind "The Decision" idea, and it makes ESPN look like they are subservient to superstar athletes, rather than jouranlists.

If that's the case than it just further shows how completely out of touch ESPN really is. Everyone with a three digit I.Q. already knows that ESPN is nothing more than a well-oiled P.R. Machine with zero journalistic integrity, and if they didn't before "The Decision", they certainly know it now. Anyway as I said, the story and the way it's been handled is bizarre, and if it gives people like me another reason to hate LeBron so be it?

Now if I could JUST get confirmation of he juicy rumore I heard that someone went up to Dwayne Wade and asked "How does it feel to be Scottie Pippen?", and that there's now tension between Wade and LBJ...

Open Post To My Guy Mike

One of the joys or writing this blog is to get reactions like the one I received from my friend Mike, who is a very knowledgeable and impassioned sports fan. It's guys like him and Rossi, that will go tooth and nail with anyone when they think they're right, and I'm more than happy to accommodate either one of them when they feel the need to come at The Beard. So a big "Keep up the great work guys!" to not only Mike and Rossi, but to Joe, Steven, Thomas and the rest of you dear readers as well! You make Whitey Guccione a fun place to be!

With all that said, I'd like to post a rebuttal to Mike's "Moneyball" comments, but since I don't think I'll have enough room in the comments section, I'll just take a whole post instead since Mike provided a whole lot to chew on, and I'll need to systematically go through certain excerpts.

1. "The job of a GM is to get the team in that position in the first place.": No, the job of a GM is to build a team that wins the World Series, period. GM's have no other expectations whatsoever. Everything they do is designed to achieve the goal of a World Championship. Any GM that's happy or satisfied with anything less than that, will be let go/terminated by any self-respecting organization, and being happy with just going to the playoffs from a fan perspective is nothing but Loser Talk, plain and simple. You can ask your heroes Boers & Bernstein if you don't believe me.

2. "Hudson, Mulder, and Zito were part of Beane's pitching evaluation." : That's perfectly fine, but I would ask you this. Are you aware of where Hudson, Mulder, and Zito went in their respective drafts? Don't worry I'll spare you having to look it up. Hudson was drafted in the 6th round from some small, no-name school called AUBURN. Hudson represents the lowest picked of the three. Mark Mulder was taken #2 overall in the 1998 Draft...number 2. Barry Zito was selected #9 overall in the 1999 Draft. So what's more believable? That Billy Beane scoured the earth using every available resource he had to find these three pitchers that nobody had ever heard of and they turned out to be 3 of the best pitchers in the league because Beane believed in them, or that those 3 were very well known and highly evaluated pitchers going into their respective drafts and the A's were just plain lucky enough to be in position to draft them? I think the latter part is more accurate, so let's not act like Billy Beane's genius evaluation skills were responsible for their success when it's more likely they were going to be successful no matter what.

3. "It's unfair to judge Beane's efforts based on the playoffs. He admits his system applies only to the regular season where the sample size is large enough to evaluate what's going on." : OK, well what's been the problem lately then? I hate to bring this to your attention but his wonderful system hasn't worked too well. In the past three seasons since their last playoff appearance they've finished at least 10 games under .500 each season, and the best part is, their pitching has been pretty good the entire time. Check out this breakdown:

2007 A's AL Rankings : Team ERA (6th out of 14); Team Runs Scored Per Game (11th out of 14)
2008 A's AL Rankings : Team ERA (5th out of 14); Team Runs Scored Per Game (14th out of 14)
2009 A's AL Rankings : Team ERA (3rd out of 14); Team Runs Scored Per Game (9th out of 14)
2010 A's AL Rankings : Team ERA (2nd out of 14); Teams Runs Scored Per Game (11th out of 14)

So while they may not have The Big 3 anymore, it's not like they haven't gotten any solid pitching since they've finished in the top half of the American League in Team ERA the entire time, wouldn't you agree? Assuming you do, you also have to concede that the A's Offense has been terrible the past 3-4 seasons. When you have a book written about how brilliant you are for valuing On-Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage above all other offensive metrics, and your team that YOU put together still finish in the bottom half - including a last in the league ranking one season - in Runs Scored Per Game, that is a HUGE Indictment of your ability and effectiveness as a General Manager. Or is the sample size not big enough?

In closing Mike, I would also ask you these questions. I had heard from an anonymous source, that you place a tremendous over-emphasis on regular season win totals in baseball. Is this true? If so I would like to ask you where the 1993 San Francisco Giants rank in your "greatest baseball teams of all time"? That team won 103 games and didn't make the playoffs. Since I'm one of these people that believes Championships are the best way to rank the greatest teams of all time, the 93 Giants don't really come up much in that conversation, but I'm curious to see if they come up in your conversations?

I can't wait for your comments buddy!

Why? (Part II)

As I was driving south on I-880 on my way to work today, I noticed a funny thing at the Oakland Alameda-Coliseum. The tarp covering the top rows of seats was missing. This is unusual during baseball season, and since there's no Raider preseason game happening anytime soon, it struck me as odd for a moment. Then I suddenly realized why the tarps are off....today was the first day of principle photography for the movie adaptation of Moneyball.

The other thing that struck me as odd, is that after being initially shelved, the Moneyball Project was re-lit with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin taking over. For the life of me, I still can't figure out why this movie is being made, much less which casting director is high off their ass for casting Brad Pitt as Billy Beane and Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Art Howe? For those who never got around to reading the book, the best way to succinctly summarize it is that the Oakland A's were the first team to use sabermetrics in their approach to fielding a winning team NOT because they WANTED to, but because they were forced to because they don't have nearly the budget, fan attendance, or television/radio deals the Major Market teams have.

The book is a good read overall, if not an arrogant read. It's written by a very smug, know-it-all guy in Michael Lewis who's a great writer, just ask him and he'll tell you. Lewis also writes in a way that almost seems like lecturing the reader at certain parts. In a way he was perfect for writing about Billy Beane, as Beane is very much like Lewis in that he also believes he has a better pot to piss in.

Both Beane's and Lewis' arrogance and perpetual self-congratualtions would be fine though if there wasn't one little flaw...it didn't work. The Oakland A's have won exactly ONE playoff series in 11 years that they've been implementing sabermetrics in their organizational philiosophy. They claim that no matter what you try to do as an organization the playoffs are a "crapshoot". Funny how the Yankees don't really believe that, but OK. The other problem Moneyball has, is the Minnesota Twins. Up until recently, the Twins didn't have any damn money either. Rather than dive in with both feet into the Sabermetrics pool, the Twins actually did something crazy and built a farm system that was designed to develop young players that are very skilled defensively to come in to replace any superstars they developed once they left for greener pastures financially (read Torii Hunter and Johan Santana). The Twins also managed to beat those genius Oakland A's in the 2002 playoffs.

I could go on and on about why I don't think Moneyball is the End All Be All, but that's not the point. The point is, what is this movie going to be about? If it's about the role Sabermetrics played in getting baseball fans to rethink and re-evaluate players and teams, fine. I actually agree with that, and have come to appreciate baseball more as a result of the advanced stats, but I'm not sure that really translates to the big screen though? If it's about the genius and courage of Billy Beane, then the movie is going to have a VERY unhappy ending. If it's about charismatic characters, then they are going to have to take a lot of liberties with the truth because 90% of the people involved are about as interesting and dynamic as a block of cheese.

Which leads me to my original question, why is this movie being made? More importantly, who is it being made for? A's fans? I'm not sure they'll be too thrilled about this trip down memory lane. Baseball fans? Well....OK I guess but again there's that whole near ZERO playoff success thing. See where I'm going with this?

Obviously Stephen Soderbergh figured out this movie is destined to be a box office turd. Aaron Sorkin has done some good work in the past, but even he will be faced with a challenge that nobody seems to be able to answer:

How was Moneyball something more than just "Hudson, Mulder, and Zito"?

Why? (Part I)

I'm back from my Canadian Tour and I'm happy to report that Whitey Guccione is big among the Great White North. Per the request of my good friend Thomas, as well as others, I've been asked to give my take on the Dez Bryant refusing to carry Roy Williams pads incident. I'd like to point out first of all that these stories only really become stories due to the fact that NFL Training Camp is a pretty dead period, and the media will report damn near anything when given the opportunity. This is one of those opportunities. Nevertheless, there is some interesting subtext to this, mainly because of the people involved and the history behind these NFL "traditions".

Let's start with Roy Williams. After amassing three solid productive seasons from 2004-2006 which included a Pro-Bowl in '06, Williams has had a precipitous fall in both numbers and reputation ever since. He did have a somewhat decent season last year statistically, hauling in 38 passes, 7 of which went for Touchdowns but that was hardly enough production for a guy signed to a 6 year, $54 million dollar contract. Jerry Jones and the rest of those in Cowboyland thought the same thing, so they went ahead and drafted Bryant in what seemed like a move destined to doom Roy to the Cut List.

As for Bryant, well he's certainly been no stranger to controversy thus far, has he? We all now know that his mother WASN'T a prostitute thanks to Miami Dolphins General Manger Jeff Ireland double checking that with Dez before the draft. Bryant is also the same guy that didn't fully disclose his dealings with Deion Sanders and therefore had the rest of his eligibility stripped from him by the NCAA in 2009. So it's safe to say that at the very least, Dez doesn't mind being his own man and going his own way versus the conventional route.

As for the "tradition" itself, it's one of the many stupid-ass hazing rituals that take place in the NFL that I wish would just go the hell away. I understand the point of hazing, grab-assing, ball-busting among sports teams but too often the line gets crossed. I can recall the time Jeremy Shockey decided he didn't want to color inside the lines in his rookie tradition expectations, and he ended up brawling with veteran linebacker Brandon Short because he wanted to sing his Alma mater "after I finish eating".

So in summary, I'm OK with Bryant refusing to carry his pads, just as long as he understands everything that comes with that refusal. First of all, veterans have a funny way of evening the odds - just ask Shawne Merriman. The second thing Bryant needs to understand is that if he's going to refuse this expectation, he's raising the stakes for what the Cowboys expect from him. If he's asking for special treatment like this, he has to show that he is a special player each and every time out there. That not only means he must shine on the field on Sundays but also must run 110% on every drill and every practice for the rest of his career - no loafing allowed EVER.

Maybe Bryant will become one of the best receivers in the league, and maybe he won't. Either way though, he has definitely increased the zoom on the microscope of his already carefully examined young career. We shall see exactly whether or not Dez has sabotaged his own chances for success...

Parting Shots

The Beard will be taking his act out on the road starting Thursday. I shall return Monday with fresh thoughts and perspectives, but before I go here are some quick hits:

• I absolutely LOVE that USC is sending Bush's Heisman Trophy from 2005 back! Good luck with Pat Hayden as the new Athletic Director. Not sure what he's going to do? Maybe nothing, or maybe he just needs to be some B.S. Face of Integrity for the university? Either way, I love that USC is being forced to pay the piper. Believe it or not, I'm hearing from these ignorant, arrogant, and self-indulgent USC fans and alumni claiming that they are being "unfairly singled out". If by unfairly singled out, they mean, "It sucks that we got caught cheating" then yes, my hemmorhoids bleed for you Trojan Nation. Go screw yourselves.
• Imagine that, Bobby Jenks blew another win for the White Sox tonight. Jenks gave away the Sox best chance of sweeping the Mariners in Seattle since 1994. So congrats to him on another dubious milestone achieved. I've already shared my thoughts on how much he needs to be removed as the closer post-haste. Hopefully tonight gives Ozzie enough cause to do exactly that as the Sox head into Oakland.
• The rumor mill is circling and candidates Ryne Sandberg, Bob Brenly want to manage the Cubs, and hell even Joe Torre won't rule himself out as a possible candidate. Again, it's going to take more than a good manager to make a winner out of this bunch, and I still don't care what Ricketts said, I don't believe Jim Hendry is back next year.
• The Bulls are supposedly working out Tracy McGrady. YAWN. McGrady is so washed up parents tell their kids to "Tracy McGrady" before they go to bed.

See you guys soon!!!