If you even have to ask the question, you're probably the answer.
Let me preface this by saying: I've never booed my own team at a sporting event, but I can completely understand why someone would. Especially if they're a Lions fan, if only because they make it so easy. And I was tempted to add this to the laundry list I posted earlier of reasons that I want a new head coach for this team.
But Jim Schwartz's comments to fans after Sunday's game, and the firestorm that ensued, were far more fascinating to me than anything that happened on the field that day, because they serve to illustrate how out-of-touch players and coaches really are with their fanbases sometimes, and how misdirected their ire can be. Instead of lashing out at a team that was about to complete the biggest choke job in Detroit sports since the Tigers' 2010 season that ended in a heartbreaking game 163, Schwartz took his anger out on a fanbase that had finally had enough of his asinine in-game management and giving up with time still on the clock in regulation.
However, this isn't about Schwartz's screw-up, but rather about the "how dare you express your displeasure" mentality that found itself on display this week. After letting the fans have it not once, but twice during the game, he had a few more choice words afterwards: "Our fans have been great for us, but we needed them on our side in overtime." Except that it wasn't overtime yet! You still had a chance to win in regulation, and you got scared and let it go to OT instead. Seems an entirely worthy reason for the crowd to let you have it, in my mind.
Even better was the remark by Schwartz that "I don't know how you cannot" pay attention to the jeering fans. Well, you get paid $6 million a year to figure that out. If you're that rattled by booing that you let it get in your head badly enough to start yelling back, then clearly you don't have the mental toughness to be a head coach in the NFL.
Somewhat overshadowed by Schwartz's response this week were the remarks made by Matthew Stafford's girlfriend, who should really just go back to sitting there and looking pretty. Per her Twitter: "You wouldn't even know we were playing at home the way these fans are booing our home team. #unbelievable" Of course, she left herself wide open for @DetroitKoolAid to win the internet for the week with this comeback "You wouldn't know Stafford played for the Lions the way he keeps throwing to the other team." Ya know, it's all well and good you want to stick up for your man. But next time you have a thought like that, maybe don't post it to Twitter where the most piled-upon fanbase in pro sports can see it.
The other argument I always hear against booing your team is "Well, how would you like it if we came to your work and did it to you?" Clearly, anyone who says this has never worked in customer service. Because as a guy who's worked in foodservice for almost a decade, I'd take booing over some of the shit I've taken there! I can't recall how many times people have said downright nasty and vile things to me because their food was five minutes later than they were told, and threats of violence towards us are not at all out of the ordinary. Spare me your bullshit and come have people screaming in your face on a daily basis for $7.40 an hour. Then we'll fucking talk about who has it worse.
It comes down to this: You pay the price of admission to go to the games, you have the right to criticize or boo the team on the field, or the coaches on the sidelines. Period. Obviously, common decency should prevail (I mean, don't go out of your way to be a dick about it), but just because they're on the field doesn't make them above criticism. And if they can't tune it out for millions of dollars a year... I'll gladly let 'em come toss pizzas with me.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
The War On The "War On Christmas" Has Officially Gone Too Far.
It seems like this comes up at some point every year: The "war on Christmas." The belief that by not going out of their way to acknowledge their religion and only their religion, the rest of the world is clearly trying to bring down Christianity as we know it. A war that's apparently being waged any time some minimum-wage Walmart employee wishes you "happy holidays" instead of "merry Christmas," or anytime a town doesn't erect a nativity scene at city hall, or whenever some dipshit complains to a school district about religious music being played at their kid's band concert.
But it's been at least a fairly non-violent war. Until now.
A Salvation Army bell-ringer was accosted by a woman in Phoenix who took particular offense to the 'holiday' greeting. That's right: Saying "Happy Holidays" is akin to declaring jihad on Christianity, but jaw-jacking somebody for saying it, even someone who's trying to raise money for charity, is entirely acceptable. Because clearly, the Salvation Army is the enemy here. You know, that bastion of atheism and homosexuality, the freaking Salvation Army.
And people wonder why I'm not a practicing member of anything anymore. Are we seriously at the point where we're getting outraged over well-wishes from people? That's really the most offensive thing to you, is someone wishing you well, simply because they don't celebrate the same religious holiday you do? I mean, never mind that Jesus, whether you're a believer or not, is not the "reason for the season," but rather the winter solstice and accompanying pagan celebration, which were in existence long before December 25th was declared by the church to be Jesus' birthday. But even to acknowledge that, god forbid, another holiday exists between Halloween and the new year is something worthy of physical violence?
But that's just one example of how Christianity is being "oppressed" this holiday season. Then, you've got this: a Christian group covering up an atheist display with a banner, then complaining that they're the ones whose right to free speech is being suppressed. Now, I guarantee that if some atheist group were to put a banner over a nativity scene or something similar, Christians would be up in arms over it, and rightfully so. So why is it okay to do it to another group? Part of me is hoping this is a hoax, just because I don't want to believe anyone is this stupid.
What I don't understand is why in the hell it has to be this way. Christians: Your holiday is already recognized by the federal government. Every store on Earth has Christmas sales out the ass. Damn near every show on TV has a Christmas special of some sort. How much more public acknowledgement do you fucking need? Enjoy your holiday and quit shoving it further down everyone's throats. Atheists and whoever the hell else doesn't celebrate a holiday in December: You either have the day off, or you're likely getting time-and-a-half to be there. Let 'em have their damn Christmas songs without complaining that they're trying to indoctrinate you. Enjoy the fucking day off and don't be such a goddamn buzzkill about it.
I'm sorry, but this whole thing has "first-world problems" written all over it. Y'know, there are plenty of examples of freedom of religion being trampled on around the world, and the worst we can come up with here is some vapid talking heads on cable news fretting about whether Jesus and Santa are white. For the love of fuck, it's not like anyone's being arrested or killed for practicing their religion (or lack thereof) however they want to, so why in the hell can't we just live and let live? You go believe whatever you believe, I'll do the same, and neither of us will go start a media firestorm about the other. Deal?
But it's been at least a fairly non-violent war. Until now.
A Salvation Army bell-ringer was accosted by a woman in Phoenix who took particular offense to the 'holiday' greeting. That's right: Saying "Happy Holidays" is akin to declaring jihad on Christianity, but jaw-jacking somebody for saying it, even someone who's trying to raise money for charity, is entirely acceptable. Because clearly, the Salvation Army is the enemy here. You know, that bastion of atheism and homosexuality, the freaking Salvation Army.
And people wonder why I'm not a practicing member of anything anymore. Are we seriously at the point where we're getting outraged over well-wishes from people? That's really the most offensive thing to you, is someone wishing you well, simply because they don't celebrate the same religious holiday you do? I mean, never mind that Jesus, whether you're a believer or not, is not the "reason for the season," but rather the winter solstice and accompanying pagan celebration, which were in existence long before December 25th was declared by the church to be Jesus' birthday. But even to acknowledge that, god forbid, another holiday exists between Halloween and the new year is something worthy of physical violence?
But that's just one example of how Christianity is being "oppressed" this holiday season. Then, you've got this: a Christian group covering up an atheist display with a banner, then complaining that they're the ones whose right to free speech is being suppressed. Now, I guarantee that if some atheist group were to put a banner over a nativity scene or something similar, Christians would be up in arms over it, and rightfully so. So why is it okay to do it to another group? Part of me is hoping this is a hoax, just because I don't want to believe anyone is this stupid.
What I don't understand is why in the hell it has to be this way. Christians: Your holiday is already recognized by the federal government. Every store on Earth has Christmas sales out the ass. Damn near every show on TV has a Christmas special of some sort. How much more public acknowledgement do you fucking need? Enjoy your holiday and quit shoving it further down everyone's throats. Atheists and whoever the hell else doesn't celebrate a holiday in December: You either have the day off, or you're likely getting time-and-a-half to be there. Let 'em have their damn Christmas songs without complaining that they're trying to indoctrinate you. Enjoy the fucking day off and don't be such a goddamn buzzkill about it.
I'm sorry, but this whole thing has "first-world problems" written all over it. Y'know, there are plenty of examples of freedom of religion being trampled on around the world, and the worst we can come up with here is some vapid talking heads on cable news fretting about whether Jesus and Santa are white. For the love of fuck, it's not like anyone's being arrested or killed for practicing their religion (or lack thereof) however they want to, so why in the hell can't we just live and let live? You go believe whatever you believe, I'll do the same, and neither of us will go start a media firestorm about the other. Deal?
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Delayed Reaction and Airing Of Grievances: Jim Schwartz Needs To Go, NOW.
(Editor's note: So, I'm once again guilty of neglecting the blog for weeks at a time. And as such, today's gonna be a day-long hate-fest, with all the ranting that I, or the two people who still read this, can handle. I wanted to do this on Monday, to coincide with Festivus and all that, but my real job got in the way of that plan. But that doesn't mean that I still haven't got a lot of problems with you people, nor that you're not gonna hear about 'em. So, here goes.)
This is what I get for making bold predictions about the Detroit Lions.
Hell, this is what I get for having the slightest bit of faith in the Detroit Lions.
I wrote it in this very space, after the Turkey Day victory over the Packers, so I guess I'll take my beating for it now:
And at the risk of looking like an idiot come the end of this season, it's bold prediction time: The Detroit Lions will be your 2013 NFC North champs.
Obviously, that won't be happening, as Sunday's loss to the G-Men guarantees that no matter how badly Chicago and Green Bay tried to hand them the division on a silver platter, the Lions won't take it now. I could go into the details of Sunday's choke job, but what's the point? You already know what happened, even if you didn't watch the game: Matthew Stafford turned over the ball a ton and threw a pick-six (in this case, to a guy who was in jail the night before); Reggie Bush fumbled at a key point in the game; Calvin Johnson dropped a pass, and is still trying to play through injury; the defense made some no-name receiver look like Calvin Johnson (seriously, who the hell is Jerrel Jernigan?), and Jim Schwartz was awful at managing the play clock again. I could write this very recap at any point in the last month, and it would be entirely accurate.
And that is all the more reason the Jim Schwartz era in Detroit needs to meet it's merciful end.
The same problems that have plagued this team all season, and the last few seasons, were all too visible
on Sunday. And nothing has really been done to correct them; in the case of Stafford, at least, they're actually getting worse. Even his biggest apologists can't argue that Stafford hasn't regressed this season. And considering how great he looked in that 2011 season which ended in their first playoff appearance in over a decade, it's not a lack of talent on his part. Whether it's bad mechanics, or something else, clearly a new coach is needed that can fix a broken quarterback.
The NFC North was essentially gift-wrapped for the Lions this season. They actually had a solid draft; Ziggy Ansah, Darius Slay, and Larry Warford have all made an immediate impact, and they found an undrafted gem in Joe Fauria. There were even some decent free-agent signings in Reggie Bush and Glover Quin. Most importantly, the only other competitive teams in their division lose their starting quarterbacks and other key players for large chunks of the season. And yet... here we sit, on the outside looking in, as Green Bay and Chicago play Sunday to decide which team wants it less. That is inexcusable, and the entire coaching staff should be shown the door immediately following the Minnesota game on Sunday.
There's no reason the Lions should have had another second-half collapse this season. All the talent was there. On paper, this team was as good as any in the league. Yet, they couldn't manage to string together four consecutive quarters of good football if their lives depended on it. How many times have we watched this team blow what should be a fairly safe lead in the fourth quarter this year? Since their win in Chicago, it's been five. And at some point, that has to come back on the coaches. Clearly the players have the ability, but there's something else, whether it's an offense that is, at times, overly conservative late in games, or stupid penalties that bring a successful drive to a screeching halt, or hand a first down to the opposing team, that keeps them from closing out games. And that last part comes back to the clubhouse culture, it's something that has reared its ugly head many times during the Schwartz regime, it's something that really came to the forefront in the arrest-plagued 2012 offseason, and it's something that falls squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff.
How long can you really give a guy to turn around a franchise, even one that sunk to the depths that it did during Matt Millen's tyrannical reign of terror? And how long can you continue to make excuses for this team based on what happened five or more years ago? Wake up: It's not 2008 anymore. Only three players from that roster are even still on this team: Calvin, Andre Fluellen, and Dominic Raiola. What happened back then should have no bearing on what this team does now, nor the expectations that should be set for it. You've had virtually complete turnover of the roster since then, five years of solid, if not spectacular, drafting, and a GM that's given you a roster that provides you every opportunity to win. And yet... here we sit, on the outside looking in. And somehow, Schwartz doesn't consider this to be a failure.
In the post-Millen era, mediocrity is no longer good enough, and underachievement cannot be tolerated. And if Martin Mayhew and the Fords want to send that message, they know what they need to do.
This is what I get for making bold predictions about the Detroit Lions.
Hell, this is what I get for having the slightest bit of faith in the Detroit Lions.
I wrote it in this very space, after the Turkey Day victory over the Packers, so I guess I'll take my beating for it now:
And at the risk of looking like an idiot come the end of this season, it's bold prediction time: The Detroit Lions will be your 2013 NFC North champs.
Obviously, that won't be happening, as Sunday's loss to the G-Men guarantees that no matter how badly Chicago and Green Bay tried to hand them the division on a silver platter, the Lions won't take it now. I could go into the details of Sunday's choke job, but what's the point? You already know what happened, even if you didn't watch the game: Matthew Stafford turned over the ball a ton and threw a pick-six (in this case, to a guy who was in jail the night before); Reggie Bush fumbled at a key point in the game; Calvin Johnson dropped a pass, and is still trying to play through injury; the defense made some no-name receiver look like Calvin Johnson (seriously, who the hell is Jerrel Jernigan?), and Jim Schwartz was awful at managing the play clock again. I could write this very recap at any point in the last month, and it would be entirely accurate.
And that is all the more reason the Jim Schwartz era in Detroit needs to meet it's merciful end.
The same problems that have plagued this team all season, and the last few seasons, were all too visible
on Sunday. And nothing has really been done to correct them; in the case of Stafford, at least, they're actually getting worse. Even his biggest apologists can't argue that Stafford hasn't regressed this season. And considering how great he looked in that 2011 season which ended in their first playoff appearance in over a decade, it's not a lack of talent on his part. Whether it's bad mechanics, or something else, clearly a new coach is needed that can fix a broken quarterback.
The NFC North was essentially gift-wrapped for the Lions this season. They actually had a solid draft; Ziggy Ansah, Darius Slay, and Larry Warford have all made an immediate impact, and they found an undrafted gem in Joe Fauria. There were even some decent free-agent signings in Reggie Bush and Glover Quin. Most importantly, the only other competitive teams in their division lose their starting quarterbacks and other key players for large chunks of the season. And yet... here we sit, on the outside looking in, as Green Bay and Chicago play Sunday to decide which team wants it less. That is inexcusable, and the entire coaching staff should be shown the door immediately following the Minnesota game on Sunday.
There's no reason the Lions should have had another second-half collapse this season. All the talent was there. On paper, this team was as good as any in the league. Yet, they couldn't manage to string together four consecutive quarters of good football if their lives depended on it. How many times have we watched this team blow what should be a fairly safe lead in the fourth quarter this year? Since their win in Chicago, it's been five. And at some point, that has to come back on the coaches. Clearly the players have the ability, but there's something else, whether it's an offense that is, at times, overly conservative late in games, or stupid penalties that bring a successful drive to a screeching halt, or hand a first down to the opposing team, that keeps them from closing out games. And that last part comes back to the clubhouse culture, it's something that has reared its ugly head many times during the Schwartz regime, it's something that really came to the forefront in the arrest-plagued 2012 offseason, and it's something that falls squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff.
How long can you really give a guy to turn around a franchise, even one that sunk to the depths that it did during Matt Millen's tyrannical reign of terror? And how long can you continue to make excuses for this team based on what happened five or more years ago? Wake up: It's not 2008 anymore. Only three players from that roster are even still on this team: Calvin, Andre Fluellen, and Dominic Raiola. What happened back then should have no bearing on what this team does now, nor the expectations that should be set for it. You've had virtually complete turnover of the roster since then, five years of solid, if not spectacular, drafting, and a GM that's given you a roster that provides you every opportunity to win. And yet... here we sit, on the outside looking in. And somehow, Schwartz doesn't consider this to be a failure.
In the post-Millen era, mediocrity is no longer good enough, and underachievement cannot be tolerated. And if Martin Mayhew and the Fords want to send that message, they know what they need to do.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Despite Nathan Signing, Fister Trade Still Among Dombrowski's Worst
Somewhere, Jon Daniels and Dayton Moore are laughing their asses off. Dave Dombrowski has done something that hasn't happened since the deal that sent Omar Infante to Atlanta for Jacque Jones: he got absolutely fleeced in a trade.
It was fairly obvious from the start of this offseason that at least one starting pitcher was going to get traded. Dombrowski had made it clear that Drew Smyly would be in the rotation come 2014, so somebody had to go. And sure enough, it was Doug Fister that got shipped out to Washington, to join an already solid pitching staff in Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, and some other guy. But the return was far less than anyone could have anticipated.
Keep in mind before we get too far into this: Doug Fister is a top-25 pitcher in this league, without question. Per Fangraphs, he ranks 9th in WAR, 13th in FIP, and 20th in ERA over the last three seasons. A lot has been made by factions of this fanbase that we're overvaluing Fister, but those numbers don't lie. And the free-agent market for pitchers is so bad, that the Royals just gave Jason Vargas $32 milion, and the Twins gave Ricky Nolasco $49 million! Hell, Scott Kazmir was just handed a two year, $22 million deal! Not to mention, the last time a pitcher of Doug's caliber was traded, he commanded the best position player in Kansas City's farm system and a decent pitching prospect as well. Fister is projected to make, at most, $15 million over the next two years. That being said, what does a top cost-controlled pitcher in this league get you in trade?
Not very much, evidently. The players expected to make an immediate impact are filler at best. Steve Lombardozzi makes yesterday's signing of Don Kelly entirely redundant. He had an OPS+ of 69 last year (a league-average player's is 100, and Kelly's was 76), and hit .259/.278/.338 in that same season. Technically he can play second, third, short, and left, but he doesn't have the arm to play any of them capably, save for maybe second. Then, there's Ian Krol, whose upside is 2012 Phil Coke. In 27 innings last year, Krol had a 3.95 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, 28 hits and 22 strikeouts. Not particularly impressive numbers, and his splits against righties are absolutely dreadful, making his ceiling as a LOOGY and not much more.
Then we come to Robbie Ray, the centerpiece of this deal that Trader Dave is high on, for some reason. Ranked #7 in the Nationals' system, it's hard to see why. His ceiling seems to be #3 starter, but it's almost as likely that he ends up in the bullpen as well. At any rate, he's not expected to be major-league ready until 2015 at the earliest. He, too, has some rather ugly platoon splits, not to mention command issues.
It makes you wonder, how he couldn't do any better. If you believe ESPN's Keith Law, there's several other GM's around this league wondering the same thing. This is the best we could get? No Taylor Jordan? No Drew Storen? No Tyler Clippard, even?
Then, what do the Tigers do with the savings from Fister's deal? Why, go and overpay for a 39-year old closer coming off a career year, of course. To be fair, I like the Joe Nathan signing a lot, and it gives this team the shutdown closer it really hasn't had since... I dunno, Willie Hernandez? Sure, Jose Valverde and Fernando Rodney had their spots, but they also had some abysmal years as well. Nathan, on the other hand, hasn't had a down year since the Giants converted him from a starter in 2002, save for a shortened 2011 campaign in which he was coming off Tommy John surgery.
The Nathan signing is definitely one that needed to happen, given the Tigers' complete lack of a bullpen at the moment. But that said, let's hope that Trader Dave isn't done working magic yet. Because if this team goes into 2014 with Andy Dirks as its everyday left fielder, and Coke, Krol, and Luke Putkonen as it's primary go-to bullpen pieces, next season's gonna hurt a hell of a lot.
It was fairly obvious from the start of this offseason that at least one starting pitcher was going to get traded. Dombrowski had made it clear that Drew Smyly would be in the rotation come 2014, so somebody had to go. And sure enough, it was Doug Fister that got shipped out to Washington, to join an already solid pitching staff in Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, and some other guy. But the return was far less than anyone could have anticipated.
Keep in mind before we get too far into this: Doug Fister is a top-25 pitcher in this league, without question. Per Fangraphs, he ranks 9th in WAR, 13th in FIP, and 20th in ERA over the last three seasons. A lot has been made by factions of this fanbase that we're overvaluing Fister, but those numbers don't lie. And the free-agent market for pitchers is so bad, that the Royals just gave Jason Vargas $32 milion, and the Twins gave Ricky Nolasco $49 million! Hell, Scott Kazmir was just handed a two year, $22 million deal! Not to mention, the last time a pitcher of Doug's caliber was traded, he commanded the best position player in Kansas City's farm system and a decent pitching prospect as well. Fister is projected to make, at most, $15 million over the next two years. That being said, what does a top cost-controlled pitcher in this league get you in trade?
Not very much, evidently. The players expected to make an immediate impact are filler at best. Steve Lombardozzi makes yesterday's signing of Don Kelly entirely redundant. He had an OPS+ of 69 last year (a league-average player's is 100, and Kelly's was 76), and hit .259/.278/.338 in that same season. Technically he can play second, third, short, and left, but he doesn't have the arm to play any of them capably, save for maybe second. Then, there's Ian Krol, whose upside is 2012 Phil Coke. In 27 innings last year, Krol had a 3.95 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, 28 hits and 22 strikeouts. Not particularly impressive numbers, and his splits against righties are absolutely dreadful, making his ceiling as a LOOGY and not much more.
Then we come to Robbie Ray, the centerpiece of this deal that Trader Dave is high on, for some reason. Ranked #7 in the Nationals' system, it's hard to see why. His ceiling seems to be #3 starter, but it's almost as likely that he ends up in the bullpen as well. At any rate, he's not expected to be major-league ready until 2015 at the earliest. He, too, has some rather ugly platoon splits, not to mention command issues.
It makes you wonder, how he couldn't do any better. If you believe ESPN's Keith Law, there's several other GM's around this league wondering the same thing. This is the best we could get? No Taylor Jordan? No Drew Storen? No Tyler Clippard, even?
Then, what do the Tigers do with the savings from Fister's deal? Why, go and overpay for a 39-year old closer coming off a career year, of course. To be fair, I like the Joe Nathan signing a lot, and it gives this team the shutdown closer it really hasn't had since... I dunno, Willie Hernandez? Sure, Jose Valverde and Fernando Rodney had their spots, but they also had some abysmal years as well. Nathan, on the other hand, hasn't had a down year since the Giants converted him from a starter in 2002, save for a shortened 2011 campaign in which he was coming off Tommy John surgery.
The Nathan signing is definitely one that needed to happen, given the Tigers' complete lack of a bullpen at the moment. But that said, let's hope that Trader Dave isn't done working magic yet. Because if this team goes into 2014 with Andy Dirks as its everyday left fielder, and Coke, Krol, and Luke Putkonen as it's primary go-to bullpen pieces, next season's gonna hurt a hell of a lot.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Disjointed Thoughts: On The Rivalry, The Title Game, And Other B1G Musings...
While I normally don't like doing these sort of catch-all posts, I realize it's kinda necessary if I really want to get my thoughts on the weekend in college football out there before the next weekend in college football. Story of my life: too much to write about, so little time to do it. Therefore: bullet points!
-The Big Game. Give credit to the Wolverines for making this far closer than it had any right to be. The offense got about as aggressive and creative as we've seen this year. Even as injured as he was, Devin Gardner threw for 451 yards and 4 touchdowns, and the running game came up with 152 yards of their own. It leads one to question: Where the hell has this been all season? Al Borges couldn't have pulled out any of these plays when Michigan was still playing for something? Clearly if they can hang with the 2nd-ranked team in the nation, they should have had no problems against Akron and Northwestern, right?
-The play. Despite what many will tell you, going for the two-point conversion was absolutely the right move to make. Given that nobody expected this game to be this close at the end, Devin Gardner was near death, and you essentially had no kicker, going for the win in regulation was the only option. Unfortunately, the execution left much to be desired, and it was only made worse by the fact that they ran a play that the Buckeyes saw coming from a mile away, which linebacker Ryan Shazier admitted after the game. Even more so when you consider that OSU called a timeout to adjust to the play they knew was coming, and the Wolverines came back onto the field in the exact same formation, having changed absolutely nothing. And they wonder why the play failed so miserably.
-The decision. Much has been made of Taylor Lewan's claim that Brady Hoke polled the seniors as to whether they should go for the two points. The players all agreed that they should, and this has been held up as proof that Hoke isn't a good coach in his own right. And while there's probably a case to be made for that, this isn't it. Clearly he knew he was going for two before using his ask-the-audience lifeline during the OSU timeout, and would have done so either way, so just stop it.
-The vote of confidence. Much as Dave Brandon gave it to Brady Hoke earlier in the week, Hoke did to his staff today, announcing that everyone will return next year. Whether Dave Brandon sees it that way is yet to be determined, but if so, that raises the bar higher than at any point in Hoke's tenure here. Even a sacrificial offering of Borges or Darrell Funk would probably buy Hoke more time to right the ship, but if he does indeed stay the course, the only acceptable outcome in the 2014 season can be winning the Legends/whatever-the-hell-they-name-the-division next year. Anything less should result in Hoke and his entire staff getting the boot. No excuses. This team hasn't made any progress since his first season, when he took a team comprised mostly of RichRod's players to the Sugar Bowl.
-The B1G Game. If you're Michigan State, you should be damn thankful right now that the Wolverines just gave you the blueprints on how to beat Ohio State in next weekend's conference championship game. The Buckeye pass defense had no answer for Devin Gardner all afternoon, and the Wolverines' pass defense managed to neutralize Braxton Miller's passing game, but couldn't do much to stop him and Carlos Hyde from running all over them. But, while Ohio State has the #1 rushing offense in the country (Hyde by himself has put up 7.8 yards per carry this season), Michigan State just happens to have the #1 rushing defense, allowing the fewest yards per carry (2.23) by any team in the last 4 years. If Connor Cook can buy himself enough time in the pocket to make big plays, and the Spartan defense can contain the running game, you might just be looking at an upset in Indy this weekend.
-The Big Game. Give credit to the Wolverines for making this far closer than it had any right to be. The offense got about as aggressive and creative as we've seen this year. Even as injured as he was, Devin Gardner threw for 451 yards and 4 touchdowns, and the running game came up with 152 yards of their own. It leads one to question: Where the hell has this been all season? Al Borges couldn't have pulled out any of these plays when Michigan was still playing for something? Clearly if they can hang with the 2nd-ranked team in the nation, they should have had no problems against Akron and Northwestern, right?
-The play. Despite what many will tell you, going for the two-point conversion was absolutely the right move to make. Given that nobody expected this game to be this close at the end, Devin Gardner was near death, and you essentially had no kicker, going for the win in regulation was the only option. Unfortunately, the execution left much to be desired, and it was only made worse by the fact that they ran a play that the Buckeyes saw coming from a mile away, which linebacker Ryan Shazier admitted after the game. Even more so when you consider that OSU called a timeout to adjust to the play they knew was coming, and the Wolverines came back onto the field in the exact same formation, having changed absolutely nothing. And they wonder why the play failed so miserably.
-The decision. Much has been made of Taylor Lewan's claim that Brady Hoke polled the seniors as to whether they should go for the two points. The players all agreed that they should, and this has been held up as proof that Hoke isn't a good coach in his own right. And while there's probably a case to be made for that, this isn't it. Clearly he knew he was going for two before using his ask-the-audience lifeline during the OSU timeout, and would have done so either way, so just stop it.
-The vote of confidence. Much as Dave Brandon gave it to Brady Hoke earlier in the week, Hoke did to his staff today, announcing that everyone will return next year. Whether Dave Brandon sees it that way is yet to be determined, but if so, that raises the bar higher than at any point in Hoke's tenure here. Even a sacrificial offering of Borges or Darrell Funk would probably buy Hoke more time to right the ship, but if he does indeed stay the course, the only acceptable outcome in the 2014 season can be winning the Legends/whatever-the-hell-they-name-the-division next year. Anything less should result in Hoke and his entire staff getting the boot. No excuses. This team hasn't made any progress since his first season, when he took a team comprised mostly of RichRod's players to the Sugar Bowl.
-The B1G Game. If you're Michigan State, you should be damn thankful right now that the Wolverines just gave you the blueprints on how to beat Ohio State in next weekend's conference championship game. The Buckeye pass defense had no answer for Devin Gardner all afternoon, and the Wolverines' pass defense managed to neutralize Braxton Miller's passing game, but couldn't do much to stop him and Carlos Hyde from running all over them. But, while Ohio State has the #1 rushing offense in the country (Hyde by himself has put up 7.8 yards per carry this season), Michigan State just happens to have the #1 rushing defense, allowing the fewest yards per carry (2.23) by any team in the last 4 years. If Connor Cook can buy himself enough time in the pocket to make big plays, and the Spartan defense can contain the running game, you might just be looking at an upset in Indy this weekend.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Turkey Day Game: Scumbags 40, Packers 10.
Just when you think this team's down for the count, they go and put on a performance like Thursday's.
And make no mistake, this was a statement the Lions desperately needed to make.
But early on, it didn't look as though they would. The turnover-happy offense from the Tampa Bay game held over into the first half of this week, with Reggie Bush fumbling the ball inside the Green Bay 10 on the Lions' first drive of the game. After a pair of field goals tied the game at 3, Green Bay' Nick Perry strips the ball from Matt Stafford on the opening play of the next drive to put the Pack up 10-3. On the next drive, Stafford gets picked off for the first of two times in this game, but the Packers failed to score on the ensuing drive.
At this point, one could certainly be forgiven for thinking the Lions had learned nothing from the last two weeks. But that would be overlooking an absolutely dominant performance by a D-line that has been greatly helped by the return of Ziggy Ansah, and the fact that Detroit had outgained the Packers 340-43 at the half, which would seem to indicate a team that was suffering from dumb luck, and maybe the lack of a competent kicker. But we'll get to that later.
Sure enough, luck would finally swing the Lions' way in the second half, as Green Bay wouldn't score another point. After the first Stafford interception, the Detroit D-line wouldn't allow the Packers to move the chains on their next five drives, while the offense continued putting a show of their own. This was as good of a performance as this offensive line has put together in a long time; Stafford was only sacked once, and the run offense put up its best numbers in almost a decade, 241 yards on 43 carries. To put that in perspective, the Lions haven't gained over 200 rushing yards in a game since 2004. Despite the early fumble, Bush averaged 5.9 yards per carry on Thursday's game, with 117 yards over 20 carries.
Even the secondary, which has drawn the ire of many over the last few weeks, looks to have greatly improved, particularly Darius Slay, who looked damn solid today. Yes, I'm aware of the garbage-time pickoff by James Jones. But Slay still put himself in good position to pick it off, and it's more a credit to Jones' aggressiveness than a slight on Slay's playmaking.
And you really can't say enough about that defensive line. The Dirtbags came up with 7 sacks and two fumble recoveries, allowing a grand total of 24 rushing yards on 15 carries, not to mention Ndamukong Suh dragging Matt Flynn down in his own endzone for the safety which, if it didn't put the nail in the coffin, it certainly signified the point at which the Packers stopped trying. Nothing "dirty" about any of that. And who can honestly say that, even without the time missed to injury, that rookie Ansah would already have 7 sacks to his credit this year, considering the guy he replaced at his position, Kyle VandenBosch, had all of 3.5 last year?
And you really can't say enough about that defensive line. The Dirtbags came up with 7 sacks and two fumble recoveries, allowing a grand total of 24 rushing yards on 15 carries, not to mention Ndamukong Suh dragging Matt Flynn down in his own endzone for the safety which, if it didn't put the nail in the coffin, it certainly signified the point at which the Packers stopped trying. Nothing "dirty" about any of that. And who can honestly say that, even without the time missed to injury, that rookie Ansah would already have 7 sacks to his credit this year, considering the guy he replaced at his position, Kyle VandenBosch, had all of 3.5 last year?
Somewhere in Green Bay, Josh Sitton is no doubt wishing he'd never opened his mouth.
For all that, though, there's still some issues to be addressed here. I've gone on about the turnovers and interceptions these last few weeks, and at the half, it really seemed like this was going to be another game blown by Detroit's inability to hold on to the ball. But in the second half, save for a pickoff in the endzone by Sam Shields in the third quarter, those fears were mostly unfounded.
Also, can we admit that signing David Akers may not have been a good idea? Missing a 31-yarder Thursday, making him 8-for-13 on the year in the 30-49 yard range, is not making a strong case for his continued presence on this team. And while I'm not entirely sold on the "bring back Kickalicious" bandwagon just yet, I'd rather take the relatively inexperienced guy over the past-his-prime guy who can't get it done. You can at least make the case that the young guy will eventually improve, but does anyone really think that an older, declining kicker is really going to suddenly turn it around, given that Akers has been on this slide since his days in San Francisco?
Also, can we admit that signing David Akers may not have been a good idea? Missing a 31-yarder Thursday, making him 8-for-13 on the year in the 30-49 yard range, is not making a strong case for his continued presence on this team. And while I'm not entirely sold on the "bring back Kickalicious" bandwagon just yet, I'd rather take the relatively inexperienced guy over the past-his-prime guy who can't get it done. You can at least make the case that the young guy will eventually improve, but does anyone really think that an older, declining kicker is really going to suddenly turn it around, given that Akers has been on this slide since his days in San Francisco?
All that aside, this is the statement game the Detroit Lions needed. If they'd lost Thursday, it's hard to envision a scenario in which the Lions pull out of the tailspin and salvage things before Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler return from their respective injuries. But now, without a single win in their last 5 games, that might not be enough to stop the bleeding for Green Bay.
I said earlier this week that this game would tell us a lot about how this season would shake out. That a loss would have sealed the fate of this season and this coaching staff. And while I'm still not a huge fan of retaining the entire staff with anything less than a 10-6 record, Thursday showed us again that there's a lot of talent here, and if they keep it together without making so many mistakes, this team can be a legitimate threat. And at the risk of looking like an idiot come the end of this season, it's bold prediction time: The Detroit Lions will be your 2013 NFC North champs.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Delayed Reaction: Lions v. Bucs, And The Most Important Game Of The Season...
Do you have any idea how hard it is to not start this post without invoking the phrase "Same Ol' Lions"? Difficult enough that I couldn't even make it through the first sentence. It's seemingly the default reaction to any Lions loss, particularly one as crushing as this.
But for all that phrase implies, it doesn't do justice to what happened on Sunday.
It seemed that at every possible turn, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were trying to give this game to Detroit, and the Lions were doing their best to return the favor. A pair of three-and-outs started things off, and on the Lions next possession. a Stafford pass to Nate Burleson was picked off. But Tampa Bay couldn't take full advantage, even with a penalty on Nick Fairley that moved the chains for the Bucs on 3rd-and-15. Thankfully at that point, Ziggy Ansah showed us just how much he was missed on this team, sacking Mike Glennon for 10 yards and forcing a field goal.
Once again, the secondary was all but nonexistent. Chris Houston should probably be out of a job tomorrow, but does it really matter? Whether you put Darius Slay, Rashean Mathis, or Don Carey in, none of them have been able to do much of anything for any length of time. Houston has proven that he has no place on this team by failing to cover Tiquan Underwood worth a damn on what ended up being an 85-yard touchdown pass that gave the Bucs the lead for good.
It really can't be understated how much the Bucs didn't want to win this game, but did anyway. Twice in the 4th quarter, the Lions' defense forced Tampa to settle for a field goal attempt, and both times Rian Lindell missed wide left. So what do the Lions do to capitalize on this? Why, turn the ball right back over, of course! After the first attempt at 35 yards, Kris Durham loses the ball attempting to get some extra yardage on a third-down conversion, and Tampa recovered at the Detroit 37. Then, after Glennon gets sacked by Willie Young and Lindell misses on a 50-yard attempt, the Lions fight back to the Tampa Bay 28, only to have Calvin Johnson lose control of the ball at the worst possible time, with Tampa safety Kelcie McCray tipping it right into the hands of Johnthan Banks to end the game.
And certainly, Matthew Stafford can't be absolved of blame here. Not by a long shot. And his insistence on forcing the ball to Calvin Johnson (see: the throw in the third quarter that got picked of by Tampa's Keith Tandy), missing open receivers, and rushing his throws under pressure (see: the throw behind Brandon Pettigrew that Leonard Johnson picked off for a Bucs touchdown) are making the case that Stafford is simply not an elite quarterback in this league. Elite QB's aren't nearly as careless as Stafford is with the ball, especially in late-game situations where there's all-but-guaranteed points on the board, as was the case on the last drive of the game. If you're going to just throw the ball up for grabs at the opponent's 28-yard line, when a field goal sends the game into overtime, you'd better be damn sure your man's going to come away with the ball. That's not a situation you take that kind of a chance with.
No doubt Tampa Bay fans are as confused about all of this as you are. A month ago, everybody had turned on Greg Schiano, and Mike Glennon was just a placeholder until the Bucs draft Teddy Bridgewater next year. Hell, even after winning their last two games coming into Sunday, they were predicting a blowout at the hands of the Lions. Now, barring a late season collapse, Glennon might just be their new franchise QB and Schiano might have just bought himself another year to right the ship. The pitchforks and torches have been put back into storage for the time being.
Meanwhile, if the Lions had managed to gain any goodwill this season, that has all but evaporated now. Giving away games to teams that you not only should beat, but absolutely need to beat, tends to do that. You can go on all you want about how Tampa Bay isn't as bad as their now 3-8 record indicated, or that Glennon has been proven to be a more-than-serviceable NFL quarterback, or how they just somehow pull quality running backs out of thin air. But none of that matters: This is a game the Lions couldn't afford to lose, especially after the Pittsburgh loss last week. This should have been as easy of a game as they had left on their schedule. And they just couldn't stop tripping over themselves long enough to do it.
Suddenly, the Thanksgiving Day game takes on that much more significance. Win, and they stay atop the NFC North and keep hope alive. Lose, and you can probably kiss your playoff odds, and the coaching staff, goodbye. Let's be clear: the only reason this team is still atop this division is because your division rivals are running out second and third-string QB's. Period. In my mind, a healthy Aaron Rodgers leads Green Bay well ahead of the division. And the only reason you have a shot of winning Thursday is because the Packers are throwing Matt Flynn out there. And with both Rodgers and Jay Cutler expected to return within the next few weeks, the margin for error is slimmer than ever.
There's no way around it: Thursday is the game the Lions absolutely, positively need to win if they want to make the playoffs, and if they want to hold back the "same ol' Lions" doubters, who seem to be making a stronger case each week. I know the eternal optimists out there are going to want to remind me that Detroit is still in first place in the division. However, taking into consideration how weak the division really is at present, how much of an advantage the Lions should have right now over Green Bay and Chicago injury-wise, and how soon that advantage might be coming to an end, that's not saying very much. And all of that makes the Thanksgiving Day game even more of a must-win.
Yes, the Lions should win tomorrow. But given the last two weeks, that means absolutely nothing.
But for all that phrase implies, it doesn't do justice to what happened on Sunday.
It seemed that at every possible turn, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were trying to give this game to Detroit, and the Lions were doing their best to return the favor. A pair of three-and-outs started things off, and on the Lions next possession. a Stafford pass to Nate Burleson was picked off. But Tampa Bay couldn't take full advantage, even with a penalty on Nick Fairley that moved the chains for the Bucs on 3rd-and-15. Thankfully at that point, Ziggy Ansah showed us just how much he was missed on this team, sacking Mike Glennon for 10 yards and forcing a field goal.
Once again, the secondary was all but nonexistent. Chris Houston should probably be out of a job tomorrow, but does it really matter? Whether you put Darius Slay, Rashean Mathis, or Don Carey in, none of them have been able to do much of anything for any length of time. Houston has proven that he has no place on this team by failing to cover Tiquan Underwood worth a damn on what ended up being an 85-yard touchdown pass that gave the Bucs the lead for good.
It really can't be understated how much the Bucs didn't want to win this game, but did anyway. Twice in the 4th quarter, the Lions' defense forced Tampa to settle for a field goal attempt, and both times Rian Lindell missed wide left. So what do the Lions do to capitalize on this? Why, turn the ball right back over, of course! After the first attempt at 35 yards, Kris Durham loses the ball attempting to get some extra yardage on a third-down conversion, and Tampa recovered at the Detroit 37. Then, after Glennon gets sacked by Willie Young and Lindell misses on a 50-yard attempt, the Lions fight back to the Tampa Bay 28, only to have Calvin Johnson lose control of the ball at the worst possible time, with Tampa safety Kelcie McCray tipping it right into the hands of Johnthan Banks to end the game.
And certainly, Matthew Stafford can't be absolved of blame here. Not by a long shot. And his insistence on forcing the ball to Calvin Johnson (see: the throw in the third quarter that got picked of by Tampa's Keith Tandy), missing open receivers, and rushing his throws under pressure (see: the throw behind Brandon Pettigrew that Leonard Johnson picked off for a Bucs touchdown) are making the case that Stafford is simply not an elite quarterback in this league. Elite QB's aren't nearly as careless as Stafford is with the ball, especially in late-game situations where there's all-but-guaranteed points on the board, as was the case on the last drive of the game. If you're going to just throw the ball up for grabs at the opponent's 28-yard line, when a field goal sends the game into overtime, you'd better be damn sure your man's going to come away with the ball. That's not a situation you take that kind of a chance with.
No doubt Tampa Bay fans are as confused about all of this as you are. A month ago, everybody had turned on Greg Schiano, and Mike Glennon was just a placeholder until the Bucs draft Teddy Bridgewater next year. Hell, even after winning their last two games coming into Sunday, they were predicting a blowout at the hands of the Lions. Now, barring a late season collapse, Glennon might just be their new franchise QB and Schiano might have just bought himself another year to right the ship. The pitchforks and torches have been put back into storage for the time being.
Meanwhile, if the Lions had managed to gain any goodwill this season, that has all but evaporated now. Giving away games to teams that you not only should beat, but absolutely need to beat, tends to do that. You can go on all you want about how Tampa Bay isn't as bad as their now 3-8 record indicated, or that Glennon has been proven to be a more-than-serviceable NFL quarterback, or how they just somehow pull quality running backs out of thin air. But none of that matters: This is a game the Lions couldn't afford to lose, especially after the Pittsburgh loss last week. This should have been as easy of a game as they had left on their schedule. And they just couldn't stop tripping over themselves long enough to do it.
Suddenly, the Thanksgiving Day game takes on that much more significance. Win, and they stay atop the NFC North and keep hope alive. Lose, and you can probably kiss your playoff odds, and the coaching staff, goodbye. Let's be clear: the only reason this team is still atop this division is because your division rivals are running out second and third-string QB's. Period. In my mind, a healthy Aaron Rodgers leads Green Bay well ahead of the division. And the only reason you have a shot of winning Thursday is because the Packers are throwing Matt Flynn out there. And with both Rodgers and Jay Cutler expected to return within the next few weeks, the margin for error is slimmer than ever.
There's no way around it: Thursday is the game the Lions absolutely, positively need to win if they want to make the playoffs, and if they want to hold back the "same ol' Lions" doubters, who seem to be making a stronger case each week. I know the eternal optimists out there are going to want to remind me that Detroit is still in first place in the division. However, taking into consideration how weak the division really is at present, how much of an advantage the Lions should have right now over Green Bay and Chicago injury-wise, and how soon that advantage might be coming to an end, that's not saying very much. And all of that makes the Thanksgiving Day game even more of a must-win.
Yes, the Lions should win tomorrow. But given the last two weeks, that means absolutely nothing.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
The Fielder-Kinsler Trade, And Why It Needed To Happen
You hate to see it end like this. But at the same time, you knew it had to, lest he become the most hated Tiger since Juan Gonzalez donned the Old English D 15 years ago.
Whether it was by sorcery, or compromising photos of Texas GM Jon Daniels, Dave Dombrowski managed to do the only thing that seemed a more insurmountable task than acquiring Prince Fielder in the first place: he traded Fielder, got back a top-5-in-MLB second baseman, and did so without eating more than $30 million of the bloated contract that landed him in Detroit to begin with. And it's hard to argue against the fact that this was something that needed to happen for the future of the franchise.
Certainly, the deal that brought him here was, to put it mildly, a massive overpay on the part of the Tigers. $24 million a year over 9 years, for a guy we all knew wouldn't be worth anywhere near that the further we got into the deal, and would most likely disappear in the playoffs like he did in Milwaukee. But at the time, this team was in a tight spot. They needed a bat to replace Victor Martinez in the worst way, and we'd all but dismissed the possibility of ever bringing Prince to town. "They can't afford him," we said. "He'd never want to play in Detroit," we said.
Then, it happened. And for a moment, logic and reason went out the window. To hell with the ridiculous contract, the prodigal son of one of the greatest power hitters this franchise has ever seen has returned home, to the team where his father had launched 50 bombs in a season, at a time where that just didn't happen, while he launched batting practice balls out of the park at the age of 12. Certainly, if you're a Detroit fan, you want to see this team go all the way no matter what. But given the history the Fielders had with this organization, it would have been something that much more special for Prince to have been a part of it.
It's never that easy in this town, though. Cecil knew it all too well, and was shipped off to the Yankees having never gotten a taste of the playoffs here. Prince made it twice while in Detroit, but his bat went cold both times, going 1-for-14 during the 2012 World Series, and failing to drive in a single run during this year's playoffs. Even worse, he hit something of a slump in the regular season as well, which soured Tigers' fans on him. He didn't exactly help matters in interviews, coming across as somewhat detached and unemotional, and it really seemed towards the end as though he didn't really want to be here.
And the resentment on both sides would have only built more and more if he were to have stayed. Tigers' fans can be absolutely brutal at times, and Prince was already starting to draw their ire, even before his playoff disappearance this season. Now, extend that for the next 7 seasons, throw in the fact that he'll be getting paid $24 million at the age of 36, by which time you'll be left with an essentially immobile DH, as if he's that far from such a fate already; and the likely possibility that you'd have to let not only Max Scherzer walk, but you'd also be looking at Miguel Cabrera's likely departure after the 2015 season as well. You can't tell me that Tigers' fans wouldn't harbor quite a bit of resentment towards the guy whose deal might have just cost them the best hitter in baseball.
But just as improbably as he arrived, he was gone, in a deal that seems almost too ridiculous even for fantasy baseball. And not only have the Tigers acquired one of the top 5 second basemen in the major leagues, but they did it while only sending $30 million dollars to Texas. And you thought the Vernon Wells trade to the Angels was absurdly lopsided.
Which brings us to the return on this trade. Ian Kinsler is no Prince Fielder in the power department, but thankfully he is also no Prince Fielder in the defense or baserunning department. Even in a down 2013 season, Fielder hit twice as many home runs, 40 more RBI, and an OPS 70 points higher than Kinsler. But Kinsler has 15 stolen bases and was good for 15 Defensive Runs Saved, as opposed to Prince's -13, and is overall a slightly more valuable player by war, 2.5 to 2.3. So it's about a wash.
But the Tigers didn't acquire Ian Kinsler to replace Prince Fielder. He's here to replace Omar Infante, and indeed, he's been a more valuable second baseman than Infante in the last two seasons, with a 5.5 WAR to Omar's 3.3. And really, it's entirely unfair to expect that he's going to make up for Fielder's offensive production. That will depend on what moves are made from here on out. Because make no mistake, there will be more moves made, and nothing is out the realm of possibility anymore. Sure, Jhonny Peralta has signed with the Cardinals for the next 4 years, and Jacoby Ellsbury is not happening (or is he?), no matter what anyone says. But if you think that this team is going to roll into 2014 with Nick Castellanos as its starting third baseman and Andy Dirks starting in left, then you probably believe that Trader Dave was serious about starting Hernan Perez at second had this deal not gone down.
Trading Prince Fielder isn't going to solve all the issues this team has going into next season. But it was a good place, and an entirely necessary one, to start. And if we've learned one thing about Dave Dombrowski by now, it's that he's not even close to being done yet.
Whether it was by sorcery, or compromising photos of Texas GM Jon Daniels, Dave Dombrowski managed to do the only thing that seemed a more insurmountable task than acquiring Prince Fielder in the first place: he traded Fielder, got back a top-5-in-MLB second baseman, and did so without eating more than $30 million of the bloated contract that landed him in Detroit to begin with. And it's hard to argue against the fact that this was something that needed to happen for the future of the franchise.
Certainly, the deal that brought him here was, to put it mildly, a massive overpay on the part of the Tigers. $24 million a year over 9 years, for a guy we all knew wouldn't be worth anywhere near that the further we got into the deal, and would most likely disappear in the playoffs like he did in Milwaukee. But at the time, this team was in a tight spot. They needed a bat to replace Victor Martinez in the worst way, and we'd all but dismissed the possibility of ever bringing Prince to town. "They can't afford him," we said. "He'd never want to play in Detroit," we said.
Then, it happened. And for a moment, logic and reason went out the window. To hell with the ridiculous contract, the prodigal son of one of the greatest power hitters this franchise has ever seen has returned home, to the team where his father had launched 50 bombs in a season, at a time where that just didn't happen, while he launched batting practice balls out of the park at the age of 12. Certainly, if you're a Detroit fan, you want to see this team go all the way no matter what. But given the history the Fielders had with this organization, it would have been something that much more special for Prince to have been a part of it.
It's never that easy in this town, though. Cecil knew it all too well, and was shipped off to the Yankees having never gotten a taste of the playoffs here. Prince made it twice while in Detroit, but his bat went cold both times, going 1-for-14 during the 2012 World Series, and failing to drive in a single run during this year's playoffs. Even worse, he hit something of a slump in the regular season as well, which soured Tigers' fans on him. He didn't exactly help matters in interviews, coming across as somewhat detached and unemotional, and it really seemed towards the end as though he didn't really want to be here.
And the resentment on both sides would have only built more and more if he were to have stayed. Tigers' fans can be absolutely brutal at times, and Prince was already starting to draw their ire, even before his playoff disappearance this season. Now, extend that for the next 7 seasons, throw in the fact that he'll be getting paid $24 million at the age of 36, by which time you'll be left with an essentially immobile DH, as if he's that far from such a fate already; and the likely possibility that you'd have to let not only Max Scherzer walk, but you'd also be looking at Miguel Cabrera's likely departure after the 2015 season as well. You can't tell me that Tigers' fans wouldn't harbor quite a bit of resentment towards the guy whose deal might have just cost them the best hitter in baseball.
But just as improbably as he arrived, he was gone, in a deal that seems almost too ridiculous even for fantasy baseball. And not only have the Tigers acquired one of the top 5 second basemen in the major leagues, but they did it while only sending $30 million dollars to Texas. And you thought the Vernon Wells trade to the Angels was absurdly lopsided.
Which brings us to the return on this trade. Ian Kinsler is no Prince Fielder in the power department, but thankfully he is also no Prince Fielder in the defense or baserunning department. Even in a down 2013 season, Fielder hit twice as many home runs, 40 more RBI, and an OPS 70 points higher than Kinsler. But Kinsler has 15 stolen bases and was good for 15 Defensive Runs Saved, as opposed to Prince's -13, and is overall a slightly more valuable player by war, 2.5 to 2.3. So it's about a wash.
But the Tigers didn't acquire Ian Kinsler to replace Prince Fielder. He's here to replace Omar Infante, and indeed, he's been a more valuable second baseman than Infante in the last two seasons, with a 5.5 WAR to Omar's 3.3. And really, it's entirely unfair to expect that he's going to make up for Fielder's offensive production. That will depend on what moves are made from here on out. Because make no mistake, there will be more moves made, and nothing is out the realm of possibility anymore. Sure, Jhonny Peralta has signed with the Cardinals for the next 4 years, and Jacoby Ellsbury is not happening (or is he?), no matter what anyone says. But if you think that this team is going to roll into 2014 with Nick Castellanos as its starting third baseman and Andy Dirks starting in left, then you probably believe that Trader Dave was serious about starting Hernan Perez at second had this deal not gone down.
Trading Prince Fielder isn't going to solve all the issues this team has going into next season. But it was a good place, and an entirely necessary one, to start. And if we've learned one thing about Dave Dombrowski by now, it's that he's not even close to being done yet.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Delayed Reaction: Lions v. Steelers
Of all the times for this team to try and be aggressive, this has to rank among the worst. But Sunday's loss can hardly be hung on the shoulders of Sam Martin.
That said, it may have been a bad idea, or at the least a bad time to attempt it. But the fake field goal that resulted in the punter attempting to run the ball on 4th and 5 and failing miserably at it was hardly the deciding factor behind the Lions' 37-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
It was a bad call on the part of Jim Schwartz, certainly, but not for the reasons most would suggest. Conventional wisdom says you always take the points on the road, but that doesn't account for weather conditions being less than favorable, nor a kicker that barely hit a 35-yarder earlier in the game.
No, the problem in my mind isn't going for it on 4th down. It's putting the ball in the hands of a guy who has never run the ball and clearly has no business running the ball, on a day where even guys who are getting paid to run the ball are struggling to hold on to it. Even had it not been for the fumble, Martin still would have come up short.
Which brings us to one of the big culprits behind this loss: The fact that nobody could hold on to the ball to save their lives. Jeremy Ross and Kevin Ogletree dropped what should have been easily caught passes. Reggie Bush struggled the entire game to hold onto the ball, getting benched for rookie Theo Riddick in the 4th quarter. Obviously, field conditions didn't help much there, but this has been an ongoing problem for Bush all season; he has had more drops and fumbles than any other tailback in the league this year.
Matthew Stafford isn't entirely absolved of blame here, either; for as much as he threw perfect passes to Ross and Ogletree only to see them dropped, there is one particularly bad pass that stands out: an under-thrown ball to a wide-open Calvin Johnson that ended up being picked off by Will Allen, which resulted in the Steelers extending their lead.
But it was the one thing that was the biggest concern going into Sunday's game which proved to be the Lions' undoing in the end: the pass defense, or lack thereof. Even for a team which has allowed it's quarterback to be sacked the second-most of any in the league, due in large part to Ben Roethlisberger's tendency to hold onto the ball for too long and an O-line being held together with little more than paper clips and chewing gum, the Lions failed to exploit this, managing only one sack on Sunday.
The secondary continues to be the most glaring weakness on this team, allowing an 8th receiver this season, Antonio Brown, to rack up 100 yards against them. And Roethlisberger's stats speak for themselves: 367 yards, 4 TD's, and no interceptions, with a season-high 119.4 passer rating. Entirely inexcusable, and it's a weakness that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later if this team intends to do anything in the playoffs this year.
All in all, there's still plenty of time for most of these issues to be taken care of, and keep in mind: For all their flaws, and all the fans repeating the "Same Old Lions" mantra (I picture these people sitting around pining for Wayne Fontes, listening to the Smiths, and thinking about how bleak and meaningless their lives are), this team is still first place in the NFC North. Next week brings in the abysmal Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Ford Field. If ever there were a must-win game for this team, this is undoubtedly it. As it stands, the odds of the Lions winning the division are still fairly favorable, but not if they lose yet another game that clearly they should win.
That said, it may have been a bad idea, or at the least a bad time to attempt it. But the fake field goal that resulted in the punter attempting to run the ball on 4th and 5 and failing miserably at it was hardly the deciding factor behind the Lions' 37-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
It was a bad call on the part of Jim Schwartz, certainly, but not for the reasons most would suggest. Conventional wisdom says you always take the points on the road, but that doesn't account for weather conditions being less than favorable, nor a kicker that barely hit a 35-yarder earlier in the game.
No, the problem in my mind isn't going for it on 4th down. It's putting the ball in the hands of a guy who has never run the ball and clearly has no business running the ball, on a day where even guys who are getting paid to run the ball are struggling to hold on to it. Even had it not been for the fumble, Martin still would have come up short.
Which brings us to one of the big culprits behind this loss: The fact that nobody could hold on to the ball to save their lives. Jeremy Ross and Kevin Ogletree dropped what should have been easily caught passes. Reggie Bush struggled the entire game to hold onto the ball, getting benched for rookie Theo Riddick in the 4th quarter. Obviously, field conditions didn't help much there, but this has been an ongoing problem for Bush all season; he has had more drops and fumbles than any other tailback in the league this year.
Matthew Stafford isn't entirely absolved of blame here, either; for as much as he threw perfect passes to Ross and Ogletree only to see them dropped, there is one particularly bad pass that stands out: an under-thrown ball to a wide-open Calvin Johnson that ended up being picked off by Will Allen, which resulted in the Steelers extending their lead.
But it was the one thing that was the biggest concern going into Sunday's game which proved to be the Lions' undoing in the end: the pass defense, or lack thereof. Even for a team which has allowed it's quarterback to be sacked the second-most of any in the league, due in large part to Ben Roethlisberger's tendency to hold onto the ball for too long and an O-line being held together with little more than paper clips and chewing gum, the Lions failed to exploit this, managing only one sack on Sunday.
The secondary continues to be the most glaring weakness on this team, allowing an 8th receiver this season, Antonio Brown, to rack up 100 yards against them. And Roethlisberger's stats speak for themselves: 367 yards, 4 TD's, and no interceptions, with a season-high 119.4 passer rating. Entirely inexcusable, and it's a weakness that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later if this team intends to do anything in the playoffs this year.
All in all, there's still plenty of time for most of these issues to be taken care of, and keep in mind: For all their flaws, and all the fans repeating the "Same Old Lions" mantra (I picture these people sitting around pining for Wayne Fontes, listening to the Smiths, and thinking about how bleak and meaningless their lives are), this team is still first place in the NFC North. Next week brings in the abysmal Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Ford Field. If ever there were a must-win game for this team, this is undoubtedly it. As it stands, the odds of the Lions winning the division are still fairly favorable, but not if they lose yet another game that clearly they should win.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
How Do You Replace Jim Leyland?
It had to happen sometime: Jim Leyland finally called it quits last week after 8 seasons as manager of the Detroit Tigers. Now, whether you liked the man or not, you have to admit that, at the very least, his arrival coincided with a major turnaround for this team. I might bitch about questionable bullpen moves, or the continued existence of Don Kelly, but you know what? I lived through Randy Smith's reign of terror over this team. I remember how abysmal this team was for the entirety of my childhood. I didn't know what the hell a competitive Detroit baseball team looked like for the first 16 years of my life. I sat through as many games as I could during the 2003 season. I wouldn't even wish that hell on Boston fans. Well, maybe.
The point is, Jim Leyland got this team to two more World Series and three more AL Central championships than the triumvirate of incompetence that ran this team in the 11 years prior to his arrival. And for that, I can never thank him enough. But for better or worse, the Marlboro Man has finally decided to ride off into the managerial sunset, so that begs the question: Who in the hell do you bring in to take his place? A look at some of the possible candidates:
Lloyd McClendon- The in-house favorite for the job, and a longtime associate of Leyland's, Legendary Lloyd managed the Pirates for six seasons in the early 2000's, to little success. But considering what Dave Littlefield gave him to work with, no one can really blame him for that. Not to mention, even Pirates fans will tell you guy can manage a pitching staff, something everyone's gotten on Leyland about this year. Of course, they'll also tell you he is rather resistant to playing rookies for any reason. Other than that, if you're a fan of staying the course with the current coaching staff, McClendon's probably the best in-house candidate.
Tom Brookens- It seemed for the longest time, Brookens was heir apparent to the position of Tigers' manager, having managed through their minor-league system before replacing the human windmill, Gene Lamont, as third-base coach. But then, he sucked at that job once he got here. Do not want.
Gene Lamont- Leyland's right-hand man since his Pirates days, and the guy who took over for him in Pittsburgh, didn't exactly impress in his first go-around as a manager. Pirates fans will tell you he was the worst manager in the post-Leyland era. Do you know how bad you have to be to earn that honor? You have to completely destroy the arms of any decent pitchers you have, and throw everybody and anybody around you under the bus in the process. Not interested.
Manny Acta- Not much of a track record here. Managed some dreadful Cleveland and Washington teams, but one can't hold that entirely against him. Though, the more sabermetric-minded corners of the Tigers' fanbase like his willingness to consider advanced statistics and disdain for the bunt. An interesting option, anyway.
Dave Martinez- Joe Maddon's bench coach in Tampa Bay for the last 6 years. The closest thing you're gonna get to Joe Maddon, seeing how he's still under contract.
Brad Ausmus- Best known as the guy that Randy Smith traded for every other year. Here's the problem: he's never managed at any level before, save for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic, which is a little like saying your numbers in church league slow-pitch qualify you to play in the major leagues. And with the Tigers in World Series-or-bust mode, he's hardly the guy for the job, at least this year.
Torey Lovullo- Who? A one-time Tigers prospect, Lovullo managed his way up through the Indians system, ending up in Boston after being passed over for Manny Acta to manage the Tribe. Managed AAA Pawtucket before becoming part of John Farrell's coaching staffs in Toronto and Boston. If you're gonna go with any guy without major-league managerial experience, he's probably your guy.
Don Mattingly- My, the Dodgers' coaching situation just got interesting, didn't it? It seems like only last week that his option vested to keep him in LA through 2014, and then the most awkward press conference ever happened with him and Ned Colletti on Monday, in which he essentially called out upper management for not extending him sooner. The money quote: "My option vested once we beat Atlanta, but that doesn't mean I'll be back." The Dodgers responded by firing his hand-picked bench coach, Trey Hillman (you may remember him better as the awful manager of the equally awful Kansas City Royals), indicating that Donnie Baseball might be on his way out. But it looks like he's not going anywhere, for the moment. Third base coach Tim Wallach, however, might be...
Tony LaRussa- Not going to happen. The odds are better of him replacing Bud Selig than of him coming out of retirement to manage anywhere.
Kirk Gibson- As much as I'd love to see it, there's no way he'd ever come back and coach the team that hung him and Alan Trammell out to dry after 2005.
Charlie Manuel- The resume speaks for itself: winning the NL East 5 years straight, back-to-back NL pennants, and a World Series ring with the Phillies. Great track record (save for the last two years with the Phightin' Phils), and a reputation as a "players' coach" like Jim Leyland, make him probably the best of your available outside experienced options, but only if you're looking for a short-term fix.
Ozzie Guillen- Yes, he won a World Series with the Sox. But, he's also a ticking time bomb and a sideshow that'd make P.T. Barnum green with envy. Look how quickly he flamed out with Miami during the four months this decade that Jeffrey Loria actually made an attempt to field a competitive team. Dude can't keep his mouth shut to save himself, and that could prove to be a huge distraction to a team that doesn't need it. Do not want.
Eric Wedge- Why is this even an option?
Dusty Baker- If the Tigers hire him, I will start rooting for the White Sox.
Jose Canseco- LOL.
The point is, Jim Leyland got this team to two more World Series and three more AL Central championships than the triumvirate of incompetence that ran this team in the 11 years prior to his arrival. And for that, I can never thank him enough. But for better or worse, the Marlboro Man has finally decided to ride off into the managerial sunset, so that begs the question: Who in the hell do you bring in to take his place? A look at some of the possible candidates:
Lloyd McClendon- The in-house favorite for the job, and a longtime associate of Leyland's, Legendary Lloyd managed the Pirates for six seasons in the early 2000's, to little success. But considering what Dave Littlefield gave him to work with, no one can really blame him for that. Not to mention, even Pirates fans will tell you guy can manage a pitching staff, something everyone's gotten on Leyland about this year. Of course, they'll also tell you he is rather resistant to playing rookies for any reason. Other than that, if you're a fan of staying the course with the current coaching staff, McClendon's probably the best in-house candidate.
Tom Brookens- It seemed for the longest time, Brookens was heir apparent to the position of Tigers' manager, having managed through their minor-league system before replacing the human windmill, Gene Lamont, as third-base coach. But then, he sucked at that job once he got here. Do not want.
Gene Lamont- Leyland's right-hand man since his Pirates days, and the guy who took over for him in Pittsburgh, didn't exactly impress in his first go-around as a manager. Pirates fans will tell you he was the worst manager in the post-Leyland era. Do you know how bad you have to be to earn that honor? You have to completely destroy the arms of any decent pitchers you have, and throw everybody and anybody around you under the bus in the process. Not interested.
Manny Acta- Not much of a track record here. Managed some dreadful Cleveland and Washington teams, but one can't hold that entirely against him. Though, the more sabermetric-minded corners of the Tigers' fanbase like his willingness to consider advanced statistics and disdain for the bunt. An interesting option, anyway.
Dave Martinez- Joe Maddon's bench coach in Tampa Bay for the last 6 years. The closest thing you're gonna get to Joe Maddon, seeing how he's still under contract.
Brad Ausmus- Best known as the guy that Randy Smith traded for every other year. Here's the problem: he's never managed at any level before, save for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic, which is a little like saying your numbers in church league slow-pitch qualify you to play in the major leagues. And with the Tigers in World Series-or-bust mode, he's hardly the guy for the job, at least this year.
Torey Lovullo- Who? A one-time Tigers prospect, Lovullo managed his way up through the Indians system, ending up in Boston after being passed over for Manny Acta to manage the Tribe. Managed AAA Pawtucket before becoming part of John Farrell's coaching staffs in Toronto and Boston. If you're gonna go with any guy without major-league managerial experience, he's probably your guy.
Don Mattingly- My, the Dodgers' coaching situation just got interesting, didn't it? It seems like only last week that his option vested to keep him in LA through 2014, and then the most awkward press conference ever happened with him and Ned Colletti on Monday, in which he essentially called out upper management for not extending him sooner. The money quote: "My option vested once we beat Atlanta, but that doesn't mean I'll be back." The Dodgers responded by firing his hand-picked bench coach, Trey Hillman (you may remember him better as the awful manager of the equally awful Kansas City Royals), indicating that Donnie Baseball might be on his way out. But it looks like he's not going anywhere, for the moment. Third base coach Tim Wallach, however, might be...
Tony LaRussa- Not going to happen. The odds are better of him replacing Bud Selig than of him coming out of retirement to manage anywhere.
Kirk Gibson- As much as I'd love to see it, there's no way he'd ever come back and coach the team that hung him and Alan Trammell out to dry after 2005.
Charlie Manuel- The resume speaks for itself: winning the NL East 5 years straight, back-to-back NL pennants, and a World Series ring with the Phillies. Great track record (save for the last two years with the Phightin' Phils), and a reputation as a "players' coach" like Jim Leyland, make him probably the best of your available outside experienced options, but only if you're looking for a short-term fix.
Ozzie Guillen- Yes, he won a World Series with the Sox. But, he's also a ticking time bomb and a sideshow that'd make P.T. Barnum green with envy. Look how quickly he flamed out with Miami during the four months this decade that Jeffrey Loria actually made an attempt to field a competitive team. Dude can't keep his mouth shut to save himself, and that could prove to be a huge distraction to a team that doesn't need it. Do not want.
Eric Wedge- Why is this even an option?
Dusty Baker- If the Tigers hire him, I will start rooting for the White Sox.
Jose Canseco- LOL.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Tying Up Some Loose Ends On The 2013 Tigers' Season...
(First off, an apology for having completely up and bailed on this thing for the better part of a month, but the time just hasn't been there of late. Hopefully now I'll actually stick to this thing for more than a few days, now that I've completely abandoned what few readers stumbled across it in the first place. So I'll kick off my long-anticipated (?) comeback by putting a wrap on the Tigers' season before I move on to... God-only-knows-what.)
My worst baseball-related nightmare has come true (apart from, perhaps, the Tigers trading Max Scherzer and Miguel Cabrera to the Yankees for Alex Rodriguez and the reanimated corpse of Nate Cornejo): The Red Sox and the Cardinals will be playing in this year's World Series. And for the record, I have no rooting interest and I won't be watching. If I did, though, I'd be rooting for the Cards to stomp the Sox into the ground in a 4-game series in which St. Louis wins every game by at least 6 runs. Why? Because I am beyond fucking sick of this "#teamofdestiny" bullshit being spewed by Sox fans, expecting the country to rally behind Boston because, y'know, karma.
I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the reason I hate the Red Sox, and Boston teams in general, so much is because of the ignorant, know-nothing mouth-breathers who comprise the vast majority of their fanbase, their illiterate moron of a mayor included. These people walk among us, and it disgusts me. The same people who chant "steroids" every time Jhonny Peralta comes to the plate, having conveniently forgotten that David Ortiz still plays for them. The same people who think Dustin Pedroia should win MVP over Cabrera, Mike Trout, or Chris Davis, not based on stats or facts of any sort, but because of grit, heart, scrappiness, intangibles, and other meaningless tripe of the sort. The same people who won't think twice to run damn near anyone not named Pedroia out of town on a rail and trash the hell out of them, no matter what they might have done for the team, including the manager who led them to their first World Series in 86 years! Up until 2004, they wanted your pity because of some ridiculous 'curse,' and ever since, they've been the most insufferable pricks in all of sports. Moving on to actual Tigers-related business...
It's just the way it works with this team sometimes: when it goes wrong, it all goes wrong at once, and in the most spectacular fashion. Game 6 against the Red Sox, in particular, proves this.
Bullpen meltdown? Check. Completely stalled offense wasting a masterful performance by the starter? Check. Prince Fielder failing miserably at every facet of the game? Check, and check. Where in the hell did he go once the playoffs started? Between baserunning blunders, rally-killing at every possible opportunity, complete defensive indifference, and the comments he made during and after the series, Prince risks becoming the most hated Tiger in this town since Juan Gonzalez. Yeah, he did what Prince always does in the regular season, but a lot is expected from a guy who signed the ridiculous deal he did, especially in the postseason. If he comes back in 2014 and puts all his off-field and on-field struggles behind him, though, he should be able to avoid that fate.
That said, I don't know how in the hell Miguel Cabrera is still walking at this point in time, much less hitting a baseball! Turns out he's got a grade 2 or 3 groin strain, which could potentially require offseason surgery. I know a lot of people were criticizing Jim Leyland for running him out there every day towards the end of the regular season, myself included, but if this is as serious as it appears, then it's highly unlikely that a few more days of rest would have done much good, nor that playing through it did any greater damage to it. The good news is that, if it's checked out and treated very soon, as opposed to trying to rehab it first and having to undergo the surgery anyway, all indications seem to be that he should be 100% healthy to start spring training next year.
As for the bullpen... I tend to question Leyland's obsessive mixing and matching of relievers far more than the general effectiveness of the 'pen. Pulling your likely Cy Young winner after just over 100 pitches in the playoffs, burning through four different relievers over the course of an inning, and not leaving any of them in long enough to face more than one pitcher, tends to mean you don't get the benefit of the doubt. Both times he did this, it led to game-tying or game-winning grand slams. The first one turned the series around, the other put the nail in the coffin.
Finally, looking forward to next season. I don't care what other moves you make in this offseason, Dave Dombrowski. I don't care if you make any other moves this offseason. You can spend the next three months campaigning to replace Bud Selig, for all I care. But please, for the love of fuck, sign Omar Infante to at least a three year deal! I'll address the other potential offseason moves in a post later this week, but I just felt the need to put that out there.
This team has been absolutely frustrating to watch at times, especially for the last month or so, and it's been an absolute joy at others. It feels like this team fell short of expectations, but then again, maybe our expectations were too high in the first place. And even so, look at all they managed to accomplish along the way. We saw possibly the greatest hitter of our generation flirt with a second consecutive Triple Crown, then tell his strained groin to fuck off and continue hitting like crazy. We saw a guy two years removed from winning the Cy Young get completely overshadowed by two of his rotation mates, and saw them all combine to strike more batters out than any other pitching staff in major league history. We even watched them make the playoffs for a third consecutive year, something this team hasn't done in over 100 years.
Certainly it's hard not to be bitter about the way it all ended. But whether you realize it or not, it's a damn good time to be a Detroit Tigers fan. And by all indications, the good times ain't over yet.
My worst baseball-related nightmare has come true (apart from, perhaps, the Tigers trading Max Scherzer and Miguel Cabrera to the Yankees for Alex Rodriguez and the reanimated corpse of Nate Cornejo): The Red Sox and the Cardinals will be playing in this year's World Series. And for the record, I have no rooting interest and I won't be watching. If I did, though, I'd be rooting for the Cards to stomp the Sox into the ground in a 4-game series in which St. Louis wins every game by at least 6 runs. Why? Because I am beyond fucking sick of this "#teamofdestiny" bullshit being spewed by Sox fans, expecting the country to rally behind Boston because, y'know, karma.
I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the reason I hate the Red Sox, and Boston teams in general, so much is because of the ignorant, know-nothing mouth-breathers who comprise the vast majority of their fanbase, their illiterate moron of a mayor included. These people walk among us, and it disgusts me. The same people who chant "steroids" every time Jhonny Peralta comes to the plate, having conveniently forgotten that David Ortiz still plays for them. The same people who think Dustin Pedroia should win MVP over Cabrera, Mike Trout, or Chris Davis, not based on stats or facts of any sort, but because of grit, heart, scrappiness, intangibles, and other meaningless tripe of the sort. The same people who won't think twice to run damn near anyone not named Pedroia out of town on a rail and trash the hell out of them, no matter what they might have done for the team, including the manager who led them to their first World Series in 86 years! Up until 2004, they wanted your pity because of some ridiculous 'curse,' and ever since, they've been the most insufferable pricks in all of sports. Moving on to actual Tigers-related business...
It's just the way it works with this team sometimes: when it goes wrong, it all goes wrong at once, and in the most spectacular fashion. Game 6 against the Red Sox, in particular, proves this.
Bullpen meltdown? Check. Completely stalled offense wasting a masterful performance by the starter? Check. Prince Fielder failing miserably at every facet of the game? Check, and check. Where in the hell did he go once the playoffs started? Between baserunning blunders, rally-killing at every possible opportunity, complete defensive indifference, and the comments he made during and after the series, Prince risks becoming the most hated Tiger in this town since Juan Gonzalez. Yeah, he did what Prince always does in the regular season, but a lot is expected from a guy who signed the ridiculous deal he did, especially in the postseason. If he comes back in 2014 and puts all his off-field and on-field struggles behind him, though, he should be able to avoid that fate.
That said, I don't know how in the hell Miguel Cabrera is still walking at this point in time, much less hitting a baseball! Turns out he's got a grade 2 or 3 groin strain, which could potentially require offseason surgery. I know a lot of people were criticizing Jim Leyland for running him out there every day towards the end of the regular season, myself included, but if this is as serious as it appears, then it's highly unlikely that a few more days of rest would have done much good, nor that playing through it did any greater damage to it. The good news is that, if it's checked out and treated very soon, as opposed to trying to rehab it first and having to undergo the surgery anyway, all indications seem to be that he should be 100% healthy to start spring training next year.
As for the bullpen... I tend to question Leyland's obsessive mixing and matching of relievers far more than the general effectiveness of the 'pen. Pulling your likely Cy Young winner after just over 100 pitches in the playoffs, burning through four different relievers over the course of an inning, and not leaving any of them in long enough to face more than one pitcher, tends to mean you don't get the benefit of the doubt. Both times he did this, it led to game-tying or game-winning grand slams. The first one turned the series around, the other put the nail in the coffin.
Finally, looking forward to next season. I don't care what other moves you make in this offseason, Dave Dombrowski. I don't care if you make any other moves this offseason. You can spend the next three months campaigning to replace Bud Selig, for all I care. But please, for the love of fuck, sign Omar Infante to at least a three year deal! I'll address the other potential offseason moves in a post later this week, but I just felt the need to put that out there.
This team has been absolutely frustrating to watch at times, especially for the last month or so, and it's been an absolute joy at others. It feels like this team fell short of expectations, but then again, maybe our expectations were too high in the first place. And even so, look at all they managed to accomplish along the way. We saw possibly the greatest hitter of our generation flirt with a second consecutive Triple Crown, then tell his strained groin to fuck off and continue hitting like crazy. We saw a guy two years removed from winning the Cy Young get completely overshadowed by two of his rotation mates, and saw them all combine to strike more batters out than any other pitching staff in major league history. We even watched them make the playoffs for a third consecutive year, something this team hasn't done in over 100 years.
Certainly it's hard not to be bitter about the way it all ended. But whether you realize it or not, it's a damn good time to be a Detroit Tigers fan. And by all indications, the good times ain't over yet.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Verlander To The Bullpen...Why?
What was just a ridiculous suggestion from somewhere within the depths of Yahoo! contributors and MLive comment threads has now picked up far more attention than it deserves.
I'm talking, of course, about the insane idea that Justin Verlander should be demoted to the bullpen for the playoffs, and that Rick Porcello -he of the 4.45 ERA and 2.7 WAR this year- should take his place.
Let's be clear: Justin Verlander is having a down year... by the damn-near-superhuman standards which we've come to expect of him. For almost any other pitcher in Major League Baseball, JV's 2013 campaign would still qualify as exceptional. His 3.66 ERA (before tonight's start) is 18th in the American League. His 3.44 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) ranks 10th. His 4.7 WAR ranks 10th among all starters in baseball. And he's only allowed more than four runs in 6 of his starts this year.
"But he's 3-10 since the All-Star break," you say. Go play in traffic, I say. He also has a 3.65 ERA in that span of time, so if anything, his performance has been fairly consistent through most of this year, despite arguments about meaningless things like pitcher wins. He's also pitched 4 games this season in which the Tigers have been shut out; is this somehow his fault for not taking a bat into his own hands?
This absurd theory was promoted by same hack writer at Yahoo! Spare yourself the torture of the actual article and read Scott Rogowski's excellent FJM-style takedown of said piece here.
If it had just ended there, it would have been all well and good.
Then, Brian Kenny had to get involved. Kenny, for those of you who are unaware, is MLB Network's resident sabermetrician and the guy who mostly fuels the hatred of the anti-stats crowd by being a smug, arrogant prick. He's also the guy responsible for the #KillTheWin campaign on Twitter, which is his ongoing tirade that pitching wins are a completely useless stat. Which, indeed, they are, even if CBS' Jon Heyman half-heartedly disagrees. But the way he keeps relentlessly beating the drum about this almost does the impossible and makes one sympathize with White Sox announcer, and noted moron, Hawk "The Will To Win" Harrelson, whom Kenny took to task over his 19th-century views on statistics. And I'm sorry, anyone who refers to his followers as "The Intelligentsia" clearly has the kind of inflated ego that would make even Keith Olbermann jealous.
Kenny took to Twitter with the idea of Verlander being this season's Tim Lincecum. Only, y'know, without the 5.18 ERA, -2 WAR, and general ineffectiveness. So, pretty much nothing like last year's Tim Lincecum. There really is no comparison between the Giants' 2012 rotation and the Tigers' 2013 one; Barry Zito pitched his ass off in his last five starts, allowing a total of 8 runs. Porcello, by comparison, has let off 15 runs in that same time frame. (Verlander has given up 10 runs in his last 5 starts.)
Of course, all of this is probably a moot point anyway, as the Tigers have two potential Cy Young candidates in Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez who, along with Verlander and Doug Fister, can reasonably be expected to pitch 7, sometimes 8 innings deep into games, rendering this whole debate entirely pointless. And Porcello has filled the late-inning relief role capably in the playoffs over the last few years. Why mess with what works, simply because Verlander is merely having a good year, as opposed to an exceptional one? Besides, as much as many Tiger fans bitch about how Jim Leyland manages his bullpen, why throw a guy who's never pitched in relief into that clusterfuck?
Sometimes I think having as formidable a rotation as the Tigers do has spoiled us somewhat. Hell, there are 22 teams in Major League Baseball that don't have one starter who's performed as well as Justin Verlander this year, much less two guys who are pitching even better than him. I realize expectations are high when you possess the level of talent this team has. But when you're talking about taking the 10th most valuable starter in the game and putting him in the bullpen, then maybe it's time to temper our expectations a bit and appreciate just what an amazing thing we've got here.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
One More Thing About Peralta, Then I Promise I'll Move On!
I hadn't planned on spending any more time on Jhonny Peralta, I swear. I said my piece about it the other day, and that was going to be it. Then I saw this, and I knew I wasn't done yet. Now, as much sports talk as I take in on a daily basis, I'd forgotten that Dan Leach is, in fact, a guy with an actual show on 97.1 The Ticket, partly because he's buried late into the night where only severe gluttons for punishment would dare to listen (myself included), and partly because he's usually paired up with either Pat "um, ah, ya know... and stuff" Caputo, who doesn't let anybody, co-host or caller, get a word in edgewise; or Dennis Fithian, whose next original thought will be his first. And with this bit of self-righteous treacle, Dan "The Man" proves he might be just more brain-dead than anyone at that station, and that's why I feel the need to give him the time-honored "Fire Joe Morgan" treatment...
Don't tell that to the Tigers or Jim Leyland. Per the Freep's John Lowe:
Based on today’s developments, the Detroit Tigers are continuing to decide whether to use Matt Tuiasosopo or Jhonny Peralta as their leftfielder when they face left-handed starting pitchers in the playoffs.
So, yeah. Clearly that's not gonna happen.
That makes even less sense to me to take a roster spot away from someone like Tuiasosopo, who has been with the club all year and made good contributions.
Have you even watched a single game since the All-Star break? What "good contributions" has Tuiasosopo made since then, other than a line of .185/.264/.231 and no power whatsoever, with not a single extra-base hit, save for one home run back in July? And the strikeouts. My God, the strikeouts. He's done it in nearly a third of all his plate appearances in that time. Peralta, by comparison, did so in 22% of his at-bats this year before his suspension. And this year, Tui's worth a whopping -0.3 defensive WAR, so can you really make the argument that Peralta can do worse?
How can you explain to someone who is playing baseball the right way that if you cheat, let your team down, force a trade, you can just come ridin’ on back on a proverbial white horse, just in time to play the final three games in Miami, ironically miles away from the where all the Biogenesis issues began, then play in the postseason like nothing had happened.
Easily. "Sorry, Matt, but we want a right-handed hitter who can actually hit."
I understand many Tigers fans “win at all costs” mentality as this city, this franchise, the Ilitch family, these amazing fans deserve a World Series title for the first time in 29 years, but it must be done the right way.
Exactly. Which is why every game Peralta played in this season should be forfeited. I mean, we can't have a tainted season now, can we? He then goes on to play the Melky Cabrera card again, which I really have no interest in re-hashing here.
What about his teammates like Max Scherzer, who have been adamant about how cheating must be taken out of the game?
Now, I can't speak for the Detroit Tigers, but most reports suggest that Peralta was well-liked by his teammates, and they're not foolish enough to believe that he's the only one among them who's taken steroids, as opposed to being the only one to get caught. Let's be honest here: if Jhonny gives them the best shot to win a World Series, he'll be welcomed back with open arms.
What about Jose Iglesias who has become a mainstay at short since Peralta’s suspension and seems to truly be in a groove with his new team?
What about him? Nobody is suggesting that Iglesias be move from shortstop for any reason short of injury, so your point is as irrelevant as your radio show.
What about all the Tigers that might not say it out loud to the media, but feel Peralta abandoned the team by not appealing his suspensions cause of his looming free agency in 2014?
Yeah, he should have lied further about using PED's! Way to let your team down by actually being honest, as opposed to appealing and having no shot of helping them in the playoffs! Yeah, I'm pretty sure 9 out of 10 players would rather have him in the playoffs than not at all, and the 10th is probably the guy that would lose his roster spot to Peralta anyway.
How do you explain to a youngster that it is ok to cheat and yes, you will pay a price, but not a really big one and can come back and go from being suspended for the most important part of the season and then jump right onto a playoff run?
...Really, Leach? We're playing the "won't somebody please think of the children" card? And for the record, I don't really care what you have to tell your hypothetical kids. Hey, life's not fair, and sometimes cheaters win. Welcome to the real world; deal with it.
I do have hope that one day soon baseball, a game that many of us grew up falling in love with, can once again be pure. It is going to take some tough decisions and actions to make that happen and one of those is disciplining players that cheated and hurt their team immensely by doing so. In this case the discipline as far as the Tigers are concerned must be to keep Jhonny Peralta away from a team that he does love, that he absolutely can help, but that he truly hurt with his suspension.
And this is probably what annoys me the most about all this sanctimonious nonsense regarding PED's: The over-romanticizing of an era that never actually was. What these delusional "purists" fail to remember is that cheating in baseball, particularly performance-enhancing drugs, has been going on since at least the 60's, if not earlier. This fairy-tale past where every baseball player was clean and nobody ever cheated is a figment of their imagination, and I find it rather disingenuous to suggest otherwise.
Look, as much as we'd all like to see the game cleaned up, the truth is, players will always find a way to get an edge. That's the way it's always been, and always will be. And if someone slips up and gets caught, take whatever action needs to be taken. But once they've served the punishment agreed on by the players and league, that should be the end of it. Period. None of this "we should kick him off the team because we can't support a cheater" bullshit. Don't bring him back next year, fine. But there is not a legitimate baseball reason to not bring Peralta back for the playoffs if he can be of some value to this team.
There is little argument that Peralta makes the Tigers better when he is in the lineup.
Okay, then. Glad we could come to an agreement. I assume, then, that we're done here...
The bigger question is, at what price?
...A roster spot that would probably otherwise go to a AAAA player who can't hit above the Mendoza line?
The PED issue in baseball is one that has rocked the integrity of the game to its core and must be cleaned up NOW; not a year from now, four years from now, or as MLB has operated in the past, when it felt like it was ready… which was never.
And that's kinda what they did in suspending Jhonny for 50 games. Punishment accepted, time served, so we can all move on, right? No? Of course not.
It was interesting to see Jhonny shag balls in left field before the game in Chicago Wednesday night and might have given fans false hope that Peralta, who has never played left field at any point in his career, could be platooned there in the postseason. That is just not likely to happen.
Based on today’s developments, the Detroit Tigers are continuing to decide whether to use Matt Tuiasosopo or Jhonny Peralta as their leftfielder when they face left-handed starting pitchers in the playoffs.
So, yeah. Clearly that's not gonna happen.
That makes even less sense to me to take a roster spot away from someone like Tuiasosopo, who has been with the club all year and made good contributions.
Have you even watched a single game since the All-Star break? What "good contributions" has Tuiasosopo made since then, other than a line of .185/.264/.231 and no power whatsoever, with not a single extra-base hit, save for one home run back in July? And the strikeouts. My God, the strikeouts. He's done it in nearly a third of all his plate appearances in that time. Peralta, by comparison, did so in 22% of his at-bats this year before his suspension. And this year, Tui's worth a whopping -0.3 defensive WAR, so can you really make the argument that Peralta can do worse?
How can you explain to someone who is playing baseball the right way that if you cheat, let your team down, force a trade, you can just come ridin’ on back on a proverbial white horse, just in time to play the final three games in Miami, ironically miles away from the where all the Biogenesis issues began, then play in the postseason like nothing had happened.
Easily. "Sorry, Matt, but we want a right-handed hitter who can actually hit."
I understand many Tigers fans “win at all costs” mentality as this city, this franchise, the Ilitch family, these amazing fans deserve a World Series title for the first time in 29 years, but it must be done the right way.
Exactly. Which is why every game Peralta played in this season should be forfeited. I mean, we can't have a tainted season now, can we? He then goes on to play the Melky Cabrera card again, which I really have no interest in re-hashing here.
What about his teammates like Max Scherzer, who have been adamant about how cheating must be taken out of the game?
Now, I can't speak for the Detroit Tigers, but most reports suggest that Peralta was well-liked by his teammates, and they're not foolish enough to believe that he's the only one among them who's taken steroids, as opposed to being the only one to get caught. Let's be honest here: if Jhonny gives them the best shot to win a World Series, he'll be welcomed back with open arms.
What about Jose Iglesias who has become a mainstay at short since Peralta’s suspension and seems to truly be in a groove with his new team?
What about him? Nobody is suggesting that Iglesias be move from shortstop for any reason short of injury, so your point is as irrelevant as your radio show.
What about all the Tigers that might not say it out loud to the media, but feel Peralta abandoned the team by not appealing his suspensions cause of his looming free agency in 2014?
Yeah, he should have lied further about using PED's! Way to let your team down by actually being honest, as opposed to appealing and having no shot of helping them in the playoffs! Yeah, I'm pretty sure 9 out of 10 players would rather have him in the playoffs than not at all, and the 10th is probably the guy that would lose his roster spot to Peralta anyway.
How do you explain to a youngster that it is ok to cheat and yes, you will pay a price, but not a really big one and can come back and go from being suspended for the most important part of the season and then jump right onto a playoff run?
...Really, Leach? We're playing the "won't somebody please think of the children" card? And for the record, I don't really care what you have to tell your hypothetical kids. Hey, life's not fair, and sometimes cheaters win. Welcome to the real world; deal with it.
I do have hope that one day soon baseball, a game that many of us grew up falling in love with, can once again be pure. It is going to take some tough decisions and actions to make that happen and one of those is disciplining players that cheated and hurt their team immensely by doing so. In this case the discipline as far as the Tigers are concerned must be to keep Jhonny Peralta away from a team that he does love, that he absolutely can help, but that he truly hurt with his suspension.
And this is probably what annoys me the most about all this sanctimonious nonsense regarding PED's: The over-romanticizing of an era that never actually was. What these delusional "purists" fail to remember is that cheating in baseball, particularly performance-enhancing drugs, has been going on since at least the 60's, if not earlier. This fairy-tale past where every baseball player was clean and nobody ever cheated is a figment of their imagination, and I find it rather disingenuous to suggest otherwise.
Look, as much as we'd all like to see the game cleaned up, the truth is, players will always find a way to get an edge. That's the way it's always been, and always will be. And if someone slips up and gets caught, take whatever action needs to be taken. But once they've served the punishment agreed on by the players and league, that should be the end of it. Period. None of this "we should kick him off the team because we can't support a cheater" bullshit. Don't bring him back next year, fine. But there is not a legitimate baseball reason to not bring Peralta back for the playoffs if he can be of some value to this team.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Jhonny Peralta, The Playoffs, And Righteous Indignation...
...And so it begins. Yet again.
It was announced this week that Jhonny Peralta would begin working out with the Tigers in advance of his potential return on September 27th from the 50-game suspension handed down by Major League Baseball for his role in the Biogenesis scandal earlier this year. Now, given the Tigers' recent struggles, going 3-6 so far this month, Miguel Cabrera's nagging injuries, Jose Iglesias still battling shin splints, and a first baseman who hasn't been hitting like himself this year, the Tigers could benefit greatly from Peralta's comeback.
Dave Dombrowski has already alluded to Peralta being used in the role of super-utility guy (think Don Kelly with an actual bat); he'll be taking grounders at third, short, and second base; and fly balls in the outfield. A sensible move, given the many concerns facing this team's lineup right now. Jose Iglesias has been a revelation defensively at short, and he's put up surprisingly good offensive numbers as well, but there's a definite drop-off in power when compared to Peralta. Cabrera's health is still such that Jim Leyland has said he'd even consider putting Victor Martinez at the hot corner to give Miggy a rest, and Martinez has never played a single inning at third base at any level of professional baseball. If the thought of VMart starting at third base isn't enough to scare you into welcoming Jhonny back to the Tigers with open arms, then I can't help you.
Not to mention, the left field platoon of Andy Dirks, Matt Tuiasosopo, and Don Kelly has been beyond awful this year. Dirks' OPS is down 200 points from last year, Tuiasosopo has had a drop-off in the second half that's been all too reminiscent of Brennan Boesch's rookie season, and there is no reason that Don Kelly should ever start a Major League Baseball game, ever. And at this point, even if you discard the idea of Jhonny starting for the Tigers at any position again, there is absolutely nobody to come off their bench that can hit worth a damn. Given all that, you'd think the addition of a potent offensive weapon like Peralta, assuming he can get back to pre-suspension form, would be a no-brainer. The man's done the crime and served his time, and that should be the end of it.
And in a perfect world, it probably would be.
Unfortunately, all too many baseball fans and lazy sportswriters seem to feel the need to continuously get on their moral high horses and rain down judgement on a seemingly arbitrary scale. As if somehow, a Tigers World Series victory would be 'tainted' if Peralta were allowed to play. As if Peralta playing at an All-Star level before his suspension didn't already do so. As if Melky Cabrera's own All-Star caliber first half last year, and his performance in the All-Star game that gave San Francisco home-field advantage, didn't do the same to the Giants' World Series win. As if damn near every World Series that has been played since about 1990 or so can't be considered 'tainted,' if we apply that same ridiculous standard.
Already, there's been much screaming about the precedent set by the Giants last year with Cabrera, and how they didn't bring back their steroid user for the playoffs, therefore the Tigers should abide by the same standard. Here's the difference though, apart from an actual failed drug test: The Giants didn't need Melky come playoff time. If anything, the Giants went on a tear late in the year after Melky was suspended. Meanwhile, the Tigers haven't exactly been setting the world on fire since Peralta's departure, and they absolutely need his bat, be it on the bench or in Jim Leyland's starting lineup, if they want any shot of winning a World Series this year.
And it's not as though the Tigers would be doing anything that just about every other team in the playoff hunt this year isn't: the Yankees, Pirates, Dodgers, Braves, Orioles, Indians, and Royals all have at least one player that has been busted for PED's at some point in their career, and the Rangers have indicated that they're more than happy to have Nelson Cruz back for this postseason, as well they should be. So why should the Tigers put themselves at a needless competitive disadvantage when none of the teams above have any intention of doing so?
At the end of the day, as has been the case for so many greats of the game over the years, a lot can be washed away and overlooked about a man's character, if he happens to excel at hitting a baseball.
And I've got a feeling that if Jhonny Peralta should happen to come through with some clutch hits this October, history and the Tigers' fanbase will look far more kindly on his transgressions.
I suppose, though, if you're fine with cutting off your bench to spite a "cheater," then you're certainly entitled to your opinion. But come October, when the Tigers are in the unenviable position of depending on Ramon Santiago, who is hitting at about the same level as the singing hot-dog guy at Comerica Park, I doubt you'll be singing the same tune.
It was announced this week that Jhonny Peralta would begin working out with the Tigers in advance of his potential return on September 27th from the 50-game suspension handed down by Major League Baseball for his role in the Biogenesis scandal earlier this year. Now, given the Tigers' recent struggles, going 3-6 so far this month, Miguel Cabrera's nagging injuries, Jose Iglesias still battling shin splints, and a first baseman who hasn't been hitting like himself this year, the Tigers could benefit greatly from Peralta's comeback.
Dave Dombrowski has already alluded to Peralta being used in the role of super-utility guy (think Don Kelly with an actual bat); he'll be taking grounders at third, short, and second base; and fly balls in the outfield. A sensible move, given the many concerns facing this team's lineup right now. Jose Iglesias has been a revelation defensively at short, and he's put up surprisingly good offensive numbers as well, but there's a definite drop-off in power when compared to Peralta. Cabrera's health is still such that Jim Leyland has said he'd even consider putting Victor Martinez at the hot corner to give Miggy a rest, and Martinez has never played a single inning at third base at any level of professional baseball. If the thought of VMart starting at third base isn't enough to scare you into welcoming Jhonny back to the Tigers with open arms, then I can't help you.
Not to mention, the left field platoon of Andy Dirks, Matt Tuiasosopo, and Don Kelly has been beyond awful this year. Dirks' OPS is down 200 points from last year, Tuiasosopo has had a drop-off in the second half that's been all too reminiscent of Brennan Boesch's rookie season, and there is no reason that Don Kelly should ever start a Major League Baseball game, ever. And at this point, even if you discard the idea of Jhonny starting for the Tigers at any position again, there is absolutely nobody to come off their bench that can hit worth a damn. Given all that, you'd think the addition of a potent offensive weapon like Peralta, assuming he can get back to pre-suspension form, would be a no-brainer. The man's done the crime and served his time, and that should be the end of it.
And in a perfect world, it probably would be.
Unfortunately, all too many baseball fans and lazy sportswriters seem to feel the need to continuously get on their moral high horses and rain down judgement on a seemingly arbitrary scale. As if somehow, a Tigers World Series victory would be 'tainted' if Peralta were allowed to play. As if Peralta playing at an All-Star level before his suspension didn't already do so. As if Melky Cabrera's own All-Star caliber first half last year, and his performance in the All-Star game that gave San Francisco home-field advantage, didn't do the same to the Giants' World Series win. As if damn near every World Series that has been played since about 1990 or so can't be considered 'tainted,' if we apply that same ridiculous standard.
Already, there's been much screaming about the precedent set by the Giants last year with Cabrera, and how they didn't bring back their steroid user for the playoffs, therefore the Tigers should abide by the same standard. Here's the difference though, apart from an actual failed drug test: The Giants didn't need Melky come playoff time. If anything, the Giants went on a tear late in the year after Melky was suspended. Meanwhile, the Tigers haven't exactly been setting the world on fire since Peralta's departure, and they absolutely need his bat, be it on the bench or in Jim Leyland's starting lineup, if they want any shot of winning a World Series this year.
And it's not as though the Tigers would be doing anything that just about every other team in the playoff hunt this year isn't: the Yankees, Pirates, Dodgers, Braves, Orioles, Indians, and Royals all have at least one player that has been busted for PED's at some point in their career, and the Rangers have indicated that they're more than happy to have Nelson Cruz back for this postseason, as well they should be. So why should the Tigers put themselves at a needless competitive disadvantage when none of the teams above have any intention of doing so?
At the end of the day, as has been the case for so many greats of the game over the years, a lot can be washed away and overlooked about a man's character, if he happens to excel at hitting a baseball.
And I've got a feeling that if Jhonny Peralta should happen to come through with some clutch hits this October, history and the Tigers' fanbase will look far more kindly on his transgressions.
I suppose, though, if you're fine with cutting off your bench to spite a "cheater," then you're certainly entitled to your opinion. But come October, when the Tigers are in the unenviable position of depending on Ramon Santiago, who is hitting at about the same level as the singing hot-dog guy at Comerica Park, I doubt you'll be singing the same tune.
Monday, September 9, 2013
On Lapeer Days, One-Hit Wonders, And The Fallacy Of "No Publicity Is Bad Publicity"...
I'm well aware that damn near everyone who has stumbled onto this blog has already read this piece of mine, hence the reason you knew this blog even exists, but in the interest of at least having something up here until I get off my lazy ass and start putting new content up, you'll get this again and you'll damn well like it...
(Originally posted August 21st, 2013)
Welcome to Lapeer, where at this point, no publicity would be the best publicity one could hope for.
(Originally posted August 21st, 2013)
Welcome to Lapeer, where at this point, no publicity would be the best publicity one could hope for.
So, unless you've been living under a rock for the last 48 hours, you've no doubt heard about the incident involving the singer of Default... er, Lifehouse... Train? No... uh... the Calling! Yeah, that's it. You know, that band that had that song ten years ago. The one that someone once called "Song Of The Decade." (Although, if that song is the best the entire planet could do in a ten-year period, then clearly the 2000's were "The Decade When Absolutely Nobody Was Even Fucking Trying.")
Anyway, their lead singer, Alex Band, claimed to have been "abducted" around 4 in the morning on Sunday, then beaten and "left for dead" on the train tracks at M-24. Several theories have been thrown about as to what went down that night, as one has to question: if he was just walking down M24 to find a store at 4 in the morning, why not just walk right behind your damn hotel to the Meijer that's open 24/7/365? At any rate, here's what we know to be the facts:
- Band was found outside of Buffalo Wild Wings, per 911. Now, never mind that he claimed to have been kicked out of the van on the tracks on M24, where there is a gas station open 24/7, usually with a state cop or two in the parking lot, which makes me question not only how nobody saw this occur, but also why he didn't simply walk into the Clark station 100 feet away from said tracks and ask for assistance there. And if he were "left for dead" with a fractured spine as he claims, how in the fuck did he manage to walk a good mile and a half to Buffalo Wild Wings? I'm no doctor, nor have I ever damaged my spine in any way, but I don't think I'm overstepping my bounds in saying that I'm pretty sure there is no way in hell I'd be able to walk any further than the Clark parking lot without falling over in severe pain.
- According to eyewitnesses, Band was at Fatboy's Bar and Grill (the dive bar in Lapeer, for those who don't know) around last call, asking patrons where he could score cocaine. He found a guy there who was willing to supply, and they exchanged numbers at the bar that night. It should also be noted that Band has something of a history with substance abuse, and it's believed to be part of the cause for the band's breakup in 2005.
- The "reunited" Calling (of which Band is the only remaining original member) is preparing to release a new album, and the band's manager had sent a press release to CNN stating as such just before the "incident" occurred. Now, maybe I'm being overly cynical here, as happens from time to time, but the timing on this all seems suspect, to say the least. At the very least, I'm thinking Band and/or his manager changed the actual story a bit to put Band in the most favorable light and get the band the most publicity out of the whole thing.
If you've heard the 911 tape, which was released by the band's manager, you're probably struck at how calm, almost lifeless, the band's manager sounds while on the phone with the authorities, and how he appears at first to be making assumptions on his own about what happened; he wasn't at the hotel and he's been found bleeding all over, so obviously he *must* have been kidnapped! Note that while the 911 call was released by the band's manager, no medical information has been released proving the injuries supposedly suffered by Band. I'd be rather curious, myself, to see the toxicology report from his ER visit; I'd be shocked if they hadn't drawn blood from him that night, nor were there any illicit drugs in his system.
Now, watch the video of Band's recollection of the ordeal. I'll wait.
A couple of things strike me as odd here:
- The fact that he can't even keep a straight face while telling the reporter that this was not a hoax, and he keeps looking away while trying to recall the details of his story.
- For his eye supposedly being so swollen he couldn't see out of it that night, you can barely tell here that there's anything wrong with it less than two days later.
- In fact, the only major physical ailments appear to be a cut on his chin, and a bandage over his nose. There's a faint trace of a black eye, and the pictures released to TMZ indicate no broken teeth or major cut inside his mouth, as was claimed by Band.
- As an aside, his half-assed description of his captors is almost laughable. One of them is described only as being 6'4 and... apologetic? How in the hell is that supposed to help in finding him in any way? "Be on the lookout for a kinda tall, really polite guy!" Another is described as a white male armed with a gun (no shit), wearing a camo cap, with a scruffy beard (Yeah, this doesn't describe about half of Lapeer County or anything...)
So, it seems fairly obvious that we're not being told the whole story, or the story we're being told is a total fabrication. The most popular story circulating is that he was beaten by his own bandmates, and there's a certain bit of plausibility in that. Yet at the same time, this guy's their meal ticket, and they're just hired guns at this point. Why would they go and try to fuck that up for themselves? Another suggests that since the band were tremendous assholes to the Lapeer Days staff, started almost an hour late, playing a shortened show and demanding full payment, that might be a motive for someone to cause him bodily harm. My theory? Dude went to try and score some drugs, got high and passed out somewhere, explaining how he fucked his face up, then he or his manager came up with this "kidnapping" story to make it look like he wasn't a total junkhead, but rather an innocent victim of a senseless crime.
And if that's the case, then maybe we'd have all been better off if the bastard would have just OD'd. Seriously, Lapeer has received so much bad press over the last few years for the actual stupid things we've done, the last thing we need is some has-been one-hit-wonder junkie trying to use us again to try and jump-start a career that's long past it's expiration date. Sure, we've made national news several times of late, but it's rarely, if ever, for anything positive going on here, and stories like these only serve to reinforce the stereotype about Lapeer being a ghetto-hick shitpile. You don't think that this incident isn't going to make it that much harder to attract name acts to Lapeer from here on out? I mean, if you want nothing but warmed over 60's acts with maybe a roadie at most from the original band, that's great, but good luck getting anything other than one step closer to Lapeer's complete and utter irrelevance.
At the same time, it looks like this warmed-over Eddie Vedder ripoff's attempt to revive his career might just end up backfiring on him after all; even the national media is calling him out for, at the very least, embellishing his story, and if a poll on TMZ's site is to be believed, the majority of the public see through the facade as well. Now, I'm not much a schadenfreude kinda guy, but... who the hell am I kidding, I absolutely am! And it would give me no small amount of pleasure to watch this guy's comeback attempt crash and burn, and for him to slink back off into obscurity, where he's been for the last decade. Y'know, after everyone forgot about that "Wasting My Time" song that was such a big hit for them...
I Suppose You're Wondering Why I've Gathered You All Here...
Well, it's finally happened. After years of being told by everyone and anyone that "you need to start a blog!" or "how are you not writing professionally somewhere?" or "for fuck's sake, would you just go rant on the internet or something so I don't have to hear it anymore?!", I've finally succumbed to peer pressure and done just that.
All I have to say is: be careful what you wish for.
While I'm not exactly sure what in the hell I'm going to end up posting here, or if anyone will ever actually read it, I promise to at least attempt to entertain the probably tens of people who will read this blog, by ranting about sports, music, politics, and whatever else should draw my ire and/or wrath, and not bore you with the minutiae of my everyday life. Besides, everyone and their brother's dog has a blog these days, so why shouldn't somebody like me, whose opinion is always the right one? (And humble, too!) All I ask is, don't take this thing too seriously, because God knows I don't plan to.
And because I'm sure some smartass is gonna ask: No, I don't actually hate everyone. Only, y'know, 90% of everyone. Besides, it sounds infinitely more interesting than "I Love Everything (And Here's Why)," doesn't it?
All I have to say is: be careful what you wish for.
While I'm not exactly sure what in the hell I'm going to end up posting here, or if anyone will ever actually read it, I promise to at least attempt to entertain the probably tens of people who will read this blog, by ranting about sports, music, politics, and whatever else should draw my ire and/or wrath, and not bore you with the minutiae of my everyday life. Besides, everyone and their brother's dog has a blog these days, so why shouldn't somebody like me, whose opinion is always the right one? (And humble, too!) All I ask is, don't take this thing too seriously, because God knows I don't plan to.
And because I'm sure some smartass is gonna ask: No, I don't actually hate everyone. Only, y'know, 90% of everyone. Besides, it sounds infinitely more interesting than "I Love Everything (And Here's Why)," doesn't it?
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