AL Central Preview

Sorry about the delay, real life got in the way for a few days, but I'm back, buckled down and ready to give you your American League Central preview. Once again, teams are listed in the order I think they will finish and David's predictions (which are always wrong) precede my in depth, expertise and always correct analysis:

AL CENTRAL

Detroit Tigers
2007 Finish: 88-74, 2nd
David’s 2008 Prediction: 96-66 (+8) 1st

Josh’s Analysis:
General Manager Dave Dombrowski gets my award for best GM in baseball. He is willing to sacrifice the future for now, a dangerous approach for a GM if it doesn’t work. Detroit traded away eight highly rated prospects this winter in two trades that essentially bankrupted their minor league talent pool. While many people favor a balance, I applaud Dombrowski for going out on a limb to give the fans what they want; a team that can compete today! It’s easy to fall into the trap of being safe and always planning for next year… and when next year never happens, it’s because the talent didn’t develop as planned. Fans appreciate a gamble… so long as the payoff can be immediate. Detroit probably had the best all around off season in the majors. They overhauled the left side of their infield with the addition of Shortstop Edgar Renteria and Slugging Third Baseman Miguel Cabrera. They are both coming off terrific seasons in the National League, and Detroit hopes that it will translate to the AL. Renteria gives Detroit a major upgrade at short on both sides of the ball. Cabrera has often been accused of taking a nonchalant approach to defense, but I think now that he is playing for no-nonsense Jim Leyland on a competitive team you will see a major change in his attitude.

The Tigers’ pitching is a big question mark. Zumaya is out till midseason. Bonderman and Rogers are both coming off disappointing, injury-shortened campaigns. Detroit is gambling that Willis will regain his 2005 (or even his 2006) form. They resigned closer Todd Jones who turns forty during the first month of the season. Detroit's offense is one of the two best in the majors. Gary Sheffield should provide power and consistency if he stays healthy all season. Their lineup boasts Pudge, Magglio, Granderson and now Cabrera and Renteria. Top to bottom, this lineup will terrify opposing pitchers all year. Overall, if the Tigers pitchers can turn in even an average showing, their lineup should make them the team to beat in the Central.

Tigers Questions:

1. How many cameramen will Kenny Rogers punch in 2008? (The over/under is 3)
2. Will Bonderman figure out how to get that pesky ERA under 4.00? (Survey says: No)
3. Will a forty-three year old Rogers win fifteen games? (Define “win”)
4. Will the Tigers score at least 900 runs? (Money in the bank)
5. Will the Tigers win the Central? (By at least four games)
6. Will the Tigers win the pennant? (Nope, hitting will get you to October, but you need pitching… and the ability to field a bunt… to win it all)

Cleveland Indians
2007 Finish: 96-66, 1st, Lost to BOS in ALCS
David’s 2008 Prediction: 89-73 (-7) 2nd

Josh’s Analysis:
The Indians surprised everyone last season with their run to the ALCS, coming within one game of the World Series (three times). The Indians spent the off season desperately trying to lock up Sabathia long term, but the twenty-seven year old seems determined to test the free agency waters in 2009. Sabathia is likely to be the hot commodity next winter, but for now he will still anchor a surprisingly strong rotation in Cleveland. The Indians look like they will be suffering from an embarrassment of riches when it comes to starting pitchers this year. Carmona was positively stunning in his first full season as a starter, and if he can continue to deliver, the Indians will have a formidable one-two punch at the top. Paul Byrd enters his third and most likely last, season with the Tribe. The thirty-seven year old junkballer won a respectable fifteen games last year. Westbrook spent nearly two months on the DL with an abdominal strain and turned in a forgettable 6-9, 4.32 season, but the Indians are optimistic that he can be a viable number four guy this year. Highly rated prospects Laffey and Sowers will compete with Lee for the fifth spot, with Lee the early favorite for the job.

Full time DH Travis Hafner had an abysmal showing in 2007 slugging two hundred points below his improbable 2006 campaign that had everyone foaming at the mouth. Most people in baseball are shrugging off last season and saying that the real Hafner will be back this season, but that remains to be seen. Peralta is a serviceable shortstop but a lousy hitter who strikes out more than twice as often as he walks. The Indians let Lofton leave, and in doing so they lost their catalyst at the top of the lineup. The only .300 hitter the Indians had last year was backstop Victor Martinez and the Tribe can look for more of the same this year. Overall the Indians last year were far better than the sum of their parts and that kind of luck rarely translates year to year. Besides, Joe Borowski, the worst closer in baseball, still has “the full faith” of Manager of the Year Eric Wedge. The fact that Borowski had 53 save opportunities is testament to the number of close games the Indians played and that further reinforces my belief that the Indians were more lucky than anything else last season.

Indians Questions:

1. Will Joe Borowski become an elite closer? (Everyone should have a good belly laugh once a day, this one’s on me)
2. Will Hafner bounce back from his horrid 2007? (This is the key to the Indians season, so they better hope so)
3. Will Sabathia and Carmona perform at the levels they did in 2007? (Sabathia might, he’s in a contract year; Carmona is a mystery, but if he doesn’t, the Tribe has no shot)
4. Was 2007 an off year for Grady Sizemore at the beginning of a great career, or were we far too excited after his great 2006? (Odds are he bounces back)
5. Will Westbrook keep his job all season? (Look for Westbrook in the bullpen or as part of a deadline trade, either way, he will not start a game past August 1 for the Indians)
6. Will the Indians make the postseason? (If everything falls into place for them… I hope Shapiro ordered the midges!)

Chicago White Sox
2007 Finish: 72-90, 4th
David’s 2008 Prediction: 79-83 (+7) 3rd

Josh’s Analysis:
The White Sox had all sorts of problems last season; it’s hard to know where to begin. They probably had the worst pitching staff in the majors. Danks had a pathetic rookie outing putting up a 6-13 with a 5.50 ERA, and he wasn’t even the worst on the staff! Contreras went 10-17 with a 5.57 ERA. The lone bright spot for the Sox came in April with Mark Buehrle’s no-hitter.

Just about everything went wrong for Chicago in 2007 and that kind of bad luck is hard to duplicate. Here’s the amazing thing though; as bad as their pitching was, the real problem was their hitting. Yes, you read that right; the White Sox were one of only three teams in the majors, and the only one from the American League to score fewer than 700 runs (Nationals – 673, Giants – 683). Not one player on the team came within twenty points of hitting .300. While GM Kenny Williams missed out on opportunities to pick up Torri Hunter and Miguel Cabrera, the acquisitions of Nick Swisher in center and Orlando Cabrera at short should help. Honestly, just about anyone would have been an improvement over the woeful Juan Uribe. Cuban sensation Alexei Ramirez is expected to be the opening day second baseman and is considered to be a legitimate contender for Rookie of the Year. Thome and Konerko both underperformed last year and should have better showings this season. Luckily for Chicago they share a division with the Royals and the suddenly pathetic Twins. All in all Kenny Williams has taken a page from the Peter Angelos book on running a team; he bankrupted his team’s future for a handful of cosmetic stopgaps when his team has zero chance of competing this season.

White Sox Questions:

1. Will any of the White Sox starting pitchers finish with records over .500? (I suppose one of them might get lucky)
2. Will anyone on the team hit .300? (Konerko or Dye has an outside shot)
3. …or reach 100 RBIs? (See, the problem with RBI’s is that someone usually needs to get on base in front of you!)
4. How long will it take Ozzie Guillen to say something stupid to the press? (When’s opening day?)
5. Will the White Sox make the playoffs? (How many languages can I say no in? No. Nyet. Non. Nein. いいえ. 아니다. 不. Não. αριθ. לא)

Kansas City Royals
2007 Finish: 69-93, 5th
David’s 2008 Prediction: 71-91 (+2) 4th

Josh’s Analysis:
Because the Royals are the definition of irrelevant, I'm not feeling particularly inspired at the moment. If they refuse to make real attempts at competence, why should I have to buckle down for two paragraphs? I no longer think the Royals have an awful GM. He certainly made every effort to improve his team on the free agent market. Therein lies the problem though. There is approximately no chance that the Royals will contend in the next two years so why the hell would you go out and overpay an above average corner outfielder that won’t even be there if and when the Royals are ever good again?!

While I certainly understand the fact that the Royals have to overpay for free agents (essentially a Kansas City tax levied because of how little players want to play for a perennial loser in a boring city) I don’t see why GMs don’t find another path. Hell, take the cash you’re saving by having one of the league’s lowest payrolls and invest in a high yield money market account! When you’ve stocked up enough minor league talent and are actually good again, maybe you’ll be able to afford to compete with the big boys. I can only assume the Rays have been doing this for years (because nothing else makes sense with them). Unless the Royals opt for sacrificing to Jobu under the noses of the KC media contingent (Mark Teahen’s parents; one camera, one tape recorder), they aren’t winning 75 games. I’m not predicting good things.

Royals Questions:

1. Will Gil Meche get that ERA under 4.00 again? (If he does, the Royals should trade him and use the money they save to take everyone on the team out for ice cream)
2. How many Tony Pena stories will sports fans be subjected to when the Yankees play the Royals? (The over/under is 12)
3. Will the Royals finish above .500? (Will Mike Huckabee be the Republican candidate for President?)
4. Does anyone care enough about the AL Central that they are still reading the Royals questions?? (I’m going with no, feel free to tell me I’m wrong in a comment)

Minnesota Twins
2007 Finish: 79-83, 3rd
David’s 2008 Prediction: 66-96 (-13) 5th

Josh’s Analysis:
Twins neophyte GM Bill Smith sat down at a veritable high stakes poker game this off-season. He was dealt just about the fairest hand a first time GM could ask for; a pair of established stars (Mauer and Morneau), a team that was one or two good moves from contention, and the biggest chip at the table (Santana). Smith started out well enough, opting to gamble on controversy magnet Delmon Young. He got a relatively good price for Young from a Tampa Bay team that was desperate to move the former first overall draft pick. He wisely let Torrii hunter seek greener pastures and the Angels obliged by giving him a psychotic contract. But as Kenny Rogers (no, not that one, the other one) says; “You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away… know when to run”.

Smith overplayed his hand on the Santana deal. He forgot the cardinal rule of savvy GM’s; you don’t trade players, you trade contracts. He had one of the game’s best players, but one of the league’s worst contracts. An expiring deal with a no-trade clause that he’d waive for no less than a six year, 120 million dollar extension. Smith was convinced he could pull off a monster haul for Santana, asking for players such as Reyes, Joba, Hughes, Lester and Buchholz during negotiations with the Mets, Yanks and Sox. When the smoke cleared Smith had passed up the best offer he was going to get (Hughes, Melky and a second-tier prospect) and had traded the best pitcher in the game for a handful of nobodies that didn’t even include a can’t-miss prospect. Congratulations Bill, you set the world record for least amount of time between becoming GM and making a trade so bad it was a fire-able offense. Guinness will be contacting you shortly.

The Twins do have a few things going for them this year. Francisco Liriano, the pitcher with the most dominating stuff since the artist-formerly-known-as-Pedro toed the mound, is returning from Tommy John surgery. A healthy Liriano could potentially be the best pitcher in the game. The Twins have a ton of young pitching, but none of them have a particularly high ceiling. I don't like Delmon Young much, he’s a clubhouse cancer and he never walks, but some people think he'll be good and the price was right. Mauer and Morneau should be around for a while, but they won’t be sniffing the playoffs any time soon.

Twins Questions:

1. Will Liriano be dominating from day one? (He'll probably take his lumps early on, but look for the old Liriano by June)
2. Will anyone the Twins got from the Mets be a star? (With a little luck, one of them might even make the opening day roster!)
3. Will Mauer stay healthy all season? (Yea… I’m not too optimistic on this one)
4. Will the Twins offense miss Nick Punto if he doesn't win the starting job? (Not with Adam Everett poised to take his place… the Twinkies went from the worst full time offensive player in the sport to the second worst… baby steps I suppose)
5. Will Delmon Young settle in and be a model citizen? (Sure! He'll also draw a hundred walks, lead the Twins to October… and oh, grow wings!)

AL East Preview

I know you have all been on the edge of your seats waiting anxiously for my baseball preview, so here is part one in my six part series. Teams are profiled in the order I predict they will finish. Before each column David chimes in with his predictions (which don't always agree with mine). We'll start with the powerhouse AL East:

AL EAST

Boston Red Sox
2007 Finish: 96-66, 1st, Def. COL in WS
David’s 2008 Prediction: 98-64 (+2) 2nd (WC)

Josh’s Analysis:
The off season was a whole lot of nothing for the Sox, but oh what exciting nothing. After being involved in all types of trade talks, most notably the Johan Santana saga, the Sox basically chose to stand pat. Considering they won the World Series last year, it is hard to seriously question the strategy. Unfortunately, the recent (or recently announced) Schilling injury reduces the flexibility and insurance the Sox had in their starting rotation. They can't really count on Schilling to pitch at all, (despite their belief that a torn rotator cuff can be rehabbed without surgery) and that leaves them with five guys. These five guys include a theoretical ace, a Japanese disappointment with some upside, a knuckleballer with a bad back who had a terrible second half last year, the uber-prospect with the great change, great curve, and history of laptop theft (yeah, that was probably unfair), and the lefty who beat lymphoma.

I think the Red Sox rotation could be very good if everything works out. But if Beckett's 2008 campaign resembles his 2006 more than his 2007, they have a problem. They are also depending on two kids and a possibly washed up Wakefield. I think Buccholz has ace potential and Lester should be a solid two or three guy, but young guys often take lumps early on. Dice-K showed impressive stuff, but he'll need to show better command, bring that ERA below 4.00, and reduce the number of balls that end up on Lansdowne St. (25 HR allowed in 2007) to be a true number two.

Red Sox Questions (and possible answers):

1. Will their bullpen be able to continue the impressive (non-Gagne) run they showed in 2008? (Maybe)
2. Are the Sox going to be better off now that they have dropped Eric Gagne off at Boston city limits without a map? (Do you hear that soft sobbing coming from the Milwaukee area?)
3. Will the rotation dominate/be sufficient/explode? (I broke my Magic 8 ball on this one)
4. Will the likely decline of Lowell be balanced by a Manny resurgence or a J.D. Drew sighting? (Sure, why not?)
5. Will Ellsbury have enough success to at least balance out Coco Crisp in his first year? (Vote yes on proposition Ellsbury)
6. Will Lugo keep his job the whole year? (As a Yankee fan, I sure hope so)
7. Will Papelpon continue to be inordinately annoying? (Survey says…yes)
8. Will the Red sox beat out the Yankees in the AL East? (Reply hazy, try again)

New York Yankees
2007 Finish: 94-68, 2nd (WC), Lost to CLE in ALDS
David’s 2008 Prediction: 99-63 (+5) 1st

Josh’s Analysis:
The Yankees’ off season basically mirrored the Red Sox off season… in that they did absolutely nothing (in effect at least). Again, it is hard to object too strenuously; the Yanks have a pretty effective mix of aging veterans and young high-ceiling talent. Short of a kidnapping, there weren’t any viable options for the Yanks to improve their woeful bullpen. Adding Santana would certainly have made them a better team in 2008, but the Yankees did not want to give up former number one pitching prospect Phil Hughes, and I cannot fault them for that decision. They were also not particularly excited about giving Santana six or seven years at twenty million per. With Giambi, Farnsworth and Pavano coming off the books after 2008 however, money wasn’t the breaking point, but the Yanks opted to put their faith in their young pitchers and go after Texeira next year. One thing is for certain, Phil Hughes and Johan Santana will be forever linked, for better or for worse.

That said I personally liked the approach. There is something special about seeing the Yanks develop good young talent and sticking with them. The dynasty of the late 90’s was built the same way (Jeter, Rivera, Bernie, Posada, Pettite). I think most fans become more attached to the homegrown kids. Of course, if the kids don’t turn out to be any good, this all pretty much goes right out the window. Joba, Hughes and Kennedy almost certainly won't be the second coming of Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz, but they do have a good shot at becoming a solid top three anchor for this rotation for years to come.

Yankees Questions (and there are plenty of questions, lemme tell ya):

1. Can Joe Girardi manage to get the production he needs out of the LF/DH/1B rotation while keeping all the players involved happy? (Not going to be an easy task)
2. Will Andy Pettite move on from the annoying steroid controversy and match his 2007 performance? (Quite possibly)
3. Will Wang rebound from his craptacular playoff debacle? (Most likely)
4. Will the bullpen be something other than horrible? (-sigh- will Farnsworth be heavily involved?)
5. Will the Yanks handle Joba correctly? (They’d better freakin’ hope so)
6. Will there be a bona fide Carl Pavano sighting in 2008? (Maybe on the 11 O’clock news)
7. Will the Yankees score at least 900 runs? (YES!)
8. Will Derek Jeter, my favorite Yankee, get to that groundball to his left? (NO!)
9. Will the Yanks edge out the Red Sox in the East? (Reply hazy, try again)

Toronto Blue Jays
2007 Finish: 83-79, 3rd
David’s 2008 Prediction: 88-74 (+5) 3rd

Josh’s Analysis:
I can't imagine I'd be happy to be a Blue Jays fan. They keep making sure they are just good enough to compete but not good enough to be a legitimate playoff threat. Here’s a note to Toronto upper management: eight of the last twelve AL Pennant winners have been from the East. The Yankees and Sox are consistently one and two in money spent, it will take more than cosmetic changes to be a factor in this division. It took an epic collapse by Boston in 2006 to get the Jays a second place finish (still 8 games behind Wild Card winner Detroit). The Blue Jays haven’t made the playoffs since they won it all in 1993. If you combine no October baseball with mediocre draft position every year, you get what I like to call "the worst of both worlds." Alas, the off season doesn't seem to have improved the situation much.

The Jays have the potential for a pretty impressive starting staff. Halladay is an impressive workhorse, and Burnett has ace stuff…but they both need to stay healthy (the odds of which are approximately… -crunches some numbers- ... zero). Dustin McGowan looked very impressive in his first full season, and could be a legit power pitcher for years to come. David Eckstein is the little engine that could; watching him put every ounce of himself into every throw in order to will the ball to first base is always quite a sight (if ever a player didn't have the arm for shortstop, it's him). The Jays traded their oft injured, steroid using, slugging 3rd baseman for a very oft injured, somewhat less slugging 3rd baseman. Advantage…hmmm…journalists who make their living reporting trade rumors? One upside for Toronto is that Vernon Wells’s contract might start looking reasonable considering the crazy contract Torrii Hunter got in free agency….Huzzah!

Blue Jays Questions:

1. Will the starting rotation stay reasonable healthy? (Why would they start now?)
2. Will Vernon Wells bounce back from his abysmal year? (Probably)
3. Will the ball get from Eckstein's hand to first base? (Eventually)
4. Will Rolen stay healthy for a full season? (Surely you jest)
5. Will Rios make the jump to a legit 30-100 player or will he continue to be criminally overrated? (Can’t it be both?)

Tampa Bay (Angelic) Rays
2007 Finish: 66-96, 5th
David’s 2008 Prediction: 70-92 (+4) 4th

Josh’s Analysis:
It is really quite amazing what picking in the top five of the amateur draft for a decade can do for you. Every minor league talent evaluator worth his salt and several of those who aren’t will tell you that the Rays farm system is absolutely stacked. They are the clear leader in minor league talent… but major league talent… not so much. The Rays do look like they are on the rise, though. The question is whether their terrible ballpark and low payroll will hold them back. Again.

A lot went right for the Rays last year, well as much can go right for a 66 win, fifth place team. B.J. Upton finally delivered on the promise that everyone said he had; his swing looks positively A-Rod-ish at times. Carlos Pena went from scrapheap to silver slugger. Kazmir's performance continued to make Mets fans everywhere cry themselves to sleep. Delmon Young defied all reasonable expectations and did not hit anyone with a bat. Some of their young pitchers showed some serious moxie (usually while getting hammered by opposing hitters).

Despite these positives, the Rays still have a long way to go, but the addition of Evan Longoria should help. The third baseman is said to have David Wright potential, and is the early favorite for Rookie of the Year. The Rays traded Delmon Young (who was actually pretty terrible for a corner outfielder last year) for Matt Garza of the Twins. While Garza may be a somewhat lesser prospect, one outfielder needed to go and Young was the clear choice. Several potential star pitchers await their chance to shine. The Rays might just be a team to contend with… in a couple years (at least for Toronto).

Rays Questions:

1. Will Pena repeat his 2007 performance? (Not bloody likely)
2. Will Upton continue to perform at this level? (More bloody likely)
3. Can Kazmir develop into a legit ace? (Sure, now that the Mets have Santana, maybe their fans will finally ease up on the Kazmir voodoo dolls)
4. Will Carl Crawford ever make the jump into the star everyone already thinks he is? (I'm going with no)
5. Will Evan Longoria ever be more famous than Eva Longoria? (NO!)
6. Will Evan Longoria at least win Rookie of the Year? (YES!)
7. Will the Rays finally fight their way out of the AL East cellar? (Now that they have abandoned the Devil, all things are possible)

Baltimore Orioles
2007 Finish: 69-93, 4th
David’s 2008 Prediction: 59-103 (-10) 5th

Josh’s Analysis:
When the topic of the worst franchise in all of sports comes up, as it tends to, I always argue strenuously for the Baltimore Orioles. Considering their impressive history and beautiful ballpark, this is quite the accusation. Obviously, you must take into account the vast difficulties inherent in playing in the AL East, however the Orioles fans have to deal with something the Jays and Rays just don't; the complete and utter lack of hope. Hope is at the core of everything that makes baseball great. In the case of the Orioles, hope is brutally strangled by Peter Angelos on a yearly basis. Angelos is the worst owner in sports (sorry James Dolan…so close). Since I am only devoting a few paragraphs to each team, I don't have the necessary space to properly rant about Peter the Cruel. Yankee fans have been subjected to George Steinbrenner’s meddling for a quarter century. But say what you will about George, he desperately wanted to win and he always did his best to field what he thought was a championship caliber team. That is an owner’s job (besides exploiting everything for profit, that is). An objective look at every move that Angelos and the Orioles’ front office has made in the last twelve years would convince any rational thinker that Angelos has been trying to do the exact opposite.

Despite all expectations, the Orioles seem to have finally made the decision to stop trying to win 70-75 games. It's rebuilding time! I believe that you are either trying to win a championship, rebuilding, or just robbing your fans. It's all part of the whole hope thing. Fans either need hope for the future, or hope right now. Maybe the Orioles finally got the memo.

I suppose I should still mention some substantive things about this likely hundred-loss team. Nick Markakis has a real shot at being one of the best right fielders in baseball over the next decade or so. The Bedard trade was very well done, even if Adam Jones is the only real acquisition; he is a very highly rated prospect. The O’s managed to get the Mariners to throw in an extra prospect when they had already committed to moving Bedard and the M’s were the only serious bidder. The Tejada dump occurred just before the Mitchell Report was released (good freaking timing). They did acquire a nice poo-poo platter of decent guys for him; however, in true Angelos fashion every upside has a bigger downside. The O’s waited one year too long to trade Tejada and were forced to accept thirty cents on the dollar for one of the game’s best shortstops. If the Orioles are committed to rebuilding, they must trade Brian Roberts while he has value. I hear that he is an Angelos favorite, and that might be holding things up. I believe Joe DiMaggio once said "I'd like to thank the good Lord for not making me an Orioles fan" (or something to that effect).

Orioles Questions:

1. Will the Orioles lose 100 games? (Quite likely)
2. Will the O's finally trade Roberts (and perhaps Mora) to complete their rebuilding effort? (Seems a bit too rational, so no)
3. Will I ever watch an Orioles game when they aren't playing the Yankees or Red Sox? (Is there coercion involved? Maybe some money changing hands?)
4. Does hope spring eternal? (Maybe next year?)

Top 15 Sports Movies of All Time

While we anxiously wait for Josh to finish consulting his magic eight ball, reading the chicken bones and tea leaves, and basically whatever other voodoo he employs in putting together his baseball preview column, I thought I would tackle one of the more pressing issues of our time: What are the fifteen greatest sports movies? We have seen many lists over the years, some of them more accurate than others, but mine will of course be the definitive one. For the purposes of this list we will define a sports movie as one pertaining to Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey or Boxing.

15) Diggstown (1992)
James Woods, Louis Gosset Jr. – Boxing

The best movie you’ve never heard of. Kind of a cross between 1973 Best Picture The Sting and 1976 Best Picture Rocky. The movie is about the big con which is centered on boxing. James Woods turns in an incredibly convincing performance as con-man Gabriel Caine, Heather Graham is always welcome as the eye candy… erm… love interest and Oliver Platt is perfect as the comic relief. You’ll be hard pressed to see the movie’s big twist ending coming, but if you aren’t visibly giddy at the end then you’re dead inside. Rent this movie today.

14) Bad News Bears (1976)
Walter Matthau, Tatum O’Neal – Little League Baseball.

There aren’t too many people who haven’t seen this 1976 classic about a group of underachievers led to victory by a recovering alcoholic looking for redemption. So I’ll just remind you what the movie’s tagline was since that says it all: The coach is waiting for his next beer. The pitcher is waiting for her first bra. The team is waiting for a miracle. Consider the possibilities.

13) Slap Shot (1977)
Paul Newman, Joe McGrath – Minor League Hockey

The original slapstick, goofball, sports movie. Another instant classic. Not much else to say about this. In 1998, Maxim named Slap Shot the Best Guy Movie Of All Time eschewing such obvious classic choices as The Godfather, Raging Bull, and Newman's own Cool Hand Luke. While that probably speaks more to the crack intake of Maxim editors it should tell you something that it was at least a contender.

12) Brian’s Song (1971)
James Caan, Billy Dee Williams – Football

The quintessential black guy/white guy buddy movie aired sixteen years before Danny Glover was ever “too old for this shit” in Lethal Weapon. This movie could reduce the manliest of men to tears. Universally recognized as the greatest made for TV movie ever (The M*A*S*H finale notwithstanding). It was so popular after its TV release that it was re-released on the big screen.

11) Rocky III (1982)
Sylvester Stallone, Carl Weathers – Boxing

You wouldn’t think that a movie written, directed and acted by the Italian Stallion would be this good. After enjoying life at the top Rocky turns to his new best friend Apollo Creed to help him train to regain the title he lost to Mr. T. I pity the fool who doesn’t love this movie. (Yea, it was a cheap joke but you would have been mad if I didn’t make it.)

10) Rudy (1993)
Sean Astin, Jon Favreau – College Football

I don’t care who you are or if you even like football, you simply cannot dislike this movie about an overachiever whose lifelong dream is to play football for Notre Dame. Watching hobbit Sean Astin (look at you! five foot nothing, a hundred and nothing!) work his ass off, first to get accepted into Notre Dame as a transfer and then to get on the team is a great experience. In addition to all the feel-good and watching Rudy work out his daddy issues by getting his ass kicked repeatedly, we get one of the greatest inspirational speeches of all time. (Nobody and I mean nobody comes into our house and pushes us around!).

9) Major League (1989)
Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen – Major League Baseball

This 1989 movie about a diabolical owner trying to get a group of misfits to perform so poorly that she can move the Indians to Miami will have you rolling in the aisles. Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen, Wesley Snipes and Dennis Haysbert as the Jobu-worshipping slugger who can’t hit a curveball team up with a phenomenal Bob Uecker to make this gem. The tagline says it all: When these oddballs try to play hardball, the result is totally screwball.

8) Hoosiers (1986)
Gene Hackman, Dennis Hopper – High School Basketball

Without a doubt, the greatest basketball movie ever made (Sorry Space Jam). Dennis Hopper shines as the town drunk and Gene Hackman’s signature role as Coach Norman Dale has this movie in just about everyone’s top 10 list. The ultimate David vs. Goliath team sports movie.

7) A League of Their Own (1992)
Geena Davis, Tom Hanks – Girls Professional Baseball

Penny Marshall’s movie about the All American Pro Girls League was an unexpected delight considering the cast. Just about every movie Madonna or Rosie O’Donnell have been heavily involved in (with the exception of Dick Tracy) have been so bad that no self-respecting man would spend two hours watching them. Yet against all odds, this movie was incredible. A feel-good film that sees Tom Hanks as a recovering alcoholic who finds redemption… you know what, I’m starting to see a pattern here. But if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

6) The Program (1993)
James Caan, Omar Epps – College Football

If you haven’t seen this behind the scenes look at a college football program, go rent it right now. This movie has it all, backstabbing, steroids, academic shortcuts, alcoholism, a Heisman campaign, you name it. Plus, grade A+ eye candy with Halle Berry and Kristy Swanson as the love interests. James Caan shines as the do-anything-to-win Coach Sam Winters (though amazingly he’s not a recovering alcoholic!). This film sets the bar for football movies.

5) Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Clint Eastwood, Hillary Swank – Women’s Boxing

I hesitated to put this movie on the list since the sports aspect of the movie quits halfway through and the rest of the movie is pretty depressing. But the movie did win Best Picture so I think that buys it a spot in the top 5. Hillary Swank won Best Actress for her portrayal of a waitress who wants to be a boxer. And anytime you throw Clint Eastwood into a movie you double your manly quotient. (with a few notable exceptions… I’m talking to YOU Bridges of Madison County!)

4) Raging Bull (1980)
Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci – Boxing

His rage made him a champ in the ring, and a chump at home. Directed by Martin Scorcese. Joe Pesci’s breakout role. DeNiro gained 45 pounds to play old Jake. Got a best picture nomination and DeNiro got his second Oscar for his portrayal of LaMotta. There really is nothing bad about this movie.

3) Rocky (1976)
Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire – Boxing

Despite the fact that this movie can be directly blamed for Rocky IV and V the original is still the best. Taking the Best Picture Oscar only solidified its place as the best boxing movie of all time and a clear contender for best sports film. While underdog stories permeate this list, this movie takes the cake. If Hoosiers was the standard for team underdogs, Rocky sets the bar for individual achievement.

2) Bull Durham (1988)
Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins – Minor League Baseball

This is one of those movies that you have to watch when you stumble across it on TV. Susan Sarandon turns in a memorable performance as Annie Savoy. Tim Robbins is great as the naïve Nuke Laloosh and Kevin Costner is perfect as Crash Davis. Bull Durham gave us one of the best movie monologues of all time (Costner’s I Believe In speech) as well as some serious comic relief. This movie has it all. Some cynics say that Bull Durham was a chick flick that centered on baseball, but I disagree. At least the love interest is portrayed wonderfully by Sarandon. By contrast, Kelly Preston’s performance in For Love of the Game has single handedly kept that film off this list.

1) Field Of Dreams (1989)
Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones – Baseball?

Kevin Costner gets the top two spots on this list and really, was there any doubt? While Field of Dreams isn’t about the team, the players or the game itself, the movie is rife with metaphors. Any child who has ever had a catch with their father will absolutely be choking up during the closing minutes. James Earl Jones’ monologue about baseball standing the test of time will give you chills. Despite the fact that the movie is essentially ghosts playing baseball, the depth of the movie is incredible. A cinch for number one.

Honorable mentions: Eight Men Out, Pride of the Yankees, Hurricane
Note: The most glaring omission on this list is probably The Natural, this is because fellow Official Scorer Josh hates it for its over-the-topness, so I left it off. Clearly there’s no accounting for taste.

The A-Rod Syndrome

I’ve dubbed it the A-Rod syndrome. Alex Rodriguez is arguably the best all around baseball player of the last twenty years, and he certainly belongs in any conversation about the all time greats. So why have New Yorkers spent so much time booing him? Many pundits with deadlines and column inches to fill devote article after article speculating over the reasons.

The most common reason presented has been the A-Rod/Jeter feud. As everyone in the Milky Way Galaxy is now abundantly aware, A-Rod gave an interview that appeared in the April 2001 issue of Esquire magazine in which he says: “Jeter’s been blessed with great talent around him,” Alex says. “He’s never had to lead. He can just go and play and have fun. And he hits second, that’s totally different than third and fourth in a lineup. You go into New York; you wanna stop Bernie and O’Neill. You never say, don’t let Derek beat you. He’s never your concern.” Before that interview, Jeter and A-Rod were famously the closest of friends. When the Yankees would travel to Seattle for a series, Jeter would reportedly eschew the team accommodations in favor of A-Rod’s guest room. The two would have dinner together every night that the Yanks were in town. Jeter once told reporters that dinners with A-Rod were probably the only time he wore his World Series rings, as a friendly reminder that A-Rod had none. Then came the interview and Jeter's burn-me-once mentality no longer considered A-Rod a friend. Jeter has been the darling of New York since 1996 and A-Rod has been the villain ever since.

What a load of crap.

In 2006 A-Rod put up a .290, 35, 121 season that the vast majority of Major Leaguers at any position on any team would consider a career year. He made only 12 errors at third base. Yet with each and every at bat A-Rod was greeted with a vitriol that you would think New Yorkers saved for the Red Sox. In 2004, Yankee darling Derek Jeter hit a career low .292 with a mere 23 HRs and 78 RBIs to go along with his 13 errors at short, yet he was cheered with each and every plate appearance at The Stadium. Now true, A-Rod’s vast talent probably has fans holding him to a higher standard, but out and out hatred for the reigning AL MVP who hits 35 HRs and knocks in 121?

Come on, surely we can do better.

“A-Rod is shit in the clutch!” the average uninformed Yankee fan will tell you, and that is why they hate him. According to ESPN.com, A-Rod’s stats in “close and late” situations from 2005 thru 2007 are .294, 12, 48 with a .913 OPS in 221 at bats. Now granted these numbers are well below his career average, but they can't be considered bad by any stretch of the imagination. By comparison, Mr. Clutch himself Derek Jeter has posted a .304, 7, 43 with an OPS nearly 90 points lower than A-Rod's, in 32 MORE at bats!

Oh come on people, there must be a GOOD reason we hate A-Rod!

In the interest of saving us all from the mind-numbing task of dissecting any more of these infantile reasons people have given for the A-Rod hatred, I will just tell you. Better yet, let me show you:

This is what A-Rod generally looks like after striking out in a key situation. You’d have to throw some chin music his way just to be sure he was awake.

Yankee fans aren’t (for the most part) stupid. We know that even Babe Ruth faltered in the clutch more than he came through. We know that the nature of the game means that players fail more often than they succeed. While there is some merit to the claim that if A-Rod is going to be making 27.5 million dollars a year he ought to put up numbers that reflect as much, but we still understand that no one can hit a home run every time he steps to the plate. We boo A-Rod because he doesn’t seem to care. We see pictures of him on the front page of the New York Post spending an August day with his wife in Central Park, shirtless, as if he hasn’t a care in the world. And then he makes three errors and goes 0-4 that evening against Toronto. Now let me be clear, I don’t care if Alex suns himself in Central Park all day every day wearing nothing but a banana-hammock (though I pray that picture wouldn’t end up anywhere I’d see it) but when he makes a habit of being photographed looking like his biggest concern is what to have for dinner that night, Yankee fans begin to feel betrayed. Yankee fans eat, breathe and sleep baseball. Yankee fans live and die with their every success and failure. We don’t ask players to hit a home run every time up, and we understand when they don’t succeed. But we do demand two things;

1) That every player leave everything he has out on the field every game

2) That every player takes the game at least as seriously as we do.

Nothing makes a Yankee fan madder than seeing a player fail in a key situation and show no hint of disappointment in himself. Consider the following examples of model Yankee citizens:

This is probably a picture of Paul O’Neill after flying out to center with nobody on base in the first inning of a scoreless game. When he would strike out with runners on base in a key situation late in a close game water coolers would get black eyes and helmets would become pureed. As for Jeter, he is the epitome of what Yankee fans want their players to be. He leaves nothing in the locker room. Whether he is diving headfirst into the stands (running full speed past a jogging A-Rod) to make a play on a foul ball, or pulling in an errant relay throw to nail Jeremy Giambi at the plate in 1-0 elimination game in the ALDS, Jeter gives 110% every single game. In addition, both Jeter and O’Neill visibly lived and died with every Yankee success. Jeter is always the first out of the dugout to congratulate a teammate on a home run; he is always vocal in his support of the team.

That’s all Yankee fans want. A-Rod may very well be torn up inside every single time he strikes out, but we aren’t mind readers. We want to see it! We want to see him jumping up and down when a teammate homers. We want to see him visibly upset when he fails, even though we all know it will happen 65-70% of the time.

Yankee fans (along with Boston and Philly fans) are pathological about their fandom. We feel an attachment to the team and we want to see that the players care about winning at least as much as we do. If A-Rod wants to be accepted as a true Yankee (especially after the whole opt-out drama) he will lose the cool cucumber attitude and start maiming some water coolers.

XLII

This is officially the most depressing week in sports. The Super Bowl is over, and pitchers and catchers don’t report to training camp for 4 days, 17 hours, 32 minutes 18 seconds (as of writing this according to the countdown clock on http://www.mlb.com/). I don’t care for what the NBA has become and Hockey sucks. The only “sporting event” on television this weekend is the NFL’s Pro-Bowl. I am convinced that Fox is required to air the Pro-Bowl as part of its contract to air the Super Bowl. The Red Sox were required to take Mike Lowell from the Marlins as part of the Josh Beckett trade… somehow I don’t think Fox will be as happy about the Pro Bowl as Theo Epstein is about Lowell. But I digress.

The common axiom is that the Super Bowl generally stinks and the conference championship games are the real gems. Certainly the last two Super Bowls barely kept me awake. In fact, the only Super Bowls this decade to have any kind of excitement were the four in which the New England Patriots played. All four games were three point contests and all four were great. But Super Bowl XLII set the bar for exciting Super Bowls. You have to go back to 1989 or 1991 to find games that were as exciting as this one, and even then you don’t get games as rife with subplots.

Lets start with the elephant in the room. The Patriots were poised to become the first 19-0* team in NFL history. After running roughshod over every team to get in their way, the Patriots entered Sunday’s contest 12 point favorites over the lowly Giants. With 589 points, a 50 TD tossing adonis of a Quarterback, and a rejuvinated all-pro, record setting wide receiver, the Giants were merely a formality on the way to historic perfection.

Meanwhile the Giants had started the season 0-2, They were a fifth seeded team that faced road games against the leagues best defense, and the league’s second and third best offenses in three brutal stadiums for visiting teams (culminating in a football purist’s wet dream of the NFC championship game at Lambeau field). The Giants had a coach who has been on the verge of being fired for several years after three straight 6-2 starts with second half records of 0-8, 5-3 and 2-6. Giants fans started off the season demanding Coughlin’s head after starting 0-2 and then settled in for the now-familiar second half collapse when they were 6-2. Again. They had a Quarterback who has been woefully inconsistent his entire career. The Giants were merely a formality.

Here’s a true story about the way Giants fans see Eli Manning. Fellow Official Scorer Josh and I decided that as long as the Giants were in Tampa while we were in Florida we would score tickets to the game. After the Giants took a 14-7 lead into halftime we prayed for a “kill the clock and please god don’t let Eli drop back to pass” strategy. Every time Eli dropped back, we covered our eyes in that fake still looking way. We were quite shocked when the Giants actually won, but it was a foregone conclusion that they were losing in the next round (a feeling we kept each step of the way).

Spygate II showed up mere days before the Super Bowl where it was revealed that the Patriots illegally videotaped the Rams’ final walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI.

Anklegate (as I’ve taken to calling it) had dominated the news-starved media for the two weeks leading up to the big game.

And my personal favorite <drumroll please> Tiki Barber getting it up the rear on national TV. Long considered the star of the Giants and the key behind their 2000 run to getting killed by the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV (You didn’t really think it was Kerry Collins, did you??) Tiki retired following the 2006 season. Then he went on national television and told the world that Tom Coughlin was a joke and Eli Manning wasn’t a leader and various other ways of saying the team was a joke. The VERY NEXT SEASON they go out and make it to the Super Bowl. The moment the game ended I turned to my friends (who had no friggin idea what I was talking about) and said “Well, the Ewing theory has been oficially replaced by the Tiki theory“.

Some thoughts on the game itself:

• The Giants, and particularly Eli looked incredible on that 9 minute 54 second, clock killing, record setting opening drive.
• The Patriots had apparently decided that their opening play was going to be a double reverse fake gadget play designed to be a 56 yard bomb to Moss weeks, perhaps months before the game started. The Giants’ front four got to Brady with an intensity that reminded me of Alvin Mack in the Program (You’re the guy who shot my mother aren’t you?). They kept up that intensity until the fourth quarter when they just looked exhausted from being on the field for so long.
• Coughlin only made one real coaching mistake in the game: punting on 4th and 1 from their own 38 with 8:02 left in the game. Some people might say that he should have punted there, especially with how well their defense had been playing all game, but I still say you’re facing the NFL’s highest scoring offense in history, you have a highly improbable 10-7 lead, and if you can punch it in for 7, the game is over. TMQ (Greg Easterbrook of ESPN.com) believes that when you punt on 4th and short from anywhere near midfield you are guaranteeing 6 for the other team. Sure enough Brady led a 12 play, 80 yard, 5:12 drive downfield to put the Pats 2:42 from 19-0.
• When the Pats went ahead 14-10 I gave up on the game. I said out loud that there is no way in hell that Eli Manning is leading a Super Bowl winning two minute drive against the Pats.
• The play. I still don’t know what to call it or what to think of it. It has to be the single greatest play in Super Bowl history. I counted 4 seperate “holy shits!” When Eli wasn’t actually sacked, when he got the pass off, when Tyree caught it, and when Tyree didn’t drop it despite being maulled by Rodney Harrison. Harrison did everything short of stabbing Tyree. I have dubbed the play the Holy Shit! but somehow I don’t think that it will catch on. There’s simply no catchy way to name it that encompasses both Eli’s escape and Tyree’s one-handed-pin-it-against-his-helmet-while-getting-mugged catch in one.
• Joe Buck completely dropped the ball on the call. Buck called the greatest play in Super Bowl history like he was waiting for Jerry Jones to toss him a PepsiMAX. Can you imagine if Buck had called Bobby Thompson’s homer in ‘51? Instead of “The Giants win the pennant!” We’d have “Thompson swings, its a long fly ball, and whaddya know? The Giants won the game.”
• When the Pats took over with 35 seconds left and all three timeouts, I was convinced that we were about to see a legendary drive that would seal 19-0 and break the hearts of Giants fans and Pats haters everywhere. It wasn’t until Brady’s fourth down heave fell incomplete that I realized that the history was on the last drive.
• Eli had a great game, but he wasn’t the MVP. The Giant’s defensive line deserved to be co-MVP’s of the game.
• This was the greatest super bowl I have ever seen.