SimonOnSports

Tracking the AP #1 Votes

2009-11-20T17:42:00.000-05:00

Here is a quick chart which shows the progression from week to week on who is garnering all of the #1 votes. The only team to garner a #1 vote outside of Texas, Bama and Florida was USC in week 2.

Just in Case You Have a Little Sibling

2009-11-20T16:00:00.000-05:00

This is how you get shit done boys and gals.

And off to the weekend.

The Ascension of Cincy, Boise and TCU

2009-11-20T15:57:00.000-05:00

Here's a simple chart surrounding the ascensions up the AP poll for Cincy who started unranked, Boise St. who started #14 and TCU who started at #17. They now are ranked 4, 5 and 6 respectively.

Degrees of Loss Separation: Michigan > Ohio State

2009-11-20T12:12:00.013-05:00

The Degrees of Loss Separation is a simple concept, I go out and find a highly rated team with some losses playing against a crappy team with lots of losses. Next I find a chain of losses which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt (not at all) that the underdog is going to pull the major upset and storm the field. The Final Outcome is calculated simply: Add up the scores of the losers, add up the scores of the winners in the degrees of loss separation and divide both by the # of degrees.

The Game: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Michigan Wolverines
Michigan vs. Ohio State is one of America's greatest rivalries yet for the 2nd straight season its practically not on America's radar thanks to the Wolverines ineptitude. Michigan fans are thankful for the Ohio State game not because they legitimately expect victory but rather because it signifies the end of yet another torturous season under Rich Rodriguez. But alas the Degrees are here to bring you hope Wolverine fans. All is not lost. Michigan will pull off the upset on saturday and will close out their season with a loss in the GMAC bowl or something similarly crappy.

3º of Loss Separation : Michigan > Notre Dame > Purdue > Ohio State
The Degrees start back in ye olden tymes, aka September, when Michigan was still winning football games. The Wolverines took out the ~~Mighty~~ Irish 38-34. The Irish two weeks later dispatched of the Boilermakers 24-21 in one of their many field goal or less wins. The Degrees was completed when the Purdon't shocked the world and knocked off Ohio State 26-18.

Final Outcome: Michigan 29 Ohio State 24
Tate the Great leads a last minute drive down the field and completes a game winning touchdown pass with under 30 seconds remaining. Wolverines win, Wolverines win.

A Collection of Youth Hockey Checks

2009-11-20T10:20:00.000-05:00

Just for fun, here's a collection of youth hockey checks. Kids of all ages knocking the crap out of others for the amusement of the masses.

And finally these kids, who went for the big hit but kind of missed.

Blogging the Offseason: Toronto Blue Jays

2009-11-20T10:10:00.005-05:00

The Big 5 College Football Games of Week 12

2009-11-20T08:46:00.001-05:00

What an absolute garbage weekend for college football. The #1 and #2 teams are ducking competition and there is no showcase games whatsoever. This might be a good Saturday to run errands. Hell even the normally interesting Michigan vs. Ohio State game is completely irrelevant. The Buckeyes are already in the Rose Bowl and Michigan is turrible.

5. Louisiana State Tigers at Ole Miss Rebels
This game could have meant something big had both teams not been dumped by Alabama. Now it's just a battle between two teams that are good. It should be entertaining but it doesn't have much meaning. The Pick: LSU by 3

4. Virginia Cavaliers at Clemson Tigers
Clemson wins and they are in the ACC title game. They lose and BC likely gets to go to the ACC title game and lose for the 37th time in a row. Good thing Clemson is facing Al Groh.The Pick: Tigers by 16

3. Kansas Jayhawks at Texas Longhorns
Mark Mangino just might be getting fired soon thanks to his former players saying he was an abusive hitter. I bet if he pulls off a stunning upset and knocks the Longhorns out of title contention, he will have a better chance of keeping his job. The Pick: Texas by 17

2. California Bears at Stanford Cardinal
The Cardinal have come out of nowhere the past two weeks and are now just a win, an Oregon loss and an Arizona loss away from the Rose Bowl. Step 1 of the process is beating Cal - Jahvid Best. The Pick: Cardinal by 9.

1. Oregon Ducks at Arizona Wildcats
This is the biggest matchup of the weekend because the Ducks win and they are a Civil War away from the Rose Bowl. Arizona wins and they need to jump on the beat USC bandwagon and then they will be in the Rose Bowl. The Pick: Oregon by 10

The Vernon Wells Contract is Remarkably Bad

2009-11-19T15:01:00.001-05:00

I think we all have heard that Vernon Wells has a bloated contract and that he is incredibly un-tradeable. This morning I decided to take a look at just how bad the remainder of Vernon Wells contract is, and well its really really really bad.

Vernon Wells signed a 7 year 126 million dollar extension in December 2006. That sounds bad doesn't it? Eighteen Million a year for Vernon Wells, ugh. But it's actually way worse than just Eighteen Million. See the Blue Jays backloaded basically the entire deal except for a signing bonus. In 2008 Wells made just .5$ million plus 1/3 of his 25.5$ million dollar signing bonus. In 2009 he made 1.5$ million plus 1/3 of the signing bonus. Therefore if you do a quick calculation through 2/7 of his contract he has been paid just 18.5 of the 126 million dollar deal. In 10 each of the next five years he will make more than 20 million dollars. UGH.

Just a reminder, Vernon Wells hit .260 last year and only hit 15 home runs. Wow that's a bad contract.

H/t Cot's Contracts

Week 11 NFL Pick Suggestions

2009-11-19T14:22:00.000-05:00

Woo more Thursday night football that I can't watch because I don't get the NFL Network. Woo.

1. Carolina Panthers (-3 1/2) vs. Miami Dolphins
No more Ronny Brown means no more diesel wildcat. All wildcat will now be run with the 130 pound gazelle Pat White. It won't be very effective and the Dolphins offense will struggle because of it.

2. Philadelphia Eagles (-3 1/2) at Chicago Bears
The Eagles and Bears are in spiral down mode. I'm taking the Eagles here because I think that they will be able to put up ample points on the weakened Bears D and that their defense will continue the Cutler frustration and color blindness.

3. Detroit Lions(-3 1/2) vs. Cleveland Browns
The Lions can score around 20 points on any team and they can give up around 20 points to any team, but the Browns. The Browns have no offensive talent whatsoever and will be lucky to score double digits in any game the rest of the year.

4. San Diego Chargers (-2 1/2) at Denver Broncos
I hate the god damn Broncos. I can't even pick them right when they're playing the god damn Redskins. Screw the Broncos, their downward spiral is going to continue.

5. New York Giants (-6.5) vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons will be without Michael Turner, their main weapon. The Giants will be coming off a bye and will be desperate for a win to keep them above .500. This is a game the Giants can't lose.

Survivor Pick of the Week: Bengals
The two options are the Cards at Rams and the Bengals at the Raiders. I think the Raiders are worse than the Rams thus we are going Bengals. Feels risky.

The Rest of the Picks

Spreadless

Ireland Getting Snubbed is All Bud Selig's Fault

2009-11-19T11:44:00.000-05:00

Ireland was defeated by France yesterday in the final stages of World Cup Qualifying thanks to a blatant handball by French striker / pansyman Thierre Henry. How blatant of a handball was it? Take it away Thierre:

"It was a handball, but I'm not the ref,'' he said on BBC Radio Five Live. ''The ball hit my arm, fell in front of me and I played it. The ref allowed it. That's a question you should ask him." [ESPN]

Now see for yourself:

I think it's time we can finally agree that god damn Bud Selig needs to institute replay in Football and that plays like this could easily be corrected if we just allowed replay. How long would it take for an official to go up in the booth and correct the call? We all know it was the wrong call. On behalf of all of Ireland, all of the Irish descendants in America and all of those who hate France, here's a giant F You to Bud Selig for hating replay.

Could Florida's or Alabama's Saturday Schedule Be Lamer?

2009-11-19T11:26:00.000-05:00

So I'm getting ready to build up The Big 5 post for this week and the first thing I see when looking at this weekends schedule is a glaring travesty. What the hell are Florida and Alabama doing in late November playing Florida International and Chattanooga respectively? It appears as if both teams are taking a similar approach to their impeding in state rivalry games on Thanksgiving weekend, play a team so shitty that you can beat them by 30 even if you don't watch a second of their film. Thus instead of awesome SEC or battles this weekend we have the two best teams in the nation eating cupcakes. Lame.

Blogging the Offseason: Atlanta Braves

2009-11-19T10:10:00.004-05:00

The Top 5 QBs Vs. the Jets

2009-11-19T10:05:00.001-05:00

I think sometimes I make charts to piss myself off. The below chart tracks the week by week yardage totals for the NFL's top 5 QBs. Three of these 5 QBs have played the Jets (Schaub, Brees and Brady). Of these QBs all but Brady had their lowest output of the season against the Jets, and Brady had just 1 yard more than his worst season output which came at Denver. All in all of the 5 worst yardage performances by the top 5 NFL QBs, 3 of them have come against the Jets, but they're still just 4-5.

Hit in the Balls

2009-11-18T16:00:00.002-05:00

I decided to come up with a compilation of people getting hit in the balls. Why? I don't know. I think it honestly had something to do with them adding the more tag on Blogger and me wanting to celebrate. So here goes you lucky bastards, lots of videos of lots of people getting drilled in the balls.

Many More Hits after the jump...

And we'll leave it with a group of kids that don't want to procreate. Probably best for us all.

The AP Poll, Then and Now

2009-11-18T15:09:00.003-05:00

Here's a quick look at the Preseason AP poll compared to the current AP poll. Movement is tracked with arrows. Those in the preseason poll no longer ranked are X'd and those in the rankings who were not preseason ranked are O'd.

What you notice is the big Big East hating that went on in the preseason poll. Cincy and Pitt have now crept into the Top 8. Before the season started nobody respected a single Big East team. I guess 2 1/2 months of football and just one loss between the two account for some respect. Other little footnotes are the massive climb TCU has made. The fact that Bama justifiably jumped Texas and the precipitous fall by Oklahoma (yay Bradford) and USC (ugh defense).

The Defensosaurus Rex is a Crier

2009-11-18T12:36:00.000-05:00

Seriously? The Defensosaurus Rex is a Crier? That's not very intimidating.

Blogging the Offseason: Pittsburgh Pirates

2009-11-18T10:10:00.005-05:00

Week 11 Blogpoll

2009-11-18T08:46:00.006-05:00

Before you yell and say where is so and so team, please read my polling philosophy and then yell afterwards.

Its looking like the fine toothed comb review of the rankings may be waiting for another week. So here's a quick sum up. TCU jumped Cincy thanks to a combo of Clemson's continued success and TCU's dominance over Utah. Stanford was the biggest thanks to "Oh Wow We Beat SC". UNC doubled up their VT win with a Miami win. I have Oklahoma St. lower than everybody in the universe because they haven't beaten a team with a record better than 6-4. Oh and Houston went boom.

1. Alabama - Quality Wins: Virginia Tech(n), @Ole Miss, South Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, LSU
2. Florida - Quality Wins: Tennessee, @LSU, Arkansas, Georgia (n)
3. Texas - Quality Wins: TT, Oklahoma (n), @Oklahoma St.
4. TCU - Quality Wins: @Clemson, @BYU, Utah
5. Cincinnati - Quality Wins: @Rutgers, @Oregon State, @USF
6. Boise State - Quality Wins: Oregon
7. Georgia Tech - Quality Wins: Clemson, UNC, VT
8. Oregon- Quality Wins: Utah, Cal, @UCLA, USC
9. LSU - .Quality Wins: Auburn, @Georgia
10. Ohio State - Quality Wins: Iowa, @Penn State, Wisconsin - Bad Losses: @Purdon't
11. Pitt - Quality Wins: ND, Navy

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Florida
3	Texas
4	TCU	1
5	Cincinnati	1
6	Boise State
7	Georgia Tech	1
8	Oregon	1
9	LSU	1
10	Ohio State	5
11	Pittsburgh	2
12	Stanford	6
13	Iowa	6
14	Southern Cal	3
15	North Carolina	6
16	Virginia Tech	1
17	Oklahoma State
18	Clemson	5
19	Oregon State
20	Penn State
21	Miami (Florida)	7
22	Houston	10
23	Wisconsin
24	Brigham Young
25	Oklahoma
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Arizona (#16), Texas Tech (#22), South Florida (#24), Auburn (#25).

NFL Week 10 Awards

2009-11-17T11:32:00.000-05:00

Wow You Guys Suck: Cleveland Browns, Boy am I glad that the Browns were on monday night football with their zero offensive weapons and miserable offensive line. That was so entertaining. Runners Up: the Chiefs and the Raiders cause no one watched that game to have any idea what happened.

Cough Cough Cough: The New York Jets, This was their season. Their offense had just scored a touchdown to complete the comeback. The defense was on fire in the 2nd half. So what does the defense do on its last drive? Cough up the game and the season. Runners Up: Kevin Faulk catches the ball immediately and they win, the Pats defensive ineptitude in the 4th is what lost the game.

The Shocker: The Bengals, I honestly thought it was a relative lock that the Bengals were going to head into Pittsburgh and lose. I didn't think they would necessarily get crushed but I thought a loss was a certainty. I was wrong and now the Bengals are back in the AFC North driver seat. Who dey? Runners Up: The Redskins cause who knew they had a win in them, the Cowboys got crunched.

The Pimp: Maurice Jones-Drew, First he dominated the first half against the Jets and then he made the smart play of kneeling at the one allowing the Jags to kill the clock and knock home a last second field goal. Runners Up: Peyton Manning is the MVP, Chris Johnson went 100,100.

This Scarecrow Needs a Brain: NFL Replay, I'm not a Cowboy fan, but the fact that they could not review Marion Barber blatantly falling on a Tony Romo fumble and not being ruled down is stupid. Replay should be all or nothing. Replay pisses me off. Runners Up: ESPN for hiring Matt Millen, Jay Cutler might be diabetic and color blind.

You Got JAKKED UP: Zac Robinson,

My Fantasy MVP: Randy Moss, The Man is an AA, an Awesome Asshole.

New York Jets Anti-MVP: Fuck it, Everyone

My Picks

My Picks: 9-6
Preseason Picks: 11-4
Picks Vs. Spread: 7-8
Pick Suggestions: 1-4

Weeeeee, my best picks happened 2 months ago.

I Guess God Only Advises for Short Visits

2009-11-17T10:07:00.001-05:00

Iverson played 3 games for the Memphis Grizzlies because God only wanted him to play three games for the Grizzlies. Now God sees that he's fixed the Grizzlies and God wants him to be a starter for someone not the Memphis Grizzlies. God Knows what he's doing.

Blogging the Offseason: Chicago White Sox

2009-11-17T08:24:00.000-05:00

Blogging the Offseason is a 30 team series in which I ask a blogging representative from each MLB team a series of ten questions about their desires and thoughts surrounding the offseason. Check out all of them here.

Today's AL team is the Chicago White Sox and our guest is Ryan from the all things Chicago Site, Mouthpiece Sports.

1. What is the White Sox biggest need this offseason?
Hmm, let's roll with process of elimination here. The pitching staff is pretty much set. The infield, now that the Sox traded for Mark Teahen, is also set. The bullpen was a bit of a problem last year, but there likely won't be any major changes there, unless the Sox deal Bobby Jenks, which is rumored. But Matt Thorton would probably take over as the closer if that happened. So I guess it goes back to what the Sox needed to address last offseason and didn't: a leadoff hitter who actually has a good OBP, and can play good defense in the outfield. With Scott Podsednik (likely) not coming back and Jermaine Dye now gone, there's an open outfield spot. There's been talk of Johnny Damon or Chone Figgins to fill the leadoff role; I'm just not sure the Sox have enough money to lure either of these two to the South Side.

2. You didn't get to see much of Jake Peavy last year in a White Sox uniform thanks to injuries. Much is stated about his home road splits while with the Padres, are you at all worried or do you think he will be the ace they traded for?
I think Peavy will be a great addition to the staff, but he's not going to be as good as he was as a member of the Padres. For starters, he's moving to the American League, which has better hitters.

But what's really going to make him less effective with the White Sox is moving from Petco Park to the Cell for home games. Petco Park finished last in park factor a season ago, as well as in 2008, 2007 and 2005. It's consistently near the bottom or dead last, which means it's an extreme pitcher's park. Less runs are scored and home runs are hit there year and year out when compared to other stadiums around the league. The Cell is the exact opposite; it's a hitter's stadium, as home runs are hit at a high rate there. As such, it's usually in the top 10 in park factor, and Peavy will regress a bit because of this.

3. One of your recent posts at Mouthpiece was the the thought that they might pursue Johnny Damon, whom else do you think might be a possibility?
As I wrote in the answer to your first question, Chone Figgins is also in the loop for the Sox, but Kenny Williams is on record as saying he's going to cost too much. As far as other free agents? Man, with Kenny Williams, you just never know. If the Sox are looking to fill that leadoff spot, it's still possible Scott Podsednik is re-signed. And since Williams tends to gravitate towards the aging player, maybe Mike Cameron?

So yes: I offered up a guy that's not going to happen, a guy that was on the Sox last year, and totally bs'ed another name. I'm good at this.

4. The White Sox picked up Alex Rios off waivers last season which essentially works out as a free agent pickup. If this happened in the offseason would you be excited about it, or would you prefer to spend your money elsewhere?
I've tried defending the Alex Rios signing before, but the simple fact is he was terrible at the plate for the Sox last year, and in general. He plays above average defense, but he's not an elite defender. Plus, his contract is ridiculous. If the Sox picked him up as a free agent for less money in the offseason? I'd be OK with it. But Rios has been on the decline the last season or two. He's young still, sure. But there's nothing much to be excited about with him at the moment.

5. The 4-some of Peavy, Buehrle, Floyd and Danks should give the White Sox one of the deepest rotations in the AL, whom will be the 5th man to round it out?
Everything I've read has the Sox putting Freddy Garcia in the fifth starter's spot. After they signed him to a minor-league contract last season and he eventually came up to pitch, he wasn't horrible, and made it to at least the sixth inning in all games he pitched last year but one. But it's also a Kenny Williams trademark, placing his hopes in an aging veteran, when there are young guys like Daniel Hudson and Carlos Torres who could fill that fifth spot. If Garcia struggles or gets hurt, one of these two will take over.

6. What are the chances that Bobby Jenks will look more like an athlete next year than the Blob?
Well, Jenks is a big fan of his butt, so I'm not counting on that happening any time soon.

7. You've gassed your owner and convinced him to spend like the Yankees, which three free agents are you bringing to the South Side?
Chone Figgins to play third and leadoff (Teahen can move to a utility role); Matt Holiday to play left field (Carlos Quentin can move to right field); Vladimir Guerrero to DH.

8. Which White Sox prospect are you most looking forward to in 2010?
Outfielder Jordan Danks, without a doubt. He's the brother of John, the Sox's starter, and if he plays well, there's a chance he'll be up in the bigs this year.

9. I'm giving you the option to cut players without any salary repercussions, which ChiSox do you part way with?
Alex Rios. With DeWayne Wise gone this season, he's the new scapegoat.

10. Final Question, you've got a crystal ball, the White Sox will win the World Series in _______.
... the next 50 years. That should cover me for a while, huh?

Cute Little Girls Making Mistakes

2009-11-16T15:55:00.000-05:00

If she was a Jet she probably would have waited til their was 1 second left on the clock and walked the ball into the goal for a loss. Regardless, I bet she gets a trophy for excellence cause everyone gets a trophy for excellence.

H/T Deadspin

Mr. Belichick is Still a Douche

2009-11-16T14:30:00.003-05:00

I defended Bill's decision this morning, so now I need to rekindle the hatred. Watch as Bill's bodyguard takes King Douche's instructions and tosses a camera man to the ground.

I feel a bit better now.

Blogging the Offseason: Colorado Rockies

2009-11-16T13:11:00.001-05:00

Blogging the Offseason is a 30 team series in which I ask a blogging representative from each MLB team a series of ten questions about their desires and thoughts surrounding the offseason. Check out all of them here.

Today's team NL is the Colorado Rockies and our guest is Poseidon's Fist from the Rockies Blog, Purple Row.

1. The Rockies have a lot of pitchers, especially in the bullpen, entering free agency, whom do you think they keep around and whom do you think they jettison?
Due to several arbitration raises coming down the pipe, the organization will be going with a low cost approach this offseason. Jason Marquis, Alan Embree and Josh Fogg will be gone. There are three intriguing cases.
One: Joe Beimel, who will only return if he doesn’t find more than $2million elsewhere.
Two: Jose Contreras, who made $10million in the last year of his contact in 2009 but won’t garner anything near that on the FA market due to age and recent ineffectiveness. He was very effective out of the bullpen down the stretch for the Rockies and not too many stars would have to align for him to return, especially if Betancourt leaves.
Three: Rafael Betancourt. By all accounts, the Rockies want to retain him, though he has a very expensive $5million option, which Colorado declined. They then offered him a two year contract for about $7million, which Betancourt in turn declined. I have heard rumblings that they are close to a deal.
Randy Flores and Matt Belisle were both signed to cheap contracts last week.

2. Garrett Atkins is arbitration eligible, but coming off a down year where he was replaced in the every day roster by Ian Stewart, what do the Rockies do with him?
He will be non-tendered, as he won’t be worth anything near what his arbitration cellar will be. Buster Olney highlighted him last week as the gem of the non-tender class, but scouts have noticed he is out of shape, has lost bat speed and he seems to be having vision problems. He has declined every year since 2006 and is very poor defensively, so “Outkins” won’t be missed in Colorado outside of residual fan sentimentalities for the first wave of “Generation R”.

3. Outside of Atkins, Iannetta, De La Rosa and Street are all arbitration eligible, do the Rockies try to negotiation any long term deals or will they negotiation a 2010 salary?
Reports are the club would love to lock up Huston Street, who just finished arguably the best season by a closer in franchise history, even including the NLDS. He could be in line for a deal in the 3-year/$24mil range, part of the reason the rest of the bullpen looks to be built from cheap.

Clint Barmes might be offered up to a three year contact, much to the chagrin of many rabid Rockies fans.

There were rumblings last offseason about handing Chris Iannetta a contract, buying out his arbitration years, a la Troy Tulowitzki. However, O’Dowd held off, and Iannetta’s down year in 2009 put that idea on the back burner until next offseason.

Ken Rosenthal reported last week that Jorge de la Rosa would be looking for a contract similar to the 3-year $36mil contract Oliver Perez signed last winter. If that’s what he wants, it is doubtful Colorado will oblige, but I’m not sure anyone else would pay it either. The farm system is bursting with starting pitching prospects (Christian Friedrich, Tyler Matzek, Jhoulys Chacin, Esmil Rogers, Samuel Deduno and Juan Nicasio) and I can’t see them spending that much on DLR. That could actually lead to the Rockies trading him by the trade deadline before losing him for nothing if they cannot pay him (though another season like 2009 would net him Type A status).

4. Who is the one 2010 free agent that you want that you think the Rockies will logically go after?
I seriously doubt Dan O’Dowd will make a splash in the free agent market. The team was filled with several above average players (no superstars, no black holes), so there isn’t really a pressing need in any spot – just depth. The worst hitter in the lineup, Clint Barmes, had 23 HR as a 2B and played top flight defense. Jorge de la Rosa and Jason Hammel were the best 4-5 starters in MLB, and Hammel just set the Rockies’ franchise record in K/BB.

By allowing the young core to develop and grow more, the team should improve as it is. O’Dowd will simply supplement that core with bench players (someone like Daryle Ward, Mike Lamb, a RH 3B) and cheap pitchers.

5.Carlos Gonzalez was an animal in the division series. In your opinion, what will his 2010 numbers be and in what year does he make an all star team?
CarGo was an animal well before the NLDS as well. He had a solid Sept/Oct with a .846 OPS, 1.146 August, and .860 in July. He certainly looks like a superstar in the making, as I’ve never seen a player routinely hitting such hard-hit line drives. Some fans are even prematurely penciling him in as the 3-hole hitter next season, but I’m trying to temper my expectations, as his 2009 numbers were unprecedented compared to his minor and major league career beforehand. He was completely overmatched with Oakland in 2008 and with the Rockies in June this past season, and he has never dealt with the pressure of being given a major league job. If he continues his progression though, he could easily hit .290 with 25 bombs, 90 RBI and 25 thefts next season. Assuming he continues (which I cannot do, but will for the sake of the question), he could make an All-Star debut at Chase Field in 2011.

6. Jeff Francis was bad in 08 and then missed the entire 2009 season due to shoulder surgery, do you think he can return to his 06/07 form?
First of all, I can confidently say Francis was bad in 2008 because he was injured. Since he was the “Ace,” he tried to pitch through it.

Earlier this decade, surgery to repair a torn labrum was pretty much a death blow to a pitcher’s career, but it has progressed to the point it appears Francis could return. If any pitcher could return to effectiveness, it’s Jeff Francis. The baby-faced southpaw is extremely bright (he has a Physics degree) and the lost velocity won’t hurt him as much as it would a hurler who lives on his fastball. Francis’ A+ pitch was always his changeup, so as long as he can keep that 8-9mph difference between the two pitches, he can be effective.

In addition, Jeff doesn’t have to regain his 06/07 form to be an asset. The rotation will have Ace-in-the-making Ubaldo Jimenez as its #1, former All-Star Aaron Cook #2, Jorge de la Rosa third and Jason Hammel fourth. All Francis needs to be is an effective fifth starter, and I believe he can be. He reportedly outpitched Aaron Cook in a simulated game while Cook was injured in September, so there’s reason to believe he could be solid fifth starter. If he’s more than that, the Rockies will have a very solid rotation again, and All-Star Jason Marquis won’t be missed at all.

7. You've gassed your owner and have convinced him to spend like the Yankees, which three free agents do you sign?
Matt Holliday, John Lackey and Chone Figgins. The entire roster is stout but lacking super studs. Holliday is a fan favorite and could push Troy Tulowitzki into a spot in the batting order with less pressure on him, which may help avoid his annual April/May slump. Lackey is simply the best starting pitcher in the weak FA class, so he would solidify the rotation and remove the question marks of Francis/Morales/Rogers/Chacin/other FA. Chone Figgins was a former Rockie draft pick and could shore up the 2B spot as well as spell Ian Stewart at third should his issues with LHP continue. I would definitely try to add Mike Gonzalez as well to bring a strong left-hander to the pen. Naturally, O’Dowd won’t even kick the tires on any of these players, or really any in the tier below it. If you’re going for a more realistic gas-your-owner-and-GM deal, I’d consider Felipe Lopez.

8. Which Rockies prospect are you most looking forward to in 2010?
As far as making an impact on the big league club, Eric Young Jr has the best chance, although Barmes’ possible multi-year deal could put EY2’s chances of being the starting second baseman in serious doubt. Still, he is working heavily on adapting to several defensive positions so that he can be a super utility threat. Casey Weathers could have been the club’s closer this year had he not required Tommy John surgery. He could figure in the club’s pen this year, and Samuel Deduno would be an exciting dark horse for the pen after being the Texas League Pitcher of the Year in AA Tulsa last season. Yorvit Torrealba declined a 2-year/$4mil deal, as he is hoping to get starter money. The incumbent veteran backup Paul Phillips was let go, so if Torrealba leaves, AA catcher Michael McKenry could get an outside shot out of spring training for the backup role. He would be an above average defensive catcher in the majors right now, so it would be interesting to see him get a chance.

As for Rockies’ prospects in the minors, it will be very interesting to follow the 2009 draft class, which Baseball America ranked as MLB’s best. Tyler Matzek will have everyone’s eyes, obviously, and Rex Brothers could be on the fast track to being a lefty in the bullpen. Christian Friedrich has arguably the minors’ best curveball to complete arguably the best southpaw triumvirate in the minor leagues. I’ll be very excited to see how the stacked farm system progress.

9. I'm giving you the option to cut players without any salary repercussions, which Rockies do you part way with?
Garrett Atkins, Garrett Atkins, Garrett Atkins. He needs to be off this roster last year. Todd Helton is overpaid by a bit, but he’s still a very good hitter. I might consider Manny Corpas as well, though I hold out hope he’ll return to his 2007 form. He is apparently throwing very well currently. There are no other players providing less value than their contract, a huge credit to Dan O’Dowd./

10. What are the three things that need to happen this offseason to give the Rockies a chance the best chance to go from Wild Card to World Series?
1 - They will need to have similar luck in 2010 as in 2009 regarding injuries. Chris Iannetta’s sole 15-day stint on the DL represented the starting lineup’s only appearance on the DL, and the rotation went almost five months with the same five starters.
2 – Every team will have some players that fail to meet expectations, but this needs to be kept to a minimum. Iannetta and Stewart must take the step forward they have shown they can make, while someone needs to step up to become the cornerstone of the lineup. If Tulowitzki or Gonzalez consistently hit like they did the last three months of 2009, they could fill that role nicely.
3 – The Rockies led MLB in pitches seen per plate appearance, so they were plenty patient at the plate. However, they were dead last at putting strikes thrown into play, near the top in strike-out looking percentage and second to Arizona in strikeouts. I’d like to see them be a little more aggressive at the plate to avoid all those free outs.
4 – (Because they’ll need more to make the World Series) – Ubaldo Jimenez completes his transformation into an Ace.

I Love 2009 Football

2009-11-16T11:31:00.003-05:00

Here's a simple chart of my two football teams of choice and how their records have looked throughout the 2009 fall. It's like the decided to take a sled down the big slope starting in October.

Any room left on all those Cincinnati bandwagons?