Stephen Strasburg Will Need Tommy John Surgery
This is devastating not only to my fantasy baseball team, The Honey Nut Ichiros, but this is terrible news for the Washington Nationals. This franchise can’t catch a break.
Jayson Stark wrote a great article about Strasburg’s injury and the effect it will have on baseball.
Let’s hope the young fella gets back on the hill next season and continues his dominance.
20 Things That Have Happened Since The Cubs Last Won The World Series
Ok, here’s the deal. I love the Cardinals. I mean, I LOVE the Cardinals.
One of my best friends in the entire world is a Cubs fan. How are we friends?! I know, I know. He got the chance to run me around Wrigley this summer and it’s breathtaking to think how many great players have played on that field. And the 7th inning stretch singing of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” can give you the chills.
That’s baseball’s history at it’s finest.
At the same time, I make fun of the Cubbies because of their lovable loser-ness. So, without further ado, here are 20 major events that have happened since the Cubbies last won the World Series.
1. Radio was invented; Cubs fans got to hear their team lose.
2. TV was invented; Cubs fans got to see their team lose.
3. Baseball added 14 teams; Cubs fans get to see and hear their team lose to more clubs.
4. George Burns celebrated his 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays.
5. Haley’s comet passed Earth – twice.
6. Harry Caray was born….and died. Incredible, but true.
7. The NBA, NHL and NFL were formed, and Chicago teams won championship in each league.
8. Man landed on the moon, as have several home runs given up by Cubs pitchers.
9. Sixteen U.S. presidents were elected.
10. There were 11 amendments added to the Constitution.
11. Prohibition was created and repealed.
12. The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, was discovered and became the subject of major motion pictures, the latest giving Cubs fans hope that something that finishes on the bottom can come out on top.
13. Wrigley Field was built and becomes the oldest park in the National League.
14. Flag poles were erected on Wrigley Field roof to hold all of the team’s future World Series pennants. Those flag poles have since rusted and been taken down.
15. A combination of 40 Summer and Winter Olympics have been held.
16. Thirteen baseball players have won the Triple Crown; several thanked Cubs pitchers.
17. Bell-bottoms came in style, went out of style and came back in style; disco did the same.
18. The Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins have all won the World Series.
19. The Cubs played 14,153 regular-season games; they lost the majority of them.
20. Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma and New Mexico were admitted to the Union.
2010 College Football Preview Extravaganza
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Will Albert Leave St. Louis?
As a MASSIVE Cardinals fan, this is hard to write.
Ryan Howard’s crazy contract extension could mean that the Cards, or any other team, may have to shell out upwards of $30 million per year to add Albert to their lineup. That’s a stack of cash.
It’s not a stretch to imagine the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets or even the Cubs will send Albert a blank check with the note, “just fill in the blank, big fella”. But what about the Cardinals? Do they have it in them spend that kind of cash when Pujols’ contract expires after next season?
Let’s see what Bobby Cox, Braves skipper, thinks when asked what Pujols is worth: “Fifty million dollars a year, at least. Is it possible? I’m sure the Cardinals will do everything they possibly can. … I don’t know how you pay a guy like Pujols. He’s the best. Let’s put it that way.”
$50 million?! Maybe Bobby’s off his rocker.
Chipper Jones, what say you? “Albert’s got a couple more MVPs, a batting title, and put up all the same numbers that Howard has, maybe a little better. I’d say that Albert is going to make a little more than that. It depends on if St. Louis has as deep of pockets. I’m sure if they do, for someone such as Albert, it’s a pretty good gamble to take.”
Let’s compare Pujols and Howard then. According to MLB FanHouse, “If we use Howard’s career as a benchmark, it’s true that he averages more homers and RBI per 162 games (48 and 141 compared to 42 and 129), but don’t let counting stats fool you. Pujols’ career on-base percentage outstrips Howard by more than 50 points, .427 to .373, and he out-slugs Howard by a similarly wide margin .628 to .582. Pujols has drawn 826 walks and struck out only 585 times in nine-plus seasons, which is nearly the inverse of Howard’s 899 Ks and 411 walks in his six-plus years.”
As a lifelong Cards fan, it would be devastating to see Pujols leave St. Louis. But as a fan of the game, it would be hard for me to imagine not respecting his decision. I think that’s what separates the fans in St. Louis with the Cavaliers fans in Cleveland. When LeBron announced his departure, Cleveland erupted in hate. I don’t think Cardinals fans would do that. Unless Pujols goes to the Cubs, but then it’s justified.
Would fans in St. Louis be upset? You better believe it. But Albert’s done so much for the community that you would hope he’d only be wanting more money so that he could give more away.
Albert is a great man before he’s a great baseball player. And that’s something that I appreciate more than him being a great ballplayer. That said, I sure do hope the Cardinals open up the checkbook after next season…
Can Martz recreate the magic of the “Greatest Show” with Cutler? I say yes.
Credit: AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
When the Broncos drafted Jay Cutler with the 11th pick in ’06 I was thrilled. Being a Vanderbilt fan, I had followed Cutler since his freshman year and knew how tough and talented he was before most of the national media. I just knew that he would thrive under the Hall Of Fame building tutelage of Mike Shanahan, unfortunately that wasn’t to be. After a strong, promising start Cutler started to suffer from over-thinking plays, debilitating team injuries, and a monumental late season collapse to knock themselves out of playoff contention for the 3rd straight year, Shanahan was let go by Denver. Then came the snowball effect.
Denver hired New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and reportedly discussed trading Cutler in a 3 way deal to get Matt Cassel, and the soap opera unfolded. When Jay ended up in Chicago I was psyched again, my mom was a huge Bears fan therefore I grew up a Bears fan. Unfortunately I knew the wide receiver situation was less than hopeful there, downright dreadful. But even with a subpar receiving corps, Cutler still managed to throw for 3,666 yds and 27 tds, unfortunately he also backed that up with a dreadful, league high 26 INTs. Most of those were, again, due to him trying to create too much with too little.
But with the hiring of Mike Martz as o-coordinator in the ’09 offseason, could this be the key to reigning in the talent of the best QB on the board of the ’06 draft? I say there’s a very good chance. Martz, of course, is the offensive guru behind the famed Greatest Show On Turf of the St. Louis Rams teams that scored an astounding 526 points en route to winning Super Bowl XXXIV and over the next 3 seasons scored an amazing 1,569 points, the most by any team in league history over a 3 year span. And yes Martz offense struggled in Detroit and San Fransisco, but neither of those teams had a QB of Cutler’s caliber. A QB whom Martz says “[Cutler] has that Kurt Warner-awareness. [...] He has such a keen sense of where everybody’s at. He sees everything, can diagnose it without even thinking about it, which allows him to excel with what we do.” Pretty big considering Warner ran the aforementioned explosive Rams offense. Watch out for the Bears, they may not contend this season, but this team is only a few key players short of being Super Bowl caliber. Mark my words.
The Million Dollar Man? Not So Fast, My Friend
Revis is turning down $1 million a year because he wants to be the highest paid Cornerback in the league. He wants around $15 million.
Revis Island should probably now be called Greedy Island.
The Jets’ owner says “My impression is no progress … no movement whatsoever” regarding resigning Revis.
What say you – do you think Revis is acting like an idiot?
Is Tiger Done?
Sancetta/AP
El Tigre wrapped up this weekend’s Bridgestone Invitational at 18 over par.
18 over.
That marks the worst tournament in his career. In fact, today’s 77 is the highest round he’s ever posted
Is Tiger unraveling or is this just a phase?
There’s no arguing he’s possibly the best golfer ever, but will his personal life trump his focus on the course?
Tebow’s New Haircut
Ron Chenoy/US Presswire
Courtesy of the Broncos’ veterans, he wasn’t the only one with a bad ‘do, but he certainly looks like an idiot.
Let’s hope he was able to shave it off before he left practice for the day.
