That’s All Folks

I hate to finally say goodbye, but it’s time. I’ve been doing a lot more work for my new boss, Pro Football South, lately and haven’t had any time to focus on TSB. It looks we’re getting to the end of the road. It’s been a good ride and I’ve had a lot of fun with it, but all good things must come to an end. I’m leaving the site up just in case PFS doesn’t pan out like I hope it does, but for all intents and purposes, this is a farewell to The Signing Bonus as we know it. I’ll miss it, but sometimes you’ve just got to move on to greener pastures.

Peace,

The Management

Game of the Week

I don't care if they play until November, this is still a BIG FUCKING DEAL.

World Series Game 1

FOX, 7:57 P.M. EST.

Make no mistake. This game will be HUGE. I can’t stand the people saying that the Yankees and Phillies getting knocked out is actually good for baseball. I know I’m not the only one who wouldn’t watch if it were a rematch of last year…That being said, the Giants are one of the weakest teams to sneak into the World Series through the NL in years, probably since the Astros of 05, but then again, they didn’t come all this way to choke now. The Rangers of course have ace Cliff Lee going tomorrow which probably means that the Giants already Anemic offense will be completely done for. Remember, this is a guy who recorded back to back games with 11+ strikeouts against the playoff mode Rays and Yankees.

That being said, the Giants have an ace of their own in Tim Lincecum who’s been pretty dominant himself this post season recording 14 k’s in his first taste of playoff baseball. He’ll have one hell of a task in shutting down this Rangers lineup that includes Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Elvis Andrus, and some guy named Hamilton.

Get psyched for the first interesting World Series in years. Either way Bengie Molina comes out a winner.

What’s “Wrong” With CJ2K?

Still #1? Just give it time.

Some might wonder, is there anything wrong with him? He’s third in the league in rushing yards, tied for second with teammate Kenny Britt for the NFL lead in touchdowns with seven, averaging just over four YPC, and is poised to carry the Titans to the playoffs in a wide open playoff race. Well, as someone who’s watched him in every single game this year (yes, I’m a huge Titans fan), I see some things that at first gave me some bad vibes.

Argument: He’s looked surprisingly pedestrian at times this year. He’s failed to break off  a few of his trademark “gamebreaker” runs that we became accustomed to this year (although he hasn’t totally forsaken them, he’s recorded a long run of 82 yards called back due to holding this year and another of 76 that went for a TD) and has looked decidedly less explosive. This is especially troubling given that he’s been running against some very average defenses like Philly, Denver, and, were it not for a “fuck it we give up” play by the Jags defense at the end of MNF last week, Jacksonville, and failed to collect his 100 yards.

Counter: Maybe it’s selfish to expect 100/75 and a score every week from the guy and to be fair, he’s still been an extremely effective back despite getting tons of extra attention from defenses. Maybe we’re just jaded and expect great things every time he touches the ball because of what we saw last year. He may look “less explosive” because of a thigh injury that’s been nagging him for awhile now (see: ever since the Pittsburgh game). I cannot stress how much it’s hindered him. When was the last long run again? Yeah, Pittsburgh. He shredded the D for 82 yards on a carry. The next quarter he came up a little gimpy on a carry and hasn’t broken one since.  The game before that however, he also ripped off a 76 yard run for a touchdown against Oakland. Even since then, he’s had some impressive runs of 42 (twice) and 35. Of course, this thigh problem could be more serious than we know. Last year, All-Pro safety Michael Griffin looked absolutely awful at times. He was tentative, hesitant, and took awful angles to the ball. We only found out two weeks ago that he was playing all of last season with a severe shoulder injury suffered in week 3.

Also bear in mind that CJ is a slow starter. He’s off to, basically, the same start he was off to last year on the road to 2,000 yards, so don’t count anything out. It would take a superhuman effort to duplicate it, but does anyone really believe he’s human anymore? FINALLY, he has been a victim of an offensive line that at times looks lost without their veteran leader, Kevin Mawae at center. The tandem of Leroy Harris and Eugene Amano is just not getting it done and with Mike Otto being hurt, it just makes things worse.

Argument: He’s been a no-show in the passing game this year. His value goes way down in fantasy leagues and usually, coaches try to get the ball into the hands of the guy who had arguably the best offensive season ever last year. What gives?

Counter: It’s very tough to argue against that. The stats don’t lie; CJ was one of the best receivers out of the backfield last year in the league and this year he’s been nearly invisible. Sources close to the Titans say that head coach Jeff Fisher was trying to ease quarterback Vince Young into the new-ish system implemented by Tennessee this year and as a result, the play-calling called for a lot of basic patterns based on high percentage completions so Young often didn’t need to look to Johnson which didn’t give him much of a chance to display his ability to break tackles and get upfield in a hurry. Also, in case you haven’t noticed, the Titans are pretty good at throwing it around this year. Kenny Britt has emerged as a top-flight young receiver as he and Kerry Collins performed their imitation of Culpepper to Moss on Sunday against the Eagles secondary. All he did was haul in seven passes for a team record 225 yards and three huge touchdowns. Slot receiver Nate Washington is looking like the guy the Titans thought they were getting from Pittsburgh last year, not the drop machine that showed up to camp. Second round pick Damian Williams is beginning to get reps with the first team. His talent levels indicated that he should have been drafted earlier than he was. Finally, a lot of what the Titans are doing is based on play-action. They’re taking advantage of the D’s over-aggressiveness when playing CJ and airing it out; throwing away from him. Once teams start picking up on it and put two men on Britt, they should start playing check-down football again.

I could go into running back success rate and all of the complicated formulas, but even with an injury that has a wide range of severity possibilities ans suspect run blocking this year, CJ is still a threat to break it on every play, he’s still a premier fantasy and real-life back, and he still deserves to be taken number one overall.

Petition for the De-Pussification of the NFL

I’ve got a problem with the NFL.

Please Ray Anderson, Roger Goodell, listen to your players. This is ridiculous. Everyone, even Tom Brady gets that football is a very dangerous sport. Helmet to helmet happens. It’s nothing new, nothing controversial, in fact, the only controversy is the implementation of your ridiculous fines. Look, I’m all for protecting the guys that I love to watch every Sunday. I don’t want to see Brandon Merriweather, James Harrison, or Dunta Robinson staggering around brain-dead at age 45, but at the same time, you can’t just not let them play their game.

Merriweather’s hit was illegal and uncalled for, that is clear. He hit a defenseless receiver in Todd Heap and deserves to get fined for it. James Harrison? Are you kidding me? The only reason it’s an issue is that the two guys he crushed are now concussed. The Cribbs hit was legal, and on the Massaquoi hit, he led largely with his shoulder. You can’t convince me otherwise, don’t try to.

The NFL has lost a lot respect from me. Again I get it. You don’t want your players hurt. Me neither. But it’s not anything that’s changed recently, you’ve had guys getting lit up across the middle for years now and before, your pre-game show “NFL Sunday Countdown” had a segment called Jacked Up that glorified this kind of hit! You also sell a DVD called “Moment of Impact” that glorifies this kind of hit!

Frankly, I’m frustrated, I’m upset, but I’m not surprised. We’ve been moving further and further towards this for years now. It started with the preference of the safety of quarterbacks over the ability of defenders to do their jobs, now it’s “no more big hits”. People can just go across the middle scott-free and, guess what? You can’t punish him. Wrap up tackles? Not a chance. Please, those aren’t “remember me” hits, they’re more secure, they’re guaranteed to get the man to the ground, but they’re not going to leave your opponent with an impression.

Look, Russ Grim said that the object of football is to move someone from point A to point B against their will. To me, that involves a little bit of necessary and inevitable violence. The chances that a collision between two players around their helmets are extremely high if not impossible to prevent. Does that make the player a cheap shot artist or a dirty player? Of course not.

I’m conflicted. I agree with James Harrison in that you try to “hurt” not “injure” your opponent. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to inflict pain on the football field within reason. What you want to avoid are hits that end people. The difference between hurting and injuring is clear. People tell him he’s nuts for trying to differentiate the two, but I, and everyone else who has ever played football, agree with him. I play high school football. I’m a safety and a wingback. When I go out for defense, I regularly go out  there looking to hurt people. Anyone who doesn’t is either a terrible safety or lying. Call me or anyone else who chooses to take the route of most resistance dirty, but I call it playing the game to it’s fullest.

I also can’t totally kill the suspicion that this is all about money. If it were about violence, something would have been done years ago when players were being left as vegetables after exiting the league. Remember the Jack Tatum-Darryl Stingley hit? That was ten times worse than anything that we’ve seen lately due to helmet-to-helmet contact. If what James Harrison did or what Dunta Robinson did was so terrible and cold-hearted that it drew a mid-high five figure fine, why didn’t it draw a penalty? No unnecessary roughness? No 15 yards from the spot of the foul? Nothing? Half the reason the players go out there and get paid tons of money is because their sport is so dangerous and their tenures will be extremely short when compared to other careers.

Here’s the distinction:

This: OK! No leading with the crown of the helmet, yet clearly, the helmet of Stallworth is being hit.

 

This: NOT OKAY! Both players are leading with the crown. This will get you killed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Shortstops on the Market in 2011

The long, dark period known as the offseason is upon us (unless you’re a Yankees, Giants, Phillies, Rays, or Rangers fan). That means it’s time to start talking about free agency! There are some intriguing players in this years shortstop market, so I figured I’ll start out with them.

Jason Barltett, Tampa Bay Rays, ARB eligible

Hey why not? He was very serviceable two years ago with the Rays when he made the All-Star team and he actually finished in the top 20 in MVP voting. If he can just find a middle ground between what he did two years ago and what he did this year, he should be pretty solid again.

He’s still average defensively as his .977 fielding percentage was slightly higher than the league average of .973, but his dWAR was -.03 which indicated that he’s just below average if you’re a heavy stats guy. In fact, if you’re a heavy stats guy then you’ve probably noticed that his oWAR is a 1.8. Not terrific by any standard, but it means his bat can help you win a game here and there, even in a year where he struggles. Average that out to last years oWAR of 5.3 and you have a glistening 3.55.

In a year where quality shortstops are tough to come by in free agency (as usual), Bartlett is a nice option for any team.

Hiroyuki Nakajima, Seibu Lions, free agent

For those teams that are looking for a more “unconventional” approach,  look no further than Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima. The 28 year old is a rare blend of power and speed (I know, one of the most over used cliches in baseball) that Japanese fans love to watch. As you can see from the picture, he was on the Japanese national team where he mostly played third and had the second best average and OBP on the team behind only Ichiro, maybe the best pure contact hitter in the game today. He’s been a four time All-Star in Japan and would be a very welcome sight for many Major League teams. WAR, UZR, and other important pieces of information aren’t readily available (seeing as I can’t read Japanese) but the fact is that he hits in the three or four hole in Japan, is aggressive at the plate, plays smooth defense due to his athleticism, and occasionally gets sloppy with his throws.

He’s not going to steal tons of bases, take many walks, or win many Gold Gloves, (although he did get one in 2008) but he’s a very intriguing commodity that could thrive in the right environment. Being an O’s fan, I can say that if the front office signed him, I would be running in the streets. The need to fill that position is huge unless you’re the Rockies right now and looking to Japan for talent has always been an interesting endeavor. The deciding factor for a lot of teams is going to be cost. His value is at it’s peak right now as he’s in the prime of his career at 28 years old and high-profile Japanese players like Nakajima have never been cheap in the past.

Erick Aybar, LA Angels, ARB eligible

Erick Aybar is among one of many of the Dominican’s top exports; shortstops. Aybar, like Bartlett, had a somewhat disappointing 2010 season. Projected by many to hit for at least .300 after providing some spark in 2009 and batting .312 in limited time, Aybar’s production went down hard. He only batted .253 and had a weak OBP of .324. The one thing he does bring is some good defense. He’s got good range, a buzzsaw arm, and astonishing hands. He’s a borderline Gold-Glove player and that can bring a lot of value to a team.

His bat should pick up again as last year was his first full season. He looked overmatched out there at times, but with a full season under his belt, he’ll rebound and be a solid contact hitter again in 2011. Just an opinion, but I think it’s totally feasible. He’s also still very young. At only 26, he’s still got plenty of time to improve his game and learn some of the ropes from players like Howie Kendrick and Torii Hunter should he stay in LA. They’d be fools to let him walk, but it’s still totally possible as the Angels have finally entered re-build mode. He would most likely have to be acquired in a trade somehow; look for the Angels to give him a one or two year deal.

Jose Reyes, New York Mets, free agent (team option)

I never said this list was in order, did I? Reyes is one of the top talents on the market if he can get back to being even half the player he once was It seemed, for a small time, that he and David Wright would anchor a Mets dynasty for years to come. Injuries and bad management derailed those hopes, but Reyes is still every bit as dangerous on the base paths as he ever was. He stole 270 bases from 2005-2009 with a 79% success rate. That’s unbelievable. He’s an absolute demon when it comes to stealing bases.

Reyes used to show a little bit of pop in his bat, but that was long ago. He’s a number one hitter, but he hit very well in the three hole this year for the Mets as well. Reyes is a pretty average defensive player. His speed allows him to get so some balls that other shortstops might not, but his fielding percentage is still only .973 and his range factor, at 4.13, is slightly below league average. That being said, he was at one point fantastic (circa 05-07) but he hasn’t been all that great recently. Reyes still makes for one hell of a pick up at this stage in his career and can be counted on to put up some good numbers. The Mets would also be fools to let this one go, but they still might given that they too have hit the panic button.

EDIT: It appears that Nakajima will not be headed stateside this season. Due to this, I’ll add an “honorable menti0n” player

Alex Gonzalez, Atlanta Braves, FA, team option

Alex Gonzalez was essentially swapped for Marco Scutaro this off season when he was signed by Toronto and Scutaro signed by Boston. He was promptly traded to Atlanta for underachieving prospect Yunel Escobar after tearing it up for the first half of the season with the Jays.

He’s not terribly youthful at age 33 and his defense is about league average (although he has made some outstanding plays this year) but his power has got to be intriguing to a lot of teams.

He’s not a huge base stealer, his OBP is pretty low at .294, and his average won’t scare anyone at .240, but again, his main feature is his power. If he can duplicate that, he’ll be a viable option for any team next year whether he’s used as a utility man or as an everyday starter.

The MLB All-Underrated Team

We all know that baseball’s a funny game when it comes to recognizing talent (Derek Jeter’s Gold Glove?  Dustin Pedroia’s MVP?) and a lot of the time, we fail to see that the All-Star team is actually a criminal mis-representation of who should actually be there. Not to say that all of these guys on this list are All-Stars, but many of them deserve much more credit than they deserve.

SP: R.A. Dickey, New York Mets.

He’s not a fluke, he’s not a one-hit wonder, Dickey is the only effective knuckleballer in the league and was a huge reason the Mets stayed in contention for so long. ERA and wins aren’t great measuring sticks, but he’s 11-9 with a 2.86 this year.

Honorable Mention: Mat Latos, San Diego Padres, Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels

RP: Koji Uehara, Baltimore Orioles.

He’s quietly having a fantastic year in Baltimore. Since assuming the unofficial closer role in the Oriole ‘pen, he’s shut down nearly everyone. Only two blown saves all year (both were to the Yankees). He owns an absurd K/BB ratio of 52/5.

Honorable Mention: Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals

C: Miguel Montero, Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona’s 26 year old backstop played his first full season in 2009 and was one of the best hitting catchers in the league batting .294 with 16 homers replacing Chad Tracy as their everyday catcher. His power and production have dropped off slightly this year, but in Arizona’s putrid offense, is that really surprising?

Honorable Mention: Kurt Suzuki

1B: Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals

Despite grounding into a lot of double plays, Butler has a career high OPS of .859, a career high OBP of .389, and a career high BA of .319. Oh, and the folks he’s had for lineup “protection” are Alex Gordon and Yuniesky Betancourt.

Honorable Mention: Kendry Morales, Los Angeles Angels

2B: Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers

He wasn’t healthy this year and that caused his performance to suffer, but last year he was a force. He’s had both a 20/20 and a 30/30 season and he’s only 28. He’s quickly emerged as one of the best power-hitting second basemen in the league, but is still playing in the shadow of Dustin Pedroia for some reason.

Honorable Mention: Chase Utley (really!)

SS: Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs

Had this been a regular season for the Cubs, the media storm would be all over this guy and he’d probably be on the overrated list. But it’s not and the Cubs are wallowing in the cellar of the worst division in baseball, so no one talks about him. The only news you ever hear about him is that he had six RBIs in his Major League debut this year, but he’s batting a robust .300 and has just as many walks as strikeouts. Plus, he’s played pretty well with the glove this year too.

Honorable Mention: Brendan Ryan, St. Louis Cardinals

3B: Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals

Zimmerman is one of the best players in the game. Period. End of story. He’s one of the best defensive talents I’ve ever seen, and he also had big year at the plate for one of the worst teams in baseball. There’s little more that needs to be said, but I think it’s easy to say that if he even played for an average team, he’d be getting MVP votes left and right.

Honorable Mention: Michael Young, Texas Rangers

OF: Nick Markakis, Baltimore Orioles

He probably has the best arm in the majors and consistently leads the league in outfield assists. He’s one of the best contact hitters in the game today and although his power-stroke has diminished, Markakis still sits near the top of the league in doubles and became just the third player in Major League history to hit 43 doubles in four straight years.

Honorable Mention: Marlon Byrd, Chicago Cubs

Shin-Soo Choo, Cleveland Indians

Another one of those guys that has a great all around game, but plays in a blacked out baseball market that has fallen into irrelevancy, Choo hits for power, hits for contact, and is the best player the Indians have right now. Since Grady Sizemore has slipped into irrelevancy, Choo has broken through as the clubs offensive leader.

Honorable Mention: Luke Scott, Baltimore Orioles

Franklin Gutierrez, Seattle Mariners

He’s got to be the best defensive center-fielder in the MLB. Part of the “Death to Flying Things” outfield along with Ichiro and Russel “The Mussel” Branyan, he covers so much ground and has so much natural ability that it’s almost impossible to sneak one in there. He’s not great at the dish, but his defense makes up for it ten-fold. Besides, he can also swipe bases nabbing 25 in 2010.

Honorable Mentions: Colby Rasmus, St. Louis Cardinals

The Top 100 NFL Players Of All Time: 91-87

91.) Brian Urlacher: LB, Chicago Bears, 2000-, #54

Some say he’s overrated, but Brian Urlacher is one of the finest middle-linebackers to ever play the game. He’s earned his right to be compared to the likes of Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary as one of the great Bears linebackers that have passed through the ages. There are a LOT of Chicago linebackers in the Hall of Fame and if Urlacher keeps it up, he’ll join them soon.

Urlacher was selected out of New Mexico ninth overall in the 2000 draft. He was a “lobo-back” in college, making use of both his speed and his size by combining a linebacker and safety position. He was also the teams return specialist and could be counted on to be a wide receiver. Coming out of college, he was one of the nation’s top defensive prospects.

Upon arriving at camp, Urlacher instantly beat Barry Minter out at middle-linebacker and took the league by storm recording 123 tackles, 14 sacks, and five picks in two seasons. He was sent to his first Pro-Bowl and was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Since then he has four All-Pro selections, a Defensive Player of the Year award, he’s been named to the All-Decade team for the 2000′s, and he’s led the Bears in Tackles nearly every year.

90.) Bill George: LB, Chicago Bears, 1952-65, Los Angeles Rams, 1966, #61

More love for the Bears linebackers. Bill George was a fantastic player who was the league’s first true middle linebacker. He headed a defense that surrendered, get ready for it, 9.7 points per game. Also, it was through George that we now have the 4-3 defense. His position changed the way the game was played.

The Bears selected George with the 23rd pick in the second round of the 1951 draft out of Wake Forest where he had been a middle-guard in what was then a standard five man defensive front. Not only was he an innovator, but George could play a little as well. He made eight Pro-Bowls and eight All-Pro teams and his jersey was retired by the Chicago Bears.

Rick Reilly named George the “meanest Bear to ever play” which is quite an accomplishment considering the long list of nasty characters to play in Chicago. George was killed in an automobile accident in Wisconsin on September 30, 1982.

89.) Champ Bailey: CB, Washington Redskins, 1999-2003, Denver Broncos, 2004-, #24

Seriously, who even throws at Champ anymore? As rare as true “shutdown” corners have been in the past, one of them just keeps on doing it. No one in the league throws to Champs side of the field and he is widely regarded as one of the best corners of all time. The fact that he’s still a hot commodity is absurd considering the fact that he’s been playing the leagues hardest position for 11 years now. We seem to have really taken Bailey and his physical gifts for granted all these years. Once he’s done with football, we’ll see him much higher on this list.

Coming out of Georgia, Bailey was one of the best “dual-threat” players in the nation. He played well as a receiver and a corner as well as a return man. He quickly established himself as one of the best defensive backs in the league with Washington who took him with the seventh pick in the draft. He spent time with Darrell Green and Deion Sanders, two of the best to ever play the position, and learned a great deal from sitting and watching them from the sidelines.

Bailey made the Pro-Bowl for eight consecutive seasons from 2000-2007, has been named to six All-Pro squads, and is a member of the NFL All-Decade Team.

88.) Will Shields: G, Kansas City Chiefs, 1993-2006, #68

Will Shields was one of the best offensive guards to ever play in the NFL. Through his fourteen NFL seasons, all of them with the Chiefs, he never missed a game and only failed to start one of them, his first game in the league. His 224 consecutive games played is near the tops in league history and he blocked for 1,000 running backs Priest Holmes, Marcus Allen, and Larry Johnson and for 4,000 yard passers Trent Green and Elvis Grbac. He’s been the Walter Payton Man of the Year and following his retirement in 2006, he decided to spend some time with his organization, “The Will to Succeed”.

Although he was one of college football’s all-time greats, he was named to the All-Century team, Will dropped to the third round. When the Chiefs finally selected him out of Nebraska with the 74th pick, he was slated as a guy who would see the field instantly. He went to the Pro-Bowl every season for 12 years, a run that lasted in 1995 and ended in 2006, the year he retired. He was a nine time All-Pro and he was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team.

87.) Mel Renfro: S/CB, Dallas Cowboys, 1964-1977, #20

Renfro is one of the all-time greats at his position. He was selected to the Pro-Bowl 10 straight times to start his career off. Only Ken Houston and Rod Woodson are the other defensive backs that can say they’ve even been to the Pro-Bowl that many times. As a member of the two Super Bowl teams, Renfro was a stabilizing force in the Dallas secondary that helped shut down teams with high-powered passing attacks like the Steelers.

Renfro was drafted in the second round by the Cowboys in the 1964 draft out of Oregon. In that same year, he lead the entire NFL in punt and kick return yards.

He was originally a safety, but the Cowboys moved him to corner in his fifth season and the move paid off. Because he had such great speed for his era, Renfro ran a 4.65, he could neutralize threats to the outside. He lead the league with 10 picks the year that he was switched to cornerback. In his 14 year career, he intercepted 52 passes and retired a winner after a victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII. Renfro was added to the Cowboys Ring of Fame in 1981 and inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1996.

Quick Review of the Nike Zoom Vapor Carbon

This is by far one of Nike’s greatest innovations yet. I loved the light-weight feel of the cleats when I had them on and it’s an overall improvement over last years model. The FlyWire feels right and looks great.

Perks

• very lightweight
• fit well
• extremely stylish; you will see a LOT of NFL and college players with these guys on
• best football cleat on the market today

Downsides

• Pricey; come on guys, it’s Nike we’re dealing with, expensive is what they do
• not very durable; FlyWire can rip
• no Nikeid for this model yet, that would really enhance the overall experience
• built for slimmer feet so linemen are out of luck

I’d be at a serious fault if I didn’t mention the fact that these are the official Nike Pro Combat shoes this year. Just like last years set, the new uniforms are taking a bold new approach on athletic aesthetics. Some we’ve seen already are the Boise State and Virginia Tech sets that were rolled out for the season opener. Other schools that will be involved include Pitt, Miami, Florida, Alabama, Ohio State, TCU, West Virginia, and Oregon State.

The new Pro Combat cleats take loud to a whole new level. For complete sets, visit Nike's website.

The bottom line is that these are the hottest new thing on the football market these days. We should expect that Nikeid will be implemented sooner rather than later for them and that the deep levels of customization that Nike offers will add a whole new dimension to cleats. Most shoes don’t look good in colors like these, but somehow the style just manages to pull it off; they seek t0 he built for loud color combinations and really stick out from everything else in the uniform. The next step for Nike is to improve on these. To them, I say good luck but they always seem to one-up themselves when it comes to cleats, so the next generation is also an exciting prospect.

Final Score: 10/10

Let The Good Times Roll, Cincinnati

Bruce, center, won the Central last night for the Reds with a solo shot to lead off the ninth and struck a blow to the rival Cardinals with this walk-off single

The Cincinnati Reds are going to the playoffs. Let it sink in for a moment, bet you didn’t see that coming huh? I can say honestly that I thought the Reds would be better this year, they had to be, right? After the emergence and then abrupt fall of Edinson Volquez due to injury and suspension made me a little wary, but rookie Mike Leake who went straight to the Majors and performed admirably stepped into his place, Johnny Cueto pitched some fantastic games this year, and Homer Bailey finally caught on.  Add Bronson Arroyo into the mix, he was his usual consistent self, bring back Volquez, and throw in Cuban superstar Aroldis Chapman, and you have a pretty solid pitching staff, top to bottom.

The offense was lead by a pair of prospects and one aging slugger. Joey Votto who has been unstoppable this year paved the way with steady contributions and big hits all year long. Jay Bruce, one of the teams top prospects a few years ago, played well, and Scott Rolen, a former superstar himself, re-established the power swing that once made him so good.  Brandon Phillips provided some leadership for the team this year and turned in good power numbers as well.

For the first time in fifteen years, the Reds will be playing post-season baseball. Here’s what needs to go right and what could go wrong.

Good

• They need to do well despite being made up of playoff virgins and young players. People will finally shut up about how important “playoff experience” is. Last time I checked, the game was still played on grass, there were 27 outs, and the object of the game was to score more runs than your opponent in nine innings. If the Reds do well, as they should, I’ll be all over these baseball experts telling them just how wrong they were (08 Rays anyone?)
• New faces in the post-season is always something good. Cities of teams that don’t make it in go way harder than cities where the teams frequent post-season play. The Reds need to lock up home field advantage because the NL looks way too deep this year for them to win it on talent alone; they’ll need the help of the 10th man to pull this one off.
• Keep the atmosphere the same. They’ve been a team that all year has been laid back, but also extremely resilient. This combination is the best way to head into the playoffs.

Bad

• If they don’t secure home field advantage, there could be some problems. The Braves are a very good team. As are the Phillies, as are the Giants, as are the Padres. If the Reds want a chance at beating any combination of these teams that make it in, they’ll have to be at home so taking the foot off the gas is the worst thing they could do right now.
• Most of the pitchers in the staff are young. Often, teams like to shut-down their young arms at the end of the year but in the middle of a pennant race, it’s not exactly the best idea to just pull out four of your five best pitchers, so they’ve all pitched a full seasons worth. Mike Leake especially needs to watch out for injuries. Volquez is coming off of Tommy John surgery and Homer Bailey is still young. If they fall apart, the Reds are done for.
• If the Phillies’ H20 rotation comes to play, the Reds are likely done for. Oswalt, Hamels, and Halladay are as good as it gets with a top three in a rotation. If the Reds advance, like I think they will, they’ll have a very hard time beating these Phillies who are playing the best out of any team in the NL right now. In order to get to them, they most likely have to go through the Braves who are ice cold at the moment or the Giants which could make for an interesting match up.

It’s been a fun ride so far and a Giants/Reds series intrigues me. So enjoy it while it lasts Cincy, you may not be going back until 2025.

Some Serious Futility in This Joint: NFC Edition

It’s a year in which I can’t seem to figure out who the good teams are. I think the Steelers are good again, I think the Chiefs are good again, and I think the Packers are good again. But don’t quote me on that. Through the first few weeks, we’ve seen some crazy stuff in terms of who beats who, lets sort out who I just don’t think is any good. Note: this isn’t the team I think is the worst in the division, just the team that’s looked bad are going to be that way for a long time.

West: Arizona Cardinals

Record: 2-1

Something Awful: needed a last-second field goal to beat the Raiders. The Raiders.

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Although the record of 2-1 is indicative of competence, I can’t help but feel that this team is nowhere near that good. Also, consider that the two teams they’ve beaten are the Raiders and Rams by a combined 5 points. Not exactly dominating stuff here.

In their only loss so far, they were dismantled by the Falcons 41-7. This was a team that had scored, what, 10 points the week before that ? The defense is bad folks, really, really bad. So is Derek Anderson. That’s a problem when you consider he’s going to be their starter for the rest of the year. It’s strange how one players retirement can make a whole team this much worse. They were in the Super Bowl two years ago! The NFC West is now completely devoid of competent teams.

What’s even funnier is that they have some really good players on this team; Larry Fitzgerald, Darnell Dockett, Joey Porter, Tim Hightower, Beanie Wells, Steve Breaston, you get the point? It could be a pretty solid team if they could get a clue out there but this group just seems to be headed into the Dark Ages and complete irrelevancy once again. Get  out of there while you still can Larry, the ship is sinking faster than anyone could have imagined it would.

East: Washington Redskins

Record: 1-2

Something Awful: Lost to the Rams for the second straight year. That is all.

The Washington Redskins have the biggest stadium in the NFL. They also have Brian Orakpo and Trent Williams. That’s about all that they have going for them at this point because the ‘Skins are just terrible. After a surprise upset of their highly touted arch-rivals, the Dallas Cowboys in week one, Washington has managed to choke a massive lead away against the Texans in what would have been a season-changing win at home and then proceed to never even have the lead against the miserable St. Louis Rams. Talk about your wake-up calls.

The Redskins have got to turn it around because, like the Cardinals, they’re in a winnable division. The NFC East was supposed to be a beast this year with at least three teams that could make the playoffs. As it turns out, the East is about as beastly these days as Marshawn Lynch. They have the tools to do it too with Donovan McNabb and London Fletcher leading their respective units, but if they play as “well” as they did against the Rams, it may be another long season in Washington.

North: Minnesota Vikings

Record: 1-2

Something Awful: Brett Favre.

The NFC North is an extremely confusing division. How do the Bears, a team that should have lost to the Lions, come out and beat the top team in their division, if not in the entire NFC on Monday Night Football? That’s not the point though, the point is that the Vikings are downright bad this year.

Call it what you will; his receivers are hurt, he missed training camp, whatever it is, Brett Favre is not the same. His injury seems to have really taken its toll on his body; he doesn’t look comfortable out there and it’s dragging this entire team down. Adrian Peterson is still Adrian Peterson, but he’s also a fumblesaurus rex if I ever saw one and he needs to work on that, the defense won’t win them a great deal of games this year. Their one win this year was against the Lions who are even starting to bum me out with all of the losing they’re doing. The Vikings have clearly taken a huge step back from one of the top teams in football to this mess that has a chance to become really dysfunctional once Brad Childress benches Brett Favre halfway through the Jets game. Get ready for a whole lot of media coverage that we just don’t give a rats ass about, because Minnesota is about to be the center of the universe.

South: Carolina Panthers

Record: 0-3

Something Awful: They fail to exploit the one thing that could save this team; the running game.

So now the Panthers are terrible again only a few years removed from playoff contention. Is it time to start over in Carolina? Well answer me this; if a tree falls in the woods, does anybody care? It’s really too bad that nobody gives a damn about the Panthers, they really are kind of fun to watch. I feel like they’re the one team that I always leave out when I’m trying to list the NFL teams…Them and Jacksonville, just because the logos are too damn similar. The Panthers are yet to win a game. They were thumped by the Giants (bad), then thumped by the Bucs (also bad), and finally, they were thumped by the reigning AFC North champs, the Bengals (decidedly average this year).

The defense is in shambles without their leader, Julius Peppers, on the field. In fact, the reason he left was that he realized what a black-hole of an organization this really is. It’s an expansion team who’s best player ever was a guy who may not even be the best Steve Smith to ever play the game once the dude from NY finishes up. No Hall of Famers yet, probably not gonna change anytime soon. Another team that has fallen very hard from greatness. They were once a power in the NFC every year and were stomping on weaklings like Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and New Orleans, then more often then not taking an early exit from the playoffs. The running game is solid, but they don’t seem to want to use it, they totally trust Matt Moore and Jimmy Clausen to put up more points than DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart, perhaps the league’s top tandem of running backs. Not much has gone right for them and they need Jimmy Clausen, their prized pick in the draft and future franchise QB, to step it up this week against…oh wait, it’s the Saints. Might as well chalk up another “L” for the league’s second-most-irrelevant team.