Monday Morning Mehta 5/31/05
Edition # 121
May 31, 2005
MLB/Phils
Memorial weekend marks the 1/3rd point of the baseball season. Teams generally start to get an idea of what exactly they are, and what they'll need in the next few months as the trading season begins. The Phillies stand 24-27, playing slightly better baseball, but still don't have any real positive momentum going as they sit in the basement of the NL East.
Phils come off a 3-3 week on the road against the division leaders Florida and Atlanta. While that may not seem bad on paper, the week was pretty much deemed a failure on Tuesday night when the Phils blew a 3-0 lead in the 8th and 9th inning only to lose in the 10th.
This team needs a bullpen shakeup in the worst way. There has been too many leads blown by this bullpen. Managers can look like geniuses or morons based on how the bullpen performs, guess which one Charlie Manuel looks like.
Speaking of Manuel, the 1/3rd point of the season is a good opportunity to talk about his job. Manuel has been widely criticized by many of the press, including well respected writer Bill Conlin. There has been at least 8-10 games this year where you can clearly say Manuel made a major blunder which cost the Phillies a game. Add that to fact that he admittedly sometimes forgot he was in the NL and forgot there was no DH, and it looks like Ed Wade has made a complete mistake.
To reiterate what I've been saying for years, the top of this lineup just doesn't get on base with any consistency for this team to compete. In the three losses, the top 2 hitters (Jason Michaels and Jimmy Rollins leading off, Placido Polanco and Kenny Lofton hitting 2nd) were a combined 6 for 26 with only 2 walks. That's a .231 average with a .286 OB%. Pretty awful. In the 3 wins, the 1 and 2 hitters (Rollins and Polanco) were 15 for 30 with 3 walks. A .500 batting average with a .545 OB%. Rollins is the king of great one game, bad the next. Until they smooth that out to about .360-.380 OB% consistently, this team is going to hover around .500 (as they did last week).
The Phils now come home and have a 13 game homestand which is a perfect opportunity to get some momentum. A 9-4 homestand could propel them right into the thick of the NL East (as it stands, they're only 5.5 games out anyway). 8-5 would be acceptable, while anything less will mean a long summer.
Another thing to watch in the homestand is the play of Jim Thome. Thome will need to show he's back to 2003 form if the Phillies fans are to actually get excited once again.
Around the League
The MVP of the 1/3rd point of the season has to be Derreck Lee. With the injuries to Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, and Nomar Garciaparra, coupled with the complete debacle of a bullpen, it is amazing to me how the Cubs are actually 25-24. Lee has carried this team to many victories it should not have had. I guess this means I'm also giving Dusty Baker credit, which I reluctantly will.
I can see the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox having a tough month of June.
The Atlanta Braves offense needs help badly. Rafael Furcal and Marcus Giles (66 K's vs. 29 BB's) are struggling at the top of the lineup and Raul Mondesi and Brian Jordan have looked their age in the OF.
They've called up super prospect Kelly Johnson to try and see if they can bring some life into the offense. I'm thinking the Braves will be OK though.
Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo have also struggled this year. Pierre who has been bothered by a calf injury in spring, has only 9 steals all year to go along with a low .319 OB%. He's been caught 6 times and was even gunned down by Mike Piazza this week.
San Diego remains a hot team lead by Jake Peavy and their pitching. Peavy has been almost unhittable this year and is easily the best pitcher in the NL right now. If you want to see a dominating bullpen, watch the Padres.
Why isn't Peavy the best pitcher in the majors? Well Roy Halladay has been pitching complete game gems for Toronto these days. He may be the best pitcher in the majors so far this year.
NBA - Derreck Sura
-On 5/23 Sixers' GM Billy King fired head coach Jim O'Brien and replaced him with former Philadelphia great Maurice Cheeks. Depending on who you believe, Obie was either fired because he had lost the team (Stephen A Smith), or because BK didn't like the direction the team was going. BK and Sixers' Chairman Ed Snider both claim that all the players had no problem playing for Obie, and were ready, willing, and able to compete under his guidance next season. I'm not sure if this is spin or what, but Obie already had a reputation as a take no BS, my way or the highway type, before he arrived in Philly. His refusal to not give players like Samuel Dalembert and Willie Green significant minutes, even under pressure from management, demonstrated this to a tee. As for the team not going the direction BK wanted, I think this (paraphrased) exchange from Dan Patrick's radio show sums up my feelings pretty well.
DP - "Why make the move to replace Obie now, when the team had improved by 10 games and made the playoffs?"
BK - "We just didn't like the direction the team was headed."
Break those statements down, and most of you will come to the same conclusion that about every emailer and caller did. Which is, the team won more games AND made the playoffs, and you don't like THAT direction? Which direction exactly is BK looking to head in then? I know that's an oversimplification, and that there seemed to be some deeper issues at play in this decision, but I can't help but think this move is a rather large mistake.
On top of the 10 game improvement and playoff appearance, Allen Iverson and Kyle Korver both had career years under Obie. When you factor in that Obie had to adjust to Chris Webber's arrival for the final 28 games (of which CWeb played in 21), and that this was Obie's first year on the job, I'm not sure what else he was supposed to do? Obviously BK, and the Sixers' faithful alike, expected more. Why? I have no idea. I'm willing to ADMIT that Obie's gruff style may have alienated some players, and maybe even BK himself. However, all I can go by is what transpired on the court, and from that perspective, I think Obie did a more then admirable job. Look at the talent on Philly's roster and tell me that's a team with 50 win potential, much less a title contender. It's not, plain and simple. I've heard from many defenders of this change already, but none of them will ADMIT that the Sixers are a mediocre team going nowhere fast. All I get is, "AI was healthy this year" or "Andre Iguodala wasn't on the team last year" to explain the 10 game improvement. No credit for anything positive Obie may have done, only the negative, as is the Philly way. Many of the complaints on Obie are spin in my opinion as well. The one about him not running plays for CWeb is hog wash. Except when I was on vacation, I watched at least the second half (usually more) of every Sixers' game this season, and I saw plenty of plays run for CWeb. What I think most people blame on Obie, was really CWeb's inability to do the things he used to because of Philly not having the same talent around him that Sacramento did. Then there's the one about how the team never grasped Obie's defensive scheme. While they may not have been on the level of Obie's Boston teams, I saw the Sixers' D improve over the course of the year. Enough to make me think that another season under the same system would've made them that much better. As for not playing Sam D and Wil G more, I don't think it had anything to do with Obie not liking young players (see KK & AI2), and everything to do with Obie thinking he had a better chance to win with Sam and Wil on the bench. No conspiracy to undermine the future of the franchise, just trying to win games now.
So, while I'm on record as saying that firing Obie was a mistake, I can see what BK was thinking. If Obie really had lost the team, then making a move sooner is better then later. What makes this move even worse as I see it is the replacing Obie with Mo Cheeks. I know that it's probably considered blasphemy in some circles to not endorse a throwback to last title team in Philly's history, but that's exactly what I'm doing. Remember too, that I live in Oregon, and have been privy to many of Cheeks' doings as Blazers' coach. I just don't see how this move makes the Sixers any better? The only positive I can come up with is BK replaced a guy that was "too tough" with a guy that is a "players coach". Never mind that Randy Ayers was a "players coach" too, and that when he was fired it was deemed that AI needed a coach that would reign him in and teach him to play with some discipline. Why not look at Flip Saunders or Eric Musselman first? It's not like Mo was going to get any other job offers as a head man. In fact, before this out of nowhere change, the last I read on Cheeks was that he was going to catch on as an assistant somewhere because of his lack luster stint in Portland. Let's get another thing straight, while the Blazers have a terrible mix of players, and a bumbling management group, Mo deserves some of the blame for what went down there. Namely, losing his team's respect. Sound familiar?
Philly will be paying Ayers, Obie, and Cheeks next season, which should lead the rational among us to the conclusion that maybe coaching isn't the problem with this team. I don't see the Sixers' roster being all that different next season, except for maybe one or two new role players. Meaning the same "core" group will be back with a new coach (their 5th in 4 years), and another new system, but yet they are supposed to be markedly better? That theory is based on Obie's coaching being the primary problem, rather then their actual lack of talent. If there was ever an example of sports spin, that is it. If you look at it from a Philly management perspective, you can see what they are doing. BK knows he's going to have basically the same team next season, so how do you drum up interest and sell tickets with the exact same crew back? You fire the guy that can coach but nobody likes, and replace him a guy everyone likes, but can't coach. It helps that Mo is a local hero too. That should be good for a few more season ticket packages.
As for Mo's actual coaching ability, I'm not a big fan. I mean, if he couldn't command the player's respect in his last stop, what makes anyone think he'll be able to now? Don't get me wrong, Cheeks is a nice guy, good person and all, but I really have no idea what his coaching style is? I've read that he's "defense first", but I don't remember the Blazers' D ever being all that great? If he couldn't control the likes of Damon Stoudamire, Darius Miles, Ruben Patterson, Rasheed Wallace, Jeff McInnis, Dale Davis, Bonzi Wells, the list goes on and on. How is Mo going to be able to handle AI, CWeb, and a freshly signed for big money Sam D? Answer is, he's not. Sure, you can hope for the best, but as far history goes, once things started to go bad in Portland, Cheeks wasn't able to stop them from snowballing out of control. Everyone knows what kind of players AI & CWeb are by now, but there's only one ball, and how they share it will likely define Mo's tenure with the Sixers.
I had Philly's off season plan all worked out to acquire guys that would fit into Obie's system. Fleet of foot defenders that could shoot 3's, but now, I really don't know? I assume the company line will be "We are going to get out and run", but do the Sixers really have that kind of personnel? I say they don't, which is really the main reason I wanted to keep Obie. I thought that Obie was the "perfect fit" (as BK said when he was hired) to coach this current group of players to success. As a general rule, I think GM's need to work with coaches, and not the other way around. Cheeks, as history show, is not that type of coach. Mo is more of the "yes man" type, so I'm sure all the Philly fans, and especially BK, will get exactly what they want now. Sam D and Wil G playing big minutes, the offense running through CWeb, etc. The rub there is once the players figure out that BK is calling the shots from above, how long until they lose respect for Cheeks? The vast majority of the feedback I've already received has been overwhelmingly in favor of this move (sans MMM himself, sometime MMM contributor Doug Morgan, and longtime MMM reader Ed Lowry), but I would just caution all Sixer fans out there that liked this change, to be careful what you wish for...
- Also on 5/23 Orlando Magic GM John Weisbrod resigned and was replaced by Dave Twardzik, who then hired Brian Hill as head coach the very next day for a second go around in the Magic's Kingdom. Weisbrod was a former hockey player, coach, and executive, and his hiring just over a year ago was a mystery to me at the time. His resigning is a bit of a surprise, given that he's only been on the job for 15 months, but it's not a huge shock. Weisbrod seemed to be out of his league at times, and probably realized that he was better suited for the NHL. A few examples of his blunders are: Trading Drew Gooden, Steven Hunter, and Anderson Varejao for Tony Battie and two second round picks (WOW!). Trading Cuttino Mobley and Michael Bradley for Doug Christie (killed their chemistry). Firing head coach Johnny Davis and his lead assistant Ron Ekker with 18 games remaining in the season for Chris Jent (WHAT?). I'll let him slide on the Tracy McGrady deal, because you never get equal value when trading a super-star, and he did get three starters for two. As far as the hiring of Hill goes (191-104 record in Orlando from '93-96), I have to think that there was a better candidate out there then a retread who hasn't been a head man since '99-00, or 5 seasons. Eric Musselman would've have brought the same "discipline" the franchise is looking for after the departure of the ultimate softie in Davis, and some youthful exuberance too. The Magic have some talent, but need to make a smart decision on Steve Francis' future with the organization, and upgrade their overall depth. If Twardzik and Hill can accomplish that, Orlando should be right in the Eastern playoff mix next season.
EAST
Detroit v Miami - Heat lead 2-1. Dwyane Wade has been unstoppable in games 2 and 3, and the absolute difference in the series so far. Wade is putting up 30.7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks in this series. All of those numbers lead the team, except for assists and blocks, where he ranks second. When Wade is patient with his offense and takes the ball to the hoop, he is able to put fouls on the Pistons' front line while energizing his teammates at the same time. While Shaquille O'Neal has been basically held in check, Eddie Jones has really stepped up his play at the right time. EJ's defense on Richard Hamilton has been excellent, holding Rip to 39.1% shooting from the field. With all that running after Rip, you would expect Eddie to have nothing left on offense, but that has not been the case. EJ is shooting 50% from the field, 46.7% from three, and 90.9% from the free throw line in this series, all up from his regular season averages. It's possible that Detroit is being distracted by the persistent rumors that coach Larry Brown will leave the franchise after the playoffs end to be the President of the Cleveland Cavaliers. I know that sounds a bit far fetched, but how else do you explain their meltdown in the fourth quarter of game 3, if not lack of focus on the task at hand? It's very rare to see a championship caliber team lose it's cool like that in crunch time. Or maybe the Pistons are just plain tired? LB has not been playing his bench much this series, as evidenced by Antonio McDyess being the only sub who's averaging double digit minutes (17 mpg). I think Detroit winning game 1 so easily gave them a false sense of security, and now that they MUST play hard every game, the question is, will they be able to?
Prediction update - Pistons in 6 is only going to happen if Detroit figures out a way to not let D Wade run wild. I think this series is headed to 7 games now, with no clear favorite in my mind.
WEST
San Antonio v Phoenix - Spurs lead 3-1. Tim Duncan going 3-12 from the free throw line in game 4 probably cost SA a week or more of rest before the NBA Finals. Amare Stoudemire's block of Tim's dunk attempt in the final minute of play gave this series a chance to be truly competitive, but only if the Suns can hold serve at home in game 5. Who knows if Joe Johnson being able to play from the beginning of this series would have made a difference, but I think it would have. Joe does give Phoenix another shooter, but it's what he brings at the defensive end that the Suns really can't replace. Bruce Bowen has done an excellent job defending Shawn Marion, holding the Matrix to 7.8 points on 36.8% shooting from the floor. That's 11.6 points and 10.8% down from Marion's regular season numbers. If Phoenix is able to capitalize on the energy of their home fans by getting off to a good start, then keeping the tempo where they like it, the Suns should have an opportunity to extend their season by at least one more game. If the Spurs can weather the initial burst Phoenix will put on them at the start of each half in game 5, SA's superior depth, defense, and offensive execution down the stretch should be enough to carry them to a victory.
Predication update - I'm still feeling the Spurs in 6.
NHL Week in Review By: Ed Wasser
- Word on the street is that there was significant progress in the NHL labor talks last week. The obvious next question should be "is that really true or is this just another NHL bullcrap lie?" God only knows...and stop asking dumb questions.
- I honestly think I could write a 1000 page book just on the last episode of 'The Contender'. Seldom have I seen any TV show or sporting event that was so chock full of comedy, real drama, phony drama, true real life emotion, real suspense, phony suspense, embarrassing unabashed commercialism, blood curdlingly bad announcer performances, and stop dead in your tracks ridiculous appearances by Z level celebrities. It was like watching that huge electronic cowboy on the Las Vegas strip that points it's thumb at the casino collapse on a group of school kids, but then someone heroically saves everyone from the burning wreckage only to have a white tiger escape from Siegfried and Roy's house and kill and eat the hero and crash survivors. It was that big of an emotional roller coaster. Let's start with the fighters. Now unlike the Oscar De La Hoya version of this show, 'The Next Great Champ', these guys could actually fight. The guys on 'The Next Great Champ' fought like the kangaroo on 'The Three Stooges' that boxed Curley. On 'The Contender' the guys were professional fighters, some even ranked in the top 10. Every preliminary fight was great and fought with total conviction. For the first time in the history of reality TV this show went looking for the contestants instead of the other way around. Now on to Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard. I believe Sylvester Stallone has the record for appearing in the widest array of movies in terms of great to bad. Here's the man that wrote and starred in 'Rocky', one of the greatest movies ever committed to celluloid. Stallone's also the man that wrote and starred in 'Rhinestone', one of the worst movies ever committed to celluloid. WHAT RANGE!! Now Ray Leonard is a guy that belongs in broadcasting like I belong on the Northwestern fishing for Opelio crab next January. Leonard's speech pattern is so slow and disjointed that after waiting for 5 seconds in silence thinking that he's about to unload something really profound on you he'll say "an incredible performance". By the way, Leonard uses the word incredible more often during the course of a day then I use oxygen. And the Z level celebrities.
At the finale at ringside was Frank Stallone, that's FRANK Stallone. Burt Young, James Caan, and newly minted Z level celebrity "didn't you used to be" Eddie Murphy. I won't even get into the fights because I won't disparage the fights or the fighters. The fights were great, some guy named Sergio (a.k.a. The Latin Snake) won the whole shebang. Deservedly so. 'Nuff said. Now try and picture this. When the championship fight started about .00007 seconds elapsed in the first round when Stallone screams (yes...screams) "THERE HAS TO BE A REMATCH!!!" and Ray Leonard screams (yes...screams) "AN EARLY CANDIDATE FOR FIGHT OF THE YEAR!!!!" Huh? Ohhhh....now I get it. 'The Contender' executive producer is Mark Burnett, who also produces 'Survivor', and is the inventor of TV slavery. In other words the contestants on his shows sign contracts that are twice the size of the average phone book and the contract basically makes you Burnett's slave for life. If you are the alum of a Mark Burnett show and you find a dime on the set of a TV show Burnett gets 25% of that dime. So naturally Stallone, Leonard, and Burnett are screaming rematch because that rematch will surely be a pay-per-view event and they all get a piece of the action. As the fight was going on Leonard and Stallone, God bless their hearts, did everything humanly possible to raise the level of suspense by constantly yelling "OHHHHH!!!!!" after every punch, even if the punch didn't have enough force to knock over my 4 year niece. The play by play was provided by Al Trautwig who clearly made a deal with the devil for his cushy job with the Yes Network in New York City and appearing on 'The Contender' was his payback. Unfortunately when the fight was over so was the series. NHL hockey games in Alabama have gotten higher ratings then 'The Contender' so NBC announced that they will not pick up the series next year. 'The Contender'....it was great while it lasted.
- I was going to write about the Preakness Stakes but it's a little dated now. Everyone knows the result of the race and about Afleet Alex's amazing performance. I'll just make five observations. 1.) I'm starting to think I may be getting a little too old for some of these college events. For those that don't know the infield of Pimlico during the Preakness has a lot of 'Girls Gone Wild' type activities going on. I had a lot kids asking me how to bet, how much certain bets cost, etc. I felt like I should have been smoking a cigar and wearing a visor. So at the age of 34, I think I may have attended my last college age activity. 2.) Even after all these years Camden Yards is still the best stadium in all of sports. 3.) We saw ESPN's Kenny Mayne in Baltimore. He's taller then you think (approx. 6'2"). We also saw comedian Ralphie May who's just as fat as you think. Easy 4 bills. 4.) I saw the t-shirt of the century while at Pimlico. It said "I'd Rather Have A Daughter In A Whore House Than A Son On The Yankees". Amen brother. 5.) And lastly, I thought I was going to projectile vomit the 17 Coor's Lights I drank on the Pimlico infield while watching the interviews with Afleet Alex's trainer Tim Ritchy and all his owners kissing jockey Jeremy Rose's ass for his incredible performance at the Preakness. Hello? Am I the only one that remembers that they all fired Jeremy Rose because, even though he was on Alex for every dime he ever won (EVERY DIME!!), they all thought a Hall of Fame jockey was more appropriate. So they changed jockeys for the Rebel Stakes to some other dude (I forget his name) who promptly finished last. Then they rehired Jeremy Rose to ride Alex in the Arkansas Derby which he won. Then, as late as three days before the Kentucky Derby, Tim Ritchy was still thinking of changing jockeys. So remember that when you see Afleet Alex's owners groveling over Jeremy Rose. It would have been great if Rose told them all to bleep off right before the Kentucky Derby but there's just too much money at stake.
- Bada Boom Racing Stables has a new member. His name is Velocious and he's a 4 year old colt. He won't be running for a few weeks because after we got him our trainer made a quick observation....he's too fat. So he'll be working out on the farm for a few weeks before he runs again. His stable mate, Clemente, ran yesterday. It was a 6 furlong race on the dirt. The pilot was Rodrigo Madrigal Jr. This was the first time we ever used him, the reason was Rod breezed Clemente last week and showed interest in riding him. So what the hell, nothing else is working, give it a shot. Rodrigo is an interesting guy. No lie, he's 5'10" yet he still weighs less then 121 lbs. How does he do it? Well....I don't know. I'm not sure I wanna know. So Rod was given specific instructions to get Clemente to the front of the pack as soon as possible. When the race started Rod was on the whip immediately, the first time I ever saw that, but it was effective because Clemente was close to the front almost immediately. As the race wore on I was afraid Clemente would tire out, which he did slightly, but he finished a solid third. It wasn't a win but he did beat some high quality horses. It's a start. Maybe this will help him to get his act together and run some better races. A turf race is next for Clemente. I'll keep you all posted.
- I have never seen a TV show so nails on a black board bad as 'Chaotic', the reality show with Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. This show should be viewed like a solar eclipse; wearing dark sunglasses and looking behind a piece of cardboard with a small hole cut in it. Full exposure to this TV show could cause blindness. 'Chaotic' is like watching a car crash, train crash, plane crash, all combined with watching Kelsey Grammer fall off a Disney World stage (DOWN GOES FRASIER!!)....I mean you don't want to look but you just can't look away. What is the world record for a person going from the biggest star in all of show business to the lower left booth on Hollywood Squares? It's career suicide with a video camera being used as the instrument of death. This show should be renamed "Hey Look At Me!!! I'm A Hillbilly!!" and the opening credits should feature Britney blowing into a moonshine jug with XXX written on the side. What was Britney's thought process "you know, 98% of the population of the world thinks I'm a blithering idiot. I need to win over that last 2%. I know...I'LL PUT OUT A REALITY SHOW!!! YEAH!!!" OK, that's out of my system. In short 'Chaotic' is just the home movies of Britney Spears and, at the time, boyfriend Kevin Federline. Federline became Britney's husband in the not so distant past after agreeing to sign a pre-nuptial agreement that reports say was 17 times the size of the Treaty of Versailles. Anyway, the show follows the travels of the happy couple as they traipse through Britney's tour of Europe. The entire show is pretty much dedicated to drivel so inane that it needs to be educated exponentially to rise to the level of asinine. This show begs the question "what did they leave on the cutting room floor?" This is not a joke..while listening to Kevin and Britney exchange quips about love, commitment, and marriage I could feel some of my brain cells committing harey karey. In closing, this show should be buried in a salt mine, under 25 feet of lead, for 10,000 years a la nuclear waste.
Comments? Mailbag?
saurinmeht@aol.com
dsura@peacehealth.org
ewwasser@hotmail.com
May 31, 2005
MLB/Phils
Memorial weekend marks the 1/3rd point of the baseball season. Teams generally start to get an idea of what exactly they are, and what they'll need in the next few months as the trading season begins. The Phillies stand 24-27, playing slightly better baseball, but still don't have any real positive momentum going as they sit in the basement of the NL East.
Phils come off a 3-3 week on the road against the division leaders Florida and Atlanta. While that may not seem bad on paper, the week was pretty much deemed a failure on Tuesday night when the Phils blew a 3-0 lead in the 8th and 9th inning only to lose in the 10th.
This team needs a bullpen shakeup in the worst way. There has been too many leads blown by this bullpen. Managers can look like geniuses or morons based on how the bullpen performs, guess which one Charlie Manuel looks like.
Speaking of Manuel, the 1/3rd point of the season is a good opportunity to talk about his job. Manuel has been widely criticized by many of the press, including well respected writer Bill Conlin. There has been at least 8-10 games this year where you can clearly say Manuel made a major blunder which cost the Phillies a game. Add that to fact that he admittedly sometimes forgot he was in the NL and forgot there was no DH, and it looks like Ed Wade has made a complete mistake.
To reiterate what I've been saying for years, the top of this lineup just doesn't get on base with any consistency for this team to compete. In the three losses, the top 2 hitters (Jason Michaels and Jimmy Rollins leading off, Placido Polanco and Kenny Lofton hitting 2nd) were a combined 6 for 26 with only 2 walks. That's a .231 average with a .286 OB%. Pretty awful. In the 3 wins, the 1 and 2 hitters (Rollins and Polanco) were 15 for 30 with 3 walks. A .500 batting average with a .545 OB%. Rollins is the king of great one game, bad the next. Until they smooth that out to about .360-.380 OB% consistently, this team is going to hover around .500 (as they did last week).
The Phils now come home and have a 13 game homestand which is a perfect opportunity to get some momentum. A 9-4 homestand could propel them right into the thick of the NL East (as it stands, they're only 5.5 games out anyway). 8-5 would be acceptable, while anything less will mean a long summer.
Another thing to watch in the homestand is the play of Jim Thome. Thome will need to show he's back to 2003 form if the Phillies fans are to actually get excited once again.
Around the League
The MVP of the 1/3rd point of the season has to be Derreck Lee. With the injuries to Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, and Nomar Garciaparra, coupled with the complete debacle of a bullpen, it is amazing to me how the Cubs are actually 25-24. Lee has carried this team to many victories it should not have had. I guess this means I'm also giving Dusty Baker credit, which I reluctantly will.
I can see the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox having a tough month of June.
The Atlanta Braves offense needs help badly. Rafael Furcal and Marcus Giles (66 K's vs. 29 BB's) are struggling at the top of the lineup and Raul Mondesi and Brian Jordan have looked their age in the OF.
They've called up super prospect Kelly Johnson to try and see if they can bring some life into the offense. I'm thinking the Braves will be OK though.
Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo have also struggled this year. Pierre who has been bothered by a calf injury in spring, has only 9 steals all year to go along with a low .319 OB%. He's been caught 6 times and was even gunned down by Mike Piazza this week.
San Diego remains a hot team lead by Jake Peavy and their pitching. Peavy has been almost unhittable this year and is easily the best pitcher in the NL right now. If you want to see a dominating bullpen, watch the Padres.
Why isn't Peavy the best pitcher in the majors? Well Roy Halladay has been pitching complete game gems for Toronto these days. He may be the best pitcher in the majors so far this year.
NBA - Derreck Sura
-On 5/23 Sixers' GM Billy King fired head coach Jim O'Brien and replaced him with former Philadelphia great Maurice Cheeks. Depending on who you believe, Obie was either fired because he had lost the team (Stephen A Smith), or because BK didn't like the direction the team was going. BK and Sixers' Chairman Ed Snider both claim that all the players had no problem playing for Obie, and were ready, willing, and able to compete under his guidance next season. I'm not sure if this is spin or what, but Obie already had a reputation as a take no BS, my way or the highway type, before he arrived in Philly. His refusal to not give players like Samuel Dalembert and Willie Green significant minutes, even under pressure from management, demonstrated this to a tee. As for the team not going the direction BK wanted, I think this (paraphrased) exchange from Dan Patrick's radio show sums up my feelings pretty well.
DP - "Why make the move to replace Obie now, when the team had improved by 10 games and made the playoffs?"
BK - "We just didn't like the direction the team was headed."
Break those statements down, and most of you will come to the same conclusion that about every emailer and caller did. Which is, the team won more games AND made the playoffs, and you don't like THAT direction? Which direction exactly is BK looking to head in then? I know that's an oversimplification, and that there seemed to be some deeper issues at play in this decision, but I can't help but think this move is a rather large mistake.
On top of the 10 game improvement and playoff appearance, Allen Iverson and Kyle Korver both had career years under Obie. When you factor in that Obie had to adjust to Chris Webber's arrival for the final 28 games (of which CWeb played in 21), and that this was Obie's first year on the job, I'm not sure what else he was supposed to do? Obviously BK, and the Sixers' faithful alike, expected more. Why? I have no idea. I'm willing to ADMIT that Obie's gruff style may have alienated some players, and maybe even BK himself. However, all I can go by is what transpired on the court, and from that perspective, I think Obie did a more then admirable job. Look at the talent on Philly's roster and tell me that's a team with 50 win potential, much less a title contender. It's not, plain and simple. I've heard from many defenders of this change already, but none of them will ADMIT that the Sixers are a mediocre team going nowhere fast. All I get is, "AI was healthy this year" or "Andre Iguodala wasn't on the team last year" to explain the 10 game improvement. No credit for anything positive Obie may have done, only the negative, as is the Philly way. Many of the complaints on Obie are spin in my opinion as well. The one about him not running plays for CWeb is hog wash. Except when I was on vacation, I watched at least the second half (usually more) of every Sixers' game this season, and I saw plenty of plays run for CWeb. What I think most people blame on Obie, was really CWeb's inability to do the things he used to because of Philly not having the same talent around him that Sacramento did. Then there's the one about how the team never grasped Obie's defensive scheme. While they may not have been on the level of Obie's Boston teams, I saw the Sixers' D improve over the course of the year. Enough to make me think that another season under the same system would've made them that much better. As for not playing Sam D and Wil G more, I don't think it had anything to do with Obie not liking young players (see KK & AI2), and everything to do with Obie thinking he had a better chance to win with Sam and Wil on the bench. No conspiracy to undermine the future of the franchise, just trying to win games now.
So, while I'm on record as saying that firing Obie was a mistake, I can see what BK was thinking. If Obie really had lost the team, then making a move sooner is better then later. What makes this move even worse as I see it is the replacing Obie with Mo Cheeks. I know that it's probably considered blasphemy in some circles to not endorse a throwback to last title team in Philly's history, but that's exactly what I'm doing. Remember too, that I live in Oregon, and have been privy to many of Cheeks' doings as Blazers' coach. I just don't see how this move makes the Sixers any better? The only positive I can come up with is BK replaced a guy that was "too tough" with a guy that is a "players coach". Never mind that Randy Ayers was a "players coach" too, and that when he was fired it was deemed that AI needed a coach that would reign him in and teach him to play with some discipline. Why not look at Flip Saunders or Eric Musselman first? It's not like Mo was going to get any other job offers as a head man. In fact, before this out of nowhere change, the last I read on Cheeks was that he was going to catch on as an assistant somewhere because of his lack luster stint in Portland. Let's get another thing straight, while the Blazers have a terrible mix of players, and a bumbling management group, Mo deserves some of the blame for what went down there. Namely, losing his team's respect. Sound familiar?
Philly will be paying Ayers, Obie, and Cheeks next season, which should lead the rational among us to the conclusion that maybe coaching isn't the problem with this team. I don't see the Sixers' roster being all that different next season, except for maybe one or two new role players. Meaning the same "core" group will be back with a new coach (their 5th in 4 years), and another new system, but yet they are supposed to be markedly better? That theory is based on Obie's coaching being the primary problem, rather then their actual lack of talent. If there was ever an example of sports spin, that is it. If you look at it from a Philly management perspective, you can see what they are doing. BK knows he's going to have basically the same team next season, so how do you drum up interest and sell tickets with the exact same crew back? You fire the guy that can coach but nobody likes, and replace him a guy everyone likes, but can't coach. It helps that Mo is a local hero too. That should be good for a few more season ticket packages.
As for Mo's actual coaching ability, I'm not a big fan. I mean, if he couldn't command the player's respect in his last stop, what makes anyone think he'll be able to now? Don't get me wrong, Cheeks is a nice guy, good person and all, but I really have no idea what his coaching style is? I've read that he's "defense first", but I don't remember the Blazers' D ever being all that great? If he couldn't control the likes of Damon Stoudamire, Darius Miles, Ruben Patterson, Rasheed Wallace, Jeff McInnis, Dale Davis, Bonzi Wells, the list goes on and on. How is Mo going to be able to handle AI, CWeb, and a freshly signed for big money Sam D? Answer is, he's not. Sure, you can hope for the best, but as far history goes, once things started to go bad in Portland, Cheeks wasn't able to stop them from snowballing out of control. Everyone knows what kind of players AI & CWeb are by now, but there's only one ball, and how they share it will likely define Mo's tenure with the Sixers.
I had Philly's off season plan all worked out to acquire guys that would fit into Obie's system. Fleet of foot defenders that could shoot 3's, but now, I really don't know? I assume the company line will be "We are going to get out and run", but do the Sixers really have that kind of personnel? I say they don't, which is really the main reason I wanted to keep Obie. I thought that Obie was the "perfect fit" (as BK said when he was hired) to coach this current group of players to success. As a general rule, I think GM's need to work with coaches, and not the other way around. Cheeks, as history show, is not that type of coach. Mo is more of the "yes man" type, so I'm sure all the Philly fans, and especially BK, will get exactly what they want now. Sam D and Wil G playing big minutes, the offense running through CWeb, etc. The rub there is once the players figure out that BK is calling the shots from above, how long until they lose respect for Cheeks? The vast majority of the feedback I've already received has been overwhelmingly in favor of this move (sans MMM himself, sometime MMM contributor Doug Morgan, and longtime MMM reader Ed Lowry), but I would just caution all Sixer fans out there that liked this change, to be careful what you wish for...
- Also on 5/23 Orlando Magic GM John Weisbrod resigned and was replaced by Dave Twardzik, who then hired Brian Hill as head coach the very next day for a second go around in the Magic's Kingdom. Weisbrod was a former hockey player, coach, and executive, and his hiring just over a year ago was a mystery to me at the time. His resigning is a bit of a surprise, given that he's only been on the job for 15 months, but it's not a huge shock. Weisbrod seemed to be out of his league at times, and probably realized that he was better suited for the NHL. A few examples of his blunders are: Trading Drew Gooden, Steven Hunter, and Anderson Varejao for Tony Battie and two second round picks (WOW!). Trading Cuttino Mobley and Michael Bradley for Doug Christie (killed their chemistry). Firing head coach Johnny Davis and his lead assistant Ron Ekker with 18 games remaining in the season for Chris Jent (WHAT?). I'll let him slide on the Tracy McGrady deal, because you never get equal value when trading a super-star, and he did get three starters for two. As far as the hiring of Hill goes (191-104 record in Orlando from '93-96), I have to think that there was a better candidate out there then a retread who hasn't been a head man since '99-00, or 5 seasons. Eric Musselman would've have brought the same "discipline" the franchise is looking for after the departure of the ultimate softie in Davis, and some youthful exuberance too. The Magic have some talent, but need to make a smart decision on Steve Francis' future with the organization, and upgrade their overall depth. If Twardzik and Hill can accomplish that, Orlando should be right in the Eastern playoff mix next season.
EAST
Detroit v Miami - Heat lead 2-1. Dwyane Wade has been unstoppable in games 2 and 3, and the absolute difference in the series so far. Wade is putting up 30.7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks in this series. All of those numbers lead the team, except for assists and blocks, where he ranks second. When Wade is patient with his offense and takes the ball to the hoop, he is able to put fouls on the Pistons' front line while energizing his teammates at the same time. While Shaquille O'Neal has been basically held in check, Eddie Jones has really stepped up his play at the right time. EJ's defense on Richard Hamilton has been excellent, holding Rip to 39.1% shooting from the field. With all that running after Rip, you would expect Eddie to have nothing left on offense, but that has not been the case. EJ is shooting 50% from the field, 46.7% from three, and 90.9% from the free throw line in this series, all up from his regular season averages. It's possible that Detroit is being distracted by the persistent rumors that coach Larry Brown will leave the franchise after the playoffs end to be the President of the Cleveland Cavaliers. I know that sounds a bit far fetched, but how else do you explain their meltdown in the fourth quarter of game 3, if not lack of focus on the task at hand? It's very rare to see a championship caliber team lose it's cool like that in crunch time. Or maybe the Pistons are just plain tired? LB has not been playing his bench much this series, as evidenced by Antonio McDyess being the only sub who's averaging double digit minutes (17 mpg). I think Detroit winning game 1 so easily gave them a false sense of security, and now that they MUST play hard every game, the question is, will they be able to?
Prediction update - Pistons in 6 is only going to happen if Detroit figures out a way to not let D Wade run wild. I think this series is headed to 7 games now, with no clear favorite in my mind.
WEST
San Antonio v Phoenix - Spurs lead 3-1. Tim Duncan going 3-12 from the free throw line in game 4 probably cost SA a week or more of rest before the NBA Finals. Amare Stoudemire's block of Tim's dunk attempt in the final minute of play gave this series a chance to be truly competitive, but only if the Suns can hold serve at home in game 5. Who knows if Joe Johnson being able to play from the beginning of this series would have made a difference, but I think it would have. Joe does give Phoenix another shooter, but it's what he brings at the defensive end that the Suns really can't replace. Bruce Bowen has done an excellent job defending Shawn Marion, holding the Matrix to 7.8 points on 36.8% shooting from the floor. That's 11.6 points and 10.8% down from Marion's regular season numbers. If Phoenix is able to capitalize on the energy of their home fans by getting off to a good start, then keeping the tempo where they like it, the Suns should have an opportunity to extend their season by at least one more game. If the Spurs can weather the initial burst Phoenix will put on them at the start of each half in game 5, SA's superior depth, defense, and offensive execution down the stretch should be enough to carry them to a victory.
Predication update - I'm still feeling the Spurs in 6.
NHL Week in Review By: Ed Wasser
- Word on the street is that there was significant progress in the NHL labor talks last week. The obvious next question should be "is that really true or is this just another NHL bullcrap lie?" God only knows...and stop asking dumb questions.
- I honestly think I could write a 1000 page book just on the last episode of 'The Contender'. Seldom have I seen any TV show or sporting event that was so chock full of comedy, real drama, phony drama, true real life emotion, real suspense, phony suspense, embarrassing unabashed commercialism, blood curdlingly bad announcer performances, and stop dead in your tracks ridiculous appearances by Z level celebrities. It was like watching that huge electronic cowboy on the Las Vegas strip that points it's thumb at the casino collapse on a group of school kids, but then someone heroically saves everyone from the burning wreckage only to have a white tiger escape from Siegfried and Roy's house and kill and eat the hero and crash survivors. It was that big of an emotional roller coaster. Let's start with the fighters. Now unlike the Oscar De La Hoya version of this show, 'The Next Great Champ', these guys could actually fight. The guys on 'The Next Great Champ' fought like the kangaroo on 'The Three Stooges' that boxed Curley. On 'The Contender' the guys were professional fighters, some even ranked in the top 10. Every preliminary fight was great and fought with total conviction. For the first time in the history of reality TV this show went looking for the contestants instead of the other way around. Now on to Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard. I believe Sylvester Stallone has the record for appearing in the widest array of movies in terms of great to bad. Here's the man that wrote and starred in 'Rocky', one of the greatest movies ever committed to celluloid. Stallone's also the man that wrote and starred in 'Rhinestone', one of the worst movies ever committed to celluloid. WHAT RANGE!! Now Ray Leonard is a guy that belongs in broadcasting like I belong on the Northwestern fishing for Opelio crab next January. Leonard's speech pattern is so slow and disjointed that after waiting for 5 seconds in silence thinking that he's about to unload something really profound on you he'll say "an incredible performance". By the way, Leonard uses the word incredible more often during the course of a day then I use oxygen. And the Z level celebrities.
At the finale at ringside was Frank Stallone, that's FRANK Stallone. Burt Young, James Caan, and newly minted Z level celebrity "didn't you used to be" Eddie Murphy. I won't even get into the fights because I won't disparage the fights or the fighters. The fights were great, some guy named Sergio (a.k.a. The Latin Snake) won the whole shebang. Deservedly so. 'Nuff said. Now try and picture this. When the championship fight started about .00007 seconds elapsed in the first round when Stallone screams (yes...screams) "THERE HAS TO BE A REMATCH!!!" and Ray Leonard screams (yes...screams) "AN EARLY CANDIDATE FOR FIGHT OF THE YEAR!!!!" Huh? Ohhhh....now I get it. 'The Contender' executive producer is Mark Burnett, who also produces 'Survivor', and is the inventor of TV slavery. In other words the contestants on his shows sign contracts that are twice the size of the average phone book and the contract basically makes you Burnett's slave for life. If you are the alum of a Mark Burnett show and you find a dime on the set of a TV show Burnett gets 25% of that dime. So naturally Stallone, Leonard, and Burnett are screaming rematch because that rematch will surely be a pay-per-view event and they all get a piece of the action. As the fight was going on Leonard and Stallone, God bless their hearts, did everything humanly possible to raise the level of suspense by constantly yelling "OHHHHH!!!!!" after every punch, even if the punch didn't have enough force to knock over my 4 year niece. The play by play was provided by Al Trautwig who clearly made a deal with the devil for his cushy job with the Yes Network in New York City and appearing on 'The Contender' was his payback. Unfortunately when the fight was over so was the series. NHL hockey games in Alabama have gotten higher ratings then 'The Contender' so NBC announced that they will not pick up the series next year. 'The Contender'....it was great while it lasted.
- I was going to write about the Preakness Stakes but it's a little dated now. Everyone knows the result of the race and about Afleet Alex's amazing performance. I'll just make five observations. 1.) I'm starting to think I may be getting a little too old for some of these college events. For those that don't know the infield of Pimlico during the Preakness has a lot of 'Girls Gone Wild' type activities going on. I had a lot kids asking me how to bet, how much certain bets cost, etc. I felt like I should have been smoking a cigar and wearing a visor. So at the age of 34, I think I may have attended my last college age activity. 2.) Even after all these years Camden Yards is still the best stadium in all of sports. 3.) We saw ESPN's Kenny Mayne in Baltimore. He's taller then you think (approx. 6'2"). We also saw comedian Ralphie May who's just as fat as you think. Easy 4 bills. 4.) I saw the t-shirt of the century while at Pimlico. It said "I'd Rather Have A Daughter In A Whore House Than A Son On The Yankees". Amen brother. 5.) And lastly, I thought I was going to projectile vomit the 17 Coor's Lights I drank on the Pimlico infield while watching the interviews with Afleet Alex's trainer Tim Ritchy and all his owners kissing jockey Jeremy Rose's ass for his incredible performance at the Preakness. Hello? Am I the only one that remembers that they all fired Jeremy Rose because, even though he was on Alex for every dime he ever won (EVERY DIME!!), they all thought a Hall of Fame jockey was more appropriate. So they changed jockeys for the Rebel Stakes to some other dude (I forget his name) who promptly finished last. Then they rehired Jeremy Rose to ride Alex in the Arkansas Derby which he won. Then, as late as three days before the Kentucky Derby, Tim Ritchy was still thinking of changing jockeys. So remember that when you see Afleet Alex's owners groveling over Jeremy Rose. It would have been great if Rose told them all to bleep off right before the Kentucky Derby but there's just too much money at stake.
- Bada Boom Racing Stables has a new member. His name is Velocious and he's a 4 year old colt. He won't be running for a few weeks because after we got him our trainer made a quick observation....he's too fat. So he'll be working out on the farm for a few weeks before he runs again. His stable mate, Clemente, ran yesterday. It was a 6 furlong race on the dirt. The pilot was Rodrigo Madrigal Jr. This was the first time we ever used him, the reason was Rod breezed Clemente last week and showed interest in riding him. So what the hell, nothing else is working, give it a shot. Rodrigo is an interesting guy. No lie, he's 5'10" yet he still weighs less then 121 lbs. How does he do it? Well....I don't know. I'm not sure I wanna know. So Rod was given specific instructions to get Clemente to the front of the pack as soon as possible. When the race started Rod was on the whip immediately, the first time I ever saw that, but it was effective because Clemente was close to the front almost immediately. As the race wore on I was afraid Clemente would tire out, which he did slightly, but he finished a solid third. It wasn't a win but he did beat some high quality horses. It's a start. Maybe this will help him to get his act together and run some better races. A turf race is next for Clemente. I'll keep you all posted.
- I have never seen a TV show so nails on a black board bad as 'Chaotic', the reality show with Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. This show should be viewed like a solar eclipse; wearing dark sunglasses and looking behind a piece of cardboard with a small hole cut in it. Full exposure to this TV show could cause blindness. 'Chaotic' is like watching a car crash, train crash, plane crash, all combined with watching Kelsey Grammer fall off a Disney World stage (DOWN GOES FRASIER!!)....I mean you don't want to look but you just can't look away. What is the world record for a person going from the biggest star in all of show business to the lower left booth on Hollywood Squares? It's career suicide with a video camera being used as the instrument of death. This show should be renamed "Hey Look At Me!!! I'm A Hillbilly!!" and the opening credits should feature Britney blowing into a moonshine jug with XXX written on the side. What was Britney's thought process "you know, 98% of the population of the world thinks I'm a blithering idiot. I need to win over that last 2%. I know...I'LL PUT OUT A REALITY SHOW!!! YEAH!!!" OK, that's out of my system. In short 'Chaotic' is just the home movies of Britney Spears and, at the time, boyfriend Kevin Federline. Federline became Britney's husband in the not so distant past after agreeing to sign a pre-nuptial agreement that reports say was 17 times the size of the Treaty of Versailles. Anyway, the show follows the travels of the happy couple as they traipse through Britney's tour of Europe. The entire show is pretty much dedicated to drivel so inane that it needs to be educated exponentially to rise to the level of asinine. This show begs the question "what did they leave on the cutting room floor?" This is not a joke..while listening to Kevin and Britney exchange quips about love, commitment, and marriage I could feel some of my brain cells committing harey karey. In closing, this show should be buried in a salt mine, under 25 feet of lead, for 10,000 years a la nuclear waste.
Comments? Mailbag?
saurinmeht@aol.com
dsura@peacehealth.org
ewwasser@hotmail.com
posted by Monday Morning Mehta at 10:04 AM
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