Monday, January 05, 2009

Misc.

My final rankings for college football:

1 - Utah
2 - USC
3 - Texas (if they beat Ohio State)
4 - Winner of Florida/Oklahoma

Arguing final rankings are lame - I wish we had a final 8 Playoff, or a BCS plus 1 type system.

--------------------

I know it'll get better once pre-season gets going, but I though the debut of the MLB network was rather lame compared to what we get on the YES network.

--------------------

Giants start the defense of their championship with a tough match up with Philly. . . who do the Patriots have this week??

23 comments:

Crash said...

College football was so anti-climatic this year. I honestly didn't even realize the BCS games were going on...except for the Rose Bowl. Fact is we will not see a playoff system anytime soon, so final rankings will always be debatable and deserve discussion. In my opinion USC is hands down the #1 team in the country. The winner of Florida/Oklahoma is probably #2, if Texas beats Ohio State (which they should by about 4 TDs) they would be #3, with Utah #4. If Ohio State pulls an upset Utah goes to #3. I think too much is being put into the Utah win over an unmotivated Alabama team. They had nothing to play for after the loss to Florida in the SEC Championship. They knew their season was over and didn't care about playing Utah.

Everyone seems to be jumping on the Eagles wagon this week. I think the Giants will take them to the woodshed. This game will not even be close. A healthy fresh Jacobs will pound the ball into that defense, setting up Eli with play action pass. The defense with a week off will be refreshed, Westbrook will be held in check and McNabb will feel pressure all day.

I believe pitchers and catchers report February 15th. The talks for Manny and the rest of the big FA should heat up. I would be shocked if Pettitte isn't back in pinstripes by the end of this week. I keep seeing Oliver Perez mentioned but can't understand it. If he struggled in the NL (mediocre with the Mets and Pirates) how could he possibly succeed in the AL East??? Don't be surprised if the Yankees move Matsui and another OF before spring training. If they can move 2 OF quick, don't be surprised if they make a late entry for Manny.

The Mets still need pitching help. If they whiff on Lowe they better grab Sheets because it goes down hill pretty quick after that.

old professor said...

Mid, after watching Utah dismantle Alabama in the first seven minutes of the Sugar Bowl. I can't argue with the idea they should get consideration for number 1. They are the only 13-0 Team. The speed and quickness of their defense had Alabama off balance all game long. Defensively Alabama had difficulty containing the no huddle uptempo offense. Odd when they went up 21-0 Utah seemed to relax a bid.

The Scooter said...

Wake me when the bowl games are over.

Milton Bradley to the Cubs and Pat The Bat to the Rays...another big YAWN.

Anna Benson Rocks...and the Mets just about had her tarred and feathered and banished out of NY. And they have been choking (as Cole Hammels might say) ever since. Maybe their inability to win a big game is the ANNA BENSON CURSE!!

57 said...

Every year, the one thing that makes me very happy during bowl season is if, and when, Ohio State struts into a bowl game and then crawls out as they did last night when they had a TERRIBLE defense called when Colt McCoy torched them for the final touchdown drive with seconds remaining. I can't be happier when I see Ohio State and Michigan lose. I HATE the Big Ten about as much as I hate the PAC-10.

Fire Minaya if they can't bag Lowe or Sheets.

The Anna Benson Curse! Scooter, you might be on to something. The tarred and feathered visual got me a little excited....

Giants (which is Scooter's team of the week) beat the Eagles (by 2), Ravens PUNISH the Titans, Pittsburgh beats SD (12-11) and Carolina pisses all over the Cardinals. Giants beat Carolina, Pittsburgh beats Ravens. G-Men beat Pittsburgh in a BLUE COLLAR Super Bowl!! There will be 180 rushing attempts in that game between both teams.

Go Florida! Tebow got ROBBED in the Heisman voting.

I think the Yankees are the Dallas Cowboys of MLB. A TON of talent, but no team concept. Watch.

Crash said...

After that performance last night by Texas there is no way they can cry about the national title. They were behind most of the game to the second best team in the Big Ten, while USC pasted the best team in the Big Ten. With that performance Texas may have seen Utah jump them in the final AP poll.

57 I like your NFL picks, and agree completely that Teabow deserved the Heisman. Florida takes the National Title and exposes the Big 12 for the frauds they really were the entire season. The SEC is the best conference in major college football (not a knock on the Empire 8 and SJF).

Giambi is heading back to BALCO...I mean Oakland as he nears a contract with Oakland. Pettitte rejects Yankee offer. I still think he's landing in Pinstripes, maybe 1 year deal at $12MM with some incentives to get him close to $15 or $16MM.

Teixeira press conference set for 1 pm.

old professor said...

Crash, consider the following scenario - Texas was ranked number one for a portion of the season, they are currently #3. If Oklahoma beats Florida, the Sooners become #1 and the Gators probably drop to #3 with Texas going to #2. Texas did beat Oklahoma and would have a legit claim at being #1.

Yankees lose one of their free agent signings for 50 games. Mitre took an over the counter supplement purchased at GNC which apparently had traices of a banned substance in it. He accepts the punishment and inicated he is responsible for what he puts in his body. Pettitte rejects the $10 million offer from Yankees. I can't see anyone offering him more. Goodbye Andy enjoy retirement.

The Scooter said...

"Big Game Bob" has his Sooners all pumped up and OK wins the National Championship Game going away. I say 44-17.

57 I like your NFL picks too, although I think the Giants win by 10 and the Ravens beat the Steelers in the AFC Champ game. You still will have your blue collar super bowl and the Giants ride Earth Wind and Fire to the "REPEAT". And by the way...say what you will, but the Giants have ALWAYS been my number 1 team.

Pettitte to the Dodgers. One year 13 Mil with an option.

If the Red Sox curse was the Curse of the Bambino...the Mets curse will now forever be known as the "Curse of the BamBimbo"

Crash said...

Teixeira looks good in the pinstripes. He appeared to be very genuine. Most of the guys that go up there on stage at these press conferences are smiling because of the pay check they're about to get. I didn't get that sense with Teixeira. He seemed to be very excited about NY, the Yankees, and winning. If he brings half that enthusiasm to the ballpark and clubhouse, the Yankees made a great signing.

Crash said...

Indians have signed Carl Pavano to a 1 year deal. $1.5MM guaranteed, with another $5.3MM in incentives.

Yankees signed Jason Johnson to a minor league deal and is expected to compete with Hughes and Aceves for the #5 spot. He spent most of his time in Baltimore and was only won 10 games twice.

The Shelley Duncan infatuation ended last year and the relationship is officially over. He has been designated for assignment. The Yankees should have traded him (and Kennedy and Melky) when they had a chance.

We've discussed a couple times how the Yankees missed the trade market on those guys. But we didn't give credit to Cashman for the move he and the Yankees didn't make. Namely NOT, offering arbitration to Abreu and Pettitte. Both would have been highly overpaid through the arbitration process, especially in light of the Pat Burrell signing and the Mets initial offer to Lowe.

This may sound ridiculous in light of the $400+ million spent this offseason, but the Yankees were smart and saved money in those 2 cases.

57 said...

Prediction: CC Sabathia 15-10; Johan Santana 21-5... and Cashman will get fired because of it. You had your chance to get him and you rode the Hughes and Kennedy train.

Scooter, love the "BamBimbo"; trademark it and send it to Vaccaro and Lupica (Keith Hernandez will love that to). And of course the Giants are your team, that is of course they lose to Philly and you'll find some coach or player on a remaining team that had some Parcells connection in the past/present and they'll become your favorite team of all time.

Can't wait to attend a game at Citi field next year. Maybe I can catch a shirt during the 7th inning stretch....ahh, the memories.

Favorite word of 2008.. "Mis-remembered"

Crash, please elaborate on how the Yankees "saved" money by spending 400 million?? That's like saying Lehman Brothers saved money by going bankrupt.

Crash said...

In this instance I was referring to the $ saved by the Yankees by not offering arbitration to 2 veterans. If the Yankees offered arbitration to Abreu and Pettitte they most certainly would have accepted. The arbitrator would not rule in favor of a pay cut based on the players performances. So both of those guys would have been given at least $16MM each. Both players will be lucky to get $10MM on the open market.

Further evidence of saving is that the Yankees are in fact $21MM under last years payroll. Some are speculating about the possibility of trading Damon or Matsui..that would be another $13MM saved.

Coincidentally those amounts are approximately what Manny and Pettitte would probably accept.

Crash said...

Yankees have signed Angel Berroa to a minor league deal and the Reds have inquired to the availability of Xavier Nady.

Crash said...

Some transaction news happened late last night...

Red Sox appear to be very close to signing both Rocco Baldelli and John Smoltz. Some are speculating that the addition of Smoltz would allow the Red Sox to trade a young stud pitcher for a big bat to protect David Ortiz in the line-up.

Trevor Hoffman will make a decision sometime today, either the Dodgers or Brewers. Both have similar deals on the table $4-5MM for this year option for next year.

Lastly the Yankees are taking trade offers for Swisher and Nady. Matsui is apparently virtually impossible to trade because he's coming off knee surgeries and the amount of money owed. The Yankees will not be trading Johnny Damon, despite the apparent defensive liability the Yankees want/need him in the lead-off spot.

old professor said...

Can someone please explain to me why the Yankees seem so willing to unload Nady, when he will provide a .300 average to the lineup. In addition, I believe he will still be arbitration eligible so his $$ will be a lot less than bringing in some costly free agent. The team also signed a free agent outfielder to a minor league contract. Let's see the logic in this: sign some guy who played two years with St. Louis and claim he will give them depth for the remaining outfielders and trade Nady a proven professional. Yep that makes sense.

If there is concern about the number of outfielders on the team, send Mekly back to the minors keep Gardner as your backup with Nady in Rightfield. Right now, there is no guarantee that Matsui will be able to play consistently in the outfield and he is penciled in as the DH. Bottom line, they don't need to trade Nady. Keeping Swisher is the gamble - he hit .219 last year. He is the piece that is excess right now.

Crash said...

I can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with you Old Prof. Nady has proven he can play in NY, he's consistent both at the plate and in the field, his defense isn't a liability, he provides an offensive boost in the bottom thrid of your line-up and he's reasonably priced. Simply put trading Nady hurts the team. Unless you're getting a young player like a Chad Billinsgley type, you can't make your team better. I don't see a team willing to give up that type of player for him. Could a package of say Kennedy, Aceves/Coke, and Nady be made for Peavy??? (sorry couldn't resist)

I think the club really wants to trade Matsui and his $13MM, but a couple knee surgeries on an aging expensive veteran I guess diminishes your trade value.

Crash said...

Brewers agree to terms with Hoffman. One year deal with option for 2010.

Crash said...

57 it looks like the Mets made a contract offer to Tim Redding. I was looking over his stats and somehow missed his Yankee career, in 2005: 1 GS, 1 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 6 ER...ERA as a Yankee 54.00 with a WHIP of 8.00...ouch!!!

He's very much like Jason Johnson, who the Yankees signed to a minor league deal earlier this week. Redding has won 10 games only twice in his career, has a career ERA around 5.00. Not sure why the Mets would offer this guy a contract and have yet to make a serious offer to Lowe, Perez, Sheets, Garland, etc. I hope the offer was less than $5MM...that's what the Red Sox got Smoltz for.

old professor said...

A banner day, Crash agrees with me. The signing of Johnson to a minor league contract is standard operating business for the Yankees. He will be on the minor league roster for a few months and if he proves himself could be back in the majors should an injury occur or if he has an opt out clause. Similar to Scott Strickland last year - though Strickland put the whole year in at AAA and is now sitting home waiting for the phone to ring.

I believe and outfield of Nady in left, Swisher in right and Damon in center with Gardner used to rest one of those three or as a late game defensive replacement would make more sense for the Yankees then trading Nady. This alignment presumes Cabrera goes back to the minors.

Too bad about Shelly Duncan being designated for assignment. The kid did everything he was ever asked to do. I believe that dumped the wrong Duncan. It should have been Eric Duncan who the team has no place for and who has proven to be a waste of a #1 pick.

The Scooter said...

I think all things being equal, the Yankees would rather not part with Nady. But remember that they lost a lot of draft pics with the free agents they signed, and if trading him could bring back a couple mid tier prospects, who knows if one of them wont turn out to be a player.

I think they also believe (and in my opinion, rightfully so) that Nady's game has peaked. He will certainly get a raise in arbitration and if the reports are correct, the Steinbrenner's OK'ed the acquisition of Tex based on Cashman telling them that they could shed salary in other places.

Or maybe they're clearing room for a run at Manny..Now THAT would be great.

You know I'm not into college football, but I of course watched the game last night. I have one thing to say...Tim Tebow is a MAN! He's like Brandon Jacobs playing quarterback. I realize that his game probably won't transfer well to the pro level, but it sure is fun to watch him running over linebackers and absolutely crushing DB's in college.

Crash said...

I keep reading reports, from multiple sources, that Nady is all but done in pinstripes. The Yankees continue to field calls about both Swisher and Nady, but they would prefer to trade Nady and keep Swisher. Swisher offers more versatility and is under contract longer. I didn't realize Nady is a Boras client. So there is no chance he would sign an extension this year. The Yankees should maximize their return and trade him now.

The market for Derek Lowe is dwindling and the market for Oliver Perez is near nonexistent.

I only watched about 5 minutes of the BSC (that's the Bull Sh*t Championship). If Teabow is smart he stays for his senior year. Unfortunately he does not translate to the NFL at all, at least as a QB. Maybe a safety?

Florida deserves the #1 ranking. How can they not be when they beat the last two #1 schools on neutral fields in consecutive games (Alabama and OU). Good for the voters to put Utah 2nd, I still believe USC is the best team in the country.

Crash said...

Can we talk NFL Playoffs for a moment.

I am completely jacked up about the Giants/Eagles game this Sunday. I'm not sure why, maybe it's because Brandon Jacobs appears healthy and ready to run like a Mac truck through the entire Eagles defense. Maybe it's because the Giants Defense seems ready for Westbrook. Maybe becuase Eli has had sufficient time to prepare for the blitz schemes of Phili. Whatever the reason I can't wait for 1pm Sunday afternoon.

Picks
Titans beat Ravens, should be a good game.
Steelers destroy Chargers, almost to the point of noncompetitive.
Cardinals upset Panthers, upset city baby.
Giants dismantle Eagles

57 said...

Well, I was at the Panthers/Cards game.. boorrrrinng. Good call on that game Crash.

Are you kidding me with the Giants game? Eli's 'woe is me' look returned as the G-men looked pathetic at best and they need a BIG time receiver that wont accidentally misplace a bullet in his leg. Plax let his team down in a BIG way. Let's face it, they really missed him... love him or hate him.. they missed him. They need a big time wideout for next year that has good character.

The Cards and Philly? REALLY? Game of the YEAR will be in Pittsburgh; that game is what all football fans look for.

Mets in '09.

The Scooter said...

Now that the football season is over when is Pitchers and Catchers?

Support the Troops