Save whales, not pitchers.

PROTECTING PITCHERS MUST BE A PRIORITY. 

After Alex Cobb becomes latest victim, it’s time for MLB to act before it’s too late. 

I would love to sit here and pontificate about how Major League Baseball needs to do something drastic — and soon — to ensure that pitchers are finally safe from ill-fated line drives through the box. It would be wonderful to never again endure the anxious, gut-churning moments that accompany a fallen pitcher being carried from the field, and waiting for him to flash a “thumbs up” sign to let the crowd know that he’s conscious and in good spirits. That’s from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.

Well in that case, let me spring into action. 

How can we protect the pitcher?

- Use the batting practice pitching net

- Pitchers deliver then curl into a ball

- If you hit a pitcher with a line drive you automatically get three outs even if it carries into the next inning AND the batter is ejected

- The pitcher wear a lacross, hockey or Darth Vader type helmet

- Move the mound back to 70 feet 7 inches

- No more pitchers, batters hit off a tee or throw it up to themselves fungo stye

- Pitchers get to use an oversized, clown glove

- Immediately after the ball is released the pitcher is transported to a safe area in the field

- As soon as the ball is released an invisibly force field rises from the front of the mound.

 

Back to reality now?

 

There’s no convenient, or maybe even ANY way of protecting pitchers without making them feel grossly uncomfortable and inhibiting their efforts. 

 

From Brandon McCarthy, who took a liner drive to the head late last year and as recently as last week suffered a seizure that was caused by that 9 month old blow. 

 

“It’s not very good at all,” McCarthy said in March. “Until the products are better, it’s going to be slow-moving. I guess there are some entrepreneurs — guys in the basement who are really putting them together — and that’s kind of where my hope lies. I’m hoping it’s someone who’s hungry and wants to fill this gap. I don’t even care if it’s MLB-approved. I just want it to be functionally approved by me.”

 

I was never a good, or willing, math student beyond algebra and most of what I learned, I’ve long forgotten, but I’ll give this a try.

 

I averaged out the amount of pitches of eight (of 15, I thought that was enough of a sample size) games on Saturday, the day Cobb was lasered. There were 2,404 pitches thrown which comes out to about 300.5 per game. Are you willing take that as the rough median for a game? 

 

Now we can compute this one of a few ways, all of which will make a mockery of my math skills.

 

Cobb got hit by one of those 300 pitches. His chances of that occurring were…?

 

.003%

 

As far as I, and Google, know only Cobb was hit in the ear (that’s key if you’re going to invent a type of protection, it’ll have to go around the head) this past Saturday. 

 

300 pitches times 15 is 4500. That many pitches were thrown and ONE pitcher took one to the head. 

 

JA Happ, amazingly also at Tropicana Field (See! The Rays need a new stadium or PITCHERS WILL DIE), took a liner as Cobb did way back on May 7th. Should I multiple 300 times the amount of games played over the last six weeks?

 

 

Didn’t think so. 

 

In the immediate, panic driven moment of ‘WE MUST PROTECT THE PITCHER’ one, there’s no definitive way to do that and two, perhaps this just the cost of doing business in Major League Baseball. 

Stop Walking. Swing The Bat.

.I’ve often had very heated luke warm temperatured dialogue with sports enthusiasts that believed under no circumstances should an MLB hitter ever swing at the first pitch. Ever. 

Ridiculous I say. 

Often, at the center of the discussion was the Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins; who was notorious for first pitch swinging.

My argument was, and after reading what I’m about to share with you, and still is, that if you see YOUR pitch as the first in the at bat…then swing. In fact, if you see your pitch, in your zone, where you know you can tag it…then swing. 

My qualm with Rollins all his years as a Phillie wasn’t that he swung at the first pitch – it’s that he didn’t execute it. If it’s your pitch, then you’re in command to hit that thing on the screws, hopefully for extra bases, or over a wall.  

Another reason to go after that pitch you deem as yours early in the count? With today’s hurlers armed with loads of data about hitter strengths and weaknesses, and add to that their precise control, that pitch may be the only hittable pitch during your at bat. Wanna put the ball in play with a later pitch? Fine, then you’re likely at the mercy of a pitcher’s pitch, or being forced to leave the zone to avoid the umpire deciding your fate with the bat on your shoulder. 

Remember, what’s now been a decade ago, when it was common for Barry Bonds to get one or NO pitches in a plate appearances to his liking to drive somewhere? That’s most situations these days, even for the most puny of hitters. Pitchers are just too darn good. 

A final rumination of mine on this before I share the SI.com Verducci article; it’s common for lineups to work counts to get to the bullpen these days, no?

In fact, I heard that thought just last night watching the Rays and Yankees game. The Rays broadcast duo, who I think are among the best in MLB, suggested that Tampa wasn’t being diligent enough about exhausting Phil Hughes to get to the Yankee bullpen.

Think about that…while Hughes had has moments of success in his career, he came into the game with ERA of 5. Sure, Hughes was pitching well, but why on earth would you want him OUT of the game, unless it was because he’d already been tagged for 5 or 6 runs?! *Disclosure: the Yankees bullpen this morning sports a 4.98 ERA, but I stand behind my point, because the broadcasters’ comment was a fairly general and prevalent MLB thought*

The thinking prevails, in my mind, for most teams around the league. This isn’t ten years ago where a couple of MLB’s exceptional teams could shorten a game to six innings with an electric bullpen to back up a starter. (in ’12 22 MLB bullpens avg 8 K’s per 9 IP). That’s now the majority of teams in the league. Congrats, you wore out the mediocre starter, now here come the relievers who’ll match you up, or just throw 98 with unhittable movement. 

Working the count…why do it?

The Verducci article…

Welcome to the state of the art in hitting these days, where aggressiveness is disdained and passivity is exalted. The modern hitter is guided by the accepted wisdom in catchphrases such as “driving up pitch counts,” “taking pitches” and “quality at-bats.” There is one serious flaw in this groupthink strategy.

It isn’t working.

Hitters are striking out more than ever before in baseball history while runs, walks, hits and home runs have been on the decline for years. And while teams still preach the religion of driving up pitch counts to “get into the bullpen” of the other team, they may be pushing an outdated agenda. So fortified are major league bullpens these days, especially with hard throwers, that last year relievers posted an ERA more than half a run lower than starters and averaged almost one strikeout for every inning.

Stop Being An Idiot Royce.

Royce Fucking White.

It’s been some time since I’ve been this pissed off. If you keep reading, you’ll learn why my temper and emotions are in check.

Though I risk coming off like the athlete I’d like to eviscerate, I think there’s going to be a lot of expletives in this post. A post which will likely lack my usual attempts at eloquence and high mindedness.

But White’s stance on mental illness has me fucking irate.

Typically what sets off us mentally ill (resume forthcoming) people is the failure of those to acknowledge the existence of such debilatiating illnesses and diseases at all. “Ohhh, cheer up! There’s nothing wrong with you.”

Actually, asshole there is.

You just nailed an interview at your job for a promotion you’re absolutely certain you’ve got the tenure and talent to earn. But, office politics got in the way and you’re stuck where you’re at, and someone far less qualified got the salary hike you were expecting.

You’re a bit angry. You’re confused. You’re down. You’re depressed.

Someone close to you dies. You grieve. You’re depressed.

Unless you’re completely robotic, this is a totally natural feeling for a human being. When bad things happen in your life, it’s perfectly acceptable to feel like shit.

For me though, when I’m depressed, it’s usually caused by the very un-fun half of bipolar. That’s depression. (Mania is exciting and productive…my creativity is ratched up to warp speed.)

There’s really no rhyme or reason as to why I don’t feel like getting out of bed, and when I do…as soon as I get out of the shower, I’m counting the minutes until I can get back into bed and fall asleep so I don’t have to struggle with existence. Getting one too many emails in a short period of time or being needed for something when I didn’t count on it, and all of the sudden a minor deviation from my day feels like the world is tugging the limbs from my sockets and each minute task is like trying to climb a mountain. Mundane challenges are unimaginably unmanageable. Everything is a chose. Life…is an inconvenience.

When you’re depressed, enjoying time with friends is often the perfect remedy. When my depression sets in I don’t want to be around a single living creature besides my dog. And if he asks to go out when I don’t feel like taking him, well the fucks and shits will fly.

When my depression consumes me, I could be offered a blank check with a private plane with the woman of my dreams yet a cloud of indecision and uncertainty would hover over me. That’s my depression’s definition of hopelessness, another shitty symptom of the worse half of being bipolar. “Heyyyyyy, you just won the lottery!” Sorry. Don’t fucking care.

A couple of years ago I went through the machinations of how I’d kill myself. I think the most prevailing thought was, “if I stab myself in the stomach, how long will it take me to bleed out and die?” I didn’t have the balls to buy a gun. The other harrowing thought I’ll never forget was driving on 22 while living in Allentown, talking to my dad on the phone and in my rage of hopelessness saying something to the effect of ‘dad, I don’t care if my car runs into this wall on the road…’

One day I should ask him how he felt at that moment. Hopefully he’s erased such a chilling thought from his memory, but I doubt it. They say burying a child is torturous. What’s to describe a son ready welcoming death, as a reprieve.

There’s a good portion of the resume of feelings and my brain. Am I aptly experienced to tell Royce White he’s a fucking idiot and his words and actions are doing far more harm than good when it comes to raising awareness about the serious dangers of mental illnesses?

A short background on Royce White.

He’s got some mental illness. It’s an anxiety disorder, about travelling. Without it, he probably would’ve been a top five NBA draft pick. Instead he was 16th overall by the Houston Rockets, who, in my opinion had no idea what they were getting themselves into by drafting a player who was so vocal about his illness and need for help and constant support.

Over the course of their dispute, both sides have made their share of mistakes, but to me, the Rockets look like a babysitter who said ‘sure’ to the easy Friday night money, not understanding they were getting the spawn of the devil. Seriously, White has been at points, petulent.

The Rockets general manager, Daryl Morey has a modest reputation of being the Billy Beane of the NBA, though without the wins. I’m probably over-generalizing here, but those metrics he fancies are extremely linear. Handling someone like Royce White is anything but. If the Rockets are linear thinkers, then White is Einstein’s concepts on the space-time continuum.

If you go to White’s ESPN stat page, you’ll notice something missing. Stats. He hasn’t played yet because of his conflict with the Rockets. You can look up the details on your own, but it’s basically about how he thinks the team should handle his illness. It’s messy, and again, I think the Rockets didn’t practice enough due diligence on White before drafting him.

I thought White would eventually make it onto the court as a Rocket. Maybe not right away, as he gradually adjusted to the travel heavy disjointedness of the NBA schedule and the Rockets perused which ways they could peacefully concede to compromises dealing with White’s illness.

White has become defiant. He’s become an asshole. He making people like me look really bad and I don’t appreciate it.

After reading Chuck Klosterman’s Grantland piece on his meeting with White I’m angry.

I’m an advocate for mental health. It’s a problem in society, though it’s not the plague White would have you believe.

OK, just so I get this right: You’re arguing that most Americans have a mental illness.

Exactly. That’s definitely correct.

Royce, some people, actually…a lot of people just have shitty jobs, or shitty relationships. They’re not clinically depressed, nor suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder. Though as much as Royce is kind’ve underdiagnosing mentall illness, I do think some medical professional OVERdiagnose mental ailments. Being depressed gets treated with drugs, instead of ‘hey, get a hobby, or have more sex.’ Those doctor’s are killing a fly with a bazooka. Their motives? Ehh.

The truth is that mental illness is a moving target when it comes to diagnoses.

When you rip up a knee, there’s an MRI that says, yea, you might wanna tweet Adrian Peterson and ask him for some post-surgery rehab exercises. The tear is concise, visual and conclusive.

It’s anything but those adjectives when trying to decipher a chemical imbalance – you may have – that leads to mental disease. There’s no brain scan, there’s no X-ray. You just have to describe your feelings and thoughts and hope to whoever-you-believe-in that you’ve got a psychological or psychiatrist who can successfully provide you a solution, whether it’s meditation or cognitive therapy or go through the rigors of trial/test of finding the proper medication to keep you balanced.

And after reading that article, Royce White is anything but balanced. He’s erratic and spastic. His rantings reinforce the stereotypes and allow those who don’t fully understand mental illness to recklessly toss around the words like nut, lunatic and crazy. In his current condition, I think Royce is all of those.

To deviate for a moment, I loathe when the topic of mental instability is only broached when there’s some type of heinous murderous tragedy. The common person can’t always identify a mentally unstable person, and they’re certainly not going to say, ‘yep, that person’s locked and loaded and ready to bring a parade of terror.’ But we can be more observant and better listeners to those close to us. Just as Brady Quinn suggested after the Jovan Belcher murder/suicide.

“The one thing people can hopefully try to take away, I guess, is the relationships they have with people,” Quinn said after the Chiefs beat the Panthers 27-21 for their second victory of the season. “I know when it happened, I was sitting and, in my head, thinking what I could have done differently. When you ask someone how they are doing, do you really mean it? When you answer someone back how you are doing, are you really telling the truth?

“We live in a society of social networks, with Twitter pages and Facebook, and that’s fine, but we have contact with our work associates, our family, our friends, and it seems like half the time we are more preoccupied with our phone and other things going on instead of the actual relationships that we have right in front of us. Hopefully, people can learn from this and try to actually help if someone is battling something deeper on the inside than what they are revealing on a day-to-day basis.”

I’m not suggesting you need to play psychologist and overanalyze everyone’s effortless response of ‘OK,’ to a greeting of ‘how are you?’ But, if it’s a friend…be just that to them if your spider senses tingle.

Back to White, who I’m not saying is about to commit some horror, instead he’s just seemingly trying to turn himself into a living, but worthless martyr. From Klosterman, White’s language is intense and discursive. Though usually well delivered, his statements toggle between progressive common sense and difficult-to-decipher, contradictory aphorisms.

I don’t know what White sounds like, nor have I ever heard him interviewed. I’ve followed the back and forth between he and the Rockets, and after reading the article, I’ve flushed away any sympathy I once had for White.

You know, this is turning out to be quite a lucid post. Agree? Any idea why? I’m medicated. I use Wellbutrin. I’d tried other drugs in the past. The most recent drug use, before this go-round with Wellbutrin, was I think…in summer of 2010. I was on Abilify and Lamictal. It did the trick. No more suicidal thoughts. But then, as I needed more to sustain my stable mood I began to become so sedateddzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Sorry. No matter how much coffee I had, around three everyday I could’ve fallen asleep at my desk. I could have gone to bed before eight every night. I rarely was up past nine. I was depressed because while my mood had stabilized and some of the mental fog has lifted, I didn’t have the energy to enjoy life! I took myself off the meds but still saw a very helpful psychologist named Carol Carr, in Whitehall, PA.

2012 was a trying a year as I’ve ever had. The depression was unending. I made attempts with two psychologists, who like the Rockets, seemed out of their league trying to help me. While the suicidal thoughts were infinitesimal and of really no worry, I needed to step to the plate once again with medication. Thankfully, the Wellbutrin worked almost immediately. If I’d not been on it as I went through a job restructuring in December, and a potential career change…I honestly can’t say how despondent my mood would’ve become as a result, and what the repercussions of that might have been. I’m glad I didn’t find out. I don’t thiny my dad would’ve wanted another of those phone calls as I drove 9 hours home to Philly. That’s a lot of road to off myself in to.

So again, this has turned out to be a thoughtful 1700 words (at this point, yes I count). No? I got my ‘crazy’ taken care of. Royce White should do the same. He says he’s working with doctors. I don’t know if I believe him. If he is, then they’re the most inept crew of mental health professionals I’ve ever come across. Wait…they’re about as helpful those clowns (pun somewhat intended) trying to rehabilitate the very sick, but always escaping inmates of Arkham Asylum.

White’s consistent defiance paired with his ostentatious tone is almost like him saying, ‘see, I’m crazy and there’s a lot of us. Look at me. Look at me.’ That’s not the way to advocate for the banishment of any taboo attached to mental health problems. He’s being a fucking idiot.

Royce, get the proper medication. Live up to your physical talents on the court. Speak powerfully and coherently about your struggles. People will listen. People will educate themselves. Those afflicted will look up to you, and hopefully seek help.

If You’ve Ever Hated Your Employer…

First off, before we start dissecting statements and allegations, every NFL fan who was braced for incessant discussion about some variation of the Harbaaaugghhhhowl, needs to offer a large amount of thanks to Tim Brown for his astonishing accusation that Raiders coach Bill Callahan purposely tanked the 2002 (played in ’03) Super Bowl like it was some catty small town high school game of revenge.

If not for Brown’s statement, we’d probably have which brother wore which superhero underpants to pass this week without an NFL game.

Tim Brown (an ex-Notre Damer, who wasn’t ready to have a soon-to-be alumnus hog that Irish spotlight) has managed to keep the NFL newscycle in high gear, in what’s typically the only slow week of news around the league from training camp until the last whistle of the Super Bowl.

So again, thank you Tim. I hope you get your mustard colored sports coat.

Brown didn’t really say what I think he said, did he? His coach just hit the deck by a southpaw jab to the chin in round one in the biggest annual sporting event this side of the planet!? Just to spite the Raiders (which usually means Al Davis), and to help his friend, and opposing coach in the game, Jon Gruden?

What!?

OK, I’m not a conspiracy THEORIST, however, I do enjoy nonchalantly twisting my neck, and out of the corner of my eye, peaking up the in sky for the black helicopters. I like to investigate, I like to disprove. In other words, let me at least check this out to the means I have available. Which is in this case we head to the box scores and the stats, and review some quotes!

Brown says Callahan wanted to pound a smaller Buccaneers defense with a heavy run game led by a massive offensive line. Then at the end of the week Callahan flipped the script and said, nope, we’re gonna throw it 60 times.

Throwing it that much wasn’t out of character for the 2002 Raiders. Watching the mostly inept Raiders these days, it’s hard to imagine any Raiders team being explosive. But that unit, engineered by Rich Gannon was quite a marvel. They were second in the league in scoring (points for you if you know who led the NFL, think about your fantasy team, think a religous Sherlock), they led the league in offense and threw for twenty more yards per game than St. Louis, which was still an effective twilight for The Greatest Show on Turf.

Now that we’ve established that Raiders could definitely air it out, was it the wise strategem for the Super Bowl? One stat tells me no f^&king way. And no again. And one more no f$%king way after that. Even though the Raiders were just 18th in the league in rushing that season – so that wasn’t necessarily a strength for them – chucking the ball all over the field in the Super Bowl against the league’s number one ranked defense was extremely unwise. But perhaps the Raiders wanted to enter battle with their sharpest sword.

You recall some of the names from that Buccaneers defense, right? Warren Sapp, Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, Simeon Rice and John Lynch. That defense was nearly inpenetrable through the air, allowing barely over a field and a half – 155 yards per game. That’s thirty yards less than the Panthers who were second against the pass that season.

Could the Raiders have stayed on the ground and had success? Tampa’s defensive unit was 5th against the run, allowing 97 yards per game.

If I were to pick my poison – and I know NFL coaches and players can be moronically stubborn – I think I would’ve sat down in the electric with Raider backs Charlie Garner and Tyrone Wheatley, and hoped their bludgeoning of the Bucs defense would’ve forced the power to go out. Stay of execution. Possibly a Super Bowl victory.

OK, but now we’re getting to what I really wanted to pick through psychologically.

There’s a theory out there that the always domineering and constantly invasive Al Davis is the one who modified the game plan, not Callahan. Because of his oppressive reputation, I think that’s awfully plausible. Davis wants another Super Bowl and he wants it won HIS way.

Let’s delve into the mind of how Callahan would handle that.

If you’re Callahan and you despise your employer – we’ve all been in that position before, so think along with me – and I’m on the doorstep of having the words SUPER BOWL WINNING COACH before my name for the rest of eternity, I’m completely disregarding Davis’ orders. Maybe Callahan called on his best Daniel Kaffee ‘did you ever think the old man was just WRONG!?’ Perhaps he thought, yes. This way, I (Callahan) get to raise my middle finger to him (and what disgruntled employee doesn’t want to do that) AND I get to utilize the strategy that I think gives us the best chance to win the Super Bowl. If we win, then he can publically reprimand, then fire me for insubordination, but meanwhile, I get my choice of jobs because I suppressed my stubbornness and went with an uncharacteristic game plan to win the Super Bowl.

Go ahead. Fire me.

On the other hand, and we’re still thinking like disgruntled employees here, Davis tells Callahan, you’re gonna throw and you’re gonna a lot. End of story.

Callahan meekly says OK, and thinks to himself, this thing is gonna go down in flames Sunday evening. Which it did.

So now, Callahan is justified and has his revenge. But it’s a private feeling of delight knowing Davis’ planned aerial assault failed. And it failed miserably. New Coke all over again.

Privately Callahan is ecstatic, but even now, with Davis gone, I’d be stunned if Callahan came out and pinned the failed strategical adjustment on Davis. Davis as a pioneer in the game, even with his personality flaws, was revered after his passing. Callahan can’t come out now and smear that image. Can he? Would he? Even if it were true?

When it comes down to it, if I disliked my employer THAT much and had gasoline and a match, prepared to burn a bridge, I’m going with my coaching acumen, experience and instinct – maybe we win – and if he wants to fire me, go ahead.

Maybe I (Bill Callahan) am a Super Bowl head coach. There’s not many of those.

Defensive Ends Are Pink Elephants.

Often time I question conventional wisdom. I was that kid that brought “why” or “why not” to his adult vocabulary. I’ll be even more diligent with that practice now that I’ve started a new book called Mastermind by Maria Konnikova. It’s all about the thought process of super sleuth Sherlock Holmes. Konnikova writes “Holmes’s trick is to treat every thought, every experience and every perception the way he would a pink elephant.”

As in, “Huh? Wait. There’s no such thing. Don’t be ridiculous.”

In a similar vein, from The Dark Knight Rises, from his hospital bed Commissioner Gordon promotes Officer Blake to the rank of Detective, with the advice to question everything and be cognizant that there’s such thing as coincidence. The only coincidence is that yet again fans AKA the mob, should spend Sundays where they are now – the stadium seats. I’ll concede that certain key decison makers in the Lions organization should be there as well.

Even though we’re more than three months of free agency, potential trades and exhaustive combine and scouting drills away from the draft, seemingly everywhere you look, hear or read, Lions fans want the team to take a pass rusher with their first round pick. It’s not helping that you’ll struggle to find a mock draft that doesn’t have the Lions taking a pass rusher with the 5th overall pick.

I get it, conventional wisdom says Cliff Avril won’t get the franchise tag again (thus, giving him 120% of the previous figure, as a two-time franchise tagee), and he surely won’t allow the Lions to offer a hometown discount, so Avril is as good as gone. Lawrence Jackson is a free agent, Willie Young, whose last known whereabouts were sometime in August, is a restricted free agent and Kyle Vanden Bosch, well, he’s 35 and if you’re that age and neither productive nor the spiritual leader of a cohesive (productive) unit, then you’re probably going to be looking for work, or how to apply yourself in post-football life as months come off the calender.

It looks like the Lions will have not one but TWO openings for starting defensive ends for their 2013.

That means you’re going to spend the next three months reading up on, then talking yourself (and telling me I’m wrong) into Jarvis Jones, Bjoern Werner, Damontre Moore, or Barkevious Mingo. At this moment they are the elite passer rushers – either as DE’s or DE/OLB combos - of the draft. Don’t look them up, before April you’ll know them like brothers.

Fox Sports mock for you, CBS Sports, a little bloggy, but I enjoy reading Walter Football’s mocks as well.

This whole issue is my pink elephant. The Lions pass rushing need, specifically at 5, shouldn’t exist.

Outside of Calvin Johnson, if there’s something to be confident in about the Lions going into 2013, it’s that their defensive tackle combo of Suh and Fairley, just may be the best duo in the league. I’d written before the only thing we, as casual TV observers, can evaluate and make judgments off of when it comes to line play is sacks and penalties. That goes for both offensive and defensive lines. We are line ignoramuses.

I’ll let my favorite football scouting site do the work; fresh with their own analytical analysis, Profootballfocus…

On Suh from the Falcons game:

After registering another three hits in last night’s game Ndamukong Suh took his season total to 19. That is the most hits for any defensive tackle in the five years we have been grading NFL games. Suh has also set a career best this season with 55 pressures (8 Sk, 19 Ht, 28 Hu) and counting.

From PFF’s Pro Bowl selections:

The more conventional 4-3 DT spots are taken by a pair of young players with Gerald McCoy finally on the field and able to show the extraordinary blend of speed and power that had the Buccaneers so excited back in 2010. He has excelled with unnerving consistency against both run and pass irrespective of the players lining up across from him. He is joined by another young player putting a turbulent start to his career behind him. Ndamukong Suh may draw the headlines but Fairley has been magnificent this season putting a slow start behind him with a scintillating run of form from Week 6 onwards. If he could stop jumping offsides he would be up with McCoy challenging for a starting spot rather than seeing off the attentions of Henry Melton whose fine performances in primetime games this season have ensured that he is well known as a defensive tackle to fear in the coming seasons.

I understand that it’s difficult to offer the Lions an umpteenth leap of faith and believe that this fine interior defensive line play will continue and pray-to-God even improve, but perhaps in a naive fashion, I’ll say Suh and Fairley will play all 16 games of 2013 as disruptively as they did the final half of this past season.

I’m all for the sound and fundamental football strategy of building from the lines out, but if you’re with me on Fairley and Suh for ’13, you’re loading up your bazooka to kill the pesky fly if you believe the Lions should add ANOTHER first round player to that line.

But Eric, Avril’s had 29 sacks the last three years!

So? He was the 92nd player taken in the 2008 draft. #BREAKING – there are only 32 picks per round.

Cliff was a third round pick.

I’m not saying the Lions should completely ignore defensive end/pass rusher in April. But when the Lions have so many desperate needs on the roster, don’t waste the 5th overall pick on a unit that already offers two Pro Bowl/All Pro type of players. It requires little hardcore football knowledge, just common sense, to comprehend that if Fairley and Suh are replicating what they did in the final half of ’12, then it should be a great deal easier for whomever is on either side of them to be a disruptive pass rushing presence.

So as the unofficially, unappointed GM of the Lions what would I do at five? Before we go through the nonsense of guys getting hyped up, or hyped down, at this very moment, without the certainty of being able to trade down, unless he has some inescapable and overt weaknesses as judged by the combine and scouts, just take Dee Milliner (he SHOULD be there at 5, I think) and call it a first round.

What about the fact that the Lions probably need receivers as badly as they do defensive ends? Heading into his third fullly healthy season, it’s time for Stafford to start making his pass catchers look better than they are. Just as Aaron Rodgers did as his receivers were in and out of the lineup all year due to injuries; James Jones led the NFL in touchdown catches. Just as Andrew Luck turned Florida International’s T.Y. Hilton into an 861 yard, 7 TD weapon. Lastly, Eric Decker was a thousand yard, 13 TD receiver snagging balls from the guy with suspect neck.

Sorry Matthew, time to make chicken salad out of of chicken shit if you’re asked. And you will be asked because you’re likely getting a monster deal so the team can get some salary cap relief.

The Lions have so many free agents, such a cap quandry, and in January there are just so many variables that need to be mulled over.

However, at this very moment, with that premium second round pick the Lions have at 36 overall, or maybe I’m trying to move up, I want the best safety in the draft. Here’s Walter Football’s list of best safeties available with their projected selection. Eric Reid? Matt Elam? Someone, anyone who can put fear in receivers with big hits, yet still have ball skills to deflect and pick off passes and if it’s not too much to ask, can you come to the line of scrimmage and plug a hole every now and then. Thanks!

The secondary conundrum, at least as far as the draft is concerned, is finally a closed cased. Elementary!

Now, about those holes on the offensive line, the lack of playmakers at linebacker, a dynamic Cobb/Harvin type out of the backfield, or in the slot, at least one, but maybe two new kicking specialists…see, the Lions ‘To Do’ list is lengthy.

This was just a simple post to state my opinion that it’s mostly unnecessary for the Lions to draft a pass rusher with their 5th overall pick in April.

 

 

 

Pistons Should Be Courageous With Cousins.

I’m writing this under the assumption you’re aware of two key factors regarding Demarcus Cousins: He’s a monumental tempermental shithead and he’s one of the top five most gifted power big guys in the NBA. Since he plays for the Sacramento Kings, a team that hasn’t been competitive or relevant in the Association since the beginning part of the previous decade (Divac, Webber, Bibby & Peja vs. the Lakers), I won’t fault for you wondering which black hole, in which galaxy Demarcus Cousins had fallen into after he left Kentucky after his freshmen year. If you knew just a little about Cousins, it’s also not unreasonable for you to think that his petulent attitude got him excommunicated from the league.

For some background on his behavior just this year, Cousins had a confrontation with former Spur, turned (their) analyst Sean Elliot.

Just last week Cousins cursed out his coach and was suspended by the team.

Regardless of his immense talent, because of his juvenile attitude, Cousins’ name has always been bandied about in trade rumors. Perhaps I’m overreacting to the latest set of them, but it feels like Cousins and the Kings (who, organizationally, are nearly as dysfunctional as their on court employees) have reached a breaking point in the their tumultuous relationship.

From Marc Stein’s ESPN column…

There’s a growing sense among potential suitors that under-fire Kings general manager Geoff Petrie, who has overseen zero trips to the playoffs under five coaches in the six-plus seasons since Rick Adelman left town, would be willing to move Cousins, preferably in exchange for a dependable veteran of quality or two who could bring some instant improvement to a franchise stuck in lottery land and still plagued by an uncertain future in terms of where this team will be calling home in the long term.

And more…

Front-office sources say that Boston and Detroit, just to name two teams, have let it be known that they are highly interested if and when Cousins does become available. Rest assured there will be more.

Oh. Really. This isn’t the first time, well after the ’10 draft, that Cousins’ name has been linked to the Pistons. The first few times I scoffed at it, but not so much this time. This time I was like, ‘what the hell, let’s screw around with the NBA trade machine,’ which we’ll get to in a moment. While Sacremento is in organizational disarray (that’s fancy for clusterfuck), I’m also wary of the Pistons having the proper, stable environment from ownership, down to the coaches and players to corral Cousins’ enigmatic ways and turn him into a more reputable NBA citizen and ultimately match an All Star berth to his talent. Now that I think of it, Cousins talent and troubled ways could mimic the path of former Jail Blazer Zach Randolph. Cousins would’ve seemlessly melded into those miscreant Portland teams. Good God, he’s got some Rasheed Wallace in his DNA as well. With proper guidance and the desire to recalibrate the attitude, Cousins can also transform as Randolph did, or at least tone it down as Wallace did. Randolph, an All Star just once, as a Grizzlie, rather quietly has very ably averaged 17 and 9 with quality shooting percentages (47 FG, 77 FT) over an 11 year career.

All that said, I still wouldn’t want Cousins in Detroit. Unless…

I’m about to pour gasoline on myself and start sparking matches, but in the NBA to relocate from the lottery to the top four of the playoffs you cannot be averse to risk.

Think, what do the Pistons lack?

OK, funny guy, ‘GOOD PLAYERS’ was not the answer I wanted. They need a ruthless, give-me-the-damn-ball wing scorer. I wrote about this in early November when some suggested Memphis may want to shake some cash off the payroll if they couldn’t improve upon last year, and Rudy Gay could be one of those financial casualties.

If the Pistons want Cousins – yes, his draft classmate Monroe will have to go (I’d keep Drummond) – they should get his perplexing teammate, Tyreke Evans, in the swap as well.

The Pistons trade bait wouldn’t get the Kings into the playoffs, but the pieces they could provide are a few endearing personalities to move forward with (for when they move to Va. Beach or wherever).

Because there’s no untradeable mega contracts involved a deal wouldn’t be painfully complex, and there’s a variety of ways to bring Evans and Cousins to Detroit, depending on what the Kings desired outside of Monroe.

He may be redundant to John Salmons and Marcus Thornton, but if the Kings want Rodney Stuckey and Monroe, they got it! See, it works.

Cousins and Evans don’t have long deals and Jason Maxiell, Corey Maggette, Austin Daye, and Will Bynum have deals that expire this coming June. So if Evans doesn’t prove to be a cold blooded scoring assassin, it’s possible the Pistons could hit the reset button in the not-too-distant future.

I still have my doubts about the Pistons culture, and under Lawrence Frank and Joe Dumars, Cousins and Evans could be the same problematic malcontents they are now in Sacramento, and Detroit could wind up with yet another player-led coup d’etat on management. Oh wouldn’t THAT be fun!

Like I said though, in the NBA if you wanna – forgive such elementary language – GET GOOD, you can’t be bashful at the high rolling NBA transaction table.

I’m fairly certain I’m not the only skeptic when it comes to Brandon Knight’s long term outlook as a lead guard, but to give him the benefit of the doubt, he’s still just 21. Inconsistencies are to be a expected. To a point with him.

I’m intrigued by a rotation that looks like this after my masterful swap:

Knight
Evans
Prince
Cousins
Drummond

Key bench contributors: Maxiell, Daye, CV, Bynum, Singler

Barring an eruption from Mt. Cousins, hold on because this may sound preposterous, but in the East, that’s a team that possibly sneaks into the back of the playoffs. It would certainly be more enjoyable than the dreck the Pistons send out their now. In the NBA if you’re going suck, at least be an exciting style of suck. Right now, the only player you’d pay to watch (or accept free tix and paid parking) on the Pistons is 19, plays less than 25 minutes a night and has an offensive repertoire that’s limited to what degree of ferocity he’ll dunk with.

More on the risk factors from a preseason scout’s look at the Kings.

Cousins has all the tools. It’s amazing to see the talent he has — along with the lack of discipline he shows. It’s like he always knows better, even though he takes a lot of bad shots. He yells at the referees and doesn’t get back on defense. Look, everybody makes those mistakes sometimes, but Cousins seems to do it regularly. He looks as if he has very little control of his temper. It is sad. Whether he’s yelling at a ref or dunking on somebody and pounding his chest, he always looks like he’s miserable.

Detroiters are experienced in this type of behavior thanks to the recent assheadedness of Titus Young.

Evans has no clue how to play. He needs to be moved out of that organization. It has been a disaster because they didn’t know where to play him, which is not necessarily their fault — although we may look back and recognize that it was their fault. They tried him at the point, then at the 2, then the 3; he has never known what he was trying to be, and it has been too much on him. I definitely don’t think he’s a point guard. Maybe in the end he’s just one of those guys who doesn’t have a position and nobody knows what he really is. The only sure thing is that he needs to be in a new system away from that whole environment.

He’s not a great shooter and he’s not a great passer. He’s a guy who has played point guard most of his life, but he was a scoring point guard who was so strong that he overpowered guys. He was never really a point guard who can help you win. Maybe his best spot in the end is going to be as a sixth man, your third guard. There’s nothing wrong with that — Kevin McHale and Manu Ginobili were sixth men. He might be a Jamal Crawford type of sixth man. He’s obviously got some tools because of his size and strength and what he’s able to do with the ball at his size. But what does it tell you about Sacramento that after three years in the NBA he still doesn’t know what to do with his talent?

I’ll take the risk with Evans by leaving him at one position and saying, ‘here boy, go shoot.’

I can assure you this, the Pistons are not going to substantially improve by organically letting their young players evolve paired with lucking into one more elite college talent in the lottery. They need to be brazen. They need to risk another mutiny. They need to play with a match around gasoline and hope the match either doesn’t light or the proper authorities are nearby to hose them down.

Acquiring Cousins and Evans is just that. It could be artfully successful and get the Pistons back on the NBA map or it could be idiotic, but who cares, no one goes to the Palace anyway unless Lebron’s in town.

Does Porcello Do Coffee?

Quick, who’s going to win the American League West in 2013?

“Los Angeles, they have Hamilton, Pujols and Trout!” I’m amenable to that rather obvious choice. Texas? Their kids (Olt, Profar, Felix, Ogando) will have to help Beltre carry the load, so I envision them battling with reigning champion Oakland for second place and potentially a wild card. The safe bet though, even with the financially hamstrung Yankees and the reloading Red Sox, is that BOTH wild cards will come from the AL East. (GO RAYS!)

Next question. Who’s going to finish LAST in the West.

“Easy, Seattle.” Eh, wrong. That was your Pavlovian response, so no demerits for you. Remember, The Astros have transferred to the AL West, and since I’m as certain as Santa is jolly and heavy, you can’t name a single Astro, I think they’re the surefire bet to own last place in that division until some of their prospects, like Jonathan Singleton and Jarrad Cosart emerge as contributors. If they don’t, then maybe the Texas League is looking to expand.

If your deductive abilities have led you to predicting a fourth place finish for Seattle, then I think we’ve created a reasonable pecking order for the AL West in 2013.

If I recall correctly, the Mariners started terribly in 2012 (what else is new!?), then had a sniff (they had a big nose ) of the wild card mid-summer before ultimately finishing 19 games behind Oakland for the West and 18 games behind Wild Cards Baltimore and Texas with a 75-87 record. It’s not far fetched to think that the Mariners, who lack any significant star productivity behind Felix Hernandez, will once again see their postseason hopes evaporate somewhere around the 100 game mark.

If you’re agreeable to that forecast, then you’ll offer me the opportunity to pitch you on a potential landing spot for the Tigers Rick Porcello; who seems to be the expensive-ish odd man out of the Detroit rotation.

At this very moment – yes, roughly three solid months before Opening Day – the Tigers seem intent to go to battle with the bullpen as is, which means they could be fashioning a closer with zero Major League experience. For those unfamiliar with my tastes, I’m not very keen on that Tigers blueprint, especially when this is VERY much a World Series (WIN) or bust type of business that Mike Ilitch has underwritten.

So if I were GM-ing the Tigers, I’d call Seattle and gauge their interest in Rick Porcello. Look, in the situation the Mariners are in they may have little desire to take on a four million dollar (or so) pitcher. But, even with Safeco being shrunk a bit in ’13, perhaps they see a pitcher, in Porcello, who can thrive in their park with a sturdy defense behind him, which is what the Mariners will provide.

We have to come to terms that Porcello’s trade equity is increased substantially by finding a team that can offer him half his starts in a big park. Some of the teams housed in those stadiums don’t need another starter such as the Giants or Dodgers. San Diego probably doesn’t want the four million bucks tacked on to their payroll, perhaps the same with the Mets. Seattle seems to be a good fit. Though I won’t deny that there could be a half dozen ways to move Porcello OR even hold onto him and stash Drew Smyly away for the inevitable injuries the Tigers rotation will endure.

The Mariners traded away former closer Brandon League in the middle of last year and gave those duties to someone we’ve never heard. Seriously. I had no clue who Tom Wilhemsen was. All he did was save 29 games with an ERA of 2.50 and struck out more than a batter per inning for a team that had a nice second half after they dumped League and Ichiro. You can have that type of success when you throw 96 and have a ground ball percentage four points above league average, and limit your line drives (he’s four points above league average there too). I won’t get real SABR-y with you, but his numbers would tell that the guy’s tough to hit.

Seattle may have zero interest in giving up a quality performer such as Wilhemsen who’s not even eligible for arbitration for two more years. Though it doesn’t hurt to ask. It’s not crazy to think they couldn’t find another pitcher to replicate most of what Wilhemsen accomplished last year, and in return they receive something that’s much harder to acquire; a relatively (you’ve seen the price of starters these days, right?) inexpensive 24 year old veteran starting pitcher whose fastball velocity was up by 2 mph last year, and is deserving of his reputation as a ground ball hurler. When he’s not getting smacked around that is. That’s for the Mariners to work out though, if they were to have interest in this swap I’m proposing.

If I was too wordy, my apologies.

Porcello for Wilhemsen.

And I, I mean the Tigers finally get a cheese throwin’, veteran reliever without much wear and tear who could start the season as closer and allow Bruce Rondon to work his way into that role.

**Post posting update**

Came across this from Joel Sheehan’s (bold?) MLB predictions for 2013.

4. Surprise! Yay! — Last year, the Orioles and A’s were considered among the worst teams in baseball headed into the season, then rode strong pitching to 90-win seasons and the ALDS. This year, the team to watch is the Padres. San Diego went 42-33 in the second half last year, led by MVP candidate Chase Headley and rookies Logan Forsythe, Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal.

Grandal will miss 50 games to start the season (testosterone), but the rest of the team returns and could be bolstered by rookie raker Jedd Gyorko and a step forward by centerfielder Cameron Maybin. The real question is the pitching, which could rise or fall on the health of Andrew Cashner and Cory Luebke. There’s no parallel for the Padres in the AL — only the Mariners, if all their young pitching arrives quickly, are a potential surprise, and even that is a longshot in the deadly AL West.

OK, so maybe the Padres WOULD add Porcello to the payroll, if they think the Dodgers big spending isn’t going to buy them victories, and the Giants can’t possibly do THAT again.

You can snicker at their projected ’13 rotation here.

In a park the size of Petco, I can buy Porcello being the third best starter in that Padres rotation.

What should the Tigers get in return for this type of potential swap? Would the Tigers swallow the 7 million for a proven closer in the form of Huston Street? The arbitration eligible (but cheaper than Porcello) veteran setter upper Luke Gregerson would work as well. How that guy can throw his slider over 80% of the time and dodge elbow surgery is one of MLB’s great mysteries. He’s the anti-Zumaya.

I should’ve listened to myself. There are too many deals to speculate on revolving around Porcello for my brain matter to handle. I think that’ll be it, for now.

Diamonds Are Forever. Just Find Them.

We’ll constrict it to the Martin Mayhew regime, but many have long, and appropriately, questioned the Lions drafting acumen. Questioned is probably bathing it in sugar. Being successful in the NFL draft is an amalgamation of science, art, team philosophies, relentless preparation, and as absurd as it may sound, luck is welcome too. No team bats a thousand when it comes to what seems to be the no-brainer picks in the first round, even at the top of the round. This is a place where Mayhew has actually acquitted himself rather adroitly in drafting Stafford, Suh, Fairley and this past year Riley Reiff.

This may or may not be true, but wild Internet rumors have it that the NFL draft is actually seven rounds in length. Teams don’t hit their first pick 483 feet, circle the bases and call it a day (unless they’ve traded all their picks for say a no-doubt-about-it franchise QB). Not only are teams free to get inventive by moving up, back and diagonally towards future drafts during the seven round NFL draft, they’re also permitted to select players who may play well beyond their draft status. That’s especially needed when the word bust becomes the noun associated with your top picks.

Winning and championship teams are all built differently through varying degrees of success in the draft, a clever trade or two, luring the proper free agents, and of course having the right man in charge to bring it all together every Sunday (or Thursday, or Saturday, or Monday).

I view it very much as an apples to oranges discussion when it comes to grading drafts, and which teams ‘win’ the offseason. OK, your draft apparently sucked, but that undrafted free agent who leads the team in tackles makes up for it. OK, you had no cap room for quality scheme-fitting free agents and your draft was mediocre at best, but you’ve got a scholarly group of coaches who are getting the most out of modest talent. Point made? At the end of the day, if you want all the fruit to look alike dump it all in the blender, and see which fruit smoothie, or teams in this case, has won the most games; and they do it with regularity.

This blog post isn’t to scour through every team acquisition to create clarity as to why the Patriots are a legimate decade long dynasty, and why the Lions are decade old debacle. The results speak for themselves. And that would take an eternity, and I’m sure there’s another impending apocalypse we must brace for.

What this post is here to serve is something that’s been on my mind about the Lions for many months now. How come they don’t ever get ‘lucky’ in the draft? Where’s their 6th round stud? Where’s the undrafted guy they signed right after the draft who’s become the heartbeat of the team and possibly a local cult hero? Look, sometimes it’s just flat luck that Marques Colston, a 7th rounder from Hofstra (HOFSTRA!), turns into one of the game’s finest receivers. But, the successful teams through diligent research often create that ‘luck.’ Ben Franklin said, diligence is the mother of good luck. Good Luck is also a quarterback in Indianapolis.

Think about it. Who is that player on the Lions? Joique Bell? It took a couple organizations passing on him for the Lions to find him, even when he right under their nose, not even mileS away at Wayne State.

Think on that while you read on. This excerpt from Grantland’s NFL Pro Bowl team finally inspired me to do the research and write about this brain teaser the Lions have put before me.

Defensive Lineman: Geno Atkins, Cincinnati. The criminally underrated Atkins has 10.5 sacks on the year, the highest total for a 4-3 interior lineman since Rod Coleman had 10.5 for the Falcons in 2005. Atkins is more than his quarterback takedowns, though; he’s a force of nature on the interior who easily penetrates into the backfield and disrupts plays on a regular basis. Pretty impressive for a fourth-round pick who makes $540,000 this year.

Atkins is arguably the very best interior lineman in the game. His value is immeasurable, at least until they’ve gotta make him disgustingly rich, and likely overpaid. Ndamukong Suh’s rookie contract guaranteed him 75 times Atkins 2012 salary. To drive the stake in deeper into the chest of Lions fans, since Marvin Lewis took the reigns, the BENGALS are a far better franchise than the Lions. Most teams have been better than the Lions for forever, but the Bengals take more criticism than they deserve. Geography (in the division with two of the league’s great franchises) is their worst enemy.

Still haven’t figured out who THAT player is on the Lions, right? Maybe Cliff Avril, a third rounder? That’s a quality find. Another third round choice, DeAndre Levy? Extremely serviceable but certainly not a difference maker on the Lions defense.

I decided to go through each team’s roster and see which were capable of uncovering THAT player I was looking for. A diamond in the rough. A gem. It’d be foolish not to concede that finding one doesn’t guarantee a team anything. It’s just one of the many ways though of judging a team’s ability to bring in the right personnel, or at least the ones that can be coached up beyond their talents, and perhaps cover up for one of those busts early on, or a miss in free agency.

My filtering process was no one above the fourth round, baseline contributions of Avril/Levy, and the team had to have first dibs on giving that player a shot; except in a couple of very extraordinary cases. I also left out offensive linemen. Simply too hard to evaluate from my perspective.

Falcons have Thomas Decoud and the Cardinals have Andre Roberts. Though both third rounders.

Ravens – Dannell Ellerbee 4.5 sacks. 81 tackles. Undrafted.

Bills – Stevie Johnson 7th round, 224th overall. Probably a Pro Bowler with a better QB.

Panthers – Greg Hardy 11 sacks. 6th Rnd, 175th.

Bears – Corey Wooten 7 sacks. 4th Rnd, 109th.

Bengals – Vontaze Burfict 101 tackles undrafted. Burfict is the fix-job of the ’12 draft. Also, the aforementioned Atkins.

Browns – This was a struggle, but Buster Skrine 75 tackles 11 PDs. 5th Rnd, 137th.

Cowboys – Miles Austin. Not what he once was, but undrafted.

Broncos – For his production, I’m astonished I’d never heard of LB Wesley Woodyard. Undrafted. 105 tackles, 4 sacks, 3 INTs, 6 PDs. Wow.

Packers – Nothing. But some moon shots with Rodgers’ beneficiaries in Jones, Cobb, Nelson, Hayward as 2nd/3rd picks.

Texans – Arian Foster. Heard of him? Un-freakin-drafted.

Colts – Another tough one because the defense is putrid. So, Vick Ballard 4.1 avg behind a pathetic offensive line. 5th Rnd, 170th.

Jaguar – Don’t laugh. Leading receiver and quality deep threat Cecil Shorts 4th Rnd, 114th.

Chiefs – Justin Houston a third rounder with 10 sacks.

Dolphins – This is one of those speciality cases. I make an exception for one of the leagues most consistently dominant pass rushers, Cam Wake, discovered in the CFL.

Vikings – Brian Robison 7.5 sacks 4th Rnd, 102nd.

Patriots – Player evaluation is on a whole ‘nother level here. This could be its own post, but we’ll abide by the spirit of one player, so Aaron Hernandez 4th Rnd, 113th. He could be the best TE in the league if not for the Pats already having the the best TE in the league.

Saints – We already referenced Colston, so let’s use the undrafted Lance Moore.

Giants – This is ice cold water on 31 teams. Victor Cruz undrafted from UMass. You don’t wanna know about Bradshaw either. Two Super Bowls.

Oakland – They’re so awful at almost everything, I’ll be kind and provide two: Denarius Moore 5th Rnd, 148th and TE Brandon Myers with 72 catches and 4 TDs, 6th Rnd, 202nd.

Eagles – They’re a dumpster fire now, but in the past; Brent Celek 5th Rnd, 162nd, Trent Cole 5th Rnd, 146th and with a more succinct body of work, Bryce Brown 7th Rnd, 229th.

Steelers – Antonio Brown 6th Rnd, 195th.

Chargers – A long time target for Rivers, Malcom Floyd, undrafted.

Rams – Another specialty case because he’s the only target that’s a threat to defenses for Sam Bradford; Danny Amendola. Undrafted signed by Cowboys, though debuted for the Rams.

49ers – Because he’s one of the three best LBs in the NFL, I could’ve sneaked in third rounder Navorro Bowman, but I’ll adhere to my guidelines. Dashon Goldson 4th Rnd, 126th. 10 PDs 3 INTs. If you watch a Niners game you hear his name frequently.

Seahawks – A few choices here as well, but we’ll go with an authentic Optimus Prime, Richard Sherman 5th Rnd, 154th.

Buccaneers – No dice here.

Titans – CB Jason McCourty 6th Rnd, 203rd. 11 PDs 4 INTs.

Redskins – Alfred Morris 6th Rnd, 173rd and for good measure because I’m unfamiliar with him, Perry Riley with 112 tackles. 4th Rnd, 103rd.

My philosophy on drafts, in just about any sport, is this: while it’s impossible and totally unrealistic to be triumphant with every draft pick – and even the shrewdest teams will occasionally eye up the crosshairs on their own feet – I’m accepting of a team having a bust or two. Just be sure to put some balance into the football cosmos by unearthing a Richard Sherman or a Victor Cruz when teams have already gotten lazy and start high fiving their early picks.

To reiterate, discovering a late round or an undrafted steal doesn’t guarantee you squat. It’s simply a measure in which to evaluate a team’s personnel acumen. In this particular line of ingenuity – and so, so many others, the Lions fail.

Easily Adrian.

Without looking up any stats – though I will in a moment to the sake of thoroughness – there’s an ample list of potential NFL MVP’s.

Stop me if a name causes you to raise an eye brow.

Peyton. Brady. Ryan (meh). Von Miller. JJ (S)Watt. RG3. Aldon Smith. Rodgers. Russell Wilson…uh, oh beginning to reach. **I glanced at stats, the only player I passed over when shooting from the hip was Megatron**

I know I’m omitting one name, but since he’s the guts of this post we’ll come back to him.

I came up with nearly ten candidates for the NFL’s MVP of the 2012. I think even a modest fan can make a very good argument for each of the stars I listed. 

I’ve got this blog. I don’t have an intelligent, sabr-friendly site like FootballOutsiders or a scout savvy site such as ProFootallFocus, and I surely don’t have the access of some of the game’s finest scribes. With all that said, I wouldn’t hesitate to label myself a veritable avid and informed observer (remember, I’m too objective to be a ‘fan’) of the game. As much as anyone you’ll probably watch the sport with. For the last five years, every fall and early winter, my Sundays have been wall to wall football from 12 to 12. That doesn’t even include all the storylines that attract me during the week. Friendly conversations, dozens of articles from all degrees of league enthusiasts, and scanning the talk radio dial. Forgive me for brandishing my resume in your face.

I just wanted to remind you of my intense fervor I have for the NFL.

I can’t remember a season such as this where there have been so many extremely viable candidates for arguably the league’s most prestigous individual honor.

The MVP debate, in almost any sport, any year, usually becomes contentious at one point or another. Often it’s among just a couple of candidates though. In football it’s typically a QB or two, and maybe another player having an astonishing season.

The questionable players listed above are who, Ryan and Wilson? Calvin Johnson has ZERO shot at winning the award but that’s his team’s fault, not his. Calvin along with him may be the game’s best players. If Ryan’s Falcons finish 14-2 (@Det, vs. TB), his case deserves to be heard. Russell Wilson can almost have a Heisman type of moment if he can lead the Seahawks over the 49ers this Sunday, and then snatch the West away in Week 17; Possibly leading Seattle to an 11-5 record. Would Matt Flynn have done that? Not likely, or he would’ve seen the field long before mop up time the last two weeks, after Wilson engineered two of the most dominate team performances of the season.

As for the rest of that list, their stories tell themselves. In fact, with a few, they can submit career resumes and we can all say “oh, you did THAT again?”

Like I said, I left one name off my initial list. If you’re thinking I was dimissing Adrian Peterson, you’re quite wrong.

He’s the irrefutable MVP of the 2012 NFL season. It’s really an elementary argument as to why Peterson should be distinguished.

Peterson may or may not break Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing of 2,105 yards. In the season’s final two weeks, Peterson will face a stout Texan defense aiming to secure HFA in the AFC, and then Green Bay who’ll likely be fighting for a bye in the NFC. If Peterson’s to break the record, he’ll certainly have earned it. Though if he meets his average of 129 yards/game the next wo weeks, he’ll still fall roughly 35 yards short of Dickerson, but possible ahead of Jamal Lewis for second most yards in a season of all time. Quite an accomplishment for a guy, you probably heard (or looked it up!), who had his knee eviscerated about a year ago. Then again, as early as late summer, I’d said AD was bionic, so I had little doubt he’d be back and successful. To this level? I’m somewhat stunned. But I suppose if you’re going to call someone BIONIC, it’s probably best not to put restrictions on your expectations for them.

Oh, that elementary reason why AD is the MVP! Everyone else on that list has had help. For the quarterbacks, it’s usually a running game, a stellar wide out or a defense. I’ll spare you further details, because the point is made and this is supposed to be about Peterson.

I mean really, can you even name another Minnesota Viking? Sure you can! Christian Ponder. He of a substandard 78 quarterback rating. Ponder’s backup, Joe Webb, must be pretty lousy if he can’t get the mistake prone Ponder (top pick or not) off the field. I know we’re getting to the point where ELITE is becoming its own cliche, but whatever the antonym of elite is, well, that’s Ponder.

Hey wait, the Vikings have one of the most dynamic all purpose players in the game, Percy Harvin. You’re right. Except for that fact Harvin has only played in nine games this year, and hasn’t seen the field since the beginning of November.

You’re probably racking your brain trying to combat my argument for AD by thinking of the Vikings second best receiver. I guess that would be red zone friendly TE Kyle Rudolph and his 8 TDs out of 48 catches. Scan the Vikings stats yourself. Underwhelming is a kind adjective to describe the talent around Peterson. If Minneapolis was an island in one of those ten thousand lakes the state has (is that accurate, did someone count?) Peterson would be in complete isolation. Let’s just call AD The Bionic Omega Man. You kids look that up.

For good measure the Vikings defense is no better than mediocre. So not much help there for AD.

Vikings opponents know all Minnesota has is Peterson and he’s simply been, not unstoppable, but downright omnipotent. Coming off a horrific knee injury just adds a layer of awe to Peterson’s miraculous season.

A season that may slot him as the NFL’s all time leading rusher for a season. But also a season that should crown him MVP, regardless if it’s a .500 one team-wise, and pad his stats to potentially becoming the G(RB)OAT. Or least put him in that discourse with Barry, Emmitt and Sweetness.

 

 

 

Standing Up For The Royals.

I know the Royals have a reputation as notorious cheapskates, BUT, if they only would’ve taken my advice of dealing Alex Gordon for Cliff Lee, they wouldn’t be getting their blue and white blood spattered all over the web for dealing super prospect Wil Myers (and others) for James Shields and Wade Davis.

Wil Myers was the most productive positional player in minor league baseball last year. 37 homers, 109 RBIs, .314 average and a .987 OPS across two levels. Because the Rays, who plunder their partners in seemingly every deal (even where both teams lose), I’m certain those 2012 numbers Myers put up will be his FIRST HALF in Tampa whenever he makes his arrival. That’s. A. Joke. But since it’s the Royals, just a year or so off the Sanchez (DFA’d) for Melky (sorta won a batting title) transaction, maybe the joke’s on me.

You’re right. Myers for MVP!

I don’t get caught up in the hype of prospects like I used to. I think I got too carried away as a kid when Donruss flamboyantly tagged a player a RATED ROOKIE. As a ten year old baseball card collecting kid, in my thesaurus, RATED ROOKIE was just another way of saying Hall Of Fame. That means you Andy Benes.

Candidly, I didn’t even really buy into Trout and Harper until they consistently produced in the Majors. As decorated as Trout was in the minors, his cup of coffee as a 19 year old with the Angels in 2011, where he batted .220, didn’t offer much foresight into what the baseball-breathing planet got from him this past season. I might like to be progressive minded and enjoy all the shiny new toys, but I’ve got to have something concrete to support my excitement. Sometimes, no, maybe even often times, triumphant minor league numbers…stay there.

So, really, I don’t know what Wil Myers will be. As one of seven people outside of Florida who follow, and even cheer for the Rays, I hope Myers reaches an All Star level, and quickly.

Even if Myers doesn’t smack down his best Mike Trout impression on the AL, and he posts more typical rookie numbers (let’s say .260/18 homers/70 RBIs), I would still need some avid convincing, as the rosters stand at this moment, that the Rays aren’t the favorites in the verrrrrrrrrrry wide open AL East.

Losing Shields and Wade Davis (compliments to him for an outstanding season from the bullpen) is just not a big deal for the Rays. David Price won his FIRST (as in, more are likely) Cy Young, Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore as a top three can fairly easily go nose to nose with the Tigers top three of Verlander, Fister and Scherzer. Some combination of Chris Archer, Alex Cobb, Jeff Niemann, the newly acquired Mike Montgomery and Jake Odorizza (from the Royals), and others in Spring Training will battle to fill out the back end of the Rays rotation.

For good measure, the rebuilt infield of a healthy Longoria, Yunel Escobar, Ben Zobrist and James Loney eradicates the Rays defensive short comings from 2012.

If there’s a way the Rays fall into a catcher who isn’t an instant out, they vault past the Tigers, for me, as favorites in the American League. Of course…other transactions pending, like Josh Hamilton.

Ahhhhh, the Tigers. American League Champions. A team built to power its way through October with emphatic pitching. They’ve upgraded their outfield situation by bringing in Torii Hunter, and they’re still exploring what to do with the short stop position. Let’s not forget that the Tigers fended off the rest of the AL Central with just 88 wins.

Let’s bring the Royals back into this. They’ve got Shields and Davis in this deal, on top of having already brought in Ervin Santana and resigned Jeremy Guthrie. Not really a collection that scares you, but at least it rids them of having long time first overall draft bust, Luke Hochevar from being too close to the top of the rotation.

I, like many, thought the Royals, with their young core ready to emerge, would win more than 72 games in 2012. Billy Butler and Alex Gordon have solidified themselves and provided us with what to expect annually from them. But the kids with All Star upside, Mike Moustaskas and Eric Hosmer, struggled mightily last year. Will they get it this year? I can’t say, because I thought they’d have gotten it last year. 2013 would be an optimal time for Hosmer and Moustaskas to blossom. If not, and Myers is a legend (remember, he’s a Ray, he will be!), this deal is the Shakespearean tragedy the internet is saying it is.

The second half of this decade may have the Royals plagued with regret for having given up Myers, especially when/if James Shields can’t maintain his pristine health or leaves after 2014, but for the short term, I may be the only one in this expanse known as the Internet that believes the Royals made a clever little deal to try and briskly close the not-so-insurmountable gap between themselves and Detroit – a team who should be dreading that Greinke deal. It gets Verlander 30 million a year starting in 2015.

Yes, the Internet is obliterating the Royals today. Google it if necessary. But they’re used to it. It’s been that way before even the web existed. Another few days of poignant criticism won’t do any further damage to the Kansas City psyche. Besides, since they didn’t heed my advice to do a Lee for Gordon swap in order to keep Myers, then maybe they’ll go another uncharacteristic route I suggested.

Sign Josh Hamilton on top of this.