Parity in Baseball?

For many years now, when us sports fans thought of parity we always thought of the NFL. The NFL has been extremely unique in that aspect. Yes there are dynasties in the NFL, but its almost certain that there will be different teams in the postseason year after year. Just look at the NFC South. Over the last 4 years there has been a different division winner for every year. People attribute parody to the salary cap. The salary cap is supposed to give every team an equal opportunity to win, so teams in Jacksonville, Tennessee, Buffalo and San Diego can compete with the bigger markets. There is a salary cap in the NBA as well, but the NBA is a different animal. The NBA is a star driven league. Just look at the small market Cleveland Cavaliers and they are one of the most profitable teams in the NBA, because of Lebron. The reason the NBA is so star driven is because the players don't wear helmets or hats. The players are larger than life, literally. So teams will go over the salary cap and pay the luxury tax, just to keep their stars happy and their fans happy. In the MLB there has always been this theory that the league needs a salary cap. That theory could be further from the truth. Baseball is a game of value. Would you rather have one starting pitcher that makes $15 million per year or 3 stellar relievers that combine for that amount? Teams have to make those decisions every year. Lets break this down further, by looking at teams records and salaries as of 6/28/09. The Yankees have baseballs highest total salary at $201 million and the Marlins have baseballs lowest salary at $37 million. That's a difference of $164 million dollars! As of right now the Yankees are only 5.5 games better than the Marlins. The Yankees are paying $164 million dollars to be 5.5 games better than the lowest salary in baseball. That doesn't make sense does it?

Baseball over the years has transformed incredibly. Baseball GM's are no longer former players or former coaches/ Instead they are Harvard graduates with business degrees or Wall Street tycoons. General Managers value players, just like they value stocks. When stocks are over valued, you sell. When players are over valued you trade them. The same theory of "By low, sell high" works for baseball, just like it works for stocks. We no longer just look at they basic stat cateorgies which include, HR, RBI and AVG. We now look at OPS, PECOTA, Range Factor, Win Shares and Runs Created. These advanced statistics allow us to look at players differently then before. Baseball is all about value like I have said many times. According to x, y and z we will only pay this player this amount, as opposed to lets out bid the market on this guy, because we can. Because of Bill James and Billy Beane baseball certainly doesn't need a salary cap. Sabermetrics (Society For American Baseball Research) has changed the landscape of baseball. It is truly the search for objective knowledge about baseball. It separates the objective from the subjective. For example, "Who has created the most runs scored for the Los Angeles Angels?" is an objective question. How we used to think about baseball was "Who is your favorite player?" or "Who do you like at second base?". By creating these objective questions, GM's can now predict the future of player results within a fairly reasonable standard deviation.

Back to the question, is there Parity in Baseball? Lets dig even deeper and look at the top 5 salaries in baseball and compare them to the bottom 5 salaries in baseball. The top 5 salaries in baseball average out to $141 million worth of salaries (Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Cubs and Tigers). Those 5 teams have an average winning % of .547. The bottom 5 teams (Marlins, Nationals, Rays, Padres and Pirates) have an average salary of $50 million and an average winning % of .450 and that includes the Washington Nationals. If we take out the Nationals (who are so bad its not even funny) and substitute them with a competent team, such as the Twins,(who are next on the list) that boosts the winning % to .490. That is a 5.7% difference in wins and a $90 million difference in salaries. There are 19 teams in baseball that have less salaries then $90 million dollars. Out of those 19 teams, 8 of them are over .500 and 2 of them are leading a division. Lets now break down each tier of salaries below. There are 6 tiers total (30 teams/5). We have already analyzed the top tier and the bottom tier. Lets look at the middle 4 tiers winning %'s:

1st Tier - .547 ($141 million)

2nd Tier - .545 ($105 million)

3rd Tier - .487 ($89 million)

4th Tier - .498 ($76 million)

5th Tier - .464 ($68 million)

6th Tier - .490 ($51 million) - Switched Twins with Nationals

What those figures tell us is the bottom tier can compete with the upper tiers. And they can do so with a much, much less salary. This is another reason that baseball needs a salary cap is a pure myth. OK, so what we are looking for next is the lowest efficiency number ((Salary/winning %)/162). What that number explains is, how much money does a team need to spend per win.

1st Tier - 1.59

2nd Tier - 1.19

3rd Tier - 1.13

4th Tier - .94

5th Tier - .90

6th Tier - .64

What this tells us is exactly what I have been saying, teams are running so much more efficiently than before and ever. You don't need to have a $100 million dollar payroll to win a world series. But just look at how efficiently the lowered salaried teams in baseball are running at. They are paying anywhere from $640k-$940k per win, compared to $1.13-$1.59 million per win of the upper tiers. Because of sabermetrics, this allows every team to compete on an equal playing field, unlike we have ever seen before. So no, we do not need a salary cap in baseball. And yes, you do need to have money to compete and win. But certainly not as much money as you think and this year especially, there is about as much parity in baseball, as ever imagined.

My Reaction to the Draft

So after watching the entire NBA draft, I have many reactions to it (HUGE understatement). My first reaction was "wow, this is a really bad draft". I do like a lot of players in this draft, but after that, it really gets ugly. My second reaction is "wow, NBA GM's are really dumb". How did so many teams pass up the likes of Dejuan Blair, Sam Young and Chase Budinger? Look, I know Blair had some "knee" issues, but when teams pass up players, because of injuries in high school, its absolutely insane. This is just like when Brandon Roy had "injury concerns" as well and many GM's passed up on him as well. And whats even more frustrating is that Blair got chosen by the Spurs! The Spurs catch another break. They basically got a fabulous role player at half the price, because no one drafted him in the 1st round. The ONLY stat that truly translates from college to the pros is rebounding. Dajuan Blair is a monster on the glass. Hes a better rebounder than Blake Griffin and Tyler Hansbrough. For an example of how well rebounding translates to the pros, just look at Paul Millsap. He led the nation in rebounding 2 years in a row at Louisiana Tech and now has one of the top rebounding rates in the NBA. I have a feeling people will look back at this draft and say "I can't believe Blair fell so far, and the Spurs did it again".

Some other thoughts from the draft point straight to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New Orleans Hornets. My question for both of these franchises are "what the hell were you thinking?!" I completely understand the Rubio pick for 'Sota. He has tremendous upside and could really put the franchise back on the map. Rubio is extremely marketable and plays a brand of basketball that everyone would want to watch. Now personally, I feel Rubio may not live up to the expectations (Nash and Pistol Pete) that many people are giving for him. Hes got extraordinary vision for a basketball player for his age. He's always 2 steps ahead of the defense and you cannot teach that skill. As much as he makes the remarkable pass or play, he also makes just as many dumb mistakes and dumb passes. Hes a major risk taker and at the NBA level, defenses will make him pay. I watched him many times this year on NBA TV and every game I watched he seemed to have just as many turnovers as assists. Granted he is only 18, but the jury is still out on this guy as far as I am concerned. Anyways, what I don't understand is why did 'Sota draft another point guard with their next pick in Johnny Flynn! How the hell did they not take the best shooter in the draft, Stephen Curry. They only traded away their 2 best shooters (Miller and Foye) earlier in the week! I know 'Sota had Rubio and Flynn ranked #1 and #2 on their draft board, but you don't pick them both! Its like the equivalent of drafting 2 QBs in the 1st round of the NFL draft, it just doesn't happen. How do you think that pick makes Rubio feel? Rubio has to risk losing out on a lot of money, by buying out his own contract to play in the NBA. Would you want to risk that, to possibly not even be the starting point guard for the Minnesota freaking Timberwolves? I could honestly go on for about 10,000 words on this. I am so bothered that an NBA organization would do this. I pray for the sake of all 'Sota fans that they have a plan and trade one of them. OK, so enough about the Wolves, on to the Hornets. The Hornets had major issues with their front court depth all season. If and when Tyson Chandler or David West got hurt, that team suffered miserably. Their back ups are Ryan Bowen, Hilton Armstrong and Julian Wright, also known as "The Poo-Poo D'jour" of back up big men. So the Hornets pick came up at #21 and you have to believe they are going to take Dejaun Blair (see 1st paragraph). This only makes too much sense. If you don't know much about the Hornets, they have the best point guard on the planet (CP3) and really only need a back up to play around 8-12 minutes per game. They could easily accomplish that via Free Agency and sign someone. And with the 21st pick of the NBA Draft, the New Orleans Hornets select...drum roll please...Darren Collison, POINT GUARD out of UCLA. Are you kidding me!? Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Darren Collison as a player. But this is the last position the Hornets needed help in. OK, well at least they have 1 more pick to address their front court issues. So with their next pick, they select...drum roll please...Marcus Thornton, SHOOTING GUARD, out of LSU. I have no idea what they are doing at this point. They have 4 other players that do the same exact thing (Rasual Butler, Morris Peterson, James Posey and Peja Stojakovic), which is shoot the 3. These GM's are getting paid to make these picks? A monkey with a dart, could have made a better pick, because at least there would have been a chance to draft a Big. Here are just some other things I noticed about the draft:

• The Phoenix Suns made a great pick for once. They selected Earl Clark, out of Louisville. A 6'10" forward, who can shoot the 3, post you up and handle the ball as well. Great pick for Phoenix.
• The Clippers couldn't mess that pick up, right?
• The Lakers saved roughly 6.5 million on this draft. A very smart move to raise more money in order to resign Odom, Ariza and maybe Shannon Brown.
• I loved the Pacers drafting Tyler Hansbrough. I hope they trot out a lineup next year of Travis Diener, Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Tyler Hansbrough and Jeff Foster. Jim O'Brien, please make this happen.
• As my Laker confidant Dave pointed out, Jordan Hill is going to be a monster for the Knicks. He is a perfect fit for Mike D'Antoni. A great sleeper pick for Rookie of the Year.

Thoughts on Shaq to Cavs

Wow that honeymoon ended rather quickly. I can remember a year and a half ago when the city of Phoenix was beaming to bring in the Big Aristotle. The memory of him standing up in the luxury suites and pointing to his ring finger is no longer. The Cubs of the NBA were #1 in the western conference when they made that deal for Shaq. Despite reports that say the contrary, the Suns made that deal in direct response to the Gasol trade. The Suns panicked and all they got from Shaq's services was 1 lousy playoff win. The Suns panicked again tonight and traded Shaq away just as fast as how they got him. For the last 3 weeks we have heard GM Steve Kerr say that the Suns do want to make any trades if basketball reasons weren't the main reason. Well this trade is simply a salary dump. Not a bad salary dump by any means as well. The Suns are going to save roughly 10 million and that goes a long way in this economy. Will this allow the Suns to resign Nash and allow him to retire as a Sun? Will the suns attempt to sign Stoudemire to a long term deal? And will Nash even want to play of the Suns? Nash wants to win a title more than anything and if I were him, I would play this season out and hope to be traded to a contender or sign with the Knicks the next year. What we do know is that Shaq joined the the 1st place Suns and left the Suns is in disarray. What a difference a year and a half makes.

Now from the Cavs point of view this trade makes perfect sense. The Cavs get what they desperately need, which was front court depth. Shaq is the best answer for Dwight Howard. Kobe won a title and Howard has been promoted to the new "Superman", so don't you think Shaq might be a little motivated as well? He brought Kobe is first ring, brought Wade his first ring and now has the chance to bring Lebron his first ring. This trade also will not handicap the Cavs heading into the crucial 2010 free agency period. Shaq's 20 million dollar contract expires after this year, so comes off the books in 2010. I mean, wow, the Cavs are reall going for it this year. Its title or bust for the Cavs in 2009-2010. No more banter about Lebron needs more help, because that excuse is getting really old. Lebron has the pieces for a major run next year. I can't wait for next season already!

Joe and Brandon's 2009 NBA Mock Draft

I am proud to present our 1st mock draft. How we did this was Brandon and I alternated picks. For instance, Brandon started with number 1 and I had #2, etc. This mock draft isn't necessarily based on who we think the team should take, but who we think that team will take, with considerations to who they should take. But the main driving force behind this mock is who we think they are going to take. I have seen over 10 mock drafts and not one is even remotely similar. This draft is one of the weakest drafts I can ever remember, (not as bad 2000) and to be honest no one really knows what these teams are thinking, including myself and Brandon. So, here....we....go.

1. Clippers - Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) - He is the consensus top pick. This makes the Clips better immediately. As Steve Buschemi says in Big Daddy, “No more questions!” (B-Law)

2. Grizzlies - Hasheem Thabeet (Connecticut) - Memphis desparately needs a center and especially a shot blocking center. Since Rubio has made it public he does not want to play in Memphis, this seems like the logical pick. Most likely Memphis trades out of this pick, even though GM Chris Wallace is extra careful with trades these days, since the Gasol debacle. (JoeyF)

3. Thunder - Ricky Rubio (Spain) - OKC could have really used Thabeet, who would have filled that Tyson Chandler-turf toe void. But luckily for OKC, Rubio works just as well. He will shift Westbrook to the 2 and running their opponents off the court. (B-Law)

4. Kings - Tyreke Evans (Memphis) - Evans is a big combo guard, that does have the ability to handle the ball. This pick will help the Queens...ahem...Kings immediately. He is the ultimate slasher and will create many scoring opportunities for Kevin Martin and Co. (JoeyF)

5. T'Wolves - Stephen Curry (Davidson) - Minny sneaks up and grabs the fifth pick today from the Wizards. Curry would fit in very nicely for an inside-outside game with Big Al and the silky smooth Kevin Love. Dare I say the Love-Curry era? Now if only they had another pick to grab a legit SG, oh wait....(B-Law)

6. T'Wolves - James Harden (Arizona St.) - Since the wolves just traded Randy Foye and Mike Miller for the #5 pick, they have room for a wing. And Harden certainly fits the bill. Surrounding him around Al Jefferson and Kevin Love gives the Wolves a deep threat, who can also create off the dribble. (JoeyF)

7. Warriors - Jordan Hill (Arizona) - Do the Warriors need Jordan Hill? Absolutely not. They have Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph at the potential 4. Randolph, however is smooth enough and versatile enough to be the 3 of the future (think Lamar Odom). I’ve also heard rumors of them trying to move Wright anyways. Hill is the best available player at this point and athletic enough to thrive in Nelly Ball. Amare 2.0. (B-Law)

8. Knicks - Brandon Jennings (Spain) - Jennings might have the fastest first step in this years draft class (think Allen Iverson). He has incredible end to end speed and can create off the dribble as well as anyone. He might also have the highest ceiling in this draft as well, but has many short comings (too much like Allen Iverson at times). Maybe Mike D'Antoni can sprinkle some of that magic on him as well. Johnny Flynn is a possibility here as well. (JoeyF).

9. Raptors - Demar Derozan (USC) - Toronto has to be pretty excited to land Derozan at nine. He has top flight potential and could be the wing Bosh needs to be successful, assuming they can retain Bosh in the offseason (insert Canada sucks joke here). Gerald Henderson is a possibility here as well. (B-Law)

10. Bucks - Jrue Holliday (UCLA) - So far Jrue has been very unimpressive in most of his workouts so far and seems almost star struck. Holliday is still very young and has all the tools to be successful. How many college guards have averaged less than 10 ppg and been a top 10 pick? Exactly, and if we look back at the Bucks recent draft history (Bogut, Yi and Joe Alexander), this pick would not surprise me. (JoeyF)

11. Nets - Earl Clark (Louisville) - Huge upside with this pick. Nets need a big guy in the front court to slide next to Big Brooke Lopez. Who better to fill that role than Clark? He can hit the outside shot when Lopez eventually draws double teams. Other possibilities are bruisers Dejuan Blair and Psycho T. (B-Law)

12. Bobcats - Gerald Henderson (Duke) - A rugged wing player who plays the game the right way. He works hard and has a great all around game as well. He will fit in perfectly with Larry Brown and be the wing of the future for the Bobcats. Could also see them taking Terrence Williams here as well. (JoeyF)

13. Pacers - Dejuan Blair (Pitt) - The Pacers realize that the NBA draft is on a little too late and just take the biggest man in the room, regardless of his knee issues. All seriousness aside, he adds a lot of much needed toughness that left after the Malice in the Palace a few years back. (B-Law)

14. Suns - James Johnson (Wake Forest) - From what it sounds like, the Suns really want to stick with Steve Nash and give it a go one more time. With Johnny Flynn still on the board, it would be very tough to pass him up. However the Suns did commit millions of dollars to Goran "Tragic" Dragic and the Suns need more help up front, especially if and when they trade the Big Shaqtus. Johnson is a bit older and may be able to help immediately. He does have many character issues, but his versatility may shine in the desert. (JoeyF).

15. Pistons - Austin Daye (Gonzaga) - Detroit is fullsteam in rebuilding mode and have only declared allegiance to Stuckey. Daye, if he develops, could be a taller and possibly more skilled Tayshawn Prince (possibly being the key word). With the ‘Stones ability to sign uber free agents this offseason (Boozer and Ben Gordon), I see them taking a big "potential" guy over the likes of Psycho T or BJ Mullens. (B-Law)

16. Bulls - B.J. Mullens (Ohio St.) - Huge upside pick here. The Bulls don't really have any pressing needs, but aren't really set anywhere as well, minus the PG position (Rose). Mullens could give them that much needed low post presence they have been seeking since they mysteriously traded away Elton Brand. Brad Miller is not the answer long term, so this pick could end up being very good down the road. (JoeyF)

17. Sixers - Johnny Flynn (Syracuse) - The 76ers would set the record for fewest seconds ticked off the clock in between picks if Flynn is still there (though I find it hard to believe he will- but hey someone has to slip). Losing Andre Miller won’t hurt so badly with the ultra athletic Johnny Flynn as a consolation prize. (B-Law)

18. T'Wolves - Terrence Williams (Louisville) - This would be a great pick for the Wolves. He would easily be the best player available and can give them an excellent option at the 3, since they just traded Mike Miller. He is a fabulous all around defender and can rebound the ball at a very high rate as well. (JoeyF)

19. Hawks - Jeff Teague (Wake Forest) - This pick came down to Lawson or Teague for me. The Hawks were already burned on a big name college PG in Acie Law, so I think they go for the smaller name/higher potential distributor in Jeff Teague. Hey Bibby can’t play forever. (B-Law)

20. Jazz - Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) - Easiest pick of the Mock draft. Will fill the void left by either Boozer or Millsap. Can rebound at a high rate and be effective in the pick and pop. This guy has Jerry Sloan written all over him. (JoeyF)

21. Hornets - Sam Young (Pitt) - The Hornets need some toughness in the front court and a guy who is NBA ready. They’ve been waiting patiently for Julian Wright, but that doesn’t seem to be paying off. Sam Young is already almost 30 years old (24 actually), so he is physically mature enough to step in and contribute right away. (B-Law)

22. Mavs - Ty Lawson (North Carolina) - Lawson would fit in very well with the Mavs. Lawson has great north/south quickness and can push the tempo when need be. He can also shoot the ball very effectively as well. Can step right in and make an immediate impact with a veteran team already. (JoeyF)

23. Kings - Omri Casspi (Israel) - The Kings seem set in their back court, power forward and Center for the future. So they set their sights on the 3. I feel Chase Budinger lacks the grit they need and may end up only playing the 2 anyways. Casspi brings a long limbed, aggressive rim attacker that the kings could use. Plus there would be no pressure for him to contribute right away. (B-Law)

24. Blazers - Jonas Jerebko (Italy) - The Blazers have an abundance of young talent and the last thing they need is another rookie. GM Kevin Pritchard will most likely be moving this pick like he always does, but if they keep it, Jerebko would be a smart pick. They can stash him overseas and bring him over if they choose. He plays extremely hard, with a great all around game (think Nocioni). Victor Claver is another very strong possibility here as well. (JoeyF)

25. Thunder - Chase Budinger (Arizona) - OKC needs an outside scorer and Chase brings a scorer and slasher in one body. If he could continue improving his motor and toughness like we saw in the second half of the season last year, this could end up being one of the steals of the draft. (B-Law)

26. Bulls - Wayne Ellington (North Carolina) - This would be a great pick for the Bulls if he can fall to them, especially if Ben Gordon leaves via free agency. Ellington is the best pure shooter in this draft. He is a good sized guard who can knock down big shots. (JoeyF)

27. Grizzlies - Eric Maynor (VCU) - Maynor slipped quite a bit, but could find a home in Memphis. I can see the Grizzlies shipping out Conley to Portland this offseason finally. Maynor, one of the rare four year players, would be able to help the ailing franchise right away. He is one of the only point guards in this draft that doesn't have one glaring weakness. (B-Law)

28. T'Wolves - Victor Claver (Spain) - This would be the T'Wolves 4th draft pick in the 1st round. There is no way they want to spend that kind of money this year. Claver is a nice player who they can store overseas or package in a deal. (JoeyF)

29. Lakers - Nick Calathes (Florida) - I know I’m gonna get a lot of grief for this pick, but think about it. The Lakers are one of the rare teams who truly don’t need anything (assuming odom and ariza come back). They have the luxury of being able to stash a player overseas to develop for a year. Let Calathes work on his jump shot for a year and you’d have a smart, brand new 6’5” PG that Phil Jackson covets (Ron Harper anybody?). (B-Law)

30. Cavs - Dajuan Summers (Georgetown) - At the beginning of this season he was projected to be a top 10 draft pick. He has really fallen out of favor with many of the scouts and GM's around the league. The Cavs really need to strengthen their front court, especially with Varejao opting out and the aging Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace. Summers is a very nice interior scorer, who can also stretch the court a bit as well. (JoeyF)

Secrets To Fantasy Baseball: Part 1

During the next few days I will be posting a series of Blogs called "Secrets To Fantasy Baseball". Throughout my experiences with fantasy baseball I have come to learn a few tricks and certain statistics to look at when drafting my players or picking up free agents. Through my experience I have come to a certain realization of how to be consistently successful at fantasy baseball. Now, I will not share all of my secrets, because many of my readers are my competitors, but I will give away a few secrets. Some of these hints may be obvious to hardcore fantasy players, but they all really do work. In my short history with fantasy baseball I have missed the playoffs less then 5% of the time and have finished first in the regular season over 60% of the time. That's all you can ask for. You want to be able to make the playoffs consistently, because once the playoffs begin in fantasy, it simply comes down to luck and match ups. I have won fantasy leagues, but the most important aspect is getting to the 2nd season.

The first position we are going to look at are pitchers. This includes starting pitchers and relief pitchers. There are many statistical categories I do look very hard at when identifying which pitchers I should take or pass on. One of the main ones I do look at is the K/BB ratio. This is a very basic and extremely important statistic. How you look at it is dividing the number walks into how many strikeouts a pitcher gets. Strikeouts in fantasy are very important and more important than just the 1 statistical category. As a fantasy owner, you want your pitchers missing as many bat as possible. The more missed bats the less likely errors can occur and of course hits. That will certainly reduce your teams ERA and WHIP as well. If pitchers can also limit the walks, then you are set. As a fantasy owner you really want the K/BB ratio to be anywhere from 2.3 and above. I would say 2.3 is a great barometer to start with. Anything lower than that is too risky. Let me break this down for you. I am going to look at the pitching statistics from one of my most competitive fantasy leagues. This is a 14 team league with my fraternity brothers. It is an AL and NL league, and every player takes this league very seriously. The top 2 teams have an average K/BB ratio of 2.40. The bottom 2 teams have an average K/BB of 2.16. The difference of .24 may not seem like a lot, but it is. Over the course of a season that .24 can represent anywhere from 75-100 K's and BB's. That can mean the difference of about 15 fantasy wins and losses over the course of a year. Look at the standings at the end of the year that 15 wins can certainly change the playoff landscape easily.

So the next time you are looking to make a trade or make a pick up on the waiver wire, look at K/BB ratio. Wins and ERA are easily the most deceiving fantasy categories. Luck has about as much to do with those stats as the players relative skill. Just look at Daisuke Matsuzaka as a perfect example. He went 18-3 last year with a 2.90 ERA. Wow those are impressive numbers, but if you look deeper, he had a K/BB ratio of only 1.63. Not what I call elite numbers. Just for comparison sake, lets look at Dan Haren. Haren went 16-8 with an ERA of 3.33. His K/BB ratio was 5.15! Now that is amazing and look at their numbers this year, because its not even close. Haren is 6-4 (bad luck) with an ERA of 2.23 and a K/BB ratio of 7.38! Matsuzaka is 1-5 with an ERA of 8.23 and a K/BB ratio of 1.89. This shows that luck plays a huge part in a pitchers success. His K/BB ratio is even better this year, but his numbers are extremely low. So make sure you are not looking at just the basics (Wins, ERA or Saves) and look a little deeper when analyzing a pitcher. You will be much better off in the long term.

A Day At The Parade

Lakers, Lakers, Lakers! That's what I heard all day on Wednesday at the championship parade and I loved every minute of it. These types of parades don't happen very often (just ask Cleveland) and when they do happen you have to treasure it. You need to treasure it, because you really don't know when the next one is going to be. That's the beauty of sports; its extremely unpredictable. Who knows what could happen next year? So when these things do happen and you're finally old enough to attend, you have to go! You just have to. So myself and 3 of my good friends took a road trip out to Los Angeles to attend the 2009 championship parade. We split a hotel room in the middle of downtown Los Angeles, where Staples Center is. We went to what is called LA Live the night before of the parade. LA Live is a really cool place right across the street from Staples Center that features very cool bars and restaurants.

So morning comes and we think it'd be a cool idea to maybe go to the Coliseum ( where USC plays football) to catch the team at the rally. The rally is where Mark Madsen gave his famous speech. So we turn on the TV and they have a helicopter around the Coliseum and there were already 95,000 people waiting outside the Coliseum at 9 am!! People were camping out since 3 am. I guess that option was out of the question. We then gathered ourselves and headed for the streets of LA. The next thing we know we saw a sea of Laker fans. You couldn't even see the streets. What an incredible experience to see that many fans of 1 team. We then walked a while along the parade route and soaked it all in. A guy even dressed up his dog in Laker attire. There were horns blasting, flags waving and only smiles on peoples faces. Its really funny to me when people say "its just a game!", but if you saw the site I saw, its more than just a game. This event brought the city together, all genders, ages, races and sexes. For one day people could put their financial issues aside and just celebrate with one another over a phenomenal accomplishment. Then as we were waiting the parade begins. The first float were the Laker girls of course, looking amazing as usual. Then came the players. It was so cool seeing how happy the players were and you could really see them taking it all in (especially Fisher and Lamar). Because like I've said you never know when this could happen again. All of the players came by waving and smiling and that was that. It was extremely cool to see all of them and for a few minutes I really felt like a young kid again. I got the feeling that everyone had that same feeling as well. We then went to a restaurant to watch the rally and the whole place in unison would cheer and clap. Or they would chant "MVP, MVP" or "LUUUUUUKE". After eating we got in the car and drove home. What a day indeed, for myself, my friends and the city of Los Angeles. These parades can never get too old. So Lakers, yes I am talking to you Lakers, lets win it again!

How Sweet It Is!!!

My oh my what a night! As Chick Hearn used to say "the door is closed, the lights are out, the eggs are cooling, the butters getting hard and the Jell-o's jiggling", which often meant the end of the game or in this case, the series. The Los Angeles Lakers are the NBA champions for the 15th time in Franchise history. It is their 4th title in this decade (more than any other professional sports team in that time frame). It is Phil Jackson's 10th title, passing Red Auerbach all-time and now has the all-time record for championships for any coach on any professional level. Kobe Bryant now has 4 rings, with his 1st Finals MVP. This is a big night indeed for the Lakers, their fans and the city of Los Angeles. After a humbling defeat last year to the Celtics, the Lakers came back this year understanding whats at stake and rising to the occasion on the biggest level. What made this Laker team even more special was they did it together. They got contributions from Kobe, Gasol, Odom, Fisher and Ariza to win this title. Championship teams make championship plays and all of those players each made phenomenal plays during the post season. This team never faltered once during the often up and down road to the Larry O'brien trophy. But in the end it didn't matter, because the Lakers are the ones left standing. Amid all of their critics this team kept persevering, even at the toughest of times. And if you look deeper at this team, it should be no surprise. Starting with Lamar Odom who lost his mother and sister and of course his child all to death in a short period of time. He exemplifies strength at the max and deserves this title more than anyone. We can also start with Trevor Ariza who lost his younger brother to tragic death at a young age as well. This team knows how to handle adversity and handle it well. So performing well on basketballs biggest stage shouldn't be a difficult task for this group and they showed it tonight. They are all deserving of winning the 2009 NBA Championship (Can't wait already for next year and the presentations of their rings!). The look on Kobe's face when he embraced Phil after the buzzer sounded said it all. Just a look of relief and pure joy. As he stated in the post game interview "feels like a monkey is off my back" and that is so true. The man has gotten criticized more by critics and analysts alike more than any athlete. And for what? All he did was give it his all and work the hardest. And that look he gave summed it up best. All those critics can now shut up. Kobe won a title without Shaq and did it leading a young team to the promise land. Kobe has now claimed a spot in the top 10 of all time conversation and possibly top5. This championship has now cemented his legacy forever more. Now the question is, how many can he win? This Lakers team is set up for the next few years barring the resigning of Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom. Kobe is still only 30, Pau Gasol is 28, Ariza is 23, Bynum is 21 and Lamar Odom is 29. This team is still relatively young and will only get better. The experience they have gained has been tremendous. And winning the 1st one is always the toughest. More to come later this week on my reaction to the finals and Kobe and Phil, but time to celebrate this one. And also stay tuned for my report from the Lakers championship parade. I love LA and everyone tonight may not love them, but damn they gotta respect them. Go Lakers!

Who To Blame For Game 4 Loss?

All day I have heard the question "Who should take the blame for the Magic's Game 4 loss?". People have mentioned Stan Van Gundy for not instructing his team to foul while his team up 3 with 11 seconds left or playing Jameer Nelson down the stretch instead of Rafer Alston. People have certainly blamed Dwight Howard for his 2 missed free throws to ice the game or his 8 missed free throws for the game (even though he was a complete game changer defensively for the entire game with 9 blocks). And of course people are going to blame the 19 turnovers or the 15 total missed free throws by Orlando as well. But I am going in a different direction. I am blaming the team that won the damn game, the Lakers for pulling out one of the guttiest wins in Finals history and Lakers history. Isn't a weird theory to blame the team that won the game? Remember Kobe had to make a ridiculous spin move (which for whatever reason NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT!!!!) to some how find Pau Gasol for a dunk to cut the lead from 5 to 3 with 30 seconds left. Also Kobe had to get the ball out to Ariza after he was trapped, who then got the ball up court to fisher, who then had to make the 3 anyways. So to say the Magic "handed" the Lakers the game would be foolish and really only coming from people who don't watch basketball that often. The Lakers HAD to make plays down the stretch and they did and the Magic didn't. And in overtime Kobe had to get the ball to an open Fisher for 3 and Fisher had to make it. The Magic didn't make these shots in overtime, the Lakers did.

Lets start in the first half when the Lakers big men (Bynum, Gasol and Odom) inexplicably got called for 2 fouls each, early in the 1st quarter. I mean these calls were absolute jokes, because Dwight Howard literally does whatever he wants out there. Dwight plays by the 7 seconds in the key rule and the rule that elbows from him do not constitute fouls. Oh yeah and don't get me started on the screens he sets (every single screen Howard sets is illegal, every single one). OK, so the refs got in the Lakers heads a little bit. It showed with our play and the Lakers offense was just so stagnant. Luckily Kobe did his best to keep us in striking distance, with being down only 12 at the half. I mean nothing went right in the 1st half, absolutely nothing. Then came the 3rd quarter. Trevor Ariza really set the tone for the quarter and was just remarkable (he had about the worst first half you could have, 0-4, 1 Tech, 1 TO and 0 relevance on the game). He got a fastbreak dunk, which cut the lead to 10 and then hit another jumper and another 2 3's (with a Kobe 3 in the middle). All of a sudden the Lakers were up 1 and ended up being up 4 by the end the quarter. How tough minded does a team have to be to come out in the 3rd quarter like that? Especially after the Lakers got hardly any calls and 2 technicals and played so bad in the first half. Then in the 4th quarter the Lakers literally got 0 calls, I mean 0 calls. I have never seen a discrepancy like that in the 4th quarter (18 fts for the Magic, 0 for the Lakers. 0 fts!!! Do you know how hard that is it to do, especially how aggressive they were). I mean how many times does Pietrus have to slap Kobe on the arm or hand before he gets the benefit. Yet the Lakers kept going, kept hitting shots, and most importantly kept persevering. And in the end they pulled out the win. That's where champions are made. Just watch Game 6 of the '98 finals where the Bulls had no business winning that game in Utah, especially when Scottie Pippen pretty much threw out his back and Jordan couldn't hit a shot for the whole game, because he literally had to do everything. And the Bulls won! The Jazz didn't hand them the game, because Malone lost the ball and Sloan left Russell one on one with MJ. The Bulls won that game and the title. That is how champions are made. Watch game 1 of the 1985 finals where the Celtics blew out the Lakers by over 30 and then see how the Lakers came back and won the series. Its all about how teams handle adversity and the championship teams do that better than anyone else. Now this series isn't over yet, but certainly one team looks like the championship team, while the other doesn't.

Who Is Alonzo Mourning?

First of all, I love Alonzo Mourning, but what is he thinking when calling out Phil Jackson? Phil Jackson has only won 9 NBA titles to ZO's 1 NBA title has a back up center for the Heat. I know ZO played for Stan Van Gundy and uber rival of Phil Jackson Pat Riley, but to say Phil isn't coaching at all is just ridiculous. Kobe is certainly leading and willing his team to victory, but that's just Phil's style. He wants his players to be held accountable during the game. That's the whole point of the triangle offense. The offense gives you options and makes the players read and react. Phil is a facilitator on the bench and his responsibility is to keep the balance of emotions and draw up plays. For ZO to question this is just ridiculous. Just because the Bulls dominated your Heat teams, it doesn't give you the right to call out arguably the greatest coach in NBA history. To say all Phil does is call timeouts really is comical. Phil doesn't need to be screaming up and down after every play, wiping the sweat off of his head like your boy Stan Van Gundy. So enjoy the finals like the rest of us ZO and leave the coaching to great ones.

Don't Blame Courtney Lee

What everyone is talking about today is the missed alley-oop by Courtney Lee. I am going to comment on it as well. My first reaction after the Lakers game 2 victory was "wow, Courtney Lee may be the next Nick Anderson". I reacted this way, because at first glance he blew a wide open lay up and missed another lay up the possession before. I sincerely felt bad for the guy as well. His career hasn't even really started (Lee is a rookie out of Western Kentucky, I mean Western Kentucky! Last year he was playing in the Sun Belt conference and now he is in the Finals). All I kept thinking was "this is Nick Anderson all over again" and I kept thinking that. I then texted one of my Laker confidants, Dave and explained my rationale. His response was "I genuinely feel bad for him, that was a tough play and it was nothing like Nick Anderson". For everyone that doesn't know who Nick Anderson is; he was the shooting guard on the '95 Magic Finals team and missed 4 free throws in a crucial game 1 of the finals (here is the link, go to the 2:50 min mark to watch what happened). So after Dave said that, the first thing I did when I got home was watch replays of those 2 lay ups. I must have watched the replays about 50 times. And the first thing I noticed was the degree of difficulty on this shot. Not only did he have a 7 footer (Gasol) trying to block his shot, his head was literally behind the backboard has he is trying to make the lay up. His head was behind the backboard people! How many slam dunk contests have we seen where players take 5-10 attempts to convert plays like this. Courtney Lee had .6 sec. While his head was also behind the backboard, he was moving extremely fast as well. OK, so what about the first lay up he blew? Well for whatever reason Turkoglu gave Courtney Lee the ball with 3 seconds left on the shot clock, with 3 Lakers around him and he either could have hoisted up a contested 3 or do something about it. He then penetrated the lane and missed a running lay up as Lamar Odom is flying at him. Both of these plays were a high degree of difficulty and no one should be talking or blaming Courtney Lee.

What we should be talking about is how the Lakers are up 2-0 in this series. I mean we can say all we want about Lee or Jameer Nelson, but the bottom line is Dwight Howard has been a no show in the first 2 games. Dwight Howard is on the All-NBA team and was held to 1-6 from the field in game 1 of the flippin finals! He is getting D-ed up big time by Bynum, Gasol and Odom. The Lakers bigs right now look unstoppable really, really strong on the defensive end. They're rotations have been quick and the help has been unpredictable (keeping Howard guessing on every possession). The Lakers defense has been the catalyst so far for the first 2 games. Oh yeah, it also helps to have Mr. KB 24 aka The Black Mamba on your team as well.

Thoughts on Tom Glavine

I am really shocked the Braves just released Tom Glavine like that. Look, I understand hes 43 and has lot of arm issues. I get all of that. What I don't get is why did you bring him back in the 1st place? Why did you lead this guy to believe he was going to pitch and then you just release a 2 time Cy Young award winner? Tom Glavine has been a complete professional on and off the field for the Braves franchise. He deserves better than this. Glavine pitched from 1987-2002 for the Braves. He is a 305 game winner, with 244 of those coming with the Braves. He is the ultimate Atlanta Brave. That shows his loyalty to the franchise and to the fans of Atlanta. The Braves certainly didn't show their loyalty to him and I hope the Glavine karma catches up with them very soon. What do you guys think?

NBA Finals Time!

This is not going to be like my typical previews, just my thoughts about the finals. To be honest I am too nervous and excited to even talk about it. So here we are, after a grueling 82 game season and 3 rounds of playoff basketball, we have made it to the NBA Finals. A spot only reserved for 2 teams and the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers certainly deserve those 2 spots. Both teams have certainly had their ups and downs throughout the post season as well. There is no question that the Magic and Lakers have grown up during the playoffs and are both very tested teams. The Magic won a game 7 on the road at Boston and the Lakers won a game 6 clincher on the road at Denver. Both of those victories were blow outs as well. As much as people (ABC Executives, Nike and Vitamin Water) would love to see Kobe vs Lebron, the Magic vs the Lakers will actually be a much better, and more entertaining NBA Finals. If the Cavs would have won and played the Lakers, it wouldn't be much of a series. If you thought the Magic posed match up problems, the Cavs match up even worse with the Lakers. But the Magic and the Lakers actually match up fairly well with each other. Both teams have dominating players with a supporting cast that compliment each superstar very well.

As we are all aware of, the Magic live behind the 3 point line. And you know the saying "live by 3, die by the 3",well the Magic definitely only live by the 3. They absolutely overwhelm teams with the 3 point shot. Then when teams commit to their shooters they just pound it inside to Dwight and we know what he does. The Magic's most important player in my mind is Turkoglu. The ball is in his hands more than anyone and he takes most of the shots during crunch time. Hes a 6'10 forward to can handle the ball as well as guards and dictates where the ball is going. Ariza must do a great job on Turkoglu and not fall for his jab step. He also must keep him out of the paint as much as possible.

The Lakers on the other hand have a little more polished inside out game. The Lakers have 4 players (Bynum, Gasol, Odom and Kobe) who can score in the low post. This makes it very difficult for teams to cover them, because all 4 players are very capable of finding their open teammates and moving the ball to get a better look. I am very interested to see if the Magic let Rashard Lewis guard Gasol straight up early in the game. Gasol has the ability to get Rashard Lewis in early foul trouble and that is big trouble for the Magic. Unlike vs the Cavs, the Lakers can make Rashard work on the defensive side of the ball with Gasol and Odom. Also are the Magic going to be content with letting Kobe get his or are they going to double him early and often.

Yes the Lakers are the favorites going into this series, but the Magic did win the season series 2-0. The catalyst in those games were Jameer Nelson and he seriously was the main reason the Magic won both games. He was devastating in the 4th quarter in both games. Without him at full strength the Magic will go into this series without their biggest advantage, which was at point guard. This series is going to be about which team can impose their will more. And from what we learned earlier in the playoffs, regular season success vs an opponent does matter. In this case, both regular season games came down to the last minute and was too close too tell. The Lakers have a look and demeanor of a champion right now. Just look at the differences in both of the teams celebration after closing out the Nuggets and the Cavs. The Magic had that "happy to be here" look, while the Lakers had the "we are not done yet" look. The Magic can become the first team in NBA history to beat 3 60+ win teams in the playoffs and win their 1st NBA title. The Lakers can make it title #15 with a series victory. As if anyone is surprised I am picking the Lakers to win. The Lakers split the first 2 games in LA and then they take 2 out of 3 in Orlando and close it out in game 6 in LA. So my prediction is Lakers win in 6 games.