Chicago Photo 11

 

What a difference a few months make. The photo on the left was during the Blizzard of '11 in February. On the right, a photo taken almost in the same place during the heat wave of July.

Umps, Outs and Replays.....

It seems the latest topic of the day is replay in baseball. With a sub-topic of “oh my god umpires are horrible at their jobs and probably kill kittens on their days off”. In case you missed it, the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates (this season’s little small-market team that could) played a rather long game Tuesday night. Fans in Atlanta were treated to almost 7 hours of baseball. Unlike a typical Red Sox/ Yankees matchup this one went more than 9 innings. In fact, it went 19.

In the 19th, former Ray/Oriole Julio Lugo broke from 3rd on a ground ball hit by reliever Scott Procter (the best part of this whole thing is definitely Procter falling on his face leaving the batters’ box). Pittsburgh third baseman phenom Pedro Alvarez fielded it cleanly and fired home. The ball beat a sliding Lugo by plenty and catcher Michael McKenry nonchalantly swiped at Lugo and looked up to see if he could get another out at third assuming that Lugo was out at the plate.

Unfortunately, the most important man in Turner Field had a different opinion. Home plate umpire Jerry Meals emphatically called Lugo safe and just like that the game was over. According to USA Today, Meals, after the game, said, “I saw the tag, but it looked like he oled him, and I called him safe for that….I just saw the glove sweep up. I didn’t see the glove hit his leg.”

First of all kudos, to Meals for speaking to the press after the game. So many times officials are herded off the field and are “unavailable for comment” after making a close call that decides a game. He even admitted after the game he watched the call on replay and that it “appeared he might have got him on the shin area”.

The internet/twitter/talk show hounds were unleashed. The general consensus was that Meals blew the call and cost the spunky Pirates an important game. More importantly this play was proof that it was time for baseball to exit the dark ages and institute instant replay! At the time of this writing a poll on USAtoday.com has 36% of its responders stating that the play changed their mind on replay. Another 32% said that the play didn’t change their mind because they had always wanted replay.

Apparently I disagreewith 68% of USA Today’s reading public. First of all, I’m not 100% sure Meals missed the call. What I am sure is – he made the call that he put himself in the right position and made the call he saw. My good buddy Link (you might remember him from the Penguins/Lightning series) is a proud supporter of Pittsburgh sports. I talked to him the morning after the game and brought up that point. Meals called what he saw.

He might have been wrong, he might have been right, but he made the call as he saw it. He had no agenda, he wasn’t trying to go home early or screw the Pirates. He watched the play unfold and didn’t assume anything. Despite the fact it looked like Lugo would be out by a country mile, he made sure to watch the entire play. You can’t fault a guy for that.

The proponents for replay would argue that is why it’s necessary. Go watch the replay again. Watch it with the same requirements the NFL has – there has to be indisputable evidence that the call on the field was incorrect. Watch it. Watch it again. Can you honestly say that there is indisputable evidence the tag was applied?

This is the slippery slope that baseball started itself down when the allowed replays on homeruns (a decision that I agree with). I see people saying that replays should be allowed for close plays at home since it involves a run scoring or not scoring. Ok, so they approve that.

Then they’ll be a close play at third, the advocates will say, “third base is only 90 feet away, that’s pretty close and could lead to an important run that changes the game”. So that’s approved. Then having replays on close calls on all of the bases is approved, because runners on mean scoring chances! Heck, K-zone has now approached 100% reliability so why not just replace umpires all together?

Call it the human element or call it human error, the judgment of an umpire has been part of the game as long as chalk foul lines and spitballs have been. Baseball is not an automated game, or even a modern game. That’s part of what makes it baseball. Just because the technology is available, doesn’t mean it needs to be used. Heck, the technology exists to make players stronger and more durable and I don’t see anyone on ESPN calling for Major League Baseball to allow that.

There is also the notion that umpires today are worse today than ever before. I don’t think that’s true, it’s just that games are dissected more these days. If the internet and multiple replays were available in the 50’s there would be the same complaints we see today.

Another myth that I see repeated is that umpires want the spotlight. Even before this incident I saw a post from a commenter on a baseball site that stated all umpires were frustrated failed athletes who were jealous of the players. For the most part, umpires are professionals doing a job that isn’t easy under perfect conditions. If you were to ask them, I’m sure most of them would say that their best games are the ones where they weren’t even noticed.

There are things that baseball fans are always going to complain about and umpires are one of them. They aren’t perfect, no one is. They do strive for perfection and hit it about 99% of the time. It’s just unfortunate that the 1% of the time they are wrong it’s magnified a thousand times. Over the course of a 162 game season the wrong calls get balanced out. Somewhere down the road the Pirates will get a break. Unfortunately, it will probably be buried by whatever cause the media adopts that day (my money is on concussions).

Two New Cards For the Collection

Last week I mentioned that I didn’t see any personal cards on e-bay that I felt like bidding on. Well that might have been a little white lie, a minor distortion of the truth if you will. I actually had just won a bid, but didn’t have the card in hand.

The card in question is my first relic for the Eddie Murray collection. Here it is:




A 2006 Upper Deck Epic Materials Jersey.

Orioles Uniform – check
Shiny – check
Numbered – check (88/145)
Uniform matches card - err no.

As any Oriole fan knows they’ve never sported pin stripes in their history (orange pin stripes, hmmm, maybe that will bring the winning). If I had to hazard a guess I would say it was from his days as a New York Met. He played two seasons in the Big Apple and hitting 43 home runs and drove in 193 runs. Not too shabby.

Despite the Mets association I still like the card. It was the right price and hey – he rocks the O’s uniform in Cooperstown and that’s the most important!


Card number two was an impulse buy. I was looking for more “Steady Eddie” cards and stumbled across one of his teammates from the good ol’ days (you know when the O’s were the pride of the American League?)




A 2003 Topps Fan Favorite Jim Palmer (1975 Topps design).

I really like the Fan Favorites concept. Topps took alternative photos of iconic players and put them on their most recognizable sets. Let’s compare it to the original card:




The original is definitely from the 70’s, I mean look at those side burns! I’m not sure how the card collecting public would receive this card, what with the dark shadows covering 90% of his face. Jim is also showcasing the best hat in the history of the franchise. Now that they finally put Baltimore back on the road uniforms let us start a campaign to bring back the bird logo!

I didn’t notice it when I bought the card, but the photo used for the Fan Favorite is definitely not from the70’s. Palmer is lacking the side burns and his face is a little bit weathered. He kind of reminds me of Sam Malone in this photo.

Upon further review I’m pretty sure this is from his aborted comeback in 1991. After being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990, “Cakes” showed up for Spring Training the next year. His comeback lasted two innings in which he gave up two runs and five hits (which would probably get him a spot in the bullpen this season).

So two more cards for the ol’ personal collection!

Time For More Page Hits! It's a Trade Bait Post! 2011 Topps Series II

Curses Target and your value packs. You know the drill. Let me know what you need and we'll work out a trade. Check out the other ones if you haven't already.



Diamond Stars
DS-1 Evan Longoria

Gold
554- Cedric Hunter

Diamond Duos
DD12- Tulowitzki/Ramirez
DD29- Aaron/Heyward

Sixty Years of Topps
60YOT-90 Steve Garvey
60YOT-80 Nolan Ryan
Mariano Rivera Original Back

ToppsTown
TT2-35 Ian Kinsler

Target Red
THP26 Pedro Alvarez

Some Thoughts on Stamkos

So what should we talk about now? The Bolts are really trying to get me to talk about the O’s aren’t they? They've polished off almost all of their off-season business with almost two whole months before training camp opens. Whatever will we discuss? I already blew my wad on the Ryan Malone to Toronto trade post so I can’t bring that up again until it actually happens (my prediction August 13th).

If you’ve been away from the internet for the last 48 hours then you might not be aware that Steven Stamkos is once again a member of the Lightning in full standing. He is also an extremely wealthy young man having inked a contract that pays an average of $7.5 million a year for the next five years.

I wonder what the first thing he’s going to buy with his new contract? It’s not like he was playing for minimum wage the last three seasons so he’s got the nice car (apparently Ryan Malone’s old Mercedes SL500) and big screen TV. What now? Steve if you’re interested feel free to bid on some of my auctions - help a blogger out, eh?

Hopefully, some of the dough is spent on whatever equipment helps him rehab from whatever injuries he picked up last season. A little less then a year ago I mentioned that he was hurtling his way into a can’t win situation by being so talented so early in his career. He’s also been known to press a little when things aren’t going right so will the hefty contract add to the pressure or will the security of a semi-long long term deal ease his mind and let him focus on the ice?

Speaking of the contract, it really is a perfect deal for both sides. Stamkos gets paid, and the chance to make another big pay day when he should be in the prime of his career and the Lightning aren’t bound to a long term commitment that might be damaging when the new CBA is rolled out following next season (or if the higher ups are learning anything from their fellow leagues - sooner).

There are a lot of relieved fans in the Tampa area now that Stamkos (and Teddy Purcell!) have signed their new deals. Personally, I was pretty confident that he would stay with the Bolts, but there were some moments when enough lingering doubt crept in that I verbalized scenarios involving him signing an offer sheet with another team. It was probably around the 29th of June or so when I had the most doubt, but once free agency came and the biggest rumored names out there spent all of their money on players not names Stamkos I knew things would be alright.

I think fans forget how important losing four first round draft picks would be for a franchise. After all, look how much flack Brian Burke is getting for trading away two for Phil Kessel. Add to that the lack of maneuverability in the cap (I always thought the Bolts would match any contract up to $9 million a year) and the cons just really outweighed the pros.

So where does that leave the Lightning? The main core of last season’s squad is back. Sure some spare parts have been jettisoned, but their production should be replaceable. Should this team be expected to return to the Eastern Conference Finals? Should they contend with the Caps for division glory?

On paper all signs point to yes for all of those questions. The Lightning are a very well built team. Mr. Yzerman has quietly improved their defense over last year and while resigning Roloson doesn’t do much for the long term net minding issue, it does at least give them stability for next year.

I fully expect the Bolts to score more goals next year. Stamkos should be good for 45-50 (if not the pessimists will surely call for his head), Vincent should return to his 25 goal plateau and Marty St. Louis - well I’m never going to count that guy out. Even when he’s 50 I wouldn’t be surprised to see him pot 30 and get 60 assists. With increased time on the top lines I wouldn’t be shocked to see Purcell put 25 goals in the net as well.

Shocking the league for one year isn’t that hard, continuing that success when everybody expects it is. The Lightning aren’t going to be the fun, scrappy team with the new coach and his exotic offense any more. They are entering next season as the team that was one goal away from the Stanley Cup Finals last year. They are the team that knocked two of the NHL’s most heavily promoted teams out of the playoffs last season. The target is now on their back. How they respond will show if they’re a team to be truly reckoned with or a one-year fluke.

There will be a lot of speculation and ink spilled over the next few months in regards to this team and it’s expectations. What do you guys think? Are the Lightning a real contender next season or were they over their heads last year?

Thanks Lightning.

You couldn't wait a day before making half of my last post irreverent?

Another Annual Tradition - Let's Trade Ryan Malone!

The thermometer is hovering around 95 and for the first time in my life I live in a building that doesn’t have central air. So in order to cool off I’m typing this with a Lasko box fan on high two feet from my face; and I’m thinking about hockey.

Unfortunately, in the middle of July there isn’t much going on in the hockey world. The major free agents have signed and the dust seems to have settled on big trades. Still it’s better than writing about the O’s. Other than a glaring hole the size of Steven Stamkos on the roster, the Lightning are pretty much going about business as usual. Most of their recent signing have been depth moves aimed at filling out Norfolk’s roster.

Teddy Purcell’s arbitration hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, and barring a last minute compromise it appears the two sides will get a chance to state their respective cases. These types of dealings can get contentious, after all, the Lightning front office will be making their case against paying him what he thinks he’s worth, and really the only way to do that is to bring up the negative aspects of his game. The good news is, no matter what the outcome he will be skating on with the Bolts next season.

Reports of changes underway at the Ice Palace are encouraging, it seems Lightning fans will enjoy most of the upgrades once they get a chance to attend a game in October. While I doubt I’ll be there for the home opener, I do hope to see at least one or two games at some point next season. Once I do, I’ll be sure to pass along my opinions. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Vinik is able to recoup any of his expenditures from the city of Tampa once the upgrades are done.

Even in the Twitter-verse things are relatively quiet, especially when compared to hysteria that accompanied the free agent frenzy at the beginning of the month. The only thing that popped up in the last couple of days was a rumor that had Tampa talking with Toronto. Normally, I don’t engage with speculation from unconfirmed sources, but with the overall landscape being quite bare let’s indulge a little shall we?

Any time trade speculation comes up the first thought is that Tampa Bay is giving up and dealing the rights to Stamkos to another club. In this case that’s highly unlikely. The Leafs aren’t exactly dealing with tons of cap space so in order to afford Stamkos they would have to move a rather large contract back to Tampa Bay.

In scouring their current roster, I must say there really isn’t all that much to choose from. Their biggest cap hits are: Phil Kessel ($5.4million for three more seasons), newly signed Tim Connolly (2 years at $4.75), Dion Phaneuf ($6.5 for three more years), and Mike Komisarek ($4.5 for three more years).

No one in that group would be worth taking on in exchange for Stamkos even with a top prospect and a high round pick or two. Sure, Phaneuf would provide some big hits and the occasional goal, but that’s a steep price tag for a player who is basically Mattias Ohlund, without all of the oldness.

Kessel would provide some scoring, but he has garnered a reputation as a sullen player who might not be the best clubhouse fit. The Lightning appear to be a tight-knit group and instilling a negative influence might not be great for team chemistry.

So in all likelihood the players being discussed don’t involve number 91. More likely, this is the emerging of the yearly Ryan Malone to Toronto trade rumors (now entering its third season!) Malone’s $4.5 million cap hit and declining salary might be more enticing to the Leafs than the $7.5-$8 million it will take to sign Stamkos. Malone, when healthy can provide 20-25 goals and be the big presence in front of the net that teams seem to desire these days.

The “when healthy” qualifier is important. He hasn’t played more than 70 games in a season since signing with the Lightning in 2008-09 and for some stretches, even when he’s been in the lineup it’s apparent that he hasn’t been 100%.
His role with Tampa Bay is hard to define as well. When most of the press talks about the type of forward that coach Guy Boucher prefers they use adjectives such as quick, fast-skating, hard working, defensive minded, two-way, back-checking, etc.

Those aren’t exactly Malone’s strong points. While he isn’t a horrible skater, he also isn’t going to win many fastest skater competitions either. His place is in front of the net where he can use his strength and natural pestering abilities to redirect pucks and stuff home rebounds. That takes skill and determination that I’m not sure many hockey fans appreciate. However, it might not be as important for the Lightning as it is for other teams.

What could the Lightning expect back for Mr. Malone? Well a draft pick and a mid –range prospect or third line NHL’er. The Lightning won’t be at the cap when they sign Stamkos and Purcell, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking to save some money. Turning that $4.5 million hit into a $1.5 million hit would give them some payroll flexibility should they need it down the road.

Who would replace him on the roster? With the loss of Sean Bergenheim and Simon Gagne it’s accepted that Malone would return to his role as one of the top six forwards on the team – a position he had and lost at the end of last season.

My immediate thought would be that he would be replaced from within. Recently Damian Cristodero had an article in the St. Pete Times that discussed Carter Ashton and his chances for making the club out of camp. The argument was that his best chance would be to change his game and become more of a third line center. If a Malone deal happens, wouldn’t it make more sense to have Ashton and his offensive skills on the
top lines instead of mucking it up for 8 minutes a game with the grinders?

Granted, it would be a big adjustment for Ashton to jump from juniors all the way to the NHL, but isn’t that why you trade up to draft elite talent? At some point these prospects are going to have to have their mettle tested against the big boys. Why not next season?

In all probability this is just speculation and Malone will be skating alongside Vincent next season on the second line. Still, that’s what these summer months are for. Well that and ice cream.