To make the situation any worse for the Toronto Blue Jays would be seemingly impossible.  Last night they achieved the impossible after a report that J.P. Ricciardi claimed to have talked to Adam Dunn over the telephone to squash any hard feelings stemming from comments they have made towards one another.  Dunn claims he never made a phone call to Ricciardi.

The situation reminds me of a politician who decides to make up a story which would have no real effect in his or her political campaign.  Regardless of what story you believe, whether Ricciardi was tricked or whether he made the story up, J.P. should have been the one to go out of his way to make the phone call.  He did start the fire.

Here in Toronto it has been difficult to give Ricciardi the benefit of the doubt.  We have seen some baffling changes over his 7 years as General Manager of the Blue Jays - considering he is in year 7 of a 5-year plan.  Here are a few quick points...

- What was once a proud franchise that use to have one of the best minor league systems around has now become one of the worst.  That comes to no surprise when Ricciardi got rid of most of the scouting department that had ties with the organization dating back to Pat Gillick.  Since the changes, few of Ricciardi's draft picks have made any kind of impact at the major league level.  The 3 faces of the Blue Jays organization, Vernon Wells, Alex Rios and Roy Halladay, were all drafted by Gord Ash.

- Ricciardi was specifically hired to make a contender out of a team that was not going to spend a lot of money.  Coming from the Oakland Athletics organization, Ricciardi was brought in to be the next Billy Beane, his close buddy.  After the 2005 season, the Blue Jays decided to boost payroll since they had brought in more revenue after the franchise successfully purchased Skydome - now Rogers Center.  The problem is, Ricciardi was brought in to win without a huge payroll and he still can't win WITH the boost in spending options.

- Ed Wade, the GM of the Houston Astros, offered Ricciardi Ryan Howard in exchange for Ted Lilly back in 2005 when Wade was GM for Philadelphia.  It was a deal that should have been made; Howard was ready for the big leagues after tearing up AAA for a couple of years and Lilly was just an above average pitcher at best.  Lilly was Ricciardi's guy, he liked Lilly from his Oakland days and felt he was going to accomplish big things.  Lilly walked after 2006 and signed with the Cubs while Howard won an MVP and hit nearly 60 home runs.

- In 2002 the New York Mets were interested in Jose Cruz Jr., then an outfielder and soon-to-be free agent for the Blue Jays.  Ricciardi was looking to deal Cruz and the Mets could only offer a Single-A player by the name of David Wright.  Cruz was not traded and signed with San Francisco after the season.

- That same year, Orlando Hudson called Ricciardi a "pimp", which Ricciardi did not take kindly.  He sent down Hudson who had a great spring training.  In AAA, Hudson was having a great year but as punishment, Ricciardi did not call him up to the big club.  Meanwhile, Homer Bush was battling injuries, Felipe Lopez was not adjusting to the major league level and Ricciardi decided to call up 1st round draft bust Joel Lawrence, who couldn't hit in the minors, let alone the majors.  Lawrence batted a cool .180 in 150 at bats while Hudson continued to abuse pitchers in Syracuse.  Hudson deserved a shot months earlier.

- 2005 draft.  The Blue Jays looked up and down the list and Ricciardi felt the need to draft a pitcher Ricky Romero.  Although the next best prospect on that list was Troy Tulowitzki, Ricciardi felt no need to draft another shortstop.  Unlike basketball or football, you have to draft the best available player in baseball because they will take a couple years before they are ready to play in the big leagues.  Therefore, not drafting the best player in the draft was a mistake.  Tulowitzki helped Colorado get to the World Series in 2007 while Romero may not ever make it to Toronto.  Other notable players that were passed over by the Blue Jays: Cameron Maybin, Jay Bruce, Michael Pelfrey and Jacoby Ellisbury.

- After the 2006 season Ricciardi had agreed to a deal with catcher Rod Barajas - or so he thought.  Barajas apparently backed out of the deal and signed with Philadelphia.  Ricciardi was enraged and spoke out about how Barajas had given him his word on signing with Toronto.  A year later, Ricciardi signs Barajas.  Funny considering the way he laid Barajas out just a year earlier. 

- If Ricciardi does his homework on guys like Adam Dunn, why did he sign Shea Hillenbrand?

There have been other things during his 7-year tenure as GM of the Jays (calling out A.J. Burnett through the media, lying about B.J. Ryan's injury last year, etc.).  What baffles me is how he still has his job.  He is down to his last few bullets after firing his friend John Gibbons, so he may be on the clock.  He has, however, established a great relationship with the media.  There have been very few people in Toronto that has taken a run at Ricciardi.  Whether it's the newspapers, television or the pre-game and post-game radio host, Ricciardi seems to have been given a pass within the media.  From now until his run as GM is over, he'll maintain a positive relationship with the media. 

Otherwise his days are numbered.

Was there a more appropriate title to a post that involves a few different sports? 

- There are positives we can look at for both teams participating in this year's World Series.  For Colorado they have been one of the hottest teams ever during a time that stresses clutchness.  For Boston they have been the best team over the course of the entire baseball season.  They were the ones hovering in and around a .600 winning percentage all year when nobody else could.  

Now people will look at Colorado's layoff as a negative.  I know if I were them I would have been studying tape of each game Boston (and Cleveland) played.  By the time the series begins tomorrow I would have each player broken down with every tendency and what strategy our team would need to apply to succeed.  That said, Colorado should at least be well-prepared for this matchup.

However, I'll go with the most consistent team over the season and say Boston in 6.

- Let's hope the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots get through this week because two undefeated teams facing off would obviously be great to watch.  It would be a letdown if either team lost in week 8.

New England has certainly had their own kind of soap opera this year.   Ever since the whole camera operating fiasco they haven't won over anyone.  That said, cheating of any kind will rub people the wrong way.  The backlash has been severe enough to cause people to believe the team has run up the score the last two weeks in a row.  No and No.

I've watched Football for the last 15 years and one of the things I have learned is no matter how good a team is NO LEAD IS EVER SAFE IN THE NFL. 

- If the Dallas Cowboys are so good, why do people talk about how New England 'has not beaten anyone'?  People have said this about the Patriots, and if people really believe this then why talk about Dallas as a very good team?  You can't have it both ways with the Cowboys.  If they are a serious Super Bowl contender then they should not be discredited as a bad opponent against New England. 

- Rumors surround the Toronto Blue Jays that President and CEO Paul Godfrey is stepping down to focus his attention on bringing an NFL team to Toronto.  Really?  And where are they going to play?  The Rogers Center?  Why would the NFL be open to having a team play in another country who's venue can barely hold over 50 000 people?  Wouldn't the NFL rather go somewhere that can hold 70 000 people?  It would certainly be appropriate for the NFL to stay on American soil where they don't have to worry about the complications of TV contracts with Canada.

From my perspective, I'd love to have an NFL team.  I just don't see it happening anytime unless they were to buy the Buffalo Bills and move the team up to Canada.  Last I checked, Toronto's main venue would fail to meet the NFL's expectations for an expansion franchise.  But one of the other problems the city has is the CFL.  The Toronto Argonauts are one of the oldest sporting teams in sports history and their tradition is rich in the city.  However, they only draw 25-35 000 people per game and if the NFL rolls into town that number will decrease.  The NFL may also affect the Hamilton Tiger Cats which is about 45 minutes away from the city of Toronto.  There is still a connection with the CFL and it's country so moving the NFL into Toronto will hurt the CFL.  Does it really matter?  Well, politicians may feel in their heart that they don't want to kill the CFL but a lot of politicians don't seem to have a heart so they'll have no problem with the huge revenues the NFL can bring to the city.

Last point: Godfrey leaving the Jays means the next president could fire J.P. Ricciardi after the 2008 season, about 3 seasons too late.  If they decide to make Ricciardi the President that would be a mistake.  He has proved nothing to deserve being president.

That is all for today.  Good day and good night.

 

On the field, off the field, it don't matter....

Like every baseball season there are changes and intriguing moments during this time of the year.  Of course this season is a little different as we approach this weekend with the ALCS still going.  Typically we would be preparing for the World Series tomorrow (Saturday), but instead we have a very interesting game 6 matchup in Boston with one of the best young arms in the Major Leagues in Fausto Carmona against arguably one of the best clutch pitchers over the last 15 years, Curt Schilling.

Boston did their job by beating the unsettled C.C. Sabathia, who hasn't pitched well once so far in these playoffs.  Casual observers of the game would scratch their heads watching his fastball sail outside the strike zone and wonder how he was so good in the regular season. 

Early Prediction: Game 6 will be a pitching duel with Schilling digging deep one more time.  Neither pitcher gets the win and Boston will finally chase the Indians bullpen during crunch time.  Game 7 will go to Cleveland and they will take on Colorado in the World Series.  How is that for Drama?

Last point on Boston: I know Manny Ramirez rubbed people the wrong way with his comments and I wonder why people are surprised?  He's been playing in the Major Leagues for 15 years I would assume you would have accepted who he is by now.  That said, his comments weren't meant that he doesn't care about THIS SEASON.  Unlike a lot of Boston hitters, ManRam has showed up.  His statements had more to do with handling the agony of defeat.  You may think that sounds stupid but ask a guy like Manny Ramirez to elaborate on deep feelings and you won't get a great answer.  Why?  Because he's just not wired that way.

COACHES

Dusty Baker will now coach the Cincinnati Reds.  Why would he want to coach them?  I'm guessing he was bored this season being out of coaching. 

Why hire Baker?  Because he is a name.  That is the best answer I have.  People like to talk about how he hung Mark Prior and Kerry Wood out to dry on the mound but I would not blame Wood's injury problems on Dusty.  Kerry's problems began WAY before Dusty arrived in Chicago.  Mark Prior on the other hand is a maybe.  Lets remember that when Prior first went on the DL back in 2004 his problem was with his foot.  Perhaps he was overcompensating and then his arm gave out.  We don't know.  I am not here to say it was a great hire for Cincy but based on their track record they have gotten a guy you could consider as an upgrade.

Speaking of upgrading, the New York Yankees will not be upgrading the managerial position as Joe Torre is gone.  Love how the Yanks spun the whole situation by giving Torre the power to come back.  BULLCRAP!  The seed had been planted when reports of Torre being gone were leaked during the ALDS.  That, along with the drama that has unfolded since the 2004 playoffs, would it have been worth the trouble of coaching a team loaded with big bats and questionable arms and a front office that doesn't care if you are still there?  Torre didn't need to accept the deal from New York because he would have been slapped in the face again sooner or later.  New York will now either use the inexperienced Don Mattingly or Joe Girardi.  Girardi may have worked wonders in Florida but its not an upgrade.  Not when the previous manager still had his clubhouse and the respect from the players in that room - something that gets lost when you manager in the league for a significant period of time.

THE OTHER SIDE

If I am Colorado right now I would be studying tape of both teams as much as possible during this time.  There should be no excuse for them to be unprepared. 

Side note: does Orel Hersheiser and Jim Kelly look alike?

Have a great weekend

Woke up this morning to read a terrible headline on foxsports.com's website stating the NLCS suffered it's lowest TV ratings in history.  Apparently people have decided they would much rather watch garbage, over-the-top drama shows than a team that is in the midst of perhaps one of the greatest runs in Major League Baseball history.

We've seen some great runs by MLB teams in recent years.  One of the most famous runs that people talked about for years was the 35-5 record of the Detroit Tigers to start the 1984 season.  They went on to win the World Series.

There was the 2001 Seattle Mariners who, despite losing in the ALCS to the New York Yankees, had an incredible regular season.  However, people quickly forgot how good they were because they didn't get the job done.

Then there was the run in 2002 by the Oakland Athletics in which they ripped off 20 consecutive victories to propel themselves into first place in the West Division.  They went on to have an unmemorable playoff loss to the Minnesota Twins.

But the biggest reason why this run is special is thanks in part to the 1-game playoff victory as well as the 7-0 start to the post-season.  That doesn't cover their 13 wins out of 14, including 11 in a row, just to climb from 4th place on September 16th to tied for 2nd on the very last day of the season.  Nobody saw this coming - and anyone who says they did ought to be a betting man for a crime family.

They got spanked 3 games in a row prior to the 11-game winning streak, once by Philadelphia (12-4) and twice by Florida (7-6 - not a spanking, and 10-2 - a total spanking).  What was impressive about their climb in the standings was that all the wins came against teams that were above them in the standings.  Then they blew right by Los Angeles after sweeping them and then tore apart San Diego.  Then they administered some more punishment on LA before swiping two of three against the team they just eliminated last night, Arizona.  They didn't have the luxury of crushing Pittsburgh or Cincinnati during their run.  They beat teams that were considered contenders all year long.

If someone came up to you in August and said, "one team will win 13 of their last 14 to force a 1-game playoff and win that playoff game", you would have maybe thought of Detroit, Atlanta, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minnesota or even Seattle.  Colorado would have been in your top 10 but certainly not option #1.  Perhaps the shock of seeing Colorado this far in the playoffs is the reason why some may believe that this is the greatest run of any team over the course of a 20-25 game span.  

Whether or not you believe that is your call.  Nobody can take away what appears to be one of the most clutch performances by any team who could have folded up and played .500 ball and nobody would have thought any less of them. 

The people who have chosen not to watch this team has missed the opportunity to witness baseball history.  If they become World Series champions it will become part of sports history and those who watched this amazing performance will have stories to tell for the rest of their lives.

Maybe even Eric Byrnes.

Let's get this right out of the way so that fans of Jimmy Rollins or Philadelphia can think about jabbing the pitchfork through this blog rather than no thought whatsoever: Jimmy Rollins is a good shortstop and has been one of the best in the National League for years.  Teams would kill for a guy like him to play position 6 for several years.  His game has transformed him from being a speed guy to an all-around, perennial All-Star shortstop.  

But he is not the MVP of the National League.  In fact, he is not the MVP of his team.  

That distinction goes to Chase Utley.  I realize Utley's playoff performance was a disappointment while Rollins showed up, but the playoffs do not dictate who the MVP of the regular season is.  The Phillies could not have gotten to the playoffs without the play of Rollins, Utley or Ryan Howard, the reigning MVP of last season.  The team went through a roller coaster ride all season; from a manager on the hot seat to the team losing pitchers to injury to a head-screwed starter-turned-closer losing his head (only this time it was not on his wife), to making an improbable comeback to win the division.  Who was the one guy Philly could not play without?  Chase Utley.  When he was hurt, Philadelphia went into a funk.  When he came back from injury, they starting clicking again.  That is why he is the MVP of this team.  They were not the same team when Utley was out of the lineup.

As for Rollins, who played a big role in Philadelphia's run for the playoffs, is to his team what Kenny Lofton was to Cleveland in the mid-90's, what Roberto Alomar was to the Toronto Blue Jays in the early 90's and what Derek Jeter has been to the New York Yankees.  All rock-solid players who are valuable to their team - but none of them have an MVP under their name during the regular season.  Seems strange because those guys were impact players in their prime (in Jeter's case he still is an impact player), but that does not downplay how great they were or are.  Rollins is that guy. 

But don't go Barry Larkin and give him the MVP. 

Who takes the award then?

Some people are saying Matt Holliday.  Granted, Holliday plays in Colorado - a place known for offense but he certainly had a great year.  However, Holliday wasn't even on the radar until the last week of the season.  An MVP should have had strong consideration before September 15th.  Therefore, Holliday is not an option.

This decision, however, will allow you to pile up ridicule.

David Wright.

I realize New York just had one of the biggest choke jobs in baseball history.  But Wright was the man the entire year, hit for a great average with great power, fielded his position like a gold glover and added 30+ stolen bases to his credit.  Not to mention that his second half and September batting average was incredible.  So how do you fault the guy?  The Toronto Blue Jays choked a big lead away in 1987 to the Detroit Tigers when they lost their final 7 games of the season.  The man who won the MVP award that season was George Bell, who played with the Jays.  He was the MVP that season and David Wright should be the MVP of the National League. 

Other Awards:

- A-Rod should win the AL MVP, Jake Peavy should win the Cy Young Award in the NL and I'd give the AL Cy Young to Josh Beckett with C.C. Sabathia being a close second.  Give Ryan Braun the Rookie of the year in the NL and Dustin Pedroia the Rookie of the year in the AL.  Coaches of the year?  Let's go with Eric Wedge and Bob Melvin.

***My show has been on hiatus since Sept 20 as I have been working on other projects while recharging the batteries.  I will be back next Tuesday October 16 at 9AM EST. 

Baseball has the home run derby.  Hockey has the skills competition.  Basketball has the slam-dunk and 3-point contests and Football has, well, great weather.  Today we sit hours away from the mid-summer classic and we have something to beef about.

Depending on the person, some feel the home run derby has run it's course.  I remember when I went to the 1991 All Star festivities to watch the old timers game and the home run contest I was thrilled about it.  I was 8 years old at the time so perhaps the joy was caused by youthful intrigue.  But some of the complaints are invalid.  While you see the derby as the same thing over and over again, watching long bombs, you get to see some guys you may not really know well.  Granted, you see more of the same thing but the difference now from 1991 is you have more than one round (as well as the body-type, but that's another story).

What probably set me off was the notion that there weren't enough big names in the contest.  They wanted to see guys like Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey - great power hitters.  However, why was there complaints about the competitors last night?  We watched 2 hall of famers, Albert Pujols and Vladimir Guerrero, who are the two most consistent and best hitters of this decade.  Yes, I just snubbed Alex Rodriguez - ask yourself when Albert and Vlad hit under .300 and the answer is never.  Vlad and Albert are the two best hitters in the game today - and had Miguel Cabrera not pulled out of the competition we could have had "The Next One", so to speak.

We also had reigning MVP's Justin Morneau and Ryan Howard (also the HR champ and last year's derby winner), current home run leader Prince Fielder, current batting average leaders Magglio Ordonez and Matt Holliday, and newcomer Alex Rios.  Aside from Rios, who ended up hitting the most bombs yesterday, there were guys who deserved to be there.  So the knock on the competitors not being marquee or not being big-names is horseshit.  Years from now we could be saying "wow, that 2007 derby had some great players", and potentially more hall of famers.

Now, we would have loved to have seen Barry in the competition simply because it's his house.  But he declined and that was his choice.  But we did listen to him being interviewed during the broadcast and he really handled himself well during the interview.

There are a lot of people who are defending Barry's actions and will continue to use the argument that there is "no proof" that he did a thing - which is naive to think.  However let me play devil's advocate for a second: one of the parts of both Bonds books stated that he was ticked that guys were getting away with using illegal supplements (by law) yet he was getting by on pure natural ability without any #### in his system.  If you had the opportunity to take something to enhance your legacy with the knowledge that the game itself does not care would you at least think about it?  Barry Bonds has a huge ego and quite frankly that is not necessarily a bad thing.  I'm not the person that will condone what he did but I have always seen the reasoning behind it.  Ungrateful and undeserving players taking the awards, credit and respect that he felt he earned during his career.  Had he been better to the media when he was younger they may have been going out of their way to say something great about him during the midst of baseball's dark age.  Regardless, many baseball players know they have gotten away with something both Bonds and Jason Giambi haven't, along with the rest of the players who have tested positive over the last few years.

At least Bonds isn't the one losing his head over this record.  That goes to Commissioner Bud Selig.  He's taken this personal because he doesn't want to see his buddy Hank's record broken, and that is human nature.  He also may feel deep down that he let this happen under his watch.  Or he knows more than he's letting on and cannot share it with anyone - allowing it to eat away at him.  Only those close to the situation knows the truth, but Selig not being present for the record-breaker does not provide fans any confidence of this entire scenario.  True fans know he has to be there and if he doesn't show up a lot of fans will lose faith in the game if they haven't already.

Let's just get through tonight and then we can focus on the pennant races for the second half.

...Other notes...

- How does a guy get robbed twice in his life?  Antoine Walker managed to have that happen to him.  That is either a total coincidence or someone really enjoys taking stuff from him.  He may want to leave Chicago and head to Miami.  It's warmer down there anyway.

- There is no question that Roger Federer is more dominant in his sport than Tiger Woods at this present time.  He has been in the finals of every major for the last 9 Majors.  That is incredible.  That is pure dominance.  This does not take anything away from Tiger, who's phenomenal.  What needs to be pointed out is Federer's lack of hype surrounding his greatness.

- The Tour de France started already?  Did anyone notice?  Even the NHL said they were pretty quiet.

What's The Deeley-O back this Thursday.  Doesn't matter what you write to me just WRITE.  Thursday's are your day bloggers so check in and dazzle me.  Cheers. (chevradionoise@gmail.com).

www.chevradioam
.com 

In Toronto, you have the Toronto Maple Leafs and then the next team.  The next team could be anybody: Blue Jays, Raptors, Argonauts, Rock (Lacrosse - Yes, Lacrosse).  But the number one team in the city of Toronto is the Maple Leafs and that is just the way it is.  That does not reflect too well on our city's intelligence but that's a whole-new debate.  The organization and the fans that support their bullcrap is not something to be proud of.  However, the Raptors this season has given us reason to be proud of sports in the city, and Sam Mitchell's coach of the year award is the icing on the cake.

- Here's the thing about the award choice: Every league and every award (most of the time) will have more than one worthy candidate to win that particular award.  This year is no exception when it comes to the MVP or coach of the year in basketball.  Mitchell has great reasons why he deserved the award.

Let's remember, he had 4 returning players from last season (not including Pape Sow, who usually sported a nice suit to each game - he would make 5).  Mitchell also received players from Europe, who not only had to adjust to the NBA but adjust to the lifestyle as well, mainly the language barrier.  Bryan Colangelo deserves a ton of credit for bringing in Rasho Nesterovic to be the natural center and to tutor Uros Slokar, as well as Jorge Garbajosa to compliment Jose Calderon.  The cultural differences would prove to pay off for Andrea Bargnani, an Italian who was a true rookie.  Put all those guys together and you have yourself a tough task of keeping the team together and getting along, as well as the added pressure for Mitchell as a lame-duck coach.  They not only made the playoffs, they won the division, albeit a very soft division.  But here is my problem: Wouldn't this award for Mitchell downgrade the job done by Bryan Colangelo?  I mean, how can you give executive of the year to the GM who's coach won the COY award yet their team may not reach the second round of the playoffs?  

I think Mitchell was a worthy-candidate and a great choice.  He wasn't my first choice.  Mine goes to the coach who's team had to fight 2 other 50+ teams in his division and a playoff worthy team in New Orleans, an 0-4 start to the season,  the ghosts of the 2006 NBA finals and constant work on the defensive end of the floor for a team that has been known in recent years as an offensive powerhouse.  That award should have went to Avery Johnson.  Dallas wins 20 more games than Toronto in a much tougher division AND with the added pressures of repeating as West Conference champions.  I congratulate Mitchell's win, nonetheless.

- While I'm still on the topic of Toronto, they need to sweep New York over the next two games for two seperate reasons...1) They need to do this for themselves and their confidence and 2) To seperate themselves from New York who should eventually snap out of this.  They are the Yankees, they always do, right?  Despite Alex Rodriguez's hot start, the team cannot win because their suspect and ####ed up pitching has faltered.  Joe Torre was looking for extra arms in the bullpen but forgot to ask for quality from The Boss.  New York's Jason Giambi has been text messaging Roger Clemens to come back and pitch for them.  They do need Clemens right now, even if Clemens is not the same as he was with Houston.  But if Toronto beats them twice and the Yanks fall to 8-13, Clemens should respond to Giambi like this: Go #### URself.  That's how people text message, right?

- Staying in T.O., hockey fans are absolutely jealous at Buffalo and insensed with Ottawa.  If Ottawa were to shock everyone and blow away each team en route to a Stanley Cup win, there will be a lot of blue and white jerseys standing on tall buildings with slit wrists.  They hate Ottawa, and Ottawa probably doesn't care for Toronto either.  All I know is if you are in Toronto during the Stanley Cup final with Ottawa about to win Lord Stanley, look above you to make sure leaves with humans wearing them aren't plunging down on you.  You think I'm joking?  Leaf fans want anyone but Ottawa to win the cup.

- Watching a bit of the New York Mets v. Colorado Rockies game today was rather akward.  First because Colorado was actually hitting outside of their own home ballpark, but also for the advertisement behind the backstop.  There was a no-smoking ad which featured a guy holding the space on his throat where he breathes.  This was more disturbing than watching softcore porn actors trying to act.  All I know is if that doesn't get the attention of youths today to never start smoking, I don't know what will.  For that entire half-inning Tom Seaver was saying something but I was so fixated on that ad that I can't remember what he was talking about.  Something regarding Jerry Koosmen and him helping eachother.  Hopefully it was to tell eachother not to end up like that dude on the advertisement.

- Mock draft, mock draft, mock draft....there have been tons of scenarios and I have no idea what to make of it.  Talent v. need is a big issue.  Oakland needs a quarterback, but can they survive with a rookie for another year as Randy Moss gets a year older?  Will Detroit trade their pick or even take another receiver?  Who's taking Adrian Peterson? 

There are two teams that may not address their needs in the draft unless they trade up: Minnesota at QB and Buffalo at RB.  Now the Vikings may be content with who they have and they might be correct.  But Buffalo needs Peterson badly.  But I don't think they want to draft that high because I doubt they will want to spend the kind of money a #3 or #4 draft pick will command in the market.  But this is one intriguing draft in a sense that we have no clue from the very beginning.

- Annika Sorenstam wants to be ready for the next major championship as she's fighting injury.  This is important because Sorenstam has epitomized dominance in her sport.  We tend to bypass the LPGA tour which is sad, but we cannot bypass the legacy of Sorenstam.  She is still a top-flight golfer and can still break all the LPGA records for wins and majors by the time she is ready to retire from competitive golf.  Coming back early from injury and contending, much less win, will be another notch in her storied career.  As a male who golfs from time to time, I find it more useful to watch the female golfers because they will have similar strategies to me.  Why?  Because we probably hit the ball the same in terms of distances.  They will be much more accurate and simply more talented, but taking a cue from their game is much better for my game than it is watching the men who will out-distance and out-perform my buddies and I.  Keep that in mind if you need tips, and I bet you do.

"WHAT'S THE DEELEY-O?" is back on tomorrow at 11:05AM EST.  Send your Canadian-based questions to chevradionoise@gmail.com.  If you cannot catch the show at that time, it will be replayed from 5-8PM, which means the segment will run sometime between 7-7:15 PM tomorrow night.  We plan to podcast this one as our podcasting program is back working again.  Check me out at www.chevradioam.com if you have the time or if you are working at a cubicle and need some entertainment.  I am great to listen to during the work day.  I will carry you from 9AM to lunch with relative ease.  Sports is on, time to watch.  Cheers.

 

We had a long discussion about Pedro Martinez and whether he is or isn't a hall of famer.  Jeff Bagwell hits an interesting discussion when it comes to Cooperstown.

Bagwell, the 1994 NL MVP, is looking to come back in 2007 and play after missing the 2006 season due to injury.  Looking at his career and other factors involved in making an argument for someone, he definitely is an intriguing case.

Before looking at some of the points that would or would not get him in, one of the classic arguments people have said is that if you need to argue someone in then they probably aren't a hall of famer.   For example, the moment Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux retire we will all say 'yes' at the same time without hesitation.  Many major leaguers are like that.  But Bagwell is not, so there is already 1 strike against him.

Here is what he has: Career .297 hitter (good for power guy), 449 Homeruns and 1529 RBI's.  He has had 8 seasons with over 100 RBI, including 6 in a row, as well as 40 homeruns 3 times.  In the 1990's, he played in a ballpark that was considered to be one of the toughest to hit balls out of.  So when we saw guys hit bombs at an alarming rate in homer-friendly ballparks (Kingdome, Arlington, Coors etc.), he was jerking them out of the Astrodome.  By the time they moved to Ten-ron Park (Minute Made/Enron Field), Bags only had a few productive years left which he maximized as much as possible. 

Then you have to think about one little factor: Was he the best first baseman of his time?

- Certainly was not better than Frank Thomas in the mid 90's.

- He was no Mark McGwire, performance enhancers not included.

- Though he's never mentioned, Todd Helton has some incredible numbers early in this decade.

- The Albert Pujols factor over the last few seasons.

Was it out of the question to think Bags was a top 3 first baseman for some time period?  Yes he could be considered.   From 1994-2003, Bagwell was a top of the line first baseman. 

So the question remains: Is he in?

Let's say, for instance, he is in.  What does that do for us?

- If Bagwell get's in, then Fred McGriff should be in.  A two-time homerun champion from both leagues who was a top tier first baseman alongside Bagwell for many years with Toronto, San Diego and Atlanta.

- If Bagwell get's in, what about Andre Dawson?  Another former MVP who's stats are similar with the exception of more stolen bases and gold gloves for The Hawk, but he also was an outfield.  That suggests that the hall of fame will look at positions when comparing eligible ex-players, which is true.  Catchers or second baseman typically have had less impact in terms of offensive numbers than those of outfielders or first basemen.  The proof is in the numbers.

- What about other guys on the cusp like Gary Sheffield?

- Who had the bigger impact during the 1990's, Bagwell or Albert Belle?  And where's Albert in the hall of fame mix?

Basically we are looking at this 2007 season as the make or break year for Bagwell to get in.  500 homeruns is suppose to be the benchmark and he is 51 away.  He won't get it next year and probably not 2008 either.  So if he hits 475, does he make it in?

My decision is at this point in time, Jeff Bagwell is not in.  However, a healthy 2007 season can get him in.  He does not need Frank Thomas numbers from this past year to do it, but 20 homeruns will help his cause.  Bags was a great ballplayer and seems like a classy dude.  Unfortunately, I think he needs to put in a little more work to get himself enshrined into Cooperstown.