Divisional Weekend - Sunday Games

Out of the six games that have been contested in this year's playoffs, only one final score has ended up within one touchdown. Here's to hoping today's slate is more entertaining. Onto the games:

Cowboys (+3) at Vikings, Sunday 1PM EST, FOX: Who do you hate more? The Cowgirls or girly man Brett Favre?

Can't both teams lose?

Many people think that this game will be the best matchup of the weekend, evidenced by the fact that tickets are the most expensive of all 4 Divisional games. However, this can also be attributed to the fact that Minneapolis is the largest market of all 4 home teams - imagine that?

Wisconsin native Tony Romo faces his childhood idol Favre. Favre is back in the Playoffs. Adrian Peterson, the Purple Jesus and a childhood diehard Cowboys fan, attempts to reach 100 yards for the first time in 2 months. Peterson had two 2 TDs last year in the Playoffs against the Eagles, but that wasn't enough to counter Tavaris Jackson's ineffectiveness. Will Favre under center change things for the Vikes? Perhaps. Or perhaps he will play like he did at the end of the regular season that resulted in Minnesota gaining a first round bye only because of the fact that Dallas beat the Eagles. The rest will certainly help the antiquated Favre.

The Cowboys Can Win If: On offense, Felix Jones continues his scorching rushing attack and Marion Barber III, the Minnesota native and former Golden Gopher star, can be effective. This would enable Dallas' 3 headed monster of Barber, Choice and Jones to overcome Minnesota's 2nd ranked run defense. Tony Romo also needs to play like he did last week instead of postseasons past. On defense, DeMarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer and Jay Ratliff must put pressure on Favre and force the old man into committing at least 2 turnovers. Also, they have to avoid giving up the big play like they have done against the Saints and Eagles in recent weeks. Kicker Shaun Suisham must not melt in big games like he did for the Redskins.

The Vikings Can Win If: Favre doesn't play like his age or like Dave Shinskie from Boston College. They guard against the run like they have all season. Force Romo into 2 turnovers.

Prediction: Romo has 1 TD to Miles Austin and another to Martellus Bennett to accompany his 250 yards and 1 INT and Barber runs in another one. The Purple Jesus runs for one TD and Favre throws another to Visanthe Shiancoe. Wade Phillips keeps his job.

Cowboys: 24
Vikings: 17

New York Jets (+8) at San Diego Chargers, Sunday 4:40 PM EST, CBS: OK, the Jets, were impressive the past 2 weekends in their dual beatdown of the Bengals the past 2 weeks. And the Jets have the best defensive player in the NFL despite what the idiotic Associated Press says about the matter. And former USC QB Mark Sanchez is returning to SoCal. So it seems like a surefire Jet victory, correct?

But those were the Bungals, who have only one postseason win since 1991, and not the hottest team in the NFL entering the playoffs.

But Darelle Revis cannot cover every inch of the field and all of the Chargers' talented receivers, including Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd at the same time. Not to mention LaDanian Tomlinson ("Fake LT") and Darren Sproles coming out of the backfield.

But Mark Sanchez is still a rookie QB and could possibly be worse off as a result of returning home.

How the Jets Can Win: Blitz Phillip Rivers like they have blitzed opposing QBs all year. Focus on the run and limit Mark Sanchez’s pass attempts.

How the Chargers Can Win: Pressure Mark Sanchez and force him to turn the ball over. Take advantage of the short field to counter the Jets’ league’s best overall defense and best pass defense. Rivers must be protected and not throw the ball to Darrelle Revis’s side of the field. Utilize the screen like they have all season to beat the Jets blitzing and

Prediction: For the Jets, Thomas Jones runs for a score and Feely kicks a FG. Helped with a short field as a result of a couple Sanchez INTs, Fake LT and Antonio Gates each score a TD and Nate Kaeding adds 2 FGs to send the Bolts to Indianapolis for the AFC Championship game.

Chargers: 20
Jets: 10

Enjoy the games.

One Reason Not To Hate Brett Favre

When the Twins' ninth inning comeback fell short in the nitecap of yesterday's doubleheader againt Detroit, the Tigers ran their AL Central Lead back to two games. Their magic number is now four. Both the Twins and Tigers have 5 games left, two of them head-to-head. If the Tigers sweep the two they clinch; if the Twins do, they're dead even with three games to go.

Of course, all of this matters to the Yankees as they won't know who their ALDS opponent is until the AL Central is settled. While much of the talk around the Yankees these days is of the "who would you rather face?" variety, my preference isn't so much who they face but rather how long it takes to determine that. If given my druthers, this race would go down to the season's final day, not just for intrigue purposes, but also to force both clubs to continue to play their regulars and trot out their top starters.

Because of the doubleheader yesterday, both clubs have a dilemma for Saturday: bring back one of yesterday's starters on short rest, or send an inferior, but rested, pitcher to the mound with the season hanging in the balance. For the Tigers, the fact that 20 year old Rick Porcello was one of yesterday's pitchers makes the decision all the more complicated. Porcello has already thrown 165 innings this year - 40 more than his previous high - and bringing him in on short rest would increase his risk of future injury. Instead, the Tigers likely would elect to throw ace Justin Verlander on short rest Saturday, even though he's thrown 120+ pitches in each of his last three starts, including a season high 129 last night. For the Twins, "ace" Nick Blackburn would likely come back on short rest Saturday, and it looks like he'd draw Zack Greinke.

If the Yankees pick ALDS schedule "A" as expected, Game 1 would be next Wednesday, meaning that if the Saturday starter of the AL Central champ pitches that game, it would also be on short rest.

Here's where things can get really interesting. Should the Tigers and Twins finish the regular season tied, an additional play in game would be held to determine the division champion. The Twins lead the season series against the Tigers 10-6, so regardless of the outcome of the next two games, the Twins would host any potential play in game.

However, root-of-all-evil Brett Favre and his Minnesota Vikings are scheduled to play his former team, the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football next week. The Vikings' Metrodome lease gives them priority over all non-World Series games and the NFL has already announced the game will not be moved. There's no way ESPN, who is actively trying to set a Favre-based Guiness World Record to promote the game, would pass up on the ratings bonanza. As such, the AL Central championship game wouldn't be held until Tuesday, meaning that whoever pitches that game will have one fewer day of rest heading into the ALDS. So in a way, thank you Brett you waffling, self-centered attention whore.

All else being equal, I think I'd prefer to face the Twins in the ALDS. They appear to have a much weaker squad, particularly in the starting rotation, are missing a key offensive weapon in Justin Morneau, are 0-7 against the Yankees this year, and have been ALDS fodder for the Yanks in '03 and '04. However, I'd much rather have the Central go undecided until next Tuesday and play the Tigers than have the Twins come back and clinch it Saturday. These will certainly be an interesting few days.

Joe Girardi's Morning In Crazy Land

If I hadn't already seen this reported by several media outlets, I would have to think it was a joke.

Joe Girardi spent Tuesday morning at a scrimmage between the Raiders and 49ers, as a guest of his friend, 49ers Head Coach Mike Singletary. Straight-laced, buzz cut, golly-gee Joe Girardi and bat shit crazy, drop-my-pants-at-halftime, "physical" with an "F", throw-my-players-off-the-sideline-mid-game Mike Singletary. Cue the music.

I can't possibly imagine how these two struck up a friendship. My best guess is that it originated from their overlapping time in Chicago: Singletary with da Bears through 1992 and Girardi with the Cubbies from '89-'92.

If that wasn't enough, Girardi also got to meet John Madden and Al Davis, who of course makes Singletary look bland on the relative insanity scale. Davis, Brooklyn raised, reportedly told Girardi to say "hi" to George Steinbrenner. I figured Al and George would be communicating telepathically by this point.


As for Madden, my only hope is Girardi got out of dodge before news broke of the return of a certain waffling, washed-up quarterback. I don't even want to think about what Madden would have done to celebrate that news, but it couldn't have been pretty.

No word as to whether there was any coach-on-coach violence at the scrimmage.

Girardi didn't appear to be suffering any ill effects last night. But if he starts acting irrationally, pulls a Steve Lyons, or happens to sock Mick Kelleher in the mush, we'll know why.

Wasting Time On An Off Night

Tonight is the first of three Mondays that the Yankees will have off in a row. It's probably a welcome relief for the players and beat writers, who have only had two days off (not including rain outs) since April 23rd. For most fans, the void of not having a game to watch on a weeknight is not as highly anticipated. One of the things that's great about baseball is that's it's there almost every night. When you come to the realization that you might have to find something else to do or watch on a weeknight, it can be a bit of a letdown.

The NBA Finals just wrapped up, the Stanley Cup finals are over and baseball finally has the summer all to itself. And on the first night that is the case, there are a whopping two MLB baseball games to chose from and one from the College World Series.

• Brewers vs. Indians - 7:05 - ESPN - Carl Pavano starts for the Cleveland against David Bush. This is a tough sell for Yankees fans, or anyone who isn't a fan of these two teams for that matter. It's not a natural rivalry and although the Brewers are in first place in the NL Central, it's hard to get excited for this one.
  
  
• Angels vs. Giants - 10:05 - MLB.tv, MLB Extra Innings or a couple of stations in California that I'm not going to bother to look up because if you get this broadcast you already know what they are - John Lackey vs. Barry Zito. Another not-so-appealing match-up for East Coasters but might be worth your while if Zito gets shelled in the first few innings.
  
  
• Arkansas vs. LSU - 7:00 - ESPN2 - Tune in to probably see some player(s) who will make the major leagues one day who you will never remember.

Perhaps you would like to avoid sports all together for one night? How about:

• No Reservations : Peru, Hong Kong - 7:00, 8:00 - Travel Channel - A show about traveling by the seat of your pants and eating great food. Yes, I am a fan of Anthony Bourdain.
  
  
• If shitty reality TV shows are your thing, Uproxx's Warming Glow has some recommendations for you.
  
  
• Real Time With Bill Maher - 8:00 - HBO - A re-run from Friday night, but it's a solid episode. First guest is Larry King and the panel consists of Chris Matthews, a former homeland security advisor and the head of the NAACP.
  
  
• Joe Buck Live - 9:00 - HBO - Just in case you didn't hate this show just because Joe Buck is hosting it, Brett-fucking-Favre is his first guest.
  
  
• Weeds - 10:00 - Showtime - It's an entertaining show that's a little bit over the top at times, but still a lot of fun to watch. It's amazingly already in it's 5th season and feels like it still has some plotlines to explore.
  
  
• Nurse Jackie - 10:30 - Showtime - Piggybacking off of an established show is a pretty good way to develop a viewership. Snagging Edie Falco from the Sopranos doesn't hurt either.

Or, if you happen to be kicking around the Upper West Side of Manhattan this evening, stop by the Amsterdam Ale House for an event that The Bruery is hosting. That's where I'll be wasting time.

Roger Clemens Would Like You To Know That He Is Still Delusional

[Update: Here is the interview]

This morning, Roger Clemens appeared on Mike and Mike in the Morning, to react to the book American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids In America's Pastime which was released today. And by "react to", I mean "hammer the same trite talking points that no one has bought since this information came out". Another amusing aspect of this is it only serves to raise awareness of the book well beyond its authors or publishers ever could have hoped to do themselves.

If he wasn't such a defiantly arrogant prick, you might almost feel bad for the guy. He comes on a nationally syndicated radio program and aside from Rusty Hardin, he might be the only person who actually believes what he is saying. For a more complete synopsis of the main points of questioning and Clemens' reactions to them, check out what Jason at IIATM,S posted.

Right out of the gate, he busts out with two painfully contrived stunts. First, he makes it clear that this is the only interview he is going to be able to do because he is supposedly going away for a week.

Clemens: I'm gettin' ready to go out of town, err, out of the country for a week... 

[...]

RC (About a minute later): Deb and I are getting ready to go out of town, err, out of the country for a week.

The fact that he instantly corrects himself both times and makes a point to say that he is leaving the country, would indicate that it was a talking point fed to him by Hardin or one of his other advisers. Why would it be important where he is going (unless he wanted to make it look like he wasn't dodging other interviews)? He came on Mike and Mike because he know they weren't going to be overly aggressive with their questioning. They did a pretty good job, but let him off the hook repeatedly. Has Clemens ever even left the country (aside from playing in Toronto)?He doesn't really strike me as much of an international traveler. Where is he going? Obviously not Mexico...

However, it was the second one I found most egregious.

RC: [Talking lowly away from the phone]

Mike Greenberg: Roger, are you still with us?

RC: [Still talking away from the phone, but audibly now] Okay buddy, I'll get ready to take you to school in a minute.

Are... you... fucking... kidding... me? This is your first interview in over a year, and you couldn't get your wife or one of your fifteen advisers to watch your kids for 10 minutes? I'm calling bullshit. This just happened to occur withing the first minute of the interview? His youngest child is no less than TWELVE YEARS OLD. It's not like he's got some clueless kindergartner wandering around the house.

Clemens also provides another iron clad reason that he couldn't have possibly used steroids: People in his family have suffered from heart conditions. He lists off two people who have suffered heart attacks, one of which was his stepfather. Roger Clemens - Nobel Prize Winning Geneticist.

RC: Our family has a history of heart conditions. My brother had a heart attack in his late 40's, my stepdad died of a heart attack... Uh, I mean, it would be suicidal for me to, even think about taking any of these dangerous drugs. 

No. No it would not. This is the worst defense you could possibly put forth. How could I have done this, it would have been inadvisable for me to do so?1?! Never mind the possibility that he could have resurrected his entire career, profited nine figure sums, won multiple World Series, and achieved international fame and athletic glory. But for him to potentially take a few years off of his life would have prevented him from doing steroids. Nice try, but I don't think so. 

A few other notes:

• Throughout the interview, Clemens refereed to the book as "piling on". Does he want to us to feel sorry for him? "Piling on" doesn't imply that what is being said is false. 
  
  
• He did later refer to McNamee's accusations as "totally false" and "impossible". Roger, your trainer, Brain McNamee injected your wife (not a professional athlete) with HGH. It is certainly not impossible, much less implausible that he did the same to you, considering that you had the world to gain by letting him so do.
  
  
• Still says that Andy Pettitte "misremembers" and they are still friends
  
  
• Danced around A-Rod and Manny questions, saying he didn't know the details about Manny's test and that he watched only a portion of A-Rod's interview with Peter Gammons and none of his second press conference.
  
  
• Constantly talked about "the kids" and how he has been throwing batting practice to them, how steroids are bad for them, etc. 
  
  
• Claimed he has been getting "great responses" in all of the cities he has been traveling to. 
  
  
• And finally, at the very end of the interview when Golic asked him whether he was finished playing, he compared himself to Brett Favre and said that if Favre comes back, he might have to start "pounding the pavement". 

I hadn't thought of the comparison, but it's certainly interesting one, with the most glaring similarity being that I wish both of them would take the millions of dollars they have made from playing professional sports and fucking dissapear forever. 

Number of Days Until Spring Training: Derek Jeter (#2)

Did you notice that last year, Derek Jeter had his worst full season offensively as a professional? He had similar OPS+'s in 1996 and 1997 but that takes into account the inflated offensive era those years were a part of. His 2008 batting average (-.16), on-base percentage (-.24) and slugging percentage (-.50) were all well off his career marks. Consequently, his counting stats (11HR, 69 RsBI) were far below his averages too. He only stole eleven bases, and was caught five times.

Before I looked those numbers up, I didn't notice either. He doesn't seem to fall into extended slumps and as a fan watching the games, your memories are probably shaped more by how many hits he gets as opposed to his OPS.

Jeter's image, of course, is solid titanium and during last season he was linked to Minka Kelly, appeared in Ford and Gatorade commercials and gave a great speech after the last game at the Old Stadium that Will and I were fortunate enough to witness (even from two obstructed view seats in the left field upper deck). It's easy to overlook or forgive his slipping production.

A shortstop who has been a defensive liability for quite some time, his offense is falling far enough to make him dangerously close to an average player. Some attributed his slack in production to the game on May 21st, when he was hit on the hand by Garrett Olsen. But how long can an injury serve as an excuse for sub-par hitting? The "bad habits" he's picked up should have probably corrected themselves within several weeks of the incident.

His '08 OPS+ was 102 (almost exactly league average) and he was only about 50% successful at getting runners in from third with fewer than two outs. Somehow, he both walked and struck out less. He grounded into 24 double plays, the most in his career and he was behind only much slower runners Vlad Guerrero, Magglio Ordonez and Jermaine Dye.

That's what the numbers tell me. My recollection of watching games this past year tells me that he was less patient at the plate, swinging at the first pitch too frequently, and fouling off more of the balls he used to put in play, and making weaker contact on the balls he used to drive.

In a subjective recall, double plays stand out, not only because they make two outs and erase a hit, but they also kill the mythological "momentum". Similarly, getting runners in from third leave a perceived gimme run on base. These are the kind of plays that fans overvalue. How long is it going to take before they start turning on Jeter? I know he is the ultimate Teflon Man, for the all reasons that we are all too familiar with. But there is a bare minimum level of production fans are willing to tolerate.

Bernie Williams, also a homegrown Yankee, here for all four of the World Series Championships in the late 90's/2000, a former batting champion, World Series MVP, four time Gold Glove winner, and "True Yankee" still saw the fans and the organization turn on him when his power went away and his GIDP's weren't balanced out by the rest of his offensive contributions.

Jeter will make $20 and $21 million over the next two years, respectively. The Yankees decision to backload the contract has left the door open for media criticism of his lack of productivity in relation to his salary. No question Jeter has been worth the value over the length of the contract just on the field. In addition, his value to the club extends well beyond that. I'm not even talking about intangibles, but about the marketability he adds to the Yankees. He is a major reason ESPN covers the Yankees so closely, and his gravitas keeps him and the Yankees on the back pages in New York. Jeter and A-Rod, account for the vast majority of the Yankees star power which shouldn't be overlooked.

After 2010, the organization might have quite the quandary on its hands. Jeter seemingly refuses to acknowledge the erosion of his skills, especially defensively. He's said he doesn't want to move from shortstop, which is okay, in one respect, because aside from catcher, it has the highest tolerance for a below average offensive player. However his defensive range continues to slide, at the second most valuable defensive position.

In a perfect world, he could switch to center field this coming year, replacing the Melky/Gardner shitburger/poo sandwich combo, and hold the place for Austin Jackson. Of course that would require that the Yankees acquire someone who was significantly superior defensively than Jeter (and serviceable offensively), and there aren't an obvious options that wouldn't require a major sacrifice.

I've heard people speculate that before Derek Jeter's career is over, he might amass more than 4,000 hits. He currently has 2,535, still 465 short of 3,000. He certainly won't be at 3K by the time his contract expires in 2010. Will the Yankees give him a sweetheart, lifetime achievement contract as he continues to decline? They didn't with Bernie, and although their star status is not comprable, the decision making may be similar, considering the will likely occur in the Brain Cashman Era.

Will there be a Brett Favre-like "player wants to come back but team wants to move on" scenario? Doubtful, but if Jeter wants a contract based on his previous one and past accomplishments and the Yankees want one that more closely reflects his current value as a player, they might find it hard to come together.

Hurricane Brett Lands in Boston...

Boston College Football coach Jeff Jagodzinski has been contacted by the New York Jets to interview for their Head Coach job. Coach Jags, a native of Wisconsin, was an offensive coordinator for Favre in Green Bay in 2006--he did not call plays and the next season after he left the Packers reached the NFC Championship Game where they lost to the eventual World Champion New York Giants--before being appointed Tom O'Brien's successor at my alma mater BC.

BC Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo has apparently issued an ultimatum that if Jags interviews with the Jets he will be canned. DeFilippo, who understandably does not want the BC Head Coach job to be a 1-2 year springboard for the NFL, claims that he had an "understanding" with Coach Jags that Jags would not leave for the NFL for at least 3 full seasons at The Heights. It is generally assumed among BC fans that this "understanding" was never expressly incorporated into the contract. Also presumably missing is a buy-out clause in which any other college or pro team would have to pay BC restitution for hiring Jags. There is also speculation that Jags lied to GDF about the interview.

At this point, despite this warning and not being among the favorites for the job, Jags is dead bent on interviewing for the job. According to a reliable source, Jags has grown wary of recruiting. This is despite his prior experience in the college game.

It really is a shame that it has come to this. Post Tom O'Brien, Jags was a source of fresh air for the program.

Below is my assessment of the culpability of DeFilippo and Jags as of 6:30 on Monday January 5, 2009.

Jags: Deserves blame for accepting job knowing full well about recruiting, for failing to live up to "BC Guy" character, i.e. undivided loyalty to the school, maybe lying to GDF about the interview, for being stupid to move his family into such an unstable position--i.e. giving up a guaranteed job for a washed up, Vicodin addict NFL Girly Man #1 who is QB for one of the most pathetic franchises in sports--the New York Jets

Gene DeFilippo: An idiot for (probably) not inserting "No Shop" clause into Jags' contract that would prohibit him interviewing for another job, no buyout clause, for issuing an ultimatum before the interview instead of waiting until after interview to fire him, for making this a national news story on a Monday, for placing too much emphasis on the Vandy bowl game loss, for not allowing Jags to attempt to use leverage for a contract increase.

Moral of the Story: Get an important concession in writing.

Moral of the Story #2: If you are looking for a new job, do not get caught by your current employer.

Moral of the Story #3: NFL Girly Man #1 extends his reputation by wrecking another home.

Where Are All The Favre-Romo Comparisons Today?

Both were responsible for three turnovers in do or die games. The only difference is that Romo drops his funballs on the ground while Favre throws his up for grabs.

Girly NFL Stars

Despite being stars in the manliest league on the Earth, the following NFL players often behave like women.

10. Brady Quinn. He likes boys

9. Vince Young. “Mr. Invincible” himself reminds us of that psycho girlfriend who we are better off without.

8. Bill Belichick. He cheats.

7. Reggie Bush. Always hurt, his significant other Kim Kardashian could play inside linebacker for all 32 NFL teams.

6. Jason Taylor. At least in Bill Parcells’ opinion after spending his 2008 offseason winning “Dancing With The Stars.”

5. Eli Manning. His favorite hobby is ANTIQUE SHOPPING with his mother and wife!

4. Matt Leinart. Maybe this ballroom dancing, “Desperate Housewives,” “House Bunny,” “Punk’d” actor should focus on the NFL.

3. Jeremy Shockey. Badass tattoo notwithstanding, one cannot think of Shockey without an image of him flailing his arms at refs looking for a flag after he misses an important catch. Cried his way off a Super Bowl winning team. Cries on his new team. Gets hurt for pivotal games.

2. Terrell Owens. Despite going over the middle like no other receiver in the NFL, he cries for his QB. When he doesn’t get the ball he bitches like a 16 year old who doesn’t get a new car at her Sweet 16 party.

1. Brett Favre. The NFL’s all time “Ironman” (thanks in part to Vicodin and hydrocodones) is an attention whore, drama queen and his favorite word is “maybe.”