Number of Days Until Spring Training: #20 (Jorge Posada)

Jorge Posada's glenoid labrum might have been the biggest reason the Yankees didn't make the playoffs last year. He was placed on the DL July 21st and in his place, Jose Molina, Chad Moeller and Pudge Rodriguez cobbled together offensive statistics barely above replacement level.

Two years ago, as a 35 year old catcher, Posada's slash stats (1st PP) were .338/.426/.543, good for a 154OPS+. Yes, AS A CATCHER (the toughest position in the league to find offensive production at). His studly woodwork earned him a Silver Slugger Award, a start in the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium and 6th place in the MVP voting.

Coming off what was easily his best offensive season of his career in 2007, Posada signed a four year, $52M contract, far and away the most money ever committed to a catcher at such a late point in his career. The Yankees had no choice if they wanted to retain him. The Mets, among others, were hot on his trail and even offered him a four year deal at similar money. Brian Cashman probably knew that it was a bad investment overall, but as is the case in almost every other offseason, the options on the free agent market at catcher were threadbare.

Posada was going to come down to earth last year, even if he didn't get injured. He has always been a solid offensive force for a catcher, but 2007 was a complete and total anomaly. His highest previous batting average was .287 and his slugging percentage was .16 higher than his previous best. Guess what stat I'm going to link to next! That's right, Batting Average On Balls In Play!!!

BABIP explains almost every single seemingly inexplicable fluctuation in batting average from year to year. It keeps track of how many balls a player puts into the field of play that become hits (or outs). A typical BABIP is between .290 and .300, meaning that only 3/10 times, a ball redirected into play becomes a base hit.

Last year, Posada's BABIP was a stratospheric .386, when his highest previous was .303. Where the ball goes after it makes contact with the bat, it in almost entirely luck. Hence, if someone has an incredible spike in BA (or drop, ehem, CANO) from year to year, it's mostly dictated by the Baseball Gods. Yes, a hitter can direct the ball to one side of the field or another to some extent, but as far as finding a hole, it's a crapshoot.

I'll bet either of you two people who read this blog $50 that Posada doesn't bat over .300 again for the rest of his career (The first person to take the bet in the comments is in. We can iron out details later). If I lose, it will be the best $50 I've ever spent.

Hip Hip Jorge has been said to be the take-charge type of guy that Derek Jeter isn't, getting in guy's faces and not taking any shit. Maybe Robinson Cano wouldn't have needed to get benched by Joe Girardi to realize he wasn't that much more valuable than Jason Varitek last season.

Posada's attempts to right the universe aren't confined to the clubhouse. His son, Jorge Jr. who is 10 years old, suffers from a rare disease called craniosynostosis which inhibits brain growth in infants. His foundation "provides support to families whose child is affected by Craniosynostosis, a congenital or birth defect that causes an abnormally shaped skull." You can donate here.

Get well Jorge, we need you. The Yankees team that's going to win the World Series this year has you behind the plate.

Yeah, that one deserves some color.

Herm Edwards Fired [Breaking News]

In Scott Pioli's first move as GM of the Kansas City Chiefs, head coach Herm Edwards has been fired.

While Herm "Plays to Win the Game," he wasn't very good at it. In 3 seasons with the franchise, he was 15-33. Pretty mediocre.

Maybe Gilbride will replace him. Giants fans can only hope. Or perhaps "Chucky" Gruden. I think Atlanta Offensive Coordinator Mike Mularkey will also be a candidate (although in my first season ever as a Falcons fan I was not too impressed with him). Here's to hoping that con-artist, ex-BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski does not get it.

Jay McGwire [Creep Of The Week]

Deadspin first reported on Wednesday that Jay McGwire, the younger brother of former Home Run Champ/Beloved Slugger/Savior of Baseball and current non-Hall of Famer Mark McGwire was shopping a tell-all book about how he introduced Mark to steroids.

The book, titled "THE MCGWIRE FAMILY SECRET: The Truth about Steroids, a Slugger, and Ultimate Redemption" details how Jay introduced Mark to steroids in 1994 (a season in which he played only 47 games), so he “wouldn’t lift his way out of baseball” and help with joint problems and muscle recovery.

The reason behind the book you might ask: it seems that the younger brother has some financial problems but more importantly, found God.

"Mark is a man I think most would like to forgive because his reason wasn’t nefarious—it was for survival. My bringing the truth to surface about Mark is out of love. I want Mark to live in truth to see the light, to come to repentance so he can live in freedom—which is the only way to live."

Now that is love, selling your brother out and further diminishing his reputation and career (though I am not sure it can get much worse), all so he can live in freedom. Sounds like one hell of a bond between brothers.

Note to Mark: It probably would have been a good idea to not ruin the relationship or let your brother/drug dealer go broke, especially after your wonderful experience with Congress.

Note to Jay: Judging from the picture above, you might want to reconsider the title of your book if you ever want to get it published. I don’t think it was much of a secret you both were on roids.

Number of Days Until Spring Training: Paul O'Neill (#21)

According to George Steinbrenner, #21 is a Warrior. Given the his respect for the immortal General Douglas MacArthur, I’m entirely sure that there can be no higher praise from the Boss.

O’Neill, Bernie’s Williams' drummer, is my 2nd favorite Yankee ever (after the very unheralded Bernie). His intensity for the game could not be matched. He truly cared about the team and his success. He was the antithesis of the common athlete who could not care less as long as his salary was being paid. His desire is best summed up by the number of water coolers that have slammed the concrete of the old Yankee Stadium dugout and the number of his bats that have been furiously tossed on the famed Kentucky Bluegrass of the diamond.

When Paul finished his Yankee career, which began in 1994, he hadn't complied the most impressive numbers. In fact, Prior to his tenure with the Yankees, O'Neill's numbers weren't the greatest either. He was a .259 hitter and only hit more than 20 homers once before was traded to the Reds for Roberto Kelly. Yankees fans were LIVID. Stick Michael, being the genius that he is, clearly saw something more in him. During the dynastic run of the late 90's, Paulie was the heart and soul of the Yankees

O'Neill had his share of postseason drama at Yankee Stadium, but none more poignant than the clinching Game 4 of the 1999 World Series against Atlanta. That morning, Charles "Chick" O'Neill, Paul's father, had died of lung and kidney failure at age 79. Paul had visited his father daily at Manhattan's Lenox Hill Hospital where the senior O'Neill had undergone heart surgery. Paul openly wept in the clubhouse before the game, but told Torre he felt he could play. Said first-base coach Jose Cardenal, "Paulie wanted to see if he could get through batting practice first. He thought being in the game would take his mind off things." What more could you ask for in the face of adversity?

O'Neill also had what was perhaps the best at-bat in Yankees history. In Game 1 of the 2000 World Series, down 2-1 in the top of the 9th against the Mets, O'Neill worked a 10 pitch one-out walk against Mets closer Armando Benitez. Subsequent singles by Luis Polonia and Jose Vizcaino loaded the bases before the Yankees tied the score on a sacrifice fly by Chuck Knoblauch. The Yanks won it in the 12th on a bases-loaded single by Vizcaino and went on to win the Fall Classic in 5 Games.

In 2001, his last year with the Yankees, at age 38, he became the oldest player ever to have a 20/20 season.

Since his retirement, his number 21 had not been worn by any Yankee player, leading to speculation that it will be officially retired. Yankees relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins briefly wore the number in the 2008 season but, on April 16, 2008, Hawkins switched to number 22 in response to the criticism and boos he received from many Yankee fans. MEMO TO HANK AND HAL: RETIRE #21!!!! (AS WELL AS #51!)

O'Neill was a Cincinnati native, but like fellow Ohio native Thurman Munson, embraced New York fully. "Playing in New York really worked out for me," O'Neill said. "It was the best time of my life."

Paulie has also provided great Seinfeld memories. In the episode entitled "The Wink," O'Neill is accosted by Cosmo Kramer in the Yankees' locker room and is told by Kramer that he must hit two home runs in the same game so that Kramer can retrieve a birthday card signed by all the Yankees from a little boy who wasn't supposed to get it in the first place. O'Neill angrily replies that this is very difficult and that he is not usually a home run hitter; he then asks Kramer, "How'd you get in here anyway?" In the ensuing game, O'Neill does hit two home runs, but one of them is an in-the-park home run and scored a triple due to the other team's error, so the little boy Kramer is trying to appease is not totally satisfied. Kramer manages to get the Yankee-signed birthday card back from the boy, but he has now promised the boy that O'Neill will catch a fly ball in his hat during the next game.

To recognize his greatness, Yankees fans did one of the classiest things that any fan base has ever done to support a player. In Game 5 of the 2001 World Series when the Yankees were losing to the Diamondbacks 2-0 in the top of the 9th Inning, Yankees fans, cognizant of the fact that it would be O’Neill’s last game ever at The House That Ruth Built, cheered for him by chanting his name endlessly. Paulie responded with tears in his eyes and by tipping his hat. This is unlike many other fan bases (ahem, Boston) who would start cursing him because the Yankees were losing.

Since O'Neill's retirement, the Yankees have not won a World Series. Coincidence? Perhaps.

We love you and miss you Paulie. PLEASE COME BACK! If not, please continue to abuse Michael Kay in the YES booth.

Number of Days Until Spring Training: #21 (Spud Chandler)

[Ed. Note: This is the first of two #21 posts today. Later, Joe will weigh in on Paul O'Neil.]


I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if you're reading this blog, you probably weren't alive to see Spud Chandler pitch. His last appearance was on October 2nd, 1947, so you would have to be at least 68 to stake a reasonable claim to remembering him as a Yankee, even during his last season. Neither of my parents were alive at that point, but praise be to the bounty of these here interwebs, I can hop on Baseball-Reference and Wikipedia and write him a mini-biography like I'm his agent or something.

Chandler grew up in Jaw-Juh, and was a three sport athlete at UGA, playing halfback for the football team, pitching for the baseball team and running some track.

If I told you Mr. Chandler had a ten year career, you'd probably guess he started when he around 23-26 and retired at about 33-36. Oddly, he was born in 1907, but didn't make his debut until 1937, in his age 29 season after spending five years in the Yankee farm system. Lots of guys make their major league debuts at 29, not many of them have 10 year careers. He started only 12 games in '37, but threw six CGs, including two shutouts.

The following season, he threw 172 innings to a better than a league average ERA, but had a microscopic 36 strikeouts. At age 31, he was relegated to only 11 relief appearances and looked as if he was headed out of the league. In 1940, he was re-installed into the rotation and for the next three seasons complied successively more innings, more strikeouts and a lower ERA, setting the table for his 1943 season.

I'm not that familiar with the effect that WWII had on most major leaguers' stats, but I've got to assume that Spud Chandler's '43 season was still pretty damn incredible. The marginal pitcher I just described to you, at age 35, busted out with 253 innings of a 1.64ERA and a .992WHIP, gave up only two home runs all season and went (20-4). He received 246 out of a possible 336 points in the MVP vote and pulled off the rare feat of winning the award as a pitcher. He pitched two complete games in that World Series, including a CG shutout in the clinching Game 5.

Take a close look at ol' Spud's face.
That's some good old fashioned gentlemanly hatred.

In 1944, after starting only one game, Spurgeon F. Chandler was enlisted in the Army. He returned towards the end of the 1945 season but appeared in only 4 games.

At age 38, Spud had another truly great year. He set a career high in IP (257.3), strikeouts (138), and shutouts (6!) and had a 2.10ERA with a 1.12WHIP. Spud made the All-Star team and even got a few points in the MVP voting. Starting only 16 games in his final season (1947), he still pitched to an ERA a full run lower than league average (2.46).

Chandler was a part of three World Series winning Yankee teams (1941, 1943, 1947) and was named to four All-Star teams. He had one of the odder career trajectories and had one of the finer seasons ever as a Yankees pitcher.

[P.S. To all this people who hate stats (I'm looking at you Jon Heyman and Murray Chass), first of all, I hope you trip over your walker. Second of all, without stats this post would not have been possible. I'm sure you crotchety old fucks love a good history lesson and if we didn't record and analyze stats we couldn't look back at things and put them in perspective. Maybe you resent the fact that I was still 37 years from being born when Spud threw his last pitch and Murray Chass was already on his second marriage, but seriously, there are plenty of places to project your impending death. Leave stats alone.]

[Ed. note: There are some serious fucking inconsistencies between Spud Chandler's Wikipedia page and his B-R page. Obviously I went with B-R on every single one, but does anyone know how to go about fixing such things? I will do it when I get some spare time.]

ESPN Widget Headlines Compelling, Current [Part II]

Speaking of "all the shit ESPN gets from random assholes on these united internets", I present to you the second installment of ESPN's quest to make newspapers look up to the second:



In case you haven't heard... the Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl!

It's Thursday. If you have the ESPN widget on your homepage, and you don't know this, you are either illiterate or in a coma. Give me more "Reports" about Tony Romo "saying he'll be a more active leader" or Mark McGwire's brother saying his "brother used steroids"

Those "headlines" as they appear on the story page:

• "Report: Romo looking ahead to '09" ~ Holy shit! He is? What about T.O., is he looking back to '08? Do you really need to rely on a source for this? "Report: Barack Obama looking ahead to '09".
• "Book proposal implicates McGwire" ~ Nothing more credible than a book proposal. Can't think of any reasons thi$$$ guy might have to distort the truth. In related news, "Blog post implicates ESPN in non-widget-updating scandal".

On second thought... they might want to keep the headline about the Cardinals up there.


[Updated: 7:40] Theeeeeyy're listeeeeening.

The Best Thing About ESPN...

...is not looking at Stuart Scott's lazy eye.

It's their commercials. For all the shit ESPN gets from random assholes on these united internets, their commercials have always been hilarious. Here is their latest rib tickler that I can't get enough of...

Number of Days Until Spring Training: #22 (LaTroy Hawkins)

If you are a Yankees fan, and watched any of the first half of the season last year, chances are you saw this: Joe Girardi coming out to get LaTroy Hawkins because he was unable to finish an inning. His wind-up was awkward because he started pulling his hand out of his glove too soon. Hawkins gave up 42 hits, 17 walks, and 26 runs in his 41 IP as a Yankee good for a 5.77 ERA. However, he was released in early August and went to Houston, where he sported a nifty 0.43ERRRRrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnooo.....................................................................

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Suzyn Waldman: "RAW-JAH CLEMENS IS IN FACK YOUK'S POST!!1!!1!!!!

AND RAW-JAH CLEMENS IS COMING BACK!!!

AWWW MY GOODN-GOODESSS GGGRAAACIOOUSSS!!!!!11!

OF ALL THE DRAMATIC THINGS... (trails off)

OF ALL THE DRAMATIC THINGS I HAVE EV-AH SEEN... "

/head explodes



















I'm sorry. This was never going to be about boo-magnet LaTroy Hawkins, nor was it going to concern the first two years of Robinson Cano or the last half year of Xavier Nady. All due respect to Allie Reynolds, who had more value over his career as a Yankee or Jimmy Key who was undoubtedly a better guy than Clemens.

The thing that makes Suzyn Waldman's hysterical overreaction to Clemens "dramatic" return in May 2007 (I was at his first game back) even more ridiculous is that The Rocket's first time with the Yankees wasn't really that impressive, it was just beautifully timed.

Clemens 300th win came in Pinstripes, in the same game he recorded his 4,000th strikeout. The team won two Championships in his first two years and he pitched six strong innings in Game 7 of the 2001 WS. His postseason ERA with the Yankees was .326, but his ERA in the World Series was 1.90.

When Roger won the Cy Young in 2001, Mike Mussina actually pitched a few more innings (229 to 220), had one more strikeout (214 to 213), a lower ERA (3.15 to 3.51) and a lower WHIP (1.07 to 1.26) than Clemens. The only category of import Mussina wasn't as good or better than Clemens in, was of course, their won-lost records. Mussina was (17-11) while Clemens started (20-1), finished (20-3) and as a result received 87% of the vote while Mussina got just 1%.

Clemens regular season ERA in his first stint with the Yankees was 4.02 (about a 115 ERA+) and his average won-lost record was 15-7. They were solid numbers, but certainly not as good as the Yankees had hoped when they acquired him from Toronto, coming off of two sub-3.00ERA, 230+ inning, 20+ win campaigns.

In his last go round with the Yanks, he struggled with hamstring problems but pitched to better than a league average ERA (107 ERA+), which is pretty much on par with what everyone expected when they unveiled him like it was a fucking reverse surprise party and signed him to a prorated $28,000,022 deal.

The last game he ever started for the Yanks was during the 2007 ALDS in a loss to Cleveland. Bothered by his hamstring once again, he lasted only 2 1/3 innings, gave up 3 runs and was replaced by Phil Hughes. In relief, Hughes pitched brilliantly (3 2/3IP 2H 0R), in what I had really thought at the time could be a symbolic change of the guards. Not so much.

Since then, Hughes hasn't won a game, and even though Clemens hasn't thrown a pitch, his entire career has been called into question and his public identity permanently tarnished. Clearly, nothing was going to be the same once his HGH & steroid use was revealed, but the ego synergy between him and Rusty Hardin has created what might be the biggest PR disaster possible. Do you think the story about Mindy McCready would have come out if he wasn't involved in a legal battle where each side was calling the others character into question?

If Clemens has just owned up to his steroid use and made a preemptive strike before the Mitchell Report came out, his reputation wouldn't be the colossal clusterfuck it now is. Of course, the type of player that uses is steroids is unlikely to be the kind of person who can own up to a mistake publicly, especially when it means sacrificing every one's perception of what you've worked your whole life for.

Sorry about not getting your pardon, Rog. I guess nobody knows you when you're down and out.

Mr. Clapton, would you please...
(quick Derek Trucks solo at 1:42 mark)

Loan Me A Dime [Music] [Non-Sports]

[Before I started wasting all my free time writing for this site, I spent a considerable chunk of it downloading music. I have an amazing BitTorrent site (which I will not name for fear of the wrath of their fascist rules) that organizes pretty much every album by anyone ever (and a ton of live shows) by artist, by release date, and usually has them available in multiple sound qualities. It's the greatest thing ever. As result I've got a lot of pretty obscure stuff.

So, occasionally I'm going to include a YouTube of a song I really like and write a little bit about the tune and the artist. If this annoys you, please tell me I'm a tool in the comments or something. Rest assured that this is because we are in a relatively slow period for my rooting interests and this isn't going to turn into a Phish message board. We are all for expanding our minds here at Fack Youk, but if you folks think it's stupid, I won't do it.]


Today's Selection: Duane Allman (& Boz Scaggs) - Loan Me A Dime

That is actually just an excerpt, because the actual version off of The Duane Allman Anthology [Vol. 1] is 13 minutes long. Pulling out just the best part of the solo kills the context a little bit, but I know most people can't tolerate songs with long jams and get lost without lyrics. I'm probably an exception only because I devote a healthy amount of time to messing around with my hollowbody Paul Reed Smith and trying to pretend I'm good enough to justify owning it (and failing).

Give me a song with long jam and dominant lead guitar part by a virtuoso like Duane, Derek Trucks*, Clapton or Trey Anastasio and I can listen to it 1,000 times. No matter how good your memory is, you're not going to remember thirteen minutes worth of notes, so you don't get sick of it like you do songs with words in them. I cue one of these tunes up on my walk to work and it's a different experience every time.

*Dickey Betts actually put down the Basil Hayden's long enough to answer the "Duane vs. Derek" question incredibly diplomatically right here.

Why, Duane? I know it wasn't your fault, but why did you have to get on your motorcycle that day? You were only 24 years old and already Jesus Christ on the Les Paul. That version of "Hey, Jude" you did with Wilson Pickett was incredible. The tribute to King Curtis you gave two weeks before you died, at the Filmore East, where you played "You Don't Love Me" into "Soul Serenade" and then flowed right into a blistering, free-form 10 minute slide guitar solo, is one of the greatest things ever to vibrate my eardrums. It was simultaneously soulful, angry and beautiful. I just want to know what you would have done with the last 37 1/2 years.

Use of the Word "Historic"

Am I the only one who gets annoyed at the continuous, cliched use of the word "historic"?

The word is overused in every facet of life, from sports (i.e. the Cardinals Super Bowl run) to politics (Obama's inauguration).

What are the standards for the use of this word?

Isn't everything historic? Last night I was at Bogie's when they kicked a keg of Guinness. Guess who got the first one from the new barrel... HISTORIC!

According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, "historic" is defined as:

: historic :
a: famous or important in history
b: having great and lasting importance
c: known or established in the past
d: dating from or preserved from a past time or culture

But when we use the word in the present, how do we know that it will be "famous or important in history" given that history is what occurs in the past? Another cliche is "witnessing history". Isn't whatever we see "witnessing history"? And why exactly is the Cardinals Super Bowl run "historic"? It doesn't fit into any of those definitions.

Why can't writers come up with another word?

[Ed. Note: I blame Joe Buck. I can just hear him saying it.]

The Reason WR's Are Divas: Their Job Is Easier

[Ed. Note: This was the 6th post ever written on this blog, so I wanted to pull it forward because it's relevant to what I wrote earlier about Anquan Boldin. If you were reading this blog back then (Google Analytics gives that a 99+% chance of being a no), I apologize.]

A diva used to refer to a supremely talented female opera signer, and comes from the same root at the word 'divine'. The genesis of the negative connotation of the word diva were (usually female) lead singers that were notoriously difficult to work with.

Being a lead singer, while it is the most visible position in the band, requires the least amount of work. Most of what differentiates lead singers from the other members of the band and the rest of the world, is a great singing voice. Unfortunately for most of us, 99% of the population was not born with the requisite combination of vocal folds, muscles and ligaments to have a resonant, pleasing, and in the cases of the best lead signers, distinctive singing voice. Similarly, 99% of the world was not born with the DNA to grow to six feet tall or more, with elite speed, agility and the hands and reflexes to snare a NFL sized football traveling 45 or 50mph while running full speed.

The most accessible component of music for most people are the vocals. Above all the complicated layers that comprise any piece of music, the words are the one thing almost everyone listening can understand. Far more people, for instance, can remember the words to a song than hum along with the guitar solo, much less play it. The inner workings of the bass, drums, guitar and other instruments can be enjoyed by all, but understood only by a musical connoisseur or someone with a background in the instrument.

Likewise, the passing game is the most exciting part of the football game, partly because of the fast pace and partially because, with two people involved, it is the easiest to understand. Quarterback drops back, looks to the WR, who creates separation and they connect on a crisply thrown ball, hopefully. That's the part of the game than happens in Brett Favre's Wrangler Jeans commercials, not the scrum between the center, right guard and the nose tackle.

Like the chords and rhythm of a hit song, most fans can't process the complicated strategy and execution of offensive and defensive line play either, although they can appreciate the end results. Collectively, line play is universally considered the most important component of a football game, laying the groundwork for everything else that happens. But there are too many things occurring at once. The only people who can dissect line play are those with access to the overhead-view coaches' tape: current and former coaches, players and analysts.

When it finally all comes together, like the lead signer, the WR might have the easiest job on the field, save for the kicker. Wideouts match up with guys they typically have 3” of height or more on, and have the knowledge of where they are planning on going.

The obvious comparison between an band and a football team should be quarterback to lead singer. But the problem is that the quarterback's job is extremely difficult, and his level of performance is directly affected by this teammates. The quarterback bears responsibility closer to the band manager or sound guy. A wide receiver can get open on a play regardless if the TE on the opposite end of the formation runs his post route efficiently or if the running back runs too flat or a screen. A quarterback, however, will have no chance of completing a pass if a defensive tackle shoots through a gap and gets to him before he completes a three step drop.

That's why some top level WR's complain all the time and all of them think they don't get the ball enough. They actually are open, they are doing their job, while someone else, be it a lineman or quarterback isn't. The thing is, getting open doesn't take nearly the amount of playbook study, time in the gym, or technique that blocking a 290lb missile does. It doesn't take the same level of film study and ability to dissect the entire defense that is necessary for a top level quarterback to be successful. They don't take the physical punishment in between the tackles that a running back does. In both cases, it takes a complex and heroic effort to set the table for both wide receivers and lead singers.

The Curious Case Of Anquan Boldin

One of the Giants' highest priorities this offseason is going to be filling the hole on their roster left by the bullet that went through Plaxico Burress' thigh. Burress is probably going to make an "Up North Trip" for what went down in the Latin Quarter just after midnight on the morning of November 30th, thereby vacating his post as the #1 WR on the GMen.

I don't know what Jerry Reese is scheming up over in the Meadowlands, but I can tell you what Giants fans are thinking. They want Anquan Boldin in the worst way. They speak in hushed reverent tones and call him the "toughest player in the league". Except for Ed Valentine at Big Blue View, that is (I've added some subtle emphasis):

Cross Arizona's Anquan Boldin off the list of potential targets for the Giants at wide receiver. Tom Rock of Newsday does a great job calling out Boldin for his sideline tirade near the end of Sunday's NFC Championship Game. Mike Freeman of CBS Sportsline went even further, calling Boldin a 'jackass.' Boldin apparently continued his tirade after the game, refusing to celebrate the Super Bowl berth with his teammates. Sorry, I want nothing to do with a player who acts like that during and after the biggest game of his team's season. 'Kudos' to Pro Football Talk for the Freeman find.

Hear that, Jerry Reese? Cross the number one potential target at wide receiver in the league off your to-do list because some clueless hack of a "blogger" "want[s] nothing to do with [him]". Forgive me Ed, I thought you were going to give an ACTUAL REASON.

The Cardinals were running a one reciever set and obviously the human-like machine referred to as "Larry Fitzgerald" is going to be that one WR. Boldin probably wanted to be in the game. You just said it was the biggest game of the season, would you rather he sat on the sidelines with his helmet on, like LaGroinian Toemlinson?

I don't think we should judge his integrity and character from 10 seconds of FOX sideline camera shots. The media will no doubt take a rolling pin to this story and try to stretch it out over the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. Great, I hope that lowers his value this offseason and the Giants can get him for less. Who knows what was actually said? The sidelines in the NFL are probably an incredibly emotional place (I've never been), and I'm sure things are said and forgiven that the general public never hears a whisper of.

This guy wanted to play so badly, in fact, that after he was knocked unconscious by this hit in Week 3 and carted off the field, it took him only three weeks to return to the starting lineup. He had a broken sinus cavity, two fractures in his face, it took eight plates and a jaw wiring for the surgeons to repair it all and he (supposedly) didn't take any painkillers. I wouldn't have back to my job in three weeks, and I sit at a desk writing marketing research reports.

Before & After

My one concern with Boldin, is that he's only 6'1", 217. Most of the true #1 receivers in the league are taller than that. Calvin Johnson (6'5"), Plax (6'5"), Randy Moss (6'4"), Brandon Marshall (6'4"), T.O. (6'3"), Andre Johnson (6'3"), LFitz (6'3"). Unfortunately, I don't think Eli Manning is ever going to be a deadly accurate passer, and as a result, he'll need a bigger target to throw to.

I threw out the possibility of TJ Houshmanzadeh, who is going to be a free agent, because the Giants won't have to give anything up besides money and cap space. Up until this year, Housh has taken a backseat to the artist formerly known as Chad Johnson. TJ caught 905 of the 2672 yards thrown for by Bengals QBs this year, and has had more touchdowns than Ocho in each of the past three seasons. But he's 6'1", 199, and 31 years old.

The Giants aren't getting Larry Fitzgerald or Calvin Johnson. They aren't going to bring in T.O. if the Cowboys release him. I'd certainly rather have Boldin than Housh, but regardless of this dust up on the sidelines, the Cardinals aren't just going to give him away. They'd probably want some draft picks in return and I'm assuming it would be more than the 2nd & 5th the Giants got for Jeremy Shockey. Probably more like the 1st, 3rd and 6th the Cowboys (stupidly) gave up for Roy Williams.

I love Boldin, but the Giants might be better off signing Housh and/or seeing if one of the receivers in this year's draft, like Jeremy Macklin or Percy Harvin, falls to them at the 29th pick.

Bud Selig For A Day

Jason at It Is About The Money, Stupid was kind enough to guest-post our suggestion for what to do if we were commissioner of Major League Baseball for a day. It includes a little of our email exchange that led up to the post.

He originally asked me to write a few sentences, I obliged, and then asked if he had any edits or suggestions. He offered some direction, I asked Will and Cliff for some input, and pretty soon the offering was almost 400 words. Check it out if you get a chance, and I'll re-post it here later on, just for the record.

Check out Jason's blog in general, too. (Not just because he was the first person to link to us). He's a Yankees guy, but always has a unique and objective take on tough issues like Stadium financing and other stuff throughout the league.