It takes a lotta balls — or mohawks — to put together a t-shirt proclaiming something so bold. And you know, the Rays made me look bad for making them my W.S. pick after the Divisional round was completed. Everything they did well against the White Sox they failed to do against Boston — play solid defense and get clutch hits. They had Dice-K on the ropes and couldn’t come through, and Crawford misplayed that ball in left field. I have a feeling they have a ways to go before they can go around making such claims. Thanks to Home Run Derby who discovered the shirts at the Rays online shop, and Ballhype as well.

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One of the big stories that will loom over the baseball offseason is where Mark Teixeira will sign. He’s arguably the biggest free agent position player on the market, so his departure from the Angels to another team will certainly swing a balance of power — literally and figuratively. While there’s no denying that Tex is one of the premier first baseman in the majors, he’s not as good over the course of a season as he was in the half-seasons once he was traded to the Angels and Braves in the last two years. For that matter, only Albert Pujols is capable of producing at that rate over the course of 162 games — Teixeira is one of the few players capable of producing that well over a 50-game span. Numbers aside, the Angels figure to make a big push to retain Teixeira, and the Yankees, Red Sox and Orioles all figure to get into the bidding (the Yankees being the most prominent suitor). Though Teixeira appears to be an ideal replacement for Jason Giambi in the Bronx, his signing would be met with mixed reviews according to some. Apparently Teixeira really resembles Alex Rodriguez in many undesirable ways:

Teixeira has a mixed reputation. He has much in common with A-Rod. He is diligent about staying in shape year-round, is durable and works hard on all facets of his game. But his detractors - and there are more than a few - say that, like A-Rod, Teixeira is an accumulator who feasts on bad pitching, does his best work when his team is way ahead or behind, and is a corporation unto himself who does not mesh seamlessly with the clubhouse culture. Essentially the overall numbers are better than the total package.

“The statistics will be there, but this is not a player who will make anyone else on the team better,” said a former teammate of Teixeira’s. “The numbers indicate an elite player, but if you watch him every day you will realize he is a very good player, not elite.”

That’s not the first time I heard talks that Teixeira’s concerns were primarily himself, his money, and his stats. Then again, you figure as long as he produces, it’s helping the team win, right? Even if Teixeira is money-hungry and the perfect Boras client, he still is a valuable commodity because there aren’t many players who can produce at his level. Even with a drop off in production, I’d still take him on my squad. Seven or eight years for $140-160 million is a lot, but I’m OK with Artie springing for it. At least we know Teixeira will give you a good at-bat in the post-season and you know at least his glove will always be there if something happens to his power, unlike a Giambi.

(story via Sir Foul Balls)

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“I had a bad season and a terrible season back-to-back,” Jones said. “I have to have a great season and show people I have baseball left in me.”
..
Jones said he expects to be the everyday center fielder next season.

“I’m an everyday guy or I need to move out,” he said.

You can feast on that for a second. Another point is something my Uncle raised when we last spoke: Where are Andruw Jones and Brad Penny, and why aren’t they in the dugout cheering on the team? They’re still part of the team, aren’t they? Do they really need to be away to rehab their injuries? I would figure that they could still find it in themselves to support the squad, but that’s just me. As for Andruw, I assume he’ll start the season with the job; it will be up to him to perform well enough to keep it.

UPDATE: Ben Maller tells us exactly what Brad Penny’s been up to — partying it up in Las Vegas.

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It’s the second most popular style to sweep the Rays craze.

A bikini wax. Mohawk-style.

Michelle Foster of Skin Deep Spatique in St. Petersburg says she was inspired by her son’s Mohawk, “I stopped and thought about it a minute, and thought, well now everyone can have one!”

For $30, women are walking in to Skin Deep Spatique and requesting this popular style. They call it, “the special”.

When all is said and done, women are left with a female Rayhawk.

Not so sure TBS will have any crowd shots of these puppies. Judging by some of the talent at the Trop, I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing. Either way, that’s gotta be one heck of an ice breaker between fans at the game.

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I’ve taken my shots at Eli Manning in the past, back when it was deserved. Funny thing though: a lot changes in less than a year. It was only November that I was criticizing Eli for throwing 4 interceptions (three returned for touchdowns) in a 41-17 loss to the Vikings. He was brutal that game. A month later, he was giving the Patriots a tough test in Week 17, and then boom! Playoffs hit, and Eli was a new man. The guy who threw more than a pick a game his first four seasons became one of the best care-takers of the football of any quarterback in the league. The change happened overnight. The improvement in Eli’s game — from Week 17 last year through this season — makes me wonder whether or not he has surpassed Peyton Manning as the top quarterback in the family, which in essence would make him one of the top quarterbacks — if not the top quarterback — in the game.

There is no doubt that Peyton Manning has been slowed by a combination of factors. His off-season bursa sac surgery prevented him from practicing during training camp, and a rash of injuries to his offensive line left him vulnerable and unprotected — not a good combination for a quarterback whose already limited mobility became even more limited. Peyton has been turning the ball over this year and hasn’t produced the gaudy statistics we’re accustomed to seeing. He has however, still been quite capable of producing the late 4th quarter touchdown drive as he did against both Jacksonville and Houston.

If you’re asking me which Manning brother I’d rather have start at quarterback for me this coming Sunday, right now I’d have to say Eli. He has become a superb care-taker with the football and avoided all the mistakes that used to plague him. He seems to constantly complete the 3rd down pass to keep a drive moving. And dating back to last year, Eli has proven to be quite adept at leading 4th quarter comebacks. I never thought I’d see the day or admit the day that Eli passed his brother as a superior quarterback, but right now, that is the case.

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“If we get a good shot on [Tebow], we’re going to try our best to take him out of the game,” Jean-Francois said Monday. “With his size and his heart, it’s hard to get a clean shot.”
…
Later, LSU’s Web site carried what it termed a clarification from Jean-Francois.

“We never go into any football game trying to hurt a player from the other team,” Jean-Francois was quoted as saying. “My comments in regard to Florida quarterback Tim Tebow were misinterpreted and were intended to reflect the style of football that we play at LSU. We have great respect for Tim as [a] player and a competitor. By taking him out of the game, I meant as a defense we are going to try to make him ineffective. I’m sorry that my initial comments were interpreted another way.”

I really do think it’s unsportsmanlike to try and intentionally knock a player after a game. Going for a sack or trying to stick a player with a tackle is understandable — that’s the intent of the job. But you’re not out there trying to injure a player even if it helps you win. Either way, this sure has added some extra fire to Saturday’s big game between the teams in Gainesville. Now Jean-Francois needs to back up his words Joey Porter-style.

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To start, Tim Keown did an excellent job taking Hamilton’s story and putting it into words. His sentence structure and syntax made it an excellent and smooth ride. Hamilton’s story took care of the rest. I think what really sets Hamilton apart as you learn in the book, is how great he was as a young kid. As a six-year-old, he apparently was so good he was playing on his brother’s 11-12 year-old team — and producing. He was groomed to become a baseball player, working out and practicing constantly. As an 18-year-old when he was first drafted, he beat Jose Canseco in a home run derby during one of Tampa Bay’s pre-game batting practice sessions. The kid could hit 500 foot home runs in high school. He was just awesome. Superhuman. After taking you from his childhood background through the time he was drafted and the first couple years in the minors, the book then starts to get inside Hamilton’s head to see what led to his downfall.

A back injury following a car collision with his parents left Hamilton unable to perform at a high level, rendering him depressed. He found refuge at a tattoo parlor where he spent his afternoons allowing the tattoo artists to mark up his body with whatever designs they chose. Before long, he was invited to hang out with the tattoo artists outside of the shop, where he was introduced to alcohol and drugs for the first time. From there on out, the book goes into great detail about Hamilton’s struggle. What starts with just some cocaine use develops into an addiction to the point where Hamilton shows up to spring training — with Lou Piniella as his manager no less — wired on coke and stashing vials of it in his locker. The kid was a mess, pure and simple. The depths he sank to are disgusting. Seeing the amounts of drugs he did and the way he destroyed his body, it really is a miracle he didn’t die from an overdose or some other reason. It also makes me believe he’ll never be able to make it through a 162 game season.

After going through a coke addiction for a few years, Hamilton got introduced to crack and became addicted to that. He was literally a crackhead. It was disgusting. He talked about going through $100,000 in like one summer on crack. He spent half his signing bonus of nearly $4 million (2 or so after taxes) on drugs. It’s maddening to think how much he effed up his life. It’s even worse when you read about how immensely talented he was growing up. This kid literally destroyed his body for four years yet could still walk on a baseball field after getting clean and rake better than almost anyone on the planet. It’s incredible.

While the book gets extremely graphic regarding Hamilton’s drug use, addiction, and overall disgusting turns in life, it’s well worth a read. Literally, you’ve never seen anything like it. Perhaps the biggest reason I’m rooting for Hamilton is the same reason his dad mentioned in the book: the world should not be deprived of seeing Josh Hamilton’s tremendous talent go to waste; we all got a taste of how good he really is at the Home Run Derby in New York. The book is definitely well worth your time.

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I’m over the Game 4 loss by the Angels to the Red Sox that ended their season, eliminating them from the playoffs. It certainly does sting that Jon Lester was brilliant in both Game 1 and Game 4 after I trashed him earlier in the season. Boy do I look like a dope. There are several reactions I have from the game and the loss of the Angels’ season: Frankie Rodriguez is done as an Angel, his last two most important appearances were blown games against Boston in the playoffs (one this year, one last year). What will happen with Teixeira? How did this opportunity slip away — especially with such a vulnerable Red Sox team (Beckett, Papi, Lowell are hurt and mere shades of themselves). Yes, there is disappointment, but if there’s one thing I’d like to walk away from the game saying it’s that Mike Scoscia without a doubt made the right call asking Erick Aybar to lay down a squeeze bunt in the 9th with the game tied at 2.

The Angels had lived with the squeeze play throughout the entire season and it had paid several dividends. It’s an underrated play because it’s used infrequently and has a high success rate in my opinion. They were playing for one run in a game where runs were hard to come by. You had a guy at the plate who was 2-17 in the series, and a speedy runner in Reggie Willits at third. Aybar is one of the best bunters on the team. One run gives you the lead, takes the pressure off the pitching and defense, and it really gives you some renewed confidence to close out the game. It also takes the pressure off Aybar — all he has to do is lay one down and he gave the Angels the lead. Bunting is not that hard to do; the task at hand was much simpler than delivering a game-winning hit. I don’t always agree with Scioscia’s base-running calls or hit and runs especially when they involve Mike Napoli, but I thought this was the perfect call for the perfect situation. Unfortunately it was just not executed properly by Aybar.

Additionally, Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick really let the team down in the series. Both didn’t hit for crap and played shoddy defense all series. I can’t imagine them having played worse. They really let the team down and undid the good work by many of the other players. It may sound weird to say it, but the Angels really missed Maicer Izturis — he could have executed the squeeze and played better in the field than either Kendrick or Aybar.

Sadly, Mike Scioscia comes out of the series looking like the poor manager. Mike DiGiovanna in the LA Times roundly criticized Scioscia for the move, making it the focal point of his filing from Boston. It was without a doubt the right move, and DiGiovanna looks like a guy trying to pick a fight more than someone looking at the logic of the situation. And John Lackey’s exactly right — what hurts the most is that this team was better than Boston’s this year. It was a matter of poor execution, not poor decision-making that doomed the Angels. Overall, I’m still more than pleased with the season and looking forward to another successful campaign in ‘09!

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If I’m not mistaken, Henderson’s feet actually became higher than his head after that hit. I assume that’s what they mean when they say “decleated.” That was the first of Bush’s outstanding returns. Here is his other TD as well:

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Anyway, Piniella ordered his rotation for the NLDS against the Dodgers to go Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, and Rich Harden. Now I’m not about to blame Piniella for his team booting the ball around the infield and not hitting for a few games, but I will blame him for not throwing his top two aces in games 1 and 2. To me, it is ABSOLUTELY INEXCUSABLE to not throw Carlos Zambrano in Game 1 of a playoff series if you’re the Cubs. Plain and simple, end of story, no questions asked — you ALWAYS throw your ace in Game 1 of a playoff series whenever possible (and it was possible). Secondly, if your number two pitcher happens to be Rich Harden, who is filthier than Zambrano but just not as much of a “Cub” as Big Z, you have to throw him in Game 2. No questions asked once again. I don’t care how amazing Ryan Dempster was this year, I don’t care what his home splits were at Wrigley Field. If you have Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden in your rotation, you throw them in Games 1 and 2 of the playoffs respectively, unless your three other starters happen to be named Josh Beckett, Johan Santana, and Tim Lincecum. Last time I checked Lou’s other options were Dempster, Lilly, and Marquis.

I believe the James Loney grand slam off Dempster was the turning point in the series and that it wouldn’t have happened if Zambrano were in there. You must start the series on the right note. You can’t get ahead of yourself and out-think yourself regarding home splits in a short series — always pitch your ace first. With Zambrano in there following DeRosa’s 2-run home run, I honestly believe the Cubs go on to win the game, and the series. I truly believe that killed the entire momentum. Additionally, I really, truly feel for Cubs fans. As an Angels fan, I could be in a similar spot soon (team leads the league in wins, makes quick first round exit).

You know what though, I said it last year about the Patriots — you must take pride in your team’s performance during the regular season. The Cubs were the best team in the National League this year. There’s no denying it. They had a bad managerial move in the playoffs followed by some bad luck, but they were still the runaway top team in the league — that’s certainly something to be proud of. Additionally, if you’re a hard-core fan — and I know you are — you got to enjoy 97 victories during the season. The hard-core fans are there to support the team from April to October, enjoying each win equally. I still will have thoroughly enjoyed the Angels’ season from start to finish regardless of playoff outcome because I got to watch my favorite team win 100 games during the regular season. Call me a wuss who doesn’t understand the value of the post-season, but I truly believe the Cubs season was a success, and that the real fans got to enjoy a winning season.

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