Bleacher Report - Articles by Andrew Smith

Starting Over: The Mets' Renewed Search for a Title

Andrew Smith — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 06:18:00 -0400

Baseball season beckons on our doorstep once again, and with it comes the annual fanatical optimism for every fan.

Mets fans are no different.

In fact, we're probably worse.

Every spring, we come up with new reasons why we are clearly the best team in the division, the "team to beat."

But this year, it actually could be true. Of course, everyone says that in March.

The Mets have drastically revamped their bullpen, acquiring two of the best closers in the game in Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz.

Some question marks remain about the back end of the pitching staff, but with Johan Santana at the front and Mike Pelfrey looking like he's picking up this spring where he left off last season, if the Mets can restore John Maine health and the re-signed Oliver Perez's sanity, the staff has the potential to be one of the best in the division, maybe even the best in the National League.

The three-man battle for the fifth rotation spot between Tim Redding, Livan Hernandez, and Freddy Garcia seems to be clearing up, for no reason other than Redding being hurt and Garcia being awful.

Hernandez could be a solid fifth starter if he can pitch decently—he's fairly durable (unlike his half brother El Duque, whom Mets fans are quite familiar with), and he can eat a lot of innings.

The lineup scored quite a few runs last year, and I think Luis Castillo will be better. Carlos Delgado will be slightly worse than the second half of last season (which is kind of a misnomer considering how good he was), while Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, David Wright, and even Daniel Murphy are looking for more consistency.

Kind of like the rest of the team actually.

The team is moving into a new stadium and ridding itself of bitter Shea memories from the past three seasons. Starting over implies a clean slate, a renewed chance to achieve the goals they set four years ago when the promise of the "New Mets" brought Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran to Queens.

Beltran has said that he's surprised that he hasn't made a World Series yet, but thinks that the future holds one.

This team is different than those teams. They have a new manager—a thoughtful, philosophical guy no one would accuse of ultimately being a true Yankee and not a Met.

They have new pitchers, too—a new star rising from the farm system in Pelfrey, who finally offered gleams of his potential; an ace in Santana who proved on the primeval day of the season that he was the messiah everyone predicted; and a feisty, passionate closer who will fit right into the self-confident New York attitude.

Yes, this is the second (or third or fourth) new beginning for the New York Mets, and another chance to rebuild the dynasty the way it should have been all along.

We, as fans, can hope the new start holds a certainty of success—an impossible thing, of course, because baseball is baseball and Mets fans are Mets fans. The imminence of failure is our ever-present pal.

We hold to that dream for that Great Hope of seeing a late October game in shiny new Citi Field this season.

Until then, we can only take satisfaction in starting fresh, in offseason dreams and wishes, in the fanatical optimism we only dare to hold in our strangest dreams.

The hope in starting over.

And that's when we realize-- that's what being a fan was all about in the first place.

The New Michigan: Part One—The Offense

Andrew Smith — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:25:11 -0400

The 2008 football season is just under ten weeks away, and the Wolverines are feeling, talking—and as we saw in a rainy, sloppy spring game—looking different. Most Michigan faithful couldn’t be happier to see the many differences.

As we all know, gone are the days of lining up in the I-formation and running the ball into the shifts of 4-4 defenses. Here are the days of the Rich Rod, it-could-be-a-70-yard-touchdown-if-the-safeties-suck read option.

Gone are the days of beating teams just because, well, “we’re Michigan, damn it!”

Here are the days of, as Rodriguez himself noted, deserving to win—as opposed to just expecting to have the win gift-wrapped and bound by little maize and blue ribbons with a tag dangling off a string, reading “Your Stadium is Too Scary for Us.”

But the change has not been limited to the coaches and mindset alone.

The players Michigan has relied on for the last three, and in some cases four, years have moved on to greener pastures in the NFL. Veteran quarterback Chad Henne is in Miami with first overall pick, tackle Jake Long.

Linebacker Shawn Crable is a Pat, Mike Hart has reunited with former Wolverine Marlin Jackson in Indianapolis, and game-breaking receiver Mario Manningham decided that the degree he was talking about after the bowl wasn’t quite as important as a big NFL paycheck (or a third round selection, for that matter).

So not only does the new staff have to change the typical structure of Wolverine football—the nauseatingly platitudinal “Michigan way”—they also have to replace a record-setting generation of football players.

Did you sit down to watch the highlights from the spring game, only to realize that you didn’t recognize any of the offensive players’ numbers? “Who is this Avery Horn dude? Boy I wish we still had Mike Har—holy crap that kid is fast…”

Yeah. Get used it.

There are lots of new faces on this football team, but most of the unknowns are on the offensive side of the ball. The defense has much more talent returning than the offense and figures to be the more veteran unit.

Because I don’t want you to be overly confused when some guy named Hemingway catches a pass, when a puny 5'8" cornerback lines up across from a wide receiver, or when a white guy wearing Woodson’s number No. 2 takes a handoff, here are some of the newest Wolverines to take leadership roles, to start to play regularly, and to even strap on the winged helmet for the first time.

Part One: Offense

After the turncoat actions of Justin Boren made Benedict Arnold look like Nathan Hale, the Michigan offense is returning just two starters from last season—fullback Mark Moundrous (who could very likely lose his job to sophomore Vince Helmuth) and right tackle Stephen Schilling.

The situation becomes bleaker when one considers that Moundros had, truth be told, very little impact last season, while Schilling had an impact of the bad variety.

To see Schilling’s handiwork in action, go here or here (he’s number 52 on the right, and as much as I concede Vernon Gholston’s monster status in that particular game, his success speaks more of Schilling’s ineptitude than Gholston’s dominance).

Starters aside, only three other new starters saw regular playing time last season—wide receiver Greg Mathews, running back Brandon Minor, and tight end Carson Butler.

Unless you closely follow recruiting, you probably haven’t heard of the other new players on offense, mostly offensive linemen. Mark Orttman, Tim McAvoy, David Moosman, and Corey Zirbil are all brand new linemen who figure to start this season.

If you are at all familiar with football, you know that the combination of the words brand new and offensive linemen usually leads to very bad things for the offense. But for better or for worse, offensive line coach Greg Frey (also a new guy who followed Rodriguez from West Virginia) has a brand new batch of Big Uglies.

Offensively, there will be new leaders to replace the voids vacated by Chad Henne, Mike Hart, and Jake Long. Running back Brandon Minor is entering his third season as a contributor at Michigan, and Rodriguez mentioned that he was impressed with Minor’s leadership during Spring Practice.

Greg Mathews, also a junior and the third wideout last season, has emerged as the Wolverine quarterback’s go-to option with the evacuation of Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington.

Of course, the quarterback is always a leader in one way or another, so Steve Threet or Nick Sheridan, depending on who wins the job, will try to replace Chad Henne’s leadership at the very least, if not his production.

Put your money on Threet, by the way, as he was a four-star product out of high school who is clearly more talented than the walk-on Sheridan.

Production-wise, look for running back Carlos Brown to have a big season under the new speed-emphasized running attack. The junior speed demon, who ran for a 93-yard touchdown last season (yeah, it was against Minnesota—so what?), has been praised by his coaches for his big-play potential.

“If he gets past the linebackers and the safety takes a poor angle, he’s going for a touchdown,” running backs coach Fred Jackson said during the spring.

Redshirt freshman Avery Horn looked impressive and fast in the spring game, but it is definitely possible that an incoming freshman will assume the fast back responsibilities.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Kevin Grady as an option at running back, though the former five-star prospect has underwhelmed in his Michigan career and is recovering from a torn ACL that forced him to take a medical redshirt last fall.

He has reportedly responded well to new Strength and Conditioning coach Mike Barwis’ new workouts, and he has said that he will try to take a leadership role on the team—but with all due respect to Grady, it is rather difficult to lead from the sidelines.

With the incoming class (which we will talk about in a moment), Michigan is very deep at running back, and it is unlikely that a power runner like Grady will play a huge role in the Rodriguez offense.

Because of the severe lack of numbers on offense, not to mention lack of experience, the Wolverines will likely play a rather large number of freshmen. Highly-touted wide receiver Darryl Stonum will play significantly this fall for a number of reasons.

First, Michigan has precious few Big Ten-caliber wide receivers. Only Mathews, Hemingway, sophomore Toney Clemons, junior LaTerryal Savoy, and freshman Zion Babb (who was moved to defensive back last season and may or may not switch back to receiver under Rich Rod) are playable non-true freshman wideouts on the Michigan roster.

With the four- and five-wide sets that Rodriguez often deploys, five wide receivers just isn’t going to cut it. They will need some serious freshman help, and Stonum will be the first ’08 recruit on the field.

Second, Stonum is really an all-around package at wideout. He was rated the second-best wide receiver after the catch by Rivals, and he has the hands, size, and route-running ability to be a legitimate star at the college level.

Third, Stonum was the only incoming freshman to enroll early at Michigan, so he went through all the spring drills and practices that the other players did, including the Spring Game. With the new system Rodriguez brought in, the other wide receivers that are on the roster are not much further ahead of him.

Therefore Stonum—who was the seventh-ranked wide receiver and the 41st-ranked player overall on Rivals.com—will get plenty of playing time as an outside receiver.

But just about every receiver on the roster is an outside guy, so Rodriguez will likely look to little speedy-bugger recruits Terrence Robinson, Martavious Odoms, and possibly running back-athlete Michael Shaw to pull the load as Darius Reynaud-type slot receivers.

To get a sense of what types of athletes these guys are, think Steve Breaston—who was inexplicably misused after his freshman year by the Carr regime.

Robinson and Odoms will vie for the return job, as well as bubble-screen/reverse duties. They have a chance to be real game-breakers as inside receivers in this offense. The prospect that Michigan actually has a coaching staff willing to play to these guys’ strengths is exciting for Wolverine fans, to say the least.

Rich Rodriguez did everything he could to get super-recruit quarterback Terrelle Pryor, but he simply entered the game too late, and Pryor went to Ohio State. With the current quarterback situation, that really hurt. But Rodriguez was able to nab one running quarterback—two-star prospect Justin Feagin.

Feagin is extremely athletic and will certainly see some playing time next season, and depending on how quickly he learns, maybe a little more than some. But his throwing arm is suspect, and many recruiting gurus aren’t sold on his ability to be a quarterback at all.

One way or the other, it will be a wait-it-out season for Michigan, as they look to next season to bring in the dual-threat quarterback this system needs.

Until then, when Michigan commits Kevin Newsome and Shavodrick Beaver duke it out for the position and Feagin likely moves to receiver, Justin Feagin will be the only dual-threat option available to Rodriguez and Offensive Coordinator Calvin McGee.

On the offensive line, Michigan—as noted before—is rather thin and extremely untested. As such, it is possible that freshmen Rocko Khory and Ricky Barnum will get a shot at starting, while the 6'7", 300-pound Dann O’Neill will certainly have a chance to nail down one of the tackle spots.

Finally, we come to the running back position. Although the receivers could dispute this point, this is the most likely position to feel some major freshman influence.

YouTube sensation Sam McGuffie is not your typical running back recruit. He’s small, he’s not overly powerful, and he’s white. But his highlight reels against some of the toughest competition in Texas remind many of Noel Devine, who Rodriguez recruited to West Virginia last season.

Rodriguez is certain to use him in many different ways next season if he comes as advertised. Trotwood-Madison product Michael Shaw is also a speedster at running back, and he may see some time along with McGuffie.

Rodriguez’s offense is versatile with its skill players, so expect the fast players like McGuffie, Shaw, and Robinson to be used in many different ways—not all that different from the way Urban Meyer uses Percy Harvin or how Les Miles uses Trindon Holliday.

Regardless of what happens or how they are used, it will definitely be interesting and exciting for Michigan fans to watch.

The 2008 Michigan offense will look very, very different from last year’s attack. With the new personnel and the new system, many expect Michigan’s offense to struggle mightily.

While I don’t dispute that possibility, it is unlikely that they will perform much worse than the 27 points per game from last season, or the measly 28 points per game from 2005.

During Rich Rodriguez’s entire tenure at West Virginia, the Mountaineers dipped below 29 points per game just once—his first year in 2001. In the same time frame, the Wolverines scored less than 29 points per game four times—in 2001, 2002, 2005, and 2007.

No one expects Michigan to produce the 3-8 record with 21 points per game that the 2001 West Virginia team did—in fact, all “experts” concede that Michigan has significantly more talent right now than West Virginia ever did, even with all the star players leaving after last season.

In addition, the 2001 Big East, with both Miami and Virginia Tech still in the conference, was significantly more difficult than the 2008 Big Ten will be (outside of Ohio State).

The point is that although Michigan’s offense will not be 35 points per game dominant, they will also probably not be all that much worse than the 27 points per game output from last season—which, by the way, includes a 38-point outburst against a terrible Notre Dame team and a 41-point game against Florida in the bowl.

With an improved defense (which I will discuss in the second article of this two-column series), a healthier team, and better coaching, Michigan’s record may not be as bad as most pundits are foreseeing.

Rich Rod’s first year may not quite be the learning curve everyone (including me) expects.

New York Mets: Getting Tomahawked Like That Really Smarts

Andrew Smith — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 22:21:00 -0400

The Mets were plastered 11-5 by the Atlanta Braves in Turner Field today. Game recap here.

Notes

-John Maine was not at his best today, going just four innings, giving up four runs all on 96 pitches. He often looked flustered and out of his niche. It wasn’t exactly the scintillating performance I was expecting in Maine’s first start, and we’ll see if he can get it together soon. With Pedro out, the Mets REALLY need Maine to be great.

-The Mets got the short end of very poor umpiring once again. On Wednesday night, it was the bad call that ruled Carlos Beltran’s home run a double, but that controversy was lost in the Mets 13-0 win. Today, however, in the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, Jose Reyes hit a scalding line drive to centerfield, and the Braves’ fielder Mark Kotsay clearly trapped it beneath his body. The umpire, however, ruled that Kotsay had caught the baseball, and the Braves easily threw out Angel Pagan at second, who was running after seeing the ball hit the ground himself.

But Randolph argued the call passionately, and it was eventually overturned, but the Mets were given just one run, despite the fact that Pagan would have scored easily from second. Still, it was just an awful call.

-I swear, Gotay will really hurt us before the end of the season.

-The relief pitching was pretty bad, outside of Joe Smith. Jorge Sosa and Scott Schoeneweis were the worst, with Sosa giving up a grand slam to Kelly Johnson in the seventh inning, effectively putting the game out of reach. Uggh, shades of 2007. Get it together, guys.

-I’m ready to move on to tomorrow, and the exciting Santana-Smoltz matchup. I hate losing to the Braves, so let’s hope Santana can work his magic.

MLB: New York Mets Defeat Florida Marlins 13-0

Andrew Smith — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:03:00 -0400

The Mets incinerated the Marlins 13-0 on Wednesday night. They had seventeen hits in the game.

Winning Pitcher

Oliver Perez (1-0) was fabulous, going six full innings and allowing no runs on just five hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. Not that it really mattered. Come on, the Mets scored so many runs that Jose Lima would have earned a win tonight.

Losing Pitcher

Andrew Miller (0-1), who was hammered by the Mets last season as a member of the Tigers organization, was once again shelled by the Amazin's. The youngster's line was 4.1 innings, eight hits, five runs, two walks, and six strikeouts.

Notes

—Oliver Perez looked really good tonight, and if he, Santana, and Maine can be relied on this season, that will go a long way in making up for Pedro's injury and any poor performance by a random fifth starter. I've begun to realize that when Perez is under control, doesn't try to overthrow, and throws his slider for strikes, he's pretty much unhittable.

—David Wright is the player of the game, even though I don't actually give those in my post game recaps. I guess that tells you just how good he was tonight.

He was 3-5 with two runs scored, a double, and three RBI's on a sixth-inning three-run homer. In fact, Wright's double would have been a home run in any other ballpark. So we should pretend that, along with last night, Wright actually has three home runs this season. Oh, and he also had two gold-glove worthy plays in the latter innings.

—Carlos Beltran had a home run unjustly changed to a double in the fifth inning. However, he also had two other doubles tonight, which gives him five for the year already. Keep raking, Carlos.

—Every starting position player had multiple hits tonight except Brian Schneider, who had two RBI's and a sacrifice fly. Seventeen hits. Two home runs and six doubles. Yeah, that's a lot of offense. We could have used some of these runs last September....oh no, don't do it...don't...think...about...it....

Tomorrow:

Day off on Thursday. John Maine open the Mets series in Atlanta on Friday night. More then.

Santastic: Mets Sink Marlins in Opener

Andrew Smith — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:33:00 -0400

The Mets topped the Florida Marlins 7-2 in Dolphin Stadium in Miami today.

Winning Pitcher: Johan Santana (1-0) was solid in his much-anticipated Mets debut, going seven full innings while giving up two earned runs on three hits.

The only runs scored were off of Josh Willingham's two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth. He walked two and struck out eight.

Losing Pitcher: Mark Hendrickson (0-1) looked OK for the first three innings, but had the ceiling fall in on him in the fourth, where he gave up six runs.

He pitched five full innings, giving up six runs on seven hits while walking three and striking out two. He was less than impressive. Let's hope for the Marlins' sake that they aren't counting on him to be their No. 1 guy this season.

Notes:

1. So much for my speculation about the Mets' potential long relievers. Both candidates I listed yesterday, Matt Wise and Jorge Sosa, pitched in relief in the eighth inning of this game. Wise spread two hits around an out to start the inning, while Scott Schoeneweis and Sosa cleaned up the mess by each recording an out.

I wonder who the Mets will turn to in the event of a poor start. Maybe they won't have a specific long reliever's role as they have the past two years with Aaron Sele last year and Darren Oliver in 2006.

Perhaps they are planning to share the load here. Stay tuned. Hey, maybe we won't need a long reliever all year long because our starters will go seven innings each start.

2. Santana was pretty good today. His fastball maxed out at 93 mph, I think, which is good for the beginning of the season, and his change-up was around 80, which is normal.

Apart from the home run in the fourth, Santana was superb. He wasn't overworked either, as he threw an even 100 pitches, 68 of them strikes. If he can give the Mets starts like this all year long, it's going to make it difficult for the Mets to go into prolonged slumps. At least, I hope so.

3. The Mets' bats were pretty good today, at least for one inning. They scored seven runs off of 10 hits in the ballgame.

Jose Reyes and David Wright were 2-4, while Carlos Beltran went 2-5. Angel Pagan, Ryan Church, and Reyes all had run-scoring hits in the six-run fourth, while Wright smacked a three-run double in the same inning.

Marlon Anderson, who had a pinch-hit single in the ninth, went to second on a Reyes bunt, advanced to third on a Matt Lindsrom wild pitch, and scored on catcher Matt Treanor's throwing error as he tried to throw Anderson out at third after the wild pitch. (I know that's a horrible sentence, but this is a blog. Come on.)

Carlos Delgado went 0-3 while Brian Schneider went 0-4. No surprises there. These two guys are going to be liabilities offensively for most of the year.

That's OK for Schneider, who was brought in for his defense, but that's not OK for Delgado. The sad thing is that he is the highest-paid player on the team for this season. Ouch.

4. The Mets hit four doubles today, two from both Carlos Beltran Wright, Pagan recorded an RBI on his fourth-inning double.

5. Both Reyes and Wright were caught stealing.

6. Aaron Heilman pitched a perfect ninth, striking out two in the process. The Mets need him to be productive this year, and this is a very good start.

I love wins like these. It's just a comfortable, solid-in-all-aspects cruiser.

Tomorrow's game: 7:10 p.m.
Pedro Martinez vs. Rick VandenHurk. I bet Endy Chavez gets the start in left.

Oh, and don't expect me to post like this after every game. I have a life, you know.

NCAA Recruiting: Kevin Hart and the Dark Side of College Sports

Andrew Smith — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:01:35 -0500

As a fan of college football I have closely followed the recruiting process over the last four to five years.

This year a truly sad and strange story emerged from the commotion.

It may even be the most bizarre sports story I have ever heard.

Last Wednesday, February 6th, was College Football Signing Day, the occasion on which young football recruits make official their post-secondary futures by sending in letters of intent to their schools of choice.

Kevin Hart, an unheralded offensive lineman from Nevada, met newspaper reporters and local sports media in the packed Fernley High School gymnasium to announce that he would be attending the University of California instead of his other short-listed school, Oregon.

Local residents were ecstatic.

There had never been a Division I football player from that area of Nevada, and Hart was about to go to a big-time school on a full-ride scholarship. The night was a memorable one.

“I’ve been here eighteen years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” one police officer said of the ovation Hart received from adoring friends, fellow students, family, and neighbors.

California message boards called the young player a “huge sleeper recruit,” assured he would work very hard to earn a spot on the roster.

Hart explained why he was going to Cal, telling local writers, “They really won me over, Coach Tedford (Cal's head football coach) and I talked a lot and the fact that the head coach did most of the recruiting gave me kind of a personal experience.”

One problem, though.

Coach Tedford claims that he has never even heard of Kevin Hart. Oregon’s head coach Mike Belotti says the same. Both have clearly stated that they never recruited Hart, let alone offered him a scholarship.

Police officers and investigators met Hart at his Nevada home where Hart expressed concern that an impersonator had caused the trouble. Police asked for names, for any contact information that would help them to track down the alleged middleman. Hart provided a name, but as for additional information, well, he had none.

And that is because there was no impersonator, there was no scholarship, no recruitment. The whole town’s excitement was driven by nothing but Kevin Hart’s own personal fantasy.

Hart concocted the entire story. He’d never been recruited by any school, and certainly not by any as prestigious as Cal and Oregon. Hart had previously told reporters that he was narrowing down a list that included Cal, Oregon, Illinois, Nevada, and Oklahoma State. Lies, all of them.

In a statement released to the press Hart explained, "I wanted to play D-I ball more than anything. When I realized that wasn't going to happen, I made up what I wanted to be reality.”

But what had started out as a small lie to his high school coaches was spun several times over to envelope the entire school, the town, the region, Hart’s whole life.

What now stands as the most publicized hoax in recruiting history means that instead of going on to play small college football, Hart will try to piece together a fractured future.

The story is definitely bizarre, but also quite sad.

The 18-year-old kid certainly bears most of the responsibility. He flat-out lied to hundreds of people, including several police officials.

But the sports media needs to be held accountable for this mania, too. They have recreated signing day as a huge, high-pressured event. And while recruiting is important, covering it to this extent is not. What is expected of young players is already, in many cases, unreasonable.

Highly-touted prospect Terrelle Pryor, a duel-threat quarterback from Pennsylvania, has yet to announce his destination. Recruiting analysts think this decision may significantly alter the future of Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, or Oregon. But as good as Pryor might become, he still has yet to play a college down, throw a college pass, or even attend his senior prom.

Recruiting is, essentially, overblown, overstated, and over-hyped. These are high school seniors choosing where to go to college. The whole process should be looked upon as little more than that.

But recruiting magazines like Rivals and Scout have characterized this as a life-or-death enterprise by throwing kids in front of millions of people and telling them to make decisions about their future. Grown men with children of their own in high school and college endlessly fret about a five-star prospect's college decision.

Some young players aren’t quite good enough for that level, however, so they make it all up because they’ve been raised to privilege recognition above all else. They think recognition makes them matter.

But it doesn’t. Press attention doesn't build a better college athlete. In fact, the opposite may be true.

And the longer the media goes without realizing this, the more stories like Kevin Hart there will be, and the sadder the stories of players neglecting passion for lauded acceptance.

Johan Santana: Mets' Savior or Next Frank Viola?

Andrew Smith — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:35:47 -0500

The New York Mets, in desperate need of a front-line starting pitcher, struck a blockbuster deal with the Minnesota Twins for a 29-year old, left-handed, former Cy Young winning All-Star pitcher armed with a devastating changeup, among other pitches.

Think I’m talking about the recent Johan Santana trade of 2008?

Try 19 years earlier.

Just before the trade deadline in 1989 (as in, literally 11:59 on July 31st), the Mets sent Kevin Tapani, David West, and Rick (If-Not-For-Bill-Buckner-I-Would-Have-Been-The-Goat-In-1986) Aguilera to Minnesota for southpaw Frank Viola.

At the time, it was supposed to be a trade that restored the Mets as the National League’s most dominant team, and one that perhaps would take them back to the World Series they had so narrowly missed a year earlier.

Viola was supposedly in his prime as a pitcher. He had great years behind him (a World Series championship in 1987 and a Cy Young in 1988), and most thought that he had even better years in front of him.

In 1990, his first full year with the club, Viola lived up to all the hype and expectation. He started 35 games, boasted a 20-12 record with a 2.67 ERA and recorded three shutouts. He even finished a close third in the Cy Young voting that year.

The next season, he burst out of the gate in the same form, winning 12 of his first 14 decisions and making the All-Star team. But injuries and unpopularity caught up to Viola, and he won just one game the rest of the 1991 season.

As for the prospects the Mets traded to Minnesota, many Mets fans were most disappointed about losing promising young pitcher David West. Starter Rick Aguilera, once heralded as a top young prospect, had disappointed Mets brass with his recent lack of production, and Kevin Tapani was just a young, uninspiring prospect.

West did not pan out, though, going 15-18 and booking at least 100 innings pitched just once in his four-year stay with Minnesota. That’s the good news for the Mets.

Aguilera and Tapani, however, were both with the Twins organization throughout the 90’s, and both contributed significantly in the Twins 1991 World Series championship. Aguilera was recently inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame for his performance as an 11-year closer, and Tapani was a solid innings- eater for Minnesota for several years.

When the Twins wrapped up their victory over the Braves in a dramatic seven-game World Series in 1991, Viola had already pitched his last game with the New York Mets. He was granted free agency that off-season, and he was a mediocre pitcher the rest of his career with Boston, Cincinnati, and Toronto.

Will the same happen with Santana? Both he and Viola were All-Star, Cy Young pitchers in Minnesota before being traded to the Mets. Both were two of the more dominant lefties in the game at their time, and both were expected to bring the Mets back to the glory days of previous years.

Hopefully for Santana and the Mets, history doesn’t repeat itself and Santana doesn’t underperform as Viola did under the strong responsibility and lofty expectations of Queens.

Of course, the Viola-Santana analogy is not perfect.

Viola had a history of arm trouble due to the screwball-like circle change he was famous for throwing. Santana has zero history of any serious health problems.

Viola was considered to be among two or three of the top left-handed pitchers in the Major Leagues. Santana is widely considered the best pitcher of the 21^st Century.

Viola never went 13-0 in the second-half of a Cy-Young award-winning season like Santana did in 2004 (a baseball record, by the way).

Viola never won two Cy Young awards in just four years as a starter like Santana has.

Viola was never ranked first in baseball in wins, strikeouts, ERA, and opponent batting average over a five year period like Santana is.

And, let's face it, Santana is just so much cooler than Frank Viola.

So take heart, Mets fans. Santana will probably be the best pitcher in the National League for the next year or two. And maybe he will even be among the game’s best pitchers for the next several years.

It could all work out perfectly. As a fellow Mets fan, I hope it does as much as you do.

Santana could pitch six unbelievable years with the Mets, win three Cy Young awards, four World Series championships, and be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 15 years as a New York Met.

But don’t act surprised if Santana doesn’t pan out in New York.

History told you so.

One Last Chance: Michigan Wolverines Head to Orlando

Andrew Smith — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 06:04:33 -0500

The Michigan senior class of the 2007 football season has done just about everything one could ask.

Headlined by All-Americans such as tackle Jake Long and running back Mike Hart, and the All-Big Ten performers quarterback Chad Henne, guard Adam Kraus, safety Jamar Adams, and several more, this class has been nothing short of consistent winners.

But they never beat Ohio State, and they’ve never won a bowl game.

They’ve set all sorts of records and positive individual legacies.

Quarterback Chad Henne was primed to start his 40th consecutive game against Notre Dame—that is to say, every game of his career—before he was injured and missed two consecutive starts. In all, Henne has started all but four of all his games at Michigan. That is 45 starts in a college football world that constantly rotates quarterbacks.

He also holds the Michigan record for passing yards in a career, at the same school where Jim Harbaugh, John Navarre, Todd Collins, Brian Greise, Drew Henson, Rick Leach, and Tom Brady all played their college football. Henne tops them all, at least statistically.

Sure, Chad Henne will go down in the Michigan record books for his numbers, but it is his resilience and toughness this season that will go down in Michigan lore forever.

Against Illinois in Champaign on October 20th, Henne was sacked in the first quarter, dislocating his throwing shoulder. When he returned from the locker room after receiving a cortisone shot—not a pleasant event—his arm was constantly popping out of its socket.

When he would reach his hand under center, his throwing shoulder would pop out, and he would have to return it to place before taking the snap. He was begging Michigan offensive coaches for more plays out of the shotgun, because the force of the center snapping the ball was dislocating his shoulder.

But somehow, he led Michigan back from a 14-3 deficit to win, on the road, with a separated shoulder: 27-17.

He did it again two weeks later against Michigan State, stepping into the Michigan huddle in a 24-14 hole with eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter. The offense, and Henne, had been slowed by injuries and poor play the entire second half—a problem which foreshadowed their troubles in the next two games against Wisconsin and Ohio State.

Henne completed his first pass to the far sideline for a first down. But he freakishly stepped on one of his lineman’s feet, tweaking his ankle. After sitting out a play—a nearly disastrous one, as Mike Hart picked up backup quarterback Ryan Mallett’s fumble and ran it for a first down—Henne returned and flipped the switch.

The same switch he flipped against Illinois earlier in the year, against Minnesota, Michigan State, Texas, and against Purdue as a freshman, against Michigan State and Penn State as a sophomore, and against Ohio State as a junior.

Two touchdown drives later, Michigan had wrapped up an improbable 28-24 victory in East Lansing, all because of Henne and his uncooperative throwing shoulder, which he later admitted forced him to pay with pain for every throw on those last two drives.

Henne will unquestionably be put in the history books of Michigan football as one of the toughest competitors and greatest leaders Michigan has ever had.

But despite playing some of his best games against Ohio State his first three years, and one of his gutsiest performances in a senior year filled with them, Chad Henne is 0-4 against his archrival, and has never won a bowl game.

Running back Mike Hart is one of those guys who talks a lot. He jaws to his teammates on the sideline and in the huddle, he talks trash to the opponent, he says pretty outlandish things in the post-game press conference to infuriate his rivals, and he once guaranteed a win against Notre Dame.

But Hart is also one of those guys who backs it all up with is play. Prior to getting hurt against Purdue, Hart carried the team. He was Michigan’s entire offense against Oregon, Notre Dame, and Penn State, and he single-handedly led a short-lived Michigan comeback against Appalachian State.

He holds Michigan’s all-time rushing record at the same school where Anthony Thomas, Chris Perry, Jamie Morris, and Ronald Johnson played. He is a great teammate, and an unquestioned leader.

But despite the fact that he came back exclusively to beat Ohio State his senior year, he fell short. No victories against Ohio State. And no bowl wins.

Jake Long may be the best offensive lineman in Michigan history, topping the list of Michigan and NFL greats Jon Jansen, Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus, Tom Mack, and Dan Dierdorf.

But despite his best efforts, he never beat Ohio State.

Oh, how nasty little fact stains on the legacy of these seniors. What has sometimes been a redeemer for other Michigan players with statistically subpar careers and for other Michigan teams with statistically subpar seasons has become the demon that will forever haunt the way these players are remembered.

Nonetheless, they’ve certainly accomplished great things that are not unlike what other Michigan teams have done in the past.

They’ve won a Big Ten championship, something every class in Michigan history has done.

They’ve beaten (pounded is more apt, perhaps) Notre Dame the last two years.

They’ve never lost to Michigan State or Penn State.

In fact, not including Ohio State, these seniors have only lost only three conference games: one to Minnesota and two to Wisconsin.

They’ve played in two Rose Bowls, narrowly losing one to a great quarterback and inexplicably getting manhandled by a team they could have beaten.

But of course, underachieving has also been one of the not-so-pretty hallmarks of this class. Between those two Rose Bowls and a 2005 Alamo Bowl loss to Nebraska, they have never won a bowl game either.

These seniors will never beat Ohio State as players, but they can still leave Michigan with a good taste coming out of the Carr regime and into the new Rodriguez era. They can wrap up their historic careers and almost forty years of the Bo era with a win against the defending national champion Florida Gators, and reigning Heisman winner Tim Tebow in the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day.

There is one last chance for these seniors. Win, and they can salvage something tangible from a nightmarish season. Lose, and they cement a losing legacy in the biggest of games, and likely scare off all future underclassmen from staying just one more year.

They have one last chance to write the happy ending all Maize and Blue faithful want for them, and send coach Lloyd Carr out as a winner in his final game.

Their days as players for Michigan are numbered, but these lifetime Wolverines have one more chance to make Ohio State their only losing legacy, and stamp a positive capstone on solid careers.

They have one last chance to briefly silence all the negative talk about them.

One last chance.