Bleacher Report - Articles by Brian Conlin

Jim Rice: Making The Hall of Fame Bigger

Brian Conlin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:16:55 -0400

The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York will need to get bigger as it prepares to welcome Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson as its newest members on July 26.

The votes are in and there’s no turning back, but only one of these players belongs.

In a career that took place in four decades, Henderson became the all-time leader in stolen bases at 1,406 and runs scored with 2,295. Henderson could beat you with more than just his speed. He had more power than anyone with three seasons of 100 or more stolen bases should.

Three times the outfielder had a season where he led the American League in stolen bases and hit over 20 home runs. He also holds the record for most home runs to leadoff a game with 81. These statistics got Henderson voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Baseball historian Bill James said it best, “If you could somehow split [Henderson] in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers.”

While his statistics are astonishing, Henderson’s love of the game, personality, and playing style contribute to his legacy. At 44-years-old, the 10 time All-Star played in the Atlantic League, an independent minor league, hoping for one more season in the Majors.

For 25 seasons, Henderson tormented other teams. With Henderson on first, pitchers would lose focus of the batter, fearing that he would turn his single into a triple.

As legend has it, one time as Henderson was taking his lead from first he caught the eye of Floyd Rayford, the Baltimore Orioles’ third baseman, and held up two fingers. Rayford had no idea what it meant until Henderson was standing on the bag next to him after quickly stealing two bases.

Henderson’s intangibles and his flair (his headfirst slides, an exaggerated arm motion to snatch routine fly balls from the air, and references to himself in the third person,) made baseball exciting to watch.

Incidentally, the people who voted for Jim Rice relied on intangibles because he’s not deserving based on his statistics.

Over 16 seasons, Rice, a left-fielder who played his entire career in Boston, had several terrific seasons that resulted in eight All-Star appearances, but his overall statistics fall short.

Rice collected 2,452 hits, had a batting average of .298, and clubbed 382 home runs. He led the American League in homers three times and in RBIs twice. He finished in the top five in MVP voting six times.

Don’t get me wrong. Every team in Major League Baseball would love to get production like that from their outfield, but it’s not Hall of Fame production.

Numbers can sometimes lie.

Rice ended up with similar final numbers to Joe DiMaggio (2,214 hits and 361 home runs), a no-doubt Hall of Famer. However, DiMaggio lost three years of his prime (his 28, 29, and 30-year-old seasons) because he served in World War II.

Despite missing the three seasons, DiMaggio still won three MVP Awards, two more than Rice. This doesn’t even consider his 56-game hitting streak.

Ralph Kiner, an outfielder in the 40’s and 50’s who spent most of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, was elected to the Hall of Fame despite finishing his career with a paltry 1,451 hits and a Rice-ian 369 home runs.

However, Kiner led the National League in home runs for seven consecutive seasons. He led the majors for six straight years. That’s a dominance that Rice never came close to matching. In fact, it’s dominance that has no precedent and no duplication.

It also isn’t to say that mistakes haven’t been made in Hall of Fame voting before.

Only 1.34 percent of players who get the opportunity to put on a Major League uniform get inducted into the Hall of Fame.

That’s one player out of about 75.

Rice falls short. Rice never had an extended period of dominance like Kiner. He never reached any of the magic numbers like DiMaggio probably would have had he not spent three seasons serving his country.

Rice wasn’t even close to those magic numbers.

To collect 3,000 hits or 500 home runs, Rice would have needed to play three more seasons in which he collected over 180 hits or hit 40 home runs. Few even in the steroid era could maintain that type of production after their age 36 season, when Rice retired.

In Rice’s 15th and final year of eligibility to be elected into the Hall of Fame, 76.4 percent of the BBWAA (Baseball Writer’s Association of America) voted that he deserved to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

A player needs 75 percent of the vote to get in. Rice received less than 30 percent of the vote in his first year of eligibility in 1995. These facts are evidence of his borderline candidacy.

Rice’s supporters looked beyond the fact that he only won one MVP award and never reached any of the magic numbers. Perhaps the voters were convinced by marketing campaigns organized by fans, writers, some Hall of Famers, and the Red Sox organization that Rice was the most feared hitter in baseball for over a decade.

That’s intangibility. The statement is impossible to prove. It also isn’t accurate.

Jayson Stark of ESPN wrote, “In the 11 seasons from 1975 to 1985, American League pitchers would rather have seen Freddy Krueger stalking up their street than Jim Rice stalking toward the old batter's box.”

Interesting, Mr. Stark.

This most feared hitter never drew more than 10 intentional walks in a season and only drew 77 intentional walks in his career. That’s two less than the light hitting Ozzie Smith.

Barry Bonds drew 688. George Brett, Rice’s AL contemporary, had 229.

Since Bill James was so colorful in illustrating Henderson’s career, let’s call on him again. James wrote in his Historical Baseball Abstract that Rice was “probably the most overrated player of the last thirty years.''

James ranked Rice as the 27th best left fielder in history, behind Roy White (No. 25), Albert Belle (No. 20) and Tim Raines (No. 8).

Whether Rice belongs in the Hall of Fame is a moot point now that he is days away from induction, but the reason for concern stems from how big the Hall of Fame will need to grow to accommodate players who have similar statistics and a similar “fear factor.”

If other borderline players like Dave Parker, Raines, and Dale Murphy get into the Hall of Fame, their induction speeches should include a special thank you to Rice and his supporters.

MLB All-Star Weekend: Three Gimmicks To Save the Game

Brian Conlin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:12:28 -0400

Once upon a time, baseball’s All-Star Game was the gem of July. The best players from the National and American Leagues faced-off with bragging rights on the line.

Believe it or not, those rights mattered.

Now, the game’s luster is gone. Interleague play shows the best matchups. Albert Pujols vs. Zack Greinke. Yawn. It’s already happened this season. It probably will next.

It can’t only be blamed on Interleague play. The players don’t like exhibition games (And, yes, the All-Star Game is an exhibition even if Home Field advantage in the World Series is on the line.).

Just look at the revamped Baseball Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown. For the 69 seasons prior to this one, two Major League teams played an exhibition on Doubleday Field.

Now, it’s an Old Timer’s game.

Lately, it seems that most of the people who remember watching an All-Star Game could qualify to play in an Old Timer’s Game.

From 1976-1980, each All-Star Game had over 30 million viewers. The 2008 game had 14.5 million. The worrisome thing for baseball is that a 2008 Monday Night Football game, one of 17 that year, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins had 14.2 million viewers.

More reasons could be cited as the reason the All-Star Game has gone flat. However, a better use of time is finding a way to fix it.

The answer is something that the MLB has seen before.

Baseball must summon the spirit of Bill Veeck.

Veeck was an eccentric owner of several baseball teams and a master of the gimmick. In one of his most famous stunts, he hired Eddie Gaedel, a midget, to bat in the second game of a doubleheader. In my All-Star Game there will be no midgets (unless of course they are voted in), but there sure will be gimmicks.

People’s interest in the game must be refreshed each year. This means so do the gimmicks. The fans want to see the new and exciting.

Here are some ideas:

Major League Baseball would love to prove that the new clean game has replaced the old, PED-filled version. So, forget NL vs. AL. It’s young vs. old. The All-Star Game could have a team of under 30 year-old's slug it out against their elders.

This would reward players, like Ken Griffey Jr., who have had long, distinguished careers but no longer put up the statistics.

Just imagine Grady Sizemore on one side and Griffey on the other. Get creative. The elder statesman play in throwback uniforms and the young players sport futuristic garb.

The next year could be a throwback to one of Veeck’s most famous promotions, Grandstand Manager’s Day. In Veeck’s promotion, the fans were given Yes/No placards and voted on the game’s strategy.

The All-Star Game could implement a similar strategy on a global scale with text messaging and online voting. At certain points in the game, baseball would take a small break, say one or two minutes, and allow fans to vote for a certain scenario.

Imagine Derek Jeter up to bat with men on first and second in the seventh inning and his team down by a run. Should Mr. November bunt? It’s up to the viewers.

To fill the new empty time, the managers could be called upon to discuss what they would do. Imagine Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona talking about the pluses and minuses of Jeter bunting.

That’s good television.

If you don’t think the managers should be discussing this info, Fox could take another commercial break. Of course, the opposition would need to be surprised by the result of the poll, but, perhaps, Jose Canseco can be hired to ensure no one watches the television. Or, simpler, the results are posted after the play is completed.

The managers of the All-Star game do lose some power in this arrangement, but they may be happy conceding it. They have enough responsibilities just making all of the substitutions.

By the way, maybe they don’t know so much. Veeck’s St. Louis Browns snapped a four game losing streak when the fans were calling the shots.

The All-Star game could bring back retired players. It wouldn’t be on a large scale, just one player per team. Imagine if the Padres had the All-Star game in 2012.

Fans would love to see if Tony Gwynn could still lace a single up the middle at the age of 52. Give him one at bat as a pinch hitter or as an honorary DH (It doesn’t matter that it’s an NL park. It’s a gimmick for an exhibition. Besides the only thing more painful than watching a man in his fifties run is being a man in his fifties trying to run.). Let a retired Trevor Hoffman close the game for the other side.

Sure this would take a roster spot or, at least, playing time away from an active All-Star. However, the players understand the importance of history, especially if it’s only for one night.

Maybe the game just needs a ring painted across the outfield grandstand that marks 400 feet. Hit it past the line and the home run counts double. Maybe if a fan catches a ball it counts as an out. Anything goes as long as it makes the fans live happily ever after.

What do you think?

Are there any gimmicks that you think would make the All-Star Game more interesting?

Carolina Panthers: Ten Questions for an Anonymous Panther, Chad Upshaw

Brian Conlin — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:38:48 -0400

Everyone knows the superstars, the guys who find ways to get the ball in their hands with the game on the line. But what about the guys who don’t even get to stand on the sideline?

Practice squads help NFL teams prepare each week by running the opposing team’s plays. To do so, they make a decent salary, $5,200 per week. However, as a practice squad player, there is no job security.

Chad Upshaw knows this all too well. Upshaw was a tight end at the University at Buffalo and signed with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent. Like many players on the fringe, Upshaw’s NFL biography is a series of transactions.

He bounced to Denver’s practice squad and back to Carolina. Now, he is unsigned and is likely working out in the hopes that he will be one of eight players selected to the practice squad after cuts are made.

Upshaw isn’t just a man that isn’t quite good enough. He is the son of former Major League first baseman Willie Upshaw. He is the second cousin of NFL Hall of Famer Gene Upshaw.

Because people can’t see him on television each Sunday, to most people, he is nothing.

To me, Chad is the three-sport stud (football, basketball and baseball) whom I read about in the Connecticut Post the day after he transferred to St. Joseph High School in Trumbull, Conn., my school. Chad is the guy I competed for playing time with on the baseball field.

I remember a teenage Chad, like the rest of us, searching for his identity. Unlike the rest of us, he did so in the large shadows of an athletically successful family.

Now that I’m out of touch with the man, there is so much I’d love to know as a former teammate, curious journalist, and supporter of the underdog. Here are some of the questions I would ask Chad if given the opportunity to interview him.

1. Your father played in the Major Leagues for 10 seasons, and your cousin has been widely involved in the NFL as a player and as an executive director of the NFL Players Association. Obviously, there were a number of advantages in having their counsel and experience available to you. What were some of the disadvantages?

2. Because of your family’s athletic background, were you pushed toward any one sport? If so, how did that affect your athletic life as a young player?

3. What is your reaction when you hear comments about athletes only playing for the money?

4. As a member of a practice squad, what are your goals? And how do you try to accomplish them?

5. From when you played youth sports in Connecticut to your time at the University at Buffalo, you were one of the best players on any court or field you stepped on. How have you adjusted to being one of the least-talented players for the first time in your career?

6. What separates you from the players ahead of you on the depth chart?

7. How is your personal development affected as you attempt to imitate the opposing team’s plays in practice?

8. Since you are not as financially secure as players under contract and on the roster, how do you balance preparing for your football season and managing your life financially?

9. How do you deal with the highs and lows of being consistently cut and signed?

10. If you don’t get the opportunity to play on the active roster, how many seasons do you envision yourself spending on the practice squad before ending your career?

Will the Carolina Panthers' Dominance at Home Continue in 2009?

Brian Conlin — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:28:15 -0400

Mi casa es su casa.

Those are words that the 2008 Carolina Panthers never uttered. It’s not that the Panthers needed help with their Spanish. Rather, they were bad hosts to the visitors of Bank of America Stadium.

En route to a 12-4 record, the Panthers were the only team in the NFL to finish the season with a perfect regular season home record (8-0). In these eight victories, they had an average margin of victory of 15.4 points. That’s more than two touchdowns!

Where did this home dominance come from?

In an admittedly flawed exercise, ESPN ranked the NFL’s fan bases before the 2008 season and considered several factors —such as the rabidity of the fans and the loudness of the stadium. The Panthers’ fans were listed as the 25th-best in the NFL. Even if the rankings are only somewhat accurate, it can be assumed the fans aren’t pushing the Panthers to victory.

Maybe the groundskeepers are to credit. While the trend among NFL teams has been to move to FieldTurf for its ability to be played on in all types of weather, the Panthers use grass. They’re good at it, too. In a poll of NFL players, the surface of Bank of America Stadium ranked as the fourth-best grass field in the league.

While any advantage a playing surface gives can be muted by the fact that both teams play on it, head groundskeeper Tom Vaughan and his crew of seven also keep the practice field in shape.

Maintenance of the fields goes beyond making it look pretty. Even when players aren’t being driven into the ground like a railroad spike, they are at risk of being injured as they run and cut on the surface. On a poor field, players are more likely to be injured.

The injury report for the final home game of the 2008 season has only two Carolina players listed. However, a dearth of injuries and an 8-0 record cannot be attributed solely to the playing surface. Otherwise, the teams voted as having better grass playing surfaces (Tampa Bay, San Diego, and Arizona) would also have been perfect at home.

Perhaps, the 2008 season was simply an outlier. Since 2001, the Panthers have been merely mediocre at home. From 2001 to 2007, the Panthers had a home winning percentage of .429 (24-32) compared to a .500 (28-28) winning percentage on the road.

While it’s possible that the 2008 Panthers have turned a corner and are going to continue to be ungracious hosts, it is more likely that they took advantage of a soft spot in their schedule.

Of their eight home games, only two came against teams that made it to the playoffs. Overall, their opponents had a combined winning percentage of .438 (56-72). The 2009 home schedule looks to be much tougher. The Panthers will play host to teams that had a combined winning percentage of .570 (73-54-1) last year, four of which made the 2008 playoffs.

If the Panthers are to repeat as champions in the tough NFC South, they will need to maintain their unwelcoming attitude.

Why do you think that the Panthers were so dominant at home in 2008? What do you think their home record will be in 2009?

Four Reasons the Carolina Panthers Will Not Win the NFC South

Brian Conlin — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:03:16 -0400

Phoenix residents call it being in the way of destiny.

In Charlotte, the Panthers’ 33-13 loss to the Cardinals in the 2009 NFC divisional playoffs is called nauseating.

However, 2009 appears to be the Pepto-Bismol that remedies that feeling, or so many are reporting.

Before their playoff loss, the 2008 Panthers finished first in the NFC South and racked up 12 wins thanks to having the third-highest point differential in the NFC (85). The Panthers return the NFL’s third leading rusher in DeAngelo Williams, Pro Bowl receiver Steve Smith, and their stalwart quarterback Jake Delhomme, who signed a five-year extension this offseason.

It’s logical for Panthers fans to expect another division title.

Showing that they’re not content being one trick kitties, Carolina took defense with its first three picks in the 2009 NFL Draft. Watching over the players, the team has a coaching staff that is bad at losing.

While the 2009 Panthers attempt to wash away the pain delivered in last year’s playoffs by their desert foes, the optimistic eyes may be seeing a mirage.

Here are four reasons the Panthers won’t repeat as NFC South Champions:

You Say You Want a Revolution…

When the Atlanta Falcons drafted Mike Vick with the first pick in the 2001 draft, he was supposed to be the biggest revolutionary since Che.

Vick couldn’t live up to the expectations of being John Elway, Barry Sanders, and God rolled in one. Instead, as you may have heard, Vick is now living at home making $10 an hour.

However, another quarterback, the third overall pick in the 2008 draft, pushed the Falcons to the playoffs in his first season. A more conventional quarterback who looks to pass first, Matt Ryan threw for 3,440 yards as he led the Falcons to 11 wins.

His performance earned him the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Assuming Ryan can avoid a sophomore slump, a year of seasoning can only mean bad news for the Panthers. The Falcons seem to think Ryan will be fine as it chose to make few moves concerning its offense this offseason.

On the other side of the ball, the Falcons signed linebacker Mike Peterson—a tackling machine—this offseason to be a leader on and off the field. Peterson will have his work cut out for him because there is a lot of new blood.

The Falcons drafted defense with its first five picks.

Their first round pick, Peria Jerry, gives the Falcons’ porous defensive line some depth.

The Falcons’ decision to improve by sitting still could be just what they need to take back the NFC South crown.

Coming Up Short…

Before Panthers’ kicker John Kasay booted a football through the uprights with one second left on the clock in the final game of the regular season, the NFC South had an unusual streak from 2003-2007 where the team who finished in last place would win the division the following year.

After finishing 2008 in the cellar, the New Orleans Saints will try to revive this tradition.

The Saints may not have been as bad as their .500 record suggested last year. They had the NFC’s fourth highest point differential (70). While the Saints outscored their opponents by an average of 15.6 points per victory, they also managed to lose six games by five points or fewer.

Maybe the team can’t finish off an opponent...

Or, maybe the team is not getting the luck that its moniker suggests it should...

The Saints lost several key players to injury. Even if those players don’t impact the team tremendously, it could easily turn a few of those close losses into close victories.

A Ship Is Only as Good as Its Captain…

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a lot like going on a blind date...

You have no idea what you’re going to get.

The uncertainty stems from an overhaul. The Bucs have a new general manager, head coach, and defensive coordinator. This doesn’t include their new quarterbacks.

However, like the team that won Super Bowl XXXVII, how well this team does will largely be based on how good its defense is.

In the 2008 season, the Buccaneers had the stingiest defense in the NFC South. Using the “Tampa Two” scheme, Tampa Bay gave up 323 points.

The hiring of Jim Bates to be the team’s defensive coordinator has created a buzz. Bates joined the Green Bay Packers in 2005, and his defense finished seventh in the league only one year after it ranked 25th.

“[Bates is] very smart and knows all the positions,” said Buccaneers’ general manager Mark Dominik in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times.

“He's very knowledgeable in defensive line play and very versed in everything he's trying to coach. You know he's going to do it correctly."

With seven years of defensive coordinator experience, Bates brings a successful track record and a sagacious voice he can whisper into 32-year-old rookie head coach Raheem Morris’ ear.

If Morris can transfer his youthful energy to his players and find a quarterback to keep the team close, the Buccaneers could find themselves near the top of the standings.

Standing in the Way of Themselves…

The 2008 Panthers saw a resurgence of defense. Most of this can be attributed to the improved play of All-Pro and, now disgruntled, defensive end Julius Peppers.

The Panthers placed the franchise tag on Peppers, which means any team that signs Peppers will give two first round picks to Carolina. This is unlikely to happen and, up to this point, Carolina has shown no desire to trade Peppers.

Peppers has already missed a minicamp. Unnamed members of the Panthers believe that he will not sign his contract until shortly before Week One.

While contract disputes are as much a part of the NFL now as cheerleaders and shoulder pads, could Peppers’ actions drag on the team?

Even if the answer is a little, it may be too much.

The Panthers face a difficult schedule that has them playing 15 games against teams who finished .500 or better last year. Seven of these games will be played against teams that made the playoffs.

Should a team sign Peppers, the Panthers would be relying heavily on Everette Brown, a rookie drafted in the second round.

On the other side of the ball, the Panthers return the core of an offense that was only one of six teams in the NFC to score over 400 points.

However, Delhomme’s playoff performance—in which he tossed five interceptions and lost possession on a fumble—inspires little confidence.

Perhaps it is an outlier in an otherwise solid career.

Perhaps it’s a sign of a 34-year-old beginning to regress.

The competition in the NFC South should make for an entertaining season, but Panthers fans should only expect another NFC South crown as much as they expect Sunday afternoons nursing Pepto-Bismol as the team sinks in the standings.

Jamall Lee: Life At The Bottom Of The Heap

Brian Conlin — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:44:22 -0400

Two hundred and fifty six names over two days, but Jamall Lee never heard his own.

In the five minutes after the Kansas City Chiefs made Ryan Succop 2009’s “Mr. Irrelevant,” Lee got an offer over the phone from the Carolina Panthers to sign as a free agent. One week later, Lee had another job. The British Columbia Lions selected the running back third overall in the Canadian Football League Draft.

Two jobs in one week? Not bad in this economy.

Now, it’s decision time for Lee. Does he stay with the Panthers buried on the depth chart by four other running backs as he competes against the best or does he play each day in the relative obscurity of the Canadian Football League? Perhaps, it’s not much of a decision at all.

"I'd love to make it here. The CFL is a great league and I'm very proud of the guys up there," Lee said, according to the website of the Carolina Panthers. "But right now this is where I want to be. [This] is where the quote-unquote best players are."

This decision is an unusual one for Lee. Born in British Columbia, Lee shirked an offer from Oregon State to enroll at a junior college and then transfer in later. Instead, Lee went to Bishop’s University in Quebec so he could play college football immediately.

No one can blame Lee for not wanting to wait, but he passed up the chance to play against USC and UCLA in the Pac-10 to play against Concordia University and Laval University in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport, a division of Canadian college athletics. Against these lesser teams, Lee averaged 6.75 yards per carry as he led the CIS for the second straight year with 1,093 rushing yards in 2008.

Had he played against tougher competition maybe he would have been a better prospect. For Lee that’s not worth thinking about. Simply having the chance to play in the NFL is worth it.

"He's learning our system; he's got physical tools, obviously. We'll see how he progresses," Panthers head coach John Fox said, according to the team’s website.

As an undrafted free agent, Lee’s playing time is probably more related to injuries than to his progression. For NFL players, particularly running backs, the end of the season may only be one hit away. Additionally, DeAngelo Williams may pay the price for being so successful last season.

Williams rushed the ball 273 times last season. This total leaves him outside the Curse of 370, a theory that any running back with over 370 carries in a season has a greater risk of getting injured the following year. However, it’s possible that Williams’ first full season as a starter could produce a hangover. So, even as the Panthers’ fifth running back he may get a chance to play.

In all likelihood, Lee wants to earn his playing time. His work ethic is unquestioned. In preparation for the CFL combine held in March, Lee worked out in California for two months. Six days each week would be filled with lifting, running and competing against players who were preparing for the NFL combine.

Competition is something that athletes crave. It’s why Lee wants to play against the best players. When a player gets so close to his dream, is it possible that they wish harm on the players above them?

This is not a suggestion that Lee or any other player should pull a Tonya Harding. But could they be rooting for one of those hits? How bad would a middle-class worker feel if he got a temporary promotion after his co-worker had to take a paid medical leave of absence?

Lee has done nothing to suggest that he wants any of the running backs ahead of him to become injured. In fact, he’s simply thankful to have an opportunity to compete against the best. Should his best fall short, he will play for the Lions in the CFL.

"I want to push myself as far as I can go and see what happens," Lee said, according to the Carolina Panthers’ website. "If it doesn't work out, I'm happy I took my shot and I'll go back home."

Julius Peppers Acting in His Own Best Interest? That's Just Fine

Brian Conlin — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:09:36 -0400

Seasoned green peppers are the perfect accompaniment to a grilled sausage in the summer. A seasoned, green Peppers spoils the summer for football fans.

Three months ago, Julius Peppers publicly said that he would request a trade if the Panthers place the franchise tag on him. Two weeks ago, the Pro Bowl defensive end of the Carolina Panthers skipped a mini-camp.

"I strongly feel that making a move at this time is in my best interest,” said Peppers in a statement, according to ESPN. “I appreciate the entire Panthers organization and am thankful for the seven seasons I've spent with the team."

In his best interest? Of course it is. When was the last time an athlete made a decision that was in the organization’s or fans’ best interest?

Peppers wants to move to one of five teams that uses a 3-4 defense, a list that includes the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots, so that he can become an outside linebacker.

"He feels that he can thrive in another system,” said his agent Carl Carey, according to ESPN. “While he has been selected to four Pro Bowls and designated as an All-Pro during his career, he feels that he has yet to develop to his full potential. This is the case of a great player who seeks to become an elite one."

Wait what? He wants to see if he can be better? Well, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with that.

Since the Panthers made him a franchise player on February 19, Peppers will make nearly $17 million in 2009 if he signs and stays in Carolina. Should he decide to play as an outside linebacker in another organization, he would probably sign for less money, according to Yahoo! Sports.

If people were to be completely truthful, most would find that they have a lot in common with Peppers. In his seven seasons in the NFL, Peppers has made four Pro Bowls as a defensive end. After 14.5 sacks in 2008, he knows how good he can be.

"At this point in my NFL career, I am seeking new challenges that will allow me to grow, develop and reach my personal potential on the football field,” said Peppers in a statement according to ESPN.

This is exactly the reason why people despise their dead-end jobs. Of course their earning potential is limited, but their desire to see just how good they can be is squelched.

Beyond the millions of dollars he makes, what separates Peppers from most of the world is the fact that he has enormous job security. There are only a handful of people in the world who can do his job nearly as well as he can. This provides him the ability to sit out and demand more.

Imagine a worker at McDonald’s having that kind of job security. Why shouldn’t he explore how good he could be at the Five Guys or In-N-Out Burger down the street?

The truth is Peppers’ decision probably didn’t come easily. He is a god in North Carolina. Born in Wilson, N.C., not only is he one of the best players on the state’s most recognizable professional team, but, perhaps more importantly, he was a solid role player for UNC’s basketball team when they went to the Final Four in 2000.

Peppers may end up leaving the only professional team that he has known, but it’s to quench a desire that lies in all of us. It’s the desire to see how good we can really be. As a 29-year-old athlete, the summer of his career is coming to an end. He wants a chance to see what he can do before it’s spoiled by age.

Carolina Panthers On the Defensive Side of the Ball

Brian Conlin — Wed, 13 May 2009 09:00:53 -0400

Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme hit an open man 22 times in the NFC Divisional playoff game on January 10, 2009. Unfortunately, five of those passes landed in the hands of the Arizona Cardinals, who went on to win 33-13.

"I'm at a loss for words," Delhomme said according to ESPN.com. "Usually I'm not. For one reason or another, I didn't give us a chance tonight."

Despite the fact that Delhomme was the Cardinals' unofficial MVP for that game, offense is actually the strength of the Panthers. In other words, it’s not the 13 that should worry Carolina for the 2009 season, but the 33. While that score is indeed inflated because of Delhomme’s penchant for the pick, it illustrates an underlying flaw of the team, a mediocre defense.

The Panthers' organization has noticed. On April 23, they stayed with the status quo by signing Delhomme to a five-year extension through 2014 which will keep him under contract until he is 94 in NFL years. (He will be 39 according to his birth certificate.)

Keeping Delhomme makes sense. He made the offensive engine purr to the tune of 25.9 points per game, the NFL’s seventh best scoring offense. Delhomme’s 2008 total of 3,288 yards passing proves that he has at least enough of an arm to get the ball to Pro Bowl receiver Steve Smith.

Running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart gave the team a combined 2,351 yards rushing in 2008. Assuming the 26-year-old Williams puts up similar numbers and the 22-year-old Stewart can avoid a sophomore slump, the Panthers look primed to have another top 10 offense.

However, an offense that is merely good doesn’t win Super Bowls. The Panthers need a strong defense. And in 2008, Carolina’s defense looked like kittens.

Including their lone playoff game, the Panthers defense allowed 30 or more points in five of their last seven games, winning only four of those. Through the first 10 games of the season, they sat pretty at 8-2 as the defense held each team they played under 30. By season’s end, the Panthers ranked 18^th in yards allowed per game, giving up 331 each week.

This off-season the Panthers sought to remedy this situation by selecting defense with their first three draft picks.

"Last year we went primarily offense (in the draft) and I think it was about time we injected some guys in there on defense," said Panthers head coach John Fox according to the The Charlotte Observer.

While this is a step in the right direction, none of these guys can be expected to replace Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers. Peppers was the only player to skip a three-day mini-camp held the beginning of May.

ESPN reports that Peppers doesn’t want to sign a long term deal with the Panthers and would like to play for another team. This may not be terrible for the Panthers. If the Panthers trade Peppers, they will get some talent back. If he stays like general manager Marty Hurney expects, a missed mini-camp will be forgotten with a strong start. Peppers’ teammates say they are fine with his decision. His absence is actually beneficial to part of the franchise’s future.

"Julius is a great player and he's had a great career in Charlotte," said defensive end Everette Brown, the Panthers’ first pick in the 2009 draft, in an interview with the Associated Press. "I'm just coming out here and preparing to the best of my ability as if I'm a starter."

That’s what mini-camps are for. As Michael Strahan can attest, they’re not for the seasoned veteran, but for the green rookie.

Even if the 2009 Panthers regress on offense, the team may be stronger than the 2008 version. It’s up to the defense to turn the Panthers into a Super Bowl contender by silencing opposing offenses.

Jackie Robinson Stands Alone

Brian Conlin — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:33:59 -0400

With tremendous hacks, Babe Ruth blasted the 1919 Black Sox Scandal from the collective conscious of the nation and preserved baseball as this country's national pastime.

And if the Babe's granddaughter, Linda Ruth Tosetti, has her way, the number three that he wore on his back as a New York Yankee will be retired throughout Major League Baseball alongside Jackie Robinson's 42.

By creating a website that asks fans to sign a petition, Tosetti hopes that Commissioner Bud Selig will heed their unified voices and mothball the number three.

Tosetti claims that through promotions, such as the one in this year's Home Run Derby where David Ortiz will attempt to hit a home run to a location of a fan's choosing, Major League Baseball is "using Babe and not honoring Babe."

Beyond the youth baseball leagues that bear his moniker and preserve his legendary status, the slugger’s last name has been transformed into an adjective, Ruthian, that describes any feat that once might have been deemed Herculean.

Lest we forget his greatness, sports aficionados tribute the slugger by pronouncing the most successful athletes of an era as the Babe Ruth of their sport.

While the Babe may well be the most dominant competitor to ever grace this earth, his gregariousness as he played with children coupled with his respectful treatment of African-Americans has been well documented as something ahead of his time.

Ruth even stood up in a period of absolute atrocity, as he signed an open letter with 49 other German-Americans denouncing Nazism while the United States government sat still.

Despite his unprecedented and still highly regarded accomplishments on the field and his contributions off of it, Ruth does not match those of Robinson.

Just as Ruth’s name is synonymous with home runs, Jackie Robinson’s is with breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier. The man that GM Branch Rickey selected because he was strong enough to not fight back endured hatred spewed from all directions of a segregated country.

Beyond the fans and opposition that hurled insults, some of his Dodgers teammates talked of mutinying while some of those in the Negro Leagues feared he would fail.

In his first season, a time when Robinson spent much of his time dodging inside fastballs, he kept his promise to Rickey and did not retaliate.

Ruth never showed such poise. In one instance where he thought that the umpire was squeezing the strike zone, his solution involved throwing a punch at the official. The only resolution came in the form of a six game suspension.

The fight that Robinson is best known for came while he served in the military and was ordered to sit in the back of a bus. While his refusal resulted in disciplinary action, it is widely accepted that his actions, along with similar ones of other African-American soldiers, led to the integration of the U.S. Armed Forces.

During his time with the Dodgers and beyond, Robinson endured protestations of his actions in the form of racial epithets and death threats. Jackie persevered winning a Rookie of the Year Award and two seasons later was named MVP.

To many in Brooklyn, his greatest athletic achievement came as he played a pivotal role in the Dodgers finally winning the World Series after so many seasons of waiting ‘til next year.

Robinson’s massive sociological impact often overshadows how tremendous his playing career was. In The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Robinson ranks as the 32nd greatest player of all time without any consideration being given to his life outside of baseball.

Despite his impressive list of accolades in athletics, Robinson made his greatest contributions outside of Ebbets Field.

The retired second baseman spurred the development of the Freedom National Bank, a financial institution whose goal was to service African-Americans in a comfortable and secure environment.

Robinson raised his voice about civil rights each time he penned an article for his syndicated news column. In these articles he expressed his opinions, both positive and negative, about the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

For his lifetime achievements, the United States government awarded Robinson with the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

To this day, people honor Jackie in myriad ways; including wearing his number on the anniversary of his MLB debut and attaching his name to significant landmarks like a rotunda at the New York Mets future home.

Without a doubt, Babe Ruth ensured that he will be one of baseball’s icons forever. While stories of his gluttony and salty nature remain as prevalent as those of his hitting and pitching prowess, Ruth does not stand as a role model.

With only the number 42 being retired throughout baseball, it stands as a symbol of the trials that Jackie Robinson endured alone for love of the game and in a quest for respect.

Sorry, Babe. While you saved a game, Jackie saved a country.

For Jay Gibbons, Forgiveness Is a Minor League Contract Away

Brian Conlin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:47:17 -0400

Jay Gibbons dropped to his knees and asked for a second chance.

After being named in the Mitchell Report and being released from the Baltimore Orioles by COO Andy MacPhail for reasons disclosed as performance-related, Gibbons did something he termed, “both painful and humiliating.” The designated hitter wrote a letter to all thirty Major League teams hoping that someone, anyone would give him a chance to ride the buses of the Minor Leagues.

It’s a move of passion not economics.

Because the Baltimore Orioles still owe him $11.9 million over the next two years, presumably, Gibbons could easily thrust his head into the sand, like the higher profile PED user Mark McGwire, and be comfortable in his anonymity for the rest of his life.

Gibbons even offered to donate his entire Minor League salary to his parent team’s charity. Should he make it to the Big Leagues, he writes that he would “gladly donate a significant sum to that same charity.”

While several teams sent a reply to the lefty wishing him the best, no one sent him a contract. Forced to look elsewhere, Gibbons signed with the independent Atlantic League, a haven for former Major Leaguers—such as Carl Everett—looking to make a comeback.

The question remains why no team has decided to add him to a Minor League roster. The man has proved that he has been able to hit in the Major Leagues by clubbing over twenty home runs in each of the three seasons in which he played more than 100 games. While some will say that those numbers are juiced, with this year’s offensive numbers deflated, it appears so were the rest of the league’s. This man deserves a second chance.

Named in the Mitchell Report, Jack Cust has a similar but less spectacular career than Gibbons and is only two years younger. While Gibbons will play against has-beens and never-will-bes, the Oakland Athletics outfielder plays against the best in the world.

Perhaps because we see our own imperfections all too often, people identify with a flawed hero.

A man who can resurrect his career in the face of adversity imbues energy into a team and a fan base. St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Rick Ankiel lost the strike zone as a pitcher, came back as an outfielder, admitted HGH use, and now appears nightly on SportsCenter as his team stays within sniffing distance of the Cubs in the NL Central.

Like most players who have been linked to PEDs, Gibbons has apologized. However, none of the rest has expressed as great a desire to play.

Based on the actions of fans who threw syringes at Barry Bonds’ feet and heckle Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton for being a former street drug addict, Gibbons knows that he will be the object of ridicule even as he plays in front of the small crowds in the Atlantic League.

After doing the wrong thing, he has said all the right things. Now, he embarks on a rough road, proving physically and morally that he is worth a shot, not the product of one.

Washington Nationals: Memorial Day Musings from D.C.

Brian Conlin — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:58:40 -0400

This past Memorial Day, three cars cut me off in a 20-minute span on the D.C. Beltway. I spewed F, D, B, C, S, and A bombs with no reserve.

After walking through the turnstiles of Nationals Park and taking a tour of the stadium, I noted only one touch of personality, the patriotic bunting hung from the upper decks.

I managed to weave through crowds without anything from Ben’s Chili Bowl or any of the other eateries being spilled on me as I found my seat along the third base line.

Waiting for the game to begin, I watched as a middle-aged man pushed his way through some Milwaukee Brewers fans, the Nationals opponent that day, and announced his displeasure about sitting next to these foreigners before pledging his allegiance to the Yankees.

Even though the game had started, I could see only what now seemed like a zoo. Grown men attacked foul balls without regard to the children sitting next to them. People downed beer with reckless abandon. It was 40,000 people exposing their id.

With the game moving slowly and mediocre ball being played, I wondered if I should head home. When the Brewers put up six runs in the sixth inning to put the game in doubt, I decided to stay longer.

Just before the eighth inning, the video board showed a picture of four wheelchair-bound veterans in attendance. Immediately, the largest cheer of the day erupted from all corners of the stadium. A good portion of the fans stood and applauded these men and women for their individual work and for being symbols of their active and inactive peers.

The standing ovation is a symbolic salute for these wounded warriors and their co-workers who have paid a dearer price because they will never again be able to rise to their feet.

They did not choose to protect the inconsiderate individual but to preserve the ideals and freedoms of this nation.

I sat through the rest of the game and enjoyed the competition of the athletes. But the game’s outcome, the actions of the players, and the behavior of the fans lost their significance—in the harsh light of what these veterans gave up so that we could enjoy freedoms such as watching a baseball day in the warm sun.

Baltimore Orioles: Garrett Olson Provides Blueprint For Success

Brian Conlin — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:32:14 -0400

As a player hears his name called in the Major League Draft, it is only normal for him to think of the millions of dollars he could make and the hallowed stadiums that he may play in.

Anything but the norm, engineering enveloped Garrett Olson’s mind. The day the Baltimore Orioles selected him with the 48^th overall pick in the 2005 Major League Draft, Olson had been in a classroom taking a final on thermodynamics at California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.

In place of the injured Adam Loewen, who made only 6 starts last season due to a stress fracture in his elbow, the brainy southpaw constructed a strong outing as he brought the heat against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Having started 7 games with the Orioles last season, Olson must have wished he could forget most of his starts. Compiling a 7.79 ERA in 32.1 innings pitched, Olson assured himself a spot in the Minor Leagues to start the 2008 season.

Now 24 years old, Olson built a string of strong performances at Triple-A Norfolk to the tune of a 1.85 ERA.

Speaking of Olson, Baltimore manager Dave Trembley stated, “If you can't command your fastball, you can't pitch here. He's earned that opportunity to do that. I have no problem with providing him the opportunity to see if he can take it and do it here.”

Olson has passed his first test. Throwing 6.2 innings and only allowing 2 runs against the Rays, Olson earned the win and praise from his catcher, Ramon Hernandez. After lauding his command and the location of his fastball, Hernandez said that Olson could be a contributor for the rest of the season.

This solid, young, and healthy arm could provide stability to a shaky rotation as it deals with the loss of the potentially Pavano-ly brittle Loewen.

It would be only fitting for the architect of the Orioles, Andy MacPhail, to use an engineer to help rebuild this organization.

Bird Droppings

- Outfielder Adam Jones is showcasing his skills and continuing to make executives around the league project stardom for this 22 year-old. However, the most encouraging sign for Jones is how quickly he adjustments. Earlier in this young season, Jones had been taking poor routes and turning the wrong way on balls but has improved by leaps and bounds in both areas. Let’s just hope he learned his lesson and won’t make another base running gaffe like he did against the White Sox. Jones inexplicably made a wide turn around third base on a slow roller to shortstop Orlando Cabrera and was subsequently thrown out in the 10^th inning.

- With attendance miserably low, does anyone else get the feeling that Peter Angelos might attempt to draw fans by making the ill-advised move of investing his economic stimulus rebate on Barry Bonds if the Orioles are still in contention in June? To make money, perhaps, he should sell the Camden Yards naming rights to the Yankees or Red Sox since they have more fans come to the games than the Orioles.

- I better say this while I can. While the first-place Orioles have had an amazing start, it is a testament to their depth that the Rays are also atop the AL East standings without the services of All-Star Scott Kazmir and despite the poor hitting of Carlos Pena.

Baltimore Orioles: On Top in April

Brian Conlin — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:13:13 -0400

Wiping sleep from their eyes, baseball fans across the country open the sports page, take a swig of coffee, and blink to make sure that they are seeing reality.

Close your eyes all you want. At this point in the season, the standings have a way of deceiving. The Detroit Tigers will not finish in last; the Baltimore Orioles will fade from first. But that does not provide relief for the Tigers fan who feels sick or a deterrent to the hopeful Orioles fan.

Before April 2, finding something to cheer for in Baltimore was harder than the bricks that construct the warehouse beyond the right field wall. Not even baseball-starved Orioles fans could find a silver lining for the second game of the season.

With an announced attendance of 10,505, lowest since the opening of Camden Yards, the Orioles quietly started what would turn into a six-game sprint to grab possession of the best record in the Major Leagues.

As evidenced by the fact that the bullpen’s ERA sits below one and that they have committed only two errors, the Orioles have been as perfect as baseball will allow man to be.

While the bullpen work and fielding have been notable, the most amazing thing is the batters who, apparently, have decided to do their best Frank Robinson impersonations at the plate.

Aubrey Huff, sporting a 1.067 OPS, has gone from Baltimore whipping boy to middle-of-the-order threat. Unheralded Luke Scott is molten hot and batting .500.

The performances of these two make it easy to forget that Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis, Kevin Millar, and normally light-hitting Luis Hernandez are swinging to the tune of a .319 batting average.

These statistics have not been inflated through blowouts either. They have shown the ability to dig in their Oriole talons and win ballgames.

Of their six wins, they had been trailing in five of them. In one of those, the Orioles rallied for three runs in the ninth against the Seattle Mariners.

Speaking of the winning streak, Huff said, "We're playing good baseball right now, [but] I know it's early and we have a long way to go. We just have to keep being relaxed and having a good time.”

How hard could having a good time be when you are playing nearly perfect baseball?

Right now, Andy MacPhail, Chief Operating Officer of the Orioles, is the choreographer of this perfection. After announcing through a series of offseason trades that the team would be rebuilding, not even MacPhail would have believed that the rough period would only last through Opening Day. A several-year plan is in its first Spring, but somehow the Orioles even have their Minor Leaguers believing that they can rake like Ripken.

Matt Wieters, the Orioles’ first-round draft pick in 2007, began his professional career with a walk. Apparently, not hitting the ball bored him. His next two at bats, officially the first two of his professional career, resulted in home runs.

Ranked as the No. 12 prospect by Baseball America, Wieters likely won’t be in Baltimore to help the Orioles at any point this season. However, this season is shaping up to be one where Orioles fans are spoiled into thinking that anything is possible.

With the season five percent over, the Orioles have a lot more work to do to be mentioned again in the same breath as Frank Robinson and Cal Ripken, but don’t tell an Orioles fan that they shouldn’t be optimistic. Let them dream.

Just remind them not to close their eyes. It might not be long until the standings flip over.

Huffs Puffs Hits Scrutiny Down

Brian Conlin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 11:43:10 -0400

Fans wonder at the skills of Major League Baseball players while they are on the field. Once these players step off the diamond, something happens. Their skills vanish and they lose whatever luster they had on the field.

In an interview on Sirius Radio's Bubba the Love Sponge, Aubrey Huff provided another example of a player verbally vomiting. After spending one year of his three year contract with the Orioles, Huff proclaimed Baltimore to be a “horse[expletive] town.”

Even his athletic prowess would not allow him to avoid the horse pie he just laid. Before stepping into the batter’s box and after every unproductive at bat, the sell out crowd of Opening Day and the 10,505 fans at the following game expressed their displeasure.

Despite attempting to receive absolution by wearing an “I Love Baltimore” shirt and saying that his remarks were uttered jokingly, more boos than precipitation rained down on him during the soggy first two games of the 2008 season.

To his credit, Huff has not backed down from the malice. The Baltimore Sun quotes Huff as saying, “If I’m in their situation, I would boo me, too.”

After insulting the 2.6 million people living in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area, the Orioles’ designated hitter has done the only thing a ballplayer can do to win back fans, perform.

Huff has recorded a hit in each of the Orioles first, three games and was the major catalyst in the team nabbing their first win of the season. While a small crowd braved the chilly follow-up to Opening Day, Huff showed the weather and the controversy was no bother by using his hot bat to stroke a tw-run homer. He added two more RBI by hammering a go-ahead double in the eighth inning transforming boos to cheers. Now forgiveness is only a few home runs away.

While Huff made an insensitive and idiotic statement, fans in this country revere those athletes who speak without saying anything. Derek Jeter, the golden boy of New York, has never caused a stir in the media because he, like other popular athletes, hides himself behind clichés.

When an athlete speaks his mind, people criticize. While many of these relatively young and wealthy men shove their Nikes in their mouths, why do people care? Will Aubrey Huff’s comments have any affect on the amount of tourists cruising the Inner Harbor? His is one person’s opinion and can be easily dismissed as worthless and uninformed.

Because the media and its readers/viewers turn these faux pas into a universal pissing contest, players resort to clichés. It’s a natural reaction. They are protecting their investment, namely their image, but when that protection prevents positive action, are these iron-men of the field or court running scared of their obligations?

LeBron James refused to sign an open letter to the Chinese government condemning them for their role in the genocide in Darfur. While all but one of his teammates signed the letter, James cited a lack of information as his reason for not signing.

Perhaps, LeBron is being truthful. Or it could be that Nike, a company that pays James $90 million to hock their products, is looking to expand its empire to China. Perhaps, it is because James’ one desire is to be a “global icon.” It is tough to be an icon of that magnitude when roughly 1/6 of the world’s population might come to resent you.

While it is unlikely that James’ autograph on that letter would have brought much more media attention to Sudan, his missing signature reflects public opinion. While some individuals saw his inaction as a version of cowardice, most fans ignored the stories asking, “How did LeBron do last night?” James is not alone, and he should not be singled out. It’s the nature of the game, or maybe the fan.

People will criticize the active actions and worthless comments of athletes, but do not care when they hide behind clichés or refuse to better the world through inactivity.

The people who are lucky enough to play sports for a living have been blessed with athletic abilities and cursed with having their comments dissected by millions each day. Unfortunately, public speaking and politics are things most of these athletes have not explored in tremendous depth.

Because of this, to avoid being hypocrites, fans should dismiss ridiculous and harmless comments like the ones made by Huff or choose to criticize athletes like James for not using their star to make a better world.

Unfortunately, the gifts of fans don’t often come in any form other than boos and cheers.

Experts Be Damned: The Baltimore Orioles Will Be Fun to Watch

Brian Conlin — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:20:45 -0400

As the last people staggered away from the St. Patrick's Day Festival on O'Donnell Street, Baltimoreans were already anticipating Opening Day, less than a week away.

However, with so many experts picking the Baltimore Orioles to finish in the cellar, is there anything to look forward to besides grabbing a few Natty Bohs at Pickles Pub before a game? If you can look beyond the Win/Loss column, there will be more than enough great baseball to watch throughout the season.

Guiding the Orioles, General Manager Andy MacPhail, with a dearth of subtlety, showed that the franchise is rebuilding and playing for the World Series at the start of the next decade. They will go back to formula and forego the pipe dream of overtaking the Red Sox and Yankees by making costly and unwise free agent signings.

Rebuilding the Orioles starts with fixing its foundation, their Minor League system. The first sign of a change was spending big money in the 2007 Amateur Draft and even showing a willingness to deal with super agent Scott Boras. The franchise will spend even more money on the construction of a training facility in the Dominican Republic and improving their international scouting. While these moves promise to make the Orioles stronger, it will not bear immediate results.

The noisier moves of trading Miguel Tejada to the Astros and Erik Bedard to the Mariners, have given the Orioles top notch young players who will contribute to the Orioles this year.

Outfielder and SoCal native Adam Jones, acquired in the Bedard trade, is the prize acquisition of the offseason. Scouts so often talk about his tools that you might think Bob Villa will be patrolling centerfield.

Speaking of Jones, one AL talent evaluator simply said, “[He’s] going to be a monster.” It is safe to assume that the evaluator meant that in his prime he will be an excellent player. However, the metamorphosis to monster may be happening sooner than expected. Before a recent slide, the 22 year-old Jones had been torching Grapefruit League pitching to the tune of a .324 batting average and a .907 OPS.

While Spring Training statistics can be misleading, budding superstar right fielder, Nick Markakis, must be thrilling Orioles management as well as die-hard fans. Coming off a season where he hit over .300 and provided some power in an otherwise anemic lineup, Markakis has looked superb this Spring. Even though he will have little protection in the lineup, Markakis may go from a franchise’s symbol of change to a household name.

Luke Scott acquired in the Tejada trade does not have the upside of Jones or Markakis, but still has enough pop in his bat to provide souvenirs to fans sitting beyond the outfield wall.

Watching two future superstars roaming the outfield, should certainly be worth the price of admission, especially on $6 student night.

While Oriole players are more likely to stumble than appear on SportsCenter this year, perhaps it is a symbol of Baltimoreans in general. A stumble on the field or from the local festival may occur, but there is always an eye looking for the next big thing. Something good always seems to be right around the corner.

Daniel Cabrera Gets an 'F' for Frustrating

Brian Conlin — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:24:04 -0400

Calling Daniel Cabrera a pitcher is a formality. Although he stands atop the mound in the middle of a baseball diamond, a more apt term for the Baltimore Orioles right-hander is frustrating.

With a blazing fastball that is the envy of most Major League pitchers and quality, if not filthy, secondary pitches, Cabrera has never produced an ERA below 4.50. Also, despite topping 200 innings only once, he has been in the top 3 in the American League for walks allowed in each of his 4 Major League seasons.

If Cabrera had the tools but was consistently mediocre, it would be easy to write him off as being mentally unfit. However, he shows flashes of being a Hall-of-Famer. His magnum opus came in the 2006 season when he fell 2 outs short of throwing a no-hitter against the New York Yankees.

These are the outings that keep the Orioles dreaming of him becoming an ace. When Cabrera walks 5 batters in 3 innings, like he did in a Spring Training start a few weeks ago against the St. Louis Cardinals, they awaken to the all too familiar odor of inconsistency.

At 6’9”, Cabrera is blessed and cursed with size. In addition to being able to release the ball closer to the plate, his height enables him to throw the ball on a steeper downward plane that should generate a higher percentage of ground balls. However, tall pitchers have historically taken a long time to develop.

Like Cabrera, Randy Johnson had trouble harnessing his “stuff” at the beginning of his career. In the 1991 and 1992 seasons, Randy Johnson hit 30 batters and threw 25 wild pitches while maintaining a solid but not outstanding ERA and WHIP. Suddenly, Johnson made the jump to elite. The next season, he cut his walks by 45 despite pitching 45 more innings. His ERA eventually fell below 3 and stayed there for 6 of 8 seasons.

Cabrera will play most of the 2008 season at 27 years old, two years younger than the season when Randy Johnson received his first Cy Young votes. While such a sudden and drastic improvement cannot be predicted, do not blame the Orioles fan for hoping such a metamorphosis occurs.

Unfortunately, such a change is unlikely this year. While attempting to provide the best personnel, the Orioles have actually hurt Cabrera’s development by hiring 4 different pitching coaches. Unlike school where a variety of perspectives can lead to a greater understanding, the Orioles should practice what they are trying to teach Cabrera, consistency.

In his attempt to harness his massive skill, 4 people have tweaked Cabrera’s wind-up and undone what the previous coach created. It is conventional wisdom that a pitching coach needs to work with players for more than a season to produce results; it takes time for a bond to be established and new mechanics to become fluid.

Based on his age and the change of personnel, Cabrera will provide more of the same for the 2008 season. That means the Orioles will be uttering that dirty ‘F’ word when Cabrera steps on the mound as a thrower.

New York Yankees Take a Break From the Soap Opera

Brian Conlin — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 05:11:42 -0400

To many, it’s just a game. However, it probably didn’t seem that way to the New York Yankees since the Mitchell Report went public.

In a time where players should be worrying about regaining their timing, the Yankees were caught supporting their teammate Andy Pettitte, an admitted user of HGH.

As the players should have been concentrating on perfecting their mechanics, they became engulfed in a war of words and take out slides with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Although the grind of the season hasn’t officially started, the Yankees could use a laugh. Who better to provide that than comedian and long time Yankees fan Billy Crystal?

Calling it the opportunity of a lifetime and something that he is taking seriously, Crystal--who hasn't been surrounded by this much athletic talent since he starred in "My Giant" with Gheorghe Muresan--should still provide some levity as everyone watches him pretend that he is 1/3 his age with 3 times the talent.

Slated to bat leadoff, it seems appropriate that Crystal will dig in against the laughable Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday afternoon.

While Crystal gets to live his dream, Pirates starting pitcher Paul Maholm probably sees nothing but dread in the leadoff man. Maholm is in a no-win situation. If he gives up a hit or walks Crystal, he will be made fun of for the rest of his life. If a pitch slips, he will be known as the guy who broke a comic legend. If he whiffs the leadoff man on three pitches, he is heartless

No matter the outcome of the at bat, the players will enjoy watching the mind attempt to do what the body is no longer willing. After Crystal is done taking his hacks, the players will return to another tumultuous preseason in New York, a place where ballplayers are bombarded by reporters digging for backpage fodder.

While seeing Crystal flail a bat will not inspire the Yankees to win the World Series, this moment could be a reminder that they are playing a game and help forget, if only for a moment, that they have seven months of soap opera in front of them.

Brains Over Beef: A Salute to Cerebral Ballplayers

Brian Conlin — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:19:12 -0500

Varsity Jackets collide with Pocket Protectors in hallways across America—it’s a high school symbol of a societal pecking order.

Perhaps, it is an ingrained ideal from before we evolved from cavemen; a time when the fastest and most powerful were more likely to survive.

No matter what the cause, people worship physical prowess.

To quench a desire to be faster than a speeding bullet, adults sport the red and yellow "S" on their shoulders and children have the same on t-shirts. Just think of how shocking it would be to see "E = MC^2" on such things.

With people feeling betrayed by the brutes whom were mashing homeruns and blazing fastballs, it is time to look at this era of baseball with optimism—it is time to celebrate the cerebral.

The general public may never know who was clean, but we can see how the best players of that era dominated.

There were those who sent baseballs over the fence and into the $5 student section. There were others who would poke the ball through the infield to set up the bombers.

There were those who lit up the radar gun with numbers that would make impressive test scores. There were others who relied on a flight path that resembled a snake’s body.

With the belly of a beer drinker, Tony Gwynn dominated in his own way. In 20 seasons, Gwynn only deposited 135 balls over the fence. Despite hitting an average of seven dingers a year, he is a first ballot Hall-of-Famer mainly because he hit .338 over his career.

With the looks of an accountant and a fastball that comes in as fast as some of his peers’ off-speed pitches, the San Diego Padres' Greg Maddux managed to put together some of the finest pitching seasons in the finest offensive period.

Over a span of seven seasons, Maddux’s ERA never topped 2.72. Twice in that time, seasons where long-standing offensive records were being challenged or broken, his ERA stood below 1.65.

Not to take away from the athletic abilities of these two men, but these players—along with a select few others—relied on their brains, a relentless passion for learning about the game, and a meticulous nature to outperform the injectors and pill poppers.

With most people not stepping onto an athletic field beyond high school and where a college degree is becoming the norm, these are the players we should be cheering for. These are the players that show us physical deficiencies are not a measure of who we are.

Some say that Barry Bonds’ homerun records should stand with an asterisk. With an uncertain percentage of players using PEDs, I propose that we mark the accomplishments of our cerebral heroes with a picture of Albert Einstein.

In a society that loves the story of David vs. Goliath, we should remember this drugged out era as the time when the physically less imposing left the opposition in the dust—a time where we choose to move from the ideals of cavemen to the ideals of civilized man.

Baltimore Orioles Play the Waiting Game with Brian Roberts

Brian Conlin — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:12:17 -0500

Who’s more curious?

There is one Orioles fan who wonders if they will have to mothball another shipped-off player’s giveaway t-shirt.

There is another Orioles fan, looking to the future and the booty of the return.

And there is Brian Roberts, who just wants to know in which time zone he will be playing.

Since the Orioles traded Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros, dealing Brian Roberts has seemed like a foregone conclusion.

With the team in its Spring Training home of Fort Lauderdale, it looks as if Baltimore’s front office—and most notably Peter Angelos—is going to shy away from a deal that dims the team’s present in order to brighten its future.

After years of just saying no to offers for established players, could the front office’s pause be a smart move?

Most Orioles fans—the ones who have suffered through 10 straight losing seasons—giggle at the idea of logic ruling personnel moves. Angelos has vetoed attractive deals before. Is he suddenly going to take a chance?

With Andy MacPhail in the front office as team president, it seems that this could be the case. But if so, why hasn’t Brian Roberts been traded?

Simply, it is not the right time.

In interviews with the Baltimore Sun, MacPhail has stated that there are several teams interested in acquiring Brian Roberts. The Orioles have the luxury of waiting for Spring Training to work its magic. Each year, this fickle beast exposes weaknesses and even creates them through injury.

Perhaps there are three teams interested in nabbing Roberts from the Orioles right now, but what happens to the Phillies if Chase Utley tears his hamstring? The number of teams calling MacPhail increases by 33 percent, and the return for Roberts gets a bit sweeter.

Despite being a fickle beast to established players, younger ones can use the Spring Training spotlight like an amateur singer uses American Idol. Playing against competition that has been thoroughly scouted and is quantifiable, unlike many of the participants in the winter and fall leagues, a prospect can show flashes of brilliance.

Everyone understands that a .300 batting average is great, but a 20-year old digging in and lining a single up the middle on a Johan Santana change-up may show more to scouts than Minor League stats ever could.

With prospects getting opportunities against Major League regulars and even All-Stars, the Orioles will not only get a first-hand look at a player's tools, but also see how far along he is in his development.

Except for those who are deluded enough to think that the Orioles can win this year, everyone knows that Brian Roberts needs to move on. At 30 years old, Roberts is looking to add a World Series ring to his resume. By the time the Orioles are ready to offer a chance at that jewelry, Roberts will be on the downside of his career, perhaps just a sub on a team talented enough to make the World Series.

While Brian Roberts is eager to know where he will be spending the next few months of his career, the Orioles are eager to see the treasure they can acquire for a player that they have helped develop into an All-Star.

Until then, the future of Brian Roberts remains a curiosity to all concerned parties.

One Person Should Have Your Sympathy During the Clemens Hearing

Brian Conlin — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:09:15 -0500

Veins bulged. Wills withstood pressure that could have bent steel. It was the World Series...of sorts. As my father's arm started to buckle and fall toward the Table of Defeat, I began to understand why grown men would tackle each other after a victory of this magnitude.

I had just beaten my father in arm wrestling for the first time. For an instant after his defeat, I too wanted to run onto a field and pile on whoever was near me. Then, it hit me. I had just beaten Superman. This sobering thought took me off my imaginary field of victory and put me in the dugout of the losers. How could someone that powerful fall?

Twenty-one year old, Astros farmhand Koby Clemens may not be able to beat his father in an arm wrestling competition considering that it looks more and more likely that Pops used PEDs. But what must he feel at this moment? His father was not only a hero to him but millions of people around the world.

In high school and even now, spectators probably drew unfair comparisons to his father whenever Koby stepped on the field. Who would have thought that being compared to a future Hall-of-Famer at the age of 17 would be less difficult than the emotions he must have as his baseball season looms? Somewhere in his mind he must wonder if these same spectators will make parallels between him and his father when it comes to morals.

A 3^rd basemen that belted 15 homers in A ball last year, the younger Clemens came to his father’s defense during a training camp held at the end of January. “It kills me that this is happening to my dad. What he's done for the game and what now is being turned back to him for what he's done for the game is tough. It's hard on me, but you can't imagine how hard it is on my dad."

Facing members of Congress would be tough for most people. Remembering which parts of your life are lies and selling out your family is tough for everyone except Roger Clemens. Less than two weeks after Koby attempted to defend his father, it is revealed that his mother, Debbie Clemens, was injected with HGH before a photo shoot. With almost no delay, Koby hears his mom admit to the report.

This is the time of year where Koby should be worrying about positioning himself on defense and staying back on curveballs. Instead, he is forced to worry about his father’s legacy. Maybe that’s the way Roger likes it; all eyes on him. Why else would he have retired and come back so many times?

In the unlikely event that this is some huge, contrived conspiracy, Brian McNamee, Clemens HGH provider, and Andy Pettitte, Clemens’ friend and fellow accuser, owe Koby and his siblings an apology.

When the results show Roger Clemens to be a cheater, he should beg for Koby’s forgiveness. Koby will have lost valuable time of development as a player. More importantly, he will be forced to see his father as a hypocrite for saying there is no substitute for hard work.

When I saw my father buckle under the pressure I created, I felt like a man beating a superhero. With Koby seeing his father crumbling under the pressure of his own lies, I wonder if he sees a boy, someone who needs to prove his manhood. Someone who should understand that any thoughts his son had of him being Superman as a baseball player and as a father will forever be tainted.

How difficult must it be to watch someone so important to you personally and professionally fall?

Yanks Post Season Streak in Jeopardy

Brian Conlin — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:38:13 -0500

For the first off-season in over a decade, the Yankees look like an underdog to play October baseball.

With the reigning World Champion Red Sox in their division and the re-tooled Tigers and the talented Indians in the Central, the Yankees will need their young pitching, erratic bullpen and aging lineup to contribute for an entire year.

Lady Luck may have been on the Yankees' side when she had the Twins make an underwhelming trade, at least a weaker one than what had been forecasted earlier in the hot stove season, to the Mets right before the Red Sox announced that Curt Schilling may be out for the season.

However, Lady Luck has not only sided with the Yankees. Besides the Mets, the biggest winners from the Santana trade may be the Tigers and Indians. (For a look at the biggest losers, see every National League team outside of New York.)

With the unbalanced schedule, the Tigers and Indians are both slated to play the Twins 18 times this year. This means that the three or four starts Santana would have had against both the Tigers and Indians will go to the girthy Livan Hernandez.

Assume that Santana would have started three games against the Tigers and Indians each. With Santana's career winning percentage around 68 percent, this means that both of these teams have taken two probable losses and replaced them with an opportunity to fatten their statistics against Livan Hernandez, more of a danger to a buffet table than opposing hitters at this point in his career.

Even the Red Sox get lucky. With seven games scheduled against the Twins, they would most certainly have had to face Santana at least once. Not known for hitting lefties, the Red Sox probably got one game better by Santana moving to Queens.

Despite the fact that Santana went to the NL, the Yankees will most likely see the best pitcher in the game twice. Because of interleague play, the Yanks play the Mets six times this year.

You can be certain that the Mets will do everything they can to trot Santana to the hill at least once, if not twice, to show the other half of New York what they are missing. This means that the Yankees can chalk another one or two losses onto their record.

I know. The games are not played on paper, and the Yankees have faced aces and beaten them before. (See Pedro Martinez calling the Bombers his "Daddy.") However, with how tight the races were last year and the Yankees’ pitching issues, a one or two game swing even on paper does not make continuing a postseason streak look promising.