The SoapBoxers

Join The Soap Boxers Observer’s NCAA tourney pool.

The following prizes will be awarded:

First prize: An annual Kosmo pass at the Hyrax Publications store.  This will allow you to download all of my digital, including content not available on The Soap Boxers.  The pass has an MSRP of $18, although it’s selling for $9 right now, to reflect the fact that we have just begun to populate the audio book section.

Three random people will receive a copy of Selling Yourself Short: A Guide to Short Story writing.  Shh – this 2500 word eBooklet won’t be officially released until later in the week 🙂

Note: This is a continuation from Wednesday’s article about the Alphabet Soup League draft. Please read that article first – it will make this one make a lot more sense.

In round 6, I nabbed Indians outfielder Chin-Soo Choo, who provides a nice mix of power and steals. I also nabbed Rangers pitcher Neftali Feliz, who is a rising star in baseball. The only question is whether he starts the season in the Rangers rotation of bullpen. He hasn’t pitched a ton of innings in prior years, so the Rangers will likely take care to limit his innings, and big workload increases often result in injuries in the subsequent year. My final pick in this round is Omar Infante. Infante is not a great player, but I is a very shallow letter, and he does provide position flexibility.

In round 7, I had letters P, D, and E. P was pretty straightforward. I still needed a first baseman and Carlos Pena was on the board. I snapped up C-Pain. D was a more difficult choice. Did I want pitcher Justin Duchscherer, who has combined good skills with injuries? Outfielder Elijah Dukes, who has a lot of talent, but suspect decision-making skills? I toyed with several possibilities before finally going with Rockies pitcher Jorge de la Rosa, who pitched very well at times last year. I’m tinkering with the possibility of only playing him during road trips. E is another weak letter, and I took a flier on reliever Scott Elbert.

In round 8, I filled out my outfield by picking up Brave Nate McLouth who, like Choo, provides a bit of speed and a bit of power. My other letter is T, which doesn’t have as much talent. I go for Willy Taveras. Taveras is a one trick pony, bringing only steals to the table. My plan is to stash him on the bench and plug him into the lineup when the matchup makes it appears as if I can win the steals category with fast Willy’s help.

After making round 8 selections and awaiting everyone else’s pick, I still had holes at shortstop and third base. I’m hoping for Rockies third baseman Ian Stewart (a young player with good power but a low batting average) slips to me in the 9th and Alexei Ramierez of the White Sox slips to me in the 10th.

When the 9th rolls around, I am pleased to be able to snap up Stewie. I don’t actively seek out my favorite players in the draft, but I really need a third baseman, and I’m running out of time. I also need a shortstop, and could pick up Marco Scutaro for my shortstop and Aramis Ramirez or Mark Reynolds as my third baseball, but I roll the nice with Stewart and hope that Alexei Ramirez is still alive in the 10th. Stewie has gone from hot prospect (30 homers in the minors fresh out of high school), to a bust, to a once again valued player – and he’s still just 24.

My other letter is N. Ugh. N is an awful letter. I grab another catcher, Dioner Navarro. I don’t really need a third catcher, and Navarro will probably get cut when I pick up some free agents after the draft.

In the 10th round, I’m please to see that Alexei Ramirez did indeed drop to me.  I’m hoping that Alexei bounces back a bit from last year.  It’s worth noting that Ramirez was shifting back to shortstop in 2009 after having played second base in 2008.  In any case, at this point, I’m in desperate need of a shortstop.  My other letter is J.  As I look down my roster, I realize that I don’t have an adequate bat for the utility role – my bench hitters are pretty bad.  Nick Johnson, the oft-injured DH for the New York Yankees, joins the team.  He’s unlikely to rack up a lot of at bats, but should contribute a good on base percentage.

This is how my roster looks after the 10th round:

C: Matt Wieters
1B: Carlos Pena
2B: Howie Kendrick
SS: Alexei Ramirex
3B: Ian Stewart
OF: Carlos Quentin
OF: Chin-Soo Choo
OF: Nate McLouth
Utility: Nick Johnson

Bench: C Miguel Olivo, 2B/3B/SS/OF Omar Infante, OF Willy Taveras, C Dioner Navaro

SP: Justin Verlander
SP: Josh Beckett
SP: Tim Lincecum
SP: Felix Hernandez
SP: Yovani Gallardo
SP: Jorge de la Rosa
P: Neftali Feliz
RP: David Aardsma
RP: Scott Elbert

One thing quickly jumps out at me.  We play 9 pitchers, and while I have very good top end talent (6 of the top 20 starting pitchers in baseball, including 3 of the top 7, according to Yahoo’s fantasy guide), I have exactly 9 pitchers – I’d be short a guy if there is an injury.  We have a bonus round upcoming.  This is basically a waiver process conducted vua email.  We can pick any remaining player.  It makes sense for me to pursue another pitcher – particularly one from the letter Y or Z, since they would be elgible without having juggle the roster.

How did I do? Obviously, my hitting is a bit weak, as I sacrificed hitting in order to build an elite pitching staff. I like my position, though. I should be able to pick up win in Wins, ERA, WHIP, and Strikeouts nearly every week. I have Aardsma, so I’m not completely punting saves, and may win that category once in a while. I have some solid hitters and hope to pick up at least 1-2 wins on the hitter side each week. I can always trade pitching for hitting if I need to.

That’s not to say that the strategy wasn’t without risk. Leaving the shortstop until the last round is not a very safe strategy and could have easily backfired – and some might say that it DID backfire, since Alexei Ramirez isn’t a world beater. But I set the strategy early, stuck to it, and avoided major potholes in the road.

Today, we talk about two star college athletes.

The first is Oregon running quarterback Jeremiah Masoli – a star who was considered a Heisman candidate for 2010.  On Friday, Masoli pleaded guilty to second degree burglary for his role in the theft of laptops and a guitar from a fraternity on campus.  The Oregon football team suspended him for the 2010 season.

That sounds like an appropriate punishment, right?

Well, except for the fact that he’ll still be on scholarship for 2010 – and will be allowed to use a redshirt year if he wants – meaning that he wouldn’t lose any eligibility.  I’ve heard of a medical redshirt year, but a criminal redshirt year?  I understand that Masoli is a talented player, but what message does is send when this incident possibly extends his full ride scholarship to five years instead of four?

On the other side, we have Purdue basketball player Robbie Hummel.  The standout forward had led his Boilermakers to a top five ranking and had Purdue poised to make a run deep into the NCAA tournament.

Then, on February 24, Hummel tore his ACL is a win against the Minnesota Gophers.  Today, a Hummel-less Purdue team got bounced out of the Big 10 tournament against those same Gophers 69-42.  Purdue managed just 11 points in the first half.  A Boilermaker team that appeared headed toward the Final Four now faces an uncertain fate.

What a different set of “rewards” for these two players.

A few days ago, Johnny Goodman made me aware of the fact that the Robert Edward catalog would soon be shipping.  What sort of catalog is the Robert Edward book?  Men’s apparel?  Fine wines?

No, something even better.  Sports collectibles.  Not just any sports collectibles, but high end sports collectibles.  And we’re not talking about your run of the mill Tigers Woods autograph on a Hooters menu (ha ha, Tiger Woods at Hooters – yeah, we understand the irony) type of sports collectible.  We’re talking about collectibles that often have unique histories behind them.

The full name of the organization is Robert Edward Auctions.  Each year, I go to the site, click on the “Contact” link and request a copy of the catalog.  The glossy, full color catalog is filled with about 700 pages of consigned auction items.  Some guys anxiously await the SI Swimsuit issue; I anxiously await the REA catalog.  It truly is Christmas in April.

Sadly, it appears that I don’t have a 2009 catalog.  I wonder what sort of life event made me forget to order my copy.  I guarantee that I didn’t throw the catalog out – I keep the old catalogs to leaf through from time to time.  I’ll pull out my 2008 copy to share some highlights.

What would a high end sports auction be without the requisite T-206 Honus Wagner card (circa 1909-1911)?  The card – of the Pirates Hall of Fame Shortstop – is rare because Wagner demanded that the American Tobacco Company pull the card from their set.  There are a few theories on the reasoning.  Historically, it was said that Wagner did this to prevent youngsters from buying tobacco to get his card.  More recently, the thought is that Wagner simply wanted more money from ATC.

In 2008, a collector paid $1.6 million for a Wagner (not in the Robert Edward auction) with a grade of 5 (out of 10).  The example in the REA catalog was a 1 (poor condition).  The reserve was $50,000 – and the card sold for $317,250!

The auction isn’t limited just to cards, though.  There are a variety of other unique collectibles.

In recent years, canceled checks have gained popularity with collectors.  In the 2008 Robert Edward auction, there’s a check from Babe Ruth to his wife for $1000.  Why is there interest in this sort of item?  Because Babe Ruth would have put actual thought into writing out this check, as opposed to a player blindly scribbling his name on a ball.  The $1000 check – which has no actual financial value – sold for $4112.50.

An interesting modern era piece was lot 165 – a 1988 lithography featuring  the 11 living members of the 500 home run club at that time.  Not only is it a nice work of art, but it is signed by those members – Ted Williams, Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mike Schmidt, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews, and Willie McCovey.  I couldn’t afford the $1800 it sold for – but it would look pretty sweet on my mantle.

While the auction centers around sports – and specifically baseball – there are also some non-sports items included.  Lot 1618 was the cape worn by George Reeve in the 1950s Superman television show.  How much would you pay for a rather simple piece of red fabric?  A collector paid $32,213.50.

Not everything sells for tens of thousands of dollars, of course.  A Japanese biography of Babe Ruth, published in 1948, sold for $117.50.  If you’re looking to add to your wardrobe, you could have bought the 1944 game used pants of Joe “Ducky” Medwick (last National League player to win the triple crown).  If you wanted to buy some sweet kicks, a pair of Karl Malone’s shoes from his final NBA season sold for a mere $293.75.

No, I’m not paid by REA to write this article – I’m just a big fan of their work.  If you’re a big sports fan like me, swing by their site, order a catalog, and if you have the financial ability, bid on a few items.

Sometimes you start by jamming in someone else’s garage

In this case, The Soap Boxers first got its start in the Google garage, on BlogSpot.  Then Lazy Man offered one of the stalls of his garage and allowed us to customize our address.  Lazy Man also lends us tools and offers suggestions on how to improve the sound of the band.

Some bloggers rocket to fame American Idol style, some pay their dues for years

Baker of ManVsDebt became an overnight sensation in just a few months (although, to his credit, he had been an active commenter on other people’s blogs for years and poured a ton of effort into his blog once it was launched).  Other bloggers (such as your dear old kosmo) slog away month after month with just a small fraction of the audience the superstars attract.  Sometimes, like in music, this is simply a matter of paying your dues, and fame will be just around the corner.

Being an opening act can open doors

Many of the hottest acts in music started out as the opening act for other musicians.  This gave them exposure to larger audience and allowed them to attract a larger fan base.  The blogospheric equivalent of this is writing guest articles for bigger blogs.  I’ve been pitching my ideas to other bloggers in an attempt to get an opening act.  I’ve gotten some great opportunities on some blogs (Lazy Man and Money, 40Tech, Life, Laughs, and Lemmings, World’s Strongest Librarian) and continue to pursue other gigs.

Fitting into a genre is the surest way to gain fans

There are many different genres (niches) for bloggers to fit into.  Writing content that easily fits into one niche allows a blogger to interact with other bloggers who write on similar content.  There tends to be a community of readers who follow blogs of a particular niche, and interacting with other bloggers in those niches gets someone noticed.  Nonetheless, some blogs (such as your beloved Casual Observer) rebel, refusing to simply scratch a niche.

You need original music to hit it big

You’re not going to sell gold records doing covers of Hotel California.  Likewise, you can’t get to the top just by repeating the same topics that everyone else is talking about in their blogs – you have to strike out on your own with some truly original content.

Gerald Champeaux hid his annoyance at the appearance of a hot cocoa mustache on the upper lip of the man seated across from him. His companion was oblivious to the foamy appendage. Gerald could scarcely believe that Jimmy Bagley was a competent professional. He forced himself to push the doubts to the back of his mind. Bagley had an excellent reputation.

“So, what you want,” said Bagley, wiping his lip as he finally became aware of the mustache, “is for me to steal stuff from your own house? For the insurance money?”

“Exactly,” replied Champeaux. “It’s really a profit deal. I have unfortunately become quite addicted to Texas Hold’em lately and have accumulated some sizable losses lately. A nice insurance settlement would allow me to hide our financial situation from my wife. A fringe benefit is that I’d be getting rid of some absurdly ugly pieces of art that she has purchased over the years.”

“OK, so what’s in it for me?”

“We’ll split the proceeds of the sales, 50-50. Some of the items are very identifiable, and may not be able to be sold for several years. Many of the others should be able to be quickly sold. I can give you the names of some dealers who have questionable ethics and are perfectly willing to buy stolen merchandise. You close the deal and keep half the money for your troubles.”

Bagley grabbed the sheet of paper from the table. “So, what sort of money are we talking about?”

“I think a conservative estimate would be a million dollars.”

Bagley whistled. “I’d make half a mill just for ripping you off? Wow.”

“For ripping me off and setting up the sales. And, of course, for your discretion,” corrected Champeaux.

“Ah, yes, discretion is the better part of vigor.”

“Valor,” corrected Champeaux.

“Huh?”

“Discretion is the better part of valor, not the better part of vigor.”

“Yeah? I always heard it the other way. Oh well, ten of one, half dozen of another.”

Champeaux rolled his eyes at the smaller man’s maligning of the English language. Focus, Gerald, focus. You don’t need to like this man, you simply need to use him.

“OK,” asked Champeaux, “what details do you need?”

“I’ll need to know about your security system, and also the layout of your home and the location of these items.”

Champeaux was prepared for these questions. He gave Bagley the details of his home security system, including flaws in the system that would allow a burglar to easily defeat the system. He verbally walked Bagley through the house. He described each room in turn, and described which of the items would be located in that room.

Four nights later, Jimmy Bagley descended upon the Champeaux home. Gerald and his wife would be out for the evening, having dinner and watching a play at the theater.

Bagley quickly picked the lock and slipped into the house. He quickly disabled the security system and began the work of stealing. He decided to use the living room as a staging area. He would pile everything in the middle of the living room before taking everything out to his Explorer.

Jimmy quickly took three painting off the wall and set them on the floor. It took him a moment to find that statue that Champeaux had described. Jimmy agreed with Champeaux – in spite of its value to collectors, it was hideously ugly.

Bagley walked down a short hallway to the master bedroom. He opened the door and was surprised to see Champeaux inside the room. He only had an instant to wonder why Champeaux was at home instead of establishing an alibi for the time of the robbery. Then he saw the Glock in Champeax’s right hand and was more confused.

Gerald Chapeaux pulled the trigger and felt the thrill of killing another man.

Champeaux waited for Bagley to die before grabbing the phone.

“What is your emergency?” asked the voice on the other end of the line.

“There’s been a break-in at my home. I shot the burglar. I think he may be dead.”

Hooray!  After a few fits and starts, the first audio story is available in the store!  We expect to add stories as a regular basis, and within the next two months, we anticipate having the majority of the fiction catalog available.

The first story is Tale of the Wolf.  The audio is not perfect, since I’m an amateur making his first attempt at an audio version of a story.  The quality should improve as we move along.

You can download the MP3 for 40 cents in the Hyrax Publications Store.

thank you for your support.

I am in the midst of my fantasy baseball draft.  As I have mentioned on a few ocassions, this league is a strange beast.  The main rule is that you are only allowed to start one player for each letter of the alphabet (based on last name).  You can’t play Matt Holliday and Cole Hamels at the same time.  This leads to some decision making that varies greatly from standard leagues.  Suddenly, Akinori Iwamura and Chris Iannetta are very valuable players, due to the scarcity of players for the letter I.  Iannetta is doubly valuable, since he’s a catcher within the scarce letter.  The Alphabet Soup League is in its third year of existence.

The league has a very strange draft.  There’s no way to use an out of the box automated draft, and an in-person draft isn’t feasible, with players scattered across a decent swath of the country.  Drafting one player at a time over email would take a long time.  Thus I have devised a way to allow participants to draft in a shotgun approach.

First, I developed a grid (shown below) that broke the draft into 10 rounds, with each participant assigned 2-3 letters for each round.  For example, in the first round, my letters were B and V.  Nobody else could draft players with B or V in that round.  This means that everyone could send me their picks whenever they wanted to – they didn’t have to wait for anyone else to pick (I announce my picks vefore the start of a round, to ensure that I don’t base my pick upon  how the round is unfolding).  To ensure that there is no bias, I use the last digit of the closing Dow Jones Industrial Average on a particular day to set the position in the grid.  We march through the draft, round by round.  Very good players drop to later rounds simply because their letter is deep in talent.

Why such a convoluted system?  Simply to make things more challenging, of course.  A few of the GMs (in particular, one “shark”) wouldn’t be interested if this was “just another fantasy league”.  I like winning, but it’s more important for me to match wits with quality opponents.

How is is the draft unfolding for me so far?

In round one, I snagged Justin Verlander and Josh Beckett.  These guys should be a good core for my rotation.

In the second round, I had the letters L and O.  L is easy – reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.  O is more difficult.  In a word, the letter O sucks.  I decide to go with Rockies catcher Miguel Olivo, even though he’ll be splitting time with Chris Iannetta (and in a pefect world for my Rockies, Iannetta will push him completely aside).  This is a low risk move, since there’s not a ton of value within O, aside from David Ortiz – and DH/1B  guys are a dime a dozen.  It also provides a bit of insurance – looking through the next few rounds, I don’t see any quality catchers would might slip to me.  I can’t simply grab a guy like Joe Mauer or Brian McCann – I have to wait until I get to the round with the correct letter.

In round 3, I decide to start snapping up the best available pitchers and worry about hitters later.  I grab young ace Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, and the closer for Seattle, David Aardsma.  A is not a great letter – Aardsma represents good value for that letter.  My strategy will be to win at least 4 of the 5 pitching categories in my weekly matchup, and pick up at least 1-2 wins on the hitting side.  2 hitting wins and 4 pitching wins is a fine 60% success rate.  That’s enough to make the playoffs – and winning 6 of 10 in the playoffs will advance me to the next round each time.

By round 4, some people are starting to realize my strategy.  I grab another young ace, Yovani Gallardo.  I also grab my second hitter, Matt Wieters.  Wieters, like Olivo, is a catcher.  However, Wieters has an extremely bright future ahead of him, as one of the top prospects in the game.  Miguel Olivo slinks toward my bench.

In round 5, I actually add a couple of hitters.  I think Howie Kendrick is the best of the remaining K players.  He played well down the stretch last year, and he should getting the starting second baseman nod ahead of Macier Izturis.  I also have the letter grouping % – which includes players from Q, U, X, Y, and Z.  The twist is that while these players are all lumped together in the draft (because they’re too shallow to stand alone), you can actually play a Q player AND a Z player – it’s different than playing two R players.  I grab Carlos Quentin – not only is he a good player, but he’s a Q player.  After the draft, I’ll try to nab a Y or Z player in free agency.

What lies ahead?

I need a first baseman, third baseman, shortstop, two outfielders, and a couple of pitchers.  I have specific players identified.  I wish I could tell you who … but I can’t – because other members of the league may be reading this.  Suffice it to say that I’m much more worried about shortstop and third base than I am about the other positions.

Interested in how the draft turns out?  Read the conclusion.

The term “system quarterback” – meaning a quarterback who requires a specific offensive system in order to be effective – is often used in a disparaging way.

Let’s step outside the world of sports for a moment. You’re the head of a large hospital. You’d like to hire a neurosurgeon for your staff, but there’s a problem. She’s left handed, and all your surgical tools are right handed. She’s a “system surgeon” who can’t be effective with the “system” of right handed tools and shouldn’t be hired, right? Of course not – that’s crazy talk. You just buy some left handed tools. You don’t allow the less expensive parts of an environment dictate decisions about the most expensive parts.

Why, then, should an NFL team discard the notion of giving a particular quarterback a chance to succeed, simply because he is a “system” quarterback?

What am I recommending exactly – that the team change itself to fit the quarterback, rather than finding a quarterback who is a better fit? Yes, precisely.

This probably doesn’t sound fair to a lot of people. Why should a team force its coaches and players to change to accommodate one player? In fact, other players on the team may not be a good fit for the quarterback’s preferred style of play, resulting in those players having reduced roles or no role at all. Changing the system to fit the quarterback could cost them their jobs. This doesn’t sound fair at all.

And it’s not fair. However, many things in life aren’t fair. In this case, I think that money trumps fairness. Quarterbacks are expensive – much more expensive than any other player. Some have speculated that Colts quarterback Peyton Manning may receive a contract extension that pays him $20 million per year, with a $50 million signing bonus. The first pick in the 2009 NFL draft, Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions, signed a contract that is likely to pay him $78 million during his first six years in the league – before he ever took a snap. Matt Cassel – who didn’t start a game in college – leveraged one strong season with the Patriots into a six year, $63 million contract after being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The money changes everything. If you can spend $5 million per year on a quarterback that can excel within a particular system (getting him cheap because he is perceived as flawed) versus $15 million for a more traditional quarterback, you can afford to overpay a couple of other cogs that you need for the system.

Not all systems are going to work in the NFL, of course. Players in the NFL are stronger and faster than college players, and some offensive systems that work fine in college are doomed in the NFL for this very reason. But I am convinced that the right offensive coordinator could make some unconventional schemes work in the NFL. Sure, you’ll probably have to pony up a few extra bucks for a coordinator who can make it work – but just like the complementary offensive players, coordinators are cheaper than quarterbacks.

One of the most heated debates in college sports is whether or not college athletes should be paid.  Proponents point to the millions of dollars that some programs reap in tickets sales and merchandise.  Surely these schools should pay their athletes?

Today, I’ll make the argument that college athletes should not be paid.

Who Gets Paid?

If you take a step in the direction of paying athletes, one of the first questions is who gets paid, and how much? 

Let’s use football as an example.  Do Tim Tebow and Alexander Robinson (Iowa State running back) get the same salary?  Is there a pay scale based on yardage or some sort of complex formula?  What’s the value of a punter or a long snapper?  When are salaries set?  There are a lot of blue chip prospects who have disappointing college careers – so surely we don’t want to get locked into a pay scale at the time they sign.

Then comes the fun question of whether or not athletes in all sports should get compensated.  Should the backup fullback on the football team get a paycheck, but not the world class decathlete, simply because the football team turns a profit and the track team doesn’t?  What about the All-American volleyball player on a top 5 team?

It’s Not a Profit Deal – Really.

While many individual programs turn a profit, this is true of very few athletic departments as a whole.  In situations where football and basketball make a profit, their profits often make the gymnastics and tennis teams viable.  If football and basketball stop subsidizing these sports, they will likely die on the vine. 

Fielding a competitive team is not cheap.  A football team has 85 players on scholarship – meaning that their tuition, fees, room, and board are paid for.  If you have a child in college, imagine multiplying that  cost by 85.  Then there is the cost of coaches (do head coaches earn their salaries?), facilities, travel, lodging, etc. 

Supply and Demand

Student employees are often paid less than their skills would dictate in a free market.  This is because college campuses are awash in talented individuals, all competing for a limited number of jobs.  This is particularly true with positions that are internships that serve as gateways to lucrative careers. 

And that is precisely the role of an elite college athlete, of course.  Bear in mind that the “job” of college athlete is high desired, not only for the prestige of playing at the college level, but also for its pipeline to the pros.  For every athlete who cracks a college roster, there are many more who never sniff a scholarship – most of whom would gladly play a college sport in exchange for “only” a scholarship. 

These athletes are having their expenses paid while a talented coaching staff attempts to ready them for a career as a professional athlete.  While it is true that athletes are proving value to the university, the university is also providing invaluable services to the athlete.  Stephen Strasburg, the top pick in the 2009 baseball draft, owes much of his $15 million contract to the coaching staff at San Diego State.  The conditioning coach at SDSU nicknamed him “Sloth” because he was so out of shape when he arrived on campus.  If you think that SDSU should pay for the services of athletes like Strasburg, should they also be paid by athletes who benefit from the coaching?

Did you find this article interesting?  Then you may like my article that asks whether athletes are overpaid.