The SoapBoxers

Jamie Moyer has signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies.  The deal includes an invitation to Spring Training.  I’m assuming that the invitation includes an opportunity to try out for the team, and not just a meet-and-greet with Tulo and a tour of downtown Scottsdale.

I tracked down some people for their thoughts.  Without further ado, here’s the chatter about the signing.

We lost Moyer to an injury in 2011, and it cost us a shot at the World Series.  I figured we’d be able to re-sign Moyer for 2012, slot him into the top of the rotation, and let Halladay and Lee fight it out for the #2 spot.  I guess he got too expensive for us.

– Philly resident Evan Kline

When I heard that Moyer was going to be available, I had to go after him.  I can still remember when he broke in with the Cubs.  I didn’t actually SEE the game, since I was in my mother’s womb, but she could feel me kick every time he threw a pitch that day.

– Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd

Two words – AARP discount.  Yeah, I plan to hang out with Jamie a lot.  I’m sure he’s a cool guy and everything, but he can flash that card and get discounted food for everyone.  Hey, a penny saved is a penny earned.

– Rockies All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki

He can get us into R-rated movies, right?

– Rockies pitcher Drew Pomeranz

I’ve never heard of this guy. Does he have a temper? If he’s going to be bashing the water cooler with a bat every time he has a bad game, I need to know – because I’ll have to get Smitty to order some extra water coolers. We can’t be signing these guys without doing a better job of vetting them – too much risk of property damage.

– Rockies manager Jim Tracy

What does Jamie Moyer have in common with me? We’re both prehistoric.

– Dinger

All kidding aside, I do see that as a good signing by the Rockies. On the human side of things, Moyer is by all accounts a great guy, and has several humanitarian awards to back it up. The Rockies also have a ton of young pitcher, and Moyer could serve as a role model and mentor for them.

On the baseball side of things, there’s not much risk to the deal, since it’s a minor league deal. There’s a very real chance that he could nail down the #5 starter spot. If he can manage to stay in the rotation for a few years, he might even have a shot at getting win #300 as a Rockie. I don’t think that would get him into the Hall of Fame, but it’d still be pretty cool.

Taking a sports angle on a bigger topic this week.

What can confidence, or belief in someone really achieve?

This year in the NFL we have seen two of the largest examples of this in recent memory.

First, (and apologies here as many have already beaten this to horse glue) but look at Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos. Ridiculed by many, he took a team that was 1-4 to start the year and made them an 8-8 club. He led the Broncos to a division title, beat the defending AFC Champions Steelers in his first ever playoff game. Lucky? Overachiever?

Perhaps.

The fact is that Tim Tebow has shown at the college level and now the professional level that he is a great leader. Teammates believe in him. Obviously I am not on the practice field, on the sidelines or in the huddle…I am not even a Broncos fan. But you can’t dispute the results of what he seems to have accomplished this year basically on heart and guts alone.

An even bigger example is Alex Smith. He has been tossed on the scrap heap in San Francisco on a few different occasions. The Niners have played musical coaches and musical offensive coordinator in their coaching hierarchy over Smith’s entire NFL career.

All it took as a new head coach, Jim Harbaugh, to come into the organization with the attitude that “hey this Smith kid is good, he just has not been properly coached. Voila’ The player who has been told by fans and media his entire career that he was a bust as a #1 Draft pick out of Utah has talent, that he is good, and that they can win games with him.

What happened with the San Francisco 49ers? They won their division, beat a favored team in the playoffs last week in one of the most exciting NFL games in recent or distant memory and are now poised to make the Super Bowl for the first time since they have had Hall of Fame quarterbacks at the helm.

The secret – Having the right people in the right place at the right time.

No doubt that Tebow, gave the Broncos a lift just when their organization needed it. The debate is still out if he is a long-term solution, but there is no denying the entire team has played much better since he took over as their quarterback.

San Francisco has shown that the right coach, who personally got to know his personnel and giving them the proper confidence and feedback to help them succeed, now has a team that were total underachiever’s in the eyes of many to on the verge of being NFC champions.

For those reading this article you likely can look to leaders in your place of employment and point to situations where strong leaders have assisted you, or assisted one your co-workers to achieve personal successes. I am certain you can also remember instances where this has not worked out so well.

Just like in the NFL combine where 40 yard dash times and repetitions in the weight room can increase draft stock, window dressing in the workplace is not always enough.

Sometimes….. what all of us need, whether is it in our parenting, our careers or in our sports pursuits is a some good coaching, and a little confidence.

Until next time, stay classy Charlotte, North Carolina.

A lot of people are yammering about the BCS SEC National Conference Championship game, while others are talking about this weekend’s Tebowl.  Naturally, I’m focused on baseball.

The voting for the 2012 Baseball Hall of Fame has been announced.  Here are my thoughts on the voting:

Hall of Famers

• Barry Larkin was elected in his third year of eligibility, jumping from 62.1% of the vote last year to 86.4% this year.  Anyone who saw Larkin play during his prime realized that it was just a matter of time before he was elected.
• After toying with his emotion for year, the Veterans Committee posthumously elected Cubs great Ron Santo to the Hall of fame.

Future Hall of Famers

This is an unofficial category, as you never know when a player’s candidacy is going to run out of steam.  However there are several players who took big steps forward this year.

• Jack Morris was the winningest pitcher in the 1980s and the ultimate gamer.  However, his lack of eye-popping stats has kept him on the ballot for 13 years.  With a jump from 53.5% last year to 66.6% this year, Morris could slip in next year as the first big batch of steroid-tainted players hit the ballot.  If not 2013, then definitely in 2014, as players often get a bump from the voters during their last year on the ballot (you can be on the ballot for a maximum of 15 years).
• Jeff Bagwell is tainted by the fact that he played during the steroid era, despite the fact that he has never himself been accused of any wrongoing.  In his second year on the ballot, he jumped from 41.7% to 56%.  Likely member of the HOF class of 2015 as he gradually pushed his numbers up.
• The dynamic Tim Raines climbed from 37.5% to 48.7% in his 5th year on the ballot.  He still has a sizeable hill to climb, but I think he gets there eventually.  HOF class of 2019.
• Lee Smith was the all-time saves leader when he retired.  However, he has been passed since then (most notably by Mariano Rivera) and there’s less respect for the raw statistics of saves than there was in the past.  In his 10th year on the ballot, he jumped from 45.3% to 50.6%.  I’m not sure if he’ll make it or not.  I hope he does, because I remember his as a fierce warrior on the Cubs teams in the 80s.

Everyone else

There are a lot of other great names on the ballot, but I don’t see any of the others making it into the Hall of Fame.  Some thoughts on the rest of the group:

• I loved seeing Larry Walker play for my Rockies.  However, a relatively short career coupled with the advantages of playing at Coors Lite (pre-humidor) dooms his candidacy.  Very exciting player – too bad he couldn’t have put together a few more good years.
• Dale Murphy was a back to back MVP (1982 and 1983) but will fall off the ballot next year.  He received a mere 14.2% of the vote this year.
• Don Mattingly was the face of the game for a few years before a bad back sapped him of his power.  17.8% in his 12th year on the ballot.  Mattingly has been on the Hall of Fame ballot for 12 years?  That makes me feel old.  Maybe he’ll make it to the Hall as  manager.
• Without the stench of steroids attached to his name, Rafael Palmeiro would have been a first ballot Hall of Famer.  As the first big star to test positive, there’s no way he’ll make it.  The irony is that he already had HOF numbers at the time of his test.  Had he retired a year earlier, he’d be in the Hall.
• Mark McGwire actually lost votes, dropping from 19.8% to 19.5%.  This is fairly hard to do, as once a player crosses the Hall of Fame threshold in a writer’s mind, it’s unlikely the writer will demote him.  However, the actual group of voters has a bit of turnover from year to year.  Some McGwire backers may have retired and been replaced with those who aren’t likely to vote for him.  although he never tested positive for a banned substance, he admitted to being using Andro (which was not banned) and was the subject of other rumors.
• Edgar Martinez and Fred McGriff each made small jumps in their 3rd year on the ballot.  Martinez climbed from 32.9% to 36.5% while the Crime Dog went from 17.9% to 23.9%.  At this point, it seems unlikely that either will make it to the required 75%.  The fact that Martinez was a DH works against him, as it should.  He was still a great contributor as a hitter, but didn’t add as much value as a comparable hitter who also played the field.  McGriff was one of the most feared sluggers in the game during his prime, but his lack of a team identity could hurt him – he bounced around like a ping pong ball.
• Alan Trammell jumped from 24.3% to 36.8% in his 11th year on the ballot.  I alway thought of Trammell (and Lou Whitaker) as very good players, but not great ones.
• Bernie Williams debuted at 9.6%.  Another guy who was a good player, but not a Hall of Famer.
• Several players were dropped from future consideration after falling below 5%.  Who would have ever guess that Juan Gonzalez would spend only 2 years on the Hall of Fame ballot.
• Eric Young achieved his goal and received a vote.  Just one, but better than 4 time All-Star Ruben Sierra, Jeromy Burnitz, Terry Mulholland, Phil Nevin, Brian Jordan, and Tony Womack.

I did learn three things watching the National Championship game last night.

1. Brent Musburger likes to use the phrase Honey Badger more than I like to eat Beef Jerky (trust me on this one…I am a big fan of beef jerky)
2. No one outside of Alabama or Louisiana really even wanted to see these two teams play again in a bowl game this year.
3. Another over hyped, super boring, BCS National Title Game.

Yawn…..

Did anyone outside of Alabama or Louisiana really even want to see these two teams play again in a bowl game this year.

Matching up teams that have already faced each other in the same season always seems to be a recipe for disaster – at least in terms of creating an exciting bowl game to tune in and watch.

It has happened plenty of times before. Oklahoma and Nebraska in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day 1979, Miami and Florida State faced off a few times in bowl games to see who could have the most unsportsmanlike penalties called on their team.

This year was no different. All that was proven is that Nick Saban had his team better prepared, better coached and more confident and it showed last night.

Somewhere Mike Gundy is wondering how the Oklahoma State Cowboys would have fared.

I realize the Cowpokes blew a game to lowly Iowa State on the Road earlier this year. But I am sure they would have generated more than 92 yards of total offense which was the output of the Bayou Bengals.

Many folks in SEC country will say that these two teams have stellar defenses, and that is what wins championships, and that is why neither team can score touchdowns against one another in what becomes a punt, pass and kick competition without the passing.

While it is apparent that both teams are loaded with talent on defense, Jordan Jefferson is not a good passer. LSU was unable to even move past midfield until late in the 4th quarter. Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron had a career game mainly due to a fine game plan that had him frequently rolling out of the pocket and completing short passes. This appeared to get him confidence early.

Bama threw the ball early and often at Heisman Trophy finalist Tyrann Mathieu. Unfortunately for the basically home crowd LSU fans, Mathieu was basically unable to make any significant plays in the ballgame defensively.

I guessed I also learned that honey badger don’t care that elephants are dominating his football team.

Oh well, as most all college football fans say everywhere else but in Alabama….

There is always next year.

Stay Classy, Tuscaloosa.

First we will start in the NFL, where the last of the playoff spots were sorted out. We learned a couple of things in the NFL this weekend.

1. Terence Newman is even worse than most Cowboys fans in my office thought. I have heard complaints about his lack of ability to cover himself with coat before stepping outside on a cold day, but he showed this weekend against the Giants that he simply is not very good.
2. It appears Tebow Time is over.
3. Matt Flynn just made himself some serious money looking towards next year.

Bowl Games

The College Bowls took seat front and center yesterday with the traditional January 1st bowl games moved to Monday due to Sunday and the NFL.

Worst game of the day had to be Penn State versus Houston. Neither team really wanted to be there but the fact is Houston has an offense and Penn State does not.

The best game of the day is up for debate, but my vote goes to the Oklahoma State win over Stanford. I would still have loved seeing Oklahoma State avoid the upset against the Iowa State Cyclones and be playing for it all due to their ability to score in bunches.

Better yet, how about a Cowboys versus Ducks matchup. I am after everyone would be handed 3-D Glasses to view the newest uniforms rolled out to each of these two teams, watching the actual game would remind anyone in their early 40’s of the glory days of play Super Tecmo Bowl. I would give the edge to Oregon in a shootout. 84-80.

Worst of the Worst – from Bowl Games

You have GOT to feel badly for a pair of kickers yesterday. First off Georgia Kicker Blair Walsh….While he became the Southeastern Conference’s career scoring leader with a field goal in the second overtime, he missed a 42-yarder in the first overtime and then had a 47-yard attempt blocked on the final play of the game.

You have got to feel even worse for Stanford freshman kicker Jordan Williamson, who missed 3 kicks – including one at the end of regulation to win the game and again another miss in overtime. On the game’s final drive, he reminded me of the pitcher throwing a no-no late in the game, he was all by himself, basically excluded from the rest of his team on the sidelines. He looked nervous to me on television, but he is only a dreshman, so hopefully he will bounce back.

Worst of the Worst – is two of the Marquee players in the Capital One Bowl, Alfonso Dennard and Alshon Jeffery get into a slugging match on the sideline and both players are thrown out. Not a great thing to do on the national stage, in your final game of your college career

An even Bigger bomb was dropped by the Capital One Bowl who selected Jeffrey with their MVP award for the game.

I am sure he was chosen for his “Hail Mary” catch right before halftime, which definitively turned the tide and the momentum of the game in South Carolina’s favor. However, giving an award to a person ejected from a football game for fighting with another player sets an exceedingly poor example, no matter how big the player’s impact in the game. You can’t select that person as the winner of an award on individual merits in this fame based on principal alone.

Boo Capital One….

Until Next Time, Stay Classy St Matthews, South Carolina.

As we finish the penultimate week of NFL play, many of you, like me, have been declared World Champions of the World…at least in your Fantasy Football pools among your friends and office workers (ok so I won 2 of my three leagues and got taken behind the woodshed in the semi-finals of my other league…but who is counting)

Playoff Scenarios

The playoffs in the NFL are mostly set. 5 of the 6 teams in the NFC are already in. It is down to playoff seeding of most of the teams, and the steel cage grudge match in the NFC East known as the Cowboys versus the New York Football Giants to decide which team makes it to the next stage.

Dallas is a fickle beast. Their Quarterback, Tony Romo is hurt early in the game this week against the suddenly red hot Eagles, No Romo…No chance. We saw this movie last year in Big D.

The Giants made a hot early start, then fell on their sword for a few weeks, now climb back into it again.

I give the edge to the Giants. Main Reason. The Cowboys secondary is…..(say it with me….Horrible) I predict a high scoring game but the Giants will win in the end by 3.

The AFC is not quite as clear but. The Broncos, Titans, Jets, Bengals and Raiders are all still alive for playoff spots and a myriad of scenarios could potentially play out. I won’t even attempt to name all of the division winning and potential who makes the wild card scenarios here in the AFC, but suffice it to say, that if the Denver Tim Tebow’s lose to the Kansas City Orton’s this week, then the studio analysts better be on their game. The Broncos losing starts a large cascading effect of possible scenarios. Of course even if the Broncos win, there are still a multitude of Wild Card possibilities.

Playoff Favorites

As we look forward into the playoffs, right now it would appear that the Saints, and Packers are the class of the league offensively. Green Bay is beat up on the line of scrimmage, and that makes it hard to go deep into the playoffs. The Saints are clicking as long as they are at home and playing on turf. The Niners are still the Rodney Dangerfield’s of the NFL getting no respect. They are by no means flashy but they just win baby.

Everything has to go through Title Town, and I think the offense is good enough to make that happen and return to a Super Bowl for the second straight year. Bottom line is Lambeau, January, Cold. The dome and warm weather teams have a hard time in those elements compared to the local boys in green and gold

In the AFC is this the year of the Raven? I don’t see anyone else making a serious push except the old standby, Steelers. Brady and Company have not been able to win a playoff game in what seems like a decade. Fortunately he is in New England and not Dallas so no one constantly brings this us or throws him under the bus on this fact. The Ravens are my pick, but my gut tells me the Steelers will be there again.

Stat of the Week

Amazingly there are 5 quarterbacks who are likely to finish in the top 15 all time in terms of most yards passing in a season. Drew Brees already has set the season mark, passing Hall of Famer Dan Marino last night.

Tom Brady is likely to surpass Marino’s old mark as well, and Aaron Rodgers would have an outside chance if he plays and the Packers decide to try and score a bunch in week 17. Eli Manning and Matthew Stafford also will end the year likely in the realm of 4800+ passing yards.

Until Next time, stay classy Bend, Oregon!

It is that time of year to re-cap what has happened in the sports world in 2011. Although you may not agree with some of the items here, or have your own “Top 10” Here is the Johnny Goodman Top 10 Sports Stories of 2011.

Until Next Time….Stay Classy Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.

Last night, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters formally accepted an $51.7 offer from the Texas Rangers. This gives the Rangers an exclusive 30 day window to negotiate a contract with Darvish.

But didn’t Darvish get $51.7 million?

No, his team got $51.7 million.  More accurately, his team gets $51.7 million if Darvish and the Rangers reach an agreement.  If Darvish doesn’t sign with the Rangers, the Fighters get nothing.

Why is the team getting fifty million bucks?  Because they are allowing Darvish to leave with two years remaining on his contract.  They are being compensated for the loss of his services.

How much will Yu get?

Almost certainly in excess of $50 million, as he has a strong desire to surpass the deal Daisuke Matsuzaka signed with the Boston Red Sox.  It’s quite possible that he will end up signing a six year deal worth around $75 million, bring the total cost to the Rangers to around $125 million.

I’d be very surprised if the length of the deal was shorter than six years, as six years would buy out Yu’s arbitration years.

Can the Fighters help?

If Darvish and the Rangers end up a few million dollars apart, the logical thing would be for the Fighters to kick in the extra cash to make sure the deal gets done – otherwise they’d risk losing the $51.7 million fee.

However, this is not allowed.

Is he worth the money?

That’s the $125 million question.  Japanese pitchers have had a spotty performance record in MLB.  Part of this is due to the fact that it can be difficult to judge talent when they are playing against Japanese hitters who are a notch below MLB players (but still very good players).  Also, Japan uses smaller baseballs than the US, so there’s an actual physical adjustment.

There are inevitable comparisons to Matsuzaka, but I think Darvish stands to be a better pitcher in MLB than Matsuzaka.  Althought Matsuzaka’s numbers in Japan were very good (108-60, 2.95 ERA), Darvish has been phenomenal, with a 93-38 record and a 1.99 ERA.  Darvish, at 6’5″, is also nearly a half foot taller than Matsuzaka.  (If that seems really tall for a Japanese player, it might be worth pointing out the fact that Yu’s dad is from Iran).

What this all boils down to is that Darvish will likely cost the Rangers a total of $16 to $20 million per year for the duration of his contract (counting the money paid to Darvish and well as the money paid to the Fighters.)  That’s a lot of money, but there won’t be any other cost associated with the signing.  They won’t have to give up prospects in a trade, surrender draft picks by signing a free agent, or even use their own draft pick on him. 

The Rangers were trying to plug the hole left by the departure of C.J. Wilson.  With the acquisition of closer Joe Nathan allowing Neftali Feliz to join the rotation, and now the possible addition of Darvish to the mix, the Rangers should again be a force to be reckoned with – although the Angels, fortified by the addition of Wilson as well as Albert Pujols, should also be a great team.

What’s a Ham Fighter?

The Ham Fighter is a cornerstone of Japanese mythology.  The ham fighter is a pig who takes a sword and shield into battle alongside brave samurai …

Are you believing any of this?  No?

OK, let’s look at the team’s name: Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.

• Hokkaido – This is the location of the team.  Hokkaido is the norternmost of Japans four largest islands.
• Nippon Ham – This is the company that owns the team.  They sell meat, most notably ham. Nippon is Japanese for “Japan”.
• Fighters – This is the team’s name, equivalent to “Cubs” or “Yankees” for MLB teams.  Calling the team the Ham Fighters is just silly.

How much will Yu’s wife get?

Yu is in the midst of a divorce.  However, I know nothing about Japanese divorce law, so I have no idea how much his wife could get.

Can I buy a “I heart Yu” shirt?

Yes.

I Love Yu by ElectoralCollegeGear
See other Baseball T-Shirts

Once again, Tim Tebow saved the day, rallying the Broncos to an overtime win against the Chicago Bears. Tebow is now 7-1 as a starter, and the Broncos have won six straight and find themselves atop the AFC West.

So, while Tebow is building a reputation as a winner, he’s also criticized for his lackluster numbers. He’s completing less than 50% of his passes (48.5), and averaging just 6.5 yards per attempt. Tebow has only topped the 50% rate in three games. However, those three games are the last three, suggesting that he may be improving. He’s only topped 200 yards in two games – but those are the last two games.

The Broncos cut ties with Kyle Orton earlier this year, meaning that the 2011 Broncos are Tebow’s team. However, it remains to be see whether he is the long term answer at quarterback, or whether the Broncos will go after a quarterback in the draft.

What’s my opinion? I think that Tim Tebow is, at best, the second coming. The second coming of Kordell Stewart, that is.

Heisman Trophy

Robert Griffin III of Baylor won the Heisman Trophy.  I was happy to see RG3 grab the award.  Not only does he have the physical tools to succeed, but he’s also a smart guy – he has already earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and is working toward a Masters in Communication.  Some teams is going to get a great person – and great player – in the draft.

The Heisman also bring welcome publicity to a Baylor program that was downtrodden in recent years.  Baylor won 4 games in November 2011.  In the prior 15 years, they had won 4 November games, total (an average of about 0.25 wins per year).

Ryan Braun

Reigning National League MVP Ryan Braun made the news by reportedly testing positive for synthetic testosterone.  Although this is bad news for Braun and the Brewers, I think this is good news for baseball.  In the past, the players who tested positive were either players nobody like much (Palmeiro and Manny) or guys nobody had ever heard of.  Braun is a rising superstar just coming into his prime.  A positive test result from such a player indicates that MLB’s testing is on the level, and that there are no sacred cows being protected.

BCS

I’m not a fan of the BCS matchup between LSU and Alabama.  If Alabama wins a squeaker on a neutral field, how does this become more important than LSU’s win at Alabama?  I wonder how big of a win Alabama would need to push ahead of LSU with the computers.

I hate seeing rematches in bowl games.  Alabama had their chance at LSU, and LSU proved that they were better.  Step aside and let the next team have their chance.

NBA

I haven’t followed the NBA much since Magic Johnson retired (and even less since Alonzo Mourning retired).  I must be really out of touch if Marc Gausol is worth $58  million over 4 years.  I don’t mind seeing superstars get paid, but I don’t think MG’s in that class.  I think one of the reasons the NBA is in financial trouble is because they pay role players and minor stars absurd amounts of money – not necessarily that the actual superstars are overpaid.

Note: In the wake of Albert Pujols opting to leave the Cardinals and sign with the Angels, I asked a friend of mine who is a die-hard Cardinals fan to write about his reaction.