Turns Out Washington’s Chris Cooley is Really, Really Into Pottery

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Al Woods

While Bucs LB Geno Hayes was out celebrating Tampa Bay’s 17-16 victory over the Redskins with high voltage and handcuffs, Washington’s Chris Cooley was dealing with the painful sting of defeat in a way that’s so far from Hayes tasering and arrest that it will make your head spin. Cooley went home and molded and cooked clay for hours on end. To say that Chris Cooley is into pottery is an understatement. The Washington tight end’s love for handmade ceramic [...]
The Last Angry Fan

Do the Cleveland Indians Really Need an Innings Eater?

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Al Woods

June 01, 2010: Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Jake Westbrook () delivers pitch in game action between the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. The Indians defeated the Tigers 3-2.

Much ink has already been spilled over the Indians’ desire to import a starting pitcher this offseason. But while Cleveland reportedly wants to bring in a veteran starter, no one expects to see a new ace warming up in the Tribe’s bullpen in 2011. We don’t want a great hurler—we want an “innings eater.”

In case you’re not hip to the latest baseball lingo, an innings eater is a roughly average pitcher whose value comes solely from consistency and durability. We’re talking 150-200 innings with an ERA around 4.25, plus or minus half a run. An innings eater isn’t supposed to carry his team on his back. His job is to go out every fifth day and not screw up too badly.

But let’s forget the apparent inevitability of such a move and focus on the normative—should a team like the Indians really be going after a pitcher like that?

For the sake of argument, let’s say that there are three types of teams, herefter referred to as A, B, and C. Team A enters the season looking like a surefire contender and considers it a disappointment if they miss the playoffs; Team B isn’t expecting to see the postseason, but they have a realistic chance of making it to October if everything goes right; and Team C has raised the white flag on the season before it even starts. Think of Team A as like the Red Sox and Yankees every year, Team B as 2010′s White Sox and Mariners, and Team C as the Royals or Pirates. How would an innings eater fit into each team’s plans?

If Team A has any holes in its rotation, an innings eater would be a great addition. Why? Because if they’re already expecting to make the playoffs, they presumably have the talent to contend before filling the gap in their staff. On a good-hitting club, his job is to keep his team in the game; on a pitching-heavy team, the point is to ensure that the back of the rotation isn’t a complete disaster. The Cardinals’ signing of Jake Westbrook is a good example of the latter.

With Team B, things get a little fuzzier. For a team with an outside chance of making the playoffs, potential is more important than stability. A consistently average pitcher will probably be better than someone who has, say, a 30% chance of being an All-Star and 70% chance of busting, but if a team is in need of someone to put them over the top, playing it safe is counterintuitive. The only reason to go after an innings eater is if there are no other options whose realistic upsides are better than what you’d expect from the innings eater.

With Team C, we get to the worst case of all. If the team has nothing to play for, the only productive use of the season is to further the development of the team’s young players. Every pitch an innings eater throws is an opportunity lost for a prospect to refine his stuff in the bigs. Unless all of a team’s best pitching prospects still have major refinements to make in the minors, signing an innings eater makes no sense at all.

So what of the Indians? The 2011 Tribe probably falls somewhere between Teams B and C, so the argument that an innings eater would bring stability doesn’t hold much water.

And we don’t have a dearth of pitching. Unless they’re traded, Fausto Carmona and Mitch Talbot are virtual locks for rotation spots, and Justin Masterson will probably keep his as well. One has to assume Carlos Carrasco will get the chance to start after impressing in seven starts at the end of 2010, and Josh Tomlin should be the favorite for the fifth spot after leading Triple-A Columbus Clippers starters in ERA last year (2.68).

That means Corey Kluber, Zach McAllister, Jeanmar Gomez, and Justin Germano will be battling it out for backup duty—and that’s assuming no lower-minors prospects take the next step and there’s no resurgence from Aaron Laffey and David Huff. How will that situation be bettered by adding Vicente Padilla or Freddy Garcia?

The bottom line is, the Indians needn’t worry about eating innings. Maybe we should just wolf down some Cracker Jacks instead.

Wahoo Blues

Do college football or basketball teams cheat in recruiting? Does it really happen?

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Al Woods

Do college football or basketball teams cheat in recruiting?, football recruiting, basketball recruiting, athletic scholarships Everyone who thinks they know anything about college sports feel that the big schools around the country cheat in football recruiting and basketball recruiting. These so call experts feels that even though the college game is for amateurs, it is extremely dirty and anyone who coaches at that level cheats as well.

But when those accusations are made, it is strange because there is only a small number of programs and coaches that actually get caught cheating in recruiting. So if everyone is doing this, then why are so few of the coaches and programs having to pay the penalty? Is it because the NCAA is turning a blind eye to this making billions of dollars? I can’t say for sure but this is definitely an interest subject to talk about.

The most recent big college scandal to be rumored is payments made to the father of Auburn quarterback Cam Newton. While nothing has been proven, the entire circumstances around the situation seem fishy. And where there is smoke, there is normally fire.

A few years back, there was a recruit that seemed pretty confidently heading to Alabama and I was speaking with for an article on a website. In the article, I spoke with him and he made it sound like he was open in the recruiting process. When talking to my boss about this recruit, he made it sound like this recruit was looking for “a better offer” to have him go elsewhere. While he didn’t exactly go into what a better offer meant, one can only guess that it has something to do with financial assistance outside the realm of a scholarship.

But Alabama recently turned the table on the NCAA. This is an article which actually a few years back and favored in the side of the booster enough that the NCAA will have to pay him five million dollars. Here is some of the article (Click here for the entire article):

In February 2002, Keller was one of three unnamed boosters lambasted in a report and a news conference detailing recruiting violations by the University of Alabama football program. Thomas Yeager, then the chairman of the NCAA Committee on Infractions, used harsh language, referring to “Boosters A, B and C” – later revealed as Keller, Logan Young and Wendell Smith – as “rogues,” “pariahs” and “parasites” while announcing their permanent disassociation from Alabama athletics.

But a jury of eight women and four men agreed with Keller’s argument that the NCAA went too far, damaging his reputation and inflicting harm on his ability to do business as a Stevenson lumberman. “I’m thankful after eight years for me and my family,” Keller said. “I made a big deal (in court testimony) about me going to church. I just don’t want to embarrass my God.” Keller asked for a $ 35.5 million judgment. Instead, the jury returned a $ 5 million verdict in his favor.

That shows that maybe jumping to conclusions about boosters helping out in the recruiting process can be a bad move. But then again, Oklahoma, got in some serious trouble for this as well. This is the type of job that I would love to have (Click here for the entire article):

Oklahoma said that two players had been dismissed by the team but did not identify them. The school said in a statement that the players violated NCAA rules by working at a private business and taking “payment over an extended period of time in excess of time actually worked.” Bomar apparently filed for 40-hour work weeks at a Norman, Okla., auto dealership, making up to $ 18,000, when he only worked 5 hours a week, Schad reported.

The car dealership in question is Big Red Sports/Imports in Norman, Okla., reports Schlabach. When contacted by phone, the person answering referred requests to attorney Jeffrey Atkins of Oklahoma City. The dealership is part of the Sooner Schooner Car Program, which supplies vehicles to coaches and athletic department officials.

Considering the amount of coaches and players that are caught, the NCAA seems to be doing a solid job. But the fact of the matter is that a lot of college coaches cheat in recruiting. They need to bring in the best athletes to help them maintain their head coaching position while earning millions of dollars per year. All you have to do is look at most college basketball rosters and you will see one coach that has deep AAU connections. This type of thing, in my opinion, is extremely shady. But if everyone is doing it, then it is still cheating?

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