Tuesday, April 7, 2015

A Tale of Two Cities (but one Metroplex)

Monday, April 6, was Opening Day for most major league baseball teams. Most baseball fans, and I'm one of them, think it should be a national holiday, and many treat it that way. It's a day for a new beginning and a new hope for every baseball team. A clean slate from whatever happened last year. In the Texas Rangers case, though, their spring training started with an injury to their ace, Yu Darvish. The collective "here we go again" groans from Rangers fans could be heard around the Rangers Republic recalling the epic injury-plagued season of 2014. Couple that injury with the one hit, 8-0 loss the Rangers put forth in Oakland on Opening Day, it could seem that we are in for another long season as Rangers fans.

Now let's juxtapose the boys from Arlington with the hockey team in Dallas. The Stars have been mired in several seasons of just trying to sneak into the playoffs. All but last season they have come up short. Last night, when the Stars took the ice in San Jose, they needed to win their three remaining games, and they needed the teams ahead of them in the standings to lose all of their remaining games. To make things even grimmer, one of the teams that the Stars needed to lose, Winnipeg, was already winning 2-0 in the third period by the time the puck dropped in the Shark Tank. Knowing that their playoff chances were almost nil, the Stars came out and dominated the Sharks in the first period, going up 2-0. However, by the middle of that same first period Winnipeg had won their game in Minnesota, officially eliminating the Stars from the playoffs. No doubt the Stars learned of their elimination during the first intermission, and it would be understandable if they came out flat for the second and third periods. But that's not what happened. In a game that didn't matter to either team, the Stars came out and continued to lay the hammer down on the Sharks, winning the game 5-1. Even when the chance to make the playoffs was off the table, they still went out and played some of the best hockey of the season. Too little too late, sure, but the team and the players didn't want to give up just because things didn't work out. They took to the ice with their pride to play for and got the job done.

In Arlington, the Rangers need to do the same thing. Monday was just one game of 162 games. One of which they met a buzz saw in Sonny Gray, who pitched amazingly. Yu Darvish is just one guy out of 25. Yes, I know he's a major loss to the rotation that could have eaten up a ton of innings leaving the bullpen fresh for the other games he doesn't pitch. But in the words of Derek Holland, what about the other 24 guys on the team? Just because one guy gets injured, should the others just pack it in and say that's it for the season, before a game is even played? Hearing Derek Holland speak, he doesn't think so. Jeff Banister and his #nevereverquit moniker, doesn't think so either.

The Rangers need to take a page out of the Stars playbook from Monday night, when even though they had seemingly nothing to play for and were officially out of it, the Stars came out and played some of the best hockey they've played all season. Sure the Rangers lost 8-0 and only had one hit, "one gd hit."
 http://media.247sports.com/Uploads/Boards/828/19828/338311.jpg
 Picture Source

It looked bad by most standards, and you can start to hear the groans begin to swell again. The last team that got one hit on Opening Day, you ask? Well, for that you'll have to go back to 1991 and look at the Pittsburgh Pirates. They lost their first game 7-0 and went on to win 98 games winning the National League East. And would you venture a guess who was on that team that season? The new Rangers manager, Jeff Banister. (Yes, I know he only played one game that season, but he was still in the organization.).












Thursday, January 22, 2015

Deflategate - where cheaters win

In the AFC Championship game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots it was discovered that some of the footballs were under-inflated, based on the NFL regulations. If you don't know or haven't been following the biggest story leading up to the Super Bowl, NFL footballs are required to be inflated between 12.5 pounds per square inch (psi) and 13.5 psi per the rules of the game. 11 of New England's 12 footballs were found to be below the required 12.5 psi by about 10-15%. Let me say that again 11 of the 12 footballs were under-inflated. That is not a mistake, two or three could be seen as a mistake, but not 11.

Each team is given 12 footballs per game to be used while they are on offense during the game. The balls are marked with the specific team's logo to ensure that the offense is using the balls that are to their liking. This preparation is all determined by the starting quarterback of the team, since he's the one that is in control of the football most every play from scrimmage. Some quarterbacks like the football to be a little stiffer, some a little softer. A softer, or under-inflated football is easier to grip and can be squeezed for even more control over the football. An over-inflated ball is more like a rock. It doesn't give as much when squeezed, is harder to catch, and a little harder to control. In cold, wet weather, when hands are cold, like it was in New England when the AFC Championship game was played, it's even more of an advantage to have better grip. Rock hard footballs hitting cold hands hurt to catch. If a running back can squeeze the football better, it'll be more secure in the tuck while running, giving him more confidence that he won't fumble the ball when hit. This allows him to run into contact, running over players, with less fear of turning the ball over.

New England under-inflating their footballs gave them an advantage. If there were no advantage to the psi of the footballs, there wouldn't be a regulation in the NFL rule book regarding such things. Under-inflated footballs are easier to throw; catch; and tuck and run. Some bring up the argument that this is all just stupid and useless since the Patriots won by a landslide, 45-7, and the under-inflated footballs didn't matter. Or that the inflation problem was corrected at halftime, and the Patriots went on a 28-0 run in the second half, playing better than in the first half, therefore the under-inflated footballs didn't play a part in aiding the Patriots in victory. I say they're missing the point.

I could argue that the Patriots could have and probably beat the Colts without the under-inflated footballs. Clearly, they didn't believe the same thing. The reason someone cheats, or skirts the rules, in the sports world is to gain an advantage and ultimately win a game. In this case, the game to be won was the AFC Championship game and with a victory, make it to the Super Bowl. Job done. The Patriots did win while using methods outside the rules. They cheated and won. I would say they should have to forfeit the game, but that will never happen. Probably, the most that will happen is a fine to the team and maybe take away some draft picks. Slap on the wrist. The Patriots cheated to get into the Super Bowl, and they're there, again. Any discipline to come their way doesn't matter and won't even be enough to deter them, or any other team, from trying the same thing or something else along the same lines. Forcing a forfeit would be a big enough deterrent, but again, that will never happen.

Depending on who's at fault, which is unknown at this time, that person may be suspended for the Super Bowl, or fired. I can speculate on who's at fault, but it would just be that, speculation. Let's start down that road with Tom Brady. The Patriots starting quarterback (who as stated before, is seriously involved in preparing the footballs for game day) laughed at questions regarding football pressure on his radio show on WEEI in Boston. When I heard it, the host was asking in a joking manner, and Brady seemed to laugh as to avoid seriously answering the question, which was really posed as rhetorical anyway. Brady is on record as saying that he likes his footballs at 12.5 psi, the minimum allowed by the league, and that the equipment manager knows how he likes the ball, and that's the way he gets them, "the way [he] likes them".

That brings us to the Patriots' equipment manager. He is the one that actually roughs up the footballs, inflates them, preparing them for the game. However, he would prepare them "the way [the quarterback] likes them", in this case, Tom Brady. In my mind, it's doubtful that the equipment manager under-inflated the balls on his own. He might be wrapped up in the win-at-all-costs environment that the head coach, Bill Belichick, has established during the "Spygate" scandal that happened in 2007. (Sorry, I wasn't blogging then so I didn't write anything about it.) The equipment manager knows that Brady likes the football at the limit, so why not push that limit a little lower and see what can pass without being noticed. I guess minus two psi got noticed.

Which brings us to Bill Belichick, the Patriots' head coach. According to Belichick, he knows nothing about the pressure of the footballs used in the games and has never talked to anyone about it. This is the line he kinda has to say, since, well if he came out and said, "Yeah, I knew. I asked them to deflate the balls after the refs checked them before the game, so that we could have an advantage." That would not go over well. Especially since they already had sanctions given to them in 2007 for "Spygate". Belichick is seen as a football genius who thinks outside the box, pushes the limits, and wins. This is why I think he knew, something at least, even though he passed the buck to Tom Brady in his press conference.

So it's down to those three: Tom Brady, the equipment manager, or Bill Belichick. My pick is some combination of all of them. I guess the owner, Robert Kraft, could be involved too, but that's more unlikely. Either way, they cheated, they won, they made it to the Super Bowl, and no one is going to take that away from them, just like they wanted.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Cowboys 2014 Season: A Post Mortem; The Season that shouldn't have been

Well, another Cowboys season has come to an end without a Super Bowl Championship. It might as well been another 8-8, 5-11, or 1-15 season. This one, however, was different. 

Last season it seemed the Cowboys were putting together a winning formula to make a run in the playoffs. But they kept making stupid, useless mistakes that dropped them into an 8-8 record for the third straight season. As the 2014 season developed though, the Cowboys actually learned from the past, played to their strengths, and came out tied for the best records in the NFL. (Four other teams had the Cowboys 12-4 record: Packers, Seahawks, Broncos, and Patriots.)

Going into the season most of the "experts" predicted the Cowboys would be 8-8, or worse, like 5-11. They had good reason. The Cowboys' miserable defense gave up the most yards in the league in 2013 and were 26th in points allowed. Moreover, they lost players like DeMarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher to free agency, and Anthony Spencer and Sean Lee to injury. The Cowboys tried, but didn't make any major moves to fill those now gaping holes in the defense. I, personally, was prepared for yet another disappointing season, similar to that of 2013. Boy was I wrong...

Here's the year in review, game by game, and my thoughts after each:

Week 1: vs San Francisco 49ers; LOSS 28-17   
    "Here we go again. This is going to be a rough year. Man, there were a lot of 49ers fans at AT&T Stadium."

Week 2: at Tennessee Titans; WIN 26-10
    "Well, they won, and surprisingly, on the road. But it was just the Titans. Now they're back on pace for their fourth straight 8-8 season."

Week 3: at St. Louis Rams; WIN 34-31
    "The Rams defense was really good, and the Cowboys just stole one from them. They'll probably lose next week to remain on pace."

Week 4: vs New Orleans Saints; WIN 38-17
    "That was an unexpected crushing victory. Seems like they're running the ball really well. There sure were a lot of Saints fans at AT&T Stadium."

Week 5: vs Houston Texans; WIN 20-17 OT
    "Just barely escaped from the Texans in overtime!? I guess this team is as bad as I thought, and the other wins were just flukes. There sure were a lot of Texans fans at AT&T Stadium."

Week 6: at Seattle Seahawks; WIN 30-23
    "That is just insane. They just went into Seattle and won. Maybe this team is better than I thought."

At this point in the season the Cowboys are 5-1 and the Seahawks, the defending champions, are 3-3. I must admit, though I didn't blog about it, I predicted this win. One day I turned to a coworker and said, "You know, I think the Cowboys are going to win this week." He said he had the same thought just a couple of hours ago. 

Then I told our resident office Seahawks fan that the Cowboys were going to win and he said, "They very well could." His normal response to something like this would be, "Are you kidding me? Going into Seattle? No way!" 

But not this season, not this game. This was probably my mental turning point for the season.

Week 7: vs New York Giants; WIN 31-21
    "That running game is amazing. The line is great. Murray is great. Another one in the win column."

Week 8: vs Washington Redskins; LOSS 20-17 OT
    "They lost to the Redskins? That offensive line looked horrible. Romo's going to be out for awhile, if not the rest of the season. I guess this team is going to let us down again, collapse and finish 2-6 the rest of the way, ending at 8-8."

Week 9: vs Arizona Cardinals; LOSS 28-17
     "Yep, here we go. Two in a row. Couldn't get anything going today."

Week 10: at Jacksonville Jaguars; WIN 31-17 (London)
     "They won the game they should have won. Good 'get right' game. Not sure how this will translate in the next six games. It was just Jacksonville (2-14). Romo and his back looked pretty good, but again, Jacksonville. Next week they can come home, rest up and get healthy, since it's a bye week."

Week 12: at New York Giants; WIN 31-28
      "Odell Beckham Jr. is insanely good. Cowboys escaped another one, but they have an even more difficult road ahead with a fast turnaround for Thanksgiving."

Week 13: vs Philadelphia Eagles; LOSS 33-10
       "That looked horrible. Everything looked bad, quarterback, running game, passing game, defense, all of it. I don't think the Cowboys will get out of the division. Still, they're going to win in Philadelphia since they'll have  more time to prepare, instead of just over three days."

Week 14: at Chicago Bears; WIN 41-28
      "Another 'get right' game against a talented team that is going nowhere. Everything was clicking, and they've rededicated themselves to the run game."

Week 15: at Philadelphia Eagles; WIN 38-27
      "I'm glad the Cowboys are done with the Eagles, they're tough. They stuck to their bread and butter and have figured this thing out, finally. Two more games to go. They are in the driver's seat to make the playoffs. Hopefully, Murray's hand isn't too bad."

Week 16: vs Indianapolis Colts; WIN 42-7
     "Dominating performance against a really good football team. The Cowboys can beat any team this season. Murray looked good, not great, but good. The Colts made a lot of mistakes and the Cowboys were able to capitalize. Thank you, Washington, for defeating the Eagles, so they're done and out of the playoffs. I'm surprised this is an 11-4 team vying for the number one seed in the playoffs. Next week is Washington again. Hopefully, they'll have learned from the previous game against them."

Week 17: at Washington Redskins; WIN 44-17
      "Well, that wasn't as tough as I thought it'd be. Great way to end the season. This team is going places."

Wild Card Game: vs Detroit Lions; WIN 24-20
      "That was closer than it should have been. Terrible officiating all game long. Several missed calls, both ways. Amazing play by Williams for a touchdown. Now that the number one rush defense is finished it'll be easier the rest of the way. Playing in Green Bay is going to be tough, but this team can beat any team on any given Sunday."

Divisional Playoff Game: at Green Bay Packers; LOSS 26-21
      "That was rough, and a tough loss. The Cowboys didn't seem to run as much as they should have. And they didn't ever seem to be in control of the game, even when they were winning. They didn't make the plays necessary to win."

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the way the Cowboys' season turned out. Seeing they were tied with the likes of New England, Denver, Green Bay, and Seattle at the end of the season, I was a little baffled. Those other 12-4 teams were portrayed as teams that dominated their opponents all season (well, except for Seattle, who righted their ship in time to become 12-4). But it felt like the Cowboys were scratching and clawing their way through games, and then they magically had a 12-4 record! How did that happen?! It seemed that this team could find a way to win and beat anyone.

Well, they weren't able to find a way and make the plays needed to win in their final game of the season, and so it comes to a close. In the offseason, the Cowboys have a lot of work to do to secure the same talent level, team play, and mindset that this year's team had. If they are able to do it, and Mr. Jones can stay out of his own way, the 2015 season could be as exciting -- if not more so -- than the 2014 season.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Why Josh Hamilton was right: Arlington is not a baseball town.

The loyal readers of my blog will remember that I teased this blog a year ago in my Maiden Voyage blog. I have been dreading writing it because of the flack that I'll probably receive, but as explained in my first post, it doesn't matter anyway. Please note that during my blogging sabbatical some things have changed, most importantly the Cowboys are playing well now and the Rangers, not so much, so here it goes anyway...

When Josh Hamilton left Arlington to join the Rangers' rivals in Anaheim he stated that Arlington is not a baseball town. He was slammed by the Rangers' fan base for his comment. "How can you say things like that? You experienced the playoffs here for the first time in your career and The Ballpark was a mad house during those games," the standard fan would say. Or, "We love our Rangers and we're glad you're leaving after saying things like that." The rants went on and on with fans being offended by his observations. And I have to say that I agree with Josh.

Let me start off by saying that I've lived in DFW all my life and grew up going to and watching Rangers games. I'm a life-time fan. This town, however, is not. It is a football town. How can I tell this? How can I say this? Let's take a look at attendance for both the Cowboys and the Rangers from 2009-13. (I'll discuss the Rangers' 2014 attendance later. For 2014 the Cowboys stayed a top the league, but with the Rangers and Cowboys switching places by way of record, it's not as drastic a comparison, so I'll stay with the 2009-13 attendance analysis.)

Cowboys Attendance


Attendance
Winning PCT.
Percent Capacity
League Ranking
2009
718,055
.688
112.2
1st
2010
696,377
.375
108.8
1st
2011
684,096
.500
106.9
1st
2012
708,249
.375
110.7
1st
2013
704,345
.500
110.1
1st




Rangers Attendance


Attendance
Winning PCT.
Percent Capacity
League Ranking
2009
2,156,016
.537
56.3
18th
2010
2,505,171
.556
63.0
14th
2011
2,946,949
.593
74.0
10th
2012
3,460,280
.574
86.9
3rd
2013
3,178,273
.558
78.8
5th










Comparing direct numbers of total attendance, and average attendance per game would be useless since Cowboys Stadium holds more people than Rangers Ballpark, and they play fewer football games than baseball games.  That's why I went with the categories I did, so it's more of a side-by-side comparison. The main thing that we have to look at is the attendance compared to the winning percentage. The Cowboys have just had their first winning season since 2009. And in every one of those five years, the Cowboys led the league in attendance with over 100% capacity in each of those five years. In those same five years the Rangers had winning records and were never first in the league in attendance. They had less than 90% capacity in each of those years, so there was still room for greater attendance numbers despite record breaking totals.
  
In the 2014 season, attendance, as I'm sure you could guess, was down for the Rangers from previous seasons. This could be explained by the Rangers poor performance on the field, third worst in the league (hello, early draft picks), due to a number of factors, mainly the injury bug. No, it was worse than a bug, it was an injury monster, but that's neither here nor there. Surprisingly though, despite being third worst in the MLB by way of record, they were ninth overall in attendance. "Ninth?" you may ask yourself. "Isn't that pretty low for our baseball town?" Well, not when you consider that all the teams ahead of them were playoff bound teams. "But you just disproved your own argument. If the Rangers were that high in attendance totals and were third worst in the league, people are still going to the games despite a bad team. Hello, Baseball Town, USA!" I'm sorry, did I say all the teams were playoff bound? I meant all but ONE team...

That one team is none other than the Boston Red Sox. They placed sixth overall in attendance while posting a 71-91 record, four games better than the Rangers at 67-95, and placed dead last in the AL East. Boston has long been the quintessential baseball town with sellouts most seasons, even with poor performances on the field. So much so they had to add seating over the Green Monster in left field in recent years to try and satisfy demand. In 2014, even with coming in last in the AL East, Boston fans still were able to fill Fenway to 98.5% of capacity, third best in the MLB. The Rangers? They show up in the middle of the pack at only 68.3% of capacity. So if Arlington and the surrounding area is to be considered a baseball town, we should be matching the numbers of towns such as Boston, even during losing seasons. And the Ballpark is better than Fenway. Apart from the historical nature of Fenway, and it being tucked into a neighborhood, the stadium itself is terrible, so the fans aren't going for the amenities. They're going because they love the game of baseball, for better or for worse.  

The biggest example of Arlington not being a baseball town is that the Metroplex doesn't pay attention to the actual goings-on of the day-to-day games. For example, I went to a game at The Ballpark in late April this past season against the division rival Oakland A's. Considering the way the 2013 season ended, I would have thought the first time the A's came to town would be a large draw. That's on the team versus team match-up alone. This particular game also happened to have an amazing pitching match-up slated between rising young pitcher Sonny Gray and the Rangers' ace, Yu Darvish. A marquee match-up that should have drawn large numbers with just Darvish on the mound. However, this game, early in the season, when hopes were still high, the weather was beautiful, and the pitching match-up very promising, drew a whopping 28,548 fans! I was appalled when I walked into the stadium and saw the sea of empty green seats. "With all this game has to offer, this is the crowd that came out to see and experience it?" That game just confirmed for me what I already knew: Josh Hamilton was right, Arlington isn't a baseball town.

Some say that the Metroplex is a fan base that follows winners. If the team wins then, the crowd will follow. As a rebuttal, I give you the Cowboys' attendance from 2009-2013 seen above. It's a football town. Even high school football draws well here, and in some cases better than the Rangers.

I'm okay with the Metroplex not being a baseball town. I liked being able to buy Opening Day tickets without going through a lottery process, like before the playoff and World Series runs. I like being a die-hard fan of team whether they are winning or losing. It's fun for me being a part of something that not everybody knows about. Like some sort of secret club. The problem is this club is not secret, it's in the public eye. I'd like for everyone to be part of that club. Anyone can join. You don't have to go through some crazy hazing or ritual. There's plenty of room in the Rangers Republic and with the 2015 season right around the corner, now is as good of time as any to join. Pitchers and catchers report in February!







Thursday, January 2, 2014

Maiden Voyage

It seems that now a days people are bloggers. Everyone with a thought about something or an opinion about anything can now write whatever and whenever they want, allowing everyone else on the internet to agree with them or make rude comments about said post. Sometimes it's a release of creativity. Sometimes it's shameful self-promotion. And sometimes it's a starting point for an up-and-coming, wide-eyed journalist trying to keep their skills up while searching for that ever-elusive starting position. Now I join the ranks of one of those personalities listed above.

My wife is a blogger and she writes some humorous, serious and heart-warming posts. I have read all of her blogs and have made editorial comments about them and she always responds "Once you have a blog then you can critique mine."

She has been suggesting that I get a blog for years now, not necessarily so that I can comment freely about her own blog, but because she believes I have some thoughtful insight into the world and that the world should hear (read) what I have to say about topics that I'm interested in, mainly sports. Part of me thinks that she just wants me to stop telling her these things which she mostly knows nothing about and tell someone else who may care a little more, but that's neither here nor there.

Most of my thoughts and opinions you may think are stupid and that they didn't deserve to be written down and that's okay. You'll mutter to yourself "that a useless waste of my time" and click on yet another blog where someone else is yammering on about their sports opinions and maybe mutter again and continue in the same pattern.

So in the spirit of the above paragraph I give you yet another "Stupid Useless Sports Blog"! (And now my wife can tell me to "go tell your stupid useless sports blog about it".)


--Up next "Why Josh Hamilton was right; Arlington is not a baseball town"