Why Baseball Needs the Rangers to Win

For nearly fifty years, the Texas Rangers have been mired in baseball futility. Dating back to the 1961 inception of the “new” Washington Senators, and continuing through their relocation to Arlington, the Rangers have pieced together only four post-season appearances (all in the expanded eight team format) and up until Tuesday’s win against Tampa Bay, were the only major league franchise to never win a post-season series.

As the sun rose on the 2010 season, it appeared the baseball gods were laughing at the Rangers once again. The Rangers posted a surprisingly strong 2009 showing, but were in deep financial ruin and controlled by Major League Baseball. After the 2009 campaign, it appeared a deal was in place for an ownership group led by Texas legend Nolan Ryan to buy the team, yet as Spring Training began, the true state of the clubs financial woes became apparent and it was evident that the creditors were not going to let the sell of the team go through without a fight.

Even so, many in the baseball world considered the Rangers a favorite to challenge the Angels for the American League West title, but then on March 17, 2010, Rangers manager, Ron Washington admitted to using cocaine during the 2009 season. Fans and media members were shocked that Washington managed to keep his job, but then again, no one really knew who was calling the shots in the front office.

As customary under Wash, the Rangers stumbled out to a 5-9 start on the season. The prize off-season pitching acquisition, Rich Harden, failed to serve as anything more than an empty jersey and star slugger, Josh Hamilton, appeared to washed up. Yet the Rangers’ skipper remained confident, continuing to live by his mottto of “that’s the way baseball go.”

Everyone in the franchise, from upper management all the way down, bought into Washington’s philosophy and approached the game with a care free spirit. The Rangers continued to practice the fundamentals of the game Washington stressed–manufacturing runs, pitching and defense–a new style of baseball for the long-time, long-suffering Rangers fan, but unlike the gorilla ball teams of the past, this incarnation of the Rangers seemed to enjoy every minute of the “great game.”

Fans picked up on the language of the team, which reached beyond ethnic lines and joined together the Latin born and American born players–a claw for a hit, antlers for speed and laughter and smiles all the time.

Josh Hamilton eventually got red hot and the Rangers eventually acquired their ace. Along the way the old man, Michael Young, became the franchise’s all-time hits and triples leader, but the Rangers greatest victory came in the courtroom, where a resilient Greenberg/Ryan ownership group managed to outbid Mark Cuban for the sell of the team. At the exact same moment the deal was announced, Young hit a grand slam to blow open a game in Seattle. Hollywood could not have scripted this season any better.

I grew up during a transition period in the world of professional sports, as the NFL gradually overtook MLB in terms of national popularity. During that time period (roughly 1978 through the present), Major League Baseball, through drug scandals, bloated egos, work stoppages and lack of personality, has lost touch with the American public. There have been no “Big Red Machines,” “We Are Family Pirates,” “Swingin’ A’s,” “Miracle Mets,” or any cleverly nicknamed teams to capture the nation’s attention. While the Rangers lack a good nickname (perhaps the Runnin’ Rangers after Game 5 of the ALDS), they do possess the team personality America embraces.

You look at the Yankees and you see a group of professionals who excel in their field. They are highly trained, highly successful and have earned the right to be called “champions,” but you can tell this is their job–straight faces, no nonsense attitude and the confidence and swagger you would expect to find from any group that performs at the highest level of their chosen field. This persona alienates non-Yankees fans.

Watching the Rangers reminds me of playing baseball as a kid. The laughter, the smiling, the dugout banter, all combine to form a unique chemistry, which carries over onto the field. They play with an aggressive streak, relying more on being opportunistic than settling for conventional baseball wisdom. However, they remain true to the fundamentals of good baseball, bunting, running the bases and employing the hit-and-run, instead of living and dying by the long-ball.

Did we mention that American loves an underdog? Let’s be honest, has any there been a bigger underdog in the League Championship Series in recent memory?

Yes, baseball needs the Rangers to win. Their success makes baseball relevant again outside the I-95 corridor and thus marketable to a much larger audience. Their youthful spirit makes people forget about steroids and strikes. In short, their success makes baseball fun for the masses once again.

After their Game 5 ALDS victory, Ron Washington was asked his thoughts on the team and in vintage Washington vernacular he replied, “they did what they does; they did what they do.” Let’s hope this magic carries over for eight more wins.

It’s time!

I Missed Mad Men for This?

Last week, Mad Men left us wanting more. Peggy and Don pulled an “all-nighter,” where we learned several sordid details about the partners of Sterling-Cooper, relived the 1964 Cassius Clay-Sonny  Liston fight, and even featured a dash of the paranormal. It continued a fascinating season of the greatest show currently on television and loyal viewers could not wait for last night to see what the next episode might bring.

Unfortunately, my allegiance to the Dallas Cowboys runs so deep that I refuse to miss their games for anything, even Mad Men, and I chose to record Mad Men and watch the Cowboys/Redskins game live.

The Dallas Cowboys exist as a collection of moderately talented NFL players. They lack the leadership, discipline and cohesiveness to be considered a true “team.” From the uninspired play calling, to the costly mental mistakes, the Cowboys played with an intense lack of focus and general apathy towards winning.

Games like last night,  remind us why former Cowboys greats continue to disparage this team. Sure, we saw flashes of what might be–the potential threat of three running backs, a stingy defense, the emergence of a wide-receiver that might be worthy of #88 someday, even Roy Williams almost redeemed himself–but the Cowboys remain a collection of individuals desperately seeking a leader.

My devotion to the star borders on something obsessive. I realize that my emotional connection with the team prevents me from rationally evaluating the team. As such, I have taken a vow of silence in regards to the Cowboys for the upcoming season. However, last night, I had the opportunity to engage in something smart, sophisticated and witty. Instead, I chose to watch a hackneyed act of futility. At the end of the night, all I could think was, “I missed Mad Men for this?”

The Real Reason for the Cowboys’ Struggles

Cowboys fans, including myself, expect “greatness.”

Over the years, we have been spoiled by one of the most successful sports franchises. We are not accustomed to being mediocre and we have a hard time accepting it when that may really be the case. So, we look for excuses.

The coach sucks. The quarterback isn’t serious enough. The owner’s ego gets in the way. We run too much. We throw too much. Etc.

Some of those statements may be true, but none of them address the team’s real issue–talent.  Simply put, the Cowboys are what their record indicates, a slightly better than .500 team.

Depending on how you look at it, this team is in the bottom portion of the top quarter of teams in the league or the top of the second quarter of teams in the league. To expect “greatness” out of this team, as presently constructed, is foolish.

Could another coach get more out of this team? Perhaps, but not much. Even Coach Landry or Jimmy Johnson would have struggled to win 10 or 11 games with this unit and as much as I love those two coaches, neither of them would have won a Super Bowl with this roster.

Even in the watered down version of today’s NFL, depth is vital to a title run. While the starting 11 on both sides of the ball match-up well with the top tier teams, it’s the lack of depth that brings this roster down. No where was this more evident than when DeMarcus Ware suffered his injury and was forced to leave the game. It’s impossible to fully replace Ware, but the gap between starter & backup at outside backer is so extreme on this team that it’s almost impossible to make any sustainable compensation for the loss.

We see this disparity at almost every defensive position. Without a doubt, the biggest difference between the Cowboys and the serious contenders is this disparity.

The good news is that the Cowboys are close enough to the contenders that they can enter the conversation with one good off-season. This begins with compiling a list of your core players to keep and a list of expendable parts and suitable replacements.

Let’s end the debate right now, Tony Romo is a legitimate championship caliber quarterback and Miles Austin and Roy Williams are your #1 & #2 receivers respectfully. It would be nice to add another great receiver through free agency. All is well on the tight end in front, Jason Witten is the best in the league and I’m convinced that Marty B will continue to develop.

On the offensive line, Flozell Adams’ skills as a lineman no longer outweigh the liability of his mental issues–he needs to go. I would recommend turning to free agency to find a suitable replacement and use our first round draft pick to add some depth behind the rest of the line.

In the backfield, I like what Marion Barber and Tashard Choice bring to the table, but I don’t believe either one can handle the load on their own. In spite of his ability to make “big plays,” I have not been that impressed with Felix Jones. Sure, he is fast, but the “big plays” have been few and far between. I think that his stock around the league is still high enough that you could snag a third or fourth round pick away from some unsuspecting team for his services and turn that draft pick into more offensive line depth.

On the defensive side of the ball, the most glaring weakness is at linebacker. When the Cowboys turn in their helmets and shoulder pads at the end of this season, I pray to God we don’t ever see Bobby Carpenter in a Cowboys uniform again. I have yet to hear anyone who covers this team justify his existence on the roster. In an ideal world, I would love to see us use our first round draft pick and get Alabama’s Rolando McClain. However, I doubt he will be around when the Cowboys pick and that’s why I recommended going for offensive line depth. I’m convinced that either in free agency or in the draft, we can find a more capable back-up and nickle backer than Carpenter. I think Brooking, Spencer, James and Ware are more than capable of being part of a championship caliber defense. The same goes for the front three.

In the secondary, depth is the biggest concern. Orlando Scandrick has taken a step back this year and Alan Ball, God love him, just doesn’t have what it takes to play the position at a high level in this league. This is another area I would focus on in the off season.

Finally, Wade Phillips has done about all he can do here. It’s time Jerry showed him to the door and thanked him for his service. On the way walking Phillips out of Valley Ranch, Jerry needs to stop by Jason Garrett’s office and hand him his walking papers as well. He is not the coach this team needs.

If you really want to find a common thread between the recent Cowboys teams that have struggled during the month of December look at the system. The Dallas Cowboys have NEVER won a playoff game playing a 3-4 defense. The fact that this team still uses it is blasphemous. Until they win a playoff game with the 3-4 defense, the possibility of a “3-4 curse” must be considered legitimate. Though it might set the franchise back another year in building towards a legitimate championship threat, I really do think Jerry Jones should consider courting a 4-3 coach and return this franchise to its defensive roots.

Be prepared to be beaten down by the sports media in this town continuing to talk about the “December swoon.” Be prepared to listen to them pour all the blame on Wade Phillips and question the toughness of this team. Be prepared to answer back with, “you know what, this team is playing just about the way they should.”

The TCU/Boise State Problem

For all your BCS related questions, click here.

For the next month, football will dominate water cooler and cocktail chatter. A lot of that talk will center around the BCS games. This year’s slate of BCS bowl games features Ohio State and Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Georgia Tech and Iowa in the Orange Bowl, Florida and Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, Boise State and TCU in the Fiesta Bowl and Alabama and Texas squaring off in the BCS National Championship Game. While Alabama and Texas will play for title, the Fiesta Bowl match-up of TCU/Boise State seems to be generating the most discussion.

Both teams enter the game undefeated and ranked in the top 10. The two teams faced each other last season in the Poinsettia Bowl, which turned out to one of the most exciting games of the 2008-2009 season. By all indications, this will be one hell of a game. However, most Fiesta Bowl talk focuses on the controversy rather than the game itself.

Both teams play in non-automatic qualifying conferences and both had much bigger aspirations heading into the BCS selection. As members of the non-automatic qualifying conferences, the knock against both TCU and Boise State is that they lack the strength of schedule of the teams from the six BCS affiliated conferences. Never mind the fact the Boise State posted a dominating victory over Oregon, who plays in BCS bowl game this season, and TCU posted three wins over three top 25 teams.

TCU and Boise argue that they are willing to play any team, any time, any where, but many traditional powers refuse to play them for fear of losing. They felt that the in the BCS they would be afforded the opportunity to play one of the traditional powers, at a neutral site, in a prime-time, made for national television environment.   TCU even had faint hopes that they could be selected to play for the national title, but at worst given a shot to play Florida, Georgia Tech or Iowa. Instead, TCU and Boise State were paired together–two non-automatic qualifiers squaring off in a meaningless game.

It reminds me of jobs where they require you to have experience before applying, but there is no way to get the experience when all the related jobs require experience. For example, in order for an actor to make a living, he or she must be a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Almost all professional theaters in the United States are Equity affiliated and you must be a member of the union in order to perform. In order to join the union, you must have performances in Equity houses under your belt. Of course, there are exceptions to these rules, just like TCU and Boise State are the exceptions in the BCS, but in most cases the rule apply.

In order for schools like TCU and Boise to prove that they are worthy of BCS bids and legitimate national title contenders they need to prove themselves against BCS schools. The BCS denied this opportunity to these two schools out of fear of the BCS affiliated schools being embarrassed by the non-automatic qualifiers.

Some experts feel that TCU and Boise State deserve each other. Colin Cowherd, one of ESPN’s generic radio personalities, made the statement on his Monday program that TCU and Boise State should be happy to just be invited to the BCS, that TCU had “cankles” and didn’t deserve a big time BCS bowl game because they didn’t sell out all of their home games.

This is obviously flawed logic. A team’s fan support is not an indicator of the quality of their program. If we extended this logic to the NFL then the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings, the top two teams in the NFC, should not be allowed the right to play in the Super Bowl even if they win the NFC. Both the Saints and Vikings are small market teams and have had trouble selling out home games over the years. Indeed, the Vikings feared they would have to blackout home games this season until they signed Brett Favre.

The BCS fears schools like TCU and Boise State having success, because the more success these programs have, the more irrelevant the BCS becomes.

A look at the major sports championships…

I’m beginning to take a look at the decreasing relevancy of the NBA in the wide world of sports. One of the things that has killed the NBA over the past few decades is the lack of parity.

I’m 30 years old, in my life time ONLY 9 different teams have won the NBA title. Here is a breakdown of the number of different champions each sport has had in that 30 year span (1979-2009):

Major League Baseball -  21 (Oddly, Major League Baseball is the only one of the 4 major leagues without a salary cap. However, in terms of number of champions, they have had the most parity over this time period.)

NFL – 14 (Yes, their have been several franchises who have won multiple titles during this 30 year stretch, but nothing like the NBA.)

NHL – 12 (Not as bad as the NBA, but Canadians, Rangers, and Oilers won a lot of hardway in the early part of this stretch)

NBA – 9 (What makes the NBA stat. even more uncompetitive is that 25 of the 30 NBA titles won during my life time have gone to 5 teams: Lakers, Celtics, Spurs, Bulls & Pistons. Houston won an additional two.  Miami, Philadelphia and Seattle are the only other teams to win titles in my lifetime.)

I’ll have much more later  on the relevancy of the NBA. For now, chew on these numbers.

2008-2009 NFL Predictions

OK kids, here you go, Geoausch’s predictions for the upcoming NFL Season.

Let’s start with the division champions.

AFC East -    New England Patriots (11-5) The Patriot take a giant step back, after a giant let down to finish last season. Brady is gimpy and the Patriots in-game scouting has taken a big hit. They’ll still have enough to win the AFC East, but don’t be surprised if the Patriots do not get a first round bye this season.

AFC North - Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) The Steelers play in a favorable division and should have no problem with division opponents. Where the Steelers will run into trouble is the NFC East portion of their schedule.

AFC South - Indianapolis Colts (12-4) Once Manning returns and is healthy, the Colts should be able to return to dominance. Another division title, another first round bye and another home playoff loss to end the season.

AFC West -  San Diego Chargers (13-3)  Though Oakland will be improved, Denver is the only team in the division anywhere near the level of the Chargers. Chargers should have home field throughout the playoffs and they will take full advantage of it.

Wild Card -  New Jersey Jets  (10-6)  Favre has an immediate impact on already improving team.

                   Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6) The best 2^nd place team in the NFL.

 

NFC East -  Dallas Cowboys (14-2)  You’re damn right I’m biased.

NFC North – Minnesota Vikings (10-6) Packers slip after losing Favre. Vikings defense should be one of the best in the NFL. If you run the ball and stop the run, you will win a lot  of games. At some point, you do have to throw  and that will be the downfall of the Vikings.

NFC South -  New Orleans Saints (8-8) Weak conference produces the weakest of conference champions.

NFC West -  San Francisco 49ers (9-7)  49ers will finish tied with the Seahawks for the West title. However, the 49ers will win the division on tie breakers.

Wild Card -  Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) Philly will be improved with McNabb healthy.  Phans will be as sorry as ever. Phuck Philly!

                     New York Giants (9-7)    Giants get in as a wild-car again, but cannot repeat the magic of last year’s post-season.

 

AFC Championship -  Chargers over Jets – Favre performs a miracle and leads Jets to AFC Championship game. However, the Jets are no match for the Chargers.

NFC Championship -   Cowboys over Eagles – Phuck Philly!

 

Super Bowl XLIII -   Cowboys over Chargers – Sure, it’s a fashionable pick, but I did pick the 49ers to win their division.