MLB Drawing Parallels to NBA

Let the favorites be the favorites. The post-season hardware will speak for itself. The only thing that goes hand in hand with exorbitant expectations is failure and disappointment. 

A handful of superstars uniting on one team with one goal -- draw the attention of the entire league and fans everywhere. Oh, and win a couple of championships in the process.

Sound familiar? More than likely, you would expect I was going to go on a rant about The Big Three 2.0, you know, the Miami Heat?

Actually, I was referring to the Philadelphia Phillies, the automatic favorite to represent the National League in the World Series come October once they emerged from the shadows to sign the the most clamored free agent pitcher on the market this off-season, Cliff Lee.

bleepingidiots.com

It is ironic how a year ago at this time, Lee was ousted from Philadelphia so the team could sign on then-newest acquisition, Roy Halladay. A year, a mid-season trade and a premature defeat in the playoffs later, the Phillies now boast the most intimidating starting rotation in all of Major League Baseball, including the aforementioned Lee.

The combination of Lee, Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels is rivaled by few rotations in the league. One group that hopes to have their say, however, is that of the San Francisco Giants. You know, the World Series champs?

Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathon Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner make up the Giants rotation, one that defeated the Phillies in the playoffs en route to their title this past fall.

Yet being champions seemingly means zip when it comes to picking pre-season favorites. Like the Phillies were suddenly granted the right to play for the championship this past winter, as were the Heat when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined forces with Dwyane Wade in South Beach.

The Heat trio promised fans multiple championships; I could have sworn I heard King James suggest not five, not six, not even seven. Pretty bold of a prediction if you asked me, as the team never played a pick-up game before Halloween, not to mention a playoff series.

Sure, basketball poses a bit more of a chemistry problem than does baseball. I mean, let the pitchers throw the ball down the pipe and let the batters knock in runs, right? There's no offensive plays to practice or comfort level to develop like on the hardwood.

Yet there are stories of catchers and pitchers not on the same page -- one calling for the curve ball and the other demanding that the fastball is the correct choice to get an out. Quite a dilemma, especially if chemistry is not part of the equation.

There is also that one thing that seems to not really matter come post-season: the regular season. Whether you had 80 wins or 105 wins in the regular season, as long as you're in the big dance your record is essentially meaningless. The Phillies could set a N.L. record for wins between April to August, but all is fair when it comes to the first round of the playoffs.

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The bill is not out yet on the Miami Heat, who will likely seize one of the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference and challenge for the conference crown. But their road will not be any more or less easy in their playoff series, as they play seasoned teams like the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic on their road to try and get a match-up with the NBA champions. Because of all the hype their off-season transactions the team created, lofty expectations were tagged on the franchise, and anything short of a championship will be considered ultimately a failure.

So sure, the Phillies will look invincible when they play clubs like the Mets and Nationals (or "Natinals"). Anoint them champions of the baseball world then.
All I want to do is caution you to think twice come October. They are probably the most talented team in all of baseball, just like the Heat sport three of the top 10 players in all the NBA. Still, the Heat cannot conquer the veteran Celtics, and at times they are challenged by the all-mighty warriors, the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers.

In the pre-season, the New York Jets proclaimed that they were "the Miami Heat of the N.F.L.," as brilliantly stated by the often outspoken cornerback Antonio Cromartie. Well, their Week 1 opponents, the Baltimore Ravens, shellacked them. Poetically, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis answered back if Gang Green were supposedly the Heat then his team had to be the Lakers.

Warning: it is may not be a good idea to try and be like Miami.

Far and away, the Phillies are the proverbial favorites to bypass the shortage of competition in the N.L. and make their way to the Fall Classic. For every contender, a gaping weakness. And to be both honest and realistic, it would be idiotic not to put my money on the Phillies in 2011.

yazmar.com

But if you were to take a chance, make a leap of faith, stand out from the majority and believe that the World Series champion Giants will once again take the N.L. crown, or that Ubaldo Jimenez and the Colorado Rockies can score runs with anyone, or that the St. Louis Cardinals one-two punch of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright can't go pitch-for-pitch with any Lee and Halladay -- think again.


If you don't believe me, ask LeBron how it feels in May.

Recap: Joe Cip and The Bull

http://www.wmucradio.com/media/joesippintheball.mp3

New York Yankees Doing It Old School

It's become a trend in sports -- adding veterans to the roster, hoping their experience and hunger for one last championship will be enough to lead your team to The Promised Land.


The Celtics did it. The Patriots did it. Even the Detroit Red Wings did it. All have created a dynasty, or at least a year in, year out reputation from being at the top in their respective sports. I guess that is why the Yankees are taking a page out of their book. 

Here are some of the monumental signings on behalf of the Yanks in the past month:

• Mark Prior
• Andruw Jones
• Bartolo Colon
• Freddy Garcia

There is also confidence within the organization that if there is enough money on the table, they can persuade Andy Pettitte to put on the pinstripes for one more year. And if their efforts fall short, they are holding out hope that they can pull David Cone and Paul O'Neill out of the Y.E.S. broadcast booth.

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My objection is that although I do understand what the Yankees are attempting to do, they are going about it in the wrong way. Essentially, it's trying to fight a fire with baking powder instead of baking soda. Sure it sounds similar but does produce the same results, Jeremy Giambi.


New York obviously swung and missed on prized free agent starting pitcher Cliff Lee, and rightfully kept their distance with former Yank Carl Pavano. Jorge De La Rosa opting to remain with the Colorado Rockies, meaning the top three free agent starters were off the markets. With Pettitte seeking to hang up the pinstripes and Javier Vazquez exiled to Florida, the Yanks were left to three in the rotation.


This is the Yankees though; can't they just go out and trade for The Freak? Maybe they can pry Albert Pujols away from St. Louis and hold him hostage for Adam Wainwright. Trust me, the movement is already underway. 


Maybe the more conventional move would to someone a veteran, someone who could come at a cheap rate, under the radar. One candidate: Kevin Millwood. Sure he played like a scrub in Baltimore. Can you blame him? Still, I would consider his season with the O's a one-year blip on the radar. The dude pitched well down in Texas for a long time; the same can't be said about Prior. 


Or why wasn't a trade made for Armando Galarraga, you know, that guy who really did throw a perfect game last year? Nah, getting old chubsters seemed like the better option, right?


Along with Prior, as I mentioned earlier, the Yankees went out and signed 2005 Cy Young Award winner Colon, who hasn't thrown a pitch in the Majors since 2009, and Garcia, who once helped the Chicago White Sox to a World Series title before injuries hampered in his career. Last season Garcia threw 157 innings, the most since 2006 in the South Side of Chi-Town.


While the Garcia signing is somewhat qualified, Prior and Colon have combined to toss just over 300 innings since in the past five seasons. Compare that to Yankees workhouse CC Sabathia, who has accounted for over 237 last year and more than 1400 in that same span of time.


I hope you don't have high expectations.


It's hard to argue against the signing of Jones, who will replace Marcus Thames as a designated hitter and right-handed pinch hitter off the bench. Jones hit seven more out of the park than Thames did last season, although Thames seemed pretty clutch, especially his two-run homer against Brian Duensing in the A.L.D.S. Oh well.

So the swapping of role players, invitations of elders to Spring Training is what the Yankees are all about in 2011 -- rolling the dice and hoping for the best.


Once Lee resided in Philly, once the rival Red Sox added Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez to their arsenal, all expectations for a new beginning in the Bronx faltered. Why bother, asked Brian Cashman or the Steinbrenner brothers. Now that is why the G.M. did not want to waste his money on that relief pitcher. 


Instead, N.Y. spent their money on overpaying Derek Jeter to be the first Gold Glove winner at shortstop while splitting time in left field and a catcher with a bad knee that drove in all of 26 runs in 2010. Simply brilliant.


This year, it looks as if the Bronx Bombers are yielding the American League to the new-look Sawks. They spend the money, they deserve it. Well, Pujols may be on the market next month anyway.

cbc.ca

Well, at least they let Man-Ram and Johnny Damon settle for Tampa. Dodged a bullet there.




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Twitter: @samspiegs