Who Lurks?

When schools embark on a coaching search, the vast majority do not get their number one target. That will certainly be the case for Virginia Tech in hiring a new men's basketball coach. If I was Virginia Tech's Athletic Director, here would be my top targets, after my obligatory not-gonna-happen-but-you-gotta-at-least-make-a-call to VCU Head Coach Shaka Smart.

TARGET 1: Chris Mack - HC Xavier Musketeers: Mack began his college playing days at Evansville before transferring to Xavier, where he played his final two seasons. After beginning his coaching career in the high school ranks, Mack was hired as an assistant at Xavier under Skip Prosser. When Prosser left to become the Wake Forrest Head Coach, Mack followed him to the Demon Deacons for three seasons before returning to Xavier as an assistant. In 2009, Mack was promoted to Head Coach when Sean Miller left for the University of Arizona Head Coach job. The Musketeers have compiled a 73-30 record in three seasons under Mack, including three NCAA tournament appearances and two trips to the Sweet Sixteen. At age 42, Mack is primed for a higher profile coaching in the next few years if he wants it.

Salary Considerations: Mack initially made $450,000/year in his first two seasons as Head Coach, but received a salary increase in 2011 when he signed an extension through the 2017-18 season. Terms of the extension were not disclosed publicly, but it is believed his salary is now in the $900/year range, matching Miller's salary at the end of his Xavier tenure. The Hokies could offer a substantial raise-- I'd offer around $1.8M/year (or roughly double his current salary), but will it be enough? Mack reportedly turned down an 8-year, $2M/year offer from the University of Tennessee during their Bruce Pearl replacement search.

Other Considerations: While Mack did spend time in the ACC as an assistant at Wake Forrest, Mack and his wife are both from Ohio and have deep roots there. Additionally, despite being an ACC job, making the move from Xavier to Virginia Tech would be a clear step down in tradition when comparing the two schools' basketball programs head to head.

Summary: This would be a homerun hire for Virginia Tech. It's also a longshot-- not as much of a longshot as hiring Smart in my opinion but a longshot nonetheless. In the end, I don't believe he'd leave for Virginia Tech, but I'd make a run at him.

TARGET 2: Chris Collins - Associate HC Duke Blue Devils: Collins, the son of Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach Doug Collins, played his college ball at Duke from 1993 to 1996. As a player, Collins won one ACC Championship and reached the Final Four his sophomore year, where Duke ultimately lost to Arkansas in the championship game. After a brief pro career in Europe and short coaching stops with the WNBA's Detroit Shock and Seton Hall men's basketball team, Collins returned to Duke as an assistant in 2000. He has worked at Duke ever since, during which time the Blue Devils have won eight ACC Championships and two National Championships. In 2008, Collins was named Associate Head Coach. Collins has been discussed for several head coaching positions and appears ready for the opportunity.

Salary Considerations: Since Duke is a private university, salary information for Collins is not publicly available, but the assumption is it falls at the high end of assistant coach salaries. My best guess is it is in the neighborhood of $300,000/year. This gives Virginia Tech room to negotiate and offer a significant raise. I'd be willing to offer Collins around $700,000/year plus performance incentives. That salary, added to Seth Greenberg's buyout ($300,000/year over 4 years), would still put Virginia Tech under its previous budget for just Greenberg.

Other Considerations: The knock on Collins is he doesn't have head coaching experience. Given his pedigree, I'm willing to overlook that and give him a chance. Then there is the matter of whether a Duke assistant would take a gig at another ACC school where he would have to compete directly against Coach K. Many Duke assistants have left over the years for head coaching jobs but none have been ACC jobs. Is Collins willing to be the first? Perhaps so. While he has been a candidate for several head coaching jobs, there has been no indication that he has ever been offered a job. Would he be willing to turn down an offer to head an ACC program? Looking to the future, there are some Duke fans who want Collins to be Coach K's eventual successor ... and would prefer Collins get some experience as a head coach before that happens. Duke is one of the premier jobs in all of college basketball, and the thought of hiring an unproven head coach is met with mixed emotions by many Duke faithful, even if he's part of the Duke family. If Collins does leave Duke, there is no doubt he'd return to Durham in a heartbeat if he was offered the head coach. That doesn't impact my decision though. Since Collins stated interest in the Illinois job this offseason, that leads me to believe he knows Coach K's departure is not imminent. While I'd love to bring in a guy who will be at Virginia Tech for 20 years, the reality is that isn't likely. At minimum though, I'm looking for someone to come in for at least 4-5 years and advance the program one more rung up the ladder. If Collins gets Tech into the NCAA tournament 2 or 3 times in 5 seasons and then leaves, he has played his role, and I can then bring in a new coach one tier higher than my current search.

Summary: Even though no Duke assistant has left for an ACC head coaching job before, I think the salary, chance to gain head coaching experience and allure of leading an ACC program might be too much for Collins to pass up.

If Mack & Collins turn me down ...
I put out feelers on the the following guys & move quickly to wrap things up in less than 10 days...
Steve Prohm - HC Murray State Racers
Steve Robinson - Asst Coach North Carolina Tarheels
Blaine Taylor - HC Old Dominion University Monarchs
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If VT had a heisman trophy winner and you got tickets to watch them win the National Championship and then 3-4 years later you found out the heisman trophy winner took improper benefits and the National Championship was removed from the record books... OR... VT continued to be very good but never great and never won a National Championship in your lifetime.... Which one would you choose???

Great question… let’s assume the following: In the first scenario, the national championship while “removed” from the record books, it would be like Michigan’s final 4s that were “removed” and the potential future of Auburn’s national title/Cam Newton’s run. Oregon wouldn’t get the national title, in theory it just wouldn’t be there. Let’s also assume the following about “good but never great.” Virginia Tech would continue to win 80-85 percent of their games but, as you said, never win a national title. I think I would go with the first option. For a few reasons too….

1. Because winning 80-85 percent of your games while is great… also sucks. Because in college football, all it takes (for the most part) is one loss. And I hate that day. Shit, I hate that week. I am a terrible person. I am deeply depressed and struggle. Every year I say to myself… ok, I won’t get caught up. Then… (and you know this feeling) Tech goes 8-0 or battles back to be 9-1 and in 6th in the BCS…and then boom, shits the bed. I can’t do that forever. I can’t give up hope year after year that tech will be hanging out in the Peach/Outback/Orange/Sugar/etc bowls.

 2. The eff you factor. And you know exactly what I’m talking about. Because it is what all alumni want. They want to wear their gear proudly for weeks and potentially months and years after winning a national title. Because I want to go to all the doubters, all the people that have given me a hard time about going to tech about how tech plays a soft schedule about how the vast majority of my clothing says Virginia Tech. Well to alllllll those people I would proudly tell them, fuck. You. And what’s that worth? To a guy with ego issues…. A lot. Even if I have to take it back 5 years later… I’m ok with that. Because of my next point.

3. Because I feel like if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying. Not that this is right, but doesn’t it seem like there is scandal after scandal in college sports? Why? Because there is. So yea, I am fine with it. Why…because of my next point.

4. Because what did Mike Vick do for Virginia Tech? How smart are the students now? How do you enjoy being in the ACC? Being on ESPN 4,6,8 times a year in football alone? How much money is the school making now that they would NEVER have thought 14 years ago? You see my point? It would be amazing for the university. For OUR university. Donors would come out of the woodwork, students would come, recruits, coaches would become iconic (especially if it was Frank). The inevitable trickle down would be incredible for everyone reasonably associated with the school/program/department.

And finally…
5. Click here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v02ga0QbEG8
Jalen Rose makes an EXCELLENT point at 3:50 in. Once you create history, you can’t realllllly take it back. If Auburn ends up losing their title and Cam Newton took X or Y… people will still remember how amazing Cam Newton was in college. Just like Reggie Bush… you can’t take it back. Sure, the NCAA can take down banners but it doesn’t matter. Because it happened. We watched up, you can’t take that shit back. [ more... ]

I asked a few people for the “Who would you do?” for the Virginia Tech basketball hire. I figure I’ll get the party started… You have to realize that Virginia Tech isn’t going to break the bank. Well, they might, but history and Jim Weaver don’t agree with that potential. Sure, we all want to see Shaka Smart in Blacksburg for the next ehh 25 years. I’m already ok with this. But he currently has a 10 year deal at VCU and is living a VERY comfortable life. That being said….it’s interesting to note that the VCU athletic director just because the AD at Minnesota. In an understatement, that is an interesting wrinkle in that whole equation. That being said, I doubt the new administration wants to see their tenure start with Smart leaving town to go to an in-state rival. So seriously, let it go Hokie fans. Some of the other viable options… Chris Mooney at Richmond. I don’t think it’s going to happen because I think this is how the search goes down. I don’t think Mooney is the #1 guy on the wish list. I think if he WAS… Tech would get him. If Jim Weaver picked up the phone and called yesterday, and said “what do you want?” it would get done. But I think Weaver wants to flirt with a bigger name, a sexier name before he realizes that Mooney is the best caliber coach he can probably get. There isn’t anything wrong with that… but when you’re not #1… people get offended and say, nah, I’m good where I be. I see that going down here. Paul Hewitt at George Mason. I’ve heard entirely too many people talk about this being a good idea. Really? Really? Didn’t we just go through a coach that could recruit and couldn’t coach? Last thing Tech needs is to do that again. Bob McKillop from Davidson. Throw out Stephen Curry and you have a solid coach at a mid major program that makes the NCAA tournament 4 times in 21 years (aside from the Curry years) And he’s 61. Not exactly a solution the program is looking for. Gregg Marshall from Witchita State. I’d be happy with this hire, very happy, but I don’t think it happens mostly because of money. If Tech is going to pony up 1.7 mil for 8 years, sure… he could jump ship. But if they’re going to go to 1.7 mil for 8 years, wouldn’t we all rather see them go to 1.9ish for 8 years and make a real run at Shaka Smart? Brad Greenberg at Radford….kidding. His claim to fame is that he takes credit for drafting Allen Iverson with the sixers. Clearly he is a basketball genius. No. Old Dominion’s Blaine Taylor. I also wouldn’t mind this hire… and the logical progression in the move. He is very cheap right now, the thing I wonder is if he would use VT to get a raise at ODU and roll with it. Not sure how much I trust him to run a big boy program. A couple of darkhorse candidates: Anthony Grant from Alabama- potentially the perfect fit for the job, except he’s already pulling in 1.9 mil a year from Bama. We’re not going to get there and can’t put together a package to compete with that. But…he would be awesome. Ben Howland at UCLA. Seriously. Work with me for a minute. UCLA hasn’t extended his contract in a few years. He’s feeling the heat of that fan base which is ever unappreciative of his work. He just landed an amazing recruiting class. If he doesn’t do that… he’s sitting square on the hot seat. He has to win this year. HAS to win. If Tech wants to roll the dice similar to Arkansas and hire an interim coach, I think Howland will listen to offers. I really do. Similar to Bob Huggins… come on down. Oliver Purnell from DePaul. I wanted Purnell 9 years ago when he was at Dayton. Then he went to Clemson, did better than average, cashed out for a huge deal from DePaul. He’s a local guy. Would he bite and come home? Gotta make that call. I’d be ok with this too. So ok… after all that, who do I do? This will surprise you and I don’t think anyone is talking about him and I don’t know why… But I hire Rick Stansbury who “retired” from Miss State a couple months ago. Umm, he’s 52. Trust me, he’s not done coaching. 14 years at Miss State and 6 NCAA appearances with 5 more NIT appearances. Have you been to Starksville, Mississippi? If you can win there and recruit there (and he did both), you can win and recruit to Blacksburg. I think he’s the man for the job. He’s been there since 1990. He’s familiar with the area. I think he’s eager to prove he can win and coach still. From all I hear, he’s a nice guy too. Rick, come on down… I’d do you. [ more... ]

Can't say I'll miss him.  He complained too much, especially to the talking heads on ESPN and the like.  I'm sure ESPN will hire him as a talking head - he'll fit right in with Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless.

Was a decent coach, but nowhere close to a top-tier coach - not in the ACC.  Missed on Curry (both of them) and VCU being the top program in the state doesn't bode well with me.  Too many woulda, coulda, shoulda games ... and seasons. [ more... ]

Been a week, I promise I’ll get through the baseball season projections before the season ends. I would look brilliant though if I didn’t… just saying. Been busy trying to find a new gig and Kristen is off Monday-Wednesday night, so we do things, like not blog.

Where were we? Ahh yes, the AL West. This is easier as there are still 4 teams (until next year at least)… and two of them are barely worth talking about. How do I see this shaking out?

Texas Rangers- There is a reason they’ve made back to back world series appearances. They have built internally via the international scouting and the draft and made solid trades. They will be fine without CJ Wilson. Someone younger, cheaper and better will step up. I question the signing of Joe Nathan, but hey, why not? They are playing the Josh Hamilton situation the right way. I hesitate to say that nobody would give him a 4-5 year deal, but crazier shit has happened. I mean really, would YOU give Josh Hamilton 4 years and 80 mil? Would you? He isn’t exactly umm healthy or umm stable. He’s really good, but comes with arguable the most baggage of any player in baseball. They’ll score a ton of runs, and pitch well enough. They also have a solid farm system to go out and get an arm at the deadline. I love what they have done in Texas. Good for them too.

LA-ish Angels- I struggle to figure out what their priority is. Pitching? Offense? Power? Tell me this. What, exactly, are the Angels REALLY good at? Go ahead, I’ll wait. Their outfield is a mess (until they call up Mike Trout) Toronto has to send the Angels Christmas cards too, right? This is just a team that doesn’t fit. Pujols is amazing, yes, Kendrick? Aybar? These guys haven’t exactly lived up to their minor league hype. Trumbo should get 500 at bats, but he won’t because he can’t play 3rd and DH is crowded (understatement). Wells and Abreu are black holes. The bullpen is still young and they banked on Walden being a stud last season, can he do that in year 2? Starting pitching is probably what they do best. When you get go Weaver, Haren and Wilson, you feel good about your potential playoff rotation. I don’t know, I just see a lot of station to station players. IF they stay healthy (which, once again, they really could use an outfield to get shot) they’ll win 88ish games, but I think that’s mostly because the A’s and Mariners are brutal.

Seattle Mariners- I said it before… in 2 year this team could be VERY good. I’m a big believer in Smoak, Ackley and Montero. I believe in their ability to develop arms in their farm system and King Felix is always nice to have as a certified ace. If they were smart, I’d deal Ichiro. It’s going to be an ugly contract situation if he stays. He makes WAY too much money right now but it’s tough because he pulls in a ton of sponsorship dollars from Japan. He’s worth 5 mil just by being on the team, maybe even 8 mil… But he’s not a young man anymore….what do you give him? 3 years and 35 mil FEELS reasonable. So think you deal him and try to dump Chone Figgins with him. That would be what I’d call “Plan A.” you don’t even need a prospect back, just take Figgins off their hands. Seattle has always been able to sign free agents, they just need to sign THE RIGHT free agents. Make a run at BJ Upton. That could make some sense. They need a left side of the infield solution. Even finding a way to pry Jurken Profar from Texas would be great… could a trade of a couple of the arms Seattle is developing for Profar make sense for everyone? Probably won’t happen as it is intra-division. But with Andrus and Kinsler locked into 5 year deals… you have a stud middle infielder, cash out and get a couple impact level arms. It is times like this I feel I should be running a franchise. (says the blogger)

Oakland A’s- I like what they did this offseason. No need to hold onto any vet at this point, except for the Coco Crisp extension (I didn’t understand that) They know they’re playing and hopeful that they can move to San Jose and get that stadium deal done and be there in 2-3 years. Texas and LA are just too loaded. They reloaded the farm system with potential impact talent in 2 years. That being said, I think they need to continue the movement at the deadline in dealing guys like Brandon McCarthy, Brian Fuentes, and Coco Crisp. Collect prospects, plan for the future…draft well and keep developing. That really is all you can do at this point, right? They have the 11th pick in the draft… take a pitcher, just collect pitching. That gets expensive and clearly you can deal them for a wealth of prospects just when they get expensive.

AL West MVP: Adrian Beltre- I like him this year… I think he ends up being the best player on the Rangers.
AL West Cy Young: Felix Hernandez- Throw the records out, maybe the best pitcher in baseball.
AL West Rookie of the Year- I want to say Mike Trout, but I can’t predict the opportunity in the outfield. So we have to go Jesus Montero.

That concludes the American League, we’ll tackle the NL soon. I promise. But I’m playing golf tomorrow and then going to the Kings vs. Thunder game.

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Yesterday I covered the AL East. Today I’ll tackle the AL Central. I know… shocker. Two days in a row blogging. Weird.

The biggest story in the AL central is Prince Fielder showing up in Detroit to the tune of a couple hundred million bucks. No big deal, right?

Let’s dive right into the predictions…

I think this is the Tigers’ division to lose. I think most people in baseball would feel the same way. This isn’t a brain buster. They have the best pitcher and pitching in the division and the best offense. If they screw this up, heads will roll. The only way this doesn’t work out is if one or both Prince and Miggy shit the bed or literally break a leg. I think they are more than the Verlander show too. I’ve been high on Max Scherzer for years. I like the Fister trade from last year…and worst case, they throw top prospect Jacob Turner loose. They’re sitting real pretty. I don’t really believe that much in Prince Fielder, I think he has a nice year but doubt he puts up his numbers from last year. He was also in a really nice home park situation in Milwaukee that people forget.

The rest of the division? It could go a variety of ways…I think it starts with…
Cleveland. I think they’re the best bet of the rest of this group to make a run. They aren’t terrible in any department. That’s the best thing you can say about them. They are ok hitting, power, defense, pitching, bullpen, etc. They’re just ok. They kind of remind me of the Cubs from the last ohhhh 20 years. Not a ton of upside, but not a ton of downside. Not what Cleveland fans want to hear, but I think it is an accurate assessment of what’s going on with the franchise. They put their chips all in on Ubaldo last year (rightfully so). They really have no bad contracts at this point and the farm system is ok. Building around a healthy Carlos Santana is exciting… I just struggle to envision this team as a 90 win team. They’re an 82-84 win team and that’s if everyone stays healthy. That includes both Choo bouncing back and Sizemore doing anything productive to prove that 5 mil the Indians spent on him wasn’t better off used to buy Mega Millions tickets.

Then we have…
The Minnesota Twins. I’ve read a lot that says they’re going to come in last in this division. I fully believe Justin Morneau is back and will play 140 games this year. He might not be MVP Morneau…but he’ll be just fine. I think the pitching holds up, I think the offense is respectable and they are well managed. Have the Twins EVER mailed in a game that you can remember? They try… and it is scary but sometimes that’s half the battle, especially in a marathon that is 162 games. If you try, like really try, every day to win… you have to be at least half way there. Right? I like the young talent on the club, I think the bullpen will melt down as I’ve never believed Matt Capps was the solution to a closer situation. But I like them, once again, not a tremendously high upside team, but I’ll take 81 wins for 3rd place.

The Kansas City Royals. I love what KC is doing. They are building… and they’re a couple of their high quality young arms from developing away from being really good. I love Eric Hosmer. I reached for him in a couple drafts as I think 2 years from now he’s a top 15 draft pick in fantasy baseball and an MVP candidate. He’s that good. If I’m KC… I’d seriously consider a 10 year deal with him right now. Give him 100 million for the next 10 years today. Buy out all his arb years and your team control and tack on another 4 seasons. It would be unprecedented in baseball, but you think the Rays regret the Longoria deal? Never. Hosmer is the same kind of talent. The kind that you build around. Special talent. The Reds just paid another couple hundred million for Joey Votto. I think Hosmer could be at least as good as Votto. I think the pitching is still too young. The loss of Soria really hurts as that set their whole bullpen up, now everything is shuffled. I think they’re smart enough to deal away guys at the trade deadline and collect Bish level prospects. Bruce Chen isn’t going to lead you to the promise land, but someone like the Dodgers will overpay you. Because that’s what the Dodgers do.

And finally. The Chicago White Sox. In an understatement, I think this team is a mess. Adam Dunn can’t be as bad as he was last year… right? Their starters are just ok and don’t have that true anchor anymore. You know that Jake Peavy is STILL under contract with them? You think the Padres send Kenny Williams Christmas cards a few times a year for taking that on? You think the Blue Jays sent him cards too for taking on Alex Rios and letting them do anything else with their 60 million over the next 4 years? Did Gordan Beckham has one good year and flame out? Their farm system is probably the worst in baseball, they’re drafted like crap and put no money into the international market for years… I just don’t see anything good in the future. They’re paying their roster 100 mil and if I’m a fan, I can’t be happy about that. John Danks is a nice pitcher… but he’s not an ace. He’s a really nice #2 or 3… and they just gave him 65 million. This makes my head hurt. So I’m going to stop writing about them.

AL Central MVP: Eric Hosmer, KC. I think he’s in for a special year… a breakout campaign. Something like 30 homers, 100 RBI, 95 runs, 12 steals and a .310 batting average. Sure, Miguel Cabrera is the best player in this division, but Hosmer is what keeps KC in anything this year.
AL Central Rookie of the year: Jason Kipnis, Cleveland. This is about opportunity….and Kipnis will get plenty in Cleveland.
AL Central Cy Young: Justin Verlander. He comes slightly back to earth but still dominates every 5th day.
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In light of recent events...should Arkansas (or as I say it Our-Kansas), we ask...should they fire Bobby Petrino?

Some of you know… I love the SEC and everything that it is about.


The good? Petrino turned/built Arkansas into a NATIONAL player in college football. If you can compete to win the SEC, you’re a big boy. You have to appreciate what he’s done. You know how many times Arkansas reached ten wins with former coach Houston Nutt? Once. One time. TEN years… one time got to 10 wins. And that was 10-4 in 2006 and that got them the right to hang out in Orlando at the Capital One bowl. Zero BCS appearances. Petrino has back to back double digit wins (10 and 11 respectively) and one BCS appearance (although if it wasn’t for the All SEC title game this year, he would have a 2nd BCS appearance). The program is rolling. And to get a program from ehh to ROLLING in the SEC, much less the SEC west? That takes having your shit together.

But does Bobby Petrino have his shit together? As a college football coach? Sure. I’d say he does. In life? Maybe not. Now… the bigger question then comes. Do you have to have your shit together in life and in your work to succeed as a college football coach? In the hyper sensitive media-age that we’re currently living in (and it isn’t going away)… It is possible to have one without the other… but you better be REALLY good at the winning category in your job. You can be the nicest guy in the world, but if you’re going 3 and 9, you won’t last long. If you’re a trainwreck and an a-hole, but go 11-2, you get a pass. Right or wrong, you get a pass.

So what does Jeff Long, the AD at Arkansas do?

I don’t know why he gets rid of him at this point. A quick reminder that Petrino hasn’t exactly been umm, squeaky clean when it comes to his personal decisions. Remember the Auburn debacle while he was at Louisville? Or how about how he left Louisville to take the Atlanta Falcons job? Or umm, how about how he ended up at Arkansas 14 games through his first season in Atlanta? Not exactly a model of stability… so why should Jeff Long get rid of the guy that he hired that came with baggage?

I’m not hiring Bobby Petrino to babysit my dog. But to coach my football team? Sure. Fact is, there are a couple dozen programs hopeful that Jeff Long cuts him loose. If you’re Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, Wake Forest, East Carolina, or a bevy of other programs trying to make “the leap”… aren’t you licking your lips right now?
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Baseball is back. Neal is on me about how he checks the blog and I’m not writing. It really is unfortunate as I work from home (for the most part) and get to watch MLBtv and sports programming most of the day. Now, when I say “I get to watch…” it really should read “The tv is on and I’m near it, sometimes watching, but mostly working.” Seriously… I do actually work people. Weird.

That being said… let’s take a minute to breakdown my thoughts on the upcoming MLB season.

I don’t know how many parts this will be in, but it will be a few. First, I’ll start with the American League East.

The AL East:
I think Tampa Bay wins this division. I think they are absolutely loaded and I like what they did this offseason in bringing back Carlos Pena (left handed bat, solid defense, power) and Luke Scott to play DH/run around in the outfield chasing balls. I hesitate to call Luke Scott and outfielder at this point. They win this division with their pitching, but I think the bullpen will be an issue at some point. The most logical step (in my opinion) will be moving Wade Davis to the pen… where I think he would thrive. PLUS, he’s on the cheap, like the rest of their staff it seems.

The Yankees come in 2nd… and play very good ball. I love what they did this offseason to address their rotation needs. I love Kuroda but think Pineda comes back to earth. Not because he’s playing in New York…but people didn’t notice that he shit the bed the 2nd half of last season. Did the league figure him out? Did he run out of gas? Did he get depressed playing for a team that would generate 3 runs on a good day? Let’s just say I’m in the minority that thinks the M’s cashed out at exactly the right time. They also are loaded in their farm system and can afford to trade Pineda for a middle of the order hitter like Montero. Even with A-Rod and Jeter getting really old, really fast… the Yankees will still produce runs, but I’ll be shocked if they make a deep postseason run. I think this team will be gassed out come September without acquiring a couple young arms.

The Red Sox come in 3rd… but barely. Their rotation is a mess and while I believe in their offense, I don’t know if I think they’ll put it all together anytime soon. It would be nice if their bullpen made sense. I’ve said it before… but I fully believe this is on Adrian Gonzalez. I don’t think the guy is a winner. I go back to what my buddy who covered the Padres told me. That A-Gon is an asshole and too sensitive to carry a team.

Side Note that I find to be appropriate:
My latest issue at the gym is that guys don’t know how to win. There are very few people with that killer instinct… that there is a time to win and a time to play the game. Games go to 11… there is no problem with getting to 9. But getting from 9 to 11? That’s another story. How to play defense… get a stop… call a foul, etc. HOW TO WIN. You could call this the LeBron issue, but I actually don’t think it is all LeBron’s fault. (I think the media makes numbers say what they want about him in the 4th quarter because it is an excellent story and people are generally retarded and don’t ya know… watch basketball. Because if you did, you would trade anyone on your team for him)

Back to Gonzalez. I think he’s one of those guys. He’s great from 1-9. But getting your team above the hump and getting a W? I don’t think he’s built like that. He’s a guy that will put up plenty of numbers for your fantasy baseball teams but notice… he never really gets on a roll and carries a team for a couple weeks at a time. He’s just there… and sorry, but I don’t believe that being “just there” is a superstar.

Once again, I think the Blue Jays are the best 4th place team in baseball. Shit. I think they might be the best 2nd place team in baseball in any other division. If they develop an ace or sign one or trade for one (kinda like Roy Halladay)…they could be incredibly dangerous. Love what they are doing… they have no bad contracts on their payroll, their farm system is loaded, and their front office is beyond solid. Love what they’re building up there… if the Red Sox and Yankees don’t make better decisions, this division will be Tampa and Toronto real soon. But really, they need an ace/stopper. They can either overpay for Hamels or try to convince Timmy Jam to come hang out in Canada, but they have to figure that out.

And finally… we get to the Brody section of the blog. The O’s. Brody’s opinion will differ…but I think this franchise has no idea what they’re doing. Love Matt Weiters and the future with Manny Machado is solid. BUT…everything else appears to be a mess. No free agent wants to sign with them. They blew a golden opportunity to acquire B level prospects at the trade deadline last year. Why? I couldn’t tell you…buy prospects. It works out in the end. There is no use in winning 70 games vs. 64 games. You still suck again. Even if the 6 C level prospects shit the bed… if ONE guy works out, you’ve got something. But yea, staying the course was probably the right move. As you can tell I’m not buying what the O’s are selling anytime soon.

AL East MVP:
Evan Longoria, I think this is the year he puts it all together.

MVP Apologies to: Jose Batista, Curtis Granderson, and David Price

AL East ROY: Matt Moore. This is one of the easier discussions we’ll have, as Moore will outlap the field in the division for this hypothetical award.

AL East Cy Young: David Price. Yup, love the guy… and I think Sabathia doesn’t perform as well in a non contract year and Jon Lester/Josh Beckett continue to be blah. In fact, I already traded Josh Beckett away for Adam Wainwright in one of my leagues.

The AL Central next time.

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Dear Timmy,
It was a darned good run (see, i even avoided cursing for you). We still love you. We still enjoyed it. But it was really just a fling. Flings can be good, right? Well, you probably don't think so, but for most people flings are fun. But this is Peyton Fucking Manning. (oops, sorry about the language) We don't wish you any ill will, we'll always have Pittsburgh. And Chicago, and all those other crazy wins. We wish you the best, we really do, but it was time to move on. Hope to see you in the super bowl next year, even if you'll be on the losing side.
Love,

Gallagher