Advice for the Grieving Dodger Fan

There’s no way around it, Dodger fans, the Giants have won the World Series. It sucks, I know, but I’m here to help. 

First it’s important to realize that the pain you’re feeling now isn’t something that’s unique to Dodger fans. When faced with such a painful proposition as a rival winning a championship, most fans I come across on the internets or even that strange world called real life typically just make things worse for themselves, either by making excuses, hopelessly whining, or through some other means I’d rather not hear about. No matter the sport or fan base, it seems to be the same. Maybe it’s the built-in sadomasochistic side of us sports fans. Perhaps seeing a rival win it all simply elicits the same response I observe when I tell people I use Internet Explorer; people just lose their fucking minds. Whatever the cause, you must not let it overcome you.

Anytime a fan sees either its team lose a championship or a rival win it there is a tendency to try to rationalize things (i.e. make up excuses). No doubt we’ll see some Dodger fans engage in this, but they shouldn’t, even if some of these excuses have their merits. In the end trying to explain away a Giants title will just project more of the agony Dodgertown is feeling for the world to see. In order to avoid them let’s first try to understand them. The excuses are always pretty much the same for every fan base. I’ve come to calling them “the four stages of the grieving sports fan”, although the order in which they occur varies from fan to fan:

1. Calling it luck/a fluke – In this case, there’s probably some truth to the fact that the Giants have had their share of luck. Even the media has taken notice to this. But it’s best to avoid making much out of this. In the end, luck plays a much larger role than most fans like to acknowledge, heck the Detroit Tigers had only the 7^th best record in the American League this year, but somehow that ended with them being the number three seed in the AL playoffs. So sure, the Giants had a large degree of luck this postseason, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before, frankly it’s fairly common for a champion to catch a lot of breaks, how else do you think the phrase “it’s better to be lucky than good” came about?

2. Blame the Umps/Refs – This is pretty much crap for the same reason as #1; even it it’s true it’s pretty much an unavoidable fact of life, sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you. But that’s just, like, my opinion, man.

3. Calling their fans “bandwagoners” – Up and down California (well, between San Luis Obispo and northern Orange County) I saw a pretty noticeable boom in the wearing of “SF” hats after the Giants won the 2010 series. I also came across a few Giants “fans” who were pretty clueless and I’m guessing had just gotten their Giant Nation membership cards. So yes, there’s some bandwagoners… and who cares? No real fans give a crap about bandwagoners and ultimately it has no bearing on the team or its championship. The only people worth pestering about this are the wagon-riders themselves and they’re already at the bottom of the totem pole in the sports world anyway.

3A. Calling their fans “gay” – This one’s pretty much exclusive to San Francisco teams, for obvious reasons. It’s also stupid, for obvious reasons. Cardinal Nation (the best fans in baseball!!!) took to twitter after the NCLS to point out the startling revelation that there’s a large homosexual population in the Bay Area (more like GAY Area LOL!!!1!) and so far I’ve seen a couple Dodger fans make the same observation. Calling someone a “bandwagon” fan can at least be perceived as an insult, using an offensive term like “fag” isn’t insulting, it’s just… retarded… no wait, that’s not right.
 
4. Saying they’ll never win again – You’re on the right track with this one, in that it focuses on future seasons which is pretty much what all the non-championship teams have to do anyway, but it doesn’t exactly exude the confidence the one making the claim would seem to be going for. Instead it sounds more desperate and childish.

So does a Dodger fan do? Well, nothing really, just don’t do any of that. Luckily, there will be some cases where a douchey Giants fan preemptively belittles all the “losers” he happens across for no apparent reason. In my book anyone sad enough to do this has opened himself up to criticism and it might be worthwhile to try and get under their skin just for the entertainment value.

I might be in the minority on this but for the life of me I’ve never understood why a fan whose team has already won all there is to win feels the need to keep trying to inflate their own ego. As a College Baseball fan, I can’t tell you how many South Carolina fans I’ve talked to constantly lament about “not getting respect”. Thank God they had that consolation prize of winning back-to-back College World Series titles or else some of them may still be on suicide watch. If you come across any Giant fans that have the gall to actually complain about this just remember this phrase which probably exists somewhere (and if it doesn’t, then I just invented it): He who requires the respect of others has no respect for himself.

 

Then there’s the curious case of the fan that actually feels the need to go out of their way to counter those aforementioned “stages of grief.” My response to these dullards is always the same: How fragile does your self-confidence have to be when you start defending a team that doesn’t need defending?

 

In the end, however, my fellow Dodger fans just need to ride this out. It might suck, but Spring Training is only four-plus away and believe it or not, things could be worse. Hell, they were worse, remember? The worst thing that could ever happen to Dodgertown was that faint chance of the Giants actually winning their first title since 1954… and then they did. Dodger fans have moved on. Nothing that ever happens again will be as bad as that. 2010 was soul-crushing, 2012 on the other hand is just kinda shitty. So stop being a bunch of wimps. We've been through News Corp, McCourt, the Giants finally winning, and James Loney. Life 'aint that bad going forward.

And if none of that isn't enough to console you just remember this: Pablo is still a lard-ass.

 

 

Derek Jeter Needs to Retire

Editor’s Note: This week we welcome friend and special guest columnist Tavis Whimbley to Dirtbag Blues. Tavis is a 14-year veteran of the world of sports journalism, writing for various publications, and is a highly respected by many of his peers. If Mr. Whimbley’s schedule permits, he may become a regular contributor to the blog.  Please note Mr. Whimbley’s views do not necessarily reflect that of this blog. You can follow Tavis on twitter @TavisWhimbley. Also be sure to follow us @Dirtbag_Blues.

 

The focus on the Yankees demise this October has been heavily geared toward Alex Rodriguez, no doubt with good reason. With all his baggage, and $114 million remaining on his contract, you can’t blame Brian Cashman if he attempts unload A-Rod in the off-season. However, there’s something else that can be done to help the Yankees. They could find themselves freed from another albatross of a contract belonging a player who’s well past his prime, that is, only if this player is selfless enough and smart enough to walk away now (or hobble, what with his broken ankle and all). That’s right, Derek Jeter needs to take the hint his body is giving him and retire.

Now I know suggesting such a thing sounds about as un-American as Barack Obama, but it needs to be acknowledged that at this point in his career most of the accolades Jeter receives are based on reputation and not results. You don’t even need to dig too deeply into the facts to see this.

Once upon a time Derek was the face of the franchise, the most prominent figure in the dugout during a playoff game and the first guy to the press conference afterward. This October, after breaking his ankle, Jeter was nowhere to be seen. The team captain didn’t even so much as travel with the team to Detroit for the rest of the America League Championship Series, not that I blame the guy for not wanting to get on a plane with a bum leg but it does illustrate the larger point that “as Jeter goes, so go the Yankees” is no longer true.

Manager Joe Girardi seemed annoyed the moment Jeter’s injury (and not the Yankees) became the focal point of the series. Girardi bitterly spoke to reporters after game 1 when the world first learned the extent of the injury. “I haven’t told them yet, buster,” Girardi snapped at one reporter during that press conference. “Them” being Jeter’s teammates. Girardi hadn’t told them Jeter was hurt? Why not? I find it very telling that the Yankee skipper felt the need to disclose Jeter’s injury the media before Jeter’s own teammates. I guess when it comes down to it Derek Jeter is more a concern of the media than of the Yankee clubhouse. A frustrating week for the Yankees, which started with Jeter’s injury, was capped by two quick losses in Detroit to end the Yankees’ season. At this point who’s to say how much of a distraction Derek Jeter, absent or not, was to the team.

If we (foolishly) put the injury and leadership qualities aside for a moment and look purely at the numbers, Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson are now the most feared hitters in the Yankee lineup and if Ichiro is retained the Yanks won’t even have a use for Jeter as a table-setter anymore. Even on a purely cosmetic level Jeter may no longer be the franchise’s leader. Nowadays the Yankee you see all over TV is Nick Swisher, who also happens to be a perfect face for this new “Moneyball-era” given that he was a former first round pick of Billy Beane’s Oakland Athletics. No, these are no longer Derek Jeter’s Yankees, but the Yankees of the Canos, Grandersons, Ichiros, and Swishers of the world.

It’s also pretty obvious he’s no longer “Captain Clutch.” After playing in six World Series in his first eight seasons, the man who’s supposed to be carrying this storied franchise on his back has taken the Bronx Bombers to the Series once in last nine years. So much for “Mr. November”, heck, A-Rod probably could’ve done that himself.

But I don’t want to go on disparaging a good guy like Jeter too much and frankly I don’t have to. There’s plenty of reason, besides his diminishing abilities, for Jeter to bow out now.

After five World Series titles and more all-star selections than I care to count the only real milestone left for Derek is Pete Rose’s all-time hit mark of 4,256. To even approach that record the now 38-year-old Jeter would have to labor on for about five more years, at least. Does anyone really want to see that? Heck, does Derek Jeter even want to see that? When asked about the hits record this month Jeter replied “I’m not talking about Peter Rose, man.” It’s nice to know the game’s greatest competitor doesn’t care about something so important to the history of baseball. One has to wonder at this point if Derek Jeter has lost that competitive edge that made him Derek Jeter in the first place.

Besides all that, what about poor condemned Pete Rose? He doesn’t have the Hall of Fame waiting for him the way Jeter does. One of baseball’s great icons deserves to at least have his name in the record books, if not in Cooperstown.

Ultimately, though, Jeter needs to quit for the Yankees. Five straight years of maintaining a payroll over $200 million has taken it’s toll, cupcakes-turned-legitimate rivals Baltimore, Tampa Bay, and Toronto have all taken huge strides in recent years, and the old guard Yankees are almost all gone with only Jeter and Andy Pettitte (baseball’s answer to Brett Favre) still hanging on while Mariano Rivera attempts to revive a career he too might be better served to surrender. Jeter has $20-25 million worth of commitments left. That’s $20-25 million which could be spent on developing future Derek Jeter’s, building the next New York dynasty, or used toward an old fashion Yankee spending spree on some new franchise players, such as Josh Hamilton.

Jeter can still hang around; no doubt he already has a lifetime front office job waiting for him. Who knows, maybe he’ll become the new Yankee skipper as soon as Joe “Buster” Girardi inevitably reaches his boiling point. Let’s just hope Coach Jeter has the foresight and integrity to tell his players about things concerning the team, before the media.

 
So come on Derek, hang ‘em up. Better to do it too early than too late. Chipper Jones is a perfect example of this. Had he retired at the right time he could’ve gone out gracefully rather than see his end come in an embarrassing playoff game and gone out like a broken down old man. Learn from this, Derek, and move on now.

Consolation Day

Good morning. In less than 30 hours, Dodger fans will join Tigers fans from around the world. And you will be cheering the hardest any fans have against a team in the history of baseball. "Baseball." That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests.

Perhaps it's fate that today is the 23rd of October (the anniversary of the Dodgers first win in the '81 series), and you will once again be cheering for a team in the World Series... not for championships, pride, or bragging rights... but from humiliation. We are cheering for our right to live as Dodger fans.... to exist.

And should we win the day, the World Series will no longer be known as a mere championship series, but as the time the Dodger world declared in one voice: We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today, we root for, the Detroit Tigers!

Just imagine it's in Vin Scully's voice.

The Ten Best MVP selections in Baseball History****

This time a year it’s easy to find crappy blogs like this one (or Bleacher Report) use the baseball MVP debate to post some list about the worst MVP selections in history (go ahead and google “worst MVP” + Baseball). I thought writing about that was a little too boring, and giving my input on who should win the 2012 awards (Trout/Posey) wouldn’t add anything unique to the discussion. So instead I decided to take the subjective topic of MVP worthiness and make it subjectivier.

Presenting; The Ten Best MVP selections in Baseball History****.

*Actually, I only came up with nine, because the BBWAA screws up that much.

*Best=The voters getting it right when every indication suggested they’d get it wrong.

*I only went back into the 1960s because this is partially based on what the public/media perception was on the players at the time. Call me lazy but I’m not going through pages of microfiche to see what Shirley Povich had to say about Roy Campanella. Plus the voters definition of “valuable “ has evolved greatly over the years. Pitchers use to win the award (or came close to winning) with much greater regularity. Having so few playoff spots meant there wasn’t so much of a premium put on players whose teams would play in October. Then there were a few years when the voters apparently just said “the hell with it.” (Dick Groat in 1960? Really?)

 
*Even after only coming up with nine selections there are about two or three picks that are a little sketchy.

9. Keith Hernandez (tied with Willie Stargell) - NL, 1979

In researching for this list a found a LOT of times the voters screwed up, it was very tempting to just go with the standard “worst MVPs ever” list. Instead I decided to cheat and spin one of those “worst MVPs” into one of the best.

 
The rightful winner of this award probably should’ve been Dave Winfield, who finished third, but Hernandez netting a share of the award at least kept this vote from getting too ridiculous. Stargell was the team leader of the World Series winning Pirates and hit 32 home runs, but was in just 126 games, played poor defense, and posted a merely above-average on-base percentage of .352. Hernandez on the other hand, while only hitting 11 homers, lead the league in batting and doubles, played gold glove defense, and had an OPS of .930. In not Winfield, Hernandez should’ve been the sole winner of this award. Sorry, Pops.

8. Barry Larkin - NL, 1995

Okay, so Greg Maddux probably should’ve won the ’95 award, but let’s ignore that for now. The top two position players vying for the MVP were Barry Larkin and big, bad, Dante Bichette. Bichette lead the league in homers and RBIs, but did so at brand new Coors Field, while posting a good-but-not-great .364 on-base percentage, and playing some really crappy defense in the process. It all culminated for a WAR of 1.0. One. Point. Zero.

 
If we keep going with the WAR stat, then Maddux is a clear favorite over Larkin, but at least Barry had a decent-enough case for MVP, stealing 51 bases, posting an .886 OPS, winning the gold glove for shortstop, and being a revered leader of his team. Maybe this isn’t one of the “best” MVP picks, but it could’ve been one of the worst.

7. Kirk Gibson - NL, 1988

A few players had good MVP cases to be made in ’88, but the award ended up coming down to Gibson and the power-hitting wonder kid, DarrylStrawberry. Gibson’s winning of the award is pretty shocking when you take into account Strawberry had better marks in homers, OPS, and the favorite stat for voters, RBIs. Still, Gibson was able to out-value Darryl by posting strong numbers in pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium and playing superior defense. It’s also pretty clear who the winner is on the intangibles side of things.

 
Not that anyone knew at the time, but Gibson also ended up posting a WAR of 6.2 to Strawberry’s 5.1. Chalk this one up as another “it could’ve been worse” selection.

6. Alex Rodriguez - AL, 2003

The voters pretty much made this pick by accident. Still, I’ve give them credit for it. A-Rod was clearly the league’s top player in 2002, but lost the MVP because Miguel Tejada played for a better team. In 2003, a few voters apparently decided it was time for A-Rod to get his award (he was also robbed of the 1996 trophy, and maybe '98 as well), and even then he barely beat out a crowded field of candidates. In the end, ten different players got first place votes, so despite actually seeing his vote-share go down from ’02 to ’03, A-Rod got just enough support to come away with an award he should’ve won handily for the third time.

5. Barry Bonds - NL, 1992

Bonds was the favorite to take home this award, anyway. I added him to the list mainly because he was robbed of the ’91 award by the same guy he had to beat the next season, Terry Pendleton. In ’92, Bonds had a 30-30 season, won a gold glove, and posted an OPS of 1.080. Still, Pendleton somehow got four first-place votes. Gary Sheffield got two votes of his own, but at least had a near-triple crown season (and .965 OPS) to justify it.

 

Had Bonds won the award owed to him in ’91 he would’ve ended up taking home four consecutive MVP awards (having also won the ’90 and ’93 awards) and set the record for most MVPs by the ripe old age of 28. Keep in mind this is pre-steroid Bonds; does anyone remember that guy?

 

4. Justin Verlander - AL, 2011

Guys like Jacoby Elsbury and Jose Bautista had decent cases to be made (and one has to wonder if Elsbury would’ve won MVP had the Red Sox won just two more games and gotten in the playoffs), but the great thing about Verlander’s winning was the fact his being a pitcher wasn’t used against him.

 

One of the worst MVP robberies in recent years occurred when Pedro Martinez’ historic 1999 season was completely let off of the ballot by some voters. Despite having the most first place votes, Pedro finished a close second to Ivan Rodriguez. The voters didn’t repeat that same mistake with Verlander, who had a very MVP worthy 8.2 WAR, although it does kinda suck that he probably won because of “his” 24 wins.

3. Albet Pujols - NL, 2008

2008 seemed like a repeat of the 2006 season. Both years the top candidates were Pujols and (for some reason) Ryan Howard. Howard won the ‘06 award despite trailing Pujols in WAR, 8.2 to 5.0. The 2008 numbers weren’t nearly as close, with Howard posting a Bichette-esqe WAR, but the race seemed like another toss-up. Thankfully, Pujols’ 1.114 OPS beat out Howard’s 148 RBIs to net Albert his second MVP.

 The final first-place vote count had Pujols getting 18 votes and Howard 12. Two voters, apparently suffering from Groat’s syndrome, voted for Brad Lidge.

 

2. Cal Ripken, Jr. - AL, 1991

If this vote were held today, Cecil Fielder would probably win. I don’t know if this means the voters are getting a little big dumber or just more objective (since Ripken won the ’91 award partially because he was so much more liked than Fielder) and a LOT bit dumber.

 

Ripken’s Orioles had 95 losses on the season, while Fiedler’s Tigers went 84-78 and were at least in the pennant chase for part of the season. Looking at the numbers, this one should’ve been Ripken in a walk. Fielder lead the Iron Man in runs, homers, RBIs, and nothing else. Still, the big first baseman got nine first place votes and finished just 32 “points” behind Cal in the voting.

 

1. Willie Mays - NL, 1965

Let this be an example of how we can allow arbitrary milestones to artificially inflate a player’s value. Three years earlier, Mays lost the NL MVP to Maury Wills, and his .720 OPS, all because Wills had set a then-modern record of 104 stolen bases. Mays’ 49 homers went overlooked (along with his .999 OPS and 10.2 WAR, not that the voters would’ve known what those were).

 

Well, in 1965 Mays and Wills were in the MVP race again. This time Mays hit .317 with 52 homers (plus a 10.9 WAR) while Wills regressed to a pathetic 94 stolen bases. Apparently stealing 10-less bases was enough for Wills to go from MVP in ’63 to a distant third in ’65 (Sandy Koufax was second).

Team Canada pledges “Heute Deutschland, morgen die Welt”

And on that awkward note let’s take a look as the second 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifer, being held in Regensburg, Germany.

Regensburg Qualifier – Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain

Without even looking at the rosters you can pretty well assume Canada is the heavy favorite to win this. The canucks are the only nation in the group to have played in the Classic, participating in both 2006 and 2009. While the September schedule means Canada won’t have any of the stars they played with in ’09 (such as Joey Votto, Justin Morneau, or Russell Martin) they still have the most talented roster in the qualifier, with over half of their roster having spent 2012 in Double-A or Triple-A ball. Standouts include RHP Shawn Hill (44 career major league starts), RHP Trystan Magnuon (1.95 ERA, 24/7 K/BB in 25 apperances in Double-A in 2012), catcher Kellin Deglan (2010 first round pick), first baseman Jordan Lennerton (.269/.368/.469 in Double-A in 2012, top defensive 1B in the Eastern League according to Baseball America), and outfielder Tyson Gillies (.304/.369/.453 in Double-A, former top rated prospect).

Host country Germany will likely be Canada’s biggest threat in the tournament. In addition to having home-nation-advantage the Germans have a fair number of major league affiliated players, including major league vet LHP Will Ohman, LHP Alex Burgos (8-10, 4.90 ERA in Advanced Single-A), outfielers Max Kepler (.297/.387/.539 in Rookie Ball) and Aaron Altherr (.721 OPS, 25 SB in Single-A).

The German roster will also rely heavily on native-born players but the nation has been among Europe’s best in international competition, finishing fourth place or better in each of the last four European Championships. However, they still remain unproven against the rest of the world going winless in the 2011 Baseball World Cup (a tournament that Canada won the bronze in).

Great Britain and the Czech Republic haven’t had much of a presense in international baseball in recent years. Brit’s will hope to change that by putting together a surprisingly solid pitching staff, headlined by top Dodger prospect LHP Chris Reed (3.09 ERA in Advanced Single-A, 4.84 in Double-A), Omaha legend LHP Michael Roth (4.91 ERA, 21/11 K/BB in Rookie ball), and LHP Hamilton Bennett (7-2, 2.55 ERA, 54/17 K/BB in 41 apperances in Advanced Single-A).

Slugging infielder Mike Cervenak (.340/.408/.504 in Triple-A) will be the Czech’s biggest offensive threat, but beyond that their roster is almost entirely comprised of players that spent 2012 in the Czech Republic. It may be enough to top the Brits, as the Czech Republic has finished ahead of them in each of the last two Euro Championships, but doubtful they’ll be able to overcome Germany, let alone Canada.

 

Disclaimer: I realize this is my second straight post that included a headline that could be construed as anti-Semitic…. and both were written in the middle of Rosh Hashanah for good measure. In my defense: 1. I have a Jewish girlfriend, so it’s cool; 2. I plan on offending every other ethnic group in due time.

Team Israel’s World Championship quest begins in Florida, because of course it does...

It’s September 2012 and that can only mean one thing… time for the 2013 World Baseball Classic! Two of the final four spots in the 2013 tournament will be awarded by next Monday after the Jupiter, Florida and Regensburg, Germany Qualifiers are completed. I’m a bit partial to the WBC as it bares a striking resemblance to College Baseball; in that both are high levels of competition that pretty much go ignored by most baseball fans. 

With the Baseball World Cup no longer being played and the recent Olympics not including baseball, the WBC is pretty much the last major international baseball tournament left. It’s been slow to catch on here in America but I remain a fan of the tournament (and am still kicking myself for not going to the championship at Dodger Stadium in 2009) and globally it’s been widely popular and has been a great way to advance the sport’s international popularity.

Also there’s a ton of players with ties to the Dodgers involved in these first two Qualifiers, so there’s an extra reason for me to follow it. So for both all of my readers, here’s a quick look at the teams in Jupiter who are vying for the honor of losing to Japan next spring…

 Jupiter Qualifier – France, Israel, Spain, South Africa

(for full rosters click here)

First off, of all the places to play the World Baseball Classic, they pick Jupiter? Anyway, South Africa is the only nation among the group that has played in the WBC before, making quick exists in the 2006 and 2009 tournaments, and returns 12 players from the ’09 WBC. Coached by longtime minor league manager Rick Magnante, the roster is comprised largely of natives to the RSA with most players having spent the 2012 season in South Africa. A handful of players were in the minor leagues or independent ball this year. The most advanced prospect on the team is Gift Ngoepe (.232/.330/.338 with 22 SB this year in Single-A Advanced), who will anchor the infield after being rated by Baseball America as the Florida State League’s best defensive shortstop in 2012. RHP Dylan Unsworth (7-2, 3.90 ERA 67/19 K/BB in 14 starts this year in Single-A Short Season) is the most advanced pitcher of the group.

Israel may have the most interesting storylines of the field. While the qualifier roster is filled largely with minor leaguers, many Jewish major leaguers have expressed interest in playing should the team advance to the main tournament, including all-stars Ryan Braun and KevinYoukilis. If that happens this small nation without much of a baseball history could suddenly become a real threat in the 2013 Classic, which would provide the WBC a great opportunity to promote the sport on a global level.

Even without the big league stars Israel is still the odds-on favorite in Jupiter, fielding a roster full of more MLB-affiliated players than their three competitors combined (most of which spent 2012 playing in Double-A or higher). Leading the way for Israel will be recent big league retirees including Brad Ausmus (manager), Mark Loretta (hitting coach), Shawn Green (who will take the field for the first time since 2007 when he played for the Mets) and Gabe Kapler (also coming out of retirement to suit up for team Israel). Three Israeli natives will be on the squad’s pitching staff as well.

My fellow Dodger fans will want to keep an eye on outfielder Joc Pederson (.313/.396/.516 with 18 HR and 26 SB) who is coming off a strong year in Racho Cucamonga. Dodger shortstop Jake Lemmerman (.233/.347/.378 in Double-A) is also on the team.

Speaking of the Dodgers, the tournament has another former player-turned coach in Cy Young winner Eric Gagne who will be the pitching coach for France. James Stoeckel will manage the team which fields a roster of almost all French citizens, most of whom spent 2012 playing in the French Federation of Baseball and Softball (FFBS). Top performers from the 2012 FFBS season include catcher Ernesto Martinez (.370/.545/.630) and pitcher Owen Ozanich (10-0, 0.40 ERA plus a .342 batting average). Former Triple-A SS Emmanuel Garcia will likely anchor the infield. The roster also includes independent league players infielder Carlos Hereaud (.330/.401/.474 this year in the North American Baseball League) and first baseman Rene Leveret (.361/.413/.494 in CanAm).

Spain fields a uniquely international roster, including players from Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, United States, Venezuela, and yes, Spain. Many players spent the 2012 season playing in either Spain or Italy, but the roster also includes the qualifier’s second largest collection of MLB-affiliated players, after Israel. Included are Double-A stars OF Engel Beltre (.261/.307/.420, 17 triples and 36 stolen bases in 2012), RHP Richard Castillo (7-5, 3.76 ERA, 65/35 K/BB in 19 starts), and LHP Chris Manno (1-1, 2 saves, 3.78 ERA, 51/22 K/BB in 50 relief appearances). Mauro Mazzotti, a native of Italy who managed the Italians in the 2009 WBC, will serve as manager for team Spain.

While most of the tournament will only be available to watch on WorldBaseballClassic.com, the Jupiter Qualifer Championship (which I’ll go ahead and predict will be Israel defeating Spain) on September 23 will be aired on MLB Network.

Up next we head to Regensburg, Germany to find out why Canada will (or should) kick the crap out of everyone.

Dirtbags Summer League Recap

Like most bloggers, the thing I hate most about this line of work is the deadlines. It’s a life of anxiety, constantly having to work under the gun in the hopes that you can meet an arbitrarily set daily/weekly/monthly deadline. If you don’t, you’re screwed. It’s not like I can push the deadline back and just finish my work later.

I mean, I can, and I do, but sooner or later I’m going to have to finish a story (unless I don’t feel like it).

The summer leagues have been over for a while now, so I may as well get the rundown on how the Dirtbags did over with. As soon as I post this I’ll be back to agonizing over the next story I’ll have to write at my leisure.

I was limited to watching the Dirtbag-less Cal Ripken summer league this year, so my analysis is largely statistic-based, but I’ll try my best to explain how the numbers could be telling.

Position Players:

Josh Guerra, Outfielder, Alexandria Beetles, Northwoods League – Guerra didn’t find quite the same success with Alexandria as he did in the spring in Long Beach, hitting .235/.324/.346 in 46 games. He had slightly worse luck in the summer (.308 Batting Average on Balls in Play) than in the spring (.339 BABIP) but there’s nothing really to decipher from that when the difference in averages and sample sizes are that small.

The most noticeable difference in Guerra’s spring and summer performances was a slight increase in his walk rate (from 5.8% to 9.7%) and a larger jump in his strikeout rate (from 16.5% to 23.7%). I suppose the optimist could say he becoming more patient, now he just needs to work on his strike zone judgment.

Guerra will likely have the unenviable task of trying to fill Brennan Metzger’s shoes in center field next year.

 

Michael Hill, Infielder, Los Angeles Brewers, California Collegiate League – The Brewers haven’t updated their final stats, and the CCBL website doesn’t have much to offer, so all I have for Hill is some incomplete, bare bones hitting numbers, and they aren’t impressive (although they’re better than his spring stats). Hill hit .269/.310/.388 with a fairly high BABIP to boot. On top of that he drew only five walks while K’ing 32 times.

The most important part of Hill’s season was that he spent nearly all of it playing shortstop, as he’ll likely be the only upperclassman battling for the position next year. Unfortunately I don’t have much to report, other than that, in the less-than-handful of Brewers games I followed, Hill’s defense seemed inconsistent. Take that for what it’s worth (pretty much nothing).

Jeff McNeil, Infielder, Brewster Whitecaps, Cape Cod League – McNeil was named MVP of the last place Whitecaps, posting a .301/.347/.381 line, compared to a .258/.333/.304 line during the spring, and his Isolated Power jumped from .046 to .081, so his whole line wasn’t just inflated by hitting a bunch of singles.

Sounds great at first glance, until you see that offensive numbers were up across the board in the Cape (possibly due to ‘juiced balls’). His BABIP was also up to .347, compared to his .285 spring career mark. Basically, McNeil was hitting the ball harder (as reflected in his improved power numbers) causing more balls to get through for hits (improving his BABIP). If you believe the ‘juiced ball’ theory, then Jeff probably played about inline with what you’d expect from him. Not spectacular, but did a solid job in the nation’s best summer league. Jeff had an even better summer last year with the Santa Barbara Forrester, hitting .331. Maybe the Dirtbags should try giving McNeil a wooden bat.

I didn’t spend my summer in the cape because I’m not a college baseball player or a rich, white douchebag, so I can’t report on his defense, but there’s this from the Whitecaps website: “We watched Jeff make spectacular plays both at 2nd and in left field…he could have his own hi-light reel.” Also “he has been… willing to give over 100% every game.” Well, he is a Dirtbag. McNeil is the incumbent second baseman for the Dirtbags and will likely be batting second next year.

 

Chaz Meadows, Infielder, Alameda Merchants, Pacific West Baseball League – Meadows logged only 12 games and 38 at bats (and surprisingly pitched three innings) with the Merchants, hitting .237 but managed 11 walks (and 10 K’s) in those games. He also got some playing time in at shortstop, a position that will be up for grabs this fall, playing nine games at the position and committing one error in addition to playing two errorless games at second base.

 

Ino Patron, Infielder, Sanford Mariners, New England Collegiate League – Patron pretty much kept doing what Patron does; be a solid hitter. He posted a line of .336/.392/.467 in 32 games. Patron’s OBP and BB/K stayed about where you’d expect it but his power numbers saw a significant jump with his Slugging Percentage and Isolated Power being well above his career averages (including his stint last summer in the NWL). Patron wasn’t facing the most elite pitchers in the country this summer but if he has found something of a power stroke it would be a welcome boost to a light hitting Dirtbag lineup. Regardless, his best tool remains his ability to get on base, making him arguably the team’s best hitter and likely to be batting third or fourth once again in 2013.

 

Richard Prigatano, Outfielder, La Crosse Loggers, Northwoods League – Prigatano’s raw talent shined through this summer, although there still seem to be a few holes in his swing. Richard batted .316/.405/.526 with 15 doubles (leading the league) and 11 homers (tied for sixth) and 21 stolen bases over 61 games this summer. His .367 BABIP, which was actually lower than his spring BABIP, suggest he might’ve had some luck, but the power numbers speak for themselves and are the key difference for why his stats were so much better in the summer than in the spring.

He still appears to be a bit of a free-swinger, with a fairly poor BB/K of 27/55 (which is likely what kept him off of FanGraphs top prospects list), but it’s a considerable upgrade over his 9/45 mark he posted with the Dirtbags this year. In four playoff games he hit .313 with 4/7 BB/K as the Loggers won the NWL title.

He’ll probably be starting in right field in 2013 and hit somewhere in the middle-to-lower part of the order, depending on how his power comes along.

 

Robert Vickers, Infielder, Santa Barbara Foresters, California Collegiate League – Vickers only had 67 at bats with the NBC champion Foresters but made the most of them, hitting .284/.484/.448. His performance with Santa Barbara last summer was arguably better, with a line of .333/.424/.529, but there’s a key difference with his 2012 numbers. Despite his summer league batting average dropping by about 50 points his OBP actually went up by 60 points because of a drastically improved pitch selection.

After a 8/16 BB/K ratio last summer and 1/10 BB/K this spring Vickers came out this summer and drew 22 walks while striking out only nine times. Furthermore, in the NBC World Series he batted .318 with six walks and one strikeout in seven games.

The drastically improved BB/K may show Vickers has matured enough as a hitter to battle for a starting position in 2013, either at third base or DH.

Also, his Foresters teammate and Fullerton Titan Richy Pedroza hit just .164. So suck on that.

Jeff Yamaguchi, Infielder, Peninsula Oilers, Alaska League – It was a rough summer for Yamaguchi on both sides of the ball. Playing 3B (something he’s rarely had a chance to do with the Dirtbags) he tied for the third most errors in the league with 10. At the plate he wasn’t much better, hitting a team worst .202, although that came with a very low .258 BABIP so maybe it just wasn’t his summer. What’s more troubling is his walk rate was nearly cut in half but he did manage to slightly lower his strikeout rate as well. He’ll probably continue to spell Ino Patron at first base in 2013, unless Troy Buckley decides to make Patron the full time DH.

 

Pitchers:

Josh Frye, RHP, Long Beach Legends/La Crosse Loggers, SCCBA/Northwoods League – Frye stayed close to home this summer, starting seven games for the Legends, going 4-1 with a 1.88 ERA, including a shutout. His BAA was just .193 though his BABIP was an uncharacteristically low .266 so the luck factor has to be considered. Most notably, Frye recorded 59 punchouts and only 14 walks in 43 innings; about his typical walk rate but almost doubling his career strikeout rate.

After the SCCBA season ended Frye joined fellow Dirtbags Prigatano and Jake Stassi with the La Crosse Loggers and pitched an additional 24.2 innings, giving up 19 hits (3 homers), striking out 21 and walking five.

Frye’s 2011 numbers with the SLO Blues weren’t far off what off what he did with the Loggers, but most of that work was out of the bullpen. With (now) two-thirds of the weekend staff gone this summer could be looked at as an early audition for a spot in the rotation. Frye was one of many Dirtbag relievers to move into a starting role this summer.

Edgar Gomez, RHP, Palm Springs POWER, SCCBA – Gomez dominated out of the bullpen for the POWER [sic]. In 41 innings he allowed just 32 hits (two doubles and the rest singles), walked seven and K’d 55. It was enough to give him a 0.44 ERA, 6-0 record, and seven saves. The logic-defying low amount of extra base hits surrendered leads me to believe Gomez probably benefited some by not playing in the most elite of leagues, but it’s great to see he went right after hitters and still had tremendous success. After struggling in 11 appearances for the Dirtbags in 2012 he’ll likely be relied on more heavily going into his sophomore year.

 

Landon Hunt, LHP, Conejo Oaks, California Collegiate League – After only throwing 8.2 innings serving primarily as a lefty specialist this spring, Hunt put together an impressive summer as a starter in his second year with the Oaks. In 49 innings Hunt posted a 3.94 ERA, a 49/6 K/BB ratio, a 0.94 WHIP. Hunt posted similar marks in IP, Ks, and hits with the Oaks in 2011 but walked 13 more batters in three less innings. His improved command while pitching in one of the top leagues in the nation could make Hunt, entering his senior season, an early favorite to land a rotation spot in 2013.

 

Jon Maciel, RHP, Peninsula Oilers, Alaska League – Like Frye and Hunt, Maciel moved from the bullpen to the rotation this summer and performed fairly well. In eight starts the righty posted a 2.14 ERA, 36/11 K/BB, and 37 hits in 46.1 innings. His BABIP was around .260 which seems awfully low, but it’s actually a number Maciel has consistently been at for most of his college career. His healthy K/BB is a large improvement over his spring ratio and more along the lines of what he did in his freshman year. He’ll likely be one of several Dirtbags to have a chance at making a wide-open rotation. At the very least he should once again be one of the most valuable pieces of the Long Beach bullpen next year.

Ryan Millison, RHP, Neptune Beach Pearl, Far West League – Incoming JuCo transfer Millison made only six appearances (two starts) this summer tallying just 12 innings. He maintained a .233 BAA but was his own worst enemy, issuing seven walks, three hit batsmen, and three wild pitches. He could compete for a spot in the Dirtbags weekend rotation, though his best bet is a bullpen/mid-week starter gig.

 

Jake Stassi, LHP, La Crosse Loggers, Northwoods League – Stassi showed some improvement in his second year in the Northwoods League. Despite pitching 14.1 fewer innings than last year he managed to improve his K total from 46 in 2011 to 50 this summer (he walked 15 in each season). With his BABIP staying roughly the same as it was last year (about .305) there isn’t much luck to account for; Stassi was simply more effective at getting men out this season, going from 76 hits, 8 homers, and a .277 BAA in 2011 to 47 hits, 2 homers, and a .236 BAA this year. It remains to be seen how well Stassi’s control of the strikezone will carry over to his play with the Dirtbags, as his career K/BB ratio is almost 1:1.

 

And saving the best performance for last…

Matt Anderson, RHP, Palm Springs POWER, SCCBA – Anderson mowed down the SCCBA all summer long, maintaining a K/BB ratio of about 9/1 for most of the season before finishing with at a 95/8 rate. In his final 10 innings, Anderson allowed no hits, no walks, and struck out twenty-one batters.

Turns out he somehow managed to get his fastball up to 95+ MPH. After it looked like the Dirtbags had managed to keep Anderson in school thanks to the new draft rules, the Seattle Mariners took notice of Anderson’s new fastball and signed him as an undrafted free agent. Great, so now the Dirtbags’ Player of the Summer is no longer a Dirtbag.

For once, Keith Law didn’t piss me off

While reading up on Rob Neyer’s Bill James’s article, I saw someone in the comment section pointed out that Keith Law recently declared the new MLB Draft system a failure simply because the Pirates failed to sign Mark Appel.

Lucky for me, I’ve recently been “blessed” with a free ESPN Insider account (no, really, it’s a legit account, just free) so I had a chance to see exactly what Law said.

“The real problem here is that the new system, allegedly designed to funnel the best players to the teams most in need of those players, failed.” (excerpt from the free section of Law's 'Insider' column)

I thought Law knew better than to simply buy the line from MLB’s PR department. Despite what Bud Selig may claim, it’s pretty clear MLB’s reasons for the new spending cap wasn’t to “funnel the best players” to the worst teams. It would be nice if that’s what happened but, regardless, it would be incidental. The real reason behind the rule change was simply to haul in spending on the draft. In that respect, the new system worked perfectly. The slot recommendation was $2.9 million; Appel wanted a hell of a lot more than that; he didn’t get it. Score one for MLB.

In spite of this minor fallacy (which Perfect Game's Allan Simpson was also guilty of a month ago), Law does go on to make an excellent point (which I am now editorializing on a bit) on how MLB can maintain it’s spending limits and give teams like the Pirates the flexibility to deal with these situations: allow them to trade picks. It’s not really a novel idea, but we need people like Law to become more vocal about this (and it would be nice if it was accessible to all readers, not just us “insiders”). MLB needs to finally join the rest of the sports world and allow the trading of draft picks.

I know I harp on Klaw a lot (and I really need to stop because I don’t want to become “that guy who hates Keith Law”, although I’m sure there are many others that could be called that) but I actually agree with many of the ideas he professes, and this was one example of that.

What’s that?

"I think it's much less likely that Stanford will attempt to abuse (Appel’s arm in 2013), as they did in one infamous 149-pitch outing in 2012"

Attempt to abuse? Keith, you would write some….. aw, screw it. I’ll let it go. (But why is 'Appel's arm in 2013' in parenthesis?)

Speaking of trading draft picks, MLB just revealed the order of next season’s lottery round picks. Why they already held the lottery (and thus forced the 2013 draft order to be contingent on 2011 records) is beyond me, but starting now, for the first time, there will be tradeable picks out there on the market, if only for the lottery rounds. Again, for some stupid reason MLB has limited the time teams can trade picks to the regular season (so from now until July 31, then again from Opening Day 2013 until the 2013 draft). Under the logic of “beggars can’t be choosers” I won’t complain about this useless rule. In fact, we heard some encouraging words on MLB Network from Rob Manfred, MLB’s VP on draft lottery rounds (or something like that), stating:

“(The competitive balance lottery) is kind of an experiment. These twelve picks we made assignable to determine whether it would be helpful to small market clubs to be able to capitalize on a pick., either by taking a player… or trading the pick.”

Most of MLB’s “experiments” tend to last forever (the DH, interleague play, an All-Star game that ‘counts’), so hopefully this is good news on the Trading-draft picks front.

I will now write about what Rob Neyer wrote about what Bill James wrote about Joe Paterno (which I read about on Deadspin)

This was supposed to be my week-late piece on the 2012 Triple-A All-Star Game, but it wasn’t like I was going to have much to talk about anyway, other than that Buffalo is kinda weird. I’ll probably get around to that article at some point this decade, but for now the work of Rob Neyer has once again interested me.

I’ve long been a fan of Neyer’s, owning two of his books (well, only one now, my copy of “Baseball Dynasties” disintegrated a few years ago), but I haven’t kept up with much of his work since he left ESPN. Recently he wrote an interesting column over at SBNation, in which he explored sabermetric guru Bill James’s reasoning for defending Joe Paterno’s role in the Penn State scandal (the column, including James’s remarks, can be found here).

The entire Penn State scandal has really reinforced my lack of faith in humanity. The most tragic part is that most of this lack of faith steams from reasons aside from the whole child molestation aspect. It’s understandable why a scandal involving child rape would rile up the masses; but it’s disappointing that it’s caused most people to lose their fucking minds to the point where all objective debate is suspended. (Example: The other day on “ESPNCoversations” I stated that the “Death Penalty” may be warranted for Penn State, but that it shouldn’t come this season since private and public legal investigations are still ongoing, and that the guilt-less student athletes would have virtually no opportunity to transfer with the season and fall semester just a month away. I was met with a response that simply stated: “That’s your only reasoning? It was a child rape case.”)

So seeing a levelheaded mind like Neyer’s enter the discussion is refreshing. Prior to writing this column, I hadn’t really paid much attention to the James controversy, but seeing it now it’s unsurprising to see the masses are once again dismissing an opinion that says anything short of “burn down the school” without considering any other factors. As Neyer explains, in James’s case there may be a pretty significant piece of information to consider: James has likely read the manuscript for the yet-to-be-published Paterno biography by Joe Posnanski. Neyer explains the significance of this:

 

when Bill writes that Paterno fired Sandusky, he's either reading the Freeh Report incorrectly or he read something in Joe's book that suggests Paterno did actually force Sandusky out of coaching.

 

Bold is mine. Or:

 

(James on ESPN radio) “(Paterno) had very few allies. He was isolated, and he was not nearly as powerful as people imagine him to have been. And he had poor sources.”

 

(Neyer) None of that's in the Freeh Report, leaving me to guess it's instead in Joe Posnanski's manuscript.

In other words Bill James may have been privy to information that the majority of people didn't have, and thus formulated an opinion outside the mainstream. You'd think James would be use to this by now.

Neyer goes on to address James’s comments about showering with boys, the role the media has played, and then makes an ambiguous remark about the Paterno statue in the comment section. He also goes on to make his own points that could be written independently of the James controversy. Stating:

Should Paterno have done something to stop Sandusky?

Sure. So should McQueary, who saw Sundusky abusing a child. So should the two Penn State janitors who saw Sandusky abusing a child. None of those men have been seriously criticized, presumably because they were afraid of maybe losing their jobs ... Which sort of ignores the possibility that "maybe losing your job" is a lousy excuse for not reporting the sexual abuse of a child that you've personally witnessed.

Paterno's bosses at Penn State should have done something, too.

Everyone assumes that all of these men -- Paterno's bosses, and Paterno himself -- were evil, or at least acted evilly in this case, which means they acted evilly over the course of 10 years, or 13 if you start the clock in 1998.

That's not the way these things work, usually. There was never a moment when four men sat around a table and cackled with glee as they plotted to facilitate a known child molester. That meeting didn't happen. The truth is far more banal than that. They were instead a few moderately powerful men, weighing competing interests and making some truly unfortunate decisions along the way.

In 1998, they went by the book and Sandusky was cleared of wrongdoing by a variety of official entities. In 2001, they failed to connect the dots and they failed to separate Sandusky from the University and they failed to report him to the authorities. They blew it. Big time.

So why did I just spend the last 750 words (many of which where Neyer's) further watering down (and for the most part, simply recapping) the details of this sub-scandal with one or two of my own empty observations? Pretty much just so I could copy and paste what you see above. Whether or not Neyer is correct is up to you, but that’s beside my point. It sounds strange but the reason I like sports writers like Neyer has a lot to do with the reasons I like writers like John Steinbeck or even Hunter S. Thompson. In spite of the shitstorm we’ve routinely seen involving this scandal (and really with everything in the public eye) there’s something almost inspiring about finding a mind that can parse through a debate about “good” and “evil” and recognize that usually things just “are”, for better or worse.

What? This is a college baseball blog? Oh, err…. Hey Baseball America just wrote this: “Long Beach State landed a potential ace of its own in righty David Hill”. Yay!

Maryland needs a coach, among other things...

Poor Maryland. Despite one of the programs best seasons in decades (#31 in the RPI) the Terrapins fell short of an at-large bid in the Regionals, a spot in the ACC Tournament, saw their revered head coach, Erik Bakich, depart for a mid-major conference team, and this past week suffered major cuts to their athletic department.

The U of M already seemed unwilling to support their baseball program and now appears they’re simply unable to. Bakich (who left for Michigan largely because of the Wolverines commitment to baseball) was paid a shockingly low $100,000 by an ACC school and with the budget cuts it’s reasonable to assume that figure should just get lower for his successor. My prognosis of the Maryland coaching situation is a bit pessimistic, but with all the budget cuts that have taken place the Terrapins should be thankful to still have a baseball team at this point, so despite coming off a surprisingly good year, my guess is the Maryland position will be a bit difficult to fill.

On that cheery note, let’s see who could get this thankless job in College Park:

The Top Program Assistants:

I’ve decided to lump all these guys together because I think their odds of getting hired are all comparably low. A top assistant at a good program could already be making close to (or more) than the $100,000 that Bakich received, plus they’ll be coming from a school that has a decidedly larger commitment to its baseball team. Among the candidates rumored (as in, mentioned on Kendall Roger’s latest Coaching Carousel) are:

Scott Forbes, Associate Head Coach, North Carolina – Forbes may be the most qualified candidate on the list. He’s been an assistant in the ACC for well over a decade, has experience as a summer league head coach, and is an AHC at an elite program. All that may mean the Terps simply won’t be able to pay him enough to pry him from an already prestigious position. He’s also a pitching coach (and former national pitching coach of the year), the one position that could still be filled and one of the few Maryland coaches likely to stick around in College Park, Eric Milton.

Kevin McMullan, Associate Head Coach, Virginia – Another ACC AHC, McMullan is also the team’s recruiting coordinator and hitting coach (begging the questions, just what the hell does Cavaliers Head Coach Brian O’Connor do?). McMullan is immensely valuable to UVa, making it hard to imagine they’d let their coach leave for a conference foe when they can probably offer a better salary (if they’re not already).

Scott Jackson, Assistant Coach, North Carolina – Jackson may be a slightly more realistic option for Maryland since he’s a step down the payscale already yet still has an impressive resume as the Tar Heels recruiting coordinator. He also has a diverse coaching background; working as a hitting, base running, infield, and pitching coach.

Link Jarrett, Director of Player Development, Auburn – Jarrett offers a similarly impressive, still relatively young career as Jackson and what he lacks in the on-field success Jackson and the Tar Heels have had he enjoys in personal accolades, winning two SEBaseball.com Assistant Coach of the Year awards. Auburn’s lack of significant success the last few years could also make the jump to ACC Head Coach by Jarrett more likely than what you’d expect from your typical SEC assistant. Also, the guy’s name is Link. What the hell?

Chris Lemonis, Assistant Coach, Louisville – Yet another recruiting coordinator for a top-25 caliber team, Lemonis is the top assistant for the Cardinals although he doesn’t carry the “Associate Head Coach” tag, meaning he may be easier to pry away. Furthermore, he’s primarily a hitting coach, which may be what Maryland needs first and foremost (besides a strong recruiter). This is pure speculation on my part, but it’s possible all these non-AHCs could also be candidates for the UNC Greensboro job, where the program plays at fairly well respected ballpark, despite being a mid-major. So ACC team Maryland could actually find itself competing with that.

The Head Coaches:

Also being rumored are a few current and former head coaches, most of which already have comfortable positions at schools that, while small, have solidly built baseball programs.

Monte Lee, Head Coach, College of Charleston – Lee has been mentioned as a candidate, but this is one option I just can’t see. Why in the world Lee would leave the baseball hotbed of South Carolina, and a program that’s turned into a solid regional contender year after year, is beyond me. Mid-Major status be damned, right now I’d rather be coaching the Cougars than the Terrapins.

Mike Kennedy, Head Coach, Elon – Kennedy has been with the Phoenix for 16 years with consistent success for a mid-major team, and is a former player for the school. Although Elon may not be as prestigious as North Carolina, Virginia, or even College of Charleston, no other coach on this list may be more deeply entrenched with his program. Kennedy likely only leaves the Phoenix if he gets an offer that’s too good to refuse. Despite U of M’s budget problems there’s an outside chance of Kennedy getting a decent offer. Since the Terps are likely to lose nearly their entire coaching staff to Michigan they may put a premium on a candidate that can bring a coaching staff with him. 

Joe Sottolano, Head Coach, Army – Sottolano is in a similar situation as Kennedy, having a long history with his program. However he’s not an alumnus of the school so his ties may not be as strong as Kennedy’s. He also may be more willing to depart since he comes from a military academy, where achieving much success outside the conference is less likely than for a typical mid-major. One last major factor: For over six years during Sottolano's tenture as the Army HC, his Athletic Director was current Maryland AD Kevin Anderson. Lord knows what this means or if these guys actually like each other (although, come to think of it, Kendall Rogers probably knows) but this could certainly help Maryland attempt to undo those ties Sottolano and Army have.

Frank Anderson, Former Head Coach, Oklahoma State – This could be a match made in purgatory. Anderson is currently unemployed, after getting the axe from Oklahoma State just a few weeks ago, after being a coach in the Texas/Oklahoma region for over two decades. An outfielder in college, Anderson has experience as a pitching coach. Geographically it may be a mismatch and PR-wise it may just look bad for an ACC school to hire a coach deemed unworthy of coaching in the Big XII. Still, if Maryland is simply looking for anyone who knows how to run a baseball team, a recent firee (not a real word) could be the perfect candidate to offer a modest salary to. The real question could be if Anderson is willing to move halfway across the country to try and right a wayward ship.  

The Eric Miltons:

The sad thing about most of these candidates is that if they fail, well, they’d obviously be fired within a few seasons, but even if they find success at Maryland, the position would almost certainly be a stepping stone job. A chance to put “Head Coach for ACC school” on their resume before trying to move onto something bigger and better. It’s possible the Maryland AD will find some young, idealistic candidate who wants to rebuild the program all by himself, and if that’s the case then Maryland should by all means give that man the job, however it’s unlikely they’ll find this given the bleak situation in College Park.

There is one candidate that is unlikely to bolt after a few seasons, but he’s also probably the least qualified man for the job.

Eric Milton, Interim Head Coach, Maryland – That title is a little misleading, as Milton has held the position for about a week and his college coaching resume consists of less than one calendar year as a volunteer assistant with the Terps. Despite this, he may end up being the last man standing after Bakich assembles his staff out in Ann Arbor. Milton is an alumnus, if that counts for anything, but the biggest factor supporting Milton’s chances at the gig is the fact that an inexperience, in-house, hometown hire such Milton could also come the most cheaply.

As great a hitter as Tony Gwynn was, he just has never been a terribly successful college head coach. Some have questioned whether a man without Gwynn’s iconic status would have been fired by now. For my money, it seems that the folks at San Diego State have resided themselves in the idea that, with Gwynn, they can pretty much put the program on autopilot. No need to shake up the coaching staff or pump more money into the program (I say that, admittedly, without knowing SDSU’s baseball budget) just let Gwynn write his own ticket and let the recruiting pitch simply be “Want to play for a Hall of Famer?”

Not that Milton is on the same level as Gwynn, either in terms of major league talent or popularity, but it’s possible Maryland could take a similar route as SDSU and simply hire someone with strong ties to the program who could make up for his lack of experience and the school’s lack of success by simply telling high schoolers “want to play for a former All-Star?” The department’s budget issues may leave them little choice. 

Before the College World Series I gave my odds for each team winning the title; this time I’m taking the more lazy route and simply ranking the candidates in order of likelihood to get the job.

1. Joe Sattolano
2. Frank Anderson
3. Eric Milton
4. Scott Jackson
5. Chris Lemonis
6. Link Jarrett
7. Mike Kennedy
8. Kevin McMullen
9. Monte Lee
10. Scott Forbes

UPDATE (7/19): Maryland has their man, hiring Kansas State Associate Head Coach John Szefc. Szxfecfsdsd was #11 on my list, so, yeah. Nailed it.

Who am I? Why am I here?

I’ve always felt Dirtbag Blues was the James Stockdale of College Baseball Blogs

I figured a reference to an American War hero was an appropriate way to honor this Forth of July post. Actually, I had the Stockdale joke in mind for weeks and just got around to writing it.

For the first month of this blog’s life the posts have been a collection of critiquing the coverage of reputable sports media outlets, the MLB draft process, a random College World Series chat, a few half-hearted commentaries, days late recaps of DC Grays Cal Ripken league action, some memes I made impulsively, and a delightful recap of some college baseball twitter wars (it now appears Brian Foley has blocked me on twitter for some reason).

So the question I’m sure that’s on the minds of both of my readers is just what the hell this blog is actually going to be about. I’m now going to attempt to answer that today.

I know things, um, more things about college baseball than anyone in the world, I know some things about college baseball more than anyone, um…..

(looks at notes)

Although this blog is based in Washington, DC (as in, I live in Washington, DC) most of the content will be focused on the west coast brand of baseball, particularly action in the Big West Conference, and even more specifically, the Long Beach State Dirtbags. The Maryland Terrapins and DC Grays have been nice surrogates for me, so they’ll be sure to get their share of coverage. There are plans to integrate some regular features into the posts, such as capsules on some under the radar D1 teams, recaps on local teams (as you’ve seen whit the Grays), and updates on recruits. Most of this won’t be able to come into play until fall ball begins (or even later), so for now the posts may be a bit schizophrenic.

One thing I’ll make clear: I’m no scout, and wasn’t much of a player (I got cut from my high school team senior year) so much of my “analysis” will be second-hand. This will be made up for in some of Dirtbag Blues’s unique/specific coverage of teams, and my own cheap attempts to amuse, such as calling Keith Law an asshole or making early ‘90s pop culture references (did everyone see The Bodyguard??? So romantic… what am I typing on?)

Frankly, a large role this blog is going to play is to help keep me entertained. I’m not doing this to offer any kind of fair and balanced (trademarked) coverage, gain a wide following (although a sincere thanks to those reading this) or curry favor with any college baseball insiders. If anyone doesn’t care for the content I offer, well then, screw you. No, really, it's understandable and that’s your prerogative. Thanks again to those viewers that I have.

Just to keep myself honest, here’s some random stuff to expect in the next week or two:

1. Coverage of the Triple-A All-Star Game in Buffalo.
2. An update on the University of Maryland’s search for a Head Coach.
3. (Hopefully) some more coverage on the DC Grays and Cal Ripken League.
4. Any crap I hear about the Boise State drama.
5. Updates on Big West/Long Beach State players in summer ball.

That’s it for now, thanks for readi….. wait….. MY TAMAGOTCHI DIED!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

(yeah, that's 1996, so what?)

All The Commissioner’s Men

 Sorry, I just got done reading Robert Penn Warren’s classic. Can someone tell me why the actors in the movie version are listed on the book cover? As if James Gandolfini’s acting chops are really going come across as I read the part where Jack confronts Duffy.

This post is about the Big West conference and Boise State. Just wanted to make that clear before since the title was a bit cryptic. If you don’t care about the Big West, feel free to leave.

 

For those of you still here, here’s the latest with that whole situation:

Boise State has officially told the Mountain West that it will be departing in all sports on June 30, 2013. The football program joins the Big East. The rest of the athletic department is basically homeless.

There’s been ongoing discussions about the Broncos joining the Big West, as a simply a cheap place to put their non-football sports, a la Hawaii and San Diego State. Today the Boise State athletics website curiously released this statement:

the Big West announced today that it will hold  meeting of its Presidents prior to the start of the coming academic year for a final decision on Boise State's membership in the Big West beginning July 1, 2013.

That’s a little too ambiguous for my liking. Either Boise IS heading to the BWC and this article just implies it too weakly, or they aren’t (yet) joining the BWC and the article seemed to imply that they are.

What the release is trying to say is that BWC commissioner Dennis Farrell and the various members will decide Boise's fate sometime this summer, so now the question becomes does Boise have the votes to make it happen?

Boise does not sponsor some of the Big West’s most popular sports… including Baseball. The travel costs will be prohibitive, so BSU will have to subsidize road trips for the league. Then there’s the whole concern that Boise will just up and leave the conference (and take San Diego State with them) as soon as a better opportunity presents itself.

Hawai'i (starting today an official member of the Big West, welcome!) seems firmly against the addition for obvious reasons (which I will now state: they don’t want to have to travel halfway around the globe for conference games, they joined the BWC to avoid doing that in the first place). Long Beach State doesn’t seem to be on board either, meaning one more “nay” vote and the Broncos will fall short of admission. 

Rumor has it (by that I mean, people have said on message boards) that Boise’s official departure from the MWC makes it’s joining the Big West more likely. Regardless, as a Big West fan, I’d just rather not see it happen. The only thing the Big West gains from adding the Broncos is a slightly larger sense of stability when it comes to San Diego State’s status. Financially speaking, the best the Big West can do is try to directly profit from Boise State through fees, subsidies, and revenue sharing. Even though Boise needs the Big West a lot more than the other way around, seeing the rest of the conference directly profit off of one specific member sets such a bad precedent that it’s not even worth doing.

BSU’s precarious standing in the Big East isn’t going to get much stronger than it is now. So even though San Diego State’s Big East (and thus, Big West) membership is tied to Boise’s, the BWC would be better served to simply move forward with what they have now. The Aztecs bring a lot to the conference, and if Boise’s BS lead to SDSU’s tenure being short-lived, so be it. One of the things that has keep this conference alive through all the realignment is its commitment to beardown and maintain a strong footprint in California. Putting up with Boise’s politics would be a major departure from that gameplan. So hopefully Farrell and Co. can conjure up one more no vote and keep the league at 10 teams

But then, there could be so other factors I'm ignoring. There’s also some talk about the Big East/Big West possibly cutting a side deal as part of BSU’s admission that would bring include some Big East @ Big West basketball games, which would be a great for the conference if possible, but frankly I don’t care about that and I just want to get this post finished. So I’ll just let you think about that.

One final note; someone caught me reading All The King’s Men the other day and remarked “oh yeah, I thought about seeing the movie.” I appreciate that they where trying to make conversation but how lame of an attempt is that? Oh, your son goes to Harvard? I almost watched the “Call Me Maybe” video the other day!