Judging from Twitter’s reaction, nobody in Cleveland likes the Lombardi hire, for obvious reasons. With that said, fans need to change their prayers from “God, don’t let us hire him” to “God, please empower Michael Lombardi to be the best in the NFL at whatever his job actually is”.  He handled the criticism the best way possible, and said he’s ready for a fresh start. How the Browns organization is a good fit to take a flyer on a fresh start for someone who’s been out of the league for five years is beyond me, but we’re in it now. Thank God he wore an orange tie to the presser, that would have been the last straw.

The other recent hire for the Browns is defensive coordinator Ray Horton. The Browns redeemed themselves a little bit here, and Horton seems to be able to bring a great attitude and philosophy to a unit that is still young and malleable. A great article on Horton’s connection to new offensive coordinator Norv Turner and more from Mary Kay Cabot is here. Included are some very impressive numbers from Horton’s time in Arizona that should get everyone excited about the future for the Browns’ D.

Best quote from him addressing the defensive scheme, keeping in mind that he ran a 3-4 in Arizona and during his time in Pittsburgh: “I’m a coach of men, whether it’s 3-4, 4-3, 5-5, I don’t care. I’m going to coach men.” Boom. Almost relinquishes any fear of the Browns’ current personnel being completely unsuitable for the 3-4.

With the major positions in the coaching staff complete, both coordinator hires are very impressive and the passion and creativity of Rob Chudzinski at the helm should bode well for the future. Let’s just hope they and the scouts can impart the knowledge necessary to make sure Banner and Lombardi get them the players they need.

Final note on Horton: He has the coolest hair in coaching.

Here are a couple more nuggets on the Indians and Cavaliers, and of course, the Believing Since 1999 soundtrack of the day:

- Soundtrack check: “She Doesn’t Mind” by Sean Paul. Don’t even try to rationalize a skip on Pandora over that song.

- Buster Olney rates the ’95 Indians outfield (Manny Ramirez, Kenny Lofton, and Albert Belle) as the second best of all time behind the ’61 Yanks (Maris, Mantle, Berra). It’s a fun read if you’re an ESPN Insider.

- The Tribe have agreed to terms with utility man Ryan Raburn. His numbers from last year are hideous. Other rumors included Ryan Theriot in the utility role picture, but Raburn signed a minor-league deal and Theriot would have certainly cost more. Understandable move from Antonetti and Co.

- The Cavs got active in the trade market today, acquiring Wayne Ellington, Marreese Speights, and Josh Selby from the Grizzlies in exchange for Jon Leuer and cap flexibility. The biggest catch, however, is a first-round pick that could become available as soon as 2015.  Jeremy Pargo was also waived today. Speights will likely be the biggest contributor, as he brings a necessary big body to the front-court. Geez, Marreese, don’t look too excited about leaving a playoff team for one that definitely isn’t…

Photo credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

- Hate to see this about Anderson Varejao. Here’s to a speedy and full recovery.

To wrap things up today, the Wine and Gold are finally back at the friendly confines of Quicken Loans Arena tonight against the Boston Celtics. Boston have been unusually average this season (20-20) but you can never discount a lineup including Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo. Celtics head coach Doc Rivers had some very poignant comments for his team following their embarrassing loss to the Detroit Pistons, and said today in Cleveland that he’s not taking anything back. If the veteran presence in the Boston locker room is true to form, those comments will fuel an energized Celtics squad tonight.

Just like every game day for the Cavs, it’s exciting to see what tonight will bring for the young squad. They won’t have Speights and company available tonight, but as long as Kyrie Irving will be on the floor, it’s worth the time.

As always, chat on Twitter during the game tonight @BelieveInCLE, and Go Cavs.

The Fins have two things that teams looking to build around a solid core need: a plethora of draft picks and tons of salary cap space. The Dolphins own five picks in the first 100 of April’s NFL Draft, including the 12th overall pick.

All total, the Dolphins have 10 picks in the draft including: the 12th selection, 42nd, an additional second round pick to be determined, 77th, 82nd, a fourth, fifth, and sixth round pick along with two seventh round picks.

The Dolphins salary cap situation is yet to be completely determined, but the team will carry over upwards of $6 million in cap space from last season, according to Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post. The NFL is estimating the 2013 salary cap to be around $121 million, meaning the Dolphins will have approximately $127 million in its salary cap, the Post reported.

Currently, the Dolphins have around $76 million committed to the cap in 2013, meaning the team has almost $50 million in salary cap space next season.

That’s the good news. The bad news is the Dolphins have numerous key free agents the team must determine whether or not to re-sign.

Among the Dolphins free agent class are running back Reggie Bush, tight end Anthony Fasano, wide receiver Brian Hartline, kicker Nate Kaeding, left tackle Jake Long, cornerback Sean Smith, and defensive tackle Randy Starks.

Bush and Hartline are likely to be resigned if possible and keeping Starks next to Paul Soliai would keep together the Fins’ solid interior defensive line. Kaeding arguably would provide an upgrade over Dan Carpenter, who struggled at times in 2012.

Long may hit free agency unless he’s willing to take a contract that’s very friendly to the team. Rookie Jonathan Martin filled in for Long and settled in at left tackle late in the season and played well, giving Miami options at the position.

Smith is more of a mystery for the team. At times, he looked like a solid starting cornerback for the team and at other times, he was beaten badly by elite receivers. Smith has a rare combination of size and speed, but if he’s hoping for a huge contract, the Dolphins may pass.

Looking ahead to the NFL Draft, the Dolphins may be in line to acquire the top receiver in the draft in 6’3” wide receiver Keenan Allen. The junior suffered a knee injury last season which will help determine his position in the draft. In some ways, Allen is a similar receiver to the departed Brandon Marshall.

If he’s somehow still on the board, the Dolphins would likely jump on Alabama cornerback DeMarcus Milliner. He would provide an instant upgrade over Nolan Carroll, but will likely be long gone by the time the Fins come on the clock.

It’s not outside the realm of possibility for the team to spend another pick on an offensive tackle/guard to shore up the right side of the line, however, there are several free agents who could fill that role as well.

The Fins will look to upgrade the secondary and the wide receiving corps the most in the offseason. Among free agent defensive backs some of the top names out there in free agency include: William Moore, Jairus Byrd, Louis Delams and others.

As for wide receivers in free agency, the list includes: Dwayne Bowe, Greg Jennings, Wes Welker, Mike Wallace, and Danny Amendola.

On December 27, 2012, the Jets finalized the last days of Tebow in New York by declining once again to start him – even after the injury to current starter, Greg McElroy – in favor of embattled former starter, Mark Sanchez.

There will be a lot of articles talking about what a failure this was for the Jets, but let’s look at the Jets mindset on that day in March.

Here, in order, are some of the reasons the Jets traded for Tim Tebow.

1. Jersey Sales

Of course it would have clean comfort.

2. Ticket Sales

3. Thrilling Press Conferences

4. Trying To Be The Lord’s Team

10. EXCITEMENT

15. The Wildcat

Oh.

23. Coveting Draft Picks Is Overrated

34. Allowing Rex Ryan to Atone for His Dirty Language

49. Bench Manners

Great Conversation

51. Tebow Action Figures

68. Reaping the Benefits of Selling the Cure to Tebowmania

74. Human Statue of Liberty

88. Free Underwear

100. Play QB

In other news, Lisa Zimmerman of CBS is reporting Mike Tannenbaum will be fired Monday…

Governor Chris Christie ecstatically welcomed him to New Jersey.  The Daily News had the Statue of Liberty in his famous stance.  His legion of fans were ready to take New York by storm.

Tim Tebow, coming off a surprise season where he relieved Kyle Orton in Denver and led the Broncos to a playoff overtime victory, was now a Jet.  Woody Johnson and Mike Tannenbaum helped complete the trade – giving Denver a 4th and 6th round pick – and putting the Jets right back in the forefront with the second consecutive sports story to knock the standing Super Bowl Champion Giants off the covers.

Tebowmania was here.

So was the end of the Jets season.  We just didn’t know it yet.
–

The trade had immediate issues before it could even be completed.  The Broncos and Jets went immediately into more discussions when it was determined a bonus had not been assigned to the correct team.  What resulted was the first of many issues that would come from the Tebow Era – the Jets would be stuck with an extra $2.5 million.

But Tebowmania was now here.  The highest profile backup QB in the NFL was here!

Wait, you say backup?  That’s right, the Jets still had Mark Sanchez.  And yes, the same Mark Sanchez that just went through the Peyton Manning chase that set off the Tebow trade.  As a result of that failure, the Jets felt they needed to “make-good” with Sanchez and gave him a $40.5M extension, including $20.5 in guarantees over the next two years (more on this later).

And now, the Jets completely undone anything that extension may have tied up.  They didn’t just bring in a player, but a cult of Tebow with a legion of fans.  Millions of fans that would want to see Sanchez’s backup and would call out his name whenever they have an opportunity.  The guy Tannenbaum called “our guy” would now have an unprecedented amount of people calling for the other guy.

Not to mention, the Jets players would all watch as everyone paid attention to a backup.  No leader on this team would be the stronger word-of-mouth than Tebow.  For a backup.  A team coming off the struggles and controversies of 2011, now had a new source of contention in the locker room, instead of working to eliminate them.

But of course, this could all be fine.  The Jets had a plan, right?

Gang Green brought in a new offensive coordinator in the off-season, finally jettisoning Brian Schottenheimer.  They decided on former Dolphins head coach, Tony Sparano.  And what luck this was – the guy who most famously used the wildcat to supplement the signing of Chad Pennington and get to the playoffs now had the ultimate Wildcat player in Tebow.

They would know how to use him.  They would have a fine plan constructed to prevent anyone from thinking Tebow was just a QB sitting there to replace Sanchez?

The preseason was filled with two consistencies, no offense whatsoever when Sanchez was in the game, and no Wildcat at all when Tebow was in.  What a start for the Sparano era.

But no, Rex Ryan calmed us, the preseason was nothing.  They had secret Tebow packages ready for opening day.

While the offense actually showed up opening day, the Tebow package did not.  The Jets new Punt Protector, yes, two draft picks for a punt protector, had five carries for 11 yards, and many seemingly random insertions into the game that only helped to continuously ruin their quarterback’s momentum.

That theme would continue all season.  The Jets, who defended the trade to its death, had no plan at all for Tebow.  They brought him in with promise and did nothing with him.

Meanwhile, as some predicted, Sanchez eventually struggled.  The presence of Tebow was not one of the top reasons for it, but it was the second of many moments where the Jets never quite got the most important position in football ready.

They twice tried to replace Sanchez.  They spent tons of money on a backup QB with no plan to use him to supplement Sanchez.  They never went out and spent equal money on weapons for Sanchez, his receiving corps having the requisite Chaz’s and Clyde’s, but they were some of his top receivers.  In fact, they left $7M on the table, something you can never do in the cap era.

–

And now we are here with the most stunning example of how Tebow never became any sort of positive for the Jets this year: They finally benched Sanchez, and who did they go to?  Tebow? Nope – 7th round pick, Greg McElroy.

In a slap to the face of Tebow, who came to the Jets thinking that if Sanchez ever struggled, he would be the option, instead got passed over for a guy with barely over 20 yards thrown in his career.

So now were in the end.  The Sanchez or Tebow talks have fallen by the wayside with the answer being neither.  Talks are that Sanchez could be traded or released; same with Tebow.  Sanchez is a shocker, but something that could happen to any team that may have made a mistake.

Tebow is a mistake squarely on the Jets.  They could have had a plan, but who knows if that would have worked.  Instead, they had nothing.  No clue.  Not even a desire from their head coach to get him.

Just another sign of what this team is: disarray, no plan, no idea.  As we look back on this season, Tim Tebow will be yet another sign of the dysfunction that was the 2012 New York Jets.

Will Team Underground add more banners in 2012?

Get on board today Team Underground Picks & Packages

The injuries plaguing these young players run the gamut from freak (Bogut’s fall that led to a horrific broken wrist) to chronic (Yao Ming and Greg Oden) and have hit players of varying race, age and position. Injuries don’t give a fuck what God you pray to or what block you grew up on or how much pain you’ve already experienced in your life. Injuries are lurking … just ask the top picks from the past decade:

• The table above looks at the percentage of games a player could have appeared in (% Possible = 100% for each player) and the percentage of games he missed (% Missed).
• Graph doesn’t include playoff games.
• A rookie like Anthony Davis is unfairly represented due to the small sample size.
• Yao Ming appears twice. The first Yao Ming (without asterisk) represents his career pre-retirment. The starred Yao Ming* includes games he missed since he’s been retired with the assumption being that without injuries, Yao would still be with us today and the NBA would be a radically different place.
• The total numbers for all players are: 6,147 possible games played, 4,455 games missed for a total of 27.5% missed.
• If you remove the top (Dwight Howard, 2.9% missed) and bottom (Greg Oden, 80% missed), the percentage of missed games drops to 26.5%.
• I’m uncertain about league averages for games played/missed, but my gut reaction is that missing 27.5% of possible games is on the high end. Additionally, teams drafting a player number one overall likely have the expectation that these players will be suiting up more frequently than the numbers here show.

Lastly, if anyone out there has access to injury data or DNP reasons, that additional information could add quite a bit of insight into the causes for the numbers above. As it stands, let’s all have a moment of silence for the careers of Greg Oden and Yao Ming.

Taylor Hall joins the AHL with the OKC Barons

Hall has played a total of 126 National Hockey League games and has posted 49 goals and 46 assists for a total of 95 points.  During these 126 contests he has a plus/minus rating of -12.  He also has yet to make a playoff appearance.

Making his debut tonight (11/2/12) with the Barons, Hall looks to add to the scoring of the team.  As I am writing this, The Barons are up 2 to nothing over the Houston Aeros.  Hall has scored 1 of the two goals that were scored, so clearly he has already had a positive effect on the teams scoring abilities.  (The second goal was scored by fellow NHL’er Eberle) Keep an eye on the OKC Barons this season, as they have a set of lethal scoring players.

I also don’t feel like Marty Hurney is/was the only problem with the organization. Sure he made a few bone-headed moves and he gave out large contracts to Panther players that didn’t deserve such large deals. Example a five year extension for Jake Delhomme worth $42.5 million, $20 million guaranteed. He also had several bad draft moves like trading the following years 1st or 2nd round picks for the current years 2nd or 3rd round picks. I’m not against draft trades but you lose too much value in moves like that.

One of the biggest problems with the Panthers is coaching. The season before Ron Rivera took over there was a lot of talk in Charlotte of who would eventually replace John Fox. I acknowledged that Ron Rivera would eventually make a good head coach however I think this job was too soon for him and not the right fit. Bringing him here as the defensive coordinator under a proven winner like Bill Cowher or Marty Schottenheimer would’ve helped groom Rivera for the head coach position. In my opinion the biggest drawback to Rivera is that he is not a good game day coach. You can see it in his poor time management and how the team doesn’t make any in-game adjustments. Another criticism of Ron Rivera is his lack of emotion during the games. I don’t need Mike Singletary type of emotion, but give us something to show your desire for this team to win.

The on field performance is a huge issue. On the offensive side of the ball the team has completely struggled. With players like Cam Newton, Steve Smith, Greg Olsen, DeAngelo Williams, and Jonathan Stewart, this offense was dubbed “explosive” and “high scoring” by many in the NFL and a lot in the press. The 2012 Carolina Panthers offense has been anything but explosive. In 4 of their losses they have only averaged 10.75 points per game (and 14 of those points came on interceptions returned for a touchdowns and then a safety given to us at the end of the Seattle game). The offensive line is not creating running lanes for D-Will and J-Stew and they are not protecting the pocket long enough for Cam to find open receivers. Our two running backs are averaging a combined 65 yards per game. COMBINED 65 yards per game. That’s not good enough. This not only forces more passing plays but also puts Cam in a bad spot when he’s got to make quick decisions. No offense to the Panthers but we have all seen what happens when a quarterback tries to force quick throws (ahem, Jake Delhomme). A lot of the blame needs to be put on Cam and the plays the coaches are calling. Last year a big part of the teams offense was the utilization of tight ends Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olsen. This year with Shockey gone we would all expect Olsen, who is a solid tight end, to become more of a focal point for the offense. That hasn’t happened at all. Thru six games Olsen is only getting 4 receptions per game for 54 yards. He only has 1 touchdown on the whole season. Speaking of not having enough touchdowns, how about Steve Smith? The teams leading receiver hasn’t scored all season. There is something wrong with a team when their top receiver and top tight end have 1 combined touchdown in the first six games!

Every facet of this offense has struggled. Do we really only have 2 field goals for the season? Our opponents have 20. We have 32 punts, our opponents have had 22. We are averaging 6.3 yards per punt return. You can lunge forward and get at least half of that.

I’m not one of these guys that thinks the team should bench, replace, trade, or do anything to Cam Newton. I don’t put all of the blame on him, but his passes are off this year. The pass attempt to Ben Hartsock on 4th and 1 from the Seattle 1 yard line to take the lead near the end of the game was absolutely pathetic. My 13-year-old son would’ve made that throw and he doesn’t even play quarterback for his middle school team. (*Side note: he plays tight end and defensive end for them*) A lot of Cams throws this year have been too high, too short, behind receivers, or nowhere near anyone due to miscommunication between him and the receivers. That needs to change. Cam currently has more interceptions (6) than passing touchdowns (5). The media has been down on Cam focusing on his antics on the bench and in his post game press conferences. I personally don’t care what he does on the bench, I don’t care what he says in his press conference, I don’t care what Warren Moon thinks, and I don’t care if he doesn’t smile enough. Yes the Superman pose and celebration during the Giants game when the Panthers were down by 100 points was a bit selfish, but so was Mike Tolbert dancing Gangnam Style after his touchdown against Dallas. A team that has won only one game and can’t get into the end zone shouldn’t celebrate until they start putting some W’s in the win column.

Now let’s look at the defense. Linebacker Jon Beason, who seems to be the defensive team leader, sat in the WFNZ 610 AM The Fan studio during the preseason and preached about how much the team would be blitzing this year. If I recall correctly he said they would be blitzing a huge percentage of the plays. I’m not sure if they have blitz 5 or 6 times all season! There are games that we don’t touch the opposing quarterback. And why do the Panthers linebackers rush the line of scrimmage before the snap? They don’t blitz, they drop back in coverage as soon as the ball is snap which gives the running back a chance to gain several yards before first contact or allows the opposing QB to hit those medium range 8-15 yard passes before the linebackers can recover. The defense is currently 19th in passing yards allowed and 19th in rushing yards allowed. A team doesn’t sniff the playoffs with stats like that.

I don’t have the answer for the teams numerous problems. I do know that I am tired of hearing people blame just one part of the team or just one player. This team isn’t producing because the whole team is playing like crap, the coaches are making bad calls, and some of the personnel on the field shouldn’t even be there thanks to the ex-GM. The most important thing this team can do is execute better.

–Bruce Wilson is the owner of Superior Car Service a transportation and chauffeur service and blogs for 610 AM The Fan Sports Radio on WFNZ.com. He is currently working on his first novel. Follow him on Twitter @BruceRWilson

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect those of Sports Radio 610 AM WFNZ The Fan

Now the blame from Sunday’s loss will be pinned solely on Mark Sanchez and then the call for Tim Tebow to start will continue to get louder. I am one of those people that are not keen on Mark Sanchez, but this game and the team’s inability to be a force in the AFC last year and so far this season has nothing to do with Sanchez or Tebow.

I don’t blame the players that the Jets have; I blame general manager Mike Tannenbaum and the entire scouting/player personnel department for this mess.  The later round draft picks have been horrible, Shonne Greene has not panned out to being a top RB as they thought he would, the receiving core is weak, there is not real pass rush and the offensive line after Mangold, Moore and Ferguson is for a lack of a better term garbage.

On the defensive side of the ball, Aaron Maybin and Quinton Coples were supposed to join Mo Wilkerson, Sione Puoha and Mike Devitto forming a strong run stuffing and pass rushing line. That hasn’t happened, the linebackers are slow and in reality Calvin Pace is the only real pass rushing threat.

The secondary finally has two real safeties, if only La’Ron Landry and Yeremiah Bell were here in 09 and 10. As for the corners behind Revis and Cromartie it is porous, Kyle Wilson was supposedly one of the top corners when the team drafted him and he hasn’t been close to it.

In both 2009-10 when the Jets made the AFC Title game both years they had talented players. The players then were OL Alan Faneca and Damien Woody and DL Kris Jenkins, Shaun Ellis and Trevor Pryce.

Had a pretty good group of WRs Braylon Edwards, Brad Smith and Jericho Cotchery. They also had RBs Leon Washington, Thomas Jones and Tony Richardson. Back then the team had leaders and players that kept “cancers” like Santonio Holmes inline; this current Jets team doesn’t have any leaders like that.

With the team playing Houston Monday night, the loss of Revis and potential loss of Holmes has the Jets scrambling and nervous.  Also has their fans potentially thinking about next year if things don’t go well, the rest of the season.

My advice to Woody Johnson, fire the management team ( meaning scouting department and GM) and bring in guys from winning franchises, i.e.: Packers, Steelers, Ravens, Giants, and Patriots to name a few. Or maybe even give Bill Polian a call.

Top pick Addison Russell: Keepin’ his eye on the ball!

A few weeks ago, after almost 2 months of play, we offered a little progress report on the A’s top 20 draft picks of 2012. And now with the minor league regular season over, it’s time for a complete season-end recap of the progress of the A’s top 20.

The most improved player over the past few weeks since our last report has been the A’s 8^th overall draft pick, first baseman Max Muncy, who has spent the entire season playing at as high a level as any of this year’s picks. The 22-year-old left-handed hitter got his on-base percentage at Class-A Burlington all the way up to .383 in just his first year of pro ball while playing against a lot of guys who already had a year or two under their belts. He was eventually joined at Burlington by the A’s top draft pick of 2012, shortstop Addison Russell, who continued to look solid despite facing a higher level of competition.

The player who took the biggest dip over the past few weeks since our last report has been the A’s 2^nd overall draft pick, shortstop Daniel Robertson. After looking impressive in the Arizona League, the 18-year-old struggled after his promotion to Vermont. After hitting almost .300 in the Arizona League, the infielder hit under .200 at Vermont, and he went from striking out once every 7 at-bats to striking out once every 3 at-bats. But the good news is he’s still a teenager just a few months out of high school and, based on what he showed in rookie league ball, he’ll surely adjust with a little more time.

You’ll find the A’s top 20 draft picks of 2012 along with their vital stats through the end of the season listed below. All the teams they’ve played for so far this season are noted, with the team they’ve appeared in the most games for listed first and the team they ended the season with in bold. So without any further ado, the most promising seeds of the A’s 2012 farm crop in all their splendor…

#1

Addison Russell

(1^st Round – Age 18 – Shortstop – AZL A’s+Vermont+Burlington)

7 HR / 23 BB / 48 K / .369 AVG / .432 OBP / .594 SLG / 1.027 OPS

#2

Daniel Robertson

(1^st Round – Age 18 – Shortstop – AZL A’s+Vermont)

5 HR / 23 BB / 46 K / .241 AVG / .330 OBP / .400 SLG / .730 OPS

#3

Matt Olson

(1^st Round – Age 18 – First Baseman – AZL A’s+Vermont)

9 HR / 19 BB / 50 K / .282 AVG / .352 OBP / .521 SLG / .873 OPS

#4

Bruce Maxwell

(2^nd Round – Age 21 – Catcher – Vermont+AZL A’s)

0 HR / 31 BB / 38 K / .277 AVG / .356 OBP / .349 SLG / .705 OPS

#5

Nolan Sanburn

(2^nd Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont)

18 2/3 IP / 23 H / 8 ER / 6 BB / 19 K / 3.86 ERA / 1.55 WHIP

#6

Kyle Twomey

(3^rd Round – Age 18 – Pitcher)

UNSIGNED

#7

B.J. Boyd

(4^th Round – Age 19 – Outfielder – AZL A’s)

1 HR / 23 BB / 36 K / .301 AVG / .401 OBP / .434 SLG / .835 OPS

#8

Max Muncy

(5^th Round – Age 22 – First Baseman – Burlington)

4 HR / 41 BB / 37 K / .275 AVG / .383 OBP / .432 SLG / .816 OPS

#9

Seth Streich

(6^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont+AZL A’s)

37 1/3 IP / 27 H / 11 ER / 18 BB / 48 K / 2.65 ERA / 1.21 WHIP

#10

Cody Kurz

(7^th Round – Age 19 – Pitcher – AZL A’s)

21 1/3 IP / 18 H / 11 ER / 29 BB / 9 K / 4.64 ERA / 2.20 WHIP

#11

Kris Hall

(8^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont+AZL A’s)

29 1/3 IP / 18 H / 4 ER / 15 BB / 27 K / 1.23 ERA / 1.13 WHIP

#12

Dakota Bacus

(9^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – AZL A’s)

30 IP / 12 H / 4 ER / 5 BB / 35 K / 1.20 ERA / 0.57 WHIP

#13

Brett Vertigan

(10^th Round – Age 22 – Outfielder – Vermont)

1 HR / 24 BB / 31 K / .266 AVG / .338 OBP / .375 SLG / .713 OPS

#14

Alex Gonzalez

(11^th Round – Age 18 – Shortstop)

UNSIGNED

#15

John Caputo

(12^th Round – Age 18 – Third Baseman)

UNSIGNED

#16

Stuart Pudenz

(13^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont+AZL A’s)

33 1/3 IP / 21 H / 9 ER / 9 BB / 40 K / 2.43 ERA / 0.90 WHIP

#17

Austin House

(14^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont+Burlington)

28 1/3 IP / 15 H / 4 ER / 11 BB / 36 K / 1.27 ERA / 0.92 WHIP

#18

Vince Voiro

(15^th Round – Age 22 – Pitcher – AZL A’s)

37 1/3 IP / 35 H / 15 ER / 8 BB / 41 K / 3.62 ERA / 1.15 WHIP

#19

Melvin Mercedes

(16^th Round – Age 20 – Second Baseman – AZL A’s)

0 HR / 10 BB / 15 K / .381 AVG / .440 OBP / .495 SLG / .935 OPS

#20

Tyler Olson

(17^th Round – Age 22 – Pitcher)

UNSIGNED

TOP HITTERS

Addison Russell (1^st Round – Age 18 – Shortstop – AZL A’s+Vermont+Burlington)

7 HR / 23 BB / 48 K / .369 AVG / .432 OBP / .594 SLG / 1.027 OPS

B.J. Boyd (4^th Round – Age 19 – Outfielder – AZL A’s)

1 HR / 23 BB / 36 K / .301 AVG / .401 OBP / .434 SLG / .835 OPS

Matt Olson (1^st Round – Age 18 – First Baseman – AZL A’s+Vermont)

9 HR / 19 BB / 50 K / .282 AVG / .352 OBP / .521 SLG / .873 OPS

Max Muncy (5^th Round – Age 22 – First Baseman – Burlington)

4 HR / 41 BB / 37 K / .275 AVG / .383 OBP / .432 SLG / .816 OPS

TOP PITCHERS

Dakota Bacus (9^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – AZL A’s)

30 IP / 12 H / 4 ER / 5 BB / 35 K / 1.20 ERA / 0.57 WHIP

Austin House (14^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont+Burlington)

28 1/3 IP / 15 H / 4 ER / 11 BB / 36 K / 1.27 ERA / 0.92 WHIP

Kris Hall (8^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont+AZL A’s)

29 1/3 IP / 18 H / 4 ER / 15 BB / 27 K / 1.23 ERA / 1.13 WHIP

Stuart Pudenz (13^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont+AZL A’s)

33 1/3 IP / 21 H / 9 ER / 9 BB / 40 K / 2.43 ERA / 0.90 WHIP

Be sure to like A’s Farm’s page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @AthleticsFarm to keep up with all the news down on the farm!

On Metal Football, our feeback was that 5-6 box customer stepped up to the case level with the added incentive to find market hot boxes. They could then open these or resell them depending on their collecting goals.

Gray believes this will benefit all of the channels involved with product from distributors, to the small collector. If you knew which box was a ‘hot-box’ would you take a chance and open it, or would you sell it?

Stay tuned to more product information as Metal Baseball streets later this month.

1. Tyshawn Taylor

The seasoned college prospect fell to the 41^st pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and was surprisingly traded by Portland to Brooklyn for cash considerations. Cash considerations? Consider this…Tyshawn Taylor will receive some chances to help the Nets next season. Averaging 15.5 ppg in Orlando Summer League competition Taylor provided leadership, a clear ability to score the basketball at the next level, and most importantly wasn’t afraid to take control of the flow of the game while on the court. Although he only handed out an average of 2.5 assists per game in summer ball, his overall game play can easily make him a reliable option of the bench for Head Coach Avery Johnson if called upon. Don’t be surprised to see Taylor sent to the D-League early on into the year, but come the middle of the season he should rise if given the opportunity.

2. Brook Lopez

Go ahead big fella, pick out some new Brooklyn Nets gear that fits. Looks as if you’ll be sticking around after all…

Two words can describe the Nets feeling when it comes to Brook Lopez next season: fingers crossed. After playing in just the first 5 games of the last year’s season, the Nets ultimately decided to shut Lopez down after a severely sprained right ankle. Despite much court time the Nets still elected to re-sign Lopez to a 4 year, $61 million dollar contract extension. Re-signing Brook Lopez and missing the boat on acquiring Dwight Howard the Nets will heavily rely upon Lopez to have a major bounce back year. As the current Nets roster stands, Lopez is arguably their only true center and will obviously need to avoid foul trouble. With the relocation to Brooklyn that included a new logo, new image (Jay-Z convinced the league to allow them to have primary black jerseys), re-signing of Gerald Wallace, and trading to acquire Joe Johnson the Nets have huge expectations this coming season. It’s time that owner Mikhail Prokhorov sees a drastic improvement in team success considering the amount of money he’s been willing and able to fork out over the course of the past two years. Add Lopez to that list and the 24 year-old should definitely feel some pressure to perform.

3. Joe Johnson

NBA fans should be very curious to see how D-Will & “Iso Joe” share the ball next season

It’s safe to say most people like Joe Johnson. He’s not really the type of guy you can really hate on outside of the fact that he’s become famous for delivering clutch, cold-blooded daggers to your team in your own building for years now. But while he executes everything so calmly with ease, it’s hard to understand how on earth “Iso-Joe” is the NBA’s highest paid player. Johnson is an All-Star that got paid Superstar money. In Atlanta, Johnson was an annual All-Star and Brooklyn can expect no different. However, it will be interesting to see how well Johnson’s game can gel in the backcourt with Deron Williams. Both players love and are used to having the ball in their hands. It should be very interesting what transpires at the end of close games and how the Nets offense flows next season. If everything goes as planned, the Nets will somehow sneak their way into the 2013 NBA playoffs. In order for that to even a slight chance of happening, Joe must continue to be Joe while also adjusting to sharing a backcourt with Deron Williams. Easier said then done.

Malkin and Neal led the Penguins in Scoring this past season.

The Penguins are undoubtedly one of the baddest teams in the hockey jungle.  With an all star line up that includes forwards like  James Neal,  Art Ross and Hart Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin, and of course the golden boy of hockey Sidney Crosby.  As well as D men like Kris Letang and Paul Martin.  All this backstopped by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and newly acquired back up goalie Tomas Vokoun.  Injuries plagued the Penguins for the last 2 seasons, forcing them to replace players like Malkin and Crosby with players with less skill and experience.  The penguins still played well and advanced to the playoffs both seasons, but fell short of their goal: The Stanley Cup.

This season looks to be a different story for the Penguins.  Pittsburgh made some solid moves in the off season in order to sure themselves up for years to come.  New deals for Crosby, Matt Niskanen and AHL Goalie(Upcoming Star) Brad Thiessen show that Pittsburgh was willing to spend some money in order to keep their Stars, however those signings did not help to lure free agents  Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.  So the Pens made a major move on draft day.  Trading away center Jordan Staal was a big loss due to his ability to score, two way play and his penalty killing abilities.  Staal had 25 Goals and 25 assists for a total of 50 points in just 62 games last season.  Staal also posted a positive plus/minus for 5 of his last 6 seasons.  Pretty good for a guy who plays around 20 minutes a game.

Will Brandon Sutter be able to fill Staal’s role?

In exchange for Staal the Pens received  Brandon Sutter and defensive prospect Brian Dumoulin.  Sutter has big shoes to fill as he had 17 goals and 15 assists for a point total of 32 in the 2011-2012 season.  He has also only posted a positive plus/minus 2 out of his 4 seasons.  One could make the argument that Carolina’s third line may not have been as solid as Pittsburgh’s, however Sutter only played an average of 17 minutes a night.  Time will tell if Sutter will be a suitable replacement for Staal, but with the Pens top 2 lines, I don’t think that Sutter will have to worry too much about scoring.  Another acquisition that will defiantly benefit the Pens is the signing of Vokoun.  Vokoun will allow the Penguins to rest their number 1 goaltender (Fluery) and hopefully allow him to carry the team deeper into the playoffs.

In any case the season will undoubtedly fall on the shoulders of their top three players and scorers, Malkin, Neal and Crosby.  If Malkin can duplicate the season he had last year, or even 3/4s of the season he had last year, the Pens are off to a good start, he posted 50 goals, 59 assists, 109 points and had a plus/minus of 18 in 75 games.  In Crosby’s absence, Malkin put the team on his shoulders and carried them into contention for 1st in the Eastern Conference.  Neal had a career high year with 40 goals, 41 assists, 81 points and a plus/minus of 6 in 80 games.

Sidney Crosby missed 60 games last season, If healthy will he be able to pick up where he left off?

Crosby missed most of the season with the “neck injury” that has been plaguing him.  Playing only 22 games in the 2011-2012 season, he still amassed 8 goals and 29 assists.  Taking those as a sample(multiplied by 3.75) in 82 games, Crosby would have had 30 goals, 108 assists, for 138 points.  Keep in mind that is if he kept his pace.  Clearly a huge loss for the Pens on the last season.  The total between the 3 players would be 120 goals, 208 assists and a total of 328 points.  If they can stay healthy for the most part of this season, the Penguins have a ticket to the playoffs for sure, if not the Stanley Cup Finals.

#1 pick Addison Russell: Which hand does this thing go on again?

Thanks to the loss of free agent outfielders Josh Willingham and David DeJesus, the A’s had a few more picks than usual in the upper ranks of this June’s amateur draft – 5 of the first 75 picks to be exact. And the team used a number of those picks to target high school players this year, something that’s been uncommon for the organization in the past.

Well, it’s now been about 8 weeks since most of those players began playing for either the A’s short-season rookie-ball Arizona League A’s or the Vermont Lake Monsters of the short-season Class-A NY-Penn League. One of the A’s draftees, 21-year-old first baseman Max Muncy out of Baylor, has actually started out playing for the A’s Class-A affiliate in the Midwest League, the Burlington Bees. And 4 of the A’s top 20 picks went unsigned – the most prominent being promising 3^rd-round left-hander Kyle Twomey.

With most of the players who chose to sign having almost 2 months of play under their belts now, it seems like a good time to check in for a little progress report on the new kids down on the farm. And the good news is that most of them have been looking awfully good so far. #1 pick Addison Russell has been hitting for both average and power, #2 pick Daniel Robertson and #7 pick B.J. Boyd have both shown a knack for getting on base consistently and #3 pick Matt Olson has demonstrated the ability to hit for real power, while pitchers like Austin House and Dakota Bacus have shown the ability to strike out more than a batter per inning and keep runners off base.

You’ll find the A’s top 20 draft picks of 2012 along with their vital stats through August 15 listed below. All the teams they’ve played for so far this season are noted, with the team they’ve appeared in the most games for listed first and the team they’re currently with in bold. So without any further ado, we now present the A’s top 20 draft picks, the most promising seeds of our 2012 farm crop, in all their splendor…

#1

Addison Russell

(1^st Round – Age 18 – Shortstop – AZL A’s+Vermont)

7 HR / 18 BB / 33 K / .388 AVG / .456 OBP / .658 SLG / 1.114 OPS

#2

Daniel Robertson

(1^st Round – Age 18 – Third Baseman – AZL A’s+Vermont)

4 HR / 17 BB / 21 K / .292 AVG / .390 OBP / .525 SLG / .915 OPS

#3

Matt Olson

(1^st Round – Age 18 – First Baseman – AZL A’s)

6 HR / 13 BB / 39 K / .283 AVG / .344 OBP / .536 SLG / .880 OPS

#4

Bruce Maxwell

(2^nd Round – Age 21 – Catcher – Vermont+AZL A’s)

0 HR / 24 BB / 27 K / .311 AVG / .396 OBP / .401 SLG / .797 OPS

#5

Nolan Sanburn

(2^nd Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont)

8 IP / 5 H / 2 ER / 2 BB / 8 K / 2.25 ERA / 0.88 WHIP

#6

Kyle Twomey

(3^rd Round – Age 18 – Pitcher)

UNSIGNED

#7

B.J. Boyd

(4^th Round – Age 19 – Outfielder – AZL A’s)

1 HR / 19 BB / 31 K / .298 AVG / .393 OBP / .430 SLG / .823 OPS

#8

Max Muncy

(5^th Round – Age 21 – First Baseman – Burlington)

4 HR / 23 BB / 25 K / .251 AVG / .344 OBP / .407 SLG / .751 OPS

#9

Seth Streich

(6^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont+AZL A’s)

23 2/3 IP / 16 H / 9 ER / 11 BB / 32 K / 3.42 ERA / 1.14 WHIP

#10

Cody Kurz

(7^th Round – Age 19 – Pitcher – AZL A’s)

16 IP / 14 H / 5 ER / 21 BB / 7 K / 2.81 ERA / 2.19 WHIP

#11

Kris Hall

(8^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont+AZL A’s)

27 IP / 15 H / 3 ER / 13 BB / 26 K / 1.00 ERA / 1.04 WHIP

#12

Dakota Bacus

(9^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – AZL A’s)

23 2/3 IP / 12 H / 4 ER / 4 BB / 24 K / 1.52 ERA / 0.68 WHIP

#13

Brett Vertigan

(10^th Round – Age 21 – Outfielder – Vermont)

0 HR / 20 BB / 21 K / .243 AVG / .326 OBP / .320 SLG / .646 OPS

#14

Alex Gonzalez

(11^th Round – Age 18 – Shortstop)

UNSIGNED

#15

John Caputo

(12^th Round – Age 18 – Third Baseman)

UNSIGNED

#16

Stuart Pudenz

(13^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont+AZL A’s)

22 2/3 IP / 15 H / 8 ER / 6 BB / 26 K / 3.18 ERA / 0.93 WHIP

#17

Austin House

(14^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont)

22 2/3 IP / 12 H / 3 ER / 8 BB / 29 K / 1.19 ERA / 0.88 WHIP

#18

Vince Voiro

(15^th Round – Age 22 – Pitcher – AZL A’s)

31 1/3 IP / 30 H / 13 ER / 8 BB / 34 K / 3.73 ERA / 1.21 WHIP

#19

Melvin Mercedes

(16^th Round – Age 20 – Second Baseman – AZL A’s)

0 HR / 7 BB / 6 K / .371 AVG / .443 OBP / .484 SLG / .927 OPS

#20

Tyler Olson

(17^th Round – Age 22 – Pitcher)

UNSIGNED

TOP HITTERS

Addison Russell  (1^st Round – Age 18 – Shortstop – AZL A’s+Vermont)

7 HR / 18 BB / 33 K / .388 AVG / .456 OBP / .658 SLG / 1.114 OPS

Daniel Robertson  (1^st Round – Age 18 – Third Baseman – AZL A’s+Vermont)

4 HR / 17 BB / 21 K / .292 AVG / .390 OBP / .525 SLG / .915 OPS

Matt Olson  (1^st Round – Age 18 – First Baseman – AZL A’s)

6 HR / 13 BB / 39 K / .283 AVG / .344 OBP / .536 SLG / .880 OPS

B.J. Boyd  (4^th Round – Age 19 – Outfielder – AZL A’s)

1 HR / 19 BB / 31 K / .298 AVG / .393 OBP / .430 SLG / .823 OPS

TOP PITCHERS

Kris Hall  (8^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont+AZL A’s)

27 IP / 15 H / 3 ER / 13 BB / 26 K / 1.00 ERA / 1.04 WHIP

Austin House  (14^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont)

22 2/3 IP / 12 H / 3 ER / 8 BB / 29 K / 1.19 ERA / 0.88 WHIP

Dakota Bacus  (9^th Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – AZL A’s)

23 2/3 IP / 12 H / 4 ER / 4 BB / 24 K / 1.52 ERA / 0.68 WHIP

Nolan Sanburn  (2^nd Round – Age 21 – Pitcher – Vermont)

8 IP / 5 H / 2 ER / 2 BB / 8 K / 2.25 ERA / 0.88 WHIP

Be sure to like A’s Farm’s page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @AthleticsFarm to keep up with all the news down on the farm!

Dwight Howard is leaving Orlando as a villain.   He skipped out on a charity event recently in Orlando, that wasn’t going to win him any fans.  Howard has been playing hardball with the team since the season ended. Yet the team still tried anything they could to make him happy enough to stay.  The Magic fired coach Stan Van Gundy in May and the previous GM to appease Howard.  Howard did not care he still wanted to leave as a free agent.  The Magic had been that road before with Shaq in 1996 and were not about to let that happen this time around.

When trade rumors started Howard demanded going to the Brooklyn Nets and nowhere else.  Howard put the team in a rough situation by lowering his trade value.  He stated that he would not resign with any team other than the Nets or Mavericks when his contract is up after this season.   A lot of interested teams quickly ran away not wanting to lose a lot for a one year stand with Dwight.  Luckily for the Magic they were able to put together a deal that they can build a team for the future with.  The team is ready to get on with life and with Dwight Howard out of the picture will be able to.

Dwight Howards legacy with the Magic will be a tarnished one.  A story of feuding with his coach, stirring up trouble for the team and alienating himself from the fans of Orlando.  The City of Orlando had been waiting for a star when they drafted Dwight in 2004.   The team wanted to win a championship with Howard and the closest they came was the 2009 NBA Finals.  The Lakers squashed the Magic in that year and the team never returned to the championship game since.  The Magic should have realized earlier that Howard was not the man that could take them to a title.

Howard is now officially the most hated man in the NBA and it will not change anytime soon.  He cares not about the team but himself.  Howard has made his bed and no he has to sleep in it.  Good riddance Dwight Howard.

Three weeks prior to the start of training camp, the Spitfires announced the signings Tuesday of second-round pick Patrick Sanvido and third-round pick Graeme Brown, who are both defencemen.

“We welcome both these young men to the Spitfire organization,” Windsor general manager Warren Rychel said. “They both have a bright future with our club.”

First-round pick Josh Ho-Sang and centre Ryan Verbeek, who was Windsor’s second pick in the third round, signed in May.

The six-foot-five, 220-pound Sanvido was the 41^st pick overall in this year’s draft and pleased to finally have his deal done.

“It’s kind of a stress reliever,” the 16-year-old Sanvido said of signing his deal. “Some days, you wake up with it on your mind. It’s kind of like a weight off my shoulders.”

The Guelph native is expected to provide a physical presence on Windsor’s defence for the next few years.

“I can’t wait to get out on the ice,” Sanvido said. “I’ve been working out with a personal trainer four-to-fives a week and power skating.

“I think my size will help me, but I know I have to adjust to the speed and physicality of the (OHL) game. I know it might be tough at first, but I’ll get better.”

While Sanvido is known for his grit, Brown brings a more polished approach to the back end with a reputation for his skating and passing.

“It’s a relief to get it done and now with the (top) four guys signed, I think that’s pretty cool,” the 16-year-old Brown said. ‘Not a lot of teams do that.”

Like Sanvido, the six-foot, 185-pound Brown, who was the 45^th pick overall in the OHL Draft, has been working in preparation for his first training camp with the Spitfires.

“I’ve been training every day from Monday to Friday on the ice,” said Brown, who is from Kingston. “All I want to do is get down there.”

Sieloff sticks

Spitfires defenceman Patrick Sieloff was among 34 players to make the cut at USA Hockey’s national junior evaluation camp.

The camp started with 45 players and cut it to 34 Tuesday. The six-foot-one, 202-pound Sieloff, who was a second-round pick of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, will remain in Lake Placid, N.Y., for a series of international games with Sweden and Finland this week.

The United States is using the camp for players to audition for the team’s entry at the World Junior Hockey Championships, which are Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Ufa, Russia.

Among the players not to advance was former Spitfires draft pick Jordan Schmaltz. The skillful defenceman, who was drafted by the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, is headed to the University of North Dakota.

Mitchell signs

Former Spitfires forward Dale Mitchell will continue his pro career in Europe this season.

The 23-year-old Mitchell, who won back-to-back Memorial Cups with the Spitfires, has signed with Dornbirn Bulldogs of the Austrian Hockey League.

A former third-round pick by the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs in 2007, Mitchell was traded to the Anaheim Ducks last season for Mark Fraser and played out his entry-level contract.

With Dornbirn, Mitchell will play for former OHL head coach Dave MacQueen, who is the father of former Spitfire Zack MacQueen.

jparker@windsorstar.com or Twitter @winstarparker

As we all probably know by now, and if you haven’t heard — where have you been?  Rick Nash, has been traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the New York Rangers.  I first heard of this while the deal was in the works yesterday. Not to long after the deal was proposed, it was finished.  The final trade deal was:

From Columbus to New York: Rick Nash (LW)

From New York to Columbus: Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, Tim Erixon and the Rangers 2013 first round draft pick.

So what does this mean for New York?

They have gained a solid power forward, who is a consistent 30 goal a season scorer.

Nash was undoubtedly the face of the franchise in Columbus and had to strap that team on his shoulders.  Nash has never really had a line mate that could feed him properly.

He’s the type of guy you want to get the puck to while hes near the net.  Not the guy you want going coast to coast in order to get to the net and get a shot off.

Not that he can’t, but I honestly believe that he would be way more effective with someone that passes the puck well.  Enter the hero of the day, Brad Richards.

Nash wants a guy who will dish him the biscuit, Richards is that guy.

Richards played all 82 games last season, and scored 25 goals, however if you look at his assist total, 41 in 2012, that is where he is most effective.  He upped Gaborik’s game this past season and i’d imagine its only going to make Nash better than he was before.

With Ryan Callahan grinding to make plays, Richards passing and Nash in front of the net, the Rangers should have a rather good team this coming season. They lost some depth with the players they gave away, however with the outbreak of Carl Hagelin and the impressive playoff performance of Chris Kreider, that argument seems to just fade away.

Looking at the numbers, Nash had 82 Games played, 30 Goals, 29 Assists, 59 Points, A Plus/Minus of -19 (Can honestly be attributed to being in Columbus), 40 Penalty minutes, 6 Power Play goals, 2 Short handed goals and 306 Shots.  The combined effort of the players traded to Columbus was 26 Goals, 46 Assists, 69 Points, a Plus/Minus of 26, 152 Penalty minutes (Mostly from Dubinsky at 110), 4 Power play goals, 2 Short handed goals and 281 shots.

So really did the Rangers give up all that much to gain a power forward that is not only good, but one that they really needed?

What does Columbus hope to do now?

I am still relatively clueless as to what Columbus GM Scott Howson is trying to accomplish here.  For the last few years he has been “rebuilding” the Jackets.  I understand that this process can take time, and is really limited by the money that they have to be spent, however.

There is no way that they are anywhere near close to being a playoff team.  They traded away Jeff Carter last season to the Kings for Jack Johnson.

Now they have a somewhat solid defensemen.  He brings a solid offensive ability to the Jackets which can certainly not hurt.  He played all 82 games this past season, posting 12 Goals, 26 Assists, 38 Points, and Plus/Minus of -7, 39 Penalty minutes, 5 Power play goals, and 176 shots.  That placed him 10th over all in goals among defensemen, 20th in points and 234th, that’s right 234th, in Plus/Minus.  Clearly more of an offensive D man, which can help the power play.

Another defensive grab was the signing of Phoenix D man Adrian Aucoin.  He is more of a solid defensive guy than Johnson.  Only playing 64 games last season he had a plus minus of +14.  Placing him 26th among all defense men.

However, now that they have traded away their number one scorer, who is going to fill that role?

The next highest goal scorers on the team were RJ Umberger and Vinny Prospal. Umberger may have some decent seasons left in him, however Prospal is 37 years of age. How many more good seasons is he going to have left in him?

I do like their acquisition of 23 year old goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky from Philadelphia. With some work he can become a stable goaltender for their club.  Much more consistent than Steve Mason has been for them over the last few years.

Bob’s currently holding a win percentage of .715 (72%), Steve Masons percentage is .402(40%).  Granted Bob hasn’t played as many games as Mason, but perhaps this is the change they need between the pipes. Other than those minor moves….I don’t see very much rebuilding going on.  Looks like another year at the bottom of the western conference for the jackets this year.  Bravo Nash, for getting out while you still have some good years left.

One last thing I wanted to touch on in this trade.  Multiple teams were interested in Nash, however from what I heard GM Scott Howson wanted an entire NHL team in return.  In talks with San Jose, he wanted Logan Couture, a 31 goal scorer coupled with someone else.  With Philadelphia he wanted not only Brayden Schenn, but also Wayne Simmonds and Sean Couturier.  It seems unlikely that any NHL team would give up some of their best young players to gain one power forward.

So I don’t know if it’s laziness or lack of smarts, but maybe Columbus needs a GM change. There is no one that’s going to give you a team, you need to make one, that is your job as the GM.  It’s not impossible, look at the strides that Minnesota, Florida and Tampa took in just one season.  Perhaps we will be seeing Columbus rebuilding the office, starting with the GM position.

Every few months or so I’m invited to a friendly game of Texas Hold’em and the pots
are roughly a few hundred dollars.  Nothing to break the bank, but enough to make
the game competitive for most. Often my take on Hold’em is you play the cards your
dealt.  It’s a simple guideline in many ways, but most don’t follow the simple things
that make all the difference. Although, admittedly when I see the flop, sometimes
I overextend for that one card I may get on ‘the river’ that changes my fortunes.
Depending on how others bet if there isn’t much more money to lose, I’ll see ‘the
river’ or last card and then bet yet again. This reminds me of a quote made by Matt
Damon’s character in the movie Rounders, “Listen, here’s the thing. If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker”. Very rarely do I win using this method and it only takes me a few losing hands to realize I’m the sucker.  Which leads me back to sticking to my original strategy of playing the cards your dealt and winning when it makes sense, and folding when the odds are against me.

Fantasy baseball, in many ways, reminds me of ‘Texas Hold’em’. The two cards in
“the hole” are equivalent to one’s fantasy draft and keepers. “The flop” can be the first
half of the season, “the turn” being the trade deadline, and “the river” being the hope
an owner feels when he knows a miracle is the only thing that can put him in the
playoffs. Owners always seem to be waiting for the two cards that will change their
hands after the flop.  And similar to my card playing experiences, it rarely works to
turn a losing team into a winner or a fringe playoff team into a champion. Other
owner’s rosters are just too strong; they can weather the storm of injuries. They also have
the same level of prospects you do to deal in order to shore up their roster for the playoffs. Also, the teams rebuilding always seem to be ahead of the curve and snatch up all the
good building blocks while they remake their roster for a run next year.

Those owners, whose strategy is hope, can often be seen as a .500 team or worse,
and are repeatedly there. Some even throw the towel in and just wait for next
season without making any moves to the roster, the cardinal sin in my book. The single largest difference between ‘Hold’em’ and fantasy baseball is that you can make trades to reshape your team this season to contend or even next season to rebuild vs. just folding and waiting for the next hand to bet on. I’m probably one that’s more on the aggressive side in working my team during the season. If I’m in the playoff hunt, I want a shot to win the league.  If I don’t see my team competing, I’ll pull most of it apart to rebuild for next year and beyond.

With roughly 8-10 weeks left before your playoffs, start asking yourself, “Am I
the sucker at the table and don’t know it?”  If you are, now is the time to start reshaping your team either to make a real push into the playoffs or set yourself up to compete for next season. Here are some guidelines I use that may benefit you in winning your league or rebuilding:

1) Project your team into next season: This is useful for both contenders and pretenders. Doing so will give you a clear perspective on the future of your team. Ask yourself if the core you’re retaining is strong enough to compete next season with the draft picks you’ll have or money for auctions. In our salary cap keeper leagues this is fairly easy to do, you can apply the escalators to your players to see whom you’ll keep or cut. I do this multiple times a season using excel.

2) Project how close your prospects are to being in the majors: What do you
believe their contributions will be? This is more difficult than #1 since prospect values are volatile. For this exercise you may simply want to see who’s close enough to the majors to get regular playing time and slot them into your roster spots. This should help you also in your draft and trade strategies for next year.
3) Know when to ‘hold’em and when to fold’em’: After assessing your roster and the competitive playoff landscape, you may want to rethink your roster long term. Hopefully your goal is to field a competitive team each season and also take shots at winning the league and thus the pot. I’d add here that any player is tradable, even your favorite team’s star or that elite prospect. This is hard to do for many, but I’d move anyone in the right trade.
4) The Showdown: Look for trading partners.  It’s obvious at this point that I’m
a proponent of moving assets depending on where you believe your team is
in terms of competing. If you’re a playoff team, trading away 50% of your
prospects for players that can help you win are deals I’d make in a heartbeat.
If you’re on the other side of the fence and are a team that needs to rebuild,
look for those playoff teams that need some shoring up and where do you match
up with them and do they have targeted assets you can build around.
5) Put players on the block: Many leagues have an “On the Block” feature that lets
use post who you want to move. Use this judiciously. While you’re targeting
owners that you think may want to move players also allow others to contact
you.
6) Dealing up, dealing down: Depending on where your team is in competing
for the playoffs or rebuilding, you need to have a good feel for the types of
players you want to acquire and what you’re willing to give up. For example,
if you’re a playoff team and have the #1 prospect in baseball, other owners
will ask for that player. Expect it! You won’t get another team’s top player
unless you’re willing to part with something they value as well. Conversely,
if you’re dealing your top player, have a plan for what you want in return. I
can’t tell you how many times owners are dead set on keeping top prospects or
not moving the few assets they have, that can make them contenders in the
years to come. These guys often find themselves stuck in mediocrity each and
every season.

After you apply these guidelines, reshaping your team will have some basic structure
to it and you can even share this with prospective trading partners to make your intentions transparent which is key. I rarely have difficulty trading with owners in the leagues I’m in, since I typically let them know what I want to do.  It just makes things much easier. I’ll list players I’m interested in and encourage them to make offers for me to respond to and vice versa since guys almost always value players differently.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite lines from Rounders . . . “I feel like Buckner walking back into Shea”.