Sporting Rants and Raves: TD's Official NFL Championship Picks and then some...

Hello sports fans...

Until now, this blog has covered football, namely my weekly picks. And a little baseball. One of the earliest posts was about the trip the old man, my brother, and I took to Yankee Stadium for the last time. Now that I'm trying to put a bit more structure around the blog - as much for my own sake as for yours - I will be covering my take on sports on Saturdays. No, this doesn't mean I'll altogether neglect sports on other days should they need to be discussed at any length. But, the bulk of my sporting opinions will appear on this day of the week.

As for what will be discussed... If it's about sports and it strikes my fancy, it's up for grabs. I can tell you now that I know nothing about cricket, Nascar, rugby, and cheese rolling. You'll most likely not see much about these sports. Basketball, golf, tennis, and hockey. I enjoy watching all of them and I happen to know the rules. But I don't follow them religiously. So, they'll appear from time to time. Football and baseball? Why yes, I will talk about them. Oh, and softball too. As in updates about how my teams - the one for which I play and the one for which I serve as coach - are progressing.

That said, let's begin...

Football
I know. You don't have to say it. I am choosing with a ridiculously bad 33% accuracy in the NFL Playoffs. Egregious. Disgusting. Terrible. Ghastly. Kiss of Death. You can send all other comments and word ideas to:

I_can't_choose_an_NFL_playoff_game_correctly_if_my_life_
depended_on_it@ugh.com.

But that won't stop me from trying again. Because if there's one thing I've learned, when the going gets tough, a 300 lb lineman knocks you into next Tuesday. Learned that in high school football.

Philadelphia @ Arizona
Do you believe in Arizona? Do you? I do. I believe in their defense. I believe in their passing game. I even believe in their running game. I think they deserve to be in this game. Yes, there are those who say that Jake Delhomme lost that game last week more than the Cardinals won it. But Jake's interceptions don't account for the Arizona offense lighting up a good defense. It doesn't account for the likes of James and Fitzgerald, not to mention Mr. Warner. But. A big but. Although I believe in them, I wonder at their ability to play against an Eagles team with momentum. An Eagles team that has one of the top defenses in the league. An Eagles team with Donovan playing like Eli did last year. If the Eagles play like they did last week, I think the Cards don't make the trip to Tampa. But there's that chance that the Eagles of the Eagles-Bengals rancid tie game appears in the desert. An hallucination. Thing is, this whole wild card team marching through the playoffs with momentum thing seems to be all the rage of late. For that reason, TD chooses: Philadelphia Eagles

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh
No NFL team ever wants to play another NFL team against whom they've won the prior two regular season meetings. See the 2008 post season Giants v. Cowboys game. They're too familiar with each other. And honestly, a point that Peter King made earlier in the week, they're just so similar. Quarterbacks that need to play intelligently, but who don't need to win games (Flacco and Roethlisberger). Running backs that you shouldn't take for granted (Parker and McGahee). Linebacker corps that strike fear into the hearts of any offense (Lewis, Suggs and Farrior, Harrison). Exceptionally strong defensive backs (Polamalu and Reed). Straight up, I don't see a lot of points scored in this one. It's going to be a title bout. But the Steelers have two advantages. 1) Pittsburgh. They're the only team that has made use of home field. 2) Health. The Ravens have a few key players out, like McClain. The Steelers enter the game with no significant injuries. TD chooses: Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let the battle of Pennsylvania begin...

Baseball

The question: Does Mark McGwire belong in baseball's Hall of Fame?

I am a Libra. Whether that means anything or not, I believe entirely in balance. So, I'm not going to make a determination based solely on statistics. Oh yes, they're important. They are the foundation of the choosing. Some guy who batted .200 and had an .850 fielding percentage in 2000 games in the major leagues is obviously not deserving of the Hall. But there's more than stats. There's sportsmanship. There's morality. There's importance to the team. And there's the love of the game. They all play a part.

That said, let's do a little statistical comparison to see if he's worthy. (Thanks to baseball-reference.com) First, let's take a look at some statistically similar players.

Stats
Gil Hodges. Didn't make it into the Hall. Had a better batting average but certainly not better on base percentage or slugging percentage. And 200 fewer homeruns.

Okay, so if Hodges was just on the cusp, then McGwire should be in, at least based on his stats, yes? Let's take a look at a few more. Let's try 1 who is in the Hall. Harmon Killebrew. Killebrew with a .256 batting average, .376 on base percentage, and .509 slugging percentage fails to approach McGwire in all categories. Fielding percentage? Same. Killebrew had a .981; McGwire a .992. Homeruns. Killebrew had 573; McGwire had 583. All signs point to Big Mac. Except for the fact the Killebrew played for 22 years as compared to McGwire's 16. And a few other differences I'll cover later.

One more only. I promise. Someone who will most likely never have the opportunity to be considered. A fellow Bash Brother, Jose Canseco. In 17 years, Canseco had more hits and a higher batting average but a lesser on base and slugging percentage. McGwire had more walks and fewer strikeouts but many fewer stolen bases. Fielding? McGwire certainly had the edge. Who doesn't remember the ball that hit Jose on the head only to become a homerun? Still, statistically, they're pretty close.

Then, does McGwire belong statistically? He's on the cusp.

Postseason

McGwire has 1 ring. He has a .217 batting average, .320 on base percentage, and .349 slugging percentage in 10 post season series.

Hodges? 2 rings. A .267 batting average, .349 on base percentage, and .412 slugging percentage. In 7 post season appearances. Hodges takes this one.

Killebrew? No rings. A .250 average, .444 on base percentage, and .500 slugging percentage. Killebrew proves that he can do the deed when the deed needs doing.

Canseco? 2 rings. The second with the Yankees, barely. A .184 average, .315 on base percentage, and .398 slugging. Canseco proves that he's just happy to be there.

McGwire loses in this category

Importance to the Team(s)

What does the player mean to the team? Could the team win if that person weren't playing?

Hodges? Well, that's a tough question and much of the reason there's so much controversy about him. He was an important part of the Dodgers' dynasty of the 1950s. But, it can't be said that they wouldn't have won without him. He was a first baseman, a good one at that. But still a first baseman. Not a very active position on the whole. Not like catcher or short stop. Then again, there was his batting. A feared hitter. But as feared as the Duke? Not quite. And he did do his batting in the batter friendly 50s. Important, yes. But not critical.

Killebrew? He began with the Senators. If that means nothing to you, please note that the Senators won 1 World Series thanks to some guy named Walter Johnson against the heavily favored New York Giants. Other than that year - 1924 - and a few others - '25, '33 - in their 59 year history in Washington D.C. they were "First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League." Things haven't changed much in Washington. In any case, back to Harmon. He played first for the Senators and then moved with them to Minnesota. In essence, it was a new team. And he anchored it. He was its captain. Not to mention a good third baseman. A more active position than first. And he could hit. My God, he could hit. Blasts into upper decks. Pitchers did not want to pitch to the guy. See his 1519 walks as compared to McGwire's 1317. And that was in the pitching strong 1960s. For this reason Killebrew deserves his Hall of Fame call.

Canseco? Oakland, Texas, Toronto, NYY, Boston. Was he an important part of any of these teams? Oakland, arguably yes. I'll give it to him. The other 7 years of his career, eh. Not so much. Not altogether significant were his contributions. An outfielder, every Hall of Fame voter would be lying if they didn't think of that guy as the one off of whom the ball bounced for a homerun. I know, I'm beating a dead horse. But, really, that was funny.

McGwire, then. Important? To Oakland, I would argue yes. He always was the more reliable of the Bash Brothers. And he had a certain charisma that Canseco lacked. A feel good quality that made fans cheer for him even if they hated him. To St. Louis? If I'm honest, he was. He was on the front end of the Cardinals' building of a very good team, though I'd give a heck of a lot more credit to La Russa for that.

McGwire certainly wins out over Canseco on this one. And perhaps surpasses Hodges. But he's way short of Killebrew. We'll call this off the cusp.

Importance to Baseball

McGwire is unique in this category as he engaged in one of the most exciting competitions in recent baseball memory. What baseball fan can forget his epic struggle with Sammy Sosa in 1998? It was a battle for the ages to surpass a mark held for 37 years by the famed Roger Maris.

But there's a counterpoint. That is, an older bespectacled McGwire sitting with the likes of Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, and Jose Canseco in Washington D.C. testifying about performance enhancing drugs. Rafael said he didn't, but he lied. Sammy said he didn't; we don't know if he lied or not. Jose said he did thus quashing his standing in baseball. Mark? Well, Mark wouldn't comment. "I'm not here to talk about the past," he stated in that chamber.

My take? This is a wash. The first most certainly makes him a Hall of Fame candidate. The second most certainly does not. So, I throw this out.

Conclusion
Statistically during season play, he's a maybe. Postseason statistically, no. Important to his teams, I give him a somewhat. And important to baseball, he's questionable.

Halls of Fame are not for the maybes, thus the reason that I'd say no.

Softball
As crazy as this might sound, next weekend marks the first practice for the Thrusters - the team for which I play - and the first batting practice for the Buzz - the team I coach.

Softball has begun...