All-Star Snooze

If you wanted to watch a thrilling, heart-pumping sporting event this past couple of days then I hope you didn’t watch the 2009 MLB All-Star Break. I’m not sure at the moment which event was more boring, the tedious Home Run Derby or the tiresome All-Star game.

The Home Run Derby went three plus excruciating hours and the All-Star game lacked the spunk and excitement that is expected to be seen from the best players in the game.

Were the American League Home Run Derby representatives really Nelson Cruz, Brandon Inge, Carlos Pena, and Joe Mauer? This is the short list of the best sluggers the AL has to offer? Wow MLB, you’ve really peaked my interest to tune into the contest.

If I weren’t an avid baseball fan I would have no clue who Nelson Cruz is and since when do Brandon Inge and Joe Mauer hit for power? Sure these players are having nice first halves, but I want to see players like Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Jermaine Dye compete.

When you let players like Inge join in you see him hit 0 home runs. That’s right, he actually put up a goose egg in a home run hitting contest. I think that is the definition of pathetic. No denying Inge is an All-Star, but this is his first real year that he has ever hit for power.

And as for the debate, whether or not the Home Run Derby ruins a player’s swing, I can answer this simply. It has absolutely no effect whatsoever on a player’s ability to hit home runs in the second half of the season.

Last year after Josh Hamilton tore the cover off the ball, hitting 28 homeruns in one round, he cowardly blamed his poor slugging in the second half of the season on what he did during the Derby. That is just nonsense to me. And because of that statement, sluggers like Teixeira have decided to act like big babies and not perform this year because they are sticking to Hamilton’s theory.

Teixeira didn’t want to damage his swing… I guess.

So this leads me to think, players like Mark Teixeira and Josh Hamilton who have been playing high caliber baseball for heir entire lives will ultimately be ruined in the long run by taking an extra long batting practice. I’ll call them both out on complete garbage.

I am a big fan of both of these guys, but don’t spew lame excuses when your numbers go on the decline at different parts of the season. Even the greats of the game go though slumps…deal with it.

It was nice to see Prince Fielder win the Derby though. He put insane power into all of his swings and the ball just carried to the back of the park. And it was also nice to see an unknown in the MLB world, Nelson Cruz, act as a real contender. Cruz looks like a very promising young star for the Texas Rangers.

As for the All-Star game, nothing really happened, other than a spectacular catch by Carl Crawford to rob a home run and overall dominant American League pitching. The National League scored all their runs in one inning and then couldn’t do anything for the rest of the game.

The game was won in the 8^th on a sacrifice fly by the Orioles’ Adam Jones. What a way to end a game full of superstars. I wish the game was higher scoring and full of home runs and plays at the plate, but that really never seems to happen in these games does it?

I agree with some sports writers that are calling for more new and exciting contests during the All-Star break. I would personally like to see maybe a precision pitching and hitting contest. Something along the nature of that idea.

This same old Home Run Derby followed by All Star game is getting kind of old and that was felt more this year than ever. The Derby needs to be about 2 hours shorter and filled with bigger names. The All-Star game needs to really load up the box score. Then just maybe I will actually anticipate and enjoy the All-Star festivities in the future.

-Sam Gerb

No-Hit Streak Ended

Mitchell High School pitcher Patrick Schuster pitched an incredible four consecutive no-hitters this month. Mitchell’s Pasco County location gave Tampa Bay high school baseball national recognition. But with hundreds of fans at Countryside High School and live television coverage watching every pitch, Schuster’s streak ended against the Gaither Cowboys. In fact, not only did Gaither get hits (the first being a double by outfielder Drew Doty), they won the game 9-4.

As it was a district playoff game, Mitchell’s season is now over. Gaither was treated as little more than a TV prop in the pregame hype. Their name was curiously omitted from the New York Times article promoting the possible extension of Schuster’s streak. The lead commentator on the live broadcast erroneously called the Cowboys “the Mustangs” (Mitchell’s nickname) at least once and mispronounced one player’s name repeatedly. Coach Frank Permuy, who has been there from day one in 1984, would not take this quietly. Now he has a team to be proud of, and so do I.

Why would I defend them as I do? Because I am a proud graduate of Gaither High School. My alma mater has a lot to be excited about today.

Maybe the school can finally shed its reputation of disappearing in the postseason. (Example: In 2006, Gaither’s soccer team was ranked No. 1 in the nation and expected to run to the state title. Instead, they were bounced from the playoffs. In the first round.) Of course, the regional and national recognition will be like nothing the Cowboys have ever had.

Through long streaks of football and baseball postseason appearances, coach Permuy’s 500th career win, and even former Cowboy Chad Zerbe pitching in the World Series, Gaither’s name value has never soared higher than it did against Patrick Schuster.

I want to see how much respect they get now. Hopefully some cheers from ESPN — and a New York Times mention — are in their sights. To the commentary crew’s credit, they were quick to praise Gaither after the victory. Plus the name that was mispronounced is a difficult one (Domaracki – Dom-a-ROSS-key), and I only caught the verbal error because I went to school with the guy’s brother. And I think they got “Permuy” right, so good for them.

Congratulations to Patrick Schuster on an amazing string of four no-hitters. But congratulations equally to the silver, white and blue of Gaither Senior High.

-Brenton Burkett

Non-Factor Guarantees Flagrant

It boggles my mind that Mavericks Center Erick Dampier is not being fined by the NBA for his comments made postgame about Spurs Point Guard Tony Parker.

Dampier told the Dallas Morning News, “Every time he drives the lane, we have to put him on his back. The first foul has to tell him he’s in for a long night. My first foul Thursday night is going to put him on his back. I guarantee it.”

Hmm, that sounds like a Dampier is admitting that he is going to commit a flagrant two foul early in the next game. Maybe the NBA should slap him with a nice fine so he learns to shut is mouth and not have dirty intentions on the court.

Players get fined in sports for so much less in this day and age and when a player is talking about maliciously harming someone before it happens, then the league needs to take a stand to prevent further things like this from being said.

Maybe Dampier and the rest of his team should actually learn how to play defense and not let Parker penetrate every time the ball is in his hands.

What is really funny is that Dampier of all people made this comment. He is averaging 9.5 ppg and 7.5 rebounds in the postseason and is basically a non factor for the Mavericks. Maybe if a respectable Maverick like Jason Kidd or Dirk Nowitzki made these comments then it would have some more credibility, but wait, they are respectable players and would never say anything so stupid.

Dampier responded to all the media hype surrounding his statement by saying, “I probably shouldn’t have said it like that. Maybe the way it came out, it sounded bad. I’m just going to go out there and play the way I’ve been playing.”

Well that’s a nice little retraction from what you said earlier Erick. But have fun going out and “play the way you’ve been playing” because if you do that then you’ll only endure another 105-85 point spanking like in game two.

-Sam Gerb

Sam can be reached at sgerb@ut.edu

NFL Draft: Highs and Lows

Years from now when I look back on the 2009 NFL Draft, I’m probably not going to remember any single special player. This year’s draft will prove to produce one of the weakest classes in draft history.

Honestly, not one single player jumps out at me at all really and I’m not sure I would really want to spend the money on any of them if they went to my favorite team.

But I do think there are some players that have the potential to be impact players on the fields, but none really that I could see as future Pro-Bowlers or Hall of Famers. One player that I think will have a great future is Texas Tech Wide Receiver Michael Crabtree. Crabtree caught an amazing 19 touchdowns last season for the Red Raiders and was simply dominant with the ball in his hands. Yes, he does have a stress fracture in his foot, but there is no way he falls out of the Top 10 picks. By far he is the cream of the crop of the wide receivers in the draft class and I see him having the most illustrious career.

The best player in this year’s draft is definitely Wake Forest Linebacker Aaron Curry. Curry is simply a freak of nature at his position and I think he that even before he steps foot on the field he is the front runner for Defensive Rookie of the Year. In Curry’s last two seasons at Wake he totaled 200 tackles, 5 sacks, 5 interceptions, and 3 touchdowns. If that’s not production then I don’t know what is. He is projected by most draft analysts to be taken by the Chiefs at the 3^rd overall spot and I anticipate the same happening. But Curry would be smart even to be the 1^st overall pick in the draft even though the pathetic Detroit Lions are not going to consider that. The team that does end up drafting Curry will be the happiest team when he starts running the show on the field.

Another player that catches my eye in the draft is Texas Defensive End Brian Orakpo. I’m not sure where Orakpo is going to be drafted but he is an interesting player to look at. Because of his speed of the edge, a lot of analysts are talking about him being a hybrid player in the draft; someone who can play both defensive end and outside linebacker. The reason why a hybrid player is so valuable is because you look at the success of players like Adalius Thomas and Terrell Suggs, and hope that more players like them will come along. Orakpo might not be as good as these guys, but surely has the potential to be that kind of player. He would fit well in a 3-4 defensive scheme, but that is not a popular defensive plan for most teams. Orakpo had 11 sacks last season and really made a name for himself at Texas. Look for Orakpo to have some impact on the upcoming season, but more production will come from him in later years.

Now since this draft lacks serious future superstars, I foresee a good amount of busts. One of these players in Oklahoma State Tight End Brandon Pettigrew. All I have to do is bring up one statistic from his last season to show why he will be no good; 0 touchdowns. So explain to me Mr. Kiper how you could possibly justify Pettigrew for the 11^th overall pick to the Buffalo Bills? He didn’t catch a single touchdown last year and in his 3 seasons before the most he ever caught in a season were four. I’m a guy who likes statistics because statistics show production. Sure Mel you can talk about how good his hands are and how he is an excellent pass and run locker, but I really don’t care. That’s what every tight end is supposed to do. Greg Olsen, tight end for the Chicago Bears, had much better numbers while player for the University of Miami, and he wasn’t drafted until the 14^th pick. And right now Olsen produces regularly for the Bears. If Pettigrew does go that high then I see him being a big let down. Yes, the Bills do need to fill a hole at the tight end position, but their biggest weakness is on the offensive line. The Bills just traded All-Pro offensive tackle Jason Peters to the Eagles for the 28^th overall pick in the draft and his absence will surely be felt. Time and time again last year Trent Edwards and J.P. Losman were dropped on their backs because they had no time to throw in the pocket. And if the Bills are going to have success throwing to their newly acquired wide receiver Terrell Owens, Edwards and Losman are going to need some extra time in the pocket. I think that Pettigrew is an average player that if the Bills really want him, they can draft him with the 28^th overall pick if he is still on the board.

Another player that I am not crazy about is Alabama offensive tackle Andre Smith. And really the only reason why I’m not crazy about him is his insane attitude problem. He’ had problems with agents and with leaving the combine early. Not to mention that his numbers at the combine were not very impressive to begin with. Smith preformed great at Alabama, but if he is already starting to have on and off the field issues, than who knows what he has in store in the future. Right now he seems like a bi of a drama queen, but he really needs to get his act together. If I am a team with a high draft pick, I’d be extremely hesitant in investing millions of dollars in a head case. What I find funny is that some draft analysts actually predict him going to the Cincinnati Bengals at the 6^th overall pick. Like the Bengals don’t have enough babies on their roster already. I guess he would be a perfect fit for them, doing whatever he wants whenever he feels like it. Smith has the potential to be a mainstay on the offensive line for many years to come if he gets his attitude in check, but overall I think he will be more dramatic than productive.

The story of the draft is really all about quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez. The Lions are going to take Stafford and absolutely nothing is going to change about that team. Maybe they will win two games tops. I feel bad for whoever the Lions draft because they are at the very beginning of about a 20 year rebuilding process. Stafford will go into that system and probably start almost every game and he might even put up some okay numbers, but that will not produce any wins for this team. The reason why the Lions stink year in and year out is because their defense just sucks. That’s why I am such a big fan of Aaron Curry for the number one spot, but the pressure by the media and fans will not ultimately allow the Lions to make the smartest pick. Stafford will have an unreal amount of pressure put on his shoulders and I’m just not sure how he is going to react to it. There is one guarantee that Stafford will have and that is the big bank account after his name is announced. He will probably get an absurd amount of guaranteed money that he doesn’t deserve, but teams like the Lions are stupid enough to offer that. For all anybody knows he could be the next JaMarcus Russell who was great at LSU and has offered little to nothing at the next level. I think all teams are looking for quarterbacks to come out of the draft to be the next Matt Ryan. But none of the quarterbacks this year are going to have that kind of instant success. Stafford will be a good player, but where he lands will be very unfortunate for his career.

Now when it comes to Mark Sanchez, he is in a much better position. For his sake, the best places he can go are either Seattle or Jacksonville. If he goes to Seattle, he will be greeted with a great wide receiver in T.J. Houshmandzadeh who not only makes quarterbacks better, but other receivers around him. But I think Sanchez should be crossing his fingers and hoping that he goes to Jacksonville. The “Jaguars have just signed veteran Torry Holt, and there are not many other players in the league that you would want to throw the ball to. The Jaguars are usually contenders in the AFC South as well, so if Sanchez was to go there, then he is entering a successful system. Even though he will be taken after Stafford, I think he will have a better season just because of where he ends up.

Overall I think this draft really lacks a certain oomph. There is no gusto in these players for the most part. Yes, there might be one or two superstars like Curry and Crabtree, but other than that, this draft is really a coin toss mystery game. I don’t think that it will be long in the future until this draft fades not complete obscurity.

-Sam Gerb

Sam can be reached at sgerb@ut.edu