As the podcast details, Dennis used his love and knowledge of college hoops to pick his bracket while Pagel used a majority of coin faces to determine who was going to win each game. Follow along in the podcast with your bracket and you might learn something from either of us!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
The Madness of March
The DP Show's venerable hosts just wrapped a March Madness podcast full of college hoops insights provided courtesy of Dennis. There was also some coin flipping, provided completely by Pagel.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Cue the baseball music and spring training montage!
It’s about time I dusted this old thing off, less I fall back in with the thousands of people too lazy to randomly scribble down their largely incoherent thoughts on a word processor and then copy and paste them onto here. Well, I am no longer that lazy but I have perhaps become more incoherent than usual. Regardless, I’ve decided to make a comeback into the blogosphere by partaking in one of my favorite past times: completely demolishing baseball, a sport I used to love.
What approach to take this time with America’s most flawed form of entertainment? I know! Let’s peel open the steroids wound once again!
I’m tired of hearing the names McNamee, Radomski, Bonds, BALCO, McGwire, etc., etc. Boring! Even though the Mitchell Report contains a load of other names forgotten to the world (unless you’re like me and spend hours a day playing Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest which was made after the climax of the Steroid Era in 1999).
F.P. Santangelo and Jim Parque aside, there are many more players who have yet to be officially named in a government report or associated with a dirty trainer or clubhouse doctor but put up Slugfest numbers none the less.
These players should be the focus of an MLB Network “Prime 9” episode. I’m not necessarily saying that any one of these players is guilty of anything. But there are certain factors that cause one to raise an eyebrow when looking back at these seasons: age, career numbers, teammates, previous bests, injuries, down years, etc., all go into making these seasons stand out.
Prime 9: One of These Things is Not Like The Other!
#9) 2003: Frank Thomas
The Big Hurt has always been quite the power hitter with a keen eye and great balance at the plate. But at age 35, the season after a precipitous drop off in production in a similar amount of at bats, Big Frank improved both his Batting Average and Home Run totals by a significant margin. Suspicious? This one season is suspicious enough to warrant a closer look.
#8) 1995: Albert Belle
This one is less obvious because the natural progression of a pure power hitter follows Albert Belle’s career arc until a degenerative hip condition forced him from baseball. However, rational, non-steroid taking people don’t run over Trick-or-Treaters with their SUVs, stalk their girlfriends with GPS devices, or attempt to decapitate 2nd basemen.
#7) 1998: Greg Vaughn
Vaughn was always a slugger in the truest sense of the word but put up career numbers alongside admitted steroid user Wally Joyner in San Diego.
#6) 1987: George Bell
Earliest of the suspicious seasons, even before the “golden age” of The Steroid Era. After 1987, Bell never topped 30 home runs or hit .300 again and was out of baseball by age 33 and back in the Dominican smoking cigarettes.
#5) 1996: Andres Galarraga
Remember when all of the baseball writers were trying to pinpoint the cause in the sudden rise in homerun rates? The balls were wound too tight, the pitching is severely watered down, ballparks are smaller, and the air in Denver is too thin? Now what really seems more likely; the air being too thin or a collection of mediocre power hitters got together to save their careers while at the end of, or well past their primes?
#4) 2004: Adrian Beltre
Contract year. Never hit more than 23 homeruns in a season. 108% increase in homerun totals followed by a 61% decrease. Red flags? Anyone?
#3) 2003: Javy Lopez
Contract year and 43 homeruns at age 32? 52 homeruns in the three previous seasons combined? All while playing the most physically demanding position on the diamond? Look! More of those red flags!
#2) 2001: Luis Gonzalez
A decent #5 hitter pulled a Freaky Friday on Ken Griffey Jr. without his consent. 2001 season: 57 homeruns. 1999 & 2000 combined: 57 homeruns. 2002 & 2003 combined: 54 homeruns. Career 162 game average with 2001 season: 22 homeruns. 162 game average without 2001 season: 16.5 homeruns. And, check out this picture!
#1) 1996: Brady Anderson
The worst kept secret in baseball. Anderson decked almost 25% of his career homeruns in one season. Johnny Mize and Babe Ruth (twice) are the only players who were older and clean when they topped 50 homeruns. Under the word “aberration” in the dictionary, you can find a Brady Anderson baseball card.
BONUS SEASON!!
MLB Network always does the Prime 9 because they apparently forgot about the DH existing in the American League. So here is my bonus, DH special for all of you!
2001: Richard Hidalgo
Out of the league by age 30, just five seasons after randomly hitting 44 homeruns, surpassing his previous career high of 15. Hmmmm….
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