A Few Thoughts...

...from the Winter Meetings transactions.

1. He Who Shall Not Be Named - New York Yankees - 7 years - $161 Million
The Yankees got the best left-hander in the game. Sounds good right? For now, this deal is a slam dunk. But what happens four years from now When CC is a biscuit shy of 400 lbs and is still owed $69 million? Brian Cashman better introduce CC to Al Roker while he's in NYC so he can learn about gastric bypass surgery.

2. K-Rod - New York Mets - 3 years - $37 Million
I generally tend to frown upon giving closers more than $10 million per year, given the fact that closers come from anywhere and dominate (i.e. George Sherrill, Matt Capps, Brandon Lyon, etc...) and not make that much money. But in the Mets case, their bullpen was so terrible that they needed to go out and get the best closer money could buy. Six months ago K-Rod was thought to have commanded 5 years/$65 million, so for Mets GM Omar Minaya to get him on these terms was a slam dunk.

3. Mets acquire JJ Putz from Seattle in 3 team trade
What's better than getting the best closer available? Getting the second best closer available as well to set up for him. Provided Putz can take the ego-check and pitch the 8th inning, the Mets went from having one of the worst bullpens to one of the best. Be wary though, last year the Metropolitans acquired Santana and every sports writer in America handed them the NL Pennant. The Mets are still a few pieces away from "Elite" status, but they will definitely give the Phils a struggle in the East.

Side note: This may be one of the fairest three team trades in the history of baseball. The Mariners got two very good defensive outfielders in Endy Chavez and Franklin Gutierrez as well as a quality starter in Aaron Heilman and several above average prospects. The Indians walked away with a slick fielding Venezuelan second baseman and a ground ball inducing side armer in Joe Smith.

4. AJ Burnett - New York Yankees - 5 years - $82 Million
Commissioner Bud Selig told Cashman he could only sign pitchers with initials this offseason, but I think they would have been better off with OJ Simpson than AJ Burnett. The Yanks may have gotten a little greedy with this one. They couldn't just settle on Sabathia, they needed another starter but FIVE YEARS to AJ Burnett? I would rather bring back Randy Johnson or signed Braden Looper for two or three years. AJ Burnett has more arm problems than John McCain (low blow, I know).

5. Raul Ibanez - World F@#king Champions - 3 years - $30 Million
Let's be honest, he's 5 years older than Burrell. He hits slightly less but plays slightly more defense than Burrell. He probably works harder, but there's no way he cares more about the city of Philadelphia. Pat the Bat grew into a legend in Philly this season. He will be missed. Ibanez is a suitable replacement this year, but the final year of this deal, when Ibanez turns 39, Amaro is going to have some headaches.

Sin City was quiet this week but there are still plenty of names out there. Keep it here for your (un)biased opinions and analysis of every deal.

PS - Must mention the absolute stellar deal Oakland GM and genius Billy Beane made to get Matt Holliday. The Angels better get cracking because Beane's boys will be bringing the heat in the weak AL West next season.

CC Sabathia...

has turned to the darkside. As penalty, he is forever ex-communicated from this blog. Never again will his name be spoken from my end.

The Rivalry Still Exists

I'm not going to dance around this one. Sports need more rivalries. They really don't exist much anymore. Not even the sacred Yankees/Red Sox rivalry was interesting this year.

Today USC head coach Pete Carroll will suit up his team in their scarlet red uniform tops against the baby-blue uniform tops of the UCLA Bruins. This is a violation of NCAA rules, which requires visiting teams to be adorned in white, costing Carroll's Trojans two timeouts, one per half. Carroll was fine forfeiting the timeouts since USC is a 33 point favorite and will likely walk to another PAC-10 championship.

Carroll purposely violated this rule because he wanted to restore the rivalry between USC and UCLA. While it came off as smug and arrogant to sacrifice two timeouts in a championship game, I think Carroll is on to something. With Rick Neuheisel taking over the reigns at UCLA, it is largely expected the Bruins will to return to prominence in college football in the not too distant future. Basically, this game that few will watch today, could be must see television for the next decade. Neuheisel is on the record saying he didn't feel disrespected by Carroll's decision and would like to encourage the rivalry building effort himself.

Last year, even before the Celtics and Lakers battled in the NBA playoffs, restoring one of the oldest and greatest rivalries in professional sports, the Lakers had a similar idea to Carroll's. As the Celtics visited Los Angeles for a regular season game, the Lakers took the court in short shorts, in homage to the way players wore them back when the Celtics/Lakers rivalry meant something. After being down at the half, the Lakers switched back to the baggy shorts for the second half, but the point was made.

Army had the same notion as they unveiled camouflage uniforms for their annual season finale against Navy this afternoon.

I can't tell you how much I like this concept. Rivalries are what make sports great. History and tradition are what sports are all about. The more ways organizations can find to accentuate their current rivalries or restore older ones, the better. It takes away from the 'me' concept in sports and brings back the 'team' concept.

I think this trend will only continue to increase and for good reason. The excitement built around a good rivalry game is unparalleled by much in sports. I hope coaches everywhere take note of what is going on and implement their own twist to expand their biggest rivalry.

Yes We Can!

So much has been made about the controversy at the top of the College Football rankings. Since the No 1. and No 2. ranked teams are automatically awarded bids to the National Championship Game (and those rankings are determined by a computer) it hasn't been received as the fairest way to solve a season. Every year we have this argument and every year more and more people who don't understand the system start marching on City Hall that there should be a play-off system.

As this year draws to a close we have the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide sitting atop the rankings with a slew of one-loss teams following, all crying about not getting a chance to play for a national title. Last year Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops complained to every media outlet he could find about the atrocity that is the BCS rankings. This year, with his Sooners ranked No. 2 by the computers (even though they lost to the team ranked directly below them, Texas, who also only has one loss) Stoops has been quieter than Notre Dame's offense.

Now I can sit back and listen to all the sports talk shows debate the need for a play-off system all day long, but I was taken aback when the President-Elect of the United States, Barack Obama said during an interview that he would "throw his weight around" in order to get a play-off implemented during his stay in the Oval Office. I thought the President had duties like running the country and being Commander-in-Chief. I had to read the Declaration of Independence twice but I did actually find the clause where our Forefathers wanted to implement a play-off system and that's why we were breaking away from England.

How about instead of worrying about something that is merely providing Las Vegas with more gambling revenue you worry about something that makes a difference in young men and women's lives. In March of this year the United States Army implemented the Alternate Service Option to allow exceptional athletes in their program to avoid their mandatory two years of active duty and go directly to the pros. The program stipulates that cadets serving two years in the professional ranks of sports could serve six years of reserve time instead.

Citing this rule, the Detroit Lions drafted Army defensive stud Caleb Campbell in the seventh round of the NFL Draft this past April. It provided for a feel good story as Campbell walked down the runway at Radio City Music Hall in New York City to thousands of fans screaming, "USA, USA" at the top of their lungs. Campbell did a quick interview with ESPN who quickly got Lions Head Coach Rod Marinelli on the phone. Marinelli, a Veteran of Vietnam, told Campbell to "be in shape and ready to tackle" when he reported to camp.

Then, on the eve of the day Campbell was scheduled to report to Lions Training Camp, the Department of Defense reversed the ruling, saying Campbell would need to serve two active years before being eligible to return to the NFL. They claimed the Alternate Service Option was unfair to Campbell's classmates and those in the Navy and Air Force who did not have the option of playing in the NFL directly and avoiding the perils of war in Iraq.

I can't think of a more egregious act. At least honor the commitment you made allowing Campbell to pursue his dream, just as he honored his commitment to serve his country thus far. If the rule is unfair, then abolish it from this point forward, but to retroactively take away Campbell's shot at the pros is disgraceful.

If President Obama really wants to make a splash, he should investigate this scenario and re-implement the Alternate Service Option. For Campbell, his shot is likely over as the Lions season nears completion but future cadets can benefit from this. America prides itself on learning from its mistakes and correcting them in the future. Could Obama 'throw his weight around' and get this taken care of? Yes He Can! And yes he should.