Round 1 Knockout, And Other Thoughts

It's not often in life that a tremendous experience turns out to be tantamount to unmitigated disaster. But that's exactly the situation I found myself in on Sunday as I was sitting in the lower deck of Giants Stadium, set against the scenic skyline of Manhattan.

What a waste.

In case you missed it, the Giants were reamed like a prison newbie, 23-0. The crowd was into it for all of about 20 minutes until it became apparent that they were going to need a reason to keep up the noise. They never got one.

It was telling that the stadium announcers decided to announce the defense, and that there were at least two or three guys I hadn't even heard of before, and I've watched each game. They had the nerve to announce a guy named Alonzo Jackson.

I'm sorry, what?

That guy could have been wearing his uniform in the parking lot, complete with shoulder pads and cleats, and I still wouldn't have had a clue that he was our starting linebacker. I'm sorry, when you have a lead-in like that, bad things are coming. It's just the way life happens.

So I'll spare you the open bitching and complaining, the in-depth analysis about which Midwest lineman they should pick first next year, and how many ways Eli Manning should go "suck it," and I'll just get on with some more half-brained sports-related thoughts.

Why I Wish I'd Stuck with Little-League
That the MLB free-agent market has shot up so drastically shouldn't surprise anyone. Yes, we were all lulled to sleep by Billy Beane and the Moneyball era. Pay market value for talent, grow from within, don't overspend. The average salary for big-leaguers even went (GASP!) down for a season. Almost two.

But, not to sound like an economist, when you have a market with only 32 buyers, a little ripple goes a long ways. Guys like BJ Ryan and AJ Burnett are not worth the money they're getting, much like Kris Benson isn't worth the girl he's getting (or his contract, now that I think about it). All it takes in such a small sample is for one or two teams to start overpaying for an overly thin talent pool and splash, the market goes right back up. The funny thing is, we don't have the Yankees or Red Sox to thank this time, it's teams like Toronto.

As if I needed an excuse to post an Anna Benson picture.

I'll keep this last point short, but rest assured there's more. I don't, mind you, think Toronto is evil in this whole thing by being "that guy" at the auction. They're being smart, using some extra bucks to shut out their competition. Sure, Burnett might be a risky acquisition, because let's face it, he'll probably suck, but you have to give the Jays credit. They took advantage of a tepid market and elbowed their way to get what they wanted. Good for them.

Mr. Sosa Goes to Washington
Read recently that Sammy Sosa is on the verge of signing with the Washington Naticles, which, in this writer's humble opinion, is a terrible idea. Sosa back in the National League? Where he has to play the field? Are you kidding? Sosa in the NL is like putting Scott Weiland in a Broadway musical. Sure, he may have been good at what he did for a while, but now that the drugs have worn off, he's just another overpaid has-been who can't hack it.

Oops

I got a joke for you.

Q: What do you call a lazy SOB who ignores his blog for weeks on end, and even when he pays it any attention it's just for a few wisecracks about football games?

A: You call him, Brad.

Bet you didn't see that one coming, did you? I'll wait until you're done holding your sides in laughter before moving on.

Done yet? OK, just a little longer.

Seriously though, I haven't forgotten about all of you out there. Really. And I won't pretend to make any excuses about why I've been neglecting my dusty little corner of the internet. I'll just say that there's more coming soon.

I swear.

Now go finish holding your sides.

You've reached the bottom of the glass.
Check out the archives on the right side of the page for more.

All material Copyright © 2005 Brad C., sole publisher of this blog