5 For Friday

Here are a couple thoughts going thru my head on this first Friday in December:

1) Heat - I'm enjoying them struggle. I don't dislike LeBron or Wade, but it certainly makes it fun to root against them doesn't it? In watching the game last night against Cleveland, the Heat seemed to play better when Spoelstra split up those 2 on the floor. When they were out there together it looks like they (or their teammates) don't know who's the "alpha dog" and what to do. When it's just one or other, the team looks to be in a better rhythm.

2) Mo - I see where Riveria has agreed to resign with the Yankees for 2 years. Not a surprise other then the comment by Jon Heyman that the Red Sox offered Riveria a 3 year deal. That sort of came out of left field with Papelbon in house and Bard waiting in the wings. Maybe just an instance of Boston kicking the tires and trying to up the cost of the Yankees, but still, thought that was a very interesting comment if true.

3) Qatar - Really? Where the heck is Qatar? I actually thought it was in Africa till "googling" it yesterday, but come to find out, it's in the Middle East with Saudia Arabia to the south. Truthfully, still didn't really help me out, but whatever... The world cup organization awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar yesterday beating out the US and Australia (amongst others). I can understand the US not getting "The Cup" but still, Qatar? The rumor online (and we all know everything you read on the internet is true), is that Qatar bought the Cup as they're an oil rich country with money to burn... Speaking of burning, expect the soccer players to be doing that in 2022. Apparently it becomes deathly hot in the summer there (temps reach 115 on a daily basis) and the concern for the safety of the players is real. Should be fun to watch!

4) Cam Newton - I go back and forth on the NCAA's ruling making him eligible to play. I guess at the end of the day, I agree with them and am glad he's getting a chance to play, but someway there should be some punishment for what his dad was doing. You can't just go around asking for money in order to get his kid to play for you... Interesting to note that Cecil Newton (the dad) apparently owns a scouting service. Some how the NCAA needs to limit that business from being involved with student athletes, but how, I don't know. As I said, I have nothing against the kid, however the football gods will become involved here and guarantee that Auburn doesn't win the National Championship, mark my words on this.

5) RIP Ron - Cubs great Ron Santo passed away yesterday at the age of 70 due to complications from bladder cancer. For more details about Ron's career, go here:

Santos Passes Away at 70

Bill

El Toro Cross Country

A little bit of a departure from the main stream, but this was to good to pass up.

The El Toro Chargers boys cross country team took 4th place in the division 1 state meet this past weekend. An amazing accomplishment for a great group of kids.

Leading the way was junior Kevin "KC" Durham who set an individual school record breaking Brandon Bethke's record by 11 seconds. Kevin earned All State 1st team honors and recorded the 3rd fastest junior class time in course history. Kevin became the only Orange County runner to ever break the 15 minute mark on the Woodward Park course in its 25 year history and in the process qualified for this Saturdays Nike Cross Country Nationals in Portland, Oregon.

Good luck this weekend KC and congratulations again to the ET boys cross country team on a great season!

Bill

ps........ Thank you also to contributing editor Julie Grable for keeping me infomed on KC and the whole cross country team!

Captain November

Not sure where I stand on the Yankee's "versus" Derek Jeter.. Truth be known, I hate both equally (hate may be a bit harsh here as I don't "hate" anyone, so maybe I go with "strongly dislike?").

On one hand, nothing would please me more than seeing the Yankee's bring back "Jete's", paying him a ridiculous amount of money (which would help tie up their payroll a little) and roll an average hitter, average fielder out there every day for the next 3 years instead of going out and bringing in a super star shortstop that would help make the Yankee's scary good (imagine if the Yankee's emptied their farm system and traded for Hanley Ramirez?? How about Montero, Banuelos, Culver and Joba Chamberlain, think the Marlins would jump on that?).

I admit though, I'd seriously enjoy watching the Yankee's part ways with Jeter and let him go elsewhere (even if it made them stronger). Wouldn't that be a blow to his huge ego? Can't imagine him getting over $10 million a year elsewhere (even that would be over paying for him). Do you know what the other top shortstops in the league are paid? I'll give you a hint... A LOT less than Jeter.... This past year Hanley Ramirez made $7 million, Troy Tulowitzki $3.5 million, Jose Reyes, $9.4 million, Jimmy Rollins, $8.5 million. The only reason Jeter makes what he does is because he's on the Yankee's. After the season he had last year (Marco Scutaro had a better year than him.....) and the fact he's 37, he should be getting offers in the 3 year, $5 million range!

The other day, Jeter's agent brought up how he's baffled the Yankee's are mistreating a " Yankee Legend" and how they should treat him like their past legends. Fine, treat him like Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, I'm cool with that:

Babe Ruth's Salary Cut

I thought this was a great article by Craig Calcaterra at NBC Sports, he lays out the reasons the Yankee's are being more than fair with Jeter and why it would be ridiculous to pay him any more than they've offered - "It's Time People Got Real About What Derek Jeter Means To The Yankee Brand"

At the end of the day, I'm sure the Yankee's and Jeter will come to an agreement, which I feel benefits fans of teams competing against the Yankee's, but wouldn't it be fun to watch Jeter playing shortstop for the Pirates, making $2 million a year and stumbling towards 3,000 hits??

Ah, to dream!

Bill

Mater Dei versus El Toro - Boys Water Polo

I know I seem to be doing a lot of high school updates lately but the "dearth" (word of the day!) of news out there on local sports has been driving me crazy I guess.

Taking place on Saturday night will be the Division 1 boys water polo championship between number 1 ranked Mater Dei and number 2 ranked El Toro. They faced each other three times during the season with all 3 games ending 11-10 and Mater Dei taking 2 out of 3.

El Toro is the defending Division 1 champion and Mater Dei the defending Division 2 champion (obviously moving up to D1 this year).

Should be a great match up with the underlying story line being "private" versus "public", which always tends to fire people up.

Saturday, 6:30pm, Woollett's Aquatics Center, Irvine.

Hope to see you there,

Bill

El Toro High School Charger Signings

Yesterday was the early signing period for high school athletes to sign their college letters of intent.

A lot of the local schools hold a "ceremony" to acknowledge these athletes but El Toro just does one ceremony later in the school year, instead of splitting it up like most of the other local schools. I was surprised no mention on the school website about any of this but then again, have you seen their school website??? Probably not as it's pretty much a joke when it comes to athletics and current information.... (hint, hint).

After making my way through the 6,527 Mater Dei signings, here's what I came up with for El Toro:

Garrett Mundell - Baseball - Fresno State

Matt Chapman - Baseball - Cal State Fullerton

Lauren Chamberlain - Softball - Oklahoma

Ryan Hardy - Volleyball - Pepperdine

Brian Braasch - Lacrosse - Arizona State

Justin Morgan - Girls Water Polo - Long Beach State

Congratulations to all these amazing athletes for their hard work in their sport and in the classroom, it's an amazing accomplishment and they're great representatives of El Toro High School. Good luck as they move on to the next phase in their lives!

If anyone knows of another person that should be on this list, please let me know so I can acknowledge them.

Bill

ps.......... Was that so hard El Toro???

El Toro Sports News

On a slow Friday, I thought I'd share a couple of Charger sports news with you:

1) ET Football - Are off this week but will be playing Laguna Hills High School next Thursday to determine the Sea View league champion. El Toro started the year slow, experiencing a couple of last minute losses, but they've straightened out their QB position and are on a 3 game unbeaten streak. With a win over Laguna Hills, they'll clinch first place and an automatic bye for CIF. Thursday's start time is 7pm at Laguna Hills.

2) Girls Water Polo Coaching Opening - Today it was announced that Matt Tilton was let go as varsity girls coach, no reason given. Tilton had been head coach since the 07/08 season leading the Lady Chargers to the CIF division playoffs in his 2 years at the helm. Prior to becoming head coach, Tilton had been the swim coach since 2000. If interested in applying for the position, send your resume to John Johansen at johansenj@svusd.org.

3) Tyler Brashears - Earlier this week, the El Toro junior pitcher verbally committed to UCI. The 2012 graduate had been considering schools from all over Southern California, but in the end, was drawn to the camaraderie of the Eater team and the leadership displayed by Coach Gillespie and Coach Shine. Tyler joins fellow Charger teammates Matt Chapman (Cal State Fullerton) and Garrett Mundell (Fresno State) as college recruits off the 2011 Charger roster. Hopefully a few more to follow!

Bill

Hot Stove Thoughts

With the world series ending, teams have 5 days to discuss contracts with their free agents, before those guys go on the open market.

I was having a conversation with a friend today, and here are some of the thoughts I came up with.

1) Cliff Lee - I think he stays with Texas. I think they realize they need to keep him and he's worth the money it'll cost... Close to his home (Arkansas), no state tax, seemed to have a great experience with Texas, team will be competing for a world series next year. With the extra income revenue they gained from making it to the world series, new ownership will see they can open their wallets and put the money back into the team. Not sure where they stand payroll wise, but he's worth the 5 year, 120 million it'll cost to keep him there. When's Arod's salary come off their books? Michael Young is their highest paid player, and I think he has no more than 2 years remaining on his contract. I think Rangers keep him. If so, great signing by them.....

2) Carl Crawford - I think either Yankee's, Red Sox or Angels. I hope Angels, as I think he'd be a perfect fit for them. Red Sox want either him or Werth but I'm hearing Werth is their first choice....

3) Victor Martinez - I say he ends up on another team than Boston. I don't think they really want him back.. Certainly not at that price level/years. We'll see.

4) Beltre - can sign with anyone. Boston won't resign him..... I think Boston is clearing space to go get either Adrian Gonzalez or Prince Fielder. Everyone talks about Gonzalez coming to Boston because of the connections in the front office, but I don't see it happening. I say eventually they get Fielder. When? I'm not sure.... If Brewers are out of it at trade deadline this year, watch for that rumor to come up.

5) David Ortiz - I'd like him back in Boston at the 1 year club option (12.5 million). If he'll except that (he wants a multi year deal) than great. Let him enjoy the money and Boston can take the risk for one year. If he's adamant about multi years, let him go.

6) Vlad Guerrero - Not sure. American league, obviously, due to DH, but is it with Texas? I say no. I just see him becoming a veteran that goes to some team that thinks they're one "big bat" away... White Sox?

7) Jeter - resigns with Yankees, however in my dream world, here's what I hope happens. Yankee's let Jeter go on the open market... People (fans) would be bitching and what not blaming the Yankees's "no commitment to winning", blah, blah, blah... Then, the Yankee's go do a blockbuster trade for Hanley Ramirez (what ever it takes with quality prospects, Montero, Joba, kid shortstop......), then all those fans would jump back on the Yankee bandwagon and say "sayonarra" to Jeter! He'd be stuck taking some far minor 1 year deal with Tigers or someone.... Wouldn't that be funny? Could you imagine the damage that would do to Jeter's ego? Even though that would make the Yankees stronger I'd love to see that happen! It would be worth it to me.... hell, I'd probably be rooting for the Yankees to win the world series at that point, just for the damage to Jeter's "legacy".......... Ahhh, but thats in my dreams. Eventually both sides will get this deal done.

8) Mo - Yankee's resign him for 3 years, 45 million and don't worry about it till year 3..... Wish my team had him.

9) Jayson Werth - I see him as a national league guy... don't know why, but think Cubs or someone like that make a "godfather" offer to him and sign him. They have new ownership and he'd be a great sign.

Anyway, just some initial thoughts on free agents. We'll see happens this weekend once guys go on the open market.

Bill

What's Bill Thinking?

On this rainy, Tuesday afternoon, I'll bet you're wondering what I'm thinking about....

1) Sydney Moss - Randy Moss has a daughter who's quite the basketball player. No surprise there except she's 16 and a junior in high school. He's 33. You do the math. He's agile, mobile and fertile!

2) RIP Freddy Schuman - If you're a Yankee's fan you'll know who I mean. "Freddy Sez" was a fan who attended Yankee games banging spoons against skillets and holding signs that started with "Freddy Sez" on them. He was 88. Love those passionate fans. Rest in peace Freddy Sez.

3) "Say OW" - I'm sure you've all heard by now about Junior Seau and his arrest for domestic abuse and subsequent driving his SUV off a cliff..... His agent claims the two instances are not related and he simply fell asleep at the wheel. What's the deal with athletes and domestic violence? Seems to be a lot of it going around lately doesn't there?

4) Liverpool - My new favorite soccer team. Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner just bought Liverpool and while there's a lot of work to be done, some good pieces in place. "The Reds" have been around since the late 1800's and have won many titles. They've been in a down slide the last couple years and are looking to turn things around. It'll be interesting to follow and see how an influx of cash and good management can turn around a struggling team quickly. Here's their official website: Liverpool Football Club

5) Cliff Lee - Damn he's good..... I think my love affair with left handed pitchers is pretty well documented but Lee takes it to a whole other level. If any of you parents have a young lefty pitcher (nepotism alert! Can I say that??) at home, watch how he pitches. He's not throwing 100 mph people.. The guys a strike throwing machine who changes speeds. In last nights game, I was amazed how many Yankee batters struck out looking at a called third strike on a 93 mph fastball right down the middle of the plate. Why didn't they swing? Because they were expecting an 83 mph change up or cutter on the outside corner. They were completely fooled. He's just amazing on the mound. This postseason he's 3-0, allowed only 2 runs, struck out 34 and walked 1..... In 8 career playoff starts he has a 1.26 era, third lowest all time. Sabithia makes 24 million a year, does Lee top that this off season? Can the Rangers with new ownership and a new tv contract compete with the Yankee's and Red Sox on that sort of salary? It'll be interesting to see how high his salary goes. His wife and agent are excited!

Bill

El Toro / OLu

In a fall league matchup on Wednesday night, El Toro took on Trinity League power Orange Lutheran.

As I've stated, these games are for development, so it's hard to get a read on different players and teams as various pitchers are throwing and some kids are missing. OLu came out on top, but by how many I'm not sure...... 3 maybe 4.

El Toro has been hit with a rash of injuries as Gavin Collins, Mitchell Tolman and Matt Levert were all banged up and missing and another potential starter, Tim Alhanati was out.

Garrett Mundell (recent commit with Fresno State) threw the first inning and looked sharp, not giving up a run. Garrett's 6'5" and has been a work in progress the last few years, but he's finally looking to be coming into his own. He touches 91,92 now and his curveball has good depth on it and provides a good out pitch. His fastball does look to be very straight and seems to get squared up a lot on contact, which leads me to believe he's going with a four seam, instead of a two seam fastball (probably to get the extra velocity). With guys his height and velocity range, he might be better served long run by developing a sinker, staying on top of the ball and getting more downward movement to induce groundballs, ala Derek Lowe. That won't be necessary in high school, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him go that route when he gets to college.

As for the rest of the game, OLu did a good job keeping the Charger batters off balance at the plate. A couple soft tossing lefties (with good movement) were effective and other than a James Meager triple to dead center, limited El Toro to a few singles here and there.

El Toro's next game is Monday at 5:15 against Edison. Edison is stacked with "name" players and if they show (always iffy in fall ball), it'll be neat to come out and watch some talented players. Henry Owens, Christian Lopes, Timmy Lopes and Eric Snyder. Owens and C. Lopes are on the 18U National Team, T. Lopes is on the 16U National Team and Snyder made it to the final cut of the 18U team. Game will be played at Windrow Park in Irvine.

Hope to see you there!

Bill

Christmas Tree's and Wreaths

It's that time again everyone, time to start getting in the Christmas spirit!

The El Toro Chargers baseball team is having their annual christmas tree sale. Having been purchasing tree's there for the last 7 years, I can testify they get great tree's and the prices are very much in line with what you'd pay if you went to your local Christmas Tree lot. All proceeds go towards supporting the Charger Baseball program, so you know it's going towards a good cause!

They also offer great wreaths so those of you that may have an artificial tree, no need to feel left out. The tree's also make a great gift to donate to your favorite charity.

From now till the end of October, all tree's and wreaths paid in full will receive a 10% discount, so don't wait.

Tree pickup will be held at El Toro High School from December 2nd thru the 4th, and we also can arrange to have the boys deliver locally for a minimal fee, if you need to.

Please click on the attachment below to fill out your form. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at bill@billtolman.com or call me at (949) 394-0074. It would be appreciated if you put down Mitchell Tolman under "sold by (player)" as all the boys do have to sell a certain amount.

If you have any friends/neighbors/relatives that might be interested, please forward the attachment along to them.

Thank you for your generous support.

Bill

The Randy Moss Trade

Being a Patriots fan, I've gotten a few questions about my opinion on it and whether it was good or bad.

Basically I'm fine with it. Is New England a better team without Randy Moss? Probably not, but they're a different team.... Time, and the rest of the season will tell if they're better. Lot's of football to be played.

Football is the ultimate team sport and I don't think one player, even one as talented as Moss, can dictate a season (QB being the one possible exception). New England's going to change their offense and go back to being more of the offense they were before Moss arrived. Interestingly enough, during the playoffs with Moss, New England averaged far less points a game with him then they did without him, so it's going to be interesting how it all plays out.

The Patriots had decided to not resign Moss after the season so they figured they'll get something for him now, instead of nothing later..... Not the worst idea.

Bill

Instant Replay in Baseball

We had another controversy last night when in the 4th inning Buster Posey was called safe at second on a steal when replays showed him being out. Posey of course went on to score the only run in the game, leading to a big up roar again of bringing instant replay to baseball.

I go back and forth on whether baseball should adopt instant replay. On one hand, you want the call correct, on the other hand, human error is part of the game. Also if the umpires are leaving the field every inning to huddle up somewhere around a monitor, it'll turn games into 4 and half hour affairs (and Yankee /Red Sox games into 6 hours!).

How about this compromise:

Each manager gets one "replay request" a game to use whenever he wants. If it's a questionable call, he can use his one allotment. Once he uses it, he doesn't have another so he better make sure it's a crucial call effecting the outcome. The home plate umpire has an earpiece that someone up in the booth can relay to him what the correct call should be, so it gets ruled on immediately and not taking 5 minutes with the umpires leaving the field.

Simple, quick and prevents the managers from having every questionable call checked.

What do you think?

Bill

I Have A Secret

I LOVE MY DUCKS!

There, I said it, I love my Oregon Ducks football team. I've tried avoiding it for a while, but I can't help myself. I know very little about Oregon (other than Bend is nice....) and other than spending a lot of time in Portland 10-11 years ago, have never been to the University nor know anyone who has, but I love them none the less. I have come up with 3 reasons for my love:

1) Uniforms - They have great uniforms. Not sure if it's just the football team or all athletics, but Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, is a Duck alumnus and large donor to the school, and one of the things they've placed a big emphasis on is the dress apparel. It's always fun tuning into a game and seeing what new look they're sporting. Makes it interesting.

2) Chip Kelly - The football head coach is from Manchester, New Hampshire (graduate from Central) and a 1990 graduate from UNH, so I have to support a fellow New Hampshirite and Wildcat grad. Upon graduation he worked in a few different programs before taking over as offensive coordinator at UNH in 1999 and over the next 7 years, the Wildcats became the most prolific offense in the country garnering him numerous awards including one of the hottest college football coaches in the country. I assume it wasn't for his looks? Anyway, he moved to Oregon in 07 becoming their offensive coordinator and in 09 took over as head coach. The one thing I don't get is he's 2 years older than me, but graduated from UNH 3 years after me, so some where in there he took some time off......

3) I Love My Ducks video - Finally we get to he reason that brought me over. Admittedly I've been walking around my house lately randomly singing this song. It's catchy, fun and the video these kids made to it is very engaging. They've got a couple video's (I Smell Roses and Return of the Quack) which I suggest you check out. I prefer the "Return of the Quack" as I like the scenes with the cheerleaders following them and dancing and hey, anything with former Oregon Ducks and Detroit Lions QB Joey Harrington in it has to be good!

Return Of The Quack

I Smell Roses

Remember, when it comes to the Oregon Ducks, "it never rains there, it pours touchdowns".

I LOVE MY DUCKS!

Bill

Chargers / Tillers Match up

In a late Wednesday night start, the El Toro Chargers and Tustin Tillers matched up in a fall league baseball game.

More of the same as last week in that the fall is meant for development and giving many pitchers an opportunity to throw and get live at bats for the players.

This week the expected #1 and #2 pitchers for El Toro threw as Tyler Brashears and Garrett Mundell took the mound in the first 2 innings. Neither allowed a run but were a little rusty and needed to be helped out by some nice glove work in the field. Also throwing were Daniel Cavazos (transfer from Tustin), Ben Villines, Ryan Kayoda, Brett Hammond and Jordan Wirth. That group is basically competing with each other for 2 roster spots, as El Toro will mainly go with 4 guys during the season (some would say 3). All threw well last night. Cavazos seemed to have a little more zip on his fastball as he looked pumped up to be facing his old team. Kayoda, while only a sophomore, has thrown great so far this fall and Villines and Wirth were dominate in their one inning. Hammond here is the key which could decide a roster spot or two. He's a lefty and the only one higher up in the program, and if his off speed is on, he's as hard to hit as anyone and gives a different look on the mound. If he starts rolling through lineups like he's capable off, he'll be hard to knock out from one of those other two spots, leaving those other 4 fighting for 1 spot. It's good to be a lefty!

Offensively the Chargers are going to hit. Although missing one of their top hitters from last year (Gavin Collins, out with a fracture in his hip), their lineup is solid 1-9. A stand up triple by Matt Chapman and doubles by Mitchell Tolman and Dan James paced the hitting last night. Jayson Yano continued his hot start with 2 more hits and great at bats by Nick Villar, Daniel Conmy and Sean Nearhoof produced a lot of runs. Expect to hear more of this as the season goes along.

Defensively, things are starting to round into shape. A few less kids in the dugout last night meant the coaches are starting to narrow down the roster as we proceed farther into fall. Some position spots are safe to asssume. Nearhoof at catcher (where he was the top defensive catcher in the Sea View league last year as a Junior), Chapman at shortstop, Ryan Joyce in center and Dan James at first you can pencil in now. A couple others you probably can pencil in also, however a few dominos need to drop before we see how it all shakes out and who ends up in which positions.

On a final note about last nights game, Travis Harrison for Tustin was not there. Harrision is a potential first round pick (in some early mock drafts he's going as high as 11 to Detroit) and a few people in the stands were hoping he'd show up so we could get a look at him. Don't know if he's playing in any of these fall league games as apparently he wasn't there last week either.

Next week El Toro comes back with a Wednesday night game against San Juan Hills. Windrow Park, Irvine, 7:30pm.

Hope to see you there!

Bill

Expect Fewer Home Runs In College This Year

The NCAA has changed the rules on bats they certify to be used this year in Division 1 college baseball and the early reports are to expect home runs to drop off. The NCAA has a new procedure to test the bats to make them perform more like wood bats than under the previous testing method.

There have been concerns in recent years about how hard the ball comes off the bats making it more and more dangerous to be a pitcher, so they've started trying to make the bat manufactures conform to new standards. Head coaches such as George Horton at Oregon and Auggie Garrido at Texas think the changes will be dramatic.

Aaron Fit at Baseball America had a great write up about it today detailing the new bats and how coaches think it'll affect the college game. Not everyone thinks the bats are bad, just that they'll change how the game is played. It's a good informative article and I highly suggest you read (thank you to Colin Tanner for forwarding):

Knock On Wood

If you're wondering about high school baseball, out here in Southern California, they're changing those bats also. The CIF hasn't announced their list of approved bats yet (late November early December) but like the NCAA, the bats will need to comply with the BBCOR standards (Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution). Here's a link from the CIF with more details:

CIF Baseball Bat Implementation

At least I know one thing my 16 year old is getting for Christmas this year!

Bill

Monday Musings

After a great (hot) weekend of sports, here are some Monday thoughts and observations:

1) RIP George - Hall of Fame QB George Blanda passed away today at the age of 83. He played for 26 years in the NFL as both a QB and a kicker, just amazing when you think about it.

2) Mike Johnson - Who? That was my 1st thought when I heard the 49er's fired Offensive Coordinator Jimmy Raye today and promoted Johnson who was their QB coach. I was already to start screaming "racism" as Raye is black and Johnson white. Well guess what? Johnson's black (and has quite a resume....). For those that don't know who Mike Johnson is, here's a write up I found about him from the Bleacher Report: The Walking Lemonade Stand. Sounds like a good guy, I'm pulling for him to succeed.

3) Vikings and Cowboys - Big wins for both teams, neither could afford to go 0-3. Cowboys I think can straighten themselves out but the Vikings have a tough road ahead. After a bye this week, they go on the road against the Jets, home to Dallas, then on the road at Green Bay and at New England. I think they lose all 4 of those games which effectively ends their season. We'll see.

4)Football Coach Fired For Mooning Fans - I'll let you read this piece from the NY Daily News. This guys real proud today! Coach Fired For Mooning Fans

5) Adenhart Killer Found Guilty - Last year, Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed by a drunk driver after pitching 6 innings and getting his first win. Two other passengers in the car also died. The man was found guilty today and will be sentenced to a minimum of 55 years behind bars. The Orange County Register has all the details: Driver Guilty of Murder. Just sad all the way around... Some touching photo's in the write up.

6) Omaha NightHawks - Did anyone out there get a chance to watch any United Football League games this weekend? Truthfully I hadn't heard much about it, however this past summer I was in Omaha and got some information about the NightHawks. I knew Ahman Green was playing for them (exciting news as he's a big name from Lincoln just down the way) but I didn't know Jeff Garcia, Maurice Clarett, DJ Shockley, Dusty Dvoracek and a couple other ex "names" were also out there.. Peter King had a mention in his Monday Morning QB article this morning and it sounds like some good football is being played. Might be worth checking out. Here's the WikiPedia entry talking about the teams and the league - UFL in Second Season.

Bill

Angels - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Wow, so what happened this year with the Angels? I believe at the beginning of the year, I predicted they'd win 95 games and the AL West title. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but I honestly thought they'd do better then they have. I thought they'd continue to score runs (they were second in runs scored last year) and I liked their defense. Pitching was a concern but I thought they had enough to overcome it.

I suppose I could go down a laundry list of excuses like injuries or players not playing up to their potential, but you can do that with every team, so I'm not going to. As Bill Parcells said, "you are what your record says you are" and I'm in agreement on it. Bottom line is they just weren't good enough to make the playoffs.

There were some story lines this year that contributed to their record (they're currently 75-78) and I decided to use one of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies to highlight them.

The Good - Jered Weaver - In the movie, Clint Eastwood plays the unnamed, cocksure bounty hunter. The movie revolves around "Blondie" as he and Tuco make their way through the civil war trying to find buried confederate gold. Weaver played "Blondie" for the Angels this year, navigating thru the battlefield we call the Angels. He finally lived up to his potential as he posted an era of 2.99 with a WHIP of 1.03 along with 220 strikeouts (second in all of baseball). Without him anchoring the rotation, the Angels would have been dead by the all star break. Weaver went up against other teams number 1's and held his own, "Blondie" was definitely the Good in the Angels this year.

The Bad - Brandon Wood - In the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Lee Van Cleef as Angel Eyes was a sociopath Union soldier who captures, interrogates and kills Confederate soldiers unmercifully. Now am I saying Brandon Wood is a sociopath who kills? ABSOLUTELY! He killed the Angels this year....... Here's a guy who's a former high 1st round pick who has torn it up in the minors for years being ranked as high as a top 5 prospect in all of baseball. I don't know why that ability hasn't translated to the major leagues but if this year is any indication, Wood is not long for the major leagues. I'm not sure if it's just confidence or what, but he couldn't have played much worse this year if he tried. Admittedly I thought a stat line of .280, 20 hrs and 80 rbi's was a reasonable expectation based on the playing time he was going to get and the fact he's been billed as a stud prospect. What did he end up with? A .154 batting average, 4 hr's and 14 rbi's. That's BAD and consequently he killed the Angels as they needed his production. Forever from now on whether he's on the Angels or not (and I think they cut him loose) his nickname is "Angel Eyes".

The Ugly - Kendry Morales - Eli Wallach was great as Tuco, the comical, fast talking thief who knows the name on the tombstone where the gold is buried, forcing him and "Blondie" (who knows the location of the cemetery where the tombstone is) to become partners. Now I'm not saying Kendry Morales is ugly, but when he broke his ankle jumping on home plate after his walk off home run against Seattle on May 29th, it effectively ended the Angels season and that was ugly! The Angels never recovered from losing their number 4 batter and best hitter. If the Angels get Morales back healthy and he can continue to produce as expected (he was off to another big year as when he got hurt he was hitting .290 with 11 hr's and 39 rbi's after 51 games), that'll help solidify the lineup and give the Angels some pieces to build around.

Kendry and Blondie are the cornerstones of this Angels team and with some nice complimentary pieces (Howie Kendricks, Erick Aybar, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana, Torii Hunter) they're right there contending for the division title next year.

Maybe this year didn't turn out as expected, but it wasn't the Angels year. Do you blame Scioscia, Reagins maybe Mickey Hatcher for their problems? I certainly wouldn't blow up the team and I don't blame the coaches for this season. I just think it wasn't their year... It happens. I would get rid of Matsui and move either Napoli or Mathis. You need to go with one catcher. Make a decision and move forward. Stop the platooning. Make Abreau the DH and go spend the money on Carl Crawford this winter and stick him in left field. He'd cure a lot of their run scoring problems. Overall, I like the pitching staff. Weaver, Haren, Santana, Pinerio and hopefully a rejuvenated Kazmir is solid. It's not Tampa Bay Rays good, but in the upper half in all of baseball. Their defense and pitching will be solid and if they can get back to scoring runs, they'll be fine.

Anyway, that's the Good, the Bad and the Ugly as it pertained to the Angels 2010 season, here's looking forward to an active hot stove league!

Bill

El Toro Baseball

With school back in session last week, it's time to get the fall baseball season started.

Fall's the time for the coaches to work on rotations, lineups and see where different kids fit in the program. It's not about winning (or even keeping tract of scores), so my focus will be about the program and what's going on.

ET has 9 games scheduled over the next two months. Top Southern California programs such as Orange Lutheran, Edison, Chaminade and Santa Margarita are some of the teams they'll be playing.

They started off the season last night against Santa Margarita. 7 pitchers went for the Chargers although neither their expected #1 or #2 pitcher threw. A new guy each inning. A lot were curious to check out the new transfer from Tustin High School, Dan Cavazos. He's a junior who was one of Tustin's main pitchers last year. As a Sophomore, he started 10 games with a 4.35 era. He throws hard but seems to have some control issues as his walk to strikeout totals last year were about 1/1. Last night he seemed to just be working on his fastball control as he didn't throw many off speed pitches. It'll be interesting to follow to see if he can work his way into El Toro's rotation as they'll mainly go with 4 pitchers through the regular season.

From an offensive standpoint, seniors Matt Chapman (Cal State Fullerton commit) and Ryan Joyce homered in the first to get things started. One of the Chargers strengths this year is expected to be their hitting as they look to be strong up and down the lineup. They lost Chris Manning and Garrett Donohoe from their starting lineup, but with all the young talent coming up through the program and the continued development of the returning players, they look to score more runs this year.

As to the game, it was a back and forth affair that ended 7-7.

Next Wednesday (9/29), El Toro faces the aforementioned Tustin High School. A lot of excitement as Tustin features one of the top high school players in the country in Travis Harrison. Game is scheduled for 7:30 at Windrow Park in Irvine.

Go Chargers,

Bill

Monday Musings

After a long weekend of football, here are some thoughts:

1) Jets played well against the Patriots and deserved to win. They made half time adjustments that I didn't see New England making. Did NE go away from Welker in the second half or did the Jets change their coverage? I don't remember Welker being targeted much in the second half. Pats kept picking up 8 yards on first down, then next two downs throwing down field, incompletions, then 3 and out. Pick up a god damn first down and move the ball!

2) No one could be happier that the Vikings are 0-2. All the build up about Favre coming back and their recruitment of him. Good riddance.

3) Cowboys are 0-2 and the Buccaneers are 2-0. Two of the bigger surprises to me. I don't really have a routing interest either way here, but seeing as how the Cowboys were a trendy pick to make the super bowl and many predicted Tampa Bay to finish about 4-12....... It's early and things can, and will change, but it's still interesting.

4) My NFC Super Bowl pick, the Green Bay Packers, are off to a 2-0 start and travel to Chicago next Monday night for an interdivision match up against the 1-1 Bears. Packers had 2 home games to start but now it gets tougher as they go on the road.

5) QB controversy in Philly? Vick looked good yesterday throwing for 287 yards and 2 td's in the Eagles win over Detroit. When's Kolb coming back? I know Andy Reid has said Kolb will start when he gets back, but if he struggles early and the Eagles lose, you know the sports talk shows are going to be all over Reid. This might get interesting.

6) Is it Max Hall time in Arizona? Do you think Matt Leinert is pretty happy now that the Cardinals let him go? If they'd kept him as the starter, he'd be the scapegoat here. Now? This falls squarely on the shoulders of Ken Whisenhunt. Oakland comes to town next week and if by some chance the Raiders can pull out a win and Derek Anderson struggles, this franchise could drop real quick.

7)Bengals beating the Ravens? Surprised me needless to say. Didn't expect that.

8) Houston's 2-0. Are they legit this year? They've beaten Indy and Washington and have Dallas come to town next week. If they beat Dallas, they might make it to November 1st before losing a game (Monday night game at Indy). Schedule lines up pretty well for them. If they can stay healthy, they could make things interesting for the Colts in the AFC South.

Bill

Five For Friday

1) NFL Predictions - With opening week 1 week away, it's time to make my predictions:

AFC East - Patriots

AFC South - Colts

AFC North - Ravens

AFC West - Chargers

I'm not on board with the trendy pick of the Jets, too many older veterans and injuries will happen. For what it's worth, I also want to pick someone else other than the Chargers in the west. They're due for a let down. I just don't know who yet...

NFC East - Dallas

NFC South - New Orleans

NFC North - Green Bay

NFC West - 49'ers

Green Bay is the biggest surprise here. I like Rodgers a lot, he's going to have a big year. This team is primed to move to the next level.

Next week I'll give wildcards, playoff predictions and super bowl winner.

2) Aroldis Chapman - Stephen Strasburg who? This is how professional sports is. It's a replacement deal. Once one stumbles or goes down with injury, someone else steps up to take over the press. Chapman's only pitched a couple innings in relief, but he's already the talk of the town. The other night he hit 103.5 in a game (when did we start going to half seconds?). I read where his fastball has averaged 99 so far. Wow..... Fun to watch. He'll be interesting to follow and see how effective he is in the postseason should the Reds make the playoffs (as an update, they were the hottest team in baseball in August).

3) USC Football - The Lane Kiffin regime is here. Offense looked great in their win over Hawaii last night but their defense needs work. They're going to be fun to watch this year as they'll be in some high scoring games. In watching last night, this occured to me. They're not eligible for a bowl game this year, so I wonder if Kiffin says "screw it", lets throw the crap out of the ball, let Barkley put up some monster numbers and see if he can win the Heisman. If you can't compete for the National Championship, maybe try to have an individual on the team get recognition. By the way, Barkley threw for 5 tds and 257 yards. Next week is their home opener against Virginia.

4) US Open - Do I really have to talk about tennis? I know I've said this before, but has any sport fallen from US popularity more then tennis in the last 20 years? US Open back in the 80's used to be must see tv. Now? Is anyone out watching it? Does anyone care? I'm curious what the tv ratings are because literally, I know no one that watches tennis now. No one. No doubt there are die hards out there but the casual fan, what point is there to watch? Having said that, here is a reason to watch the US Open, a fight in the stands - NY At It's Finest

5) Nyjer Morgan - Speaking of fights, what's up with him? He was suspended for 8 games today for his part in the benches clearing brawl the other day with the Marlins. Fun to watch the fight? Yes, very fun, but still you have to wonder what his thinking is. He's 30, doesn't make a lot of money, was just recently dropped to 7th in the batting order and he probably feels his career is at a crossroads, he's frustrated and trying to make something happen. His 8 game ban is in addition to a 7 game suspension he received back in August for inappropriate comments he made to fans during a game Aug. 21st against Philadelphia. That suspension is currently under appeal. Don't expect to see Morgan back with the Nationals next year. In case you haven't seen the fight, here he is charging the mound

Bill