Congrats to Chipper Jones

I wasn’t planning to write this week, as my kids baseball season winds down and I get back into the swing of working, I’ve been VERY tired.  But as we sit here watching the Braves play the Marlins, I saw another notch in Braves and baseball history.

Chipper Jones just hit another rocket over the right field wall for his 400th career home run.  As the next step in what may end up being a career year for Chipper (he’s batting over .400), I was glad our busy schedule didn’t prevent us from seeing it.  It was great shot, and the announcers were actually talking about Chipper being that close to the milestone when he hit the shot.

So congrats to Chipper.  In a day and age where so many baseball records are tarnished by scandal, it is nice to see one that, at least, doesn’t appear to be the result of steroids.  Chipper, for all that other teams (like the Mets) don’t like him, he really is a home-town hero.

Congrats Chipper on number 400.

CC

Congrats to John Smoltz

Last night, the Braves played the Washington Nationals, and John Smoltz got strikeout number three-thousand in his career.  This is a major achievement, and should cement his eventual election to the Hall of Fame (not that there was much doubt beforehand).  Unfortunately, the Braves didn’t get the win despite Smoltz holding the Nats to only one run in his seven innings.

Smoltz is the sixteenth pitcher to reach the 3000 strikeout mark.  Some of the active players he joins:  Roger Clemens (4672), Randy Johnson (4629), Greg Maddux (3287), Curt Schilling (3116), and Pedro Martinez (3031).  Behind him, there are only seven active players with more than two thousand, and only Mike Mussina (2670) and Tom Glavine (2576) are close, but neither of them will likely reach 3000 before they retire.

Smoltz finished the past couple of years with an average of 204 K’s, so keeping close to that pace, he could finish with over 3500, putting him somewhere in the top 10 all time.  With the specialization in the bull pen and the way managing pitchers is changing, John my be in the top 10 for a very long time.  In fact, it will be difficult for anyone to displace him the way today’s game is played.

Last night, my son and I were driving home from his baseball practice listening to the game on XM Radio (thanks XM).  I will remember where we were when that strikeout came for many years to come.  I wish I had been home with the rest of my family to see the pitch.  My wife described it for me.  A typical sinker from Smoltz that dropped late and had the batter totally off balance.

Maddux, who was a teammate with Smoltz and Glavine for many successful years with the Braves, is said to have sent John a congratulatory text message.  Maddux told Smoltz that now he had one strike out for every hair he had lost. :)  Great to have friends to celebrate career milestones with you.

So congrats to John Smoltz.  A well deserved honor for a great pitcher.

CC

Nolan Ryan (5714),

Where’s My Bag?

Well, I have been reluctant to post about this because, quite frankly, I’m ashamed. When I was in high school and college, several brilliant fans, frustrated with the ineptness of the New Orleans Saints, brought out bags to wear on their heads during the home games. Hence the title of this blog.

With the loss on Sunday, the Saints have dropped to 0-4 on the season. And the loss to Carolina, no less. (Difficult being a Saints fan with the moniker CarolinaCajun.) This following a baseball season where the Atlanta Braves failed to make the post-season. I’m at a loss to figure what is going on, although I’m wondering if it may be me. With the LSU win over Florida on Saturday, I think I may be off the hook, but time will tell. (Geaux Tigers!!)

So what is wrong with the Saints. I’m afraid that there is more than just one thing wrong. Obviously, the focus of my prior post was the lack of the “big” play for the offense. I think this is a lot of it. I’m tired of seeing the quick dump off pass, and the 2-yard run up the middle. This team was the master of the explosive play last year, and we haven’t seen nearly enough of it this year.

I’m not sure why this is. It would be easy to place the blame on the coaching and QB position, but that isn’t necessarily the way it is. I’m not certain whether the blame should be placed on Brees alone, or if the O-Line and receiver corps deserve some of the blame. It is difficult to tell, but with 9 interceptions, something is not working at the QB position. I know that being hurried can lead to an interception, but didn’t we have Aaron Brooks to do that for us? Why spend the money for Brees to do the same thing. Not to mention the fact that the coaches almost had Brooks broken of that bad habit.

There is also the issue of the penalties. Don’t let the numbers fool you. I know that according to the numbers, the Saints quantity of penalties and the number of yards isn’t near the league’s worst in that category. However, the Saints penalties all seem to come at a key opportunity. We actually had a touchdown called back because an O-lineman couldn’t line up in the right spot. We can’t expect to win if we are going to continue to get stupid penalties at the worst times.

As a fan, there is that excited little kid in me saying what a cool season it would be if the Saints turn it around, finish 12-4 and blow everyone away in the playoffs. Not likely, but that’s what the rabid fanboy inside of us is for. So, I’ll sit and watch (hopefully) the game this week against Seattle, and when the Saints are driving down the field, my rabid fanboy will be jumping up and down with excitement. Then, when the penalty, interception, and/or collapse comes, I’ll don my bag and quietly eat my chips and salsa.

CC

Done For The Year?

Well, it appears that the Atlanta Braves are done for the season. They couldn’t complete the sweep of the Nationals today, meanwhile, the Phillies and the Mets both won. Another combination of poor pitching with a lack of clutch hitting cost the Braves today. While it wasn’t as painful as listening to the Saint’s collapse on Thursday night, it was painful. Not so much because it was a poor performance, but more because it was probably the last nail in the coffin of the Braves season.

I can’t complain too much because my own fantasy team (the Carolina Cajuns, of course) probably died and left the playoff race behind. They lost 2 of 3 in week 20 and that puts us a way out of the wild card race. I don’t think there is any way (unless we go on a wild winning tear) that we can make it to the playoffs. This is only my third season with the IBL, but I think my team should be better than they are playing. It is frustrating to see the lack of production where it should be. Just like with the Saints and the Braves. Maybe it is that infamous “Walker” luck my parents warned me about.

CC

New Orleans Saints

OK, one thing I have to mention before we get too much further in this blog. In addition to baseball and the Atlanta Braves, I am also a big New Orleans Saints football fan. (I kid my wife that every husband is entitled to one sport and since she likes baseball, my one sport is football. She is a good wife, and smiles and says “Uh-huh” whenever I try that. Like I said, she is a good wife.)

So anyway, I have been a Saints fan since before I knew what football was. It was kind of a requirement of growing up in New Orleans. At that time, there was no other professional sport in New Orleans, so everyone was a Saint’s fan. Archie Manning was my only sports hero when I was growing up. If you know anything about football, you will understand why he was the only one. None of the other players on the Saints were any good. This, of course, led to one of the more popular saying in my family, originally coined by my grandfather, “Them lousy Saints!” The team would often win the games they were supposed to lose, and lose the games they were supposed to win.

So why did this come up now? Well, I watched my first football game of the season today (Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, bleh) and I figured now was the time to say it to prove I wasn’t a band-wagon fan. If you follow football, you know that New Orleans had a breakout year last year and the people who are supposed to know are predicting that this year could be even better. I thought I’d better mention that I was a fan before they do well, or, like my grandpa would expect, choke.

So the Saints start their season on Thursday night against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts, coming off their Super Bowl win, are led by Peyton Manning, the son of Archie Manning. This is the game many Saints fans were hoping for in last year’s Super Bowl. Unfortunately Chicago, and the cold weather game got in the way. So Thursday night we get to talk about what might have been. If you are anywhere near a Saints fan Thursday, let them have their moment of dreams. Whether the Saints win or lose it will be a great game, and it will be good to get the new season underway.

Halftime Report

OK, so the halftime report just came on for tonight’s game. The topic of the discussion was Michael Vick. I wasn’t paying much attention to what the announcers said. My ears have trouble hearing anything Bob Costas says, besides, I was writing still.

This entire Michael Vick situation has really irritated me whenever I think about it. Before I say anything else, let me be absolutely clear. What Michael Vick did was horrid, atrocious, and wrong. He should indeed be punished for his wrong, and I don’t have a problem with that punishment including jail time, and a ban from football.

Here is where the problem lies. How many sports players commit crimes and are not punished at all, or at least not as harshly. Here is an article that talks about the problems of domestic abuse in the NFL. I was particularly struck by the closing lines of the article:

“There was a time not so long ago when abused women were treated like dogs by professional sports leagues.

“Now, sadly, they are treated worse.”

Then there is the whole drug and steroid 80’s in MLB. I’ll leave the steroids side alone for now. But if you are a pro athlete and you are doing drugs, just check into Betty Ford and you don’t have to worry about any retribution. Can you say Darryl Strawberry? How many times can one guy be in trouble? Sure, Strawberry served time and was suspended from Baseball, but after how many charges/arrests? Took quite a while for them to actually send him to jail, meanwhile, according to an ESPN article about Michael Vick:

“…prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 12 to 18 months.

“The official said such a sentence would be more than what is usually recommended for first-time offenders, reflecting the government’s attempt to show that animal abusers will receive more than a slap on the wrist.”

I don’t even want to get started on the gang-infested waste that is the NBA. Howie Long, in his NFL Hall Of Fame induction speech said:

“…baseball is America’s pastime, but football is truly America’s passion.”

I agree with what Howie said, but I would add (in keeping with the alliteration), “If baseball is America’s pastime, and football is America’s passion, then Basketball, on a professional level at least, should be America’s pariah.

Well, I guess this is a lesson for me in my second blog post ever. A lesson on how quickly a post can change direction. I didn’t intend to go this way, but the Halftime report came on and I couldn’t leave it alone. I’ll grant that Michael Vick needs to be punished. And given the admiration and idolization of pro athletes, I’m not opposed to stiffer and harsher punishments for him. But don’t just stop with him. Carry the same message to all the criminals in all of professional sports.

CC