The Death of Sean Taylor: An Awful Tragedy

Brian here to share some thoughts of the tragic death of Redskins safety Sean Taylor. As a Redskins fan and a lifelong Washington D.C. area resident, the news that Sean Taylor had been shot hit me like a ton of bricks. I could not do work the entire day and sat at my desk refreshing Hailredskins.com and other websites for the latest information. I went to bed that night, like many other people, encouraged by the news that Taylor was responsive. When I woke up the next morning I immediately went to my computer for the latest news. The headline Sean Taylor dead at the age of 24 jumped out and smacked me in the face. I felt like I was going to throw up. I went to work and was as unproductive as the day before. I have never seen the D.C. area in such a state of shock and mourning. The shock of 9/11 was pretty awful but it felt like such an international and surreal thing that it affected me in a different way.

I have never before been upset over a celebrity death. I think the reason is that Sean Taylor represented so much to the Washington Redskins and the D.C. area. He was someone who gave a team that hadn't had success in over 10-years something to be proud of on Sundays. When I would watch the games with my dad we would always enjoy watching Taylor make the big hit or big interception. Even though the team has a long way to go, at least we have Taylor. He was the promise of great things to come. He was a man who could do things athletically that none of us could ever even fathom doing. Taylor gave the Redskins defense and the entire team an identity. #21 also was someone who you could relate to in some ways. He had made mistakes in the past like all of us had. He had also turned his life around when he became a father and also become a better player on the field. This was something that Redskins fans had been talking about all year.

The world lost someone who was just beginning to become a great player and even better person. The worst part is there is no upside to this tragedy. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. A little girl has lost her father. A mother and father have lost a son. The Redskins organization has lost its best player. Players have lost a friend, teacher, and teammate.

I just hope that the punks who did this are brought to justice and never take another breath as free men. At least that will make it easier to sleep at night. The only other good thing I can think of is that G-d drafted one hell of a safety.

RIP

Sean Taylor.

As a Cowboy fan I hated Sean Taylor, because he was so good. I feared him picking off a Tony Romo pass or knocking the crap out of TO.

I am genuinely saddened by his death. I was happy when, for a brief moment, it looked like he may pull through. But when I awoke to the news that the passed during the night I was left speechless.

I pray for his family, especially his one year old daughter who was in the house at the time, and hope that the murderer is quickly apprehended and brought to justice.

Bonds

Barry might be in some real trouble now...

I'll have more info/my own crazy opinions up later.

***UPDATE

When news broke last night of the indictment, I assumed that it was because Bonds' trainer, Greg Anderson, finally got tired of using soap on a rope and agreed to testify that Bonds knew what he was using.

That did NOT happen.

The Grand Jury has the same information that it's had for a year and half.

So why now? This coming out at the beginning of the free agency period virtually guarantees that Bonds will not have any offers and will force him to retire.

The Great Joe Sheehan is one of the very few people who is willing to point out this fact:

"So what’s interesting here isn’t that Barry Bonds was indicted. What’s interesting is that it took so long to get an indictment, to the point of extending the grand jury more than once, and that the indictment fails to mention the most serious of the legal questions, the accusations of tax evasion. If it took so long to convince a grand jury to indict Bonds of, basically, lying, what are we looking at in terms of a trial, and how strong will the case be?"

The lack of a tax evasion charge is very interesting. The reason that charge was not included seems to be because of trouble with prosecutorial witnesses -- the same witnesses who will be asked to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bonds knew he was taking steroids.

The prosecution is putting all its eggs in the basket of an ex-girlfriend, a pissed off business partner and a 6 year old drug test -- that even if proved valid is in no way is proof of knowing use.

The Feds usually don't mess around...but they have the same info that wasn't good enough for 4 years -- to the point where Anderson spent time in prison because the case couldn't be made without him -- and is suddenly enough to throw Bonds away for 30 years?

An unusual amount of time, energy and money has been spent on this investigation...do people hate Bonds that much? The answer is yes, and it saddens me.

He's a prick and a diva. If Bonds' were Jason Giambi or Jason Grimsely or Gary Sheffield or Sammy Sosa or any of the 98 guys that testes positive in 2003 would this be happening? If he was Shawne Merriman or Marion Jones?

Babe Ruth is still the greatest baseball player of all time...and Ruth was a womanizer and an alcoholic who "cared enough about the integrity of the game" to routinely show up hungover or still drunk to games, who didn't care enough about his body and relegated himself to a side-show for his last few years.

Bonds in some ways is the anti Ruth or Mickey Mantle -- two of my all time favorite players -- in that he made use of his body to get the most out of what he had. He didn't waste any of his gifts. I think the Eric Davises, Doc Goodenes, and Strawberryes of the game are the saddest stories...guys who had all the talent in the world and threw it all away.

In no other sport do people get this worked up about 'roids. Why baseball?

Rangers Offseason Rough Draft

As part of my on going quest to prove that you could do more with some knowledge, half an hour of prep and a committed owner than the Rangers organization can do in a whole year here is my quick and dirty rough draft of what the Rangers' off season plans ought to be. The team I have put together would be at least 10 games better than last year incarnation of baseball that played in Arlington. Fans would come back, this prolly isn't a playoff team but at least they would keep the hearts and minds of Dallas fans -- coming off of parades for the Cowboys and Mavs -- into the month of September. The free agent market seems ripe to over pay mediocre starters and past their prime players for whom defense is a big part of their value. That doesn't mean that there won't be some bargains out there. Ideally you'd like to fill all your holes from within, but the Rangers' currently aren't capable of doing that. So strap on your overalls, put the kids in the pick-up cuz we're going to baseball Sack-N-Save for discount ballplayers. But first, we need to stop by the high-end Asian Market down the street. I've expressed my affinity for Kosuke Fukudome on these virtual pages before and I believe he remains an integral part of the rebuilding process (doesn't that imply you were good to begin with...I guess those late 90's get-swept-by-the-Yankees-in-the-first-round Rangers count.) Fukudome is not without his warts. An elbow problem ended his year in Japan this season and since I wonder about his power making the trip with him across the Pacific the injury only exacerbates those concerns. But there is not a huge need for corner outfielders around the league and teams may spend themselves crazy for Hunter/Jones/Rowand and leave the auction for Kosuke's services less heated. He will very likely want a three year deal with a clause allowing him to become a free agent afterwards -- instead of the usual 6 years of service time needed. Let's say 3 years and 27 mil stands a good shot at getting the deal done. Now back to Thrifty-Mart!!! I propose bringing in several players with Texas ties and one former star to help out with DH/COF/1B. First item on the list will take us to the platoon outfielder isle and the irregularly shaped section. BRING BACK MENCH!!! Mench would surely be open to returning to Texas and while he's a limited player people should focus on what he can do, as opposed to what he can't. His sojourn into the land of Beer and Cheese was less than thrilling but Shrek can do one thing really well...he crushes lefties! Playing him in left field with Franky Cat who gets on base in spades versus righties but struggles mightily against southpaws would give Texas top-notch performance from left field for below market value salary. Kevin gets added bonuses for boosting team chemistry and being a Returning-Fan-Favorite (RFF.) I'm hoping for a Menchalanatto platoon! Now that we've added two corner outfielders let's head down the broken down pitchers isle. Who wants an College Hall-of-Famer, a high school legend and a Cy Young winner?!?!?? Jason Jennings, Kerry Wood and Eric Gagne would all look good in Rangers' blue -- better in Rangers' Red, but that's a different rant. There's an outside chance that someone goes all Adam Eaton about Jennings but I really think he's a premium discount pitcher this year. He had a crazy outlier year and really think he can bounce back. The Baylor alumnus has shown he can produce in a hitter's haven even worse the the Temple. If the Rangers sign Kerry Wood and no one else this winter I'll be happy. I'll buy extra tickets by the home pen and just watch him break the glove of the warm-up catcher. Where else can you find that kind of marketability and upside for the low low cost of only a couple million dollars?? Red Sox fans seem to think that 6 outing reverses a career worth stellar work, but even if Bostonians feel differently, Eric Gagne can still pitch. Aki on the other hand may not and the Rangers need someone with some closing experience. So how about the last closer to win the Cy? He really liked his stay with the Rangers -- seemingly -- and at worst would be a great tutor to CJ and the other young relievers. Swinging back over to the former slugger section of the store -- I always do that, forget what all I need and end up having to back track in the middle of the grocery store -- I suggest picking up their freshest Cliff Floyd. Floyd is still a high OBP lefty with a some pop. He's getting up there in age and isn't near the defensive player he once was but putting Bottsy at first means there's a need for a DH. It's hard to find guys coming off of .370 OBP years that can come this cheap, and fill a need for the team. He can fill in in the outfield every once in a while and I'm sure he's capable of playing first a few times during the year. So you're adding three guys with really good upside to the pitching staff and two COF/DH's who can be effective in stightly restrained roles. ...Still that pesky centerfield conundrum. Since we have spent some money - though everyone minus Fukudome could be had for less than one year of A-Rod's new deal - I think we should try and save some money here. TRADE the flying Juaquin Brothers, Arias and Benoit to Kansas City for Joey Gathright and Brent Fisher. Gathright is a phenomenal defensive player with well above average OBP for a center fielder. Joey should hit something like 282/361/387 next year and be worth 40 runs more than Marlon Byrd with the glove. I think Gathright could benefit from Ron Washington as manager and should still be subbed for David Murphy every once in a while. Gathright and Fukudome by themselves give Texas the best defensive outfield they've EVER had and helps the pitching staff as much as any one free agent signing would. Rotation: Millwood B Mac Jennings Gabbard Padilla Bullpen: Gagne CJ Kerry Wood Kam Loe Wes Littleton Toby Keith Robby Tejeda Lineup: C- Salty 1B- Bottsy 2B- Kinsler SS- MY 3B- Hank "The Hawk" Blalock LF- Cat vs righties and Mench vs lefties CF- Gathright RF- Fukudome Bench: Laird Vazquez Murphy This lineup could score up to 888 runs, but would likely settle in the 865-870 range -- a marked improvement over the 816 from last year. On the pitching side Texas gave up 844 runs last year and while I expect Millwood, B Mac and Padilla to all bounce back to varying degrees defense and a potential Jennings break out are reasons to be more excited. Let's say 820-ish RA with this squad. Injuries are always a concern with any club and maybe slightly more so with this club. BUT this would at least be a .500 team re-energize the team and the community and set up the organization for a surgical strike in the big free agency class next year. If the team gets off to a bad start then just trade the Floyds, Gagnes and Jennings in a repeat of last years pretty successful deadline deals. These low money, short term, high upside free agency buys will either help you win now or win later by moving desirable contracts for prospects.

Free Agency

The obligatory time has passed and major league clubs are now officially able to sign free agents.

I'm very conflicted on what I want the Rangers to do, the immediate gratification part of me wants them to go out and make a big splash but the part of me that uses a logical thinking process wants them to be fairly inactive.

Signing Barry Bonds would be fantastic...if this team was going to contend next year. But they're not so there's no need in committing big money to guys that will be well past their primes (if they aren't already) when this team may actually contend.

Centerfield is a huge area of need, as great a story as Marlon Byrd was last year he's just not a starting ML centerfielder.

Torii is a the kind of person you want to build your franchise around and while him and Mike Young sure are awesome guys signing Hunter would mean that your two big money players would be old, probably bad defensively, questionable offensively, and crazy overpaid in two-three years.

Rowand is coming off a legit All-Star season but I kind of see him as maybe 10% better than GMJ -- and that's not really a compliment. He's going to be paid like an All-Star but for his entire career up til last year he hasn't been.

Andruw Jones is a legit Hall-of-Fame candidate coming off of an aberrant terrible year. While his defense may have slipped from the Mays-esque levels of a few years ago it is still among the very best in the game. He's the only one of the big 3 whose bat could stand the shift to a corner outfield spot. JD and the Rangers' brass seem scared off by his year long slump but he should provide the best value to whichever team signs him of this CF class. Although that discount may be mitigated by the $200 a day McDonalds per diem.

Milton Bradley would have had the catbird seat on my Rangers Offseason Wishlist if not for the first base ump acting like a rec league softball ump and goading him into a fight. He's one of the very few on-base machines that can play a passable center. Texas needs a top notch defender out there and after his injury the Board Game should loose further range. There's no guarantee that you get anything out of him this year anyway.

Since this club is still a few years away, it makes much more sense to try and get a young CF via a trade. Covelli Crisp and Joey Gathright are 1-2 on my wish list. Both can cover crazy amounts of room in center, both are assets on the base paths, neither will completely embarrass themselves at the plate, both are young with upside and are under club control for multiple seasons at below market value prices. Most importantly both should still be valuable players a few years down the road. Maybe just as important neither would cost your first born to pry away from their current clubs.

Rangers do still need another outfielder since Nelly Cruz has proven that he is not the chosen one in right. For right field I think the Texas needs to look left...far left. Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome who sits at #10 on Keith Law's Top 50 Free Agent List which is an ESPN Insider piece but they are currently running a free preview. Law compares Fukudome to Bobby Abreu and I love that comparison, great on-base, really good defense, doubles power, good runner...basically a very good all around player who helps you in ever facet of the game. Best of all about Fukudome is that the team signing him will not have to forfeit any draft picks or post a fee up front (like with Dice-K last year.) How cool would it be to have a guy named Fuk-u-dome anyway? I've been on the Fukudome bandwagon for a while, naming him the starting right fielder on my All-Future Team.

Then the pitching...always the pitching. This market is going to suck for everyone and pitchers in particular are in short supply. Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse...really? That's the best you can offer. The only pitchers who stand a chance of a positive return on investment are guys with major risks associated with them. Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Jason Jennings at the beginning of the year you might think that they could be the crown jewels of a mediocre crop of free agent pitchers. Injury and ineffectiveness plagued each man to varying degrees but each has been a good pitcher in the past and stand at least a chance of regaining past glory. One certainly couldn't sign Colon and Andruw Jones since no one else on the team would get any of the post game meals. Jennings does a little something for me..but just a little. When 100% he's pretty much Kevin Millwood (that's not meant as an insult.) I'd say he has the best shot of pitching effectively on his new deal.

Relievers are somewhat the same story. I would really like to see Kerry Wood AND Eric Gagne in Arlington next year. Medium-to-low risk and high reward with both guys. Both have Texas ties which should give the Rangers a leg up in negotiations -- similar to Jennings, a Baylor alumnus.

If the Rangers don't go too crazy in free agency this year -- which I doubt they will, I mean to we have to beg Hicks to save money? Next year's free agent group should be loaded with ultra premium brands. Save money now so you can spend it then. Emphasis on spending it then.

The sacristy of quality pitchers in free agency and the quantity of good young pitchers on rebuilding teams means that there is an unusual number of guys up on the trading block. Texas has a revamped farm system that now gives them enough trade fodder to at least make inquiries on whomever they wish. Don't go blowing your wad on a guy like Santana who's just going to bolt for big dollars next year. Tim Linecum still really intrigues me. I doubt he gets moved, but if San Fran is willing to at least listen to a Salty, Chris Davis, Volquez, Arias package then you see where it goes. He could give you 5 more years of legit ace quality performance for crazy below market prices. If San Fran wants Salty, Kinsler and Hurley then it doesn't make sense but if it doesn't completely destroy your farmsystem to bring this guy in you do it.

Until my next post I'll be attending school in the UK, because of this.

Dallas Cowboys Insider

After a first half against New York in which Dallas penelties were as big a foe as the Giants, we here at SportsBullies have used our insider sources to grant you (SportsBullies Nation Member) a look at the Cowboys locker room at half time.

Crazy Sports Hair (Throwback Edition)

He's really got it all, doesn't he? Amazing facial hair, beard, moustache, side burns and of course one of the top 10 'fros of all time.

Who is he you ask?

Well for shame on you! A hair style this amazing should be instantly recognizable.

For those of you under 35 years old who never saw this man play (I am in that group but I still recognize greatness when I see it) the picture on my left -- your right as you look at your comp -- is Artis Gilmore!

I felt like the former Kentucky Colonel Great needed some love. So congrats Artis, you are this weeks winner of Crazy Sports Hair (Throwback Edition)

Random Sportsy Thoughts

Elias just came out with their free agent rankings: AL and NL

...Take a minute and look at the crazy ridiculous job that these guys do. I'm not going to lay all the blame with Elias since they just plug-and-chug the formula that was agreed on by the players and owners in the collective bargaining agreement. But that agreement came in 1981 and they haven't changed it all since then.

Cano ahead of A-Rod? Nice to know that intangibles are factored in.

For what ever reason the specific formula used to determine the rankings has been hidden, but after some sleuthing I was able to find it.

The rankings use two-year samples that are averaged out.

The rating system groups players into five categories -- catchers, starting pitchers, relief pitchers, infielders other than first basemen, and first basemen/outfielders/designated hitters. Players are ranked in five to seven statistical categories, with the specific categories varying by their position grouping (e.g., there are no fielding stats used in the 1B/OF/DH group, but the catcher and infielder groups each include two defensive stats). Cumulative statistics may be adjusted for players who spent time on the disabled list, restoring stats for up to 60 days of missed playing time.

1B/OF/DH: PA, AVG, OBP, HR, RBI

2B/3B/SS: PA, AVG, OBP, HR, RBI, Fielding percentage, Total chances at designated position

C: PA, AVG, OBP, HR, RBI, Fielding percentage, Assists

SP: Total games (total starts + 0.5 * total relief appearances), IP, Wins, W-L Percentage, ERA, Strikeouts

RP: Total games (total relief appearances + 2 * total starts), IP (weighted slightly less than other categories), Wins + Saves, IP/H ratio, K/BB, ERA

Each player is then given a point total for each statistical category that is inversely related to his actual ranking. For example, if there are 100 starting pitchers in the ranking, then the pitcher with the lowest ERA gets 100 points, the pitcher with the second-lowest ERA gets 99 points, and so on, until it reaches the pitcher with the highest ERA, who gets one point just for writing his name. This system has several obvious flaws, of course, as it gives no weight to the distance between any two players: If the top pitcher's ERA is 0.1 or 0.01 or 1.0 runs better than the ERA of the next-best pitcher, it doesn't matter, as he still only gets one extra point - the stats used have little reliability and great variance from year to year and do not accurately reflect a players value, age and market forces are not taken into account at all. Point totals within each position are then scaled to make 100 a perfect score

Moises Alou over Prince Fielder...moving on before my head explodes

******

Jason Witten is an absolute beast. He's now the second best tight end in the game.

I would hate to tackle Marion the Barbarian.

What were the reasons 6 teams gave for passing on All-Day again??

He had 250 yards more than LaDainain in that game.

He was great in college but Vince Young is awful in the pros...hrmmmmmm I wonder who could have seen that one coming??

I would love to see Kerry Wood pitching for the Rangers this year, more because I love the dude than anything else.

Rather than spending a billion dollars on Torii Hunter how about trading something like Laird to Boston for Coco Crisp?

There's been talk that Tim Linecum could be had...if that is true (and I don't believe it is)... you call up the Giants and don't let them off the phone until tiny tim is pitching in Arlington.

Timmy, Santana, Bedard, Kazmir, D-Train are all said to be on the trading block.

Nice time for JD to have added a lot of young talent over the summer.

Great Mavs win last night v the Rockets. Devin, Damp, George and Bass were all hurt...refs made a couple indefensible calls and you're playing a really tough team. Dallas came through, the AAC crowd was really into it. Sweet Action.

Jet has really taken to his new role.

JJB ... all-star...?

Glad that Gana Diop no longer feels that the ball is made of lava.

Dirk is playing harder and more aggressively than ever. That is a great sign.

College hoops just started. Go to BasketballProspectus for the best coverage/analysis on the interweb.

Before I die...

... I want to see a Cowboys/Eagles game in Philly. I will pay whatever it takes for tickets - as close to the Eagles' bench as possible - and buy a TO jersey...and a bullet proof vest.

Last night was awesome! I still think Philly is a dangerous team and for Dallas to go into their house for a nationally televised night game -- when everyone there had been drinkin for 8 hours+ -- and dominate in every single facet of the game is pretty amazing.

The words "walrus", "drug", "emporium", "family", and "crisis" were yelled so many times by me and JJ that I completely lost count. We stopped using they typical conjunctions and just started yelling each of the 5 words together, in any order.

A play would go as such:

1. The Cowboys -- usually Romo/TO/Witten -- would do something awesome
2. The Eagles would suck
3. Their fans would be fat and ugly
4. We would yell "DRUG WALRUS EMPORIUM IN CRISIS!!!!"

Savor that win fans of the Cows! It is not often that you get to destroy a rival like that -- pretty much knocking them out of the hunt for the NFC East in the process. I keep getting the feeling that this season could be special.

...and then I watch the Pats.

Oh well, an NFC Conference Championship Game would be pretty sweet!

Football picks

Iowa (+1.5) @ Northwestern Navy @ Notre Dame (-3) Cincinnati @ South Florida (-5.5) Texas @ OK State (+3) UCLA (-1) @ Arizona LSU (-6.5) @ Alabama New Mexico (+3.5) @ TCU Washington (-3) @ Stanford Missouri (-3.5) @ Colorado Rutgers @ UConn (-1) Washington State @ Cal (-14) Texas A&M @ OU (-20) ********* NFL Denver (+3) @ Detroit Jacksonville @ New Orleans (-3) Seattle (+1) @ Cleveland Arizona @ Tampa Bay (-3.5) Dallas @ Philly (+3.5)