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      End of the line for Chipper Jones

      June 15, 2010 /

      In 1995, Chipper Jones led all major league rookies in RBI (86), games played (145), games started (123), plate appearances (602), at bats (524) and runs scored (87). He also finished second that season for the Rookie of the Year award behind Dodgers’ pitcher Hideo Nomo.

      Fifteen years later, Jones appears ready to hang ‘em up for good.

      Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hasn’t confirmed the news, but writes via his Twitter page that he’s heard from two people that Jones is set to announce his retirement at the end of the season. If he does, he’ll leave baseball with six All-Star selections, two Silver Slugger Awards, one NL MVP trophy, one NL batting title and a World Series ring on his career resume.

      It shouldn’t be a shock to anyone that Jones plans to retire. After batting .264 and committing more errors than any third baseman in baseball in 2009, he thought about hanging up his cleats last year. Thanks in part to a finger injury, he hasn’t hit well this season either and it appears that he knows the writing is on the wall.

      If he does decide to retire, something that I’ll always miss about Chipper is his consistency. He’s never posted awe-inspiring power numbers, yet he usually posted between 25-40 home runs during his prime. His career batting average is also over .300, which is still more impressive to me than a player that finishes his career with 600 home runs. As far as anyone knows, he’s also never been accused of taking steroids either.

      Considering the era he played in, that should gain him unwavering respect in most fans’ eyes.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Parcells the reason Texans passed on Bush?

      June 15, 2010 /

      According to a report by Yahoo! Sports columnist Jason Cole, the reason why the Texans passed on Reggie Bush in the 2006 NFL Draft was partly because of the NCAA’s potential investigation of him at USC and partly because of former Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells.

      Unknown fact: People around the Houston Texans often say the specter of an NCAA investigation of former USC running back Reggie Bush(notes) had much to do with the decision by the team to take defensive end Mario Williams(notes) over Bush. Bush scared the Texans by not returning calls right away after news of possible violations was broken by Yahoo! Sports. That’s partially true, but the clincher in the deal was a bit of advice from then Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, a high-placed NFL source said recently. Parcells weighed in on the matter after being contacted by Texans owner Bob McNair.

      …and?

      I wish Cole went into more detail as to what Parcells said to McNair, although obviously he didn’t have that information. Either way, it’s interesting to hear that Parcells shared his insight on the matter with another team’s owner. I’m not surprised that McNair took his advice, however.

      Parcells is widely known around the league as being one of the best talent evaluators to have ever worked in the NFL. It’s said that he can determine the strengths and weaknesses of a prospect within minutes of seeing the player workout, which is one of the many reasons he’s had so much success over the years.

      Of course, Bush’s athletic talent has never been questioned (outside of his inability to run consistently between the tackles). So if Parcells did weigh in, maybe he convinced McNair that Bush wouldn’t be worth the money and/or eventual trouble that could occur down the road once the NCAA investigated his situation at USC. (That said, it’s not like the investigation has had an impact on his NFL career.)

      Either way, if this report is true, it once again shows what kind of impact Parcells has made on the NFL throughout his career.

      External Sports, NFL

      Nuggets looking for a Top 10 pick…

      June 15, 2010 /

      …and they’re willing to part with Ty Lawson to get it, per Chad Ford.

      Nuggets GM Mark Warkentein has been calling around trying to gauge interest in teams selling the pick. According to sources Warkentein is offering Ty Lawson for the pick. A Nuggets source said the Nuggets are looking for big man to fill up their front line. Several bigs including Cole Aldrich, Ed Davis, Ekpe Udoh, Patrick Patterson, Daniel Orton and Hassan Whiteside could be there at 10.

      If true, this seems like an especially dumb thing to do. In Lawson, the Nuggets have perhaps the fourth or fifth best player from last year’s draft, yet they’re shopping him for a Top 10 pick in a draft that doesn’t appear to be as deep. A top pick is nice, but many players taken in the first 10 picks turn out to be busts. So until they prove themselves in the NBA, a draft pick is an unknown quantity. The Nuggets are try to trade a known quantity (Lawson) for an unknown quantity. Dumb.

      Moreover, Chauncey Billups isn’t getting any younger. He’ll be 34 when the season starts, and with the importance of point guard play in the NBA, the Nuggets appear to be willing to trade away their floor leader of the future for a pick.

      It would make a lot more sense for a team like the Hornets, who have Chris Paul and Darren Collison, to try to move Collison for some immediate (veteran) help, because Paul is still young and is the franchise cornerstone. Still, I don’t think you move Collison for a Top 10 pick, unless you just fall in love with a guy and think he’ll fill a pressing need (that will help keep Paul in town when his contract expires).

      The Pacers are interested in both players, per the Indianapolis Star.

      The Pacers are interested in Lawson, according to a source.

      The Pacers are willing to give up their pick – No. 10 – in next week’s draft to get player that will help them immediately.

      The Pacers wouldn’t be searching for a point guard if they had taken Lawson instead of Tyler Hansbrough last year.

      If the Pacers can turn the #10 pick into Lawson or Collison, it would be a coup for the organization.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, Rumors & Gossip

      Rangers talking to Astros about Oswalt?

      June 15, 2010 /

      Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk reported Monday evening that the Rangers and Astros were in discussions about pitcher Roy Oswalt. Calcaterra said that a major league source told him that the teams are “getting closer” to having a deal in place, although the sticking point was whether or not the Rangers could convince MLB to allow them to take on Oswalt’s salary.

      Shortly after Calcaterra’s report started making its rounds, the Fort Wayne Star Telegram debunked the rumor by saying there was no truth to it. The paper even quoted Texas GM Jon Daniels who said, “You can probably figure this one out,” in reference to the trade rumor being false.

      Calcaterra is standing by his report, although he tries to clarify things in an update by saying, “there is a difference between a deal happening and one being discussed.” He also acknowledged multiple times that the Rangers will have an “outrageously” difficult time completing a deal due to their financial constraints.

      Three weeks ago, I myself speculated about whether or not the Rangers would be a good fit for Oswalt. Seeing as how they a) were a contender, b) needed pitching and c) had the farm pieces to swing a deal, that they made a logical trade partner for the Astros. But as Calcaterra and other media outlets have noted, the Rangers have some major financial hurdles to overcome.

      We’ll just have to play the waiting game on this one. While Daniels’ comments make you believe a deal will never happen, this wouldn’t be the first time a GM is being coy about a trade rumor. I still think this story has legs.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

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