Tag: Anthony Stalter (Page 15 of 133)

      Five teams that could come up short in 2011

      March 30, 2011 /
      Philadelphia Phillies starter Roy Halladay pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the fourth inning of a MLB spring training game at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida, March 21, 2011. REUTERS/Steve Nesius (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      It’s the start of a new year and you know what that means: Expectations are running high for every club not named the Pirates and Royals. (Or Astros, Cubs, Mariners, Diamondbacks, Nationals or Indians for that matter.)

      But what postseason contenders are most likely to fall short of expectations in 2011? I’ve highlighted five below.

      Philadelphia Phillies
      When a team is hyped for an entire offseason, it almost becomes cliché to say that they’ll fall short of expectations. But in the case of the Phillies, there’s some major concern here. It’s impossible to replace Chase Utley’s production in the lineup and this is an aging roster. Yes, the Halladay/Lee/Oswalt/Hamels/Blanton combination will keep most opposing batters up at night and yes, the Phillies will probably win the NL East. But the Braves aren’t too far behind talent-wise and Philadelphia has become a club that starts off slow only to pick it up in the second half. If Atlanta comes out of the gates hot and the Phillies suffer some early-season hiccups without Utley, the Braves might be able to build a decent lead that they can ride throughout the season. Barring injury to Halladay or Lee, I can’t imagine a scenario in which the Phillies don’t make the playoffs this year. But without Utley, the playing field has definitely been leveled in the National League.

      San Francisco Giants
      This is an easy one. It’s been 10-straight years since the last time any team was able to repeat as World Series champions. And while the G-Men aren’t considered the favorites to win this year’s Fall Classic (that would be the Phillies or Red Sox), many pundits believe that, at the very least, they’ll win the NL West again. A World Series hangover is the Giants’ biggest concern, because this club is better now than it was a year ago. They’ll get a full year out of Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner, the energetic Andres Torres will serve as the leadoff hitter from Day 1 (instead of the highly unproductive Aaron Rowand), Pablo Sandoval looks like he’s ready for a big bounce back campaign, top prospect Brandon Belt might start the year with the big league club after dominating this spring, and Mark DeRosa, Mike Fontenot and Pat Burrell strengthen the bench. But it’s a different game for the Giants now. They’re going to be the hunted instead of the hunters, at least in the NL West. Can this fun-loving team recapture the same magic it had in September and October last year? Or will all of those extra innings that Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez endured in the postseason last year eventually catch up with this team?

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      External Sports, MLB

      MLB Sleepers: Who will be this year’s Giants, Rangers, Reds, Rays and Padres?

      March 29, 2011 /

      Sleepers can come in a variety of forms. Not all of them win the World Series, or their division, or even make the postseason for that matter. But all sleepers do have one thing in common: They do something unexpected.

      The five sleepers listed below all did something unexpected in 2010. Let’s recap.

      Giants: The team that seemingly came out of nowhere to win the World Series on the strength of their young pitching and a bunch of hitters that got red-hot at the right time.

      Rangers: The team that everyone knew had talent to reach the postseason but were still hesitant about predicting them to win the division.

      Reds: The youngish team that everyone knew would eventually compete, but were surprised to see that “eventually” meant 2010.

      Rays: The team that people knew had the talent to reach the postseason but still stuck them behind the Yankees and even Red Sox in the division.

      Padres: The team that nobody thought would challenge for a postseason berth and would have been the surprise of the year had they not collapsed down the stretch run.

      So who are this year’s Giants, Rangers, Padres, Reds and Rays? I’m glad you asked.

      The 2011 Giants: Oakland A’s
      The strength of Oakland’s club is its young pitching, led by four pitchers in Gio Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill and Dallas Braden, who are all 27 or younger. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Giants won the World Series last year with four pitchers (Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner) who were all 27 or younger. The Giants also had an offense that would hardly keep opposing pitchers up at night but after GM Brian Sabean re-signed Juan Uribe and added guys like Cody Ross and Pat Burrell during the year, it was enough to be dangerous. Just like SF’s offense last year, Oakland’s bats aren’t going to scare anyone but after the offseason additions that Billy Beane made this offseason (Hideki Matsui, Josh Willingham and David DeJesus) they’re enough to be dangerous. And just like the Giants, if they can reach the postseason (where pitching matters most), the A’s might be able to do some damage.

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      External Sports, MLB

      Should the Falcons trade up for A.J. Green?

      March 24, 2011 /

      Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the Falcons should do everything in their power to move up to select Georgia receiver A.J. Green in next month’s draft. He also appears to be confused on the CBA rules.

      It would take a lot for the Falcons to move up from 27th in the draft to get Green: at least this year’s and next year’s first-rounder pick. He’s worth it. There were 48 NFL scouts at Georgia’s Pro Day Tuesday. The only time they looked disappointed was when a bizarre league rule forced them to leave the field when Green ran pass routes.

      Next year’s “first-rounder pick”? Something that Schultz either fails to mention or fails to realize is that without a CBA, there is no draft next season – let alone draft picks to trade. As it stands today, teams can’t trade their 2012 draft picks because they don’t exist without a CBA. So the Falcons couldn’t include a package with their first rounder next year even if they wanted to. (This rule is also lost upon Schultz’s AJC co-worker D. Orlando Ledbetter, who seems to think that the Falcons might be able to move up by trading away their first two picks this year and their second rounder in 2012. Again, without a CBA in place, the Falcons couldn’t trade their 2012 second round pick.)

      Now, maybe Schultz and Ledbetter do know the rule and they’re basing their assumption that there will be a CBA in place by the draft next month. But if that’s the case, then why didn’t they just say they were working under this assumption? Furthermore, what’s transpired over the last month to make either of them believe that the owners and players are getting closer to agreeing to a new deal?

      Did these two not do their homework or am I missing something here? One would think that writers at a major newspaper such as the AJC would understand the situation before discussing what it would take for a team selecting at No. 27 to move all the way into the top 10 (where Green will undoubtedly be selected) when the league is in the midst of a labor dispute.

      Trading up for Green would seem highly unlikely unless the Falcons were willing to part with their entire draft this year. And considering their needs along the offensive line (three of their five starters are free agents), at defensive end and at nickel back, the Falcons can’t mortgage their draft for one player – even if it is someone as talented as A.J. Green.

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      Players to Roger Goodell: “Your statements are false.”

      March 19, 2011 /
      New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (R) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch (C) arrive for labor negotiations between NFL players and owners with federal mediation in Washington on March 3, 2011. The current collective bargaining agreement expires at midnight tonight and a lockout is possible but not definite if none is reached. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg.

      The bickering between the players and the NFL just got turned up another notch.

      Earlier this week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter to every player encouraging them to return to the bargaining table. In response, the players sent out their own letter on Saturday that basically told Goodell that they’re not buying what he’s selling.

      Here are some of the highlights from the players’ letter (courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle):

      We start by reminding you that we were there at the negotiations and know the truth about what happened, which ultimately led the players to renounce the NFLPA’s status as the collective bargaining representative of NFL players. The players took this step only as a last resort, and only after two years of trying to reach a reasonable collective bargaining agreement and three weeks of mediation with George Cohen of FMCS. At all times during the mediation session we had representatives at the table with the authority to make a deal. The NFL representatives at the mediation did not, and the owners were mostly absent.

      The NFLPA did all it could to reach a fair collective bargaining agreement and made numerous proposals to address the concerns raised by the owners. In response, the owners never justified their demands for a massive giveback which would have resulted in the worst economic deal for players in major league pro sports.

      That is why we were very troubled to see your letter, and repeated press reports by yourself, Jeff Pash, and the owners, which claim that the owners met the players halfway in negotiations, and that the owners offered a fair deal to the players.

      Your statements are false.

      One point that that players keep making (and it’s a strong one) is that most of the owners weren’t involved in the talks. As Mike Vrabel of the Chiefs has pointed out, Roger Goodell can’t make a deal. Jeff Pash can’t make a deal. Jerry Jones can make a deal. Jerry Richardson can make a deal. The owners can make a deal.

      But if the owners aren’t even involved in the negotiations, and I mean sitting at the tables in the flesh, then how is a deal going to get made? I don’t agree with all of the moves that the players have made to this point but that’s one thing I do side with them on. They don’t need Roger Goodell sending them letters telling them to get back to the negotiating table if the owners aren’t even going to be there. No wonder most of them laughed Goodell’s letter off.

      That said, the owners claim that their proposal last Friday was in effort to get the players to agree to another extension and to keep the lines of communication open. But according to the NFL, the players never offered a counter-proposal so in my opinion, it sounds like the NFLPA had already made up its mind that it wanted to go to litigation. It sure seems like DeMaurice Smith cares more about going to court than being one of the heroes (and I use that term very, very, VERY loosely) that negotiates a deal so that we can have a season next year.

      For the record, I think Goodell’s heart is in the right place. He doesn’t want the courts to decide the fate of the league: he wants the players and owners to. But again, it’s his job to get both sides to the table. He needs to get all of the decision-makers in one room to hash this thing out or else this situation will only get uglier than it already is.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL Player Rep: Owners’ contract offer was “kind of the old switcheroo”

      March 18, 2011 /
      General view of the New Meadowlands Stadium where the New York Jets and New York Giants NFL football teams play home games in East Rutherford, New Jersey March 14, 2011. The NFL has officially announced a lockout of players by team owners following the move by the players’ union to dissolve themselves and pursue court action against the league. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL BUSINESS)

      Part of the reason the talks between the players and owners fell apart last week was because the NFLPA says the owners’ last proposal would have made salaries a fixed cost and eliminated the players’ chance to share in “higher-than-projected” revenue growth. Pete Kendall, the NFLPA’s permanent player representative, described the league’s offer as “kind of the old switcheroo,” while NFL spokesman Greg Aiello says that the players were in “a hurray to get out of the room last Friday and file their lawsuit.” Aiello also noted that the players never offered a counterproposal before decertifying.

      Also, also, also, the players say that the owners took their CCR “Greatest Hits” album without asking and the owners claim that the players ate their leftovers from “La Senorita Mexican Café.”

      Both sides deny each other’s claims.

      It’s only been a week and already this lockout is making me want to carve out my eyes with a spoon. Know what I think? I think the owners had already made up their minds that they were going to lock the players out when these labor discussions (if you can even call them that) began. But once Judge David Doty ruled that they couldn’t use the $4 billion from the renegotiated TV contracts to fund their lockout, they figured the best way to get what they wanted was to actually sit down with the players.

      But by that time, the players knew they had the upper hand and were going to follow through with their lawsuit unless the owners bent over backwards in negotiations. Thinking they would win with Doty if they went to court, they weren’t going to budge on their demands. The two CBA deadline extensions were just for show to make the public think that a resolution may be forthcoming.

      As it turns out, Doty isn’t overseeing the players’ case so it appears as though nobody currently has the upper hand. Between draft boycotts, lawsuits, ridiculous slavery comparisons, Roger Goodell’s letter and $1 salaries, it’s amazing the men in charge can even put their shoes on the right feet in the morning. Had the owners and players actually tried to compromise from the start, I wonder if they would have agreed to a new CBA within a matter of weeks. But this entire situation has been a series of missteps by both sides, so here we are.

      External Sports, NFL

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