Hurt x 500

I became a White Sox fan in 1983, but it was players like Bobby Thigpen, Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura, and especially Frank Thomas who made me a fan. Sadly, Thomas hit his 500th home run wearing the hideous new Toronto Blue Jays jersey. I think it fits Mr. Thomas, once a loveable character who gradually transformed into a grump, got thrown out of the game in the ninth inning. I own a lot of worthless baseball cards, and I'll probably throw most of them out some day. I'll always keep a couple of Frank Thomases around. He's always been a big guy who could take a walk in addition to hitting with power. Between 1991 and 1997 he was in the top four in AL on-base percentage. His career batting average and on-base percentage are in the top twenty all time. I wouldn't call Frank Thomas a borderline Hall of Famer. He's legit.

I was pleasantly surprised that the White Sox are going to sign Mark Buehrle to an extension rather than trading him away. I doubt the trade offers were that extensive, considering that Burlyman's a free agent at the end of the year. A possible four-year, $50 million deal looks like a bargain compared to the Barry Zito deal.

That's right, a Sox sweep against the Devil Rays means that the Sox finally have a record better than the Devil Rays.

Does any fantasy expert actually believe that Chris Brown is going to be a factor for the Titans this year? I see him higher than LenDale on a few redraft rankings. These are the same folks who drafted Brown five rounds ahead of Travis Henry last year. Yes, Henry is a much better NFL running back, but he isn't any more talented.

What can Brown Do for You?

Before I get rolling on today’s issue, I’d like to give a shout out to Brian Henry, a Vice Commish in one of my dynasty leagues. I think Brian reads my blog mainly for ammunition in our message board, which is good because I give plenty on this page. I would also like to point out here that Brian ‘won’ the number one rookie pick this year, which happens when your team finishes dead last. How’s A-Pete’s collarbone looking today? I’m just jealous because I’ve never sucked enough to finish in dead last, although my efforts of late are bringing me closer to that goal.

I want to chat about Chris Brown, the almost-former Titan. I have a personal history with Chris Brown that I think needs to be publicized. Before the 2004 season there was a sale on NFL.com on old personalized jerseys. I guess there was a new Reebok logo or something. 2XL jerseys, and this was before jerseys got really big, went for $19.99. In a move as astute as trading LT and Larry Johnson this offseason, I decided to buy three and sell them on ebay. I figured that I’d at least break even, and in the process I’d be the first Titan fan to have a Chris Brown jersey. Eddie George had just been unceremoniously dumped to the Cowboys, and Brown was the heir apparent. As a color-blind homer, I assumed only the best.

Not only did the Brown jerseys sell for the outrageous amount that I planned (ebay fees killed my chances of getting more than half my money back), there were other sharks who planned the same thing, thereby flooding the market. I still had my jersey and wore it on the home opener, when the Titans lost to the Colts and Brown went for a career-high 152 yards on 26 carries. I was momentarily flying high since I took Brown late in the first round of the AUFL draft. The Ahman Green/Chris Brown combo was, for a very brief time, unstoppable. Brown averaged more than 100 yards for his first five games, and in the first half of the season he had 810 rushing yards and five touchdowns. I’ll bet at that point Brown never thought that he’d be a healthy scratch in all but five games just two years later.

Brown played in just three games in the second half of 2004, prompting the Titans to trade a third-round pick for an apparently over-the-hill Travis Henry. A banged-up Brown only missed one 2005 contest but failed to exceed 1000 yards. Henry had a drug suspension that kept him from getting a real shot at the starting gig, but in 2006 he clearly pulled away from the pack.

The Titans decided that an eight-million-dollar bonus, which had to have been somewhat of a joke when initially negotiated, was too much for a guy who just set a career high in YPC. That left the Flaming Thumbtacks with LenDale White, a 2005 second-round pick, Chris Henry, a 2007 second-round pick already considered the bust of the draft, a practice-squad player in Quinton Ganther, Dontrelle Moore, and undrafted rookie Danny Ware. LenDale White’s inability to avoid the drive-thru, almost as pathological as Pacman’s inability to find somewhere besides a strip club to visit on a Sunday night, forced their hand.

For those scoring at home, the Titans have spent two third-round picks and two second-round picks in the past five years in an attempt to bring back Eddie George. Give George credit, he didn’t miss a start in his career. Brown has 2295 rushing yards in four years. White totaled 240 yards in limited action. Henry couldn’t exceed 1000 yards last year for a mid-level Pac-10 school. He’s wicked fast, though.

The Brown signing does illuminate a truth about pro sports. It’s all about the money. Brown was a third-stringer most of last year behind a guy in White who couldn’t stay healthy despite having a season-high of nine carries in a game. The team didn’t want him, but he re-signed for two reasons. The first is that no one else really wanted him. The Bears showed some interest but they already have their starter (Benson), a solid backup (the other Adrian Peterson) and a tempting but tiny rookie (Garrett Wolfe). There was no room for Brown. The second reason is that Brown’s going to get the highest payday of his career. It’s a paltry sum by NFL standards, but I’d take 1.85 million for one year.

The Titans could cut Brown by opening day. That wouldn’t be a shocking development. Brown could also rise from the ashes and lead the Titans to the playoffs. I’d like him to do one thing that no Titan RB on the current roster did last year. Score a touchdown.

Strange stats: In Eddie George’s nine-year NFL career, his season high for YPC was 4.1, which he reached in his rookie year of 1996. In 2004, Chris Brown had a 4.8 YPC. George exceeded 300 carries for eight straight years, a stat that will probably hold no weight when he’s considered for the Hall of Fame. I don’t think the consideration will be too deep, but let’s face it, the Titans are going to try to find his replacement for a long time.

Single of the week: I’m finally burning out on “Closer” by Travis, so I will mention my purchase of “You Know I’m No Good” by Amy Winehouse. Perhaps that would be a good theme for my 2007 fantasy campaigns.

The Pre-Rookie Draft

Dynasty fantasy football players consider the rookie draft to be the ultimate comparison to real-life football. It’s a draft, like the NFL does, you can wheel and deal to move around, and the picks you make set your team up for the next few years.

Baseball has a draft too. It’s conducted by conference call. ESPN even showed it this year for the first time. The differences are obvious. Baseball draftees are unlikely to see “The Show” for three to five years. NFL draftees are already on the squad. People also know the NFL draftees by name. Ask a random guy on the street who the Raiders took at number one and most of them are going to know. If you asked 100 sports fans who the Devil Rays took with their first overall pick, you’d get blank stares. David Price, pride of Vanderbilt, was the pick.

I’ve been all but absent in my two dynasty baseball leagues this year. It’s just hard to set a lineup every week without really knowing what’s going on, let alone set up a 1-9 batting order and 1-5 pitching rotation. When the minors draft came up, suddenly my interest piqued.

Most of these guys are born in the mid to late 80s. Unlike the actual draft, some of them are a year or two away from the majors, at most. Heck, some of the minor league-eligible guys have been in the majors. Last year’s preseason Rookie of the Year, Jeremy Hermida, is available. His fall shows how quickly guys can be discarded.

While starting pitching and outfielders have the most starters, and therefore get the most attention, it’s pretty much a best player available kind of draft. The league that started drafting today is in the second year, so we are one minors draft in the bag. Still it was weird to see the first guy take Kevin Slowey. He’s a starting pitcher for the Twins. Considering that they already have Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano (returning next year), this guy will be a number three starter at best. This guy drafts like the White Sox.

I have the third pick, thanks to my horrible finish last year. My top pick will probably be Reid Brignac of the Devil Rays. He’s a shortstop, and both of my current SSs have one-year contracts. Honestly, the Devil Rays have some ridiculous young talent, and they drafted the top 3B in the minors, Evan Longoria, last year. Maybe they’ll finish in third place in the AL East one year.

While the NBA Finals has been a disaster, it makes me think of the Titans. LeBron James led the Cavaliers to the finals in his fourth year. If Vince Young leads the Titans to the Super Bowl in his fourth year, that would be fine by me. I’d hope for a better performance on the big stage, of course.

The only comparison I can make between the Titans’ horrible receiving corps that works is last year’s Patriot group. The leader was Reche Caldwell with 61 catches. He had 28 the year before with the Chargers. Brandon Jones had 27 catches last year, and he will be the top returning receiver. In short, don’t draft him in your local fantasy league.

153 of Brady’s 319 completions went to wideouts. The Titans completed less than 100 passes to the wideouts. Hmm. I’ll have to work on this one.

An Unexpected Thriller

I had every intention of watching the White Sox versus the Yankees on ESPN tonight. It was supposed to be Roger Clemens’ first start of the year. The last time Clemens faced the White Sox, he left early because of an injury. He didn’t even make it to Chicago. Jon Garland pitched an 8.1-inning gem and the Sox are going to win.

Just one channel down was an intriguing college baseball matchup. Vanderbilt University has rarely been successful in any sport. They’re the number one baseball team in the country this year. Their top starting pitcher is likely to be the number one overall pick in the upcoming MLB draft. When I turned on the game, Michigan led 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh. This was the final game of the regionals. Vandy tied the game in the bottom of the eighth on a one-out sacrifice fly. In the 9th Price came in, his first relief appearance of the season. The lefty dominated.

Part one of loving college baseball: When Michigan brought in a reliever, it was their third baseman. He stayed in for the ninth. An error by the shortstop, as the starting shortstop moved to third when the original third baseman went to pitch, led to the winning run on first base. A gutsy 0-2 bunt got the man to second. With one out there was a bloop hit to the outfield. The second baseman for Michigan started to his left, then corkscrewed and made a diving catch. It was game over if he dropped it. Michigan got the third out.

In the 10th inning it was the college baseball’s player of the year pitching again. (Warning: bad foreshadowing) He had given up one home run all year. After getting an out, Michigan put in a pinch hitter. The guy hit .188 all year, but was a slugger in high school, hitting 8 homers in 48 at bats. Naturally, he crushed the second pitch out to left. Price left the game, and Michigan took a one-run lead into the bottom of the tenth.

Naturally I change the channel and the White Sox have blown most of their lead. A guy is on first and Jeter’s at the plate. Gimpy Jeter grounds out. Geez.

Back to the real game. With one out in the 10th, the Vandy hitter crushed the ball to left-center, but the very tall Michigan outfielder caught it right at the fence. That’s a heck of a play. It’s not like Vandy’s going to beat Michigan in football. I like the replay of the starting pitcher giving the crotch grab as he watches the ball almost leave the park. As Vandy was one strike away, there’s a hit to left field. It’s not over yet, folks. A check swing ground-out ends it for Vandy. Such is life.