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Friday November 21st, 2003

2:49am

Gary Sheffield, One of the Best In the Game

I've liked Gary Sheffield since I was in the 5th grade (1992ish) after I bought his 1989 Fleer rookie card at a card show for $.25 when it was worth $3.50. I still have the card and now it's only officially worth $1.50 but I can now buy 10 of them at a time for $3 on eBay. My father always told me that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay, thus my card is worth about $.30 (that is $3 divided by 10 cards, for those non-math majors out there).

Even though Gary has been a stud since 1992 (when he made a run at the Triple Crown (.330-33-100)) and he's been getting paid like it (see chart below), I don't think Gary has ever truly had the fan appreciation that he deserves. Yeah he makes the all-star team (1992, '93, '96, '98-'00, '03) it is not with the regularity that his numbers deserve.

I remember watching the 1993 All-Star Game in my living room with my parents and my brother with my Florida Marlins hat on when he hit is HR. I took off my hat and waived it around my head like a lasso. I didn't particularly care for the Marlins, I think I had the hat because I was obsessed with the color teal at the time, but since Shef was representing there was no need in not making myself look like I knew what was up.

My next best memory of Sheffield probably came this past August (August 20th to be exact) when I was with my dad in Las Vegas. I was up in our room watching the Braves/Giants game (which I had some $ on the Giants). Here's what I had to say about that evening:

I'd like to point out that the game I lost was decided by a bad call by the umpire at the plate in the 8th inning. For those of you who saw it on Espn, I feel quite strongly that the TV replay supports my statement. This is the only time in my life I wish there was instant replay in baseball...2 for 3 (winning bets) isn't bad for beginners luck...and it's amazing how much more exciting it makes a game that you normally wouldn't ever care about when you've got some cash at stake...

After watching the ATL vs. SF game, I realized just how great of a player Gary Sheffield really is. He not only mashes at the plate, but he also plays incredible defense. At one point in the game he made a diving play in RF then later he HOSED Santiago at third base (in the 5th) and then even later he was the player who made the perfect throw that I debated in the above paragraph. He's been a solid A.S. for a bit over a decade and I have totally underrated him all this time. Look for a post on him sometime later...

This year Gary was INSANE, especially at age 34! He finished in 3rd place in the MVP voting (behind Bonds and Pujols), but would have been a lock if the Braves were an AL team. Gary also finished in 3rd place in the voting in 1993 behind Bonds and Terry Pendleton and in 6th place in '96 & 9th place in '00.

Let's compare these numbers and you tell me what you think:

Age	Player	AB	HR	SO	BB	BA	OPS
30	Player A	549	34	64	101	.301	.930
	Player B	506	33	83	120	.294	1.008
31	Player A	501	43	71	101	.325	1.081
	Player B	517	42	76	156	.308	1.076
32	Player A	515	36	67	94	.311	1.000
	Player B	532	40	87	145	.291	1.031
33	Player A	492	25	53	72	.307	.916
	Player B	552	37	92	130	.303	1.047
34	Player A	576	39	55	86	.330	1.023
	Player B	355	34	62	73	.262	1.006

Mystery Player A is Sheffield (ages 30-34) and Mystery Player B is the greatest hitter of (at least) the last quarter of a century, Mr. Barry "MVP" Bonds (ages 30-34). Obviously Barry turned around at ages 36, 37, 38 to have one of, if not THE, greatest single year, two-year span, & three-year spans in the history of baseball. Let's try to think back to before Barry was "Super Barry". He was already a sure bet HOFer. I'm not saying that Gary should be a HOFer (that's for another day, although he does score a 48.9 & a 103.0 on the HOF Standards & HOF Monitor scales--HOF avg for those are 50 & >100, respectively), but it is interesting to see a somewhat close comparison (minus the walks).

I really don't care too much about his days with the Brewers (1988-1991), so lets skip them and look at the rest of Gary Sheffield's stunning career...

Year	Age	Team	G	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	SB/Att.	BA	OBP	Slug	OPS
1992	23	San Diego	146	557	87	184	100	33	5/11	.330	.385	.580	.965
1993	24	SD/Fla	140	494	67	145	73	20	17/23	.294	.361	.476	.837
1994	25	Florida	87	322	61	89	78	27	12/18	.276	.380	.584	.964
1995	26	Florida	63	213	46	69	46	16	19/23	.324	.467	.587	1.054
1996	27	Florida	161	519	118	163	120	42	16/25	.314	.465	.624	1.089
1997	28	Florida	135	444	86	111	71	21	11/18	.250	.424	.446	.870
1998	29	Fla/LA	130	437	73	132	85	22	22/29	.302	.428	.524	.952
1999	30	LA	152	549	103	165	101	34	11/16	.301	.407	.523	.930
2000	31	LA	141	501	105	163	109	43	4/10	.325	.438	.643	1.081
2001	32	LA	143	515	98	160	100	36	10/14	.311	.417	.583	1.000
2002	33	Atlanta	135	492	82	151	84	25	12/14	.307	.404	.512	.916
2003	34	Atlanta	155	576	126	190	132	39	18/22	.330	.419	.604	1.023
Totals	16	years	1882	6729	1190	2009	1232	379	200	.299	.401	.527	.928

*look here if you'd like to see pre-Padres Gary

Year	Salary
1991	$400,000
1992	$750,000
1993	$3,110,000
1994	$4,625,000
1995	$5,625,000
1996	$6,135,000
1997	$6,100,000
1998	$14,936,667
1999	$9,956,667
2000	$9,916,667
2001	$9,916,667
2002	$9,916,667
2003	$11,416,667
16-yr	$93,010,002

Look at those '94 & '95 season stats...he was headed to HUGE numbers before injury struck...

Anyways, I've been meaning to do a post on Gary since late August and I figured now was a good time just after the MVP voting, but also with his name in the media quite a bit for wanting to go to the Yankees. GARY PLEASE DON'T DO IT....IT IS SPORTS EQUIVALENT TO SELLING YOUR SOUL TO THE DEVIL!

My Picks for This Weekend

Ok, this is going to be quick....

#1 Oklahoma pummels texas tech and bad things happen to B.J. Symmons*

#2 USC tromples UCLA like 40-something to 10-something

#3 LSU gets stunned by Eli Manning-Led #15 'Ole Miss

#5 Michigan over #4 Ohio State to finally get people to stop talking about OSU

#6 Georgia coasts over Kentucky

None of the other games matter, unless they're your team in which case, best of luck....


*Please note that these are only guesses and do not represent the beliefs or wishes of everyone here at TAMABINPO, especially if he really does get hurt...

Wednesday November 19th, 2003

12:20am

It's Trading Time!

Well, I'm all excited because one of my Top 4 teams is making some moves that actually will help them out (unlike another Top 4 team, the Astros)!

One deal is already finished and the other deal is still being worked on, but I think it'll go through.

I know, the suspension is killing you isn't it? Well, Billy Beane has done it again for Oakland. We'll talk about the trade that has already gone down first.

Ted Lilly for Bobby Kielty

I'm glad that the A's were able to finally dump Ted Lilly. Not that he's a bad person or anything, but I just don't particularly care for him. They were able to grab a pretty young switch-hitting outfielder, former Twin & now former Blue Jay--Bobby Kielty (who at 27 y.o. should be coming into his prime), in exchange for Ted.

Ted is definitely a solid starter, but in Oakland's rotation (The Big 3--Hudson, Zito, and Mulder--, and tons of young talent for spots 4 & 5) he wasn't that great. It would be so much more beneficial for the A's to have a guy who plays every day and can get their offense going to make sure that the Big 3 all come close to or achieve the 20 win plateau. Their young prospects could put up similar numbers to Lilly, so they're not missing out with that. Last season the A's had one of the least productive OFs in the AL. Check this out:

A's LF vs. League Average

	AVG	OBP	SLUG	OPS
A's-LF	.275	.329	.477	.806
Lg.Avg-LF	.286	.342	.460	.802

A's CF vs. League Average AVG OBP SLUG OPS A's-CF .226 .292 .345 .638 Lg.Avg-CF .269 .330 .410 .740

A's RF vs. League Average AVG OBP SLUG OPS A's-RF .223 .289 .343 .632 Lg.Avg-RF .276 .339 .458 .797

That's terrible and just about any decent bat would help those numbers. Here are Lilly's and Kielty's numbers from the last 3 seasons....

Ted Lilly-LHP Age: 27

Year	Team	G	GS	W-L	IP	K/BB	K/9IP	BB/9IP	BAA	Era	AGs
2001	Yankees	26	21	5-6	120.2	112/51	8.35	3.80	.267	5.37	-
2002	Yankees/A's	22	16	5-7	100.0	77/31	6.93	2.79	.214	3.69	54
2003	A's	32	31	12-10	178.1	147/58	7.42	2.93	.255	4.34	50

FOR

Bobby Kielty-OF, B/T:B/R, Age: 27

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	SO/BB	SB/Att.	BA	OBP	Slug	OPS
2001	Twins	37	104	8	26	14	2	25/8	3/3	.250	.297	.385	.362
2002	Team	112	289	49	84	46	12	66/52	4/5	.291	.405	.484	.889
2003	Twins/Blue Jays	137	427	71	104	57	13	92/71	8/11	.244	.358	.400	.758

Overall, I feel like this is a pretty fair trade for both teams and it's one that will help both teams quite a bit.

Ramon Hernandez & Terrence Long for Mark Kotsay

I have always really liked Mark Kotsay, so I'm really glad that this trade is very close to going through. As for Terrence Long....I'm sorry that the Padres are going to have to play with him because the Pads are quickly moving up my list of favorite teams after picking up Brian Giles last year and with the prospects they have coming up (Khalil Greene and Josh Barfield).

Ramon Hernandez, on the other hand, will be a tough loss for the A's to muster through. He made the all-star team last year for the first time (although better qualified Jason Veritek didn't) and he's still not quite yet into his prime. The worst part about losing Hernandez is that the A's really don't have anyone substantial to replace him.

Here are the last 3 years worth of statistics for all the players involved....

Mark Kotsay-CF, B/T:L/L, Age: 27

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	SO/BB	SB/Att.	BA	OBP	Slug	OPS
2001	Padres	119	406	67	118	58	10	58/48	13/18	.291	.366	.441	.807
2002	Padres	153	578	82	169	61	17	89/59	11/20	.292	.359	.452	.811
2003	Padres	128	482	64	128	38	7	82/56	6/9	.266	.343	.384	.727

FOR

Ramon Hernandez-C, B/T:, Age:27

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	SO/BB	SB/Att.	BA	OBP	Slug	OPS
2001	A's	136	453	55	115	60	15	68/37	1/2	.254	.316	.408	.724
2002	A's	136	403	51	94	42	7	64/43	0/0.	.233	.313	.335	.648
2003	A's	140	483	70	132	78	21	79/33	0/0	.273	.331	.458	.789

Terrence Long-OF, B/T:L/L, Age:27

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	SO/BB	SB/Att.	BA	OBP	Slug	OPS
2000	A's	138	584	104	168	80	18	77/43	5/5	.288	.336	.452	.788
2001	A's	162	629	90	178	85	12	103/52	9/12	.283	.335	.412	.747
2002	A's	162	587	71	141	67	16	96/48	3/9	.240	.298	.390	.688
2003	A's	140	486	64	119	61	14	67/31	4/5	.245	.293	.385	.678

Don't look at Kotsay's 2003 season as a measuring point for him. He had a great 2002, and I was really big on him before the season started, but he had a protruding disk in his back and had to go onto the DL in late May. When he came back it took him awhile to get back his swing, but his average jumped 23 points after his return to the lineup until the end of the season. Mark also has a very dangerous arm out in the OF (98 assists in his 7 year career) which seems to be very under-rated when people talk about guys with strong arms.

I know that Terrence Long was thrown into this trade to make the salaries all even up, but man he's bad. I showed his last four seasons up there because I wanted to show that since his rookie year in 2000 (he had 3 career ABs prior to 2000), he has been worse and worse every year.

After looking at Hernandez's stats, I think that his reputation actually makes him seem a lot better than he is. I mean, he hit .233 in 2002....BUT he does play a very difficult position, he has caught for one of the top rotations in all the land and he produces well above average offensively for his position....


Isn't it funny that every single one of those players in both trades is the same age????

Monday November 17th, 2003

2:46am

In Remembrance

November 18, 1999
2:28 am

Tonight will mark the night Texas A&M suffered it's most tragic event. Four years ago the Bonfire stack collapsed with approximately 70 students on it and with many more inside the perimeter of the Bonfire area. Twelve students lost their lives that night or in the following days due to injuries sustained.

I was a senior in high school that fall, but I had already made my decision that Texas A&M was the school that I wanted to be a part of...or more so, I wanted to be a part of me.

The following fall I was very upset that there was to be no Bonfire, but I kept hope that the following year I would be able to experience, what I believe to be, Texas A&M's finest and most important tradition.

I remember going out to the Polo Grounds in the freezing rain at 2:00am with all of my friends to participate in the Memorial Ceremonies. I remember seeing Reveille VI being carried by her handler out to the location of the tragic event because all of the grass had been worn away to mud after thousands of students had walked over it in the rain on their way to remember the fallen Aggies of a year ago.

This was one of my first experiences with the true Aggie family. I remember people embracing others, comforting strangers who could not keep all of the emotions inside of them. I say stranger, but there were no strangers....everyone out there that night was part of a 44,000 person family in mourning.

People shared umbrellas as the rain kept coming down, which was very fitting in describing the mood and feelings that went through the crowd. I remember that I could not see what was actually going on with the actual ceremony because there were too many people in front of me and I was so far back. I remember people passing flames from candle to candle....thousands of little lights across the Polo Grounds. I remember hearing the beginning of "Amazing Grace" being hummed softly, and hearing it grow louder and louder....and I remember not being able to control my emotions any more and hugging the person next to me.

That night, I learned what it meant to be an Aggie, and I knew then and there that I had missed something very special. I know that if there was a Bonfire stack being built, I would have been on it in a heartbeat.

I was not given the opportunity to participate in Bonfire the following year, and I don't think any future Ag will with the consent of the school. Since I arrived here on campus in the Fall of 2000, I have seen the true spirit of this great University slip away year-by-year, as the unity brought to our campus by Bonfire slips further and further away with each graduating class. Even though I never saw Bonfire burn, and never took part in building it, I will always remember that night out in the cold rain my freshman year.

Please keep the twelve fallen Aggies in your thoughts today and do not ever forget about them or their love for their school....

• Christopher David Breen
• Jeremy Richard Frampton
• Jamie Lynn Hand
• Christopher Lee Heard
• Lucas John Kimmel
• Bryan Allen McClain
• Chad Anthony Powell
• Jerry Don Self
• Nathan Scott West
• Michael Ebanks
• Miranda Adams
• Tim Kerlee

A Memorial Service will be held once again this evening at 6:30 pm in the Academic Plaza by the Sul Ross statue outside of the Academic Building.

Sunday November 16th, 2003

1:18am

Texas A&M 22 v. Missouri 45

Well, I was right about a couple of things, and wrong about a couple of things. The team that turned the ball over the most (us with 1 fumble) did in fact lose, but the team who's defense played worse (theirs giving up 484 yards of total offense to us giving up 451 yards) still won.

Offense

I was correct about Freshman, #25 C-Lew, having 60 yards rushing (56 actually; he's now only 60 yards shy of a 1,000 yard rushing season), & #5 T-Murph having a big day (I said 120 yards, but he one-upped me with 156 yards). I was definitely not correct with my statement:

I'm going to say that Reggie snaps out of his funk and gets the job done in the air and on the ground with a 235 yard passing day to go with a 60 yard rushing day

#16 Reggie was once again, not good against a team that wasn't terrible. He ran for a net of 45 yards, which was definitely good, but he was 6-of-12 for 78 yards passing and he fumbled once.

I've always been big on Reggie, but yesterday it hit me, Reggie isn't turning out to be the top recruit we envisioned. I don't know if it is because I realized that Brad Smith and Vincent Young are both Sophomores and they're not "still growing and learning" and losing, or if it was because #17 Dustin Long came in and marched us down the field. I'm not saying that Reggie won't be good in the future, but he just isn't making the plays and Dustin came in and did (23-of-29 for 252 yards and a TD in the second half).

Reggie seems to not really look around when he's passing, he just zeroes in on one receiver and that is who he's throwing to, ready or not. Yesterday, he threw a pass to #83 Tim Van Zant and it hit TVZ in the back....before he even broke on his route. He's done that several times this year and a couple of those times he's been picked off.

Reggie can run. Reggie can run very fast. Reggie seems to run more than he actually passes. That's great, but he doesn't always pick the best times to run and he also doesn't always throw the ball away when he has the opportunity to.

I think that Reggie is a more physically talented player than Dustin Long is, but I don't think he's as smart as Dustin is. I think that when we play difficult teams with difficult defenses, Reggie can't read them & Dustin can.

"Dustin (Long) is one of the best people I know at reading a defense."
-My boy, T-Murph, after the Mizzou game

The other thing that I've always credited Dustin with is not being too fancy out there. He just gets back, finds the open man, and puts the ball within reach.

I've really been trying to stay away from saying negative things on this site (after some of my early season rants) so I'll move on to a more positive topic.....

Terrence Murphy

T-Murph had his best game of his career. He had 8 receptions for 156 yards, overshadowing his previous high of 10 receptions for 146 yards against Colorado in 2001.

He moved into second place on the A&M All-Time Receiving Yards list with 1,729 (he is 11 yards shy of Bethel Johnson) and into third place on the A&M All-Time Receptions list with 109 (he's 1 shy of second place and 8 shy of Bethel's record). Need I remind you that he is closing in on these records as a true Junior?

Terrence is also 10 yards away from setting the school's single season kick-return yards record with his 581 (Leeland McElroy had 591 in the early 90s).

I will admit, I was a bit disappointed with Fox Southwest for talking up a storm about Mizzou's RB Zack Abron closing in on their school's All-Time Rushing record, but he was still a couple hundred yards away. T-Murph was 11 away from our school record and they didn't mention one word about it. Show some love....

Defense

Well, I can say truthfully that it was statistically better than it was against O.U. We only gave up 362 yards on the ground and 89 yards through the air.

The Tiger's QB, Brad Smith, is a stud. He was 12-of-20 passing for 89 yards, but he also ran for 136 yards, and 3 TDs....and he wasn't even their leading rusher....

RB, Zack Abron, ran for 141 yards on 20 carries (7.1 yards/carry) and a TD...and back up RB, Damien Nash (last name), ran 8 times for 65 yards and 2 TDs.

Is it bad when our leading tackler had 6 tackles (Sean Weston)? How about if our top 2 tacklers being our starting safety and our starting DB (Jaxson Appel--surprise, surprise-- & Weston)? Yep, that is bad.

Ta Ta "The Man Beast" Thompson had the team's lone sack. If you get a chance to see any film or even the t.u. game (which according to my counter is +12 days away) watch for #44. This boy is HUGE! He's 6'4" and 236 lbs and he's a true freshman at LB for us. He has played in 7 games and started one (the O.U. game) and he has 28 tackles. He's going to be a STUD in a couple years....just look for the guy who is a full helmet taller than anyone else on the field, and there's a good chance it's him...

texas tech vs. t.u.

Wow, that was a thriller....I guess t.u. proved why they're the best 2-loss team in the country....

(yeah that was kinda mean, but it's now officially rivalry time so it is ok....)

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