SB Nation User Blog: Ted Simmons Speed Camp

Baseball, I wish I could quit you.

Ted Simmons Speed Camp — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:44:18 -0000

Baseball, I wish I could quit you.

I know it's small market whininess, but I also know every word in that article is true, just like I know that the people in position to change the system could really give a shit about fans of the Brewers, Royals, Reds, etc...

Greg Bedard is a smart man.

Ted Simmons Speed Camp — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:24:27 -0000

Taken from Gred Bedard's Thursday chat in response to a question about Brett Favre (I know you're shocked):

"I think a reconciliation will happen -- although it might not happen for some time (at least until Ted Thompson no longer works here). As for the venom, everybody has the right to feel how they want to feel. Just like Favre had the right to come back. I just don't understand why it had to be Minnesota. If you just want to play, why not open yourself up to other teams? Why not go back the team that traded for you, the one you said you'd never ask for your release from? Like I've said before, if I were Favre I would never entertain going to the Bears or Vikings because of the fans. Other athletes have done that. Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor come to mind. But that's me, and that's them. I've never walked in Favre's shoes. I just don't care for the way it all went down. Just be straight with people. They will understand. If you want to stick it to Ted, then say it. No one would blame you. But at least act like the fans matter. Tell them you're very sorry for putting them through this, that you sympathize with them, that you understand their emotions, that maybe you shouldn't have retired in the first place. And then tell them why it's the Vikings. I think most people have a problem with Favre because he's acted like the fans don't matter to him one bit. That's very tough to take if you've looked up to a guy for 17 years. A lot of hurt there. Favre could have helped by showing a willingness to be understanding of the situation. He didn't. Not once."

I've tried to sum this up a few times, but I've never managed it as well as that. I'll add to that by saying it's hard to respect somone who constantly says things that turn out to be untrue. I don't relish watching him play for the Vikings. But I can't wait until he's not the subject of so much conversation around here. And yeah, I know that makes me a complete hypocrite for posting this...

McCarthy Opens Dictionary, Discovers The Word "Accountability".

Ted Simmons Speed Camp — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:21:03 -0000

McCarthy Opens Dictionary, Discovers The Word "Accountability".

So several years into his regime and 3 weeks into the regular season and it's just NOW that McCarthy decides that he has to hold his player accountable?

I hope Bud Selig read this article.

Ted Simmons Speed Camp — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:34:40 -0000

I hope Bud Selig read this article.

I'm not one of those guys who rip Bud Selig constantly. Things are better in baseball, at least in my opinion, than they were before he became Interim Commissioner for Life. Lately, however, Bud talks like there isn't anything that needs to be fixed in baseball's economic structure. And he's wrong. He's accomplished a lot to make the leagues more competitive and he accomplished those things in spite of the opposition of the most powerful owners in the game AND the union.

I love baseball. I love football too. When I was a kid it was MLB first, NFL second, but like almost everyone I know, that changed in the 80's when it became apparent that MLB was a structurally unfair league. The NFL managed to avoid falling into the trap of favoring its big market teams over its small market teams and I think that, in part, is why the NFL grew exponentially in its fanbase from 1980-2000, while MLB spent much of that time losing fans even as attendance of minor league games boomed. Bud tried to fix that and in many ways he's succeeded, but mid and small market teams are still at a dramatic competitive disadvantage and I don't see Bud doing anything to improve their lot anymore. And I wonder if the absence of institutions in baseball's economic structure designed to support small and mid market teams means that this brief flash of success for clubs like Milwaukee will vanish when Bud is gone, like the 12th century renaissance that preceeded another 300 years of famine, disease and war before european society finally got up off its knees.

Major League Baseball's economic and competitive imbalance isn't fixed. And it's time it's leaders stopped acting like it was.

Brett Favre: A User's Guide

Ted Simmons Speed Camp — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:00:10 -0000

Packer fan here. I hate you, you hate me, blah blah blah.

Ok, so now that I've gotten that out of the way, here are 10 tips for rooting for Brett Favre:

10. Never, NEVER turn off a game late. Dude has a ton of comeback victories. Thirty-nine at last count, though the pace has slowed significantly in the last few years.

9. Never, NEVER turn off a game late. Dude will occasionally throw a game deciding INT late when you least expect it.

8. Get your wins early. Going back over the last 5 years, Favre has shown a dramatic tendency to fade late in the season. Ask the Jets. Now I know he was banged up last year, but the truth is that if you go into the last month of the season needing 3 wins to make the playoffs, you're in trouble. He just isn't a guy who can throw a team on his back in December and carry them to the playoffs anymore.

7. Accept now the fact that you will lose to Chicago on December 28th. The Brett Favre that played better in cold weather is gone. Long gone. His last dozen cold weather games (including blowout losses against Chicago, in Lambeau in 2007, and of course the NFC championship game in 2007, in Lambeau) were train wrecks for Favre.

6. Get ready to watch him embrace the dome. The correlary to #7 above. I know he's 6-10 in the dome over his career, but things are different now, and not just because he's wearing purple. Dude doesn't like to be cold anymore and barring unseasonable weather in Pittsburgh in late October or Green Bay in early November, he should only have to play one cold weather game all year. He'll excel in the dome, particularly early in the season, in part because it'll protect from elements he can no longer handle.

5. All Day is still, by far, the most important guy on your team. But you better hope that Mr. Noodle (Childress) saves some wear and tear on him early in the season. Come December, Favre's arm will be all but spent, and your defense and All Day will have to carry you into the playoffs and beyond.

4. "Brett Favre loves football." Get used to that phrase. I know you've heard it a lot already, but you're about to hear it: Every. Damn. Week.

3. Accept right now the fact that you're going to be treated to some stories of locker room hijinx. Brett's a towel snapper and apparently last year he hid a mounted rodent in the locker of a team mate. Be prepared for the fact that everyone will pretend to love it, while the players will secretly think he's a dick, and be prepared for the fact that he's not going to gel with every personality on your team. Because he won't. It's just a question of whether you win enough so that no one says anything. And you'll see him in his maudlin moments. They come a lot more often than they used to. He may love football, and he wants to win, but it's not life or death for him anymore, and he'll "cherish the moment" on the field after losses just as readily as he will after wins.

2. Enjoy the highs, because there will be some. He'll have a 300yd, 4TD day at some point, and maybe more than one, and it'll feel like you can't lose with him at QB. It'll feel like he's 30 and not 40. And you'll be overjoyed that he's your QB. You'll laugh at his jokes, his dirty red hat, at his silly grin, and all will seem right with the world. Until it's not. And then:

1. Accept the Interceptions. They're coming and you know it. He's going to have a 4 pick day at some point. Most games he'll throw at least one pick, and even when he doesn't, there will be 2-3 passes that will make you say "what the f***" as they bounce off the hands of wide open defenders. If you're lucky, he won't have a 6+ pick day like he did against the Rams in the playoffs all those years ago now, but he might, and it might come at the worst possible moment. Favre believes, I mean he REALLY believes he can make any throw at any time no matter the coverage, and given the opportunity he'll try to prove it. Age hasn't changed that and Darell Bevel wasn't able to hammer it out of him in Green Bay and he won't be able to hammer it out of Favre in Minnesota either. The man honestly does not care about stats other than his consecutive game streak. I mean, when people note a milestone stat for him, he likes it. That's obvious. But when I say he does not care about stats, I mean he just does not give a damn how many picks he throws in a game, in a season, in a career, or even in a row. He just doesn't care and no amount of criticism or coaching will make him care. If he thinks he has to make plays to win the game, he'll continue to chuck the ball into coverage maddeningly, and he just.... won't.... care... when you call him on it later. He'll shrug his shoulders and say he was trying to make a play and that if he couldn't make a play they wouldn't win anyway, and at some point you have to take chances. And that's when Mr. Noodle will have to take the ball out of his hands and rely on All Day to get you the win, if he can. Essentially, he's John Elway in 97 and 98, only he won't admit it. That's not quite right, but it's close. in 97 and 98, Elway knew what he was. He squeezed enough plays out of his body to keep the defenses honest and he gave the ball to TD again and again. He didn't force things. He didn't try to make plays when they weren't there. And he won two titles. Bevell will try to convince Favre that's the route he should take. And he'll fail. The only quesstion is will your defense and and All Day be good enough to get Favre, a sporadically very good, frequently average and sporadically terrible QB a title?

Have fun finding out!

Superbowl XXXI

Ted Simmons Speed Camp — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:53:31 -0000

"The man only got you guys to two Superbowls and HE never really won the one you did win with him her,that honor went to Desmond Howard."

The quote above came from a comment in one of the many relatively recent fanposts. While the point of the comment was to argue against those who think Favre is one of the 5 best QBs of all time, this sentence, which I've heard and read in various forms for 13 years now, is one I've got a problem with. I'm no Favre apologist (I don't think he belongs on a list of the top 5 QBs of all time, and maybe not the top 10 either), but the fact that Howard won the MVP of that game and is still perceived by many as the reason GB won is something I find pretty galling.

I've got no interest in diminishing Howard's impact that season or that game. But his accomplishments that day pale in comparison to Favre's. Statistically, Favre threw 2TDs, ran for a third, threw no interceptions for a total of 246yds. His completion percentage was just over 50%, but was negatively affected by at least three dropped passes, which, when combined with the short passing game utilized by Holmgren in the 4th quarter when the Packers were essentially trying to run out the clock, likely prevented him from approaching 300yds passing. Howard averaged 15 yards on his punt returns and nearly 40yds on kickoff returns. And, of course, he had an extraordinarily well timed 99yd kickoff return for a TD. Given the timing of that return, it was unsurprising to me that Howard won the MVP. Even though I disagreed with it even then.

Examining Favre's biggest plays of the game, in my opinion, makes it clear that his role in GB's victory was bigger than Howard's. His TD passes went for 54 and 81yds respectively. Both came on audibles he called at the line, and thus, were plays that would not have occurred had Favre not seen the coverage mismatches in the defense before the snap. The first came when the game was still 0-0, and the second came when the Packers were down by 4 entering the second quarter, so, unlike Howard's return, both of Favre's biggest passes resulted in lead changes. The distance of both plays alone demonstrates that they weren't the product of a "short field" handed to the offense by Howard.

I've watched that game on tape at least a dozen times, probably less than many of you. Every time I watch it I'm convinced that Favre was the MVP, even though I knew then and know now that Superbowl MVP awards are usually given to the author of the most dramatic play of the game. MVP's aside, the perception by some that GB loses that game without Howard is just flat out wrong. The statement above, which was probably designed to inflame (it worked), is about as wildly inaccurate as can be imagined. I doubt even its author believes that GB wins that game if Favre's not on the roster, regardless of what Howard did.

... rant complete...

Melvin Talking to Jays About Halladay

Ted Simmons Speed Camp — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:24:58 -0000

Melvin Talking to Jays About Halladay

Tom H.'s report. I'm a little surprised this isn't up here already, but I don't see it linked anywhere.

Probably won't happen, and quite frankly, I'm not sure it should if it costs Gamel or Escobar (or both) as I think this team is more than a single pitcher away. But then, I don't really know what I'm talking about.

Melvin Strikes Back

Ted Simmons Speed Camp — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:57:44 -0000

Melvin Strikes Back

Yikes.

I'd say Melvin was backtocali if it weren't for their differing views of draft-eligible talent.

Edit by TheJay:

"I'll be glad to have Ryan help if he wants to. I'll give him a badge and he can be my deputy. I don't know his motivation for saying it. It demoralizes the people in the organization at a time when we should be pulling together. It puts a bad taste in our mouths. That's a pretty strong statement."

Should I feel proud or ashamed of this?

Ted Simmons Speed Camp — Sat, 30 May 2009 14:09:43 -0000

Should I feel proud or ashamed of this?

Is Peavy Really Interested in Being a Brewer?

Ted Simmons Speed Camp — Sat, 23 May 2009 14:21:13 -0000

Is Peavy Really Interested in Being a Brewer?

This reads more like GM/agent droppings to me than reality. Heyman tosses the Brewers in offhandedly (despite their mention in the headline that was likely written by someone else). Peavy to the Brewers always seemed like a relatively bad idea to me given his contract and what I thought we'd have to give up to get him. The apparent terms of the White Sox deal, however, made me think we wouldn't have to give up nearly as much as it once appeared.

With the White Sox, and maybe the entire AL, now off the table, It seems likely to me that the Brewers were dropped as a possibility by the Padres in the hopes of pushing up the price the Cubs might be willing to pay to get him. If so, I don't really doubt that Peavy's agent would play along with the rumor if Peavy's resigned to being dealt sooner or later and he'd really prefer to play for the Cubs as opposed to anyone else. Obviously we know that Melvin was talking to the Padres last week. While I'm skeptical that Melvin is seriously pursuing Peavy, he probably doesn't mind being used to drive up the price the Cubs might eventually pay to finalize the trade.