
Wonko
Mar 26, 2008 Dec 11, 2009 103 11321
San Diego Native. Purdue graduate. Software Engineer. Drinking Fan with a Sports problem.
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RSSUser Blog
The Uncapped Year Is Coming
On Sunday, ESPN.com broke a story: NFL to pull plug on $100 million revenue sharing. Many of started to speculate what this could mean for small market teams that already have trouble filling seats in their stadiums. Hidden in that story is that the NFL is planning and pretty much relying on 2010 to be an uncapped year. One of the side effects of the uncapped year is that players who used to require 4 or 5 years of service time to be eligible for free agency when their contracts run out will now need 6 years of service time. This affects the following Chargers who under the old rules were scheduled for unrestricted free agency in 2010: Vincent Jackson, Shawne Merriman, Marcus McNeill, Darren Sproles, Charlie Whitehurst and Tim Dobbins. Sproles, Merriman and Jackson all have 5 years of service time and McNeill, Whitehurst and Dobbins have 4 years following the 2009 season. The only way this happens any differently is if the CBA is re-negotiated before the 2010 free agent signing period, but I get the feeling that the NFL doesn't really want that to happen. I'll put it at 80-90% chance that 2010 goes uncapped at this point.
63 comments | 4 recs
Why the Broncos Losing to the Redskins is Even More Important
Let's play the what if game. What if the Chargers beat the Broncos on Sunday? Well, then they are in sole possession of first place and, as the saying goes, "Control Their Own Destiny." That means they would win the division if they won all their remaining games and the Broncos won all their remaining games. However, as much as I love the Chargers, I'm not sure I see them finishing the season on an 11 game winning streak. So, what else could happen?
45 comments | 9 recs
Raiders finally moving on - Russell Benched
Doesn't really concern the Chargers at this point. But, I know a fair number of people have wondered how Russell could still be the starting QB in Oakland. Good luck, Gradkowski, here's a helpful tip: Don't throw it to Heyward-Bey or better yet, just don't throw the ball, period.
23 days ago
Wonko
2 comments
1 recs
Chiefs’ Bowe suspended 4 games
Just when you thought the Chiefs couldn't get any worse. As a reminder, the Chargers play the Chiefs on Nov. 29, which would coincide with the 2nd game of the suspension. Also, I have to wonder if the Chiefs knew this was coming when they claimed Chambers.
24 days ago
Wonko
21 comments
1 recs
Giants Bench CC Brown
Aaron Rouse will take his place. Rouse was much maligned in Green Bay a couple of years back, but probably not as much as CC Brown (of course it was Green Bay and not New York). The one interesting thing about Rouse is that he's tall. Almost as tall as VJ and Floyd and definitely taller than Gates and Naanee.
about 1 month ago
Wonko
13 comments
0 recs
Chargers receive 24-hour extension
Just like Jim Steeg said, this game is a little tougher sell because of the outdated reputation for Raiders games at the Q.
about 1 month ago
Wonko
2 comments
0 recs
iPhone App: Second Guess the Manager
Follow the link and you get a good description. The basic idea is that you can use win probabilities to figure out if it's a good idea to bunt, steal, hit and run, etc. It'd be really cool it you could just pick a live game and have it set up the situation, but the world is not that cool yet so you will have to enter the inning, outs, and baserunners.
H/T to ESPN Insider Rob Neyer.
about 1 month ago
Wonko
1 comment
0 recs
Brees vs. Rivers
Here we go again...
(ESPN Insider subscription required)
I thought the analysis would go a little deeper than it did. Basically, he points out that the Chargers failed to understand one of the truisms in football after the 2003 season. The offense wasn't bad, it was just unlucky because they stunk on 3rd down. The truism is that teams that are good on first and second down, but don't have similarly good performance on third down will tend to see their third down performance increase the following year. Football Outsiders saw this in 2004 when they first did their projections and predicted a successful offense for the Chargers that year (they almost threw out the projection system when that result came up, but decided to trust it instead).
Further analysis in the article basically shows that Brees has played better the last 3 years than Rivers, but having Merriman and Kaeding still keeps the Chargers from looking bad. However (and I've said this for years), if you don't draft Manning and instead go with Larry Fitzgerald in that draft, which would you rather have: Fitzgerald and Brees or Rivers, Merriman and Kaeding. I personally can't tell which is better, (the article claims that Brees/Fitzgerald would be) but I'm pretty sure the Chargers could have used Fitzgerald on the field in 2004 much more effectively than they could use Rivers.
about 1 month ago
Wonko
12 comments
2 recs
Week Two DVOA Rankings: Chargers take a plummet
The Chargers production (DVOA) is not looking good after two weeks. Their projection (DAVE) is still hanging in there. There's also some hidden value here. DVOA hasn't being adjusted for opponents yet. When all is said and done I think the Baltimore and Oakland defenses will come out as above average squads and the Chargers offensive DVOA will get adjusted accordingly. Can't say the same for the defense though, maybe a little boost for the Ravens, but the Raiders offense will most likely stay below average. I can't complain too much, you don't usually expect to get a lot of respect after a loss (even from a computer).
2 months ago
Wonko
5 comments
0 recs
Fort Wayne wins Midwest League Championship
Game 3
|
Fort Wayne Tin Caps |
4 |
|
Burlington Bees |
3 |
Tin Caps lead series (3-0) Best of 5
There's too much too say here for me to cover it in my normal format, I'll just put up MiLB.com's wrap up.
It was a special bunch of players that assembled in Fort Wayne this summer. The unforgettable group will leave town as the first team to play with a new name in Parkview Field's inaugural season, and most importantly, to the first to clinch a division title.
"It was just a magical, magical season from start to finish," manager Doug Dascenzo said.
And win No. 101 was certainly the most thrilling. The TinCaps took a four-run lead off Jaff Decker's two-run homer and held on to beat Burlington, 4-3, completing a series sweep to clinch the Midwest League title.
The 'Caps scored in the second and third innings before Decker -- the Padres' first-round compensation pick in '08 -- doubled the cushion with one stroke. Starter Mike Watt allowed three runs -- one earned -- on four hits over 5 1/3 innings for the victory.
"We brought our closer [Brad Brach] in who's been strong all year long, and I'm looking over in center field [at Blake Tekotte], and there's one out, then two outs," Decker recalled. "We get the third hitter 0- 2 and then we just had the feeling like, 'OK, we're going to do this.'"
And the instant Bach got Hilton Richardson swinging for strike three, Decker and Tekotte ran in to join the joyous scrum of players haphazardly strewn in a pile around the mound.
The victory marked a 3-0 sweep over the Bees and gave the TinCaps their first championship in franchise history. Fort Wayne, who changed its name from the Wizards prior to this season, became a Padres' affiliate in 1999.
While the Wizards boasted some terrific teams in years past, according to third-year manager Dascenzo, this year's Fort Wayne squad was truly something special.
"They just came together right from day one," he said. "They loved to play the game of baseball, gelled instantly and kept it going all season long."
While opposing teams showed up to the yard at the scheduled time, the TinCaps came early and eager.
"We were showing up an hour or two before we need to be there just to hang out with each other," said Decker. "We are living with each other every day and still not getting sick of each other."
An uncommon camaraderie that undoubtedly came in handy down the stretch.
"It's a constant balancing act in developing individual skills as well as bringing them together and having them learn how to compete with each other and win together," Dascenzo said. "And that's the one thing that we have accomplished."
Brittany Ghiroli is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
0 comments | 1 recs
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