SB Nation User Blog: oaktoon

A Defense of Reason and Sanity

oaktoon — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 20:55:12 -0000

I honestly don't know why I cause people to do what they do. Sure I'm schizo; sure I like to provoke; but what's the expression these days: asymmetrical warfare? Something like that. anyhow, the response is just way out of kilter to whatever the original offense may or may not have been.

To wit: Baseball girl jumped into the fray twice recently: yesterday and today. Yesterday she said that my belief is that randomness does not play "any" role in baseball results. her word, not mine. Today she said that I refuse to believe at all in standard deviation or randomness.

Both statements could not, of course, be further from the truth. But for some reason she felt obliged to participate and make this flat lie. I can only conclude that she really didn't pay attention to the debate and the many times I cited randomness as a factor; or that she did and either didn't understand it or chose to disregard it; or that she simply enjoys insulting me, whether being truthful or not.

This is the kind of pile-on behavior that makes this site so much less than it should. (She made one funny repast at how I was ignoring "hundreds and hundreds" of years of scientific analysis-- I am currently trying to contact the heirs of Newton, Galileo and Copernicus to make an appropriate apology)

Professor Nico-- our other mathametics emeritus professor-- of course,couldn't resist, so he weighed in with his own putdown. saying the reason I am not "ever" right (his word, not mine) was that I didn't understand "standard deviation" and that I simply looked at two weeks of performance then assumed something would change in the next two weeks. Again this insult could not be further from the truth-- since the entire debate that produced the various arguments concerned two months of Marco Scutaro results, not two weeks.

And as to the claim that I am not "ever" right, well again that's a flat out lie. I have been wrong plenty of times.. but just this year I have been right about Zito, about Scutaro, about the Minnesota Twins (check out what a bunch of folks said about their offense about a month ago or so, and what I said, and realize who has been right as the Twins offense continues to be the most prolific in the league for over two months now), and about the basic likelihood that the A's who weer badly slumping would, by and large, turn their seasons around.

But this is not surprising coming from someone who went out of his away to brand me idiotic, masochistic, etc... the other day (and when this time I, obviously partly in jest, called him a "Blowhard"-- wow is that a horrendous insult-- his partner in crime, baseball girl, immediately chimed in and said that was a CGV. What are these people thinking?? Wow, that is disoproportionate response if I've ever seen it!

Anyhow, again I assume Nico is either misinformed, has let his ardor to attack me get in the way of the facts, or, i fear more accurately, doesn't give a you-know-what about the truth and prefers to lead the charge against a familiar target.

So let me get us to the point, for one last time.

Does anyone here disagree that the most fundamental factor that drives baseball performance is baseball ability? If not, my grandmother could have hit .300 in the bigs.

Koufax is better than Jamie Moyer not because of standard deviation or randomness, but because of ability.

Now.... does anyone also challenge the view that players are not automatons? That sometimes in their careers-- like we in our jobs, or our personal lives-- they perform better or worse than their norm-- not mainly because of some mathematical theory or pure luck-- but because they are simply better or worse then.

Now.. if you accept the two premises above, then you must also recognize that the "esablished level of performance"-- the so-called "true" level-- of a given player in the major leagues has been the result of his own ability as well as luck, randomness, the opposition, etc. And that the impact his ability has had in determining that true level has not always been constant. In other words he has undoubtedly had slumps where his eyesight was off, his swing was screwed up, his approach was faulty, whatever. And streaks where he performed at or near his peak.

So all I have ever said is that given this element in a player's toolbox-- along with luck, randomness, etc..-- if he slumps again, which could be the product-- either partly or mostly-- of some failure on his part-- his track recoprd and indeed human nature suggests that it will be corrected at some point by a better stretch of ability. So it has been.. so it will be.

AND IF THAT IS TRUE THEN IT IS UNASSAILABLY LOGICAL TO ASSUME THAT WHEN A PLAYER HAS AN ABERRANT BEGINNING TO A SEASON-- LASTING TWO MONTHS OR MORE-- THAT THAT SAME PLAYER WILL IN FACT BE MORE LIKELY TO HIT "BETTER" OR "WORSE" THAN HIS "TRUE LEVEL" OF PERFORMANCE IN THE NEXT STRETCH OF GAMES THAN HE IS TO CONTINUE TO HIT IN THE ABERRANT DIRECTION.

this does not mean that I believe the 200 hitting will be followed by 400 hitting for a 300 hitter. But it does mean that I believe it more likely that the 200 hitting will be followed by 320 than 280. And this is not a one day, one week, two week thing-- but in fact a longer stretch vs. a longer stretch-- within a given season.

and i guarantee with as much power as I have in this world that if and when someone runs the numbers-- corrects for rookies and aging bets to whom "true levels" are hard to assess-- that I will be proved right.

That doesn't mean randomenss, standard deviation, or any other statistical factor doesn't play a role. Of course it does. But you can't take human performance out of the equation.

And of course it is entirely consistent with the dictum we all want Beane to follow and all of us who have played rotisserie baseball have learned to respect: "Buy Low / Sell High"

Best Pro Franchise Since 1960: #8

oaktoon — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 08:03:05 -0000

Well, it's the daily double.

I'd like to make this one higher, but I cannot let bias change my view.

The 7 teams ahead include, in no particular order:

the three NFL teams that have won 5 Super Bowls
the winningest baseball team in the history of the sport
the two winningnest NBA teams in the history of the sport, plus the team that has won most of any pro franchise in the past 15 years.

Our boys don't quite match up-- but they do come close. Which is kind of the current motto, isn't it??

# 8: OAKLAND ATHLETICS

division titles in 1971, 75, 81, 92, 00, 02 and 03

pennants in 88 and 90

world titles in 72-73-74-89

13 winning years in the past 35, but unfortunately in most of the rest, the team was not even a contender as it suffered through the various indignities caused by a small revenue base.

You guys know the characters, but there have been quite a few, from Eck to Rollie to Reggie
to Vida to Byrnsie to Stew to Rickey to Jose to Miggy.

When all is saidand done-- counting cameo appearances and assuming that one day Big Mac comes to terms with his sport in the post-steroid era, or vice- versa-- the following A's will be in Cooperstown.

Jim Hunter
Reggie Jackson
Rollie Fingers
Dennis Eckersley
Rickey Henderson
Mark McGwire
Billy Williams
Frank Thomas

and possibly Miguel Tejada and Barry Zito

GREATEST FRANCHISE PLAYER: Is there any doubt about who deserves this? Rickey was one of a kind.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: Again, I have to go with real history here. The Gibson homer certainly comes close; so does the classic fake pitchout as Fingers froze Bench; the Clemens tantrum; the Isringhausen strikeout to win the division in 2000; all the big moments in the 4 title years.

But the image that will linger longest occurred before Game Three of the 1989 World Series. It overshadowed then and still overshadows now-- along with the ongoing controversy surrounding two of our star players-- the actual outcome of that series. It happened-- improbably-- just as the game between two Bay Area franchises-- was about to begin.

Loma Prieta is the biggest memory.

SOMETHING YOU MAY NOT KNOW:

What? Can I slip something past this crowd??

Well, how about this one.

Since the beginning of the 1999 season, the A's have the 3rd best record in the game, trailing only the Yankees and the Braves.

Best Pro Franchise #9

oaktoon — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 18:07:46 -0000

Sorry for the delay here-- lots of home duties thos weekend and not a lot of free time.

And it is more fitting that I waited for yesterday's festivities in Canton and the appearances of Al Davis and John Madden.

Because "Number Nine...Number Nine...Number Nine..." is, of course:

THE RAIDERS

I'll leave location out of this for now.

Just because they've only had a smattering of successin the past 20 years: 1 SuperBowl blowout; two losses in the AFC championship; a game stolen from them by the zebras in the snow-- does not detract from the extraordinary record they amassed from 1960 through 1985, and even more the distinct and powerful image their team, colors, insignia, and fan base projected.

For nearly 30 years Al Davis could rightly brag that the Raiders had the best W-L% of any pro sports franchise over that period-- they were, quite simply, as consistent winners as any in their sport-- yes, even greater than the 49ers in many ways. (Though not enough to get a higher ranking from me, unfortunately)

John Madden never coached a losing team, and several of them went to the the conference championship. The team didn;t miss a beat under Tom Flores when Madden left for the broadcasting chair. Won a Super Bowl in 1977, 1981 and 1984.

What characters!!

John Matuszek
Ted Hendricks
Jim Otto
Jack Tatum
George Atkinson
George Blanda (yes, a 40+ year old man actually led the team to several victories playing QB, then won several more as a placekicker)
Ken the Snake Stabler
Otis (University of Mars) Sistrunk
Ben Davidson
Lyle Alzado

The list goes on and on.

HOFERs in Fred Biletnikoff, Art Shell, Gene Upshaw, Marcus Allen, Willie Brown, Mark Haynes and Ted "the MadStork" Hendricks

But think of the memories:

it was the Raiders that came back to beat the Jets in the infamous "Heidi" game with NBC cutting the game off with less than two minutes to go;
the Raiders who caused a rule change when Stabler and Co.fumbled a ball nearly 30 yards forward to beat the Chargers on the final play-- the infamous "Holy Roller"
the raiders who won a dramatic playoff game with a last second fling-- the "sea of Hands"-- to beat Miami;
the Raiders whose safety paralyzed an opposing player for life with a vicious hit
the Raiders who lost a playoff perhaps the most famous last second play in NFL history in a sequence initiated by a vicious hit by that same player-- tatum to Fuqua to Franco Harris
the raiders who lost a playoff game in the snow because of the "tuck rule"

IOt was the Raiders who for years enjoyed the best record on Monday Night Football by far;

The Raiders whom the phrases "Silver and Black"; "Pride and Poise"; "Commitment to Excellence" and, the granddaddy of them all, "Just win, baby" came to embody.

This was/is an historic franchise even under down times and even we A's fans have a somewhat jaundiced view of their current Bay Area presence.

GREATEST PLAYER: wow. A whole lot to choose from. Al Davis is obviously the greatest presence in the franchise. Marcus Allen may technically be their greatest player. I'm gonna go with a duo-- both because of their on-field greatness but also their off-field importance to the league and the fanchise: Art Shell and Gene Upshaw

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: Sorry-- it is not a good memor, but nothing beats the Immaculate Reception

SOMETHING YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW: I can't stump a true Raider fan with some arcane piece of trivia. I'll pass on this one for now.

The Scutaro Phenomenon: Progression to the Mean

oaktoon — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 15:23:05 -0000

We had a heated debate a while back.

I argued for more playing time for Scutaro, since I contended that he was likely to exceed his career OPS for the rest of the year given the horrible start he endured for the first two months. Others disagreed, saying the rest of his season would be essentially random-- he had as much chance of having a lower OPS than his career mark as having a higher OPS.

Well, here are the facts. At his nadir on June 2nd, Marco's OPS was 495.

Since then he is 306-344-484 for an OPS of 828, and his seasonal total is now very close to his career mark.

the numbers are starting to get solid

oaktoon — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 15:11:14 -0000

W-L, at least. That pesky run differential is still a bit of a problem.

Since I have been a skeptic recently, I am duly bound to report the following:

A's started at 23-29-- since then they are 35-22, which is .614 ball. Not exactly the Tigers or the Twins but still a 99 win pace.

Since the AS break the A's are now 13-8, which is a .619 pace. On the road they 9-5, which is a .643 pace.

In this latest stretch of 19 consecutive games vs. contenders that ends with the Texas series they are 8-6.

We've all talked about the impact of Bradley, but there are other promising signs as well--

chavez has been better;
Payton keeps delivering;
scoot filling in well for Crosby-- I think he's over 750 OPS since his horrendous start;
haren and Blanton starting to look like 2005-- Haren has been pretty solid all year but it would be nice to see Cupcakes go on a little run here with 4-5 good starts in a row;
the bullpen is as close to normal as it's been since April with Kennedy close to returning.

A lot of problems remain: I'm not sold on Kendall in the leadoff spot, but our options are limited; Kotsay is hitting better and in the clutch, but the overall numbers are down; what will Swish do the rest of the way? Ellis is fighting off a demotion to the bench; Loaiza is still a mystery; Crosby ditto though maybe the time off will recharge him for the finish.

But somehow... someway.. they are winning. And the schedule does turn softer after this next series.

Best Pro Franchises #10 and #9

oaktoon — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 04:50:58 -0000

No game for us tonight; rangers clinging to a lead over LAA as i write this.

The previous 10 have included:

Baseball: Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals

Basketball: Philadelphia 76ers

Football: New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers

The next 10 made me think pretty hard about where they should land-- they divided fairly easily into 3 groupings, but within those subgroups it was agonizingly difficult to figure out the right order. I'll try to defend my choice, but would gladly listen to counterarguments.

#10 LOS ANGELES DODGERS

they'd be higher if their best team hadn't been in the mid 60s. But why LA and not St. Louis??

In the 1960s the Dodgers won 3 pennants, 2 world championships, and lost a 3 game playoff in 1962 for the NL pennant. the Cardinals by contrast won 3 pennants and 2 world championships but that was it. And as great as Gibson and co. were, there is something that lingers in the mind and the spirit about Koufax, Drysdale and the great Dodger teams;
In the 70s and 80s, the Dodgers won 5 pennants, 2 world championships, and 2 more divisional titles. The cardinals won nothing in the 1970s, and then 3 pennants and 1 world championship in the 1980s. This was a clear edge for LA.

Now if the Cardinals had won a World Series since or at least gone to more than one, I might have switched the order. The dodgers in the Piazza and then post-O'Malley era have been disappointing-- two playoff series and that's been it.

Ever since they cleared a Latino neighborhood to build a new ballpark on a hill overlooking downtown LA, the dodgers have been a team noted for its pitching. Sandy Koufax stands above all the rest, but we should not forget that the rest includes HOFer Don Drysdale, the first pitcher to throw more than 50 innings in a row without allowing a run; HOFer Don Sutton, who scuffed and cut and who knows what else to the ball on his way to 300 wins; the charismatic Fernando Valenzuela, who captivated a nation in his 2nd season with his "eyes to the sky" delivery and great screwball. Who can forget Fernando pitching on guts alone to win a key WS game vs. the Yankees in 1981. Other great lefthanders such as Tommy John (and it was after the surgery named after him that his career got a 2nd win in LA and then NY) and Jerry Ruess occupied the Chavez Ravine mound. And then of course the other Dodger who had a scoreless streak over 50 innings and in fact broke Drysdale's record, our vanquisher from 1988, Orel Hershiser.

But for all that pitching, we shouldn't lose sight of the great position players who have worn Dodger blue.

At catcher: piazza, preceded by Scioscia; preceded by Yeager; preceded by Roseboro;

First Base: Steve Garvey

Second Base: Gilliam, Lopes, Sax;

ShortStop: maury Wills and Bill Russell;

Third Base: Ron "the Penguin" Cey

Outfielders such as Willie Davis, Tommy Davis, Dusty Baker, Rick Monday, Kirk Gibson and Reggie Smith

Not one is in the Hall of Fame and only Piazza will ultimately get that ticket, but these were hard-nosed, winning ballplayers.

Dodger memories:

My first game was at the coliseum-- wally Moon hit a ball over the short porch in left field, but I have no memory of it;
Koufax' perfect game, and his great leg kick and stride as he blew another fastball or sent another backbreaking, kneebuckling curve homeward;
Drysdale's controversy-- when he hit Dick dietz of the Giants with the basesloaded but saw his scoreless streak improve as the umpired ruled that Dietz didn;t get out of the way (sound familiar??)
The horrible Marichal-Roseboro confrontation;
Koufax skipping a start in the 1965 World Series vs. the Twins due to Yom Kippur, then winning the 7th game on just 2 days rest;
willie davis misplaying 3 separate balls in Game One of the 1966 Series, instigating an Oriole sweep;
Maury Wills failing to get traction as a baserunner at Candelstick park in the 1962 3 game playoff, as the Giants' groundskeepers created a virtual lake near first base by watering the dirt so much;
The Dodgers being intimidated by NY in the 1977-78 Series, letting the situation and reggie Jackson get the best of them. In 1981, they had a different attitude in beating the Yankees after Rick Monday's dramatic lennant-winning HR vs. Montreal.
Did anything interesting happen in the 1988 World Series-- "I can't believe what I just saw".

And many more.

My most painful baseball memory-- yes, even more than Jeter/Giambi or the many disappointments from 2000-03-- was at the hands of teh dreaded Dodgers. The 1977 Philadelphia Phillies were headed for the WS and a date with the Yankess. They had split the first two games of the NLCS in LA, then returned to Philadelphia and watched as Dodger Burt Hooton lost his cool and walked in a couple of early runs. the lead held, and as the very dependable Philadelphia bullpen mowed down Dodger after Dodger, one couldn't blamed for drifting to thoughts of Steve Carlton on the hill for the clincher in game Four.

And then the Dodgers' trotted 41 year old pinchhitter Vic Davallilo to the plate with 2 outs and no one on vs. Phils' closer gene Garber. And davalillo dragged a bunt past Garber for a hit. Up stepped 39 year old pinchhitter extraordinaire Manny Mota who lifted a hard liner to left. With a collective gasp every Philly fan realized at once that Greg "The Bull" Luzinski was still out there-- manager Danny Ozark had somehow forgotten to pull the Bull for a defensive replacement, as was the custom. This was worse than Billy Buck, as Luzinski spun around in confusion, drifting back to the wall, gloving Mota's hit for an instant then watching it bounce off and against the wall, and when the play had ended davalillo had scored and Mota stood on 3rd abse after a wild throw back to the infield.

Whereupon Davy Lopes bounced a hard grounder to third, and HOFer and perennial Gold Glover Mike Schmidt saw it bounce of the heel of his glove, over to shortstop Larry Bowa whose hurried but strong throw to first was deemed to have arrived just a split second late. Lopes stole second, Bill Russell knocked him in and before the horror the Doders had a 2 run lead, a 2 to 1 lead in games, and their best pitcher, Tommy John, set to try to close it out the next night. Which he did-- over Carlton-- in a driving rain.

FRANCHISE PLAYER: Koufax, of course

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: Hate to say it, but "I couldn;t beleive what i just saw, either". Gibson's home run, after he staggered to the plate, and given the quality of the pitcher whose backdoorslider he crushed, is one of the great moments in WS history.

SOMETHING YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN:

Tommy LaSorda-- and how have I forgotten him up until this point?- was a lefthanded pitcher in the Dodger organization struggling to make the roster in 1955, which would be, of course, the year dem Bums finally broke the Yankee stranglehold over them. LaSorda was sent back to the minors and ultimately to the Kansas City A's because a bonus baby who was very wild and not a big part of the team's plans had to fill a major league slot.

His name: Sandy Koufax, of course.

Will it be a Four team Race Come Sunday???

oaktoon — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 17:05:15 -0000

You know if you had put a serious baseball fan on a desert island so he couldn't watch or listen to any game this year; then gave him the AL West standings plus run differential with the names of the teams blacked out...

he'd have to conclude that it was pretty much anyone's ballgame as to who would win. team A has obviously won the most close games and has the best pitching. team C appears to be the most explosive, but has the biggest isues with pitching. Teams B and particularly D should have slightly better records than they currently boast.

So what if.... The Rangers take 3 of 4 from the Halos; and we are winless in Seattle.

Monday morning's standings would be:

Oakland 57-54
Seattle 56-54
Texas 57-55
Anaheim 56-55

4 teams bunched within 1 game-- with no clear favorite.

Not predicting this, mind you, but it isn;t the craziest possibility, particularly if we are without both Payton and Crosby this weekend with Chavez and Swisher still subpar.

Best Pro Franchises #12 and #11

oaktoon — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 05:22:18 -0000

Blez covered the game pretty succinctly-- they made the plays in the field, and we did not.

So on to this exercise, and tonight I'm gonna have some fun.

So far, the order has been:

#20: Philadelphia 76ers
#19: Denver Broncos
#18: Cincinnati Reds
#17: New England Patriots
#16: Baltimore Orioles
#15: Miami Dolphins
#14: Washington Redskins
#13: Boston Red Sox

#12: GREEN BAY PACKERS

I admit is was hard to figure out where they belonged. In terms of performance over the past 38 years, they're nowhere near. But in the previous 7 years they won 5 titles and both of the initial Super Bowls. And they've had a resurgence that may have ended last year under the charismatic leadership of Brett favre. But mostly we value the Pack for just how unique this franchise is. The community owns it; the history is extraodinary; it is the smallest market by far of any major pro franchise; the kids still have the players ride their bikes to and from summer practice.

And oh yes, they once had a coach named Lombardi.

In 1958 the Packers were basically a memory-- of Curly Lambeau and Don Hutson and championships gone by. They had the worst record in the league. And so the team's fathers reached east to an assistant coach from the lordly New York Giants who burned to be the head man, and the NFL was never quite the same.

Lombardi-- the coach who treated his players all equally-- like "dogs"-- would not abide losing. And so in 1959 they had a winning record. In 1960 they went to the championship game, falling just short of the Philadelphia Eagles on the final play. In 1961, title. ditto for 1962. In 1963 they lost one of their best players, Paul Hornung, the wayward son Lombardi always had a fond place for in his heart, to a gambling suspension. they struggled to regain their greatness in 1964, but then ran off three more championships, including two memorable games vs. a new rival-- Dallas-- and the first two Super Bowl victories.

it was a team of great players--Hall of Famers Starr, Gregg, Hornung, Davis, Wood, Adderley and Nitschke. It was a team that reflected its leader-- supremely confident, able to execute under supreme pressure, tough-minded. Nowhere were those qualities tested more than in the frigid cold of the ultimate championship test-- the Ice Bowl in 1967-- 17 below and a frozen field and the Packers trailed Dallas late in the 4th quarter. and using everything Lombardi had taught them-- without both great running backs from seasons past-- Hornung and taylor-- with the worst footing imaginable, the Packers moved inexorably down the field and then, rather than kick a tying field goal that would almost certainly guarantee on overtime, with no timeouts remaining they elected to go for the winning score, and even then QB bart Starr countermanded Lombardi's play call and decided to sneak it himself rather than risk a slip and missed handoff. A sneak that if it had failed would have lost the game.

It's the stuff that legends should be made of.

but let's also not forget that after 25 years in the doldrums, Mike Homlgren and Brett Favre produced a new era of greatness. Up until last year's disappointing 4-12 finish, the Packers had the best record in the NFL from the time Favre made his first start. Two Super Bowl appearances, 1 title-- probably should have been two, but they have mattered again.

GREATEST PLAYER: It's obviously Favre. But I think we should add another category-- greatest influence-- so we can also cite the incomparable Vince Lombardi.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: I've already covered it. The QB sneak for the winning touchdown in the Ice Bowl in the 1967 NFL championship game (the leagues would merge three years later);

SOMETHING YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW: When Dallas emerged as the Packers' main rival, after years of division battles with the Lions, bears and, near the end, Johnny Unitas' Baltimore Colts, the simple contrast was a flashy team with an explosive offense vs. a fundamental team with a hard-nosed defense. and yet the two coaches actually came from the reverse background. They had been the two principal assistants in the New York Giant's ascendancy in the mid to late 1950s under head Coach Jim Lee Howell.

But Lombardi, the old offensive lineman (Fordham University's famed "7 Blocks of Granite"-- a line that probably averaged less than 200 pounds), was the offensive coach in New York. And it was his schemes and relentless call for discipline which reached its peak performance unde the guidance of Bart Starr (Lombardi's "Good" son as opposed to the "Prodigal" son of Hornung)-- the infamous Packer sweep, the "run for Daylight" philosophy.

And Tom landry-- the man who for 30 years was the "only coach the Cowboys have ever had"-- was the Giants defensive leader alongside lombardi's offensive squad. His schemes produced the great Dallas "Doomsday defense" of the 1970s-- of Too Tall Jones, Harvey Martin, Cliff Harris, and Charlie Waters.

Best Pro Franchises: #14 and #13

oaktoon — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 02:03:50 -0000

Have you noticed the team is playing better since I started this exercise?

Bradley again.. Payton again... and what a start from Haren and he gave the bullpen a much-needed night off.

And did you see Carlos Lee lose two balls in the Metrodome roof??

OK-- So far we've had:

#20: Philadelphia 76ers
#19: Denver Broncos
#18: Cincinnati Reds
#17: New England Patriots
#16: Baltimore Orioles
#15: Miami Dolphins

#14: WASHINGTON REDSKINS

"hail to the Redskins...
Hail Victory.
Braves on the Warpath...
Fight for old D.C."

OK, the song itself is fairly offensive. The drum interlude is everything the Braves and Florida State do and worse; Braves on the warpath is a pretty awful line.

But the nickname itself is the single-most offensive in all of sport. It is a travesty that it has never changed and probably never will.

But the franchise? It has mattered for over 30 years, and Daniel Snyder is making sure it will again after a number of missteps.

I lived in DC during much of the Gibbs era, and can attest firsthand to the extraordinary dominance of this team in the DC area's conscience. it is the only thing that competes with politics, and when one of my "greatest moments" took place (see below), it was the perfect blend. Think 49ers times two. And the feeling when RFK started literally to shake as the Skins engineered another late rally was uncomparable.

But people forget that it wasn't this way until a certain legendary coach decided he couldn't stand being on the sidelines and asked out of his job as General Manager of the Green Bay Packers to come to the Nation's capital and run the woebegone Redskins.

And when Vince Lombardi convinced players and free spirits such as Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff that things were different, well soon they were., Lombardi tragically only lasted one season before succumbing to cancer, but it was a playoff season.

Then came the defensive genius of the Bears and Rams-- George Allen-- with a cheerleading attitude and reverence for the older players that were soon given the moniker "The Over the Hill Gang." If Lombardi would be infamous for his "winning isn't everything.. it's the only thing" quote, Allen would put his own stamp with his "the Future is Now" philosophy.

And he had a beer barreled, whisky drinking quarterback that threw nothing but ducks but did nothing but win, and Allen trusted Billy Kilmer more than the legendary Jurgensen. In 1972 they destroyed the hated Cowboys, but then were clobbered by the unbeaten Dolphins in the Super Bowl, a game noted for a failed reverse play called in advance by none other than President Richard M. Nixon.

A couple of more years contending and the Allen magic wore out. (Note: I once shared the Dulles people mover shuttle back to the main terminal with Allen, his wife and family. he was in his last year on the planet the coach of the Long Beach State 49ers, but the fire was still there. I am a democrat but it is a testament to Allen that one of his sons is a U.S. Senator after a stint as Governor of Virginia and is talked about as a potential Presidential candidate; another is a leading NFRL executive, including a long stint with the Raiders, and his daughter wrote a moving memoir about the football coach father who really wasn;t around for his family very much)

The team drifted through several mediocre seasons until owner Edward Bennett Williams decided to take a chance on a offensive coordinator with no head coaching experience. Joe gibbs is and was one of the most underrated coaches in football. All he did in a decade was lead the Redskins to 4 Super Bowls, winning three, with quarterbacks as diverse as Doug Williams, Joe Theismann and Mark Rypien.

And now he's back and the team is winning again.

Many memorable plays:

they returned that Garo "pass" in the 1973 Super Bowl for a touchdown-- or more accurately Mike Bass for the Skins' only score of the day;
Remember Theismann's screen pass at the end of the first half that Jack squirek picked off at the 10 and waltzed in for a game-clinching score in the 1983 SBowl??
Remember the gruesome sight of Lawrence Taylor shattering Theismann's leg in a Monday Night Game?
How about Doug Williams and Co. erupting for 35 points in a quarter in the 1988 Super Bowl vs. Denver? and Timmy Smith running for over 200 yards in that game? ever hear of him again?
Gus Frerotte going heads up with a wall?

But the greatest moments and the greatest redskin are linked:

GREATEST PLAYER: John Riggins. anyone who lived in DC during the late 1970s and early 1980s could make this call in a plit second. yes he ran behind the Hogs... and there were the SMurfs in a later iteration making all those touchdown catches... and HOF players from Jurgensen to Huff to Taylor. But Riggins was the heart and soul of that team. And it is to his credit that he contributed two memorable moments...

MOST MEMORABLE MONENT(S): The on-field one was Riggins breakaway TD run vs. Miami in the 4th quarter of the 1983 Super Bowl; and the other? Riggins at a black tie function in Washington; ahd a few too many and said, just before passing out, to Supreme Court Justice O'Connor:
"loosen up, Sandy baby".

Riggo was something else.

SOMETHING YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW: "Hail to the Redskins" was written by the team's original owner, George Preston Marshall, who, among other things, was the product of the South and not particularly tolerant of racial matters.

#13 is a very long essay... give me a little time-- it's coming.

NEWS FLASH: A'S BIDDING FOR SORIANO!!

oaktoon — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 16:46:46 -0000

Leave it to Billy to shock the world, but Jayson Stark has just reported on ESPN that the A's are now in bidding for Soriano, whether it is in a straight deal or a 3 way combo where Soriano may or may not be coming here, he does not say.

All I can say is that we have a .220 hitting 2Bman and a .230 hitting SS-- put Soriano at 2nd; play whichever between Scutaro, Ellis or Crosby is hitting best at SS;-- and roll the friggin' dice.