SportsDystopia

5 years ago, a Chicago Bulls team that had wandered lost in the NBA wilderness ever since the departures of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson seemed to be finding its way.  Behind tough coach Scott Skiles, who made and allowed no excuses, and a frisky young core of players, namely Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni and Luol Deng, the Bulls finally made the playoffs for the first time since the Jordan era dissolved after ‘98.  They had started the 04/05 season 0-9, but the defense coalesced as the season went along, and Gordon, a rookie, made a habit of 4th quarter offensive outbursts.  Although they lost 4 straight games to the Wizards after opening the playoffs with 2 wins, the general consensus was that this was a team on the rise, with a real future.

In the offseason, GM John Paxson jettisoned Eddy Curry to the Knicks, getting in return non-factor Michael Sweetney, eternally effortless Tim Thomas, and what eventually became the 2nd pick of the 2006 draft.  Paxson’s belief was that the young Bulls just needed time to improve, that by accruing experience, they would become a legitimate title contender.

But the team stagnated the following season, again stumbling through the early months of the season.  Gordon was no longer looking like a first class scorer, as the league had adjusted to his game.  They would rally to close the season once again though, mostly due to the team defense solidifying as the year went on, and made the playoffs for the 2nd straight year, though with only a .500 record.  Like the previous season, they were bounced in the first round in a series that they had ample opportunity to win.

By this point, it was more than clear that the Bulls needed an offensive presence to advance to the next level.  Clear to everyone except Paxson, that is.  Instead of orchestrating a trade to bring a legitimate scorer to Chicago, Paxson flatly refused to deal anyone from the group including Deng, Gordon, Hinrich and Nocioni.  What he did was sign Ben Wallace and trade Tyson Chandler, who had finally started to play with some consistency.  Though the move was hailed in the Chicago media, more knowledgable observers rightly questioned why the team could expect to improve by having essentially swapped out a young defensive-oriented center for an old defensive-oriented center.  Even worse, the Bulls drafted LaMarcus Aldridge, a young big man with real offensive talent, and promptly shipped him to Portland for the rawly athletic Tyrus Thomas.

As was the team’s pattern by this point, a slow start to the 06/07 season led to the Bulls rallying to become a defensive force by season’s end, and they even managed to get out of the first round, sweeping the defending NBA champion Miami Heat and getting revenge for the previous year’s ouster.  But they were unable to handle Detroit in the 2nd round, the team who’s ‘no stars’ philosophy they had been trying to emulate.  The difference, of course, was that Detroit’s collection of ‘no stars’ included actual scoring threats in the likes of Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups.

Yet again, Paxson decided to make no real changes to the roster.

And so by the start of last season, the Bulls had waited for 3 years for their young core to somehow morph into players that they weren’t.  3 years is a long time in basketball.  It’s enough time, for instance, to learn that Ben Gordon can’t play defense or score against a defender who plays him close.  It’s enough time to learn that Kirk Hinrich is not and never will be a first-class point guard because he’s simply not a good distributor.  It’s enough time to learn that Andres Nocioni, a few nice playoff performances aside, is a flawed shooter who’s ceiling had been reached.  It’s enough time to learn that Luol Deng simply isn’t quick enough to score against playoff-caliber defenses, or to defend the league’s elite perimiter players.

Somehow, Paxson never learned these things about the players who had played 250+ games under his watchful eye.  And when the team yet again stumbled out of the gate last season, instead of changing his roster, Paxson decided to change his coach.  The Skiles firing did nothing to change the team’s outlook, because Skiles was never the problem.  Later in the season, a badly aging Ben Wallace was included in a 3-team deal that brought the Bulls an inconsistent Drew Gooden and…wait for it…flawed shooter, Larry Hughes.  When the dust had settled on the 07/08 season, Chicago had finished 33-49.

This offseason, the Bulls lucked into the 1st pick in the draft, and selected Derrick Rose, who represents an immediate upgrade at the point over Hinrich.  Their only other major move (aside from the baffling hiring of Vinny Del Negro as coach) was to resign Luol Deng to a hefty new contract at 6 years for $71 million dollars.  For the 5th season in a row, the team is stumbling out of the starting block.  But there’s no longer a battle-tested coach pulling the strings to turn a collection of mismatched players into a defensive juggernaught.

There’s only that supposed core, also in it’s 5th season, still expected to conquer a hump that now looks alot higher than it did just a few short years ago.  There’s also a general manager who has shown neither the will nor the ability to make the tough decisions necessary to improve his team.

In 1981, the Tribune Company paid 20.5 million dollars to buy the Chicago Cubs.  Tribune Company, which is now privately owned by real estate mogul Sam Zell, has been in the protracted process of selling the team for nearly 2 years now, at a price of somewhere in the neighborhood of a billion dollars.  Among the five final bidders is fan favorite, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.  Cubs fans and the non-Tribune owned Chicago sports media have been nearly unanimous in their backing of Cuban, who’s courtside antics at Mavs games combined with his willingness to milk the reality TV teet have turned him into sports’ only real celebrity owner.  His high profile and willingness to spend have convinced the Wrigley faithful that Cuban is their man.

But knowledgeable observers have long claimed that comissioner Bud Selig and baseball’s owners would never allow Cuban to purchase the Cubs, a claim that seemed to gain credibility this week when an anonymous MLB figure essentially said as much.  “There’s no way Bud and the owners are going to let that happen.  Zero chance.”  This in spite of Cuban being the highest bidder for the team, reportedly submitting an offer of 1.3 billion dollars.

The Cubs sale is necessary because Tribune Company is currently carrying 12 and a half billion dollars of debt, mostly due to the way Zell’s buyout of the company was structured.  A 600 million dollar payment is due in June.  Given that Cuban’s bid was the largest by far, one has to believe that the anonymous source is accurate in claiming Selig’s hidden hand has kept the sale from moving forward.

It seems increasingly likely that the sale will not be completed this offseason.  The writing on the wall was most visible when the team decided to give GM Jim Hendry a new contract, an unlikely move for an organization supposedly expecting a pending change in ownership.

Cubs fans should expect 2 things going forward.  First, that the sale will continue to drag on with no real progress for reasons that are never made publicly known.  Tribune Company has always operated the Chicago Tribune’s sports section as a sort of Cubs Pravda, and reliable information comes forth rarely, and usually is read between the lines.  Second, the organization’s lingering debt and uncertainty will hamstring the ability of the team to make positive on-field changes this coming offseason.  Above all, we can be certain that when the Cubs don’t make the necessary moves this offseason to try to take the next step towards winning that elusive title, the Tribune won’t be forthcoming with honest justifications.

Tony Parker erupted for 55 points on Wednesday night to save the Spurs from an 0-4 start in a spectacular double-overtime showing against Minnesota.  In adding 10 assists, he also became just the 3rd player in NBA history to drop a 55/10, joining very elite company in Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson.

With Manu Ginobili sidelined until at least December and Tim Duncan starting to slow a little with age, the load is now on Parker’s shoulders to carry the offensive load.  He has shown himself to be one of the league’s premier slashers, featuring an explosive first step and an ability to score driving to the basket.  Through the Spurs’ first 4 games, Parker is averaging 33.3 PPG, nearly double his career high.  While he’s certainly not going to continue at that level, Parker is making it clear that he’s ready to take the big step forward that’s been looming for him the last few years.

Big news broke in the NBA today, as the Denver Nuggets dealt Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and seldom seen Cheikh Samb.  Pistons president Joe Dumars had vowed changes were in the works after last season’s playoff loss to the Celtics, and just a few games into the 08/09, he delivered on that promise.

It’ll be interesting to see how the deal plays out.  At first it looks like a major risk for the Pistons.  Billups has been essentially the motor that made Detroit run the last several seasons, running the offense and playing fierce defense on the perimiter.  If Iverson has another big season in the tank however, the deal could reignite a Detroit team that had grown stagnant in the seasons following their championship.

With Iverson’s contract set to expire this season though, it makes sense for the Pistons to take the gamble to see if he meshes with the team, especially with Rodney Stuckey waiting in the wings to take over the point long-term.  If Alley-I’s arrival excites ‘Sheed, the Pistons are as dangerous a team as the Celtics were last season, with 3 big threats including Rip Hamilton who at this point in his career is a more reliable scorer than Ray Allen.

Denver takes a larger real risk in acquiring the aging Billups, who’s played alot of long seasons at the age of 32, and has 4 years left on his contract worth over 50 million.  McDyess has another year left on his deal at around 7 million, but he’s put together a nice stretch of healthy seasons, and can be a reliable reserve for the Nuggets.

It’s another major deal for the NBA, which has seen it’s share of blockbusters over the last two seasons.  It also represents another shift of power back towards the East, as the Pistons and Celtics now represent 2 of the 4 favorites for the NBA Championship, including New Orleans and the Lakers.

The rains that fell on the World Series this week dampened whatever little interest the nation had remaining for the Rays-Phillies showdown, and ensured that when Philly was finally crowned on Wednesday night, the fans would have had almost 2 full days to contemplate the likelihood of their being crowned World Series Champions.  I thought that would mean we’d be skipping the ceremonial riot, and save a few trash fires and car flippings.  I obviously wasn’t thinking clearly.

The World Series, like most of the postseason aside from the Tampa-Boston series, lacked much drama.  The Rays were the popular pick going in, but the handicappers overlooked several obvious Philadelphia edges which were quickly displayed once the games got underway.

But Tampa Bay’s window is not closed, as they have almost all their significant players under contract through at least next season, excepting BJ Upton.  If they can make a few smart small moves, and lock up Upton, they could cement themselves as an affordably built contender for the next few seasons.

It wasn’t supposed to go like this, according to the experts.  The American League has been the real senior circuit these last few years, they said.  The Phillies have been sitting home for a week rusting while Tampa Bay was showing it’s mettle in closing out the Red Sox, they said.  ESPN’s baseball writers nearly unanimously picked the Rays to win the series before it began, and most of them predicted it to only last 4 or 5 games.

Well, after last night’s 10-2 stomp, the Phillies lead the World Series 3 games to 1.

If there’s one way in which sportswriters are like politicians, it’s that they never admit a mistake.  Ever.  It’s endlessly galling to watch themes and trends develop through the last weeks of the season and through October, then to see the so-called experts ignore these trends when making their predictions.

Case in point: Cole Hamels.  The Phillies’ ace had looked sharp in 12 of his previous 13 starts, and entering the World Series had been the postseason’s most reliable pitcher with a 3-0 record and 1.23 ERA.    After he shut down Tampa Bay in the opener, Hamels improved to 4-0, and had clearly been the best pitcher in baseball over the whole of two months. But he still hadn’t earned the respect of the connoisseurs of the conventional wisdom over at the worldwide leader in sports.  Jayson Stark was only impressed enough to call him “arguably the best starting pitcher on either team in this world series”.  At least Stark can be given credit for picking Philly to win the series.

Hamels will start game 5 tonight, and he’s the reason the Rays have little chance of getting back into this series.  Scott Kazmir will take the hill for Tampa, and is hoping to improve on his game 1 loss to Hamels.

When handicapping the series, I felt that the Phillies had 3 clear advantages over Tampa Bay that were more or less ignored by the ESPN team when they made their Rays predictions.  First, I felt Cole Hamels at this point was not “arguably” the best pitcher in the series, but the best pitcher in baseball and as close to a guarantee to win any game he started as you were going to get.  Second, in spite of the way the Rays’ bats had gotten hot in games 3, 4 and 5 of the LCS, they’re not typically a big scoring team.  They’ve usually needed to manufacture runs with speed, baserunning, and timely hitting.  The Phillies lineup is nearly as fast, deeper and more powerful (in spite of the jaw-dropping run BJ Upton has been on).  Third, I felt that in Ryan Madsen and Brad Lidge, the Phils had the obvious edge on the back end of the bullpen.

Any of the other storylines were superfluous to what was going to happen on the field.  The Rays’ momentum and emotional high didn’t matter, because they were playing a new team.  And I sincerely believed that Hamels on the mound in game 1 cancelled out any supposed rust factor that could have threatened the Phillies.

He’s on one of those great postseason pitching runs, where watching brings a palpable sense that the man on the mound will not be beaten, under any circumstances.  I get the same feeling watching Hamels that I did watching Josh Beckett in his runs with Boston and Florida, the same feeling that improbably came from Jose Contreras in 2005, and that Randy Mullet and Curt Sock gave in 2001.

(I’m going to refer to Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling that way from now on, I think the names ‘Randy Mullet and Curt Sock’ sound like they could be on the roster for the next Bases Loaded video game.  I always enjoyed the way the Nintendo game used random nouns for players’ last names like PASTE, BAY, or AGUA.  It was rightfully overlooked for RBI Baseball, but did feature several ahead of their time joys, like the unique TV pitching view, irritable players who would charge the mound when plunked to incite a bench clearing brawl, and a talking umpire named Yuk who’s dispassionate “…strike…” and disgusted “BALL!” calls made pitching against the computer a grueling battle of willpower.)

In any case, look for Hamels to get his 5th win tonight and become a hero for the rest of his life in Philadelphia, which hasn’t hoisted a trophy since 83′, the days of Dr. J and Moses Malone.  You think getting a free taco ’s nice?  Hamels is about to get 50 years of free cheesesteaks, any time he wants one.

Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead in the World Series Saturday night in improbable fashion, winning a bizzare game 5-4 in the bottom of the 9th at nearly 2 AM eastern time.  The first pitch didn’t come until after 10 PM, after it rained all evening in Philly.  And the game began according to script for the Phillies, who by the end of 6 innings had taken a 4-1 lead thanks to solo home runs by Carlos Ruiz, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.  Utley also drove in the game’s first run, in the 1st with an RBI groundout to score Jimmy Rollins.  The Phillies weren’t conquering their woes with runners in scoring position (they’re now 2 for 33 in the three games), but for the 2nd time in the series, it didn’t seem to matter.

The 7th inning put a very different spin on things.  Jamie Moyer was still on the mound for the Phils, and looked as full of confidence and energy as a 45 year old ever has in the game of baseball.  When leadoff batter Carl Crawford dropped a beautiful drag bunt, Moyer made a move that Ryan Howard described as “ninja-esque”, lunging for the ball, scooping it with his glove, and flipping it to Howard all in a single motion.  Howard barehanded the ball before Crawford reached the base, but umpire Tom Hallion called Crawford safe.

Both the Phillies and their fans reacted uncomfortably, and Tampa Bay pushed two more runs across with groundouts (something they’ve made a habit out of this series) to pull within 4-3.  The following inning, BJ Upton scored a run by himself in the old Jackie Robinson fashion: he reached on an infield single, stole 2nd, then stole 3rd and took home when the catcher Ruiz’s throw went wild.  The game was tied 4-4, and when Philly went down ugly in the bottom of the 8th (Jason Werth walked then stole 2nd, Utley struck out, Werth was picked off 2nd, Howard struck out to end it) the entire series looked like it had shifted the Rays’ way.

But JC Romero pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 9th inning, setting up one of the strangest finishes in World Series history.

Eric Bruntlett was hit in the thigh by JP Howell to open the inning.  He advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch by Grant Balfour, but Dioner Navarro fielded the ball bouncing off the backstop and tried to gun Bruntlett down.  The ball sailed into center field, and Bruntlett advanced to 3rd.  Shane Victorino and Greg Dobbs were both intentionally walked to load the bases, and Tampa Bay brought Ben Zobrist in from the outfield for a seldom seen 5-man infield.  “It looked like they were about to blitz.” Howard quipped after the game.

The tactic seemed ready to produce a home-first double play when cement-shoed catcher Carlos Ruiz strode to the plate.  He bounced a slow chopper to 3rd baseman Evan Longoria, who rushed a throw home that flew over Navarro to the backstop.  Bruntlett scored, and the game was over.

It was another bizzare loss by Tampa Bay this October.  They bounced back from their last one behind Matt Garza’s confidence in game 7 of the ALCS.  Their best chance to get back in the series comes behind Andy Sonnanstine, who’ll start game 4 Sunday night for the Rays.  Sonnanstine has been the least-hyped of the Rays’ excellent group of young pitchers, but he’s also been the most unshakably collected this year, and has had two very sharp outings against good lineups already in the playoffs.

The Phillies starter will be Joe Blanton, who looked shaky in his last outing, which came nearly 2 weeks ago against the Dodgers.  The Phillies need him to put that rest to use and not to rust if they hope to put the Rays on the ropes with Cole Hamels waiting in game 5.

The World Series shifts to Philadelphia on Saturday night for game 3, where the Phillies hope to continue to stifle the Rays bats and reverse their situational hitting woes from the first two games, where the Phils went 1 for 28 with runners in scoring position.  On the mound for Philly will be 45 year-old Jamie Moyer, who looked his age against the Dodgers in game 3 of the NLCS.  Moyer has waited a lifetime for this opportunity, and is likely to be well prepared.

His opponent on the mound will be Matt Garza, who was less than a year old when Moyer was drafted in 1984.  Garza is fresh off one of the most impressive pitching outings of recent postseason memory, his 7 strong innings in game 7 against Boston gave the Rays the confidence to conquer the ghosts that threatened to haunt them the entire offseason.  Garza has proven he can handle the pressure, but he has been considerably better at home than on the road this year, and the Phillies have been threatening an offensive breakout.

Rain is in the forecast for Saturday, so it’s possible the game could be delayed or postponed.  Either way, look for game 3 to be the first of the series to feature crooked numbers by the offenses.  If the game comes down to the bullpens, it’s become clear that Philadelphia has the late-inning advantage.

After Cole Hamels had pitched the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 victory in the World Series opener on Wednesday night, ESPN’s Jayson Stark was impressed enough to call Hamels “arguably the best starting pitcher on either team in this world series”.  He went on to note that Hamels just became the 10th pitcher ever to win 4 games in the same postseason, and that if he wins again this series, he’ll be the only starter ever to win 5.  So, Jayson…what’s left to argue?

Well, when you’ve spent the lead-up to the World Series claiming the Phillies were hopelessly overmatched and would be too rusty to put up much of a showing in game 1, like ESPN’s commentators did, admitting that Hamels has been an absolute ace this whole postseason would be too close to admitting they were wrong in picking Tampa Bay to take the opener and the series.

I predicted a Phillies victory, because there really is nothing left to argue about Cole Hamels.  Oh, sure, rust was going to be a factor.  You don’t take a week off from playoff baseball and not feel some type of hang-over when you get back on the field, especially against a World-Series caliber team.  And The Phillies showed that rust, going 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position.  Their offense came on a 2-run homer in the 1st by Chase Utley, and in the 4th when a groundout scored Shane Victorino.  But Cole Hamels was their starting pitcher, and this October, he’s made a leap into the category of dominance inhabited by the likes of CC Sabathia and Johan Santana.  Neither of those teams are still playing.  The Phils are.  And a big part of that reason is Hamels.  The experts should have seen his game 1 performance coming, because they’d already seen it 3 times previously this October.

While Scott Kazmir certainly didn’t pitch a bad game, he was haunted by a ghost that’s been familiar to him this season, the ghost of control problems.  They came out early, when in the 1st he walked Jason Werth, and was promptly made to pay for it by Utley.

The starters for game 2 tonight will be Brett Myers for the Philies, who has had his own control problems this postseason.  In spite of a 2-0 mark so far, he has a 5.25 ERA and has walked 7 in 12 innings.  The Rays will counter with James Shields, 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA in 3 playoff starts.

The World Series begins Wednesday night in Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field.  The 10-year old Rays have quickly risen to the status of heavy favorites over the Philadelphia Phillies, a team with history as heavy as any in the league.  Philadelphia’s game 1 starter, Cole Hamels, has been as sharp as anyone in these playoffs.  His opponent, Scott Kazmir, turned in a sharp outing his last time out, but has experienced control problems at times this postseason.

I’m picking against the odds when I say I believe the Philies will win this series.  They played very clean, timely baseball against both the Brewers and the Dodgers, and rust factor or not, they’re the only team not to display any glaring weaknesses thus far.  Though it was indeed impressive that the Rays refused to allow their game 5 collapse haunt them, the series showed a bullpen that wasn’t as airtight as advertised.  The offense lived large off the home run, but if Hamels comes out dealing in game 1, the Rays could have trouble getting on the board.  Joe Maddon was reluctant to play small-ball against Daisuke Matsuzaka in the ALCS opener, and it cost Tampa.

The pitching matchups have also been announced.  In game 2, Brett Myers will face Scott Shields, game 3 will feature Jamie Moyer for the Phillies (and he has looked utterly hittable in his 2 outings this postseason) against Matt Garza, the ALCS MVP.  Game 4 will see Joe Blanton face the Rays’ Andy Sonnanstine, who has looked very confident in his 2 starts, winning the clincher against the White Sox, then game 4 over the Red Sox.

The Rays clearly have the deeper rotation, but the bullpen is definitely facing questions.  If Scott Kazmir isn’t able to go deep in Wednesday’s opener, we’ll get some of those answers.