No Move is a Good Move for the Hawks

ATLANTA, Georgia-- So the big move became a no move as Josh Smith will remain a Hawk at least until the end of the 2012-2013 season. Most fans were happy to see Josh stick around and even though he will become a free agent at the end of the season, his non-trade makes sense in several ways. First, there is the fact the Hawks were unable to make any kind of trade that would make sense for the future—or the present for that matter. Second, with significant cap room as a result of unloading Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams during the off-season, the Hawks can keep Josh and still add some quality pieces later on. Also, if Josh had left, the lure of any other “big name” players coming to Atlanta would be diminished since the franchise would no longer even remotely look like a contender. Also, when Smith becomes a free agent, there is a possibility the Hawks can work out some sort of financial arrangement for even less than the max contract the big guy said he wanted. If he does leave the Hawks will be cash and cap rich and will have plenty of room to deal, be it for established players or draft choices. Finally, and of no less importance, is that without Josh the Hawks playoff hopes for this season would be dealt a serious blow as would the turnstile count. All-in-all by not making a move, Danny Ferry made yet another good decision as it relates to the Hawks future.

 Around the Horn…

St. Louis… Cardinal pitcher Chris Carpenter may be finished. A nerve problem has taken its toll on his arm and he is out for at least this season, but many say he won’t make it back at all. Unless he voluntarily retires, the Cards will pay him $10.5 mill this season, leading some to say he’s being greedy. Come on, a contract is a contract and Carp is under no obligation to forfeit the money he is owed.

Cleveland… Indian fans are happy with the signings of $56 million man Nick Swisher and $40 million man Michael Bourne. Both signed four year deals. Swisher had only one bad season-- when he played for Ozzie Guillen in Chicago (why is that not a surprise?). Swisher is from Columbus and played for Ohio State, making him all the more of a fan favorite. Braves fans know what an asset Michael Bourne was to the team and, while he is aging, there is no reason to believe to won't be a major contributor. Not so popular with Tribe fans are the signings of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jason Giambi to minor league contracts. Dice-K hasn’t shown much in years. Giambi is a positive influence in the club house, but does he have anything left in the tank?

Glendale, Arizona…Yahoo reported on Sandy Koufax appearance at Dodger spring training camp in Glendale, Arizona. You all know how Koufax has largely stayed away from baseball. Now he says he’ll work with the Dodgers for 10 days and the Yahoo article implies he may be doing more throughout the season. Arguably the greatest pitcher ever, Koufax’s visible support of the team will add even more luster to a franchise that has Magic Johnson as an owner, plays in the glamour capital of the world, and likely has a team that will be a solid competitor in the NL West in 2013.

Los Angeles…Millions of words will be written about Jerry Buss, the late owner of the Lakers, but only one word is needed—class. Buss elevated his franchise and the NBA to new levels. Showtime was prime time entertainment with the likes of Magic and Kareem and Worthy. Buss made entertainment a big factor in NBA arenas. He introduced cheerleaders. He replaced the Fabulous Forum with the much more fabulous Staples Center. He groomed his daughter to become the financial brains of the operation and he put in place a variety of other execs who should keep the Lakers competitive for many years to come.

If you care…

Ever hear the term War in the context of baseball? No, it doesn’t have to do with Mike Piazza and Roger Clemons or some similar player or team rivalry. It means Wins Above Replacement and is a non-standardized sabermetric baseball statistic that shows how many more wins a player would give a team as opposed to a "replacement level” player i.e. minor leaguer or bench player at the same position

Baseball Reference uses six components to calculate WAR for position players:

· Batting Runs

·Base running Runs

· Runs added or lost due to Grounding into Double Plays in DP situations

· Fielding Runs

· Positional Adjustment Runs

· Replacement level Runs (based on playing time)

Mike Trout has the top WAR percentage for hitting at 10.4 (http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_bat_leagues.shtml).

Baseball Reference at the most basic level uses two components to calculate WAR for pitchers.

· Runs Allowed (both earned and unearned)

· Innings Pitched

Justin Verlander has the highest replacement value of any major league pitcher. The first Brave to appear on the list is Tim Hudson at 44.

 

Now you know.

 

 

 

Baseball in the Spring

Football season is over, and while basketball and hockey remain ever present, it is baseball that will now take center stage. Unlike any other sport, baseball’s “rites of spring” attract followers from the time pitchers and catchers report in mid-February to when the teams pack up and “head north” in late March.

I have been traveling to spring training camps since the early 1980s and while some things have changed, the romance of baseball in the spring looms large each and every season.

My attachment to spring training, however, began long before I actually started covering the Grapefruit and Cactus circuits. It began as a kid when I listened to games on the radio. Still today there is no better way to experience a baseball game than over the radio, especially when announcers such as Jimmy Dudley, Herb Score and Russ Hodges were behind the mike. Dudley and Score called games for the Cleveland Indians, the former being a Hall of Fame broadcaster and the latter a former major league pitcher.  Score became a broadcaster after his playing career was cut short when he was hit in the eye by a line drive off the bat of Yankee shortstop Gil McDougald.

Hi Corbett Field, long-time home of the Cleveland Indians and site of my first spring trainiing assignment

Hodges was another Hall of Famer and is most noted for his call of the Bobby Thompson home run (“The Giants win the pennant, the Giants win the pennant…”) which gave the New Yorkers the pennant in 1951. Hodges, the Giants announcer, would swap with Dudley during those spring games so Cleveland fans could hear his call, while Dudley did a few innings on Giants radio. What a treat for listeners in both markets.

The Indians trained at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona at the time and little did I know that my first real spring training assignment would be in Arizona. I was writing for the old St. Louis Globe-Democrat at the time and was assigned to do a story on Davey Phillips, a stellar American League umpire. Not only was he cooperative when it came to the interview, we spent a solid two days together in Arizona with the last stop being, yes, Tucson. What a thrill to see Hi Corbett in person, to chat with Score, watch a first class umpire in action and have dinner with him later, talking about some of the finer points of his profession. I remember being with Davey at the legendary  La Cantina restaurant in Orlando hearing him describe the importance of positioning (15-20 feet away from first base and at a 90° angle from the throw), thinking ahead, being authoritative in voice and gesture—something he felt very strongly about. It was a real clinic on umpiring.

Every so often I was able to take one or all of my three sons with me to spring games. Probably my favorite spring training park was Dodgertown, one of the great spring training camps of all time. An abandoned Naval base, Dodgertown was the spring training home of the Brooklyn and L.A. Dodgers from 1948 through 2008. It was noted for its open-air dugouts and the easy access fans had to ball players. One year my middle son, David, saw Dave Winfield as he was headed for the club house after a Yankee-Dodger game. David McKillips intercepted Winfield and asked for an autograph. The future Hall of Famer was more than happy to oblige. At Dodgertown, you never knew when a star player would appear in your midst. It was that kind of place.

There were numerous encounters with broadcasters over the years. I have often written articles for the American Sportscasters Association and did spring training interviews with everyone from Milo Hamilton, the Hall of Famer who, regretfully, retired at the end of last season to Harry Kalas of the Phillies to Tom Hamilton the current voice the Indians.

Of course player interviews are a lot easier in spring training. John Smoltz would always give reporters plenty of time and a good education on some aspect of the art of pitching. I can remember him talking about keeping the delivery the same for each pitch to avoid tipping off a batter—just one of many of Smoltzie’s cardinal rules for pitchers imparted during an informal chat at the Braves complex.

 For younger players, spring training might be their first experience with the media. I remember Jason Heyward being particularly media-shy prior to his rookie season. He said very little following one of his early appearances at Disney, but has since matured and become one of the Braves real go-to guys after the game be it spring training or during the regular season.

Although many of the parks today are too commercial—including Disney’s Wide World of Sports where the Braves play--there are still a few of the originals around.. One is McKechnie Field in Bradenton, home to the Pittsburg Pirates. It has served as the Buccos home since 1923. Joker-Marchant Stadium in Lakeland is another vintage park, having served as the home of the Tigers since 1966. Overall the Tigers have been in Lakeland for 74 years.

Another gem is Hohokam Park in Mesa, the home of the Cubs and the place where Harry Caray reigned supreme over the years. You would often see him mingling with the fans. HoHoKam is the largest spring training park with a capacity of 12,900.

If you don’t mind the more modern look there’s Georg Steinbrenner’s Legends Field in Tampa, home of the Yankees; Surprise Stadium, home of the Royals and Rangers, in Surprise, Arizona; or Goodyear Stadium, home to both the Indians and the Cincinnati Reds in Goodyear, Arizona. Since some teams double up there are 24 parks from which to choose.

Regardless of where you go, however, there is nothing like baseball in the spring—where everything is new and memoires are created that will last a lifetime.