John Rooke - Thinking Out Loud
Saturday, October 06, 2012
Thinking out loud…and wondering whatever happened to Joe Kerrigan?
• Counting it down to the college basketball tip-off next week: The Friars received their first commitment for the Class of 2013 in 6-7 forward Rodney Bullock from Virginia this week. I’ve heard comparisons ranging from Erron Maxey to Rob Sanders when it comes to describing the kind of player he could be. If he could be either one of those guys – that would be great…
• More bad luck for Smithfield’s Mike Marra. The Louisville senior sat out all but two games last season with a torn ACL in his left knee, and he re-injured the same knee in practice last week – again tearing the ACL. But while Marra’s playing career may be over, Rick Pitino has added Marra to his coaching staff as a grad assistant. The Cardinals will be a Top 5 team nationally to start the season…
• You can’t help but wonder if Kevin Ollie’s UConn team will really be his. After all, Jim Calhoun brought relevancy, if not championships, to the Storrs campus. And the now-retired coach told a breakfast gathering this week he’s not going away any time soon. Calhoun will travel to Germany for the Huskies’ opening game, and also travel to the Virgin Islands with the team in November…
• Colleague Scott Cordischi wrote about it this week, and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel talked about it…but DePaul moving games to the city of Chicago from suburban Rosemont (where they’ve been for 32 years) only happens when wins happen. Not before. 25-97 in the Big East since 2005, the Blue Demons could use a Calhoun-like influence to make them relevant again in the nation’s 3rd largest market…
• No one knows yet whether Notre Dame’s last year in the Big East will be this season, or next…but the Irish are still strong in their home territory with recruits, regardless. ND picked up a commitment last week from point guard Demetrius Jackson chose the Irish over Illinois. Jackson is rated as the nation’s #4 point guard, and 19th out of the Top 100 overall, by ESPN.com. Notre Dame’s three recruits for next year are all Top 100 players…
• Not for nuthin’…but I can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness as the season begins, thinking about Jim Calhoun no longer stalking the sidelines at UConn, and Jim Boeheim embarking on his final year in the Big East – a Big East he helped create. Three starters and the nation’s top 6th man (Dion Waiters) are gone, but does that mean Syracuse will be down? Doubtful. Brandon Triche takes over the point for Scoop Jardine, and expect RI’s Michael Carter-Williams to get his chance to shine…
• The impending move into the Big East for Josh Pastner and Memphis is already paying dividends. Adding Top 30 recruit Kuran Iverson sure helps, but the move wasn’t necessarily the reason for his commitment. Memphis is hearing from recruits, coaches and AAU contacts that the move to the Big East is a big deal…
• There are several reasons to be optimistic in Tampa, FL…starting with USF point guard Anthony Collins. Collins is a native of Houston, TX and was largely ignored by Big 12 schools in the recruiting process, but showed an uncanny knack as a freshman last year to lead – and make players around him better. He struggled with his outside shot, save for a couple of memorable three’s against the Friars, and word is that his shot is improved for this season…
• Georgetown’s Otto Porter is a terrific player. He does a lot of things well, and seems to have some of the same traits like Collins has…an ability to make teammates better. But a player of the year candidate in the Big East? Not yet. He needs to be “the man” on his own team, first…
• The Friars should get tested in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off next month…as the opening game with UMass will be a strong challenge. The Minutemen are already getting mentioned prominently in NCAA tournament projections…and if PC gets by them somehow, Top 10 candidate NC State will probably be next…
• If Louisville’s Peyton Siva is getting mentioned as a potential all-American this season, shouldn’t PC’s Vincent Council be receiving the same spotlight? Yes, he should. Time for the PR wheel to begin spinning that message…as long as VC backs it up with his play…
• How about Cincinnati as an early “sleeper” in the Big East this year? Consider Cashmere Wright, Sean Kilpatrick, JaQuon Parker and Justin Jackson returning, with a relatively soft non-league schedule, and the Bearcats could get an impressive run going into conference play with some national attention…
• One of the league newcomers I’m looking forward to seeing the most is a player who won’t be around for very long – and not because he could move onto the NBA. Freshman center Steven Adams at Pitt certainly could move on to the big league someday, but the Panthers have a history of bringing along some of their potential star players a little more slowly than others. Adams will need to have an impact for the Panthers if Pitt is to have success in their final year of Big East play…
• Calhoun is retired, Boeheim is on his way out to the ACC along with Mike Brey and Jamie Dixon…which Big East coach is going to assume the “villainous” role for fans to hate? Jay Wright at Villanova? John Thompson III at Georgetown? Steve Lavin at St. John’s? No, no and no. How about Rick Pitino?
• The “buzz” about Marquette for this season has little to do with head coach Buzz Williams, but more about the improvement of guard Vander Blue. Coupled with Todd Mayo, the Golden Eagles should still have plenty of punch, especially at home in Milwaukee…
• Considering the extraordinary season just completed by the Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera…it’s great that he helped lead his team to the playoffs. A Triple Crown winner – the first in 45 years, since Yaz – should be able to lead his team into the post-season. Otherwise, how could a Triple Crown winner really be considered an MVP? Just sayin’…
• Some food for thought where Cabrera’s accomplishment is concerned: One – there have been six 2000 yard rushers in the NFL since the last baseball Triple Crown; Two – there have even been three Triple Crown horse winners since Carl Yastrzemski pulled off the baseball version in 1967. And it’s been 35 years since the last one of those…
• More historical perspective on Cabrera: He becomes the 14th player to win the Triple Crown (Ted Williams and Rogers Hornsby won it twice), and he joins an elite list that includes Frank Robinson (1966), Mickey Mantle (1956), Lou Gehrig (1934) and Ty Cobb (1909). Woonsocket’s Nap Lajoie also won the Triple Crown – in 1901…
• Still…the fact that Cabrera accomplished the feat of winning the batting, HR and RBI titles in a single season is something none of us can be sure we thought we’d ever see again. But in this day and age, don’t you think we’ll see it again sooner, rather than later?
• Zen question: Why is the pitching Triple Crown (wins, ERA, strikeouts) easier to accomplish than Cabrera’s, especially through the “live ball” era? It’s been done 38 times (Sandy Koufax and Walter Johnson are 3-time winners), and Detroit’s Justin Verlander and the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw each managed to accomplish this last year. Pedro Martinez won it while with the Red Sox in 1999…
• And here’s a “wow.” Cliff Lee is the 1st pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1900) to strike out 200 batters and have 6 or fewer wins in a season…so says the Elias Sports Bureau…
• 14 to 2 in the season finale? Way to lay down on the job, Sox. That’ll keep us warm throughout the cold winter. YAWN…
• Daisuke Matsuzaka finished with a 4.52 ERA in 6 seasons, which would be the 4th-worst in RedSox history for a pitcher with a minimum of 100 career starts. And the total bill for Matsuzaka comes out to $881,282 per game pitched or $2,062,200 per win. Stupid is as stupid does…
• 69-93? No one thought they’d be that bad. A second last place finish in the last 80 years, and the most losses in a year since 1965. That’s qualifies as a “wow.” More heads than just Valentine’s should roll, starting at the top. But they won’t…
• I for one, appreciate Bobby Valentine’s candor, if not his ability to actually manage a baseball team. He told The Big Show on WEEI this week, before he was canned, that he believes he was undermined by some of his coaches, and they did not show any loyalty. That may be, but loyalty is earned, not a given. Valentine should have known that when he agreed to take the job in the first place, with several coaches already hired by management. He was already up against it, when he started the job in the first place…
• The YES-TV broadcast of the season finale for Boston showed a shot of Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi talking to Tony Pena during the game. Wait a minute…managers are allowed to talk to bench coaches?
• Oh wait – here’s the good news. The Red Sox get the 7th pick in next year’s MLB draft…
• Tweet of the Week: From Pawsox employee Augusto Cookie Rojas – ”Looks like the @PawSox won the AL West Reddick, Brandon Moss, George Kottaras, who else is on that team?”
• Another nugget for stat geeks – the Mets’ R.A. Dickey was the first knuckleballer with 20 wins since Joe Niekro in 1980, and the first Mets pitcher since Frank Viola in 1990…
• Tom vs. Peyton? It’s a great debate. And there really isn’t a right or a wrong answer. Both are future Cantonites, both have talents that other QB’s possess…but both also have that certain je ne sais quoi. They make other players around them better. Call it the Michael Jordan/Larry Bird/Magic Johnson factor…
• The Sports Business Journal’s readers decided that “it’s Peyton” in terms of marketability, if not ability, over Tom Brady this week. Most marketable? Manning 39%, Aaron Rodgers 32%, Brady 19%...
• For my money, rather than focus on Tom vs. Peyton…I’ll be interested to see if former Denver coach Josh McDaniels (now the NE offensive coordinator) will have anything special to show/prove to his old team. And, whether or not his ex-players have any extra motivation themselves…
• The Boston Globe reported this week that because of his money troubles (hello, 38 Studios), Curt Schilling is contemplating selling his “bloody sock” worn during the 2004 World Series. The sock was among his listed assets recently pledged to lenders, and filed with the state of Massachusetts. Uh, Curt? Just make sure Rhode Island isn’t left holding your laundry bag here…
• My buddy Statbeast sez doing the laundry is confusing. He asked Mrs. Statbeast what setting to use on the machine to wash his shirt, and she said “it depends, what does it say on your shirt?” He answered “Red Sox.”
• So the NBA is going to fine “floppers.” Great. $30K for a fifth violation? That’s still chump change for a lot of these guys. You really want to stop it? Fine ‘em for the first offense, then suspend ‘em thereafter…
• Good idea gone bad…did you see actor Liam Neeson on SportsCenter this week, promoting his upcoming movie? He was asked about Tim Tebow and, well…it was cringe-worthy…
• While the Big East is still in a negotiating period for its media rights, the Atlantic-10 announced this week they’ve got a new deal set up for themselves. An eight-year partnership with ESPN, the CBS Sports Network and the NBC Sports Network will give the league national coverage of 64 men’s basketball and 16 women’s basketball games over the three networks beginning with the 2013-14 season…
• What wasn’t said with the new deal, however, was that it should kill just about any idea the Big East “basketball only” schools have about breaking out on their own anytime soon. A-10 schools will get less than half a million dollars per year under their new TV deal, while Big East basketball schools could get upwards of $4 million per year – or more – by staying with their football brethren, if estimates prove accurate. Hut, hut…
• Rhody was picked for 15th in the Atlantic-10 men’s basketball race this season, ahead of only Duquesne. Don’t fret, Ram fans…Rome wasn’t built in a day. But it might be built in a year, or two…
• St. Joseph’s is at the top of the list? Didn’t the A-10 add Virginia Commonwealth (picked third) and Butler (6th) for this season? Friar foe (in Puerto Rico) UMass was 5th…
• With Bobby V’s ouster this week, I was left wondering about the last Red Sox manager to be dumped after only a year (or less) at the helm. Joe Kerrigan was widely hailed as a pitching coach when he succeeded Sammy Ellis in 1997, and more or less, he was given quite a bit of credit for managing Pedro Martinez’ dominance in 1999-2000. However, when he replaced Jimy Williams as manager, it didn’t go well during the remainder of the 2001 season…and Grady Little entered the picture for 2002. After leaving Boston, Kerrigan became a pitching coach in Philly, a bullpen coach for the Yankees, and a pitching coach in Pittsburgh. He was relieved of his Pirates’ duties in 2010…
• One question to you as the political debate season is upon us – are you better off now than you were four years ago? If you are, congratulations, and you’ll vote to stay the course. If you are not, vote for change. Period. It’s your right, and it’s your duty…
• Our mailbag question/comment this week comes from Craig via Twitter, @Patriotsfan5512: “You let the fans off the hook, saying @Gillette Stadium doesn’t hold noise. That Denver playoff game was deafening. We can be loud.” Craig: In reference to a comment I made this week on Patriots.com Radio, about the structure of Gillette not being conducive to high volume crowd noise – facts are facts. The open-air construction, with no real “bowl” structure inside allows crowd noise to filter out and up. Bowls tend to keep sound inside, and bouncing off the walls. That does not mean, however, that Gillette crowds can’t be loud. But Patriots fans have also been complacent in recent years…with the Club level fans choosing to “wine and dine” inside, rather than join the game outside. Bring bad weather into the equation, and for some reason, it brings out the noise inside the stadium…
• Interested in having your questions on local RI sports (including the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Send ‘em to me! It’s your chance to “think out loud,” so send your questions and comments to jrooke@golocalprov.com. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/Tweets right here! Follow me on Twitter, @jrooke0722…and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke ...
• And you’re up early anyway…don’t forget to join us for GoLocal Sports on 103.7 FM, every Saturday from 7:00-9:00 am! Call in (401) 737-1287, or text 850850…and send email to the show - golocal@weei.com .
• Looking for your midweek football fix? Jump into the “Patriots Playbook” on Patriots.com Radio, every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 2:00-4:00 pm ET. We’re live with commentary, interviews and your calls and questions on the Patriots and the NFL via social media. It’s a great way to break up the day at work! But if you can’t make it for the live webcast, never fear…the podcast will be near…
Comments:
Vincent Hanna
7:10pm on Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Any URI news? Maybe you can give us some in your next column
John Rooke
11:17pm on Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Guess you're not reading the whole site, huh Vincent?