Chiefs. Pittsburgh at Carolina (-3.5) Carolina on defence | Forum
miaowang123
Dec 17 '18
TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers several questions each week. Oliver Luck College Jersey . This week, topics cover Brett Lawries move to second base, Masahiro Tanakas scorching start, the next MLB commissioner and the epidemic of pitching injuries. 1. While moving Brett Lawrie to 2B gives the Blue Jays a better offensive lineup the player is clearly unhappy making the move going as far as saying hes not a fan of it to the media. How much consideration should a players happiness or wishes play into the GM or coach making that kind of move or decision? The mental part of baseball is often more important than the physical part of the game. The way a player feels often impacts how he performs, however, it is difficult to predict how any single player will react to a certain emotion. Sometimes the same emotion can be motivating for one player and paralyzing for another. I can understand how a player can be bothered by a position change. Ball players are creatures of habit. They dont like change because it makes them uncomfortable. Brett Lawrie said, “I am a third baseman.” It is his identity. Players are their position. Lawrie needs to change his view of his identity. He is a Blue Jay not a third baseman. I remember when I was GM for the Mets and we were considering moving Mike Piazza from behind home plate to first base. Ownership said, “Just move him. We are paying him $13M per year and he should do what he is told.” I explained that we could do that, but we needed to treat a star like Piazza with the appropriate respect. If we wanted him to perform, we needed him to buy into the change, plus, we didnt want a controversy with our star because other players watch how you treat your current players. I told ownership that we needed to treat our stars properly in order to lure other stars. Brett Lawrie isnt a star. He is “just a guy.” He is a borderline starter in the majors. He is overrated. Lawrie was hyped when he got to the majors and had a very good quarter season in 2011, but he hasnt lived up to the hype and has been a disappointment. Seriously, he is complaining? He should be grateful for the opportunities he continues to get from the Jays. He has no room to complain. When I was with the Mets we moved Edgardo Alfonzo from second base to third base when we acquired Robbie Alomar from the Indians in 2002. Alfonzo had been established as an All-Star second baseman. He was a bit reluctant, but ultimately realized it was good for the team and moved. He had a heckuva lot more right to be upset than Lawrie. Lawrie is closer to being out of the Majors than he is to being an All Star. If it were me, I would tell Lawrie that we are moving you to second base and, if he has any gripes, I would option him to the minors and see how he likes it. If he gets mad, but keeps his mouth shut, maybe it will help him. As I said earlier, emotions arent all bad. He hasnt yet earned the right to be comfortable. The major leagues are about performance. Be grateful you are a big leaguer Brett. 2. Will Yankees starter Masahiro Tanakas hot start be able to withstand a second trip through the league when teams start making adjustments and to the increased work load as he works his way into the season? Masahiro Tanaka went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA in 2013 for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Professional League. He led them to a Japanese Professional Title, winning six more playoff games and finishing the year 30-0. So far this season, he is 6-0 with a 2.17 ERA. He has a remarkable strikeout-to-walk ratio of 66:7 in 58 innings pitched. He is a remarkable 36-0 over the past two years combined. That is unheard of. No one is that good. There is no way that he can maintain this level of success. No one can. Can he? Tanaka has extraordinary command and control of his pitches. He shows great poise on the mound. He doesnt have an overpowering fastball, but he has an overpowering ability to throw his pitches where he wants. He is Greg Maddux-like in that way. His out-pitch is different than Maddux, as he uses a devastating split-finger fastball to put away hitters. Tanaka has the ability to get hitters out with pitches in the strike zone. Many pitchers use a sequence of pitches with which they try and expand the strike zone, ultimately throwing a pitch off of the plate to get hitters to chase. Tanaka can do that, but he has the confidence and quality of stuff to also throw his well-located pitches in the strike zone to retire hitters. Tanaka has movement, change of speeds, deception and the ability to throw any pitch at any time in the count. This is a tremendous formula for success. The league will make some adjustments to him. He will ultimately lose a game or two, bbut the only real threat to him will be fatigue. In Japan, starters typically make only one start per week. He is now taking the mound every fifth day. At some point, this may present a challenge. The Yankees have so much unpredictability this year but that certainly doesnt include their #1 starter, Masahiro Tanaka. 3. What will the newly formed search committee be looking for in the next MLB commissioner? The search committee will be gathering ideas from all 30 teams while overseeing the process of selecting a new commissioner. The seven-person committee of owners/CEOs/chairman is as follows: Bill DeWitt (Cardinals), Dick Monfort (Rockies), David Montgomery (Phillies), Arte Moreno (Angels), Bob Nuttig (Pirates), Jim Pohlad (Twins) and Jerry Reinsdorf (White Sox). The Cardinals DeWitt, is serving as the chairman of the committee. "Our committee will conduct a thorough, discreet process and ultimately will provide guidance to the Executive Council on identifying a successor," DeWitt said in a statement. "All of the parties involved share the goal of acting in our games best interests…” As the committee searches for candidates they are going to have to consider the business of baseball more than ever. The game is losing its luster and is trending old. As baby boomers get older so do baseball fans and as the world has evolved in the way that it consumes sports and information in a quick-hitting, fast-paced way, baseball has gained a perception of being slow and boring. The next commissioner needs to find a way to engage the younger sports fan. He also needs to better market the games stars. Baseball players are rarely found on the most popular athletes lists. Football and basketball do a much better job in connecting the fans with their players. Baseball needs a salary cap. The union is staunchly against it, but the long-term health of the game needs it. The playing field needs to be leveled to maintain the financial viability of its franchises. Baseball needs a change in perception. Baseball has the toughest drug testing program and penalties in all of sports, yet it is still perceived to be soft on PEDs. Because Bud Selig is perceived to be the "Commissioner of the Steroid Era of Baseball," any new face in the office should change that perception. So who are the candidates? - George W. Bush, the former Texas Rangers owner and former President of the United States. President Bush understands the game and the owners. He also understands unions and the economy. Rob Manfred, Executive Vice President MLB. Manfred is Seligs right hand man. He is a Harvard Law School graduate and a brilliant man. He has been part of the last two collective bargaining negotiations with the union and oversees Labor Relations and Human Recourse for MLB. Andy McPhail, former executive for Twins, Cubs and Orioles. His teams won two World Series while he was with the Twins. His father and grandfather are both Hall of Famers. He is a very well-respected baseball lifer who is known for both his business and baseball acumen. David Dombrowski, current president and general manager of the Detroit Tigers. Dombrowski worked his way up the baseball ranks starting as an administrative assistant for the White Sox in 1978. He worked his way to the top through the Expos, Marlin and Tigers. He is the most highly thought of executive in the game. He is bright, mature, thoughtful and talented. He has great communication skills and treats people the right way with a strong presence. He has a thorough understanding of both the baseball and business sides of operations. Bob Bowman, oversees the billion dollar business of MLB Advanced Media which includes MLB.com and MLB.tv. He is an aggressive, combative business man who has a vision and the ability to execute it. He gets business, he gets baseball fans and he gets technology. If owners truly want to grow the industry and connect with fans, Bowman may be their guy. His style may rub some of the old guard the wrong way, but maybe that is a good thing. Finally, Steve Phillips, former NY Mets general manager. He may be overqualified for the position but still worth consideration. He lives in the proximity of New York City, understands the baseball and business sides of the operations and has strong opinions about where the game should go. A major obstacle could be his unwillingness to give up his weekly column on TSN.ca. I am sure that more candidates will come to light over the next year. If I were picking today, I would vote for David Dombrowski of the Detroit Tigers as he is respected by owners, general managers, the PA and the media. Not many other candidates can boast that clean sweep. Wait...I didnt vote for myself! What am I thinking? 4. So, I am officially ticked off. Jose Fernandez of the Marlins and Martin Perez of the Rangers are now the 18th and 19th MLB playersto need Tommy John surgery this year alone. There is all kinds of speculation about the reasons for the glut of surgeries. I have written about them here in the past. For each individual pitcher the reasons may be different, but we have a pretty good idea about the list from which the reasons come. So why would any baseball coach anywhere believe that allowing a pitcher to throw 194 pitches was acceptable? This week media reports documented a game of a high school pitcher in the state of Washington in which a young man, Dylan Fosnacht, threw that 194 pitches in a game in which he was allowed to pitch 14+ innings. This is criminal. To make matters worse, the catcher in the game, Dustin Wilson caught all 17 innings of the game and then pitched all seven innings of the second game of the doubleheader. The coach should be fired and I rarely, if ever, make statements like that. This is absurd. An official with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association told reporters that the only rule they have about pitch limits is that if a kid throws four or more innings in a day he must be given two days off before pitching again. Really???? So Fosnacht could throw 194 pitches on Monday and another 194 on Thursday. Arm injuries are wear and tear injuries. Even when they happen in an acute way, they are from wear and tear. If a pitcher throws a pitch in the Majors and his ulna collateral ligament snaps in his arm, it is not solely because of the pitch he threw that day, but a by-product of all of the throwing he has done in his career. We can protect innings pitched and install strict pitch limits on MLB pitchers, but guys will still break down. Why? Because they are allowed to throw 194 pitches in a high school baseball game. Enough. It is time for baseball associations, Leagues, conferences or whatever groups are overseeing kids playing organized baseball to get this issue under control. Install pitch limits everywhere and at every level. Make sure that the boundaries that are in place are comprehensive and clear. We have to protect kids against themselves. If a coach asks a player if he is ok after throwing 120 pitches, he will most likely say yes because he doesnt want to disappoint the coach. Protect the coach against himself. If he wants to win so badly that he is willing to risk a kids health, then legislate it that he cant. Parents where are you? My experience is that baseball parents are some of the most meddling youth sports parents. The number of dads (and moms) who relive their youth through their kids baseball career is astronomical. Parents, you are at the games. You are there watching. Advocate for your kids. Hold the coaches accountable. Sure, it may mean a confrontation or a difficult conversation, but so what? The risk of not speaking up is significant. Youth football has started a campaign to educate coaches, parents and kids about concussions. They teach everyone what signs to look for. Coaches now have to attend clinics to teach proper form and technique to better ensure health. The childs well-being is made a priority. What are we waiting for in baseball? We need to educate coaches, parents and kids about what to look for with arm fatigue and injuries. We need to teach proper throwing techniques at a much younger age before bad habits get formed. Parents and coaches need to agree on what appropriate pitch limits are for kids whether it is legislated from their leagues or not. There must be better communication between coaches if players are playing in multiple leagues. Parents need to get involved to ensure the communication. There is a big difference between complaining to a coach about your sons position or playing time and advocating for his health. You are not causing trouble by speaking about pitch counts and innings limits. I am speaking from experience on this. There have been many times that I should have spoken up sooner than I did. Plus, my sons have told me at times that their arms are sore and I told them to go out and give it a try and see how it feels. That was a mistake. If a kids arm hurts, he shouldnt pitch or throw. Pitch limits and pitch counts in the major leagues can help, but they are only putting a bandage on wounds that may be decades old from abuse at the youth level. It is time to speak up!!!! Geno Smith College Jersey . Anderson is scheduled to have neck surgery April 8 to repair the injury, which occurred when he collided with the Celtics Gerald Wallace during a game in Boston on Jan. 3. The 6-foot-10 Pelicans forward, who had been averaging 19. Will Grier College Jersey .J. -- All those records, all for naught.TSN football analyst Chris Schultz is back with his Week 3 selections in the NFL in Risky Business. With a record of 12-20, Week 3 starts off with the Thursday nighter between the Buccaneers and Falcons plus Schultz has his pick for the Super Bowl rematch between the Broncos and Seahawks. Tampa Bay at Atlanta (-6.5) The Bucs could be without three starting defensive lineman when they face Matt Ryan in Atlanta. Adrian Clayborn is out for year, Gerald McCoy has a broken hand and Michael Johnson (ankle) is on a short week. Plus middle linebacker Mason Foster has a shoulder problem. The Falcons must improve the run defence as Cincinnati ran for 171 last time out but the Bucs right now with limited offensive line personel are not a dominant run team. One fact I will remember as the weeks go on for Falcon Football: the Falcons have experienced seven straight road losses including five last year. Next outdoor road game is at the Giants on Oct. 5. Finally for Atlanta, Devin Hester has been rejuvenated this year as a kick returner and receiver. Should be a lot of points but a home, short week and the Bucs coming off a loss to Rams rookie Austin Davis? Atlanta covers 6.5. Washington at Philadelphia (-6.5) Eagles win but because it is divisional I dont like the points. What a big opportunity for Kirk Cousins. Another mans adversity is truly a chance of a lifetime for the next player. Theres a lot of talk that Cousins fits what Jay Gruden wants to do on offence and this game - if Washington wins - may crystallize that fact as true. Tackling is so important in this one for both teams but especially for Washington. The combination of McCoy and Sproles is as good as it gets especially on screen passes. Cousins gets the reps at practice with RG3 out, and that could make a big difference. Washington. Houston (-2.5) at NY Giants Really surprised it is only 2.5 for Houston. The Texans have allowed only 6 and 14 points this season and are averaging 40 rushes a game led by Arian Foster. Ryan Fitzpatrick is doing exactly what he is supposed to do, avoid mistakes. No interceptions in two games and a 68 per cent completion success rate. Houston is very good on third down, while the Giants are next to last in third down efficiency. Houston. Minnesota at New Orleans (-9.5) I could not see the Saints going 0-2 last week but they did in losing to Cleveland 26-24. Now I cant see them going 0-3. If last year becomes this year the Saints should roll at home. Last year New Orleans lost five consecutive games outdoors, but were 8-0 at home and scored less than 30 points only twice. The Patriots held Minnesota to seven points right in Minnesota and the Saints have a lot of pressure to improve defensively fast. Nine-and-a-half is a lot but New Orleans has to win and will want to dominate throughout. Saints cover. Tennessee at Cincinnati (-7) The Bengals have been impressive. Two impressive wins over Baltimore and Atlanta makes for the first 2-0 start for them in eight years. To hold the Falcons to 10 points, and three points in the first 51 minutes is a special accomplishment. The big unknown is the health reality of AJ Green at receiver. Even if he plays, will he have the same burst as before and the same leaping ability? Another key will be if the Bengals get off to a quick start it will force Jake Locker to win the game. In Week 1 he was up to the challenge, Week 2 not as much. This is a good pass offence in Cincinnati against a good pass defence in Tennessee, but then that means more Giovani Bernard. Bengals. Baltimore (-1) at Cleveland Im not a Browns believer just yet. Very impressive win for them against New Orleans and after two games it is Brian Hoyer who has yet to throw an interception after 139 passes. After all the Manziel/Hoyer talk this is Hoyers team. For Baltimore the competitive style of Steve Smith makes the Ravens a focused and better team. Both teams are very confident but history says Ravens over Browns in Cleveland by three points. Ravens. Green Bay at Detroit (-1.5) The Packers have played two very good defences in Seattle and the Jets. Detroit up front is good but their back four is a concern. This game for me has the two best quarterback-to-receiver combinations in one game. First Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson is good for 19 yards per catch, on average. Then Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson in Green Bay is good for 16 yards per catch. But Detroit was shut down by Carolina last week 24-7 so even though they are immensely talented that Lion offence can be dominated. There should be a lot of points in this game and as much as playing in Ford Field enhances the chances for the Lions, the Packers can use it to their advantage too. Packers. Indianapolis (-7) at Jacksonville The one aspect of football the Colts do not have is pass rush. It was so obvious against Philadelphia as Nick Foles had all day to find receivers and make plays. The Eagles also did a good "A Gap" blitz job on Andrew Luck over and over again. Will Jacksonville try to duplicate? The Colts have played two great offences in Philadelpphia and Denver, allowing 30 and 31 points respectively. Stitched West Virginia Jerseys. This week will be a lot easier and Jacksonville will be without Marcedes Lewis at tight end. Last year the Colts ourscored the Jags 64-13 over two games, and this is a must-win for the Colts to avoid 0-3. Colts by 10 to cover. Oakland at New England (-14) The Raiders have scored 14 against the Jets and 14 against the Texans. As an offence Derek Carr is learning on the go in his rookie year. The other concern is that Oakland against Houston had three yards, the Texans had 150. The Patriots ran the football extremely well and Oakland has allowed on average 200 rushing yards in two games. Its west to east for the Raiders and they have to deal with a home opener in New England. Patriots dominate by 17 and cover. San Francisco (-3) at Arizona There is no doubt that the Arizona Cardinals have closed the gap of respectability between themselves and Seattle and San Francisco. But history is on the side of the 49ers. Only one time has Arizona beaten San Francisco in the last 10 head-to-head games and three of the last four have been by double digits. But I like the look in the eye of Colin Kaepernick after throwing critical game-determining interceptions in the 28-20 loss to the Bears. I anticipate he will come back and play a lot better this week. The Cardinals are sitting fat and happy at 2-0 and are the NFC West division leaders. Not the 49ers, they are frustrated and urgent which is a good preparation mind set here in Week 3. The Bears, believe it or not, shut down the 49ers run game in the second half last week. That will be a point of pride for San Francisco this week. Overall if San Francisco beat Chicago last week I think Arizona wins. But they didnt so 49ers by 4. San Francisco. San Diego at Buffalo (-2) Have to admit, it was an impressive win by the Bills over Miami, 29-10. And now it is California-comfortable San Diego travelling to Buffalos uncomfortable Ralph Wilson Stadium, west to east and a 1pm eastern kickoff. The Bills special teams blocked a punt and produced five field goals and returned a kick for a touchdown, an amazing day. How did San Diego beat the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks? Lots of reasons but the biggest one to me was the Chargers had the ball for 42 minutes and 15 seconds last week, tougher to do on the road. Everything fell into place for San Diego last week, will not be so easy this week. Buffalo covers the 2, Bills. Dallas (-1) at St. Louis Both teams rebounded from exceptionally poor performances in Week 1 to great games in Week 2. After 167 yards by DeMarco Murray the Cowboys know the pass run ration should be 2 to 1 over the length of a game, that was proven last week. For the Rams, Austin Davis has been a pure surprise at quarterback. So far in two games he has completed 73 per cent of his passes and he started the season as the teams third-best quarterback. I have to go with the NFLs top rusher over a third-game starter. Cowboys. Denver at Seattle (-4.5) The worst thing that could have happened for Denver was to have Seattle play this game after a loss. San Diego ran 75 plays to Seattles 40 and 35 more plays for an opponent is a staggeringly high number. Similar for Denver as it was Kansas City that ran 75 plays to 46 for Denver and late in the game KC could have tied it up. Denver is a better team than the one that lost by 35 in the Super Bowl, but Seattle at home coming off a loss I think is too much for even Denver to handle again. Sattle re-establishes NFL superiority. Seattle. Kansas City at Miami (-4.5) The Dolphins were beat by the Bills due to a blocked field punt and a kick return for a touchdown. It should not happen again. For KC they had 28 first downs to Denvers 19 and could have beaten Denver in Denver. They have big-time injuries to Jamaal Charles on offence and Eric Berry on defence, but the key issue for the Chiefs will be pass protection and pass rush. Field goal game is a logical conclusion. Chiefs. Pittsburgh at Carolina (-3.5) Carolina on defence has picked up from where they left off from last year, as one of the best. And they may have the best middle linebacker in all of football in Luke Kuechly. Last week he had 11 tackles and one of the best pass defending middle linebackers in all of football. On offence Cam Newton is a younger Ben Roethlisberger, last week seven different receivers caught passes. The Steelers are coming off Thursday night football so they had 10 days in between games but will need a big game from LeVeon Bell. Kuechly will be waiting. Ill take defence over offence on Sunday Night Football. Carolina. Chicago at NY Jets (-2.5) Geno Smith has been impressive. Considering this is only his second season he is way ahead of where he was at this time last year. For the Bears, to be down 17 at one point and come back and win by eight was impressive. Alshon Jeffery will be healthier but the Bears have starters out at cornerback, safety and maybe defensive tackle. Just like the game against the 49ers, there will be too much perimeter talent for the Jets to handle for four quarters. Bears. 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