Still workin' through a holiday hangover
♦ Isn't there supposed to be a limit on the number of times you can vote for the final All-Star? I'm about to get tendonitis here, stuffing the online ballot box for Justin Verlander.
In good conscience, however, I voted a few times for Travis Hafner, the guy I think actually should make the team.
♦ But what about Francisco Liriano? I hear you, and I agree. And then I blame the Minnesota Twins for not putting him in their starting rotation from the beginning of the season.
♦ My choice in the National League, if you care: No-MAH!
♦ And isn't it long past time to ditch the rule that every team in Major League Baseball should have a representative on the All-Star team?
♦ Ken Holland, I have 1999 on the line. Are you available? Abel to Yzerman has already covered this well, but I had to speak my piece on the Wings looking at The 40-Year-Old Goalies, Ed Belfour and Dominik Hasek.
So the Wings are thinking they want a veteran goaltender to hold the position for a year or two until one of the kids - Jimmy Howard or Stefan Liv - are ready. I'm on board with that.
Here's my question: Isn't Chris Osgood already on the roster? Can he really do a worse job, at this point? And if he hadn't gotten hurt, wouldn't he have taken over for the mentally shot Manny Legace during the playoffs? Bringing in guys almost solely based on their past name value doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
♦ Sure, he can't replace Ben Wallace, but I think Joe Dumars brought in the right guy with Nazr Mohammed. Joel Przybilla would've been a disaster. Big Al calls him "Eric Montross v2.0." I see a big stiff who would've cashed in on being seven feet tall, deposited his $30 million contract, and sat back, counting his money for the next five years. I realize Przybilla's numbers are (slightly) better than Mohammed's, but to me, the Pistons signed the better role player.
♦ Here's a good question that was brought up on the Sports Inferno message boards: Who will be the first Piston to comment on Big Ben riding his $60 million truck west on I-94 to Chicago? I say Chauncey Billups, but I'd stick a tape recorder in front of Rasheed Wallace first.
♦ One point that might bring groans from the people: This is where Darko completely crapping out as a viable prospect truly hurts the Pistons. If he'd been ready to contribute, I wonder if Joe D would've ever made a $48 million offer. Darko would've stepped right in and looked ready to move into the future. And considering Darko was traded largely to create salary cap room to re-sign Wallace, how is that deal looking now?
♦ I can take Jim Thome beating the Tigers almost single-handedly, but I couldn't handle watching Jay Payton get game-winning hits on Monday and Tuesday. C'mon, man. At least Detroit finally figured this guy out yesterday.
In good conscience, however, I voted a few times for Travis Hafner, the guy I think actually should make the team.♦ But what about Francisco Liriano? I hear you, and I agree. And then I blame the Minnesota Twins for not putting him in their starting rotation from the beginning of the season.
♦ My choice in the National League, if you care: No-MAH!
♦ And isn't it long past time to ditch the rule that every team in Major League Baseball should have a representative on the All-Star team?
♦ Ken Holland, I have 1999 on the line. Are you available? Abel to Yzerman has already covered this well, but I had to speak my piece on the Wings looking at The 40-Year-Old Goalies, Ed Belfour and Dominik Hasek.
So the Wings are thinking they want a veteran goaltender to hold the position for a year or two until one of the kids - Jimmy Howard or Stefan Liv - are ready. I'm on board with that.
Here's my question: Isn't Chris Osgood already on the roster? Can he really do a worse job, at this point? And if he hadn't gotten hurt, wouldn't he have taken over for the mentally shot Manny Legace during the playoffs? Bringing in guys almost solely based on their past name value doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
♦ Sure, he can't replace Ben Wallace, but I think Joe Dumars brought in the right guy with Nazr Mohammed. Joel Przybilla would've been a disaster. Big Al calls him "Eric Montross v2.0." I see a big stiff who would've cashed in on being seven feet tall, deposited his $30 million contract, and sat back, counting his money for the next five years. I realize Przybilla's numbers are (slightly) better than Mohammed's, but to me, the Pistons signed the better role player.
♦ Here's a good question that was brought up on the Sports Inferno message boards: Who will be the first Piston to comment on Big Ben riding his $60 million truck west on I-94 to Chicago? I say Chauncey Billups, but I'd stick a tape recorder in front of Rasheed Wallace first.
♦ One point that might bring groans from the people: This is where Darko completely crapping out as a viable prospect truly hurts the Pistons. If he'd been ready to contribute, I wonder if Joe D would've ever made a $48 million offer. Darko would've stepped right in and looked ready to move into the future. And considering Darko was traded largely to create salary cap room to re-sign Wallace, how is that deal looking now?
♦ I can take Jim Thome beating the Tigers almost single-handedly, but I couldn't handle watching Jay Payton get game-winning hits on Monday and Tuesday. C'mon, man. At least Detroit finally figured this guy out yesterday.
Labels: Ben Wallace
posted by Ian C. @ 12:30 PM
sweatymen[at]gmail[dot]com
3 Comments:
At July 06, 2006 4:35 PM,
Big Thunder said…
I feel your wrist pain. I've been voting Liriano through every twins game this week. I figure to have voted 1000 times or more. Verlander should be in also.....I've got to go with the hometown guy though. Go Nomar!! Being from Minny, I'm a huge Pryzbilla hater. He's a soft pansy whohas no heart.....not to mention no talent.
At July 06, 2006 6:25 PM,
SAMO said…
Liriano is so good. He has to be on the all-star team!
At July 10, 2006 10:51 AM,
Anonymous said…
(1) Wings: I'm not a HUGE fan of the Belfour deal, but it makes sense. The Wings are *not* going to be Cup contenders this year. However, in 1-2 years, you bet your ass they'll be up there. However, if you're going to truly at least ATTEMPT to be competitive, Osgood alone isn't it. He was hurt last year; he's not been the same since leaving the Wings the first time; and he's never been a guy who could get hot and be ridden...he simply was always a consistent above average talent in his prime. Belfour, on the other hand, *MAY* show us the Larry Murphy effect. Remember when the Wings got him? He had a really bad year coming in, but the Wings said, "Eh, well, we think he can do it." And sure enough, he did. I think Belfour's been in a toxic environment, and he's always been a bit of a headcase. But there's no reason that in the right situation, with Lidstrom and Kronwall and company in front of him that he can't be a star for one more year.
And if not him, then who??? Trade for Luango? Only if you want to wave goodbye to Pavel Datsyuk. I have a feeling that at some point, he's going to start producing in the playoffs, and we'd look really stupid pulling the trigger on that one. Just put Osgood on the bench with Howard as the backup? Tempting, but if Ozzie goes down, is Howard ready for that? I don't think so.
As much as I *HATE* to see Belfour in a Wings' uniform, I think it makes sense.
I also agree entirely on Nazr Mohammaed. I bet any money that by mid-season, he's doing 8-10 rebounds and 8-12 points a night. As for the Darko deal... we'll see. Two 1st round picks next year could be parlayed into *something* down the line -- through trade, through drafting, through whatever. And yeah, it'd be nice to have him. But he didn't want to be here anymore...too much animosity over never being played. Better to have an annoyed guy with a sense of entitlement penciled in at center wanting more than he's worth before he's ever proven it or signing a guy with something to prove for a fairly modest salary? In Joe D I trust.
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