Author: andrewcline33

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick!

by andrewcline33, posted in MLB

Theodore Roosevelt once said the iconic phrase: “Speak softly and carry a big stick”. While this phrase was talking about foreign policy, it may just be the perfect motto for the Houston Astros moving forward. In what has been one of the darkest and most ruthless off-seasons baseball has ever seen, the Houston Astros come limping into Spring Training, and they have not even played a single game yet. Their cuts and bruises do not come from hit by pitches or slides into second base, but rather verbal and electronic attacks from opposing players, media, and fans. Rightfully so, as we found out this offseason that this team, which had been the victors of over 300 games in the past 3 seasons, had been using an in game sign stealing operation to gain an unfair advantage on their competition. In dictionary terms…they cheated.

When the news broke in November, the baseball world went into a fury. When the commissioner released his report detailing the punishments, that fury really started to heat up, and hit what probably was the boiling point when Jim Crane gave his contradictory press conference last Thursday. This situation is a fiery mess and unfortunately for everyone, the Astros have just poured gasoline on the fire the entire time. From the Altuve and Bregman’s scripted Fan Fest answers to AJ Hinch beating around the bush and trying to explain his, now discredited, leadership techniques instead of just answering the questions to Carlos Correa calling out Cody Bellinger. The team has handled this situation poorly. With Spring Training here and Baseball games to begin starting soon, the Astros have missed their window to speak.

The time to speak and say sorry was back in November when the news broke. The time to speak and say sorry was in December when the investigation was happening. The time to speak and say sorry was in January when the report came out, or fan fest, or before Spring Training. The last chance to speak was this past Thursday. The team spoke and said sorry, but it was too late. So now they must speak softly, which basically means they can’t speak. Nothing they can say will make the situation any better. They can only make it worse. Everywhere they will go this year they are public enemy number one. No one will care what they say, yet everyone will be dying to hear what they say. Attempts for empathy are pointless and a waste of time. Along with attempts of empathy, expectations of the Astros apologizing from fans and opposing players are just as pointless. If you are a fan and waiting for an apology, it ain’t happening. And while they must speak softly they will be asked more questions now than ever before. Not only will they have the pressure of performing on the field in 2020, but they will also have to answer questions about the last 3 years and what was going on inside the clubhouse. The firing squad waits for the Astros outside the clubhouse every day ready to grill the team for what they did. If there is a team who is capable of speaking softly and being able to overcome the noise, it is this team. That will discourage many fans of other teams, but the truth of the matter is the Astros are a really good team. With a rotation that still has the reigning AL Cy Young winner, a veteran Zack Grienke, a healthy Lance McCullers Jr., and a lineup that returns 5 All Stars, 2 Rookie of the Years, 2 MVP finalists and a MVP, this team has what it takes to win it all. They will just need to be able to carry the big stick.

Carrying a big stick means to be strong and produce if you say you are going to do something. In the case of the Astros, they will need to do that this year more than ever. The reason is because this season is a lose-lose situation for the team. On one hand if the team goes out and wins 85 games and misses the playoffs, the fans will say that the only reason they won is because they cheated. On the other hand if they go out and win 100 plus games and cruise into October as the American League West champions for a fourth straight season, the people will say that it was stupid to cheat since you didn’t have to because your team was good enough to win already. There is no winning in this situation. However, the backlash and hate will be much more severe if they do not produce. They have to go out and show the world that they are an elite team. They have to do that for their team legacy and their individual legacies. With players like Altuve, who is on a hall of fame pace, he will have to show that he is a good hitter and can produce without the aid of a trash can. Alex Bregman, who has stepped into a spotlight role since 2017 and has branded himself as one of the faces of the game and a perennial MVP candidate, has to have another MVP caliber season to show he is for real. Even players like Yordan Alvarez will have to perform at an elite level or else the questions of whether cheating took place last season will only intensify and increase. The list goes on and on. The first 2 months of this season are crucial for the Astros to get off to a good start, because come the dog days of August, when they are bound to hit a rough patch, the Astros fans hope they have enough of a cushion in the standings to last until they start producing again. While this scandal will not go away for a long time, it sure can help their cases if they can swing the big stick to another AL west title and another lengthy October run.

Speak softly and carry a big stick! This will serve the Astros well as they tread the murky waters of the 2020 season. If you ask the author what he thinks about this team and the situation. He believes they have dug themselves a hole that cannot be climbed out of this season, but they have the talent and the manager to navigate this season. This is still a very good team, one that can still win the World Series. They have an uphill battle ahead of them, but if they stay the course by speaking softly and swinging a big stick, they could end up raising a certain piece of metal known as the Commissioner’s trophy.

Dear BBWAA: Do your Job!

by andrewcline33, posted in MLB

Dear BBWAA,

I would first like to congratulate you on another wonderful year of Hall of Fame voting. This year’s class is another deserving collection of individuals. Both Larry Walker and Derek Jeter were terrific players who played the game at the highest level and with the highest level of sportsmanship. They are prime examples of what it means to be a hall of famers. I know the process can be time consuming and I think the countless amounts of research paid off, as you selected the right people who deserve to be in this class. So for that I congratulate you. To be a member of the BBWAA is a great honor, but to be a hall of fame voter is an even higher honor. And while many of you are doing the right thing by voting for those who are truly deserving, there are some who are omitting certain individuals for various reasons.

In the case of Derek Jeter, you have an individual who was an iconic figure in the game of baseball due to the magnitude of his situation. He was playing shortstop for the New York Yankees during a period in which the Yankees were at the forefront of sports. He was the leader of the pack and was following suit of other Yankees who had been headliners during pivotal Yankee dynasties (Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Jackson, etc.). Jeter was a durable force for the Yankees and had accumulated a number of awards and statistical achievements. He was the 1996 Rookie of the year, a 14 time all star, 5 time gold glove winner, 5 time silver slugger, 5 time World Series champion and he was the MVP of the 2000 World Series. He was also a member of the 3,000 hit club. The numbers and awards are there and that is why he is a hall of famer, but that is not the issue at hand.

In the 84 year history of the Baseball Hall of Fame, there has been one person to be elected to the hall unanimously. That person is not Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Joe Morgan, Nolan Ryan, Ernie Banks, Honus Wagner, Tom Seaver, Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gwynn, Or any of the handful of guys you might expect to be unanimous. Instead the only unanimous member of the Hall of Fame is Mariano Rivera and he was elected in last year. And while I agree that Mariano is deserving to be unanimous, so does Derek Jeter and the fact that 1 of you did not vote for him is terrible.

I know that you have the right to your opinion and you have your reasons and methodology for voting, but in what delusional world is Derek Jeter not a unanimous hall of famer. If you did not vote for him because of the old “well Babe Ruth wasn’t unanimous” argument, then you are outdated. That argument went out the door when Rivera was elected unanimously last year. If you voted by the strategic voting method of supporting other guys because you knew Jeter was going to get in, then you miscalculated the number of hall of famers on the ballot. In recent years the ballot has been flooded with guys who have legit resumes to be in Cooperstown, so not voting on slam dunk guys to help the other guys stay afloat was seen as ok. But this year was not great since Jeter was only compelling first year and other than Larry Walker, your next best candidates were all worthy but come with baggage. If you did not vote for him for any other reason, the public would like to know. We just want to hear your reasoning and logic.

Derek Jeter is in the hall of fame and that was never an issue. It just disturbs many that one of the 327 members of your organization, the BBWAA, did not vote for one of, perhaps the most iconic baseball figure of the last 30 years. And while Mariano is great, I can say that kids growing up were not practicing sawing off Minnesota Twins hitters with a 1-2 cutter in their back yards. Those kids were rolling to the right and making jump throws across the infield like Jeter was. They were not asking for 42 in little league, and if they were it was because of a much more inspiring pioneer in Baseball history. They were running to their coach and asking to wear number 2 and play shortstop. That is the impact he had.

Voting for the Hall of Fame is hard, and I respect many of you for doing it. But if you are going to continue, you need to vote for those who deserve and truly should be in the hall. Take bias out, and pick the guys who should be in. Derek Jeter is a hall of famer, and had a perfect career. He was robbed by 0.3 percent of a perfect ending. I truly hope you do not screw up like this again.

Sincerely,

A Baseball Fan

High Risk, High Reward: The story of the 2019 LSU Tiger Team and Season

by andrewcline33, posted in NCAA Football

In the aftermath of his team’s decisive 42-25 rout over the reigning national champion Clemson Tigers, Ed Orgeron took in the moment. He stood on that stage and watched, as his players raised that beloved trophy and took turns holding and kissing their new prize. Ed turns to one side and sees a sea of orange heading for the exits. The Clemson fans came and supported well, but were now leaving after watching their beloved Tigers lose their first game since the 2017 College Football Semi-Finals, that also happened to take place in New Orleans. The new dynasty in college football had hit a snag and their long streak of 29 straight wins came to an end on a gloomy night in New Orleans. Ed turns to his other side and sees the victors and their fans hugging their loved ones and singing those provocative words to the song “Neck”. For the LSU fans, this was a great deal. Winning their 4th National Title, 3rd in the BCS/College Football Playoff era meant all of their nightmares of their last trip to New Orleans for a national title could now be washed away. Ed looks out and wraps his arms around his team and begins to think what we all were thinking. How did they get here?

It was not long removed from Ed Orgeron being considered a bad hire. When LSU was looking for their next head coach, Ed Orgeron was number 3 on the wish list at best. But when Jimbo said no, and Tom Herman sold his soul for burnt Orange, Ed got the call. Uncertainty surrounded Orgeron thanks to his time at Ole Miss in the early 2000’s. His inability to win when he was a head coach in the SEC deterred many, and even though he had been fired, some people were not sure if Coach O could live up to his predecessors at LSU in Nick Saban and Les Miles. That uncertainty did not go away the next year as they went 9-4 and had to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada. After switching back to Steve Ensminger to call the plays, Orgeron knew he needed a field general. Little did he know that his quarterback would have as much uncertainty as he did.

At around the time Louisiana’s premier college football program was making changes about it’s offensive coordinator, Ohio’s premier program was trying to figure out who would be the heir apparent to J.T. Barrett who was now off to the NFL. Dwayne Haskins and Joe Burrow competed day in and day out in the spring of 2018 to see who would be QB1 for the Buckeyes. At the end of the spring, Haskins had nudged out Burrow for the job, and that Burrow looking for another school to call home. In comes the unproven coach on the Bayou who saw something in Burrow and said that he would be the starter for the Tigers. While Joe Burrow had the mind and the size of a quarterback, like Coach O, uncertainty surrounded him. How would a kid who has hardly received valuable snaps in games be a starter in the SEC? How would a kid from Athens, Ohio handle the culture change of Baton Rouge and South Louisiana? In year one Joe Burrow showed that he could win games and he could lead this team to a New Year’s 6 bowl, but could he really be the guy to lead them to a national title? Coach O needed an ace in the hole. He found it in an unproven assistant from the most prolific passing team in the NFL.

In the summer before this season, Coach O traveled down I-10 to the Big Easy to speak to New Orleans Saints and their offensive staff. Orgeron was looking to pick their minds and take some ideas back to Baton Rouge. What he took was a little bit more valuable, as he hired on Joe Brady, an offensive analyst of the Saints who wasn’t even 30 years old, to oversee the passing game for the Tigers. Like his head coach and quarterback, Brady came in with many question marks and uncertainties as well. First off he was extremely young, and had only been with the New Orleans Saints for a couple of seasons. Second with such little experience in the college game, and coming into a situation with a veteran offensive coordinator, Steve Ensminger, no one was sure how that relationship would work. After beating Georgia Southern in game 1 of season, LSU played Texas in Austin and had their full offense on display. With a 3rd and 17 in the 4th quarter and when former LSU coaches and offenses would have played it safe, Ensminger and Brady dialed up a tremendous play that led to a Burrow to Justin Jefferson touchdown. This was the defining moment for the Tigers and showed that the Ensminger and Brady relationship could and would work.

With Burrow at quarterback and Brady and Ensminger calling the plays, LSU went into 2019 with new expectations. Along with other stars and weapons who had own uncertainties in their time at LSU like Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Size), Justin Jefferson (recruiting stars), Thaddeus Moss (Health), and Derrick Stingley Jr. (True Freshman), This LSU team took off. Embarking on what could go down as the most impressive resume in college football history by beating 7 Top 10 teams at the time of the game. They beat all 4 of the preseason top 4 teams (Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and Oklahoma). That win against Alabama, snapped an 8 game losing streak to their SEC rivals. They had the greatest offense in college football history, as they scored the most points ever in a season. They finished with a 5,000 yard passer, 1,000 yard rusher, and 2 1,000 yard receivers. They took home so many individual honors from the Broyles award, Coach of the Year, Biletnikoff, and Jim Thorpe award. Not to mention that they will have to create a new wing at their football operations building just for Joe Burrow. The senior quarterback took home the Davey O’Brien, Maxwell, Walter Camp, Johnny Unitas awards, and became the 2nd Heisman Trophy winner in school history. All of this was culminated Monday with the team standing center stage in the Superdome raising the National Championship trophy after beating the juggernaut that is Clemson.

So How did they get here? They got there because Coach O took chances. He saw the program in his image when he interviewed for the job. He envisioned building a program that could beat Alabama, and compete not only for an SEC title, but a national one as well. He recognized that he had to the hire the right people and recruit the right kids, no matter the uncertainty behind them. He was going to do this his way and not care about the outside noise. Coach O lived and coached this season by the famous motto “Go big or go home”. In the city where poker was created, Coach O went all in, and his dream came to fruition. Coach O took in that moment, but let’s be real, only two words were in his mind: Geaux Tigers!