True Sports Legacy - Latest Comments

Re: Curtis Granderson: AL MVP?

FelixFan — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 02:46:13 -0000

Defense counts too

Re: Why does the MLS suck?

Joga Bonito — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 18:31:34 -0000

From the outlook of the Brasilian football system, which is by no means
perfect however I think we can all agree is one of the, if not the most,
well-built footballing systems of our time.

From the ownership standpoint it's very much the opposite of North
American and European systems, where not only are cubs owned by private
investors but I'd say the majority of players are as well. No question
to me that this is one of the biggest things holding the MLS back from
growing into a bigger more respected league.

The schedule is an interesting point, because I'm not alone when I say
the football schedule is terrible in Brasil. Football is played from
January-December year-round, with the longest break coming in the summer
months (end of December) for the players. The calendar begins with the
famous "State Championships" (which, on another note, I think could
actually work in the USA), following by the kick-off of the league in
the spring with a plethora of cup competitions following along. Yes, it
is nice that fans have the opportunity to watch their team year-round
but it takes it's toll on the players and the schedule can have a
tendency to throw things off particularly when it comes to the transfer
window. Our window is constantly changing with the most recent one
making ours begin about a month earlier than Europe's and ending earlier
as well. This change was led by the Gaucho southern state footballing
association so that Gremio could transfer in Gilberto Silva from
Panathinaikos earlier than planned. That said Brasil is very much a
unique league of it's own and if the MLS followed the European football
schedule I can only see positives coming.

With international players it's a different pot altogether because in
Brasil maybe 5-10% of players are foreign, most coming from Argentina or
other South American nations (who are usually quite successful with
their respective teams, Dario Conca of Fluminense was the player of the
year last season and earned an enormous contract with a Chinese team
making him one of the highest paid footballers in the world). Looking
at the U.S however it's worth noting that a overhaul of the academy
system would take time so it's important that in this transition period
there is a wealth of international talent playing there. Not only will
it improve the play (no offense to domestic Americans) but perhaps even
inspire more youngsters into the sport and develop some coaches/staff
(say Raul moved to the U.S for a season and then went on to coach
there).

The academy system is crucial to the development of the sport (as
it is with any) and I'm shocked that the U.S. and Canada, being filled
with immigrants from all over the world, have not become a "super-team"
yet. Grassroots soccer is the key to any strong nation, and in Brasil
it's no different. I'm sure everyone has seen and heard stuff about the
Beautiful Game there. Kids grow up eating, breathing and dreaming
about the sport. Now it's obviously not realistic to assume the same
for the U.S, but the way the system is now doesn't provide enough
encouragement nor opportunity for players to advance on to the
professional level. This is where the experience of someone like
Klinssman comes in handy (I'm not too sure about his complete background
in particular, but Germans are prided on their youth development) with
his knowledge and experience from his native country. Providing
incentive for younger players to continue with the sport will have an
immense impact.

TV Rights in Brasil are different from those in Europe; a group known as
the "Clube dos 13," made up by members of the biggest state
associations and clubs negotiate tv and radio rights, and sometimes even
change the league system itself with cooperation from the CBF. However
earlier this year some of the larger clubs (most notably Flamengo and
champions Fluminense) decided to take care of their deals themselves,
with Corinthians leaving the group altogether (their new deal brings in
about 80-100 million a year).

The Brazilian football pyramid is also a rather complex one, the first
three divisions (A, B and C respectively) are followed by each
individual's state league (who decide promotion to the Serie C as well
as organization for the annual state championships [which include the
bigger Brasilian teams]). In a way the structure itself is most similar
to England (Premiership, Championship, Leagues 1 and 2, Conference),
although even the state teams are professional mostly, not amateur.

Another thing I would thought I'd touch on is attendance. The MLS
prides itself on high attendance for a lot of their teams which is
impressive. In Brasil it's mostly the opposite: stadiums rarely
sell-out and the averages are probably the worst for a top league. That
has to do with a lot of things, most notably how there used to be a
much smaller middle class than there is currently, but as I said before
tv rights are huge. That said, there millions of supporters for the
clubs around the country, I'm sure the likes of Flamengo and Corinthians
have among the highest registered supporters in the world.

For me it all has to start with youth development in the US, followed by
re-structuring of the league format itself. I'm a big supporter of my
city's local teams, including a PDL one. It pains me to know that this
is basically their last shot for most of the players, if isn't already
too late.

Re: Jose Reyes on the Road Toward History

Brian Kalinka — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:22:37 -0000

Never saw this piece, lol. Would just like to note that 1 person was left off your list: Ty Cobb. 295 Career Triples, had 24 in a single season twice (1911; 1917). Its actually quite amazing, I saw a comparison on SNY about 2 weeks ago when Reyes reached 15 Triples this year. I can't find the numbers, but the only person to have more stolen bases and triples in their first 1000 career games was Ty Cobb. And that's pretty f-ing amazing.

Re: Bautista injured but should be alright

Paul — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:50:31 -0000

Bautista is a stud. I was amazed to see that he played 3B this game.

Re: MLB Half Season Awards

Paul — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:12:15 -0000

It makes perfect sense. Without him the Cardinals would have been much worst. He is the best hitter on the roster currently.

Re: USA def France 3-1: Advance To World Cup Final

Paul — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:16:37 -0000

Yes!!! So nice to see a USA team doing so well in soccer. Hopefully they can finish it off in the final.

Re: MLB Half Season Awards

Brian Kalinka — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:57:37 -0000

your nl mvp choice makes 0 sense. How can you not pick Jose Reyes? .354 average, .529 slugging despite being a speedy leadoff hitter. over 40 multi-hit games, already has 15 triples and 65 runs.

Re: Seattle Mariners Seeking Offense

Flojo — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 05:36:54 -0000

They could seriously use a decent hitter huh? Those poor starters have to be upset when their awesome performances get wasted.

Re: History for Derek Jeter

Flojo — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 05:31:47 -0000

Never liked Jeter but he seems like a true pro ballplayer. Congrats Derek.

Re: Seattle Mariners Seeking Offense

Jarrett Leger — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 21:00:36 -0000

Nice Artical

Re: Dick Williams 1929-2011

Jarrett Leger — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:49:44 -0000

Great Read, RIP!

Re: NFL Prospect Spotlight : Trent Richardson

Edge8602 — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:09:39 -0000

I don't in any way think anyone is saying that he is going to be the next Great NFL back.

I do believe he is the better running back and will have more success in the NFL than Ingram. He has fewer yards on his leg and more power to run over guys at the next level. He isn't as fast.

If I had to compare him to anyone it would be a slightly faster Shaun Alexander. Has all the tools that made Alexander successful with a bit more speed.

Re: Top 5 American League Rookies

Edge8602 — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:56:45 -0000

Leaving Al Albuquerque off this list completely is a massive fail.

The guy is the most unhittable pitcher in baseball and on pace to break the K/9 record. Massive failure.

Re: Top 5 American League Rookies

Zdvalentine — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 16:41:38 -0000

He appeared in 44 games, so he was definitely on the roster for more than 45 days (which being on the roster for more than 45 days makes you ineligible for rookie status).

Re: Top 5 American League Rookies

Walofton — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 09:12:09 -0000

I don't believe Ogando is a rookie but if he were he'd be in the top three or four for sure.

Re: Top 5 American League Rookies

Zdvalentine — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 01:47:49 -0000

What about Alexi Oganda? He's better than Britton in my eyes.

Re: Top 10 American League Pitchers

Zdvalentine — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 01:45:08 -0000

Verlander is currently running with a BABIP of .214. In his best season
(2009) he had a .319 BABIP. Last year he was at .286. His average
would be about .295. League average is around .300. If anything,
Verlander has been extremely lucky. He's basically having 10% more of
his pitches being hit to his fielders than the league average. I'm not
looking to say that he will absolutely regress, I just believe he's at a
level that he can't maintain which leads me to believe his ERA is
inflated. I'm also looking at his FIP, it being 3.04, and it only
furthers my assessment. 3.04 is very good (last year's average was
4.08), and he should maintain a very successful season. Verlander has
been very good and very lucky.

Weaver is running a .240 BABIP. It's still low, but I believe that he
is much more likely to maintain something closer to that. Weaver is
also at 2.49 FIP. While 3.04 is good, 2.49 is impressive. FIP is much
better for predicting the future, so this leads me to believe that
Weaver is currently on a pace that is much more likely maintainable than
Verlander's current pace.

As for King Felix, he is absolutely in the top 10. Currently Felix has a
FIP of 2.87 and a BABIP of .296. Out of all the top tier pitchers, I
have to believe that Felix is currently running with the most
constant/predictable season.

Now just to make my opinion clear, I think Verlander definitely deserves
a spot in the top 10. I'm not suggesting that he falls off a cliff if
his luck runs out if he ends up around the average with the BABIP. I'm
only suggesting that lady luck may run out and his numbers will look
good, just not as good as they currently do.

If we look at WAR, out of the top 10 in the AL, Verlander and Beckett
are running very low BABIP, with Weaver and Shields running about half
way between the previous two and league average. Haren (.273), CC
(.297), Price (.285), Felix (.296), and Wilson (.295) all are posting
much more league average BABIP.

I'm partial to WAR, as I have found it to represent players very effectively.

I'd honestly have to look at the top ten this way:

1. Jered Weaver (Weaver is currently in a solid 1st place)

2. Dan Haren (He takes 2nd just barely, mostly because of his BABIP and FIP)

3. CC Sabathia (Between CC and Verlander, it's a toss up. CC simply has a BABIP right at league average)

4. Justin Verlander (His BABIP is just so low. I just don't see his luck lasting all season.)

5. David Price (The only difference between Price and the King is BB/9. Price posts a 1.71, Felix 2.94)

6. Felix Hernandez (Felix averages more than 1 walk a game than Price,
but it hasn't proven to make much of a difference overall.)

7. C.J. Wilson (League average BABIP at .295, and a FIP at 3.28. Looks to me like a very maintainable solid season.)

8. Josh Becket (Just like Verlander with a very low BABIP (.217). His
ERA is complete garbage to me. 1.87 represents just how flawed ERA is.)

9. James Shields (He's got a BABIP of .257 and has a decent chance at maintaining it. His 3.23 FIP puts him lower on the list)

10. Justin Masterson (He lacks the K/9, but the rest of his numbers have
been good. He simply depends on the guys behind him more than everyone
above him.)

11. Edwin Jackson (He represent the most unlucky of the bunch with a
BABIP of .352. His 4.47 ERA is another prime example of the very flawed
ERA.)

12. Doug Fister (He's got a K/9 of 5.89 which isn't all that impressive, but he has some very maintainable numbers.)

13. Philip Humber (He's probably my least favorite on the list, as he
has the lowest K/9 of 5.50, a BABIP of .225, and a FIP of 3.37. Nothing
here says top 10 at all)

14. Michael Pineda (If anything, I think his pitch count hurts his
numbers (totally agree with he limit). He's got some luck on his side,
along with his 8.63 K/9 and 3.08 FIP. I'm impressed, but not top 10
mostly because he's out of the game much earlier than guys like Weaver,
Verlander, CC, and Felix.)

15. Alexi Ogando (I'm putting Ogando in the same boat with Humber. Low K rate, low BABIP, and 3.54 BABIP. Not top 10.)

The order is based on WAR, so I would probably argue and agree with many
changes in the order. But strictly speaking top 10, 2 through 6 could
be flipped and flopped depending on how you want to argue it. The same
can be said about 7 through 10. Out of the last 5 guys, I'd probably go
with Jackson and Pineda being the honorable mentions.

Re: The Failure That Is Reggie Bush

ntorvik — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:13:18 -0000

The difference between Bush and those other guys you listed for your "over-hyped athletes" is the fact that Bush has been a HUGE bust. Strasburg was AMAZING before injury and will be back soon, Harper hasn't had a chance to prove it yet but in the minors he's playing out of his mind, nothing needs to be said about Sidney Crosby, Lebron James is Lebron James, and Freddy Adu is one of the best young soccer players the US has seen a while. If you want to compare Bush to someone, compare him to Greg Oden, Ryan Leaf or Bo Jackson. I understand Jackson's career was cut short due to injury (same with Oden), but you get the idea. Biggest busts. The list is never ending.

Re: MLB Realignment | The TSL Way

MHSMovies — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 13:12:39 -0000

In the future the Yankees could be the worst team in baseball. In the future the there could be another team in New York. A team could be contracted. Let's focus on what we know now. KK

Re: MLB Realignment | The TSL Way

Carnyjackal — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 10:22:34 -0000

the argument i find interesting is what people base good and bad teams now when dealing with something that could affect many many years. Example being Tampa Bay, they were crap 8 years ago and now are very good, they could become crap again based on bad draft and contract choices. So base realignment on more important things in the future. KK.

Re: MLB Realignment | The TSL Way

Guest — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 03:33:09 -0000

It's a pretty bold notion to say that so many teams would jump from one league to another.

Re: Bautista has proved us all wrong

BigBob — Fri, 27 May 2011 18:01:47 -0000

The only thing that Bautista has proved to me is that steroids are still alive and well in the Major Leagues.

Re: 2011 NFL Draft: NFC West Grades

Fjdkls — Fri, 20 May 2011 20:31:04 -0000

Whoever wrote this is an idiot

Re: Impact of Sports on Economies of Cities

Joga Bonito — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:10:42 -0000

Good article; an interesting case I'm currently following is in the soccer world. A Middle Eastern consortium purchased the soccer club Manchester City (which has its grounds right in the city of Manchester - I only say this because sometimes other clubs *cough* Manchester United are located further away from the city itself). Over the past year there has been lots of talk with the city (the grounds are rented from the city hall) about improvements and it's highly likely that there will be heavy investment to create an entire Sport City, one of the biggest in the world. Early construction and planning has already begun and you can only imagine how much money that is going to pump into the economy, and what an impressive thing it will be to have a chunk of the city of Manchester in your personal business portfolio.

Re: Davis & Soto to DL; Young’s Season Over

Brian Kalinka — Mon, 16 May 2011 22:41:02 -0000

on the site I'm Giantmetfan.