6 comments Murray Chass Continues the Battle Against Numbers, Says He Can Look In the Mirror To Know How Old He Is

Dylan Murphy of "Pardon the Opinion" and I did another podcast this week. We are going to try and make this a weekly thing if all possible. We did an NFL review of sorts from this past weekend. Unfortunately, the podcast file got corrupted and could not post at all so I can't link what we said since it apparently doesn't exist anymore. It's frustrating, but those are the breaks I guess and there isn't much to be done about it.

I didn't have anything to post for today, so I will call an audible (sports-related term being used on a sports-related site. How clever!). I am going to look at a rarity today, a not-so-bad column by Steve Phillips and then Murray Chass will continue his hatred against numbers.

First, I will get to the Steve Phillips column. I don't agree with everything he writes in this column and some of the ways he justifies his picks aren't the best, but Steve Phillips names his 2010 MLB Awards and gets them fairly correct (in my opinion) based on the low standards I would normally have for a Steve Phillips award column. I'll see what you think.

AL MVP:

This is really a two-player race: Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera.

Cabrera is third in the league in hitting (.328), second in home runs (38) and first in RBI (126). He is a few points behind Hamilton in OPS. The fact that Cabrera has 31 intentional walks (to five for Hamilton) shows how little protection he had in the Tigers lineup.

Winner: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

Not really the best way to defend his choice to go with intentional walks, but I do agree with his conclusion. I think Cabrera should be the guy.

AL Cy Young:

This is probably the most hotly debated award of the season. It challenges the belief that wins are one of the most important stats in defining the quality of a pitcher's performance. Felix Hernandez is leading some important categories, ERA and innings pitched. He is second in strikeouts and WHIP and third in opponents' slugging percentage and batting average. However, King Felix only has a 12-12 record. He would have the fewest wins ever for a Cy Young Award winner.

The good news for Hernandez is that voters are more educated now than in the past.

Murray Chass spits on your idea of voters being educated. He doesn't see how knowledge should have anything to do with who wins the Cy Young award. It's educated in his opinion to ignore alternative ways of evaluating a player at the major league level.

Winner: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

Steve Phillips doesn't even put CC Sabathia in his Top-5, which I am not sure I could agree with. I think that is discounting Sabathia's performance a little bit too much, but I agree with his conclusion. He had David Price second, which I also agree with him upon.

NL MVP:

This is a three-man race: Joey Votto, Albert Pujols and Carlos Gonzalez. Pujols currently leads the NL in home runs, RBI and runs scored. Pretty compelling numbers. Carlos Gonzalez leads the NL in batting average; he is second in RBI and runs scored. Joey Votto is first in OBP, SLG and OPS; he is second in home runs; third in RBI and fourth in runs scored. You can make a case for any of the three but Votto's Cincinnati Reds are headed to the playoffs.

I like the conclusion, but I don't like the reasoning. Using Phillips' own reasoning for why Miguel Cabrera deserves the AL MVP over Josh Hamilton, if the Reds are headed to the playoffs couldn't that mean Pujols had a weaker lineup around him? Pujols had 38 intentional walks, while Votto only had 8 intentional walks. This was the criteria Phillips used to decide Cabrera deserved the AL MVP over Hamilton. It is possible the same reasoning could be used to say Pujols deserves the NL MVP. I still agree with the conclusion, even if I would not use which team made the playoffs as the determining factor.

The Reds' pitching staff is not great (ranked eighth in the NL) so offense is what has gotten them to the playoffs. Votto's performance is the most valuable of the three.

That's really what it is all about in the end. Which player was most valuable to his team. Votto should be the winner probably, though it is close.

NL Cy Young:

So it comes down to Wainwright and Halladay. With his outing Monday night Roy Halladay lowered his ERA from 2.53 to 2.44. Wainwright has 20 wins while Halladay now had 21. Entering Monday the numbers slightly favored Wainwright over Halladay. Halladay pitches in Citizens Bank Park, which is a notorious hitters' stadium. Wainwright pitches in Busch Stadium which plays pretty fairly. Halladay leads in innings pitched and strikeouts.

I am pretty sure Joe Morgan would agree that more wins for Halladay means he deserves to win this award, but he has been pushing Wainwright on us all year long for this award pretty hard. I think Halladay is the obvious choice.

NL Rookie of the Year:

This is another tight race. Jaime Garcia is the lone pitcher in the race but he has a very strong case for the award.

On the hitters' side of things, Jason Heyward, Buster Posey and Gaby Sanchez can all make a case for the award.

The Giants made a bold move trading veteran backstop Bengie Molina to open space for Posey to move behind the plate and get more playing time. He has made the Giants' staff look brilliant as he has shown the ability to hit, hit with some pop, handle a pitching staff and throw out base-stealers. His .317 average is further enhanced by his 16 homers and 64 RBI.

I came in to this column with Heyward as my selection but the more I look at the numbers I believe that someone else has had more of an impact because of the two-way nature of the position.

Winner: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

I agree with this award as well. Even though he was called up late, and contrary to what Joe Morgan thinks about catchers, it is hard to come up as a young catcher and handle a pitching staff. Granted, Posey has a good pitching staff to handle, but he seems to have a done a good at a difficult position. I think the voting should go Posey, Heyward, and Garcia.

Anyway, I actually did not hate Steve Phillips opinion on the 2010 awards, which shocked me. Now onto Murray Chass. He is writing words in his non-blog again and this time he talks about Walk Jocketty's new team, the Reds, making the playoffs. Score one for people who hate statistics.

Walt Jocketty has too much class, is too much of a gentleman to thumb his nose, stick out his tongue and say to the St. Louis Cardinals and their principal owner, Bill DeWitt Jr., “na na na na na.” So I’ll do it for him: Na na na na na.

(Bengoodfella rolls on the floor laughing) Do another one! A good baseball column on a non-blog ALWAYS starts off with a good "na na na na" joke.

Dewitt deserves this rude treatment because three years ago, only a year after his Jocketty-built team won the World Series, he fired Jocketty. Now Jocketty’s new team, Cincinnati, is on the brink of dethroning the Cardinals as National League Central champions.

I am sure someone somewhere thinks this is the very definition of ironic.

I don't know if Walt Jocketty should have been fired from the Cardinals or not, but he was fired because of divisions in the front office, not based on his performance. Also, the Cardinals have had success since he left, so it is not like he was solely responsible for their overall success as a team.

The Cardinals had come off a 78-84 season in 2007 when Jocketty was fired and they made the playoffs last year in 2009. It's not like they gone in the toilet since Jocketty left.

DeWitt did not return a telephone call to discuss his decision to fire Jocketty, who said “not really” when I asked him if he understood why he was fired.

This comment is contrary to most people who get fired and understand completely why they were fired. I would say 99% of the time when a person is fired, even after being told the reason, they still don't completely understand. So Jocketty's lack of understanding for his firing doesn't mean it was the wrong decision at the time. Not only that, but you can't really ever trust either side's reasoning for why a person was fired because generally both sides see the situation completely differently from each other.

I can't believe I am semi-defending the Cardinals owner for firing a good GM, but I sort of am...I guess.

“It was philosophy, the direction they wanted to take the organization, how they put their team together,” Jocketty said. “I didn’t necessarily go along with the thinking. We had a pretty good organization in place. I was given the right to run the organization the way I thought it should be, and I think people would say we had done the right job in scouting and player development and had the right people, quality people, to run it.”

That was Jocketty's reasoning and here is why the Cardinals say he was fired from the team...

Jocketty took umbrage at the 2006 promotion of Jeff Luhnow, who had been head of amateur scouting, to a position that oversees both scouting and player development. The move came at the expense of Bruce Manno, one of Jocketty's closest aides.

"He clearly didn't agree with the decision," DeWitt said. "I think he said that publicly. I think that my view is that one person should run both: procurement, development and international. Three things, but international is really procurement. And he felt it should be split."

Murray is going to chalk this up to a win for the anti-statistics crowd when it was really an issue about how the front office should be split up and Jocketty didn't like his buddy got his position taken away.

There was also another reason the Cardinals left Jocketty go:

Though Jocketty had another year left on his contract, there were several media reports throughout the season that had the GM's name linked to possible job openings in other cities.

DeWitt said he spoke to Jocketty about those reports.

"We would have conversations about it," DeWitt said. "This was as early as mid-season, I guess, and he said he didn't know where the rumors were coming from and I certainly didn't know where they were coming from. We were focusing on the season, but I could sense he wasn't all that happy with the overall situation and some of the direction of the organization."

Naturally because Murray is a professional journalist he leaves this little tidbit of information out of the discussion as well. The Cardinals were all-but-sure that Jocketty would leave them for another team. This may have had something to do with his firing as well. Jocketty doesn't seem like such the noble hero forsaken by those who once loved him if it turns out he was seeking jobs elsewhere does he? It turns out just three months after he was fired Jocketty did get a new job with the Reds. Three months after that, he was the Reds General Manager. Maybe Jocketty wasn't actively seeking new employment, but where there are rumors there is also a grain of truth. Jocketty probably would have gone to another team at some point.

So with there being front office animosity and the feeling their GM was going somewhere else, Jocketty got fired. Maybe not the most popular or smartest move, but possibly also the pulling off of the Band-Aid in a situation where Jocketty would have left very soon regardless.

Jocketty was probably the most notable victim of the modern-day baseball war between evaluation and analysis. It mattered not to DeWitt that Jocketty’s belief in player evaluation had worked extremely well for the Cardinals. The owner was seduced by others in the organization into believing that statistical analysis was the way to go.

(Picturing basement-dwelling statistics lovers luring Bill Dewitt into the basement with promises of more profits and more championships, but at the very expense of his soul)

I don't know the inside situation, but it seems like there was more than just a disagreement over the importance of statistics in this situation. There seems to be other issues that caused the Jocketty-Cardinals divorce that Murray doesn't feel the need to address.

That was the method created by Bill James and was featured in the Michael Lewis book “Moneyball,” which ridiculed one Oakland scout not for his inability to judge players but for the fact that he was fat.

Fat people were mocked? Statistics-lovers have gone over the edge of sanity now!

However, John Schuerholz, architect of the Atlanta Braves’ unparalleled 14-year run in first place, criticized the “Moneyball” concept in his 2006 book, “Built to Win.”

Hmmm...not exactly. I've read the book. He did criticize statistics-based analysis, but in the realm of making it the sole way to evaluate a player, which doesn't happen.

“As portrayed in that book,” Schuerholz wrote, “it is a bogus concept because I know you can’t make baseball judgments entirely on statistical analysis to build a team.”

Notice the key parts of these sentences, "as portrayed in the book" meaning it is portrayed in real life differently, and "you can't make baseball judgments entirely on statistical analysis" with the key word being "entirely."

No one is saying to build an entire team around statistical analysis. I am not sure anyone has ever said that or that was the intent of the book. Schuerholz didn't seem to condemn statistical-based analysis, but just say it is limited in its scope, which is true, just like ignoring statistics completely limits the scope of analyzing a player. As far as Schuerholz goes, he did a great job as the Braves GM...but I'm also not going to go year-by-year with some of the trades made by Schuerholz towards the end of his time as Braves GM, but let's just say at one point Brian Jordan and Raul Mondesi were playing RF and LF respectively (as starters) and it was not 2000, but was 2005.

“He called me the day after I was fired,” Jocketty said in a telephone interview last Friday evening, when the Reds’ division-clinching number was three. “I wasn’t ready to go to work yet. I went there in the middle of January.”

I am sure there is a 100% chance that Jocketty had never talked about working for the Reds before he was fired. I am also lying about this.

Easier said than done, but Jocketty has done it quickly. A critical factor in his effort has been the addition of three men who worked for him in St. Louis – Jerry Walker, Cam Bonifay and Mike Squires. These scouts and scouting executives know how to use calculators and computers, but more important, they use their eyes and can evaluate what they see.

This is the most irritating thing in the world. Those who use statistics-based analysis do this as well! No person is sitting in an office and avoiding sunlight while recommending a team sign a player based completely on the numbers he sees on paper. Nearly every scout or executive worth a shit uses statistical analysis and their own eyes to judge a player. Any suggestion to the opposite is a lie.

Has Jocketty made any changes in his method of operation since becoming the Reds’ general manager? “No, not really,” he said but acknowledged that “you have to use a certain amount of statistics.”

Lately, Murray Chass has been the master of making a point and then disproving his own point in a column on in his non-blog.

While the Washington Nationals kept their pitching prodigy, Stephen Strasburg, in the minors for the first two months of the season because, they said, he had had no professional experience, the Reds put Mike Leake in their starting rotation from the start of the season despite his lack of professional experience.

Where is Mike Leake now? He is not really able to pitch the rest of the season because of arm fatigue. He's essentially in the same position as Stephen Strasburg, except the Nationals will be able to keep Strasburg a year longer than the Reds could keep Leake.

The right-handed rookie responded with an 8-4 record in 22 starts before he was shut down Aug. 24. By then Jocketty had promoted another rookie pitcher, Travis Wood, who has a 5-4 record in 15 starts.

It's really simple to start a rookie all year and then shut him down when you have another quality rookie pitcher in the minors. That's a nice luxury to have. If the Nationals shut down Stephen Strasburg, they would be stuck starting one of the shitty pitchers they currently have in their rotation. They don't have as many options in the minors as the Reds have, so it would not be as easy for them to start Strasburg all year and then replace him with another quality pitcher.

But Jocketty saved his pitching piece de resistance for last, summoning Aroldis Chapman Aug. 31. Earlier in the year Chapman, a Cuban defector, was a highly sought left-handed pitcher, the kind that usually costs a lot of money and the Reds shy away from.

But Jocketty liked what he heard from his scouts and convinced Castellini he was worth the $30.25 million the Reds gave him.

What? You mean Walt Jocketty didn't watch Chapman pitch with his own two eyes and get a feel for how he pitches without looking at statistics? I thought that is exactly what Jocketty stands for in the mind Murray Chass? Scouting without relying on others or statistics, but seeing a pitcher and just knowing he will be a good player.

Jocketty said, “We tried to tell the players in spring training we thought we had a team that had an opportunity to win but it was up to them to carry it through. I told them I thought we had a team that would be in contention and would be for some years to come.”

Jocketty has done a good job in Cincinnati. Granted, he isn't responsible for getting many of the current players on the team, but he is a quality GM. What I am trying to say is that Jocketty's departure from the Cardinals wasn't just about statistics, but was about Jocketty looking for other jobs and not liking how the owner split up duties in the front office. Murray Chass chalks it up incorrectly to a victory of the statistics-lovers of the world.

Bill DeWitt has to wonder if the Cardinals will be there with them.

Obviously the Cardinals will never be a successful MLB team again.

4 comments Ten Things I Think I Think Peter King Has Not Thought Of: NFL Training Camp Edition

I have set up a Yahoo Fantasy Football League and those of you who have already expressed interest can feel free to join. Anyone else who wants to join can feel free to do so as well. I am planning on having a 12 team league and I have set up the league like last year's Yahoo league, but am open to any changes. The ID is 269298 and the password is "eckstein."

Today I am doing "Ten Things I Think I Think Peter King Has Not Thought Of," because I didn't have just one article I wanted to focus on. For those of you who haven't ever seen this gimmick, I basically just have a bunch of articles that I have bookmarked which wouldn't require a full post the size of an encyclopedia, so I put ten of them into one long post that is the length of an encyclopedia and 1000 times less informational. To fully embrace this concept requires a mind willing to skip around from topic to topic, which is how my mind works.

1. We start off today with the king of all ex-GM's, Steve Phillips, who educates us about MLB's post-August 1 waiver process, even though he admittedly doesn't know a damn thing about it.

Waivers. The word itself evokes a rapid heartbeat and beads of sweat on my forehead. As a young executive in baseball I would hear others talk about waivers and I would wonder what the heck they were.

He wasn't a mail room boy or the guy who made copies for the General Manager, he was a young executive with a baseball team. He had to help the Mets make decisions and shit like that.

When I would ask someone to explain them to me, I immediately saw fear in the person's eyes. Then they would say, "Well, they are really complicated. You just have to learn about them as you do them."

"You have to fuck them up a few times and then you will understand how the waiver process works. Oh by the way, if you screw up the waiver system then the team could take on a crap load of extra payroll or you could hand your division rival a good player. Good luck."

This is how the Mets were running the team in the early 1990's apparently.

My response would be, "I am pretty smart. Can you just explain them to me?"

The person would stiffen and then flee, looking over a shoulder saying, "Ask someone in the Commissioner's Office to explain them to you."

It doesn't sound like anyone really wanted to help Steve Phillips learn how to work the waiver system in baseball. Perhaps a person was afraid Phillips would take his/her job.

Once, when I was broadcasting a game on national television, a 12-year-old kid asked a question on the air about waivers and how players get traded this time of year. I bravely started to answer and as I talked over about five pitches I looked at my colleagues in the broadcast booth and they had the most bewildered look on their faces. They had no clue what I was saying, and neither did the 12-year-old kid.

This question was asked of Steve Phillips on a telecast AFTER he had been the General Manager of the Mets from 1997-2003. Not before, but after. I hope to God my favorite team's GM understands how the waiver process in baseball works.

Needless to say, neither did I.

Phillips had been the General Manager of the Mets for six years and he couldn't explain how MLB's waiver process works. Of course at this point he worked for ESPN and was an "expert" on baseball, yet couldn't explain or didn't seem to understand certain parts of baseball.

I know waivers are hard to understand, but Steve Phillips couldn't explain how the waiver process works. It's not bad that he couldn't make others understand the process, but he admittedly had no idea what he was talking about while he was trying to explain it. I find this to be slightly amazing.

Starting on Aug. 1, players cannot be unilaterally traded. They must go through the waiver process. More specifically, they must pass through major league waivers.

I don't know everything about the waiver process after August 1, but I think I could explain it if given the opportunity to the point a person has a general idea of how it works.

The best way to picture the actual waiver process is to imagine all 30 general managers seated around a runway. You know, the kind models walk up and down during fashion shows.

This analogy goes downhill from here.

As the players walk down the proverbial runway, the general managers study them from top to bottom. They discuss what they see with their staffs. They evaluate their stats and their contracts and decide whether they have interest in them.

Players are on waivers for two days, so they just keep walking around the runway for that period of time while being gawked at by front office executives.

An easier way to say this is that the worst teams get the first shot at a player put on waivers. Teams in the AL get a shot at a player on waivers who plays for an AL team, then the NL teams get a shot at that player. If a player is put on waivers he can stay there for two days and only seven players a day per team can be put on waivers. If a player #1 is claimed his original team can make a trade with the team claiming player #1 through trade in exchange for player #2 who also has to clear waivers, the team can let the other team just have player #1, or pull the player back so he stays with his original team.

I know that is a simple way to look at it, but this doesn't seem like an incredibly difficult process to me.

Players claimed by multiple teams when walking the runway must hang around for a couple of days as well. The pecking order for awarding the claim is that the club with the worst record in a player's league gets awarded the claim. If no team in his own league claims a player then the club with the worst record in the other league gets the claim. Once the claimant is determined then one of the three outcomes mentioned above can occur.

I think Steve Phillips has made it more complicated with his example. So whichever team that has the worst record is awarded the claim, with AL teams trying to claim an AL player from an AL team first (and the same goes for the NL) before an NL team gets a shot at claiming the player.

The hope here is that waivers are a bit less intimidating now than they were before you read this. You may now get up and walk about the cabin.

I do find it slightly incredible that Steve Phillips didn't really know how to explain the waiver process in MLB and that as a young executive with the Mets they had him learn how the waiver process worked while he was on the job. I know other teams probably do the same thing, but I don't know if the system is that complicated.

2. Bert Blyleven writes the kind of article I don't like. He writes an article about how Lance Berkman will face a challenge in New York with the Yankees because he is not used to playing there. I know playing in New York is different from playing other places, but Berkman is a veteran and the image of him as a good ol' boy who ain't used to those big lights and funny accented people asking him questions just isn't true.

Lance Berkman is the latest big name to be acquired by the mighty New York Yankees at the trade deadline.This is just business as usual for the Yankees, who even though are they are already a powerhouse, feel the need to make moves to improve themselves at the deadline.

The Yankees are a powerhouse, but they are also locked in a death battle with the Rays (and even somewhat with the Red Sox, though Bill Simmons doesn't acknowledge this) for the lead in AL East. So making any type of move to improve their team is a smart move.

Boston and Tampa Bay are right there trying to compete in the AL East, with the Rays doing a very good job, but it was the Yankees who made some moves to get better.

Hey, the Red Sox traded for Jarrod Saltalamacchia! He may be part of the "boring" Red Sox, but that counts as a move right?

The question is how will Berkman handle the transition to the Bronx? He is a good hitter, but what he will have to go through will not be easy. Berkman was born in Waco, Texas, played collegiately at Rice University in Houston, and played his entire major league career for the Astros.

(Cue country voice) "I forgot Berkman was from here in Texas, that's right. I bet he won't know what all those tall buildings in New York do or how to handle those people with microphones. I'll be darned if he ain't going to struggle with the lingo there in New York. He probably can't even find New York on a map, even if that map is drawn in the dirt, which is how maps are drawn down here in Texas."

"Lord knows Andy Pettitte has done struggled a lot there in New York and he is from Texas too. Nick Swisher, who is from West Virginia (where there is no electricity AND you are forced by law to marry a relative), hasn't done shit since the Yankees got him. It's just a different world there in New York and I ain't sure if ol' Berkman can handle it. He ain't never left the state of Texas either, so he's got a world of changing to do."

He will be out of his element in New York for the next two-plus months, likely living in a hotel and out of a suitcase.

Which as a baseball player for his entire life I am sure he is completely used to. It's not like teams don't take long road trips or Berkman can't afford to sublet a condo in New York for a few months.

He will have to adjust, not only to the intense New York media and fans, but also to a whole new group of teammates.

(Cue country voice) "I hear there are minorities on that there Yankees team. That's the key to their success. They scoop up minorities and force them to play for their team. They done got that Japanese kid and several Mexicans that play for them. I bet none of them speak English either. Lance can't learn no Japanese or Chinese. He's a bit ol' for that. How's he going to speak to his teammates if he can't understand a damn word out of their mouth?"

In addition to dealing with new teammates, Berkman will have to get used to the New York press,

I am sure Berkman isn't used to having the press cover his baseball exploits and God knows the Yankees press will be all over Berkman for any failings since he is essentially a bench player and the DH. Good news A-Rod, Tex, Sabathia, and Jeter, you are off the hook! No one will pay attention to you now that Lance Berkman is on the Yankees team. All the pressure is off you!

which is large and intense.

That's what she said.

But despite these hurdles, I think Berkman is going to be fine playing for an organization like the Yankees.

But you just wrote an entire half-article indicating Berkman wouldn't be fine. Why did you do this? You created a stupid argument and then said you don't believe this stupid argument you created.

The pressure won’t be focused on him and he probably won’t have to play every day.

So everything you just said and worried about isn't true at all. Good to know.

Will he become close friends with anybody? Probably not.

Other than Andy Pettitte, who he played with in Houston. Also, I am sure he knows other players on the Yankees team. It's not like Berkman has played in Honduras over his entire baseball career.

And it’s possible he won’t be entirely comfortable in New York after a lifetime in Texas.

(Cue country voice again) I hope none of them God-hatin' liberals try to get him to go abort babies or something. Stay true to your Texas roots Lance!"

That will definitely excite Berkman. He knows there’s a pot

There's pot?

of gold at the end of this rainbow.

Ohhhhhhhhh...don't get Berkman's hopes up like that.

3. I have something shocking to say. Scoop Jackson actually has a good idea. I know, I didn't want to believe it either. More surprisingly, it is a good idea that involves Tracy McGrady.

Now, after the news broke Tuesday that his chance to play for Chicago might not materialize because the Bulls reportedly are concerned he might not be willing to "embrace a secondary role" on the team, McGrady has a soul-wrenching decision to make: Do I face the reality that I might have to be an exaggerated (but still significant, depending on which team I go to) role/bench player? Or do I want to prove that I'm still a star?

He is not still a star. He is still a productive player, but McGrady isn't still a star.

Under the right circumstances, 10 points in 24 minutes per game can beat 20 in 36 all day at this stage, especially if he's doing it for a team that will play between 86 and 100 games next season as opposed to a team guaranteed only the regular season's 82.

I actually agree with Scoop on this issue. I think T-Mac would be greatly served by taking a role as the 6th or 7th man off the bench on a good team. If the Lakers could make room for him, how would that not improve the team? Wouldn't it be of great benefit to the Magic if they could lure T-Mac into coming off the bench and play with his cousin, Vince Carter? I hope McGrady isn't looking to be a star, because I am afraid that train has left the station. He still has something left, but not as the star of a team.

Wouldn't McGrady look good in Chicago coming off the bench? I admit, part of me wants me to see T-Mac on a team so they can compete better with Miami and make the Eastern Conference more competitive.

Being that player, that complementary player who still has the All-Star skills, should be more important to him after 13 seasons in the league than proving to the world that he was the first Kevin Durant.

Scoop imagines T-Mac on the Lakers roster with Lamar Odom and Matt Barnes also coming off the bench. That's a pretty good team.

As the options dwindle, T-Mac needs to create a new reality -- a reality that doesn't include what we're painfully and unfortunately watching O'Neal and Iverson go through.

Shockingly, I agree with Scoop. It has been painful to see O'Neal and Iverson realize too late they aren't the star players they thought they once were. What's worse is that some of the teams they played for also fell into this trap of believing it. I would love to see T-Mac take a 6th man role on a good team and be like Bill Walton on the 1986 Celtics or Odom on last year's Lakers. A good player playing a role on a great team.

4. The Celtics have appeared to corner the market on washed up veteran big men whose last name is "O'Neal." I don't know how I feel about this. Unlike what I thought they were going to do, the Celtics seem to be intent on making their team older, rather than younger.

Shaquille O'Neal has changed The Big Three of the Boston Celtics into a Very Big Four.

Not at all. There is already a Big Four on the Celtics roster and it in no way includes Shaq. He should play 20 minutes per game, rebound, and just try to stay out of everyone's way when they drive to the basket.

O'Neal signed a two-year contract worth about $3 million on Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said on condition of anonymity because no details were released.

It is not a bad deal, but I don't know how much gas Shaq has left in the tank. When he isn't useful, while on the floor he just takes up space and clogs the lane from other players being able to drive to the basket. He can still rebound, and I know Kendrick Perkins is out for a while, but I don't know if this changes my opinion on how the Eastern Conference will end up shaping out at the end of the year.

I just hope Shaq understands he shouldn't be in the starting lineup when Perkins comes back and ends up being fine with that. I feel like he is just sticking around in the NBA so he can hit the milestone of playing for 20 years and doesn't really care that much anymore.

5. Now let's talk about this Frett Bavre guy (I am using code for his name just for a second) and his real motives for retiring/unretiring. Among other things, including massaging his ego, I think Favre probably also wants more money and the Vikings are willing to play that game reportedly.

After my post on Wednesday, Favre came out and said he had not indicated whether he was retiring or not. He didn't say why anyone would think he wrote a text message saying he was retiring, though I really think that is just part of the ploy to keep his name in the spotlight. He wanted to give the Vikings a quick taste of life without him so they would know how great he is. Now Favre says he will come back if he is healthy. I don't know what this means exactly or when Favre will make a decision on his health. I'm guessing he may want to give himself until the day before the first game of the regular season to make a final decision.

Judd Zulgad off the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the Vikings have already reached out to Favre to offer a $3 million a year raise, if that's what it takes to get him to come back.

I am sure Favre would say this isn't all about money, but the love of the game. He would also be lying...as usual.

And the Vikings are apparently even willing to throw in some incentives on top of that, pushing his 2010 payment above $16 million. Incentives could be based on playing time, statistics, the Vikings' performance as a team or even the date that Favre reports to camp:

I thought this new fake retirement text message was all a ploy. Now Favre has gotten his name back in the news and the Vikings are willing to pay him more money. I make fun of Favre and judge him a lot for waffling on the issue of retirement, but pretending to retire every summer for the past three summers has really worked out well for him financially and competitively.

6. I have asked myself on several occasions why some of these networks (like ESPN) have played along with Favre's retirement game and seem to cater to him so much. It turns out they may have something to gain from treating Favre with kid gloves. (Sorry for the weird copying and pasting, but USA Today makes it tough to mock their articles)

Networks often hesitate to admit interest in on-air
candidates — they don't want to seem like losers if
things don't work out — but there was no point
Tuesday in trying to hide the lust for TV sports'
hottest prospect in years.

If a pregame show like those at FOX, CBS, NBC or ESPN wants to guarantee I won't watch their pregame show, they would have Brett Favre be an analyst. I am Favred-out. I would probably DVR the show he is on and then make fun of things he says. I am not trying to be spiteful, but I have had enough of him while he played in the NFL. I wouldn't mind seeing him disappear quietly and tend to his farm.

"If the opportunity were right, we'd look to add him
to our team," CBS vice president Harold Bryant said.
Eric Weinberger, an NFL Network executive
producer, said Favre has "a unique personality with
a great sense of humor. He's seen it all and could
analyze any situation." ESPN's Mike Soltys said it was
business as usual with the latest supposed
retirement since "we've said for years that when he
retires, we'd like to talk to him." Fox senior vice
president Lou D'Ermilio summed it up: "Any network
that claims to not be interested in Favre is nuts!"

So naturally since these networks would be crazy to not want Favre on their roster of "experts" they aren't going to do or say anything to piss him off. Could Favre even make a prediction on the pregame show?

How would this even work out? Would he choose one team to win a game and then try to change his prediction a few minutes later? Does Favre know other "experts" get to talk as well and the entire limelight wouldn't be directly on him? Instead of criticizing a quarterback for throwing an interception would he just let the guy off the hook because he plays the game like a kid and is just trying to make a play?

Fox could up the ante by
creating a three-man booth with Favre, Aikman and
Joe Buck,

(Bengoodfella commits suicide at the possibility of this happening)

But ESPN could find on-air roles for him day
and night, assign a production truck to his driveway
if he didn't want to go anywhere

Great, the last thing we need is other people giving Favre ideas on how to be more high-maintenance in order to crave and receive special attention. Why doesn't ESPN just move the entire studio down to Mississippi so Brett can be close to Deanna and Breleigh and still analyze NFL games?

NFLN, with the least star power among the NFL
carriers, could let Favre be league commissioner for
a day if necessary.

You can't even joke about things like this tongue-in-cheek with Favre. He will end up wanting this. He will announce his retirement at ESPN just so he can go analyze games for FOX. Then he will retire from FOX and join CBS. Let's please not give him another forum to be in the spotlight.

7. Speaking of quarterbacks who are God-like, how about that Tim Tebow fellow? Woody Paige writes his bi-weekly column on Tebow and again pleads for his crush to be able to start this upcoming year.

At Dove Valley, one of the gaggle of new radio show gabbers, apparently fresh from his turn with a pail and a shovel for Ringling Bros., provided us with this assay:

I hate those radio show idiots who talk about things they don't understand, yell into the phone because they feel like that makes them heard better, and write stupid juvenile sayings on a blackboard that is supposed to be a stand-in for creativity. Wait, that's Woody Paige who does all of that.

"The Broncos will win eight games and won't get to the playoffs. No way Tebow is the starter, but he will be quarterback on third-and-short, fourth-and-1 and close to the end zone."

I think the part about Tebow being the quarterback on some goal line plays has been pretty much known, if not completely stated by Josh McDaniels on several occasions.

Here, here, and here. McDaniels essentially told Peter King he had some goal line packages lined up for Tebow and there has been some other evidence that McDaniels wants to see Tebow used on short-yardage situations. I don't know why Woody has a problem with this statement.

Alas, that contradictory contention is widely shared.

I fail to understand how it is contradictory to say Tebow won't start but will be in on some goal line packages.

If one truly believes that the Broncos won't reach the postseason in 2010, what would be the purpose of starting a lame-duck quarterback?

I like how Woody mocks this radio caller, then accepts his conclusion the Broncos won't reach the playoffs as fact. That's nice.

This caller isn't the person who decides whether the Broncos make the playoffs, he is just saying the Broncos won't make the playoffs. The point of starting a lame-duck quarterback is to make an effort to reach the playoffs.

And if one genuinely believes Tim Tebow shouldn't be a full-time quarterback, why would he be placed in that position in the most critical offensive situations — third and fourth downs and inside the 10-yard line?

This is what kills me about Tim Tebow-lovers like Woody Paige. They take everything as a direct knock against Tim Tebow. It's like if a person doesn't think Tebow is ready to play quarterback this year, then that person thinks Tebow will never be a good quarterback in the NFL. This caller didn't appear to say Tebow shouldn't be a full-time quarterback EVER, just not this year.

Tebow should be in critical offensive situations because he is a big guy and he has a good chance of making it in the end zone. There's a BIG difference in a quarterback being able to play quarterback full-time and get a first down on short-yardage plays. A big difference.

The assertions are absolutely irrational.

As are yours.

If the Broncos are going nowhere this season with Kyle Orton, why doesn't Tim Tebow start at quarterback?

Because the Broncos MAY go somewhere. There's no point in starting a quarterback that just isn't ready to be starting.

If the Broncos trust Tebow more than Orton on third-and-2 and fourth-and-goal, why wouldn't Tebow also be in the game on first-and-10 and second-and-5?

It's not that they trust Tebow more than Orton on those plays, but this the same reason some teams don't put their best running back in the game on short-and-goal plays. Some players can get short-yardage better than others. I find it amazing Woody can't see the difference in trusting a quarterback to get a first down on third-and-2 and trusting a quarterback to play well in longer yardage situations. There's a difference in what is required of the quarterback depending on the yardage. Tebow is more athletic than Orton, so he is the guy to get shorter-yardage gains.

You can't pay attention to football and not understand the difference in short-yardage and long-yardage situations for a quarterback.

Then Woody starts using small sample sizes from the quarterbacks who started in 2008 as a rookie to prove his point and hits us with this doozy:

Out of the 2000s, Cutler has been considered a first-round failure so far, as have Russell (cut), Grossman (despite starting in the Super Bowl), Joey Harrington, David Carr, Patrick Ramsey, Kyle Boller, J.P. Losman, Matt Leinart, Alex Smith (although the last two are expected to start this year) and Quinn.

Jay Cutler is considered a first-round failure? Are we sure about this? This isn't any bitter Denver sportswriting that is shading this opinion of Cutler? I could call Jay Cutler a lot of things, but I don't think he is a first-round failure at all. It's ridiculous to put him in the same class as JaMarcus Russell, Rex Grossman or Joey Harrington.

What now with the Broncos? Which quarterback gives the Broncos their best chance at the playoffs? Orton? Tebow? Both playing in games? Neither? Quinn? None?

How about Tebow gets in on certain plays until he is ready to play quarterback full-time? Or is this answer too easy?

Despite what experts claim, that decision has not been made before the official grand opening of camp today.

So Tim Tebow still has a shot, but if the Broncos aren't going to start him Woody thinks it is pointless to put him on goal line plays. I think his love for Tebow has fogged Woody's mind.

8. Tim Tebow actually held out of training camp for a day or so until his contract was done. Apparently (and rightly so) he wanted more money than the guy taken before him. I am sure he will take the difference in and he and Dez Bryant's paycheck and donate it to a charity though. Who would have thought Tebow could be so vain as to care about money?

Fortunately, a deal got done and Tebow rightly got more money than Dez Bryant (because he is a quarterback and they generally get more money than the person drafted directly before them). The shock at Tebow actually wanting to be paid to play football aside, I noticed a couple parts of this article that contradict what Woody Paige just said (and had his heart set on) about Tebow's chance of starting.

By going to Denver, he goes to a place where he won't be expected to start immediately.

BUT HE HAS BIG HANDS THAT WON'T FUMBLE THE FOOTBALL! LOOK AT HOW BIG HIS ARMS ARE! HIS SMILES LIGHTS UP A ROOM!

Instead, Tebow's role could be as a complimentary player, perhaps as a change-of-pace player who can offer some athleticism and smarts while he continues to refine his throwing fundamentals. He will see the field, but it seems highly unlikely that Tebow would play more than a handful of snaps in a game.

Start him or sit him says Woody Paige! There shall be no in-between!

Head coach Josh McDaniels has said the three will compete, but the smart money is on either Orton or Quinn starting the opener Sept. 12 against Jacksonville.

Woody Paige breaks down weeping and then goes slowly walking back to his room mumbling, "But there is an open competition for the starting job," over and over.

9. In regard to this Albert Haynesworth conditioning test story, I am a little bit torn.

On one hand, I understand that Haynesworth is a defensive lineman and he really isn't supposed to do run fast. So a conditioning test that makes him run fast and move quickly isn't really a test of how well he will do his job at defensive tackle. Haynesworth doesn't have to do much running on each play and mostly takes up space and runs a few yards to try and get the ball-carrier or the quarterback. Mike Shanahan runs the risk of looking petty if he forces Haynesworth to complete the test and won't let him practice until he does. It is a part of the program that Shanahan makes players pass, but at a certain point it becomes more of an issue of Shanahan just being difficult and needing to realize Haynesworth can't pass the test and it really may not matter in the long run in regard to the success of the team. How good of shape is a defensive tackle ever in?

On the other hand, Haynesworth has to complete the test because he skipped the team's offseason conditioning program. I don't believe this conditioning program was mandatory so it may not be right to sort of punish Haynesworth for not participating, but that's for the union to worry about. If Haynesworth didn't want to perform the drill, he should have been at the program with the rest of his teammates. So he sort of brought this problem on himself. Haynesworth has a history of being difficult and he has balked at being the nose tackle in the 3-4 defense, so I have a feeling this stand-off is about more than just this test. Haynesworth has been difficult this summer and Shanahan probably wants to use this test to see how committed Haynesworth really is. It's not good to have a player in the locker room who is rocking the boat, but it is especially not good when that player is the highest paid player on the team.

I don't really know if I have a strong opinion one way or another on this issue, but I think this conditioning test is about more than how quickly Haynesworth can run the required distance.

10. Damn you Peter King. Someone came in my office today and asked me if I wanted to go in with him to purchase some good coffee because the stuff at work tastes like ass. I asked him what coffee he liked best and he told me I had not heard of it. I told him to try me and he told me it is coffee from a West Coast place called "Peet's." Sadly, I had heart of this place because Peter King wrote this a year ago:

d. Coffeenerdness: I've often sung the praises of Peet's Coffee. But the thing I've realized landing in San Francisco Friday and walking into the terminal was that part of the greatness of Peet's is the aroma of the espresso. It's like smelling the grass in baseball or the leather smell of the ball at the first football practice of the year. The aroma is part of the reason you love it.

Damn you Peter King. You and your MMQB are drawing me into knowing obscure and pretty much irrelevant (to my life) coffee shops and flavors. Your fascination with coffee, combined with my fascination of your MMQB has allowed my mind to gain information I do not care to receive. On to Mike Celizic...

Mike Celizic thinks that Brett Favre has the right idea in missing training camp because it thinks it is pointless. Personally, I think he just doesn't understand what is going on.

From the standpoint of the team and players, NFL training camp is as important as all other training camps in all other sports.

Really, training camp is important. It is where the coaches make sure the players are ready to play for the upcoming season and see which players will line up where on the depth chart. God knows preseason games aren't incredibly useful for this. Coaches can install parts of the offense at training camp and see how the team is making progress. It doesn't seem to be important, but it is.

I first went to a training camp when I was about 21 or 22.

We stood behind a rope or fence and the players ran on the field right past us. Then they got on the field and exercised. Then they did stuff. Some hit blocking sleds. Some practiced hiking and handing off. Some practiced throwing and catching.

Why would a team want to practice the parts of football that helps a team win during the regular season? A lot more was probably happening than just guys throwing the ball and catching it, but Mike Celizic couldn't grasp what they were doing, so obviously he thought what they were doing was stupid.

Favre knows. He doesn’t have any plays to learn, and he can make the plays, just as he did last season.

He knew the plays already, had been guaranteed a starting spot and he has been in the league for nearly two decades. Most players don't have these benefits when they go into training camp.

There's rarely anything to learn. You already know who the quarterback is going to be — and if you don’t, I feel sorry for your team.

Not knowing who the quarterback will be doesn't mean the team will stink. It just means the job is still up in the air and what happens at training camp will decide who gets the gig.

You know the running backs. You may not know the offensive line, but nothing you see in practice is going to help you on that count. If you’re a coach, you may find it useful.

So if the coaches find training camp useful, then that means it is probably useful. Decision made, let's move on.

But otherwise, there’s nothing there that’s going to help me understand what’s going to happen in the coming season.

Why is it that old sportswriters think if they don't understand something then that means what they don't understand is stupid or pointless? They feel like they are so important if they don't understand something then it isn't relevant.

It doesn’t matter. There are endless supply of analysts and inflicting daily NFL pre-camp reports on us. I was watching SportsCenter today when I heard a discussion of the AFC and NFC South divisions. It went on for at least five minutes and here’s what I learned:

Obviously ESPN analysts are idiots. They aren't there to give opinions or really be experts, but to entertain. ESPN is an entertainment network, not a sports network.

“It always comes back to Peyton Manning, especially in the AFC South.”

Somewhere, NFL fans were listening to that and nodding their heads in agreement, because that’s some serious insight.

Actually, some people are smart enough to understand this isn't insight.

Just don’t ask me to join in. There’s a baseball season that’s starting to get interesting. I’ll be watching it.

You realize you can watch both, right? Training camp may seem pointless to a person who doesn't understand what goes on at training camp, but if the coaches find it important then that should tell Mike Celizic something.

2 comments Steve Phillips Attempts To Garner Sympathy For Nearly Every Major League Baseball Player

I am not sure what is my favorite part about a Steve Phillips column. I don't know if it is what he actually writes in the column that I get to make fun or it is the fact no one comments on what he writes, and if they do comment it is usually very negative towards Phillips. It's a tough decision to decide my favorite part. Today, Steve Phillips tells us all how trades have a far-reaching impact on a team and how, get this, a team can do whatever they want with a player! That never happens in any other employee-employer relationship in any other profession. Wait, yes it does. Oh, and Phillips also uses his GM knowledge (or lack thereof) to tell us secrets about the MLB trade deadline.

With the trade deadline approaching, there are rumors flying everywhere about this player and that player. It is hard to know what is true and what is not.

Anything that ESPN reports is generally not true until it has been announced publicly or confirmed by another sports network. Even though ESPN isn't wrong too much more often compared to other sports outlets, I just like to go by this general rule.

Rumors and speculation put players on a roller-coaster as well. They wonder how it will affect their role, playing time, future contract negotiations, trade status, etc. They wonder if this will be the year that they will win it all. It is enough to cloud even the most disciplined player's mind.

Here's the part where I start comparing baseball players to real average employees and don't give them any sympathy.

I know it is a bit discomforting to know that you as a baseball player may have to join a new team or live in a new town, but at least when you move places of employment in baseball you know you still have a job (unless you are the player being replaced of course). That's more than a lot of people can say. Some people just lose their job when their company sucks and isn't successful in the marketplace, as opposed to getting traded to another company.

Rather than wondering where your next job will be physically located, imagine if baseball players who are good enough to be traded had to constantly worry if they would have a job at all? That would suck. I hate that baseball players have to have their incredibly important job clouded by any uncertainty about the future. What a shame! Americans (and others throughout the world) who have lost their job over the last two years feel terrible about this.

So that's a little perspective for when Steve Phillips starts getting all warm and fuzzy for how baseball players whose names pop up in trade rumors have their entire lives moved around. The average employee in the United States has job responsibility added/taken away, their office moved around, are denied pay raises despite showing they merit one and have no light at the end of the tunnel in three years when they can't be a free agent like baseball players can. In general 70% of workers can't choose which company they work for because many average workers don't have a specialized enough skill set to warrant this type of attention from companies

For me personally, I never fucking know when my mom will make her way up to the attic and force me to go outside in the sunlight. This definitely clouds my mind.

One of the biggest triggers for ballplayers is reading and hearing about their names being involved in trades. Players are creatures of habit. They need a certain routine and plan for each day. The specter of a trade sends all that into tumult.

"I may get traded to Seattle today. Should I brush my teeth or take a shower in the morning or afternoon? Where is my dog at? Should I feed him today if I hear I may be traded to the Marlins?"

What will happen to their families? How will their wives handle the trade and the move with the kids to a new town?

"I hope I don't get traded to the Dodgers. I have two women in LA that I usually trade-off seeing while I am out there. If my wife ends up out there, that's just too many women. What will happen if I run into one of my on-the-side ladies at the coffee shop with my wife? Do I hug her? Do I ignore her? Will my wife accept my reason for knowing her? Where the hell is the dog at? If he poops in the living room should I clean it up if I am getting traded to the Cardinals today?"

Will they know anyone on the new team? Will they get traded while on the road or at home?

"If I go to a new team, will they let me pee in the shower? My previous team had no problem with this, but will the new team like it? Does anyone on the Rangers speak English? I know Josh Hamilton liked to party, but he quit doing that. Now that Justin Smoak got traded are there any other English-speaking guys my age on the team? Shit, I have an on-the-side lady in Texas too. What if my wife runs into her? I can't make an excuse for why I know a woman who barely speaks English and works as a hotel maid. That's just obvious I am fucking her. Where the hell is the dog at? He was right here earlier licking himself! Should I get him a new bowl of water for the day if I am getting traded to Texas?"

When I was a general manager and players approached me about trade rumors involving them I almost always handled them the same way.

"Yes, I am trading you for an old-washed up veteran. Trust me, you will be better off on your new team."

I would not tell the player that the rumors were true or not. On the other hand, I never felt I could tell one of my guys when the rumors weren't true either. If I had told them when they weren't true but didn't tell them when the rumors were true then they would be able to figure out what might happen.

I bet he realized this when a player told him he did this as a General Manager. He probably only told them when the rumors weren't true and then a player informed him this didn't make sense to do. You can't get anything past Steve Phillips. You may think you can, but you can't. Fool him once and it was his fault for trading for Mo Vaughn, fool him twice and you end up with Roy Oswalt on your team in exchange for Stephen Strasburg and a couple other prospects.

Trade rumors have an impact on the team just as they do individuals. Even when players aren't mentioned in the rumors they have a reaction to it. In some cases they worry for their friends. In other cases they get excited about the possibility of bringing in an impact player that can help the team win. Still others worry about whether they might be next.

Well gosh Steve, I hate that all these well-paid athletes have these concerns that they may have to switch teams and be apart from their friends. If only they worked in the real world where they could make less money and probably have a job that slowly eats at their soul and will to exist. That's what they get for choosing baseball over getting a job in the real world, the pain of knowing they will be well-paid on a team without their friends.

Take for example the Cliff Lee trade which took place between Seattle and Texas. This deal alone impacted players in both cities but also impacted players on both New York teams and Minnesota.

Now Steve Phillips goes down a list of player whose feelings may have been hurt by the possible trade of Lee to the Yankees and Twins. Let's join him in this pity-fest.

Certainly the Mariners' players had an emotional reaction in that they realized their season was effectively over when the Lee negotiations started.

As if the 35-52 record on July 10th wasn't a strong indication of the fact the season was over prior to the trade negotiations starting.

Casey Kotchman, who had been getting most of the at bats at first base, must feel anger and frustration as his playing time is now gone due to the acquisition of Justin Smoak.

So we aren't supposed to think this is justified though? He can be angry all he wants, but the Mariners traded for a young and better first baseman than Casey Kotchman currently is. I can't feel bad for a first baseman that gets replaced because he isn't a good hitter. The Mariners need hitters badly.

If anyone has seen Kotchman play, how old do you think he is? I would have guessed 30 years old, but he is 27 years old and Smoak is outplaying him this year as a 23 year old. Kotchman has no reason to be angry with anyone but himself for Smoak getting traded to the Mariners.

Felix Hernandez must feel fear and uncertainty because if one ace was traded he might be next.

This is stupid. Felix knows he isn't going anywhere. Lee was in the last year of his contract while Felix Hernandez is younger and under contract for next year.

Russell Branyan, who was just acquired from Cleveland, must have wondered whether he would be turned around in another deal somewhere since the selling had begun.

I am sure Branyan was really concerned he may get traded to a team that is a contender. Imagine the horror of not playing on a sub-.500 team.

Ichiro has to feel frustrated because he must see his remaining productive years wasting away on a non-competitive team.

The clean-up hitter for the Mariners this year was Milton Bradley. I think Ichiro had an idea this wasn't a very good team at the beginning of the year...or perhaps he should have. Unless he was ignoring the talent on the field and was buying into the new defensive philosophy that completely ignored offense.

Catchers Rob Johnson and Josh Bard must have felt some concern since the lead prospects in the highly publicized rumors with the Yankees and Twins were catchers.

They can be concerned, but is it really shocking? Bard has played in 17 games this year and Robinson has an OPS+ of 67. I feel for these players, but at a certain point a player has to know he isn't getting the job done.

Medical issues disrupted the Yankees acquiring Lee. One of the young prospects to be included in the deal hurt his ankle. Talk about impact: that young man will forever be known as the guy who kept the Yankees from getting Cliff Lee. I am withholding his name here for his own protection.

Steve Phillips doesn't know this prospect's name. He can't fool me. Also, this prospect didn't prevent the Yankees from getting Cliff Lee. The Yankees didn't help themselves out by having no other prospects to include in the trade and the Mariners weren't able to help the trade go through because there weren't any prospects they wanted in place of this injured prospect. There is enough blame to go around.

There were two other Yankee prospects mentioned in the rumors as well. They both now understand that the Yankees like them just enough to include them in a deal.

Is there really a Yankees top prospect that doesn't think he will be used as bait to get a proven player in a trade? I would think it would be understood by a Yankees' top prospect there is a good chance his name will appear in trade rumors. I know what Phillips is trying to say, and I also know he is doing it poorly. Trades and other things you can't control are a part of baseball. A young player who rides a bus and stays in shitty hotels on the road while in the minor leagues knows this. I think Phillips is being overly worried about many of these player's feelings.

The Yankees' plan was to acquire Lee and then trade Javier Vazquez to the Phillies for Jayson Werth. How do you think Vazquez feels now? He must be looking over his shoulder.

I am sure Vazquez was REALLY worried he may have to go back to the National League where he absolutely dominated last year as opposed to staying in New York where he is one bad start away from having heavy objects thrown at him as he leaves the field.

In New York, talk radio was abuzz that the Mets had to do anything to get Lee.

Lefty Jon Niese had to be worried when his name was mentioned as someone who would have to be in the deal if it were to happen.

At this point, Phillips is naming teams and players in an effort to call space. I think we get the point, but Phillips is determined to list EVERY player that could be affected by a trade.

Rookie first baseman Ike Davis had to be concerned when his name popped up as a wanted man by the Mariners. Heck, he just got to the big leagues and was expected to be the first baseman of the future in New York. He had to wonder if everything he had heard from the Mets' organization was true or not. Would they possibly trade him?

I am not sure if Ike Davis, who is from Minnesota, really cares if he is the first baseman of the future in New York or Seattle. It is not like he is from New York or anything. Maybe he does care where he plays, but I am not sure the Mets would ever seriously consider trading him since he has played well in his rookie year.

Johan Santana must have had an angry reaction to the fact that everyone said the Mets needed a real No. 1 starter because he was declining in ability.

That's not how it is at all. Santana would probably be happy the Mets have another great pitcher on the roster since it would increase their chances of making the playoffs. I really doubt a pitcher like Santana wouldn't appreciate it if the Mets sign another great pitcher. If the Mets got Cliff Lee it would help their playoff chances out considerably.

Young Josh Thole had to be fearful once he heard that the Mets wouldn't include Davis in the deal but would include him. Plus rumor had it the Mariners wanted a catcher in return. He was a goner.

He wouldn't be a goner out of the major leagues, but a goner to Seattle (insert joke here). Thole has 21 at-bats this year, Steve Phillips is trying to tell me that Thole would not want a chance to play catcher everyday with an MLB team? I don't believe that.

When the Mets didn't get Lee most callers on talk radio started writing off the Mets. How do you think that made the players feel?

Holy Christ, are you kidding me? Is Steve Phillips really concerned about how the Mets players feel about talk radio talking negatively about them? The Mets players should be used to this criticism by now, and even if they weren't this is an incredibly stupid attempt to make a point. Talk radio should have no effect on the feelings of the Mets players.

Nick Blackburn had to really worry when he heard the Twins were interested in Lee as he has been the Twins' most ineffective starting pitcher and would likely loose his spot in the rotation if a deal were consummated.

This may be an actual good point. Still, it is a little bit selfish on the part of Blackburn to worry that the Twins may get Cliff Lee and he won't get a chance to pitch poorly anymore. I know Steve Phillips is being all sentimental in this article, but are we supposed to feel bad for Blackburn that his bad pitching won't be in the starting rotation if the Twins had gotten Lee?

Also, I am not shocked that Phillips can't spell the word "lose," though I am disappointed his editor can't catch the misspelling.

When the Twins saw Lee go to the Rangers it had to be very disappointing. Same old Twins, not making a deal to rent a player even though he could be the difference for this year. Francisco Liriano and Lee would have been tough to beat.

Carl Pavano, who is pitching better than Liriano this year, would also have been tough to beat in the Twins rotation. Not that I would expect Steve Phillips to have known Pavano is pitching well this year.

Mourneau must feel very disappointed as he knows that his days as a Twin are numbered. They can't afford him and Mauer. He doesn't know if he will go to a highly competitive team when he is a free agent. This is his window to win.

Justin Mourneau is 29 years old. When he is a free agent he will have the choice to go to any team he wants, including a team that is a perennial contender. He is still very much in his prime. His window to win is still wide open.

Here are a couple other thoughts I have about the trade deadline:

Always trade for a veteran player who hits a baseball well off a tee after coming off major surgery?

Chemistry is not a reason to stand pat.

Though I am usually adverse to taking into account many things like "chemistry" over acquiring new baseball players, I also believe a happy clubhouse should stay as it is as much as possible, while bringing in a batter or pitcher that is questionable in the clubhouse may not always be a good idea.

Teams that are in a pennant race must make a deal at the deadline or during the waiver period. Teams either get better or get worse, they don't stay the same. When the opposition makes a deal and improves, the players on your team feel like they have gotten worse. Forget chemistry.

I think it is interesting a guy like Steve Phillips, who is judged fairly or unfairly as a guy who put a team of aging players together through trade or free agency, would think that team chemistry isn't that important. It is interesting because the viewpoint he espouses above fits with what he did as the General Manager of the Mets (or what he is perceived to have done), but also he doesn't seem to have learned much from his time with the Mets. I find it interesting he seems to not have changed his philosophy that much.

Phillips is thought to be a GM who threw players together in the hopes they were good enough together to be a good team. I am not sure whether this was a completely fair perception or not. This type of managing a team generally doesn't worry as much about team chemistry and relies on talent to help a team win. I am not overrating team chemistry, but I would think after his failure as the Mets GM he would feel team chemistry and building a team through the farm system with players who have played together would take precedence over making your team better by bringing in guys who may not fit chemistry-wise on the team.

There are far more discussions than there are trades. So if you hear a deal that doesn't make sense, don't overreact. It probably won't happen for exactly the reason you are reacting.

I would hope there are more discussions than trades. It is hard to have more trades than discussions unless teams are just randomly trading players to other teams and the other team is just accepting the players without discussing whether they want the players or not.

I can't imagine the Mariners would be too happy if the Yankees just started trading them players for Cliff Lee without actually discussing what players they want. There is really no other way for there to be anything other than more discussions than there are trades. It's hard to make a trade without a discussion first.

If a deal doesn't look right or feel right there is probably something you don't know about the players involved. General managers rarely explain all of the reasons why certain players are included in deals.

Right. Always assume your GM knows what he is doing. Great advice coming from an ex-GM who got fired.

Finally, sometimes clubs have to take chances to try and win. You just don't know how many opportunities you will get to be a playoff contender. When you get the chance you have to go for it.

Make panic trades!

Why hasn't a team offered their General Manager job to Steve Phillips yet? He doesn't care about team chemistry, he thinks a GM should think his window of opportunity to make the playoffs is one year wide, he feels bad for pitchers who have an ERA above 6.00 (Nick Blackburn) if they get replaced in a trade for a better pitcher, he would trade Stephen Strasburg plus other prospects for Roy Oswalt, and he knows there are more discussions of possible trades than actual trades. This man needs another shot to run a team. Just for hilarity sake.

Finally, sometimes clubs have to take chances to try and win. You just don't know how many opportunities you will get to be a playoff contender. When you get the chance you have to go for it.

Don't blame your GM for his bad trades and ignore the fact he may be incompetent or has decided to trade away your best player for prospects that may pan out. Just be glad he is willing to trade players. Also, be sure to feel bad for all the players on your team who suck and pity them because the team would improve by that person not being in the everyday lineup.

6 comments Steve Phillips Wants Us To Know It Isn't Easy Being a GM

Steve Phillips wants us to know that being the general manager of a Major League Baseball team isn't as easy as it looks. It requires reading skills, the ability to use a telephone, and sometimes you even have to talk to doctors...all while having to attend a minimum of 81 baseball games. Club Med this gig ain't. So he wants fans to remember this as they begin to criticize general managers for not running an MLB club in a way that leads to success. I am not sure this line of reasoning works very well when a general manager has to explain to the team's owner why the team isn't performing well. The whole "it's really hard to do" excuse seems kind of like a loser's line of reasoning for failure as a general manager.

I am just saying this straight up, if you think the job of a general manager is hard maybe you shouldn't be in that position. Fans of teams are crazy, there is no doubt about that. Fans like to criticize and second-guess every move made, but that's part of the position and why general managers get paid a good amount of money. The fact the job is hard does not excuse shitty GMing.

As a former general manager, I often get approached by fans who vent about their teams and general managers. They don't like the players the GM acquired or they are frustrated by the inactivity of the man in charge.
Mostly, these fans are probably Mets fans approaching Steve Phillips wondering why he made some of the moves he did as a GM.

I have heard comments like, "I mean come on, how hard can it be? I won my fantasy league last year and I did it by making a few great trades."

These people are clearly idiots. Life is not a fantasy draft. Fantasy baseball and real baseball are different. These people should be dismissed as idiots and an article about how hard it is to be an MLB GM is not required to respond to this stupid analogy between real life baseball and fantasy baseball.

I am a guest on many radio shows where the hosts are often critical of the moves made by general managers as well. They can't understand why the GM didn't realize that he needed more pitching.

What I have come to understand is that everybody believes they can be a general manager.

Once the Mets hired Steve Phillips as their general manager I think that sort of opened the floodgates for many people to believe anyone could be a general manager. So it is ironic (maybe, I don't want FJMariotti to yell at me if I am wrong) that Steve Phillips complains about this.

That makes me realize that NOBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT THE GENERAL MANAGER'S JOB REALLY ENTAILS!

OMG! BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF A GENERAL MANAGER'S JOB THERE IS NO WAY I SHOULD BE ABLE TO CRITICIZE IT!

Why do we even run approval polls to gauge how the President of the United States is doing in office? WE DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT HIS JOB ENTAILS! SO WHO ARE WE TO JUDGE HIM?

Most fans (I am including talk show hosts as fans) believe that the general manager's job is all about putting together the major league team. Certainly that is a major part of the job, but it is far from the entirety of it.

Sometimes you have to bang interns too. That takes up some time, especially if they are really clingy and annoying.

There are many more responsibilities that a general manager has beyond just building the 25-man roster in the big leagues. Let's take a look at some of those duties and then we will look at the major league roster construction.

Steve Phillips' duties as Mets GM in 1999...

8:00am- Walk in the office.
8:01am- Get coffee.
8:04am- Check threatening messages from interns he is having an affair with.
8:05am- Pee.
9:15am- Ponder sending Jose Reyes for Juan Cruz Jr. trade out.
9:16am- Ponder releasing this Mike Piazza guy.
9:34am- Call scouts to see if it would be worth trading for Robin Yount.
9:35am- Find out Robin Yount has retired.
10:48am- Pee.
10:49am- Take a nap.
12:20pm- Get woken up from nap by a call from the owner threatening to fire him if he tries to trade any more quality minor league players.
12:21pm- Pee.
12:22pm- Work on completing nap.
2:43pm- Calls down to clubhouse to see if that incompetent Bobby Valentine is still managing the team.
2:44pm- Leave angry voicemail for Valentine when he won't pick up the phone.
4:32pm- Watches a Little League game before eating dinner.
4:33pm- Signs 5 year old Little Leaguer who hit the ball well off a tee.
6:30pm- Mentally prepares for watching a baseball game. Does so by listing players from 1991 All-Star game he would like to trade for.
7:35pm- Once game begins starts fielding phone calls from his various mistresses. Doesn't watch game at all.
7:40pm- Pee.
9:30pm- Fires Bobby Valentine.
9:31pm- Rehires Bobby Valentine at the insistence of Mets ownership.
11:12pm- Goes to bed.

The general manager does a lot of reading.

Oh shit, you gotta be literate for this job. I didn't think a general manager had to read or anything like that. I have new respect for the position because I HATE reading.

He pays particular attention to the comments written by the respective minor league managers/coaches. Results are important but improvement isn't exclusively evaluated by results. In the minor leagues, the process is often as important as the results. What this means is that the GM needs to understand the development plan for each of his minor leaguers and monitor that plan.

I like how Steve Phillips is pretending he gives a shit about minor league players. Nothing in Phillips' history as the GM of the Mets shows he cared about prospects. In fact, he still doesn't care for prospects. The only plan he has for a prospect is when to trade his ass away. Strasburg for Oswalt anyone? How does that look after one start by Strasburg in the majors?

The GM is also keeping tabs on the amateur scouting department and their preparations for the Rule 4 draft in June. Who are the players being considered for the first-round selection?

I know GMs do this, but they don't check on the players being considered in the first-round every single day. There are also assistant GMs that help with this and easy-to-read reports given to the general manager of a team where this information is broken down. It's not like Steve Phillips had to go over every single at-bat for every minor league player when he was the GM of the Mets. He had reports given to him by other members of the organization that made it easy for him to follow what was going on.

What do the scouting reports say about the players who could be available when they select? What is the signability of these players? Are the club's resources being spent appropriately?

Again, this isn't an everyday thing. MLB teams also have a Scouting Director, so the GM doesn't have to be completely hands-on while scouting high school and college players. While I won't say general managers don't do anything in regard to the scouting of players in the draft, it isn't his first responsibility and the Scouting Director is in charge of this. So I think Phillips is exaggerating how much of a GM's time this takes up. Throw in the fact some teams have the scouting department broken down even further to the point a general manager is rarely doing independent thinking through the decisions that need to be made because the options are well laid-out for him.

More time and money should be spent scouting the players who will get paid the most money.

I would think this could go without saying. Apparently not.

The professional scouting staff needs to be managed as well. If the club is in the pennant race, then the scouts need to be deployed to watch major league talent on other clubs who might be available in a trade. If the club is not playing well, then the scouts need to be deployed to watch minor-league players who might be part of a package coming back in a deal for a veteran player.

This is all a part of managing the 25-man roster. Fans criticize GMs for not doing this part of the job well and telling us how hard it is is no excuse for doing a shitty job. Basically Steve Phillips is saying fans shouldn't complain because being a GM is hard work. Of course it is, but that doesn't mean others can't second-guess the decisions made by that GM.

The GM needs to have accessibility to his key scouts within minutes as trade discussions are fluid and can change quickly and dramatically.

Blah, blah, blah. There are cell phones available. It is not like the GM has to send a carrier pigeon with a message to a scout or anything. This is all a part of managing the 25-man roster, not anything extra the fans don't know about. Breaking up the job of a GM into smaller parts to make it look more complicated isn't going to impress me.

The general manager has to manage the people below him on the organization chart, but he must also manage the people above him. In most organizations that means the owners, but it could also include a team president or a board of directors.

I know Steve Phillips is trying to break this all down to seem more complicated than it is, but are fans not supposed to criticize general managers because they have a lot of responsibility and a job that seems complicated? This annoys me. Under this idea no one could get criticized. I am sure BP could say, "don't criticize us" and lay out exactly why they aren't at fault for the oil spill of the coast of Louisiana. Things are always more complicated than they seem, but the reason a person is hired to do a job is because he/she is supposed to be good enough to do succeed given those conditions.

I don't care if a general manager has to answer to two different groups of people. Most people have a job that can be described this way. You gotta serve somebody.

The general manager is the primary spokesman for the team. He communicates the personnel and business decisions of the organization. He can help market the team to the fans. He can humanize the players. The GM can educate the media and the fans about the game as well. There is rarely a day that goes by that a GM does not have contact with members of the media. Each interaction is an opportunity to deliver a message of hope to the fans.

Steve Phillips is just rambling at this point. The premise of this article is that no one understands what a GMs job entails, yet everyone seems to know the general manager is the public face of the franchise. So telling us we have no idea what a GM does and then listing things the public knows a GM does is pretty ineffective.

As far as the 25-man roster is concerned there is a lot to manage on a daily basis.

Well of course there is. Everyone who criticizes the general manager doesn't think they can be a general manager, they are just second-guessing the moves because they have an emotional vested interest in the success of the team. No one said the job was easy, but it isn't a one-man shop like Steve Phillips wants us to believe it is.

The GM speaks with the team physician on a near daily basis getting updates on the health and well-being of the players.

The trainers are also part of the daily communication with the GM providing real-time updates on the status of players.

This takes up how much time in a GMs day? Maybe ten minutes? Isn't this information, if it is necessary from day-to-day have as much importance to the manager as the general manager?

The general manager and manager speak on a daily basis. They discuss the pulse of the team. Performance matters far more at the major league level, so players who are underperforming are the bulk of the conversation. These conversations are a way for the general manager to ask strategic and tactical questions of the manager. They can discuss pitching decisions and the lineups. It is also an avenue for the manager to make personnel requests and state his needs for the roster.

The coaches are certainly available to the GM whenever he has questions about players on his team or other teams. These conversations help the general manager make decisions about player personnel moves.

I think I am still missing the part where the general public doesn't understand what a GM does. I feel like baseball fans and those who complain about the team know about these conversations, to the point what goes in during these conversations are the basis for many of the complaints.

Building the 25-man roster is what most fans believe the GM job is all about. It certainly is the most visible aspect of the job, but I hope you see that the job is far more encompassing than just that.

Right, but 90% of it is building the 25-man roster and managing that roster. The other 10% other members of the organization are in charge of and the GM oversees them.

In building the roster, the GM must evaluate his own personnel against that of his competition. How does his pitching stack up? Do we have the power and speed necessary to score runs in different ways? Does our lineup have the balance necessary to neutralize an opposing manager's in-game moves? Do we have a bullpen which affords the manager options to stifle an opponent's rally?

This is not "more encompassing," this is building a 25-man roster to compete with other teams.

Statistical analysis is valuable as well. What does a player do well and where can he improve? Stats merely quantify patterns of behavior (performance).

Who doesn't know this?

Gathering the opinions of scouts, coaches, other executives and former teammates of players is critical in player personnel decisions. This is the information not captured by statistics: Can a player play in a large market? What kind of teammate is he? How does he handle failure? What are his off-field habits?

I wonder if this is the same evaluation process Steve Phillips used to trade for Mo Vaughn.

Check out the moves Steve Phillips made as the Mets GM. I am sure Steve Phillips thinks this article is just the second-guessing of fans who don't know anything at all about what a general manager REALLY does. Behind all these bad moves is a fundamental lack of understanding (from Phillips' point of view about the fans) about what Phillips REALLY did as a general manager. This is wrong. The fans know what Phillips did as a general manager, he made a few good trades and made a few more bad trades. I don't care how it happened or what else in the Mets organization Phillips was responsible for, the bottom line is the results.

If conversations are critical to making deals, then relationships too are important. It takes time, effort and willingness to cultivate the relationships necessary to close big deals. This means that general managers have to make and receive call with other GMs and agents on a daily basis.

I will repeat myself. Steve Phillips says NOBODY REALLY UNDERSTANDS WHAT A GENERAL MANAGER'S JOB REALLY ENTAILS, yet he lists parts of the job that are the basis of the fan criticism towards a general manager...so obviously fans know the general manager does this, they just don't always like how he goes about doing this part of the job.

Here's the part Steve Phillips leaves out. General managers have pretty much all day to get this job done. It is not like a general manager has to play baseball, he can do his job while his team is playing a game. What I am saying is there is time for all these parts of a general manager's job to get done. He usually isn't trying to squeeze it into his day, and contrary to the impression given here, he does have help running the team.

The reality is that being a general manager really isn't a job; it is a lifestyle.

I think fans know it is a lifestyle, but this still doesn't explain why the job being a lifestyle should prevent a general manager from criticism. Many jobs are lifestyles, but it doesn't mean a person has permission to suck at that job.

The most amazing part of it is that after a 162-game schedule finishes, the work really starts. That is when the GM and his staff are working to rebuild and reconstruct their team for the following season.

I'm frustrated. I don't get what this article was supposed to be about. Does Steve Phillips really think fans don't understand a team undergoes personnel changes in the offseason? I refuse to accept one of the reasons fans shouldn't criticize a general manager is because they don't understand every aspect of the job.

So despite what you might believe know this -- not everyone can be a general manager.

Anyone can be a general manager, but like every other job in the world, not everyone can do the job successfully.

In fact, there are very few that are capable.

We will include Steve Phillips among the group that isn't capable.

Simply because the job is difficult shouldn't shield a general manager from criticism. The fans who complain don't want the GMs job, they want a competent GM.