Po Politickin

Game 1 of the World Series is beginning here shortly, but before then I will put my prediction and thoughts on the series out there.

As far as pitching goes in this series, I definitely think that Tampa has the upper hand. While I believe that Cole Hamels is right up there when it comes to best left handers in the National League, last time I checked he can't pitch all the games. After him it is very spotty, as you have a potentially nice #2 starter in Brett Myers, though you never know what you are going to get out of him, Jamie Moyer who never pitches well in the postseason as the 'slow, slower, slowest' stuff doesn't get it done.

I think Joe Blanton is a wildcard here, as he is a guy who can give solid innings, so if he gets a chance to pitch in this series it will be worth watching to see how he fares. As far as the bullpens go, the Phillies have the advantage here by a longshot. Brad Lidge hasn't blown a save all year, even though I tend to think that he is due. As good as the guys in Tampa were during the regular season I think they showed during that seven run debacle in Game 5 against the Sox, that they aren't fully trustworthy. I think David Price is a sleeper though, his stuff is incredible and it seems as if the pressure doesn't get to him. If I'm Joe Maddon I'm using him as my closer this series.

As far as the hitting I'll give the Phillies the edge as they seem to have a million guys who can rake. They are not the best contact hitting team in the league but they can score, score and score some more. Tampa is no slouch in this category as they have several good hitters like Upton, Longoria and Crawford. I do think that Tampa's speed adds a different element to the game.

Keys to this series:

1) Chase Utley- I know this is somewhat redundant but this guy is their best position player. For them to win he has to produce, otherwise it's going to be a long but yet short series for Philly.

2) The Phillies have to win the games that Hamels start. He is their best pitcher, he is the only sure thing you have. If I am Manager Manuel I pitch Hamels in Games 1, 4 and 7 (if necessary). The Phils might be able to scratch one or two out with their other starters but they must win the games Hamels start.

3) The Rays youngsters- So far the brighter lights of the playoffs hasn't affected Upton, Longoria, Garza among others. They have to continue on that path, since this team is chock full of younger players. Evan Longoria seems like he is cool and collected, and BJ Upton does everything so smoothly (I mean, the guy probably brushes his teeth in a smooth fashion for pete's sake) so I don't think the butterflies will be an issue.

4) The Philadelphia "lunch pail players"- While some of these guys are actually quality MLB players, most of them are the hard working, dirty work kind of players. Guys like Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth along with Jimmy Rollins to a lesser extent, bring an energy to the team, and their production has also been good for the most part. Victorino seems to be developing a power stroke as well, as he has come up with several big hits. And of course Jimmy Rollins is the heart and soul of the Phillies team.

I like both of these teams, I think they are both very good and well constructed, but when it comes down to it, I don't think the Phillies have enough pitching to deal with Tampa. I like Philly's core of players and I think Jimmy Rollins is one of the best leaders in the sport. Their style of play, and the kind of players they have is the only reason I give them a shot in the series. I just think Tampa is very good, and destiny is on their side.

PREDICTION: Tampa Bay in 7 games

One of sports most famous sites, the Cathedral, also known as Yankee Stadium closed its doors Sunday night after 85 illustrious years in business. It closed on a positive note as the Yankees defeated the Orioles, 7-3 in a game that took an extreme backseat to the pre-game and post-game festivities. In an all around tough season for the Yankees this was definitely the best moment of the year. Though the Yankees are all but eliminated from playoff contention, this was a special moment, a special farewell that adds to the lore of Yankee Stadium.

I am a relatively young guy, 20 years old. I have been a Yankee fan since the strike shortened 1994 season, so needless to say when it comes to the Yankees, my tenure as a fan has been good. I've seen 4 World Series Championships, and ten division titles along with thirteen consecutive postseason appearances. Even with all of that, I would have to rank this up there when it comes to moments in relation to the Yankees. I've watched my beloved Yankees celebrate World Series titles, hit walkoff homeruns in the playoffs, clinch division titles among the many other goose bump inducing moments. I don't think any single moment or achievement tops the celebration of the Stadium that took place tonight. From the pre game festivities with the fans on the field, to the game itself with Andy Pettitte starting and Mariano Rivera throwing the last pitch in the history of the stadium, this was a beautiful night in the Bronx.

This is the kind of night that makes the Yankees one of the most famous organizations in pro sports. From the festivities, to the preparation to the post game speech by the Captain Derek Jeter to the victory lap around the stadium in front of a packed house, this is one of those moments, one of those days you probably don't see anywhere else. Seeing Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill, and Tino Martinez as they came out of the dugout as they honored the old Yankee players during the pre game was heart- warming. Seeing those three men brought back a lot of positive memories, from the Martinez grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series that broke the game open, to Martinez game tying solo HR against Byung Hyung Kim in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series, to the fans chanting Paul O'neill's name as he ran into the Yankee Stadium dugout from right field for the last time.

Growing up as a youth, Yankee Stadium has always been a place to be for me. I'll remember taking the 4 train to the game, getting there early enough for Batting Practice then screaming for the players as they pass by the stands.

On a final note, I'd like to do the unthinkable and give credit to ESPN. Their coverage was absolutely excellent. From the beginning of the day to the point of silence after the last out for about 15 minutes, the coverage was definitely good. I mean, for once, the network just let the picture tell the story. I commend them for that, and maybe someone should send the memo to Tony Kornheiser.

I'll end the writeup with this. The most ironic part of the night is, if the Yankees make the postseason this send off most likely doesn't happen, since the Yankees would be 'knee-deep' trying to win a World Series, so I guess everything does happen for a reason. Goodbye Yankee Stadium, you have a special place in my heart and you will always be remembered.

We all have argued about sports at one point or another, and we all have had that argument where someone uses a statistic that makes you say 'What?' or 'Man, why do people use that statistic to justify their arguments? Now I'll go through my 5 most insignificant, deceiving or just flat out meaningless statistics.

5. Field Goal Percentage (NBA)- I am not, by any means, saying that FG percentage is meaningless. I am just saying that this statistic can easily be bent and twisted to suit your argument. For example, LeBron James had an impressive 48% FG percentage last season. Folks will use that to say well LeBron is improving his jump shot and or his range which isn't necessarily the case. As twisted as this is going to sound, FG percentage doesn't really indicate how you shoot the ball in some cases. Dwyane Wade is the same way, he had a 47% FG percentage last season. Does that mean he's a good jump shooter? Not really. Does that mean he has good range of some kind? Not really. I'm not saying that those two literally drive the basket every single time down the floor, I'm just saying because you have a good FG %, doesn't mean you have a good jumper, when it comes to talking about perimeter NBA players. Now in some cases it does (ie Steve Nash, Ray Allen), but in a lot of cases it doesn't.


4. Interceptions (NFL)- Now this one is tough to put here, but I believe it deserves a spot. I'm not saying interceptions are meaningless. I just don't think its a fair evaluation tool, especially when you speak about defensive backs. There are so many different factors when talking about interceptions. What kind of interceptions were they, who is in your front 7, who is on the opposite side of you, besides the interceptions how did you play? I don't think its as cut and dry, using interceptions to support the argument of someone being good. I still remember in 2005, every Jets fan I knew used to argue with me telling me Ty Law was good for us because he had 10 picks on the season. The thing is, when Ty Law wasn't intercepting a tipped ball or a wounded duck he was committing an illegal contact penatly or getting smoked. Deltha O'Neal had 10 picks a few years ago as part of one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Now, obviously interceptions can be a part of a good CB, but in a lot of cases interceptions can be a result of luck, or a result of being thrown at a lot. And if you don't get thrown at you won't get many picks (see: Mathis, Rashean)

3. Wins- Losses (MLB, pitcher)- Now this statistic, I believe is truly meaningless. There are a group of pitchers every year who have a lot of wins because the team around them is providing them a lot of run support, and there are pitchers out there who battle and are great but have barely any wins to show for it because of a variety of reasons (bullpen, no hitting), like Jake Peavy and Johan Santana. What does this truly indicate? Does it indicate how good a pitcher is? No, WHIP, K/9, BB/9, ERA, H/9, those statistics do it. Wins and losses basically indicate how much each pitcher's supporting cast does for them. To put it simply, you can have one pitcher with 12 'wins' and another pitcher with 20 'wins', and the pitcher that has 12 wins can be argued as better, so in that case what is the point of the statistic?


2. Winning percentage (NFL QBs)- This one drives me up a wall. This one is used quite a bit for the QBs who aren't good but just happened to be on good teams (see: Young, Vince and Pennington, Chad). Then comes the famous 'he just wins' nonsense. First of all, there are very few players in this league who can singlehandedly will a team to victory. A QB with a 1:2 TD:INT ratio who happens to have a good team around him isn't one of those guys. A QB with a career 7:10 TD:INT ratio isn't going to carry anything. On the flip side a QB who leads 17th and 18th ranked offenses to the playoffs doesn't "just win anything".

There are 52 other players out there with him, and in the cases of a few QBs you can think of (Trent Dilfer, Rex Grossman 2006, Chad Pennington in 04 and 06, Todd Collins last season, Jake Plummer before Cutler stepped in) they really don't have an impact on the game. They "protect the football" (by this point I hate that phrase), play not to lose and basically hope that the defense is good enough to bring home the victory. Bottom line is, the only time you ever hear about the Wins- Losses in defense of a quarterback and the intangibles nonsense that comes with it is when the QB's statistics stink, or he just doesn't have the tools to succeed in the NFL. I mean think about it, saying Vince Young 'just wins games' is like saying to a lesser extent that Trent Dilfer 'just won games' in 2000 when the Ravens had that legendary defense on the field. Teams win games, one player doesn't, especially players who's statistics rank among the worst in the NFL.

1. Quarterback rating- The number one spot couldn't be reserved for anything other than the vaunted QB rating. As a Jets fan I've been in a debate about this very statistic 1 or 2 million times over the course of the last six years. In my opinion, QB rating says nothing except if you played a great game or if you played a horrific one. And since at the end of the season, basically no one is going to have a QB rating of 140 or 32, the stat is meaningless. The Quarterback rating is more about efficiency than productivity. Here's an example of that very theory. Let's look at 2 performances by QBs last season

Performance #1- 16/21 167 yds 2 TD 0 INT 10 Yards Per completion, team scores 14 points, 130.7 rating

Performance #2- 22/32 272 yds 3 TD 1 INT 12 yards per completion, team scores 31 points, 113.0 rating

So as you can clearly see, performance #2 was better than performance #1, yet the QB who produced performance #1 had the better QB rating. Why? I have no idea. Why QB rating is used to evaluate anything? I have no idea. There are many, many examples like the one above as well. QB rating is more worried about completion percentage, and not throwing any interceptions. It is more about efficiency than it is about productivity, which is exactly why it deserves no merit, since it doesn't actually indicate much.

Honorable mentions: Completion Percentage, Saves

Welcome to another fantastic edition of The Po Politickin Show. On today's show, we politick with Cali R Music Group/Ruff Ryders recording artist Hi Post. HiPost discusses how he got his deal with Ruff Ryders and gives advice to aspiring rappers. Pistol Pete stops bye to examine the latest trades in Major League Baseball and compares the original Dream Team against the current Dream Team.

Enjoy the show! Po

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www.popolitickin.mypodcast.com

Welcome to another stupendous edition of The Po Politickin Show. On today's show, Po is joined by CP and Pistol Pete for another episode of 4th and 1. Topics discussed include Team USA, NBA players going overseas, the latest NFL trades and the Brett Favre saga. Ro Rich also stops by to discuss his latest dvd "In Da Streets Vol. 2:Kill Bill.

Enjoy the show, Po!

To Listen, Click Below:


Also available at:
www.popolitickin.mypodcast.com
www.mrrigglashow.com

What's up my ppls...Welcome back to another exquisite edition of The Po Politickin Show. On today's show, we are joined by Neo-Soul artist Calandra. Calandra is a singer/producer/songwriter whose musical journey is currently at the "Crossroads". Pistol Pete comes through to talk sports. Some of the topics includes: Griffey's 600th Homerun, Ogden and Strahan's retirement,Tim Donaghy's snitching, and Larry Legend vs. Paul Pierce. Lady T also stops by with a new poem entitled "As One". Enjoy the show!!!

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