It wasn’t a huge deal when Villanova lost to Georgetown on Saturday. Nova wasn’t going to go undefeated in the Big East and losing to the #8 team, on the road, in the midst of giant blizzard that resulted in travel problems is completely understandable.
However, that loss did make tonight’s game against West Virginia more important. These were the first 2 really tough Big East games for Nova, and if they lost both they could go from Final Four contender to part-of-the-pack in the Big East really fast.
Nova met the challenge tonight, beating #4 WVU 82-75 in a game that shouldn’t have been that close, but a bunch of strange calls went against Nova.
Here are my thoughts from the game… [...]
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February 8, 2010
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I used to be torn on this question, now that isn’t the case.
On one hand I hate losing and assume everyone else does as well. I also believe that habitual losing is detrimental to the development of young players and the psyche of players in general and I didn’t want to wish that on our Sixers.
This train of thought developed a couple years ago. Now after two weak playoff appearances that haven’t shown positive impact on the following seasons my mind has change.
Now I am 100% in favor of significant change and I just don’t see that happening unless this team hits rock bottom.
Do I want them to lose? No, of course not but what options do we have given what we know about ownership and management? I honestly believe one of two things about Stefanski… [...]
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February 7, 2010
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That would be the worst possible thing for the future of the Sixers. Them going on another fruitless, fools gold second half run.
With trade rumors riling the players and rumors the GM and coach might be getting the boot the team is winning. Now let’s not confuse that with actually playing well because that isn’t the case. But they have been better, just good enough to beat some mediocre and undermanned teams during their three game winnings streak.
Doesn’t matter who they beat, but that they have started to win a little bit. That might be enough to build confidence and a winning rhythem that could carry them for a stretch of games. That would be horrible is three ways:
- Eddie Jordan and Ed Stefanski might have their jobs saved at least for a bit longer
- The organization as a whole might develop a sense of false hope in the existing roster that simply isn’t good enough
- They continue to decrease their odds of landing a top 5 pick in a draft with 1 legit superstar and a few other very, very good players
Needless to say I want the Sixers to just lose. Not tank, simply lose because they are a bad team. The more they win, less likely we will to see meaningful change. And that is exactly what it will take for this team put a product on the floor that will represent that awesome logo properly.
About the game
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February 6, 2010
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Basic Info
Age: 20
Height/Weight: 6′5”, 215lbs
Hometown: Kelso, Washington
How Acquired: 4th Round pick in 2008 draft
Stats
Once we traded Jason Knapp in the Cliff Lee deal, Trevor May almost instantly came in a filled that “young, power arm, high K/9, low H/9, needs to work on control” hole he left behind. In fact, May had almost the exact same K/9 and H/9 rates as Knapp last season. They both had a 6.8 H/9 rate and Knapp was slightly higher on K/9 rate (11.4 vs. 11.1). The problem with May right now is that he walks a ridiculous number of batters, but his hits allowed and strike-out rates show he has dynamic stuff.
Scouting Report [...]
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February 6, 2010
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Sixers are set up nicely to finally win three games in a row. They face off against the Hornets minus the best point guard in the NBA.
Does that mean it will finally happen? I say no. Some will tell you it’s because of Eddie Jordan and blame in 100%. I am not one of those people. Eddie Jordan’s ridiculous rotations and overall coaching philosophy is a hurdle, a big one, but the players are still accountable once the ball goes up. They still have the most control over the outcome of the game. And whether Jordan puts the most talented Sixers on the court or not these are all NBA players. More importantly they are men who should have enough pride and competitive spirit to be better than what they’ve shown. [...]
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February 5, 2010
Other ReclinerGM 2010 MLB previews
I wrote last year that we were fielding the best infield in team history, by far. Well, this year, with the departure of Pedro Feliz and arrival of Placido Polanco, it appears we have an even better one. I think you could make the argument that this is one of the best infields of any team of all-time. Here’s my outlook on the 4 infielders, along with Carlos Ruiz.
Catcher – Carlos Ruiz
2009 Recap: Ruiz very quietly had a very good year behind the plate for the Phillies. He didn’t really play until May and it took him a little bit to get going, but after the all-star break, he had a tremendous .375 OBP and .862 OPS. He finished the year 3rd among NL catchers (with at least 375 PA) in OPS, behind only Brian McCann and Miguel Montero. His best attribute was his ability to take a walk and turn the line-up over. He had 47 walks (3 more than Rollins in 346 less ABs) to 39 strikeouts on the year. He was not quite Gold Glove level, but his defense behind the plate is certainly above average.
Cool Stat: Ruiz swung at fewer balls outside the strike zone than anyone else on the team. Ruiz only chased 18.7% of pitches outside the zone. By comparison, Ryan Howard swung at 27%, Shane Victorino 28% and Pedro Feliz 30%.
Room For Improvement 2010: Ruiz has been great in spurts over the past two years, and one of our best hitters in the playoffs (.905 OPS in 99 AB), but he hasn’t logged more than 322 ABs over either of the last 2 seasons. It would be nice to see him get to 400 AB this year, and keep up the solid production.
2010 Outlook: The Phillies showed a commitment to Carlos Ruiz this winter, giving him a 3-year deal worth around $9 million. This will be the first season that Ruiz comes in as the undisputed starting Catcher (remember some, including myself, were thinking this would Lou Marson’s job pretty early in 2009 after Ruiz’s poor 2008). I think that this security and vote of confidence will help Ruiz have his best season of his career. With career highs of 9 HR and 54 RBI, that might not being saying much. But at the bottom of this line-up, you can’t ask for much more.
First Base – Ryan Howard
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February 3, 2010
Sixers take on the Bulls today. Iverson isn’t playing so theoretically Jrue should get more minutes. We are facing Derrick Rose which also theoretically would suggest more playing time for Jrue as well. The game like most Sixers games right now is a “who cares” for me. I’ll be watching of course but my attention span is low for the Sixers right now. I’ll be attentive when Jrue is playing Rose. That’s about all I care about going into [...]
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February 3, 2010
Apparently a little birdie has something to say about the future of the Sixers head coaching position:
Little birdie currently employed by a NBA team just whispered in my ear that he expects Byron Scott to eventually be head coach of 76ers. ~ Travis Heath of HoopsWorld viaTwitter
I obviously can not at all speak to the credibility of this rumor but it is a Sixers rumor none the less. [...]
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February 2, 2010
Every team except the lowly Royals has won this division in recent years, but 2010 looks like a 2-team race between the Twins and the White Sox with the Tigers in a down year and the Indians and Royals in all-out rebuilding mode. When in doubt, don’t bet against the Twins, who are the most disciplined and fundamentally sound organization in all of baseball. Here’s how I see the division playing out in 2010.
1. Minnesota Twins (AL Ranks: 6th best Line-Up, 9th best rotation)
Why I Have Them Here
Their 2 MVPs. They might not get the publicity of other duos, but I’m not sure there is a better pair of players on the same team as Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. When healthy, Mauer is the 2nd best hitter in baseball behind Albert Pujols, and he does it while playing stellar defense at the most demanding position on the field. Morneau, since becoming a full time player in 2006, is 2nd in the AL in RBI to A-Rod, and would probably be first if he had not missed the last 25 games of the last year with injury.
Biggest Concern: Will the home field advantage carry over?
Over the last 2 years the Twins have gone 102-61 at home and 73-89 on the road. Part of the reason for their stellar play at home is the unique nature of the Metrodome, which has always been tough for opposing teams to adjust to. This season the Twins move to Target Field, an outdoor stadium (have fun in April and September!) that will be much more like most MLB stadiums. Will the Twins big-time home field advantage carry over to the new digs? It could be a big story for them this year.
Most Important Player: Francisco Liriano, SP
Right now, Liriano isn’t even penciled into the starting rotation for the Twins but there have been reports out of the Dominican Summer league that his velocity is coming back and has looked dominant in a couple outings. Getting him back into the rotation as an effective starter would be absolutely huge for this club and could be the difference between getting to the playoffs and actually making noise there.
Best Newcomer: Jim Thome
I was extremely happy to see Jim Thome land in Minnesota. He doesn’t have a starting gig with Morneau at 1st and Jason Kubel DHing, but he will get his ABs. At age 38, Thome still hit 23 HR last in 107 games with White Sox. He is one of the bigger casualties of the steroid era, in my opinion, as his 564 HR’s seem insignificant with all the players reaching 500 in recent. He is 7th all-time in career HR among players who have not been linked to PED’s behind Aaron, Ruth, Mays, Griffey, Robinson and Killebrew.
2. Chicago White Sox (AL Ranks: 9th best Line-Up, 5th best rotation)
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February 2, 2010
The Sixers actually will be playing the New Jersey Nets while they are healthy. The Sixers were lucky to have faced the Nets twice in the early going with a very limited team missing impact players. That might not be the case today.
Everyone is expected play with Devin Harris being the only possible hold out. He has a wrist injury and has missed the last few games. He could return tonight against the Sixers though and is a game-time-decision.
The Sixers are reeling having lost 3 straight and continue to play losing basketball. That might be why the New York Daily News is reporting this rumor: [...]
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January 31, 2010
