I pride myself on the concept of perspective in times of turmoil. Nothing is the worst thing that has ever happened until it actually is. And when it comes to sports, it’s never the worst. There’s always a tomorrow. This story is no different.

Last Saturday, the Nationals were en route to beating the 2-time reigning NL champion Phillies on a Saturday evening, when Stephen Strasburg threw a pitch, grimaced, and shook his arm. At that very moment, I turned to Amanda and said “Tommy John Surgery.” She assured me that I was overreacting. It was probably nothing. The Nationals would go on to blow out the Phillies 8-1. No one noticed.

A few days later, Rob Dibble, the Nationals’ television color commentator, went on his radio program and proclaimed:
I’m not a doctor, and I haven’t read the MRI yet, but I’m pretty sure he’s gonna come back fine. … You can’t constantly be complaining over every little thing. So for me, a little bit has to be put back on Strasburg here. Ok, you throw a pitch, it bothers your arm, and you immediately call out the manager and the trainer? Suck it up, kid. This is your profession. You chose to be a baseball player. You can’t have the cavalry come in and save your butt every time you feel a little stiff shoulder, sore elbow.

Dibble would continue in this vein, remarking about the fragility of the modern pitcher, much as pitchers from the 1980s do these days. He even went so far as to question his (Strasburg’s) loyalty to the team:
“I mean, excuse me. There’s guys I played with that had screws holding their elbows together. Chris Sabo played two weeks on a broken ankle. I put a steel plate in my wrist so I could be back in five weeks instead of three months. So, this is your choice. You can either suck it up and be a man at 22 making $2 million a year [with] a $15 million contract, or every time you get an ache and pain you can go out of the game and say I’m gonna let down the other 24 guys right here and possibly end up forfeiting the game.”

As much as I would like to break my PG-rated social media rules for Rob Dibble, I won’t. What I will say is that there is not an ounce of credibility in either of his statements you see above. Strasburg did not turn to the dugout and ask for assistance. What happened is that the prized possession in the city of Washington as far as sports is concerned, threw a pitch, grimaced in pain, and shook out his arm. I’ve watched a lot of baseball in my life. A lot. When pitchers do that, they’re hurt. Very hurt in fact. If a pitcher throws 90 pitches per start and has 30 starts in a season, he will throw 2700 pitches. If after any one of those 2700 pitches, he grimaces in pain and shakes his arm, that number always (not sometimes. ALWAYS) decreases drastically. Oftentimes, it just stops where it was. That, as it turns out, was the case for Strasburg.

What Rob Dibble said was a “little thing” was actually a very big thing. Friday, after a second MRI on his pitching arm, the Nationals announced that Stephen Strasburg has a major tear in his UCL joint and will require Tommy John Surgery. The typical recovery time for a Tommy John patient is 12-18 months, though lately it seems like pitchers are recovering at a faster rate than the 18 month period.

It is unlikely that this injury will put an end to Stephen Strasburg’s career. In recent days, I’ve heard lots of people say, “Oh, he’ll come back fine. Some pitchers come back even better.” i.e. This is no big thing. The problem is, of course, that this is a huge thing when it comes to baseball in Washington. I wrote about Strasburg’s debut back on June 8th before. It remains the greatest sporting event I have ever attended and is probably the greatest sports moment of my life. To this day, 2 1/2 months later, I feel like I was a part of something really special that Tuesday night. Strasburg’s injury is devastating to the Nationals. He was the main attraction in this 2010 season. Every game that Strasburg pitched here (save for his final start of the season at home, against the Diamondbacks, which I also saw in person) was a social event in a city that loves social events. Baseball is like that in Boston and Philadelphia, but it’s not like that here. There’s more going on here than just baseball. But on the days that he pitched, that wasn’t the case. And that was nice for a change.

Now, we’re left with not very much. Look, Ryan Zimmerman is one of the best third basemen in baseball. Jordan Zimmermann is a good young pitcher (also coming off of Tommy John surgery). Roger Bernadina has shown some signs that he could be an actual piece going forward. Ian Desmond has grown exponentially at the plate this season. There’s a few things to watch. But I get the feeling that I can just watch from home. With Strasburg, you had to be there. And this will affect the Nationals organization too. Believe it or not, it’s good to have people come into your baseball stadium to watch a game because then you get taken seriously. (Note to Tampa Bay Rays “fans.”) With empty blue seats around Nationals Park in the coming weeks and most of next season, the Nationals will have a hard time remaining relevant.

Help is on the way of course. The Nationals just had their second productive draft, signing nearly every player they selected in the first 25 rounds, including first overall pick Bryce Harper, second round pick Sammy Solis (of whom I expect very little, but hey), and third round Rick Hague (who is really hitting the ball down in Lo-A Hagerstown). And there’s some youth in the pipeline already (Derek Norris, Ross Detwiler, Chris Marrero) who are at or on their way to the big leagues. But no one, not even Harper, can fill the hole left vacant by Strasburg’s absence.

I remember walking away from Strasburg’s last start in AA thinking, “He’s going to need Tommy John Surgery at some point.” His delivery, the violent arm action, lent itself to a torn something. I just didn’t think that he’d need it so soon. And right when the Nationals and Washington needed him most.

It’s rare that I find myself more excited for an NFL season than a college season, but I think that’s where I’m at heading into the fall. I don’t have it in me, necessarily to break down each conference extensively. Some conferences (Big XII, ACC, Big East, Big 10…oh wait, that’s almost all of them right?) don’t deserve a full breakdown. And so with that, here are my conference title contenders heading into the 2010 season. Apologies to Indiana, Washington State, South Florida, and Kansas.

ACC
(Coastal Division)
1. Virginia Tech- The Hokies are here every year because no one in this conference can recruit, rebuild, and win quite like Frank Beamer. If Frank could just win some bowl games (sub .500 all-time) he could truly start to build a legacy. VTech comes into 2010 with their best offense since the start of this century, with stability at QB (Tyrod Taylor) and two of the nation’s best running backs (Ryan Williams and Darren Evans). The questions for Virginia Tech are on the defensive side of the ball. Thankfully for them, they play in the ACC and not the Pac-10. Unfortunately for them, they play in the “A” division of the ACC and have two competitors for the crown.

2. Miami- The first competitor is the resurgent Miami Hurricanes. Miami’s early season schedule is brutal with games at Ohio State, at Pittsburgh, at Clemson, and finally home to Florida State. And they close out with back-to-back games against Georgia Tech (in Atlanta) and Virginia Tech. There is no more difficult schedule in the nation. So why Miami ahead of Georgia Tech and trendy North Carolina? Because I love Jacory Harris. I love their offensive line. I love their defensive swagger. And because of that, I think they get through that schedule with just a few blemishes.

3. Georgia Tech- The second competitor for this division crown would be the 2010 conference champion. The Yellow Jackets return starting quarterback Josh Nesbitt, who I’ve seen in some publications as a Heisman sleeper. I can’t think of a good enough joke here, beyond the notion of Josh Nesbitt being a Heisman sleeper. Defensively, the Jackets are stout, but I don’t have faith in their offense, especially with the loss of Jonathan Dwyer at running back. Linebackers will key in on Nesbitt and force him to throw the ball, which is exactly what Tech coach Paul Johnson doesn’t want. The Techs (Virginia and Georgia) will fight it out in Blacksburg, VA on Thursday November 4. Don’t expect the picture to be clear until after Miami plays Virginia Tech on November 20th in South Florida.

(Atlantic Division..or “Do I have to pick someone?)
1. Florida State- I don’t have a lot of faith in Christian Ponder and the Seminoles, nor do I have much faith in Clemson, Boston College, North Carolina State, Maryland, or Wake Forest.

Conference Championship: Virginia Tech over Florida State
Player With The Most to Prove: Jacory Harris. Needs to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke. He needs to cut down on the INTs certainly. If he can, it might be Miami in the ACC Title game beating Florida State. And it might even be Miami playing for the national championship. It all falls on Jacory’s shoulders. He succeeds and I can truly see Miami playing in Glendale in January. If he throws 17 INTs again, I can see Miami playing in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Big (L)East
1. Pittsburgh- Dion Lewis might rush for 2000 yards this season. I expect Pitt to run the table in the Big East. There is no one, not even the UNH Wildcats, who can stop Dion Lewis. I’m not concerned about their quarterback issues. Lewis is going to run over, around, and through the entire Big East. And Pitt’s very good defense (19th in the nation last year) will be just as stout. Their biggest conference challenge will be not taking their inferior opponents lightly. If Pitt does slip up, I’ll take Rutgers as the beneficiary. But it won’t happen.

Player With The Most to Prove: Noel Devine (RB/WVU). Dion Lewis has nothing to prove as far as I’m concerned (can you tell I like him?). Devine needs to be a workhorse to give West Virginia any shot at respectability and Bill Stewart any shot at retaining his job. I don’t see it from Devine. Without a passing game (apologies to Geno Smith), West Virginia will struggle to put points on the board. I see a 6-6 or 7-5 season for a team that should finish no worse than 9-3 with their schedule.

Big Ten
1. Ohio State- I have a truly difficult time jumping to the conclusion that because he played one good “big game” (the Rose Bowl) last year, Terrelle Pryor is ready to become a leader. Part of the issue with Ohio State is Jim Tressel’s unwillingness to let Pryor be an athlete. Tressel is a great football coach, but perhaps a little to clingy to the notions of football past. Terrelle Pryor should be running the ball twenty times a game. He is not a good enough passer to stand under center and take 5 step drops. A bit of the pressure on Pryor will be alleviated this year by the presence of a good run game, led by Brandon Saine, Boom Herron, and sophomore Jordan Hall, who quietly averaged over 5 yards a carry last season (and is Pryor’s old high school teammate). And Ohio State returns DeVeir Posey at Wideout, who caught 60 balls last year, 8 for TDs. The Buckeyes are, as always, loaded with 5 star recruits past and present on both sides of the ball. There’s no reason to think that they won’t win another Big 10 title.

2. Iowa- The gap between 1 and 2 here is much bigger than the gap between 2 and 3. Ohio State is a step way ahead of both Iowa and Wisconsin athletically. I put Iowa here at 2 ahead of the Badgers, because they return an experienced quarterback (Ricky Stanzi) and have an easier path to an undefeated Big 10 season. Iowa plays zero tough road games in conference (Michigan, Indiana, Northwestern, and Minnesota). That means Penn State (who will not be good this year), Ohio State, and Wisconsin all come to Iowa City. Big advantage for the Hawkeyes.

3. Wisconsin- See Iowa. Wisconsin has murderer’s row in October with back to back games against the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes, followed by a trip to Purdue. And I just don’t think there’s enough offense in Madison to compete with Ohio State.

Player With The Most to Prove: Terrelle Pryor. Isn’t it always? When you come in with the self-created hype that Pryor did as a freshman and fail to make good on that hype in two years, you will always have the biggest microscope placed over you. I’m very torn on Pryor. I want him to succeed at the same time that I want him to fail. He has all the tools to be Vince Young Version 2.0. But to this point, he’s been nothing close to that. Part of me wants to make him a Heisman contender. But really, I’ll just wait until it happens and give him his credit then. He deserves no more.

Big XII
South
1. Oklahoma- Landry Jones. That mustache. Kidding aside, the race for Big XII supremacy comes down to which quarterback can do the most to help his team and I think that’s Landry Jones. He has weapons to work with. Ryan Broyles and Brandon Caleb on the outside and DeMarco Murray in the backfield. As it always does with these teams, it’ll come down to the first Saturday in October at high noon in Dallas, TX. I like Oklahoma to win that game and the Big XII South

2. Texas- Garrett Gilbert. Perhaps he needs to grow a mustache? Gilbert was awful in the first half against Alabama last year, but started to get his bearings about him in the second half and performed fairly well against Alabama’s elite defense. However, Landry Jones comes in with more experience. Gilbert’s run game is better than Jones’ but this is the Big XII folks, where passing is key. I see Gilbert making a mistake or two too many in his first year as a full-time starter. Down the road, he has all the tools to be just as good as Colt McCoy was, just not yet. That said, Texas will still finish the regular season no worse than 10-2.

3. Texas A&M- They’re not winning this thing, but I wanted to give mention to a team that is certainly on the rise, led by quarterback Jerrod Johnson. A&M will play Texas and Oklahoma tightly. And if you like fun, be sure to tune in to their game against Arkansas on October 9th. First one to 50 wins. A&M finishes the season 9-3.

North
1. Nebraska- There is no one else who can compete with the Huskers in the dreadful North. Nebraska will finish the regular season as the cheapest 10-2 football team ever because they play a cupcake schedule. Their defense is elite, led by senior (and future NFL star) Prince Amukamara at Corner. Their offense, however, will take a step back in the absence of Sam Keller and that’s truly saying more about replacement starter Zac Lee than anything about Keller. Don’t expect much from the team that finished 77th in the nation in scoring offense and 101st in passing last year. Side note: Maybe I can see Missouri sneaking up on them, but the Tigers have no defense to speak of. If Missouri and Nebraska joined forces, they’d win the Big XII. Until then, they’ll lose to the Big XII South winner.

Conference Championship: Oklahoma over Nebraska
Player With The Most to Prove: Garrett Gilbert. The spotlight will be bright on Gilbert, as he follows in the footsteps of Vince Young and Colt McCoy. He has an easy early schedule to work with before the Oklahoma game. If he plays well during Texas’ first four games, we could see a whole different quarterback in Dallas from the one who played in Pasadena last year.

Pac-10 (also known as the most wide open conference in all of football, in recent memory)
With the Pac-10, I’m going to just list my predicted order of finish and then break it all down because almost anyone can win this conference.

1. Stanford
2. Oregon
3. Washington
4. Oregon State
5. Arizona
6. USC
7. UCLA
8. California
9. Arizona State
10. Washington State

The line of demarcation according to who can win this conference lies above USC (who is postseason ineligible in 2010). I may end up getting this whole thing completely wrong and Arizona might win the Pac-10. But for my money, I love Stanford in 2010. The schedule is challenging (at Oregon, in what will be an epic night game on October 2 and at Washington). But they have the nation’s best pure quarterback in sophomore Andrew Luck (Ryan Mallet is not a pure quarterback). Stanford struggled mightily on defense last year, so I’m resting a lot on the idea that a year of experience will help out. And they lost Heisman Trophy runner up RB Toby Gerhart. So call it a hunch or call it me betting on a team with the odds stacked against them, but I have faith that Jim Harbaugh has built something great in Palo Alto.

Oregon is the trendier pick because they return a star running back and a semi-experienced quarterback, but I sense a hangover in Eugene this year. I have a feeling that the Jeremiah Masoli controversy and the LeGarrette Blount situation are a dark cloud hanging over the Ducks. Certainly not dark enough to keep them from being a 9-3 football team, but dark enough to keep them from being the 11-1 or even 12-0 team that they likely could be.

Player With The Most to Prove: Matt Barkley (QB/USC). In a meaningless year, with a new coach, I’m very interested to see what this highly touted quarterback can really do. USC will be a very interesting team to watch, even if they technically don’t exist in 2010.

SEC
East
1. Florida- Even with Tim Tebow gone, Florida will not take a significant step back in a very weak division. John Brantley is a seemingly capable signal caller and he is surrounded by athletes at every skill position. He will not be asked to carry the load on his own. As for the rest of this division, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee will all be very bad this year (sub-.500 at least). That leaves Florida with games against South Carolina and Georgia. Georgia starts a redshirt freshman in Aaron Murray and South Carolina is the same team they’ve been in the past two years, i.e. not very good. Florida should run the table in their division and coast to the SEC title game in Atlanta. Oh, and if there weren’t enough big games on Saturday October 2nd, Florida has a little tilt in Tuscaloosa with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

West
1. Alabama- I’ve heard the talk about the 13 defensive players gone. And do you know what it is? All talk. Talk to try to fill up months of down time and spring games and workouts. Nick Saban is, if nothing else, the best defensive minded coach in college football. He’s got a cupboard that is stocked with elite prospects and he’ll find a way to get the most out of raw talent. On offense, find me a tandem better than Trent Richardson and Mark Ingram. You’ll be looking for quite a while. And on the outside, Julio Jones is still there. And Greg McElroy is still under center. And say what you want about him, but he wins football games.

2. LSU- I’ve been waiting for Jordan Jefferson to have his breakout season for quite some time and I think this is finally going to be it. Les Miles’ job may be on the line at LSU. And if I’ve learned anything in life, it’s to never count out a crazy person when their back is against the wall.

3. Arkansas- Arkansas will score close to 40 points per game and hope that their atrocious defense can hold teams to under 40 points. That won’t happen a lot, but enough to get them 3rd place in the wide-open West.

4. Auburn- A trendy pick (Kirk Herbstreit has them winning the SEC West). I remind you that they finished 3-5 in the SEC last year and are starting Cam Newton at QB, a former highly touted Florida recruit (Tim Tebow’s heir apparent) who has never taken a substantial snap in his college career. I look at Auburn as the slightly poorer man’s version of Arkansas. The defense at Auburn is better, but the offense is certainly not, unless Newton can improve on what has been an up-and-down spring and summer campaign.

5. Mississippi- The wild card. If Jeremiah Masoli has his head on straight and the Right Reverend lets him loose , they could be dangerous. They won’t be, however.

6. Mississippi State- They’re getting there. They’re not there yet.

SEC Championship: Florida over Alabama
Player With The Most to Prove: Mark Ingram. Has a returning Heisman Trophy winner ever had this much to prove? Everyone is talking about his teammate Trent Richardson and no one is talking about Ingram. We’ll see what kind of football player he is this year. If he comes out with a fire under his behind, we’ll know he’s got heart. Frankly, he should come out ready to prove everyone wrong. I’m sure Nick Saban would appreciate that.

The Others

In previous years, you could just end a thing like this because no one from a Big 6 is going to make the national championship, right? Well, this year, that might not be the case. For what it’s worth, I think Boise State loses to Virginia Tech on Labor Day night, thus ending their shot at a title. I haven’t forgotten about what happened the last time Boise went on the road and began the year against an elite team. If you have forgotten, they went Between the Hedges back in 2005 and got beat down by Georgia. Embarrassed. 35 point blowout. In a lot of ways, that game has slowed the National Championship prospects for not only Boise, but Utah, and TCU. Boise looked overmatched against DJ Shockley and the Dawgs. Even against Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Boise had to pull out the statues of liberties and the hook and ladders to beat the Sooners in a game that meant nothing to Oklahoma. A lot has changed since then. Boise has an elite quarterback in Kellen Moore and perhaps the best Wide Receiver tandem in the country (Titus Young and Austin Pettis). But Boise’s defense is not elite and Virginia Tech can run the football and they will run the football. Right at Boise’s overmatched linebackers. I’ll be rooting hard for the Broncos, but I don’t think it’ll be fruitful rooting.

TCU, on the other hand, I think will run the table to a 12-0 regular season. The only potential hiccups on their schedule are games against Oregon State (at Cowboys Stadium) on opening day and in Salt Lake City against Utah at the end of November. TCU has the defense that Boise does not (6th in the nation last year). And their offense if much better than people give them credit for (5th in the nation last year).

The only other team that I can see going undefeated from a non-Automatic Qualifying conference is Navy, but even if the Naval Academy does go 12-0 (I think 11-1 is more likely with games against Notre Dame and at East Carolina, but an undefeated season is not outside of the realm of sensible thinking if you look at their schedule) I cannot see them cracking the top 2. But a 12-0 Navy team does make for an interesting BCS conversation doesn’t it?

Sorting This Mess Out

The October 2nd Florida/Alabama game is very important here. Everything starts with that game. I think the home advantage is important for the Tide and they win the early October game, but I see that as Florida’s only blemish heading in to the SEC title game with an undefeated Alabama team. I think Florida wins a close SEC Championship game, setting up the very difficult scenario where you have 1-loss Florida, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Boise State, Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Alabama teams, along with an undefeated TCU team. I really think that this is the year where all hell breaks loose in the BCS. For real. If you think you’ve seen all hell break loose with the BCS before this season, you’re wrong. (And can you imagine if Navy really does run the table?)

So how in the worst do we sort this all out? Well, let’s start with the basics. The six automatic qualifiers:

ACC: Virginia Tech (12-1)
Big East: Pittsburgh (11-1)
Big XII: Oklahoma (12-1)
Big Ten: Ohio State (11-1)
Pac-10: Stanford (10-2)
SEC: Florida (12-1)

Alabama (12-1) and TCU (12-0) are easy at-large choices which leaves us with teams like Boise State (1 loss), Texas (10-2), Miami (10-2), Nebraska (10-2), and Iowa (10-2) to fill out the remaining two spots. Boise’s early season loss to Virginia Tech helps them here because they shouldn’t fall too hard with that loss. I count Boise State and Texas in. So that gives us these 4 at-large teams:

Alabama (12-1)
TCU (12-0)
Boise State (11-1)
Texas (10-2)

Now we have to determine the national title game contenders. I think that includes Florida, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Ohio State. Florida is a shoe-in because of their early season loss and recent victory over Alabama. So who do I think ends up with Florida? I think it’s Alabama, actually. The BCS has gotten it wrong so often, why not assume that they’ll get this one right and give us the rubber match between two heavyweights? So here’s how I have the BCS games shaking out:

Rose Bowl: Ohio State over Stanford
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma over Boise State (retribution?)
Sugar Bowl: Texas over Pittsburgh
Orange Bowl: TCU over Virginia Tech
BCS National Championship: Florida vs. Alabama (I’m not deciding. Just crossing my fingers that this all comes true.)

Top 5 Heisman Trophy Hopefuls
Dion Lewis (RB/Pittsburgh)
Trent Richardson (RB/Alabama)
Andrew Luck (QB/Stanford)
Tyrod Taylor (QB/Virginia Tech)
Andy Dalton (QB/TCU)

Finally, make a point to clear your schedules for Saturday October 2. Spend the morning with a loved one and then ditch them by 10 in time for ESPN’s College GameDay. At 1 Eastern, Texas and Oklahoma battle in the Red River Rivalry. At a TBD time (probably 4 p.m.) Florida plays at Alabama. And if you haven’t had enough, Stanford travels to Eugene to play Oregon at 11:15 eastern that night.

You know what? I’m excited for college football now.

If I told you that I have nothing to live for, I’d probably be a tad overdramatic (just a tad though). When I heard the news last night (that was confirmed this morning) that Nationals LF Josh Willingham would be sitting out the remainder of the season due to knee surgery, the baseball portion of me felt a little empty. Josh Willingham is by no means an elite offensive player. He is not particularly “toolsy.” He’s a patient hitter, with a little bit of pop in his bat, and average defensive numbers. He is beyond all else, wildly consistent. Take a look at his basic career statistics (in seasons with 400+ PA):

2006-.277/.356/.496, 26 HR, 74 RBI
2007-.265/.364/.463, 21 HR, 89 RBI
2008-.254/.364/.470, 15 HR, 51 RBI
2009-.260/.367/.496, 24 HR, 61 RBI
2010-.268/.389/.459, 16 HR, 56 RBI

Willingham, if he could stay fully healthy, could easily be a .270/.390/.500 hitter with 30 HR and 90 RBI. And that’s not bad. At all. In fact, it’s quite good. Willingham has been a vital cog in the Nats wheel this year. His season ends with a VORP of 27.3, a very respectable number from your third best hitter, which is what Willingham is. But he’s more than that. He’s a stable bat. He doesn’t strike out a ton. He walks as often as anyone in the National League (currently 3rd). He gets on base. And he doesn’t take away a ton defensively. AND, he only makes $4.5 million per year. In short, he’s the kind of baseball player that every team needs. He knows his role and succeeds.

Without Willingham, the offense takes a big hit. Now Adam Dunn goes from having protection behind him to having Michael Morse behind him. That’s a big difference. Now, Willie Harris (a VORP of -8.4 and VORPs aside, one of the most useless players in baseball) becomes an everyday player until Nyjer Morgan (-0.5 VORP) returns from injury. The injury to Willingham makes it that much harder to stick around and watch the Nats struggle against the Braves, Phillies, and Cardinals. As recently as three weeks ago, the Nationals were 11.5 games out of first and I was trying to convince myself that they were still a playoff contender. I’ve woken up now. It’s become a season of silver linings.

And with that, I’m challenging myself to come up with 5 reasons to stick with the Nationals this year, in no particular order:

1.) Jordan Zimmermann- JZimm is the only pitcher I’m really excited about seeing as we go forward. I really believe that the Nationals would be wise to shelf Stephen Strasburg for the remainder of the season. Nothing to gain by having him continue to pitch and expose himself further to both injuries and advanced scouting. I’ve seen Strasburg pitch enough that I feel like I know how to beat him. For the Nationals, with defeat comes success next June. If this season ended today, Washington would have the 8th pick in next June’s draft. Realistically, they could “improve” that number (through losing) to a top-4 pick. Ultimately, that doesn’t necessarily make a whole world of a difference, except that it does keep fewer teams in play for the player(s) you want.

As for Zimmermann, he’s coming back from Tommy John surgery after a very good rookie season ended with an elbow injury last year. Zimmermann has thrown 34.2 innings in the minors this year, with a 1.82 ERA, 5.20 K/BB ratio, 6.00+SO/9, and a 6.8 H/9 average. In half of his starts last year, he pitched 6+ innings. His ERA was close to 5, but in his final 8 starts of his shortened 2009 season, he allowed 3+ earned runs only twice (3 and 4). His K/BB ratio of 3.00 in his final 8 games was also impressive. And he’s only 24. I’m excited to see JZimm get some major league reps (well ahead of schedule) because next season, he’s the Nats number two starter. And part of a formative 1-2 with Stephen Strasburg.

2.) Wilson Ramos- Ramos was acquired (nay, stolen) in the Matt Capps trade with the Minnesota Twins. Ramos is regarded, by most, as a top 5 catching prospect in the game. The Nationals two current catchers (Ivan Rodriguez and Wil Nieves) have been dreadfully inept for most of the season. They’ve hit a combined 4 HR and 47 RBI. Both are getting on-base at a clip below 30% of the time. They have been abject failures. For all of the talk around here about how great Pudge has been, I’m not sure anyone actually knows how to look at numbers. He has not been good here. He’s currently blocking the Wilson Ramos from playing every day. You have nothing to lose by calling Ramos up full-time. He was brought up today while Wil Nieves is on leave (pregnant wife). Perhaps the Nats should ask Nieves to stay at home and move Pudge to the backup role that he so clearly deserves.

3.) Jim Riggleman- If Jim Riggleman continues to not succeed, shouldn’t he be fired? I remind you that Bobby Valentine is still available. And I continue to remind you. It’ll be interesting to watch Riggleman manage the rest of this season because I truly think if Mike Rizzo and Stan Kasten know what they’re doing, they’ll consider replacing him heading in to what could be a promising 2011 campaign.

4.) Rob Dibble- The man proves a little more every game that he knows nothing about baseball. Just because you were a relief pitcher in the late 80’s and early 90’s does not mean that you’re going to be 1.) Intelligent, 2.) Well-spoken, or 3.) Good. Rob Dibble proves that. So he find himself on this list for sheer entertainment purposes. If you find getting angry and yelling at your picture box entertaining. Which I thankfully do.

5.) Ian Desmond- He’s hitting the ball very well over the last month, which is a great sign. His defense and throwing still leave a lot to be desired but he’s becoming a more dependable hitter. One of the few things that this organization has done well this year is sticking with Ian. They’ve let him fail (and fail miserably as he did during June and July) and they’ve watched him right the ship. He’s not necessarily playing for a position next year, but he’s not a sure thing. Ending the year on a solid note could do a lot for both his future and the future of this club.

At Sunday’s game, Amanda asked me who I would have playing everyday on this club from here on out. I’ve given it some thought and here’s what I’ve got for a lineup (this is for when Nyjer Morgan returns at the end of this week):

SS Ian Desmond
LF Roger Bernadina
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam Dunn
RF Michael Morse
C Wilson Ramos
CF Nyjer Morgan
2B Danny Espinosa
Pitcher

Pitching Rotation

Livan Hernandez
Jordan Zimermann
Scott Olsen
Yunesky Maya (who I have zero expectations for, but I mean, why not, right?)
John Lannan

Tell me that rotation won’t strike the fear of God in the hearts of NL East lineups. Actually, please don’t tell me that.

Michael never acted like this. Michael never referred to himself as “Michael.” Michael never had a half hour special where he ripped hearts from chests, while shilling in front of children in Greenwich, Connecticut. Michael also won championships. A lot of them.

I was young when Michael was in his prime. And actually, I didn’t root for Michael because I was a Celtics fan and because I rooted for underdogs as a child even more than I do now. Michael was not an underdog. He was the true alpha dog. I feel like I missed out on a good deal by not being old enough to appreciate Michael in his prime. But I know that he is the best professional athlete of the last 30 years.

However, he existed in an age before the dreadful TMZs and Deadspins of the world. And before anyone and everyone could feel important by publishing their opinions on the World Wide Web. Michael was an avid, epic gambler. If he was still playing basketball on a high level today, he would not be nearly as revered as he was. The microscope has become a telescope. It sees everything. It hears every misspeak. It chews people up and spits them out, only to become funny pop culture references 5 years later for people like myself and Dave Machado.

Perhaps if LeBron James existed twenty years ago, things would have been different this summer. He assuredly would not have had an hour long television program given to him to announce where he would play basketball. Perhaps we wouldn’t have heard all of the self-aggrandizing nonsense he’s spewed. Perhaps he would not have ruined his reputation. Not tarnished. Not damaged. Ruined. That’s how I feel about LeBron James.

As recently as three months ago, I loved LeBron James. I was offended when people compared Kobe Bryant to LeBron James. LeBron James’ skill set is far beyond where Kobe’s was at 25. Heck, it’s past Kobe’s now. Kobe can’t pass like LeBron James, can’t rebound like LeBron James, can’t run the floor like him, can’t block shots like him, can’t muscle up like him. Kobe can score. And defend a little bit. But that’s it, really. And Kobe Bryant is an alleged rapist. I’ll never be able to look past the summer of 2003. Just as I had started to root for Kobe, Eagle Co. Colorado happened. And that was it.

LeBron James had his Eagle Co. moment this summer, albeit not to the extent that Kobe did. There is something about overt narcissism that I find undesirable. Confidence and cockiness are all fine. LeBron James has every right to be cocky. Michael was cocky. Kobe is cocky. But Kobe never had an hour long show dedicated to him. And Kobe has never turned his back on LA. And Kobe has never built something just to let it crumble. And Kobe has always wanted to be the alpha dog. Kobe always wants the ball late. Kobe wants to be Michael. LeBron James does not. LeBron James wants to be LeBron.

In the September issue of Gentleman’s Quarterly, there is an extensive interview with James. Here are a few samples of who LeBron James is:

– (on Akron, Ohio) “It’s not far, but it is far. And Clevelanders, because they were the bigger-city kids when we were growing up, looked down on us. … So we didn’t actually like Cleveland. We hated Cleveland growing up. There’s a lot of people in Cleveland we still hate to this day.”

-(on Cavs owner Dan Gilbert) “I don’t think he ever cared about LeBron. My mother always told me: ‘You will see the light of people when they hit adversity. You’ll get a good sense of their character.’ Me and my family have seen the character of that man.”

-(on himself) “I love our fans. Cleveland fans are awesome. But I mean, even my family gets spoiled at times watching me doing things that I do, on and off the court.”

Do you know who doesn’t refer to himself in the third person? Who doesn’t talk about how spoiled his family is to be able to know him? Who doesn’t bad-mouth the city that hung an enormous billboard with his likeness and called him “King?” That would be Kobe Bryant. Kobe might yell at teammates, preen like a peacock, and have a disdain for assists, but Kobe Bryant is driven by one thing: Being the best basketball player ever. I thought LeBron James was the same way before this summer. I was duped. LeBron James cares about marketing himself. LeBron James looks at heavy hands (in having lots of rings) as a means to market himself further. Kobe looks at it as necessary to being regarded as the best basketball player ever. Neither is terribly noble, but you don’t play professional basketball because you want to build schools in Namibia. You play it to win titles and if you have the skill-set, to be the best ever at it. Kobe has the right frame of mind. LeBron James is just busy trying to frame his next photo-op.

I can’t believe I’m doing this. Two years ago I wrote this post about Brett Favre retiring. I didn’t want to do it, but as a professional (unemployed) blogger, I felt it my duty to sum up Brett Favre’s career as he faded away into retirement.

Fast forward two years and that post is one of the more humorous things I’ve ever written. I wanted to talk fairly about the career of a football player that I never rooted for and never liked. And I did. When I just re-read that post, I felt like I had been duped by Favre into saying nice things about him. Really, I felt like Packers, Jets, and Vikings fans do about him. Buying in to rooting for Favre means that you’re eventually setting yourself up for disappointment.

This year, the Minnesota Vikings had the opportunity to take the quarterback of their future, but they were likely sure Favre was coming back and didn’t want to upset him, so they passed on taking Jimmy Clausen or Colt McCoy (instead they drafted Joe Webb, you know, from Alabama-Birmingham?).

Last week, ESPN reported that Brett Favre was retiring. Brett Favre’s camp says that that report isn’t necessarily true. America says, “Just retire.” Sports fans have grown tired of this Favre ritual. And frankly, of Favre. All of the goodwill that Brett Favre had built up over the years is gone now. He no longer gets the benefit of the doubt from the public and from most sportswriters. And he likely doesn’t care. But what if he did???

With that, I’m going to offer Brett Favre my services and prepare his retirement speech. His speech could make or break his reputation. I’m a strong believer in the power of words. And I think that I can win Brett Favre back some fans. You know, whenever he finally decides to hang up his pads.

(shutters clicking, Favre walks out onto the podium and takes his seat)

And now everyone loves him again, right? Well, as long as he stays retired…

Like I said, “whenever I get around to it.” Let’s just jump into the National League (the more interesting league), shall we?

NL EAST
1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Atlanta Braves
3. New York Mets
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Strasburgs

Breakdown: There was a time (two days ago) where I would have argued to you that the Atlanta Braves were a World Series contender, until I watched them intently last night and I saw a team with many holes. Lets look at the rotation first: Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, and Kris Medlen. The pitching version of Murderer’s Row that is not. With Hudson you know what you’re getting. 7 innings, 2 Runs, 1 Walk, 2 Strikeouts. Or something like that. But let’s look at what the rest of the rotation has done. If I told you that Kris Medlen had the best winning % and lowest ERA, wouldn’t you be a little concerned? And if I told you that only Jurrjens was allowing fewer than 9 hits per 9 IP, would you be a little concerned? And if I told you that only Medlen and Hanson had ERA+s over 93, would you be a little concerned? Say Atlanta makes the playoffs, who from that rotation do you want starting Game 2. Kris Medlen? Good luck.

Philly on the other hand throws two aces at you (Halladay and Oswalt). And, you’d likely be surprised to learn that Cole Hamels has not been all that bad this year, himself. Yes, he’s 7-7. But his K/9 ratio is higher than Halladay’s. And his H/9 is just a smidge more than Doc’s. And his ERA+ is a very nice (for a number 2 starter) 119. After Hamels, you’re left with Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick, or what I lovingly call, “spare parts.” However, give me the team with two and potentially three aces in their rotation and we’ll worry about the spare parts later.

Atlanta’s pitching is not their only hole either. I’ve watched them play a handful of times this year and am not impressed with their overall approach. I saw them almost get no-hit by Scott Olsen earlier this year because they were about as patient as a 28 year old virgin (it’s fine, no one reads this). They’re getting a career year from Martin Prado, getting some RBI from an aging corner infielder, and relying heavily on a 20 year old rookie. Meanwhile Chipper Jones is batting at about the Kung Fu Panda line (mid-.250s), all the while playing atrocious defense. How many home runs do they have from all of their 5 outfielders? That would be 29 total homers. I don’t see it.

Philadelphia has “struggled” as a team at the plate this year (I say “struggled” because they’re 8th in Major League Baseball in terms of runs scored. Atlanta is 12th.), but position by position (except for catcher and rightfield) the Phillies trot out experienced hitters who are simply better (and more proven) than their Atlanta counterparts. I fully expect Philly to win the East and for Atlanta to hit a wall sometime in mid-August.

As a quick note, if you think the New York Mets, one of the worst road teams in baseball are going to vault Atlanta and Philadelphia, you’re a crazy person.

NL CENTRAL
1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Cincinnati Reds
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

Breakdown: This is a two team race and should be an exciting one. The Cincinnati Reds are a very interesting team. Interesting, however, is not a synonym for “good.” Yes, they have Joey Votto and (to a lesser extent) Brandon Phillips, but they also rely heavily on a rookie centerfielder (Drew Stubbs), a rightfielder who shows no signs of being a disciplined hitter (Jay Bruce), and an atrocious leadoff hitter (Orlando Cabrera). However, for me, all you need to know is that Johnny Gomes starts for them. And while Johnny Gomes is having a career year, I’m not exactly sure that a career year from someone like Johnny Gomes is such a great thing to tout.

Of course, Cincinnati’s “interesting” lineup has produced, something that can’t be said about the St. Louis Cardinals. Albert Pujols is having an off year and frankly, doesn’t look “right.” In fact, he looks hurt. And Matt Holliday hasn’t exactly been a world beater. The Cardinals have had such a spotty offensive year that only 5 players on their roster currently qualify for the batting title (7 Reds do). That said, I’m a pitching guy. And St. Louis has it.

If Philadelphia has the best 1-2-3 (with Halladay, Oswalt, and Hamels) in the NL, St. Louis is a close 2nd. Jamie Garcia might not be a household name and might not have overpowering stuff, but he does have the numbers (9-4, 2.33 ERA, 7.29 K/9). And at the top of the rotation, well, it’s hard to argue against Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. Unless, of course, you don’t like great pitchers.

Cincinnati counters with, um, Bronson Arroyo? Mike Leake? Travis Wood? Edinson Volquez? Johnny Cueto? Mix-and-match and you’ll not come close to St. Louis’ 1-2-3.

I have more confidence in Cincinnati to win this division than I do Atlanta to win theirs for what it’s worth, if anything. There’s enough of that weird unexplainable stuff (aura, I guess it’s called) with the Reds. They’ve played above their heads for a while, but I think ultimately, their inexperience will catch up to them. But I won’t be shocked if they come out on top.

NL WEST
1. San Francisco Giants
2. San Diego Padres (wild card)
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Colorado Rockies
5. Arizona Diamondbacks

Breakdown: If I had written this post at the All-Star break, I would have had Colorado winning this division. (Coincidentally, if you’d like to buy a $10 ticket for the Rockies to win the World Series at 20-1 odds, it’s yours). Since the All-Star break however, the Rockies have been the worst team in baseball (along with the Orioles, but you know, that’s to be expected). What looked like the best race in baseball, with four teams vying for a division title, today is a three team race.

Most people, myself included thought the Padres were going to be miserable this season. This is what I wrote in my season preview: “San Diego is an absolute mess. Where should I start? Jon Garland is their “ace.” David Eckstein is their everyday second baseman. There is so much youth on this team and none of it is worth getting really excited about. I really feel bad for Adrian Gonzalez because he deserves better than whatever this team is doing. I hope, for his sake, that he’s playing first base in San Francisco or Boston or Atlanta by season’s end.”

As it turns out, Mat Latos is their ace and in the year of the pitcher, maybe it doesn’t matter if David Eckstein is your everyday second baseman. Latos, Garland, and Clayton Richard have been way better than anyone expected. At the back end of the rotation, Wade LeBlanc and Kevin Correia might not be names that’ll have you excited, but they’ve had moments of effectiveness this season. And the Padres have an elite bullpen. The names are not sexy. At all. But the Padres have been this good all season. And aren’t showing any sign of quitting. I can’t believe I’m writing this, but I really do think they’re going to take the NL Wild Card.

In the division race though, I give the edge to the Giants because of their pitching certainly, but also because of the arrival of some offense in the form of Buster Posey and Andres Torres. The Giants are currently the hottest team in baseball for a reason: they’re balanced. With their offensive improvements, I’m not sure that there’s a legitimate issue with the Giants. Great rotation (best 1-5 in the NL, bar none). Solid lineup, not great, but increasingly effective. Great closer in Brian Wilson. Effective bullpen. Manager who’s been there before and knows what he’s doing. The Dodgers don’t have the rotation or bullpen (beyond Broxton and Kuo) that San Francisco does. And really, I don’t know that the Dodgers lineup is that much better at this point.

So Who’s Winning It All?
Not the Pittsburgh Pirates.

American League Playoffs:
WILD CARD ROUND
Texas vs. Tampa Bay- This is the most intriguing matchup imaginable. TV ratings won’t exactly be great, but the intrigue will be. The AL’s best rotation faces the AL’s best offense. Cliff Lee vs. David Price (twice, because this will go 5 games). Can one of Texas’ “other” pitchers step up and match Matt Garza and Jeff Niemann? I’m giddy at the possibility of this series. It’ll be very close. But I’ll take Tampa Bay (3-2)

New York vs. Minnesota- This is the opposite of intriguing. New York (3-1)

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
New York vs. Tampa Bay- They’re close. Very close. (New York 4-3)

National League Playoffs:
WILD CARD ROUND
San Francisco vs. St. Louis- This will be a dream matchup for lovers of pitching. Lincecum vs. Wainwright. Cain vs. Carpenter. Garcia vs. Zito/Bumgarner/Sanchez (I prefer Bumgarner, but that likely won’t happen). If Pujols was healthy, I think the short series would favor the Cardinals, but I don’t think he is. San Francisco has enough offense to win a very tight series. San Francisco (3-2)

Philadelphia vs. San Diego- The road will stop here for the Padres. Too much pitching. Too much offense. This would be a nightmare draw for them. (Philadelphia 3-0)

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
San Francisco vs. Philadelphia- I could go with my heart here or my head. My heart tells me to take Willie Mays’ team. Take Barry Bonds’ team. Take youth. Take Posey. Take Torres. Take Bumgarner, Sanchez, Lincecum, Cain, and Sandoval. Take the gorgeous uniforms. Take the breathtaking ballpark. Take Kuiper and Krukow. My head tells me to take the two-time pennant winners, with the dueling aces and all that power. I like my heart more than my head. (San Francisco 4-3)

WORLD SERIES
San Francisco vs. New York- What a classic matchup, eh? Savor it while you can. It won’t last long. My heart loses. (New York 4-1)

I did mention that I would talk about where available players would best fit, but I realize that that’s kind of a foolish undertaking. The best players belong on the teams who need them. The elite teams (New York, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia) don’t need to add players like Adam Dunn, Lance Berkman, Zack Greinke, etc. Adding them would just make them better. Detroit, Chicago (AL), Cincinnati, St. Louis, Atlanta, San Francisco, San Diego, etc could use those players in some form or variety. All the wasted space on trade speculation is really just that. Let’s just sit back and enjoy the next three months, shall we? We shall.

I love late July in Major League Baseball. Player movement, teams deciding their short and long-term futures, surprise teams still in the hunt, etc. etc. As I type this, there are 13 teams who are 8 games or fewer behind their division’s leader. That’s 19 teams with a legitimate shot at making the playoffs. And so for teams like the Boston Red Sox, who are 8 games behind the New York Yankees, the question is, “Do we have a shot?” And if so, “Do we push all of our chips into the center of the table and go for it?” And if we go for it, “Who are we willing to give up to get what we need?” And then what happens if you don’t get there? You could end up like the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, who in 2002 thought they had a shot at the playoffs in late July, and acquired Bartolo Colon, a proven ace and a workhorse, for the stretch run. The Expos missed the playoffs that year by 12.5 games. And to get Bartolo Colon? Well, the Exponationals gave up a few prospects named Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, and Cliff Lee. And today, the Nationals are not one of the 19 teams with a shot at the playoffs. And they haven’t been a team with a shot at the playoffs since then. Instead, they’re the ones who are looking to target the teams who ask themselves the question, “Do we have a shot?” And Mike Rizzo, the Nationals GM will be trying to convince everyone from the Chicago White Sox to the Chicago Cubs that, yes, they have a chance. This is why I love late July. Lots of thinking. Lots of overthinking. And everyone’s baseball future hangs in the balance. For years to come.

You would think that that was it for this post, but I’m not going absent for one month and returning with just one paragraph of narrative. It’s prediction time. Doing this before the trade deadline might seem counterproductive to the idea of being correct. I have no idea where Roy Oswalt, Adam Dunn, Josh Willingham, Edwin Jackson, Ty Wigginton, Brett Myers, Lance Berkman, etc. are going in the next 5 days. But I don’t want to be the guy or gal who hops on a team’s bandwagon after a big trade (ahem…LA Angels). So I’ll try and be a step ahead of the curve.

I’ll list the divisions in terms of how I think they’ll finish up. And then some breakdown:

AL East
1. New York Yankees
2. Tampa Bay Rays (Wild Card)
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles

Breakdown: This looks a lot like the standings today, because it is. The Yankees and Rays are the class of this group, but to me, the Yankees are a hair better than Tampa. The Rays pitching has been very good (with the exception of James Shields who would not be one of their 3 playoff starters). David Price has been Cy Young quality. Wade Davis has been a pleasant surprise. And Jeff Niemann and Matt Garza have been as good as advertised. I’m not quite sure I understand why they would trade the farm for Zack Greinke. Pitching is not their issue. Their inability to get on base consistently is their problem. Of the Rays players with at least 300 ABs this year (there are 6), half of them are getting on-base below a 33% clip. In addition, 3 of those guys have sub-.400 SLG. %. The Yankees also have 6 players with at least 300 ABs. All of them have an .OBP of .330 or higher (Derek Jeter has the lowest at .340.) Jeter is also the only one of the six with a Slugging % below .400. Jeter’s is .396. You see my point. They guys who are playing most for the Yankees are performing better offensively than the Rays. By a lot. As for the Red Sox, because they deserve mention, I would be shocked if they make the playoffs. In fact, I don’t think they should acquire anyone of consequence at the trade deadline. The Sox’s system is stacked. They don’t need to unstack for what is ultimately a futile cause. Too many injuries this year. They’ll be back in 2011.

AL Central
1. Minnesota Twins
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Kansas City Royals

Breakdown: The Whtie Sox surge is just that I think. The Twins were my pick at the start of the year and will remain as such because I really think they’re the most balanced team. Justin Morneau was arguably the AL MVP when he went down with a concussion in early July. They’ve more than stayed afloat in his absence. They’re a game back today. When he returns, he bolsters a lineup that can just do more than Chicago’s (all power) and Detroit’s (all Miggy). The Tigers have been hit hard by injury recently and frankly, I don’t know that they have enough in their rotation to get them to the playoffs, especially with Verlander having a slightly off year. Minnesota has pitching. Scott Baker has been wildly inconsistent this year and is certainly the wild card for the Twins. If he can right his own ship, Minnesota wins this division fairly easily.

AL West
1. Texas Rangers
2. LA Angels
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Seattle Mariners

Breakdown: LA can steal Dan Haren from Arizona all they want. They cannot compete with Texas. The Rangers success hinges entirely on their pitching. You might not like the names “Tommy Hunter,” “Scott Feldman,” “CJ Wilson,” and “Colby Lewis,” but you cannot argue that they’ve all performed quite well this year. And their rotation is anchored by the best pitcher in baseball. Bar none. Cliff Lee is the best pitcher in baseball. Keep saying it. Let the stigma of “Cliff Lee” wash over you. Remind yourself about his early career struggles. Do you feel good? Now look at what Cliff Lee has done since the start of the 2008 season. In 3 full seasons, he’s walked only 80 batters, with an ERA around 2.75. Heck, look at the sabremetric stats that I don’t even understand. Even those are good. His ERA+ is 162 this season. That’s a big number. Okay, Cliff Lee tangent aside, even if the Rangers pitching takes a slight step back, is there a better lineup in baseball? Chris Davis is their number 9 hitter! And they have a dominant closer and very solid bullpen. If the Texas Rangers don’t scare you, you’re missing the mark.

This year, I’ve written two reflective sports pieces: One was a glowing, but melancholic look at the US Men’s Winter Olympic Hockey team and their march to the Gold Medal game before ultimately falling to the Canadians. The other reflective piece was an angry, biting review of the Washington Capitals 2009-10 season, following their first round playoff loss to the 8th seed Montreal Jaroslav Halaks. What follows, will be a combination of the two, because while there’s anger and letdown, there’s also a good deal of hopefulness.

I always like to start with the bad side of things. When I was a child and I bought a new video game or CD, I would always make sure that I did my homework, cleaned my room, etc. before I unwrapped that piece of entertainment. The idea was and continues to be that once that hard stuff is out of the way, you can truly enjoy something.

When it comes down to the 2010 World Cup and the US National Team, the “bad side of things” begins with Coach Bob Bradley. Ultimately in my book, Bradley is to blame for the National Team not advancing out of the Round of 16 following today’s extra time loss to Ghana. His inability to see what the rest of us saw on the pitch is what ultimately brought our demise. In our first match against the English, midfielder Ricardo Clark looked hopeless. And so he disappeared for the next two matches. Today, he reappeared, started, single-handedly allowed Tim Howard to get exposed leading to the first Ghanaian goal, and picked up a yellow card for good measure. He was replaced 30 minutes into the first half by Maurice Edu, who had played admirably in his absence against Slovenia and Algeria. Coach Bradley didn’t stop with Clark, though. Robbie Findlay found his way back up top today, alongside the corpse known colloquially as “Jozy Altidore (more later on him!!!)” in the starting lineup. Sure, Edson Buddle had provided a spark and changed the attack against Algeria. And sure, Robbie Findlay looked hopeless against England and Slovenia (he was suspended for the Algeria match). But Coach Bradley doesn’t much care for your “visual evidence.” For whatever reason, Edson Buddle spent far too much time on the U.S. bench. Whether or not he looked bad in training or perhaps had difficulties with Coach Bradley (and I’m just speculating on this) does not matter. Buddle came into the World Cup playing the best soccer of his career for the LA Galaxy (who I believe play in something called the “MLS”) and spent most of his time in South Africa watching the games like me.

Coach Bradley’s ineptitude with our starting lineups was what did us in. When you have to use two substitutions (strategic and not injury-driven) before the first touch of the second half, you’ve failed as a coach and strategist. And as far as I’m concerned, Bradley failed during this World Cup. He failed to put the best lineup on the pitch and he failed in preparing his players to play 90 minutes of competitive soccer. I don’t want to belabor the point that most in the real media will, but you can’t give up goals in the first 10 minutes of 3 out of 4 of your World Cup matches and hope to get very far. We came out flat in all 4 games. It finally caught up to us today.

As for the corpse known as Jozy Altidore, I’m perhaps being a little cruel, but it’s been a long time in my life since I’ve been so angry with a player I was rooting for. I like Jozy. He seems like a really nice kid, with a good head on his shoulders. He even came to Amanda’s school this year and by her accounts, was great with the students. However, Jozy Altidore is not ready for primetime lights. He proved it with a dreadful Hull City club in the EPL and he drove a nail into it during the 2010 World Cup. Jozy Altidore sucked today. That’s the best analysis I can give you (okay, maybe not). During the first half, Jozy spent a good deal of time making senseless butterfly challenges (a term I use (usually in my head) when a player is challenging defensively by just chasing after the ball, but never getting it). If you re-watch the Ghana match (and really, who wouldn’t want to?) you’ll see Jozy Altidore running aimlessly, burning himself out, and ultimately never making a difference defensively. And what is truly great about that is that while he was busy burning energy defensively, he was uncreative, disconnected, and seemingly disinterested offensively for nearly the entire match. Really, we spent most of the first half playing a theoretical man down. Because while Jozy was out there, he was playing on a different pitch, in a different country, on a different day today. Jozy was nowhere to be found when we needed him.

Is it right to heap this kind of criticism on a 20 year old playing in his first World Cup? Yes. Yes, it is. Why? Because he’s out there. If you’re going to be out there, you need to actually BE OUT THERE. Why are we supposed to give Jozy Altidore the benefit of the doubt? What in the name of Eric Wynalda was Jozy Altidore ever done for US soccer? Jozy is like a top prospect in baseball who gets called up and mid-way through his first season is hitting .246 with 4 HR and 85 strikeouts. Do you send that prospect down to AA for more seasoning or do you keep him in your lineup and hope he turns it around? Coach Bradley kept Jozy in the lineup, batted him third and watched him go 0-4 at the plate. Perhaps before we fall in love with potential (And don’t get me wrong, Jozy has more than anyone else on this roster) we should check out that attractive characteristic called success first. (And if you use the “he was very good in qualifying” card, that’s your choice. I choose not to play that card. Because the Jozy Altidore I’ve seen recently wouldn’t win the NAIA’s Golden Boot award.)

For all the bad stuff and for as empty as my gut felt after the Ghana loss, more good was done in this World Cup than we realize right now. That will come with time. US Soccer has come a long way since the 2006 World Cup. There is a solid foundation in place. Altidore will be there in 4 years and hopefully be the striker that we needed this time around. Herculez Gomez will have four more years of experience. Benny Fielhaber will hopefully be a starter by then. Charlie Davies will hopefully be fully recovered from his auto accident and be back to the form he was in prior to the wreck that nearly killed him. And there’s always Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey. They’ll both be in the their early 30s by 2014 in Brazil, but you have to imagine that they’ll both be back as the leaders of that team. Neither showed any signs of age this time around. 2014 could very well be the year that US soccer truly gets on the map with the Brazils, Germanys, Argentinas, and Italys of the world.

2010, however, was not. There were moments of true genius though that, while they seem a little soured because of today’s loss, will likely stand the test of time. Landon Donovan’s goal against the Algerians was such a brilliant moment of American sport. The emotion that goal caused will resonate with me for some time. Our blitzkrieg attack to start the second half today will also stick with me. There were moments in this tournament when our team looked like perhaps we were the best team in the world. The next step is to turn those moments into 90 minute blocks. That will be the hard part. For now, though lets try not to focus so much on the bad parts. Our nucleus is in place. Our journey is mapped out for us. Our future is bright. Bring on 2014.

2010 NBA Draft

As we’ve nearly reached the halfway point of the year 2010, I thought it an appropriate time to assess the state of the “Album of the Year” race as far as I am concerned. This will be my first, and probably last, foray into writing about music in this space. Music is not one of those things I’ve ever felt comfortable writing about, but I thought it worth giving it a try.

Gold Motel “Summer House”- (see below)

Gold Motel “Gold Motel (EP)”- Here we have the leader of the pack so far. Yes, an EP. The LP, “Summer House” brings five more tracks to the fold, but none of them (except for “We’re on the Run”) can approach the five songs previously found on this EP. I think the thing that strikes me about the EP most is just how beautifully it flows together. The songs themselves evoke a certain 1960’s California pop feel, but they lack the triteness that I often feel that genre possesses. These songs might sound sunny, but lyrically Greta Morgan sings of vulnerability and insecurity and love. This EP and their terrific live show brought about the 2010 musical Renaissance for me. There was and still is something very special to me about their sound and abbreviated or not, this EP has impacted my year more than any other album. And so it finds itself here, for now.

Tomorrow, We Are Scientists and The Gaslight Anthem release new albums. And also, we’re a month and a half away from a previous Album of the Year winner, The Arcade Fire, releasing their much anticipated third album, “The Suburbs.” Or perhaps there’s another Gold Motel sitting out there. That’s the great thing about music. You never know when something is going to come along and completely change your perspective.