Random December Sports Musings

I interrupt my normally logical stream of consciousness to lay out some random musings in the world of sports.

1. Penn basketball. My Penn Quakers basketball team is zero for the season. That's right, the formerly proud Quakers are 0-7, including losses to traditional powerhouses Albany (at the Palestra) and Monmouth, leading to the firing of Coach Glen Miller and appointment of former star Jerome Allen to interim coach. I already lamented about this a year ago in a previous post, and it's pretty clear that the glory years have left with Fran Dunphy. Speaking of whom, if you were a spoiled Penn fan during those years who would complain that for all of those Ivy League championships and NCAA Tournament berths, Dunphy was only able to squeak out one win in the dance, how much would you give to get those days back? Coach Dunphy, by the way, is doing just well at Temple, where he's just cracked the Top 25 with wins over Villanova, Seton Hall, and St. John's.
2. Your 2009 World Champion New York Yankees. I like the Granderson move alot. If the pundits are right in saying that the upside of Austin Jackson is essentially Curtis Granderson, I don't mind the swap for a guy who plays a Gold Glove-caliber center field, kills right-handed pitching (yeah, Kevin Long needs to work on his hitting against lefties) with a short right field porch, and is a lock to make a good clubhouse even better. Sad to see Matsui and Damon go, but Matsui's knees are shot and with the money that Damon's rumored to be looking for, I think it's time to say goodbye. The Javier Vasquez trade is a good counter to the Red Sox signing of John Lackey, and they didn't pay as much for their one-year rental as Seattle did for Cliff Lee (more on both those points later).
3. Red Sox. I thought the Mike Cameron signing was actually a lot better than the John Lackey signing. As I was telling a Red Sox-fan colleague over lunch: Lackey doesn't scare anyone, and that contract is going to be an albatross quickly. Lackey is a glorified Pat Hentgen, Livan Hernandez or Kevin Millwood - although he's a smart pitcher with okay stuff, he doesn't have great stuff, and over time as his velocity erodes, he's going to be pitching batting practice, especially in the AL East. Compare that with A.J. Burnett, who has filthy stuff, but occasionally has mental lapses. I'd take the high-upside guy, any day.
4. Phillies. I'm still trying to get my head around this Halladay-Lee-prospects deal, which I go back and forth in terms of liking and disliking. Here's what clear: the deal wasn't really a "true" three team trade, in that the Phillies trade with Toronto didn't require any of Seattle's players. In reality, the Phillies made their trade with Toronto giving them their prospects (Drabel, Taylor and D'Arnaud), and then traded Lee to Seattle for another three prospects (Aumont, Gillies and Ramirez). If the Phillies were financially unable to keep Lee (and take the two high draft picks after failing to re-sign him in 2011), could they have gotten more for Lee from a team other than the Mariners? For example, would the Yankees have given up, let's say, Phil Hughes, Mike Dunn, and Brett Gardner? Would the Red Sox have given up Josh Reddick, Michael Bowden and Casey Kelly? If yes, that's my only criticism. Given what the Yankees gave up for Javier Vasquez, my sense is that the Phillies did okay.
5. Mets. Nice re-signing of Alex Cora. The point being here that if that's your signature move in the offseason, you have every right to be very depressed.
6. Jets. Has any team team this season lost more games in agonizing ways than the Jets? Between the Miami, Jacksonville and Atlanta choke jobs at the end of those games, it's been another painful season for Jets fans. I've seen enough Jets games this year where the offense has absolutely been awful to make we wonder, "Why is Brian Schottenheimer lauded as some sort of offensive genius?" At least Rex Ryan has certainly justified his reputation as a defensive expert.
7. Giants. This is one Jekyll and Hyde team. Their romp against the Redskins makes them look like world-beaters, but watching their defense against the Eagles was painful. I think if they run the table, they'll get into the playoffs as I don't think both the Cowboys and Packers will both win the rest of their games.
8. The Super Bowl Contenders. Out of the realistic contenders, the Eagles are probably team that I have a rooting interest for. But I have to admit that the thought of Saints vs. Bengals Super Bowl intrigues me. Can you imagine having two teams with such horrible recent histories being in the Super Bowl? These are two franchises nicknamed the "Ain'ts" and "Bungles", respectively, with numerous photos of fans wearing bags over their heads.