By Sam Handler | Thursday August 10th 2006, 11:08 am
Two of the Broncos’ starting defensive linemen are out for the preseason. The good news is that the preaseason doesn’t matter.
Courtney Brown’s troublesome knees acted up again this year at camp, and he had arthroscopic knee surgery yesterday to reduce inflamation in them. Mike Shanahan says Brown will be back by September 10th for the season kickoff versus the Rams (ONE MONTH!) and announced that the operation went extremely well.
A dislocated toe has sidelined Gerard Warren as well, and he likely won’t play until the St. Louis game either. The announced timetable for the Florida alum’s return is two-four weeks, but with little to nothing at stake in the games he’ll miss, the Broncos will probably lean toward the four-week option.
Aside from the glaring lack of negatives (unless the injuries turn out to be worse than thought), there are some positives to this situation. First of all, the Broncos will be able to give fourth round draft pick Elvis Dumervil more practice reps and game time with Brown out. There’s a lot of things that are still unknown about Dumervil: is he too small?, can he play against the rush decently?, does he have the quickness, speed, and moves to succeed above the college level?
It will be interesting to see Dumervil in action. The defensive end had superb numbers at Louisville– he forced 11 fumbles his senior year and once recorded six sacks in a game–but lacks ideal size (5′11″, 257). Some call him a poor man’s Dwight Freeney (6′1″, 268), but his 40 time, 4.68, is .2 seconds slower than the Pro-Bowler’s. There’s only one way to find out he can perform: throwing him into the fray.
Demetrin Veal will also see more game time with the injuries. With Warren out, Veal will fill the team’s right defensive tackle slot. Many of the concerns about Dumervil apply to Veal as well; the long-time backup has below-average size at 6′2″, 288, and there is doubt as to whether or not he can survive in the middle of the line. Again, there’s only one way to see if he’s a pro.
A positive to every negative…hopefully.
By Gabe Stein | Wednesday August 09th 2006, 3:20 pm
A year ago, Mike Shanahan took a risk by drafting Maurice Clarett, and promptly made the right decision by dropping Clarett from the team before the season began. Maurice has now been arrested in Ohio, after he was driving erratically late at night and was found to have several weapons in his car. According to many Broncos, much of the team tried to reach out to Clarett during his tenure in Denver, but he just didn’t seem to be driven to become a part of the team.
Mike Shanahan:
“I don’t think I’ve ever been around a bunch of guys who reached out to a guy more than Maurice, trying to help him, and having a guy not wanting that help.”
Rod Smith:
“If that did happen, it’s very unfortunate. Hopefully it hasn’t gotten to that point where he feels he has to go out and try to hurt somebody. I don’t know. It’s sad…”
Nick Ferguson:
“I was one of the one guys who really had somewhat of a decent relationship with him and talked to him on a consistent basis. The first time he left camp I was asked to kind of use that relationship to find out what was going on. But it just seems like the young man is troubled.”
I guess the only thing left to say on the subject is that it’s a good thing Clarett was cut. It’s clear that his psyche was never all there.
In other news…It seems that Dwayne “House” Carswell may not make the team after 11 seasons with the Broncos. Last year, Carswell became the first offensive lineman to catch two touchdown passes in a game in over 35 years before suffering numerous injuries in a car accident late in the season. Despite making what doctors have called an ‘amazing’ full recovery, Carswell is facing tough competition from six-foot-six tight end Chad Mustard, who has been impressive in camp.
Still, Carswell is a hard worker and a guy with soft hands, something that goes far in football. I’d hate to see his grit and veteran leadership leave the team - plus his teammates are all behind him, telling everyone not to count Dwayne out. My favorite is a quote from FB Kyle Johnson:
“House is a gamer. He’s not necessarily the best practice guy, but when that referee blows that whistle and that ball is kicked off, the guy can play.”
By Gabe Stein | Wednesday August 09th 2006, 1:19 pm
Uhh….this site isn’t funny, at all, and plus our writing is horrendous, so y’all best not come back. I can’t believe we call ourselves bloggers.
Hahaha, that’s great…insurgents. Wow.
By Gabe Stein | Wednesday August 09th 2006, 9:18 am
Nope, no we didn’t. We’ve been keeping track of Avs news (there hasn’t been much), and we have to say, we don’t like much of what we’ve seen. Everyone else around us has gone out and gotten somebody - but despite Lacroix’s assurances that we’d be able to pick up a star this offseason, well, nothing much has happened. Now the team goes into the next season minus Tanguay and Blake, and plus, well, virtually no one. Not what I expected going into the offseason.
Still, here’s what’s been happening in Avaland:
We picked up center Tyler Arnason, a center who has played for the Blackhawks but was traded late last year to the Senators. He’s a young guy with a decent amount of offensive skill, but no Alex Tanguay - Tyler had just 45 points last year in 79 games.
We signed Kurt Sauer…ok…
…signed the dynamic duo of Clark and Skrastins, good…
…agreed to terms with Liles, Budaj, and McCormik, alright….
…signed McClean for another year, avoid arbitration…good call…
…and we’ve picked up, Ken Klee and Paul Stasny! YES!!! Wait…what?
Klee, a no-namer from New Jersey is a scrappy big blue-liner, who has never scored more than 20 points in a season except in one fluke year for Toronto. He does eat up some time (18+ per game), but as a replacement for Blake, which is basically how the Avs are trying to sell this, you’ve got to be KIDDING me!
You might recognize Paul Stasny as the standout DU forward who scored 29 goals in 28 games last year. Well, he was our second-round choice, and now we’ve signed him. He’s got some talent and he’s an excitingly fast player - but it’ll take a few years to see what he develops into.
Meanwhile, Justin Leopold, the guy we acquired for Tanguay, has gone down with surgery for a hernia, which will take him…well, apparently 10-12 weeks to recover. Seems a lot for a hernia, but as long as he’s ready for the season…
So that’s what’s up for the Avalanche. No big-name acquisitions, no start-studded contract swapping…just, a lot more of the same. If anything does happen though (and we expect it won’t), we’ll keep you posted.
By Sam Handler | Tuesday August 08th 2006, 10:35 am
So if you didn’t catch it, the brains behind the operation was on www.sportsbloggerslive.com, which is a radio show that features sports freaks that devote their free time to generally unpaid writing positions. During his appearance, the hosts asked Gabe if he still hated the Raiders the most of all the teams in the AFC West. Gabe’s answer: yes. God yes.
I am inclined to agree with him. That incline is a pretty steep one, too. 1929 stock price gradient steep. Or Furby popularity steep.
Why the Raiders suck:
The Raiders are generally detestable. Let’s start with the logo.
.
I’m pretty sure if a crew of real pirates saw this logo, he would rape and pillage the entire city of Oakland. Also, what the hell kind of pirate wears that helmet? These are sea-hardened, bad-ass individuals that don’t take no lip from nobody. (five points if you got the Cool Runnings reference). They might slaughter a herd of cows, eat the bovine viscera raw, while it was still steaming with the heat of life, rape the milkmaids, and then fashion leather vests and hotpants out of their war prizes, but never a helmet. Case closed.
Now, as you all know, a lot of children like pirates, and in fact enjoy drawing them. I’m confident that this pirate:
is a better drawing than the one in the Raiders logo. It looks like something out of a sixties-era textbook. And yes, I have seen sixties-era textbooks. Because public schools have no money.
Aside from the worst logo ever created in the history of time and space and whatever preceded it, the Raiders team is also more a bunch of jerks than a bunch of football players. If Hollywood has taught me anything about pirates, it’s that they’re jolly fellows that enjoy womanizing and drinking. Now the Raiders enjoy womanizing and drinking, but in a less than festive and loveable way. It’s more in a get loaded then miss the Super Bowl leaving your team without a Pro Bowl offensive lineman that is critical to said team’s success way.
Let’s not forget that Randy Moss enjoys running over police officers. (Actually, Randy Moss seems to actually be a misunderstood character, unlike T.O., what with the helping sick children etc.).
So it’s pretty much settled that normal pirates > Raider pirates.
Now Al Davis seems like he could legitimately be a pirate villain. He was around for the 18th century, he’s got a heart of pure, concentrated evil, and most likely bathes irregularly if at all. (note: no factual basis for the stank comment, except that people are repulsed by his presence). He also loves meddling in his team’s affairs, which he pretty clearly doesn’t understand. His infatuation with straight-line speed has lead to some terrible, terrible draft picks. In 2005, the organization selected Stanford Routt, a track star in Conference USA that also played a bit of football, with their second round pick. He had two passes defensed last year. Their first round pick was also an althletic freak cornerback, although Fabian Washington is a monster, so I can’t say much against him. He has frightening closing speed.
The only saving grace for the team, besides Fabian Washington and Ronald Curry, is Terdell Sands, a freakishly big (6′7″, 335) defensive lineman who, phonetically at least, has “turd” in his name. He also went to Tennessee-Chattanooga. We love you, Terdell. We really do.
So there you have it. Some of the reasons I hate the Raiders. Feel free to comment and add more reasons to hate ‘em.
By staff | Monday August 07th 2006, 2:55 pm
Mr. Bell has made the top of the deep Denver running back depth chart. He has impressed Mike Shanahan and the other coaches enough to finally take his place on the top of the depth chart, ahead of Ron Dayne and the other Bell: Tatum.
What?
Everyone, including me, expected Tatum Bell – one half of the second-ranked rushing threat in the NFL last year with Mike Anderson – to assume the top spot on the depth chart this year. People figured he would garner most of the carries and then Shanahan would bring in Dayne for two or three yard situations. (We’ll refer to Tatum Bell as “Mr. T†from now on because this could get confusing).
But no. This morning we get word via the Denver Post that rookie Mike Bell has done well enough this season to supplant Mr. T and Ron Dayne on the top of the depth chart. This doesn’t mean he will start the team’s first game Sept. 10 at St. Louis, but it gives him a hell of a good chance. Shanahan told the Post that Mike Bell will start in the preseason opener this Friday in Detroit. Mike Bell rushed for 952 yards on 200 carries in his senior year at Arizona, averaging a respectable 4.76 yards. Let’s see how well that will translate at the pro level.
Mike Bell was the No. 3 running back but has switched spots with Ron Dayne, while Mr. T has been No. 2 the whole time.
There are two immediate thoughts on this.
1. Mike Shanahan has a good eye when it comes to running backs, so perhaps we should trust him if he thinks this rookie will do better for him and the Broncos than veterans Ron Dayne and Mr. T can do. When it comes to running back decisions, the whole league should defer to Shanahan because the Broncos have had the most running yards in the NFL since he took over.
2. This is a deliberate move by Shanahan and the coaching staff to light a fire under the rumps of both Dayne and Mr. T to have them work harder and realize that in the Shanahan running system, there are no sure bets. Imagine what it feels like for Mr. T to work hard to get the top spot for two years and then a rookie comes along and pushes him aside. This will either motivate him to work that much harder or it will break his will and he will have a mediocre season as the No. 2 running back.
The saying goes that you could put anyone in the Shanahan/Broncos running system and they’ll get at least 1,200 yards. That may or may not be true (it probably is) but let’s just hope that Mike Bell has what it takes to keep the Broncos on top of the NFL in the rushing department.
By the way, first round draft pick Jay Cutler has also moved up on the depth chart, passing Bradlee Van Pelt. This isn’t really big news; anyone with an ounce of intelligence could have seen this one coming. There are rumors that if Jake Plummer underperforms this season Cutler will be the starter next year. Plus, if the Broncos were that confident in Van Pelt as a backup they wouldn’t have wasted a top-20 draft pick on Cutler.
By Gabe Stein | Monday August 07th 2006, 11:00 am
As the preseason starts and the sounds and sights of FOOTBALL!!!! are in the air again, it’s time to break down this years’ thrilling installment of the AFC West by their rank and record this year.
4th Place: Oakland Raiders (7-9)
Does anyone think they have a real shot at the division? First of all, Aaron Brooks is their quarterback. Apparently no one in Oakland ever watched a Saint’s game, because as Steven A would say, ‘That guy is TERRIBLE.’ Here’s an intriguing stat for you: Last year, Brooks threw 16 interceptions and only 13 TDs. Yeah, he was on a bad team, but it’s not like he has a lot more going for him in Oakland. The point is, when he has people around him, Brooks is a decent QB, but he’s not a guy who can come in and turn a team around by himself, which is what he’s being asked to do in Oakland, and basically what he’s gonna have to do if they have a shot at the division. And that’s just not a roll Brooks will ever play.
3rd Place: Kansas City Chiefs (9-7)
The Chiefs do have Larry Johnson, but if we’ve learned anything from the Broncos, a good back is a nice thing to have, but he’s never going to be very effective without a good offensive line blocking for him. The Chiefs will not have a good offensive line this season. First, they’re old. The entire Chiefs line is over 27, with three guys over 30. Second, Willy Rove retiring means the anchor of the line is gone, and his replacement is not going to be the leader or talent that Rove was. The upshot of this is that the line in front of Johnson is going to be suspect at best, and will probably fall apart by the end of the season. Plus, if for any reason some of you chief fans are still getting excited about the season, here’s a reason not to: one of your big defensive acquisitions in the off-season was Lenny Walls, the Broncos’ 4th corner last year…you STILL don’t have a defense.
2nd Place: San Diego Chargers (10-6)
Two words: Phillip Rivers. Even though he has LT in the backfield, Rivers is an un-tested quarterback and starting one is always very risky. Plus, the Chargers made little defensive improvement in the offseason and without Drew Brees leading the team, I just don’t think they’ll go very far. Any time you come off a 9-7 season and then change QBs from a hot veteran to an untested, basically a rookie, you know you’re gambling and unless Rivers is just amazing, it’s going to be a development year for the Chargers, not a winning year. And that’s not even getting to that mess they call a secondary.
1st Place: Denver Broncos (13-3)
We made a couple of key acquisitions in the off-season in picking up pro-bowler Javon Walker and another member of that Cleveland D-line that we started grabbing a year ago. Walker should be a marked improvement over Ashley Lelie, who despite having enormous potential never showed up in a big game and appears to have been a nut case all along. Even though we lost Mike Anderson, we know by now that any running back can work in the Shannahan system, and all the two-bit analysts are saying the o-line might be as good as its ever been, even dating back to the Terrel years. Plus, we have some pretty good backs in camp: Ron Dayne showed a lot of promise last year and Tatum Bell was extremely motivated this offseason to get a little bigger and move up to a 25-30 carry back as opposed to just 15-20, attending 100% of the Broncos’ offseason conditioning program. Additionally, in drafting Cutler, we’re the west’s team of the future, too. We do have a very tough schedule this year - but we had one last year and overcame that just fine. Now we’re a much improved team and should do just fine.
The one thing all of us need to worry about in Denver is overconfidence. I know that making it to the AFC Championship game has gotten us all excited and everyone’s motto seems to be ‘Super Bowl or Bust!’ But we all have to remember that there are 16 regular season games before the playoffs start, and at least two games in the post-season before the Super Bowl. Everyone, the fans and the team needs to concentrate on each game instead of getting caught up in placing bets on the score of the big game. I don’t want to hear ANYONE trash-talking about winning the Super Bowl on any media outlet, pedastal, or even private conversation. Okay, good practice and I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh and Moncrief…good hands out there.
By staff | Thursday August 03rd 2006, 10:52 pm
It looks like we’ll have to put up with K-Mart for at least another year, and there’s a chance the Nuggets could add Bonzi Wells. Maybe.
George Karl told the Rocky Tuesday that the temperamental — my word, not his — Kenyon Martin will be back in Denver this coming season, despite the fact that his name was floated in several trade rumors over the course of the summer so far.
On Tuesday, Karl left little room for doubt. Asked if his comments were an indication Martin wouldn’t be traded, Karl said, “I never have (thought Martin would be traded).”
Karl acts as if the team hasn’t tried to move K-Mart for almost the entire off-season. But the story in the Rocky sums it up very well in a nutshell:
NBA insiders have said the Nuggets have actively looked to move Martin. But, with a bad left knee and five years and $72 million left on his contract, they have found little interest.
Not to mention the bad back that kept K-Mart out of the line up for more than a few games when we could have used him. I really liked it when we brought the big man to town from New Jersey — despite the fact that we could have landed Gilbert Arenas — and figured we would get the same explosive K-Mart that was so exciting to watch for all those years running the floor with Jason Kidd, even making it to the finals one year. But all Denver has gotten out of the deal is an on-again off-again player who likes to send his goon-squad into the stands to confront hecklers and get into fights with the coach and other players at a critical point in last year’s playoff series with the Clippers (I still think we could have and should have won that series). Let’s just hope that the old K-Mart comes back next season because a healthy, motivated K-Mart could help us get to where we need to be.
Another report has former Sacramento King Bonzi Wells landing in Denver after not getting the deal from the Kings that he wanted. This deal will probably not go through, but the Nuggets are looking for shooters where ever they can find them, and Wells would be a great addition to the team. Wells averaged 13.6 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game and almost three assists per game last season, but he may be asking for too much money.
On to the NBA.com Power Rankings:
NBA.com released its idea of the power rankings for next season, and the Nuggets are 13th, after being ranked 12th just last week. This is another example of the Nuggets and the Rodney Dangerfield paradigm: “I don’t get no respect.”
How can three teams with worse season records last year be ranked above the Nuggets? New Orleans/Oklahoma City (38-44), Washington (42-40) and Chicago (41-41) were all ranked higher than the Nuggets.
I’ll break these down one at a time:
New Orleans/Oklahoma City — You’ve got to be kidding me. Honestly. NBA.com says that no team has improved more than the Hornets this off-season. We’ll see. Mark my words: The Nuggets will finish with a better season record and get further into the playoffs than the Hornets. No doubt in my mind.
Washington — You do have Gilbert Arenas, an emerging super star, but you finished with less wins than Denver and you play in the east. It is widely acknowledged that the east is easier than the west, so what gives? Washington did have an impressive playoff run last year (the series against the Cavs was amazing with Arenas and James going shot for shot), and that may play into this. But I’d put the Nuggets against the Wizards any day.
Chicago — Besides the acquisition of Ben Wallace, what gives NBA.com the idea that the Nuggets are not as good as the Bulls? Again, the Bulls play in the east and finished with less wins than the Nuggets. NBA.com even acknowledges in its listing that they’re not sure who’s going to do the scoring. Talk about giving too much credit to Ben Wallace: Let’s not forget he was one of a handful of players on the Pistons that were so dominant the last few years. Without Wallace, the Bulls would’ve been somewhere in the high teens, no doubt.
By staff | Thursday August 03rd 2006, 9:55 pm
The Broncos have won a remarkable 106 times in the last 10 years, according to stats compiled in the latest “A-List” column by the Rocky’s Sam Adams. That is the most wins by any team in the NFL since 1996, followed closely by the Packers and the Patriots. We’ve also had the best home record in that time period (64-16-0), and have the third best road record (42-38-0), which isn’t that good considering it’s only four games above .500. He adds that the Broncos had seven playoff berths, three AFC West division titles and two Super Bowl championships in that time. I would say that’s pretty damn good.
The problem is in that same time period we’ve gone 8-6 in the playoffs (don’t get too excited, seven of those wins were in ‘97 and ‘98 when we won the two Super Bowls). We had our first playoff win last season in seven years — the first since Elway retired — in dramatic fashion against the Patriots, only to lose a game we should have won against the Steelers. What does that tell you?
We can win during the regular season, but when it comes to pressure situations like the playoffs, we consistently come up short. Case in point would be the Steelers game that was totally within our grasp if we hadn’t been out-coached and outplayed. I know our players are going to use the experience as motivation to try and make it back to the AFC Championship and eventually on the Super Bowl this year, but I’m still not quite over that loss.
All the wins in the world — the most wins by any NFL team, the best home record, etc. — doesn’t mean squat unless we win Super Bowls. Period.
Other Broncos notes: The Broncos signed free agent running back Damien Nash on Thursday, who was with the Titans the last two years. In that time he averaged 5.3 yards per carry, exactly the same as potential-starter Tatum Bell. The difference: Nash has only played in three games in his career, where he put up six rushes for 32 yards.
Former Chargers receiver Rashaun Woods did not make the squad after he failed a physical. Denver had claimed him off waivers, but he did not make the grade.
By Gabe Stein | Thursday August 03rd 2006, 5:15 pm
Watch out MLB! All of the Rockies’ outstanding success at home this year (2 games over five-hundred) is directly attributable to the humidor and the way the Rockies’ staff uses it to place illegally waterlogged baseballs in situations where it benefits the Rockies, says disgruntled Brewers third baseman and ex-Rockie Jeff Cirillo.
The story has been circling around the blogosphere for a while, but I decided that it was time for DSZ to weigh in when I heard the latest news on the subject courtesy of Purple Row. Apparently, Joe Sheehan from the Baseball Prospectus has confirmed the obvious: that the humidor has been effective in lowering the amount of runs at Coors Field, and though improved Rockies pitching can be attributed to some of the decrease in runs, it can’t account for all of it. Sheehan cites a number of statistics pointing at the effect of the humidor and how it’s slowed baseball down in the Mile High City, but his article is hardly condemning to someone who puts a little thought into it. But the worst part of all of this is that it comes this year, of all four years since the humidor was installed. Sheehan points out that Coors’ offensive numbers have been down since the humidor was put into place in 2002, but I guess the Rockies just weren’t playing well enough for anyone to care. Now that the Rockies are playing well and are involved in a pennant race however, I guess it’s time we address the old humidor question…But on to the current rumblings.
What I just can’t believe through all of this is how people are completely forgetting the purpose of the humidor. Cirillo told reporters after the Brewers’ first game at Coors that he could feel a remarkable difference between the balls that the Brewers used for practice and the official balls used during the game with the Rockies.
“One looked like a round ball and the other looked like an oblong ball,” Cirillo said. “And even some of the infielders said when they were throwing across the diamond, the ball felt a little heavy.”
This story exploded into Cirillo’s Coorspiracy*, which has spread like wildfire first across the internet and then down to the traditional news media. Apparently, not only are the Coors balls illegal (and I’ll get to that in a minute), but now the Rockies’ staff is deliberately placing drier balls when the Rockies come up to bat, and wetter ones when opposing teams bat - accounting for the Rox incredible success at home this year. Not only that, but according to some reporters, Cirillo’s theory was vindicated when the Rockies lost a 1-0 game to the Brewers in the second game of the series.
There are several problems with all of this. Is everyone forgetting the original purpose of the humidor? The balls used before 2002 at Coors were thoroughly examined by the Rockies’ staff, who concluded that the dry balls were actually not meeting MLB regulations because they were too small and not heavy enough. This was confirmed by the comissioner when he approved the humidor before the 2002 season. As has been forgotten, I guess by everyone, the reason Cirillo could feel a difference in the two sets of balls was because the ones the Brewers were using to practice with were the ‘illegal’ balls, having been through a plane trip and then sitting out in Colorado’s dry climate for a day or two. Now, Cirillo has a point that the balls may be too waterlogged and in fact violating MLB regulations on the other end of the spectrum. This should be investigated. But Cirillo’s argument that using the humidor somehow automatically makes the balls illegal, when in fact the humidor was implemented to make the balls meet MLB standards, is ridiculous.
Even Sheehan’s logic is fundamentally flawed. We all know that before the advent of the humidor, Coors Field was playing well above average in every offensive statistic. We also know that part of the reasoning behind the humidor was to bring it in line with most other Major League ballparks. All of Sheehan’s statistics show that the humidor has dropped Coors Field in all offensive categories - but in no category has Coors dropped to the bottom. In most categories, in fact, it has remained in the top 15 parks. Sheehan only looks at it from one perspective, and does not go on with his study, like he should, to compare the new Coors numbers with the rest of the league to see if Coors is now playing like most other parks (which it is) or if the humidor is overcompensating. Sheehan also fails to compare the shift in Coors’ numbers with baseball’s overall offensive trends in the last few years. Sheehan only compares Coors to Coors, confirming the absolutely obvious. This reduces the “study” to absurd and strips any ’scientific’ or even ‘objective’ merit from Sheehan’s claims, which is that somehow the humidor has so drastically changed baseball that we can’t even recognize the sport anymore when it gets played in Denver. In fact, most people who have watched a game at Coors instead of just watching the stat books have noticed that the game plays more like, well, a baseball game now. If that’s a bad thing for baseball, I guess the entire league needs drastic changes to make baseball less like baseball.
Finally, we get to Cirillo’s Coorspiracy*, which is that the Rockies change balls in the middle of their games to give the offense an extra boost of ‘dry, light balls’ when they need it. This is utterly ridiculous for a number of reasons. First, the Rockies aren’t a great team at home - they’re only two games over five hundred at Coors! The Brewers are getting much more of an advantage from their “normal” home park than the Rockies are, playing 9 games over five hundred in Milwaukee. If the Rockies are switching balls, they’re obviously not doing it very effectively. Plus, not only can I not believe that the Rockies would cheat like that, but if the two sets of balls are ’sssssoooo different’ as Cirillo claims, someone - an opposing pitcher, an umpire, a catcher - would have figured it out by now. Yes Jeff, the Rockies are better this year than they were last year, and much better than when you played on the team - but just because a team improves from one year to the next doesn’t mean there’s a conspiracy behind their play. Hell Jeff, the Tigers’ resurgance is coming out of nowhere this year! I’ll bet they’re doing something to the balls that their pitching staff throws to make them more effective.
With that, we wrap up another exciting Rockies off-day. The Rox are back at it tomorrow with Jeff Francis on the mound to open an important road trip against the San Francisco Giants and later the Los Angeles Dodgers.
*Jeff Cirillo did not use the word ‘Coorspiracy’ to describe his conspiracy theory involving waterlogged baseballs, nor did anyone else as far as I know. I came up with the word while trying to come up with fancy post titles and will therefore take credit for coining the phrase. You are of course welcome to use the word free of charge and mention as often as you like. I think it’s kind’ve catchy myself.
