Atwal grabs lead at Sea Island, Furyk and Love one back (Reuters)
2012
Concession Speech: 2012 Los Angeles Dodgers
2012
With the regular season over, teams are facing an offseason filled with golf rounds and hot-stove strategy.
But we're not going to let them get off that easy. No sir. No way. In an attempt to bring some closure between franchise and follower, we're giving a blogger from each team the opportunity to give a concession speech for this year's squad. Before we get to the Yankees, we're circling back to southern California so the Sons of Steve Garvey can have their say on an altogether-not-lost season from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
My fellow Dodger fans:
It is with heavy heart that we, the Sons of Steve Garvey, formally concede our team's candidacy for 2012 World Series champion. This season was quite a roller coaster, with plenty of insane highs and ridiculous lows involved.
But what started out with some shocking surprises (Magic Johnson is buying the Dodgers?!) and some extremely positive momentum (best record in baseball through June 19) suddenly gave way to a quick downward spiral (a plague of injuries, most notably to franchise foundation Matt Kemp), and not even the late presence of a potent "final five" (Hanley Ramirez, Joe Blanton, Shane Victorino, Adrian Gonzalez, and Josh Beckett) could abate a dirge through the second half of the run (an impotent offense through most of August and September dropped us from the division lead to 11 games back), which finally culminated with a "what the heck just happened there?" surprise (winning eight of our last 10 games of the season).
Come to think of it, the Dodgers' 2012 plotline almost directly follows the story arc of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series (and I still can't get over the Kara-Thrace-suddenly-disappears-in-a-poof-of-smoke thing, but that's another story altogether).
But let's focus on the good. And the season definitely started out well, beginning with the long-overdue eviction of the scourge that was the Frank and Jamie McCourt circus. Even in a city founded on vanity, the McCourts' penchant for using the Dodgers organization (and real estate) as a capital source to fund their excessive wealth, personal privilege, and deplorable behavior had turned most of Dodger fans away from the organization in protest (even boycotting the Stadium, dropping 2011 attendance levels below 3 million for the first time this century). Despite a handful of playoff appearances and executing the early stages of a Dodger Stadium renovation plan, the McCourts had worn out their welcome, to the point that they were driven out with torches and pitchforks.
In their wake came a new ownership team that was almost too good to believe. Magic Johnson, Lakers royalty, as the public face. Stan Kasten, proven baseball guru, as the insider. Guggenheim Partners, with $2.15 billion to spend, as the moneymen. Peter Guber, former Hollywood executive, as the slicked-back hair guy. They committed to upgrading the stadium, improving the fan experience (starting by dropping parking fees from $15 to $10), and investing in the team on the field. Los Angeles fans couldn't believe it. Finally, we had a new campaign management team with the proven chops to win the race.
Nor could we believe the results of the product on the field. Powered by a torrid start by Matt Kemp (batting over .400, with a 1.305 OPS through May 8) and Clayton Kershaw (4-1 with a 1.90 ERA through May 19), the Dodgers took off like a rocket, almost as if a heavy weight had been removed from their collective shoulders. It was frakkin' unbelievable.
And despite the organization's lack of investment in the campaign team during the offseason, everyday players stepped up and over-performed in the early days. Catcher AJ Ellis, batting eighth, had a .464 OBP through mid-May. Chris Capuano opened up the season a remarkable 8-2. Jerry Hairston Jr. batted .373 through the end of May, giving some power at third base. Andre Ethier, always streaky, was heading on a positive trajectory. And when retreads like Juan Rivera and DFAd-by-the-Angels Bobby Abreu managed to not fully embarrass the team, it seemed like this just might be an incredible season. The Dodgers opened up a seven-game lead on the NL West and were rolling. What could possibly go wrong?
By mid-June, we found out. The wheels not only fell off the wagon, they drove into a sewer and were spit out into a chasm filled with molten lava and the used syringes of 2012 Giants players. It didn't help that, at a time when our own candidate was plummeting in the polls, our opponent could seemingly do no wrong. Not even a drug scandal (and the ensuing coverup) could reverse that trend. Though we came in to this campaign as dark-horse candidates, our meteoric rise to the top revised our hopes and expectations. When some of that (lower-case "m") magic evaporated, it was a loss much harder to bear, having once been at the top.
Kemp's recurrent hamstring and knee injuries (two DL stints) were the first blows in a combination of punches that the team just couldn't absorb. Hairston went down, but he gave way to Luis Cruz, the Dodgers' best story of the season, who overcame 12 years of stints in the minors to shine as an everyday player, batting .297 with a 106 OPS+ not to mention outstanding glove work at third. Second baseman Mark Ellis was not only taken out on a defensive play, he almost lost his whole leg as a result.
The Dodgers treaded water through June, July, and most of August, with the offense (and fans) somnambulating through many of those games. Still, the Dodgers' postseason chances were surprisingly still within reach. They just needed some revitalization; an injection of money into the campaign, one might say.
New ownership came through in spades, demonstrating a willingness to spend money and take on contracts, but also to invest in a team that had been undernourished for years. Former All-Star Hanley Ramirez was picked up from the Marlins in late July, with the Dodgers hoping that a change of scenery away from a watery Art Deco-designed grave might spark his bat. Dodger thorns Shane Victorino and Joe Blanton came over from the Phillies. And finally, the Red Sox unloaded Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto, giving the Dodgers an immediate upgrade at first base after suffering through years of James Loney (a nice, albeit punchless, guy).
These moves clearly upgraded the Dodgers on paper, and doubtless set a solid foundation for future seasons (certainly in the case of Crawford, who spent the 2012 season recovering from injury). But the 2012 result was mixed at best. Ramirez finished his Dodger stint with a 112 OPS+ and had a litany of defensive miscues—and that was the most positive result of the mid-season pickups. Gonzalez homered in his first at-bat as a Dodger, but took the rest of the season to re-find his swing. Victorino brought none of his vitality, ending the season with the lowest OPS+ of his career. And Blanton went 2-4 over 10 starts with a 5 ERA.
But it was maladies to the Dodgers stalwarts, and not a flawed campaign strategy, which really did us in. When Kemp ran into the Coors Field wall in center at full speed on August 28, injuring the labrum on his shoulder in a vicious hit, the Dodgers' chances were torn as well. Kemp was never the same the rest of the season, and had surgery two days after our final game. Chad Billingsley won his last six starts and was on a roll before injuring his elbow; Bills is still awaiting a verdict to see if Tommy John surgery, which would knock him out for all of 2013, is required. Kershaw was the only full-season Dodgers workhorse in 2012, as he ended up 14-9, as well as his second straight season with the NL's best ERA (2.53).
And thus, the Dodgers' season, full of ups and downs, finally evaporated, extinguished for good in the 161st game of the season.
It is difficult to give a concession speech after such a tumultuous season, one which repeatedly toyed with our emotions and tested our faith and sanity. But at least the future holds a lot of potential, both in the marquee players we've got on the roster, the youth of the core (Kershaw, Kemp, and Ethier), and the willingness of Dodgers ownership to spend money and swing for the fences. (Heck, they had me at "reduced parking fees.") Maybe our campaign managers were planning for the win in 2013, all along?
There is no doubt better days are to come in 2013.
So say we all.
Follow the Sons of Steve Garvey on Twitter and read their work here
Coming Monday: New York Yankees
Previous Concession Speeches: Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland A's, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Angels,Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates,Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros
Make sure all your bases are covered this postseason ...
Follow @bigleaguestew, @KevinKaduk and the BLS Facebook page!
Dominik Hasek, 47, retires for a third time after failing to receive NHL offer
2012
Back in June of 2008, Dominik Hasek retired from the NHL at age 43 for the second time after 16 seasons. At the press conference, he noted he lacked the motivation to continue playing at a high level — a level that earned him a treasure trove of honors including two Hart Trophies, six Vezina Trophies, two Stanley Cups and an Olympic gold medal.
A little over four years since that first retirement announcement, Hasek is set for another one, and this time it feels final. In an exclusive interview with iSport Hasek, 47, says it's unlikely he'll play again after failing to receive an offer from an NHL team.
From iSport (translated):
"I prepared, I wanted to play. But for what I was studying (return to the NHL), it did not work. I do not see that it has changed," he explained in a video interview for iSport.cz. "I wanted to do everything possible to get back to the NHL, but the other party did not feel like me. Finally I decided it's not worth it," said Hasek.
Via a IIHF.com translation:
"It's very sad," Hasek told Sport. "But there is nothing you can do. I realized that it's time to retire."
In March of 2011, Hasek said he wanted to play one more year in the KHL, but no offers came his way. This past March, he stated that if he didn't receive an adequate contract by June, he would retire. Over the summer, with the talk of retired players like Mike Modano and Georges Laraque making comebacks as well, Hasek began training with Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga -- the team he played for in his youth -- in hopes of enticing offers from NHL teams.
Reportedly, two of the teams Hasek's camp had spoken with included the Vancouver Canucks and Carolina Hurricanes, but the lockout and full AHL rosters at the moment put those discussions to a halt. "I see no reason why I would now suddenly be someone they want in the NHL," Hasek said.
Had there not been an NHL lockout, maybe a team brings him to training camp for PR or to create a competition among their netminders. Maybe. But knowing the kind of fitness freak the future first ballot Hall of Famer Hasek is, a trait that allowed him to play competitively until age 47, it wouldn't surprise us if he's found lacing them up again somewhere in Europe in the future.
Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy
Curt Schilling might be forced to sell his bloody sock from the 2004 ALCS
2012
Selling your dirty laundry to help erase a debt? Most of us would only be so lucky.
It's apparently a real option for Curt Schilling, though, as the former Boston Red Sox pitcher could be forced to sell the famous bloody sock that he wore while pitching Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS.
[More: Red Sox fire manager Bobby Valentine | Slideshow]
Previously known for his exploits on the field, Schilling has occupied recent headlines for the failure of his video game business. Schilling said in June that he's "tapped out financially" and that he personally invested $50 million in the company that also received money from Rhode Island taxpayers.
The financial situation could result in Schilling's bloody sock being sold to the highest bidder. The sock became soiled with blood from his injured right ankle as Schilling allowed one run over seven innings in a Red Sox victory that tied the series and forced a Game 7 that Boston would win to complete the most famous comeback in postseason history.
From the Associated Press:
Schilling, whose Providence-based 38 Studios filed for bankruptcy in June, listed the sock as collateral to Bank Rhode Island in a September filing with the Massachusetts Secretary of State's office. The sock is on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Schilling also listed a baseball hat believed to have been worn by New York Yankees great Lou Gehrig and his collection of World War II memorabilia, including some the filing said is being held at the National World War II Museum.
So assuming that a monied Red Sox fan is actually interested in acquiring this unique piece, how much could Schilling expect to receive? An ESPN reporter says Schilling has considered selling the sock in the past and that he was told it could fetch anywhere from $600,000 to over $1 million.
Those estimates, however, were made before both the economy and the Red Sox collapsed, so who knows what the market looks like now?
[Also: Where's the love for Cabrera's Triple Crown?]
Plus, even if Schilling gets someone to pay seven figures for his hosiery, it sounds like it'd only be a drop in the bucket compared to the fortune he's already lost.
Are you ready for the postseason?
Follow @bigleaguestew, @KevinKaduk and the BLS Facebook page!
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Zimmerman, Nationals win NL East championship (Yahoo! Sports)
2012
WASHINGTON (AP) -- As the Washington Nationals' first draft pick back in June 2005, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was there almost from the start, through the various last-place finishes and the consecutive 100-loss seasons.
The 2013 Sprint Cup schedule: what’s new is, well, largely the same
2012
As tracks started announcing their upcoming race dates, the 2013 schedule was beginning to be pieced together, and NASCAR gave the complete answer on Tuesday when it released the official 2013 Sprint Cup Series schedule. And it's pretty much the same as this year's schedule.
All 10 Chase tracks remain the same, and eight of them keep their order in the Chase. The only swap comes between Kansas and Talladega, as Kansas moves up to the fourth Chase race after being the sixth Chase race this year.
With Easter weekend falling on the final weekend of March, the spring Martinsville race remains on the first Sunday in April. The last off weekend of the season will be Sunday, July 21st.
The complete 2013 Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series schedules will be released later in the fall. The complete Cup Series schedule is below:
February 16: Shootout (Saturday night)
February 24: Daytona 500
March 3: Phoenix
March 10: Las Vegas
March 17: Bristol
March 24: Auto Club
April 7: Martinsville
April 13: Texas (Saturday night)
April 21: Kansas
April 27: Richmond (Saturday night)
May 5: Talladega
May 11: Darlington (Saturday night)
May 18: All Star Race
May 26: Charlotte (Sunday night)
June 2: Dover
June 9: Pocono
June 16: Michigan
June 23: Sonoma
June 29: Kentucky (Saturday night)
July 6: Daytona (Saturday night)
July 14: New Hampshire
July 28: Indianapolis
August 4: Pocono
August 11: Watkins Glen
August 18: Michigan
August 24: Bristol (Saturday night)
September 1: Atlanta (Sunday night)
September 7: Richmond (Saturday night)
September 15: Chicagoland
September 22: New Hampshire
September 29: Dover
October 6: Kansas
October 12: Charlotte (Saturday night)
October 20: Talladega
October 27: Martinsville
November 3: Texas
November 10: Phoenix
November 17: Homestead
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Brian Banks takes his next step with the UFL
2012
In a different world, Brian Banks might have been an All-American linebacker at USC, a high NFL draft pick, and the owner of multiple Pro Bowl nominations by now. Instead, Banks' story and journey to the pros has a far more compelling narrative.
Falsely accused of rape at age 16, the former high school standout linebacker spent five years in prison and another five years on probation before he was finally exonerated in May. Banks, who had lost 50 pounds in the last year as he trained against all odds for the chance at the NFL he had been so cruelly denied before, immediately received interest from several NFL teams. Banks attended some summer minicamps, flew back to his Los Angeles home to begin work with elite NFL trainer Travelle Gaines, and bided his time.
Now, Banks has taken a significant step forward on his road to the NFL by signing with the Las Vegas Locos of the United Football League. The team announced the move on Wednesday.
That early list of NFL teams included the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks, whose head coach, Pete Carroll, had received a verbal commitment to USC from Banks a decade before. In June, Banks went to Seattle for a test workout, which went well enough for Banks to be invited back for the team's mandatory minicamp later that month.
"I didn't even know if I was going to have a number, a jersey…I didn't know what to expect when I first got here," Banks said. "I got to my locker and saw there was a jersey in it — number 43. And I just wanted to take a picture of it just for myself. It's just amazing to see my name on the back of it. It's an honor to be taken serious and to be given this opportunity."
The most impressive thing about Banks from a purely competitive perspective was that after so long away from the game, he looked like an undrafted free agent who would probably come up short on first cuts. Banks ran to the ball with average speed in non-contact drills, he showed decent speed and flexibility in his drops, and he certainly appeared to be a step late to the action at times ... but given the circumstances, it was pretty impressive.
"Size-wise, strength-wise, and all that kind of stuff, he's in the right kind of profile," Carroll said after that first practice. "So he did a good job. We've got to look at the film and see what's going on with that, but I was really proud of him today."
"Well, you know, he's a little behind -- he might be a little rusty," Seahawks linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. added. "But there's the foundation. Does he look like a ballplayer? Yes. Does he move well? Yes. Is there a chance? Absolutely. The idea is, can he line up, and can he chase the ball? It's about making a first impression, and I liked the first impression he left."
Banks went away without a contract offer, but he's been on the minds of those who run personnel in the NFL.
"He's further along that I would have thought," Seahawks general manager John Schneider told me in June. "As a group, we'd all say the same thing if we were sitting around the table. He really exceeded expectations. I thought he'd be somewhat out of shape, which he was, but he knows he has a long way to go from a training standpoint. But he fit in, and it was surprising throughout the weekend how well he did. He moved well, he saw the ball well. He knows he's a little late with things, and he's got a way to go. But we talked about it, and I think that he has a chance to be a practice squad player somewhere toward the middle of the season, when there are a lot of street [free agents] who become part of practice squads. I think that would be a great thing for him. In my mind, that would be his starting point.
"He's really a guy that you hope -- whether it's here or somewhere else -- he's on a practice squad, learning how to play again."
As Gaines told me during the three days I spent at his gym in West Hollywood in July, Banks changed the feel of the place from the moment he walked in. Gaines, who offered to train Banks free of charge, said that other players in the gym were more inspired to go through their workouts when perhaps they weren't feeling optimal, because they could see how much the chance meant to Banks.
Aware of his impact, Banks wants to be an inspiration.
"I feel like what I've been through these past 10 years shows that I have a determination factor of not giving up, of keeping hope in whatever it is that you want to accomplish in life that you can," Banks said in June, when asked what he can offer to teammates in a mental and emotional sense. "And I'm more than willing to be that person on any team that if someone is feeling down one day, or someone is feeling like giving up, or someone is feeling like they can't get to that next step in their life, I'm definitely there to talk to them and be that person of encouragement.
"At the same time, I feel like my situation is no different from anybody else's experiences. I always say, 'It's not what you go through, but how that experience affects you.'"
He's not where he wants to be just yet, but Brian Banks still has a chance to be affected by the NFL experience in a more permanent sense.
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Concession Speech: 2012 Colorado Rockies
2012
As the regular season winds down, many teams are already facing an offseason filled with golf rounds and hot-stove strategy.
But we're not going to let them get off that easy. No sir. No way. In an attempt to bring some closure between franchise and follower, we're giving a blogger from each team the opportunity to give a concession speech for this year's squad. Next up in our series is our own Mark Townsend, Big League Stew's resident Colorado Rockies fan.
My fellow Rockies fans: Thank you. Thank you all for coming on this most difficult day for our professional baseball team. And thank you for continuing to line owner Dick Monfort's pockets with your kind donations at Coors Field despite the disappointing and unacceptable results this season. I know your support means a lot to him and he will look forward to seeing you all again next spring and accepting more of your donations as the Rockies embark on their next campaign.
As I've already indicated and you surely already know, we are here today to acknowledge that the Colorado Rockies have fallen short of our expectations and have been eliminated from postseason contention for the third straight season. Just like all of you, I'm searching for answers as to how and why we find ourselves in this position, and why we are currently challenging for our worst poll results (96 losses) in franchise history.
I know what many of you are thinking. There's no way a team anchored by Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez and Todd Helton can or should deliver results similar to that of our first campaign in 1993 and our blow-it-up-and-start-over campaign in 2005. I agree with you completely, but that's where we're at. We have sunk to a new rock bottom in 2012, but we must find ways to reverse that course in 2013.
All of the answers and solutions we seek won't come easy, but I have already identified key areas where the Rockies have obviously failed or were unprepared. If you just look at the month of May, where they finished with an embarrassing 10-18 record — on the heels of an 8-20 May record in 2011 — and then followed up in June with a 9-18 mark, you can see where their focus was lost. The entire campaign got away over those 61 days. Going forward, there must be more focus on consistency, because while we can't always be at our best, we must avoid being at our worst for extended stretches if we hope to make an acceptance speech next fall.
Consistency is where it all begins, but there are other obvious flaws that must be corrected.
Mistakes were made: That lack of consistency also extends into our front office and our coaching staff. I feel like general manager Dan O 'Dowd and manager Jim Tracy belong in Pawnee, Ind., running Leslie Knope's campaign for city council. They clearly panicked after May and put the short-term and long-term future of our party in danger by switching to a four-man rotation that included a loose 75-pitch limit.
They called it a "paired pitching system," which emphasizes the effectiveness and durability of our middle relievers. I call it nonsense and a detriment to the development of our young starting pitchers. We must always have an eye towards building our future, and instead we have witnessed pieces of that future like Drew Pomeranz, Alex White and Tyler Chatwood regress. This philosophy has proven counterproductive and also ties our hands when it comes to making critical in-game decisions, because the system always takes precedence over game situations.
We also have to allocate our funds more wisely. Our supporters are fantastic, but our campaign still doesn't have the financial backing that many other candidates enjoy. We tossed a lot of that precious money around last offseason by bringing in Michael Cuddyer via free agency and Jeremy Guthrie in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles. Needless to say, we didn't get a good return on those investments, and somehow ended up with Jonathan Sanchez in a July 20 trade as a result. We seriously considered conceding the race right that day, but were talked out of it by our advisors.
But I would be lying if I said that was the first time we considered conceding. That actually came on June 16 in Detroit, when our season long struggles on defense were summed up in one adventurous play:
When you can turn a routine groundball to the pitcher into a Little League home run, it's time for serious reevaluation.
Mudslinging time: Our main competitors in this race have shown ruthless aggression all year. I'm sorry, we just can't keep up with the Los Angeles Dodgers and their new leadership throwing money at all of their problems.
When we lose Troy Tulowitzki, Todd Helton, Michael Cuddyer, Juan Nicasio, Jhoulys Chacin and Jorge De La Rosa, we simply don't have the depth or resources to replace their production adequately for long periods of time. But again, a lot of that reflects poorly on our structure as we have been unable to develop from within our own ranks.
And we can't keep up with the San Francisco Giants because, well, they're just a little smarter and a lot luckier than we are when it comes to taking gambles. Case in point: Marco Scutaro gave us 30 RBIs in 95 games this season. Once we traded him it only took him 45 games to produce 30 RBIs for San Francisco. How does one make sense of that?
Hope for the future: I know you have been beat over the head with a lot of brutal honesty today. Let me give you a little more. We DO have reasons to be excited about our outlook in the coming years. Among those would be rookie catcher Wilin Rosario, who has shown us his power with 25 home runs — most ever by a Rockies catcher and tied for most by a Rockies rookie with Todd Helton. Granted, he's a little rough around the edges with 20 passed balls behind the plate and an OBP well south of .300, but the young man's work ethic should make us all optimistic that he can and will improve those weaknesses while maintaining his strengths.
We've also seen promising things from Josh Rutledge. While filling in at shortstop, Rutledge has proven to be a natural. He's intelligent, he's instinctive, and he can slide over to second base full time in 2013 giving us a very strong offensive core along with Tulowitzki, Gonzalez, Rosario and center fielder Dexter Fowler, who also enjoyed a breakout season.
A change is going to come: Listen, I can't guarantee big changes in the offseason. We have a very loyal ownership that is committed to the current managerial structure. The changes we saw in-season with Dan O'Dowd moving his focus to player development and Bill Geivett assuming day-to-day operations of the major-league team, along with Bob Apodaca stepping down as pitching coach, are likely the big moves we would have seen this winter.
Perhaps we'll see a new full-time pitching coach named, but the duo of Bo McLaughlin and Jim Wright appear locked in. We'll definitely have a five-man rotation, and my understanding is we will raise the pitch limits by 16 to 25 percent. That's good news. And with any luck, that will be raised even more as the campaign goes along. I don't foresee another splash in free agency or a key piece being moved to restock our prospects, so please don't anticipate anything major happening.
The biggest changes we all have to root from the Rockies are just like the changes we have to make in our own lives. They have to come from within. There's plenty of potential in that clubhouse, but they have to take more pride in themselves and fight harder to improve and achieve their goals. It's all on them.
The Colorado Rockies 2012 campaign was not a good one. I'd be lying right to your face if I said any differently. Judging by some of the nods, shrugs, hand gestures and brown paper bags I've seen in the audience today, you're running out of patience. I don't blame you. You have a right to be angry and demand better. But please, always keep your perspective.
This is the campaign we all chose to support two decades ago. We can't bail on the cause now just because times are getting tough. The Rockies are going to be here for us again in the spring. That's something you can't say for your favorite NHL candidates and nearly couldn't say for your NFL and NBA candidates 12 months ago. They may stink again, yes, but they won't let us down or fail to entertain us in all of the right ways and all of the wrong ways. You can't count on that.
And who knows, with a little good health, good luck, inspired play beginning in April and not August, and that extra seat in the postseason available for the taking, our return to relevance in this unpredictable world might be just around the corner.
It's true. Keep the faith, Rockies fans. Keep the faith.
Follow Mark Townsend on Twitter
Previous Concession Speeches: Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros
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Has Michael Jordan completely handed the keys over as personnel chief in Charlotte?
2012
The Charlotte Bobcats hired GM Rich Cho in June of 2011, knowing full well that owner Michael Jordan would act as one of the strongest supporters of a potentially season-canceling lockout that started a month later. Even though the team enjoyed a brief playoff appearance in 2010, the franchise was bleeding money; a direct result of years worth of win-now moves made by Jordan as both personnel boss and eventual owner. As a long-needed rebuilding process took hold in 2011-12, and Jordan took flak from all manner of once-close friends, teammates and former co-workers, questions lingered as to how much MJ would stand aside if Cho dared to overrule the six-time champion on a decision. Owners overrule GMs all the time, and because Jordan and Cho come from such disparate backgrounds, the few that cared enough to pay attention to the Charlotte Bobcats wondered how things would work out once it came time for expected loggerheads.
According to a recent ESPN the Magazine profile, though, it appears as if Jordan truly has handed over the keys. Jordan is off working as the face of the franchise, making up for years of abuse heaped on the city from former NBA owners George Shinn and Robert Johnson, while Cho is behind the scenes and slowly developing the team from the ground up. From a .106 winning percentage-up, actually. From the Mag:
"Every single one of those moves is evidence that Michael is serious about getting out of the way," a rival Eastern Conference GM says. "They are now going to succeed or fail with Rich. And I can guarantee you that Michael has made sure that Rich knows that."
That same executive describes the 47-year-old Cho as a "Moneyball kind of guy," respected around the league for his involvement in the construction of the rosters of both Portland and Oklahoma City. According to Cho, when he left his job as the Trail Blazers GM to come to Charlotte 15 months ago, his marching orders from Jordan were simple and specific -- build through the draft and get free agents to complement the youngsters and put them over the top. The old Jordan, by his own admission, believed that if he cleared enough cap space, he could personally lure the likes of Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. But as he learned last year, even "MJ" appearing on their caller IDs wasn't enough to offset the lure of LA.
It's not so much the lure of Los Angeles as it is the lure of winning. Players like Howard, Paul, Baron Davis, Kevin Garnett and Derrick Rose spend most of their offseason in Los Angeles as it is — it's the fact that the Clippers and Lakers had ready-made winners on hand that was the main selling point. Kowtowing to a star and surrounding him with players he initially wanted, as Howard got in Orlando, isn't enough. You have to build a winner.
And you don't build a winner by drafting off of what ESPN's Ryan McGee called an "MJ March hunch."
That was apparently the case in 2011, just after Cho's hiring, when Jordan was the biggest sway behind drafting Kemba Walker. It certainly was the case in 2006, when Jordan took Adam Morrison. And a February hunch was certainly the reason Jordan let loose with a coveted (and, eventually, unprotected) lottery pick when he dealt for Tyrus Thomas in 2010.
McGee points out that Charlotte's pick in last June's NBA draft, swingman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, is "Cho's kind of guy." That may very well be true, his all-around upside is significant, but he tends to check all the boxes that Jordan likes to pour over. MKG played deep into March on a prominent major program, and he's an athlete with a work ethic that coaches rave over. Work ethic and heart are well and good, but in some cases (and let's be sure here; we're not referring to Kidd-Gilchrist in this instance) that ethic is in place to cover for failings in other NBA-level areas. Adam Morrison practiced hard, too.
In short, it's an easy sell for Cho. So was the rebuilding, something that had to take place for basketball reasons (you need to bottom out, often times, before you start over) but also was essential for the team to survive financially. As we stated when Sam Vincent criticized Jordan, when Charles Barkley complained about his "yes men," and when Larry Brown whined about his former boss from afar, the real stare-down between the two probably has yet to take place.
It's a good start, though. There will be cap space, there will be more lottery picks, and there will be room to grow past the 45-win ceiling Jordan once encouraged.
And, eventually, there will be a showdown between Jordan and Cho. It's only natural, and we can't wait.
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