Karma is a Bitch

Some Final Phillies Talk

Anyone looking for in depth Phillies coverage I will once again send over to my buddy Jason Weitzel at his exceptional Beer Leaguer. But I will say one thing. At one point in time, like most baseball fans, I loved the Cubs. They were the lovable losers from Chicago, who everyone wanted to win (well, except for White Sox fans at least). Mark Prior is a mainstay on my NL-only fantasy team (which finished a very close second - more later) and I have always been a fan of the steady Greg Maddux and angry yet enjoyable Dusty Baker. However, that love affair ended on Sunday. With the Phillies having already won their game and needing the Cubs to beat the Astros to force the one game playoff in Philadelphia, the Cubs decided to spread their bad luck to other teams.

At one point in the game, with the Astros leading 3-0, the Cubs had men on first and third with no outs and Greg Maddux up. Now, Maddux is known as a fairly good hitting pitcher, but it was obvious he was going to lay down the suicide squeeze in this situation. But instead of the squeeze leaving at least one man on base and scoring a run, Greg Maddux bunted back to the pitcher which led to a double play and a runner still stranded at third. Later in the game (Top of the 5th inning), the Cubs put together a rally that had them leading the game 4-3. Once again, Maddux stepped up to the plate with men on first and third, but this time with 2 outs. With a chance to break the game open, Dusty Baker left Maddux in the game to try and preserve his opportunity to win 14 games (making it 17 straight years). Maddux popped out. He then started the next half inning by giving up the game tying home run. The Astros went on to win the game. The Phillies season ended.

I will no longer cheer for the Cubs.

Even worse for me in this situation was that my opponent in the finals of the NL-only fantasy league had Jimmy Rollins on his roster. So not only did I have to somehow survivie J-Roll's impressive offensive onslaught at the end of the year, but it came with no silver lining and his hot streak was not enough to get the Phillies into the playoffs.

Basketball Season is Around the Corner

This week, NBA teams open their training camps. In a few short weeks, we should know the rotation of every team and exactly what we can expect from them. In the meantime, John Hollinger of ESPN has posted a preview of every team. Each preview addresses the 3 major questions presented to each team from the long offseason. Well done and interesting, it is something worth checking out.

Also of note is Hollinger's new book, the Pro Basketball Forecast 2005-2006. In it, Hollinger takes his Bill James like approach to basketball statistics and makes his predictions for this upcoming season. There have been a couple of articles on ESPN.com that summarize some key points from Hollinger's book and they have been well thought out and present interesting factual basis. I had intended to pick this book up and review it for A Fantasy Life readers, but when I went to purchase it from Amazon last week, the book still was not released. I may still purchase the book, but it is unlikely with my work schedule and comic book reviewing duties that I will be able to provide an in-depth review here. Based on Hollinger's work for ESPN it would be hard to expect this to be a poor book, but I cannot really recommend it without reading it first. So, unless Hollinger wants to mail me a copy of the book, you will have to purchase it on your own without any recommendation from me.

Sixer's Signing

It's hard for me to miss any local basketball news, but somehow this one slipped past me. This Sixers have signed forward Lee Nailon to improve their bench. Nailon had himself a career year last year playing in New Orleans, and worked that into a contract with the Sixers. While he doesn't provide any defense at all, Nailon is a scorer and should help bolster their bench contributions this year. Expect him to get 20-25 minutes a game at both forward positions and play a role similar to the one Corliss Williamson had while on the team. Nailon doesn't fix all the problems of the bench (as he is not a backcourt player).

The only other player of note on the Sixers training camp roster is Duke's Shavlik Randolph. Randolph wasn't a superstar in college, but playing at Duke gives him a name and some experience playing in hostile and high level environments. It still remains to be seen if the Sixers plan on adding any backcourt depth to the team (which at this point is sorely needed), but it should be an interesting training camp to watch unfold.

And Now the Saddest News of the Day - I Must Root for the Knicks

In the be careful what you say department, Eddy Curry has been traded to the New York Knicks. All summer I have been laughing about the Knicks and their hiring of coach Larry Brown. Now I find myself having to root for him and his team as they now possess the manchild known as Eddy "Manlove" Curry.

The situation surrounding this trade has been a very interesting one. And anyone who pays attention to the NBA and this site may have wondered why I stayed quiet. Well, the short answer is I didn't know which side to support. The situation surrounding Eddy and the Bulls revolved around the heart trouble he showed at the end of last year. An irregular heartbeat kept Eddy out of the final 13 games of the season and palyoffs, and the fact that the NBA would not issue insurance on Eddy's heart condition made it hard for him to get any type of long term offer. In fact, for him to get his one year qualifying offer from the Bulls, Eddy would have had to undergo DNA testing. The Bulls and NBA said that this testing was necessary for Eddy's long term health. That with this testing they would know if he was predisposed to any serious heart problems and the NBA would not have ended up with another Reggie Lewis or (local hero) Hank Gathers, two players who have died from heart problems. Eddy and his lawyer saw this as an invasion of privacy and completely unnecessary. I saw that both sides of the argument had their points and found it impossible to take a stand. Having been a huge fan of Gathers (his high school coach is a longtime family friend) in high school and college, I am fearful for having another favorite player lose his life on the court. But if the precedent was set that an employer could demand DNA testing for prospective employees, it could open up a whole case of cans of worms that no one wants to deal with.

In the end, the Bulls refused to sign Eddy without the DNA testing and were forced to trade him to the only team that would take him and give him a contract, the New York Knicks. Eddy provides the Knicks with a much needed center and low post scoring option, but now must contend with coach Larry Brown. I am hard pressed to see a defensive minded coach who demands 110% from each of his players like Brown dealing well with a player like Curry, who is well known for his laspes in effort and judgement. Perhaps this marriage can turn out alright and Larry can get through to Eddy like he did with Allen Iverson. Most likely though, Eddy will end up wallowing on the bench as Larry tries to get him traded. At least with Isiah Thomas as his general manager, Eddy is guaranteed one thing. He'll make far more money than he's worth.