On Derek Jeter And The Decline of Greatness

Watching Derek Jeter play baseball in 2011 is a little bit like seeing the Motor City’s tragic financial collapse this past decade or watching a prize-winning horse lose its quick stride.  Whenever a truly great player loses his extra spark, be it his killer instinct or reservoir of power, it’s saddening.  This is why the 37 year-old Yankee’s shortstop’s play has been so shocking.

In Jeter’s youth, he represented everything that was good about baseball.  His tough hitting and clutch play made him a legend, and the way he carried himself on and off the field was unmatched by any other player in sports.  Jeter was the most graceful athlete of my lifetime, a player who made old timers harken back to the days of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, while the younger generation embraced his effortless swagger.  While the Yankees may have been the most hated team in baseball, it was almost impossible to hate Jeter.  The respect that was felt for him around the league was unparalleled, and he became a model for future players everywhere.

What’s surprising is the quick nature of Jeter’s collapse.  Jeter was an elite hitter as recently as 2009, a year in which he batted .334 with a .406 on-base percentage and 30 stolen bases.  Then, he dramatically dropped off last season.  As the Yankees scrambled to find solutions to Jeter’s hitting drought, nothing seemed to work.  He ended the year hitting .270 with only 18 stolen bases, a massive drop off from the year before.  2010 was Jeter’s worst year in the majors.  He had never batted below .291 before and broke a streak of 5 consecutive seasons batting .300 or above. What’s more disconcerting is that a large power drop off from Jeter would be understandable; after all there is a clear correlation between age and power numbers. But Jeter is not a power hitter, and his power numbers have not dropped off drastically from previous years.  His 10 homer 67 RBI season is not much worse than his 11 homers and 69 RBI’s in 2008 or his 10 homer, 70 RBI season in 1997.  If he could continue to hit for a solid average and maintain his on-base percentage he could continue to be an effective player.  However, Jeter’s raw power numbers are not an incredibly telling stat.  For a more in-depth analysis you have to dig deeper.  The statistic BABIP  (Batting Average On Balls in Play) measures the percentage of plate appearances ending with a batted ball in play (excluding home runs) for which the batter is credited with a hit.   Basically, this stat will tell us whether Jeter is maintaining a successful contact rate and getting quality hits.  Jeter’s BABIP in 2010 was .304; this year it’s .307.    However, the three seasons prior to 2009 his BABIP’S were .368, .333 and .369.  This shows that Jeter is not putting good effective swings on the ball, indicating that his pure technique as a hitter is on the decline.  In addition, WAR (Wins Above Replacement) reveals the amount of wins per season a player adds to his team. A good starting position player may have a WAR of 3-5 while an all-star player may have a WAR of 7 to 10.  Last season, Jeter’s WAR was 2.5 while the previous two seasons it was 7.1 and 3.7.  This stat shows that Jeter’s struggles have cost his team in the purest categorical measure possible: wins.  You could make the case that with Jeter’s recent struggles, he may not even be fit to start on a big league team.

As he continues to struggle this year, one can only draw the most saddening but obvious conclusion: Jeter has lost the quickness and dexterity of his youth.  The bat speed and hand-eye coordination needed to hit against major league pitchers is exceptional.  As a person gets older, these skills begin to fade.  Most baseball fans, including me, are hoping that Jeter regains his earlier form. While that is certainly possible, sadly, it is not likely.

On Vince Carter, Allen Iverson And The 2001 NBA Playoffs

This is a great article from The Smoking Section, a blog that writes about rap,politics,sports etc.  Vince Carter and Allen Iverson were once two of the most dominant players in the NBA.  Who do you think is better??

http://smokingsection.uproxx.com/TSS/2011/05/on-vince-carter-allen-iverson-and-the-2001-nba-playoffs

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead

No Further words necessary:

Greatness Lost: Manny Ramirez

Last weekend baseball lost one of its greatest right-handed power hitters of all time: Manny Ramirez.  Ramirez, who played most of his career with the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox, slugged 555 home runs and over 1,800 rbi’s.  While his performance on the field is heralded, he is best know for his “mannyisms”, or the crazy antics he would pull during games.  For example, as a Red Sox Ramirez would often venture into the Green Monster, (the large green wall over left field at Fenway Park), and seemingly disappear.  No one really knew where he was going but during one game Manny left the field and did not return until several pitches had been thrown to the first batter.  God knows what would have happened if the ball had been hit to left field but Manny returned just in time with a wink and a smile.  During another game Manny caught a pop up in the outfield and preceded to high five a fan instead of getting the ball back into the pitcher.  Whether it was bringing props out to the field or taking forever to get out of the box on homeruns it was as exciting to watch Manny’s behavior as his play.

Unfortunately no one can out run time and as Manny began to age one of the games greats severely declined.  The last two years have been a barrage of injuries and scandals for Manny, who has played with three different teams during this time.  With his advanced age and decline in performance, Manny shrunk from the spotlight, a shadow of his former self.  Then, last week it was announced that Manny had failed a drug test for the second time in the last two years and was going to be suspended again.  Shortly after, Ramirez announced his retirement from baseball uncharacteristically quiet.  No large press conference or the jovial Ramirez of old.  Ramirez had been busted once again for substance abuse and his career had ended in shambles.  They say you go out not with a bang but with a whimper and that seemed to perfectly describe how it all ended for Manny.  Although I am a Yankee fan and am taught to despise the ex-Red Sox who caused our team so much trouble over the years I have to give credit to what was undeniable one of the most note worthy careers in major league history.  While Ramirez could seem childish and egocentric at times he played the game like any fan would want to play, enjoying every moment and savoring his success like he would never see it again.

Stephen Colbert Singing “Friday”

hahahaha this is song funny.  I’m sure everyone has heard Rebecca Blacks infamous song “Friday”.  While it is unfortunate that the young girl has to endure so much abuse it would be hard not to mock a song as ridiculous as this.  Stephen Colbert with a little help from The Roots, Jimmy Fallon and Taylor Hicks performs a fantastic rendition on The Jimmy Fallon Show. Check it out.

On Florida Baseball, Wiz Khalifa and Rollercoasters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its been a few weeks since I last posted so I should catch you guys up.  A few weeks ago I went to Port St. Lucie, Flordia over spring break to play with my high school baseball team.  Its crazy going from 45 degree weather to 90 and sunny in Flordia.  I quickly learned that my body was not quite ready for the adjustment when i woke up a few days later with some nasty sunburn.  The trip was great, just a nice vacation from school and stress, allowing me to focus on playing ball and having fun.  In addition to playing we also got to go down to Universal Studios in Orlando which was sick.  By chance C.C. Sabathia and Nick Swisher, two players for the Yankees, were also there the same day I was but I just missed them.  However I met top basketball prospect Austin Rivers and road on the same rollercoaster as golfer Phil Mickelson.  I didn’t focus on him to much though because I was gripping onto the seat eyes shut the whole time!  Now I will confess I am no rollercoaster expert and have not been on too many.  But I do not understand how people do these huge crazy ones, I went on a medium sized coaster nowhere close in size to some of the other monster rides at Universal and it was much faster then I expected.  I will definitely go on another rollercoaster in the near future I gotta try it again.

While I was enjoying an early vacation, the music buisness was closing out its biggest month of the year so far.  With big releases from the likes of Lupe Fiasco, The Strokes and Mac Miller march was an absolute beast.  To cap it all off rapper Wiz Khalifa, who has garnered a massive following since the release of his smash single “Black and Yellow”, was set to release his debut album, “Rolling Papers”.  While Khalifa’s music can grow repetitive  some of it is quite good (for example his hit mixtape “Kush & Orange Juice” or his tape with rapper Curren$y “How Fly”).  So needless to say I was totally hyped for Wiz’s major label debut.  Unfortunetly, I was dissapointed.  It seems as if Wiz has gone completely “pop” and his most recent songs are a reflection of that.  Recent singles like “No Sleep” and “The Race” seem geared for his new teeny-bopper fan base rather than his dedicated hip-hop fans.  These songs are devoid of the usual Wiz charisma or awesome sampling of beats he displayed on Kush & OJ.  The album is a rather inconsistent bunch of songs bouncing around with no real purpose.  While Wiz was never the most lyrical rappers he always delivered his lyrics with a gusto and swag unlike few of his rapper friends.  Now he seems almost disinterested, reflecting the rather unfocused tone of the album.   The real Wiz only comes out when he is rapping with old friend Curren$y on a song titled “Rooftops”, in which both talk about times when they couldn’t even get into the club and how now they are “on the rooftop”, a rags to riches tale.  Hopefully Wiz will display more of these types of songs on future releases rather than the watered-down pop trash that has appeared on his most recent album.

March Madness

The next few days begin the best couple of weeks in college basketball, March Madness.  Each year excitement reaches a fever pitch as selections have been made and the teams are ready to go.  I just finished filling out my bracket and something tells me that I will end up being wrong with most of my picks haha.  Anyway heres a link to enter in ESPN Tournament Pick ‘Em and also a look at my bracket and who I have winning: Ohio State.

 

Link to Bracket: http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/entry?addata=2011_TCMEN_PAGE1

 

Heres my 2011 bracket:

http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/entry?entryID=72299

 

Mac Miller Best Day Ever

 

Sorry I didnt post this earlier but Mac Millers new mixtape has finally arrived.  Last week Best Day Ever came out and shut down ustream,datpiff and any market which the tape was available from.  I gotta say, Mac has truly pulled this one off, I saw him perform at the Highline Ballroom in NYC (more from that later) a day before BDE dropped and he was truly fantastic.  Almost every track on here is good with my favorites being Donald Trump, Best Day Ever, I’ll Be There and All Around the World. Enjoy.

http://thehoodnerd.com/2011/03/listendownload-mac-miller-best-day-ever-mixtape/

Tracy Mcgrady 13 points in 35 seconds

Usually my sports articles are longer but you just really need too see this clip its one of the most amazing scoring performances ever. T-Mac is really one of the most talented players of the last decade or so and its a shame that his talent was wasted in the way that it was.

#Winning! Charlie Sheen

I’m pretty sure by now everbody in the freaking world has seen some of Charlie Sheens crazy interviews, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aICB2mUu2k like this for example), over the last couple of days and they get more hilarious every time I watch them.  Seriously this guy is absolutely nuts.  When asked if hes Bi-Polar Sheen responds by telling the mortified achor that he is not bi-polar but simply Bi-Winning.  Then he goes on to say that he is on a drug called “Charlie Sheen” and if you take it you face explodes.  Haha you gotta watch some of these clips they have swept up a media storm over the past few days and have caused twitter hastags of #winning everywhere.  Here is one such video: