Talkin' Art of Catching with Brent Mayne...

Whenever you get the chance to talk to someone that has been there, it’s always special to see it through their eyes.



On June the 19, 2009, I was given the pleasure of an audience with Brent Mayne, a 15 year Major League Veteran. My connection with Brent was made through a gentleman named Bob Salomon one of the driving forces behind A Glove of Their Own.



Bob had originally connected with Brent by reaching out to him through checkswing.com. Which is a social networking site for former and current players and coaches.



As we slid into the interview, I asked Brent what his first impressions of A Glove of Their Own were, and he opened up with a great answer. You can tell this book continues to go that extra mile to touch people.



“You know it’s a really neat thing” he said, “the point it is getting at is, if you do things correctly, you do them the right way and for the right reasons that success kind of comes. For me playing baseball that was a real big concept…if I did things correctly and didn’t worry about the results, than the process would take care of the results.”



As I would come to learn, process is a staple for Brent. He is a big believer in being part of things for the right reason. In the case of Brent the there are many right reasons, and one of them he mentions when talking about why he wrote the art of catching, is giving back.



Now to better understand Brent’s journey and thought process you really do have to start at the beginning. “I grew up in a baseball family, my dad was a high school baseball coach, and I’ve been around the ball park since the time I was in diapers.”



When I asked him where his equivalent of the Old Oak Tree stood. Brent paused, “That’s a great question…the first baseball park that I remember was at Eisenhower High School in Rialto. That was my place; I didn’t play in front of anybody there. But I spent a good portion of my young life there.”



It’s funny how 15 years in the majors or 40 years in the mailroom all start out with a similar story. Whether your David Allan or Brent Mayne, and whether it’s Eisenhower High School or the Back Stop at Rose Schymanski Park the lessons are the same.



The other thing that doesn’t change no matter who’s answering the question is, “Did you have any quirky rules? What were they?"



Brent paused (with what I took as a where to start?). For a moment before answering, “Anybody who’s in their 40’s or late 30’s definitely is going to have stories about that. I don’t think kids now days play baseball that way. It’s not so much the over the line or three fly’s up or sock ball or rock ball or whatever the heck games we’d make up.”



I really think Brent gets the heart of why A Glove of Their Own has been so successful in connecting with adults. It really takes them to a place isn’t about Little League as he described it today.



As Brent went on is more about todays game he described, “year round baseball, uniforms, and competitive, but back then when we were playing you name it, there were all kinds of rules, there were ghost runners, missing bases, their were rules about what were home runs and not home runs, where you could hit the ball and where you couldn’t hit the ball depending on how many players you had in the field."

"We had eight billion rules and that was half the fun.”



Talking to Mayne there is certain ownership, a responsibility to his youth playing days to pass that along and let every child feel like George Brett or Todd Helton. You feel that he and his friends on their own field, own a little piece of baseball. They had their own rules, a set of rules that were universal and yet universally different.



Geography or not, if you were 8, 10, 12 year old Brent Mayne, or future team mates like Todd Helton in Knoxville, Tennessee, Mark McGwire in Pomona, or George Brett who years earlier made up rules from West Virginia to El Segundo there is a tie that binds in baseball, organized or otherwise.



Just as each of the 30 major league stadiums has it quirks, the short porch in right as Yankee stadium, the Monster at Fenway, the huge outfield at Dodgers stadium, or the thin air of Coors, so did each neighborhood. So did each and every different version of the fields of their youth.



During his transition from high school to Orange Coast College was where he made his move from the middle infield to behind the dish.



I asked him if it was a difficult transition. He was more told that college was in his future and if he was doing that he might as well be playing baseball for his Dad while he did it. As Brent mentioned though it came with a catch, “The caveat he (Brent’s Father) said, is you have to start catching, you are too slow, too weak and too small to play any other position.”



Brent had told me he was 5’6 and 135lbs. upon graduation of high school.



To Brent it offered a fresh start because the truth as his father laid it out was, “whether it be with me or much less at a four year school, you’re going to have to start catching and to be honest with you, not having any success at any other position I was eager to play the catching position and explore it, their was no downside for me.”



Now right around the time Brent said yes, as he described, “A couple of things happened, he (Brent’s father) along with a couple of other guys were reinventing the catch position…trying to take it from a 1970’s Johnny Bench style position to something that could deal with the speed of the modern game.”



From there he went on to spend a couple of years at Cal State Fullerton and then on to the major leagues.



It is that change from the stocky Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, or Thurmon Munson style catcher that has helped facilitate the change in catching that we have seen in recent history. Mayne points to Bob Boone as a bridge between what a catcher was and what he was going to become.



It’s the principles that his father was experimenting with using his son as a “Guinea Pig” that not only carried Brent to the Majors. But it is these principles that Brent Mayne is promoting with his book The Art of Catching and at his website www.BrentMayne.com



When I asked Mayne about his time at Cal-State Fullerton and his fond memories of playing their, you can tell he still feels an attachment to the young men that are currently playing at the College World Series. He also mentioned his dad Mike was the pitching coach for the 2008 NCAA Champion Fresno State Bulldogs.



So it is clear that teaching is in the blood.



When talking about the joy and excitement he felt for his father as he got to watch him enjoy the Bulldogs win, and his son getting to be the team’s bat boy. I am brought back to the children, everywhere, the thrill of victory.



So I asked, “Is there anyone you played with, whether it was in the minors or the majors that had that level of joy or excitement that we talk about with little kids?”



His answer was as refreshing as it was instant.



Almost before I could finish the question he responded, “Almost without a guy (sic), every great player is like that. To a guy about every great player, for me uh, George Brett, Mark McGwire, to Todd Helton were great players, and almost to a man the really good players are the guys that approach the game like little kids.”



He continued on in describing how that child like mentality allowed them to stay in the moment and brush off failure without being rattled by it. He continued, “This game will crush you if you take it too seriously or get too down on yourself when you do poorly because that’s the way the game is designed.”



He then went on to acknowledge, baseball is a game of failure and bounce back, a quality we definitely have more of in our youth. Brent continued, “If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a Billion times, if you get a hit three out of ten times you get to go live on a Yacht.

"But you have to be able to deal with failing seven times, or striking out seven times out ten which is a tremendous amount of failure.”



As he talked I wandered back to A Glove of Their Own. It maybe the reason we stay connected to baseball so long, the game is full of great lessons. It was at that point that Mayne had planted one right in front of my face, which I hadn’t even thought of.



Of course I had understood failure, but where had I learned to deal with it more effectively than on a diamond where you weren’t allowed to hit it right because there was a bee’s nest?



Where had failure been more obvious than the fly ball I didn’t hit to score the run from third base?



He explained an innocent quality to the greats, “there is no ulterior motive, and they aren’t playing to make money.”



He went on to explain that for 90% of big league rosters that is the case. Brent doesn’t have his head in the sand. He knows there is an exceptional living to be made from playing baseball, that being said, “Their main motivation is that they love the game, and they love competing.”



He went back to a point that he made repeatedly from the beginning of the interview, “it goes back to what we talked about in the very beginning, in letting the process take care of the results.”



We have seen a couple of manager use position players in relief this year, but while with the Rockies Brent managed to get a relief win. When asked if he could pitch, he responded, “Absolutely!” the result from a stat line that year 1 – 0 with an ERA of 0.00.



Mayne did admit that the competitive nature of athletes is such that they all think they can pitch, and every pitcher thinks he can hit. He mentioned it certainly gave him a new perspective and respect for pitchers to go out there and actually do it.



When I asked him later about what he tried to impress on young catchers, he said, “Try every position.” In this respect you’d have a hard time convincing me that Brent Mayne didn’t practice what he preached.



“You know the funny thing about baseball,” he continued, “the way baseball is, it’s so upside down, I spent my whole life trying to be a great catcher but the thing I’ll probably recognized most for when I die is that I won a game as a pitcher, that’s so like baseball.”



We continued on down memory lane, discussing a night in 1991 when he was behind the plate with Brett Saberhagen on the mound pitching a no hitter, I asked, "what does it feel like to be the catcher in that situation?"



He quickly found the words, “As a catcher you take it personally ...you have a portion of that win or that loss that you are responsible for.”



“In my mind I am right there… I am just as nervous and just as anxious as he probably is”, said Mayne.



Now what came next amazed me, as you hear about their being something special in the air. It’s a term that really relates to those great nights in sport. It’s that intangible that you can’t put your finger on.



As Brent was telling the story, he mentioned that he had done something that night, something different that he hadn’t done before and hadn’t done since. What caught me off guard was not that he had such a moment, but was how direct it was.



“It was a unique, experience, I don’t know how to explain it other than it was really intense and pins and needles, but it was also very enjoyable because coming out of the bullpen that particular game (after the 10-15 minute warm up session) I said he’s going to throw a no hitter today, because it just felt like it was that kind of stuff.



Brent also made the point, “to succeed at that level you have to do it more than 99% of the people in the world, and if you are doing something more than 99% of the people in the world, you probably enjoy doing it.”



To further address the process, he went on to say, “the money is simply a bi-product of approaching your craft the right way.”



As I listened to Brent my brain took me back to the start of the interview. His credo, of “take care of the process, and the results will come” is as powerful a message as A Glove of Their Own’s, Play it Forward. Both are about setting yourself up for success. One is the hand you’re given, and the other is the one you use to pull yourself and others up.



There are plenty of times in life we could take a short cut, we could leave someone out, or off the list. It’s when you talk to a guy like Brent Mayne you realize the only way to get to the top is to have tremendous support and to go after your goals and your dreams with dedication.



I know it seems obvious, but he makes the point that it is about more than time spent, it’s about quality time spent, and I think that can be applied to parenting, teaching and learning.



When you’re young they tell you to go practice, be it the piano, algebra or hitting the cut off man. What they don’t tell you is to practice correctly, and that is the proactive approach that Mayne has taken.

It is a lesson that once learned can help and individual excel in all aspects of his or her life. It is the correctly part, that Mayne is trying to address with The Art of Catching.



When we finally got around to talking about The Art of Catching, you realize that Mayne simply saw as he called it, “a void in information” around this particular position.



As he said it, “is not true for any other position.” He goes to talk about the importance of catching, “arguable the most important position on the field is just slipping through the cracks.” (In regard to readily available info.)



Mayne goes on to describe it as, “mistaught, if it is taught at all, and more often than not it’s just take the biggest kid and throw him back there.”



As he mentioned not only the way he was taught, but the knowledge he gained over 1279 games behind the plate in the big leagues. (He ranks 75th all time.)



The intention of the book was simply explained by Mayne, “it’s a lot of information that I had and I thought I’d share it, that was my main motivation.”



The book is being followed with instructional videos, as well as his website.



We got a chance to discuss the style he brought to the game; the style which he describes in The Art of Catching has what has become the norm, the standard in today’s Major Leagues.



With the aid of ESPN Classic he mentioned, “It’s really easy to see the progression if you click on an ESPN Yankee game and watch Thurmon Munson catch, and compare that to the way Jorge Posada catches, its light years different.”



When I asked Brent about The Art of Catching, he spoke about the book audience and how diverse it could be.



He mentions that that whether you be a little leaguer or a major leaguer he doesn’t treat or teach anyone any differently. He feels the concepts are straight forward, and it not only makes you a better catcher, but considering, “the catcher touches the ball on almost every play.” It gives you a chance to enhance your team’s chances of winning.



Mayne was very candid about catching opportunities, whether it be in the MLB, little league, or college stating, “The truth of the matter is that catcher, that is the easiest position to play in the big leagues, or to go on and play at any level is catching because their just aren’t that many good ones.”



As he first talked about the book it seemed obvious that coaches and players would be interested in the book but he then made the point, “even as a curious fan, if you just want to know what the heck is going on back there….I think it can totally enhance your enjoyment of the game.”



As players and fans, isn’t that what we all strive to do, is enhance our enjoyment of the game? To better understand it strategy? Luckily along the way we are able to gather some life lessons.



To go back to excellence, you have to be doing whatever you’re doing more than 99% of the other people out there.



I asked Brent about the 12 month, 365 days sports cycle that Americans have fallen pray to, and he made some very interesting points about the structure of practice and the opportunities to practice you craft.



He used the example of the kids that are coming from, The Dominican Republic or Mexico, where they have other priorities in life, but nearly all of their experience in life mirrors that of the kids in a glove of their own.



Most of those future major leaguers coming out these countries are currently playing, rock ball, sock ball, over the line, or a version of three flies up. Most of these young men and women play a game that was more common to American before the invention of the 12 month sport cycle.



They and treasure a baseball, because it means they get to play tomorrow, and it doesn’t matter if their backstop is a half broken down fence, and home plate is a bicycle rim. In front of that fence, stepping up to that rim they may take 25 or 50 swings a day.



When these children along with so many others practice and play, they aren’t coached to use two hands, they are forced to. Maybe one had that won’t be the case in Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Florida, Texas, New York, California, or anywhere else for that matter, but one at a time people are trying to make sure they have A Glove of Their Own.



Brent Mayne is a former major league catcher that spent 15 years playing amongst the best in the world. He was drafted 13th over all in the first round by the Royals. He also played for The Mets, Athletics, Rockies, Giants, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers. He can be reached at www.BrentMayne.com.

It contains information regarding his career, catching tips, and a link where you can pick up The Art of Catching.



Bob Salomon is a father, little league coach, and one of the driving forces behind the message in A Glove of Their Own. www.agloveoftheirown.com



And I am David Allan, your fellow Bleacher Creature, available for free lance work. mr.david.allan@gmail.com

Bill Simmons = Roger Bannister, and This Writer is Saying Thank You!

I got an email today (March 31, 2009).

I know what you’re saying, only one? Ok, I got a couple emails today. Now that we have got that out of the way, I got an email today from Rory Brown here at the one and only Bleacher Report.

Now Rory and I have never met, so I’d assume that many of you got the same email I did. On the other hand I did feel a little special, as my favourite website had decided to drop me a line.

I didn’t know what exactly Rory had in mind, but it turns out he asked me for an article or slideshow addressing the best and or worst of EPSN. Simple task, except one snag, I’m Canadian for crying out loud!

(Every time I see an ESPN related article around here they seem to be taking it on the chin. Maybe missing my daily dose of Stuart Scott isn’t the worst thing in the world.)

Now as far as catch phrases, top 10’s and sport center duos, I’m of no use, I live in a relatively ESPN free zone. (Except for The Herd.)

There are plenty of things about ESPN that bug me including their current Anti-NHL agenda.

(We can see what you’re doing by the way.)

You know the one that allows that them to play off the NBA like its god's gift to five on five sports.

Yeah I’m looking at you Cowherd (if you’d like to debate it, I’d be glad to call in to your show. Yes, I do listen and enjoy most of it).

But this isn’t about the negative, it’s about the positive. One in a Million of us want to be sports writers ever get to be a sports personality. One in a Million ever gets to do this for a living.

That being said I wanted to take this opportunity to thank ESPN.

The odds are long, the opportunities slim, but ESPN has given us hope. They have given us page 2, the Sports Guy, Bill Simmons.

It allowed every kid that thought he knew a little more than the next guy to have a dream. Doesn’t everybody think they know more than the next guy when it comes to sports? Doesn’t everyone deserve a dream?

Bill Simmons has been known for his edgy and non-traditional sports coverage. He is hip, he is interesting, and he is what the people wanted. But more important he was already what the people sounded like. A prefect fit to tell a generation, it’s not about whom you know, or your education.

Although I am sure his Masters in Journalism from BU doesn’t hurt.

He’s not perfect, he’s far from it, but he’s collecting a pay check to be himself. To sell sports the way he sees it. More importantly he is living our dream. Write enough, be seen enough, be interesting enough (be interesting, see Colin I do listen), and one day you could be Bill Simmons.

So what do you do with all those interesting writers following their "inner Simmons"?

You’ve got to send them somewhere. I believe Zander said it best when he said, “I'm pretty sure we knew just as much about the games we watched as the media personalities who were paid to cover them.”

Now not everyone does this to further a career, not everyone does this with aspiration of one day collecting a pay check that says, _________sports.com or the _________ Times on it. But I’d venture a guess none of us would mind.

What changed with Bill Simmons?

In an attempt to make this a sports article, it was the same thing that changed with Roger Bannister.

Now most people know Roger’s story, and if you don’t I’ll tell you. In 1954 he became the first human to run the mile in under four minutes. It was a feat previously thought impossible.

Following that in the next seven months 37 people accomplished the feet, in the next three years 300 people ran the mile in under four minutes. All that changed was it was possible.

So thanks to Bill Simmons for being the Roger Bannister of the Computer sports world.

So thanks to Zander, Bryan, and The Daves for providing the platform for aspiring writers like me to get our elbows off the bar, and our opinions to the world.

In the words of a former number one ranked writer her at the Bleacher Report Lisa Horne in her departing article. “May the Editor Gods shine their light on all of you. May all your dreams come true. May you be the next Bill Simmons, the next Rick Reilly, the next Bill Plaschke, but remember to be yourself.”

And thank you ESPN, the effects of a decision you made completely autonomous of the Bleacher Report to hire Bill Simmons have reverberated through the gifted writers and wildly creative content displayed here.

It tells the Todd Civin, Lou Capetta, Jesus Melendez, Mark Mariano, Revo Boulanger’s (those are some of my favourites, there are too many to name) of the world that maybe just maybe, they’re the Bill Simmons, maybe they're the next Lisa Horne.

For that small chance and for ESPN for providing it, I just want to say Thank You.

Bleacher Report Community, you may not return to your regularly scheduled ESPN bashing,



David Allan

Clutch vs. Choke Artist: The St. Patrick's Version

Sometime around 11:00 p.m., where ever you live, Fuglys and Cougars are going to gain an average of two to three points on the typical how hot is he or she on scale of one to ten.

I mean let’s be fair there are plenty of us that will file into a fine establishment this evening to knock back a few or few too many tasty beverages to celebrate the fact that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. (Or at least that’s the reason I am doing it.)

I mean why else could you possibly be shuffling out of the house on a Tuesday night, only to wake up with a ringing in your head that only three Extra Strength Tylenols, Two Gatorades and a Pale of Coffee can cure?

Oh yeah, that’s right because in those three hours between 11pm and 2am we’ll see the dating equivalent of the bottom of the ninth. Most of you are going to take your chance at the plate.

I know what you’re saying; I could do this any Saturday night I want. You’re right, but all those Saturday’s are like the regular season.

They don’t count.

They are all prep work, pre-season, practice for the one that matters.

Somebody has to take the shot with the clock winding down and what I've learned in life? I believe Gene Hackman said it best in the replacements: “Winners want the Ball!”

Now what does picking up the cutie in the tight green t-shirt and jeans have to do with sports?

Well let's take a look. It is my contention that your ability to be clutch, to come through when it matters most, to shine through in this situation. I am probably never going to get to stand at the dish at Fenway Park trailing in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded. (When I say probably, I mean never.)



All that being said, it my assertion that the same confidence, the same self-assuredness that it takes to drive the 2-2 count off the wall for a bases-clearing double, or calm a player into drilling a game winning three, will come to the forefront tonight. It'll come right around the time you make your way through "Hi my name is (fill in the blank) or How are you this evening?"

And here is my proof.

Tom Brady, New England Patriot Quarterback, four Super Bowl Wins

Mr. Clutch in New England. The 2007 AP Athlete of the Year and 2007 NFL MVP, has the regular season touchdown record. Brady made his way into four Super Bowls where he is 3-1 and in the fourth he managed to give his team a lead with moments left on the clock.

Unfortunately. Brady can’t play on defense or the Pats may have a fourth. Now we look at what he has done in his private life since coming to the NFL.

Sure the list is short, but it’s solid: Tara Reid, the "American Pie" wild child, the Actress, Model and Stunner Bridget Moynihan is his baby mama, and he just married the highest paid model in the world, the Brazilian Bomb Shell known as Giselle Bundchen. CLUTCH!

Tiger Woods, Pro Golfer, 14 PGA Major Victories

We can agree Woods is as clutch as they come right? He’s got 14 majors, he is the four time AP Sportsman of the Year and twice dug down to extend his latest US Open win on a torn knee.

Oh and is Tiger as smooth with the ladies as he is with clutch on the golf course? It certainly looks like that is the case. He started out solidly with attorney and cutie Joanna Jagoda, But Tiger's greatest off-field achievement was that he made took a sleeper and turned her in to a goddess. This Jared Mayo-type draft pick made Elin Nordegren, with name and body to remember, Tiger once again shocked the world. CLUTCH!

Sergio Garcia, Pro Golfer, Choker

While Tiger is managing a stunner like Elin, we have Sergio Garcia dating Morgan-Leigh Norman. That’s right the guy that coughed up the 2007 British Open with a Sunday lead is dating the daughter of the guy that coughed up every major but the British Open on Sundays.

Not only is Sergio dating a Norman’s daughter, who looks like every other girl you see walking down the street, he has managed to catch a cause of the choke from her father. Sergio most certainly has not been clutch and his work with the ladies shows that despite his Spanish playboy facade that his game is weak both on and off the greens. CHOKER!

Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox Starting Pitcher, 2003 World Series MVP


Back to clutch, lets talk Josh Beckett, you know the wonderkid that in 2003 went into Yankee Stadium and stomped out the Bronx Bombers at the tender age of 23.

In that series he started two of Florida’s 6 games, and went 1-1 with an ERA of 1.10 including a five hit, nine strikeout shut out in game six to clinch the world championship. He followed that up in 2007 with a post-season for the ages.

He went 30 innings striking out 35 while only giving up 2 walks and 19 hits. He gave up a grand total of four earned runs in four starts on his way to a 4–0 record.

In the post-season he is a lifetime 7-2 and both those loses came in 2003. Oh yeah and the Big Texan had both Danielle Peck and underwear model Leeann Tweeden on his arm. CLUTCH!

Alex Rodriguez, 3rd Baseman, Hall of Fame Choker

Which leads me to the inspiration for this article, I mean we’ve talked about all the other pluses and minuses in A-Rod’s game over the past few months. Now let’s talk about whether the dude has “game” or not.

To be fair we know he can play, but how about when it counts. I’d say no. Cynthia was the equivalent of winning three regular season MVP’s and he managed to screw that up.

Then he proved just like on the diamond, he couldn’t carry over the momentum to when it counts. He's worth $27 million a year and he couldn’t convert.

Instead he manages to pick up a Russian import in Toronto that dances at The Brass Rail and looks like she bench-presses cars in her spare time.

He then managed to match that act of futility on the field when he got only 41 hits vs. 38 strikeouts in 39 post season games. He then followed that up by dating Madonna at the age of 114 (editor's note: Madonna is 50).


Come on! She looks more like Skeletor or Tom Petty and doesn’t look anything like the Material Girl that bedded Mark Messier 20 years ago. (For the record The Moose is considered on of the great winners of all time, he managed to score a young Madonna and Captain of six Stanley Cups, two Hart’s, two Conn Smyth’s, and 295 points in 236 playoff games. The Messiah brought Broadway its first cup in 54 years.)

Derek Jeter, Shortstop, 4-Time World Series Champion, Hall of Fame Clutch

Derek Jeter is Mr. November. He's also been with his share of Ms. March, April, June and Septembers When it counts he bats .309 in 495 career trips to the plate and is wearing four World Series rings.


Oh yeah and his little black book looks like the Maxim Hot 100 list. He has been seen out with Mariah Carey, Jessica Alba, Vanessa Minnillo, Jordana Brewster, former Miss Universe Lara Dutta and Jessica Biel. CLUTCH!

All I can say is if my theory is correct. (And it’s clearly a flawless theory. I mean I did write this while in a lab with a white coat on.) Than based on my current better half, I’m a lock for an extra base hit in the bottom of the ninth on a cool October night at Fenway or a double eagle on the 18th at Pebble Beach in the US Open.

So as the evening draws near and the booze starts to flow which are you? Jeter or Arod? Tiger or Sergio? Clutch or Choke Artist? You decide.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Chess Master's Moves at the Trade Deadline

Two moves...tick, tick...still two moves. Alright, so are we better off today than we were a day ago?

I see you nodding your head yes. But this leaves me with a very interesting thought in mine. Maybe it’s me, but I think Peter Chiarelli’s move on deadline day were brilliant. I know an aging winger and a defenseman.

Remember, I am talking about the Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli. You know that really smart guy that seems to make all these brilliant moves? Yeah, that guy.

I know I’ve been away from my friends here in Bruin-ville. I apologize I’ve been working on spring previews for Major League Baseball. But the equivalent of Palm Sunday on the NHL calendar had my eyes glued to the TV.

I mean this is Canada; Deadline day gets more coverage than elections, wars, and visits by heads of state combined. The lead up to the trade deadline had many a Bruins fan assessing needs and wants. I heard we don’t need anything as a common refrain.

So about a week ago I started thinking, why would this Bruins team make a move? They are deep, they are young, and can score. Then it hit me, look at the cap situation and the number of young players the Bruins have. The type of let's-win-it-right-now moves the Bruins made yesterday makes perfect sense.

Let me first say that Mark Recchi and Steve Montador make you a better team today. The Bruins are better prepared for the play-offs on Mar. 5 than they were on Mar. 3. So I have no problem with the moves from a win now stand point.

To be fair, this league has become more of a win now league than ever.



Look at the Bruins to be free agents next year and follow me to find why these moves aren't just good, but a great. A free-agent class led by Phil Kessel, David Krejci, Matt Hunwick, Tim Thomas, PJ Axelsson, Stephane Yelle, Byron Bitz, Manny Fernandez, and Shane Hnidy and after yesterdays moves add Steve Montador, Mark Recchi to the list.



Now that list isn’t up there to scare you, just put it in perspective. How do you get all those guys back under contract? Next part may frighten you a little bit, so grab something to bite down on; I promise you’ll be happy when we’re done.



In the new NHLyour window to win is tight, just ask the Pittsburgh Penguins, unless you can manage your stars and build around them a la the Detroit Red Wings. Yesterdays moves mean that the Bruins are committed to only 14 players for next season at a total cap hit of $42.5 million.



If I was to estimate that the cap will be approximately the same as it is this year. (It might be less because revenues are down, but stay with me because it will affect all teams spending proportionally so it doesn’t matter that much.)



That would set the number at about $59.5 million, giving the Bruins a free $17 million to spend to resign key players like Kessel, Krejci, Hunwick and Thomas.



Now I know what you’re saying, we didn’t really need the room because three of the four are restricted free agents.



Although that is true, there is nothing in the collective agreement that says that a GM won’t throw a ton of money the way of Kessel or Krejci for that matter, a young player that has turned himself into a point a game centre at the age of 22 and looks to be getting better. (A la the Kevin Lowe situation with Thomas Vanick and Dustin Penner a couple of years back.)



This maybe paranoia but to be fair it’s not completely out of the question to see at least one of these guys get a big deal the Bruins have to match in order to retain the youngster.



You currently have Tuukka Rask under contract for another year at $850,000 and signing Thomas to deal seems like the way to go. Then you have to ask are we ready to commit $6 million to Thomas at the age of 35?



Minnesota just put four years and $24 million into Backstrom. I think Boston is kidding itself if it things Thomaswon’t be looking for a similar deal, at least dollar-amount wise.


He is coming off back to back all-star seasons and a year where he looks primed to finish in the top three goals against and save percentage. (He’s currently ranked first in both.)


So I know on the surface yesterday’s moves look ok, but when you drill down a little deeper it is proof that the Bruins are committed to winning right now, and realize these are the kinds of sacrifices you must make in the new NHL to win for years to come.


Tick tock, click...check...your move Eastern conference.

The A's On Top Again Out West?! Looks Like

Alright so I did it. I finally broke down and tried to figure out what all the fuss was about. Boy was I surprised as my first little stats experiment. I mean I am not Dr. Frankenstein. But who is? Well, Bill James I guess.



Who is this Bill James guy and what can he tell me that I didn’t already know as it relates to building the perfect beast, or starting line up anyways.


Well, I am sure there is more to life than simple (or complicated) math, he did give me one very interesting set of stats.

We now know them as runs created. Now why does that matter? Well I’ll tell you why, because with that stat I am going to prove why the Oakland A’s are going to be your American League West Champions.

Let’s not start there though. Lets look at the reasons people are going to tell me that there is simply no way that the A’s can pulls this off.

I mean the Angels were the only team to win 100 games in 2008. The A’s on the other hand managed a measly 75 wins, one less than their counter parts in Texas. Good for 3rd in a very sad division if I do say so myself.

So where do I see the A’s making up a 25 game difference in 2009?

I feel like to compare the Oakland A’s to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (I still can’t say that five times fast.) We have to look at pitching and offense. Could we compare defense? Sure we could, but is a long and drawn out process and here is what I know. The Angels will look a lot the same, there biggest question, is can Kendry Morales give you the same solid defensive presence at first that you got from both Casey Kotchman and Mark Teixera. I don’t think he can, and if people think that a gold glove firs basemen is worth his weight in…well gold I’d say take a look at Steve Garvey. Start by searching, 193 game errorless streak, it will help.

It’s not accident that the players around Garvey were also picking up gold gloves when he was on the bag. Now in Anaheim you are asking a relative unknown to fill the place of a 2 time gold glove infielder.

The A’s on the other hand, to be honest aren’t exactly known for their ability to “go get it”. But they’ll have Travis Buck and Ryan Sweeney in an improved outfield and a perennial gold glove winner in Eric Chavez back at the hot corner after two injury plagued seasons.

Are they equal? Not by any stretch, but I think that the A’s are going to be better defensively, while the Angels are going to do well to maintain there lofty status as a good defensive team.

Let’s look at pitching for a minute. Clearly the Angels have the advantage here with names like Lackey, Weaver, Saunders, or at least that’s what you would be led to believe. But here is where my research takes an interesting turn. Running the Angels starting rotation, top 5 bullpen options and closer, vs the A’s through a formula for Fielding Independent ERA, you find out something very interesting.
For all the names the Angels have when you look at a homeruns allowed, walks, hit by pitch, strikeouts and innings pitched they are not any better than what the A’s are going to trot out there this season.

Now I did this research based on last years pitching numbers, and that being said the A’s pitchers only combined for 778 2/3 vs the 1005 logged by the Angels.

But as innings pitched is the divisor in the equation it should adjust the stats accordingly. So I am not simply interested in the fact that the A’s gave up a mere fraction or 54% of the Angels home run total while logging 77% of the innings. Although interesting the Fielding Independent ERA for both squads show us that the A’s pitching staff is better by 0.34 runs per game. Not much you say, I agree. Not much indeed, and if Kendry Morales can contribute the defense of a Mark Teixera maybe it’s even a wash when we go fielder by fielder.

Then let’s say it is, and flip to the other side of the coin. We know that Billy Beane’s obsession began with finding out how to create as many runs as possible. Beane became famous for paying for attributes which he deemed “valuable” and passing on players that had other gifts that traditionalist saw “value” in, but that Beane saw as irrelevant. He also says how these irrelevant skills drove the price of a player up. He wasn’t looking for five tool players. He was looking for players with one tool, and the less of the other ones they had the better. It allowed him to compete for less.




Well he has done it again. Billy Beane is looking at a number of things but at the end of the day, he’s looking at Runs Created. We can debate whether it works or not all day, but the fact of the matter is, his teams have made five playoff appearances since 2000.

More importantly what do the numbers of this years team say? Well it says the A’s will score 816 runs or about 170 more than a year ago. That 816 would’ve been the 5th highest in the major leagues last year. What about the Angels? Glad you asked, their Total runs created is 738. Or about 25 less runs than a year ago. Kind of looks like the loss of production of an All-star first basemen to me. People can talk about adding Abreu, but you also must factor in for the loss of a very productive Garrett Anderson.

I will preface that the above numbers are based on players 162 game major league averages, so it does not account for the decline of certain players like Abreu, Vladdy, or Giambi, or the increase in productivity from the likes of a Napoli or Matt Holliday over there averages so far.

But if distribution is equal, by my estimates anyways, the A’s are ripe to take back the West, and pull off what many would consider a huge upset.

You heard it here first….

Extra Extra Yankees Tied Directly to Economic Fallout (Irony, Satire, please don't take seriously)

It’s a recession.

The Yankees haven’t won a World Series in nine years. I mean, if that isn’t a recession, I don’t know what is.

Stay with me for a minute. I know the problems of the economy are very real. I understand there is no joke about people losing their homes or there jobs. But sports are our escape from all of that, aren't they?



But then I got to thinking, then I got to reading. That’s right, despite what you may think, I can read, and occasionally I do think before opening my mouth. I often don't do both, so this is special.

Quick background, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened on May 26, 1896 with a score of 40.94.



From there it took until 1972 to hit 1000 points. But the scores I am interested in, follow the strike in 1994. So, just previous to the 1995 season, Feb. 23, 1995 to be exact, the DJI hit 4000.

It was in 1995 that the Yankees began a spending spree that, by 2007, had accounted for over $1.6 billion in pay roll. But let’s break it down shall we.

Find TicketsPowered by FanSnap.comThe index began its unprecedented climb. In the first four years, the New York Payroll was No. 1 in the majors only twice, but it did jump from $47 million to $63 million according to USA Today.

So what does that have to do with anything? I mean, tell us something you we didn’t know? Oh, how about the fact that, while the Yankees were on this run of consecutive post seasons the Dow Jones Industrial also pushed its way into uncharted territory.

The Yankees 13 straight playoff appearances are second all-time only to the Braves. But in the grand scheme of things, the Yankees appear to affect or mirror the economy. Atlanta, although a nice city, doesn’t have the same influence over the economy as Wall Street.

So, as the Yank’s were slam-dunking four rings, 13 straight playoff appearances, and repeatedly cracking the $200 million mark, Wall St. was climbing, and climbing. All the way up to 14,100 points it went.



So as Jeter and co. were setting Yankee records, the DJI was setting financial records. Why does this matter?

Well I just find it intriguing that the years the Yankees streak stopped are also the years the Dow Jones and the economy went in the tank.

Follow me from 1995 to 2000 when the Yankees rattled off four World Series Titles, the industrial average jumped from 4,000 to 11,700. Pretty unreal if you ask me, a 7,700 point jump is unprecedented—between 2000 and 2004 it barely moved. You think that has anything to do with the economy knowing the Bronx Bombers were about to cough up a 3-0 lead? I think so. Although continuing to make the playoffs, the Industrial was not as robust as in its growth.

Then the Yankees did the unthinkable, they missed the playoffs, and in that same year the average collapsed. Not only did it collapse, but it went into a free fall around Oct. 1. The same Oct. 1 that saw Jeter, Jorge, and Petite clean out their locker early in pin stripes for the first time.

Now this all looks a little suspicious with the Industrial Average at about 7,800 after the collapse of 2008.

The government was scrambling and they dreamt up a bailout package, as did Cashman and the Steinbrenners. So far the US government has spent approximately $1.5 trillion on a bailout since October. While the Yankees, in their version of a bailout package, have dedicated approximately a $.5 billion to contracts for C.C., AJ, and Tex to keep themselves “a float.”

This conspiracy may be bigger than steroids, greenies, HGH, Pete Rose, and the Black Sox Scandal all together.

But then again, there are no such things as conspiracies right?

Boston Bruins' Future Looks as Bright as the Past

It’s funny you know, how history repeats itself.

I was just listening to the local Toronto alternative rock station and they had an interview with Justin Pogge.

You know, the same Justin Pogge the Leafs decided to keep.

You know, the reason that we Bruins fans are now so excited about Tuukka Rask and not Justin Pogge. (Boston requested either/or in the Andrew Raycroft trade.)

I only mention this because one of the on air personalities referred to how skinny Pogge was, at 6'3" and 190 pounds. His counterpart more directly said, “Yeah we’ve got to get you on that Tim Thomas diet.”

Now normally this banter would’ve only mildly amused, but Pogge's response started a snowball of thoughts in my head that I just had to get out. His answer, “Yeah, that guy is like a Ninja Turtle.”

Now first, what the heck does an off-the-cuff comedic statement about a 22-year old AHL goalie and a Saturday morning kids cartoon that ran from 1986 through 1996 have to do with the Bruins starting netminder? Other than the obvious parallels like when Thomas spins on his back, I could occasionally mistake him for Michelangelo?

Well, I got to thinking—I know, a dangerous process in and of itself.

Let’s start here: How good were those Bruins teams from ’86 to ’96?

Well in the '86-87 season Bruins lost in the first round of the playoffs. Not surprising as we tend to do that a lot. But the following year we marched all the way to the Finals.

That run to the Finals started a series of the most beloved and heart breaking Bruins teams in memory. We against lost in the Finals in 1990. We managed heart breaking loses in the conference finals in 1989, 1991 and 1992. Every year from 1986 to 1996 we made the playoffs, and on six separate occasions managed to go more than one round.

So what am I saying? Bring back the Ninja Turtles? Well they did, in 2003 and are currently working on there seventh season, so that’s not the answer.

But let’s look at Tim Thomas and throw him into the “which NHL player does he remind you of” machine? Could it be the dough-shaped Andy Moog? Let me explain.

Moog wasn’t pretty, he just won. He split starts for most of career, he was too short, too fat, and at the end of the day for all the complaints he was a winner. He was a starting goalie in the NHL and lost his job to the flashy first-round pick Grant Fuhr.

Although not quite the journeyman that Thomas was, Moog was in Edmonton for three Stanley Cups. In those three years he played, 38, 39 and 46 games. He put together a record of 77-28-7 over that span.

Over 47 games in the 1985-1986 season, he was 27-9-7. So in those four years, his winning percentage was 0.675, and by 1987-1988 he found himself on the Canadian National Team. He played 31 games, then headed back to the NHL to split starts with Reggie Lemelin.

Is this the same story as Tim Thomas’ journey through Europe, the AHL, IHL and ECHL? No, but I hope you are getting some of the parallels of disrespect.

Has Thomas carried us to the Promised Land yet? Unfortunately not, but under the steerage of Moog we saw three conference finals, and two Cup finals. Thomas sure looks like he has that kind performance in him.

Lets again get in the way back machine for a minute. Wasn’t our first line during those years a tough, rugged goal scorer and a savvy, play-making center? We’ve all heard the Lucic and Cam Neely comparisons. But what about Marc Savard and his doppelganger—his ghost from the past, if you will?

It doesn’t take too long to look into those teams and find one of the greatest assist men of all time. I present to you Adam Oates—1420 career points, 1079 of them assists. Before Oates it was Craig Janney having 100-plus-point seasons feeding the puck on to the tape of the goal scoring monster.

If this is true, then Chara must be Raymond Bourque, a power-play quarterback that longs an inhuman amount of minutes every night. Again, do they play exactly the same way? No, but both today’s Norris Candidate and the multiple Norris winner of yesteryear (all 5 were won between the years 1986 and 1996) do fill the same need for a stud anchoring the blue.

It’s also strikingly similar the balance of talent behind the big men. Hagwood, Wesley, and Galley managed to put in 38, 36, 35 points respectively from the back end. This year's version boasts Wideman, Hunwick, and—although hurt for most of the season so far—Andrew Ference supplying secondary firepower from the back end.

Then again, how far is Shawn Thornton from being Lyndon Byers?

So what am I saying? Well guys, what I am saying is just like Turtle soup, there is a recipe for success, and I think that Chef Chiarelli has put the right ingredients in the pot.

Now let's see if they can cook up something worthy of being served from Lord Stanley’s Mug.

That would be pretty radical, if I do say so myself!