Wednesday, September 21, 2005

MSU 44, ND 41

Quarterback: On a positive note, Brady Quinn had 487 yards passing on Saturday. On a negative note, Brady Quinn had 487 yards passing on Saturday. Quinn put his name near the top of the record book with his 60 pass attempts (Terry Hanratty, 63, 1967), 33 completions (Joe Theisman, 33, 1970), and 487 yards (Theisman, 526, 1970). But, you'd rather see Darius Walker put his name in the record book, as that would have been an indication that the Irish were able to establish the run.

Running Back: Walker did end up with 116 yards, but most of those came after MSU dropped into a soft zone in the second half. Walker was held to under 50 yards in the first half, often stifling him at the line. He was also held to 24 yards on 5 receptions, as the Spartans seemed to have the dump-offs and screens scouted very well. Rashon Powers-Neal was listed as the second-string halfback for this game, but he ended up without a carry.

Fullback: With RPN at halfback, Asaph Schwapp made his debut at starting fullback. It was a debut he'd rather forget, however. Schwapp rushed 5 times for -1 yards, and lost a key fumble on the goal line.

Receiver: I've been told to tell you that Mo Stovall is a god, but I have never been one to push my religion on others. Despite a mistake here and there, including a hold that nullified a Walker TD run and a few drops, Stovall did have a great game. Stovall ended with 8 catches for 176 yards and 1 TD. He came in with much hype, and was criticized heavily for not living up to it. However, for one game, he lived up to most of that hype, asserting himself as a reliable option on third and long, and by finally becoming a deep threat who can catch the jump ball. This could be seen as a breakout game for Stovall, but the pessimist in me says he'll be back to his old ways. I sincerely hope I'm wrong, though. Meanwhile, Jeff Samardzija continued to be a fantasy stud with 96 yards and 3 TDs, while Matt Shelton had 6 catches for 87 yards. In Rhema McKnight's absence, freshman David Grimes made his first collegiate reception for 11 yards.

Tight End: Anthony Fasano had another Anthony Fasano-like day, 7 receptions for 93 yards.

O-Line: This may have been the first bad game by the line. But, considering how they've been playing, that's not too much of a put-down. As stated above, Walker did have trouble running between the tackles in the first half. Also, Brady Quinn was sacked three times and hurried several more times.

D-Line: Once again, the defensive line was heavily criticized for their lack of a pass rush. The team was only able to sack quarterback Drew Stanton once, and that sack came from cornerback Mike Richardson. Victor Abiamiri had seven tackles, including two for a loss. But, other than that, the line didn't do much. It was interesting to note that, when going to a nickel set, the Irish removed defensive end Chris Frome in order to keep all three linebackers on the field.

Linebacker: As stated above, all three linebackers remained on the field for nickel sets. This makes sense, as this position is supposed to be the strong point of this defense. Once again, Brandon Hoyte led the team in tackles, with Maurice Crum and Corey Mays hot on his heels.

Safety: Again, again, the Irish are really playing two strong safeties with no free safeties. There's not much positive you can say about the secondary when the opposing quarterback throws for 327 yards and 3 TDs.

Cornerback: See above. I don't want to think about it any more.

Kicker: DJ Fitzpatrick did all you could ask of him. He made from 48 yards, which I believe is a new career high, before missing from the same distance. When the game was tight, he also took over kickoff duties, and he made a 44 yarder in overtime.

Punter: DJ had an average day punting. He averaged 40 yards on 4 punts, with a long of 50.

Kick Returner: It was another average day for Notre Dame's kick returners, as Justin Hoskins and Brandon Harris combined for 86 yards on 4 returns. Unfortunately, at the school of Tim Brown, Rocket Ismail, and Julius Jones, the fans expect a lot more than "average."

Punt Returner: Tom Zbikowski returned two punts for a total of 22 yards.

Special Teams: Notre Dame's coverage teams got good work in, and they gave up nothing big. MSU averaged 20.8 yards on 6 kick returns and 2.0 yards on 3 punt returns.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

ND Football 2005
Issue 3: MSU

MSU Rush Offense vs. ND Rush Defense

A new year and a new offense for the Spartans. Despite running multiple-receiver sets, Michigan State is still averaging 276 yards per game on the ground. The three-headed attack is led by Jehuu Caulcrick, Javon Ringer, and Jason Teague. Teague, the starter, is questionable with a suspension for misdemeanor assault. If he and his 89 yards from week one don't play, Caulcrick's 114.5 YPG and Ringer's 74.5 should be able to amply cover. MSU's primary formation calls for three receivers and a tight end, so there is no fullback. Quarterback Drew Stanton is always a running threat, despite only picking up 3 yards on the ground next week.
Notre Dame can handle the run in its base 4-3, but how will it do in its nickel and dime formations. This week may be the first showcase of the Apache position. Will linebacker Maurice Crum stay in to guard against the run, covering a wide receiver when necessary? Or will the Irish employ the nickel, in the hopes that the front four and the very good Brandon Hoyte and Corey Mays are enough against Stanton and the Spartan backs?

ND Rush Offense vs. MSU Rush Defense

Darius Walker has once again been a model of consistency, with games of 100 and 104 yards so far. As one source mentioned, Walker has yet to break the big one, but he gets as much as he can out of each single run. Behind him (or, should I say in front of him), Rashon Powers-Neal has been used effectively when lining up at both fullback and halfback. RPM has averaged 30 yards per game thus far.
Michigan State's run defense has yet to see a true test in Kent State and Hawaii. That hasn't stopped them from getting in the backfield, though. The Spartans have already picked up 13 tackles for a loss en route to a 68.5 YPG average against them. MSU's answer to the Apache linebacker is the "Bandit," SirDarean Adams (seriously, do MSU recruit solely based on unusual first names?). Adams leads the team with 16 tackles and 3 backfield stops. Representative of their recent opponents' lack of run games, linebacker Kaleb Thornhill and DE Michael Bazemore are the only non-defensive back among the team's top 8 tacklers.

MSU Pass Offense vs. ND Pass Defense

An Urban Meyer-like spread attack has gotten returning starter Drew Stanton> off to a good start at quarterback. Stanton is averaging just under 300 passing yards per game, albeit against the likes of Kent (not a) State and Hawaii. Stanton has a trio of receivers putting up great numbers so far. In two games, Kyle Brown, Jerramy Scott, and Terry Love have combined for 31 catches and 452 yards. Brown and Scott appear to be the go-to guys, each with 10+ catches, while Love and Matt Trannon look to be the deep threats. All in all, Staton has hit 12 different targets, but most of his passes will be going to the four wide receivers.
Notre Dame, not thought to have a good pass defense this year (or for the pass 3+ years), has limited opponents to 221.5 passing yards per game in 2005. Granted, those numbers have come from two supposedly good passing offenses who greatly underperformed against the Irish. Michigan State's multiple receiver sets will test the Irish secondary, especially non-starters like Leo Ferrine, David Bruton, LaBrose Hedgemon, and Terrail Lambert. I'm just speculating here, but I wouldn't be surprised if Anthony Vernaglia got some playing time in this one as well. To aid the secondary, the pass rush will have to step up. So far, the team's sack leader has been Brandon Hoyte with 3. If the line can be effective with just a four man rush, with the occassional blitz from Hoyte and Corey Mays thrown in, Notre Dame should be able to (relatively) contain the Spartan passing attack. Of course, the blitzes will have to be chosen wisely, or else Tom Zbikowski will have a busy day going after running backs on draw plays.

ND Pass Offense vs. MSU Pass Defense

Notre Dame's pass offense to this point may not be exciting, but it is effective. Brady Quinn has completed 37 of his 57 pass attempts for 367 yards. Not counting Darius Walker's 51 yard TD run on a screen pass, Quinn's longest pass play has been for 27 yards. Walker and TE Anthony Fasano have been Quinn's favorite targets so far, with 8 catches each. Next is receiver Jeff Samardzija, who has 7 catches and has caught two of Quinn's four touchdowns. Samardzija also leads the team in yards per game with 43. A big weapon missing this Saturday will be Rhema McKnight, who left the Michigan game with a knee injury. McKnight is not lost for the entire season, but he definitely won't be ready for the Michigan State game. Starting in McKnights place will be speedster Matt Shelton, who has only one catch in limited action so far this year. However, it will likely be Samardzija who will step up in Rhema's absence.
Despite the relatively weak competition, Michigan State has given up some yardage in the air. 268.5 yards per game, to be exact. Their "big play" numbers aren't too impressive, either. Kaleb Thornhill and cornerback Ashton Watson have the team's only two interceptions, while five players have contributed one sack a piece.

Special Teams

Michigan State's placekicker is junior John Goss, who has no field goal attempts in 2005 or 2004. He is perfect on PAT's in 8 attempts, however. For the Irish, returning placekicker DJ Fitzpatrick has made his lone field goal attempt, coming from 43 yards.
John Goss handles the punting duties for the Spartans, and I'm frankly surprised that he's been used 5 times already this year. Fields has an average of 44.4 yards and a long of 67. Fitzpatrick has punted 12 times for the Irish in 2005, with an average of 42.3 yards and a long of 60.
The MSU kick returners for Saturday are listed as Demond Williams and SirDarean Adams. However, only Williams, Jerramy Scott, and Jaren Hayes have had returns so far this year. Each has had one - Williams' was for 14 yards, Scott's for 11, and Hayes' for 23. ND kickoff specialist (aka "Make sure DJ's leg doesn't fall off specialist") Carl Gioia is averaging 55.5 yards per kick, giving opponents a start around the 10 yard line. From there, the Irish are giving up 16.9 yards per kick return.
Justin Hoskins and Brandon Harris are ND's kick returners. Hoskins has returned two kicks for 24 yards each, while Harris has had one return for 11 yards. MSU's kickoff specialist is Brandon Fields averages 63.5 yards per kick. That means that, when Fields' kicks don't reach the end zone (as 6 of 14 have this year), they make it to about the two yard line. From there, the Spartans have given up an average average of 21.5 yards per return.
Kyle Brown has primarily handled punt returns for the Spartans, although fellow receivers Terry "Don't Call me Spoony" Love and Carl Grimes have also seen action. Brown has been the main threat, picking up 63 yards on 3 returns, including a long of 46. ND's punt coverage team has been stifling so far this year, giving up only 5.2 yards per return.
ND's punt return duties will again be handled by a rotation of David Grimes and Tom Zbikowski. Zbikowski is the only player to actually have a return this year. He's had two, in fact, one for 19 yards and one for 23. Michigan State, meanwhile, is very good on punt coverage as well, giving up only 6.3 yards per return.

Look for a big game from Walker, Samardzija, Mays, Zbikowski, Fitzpatrick

ND 27, MSU 20: Walker and RPN on the ground, Shelton in the air, and two kicks by DJ (one set up by a turnover) will be just too much for the Spartans.

MSU Blogs

The Enlightened Spartan
Grinz on Green
C'Mon Ref!
Fanblogs MSU

Monday, September 12, 2005

The Weekend in Review
NFL Kickoff Edition

NCAA Football

Ohio 16, Pitt 10: For the second week in a row, Pitt basically didn't show up. An example of this is Blades - instead of being the tough leader, he's turning into a crybaby. Wannstedt is being stubborn - trying to force the run game instead of utilizing the talent he has (Palko and Lee). Meanwhile, the word on the street is that some Pitt fans are already turning on Wanny.

Texas 25, tOSU 22: For some reason, I actually had trouble watching this one. Oh yeah, I remember why now: Brent Musberger playing the role of the "drunk 'that guy'" to the Ohio State linbackers' "girl who's kinda hot but not as much as the drunk guy thinks she is." "Senator" Jim Tressel (is he called Senator because he's so corrupt)would have been second-guessed for the rest of the season about putting in Justin Zwick for what was going to be the winning two-minute drill until Zwick fumbled. But, with a chance for redemption at the one, Troy Smith took a safety. Two drives, two plays. A question for you football experts in the audience: in the NFL, the saying is that the goal line "extends around the world." That is, if a player leaps from in bounds and crosses the goal line with his body and the ball entirely out of bounds, it's still a good touchdown. However, in this game, the announcers kept saying that the Texas running back "didn't get the ball inside the pylon." The play was reviewed and determined not to be a touchdown, so apparently the NFL and college rules are different.

Virginia Tech 45, Duke 0: Why cut into the ND-Michigan game to show highlights from this game? Why is Marcus Vick a player of the week candidate for throwing 3 TDs against Duke?

Iowa State 23, Iowa 3: So, uh, wow. Iowa QB Drew Tate left this game early after suffering a possible concussion when making a tackle following one of his interceptions. Does the outcome of this game somehow vault Tate to the top of the Heisman list?

Georgia 17, South Carolina 15: If Iowa-Iowa State was Exhibit A in the case against preseason rankings, was this game Exhibit B? Sure, the Gamecocks are playing on a new-coach high under Steve Spurrier, but does a Georgia team that lost some big stars really deserve to start #9?

FSU 62, The Citadel 10: Hey, isn't that Sack Lodge playing linebacker for the Seminoles?

Oklahoma 31, Tulsa 15: Oklahoma lucks out in the polls this week. Since the pollsters don't actually watch the game, they'll likely glance over the fact that Tulsa was winning 9-7, then was a missed two-point conversion from tying it at 17 all before a last-second interception return on a despiration drive turned a 24-15 OU lead into a 31-15 win.

NFL

Bengals 27, Browns 13: A win's a win, and a loss is a loss, but this one wasn't all negative for the Browns. Trent Dilfer, despite two interceptions, looked like a competent and composed NFL quarterback. Reuben Droughns ran hard out of the backfield and as a kick returner. He had 78 yards on 12 carries; if this game hadn't been a relative shootout, he would have easily gone over 100. Frisman Jackson, who to this point was known more for his throwing ability (the former quarterback was used several times for Hail Mary passes) and for wearing Bernie Kosar's #19. But, with Kellen Winslow and Aaron Shea not playing, and with Steve Heiden going down during the game, the Browns ran thin on options at tight end. Now wearing #88, the 6-3 Jackson stepped in as a third receiver for most of the second half, and he became a reliable option for Dilfer, catching 8 passes for 128 yards and Cleveland's lone TD. Even Jeff Faine pitched in with a catch on this one. A ball intended for Antonio Bryant bounced of the referee's head where it was caught by Faine. Instead of taking the illegal touching penalty, the Bengals let Faine's loss of 1 stand. The final positive came from kicker Phil Dawson. A case of the "yips" came soon after his field goal streak ended last year, and the yips continued into training camp. However, Dawson made a 29-yard field goal to open the scoring, and later made a 35-yard extra point following a personal foul. Now, the negatives. Well, compared to the last few years, giving up 129 yards to Rudi Johnson is neither an improvement or a decline. However, in not wanting to give up the deep ball, the Browns pass defense, albeit thin at cornerback due to injuries, turned Carson Palmer into Peyton Manning. Palmer dinked and dunked his way to 280 yards on 26/34 passing. Finally, penalties were an issue for the Browns, to the tune of 7 for 56 yards.

Patriots 30, Raiders 20: Caught the first half of this one with F-Bomb and some Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale. New England's defense wasn't perfect, but something tells me that Bill Belichick will be able to may them play "good enough" all year to get the win.

Lions 17, Packers 3: When you look at the weapons the Lions have on offense, you realize that all they need is a halfway decent line to succeed. Apparently, that line is halfway decent. Meanwhile, is Detroit's secondary that good, or is Green Bay just a bad team this year? (Or, is my grandpa right - do the Packers just show up when they need to?) I dare say that if the Browns have a good game in Green Bay next week, it's a very winnable game for them.

Falcons, Eagles: (About to kickoff at the time of this writing.) Holy cow, we've got a major Charlie Foxtrot on our hands!

MLB

Indians 12, Twins 4: I was lucky enough to have club seats for this Sunday night game. The only thing better than scoring 10 runs in the first two innings (chasing not one but two starters - Carlos Silva and Joe Mays from the game) against the hated Twins was the "anything you can do, I can do better" way in which the Tribe offense did it. The book on Silva was obviously to jump on him early in the at bat and the Indians did just that. Grady Sizemore led off with a triple, followed by Coco Crisp with a double. Soon after, Victor Martinez homered just over a leaping Lew Ford in center. On any other night, the spotlight would have been on Crisp, who finished 4 for 5 with doubles in each of his first two at bats. But not on this night. This night belonged to Grady Sizemore. By the time the second inning was over, Sizemore had already completed the two toughest phases of the cycle, with a triple and a homer. He ended his night 3 for 4 with a walk, three runs, and three RBI. To cap things off, he made a spectacular leaping, tumbling catch against the wall in the eighth, causing cheers of "Grady! Grady!" to rise from the best crowd Jacobs Field had seen in months. (In an attempt to draw good numbers for ESPN2, all tickets except club seats were $5.) Cliff Lee, acquired along with Sizemore in the Bartolo Colon deal, had Cleveland fans saying, "Bartolo who?" as he improved his record to 16-4.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

ND 17, Michigan 10

Quarterback: You don't have to be perfect for a whole game, as long as you can be perfect (or near perfect) for a few key drives. At times, Brady Quinn looked shaky, often throwing behind his intended receiver. But twice Quinn was near perfect, leading scoring drives of 76 and 73 yards, each capped off with a 5-yard touchdown pass. In the end, Quinn did complete 63% of his passes (19 for 30). He hasn't completed many (if any) deep balls this season, but to this point he hasn't had to.

Running Back: Another year, another workhorse-like performance against Michigan for Darius Walker. Walker may have found Michigan's run defense to be a bit stouter than Pitt's, but the only halfback that Charlie Weis used on Saturday was still able to turn 26 carries into 104 yards. Walker was credited with one fumble, but that came on a botched exchange from Quinn; it's arguable who was at fault there. (In the end, it was a moot point, as the Irish defense was able to force a turnover on downs at their own five yard line.) Darius Walker also led the team in catches with 5 for 22 yards.

Fullback: It was not as glamorous a day for Rashon Powers-Neal, but he was still able to pick up 19 yards on 6 carries. Asaph Schwapp joined in with 2 carries for 8 yards.

Receiver:

Courtesy AP/The Detroit News (Steve Perez)

Rhema McKnight began his day with a 5-yard touchdown reception, and ended it with what appears to be a twisted knee. Results from a halftime MRI will reveal the extent of his injury. When McKnight went down, in stepped Jeff Samardzija with 4 catches for a team-leading 52 yards. Included in those four catches was Samardzija's own 5-yard TD reception, this one off a deflection from a Wolverine linebacker. Maurice Stovall added two catches for 17 yards, and Matt Shelton caught his first pass of the year, a 4-yarder.

Tight End: Anthony Fasano didn't have a flashy game, but he was reliable as a true tight end should be. Fasano had 4 catches for 18 yards.

O-Line: The line gave Darius Walker another 100-yard rushing game. As a team, Notre Dame surrendered three sacks. However, two came from cornerback Leon Hall, and one of those came when Hall rushed from the blind side, undetected by Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija, the slot receiver assigned to pass block on that play.

D-Line: When the #3 team in the nation goes 0 for 3 in red zone chances, that speaks volumes for your defense as a whole. But, when that #3 team is stopped twice on quarterback sneaks from the one, that speaks volumes for your defensive line. (Granted, the second stop was due to a fumbled snap, but it's still an accomplishment.) The line didn't record many tackles in this game - Ronald Talley led the unit with two, Derek Landri had a stop for a loss, and Brian Beidatsch had the line's lone sack. But the line did do an outstanding job of getting their hands up to knock down Chad Henne's passes. Five linemen each knocked down a pass, including Talley, Landri, Chris Frome, Trevor Laws, and Victor Abiamiri.

Linebacker: Notre Dame's linebacking corps looked like it was taking a big loss coming into this year. Only three players on 2004's team had decent playing experience, and two of those players graduated. The only returning starter, Brandon Hoyte, was great against the run but supposedly weak against pass coverage. However, something happened this offseason - Hoyte developed into a complete player. BHoyte had 12 tackles, a sack, and a textbook pass breakup against Michigan. Another pleasant surprise has been 5th year senior Corey Mays. Mays, who has been primarily a special teamer his whole career, played like he was a four year starter on Saturday, contributing with 8 tackles and 2 pass breakups. Also getting in on the act was Maurice Crum with 5 tackles and a forced fumble.

Safety:

If there was an award for "Unit of the Week," it would definitely go to the Irish safeties for the Michigan game. The picture of Tom Zbikowski says it all - he's lost some of the gold paint off his helmet, and traded it in for some blood and blue helmet paint. Both Zbikowski and Chinedum Ndukwe had takeaways on the one yard line that broke the hearts of Michigan fans. Zbikowski ended a 14-play Michigan drive by stepping in front of tight end Tyler Ecker for an interception in the third quarter. As if finding a million dollar needle in a haystack, Ndukwe alertly reached into a goal line pileup to retrieve the football after Chad Henne fumbled the snap on a quarterback sneak. Granted, the safety play wasn't perfect - Michigan scored their lone touchdown when Zbikowski bit on a short route, leaving receiver Mario Manningha open on a deep post - but their heads up momentum swinging turnovers helped the Irish win this game.

Cornerback: Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. There were countless times when Chad Henne had a receiver open on a deep route, only to watch that receiver drop the ball. But, then again, it wasn't only luck that kept the Wolverine passing game in a relative state of check. Star receiver Jason Avant was incredibly quiet for most of the game, being held to "only" 5 catches and "only" 90 yards. Henne's only reliable option for most of the game was tight end Tyler Ecker, who ended up with 7 catches for 74 yards. So, although they had some help, a big round of applause is still due to defensive coordinator Rick Minter, defensive backs coach Bill Lewis, and the trio of Ambrose Wooden (5 tackles), Mike Richardson (5), and nickel back Leo Ferrine (1).

Kicker: DJ Fitzpatrick had only one field goal opportunity, but it was a big one. Fitzpatrick's 43-yard attempt at first looked like it had plenty of distance but was headed wide right. Then, the ball bit hard down and to the left like a Fergie Jenkins slider, barely tucking itself inside the crossbar and right upright. It was a key score for the Irish, giving them a two-touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter.

Punter: Another week, another chance for Fitzpatrick to show that he deserves to be the scholarship punter on a top 25 team. DJ had 9 punts in this game, averaging 41.2 yards per. His long was a 60-yard bomb that drove Steve Breaston back inside the 20.

Kick Returner: On ND's lone kick return opportunity, Justin Hoskins returned the ball 24 yards.

Punt Returner: Notre Dame was only able to return one of Michigan's eight punts. Tom Zbikowski took the ball 19 yards on his lone opportunity.

Special Teams: It was as if Notre Dame's coverage teams had Brad Nessler's audio feed in their helmets. Every time Nessler warned that "this could be the time Breaston breaks one," the Irish special teams stepped up. Steve Breaston returned 6 punts and 2 kickoffs for a total of only 61 yards. Breaston's longs were a 15 yard punt return and a 20 yard kick return. Grant Mason also returned two kicks, for 23 and 19 yards.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

ND Football 2005
Issue 2: Michigan

Michigan Rush Offense vs. ND Rush Defense

Michael Hart burst onto the scene in 2004, scoring 9 touchdowns and averaging 121.2 yards per game on the ground. Last week against Northern Illinois, he picked up right where he left off, gaining 117 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries. Freshman Kevin Grady is Hart's primary backup. Grady had a respectable debut against NIU, picking up 42 yards on 9 carries. Three other running backs saw token carries last week, but oddly enough no one listed on the roster as a fullback touched the ball. That of course doesn't rule out a tailback lining up as Hart's blocking back. But, it will be interesting to watch on Saturday if the fullback simply isn't a weapon in Lloyd Carr's offense, or if the Wolverines were pulling punches in an attempt to keep the tape reviewers Irish off guard. A quick look at Michigan's 2004 stats indicates that the former may be the case here.
Notre Dame's defense in recent years has been known as a hard-hitting group of run stoppers. Against Pitt last week, they didn't disappoint. The Irish surrendered 103 yards on the ground against the Panthers, with 55 of those yards coming on one play. Notre Dame's run defense is lead by senior linebacker Brandon Hoyte, who was in the backfield for a stop 5 times (ok, 4.5 times) last week.

ND Rush Offense vs. Michigan Rush Defense

Notre Dame's running game ran over, around, and through Pitt last week. Darius Walker, whose 2004 debut will remembered for a long time by both Notre Dame and Michigan fans, started the season on a fine note with exactly 100 rushing yards. Fullback Rashon Powers-Neal, who also lined up at tailback on short yardage and goal line situations, turned 8 carries into 41 yards and 3 touchdowns, earning him the first ever KankaNation Horse Trailer award. Even quarterback Brady Quinn got in on the act, choosing his spots to the tune of 5 rushes for 49 yards. Walker's primary backup, if you don't count Powers-Neal, is Travis Thomas, who picked up 40 yards in a mop-up role against the Panthers. Overall, the running backs and the offensive line were completely dominant in the ground game against the Panthers.
On most days of the week, a Big Ten run defense is much better than a Big East run defense. Will Notre Dame pick up 275 yards on the ground this week like they did last week? To quote a certain computer engineering professor at ND, "Probably not." However, the U of M Blogosphere (see below) is still worried about what Walker, Charlie Weis, and an experienced Irish o-line can accomplish on the ground this week. Word on the 'net is that run defense is one of the weaknesses of this year's Wolverine squad. The 211 rushing yards given up to mid-major NIU support that thesis. If Michigan wants to stop Walker et al. (and I'm assuming they do, since winning football games is a good thing), they'll have to rely on another big game from linebackers Chris Graham and Scott McClintock. Graham and McClintock combined for 19 tackles to lead the Wolverines against Northern Illinois. In addition, Graham made 2 of Michigan's 4 tackles in the backfield.

Michigan Pass Offense vs. ND Pass Defense

Chad Henne, yet another sophomore starting (and starring) in this offense, passed for 2743 yards, 25 TDs, and 12 interceptions last year, very good for a freshman in a big-time program. I'm also told he looks good in yellow spandex pants, but I was never a good judge of that sort of stuff. Like Hart, Henne picked up where he left off to start the 2005 season, completing 20 of 31 passes for 227 yards, 2 TDs, and no interceptions. There's no question who Henne's primary target is: senior receiver Jason Avant. Avant is said to have amazing hands, and he proved it last week with 9 catches for 127 yards. Michigan's #2 receiver, Steve Breaston, is off to a shaky start in 2005, catching only 2 passes in week one. Michigan's tight end is Tim Massaquoi. He, Breaston, and the backs will be catching any passes that don't go Avant's way.
As good as Notre Dame's has been over the past few years, there pass defense has left a little to be desired (or a lot to be desired, if it's a late-season game with Heisman implications). A supposedly nonexistent pass rush had a good day against Pittsburgh, as four players combined for five sacks. Brandon Hoyte, who is showing flashes of becoming a complete player, led the team with two sacks. Safety Tom Zbikowski had the team's lone interception.

ND Pass Offense vs. Michigan Pass Defense

A perfectionist would say that Brady Quinn got off to a rough start against Pitt - his only options early on were to run or dump the ball of to Walker. When he did go downfield, he had time, but it was forced (this includes his lone interception). But then, adjustments were made, and Quinn was able to hit the "usual suspects" downfield. Quinn spread the ball very evenly: one receiver had 4 catches (tight end Anthony Fasano), three had 3 (Walker, Rhema McKnight, and Jeff Samardzija), two had 2 (Maurice Stovall, who I'm told wasn't at fault for that dropped screen pass, and John Carlson), and one with 1 (RPN). Look for Quinn, and perhaps more importantly Charlie Weis, to again attempt to use all available weapons effectively.
The Huskies of NIU gained 200 yards on 17-25 passing last week. This comes a year after Michigan gave up about 200 yards per game in the air in 2004, a very respectable number. The Wolverines only managed one sack, by linebacker LaMarr Woodley, and had one interception by cornerback Grant Mason. Michigan's coaching staff claimed they were running a simplistic defense to avoid tipping their hands to ND. Is that the case, or are they trying to hide a weak pass rush? (I'm not implying anything - I honestly don't know, and that's why I'm asking.) If there isn't a pass rush, will Charlie Weis be able to slowly pick apart the Wolverine pass coverage? Besides the way the Irish secondary deals with Avant and Massaquoi, the way Brady Quinn and Company react to a good pass defense will be the matchup of the game.

Special Teams

Michigan returns Garrett Rivas as their placekicker. After converting 19-24 field goals in 2004, Rivas missed from 48 and made from 38 and 23 against NIU. Rivas' long in 2004 was 47 yards. Kicking again for ND is DJ Fitzpatrick, who did not have a field goal attempt last week, but who did go 11-15 with a long of 47 in 2004.
Michigan has a new punter in 2005 in Ross Ryan. Ryan had one punt against NIU for 41 yards. That punt landed inside the 20. DJ Fitzpatrick, once he was finally needed against Pitt, had three punts, averaging 45.7 yards with a long of 54.
The Wolverines had three kickoff returns last week: Breaston went 17 yards, Grant Mason 16, and backup WR Adrian Arrington 15. ND kickoff specialist Carl Gioia averaged 52.1 yards per kick, meaning that the opposing team caught the ball just inside the 15 each time. Once Pitt did receive the ball, they returned it an average of 17.5 yards, a respectable but not great number.
Backups Justin Hoskins and Brandon Harris handled kick return duties for the Irish. Hoskins' lone return netted 24 yards, while Harris' gained 11. Garrett Rivas (assuming he's the kickoff guy) has a boot when it comes to kickoffs. Five out of seven kicks against Norther Illinois were touchbacks. When there was a return, it was for about 16 yards.
Michigan did not have a punt return last week, but I will assume those duties will once again go to Steve Breaston. Breaston averaged 12.2 yards per return and had 1 return TD in 2004. Making things all the more intriguing is the fact that Notre Dame did not yield a punt return last week. In 2004, they gave up 8.2 yards per return.
Notre Dame's lone punt return opportunity against Pitt came to Tom Zbikowski, who turned it into a 23 yard gain. NIU's lone return last week netted 1 yard again Michigan's punt coverage team.

Look for a big game from Fasano, RPN, Samardzija, the O-Line, Hoyte, and the ends (Victor Abiamiri and Chris Frome)

ND 30, Michigan 24: Walker and RPN on the ground, Fasano in the air, and 3 by DJ.

Michigan Blogs

MGoBlog
Blue Notes
Football Insiders (also a great NFL site and former home of the TMQ)
Straight Bangin'
ParadigmBlog
iBlog for Cookies
Rob in Madtown
Big House Football
Wannabeleader
Motown Sports Revival
Blah Me to Death
Blue Cats and Red Sox
The Blog that Yost Built
SportsLog Michigan
ArborBlogs Sports
Dangerous Logic
Fanblogs Michigan

Monday, September 05, 2005

ND 42, Pitt 21

Quarterback: On the first couple of drives, Brady Quinn had three options:
1) Throw a screen and/or check down to Darius Walker in the flat. This was highly effective early on, but any Notre Dame fan knows that an offensive cannot survive on screen passes alone.
2) Run. Quinn seemed to have a newfound knack for knowing just where and when to run. You also have to admire his toughness in taking hits head-on… until you realize how much of the season rides on his health.
3) Force a pass downfield. Quinn had time, he just didn’t have anyone open early on. When he couldn’t run, he tried to force a pass. When this led to the interception that ended an early drive, it looked like the Irish were in for a difficult contest.
But then – gasp – the coaching staff made adjustments! From the second quarter on, Quinn was able to fire strikes downfield at will to wide open receivers like Anthony Fasano, Rhema McKnight, and Jeff Samardzija.
David Wolke got in during “garbage time” to more or less practice his snaps and handoffs, but he did also have a nice 22-yard downfield run on a broken play.

Running Back:

Courtesy AP/Keith Srakocic
The Pitt fans in my section (section 511, row KK, seat 10 – second to the last row in the upper deck, visitor’s side, 40 yard line – just in case you were curious) bemoaned the fact that early on, Notre Dame’s entire offense was runs by or dump passes to Darius Walker. “Well,” I wanted to say, “it’s working, isn’t it?” Walker ended up with an even 100 rushing yards and 52 receiving yards (51 on a screen pass that opened Notre Dame’s scoring). I was simply amazed by his speed around the corner. I was also impressed by the maturity Walker showed (perhaps a byproduct of the coaching) in waiting for his blocks to develop when necessary. I was also a fan of Charlie Weis’ strategy of using the running back as a Marshall Faulk or Curtis Martin-style all-around threat, both running and receiving. Now, I don’t expect Walker to have a 1000/1000 season (rushing yards/receiving yards), but just having that threat available adds a whole new dimension to the offense. Also, I do realize that Walker won’t go blazing around the corners against a good run defense, but it was fun to watch for one week.
Travis Thomas, known that year as “that running back that always fumbles,” held onto the ball for 8 carries, picking up 40 yards. A performance like that can only boost Thomas’ confidence. As Thomas is Walker’s main backup, that confidence boost is very important to this team.

Fullback: The way Quinn, Walker, and Rashon Powers-Neal were running the ball, I had to check a few times to see if Lou Holtz was on the sidlelines. I won’t say Quinn’s running ability is anywhere near Tony Rice’s, but having two people in the backfield (Walker and RPN) who can consistently pick up five, six, eight, ten yards on the ground each play is only a positive thing for this offense. Some may remember the “Return to Glory” season when RPN was Ryan Grant’s backup at running back. (Some may argue that RPN was a better back, but that’s a column for another time.) Powers-Neal selflessly moved to fullback after that season, and he saw few carries during the Ty Willingham era. RPN lined up at tailback behind Asaph Schwapp in short yardage and goal line situations, and he ended the day with three rushing touchdowns. I’m starting to sense a theme here: be diverse, and don’t be afraid to use all the weapons you have available.

Receiver: It was the little things the Irish receivers did that helped win this ballgame. Blocking by the receivers, both on Quinn’s scrambles and Walker’s touchdown reception, was just as important as the 8 catches this unit had.
To the casual observer, Rhema McKnight - supposedly one of the playmakers in this offense – had a quiet night. Three catches for 51 yards, most of those coming when he faked an end around and found himself wide open in the flat. But, that doesn’t mean he didn’t make plays. McKnight is known as the best blocking receiver on this team. On a night where running and screens were enough to win, effective blocking is the best thing you can ask of your best receiver.
If you look at David Wells or Bob Wickman, you quickly come to the conclusion that baseball pitchers just aren’t athletes. Not so. Jeff Samardzija, who moonlights as Notre Dame’s #3 starter, once again showed why he’s also the #3 receiver. After a freshman year where it looked like he would develop into Brady Quinn’s favorite, most dependable target, Samardzija was quiet (or quieted?) in 2004. He came back strong to start the 2005 season by pulling in three catches. One of those catches was a diving touchdown grab that was so nice, the replay booth had to see it twice just to believe it.
Maurice Stovall had an up-and-down game for the Irish. In his defense, though, the “ups” are finally starting to outnumber the “downs.” One of Stovall’s two catches came on a screen, where he proceeded to walk right over a cornerback in Gary Godsey-esque style. That seems to be the most effective use of Stovall’s speed – no 5’10”, 160 pound cornerback can out-grapple his 6’5” frame in the open field. Unfortunately, Weis called Stovall’s number again on a screen on the very next play, and this one bounced off his shoulder pads as he started to turn upfield too quickly. Maurice Stovall will continue to be a story to watch this season.

Tight End: Anthony Fasano didn’t become a factor until after the aforementioned playcalling adjustments. He did still end up as the team’s leading receiver, with four catches and 42 yards.
But, as with the receivers, it was the downfield blocking that was this unit’s key contribution to the game. Each time Quinn made a break downfield, there was always a jersey number that started with 8 making that key block to turn a 1 yard gain into a 9 yard gain.

O-Line: Everyone I’ve talked to or read has simply raved about the way the experience Irish offensive line simply pushed around Pitt all night. Well, everyone except the Pittsburgh newspapers, but they just blamed Walt Harris for a perceived inability to recruit large linemen. I’d tend to agree with the argument that it was our line’s ability, and not Pitt’s line’s inability, that led to 502 yards of offense and not a single sack. Production and experience on the line has always been cyclical, of course, and this is just an up year. But, even with an experienced line, you have to get them to produce. And produce they did on Saturday.

D-Line: You’d expect a young line, especially one without a good pass rush, to give up a good chunk of rushing yardage to a quarterback like Tyler Palko. For a while, the line didn’t do much against the run, or the pass. Then, the floodgates opened to the tune of five sacks. Palko’s final rushing stats: 7 in the positive direction for 30 yards, 5 in the negative direction for 39 yards. Total: 12 “rushes” (including the sacks, of course), -9 yards. Coach Weis was happy with the line’s effort, so I am too.
For the record, Victor Abiamiri and Chris Frome each had a sack from the end position, and Abiamiri led all Irish linemen with 6 tackles.

Linebacker: If I didn’t know Brandon Hoyte to be an otherwise kind and gentle person, I’d be calling him a manbeast right now. Once just a hard-hitting runstopper, BHoyte is developing into a complete player. Hoyte terrorized the Panther backfield to the tune of 4.5 tackles for loss, including two sacks. He also had a key play towards the end of the first half that probably went largely unnoticed. Pitt was facing a third and goal. A receiver went in motion to the left, and due to miscommunication, Hoyte had to run out and cover him. BHoyte, whose supposed to be weak at best in pass coverage, followed the receiver step-for-step into the endzone, forcing Palko to dump the ball off to tight end Erik Gill at the 6. Gill was smothered, and Pitt had to settle for a field goal.
Maurice Crum, Jr. and Corey Mays performed admirably in their first starts. Crum had 5 tackles, while Mays had 3 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and 1 sack.

Safety:

Courtesy AP/Keith Srakocic
Two things indicated that both Tom Zbikowski and Chinedum Ndukwe fall more into the strong safety category than the free safety category. First, on the negative side, both managed to get burned on a 39-yard playaction touchdown pass to Greg Lee on Pitt’s opening possession. On the positive side, these two just know how to hit hard. Zbikowski led all DBs with 8 tackles, many of which abruptly ended what looked to be a long running play for Pitt. He also had the team’s lone interception on Tyler Palko’s half-ending Hail Mary. In Ndukwe’s debut as a starter, he had 3 tackles, broke up a pass, and recovered a fumble.

Cornerback: It’s obvious that pass defense is still the weakness of this team. Many Pitt fans openly wondered why then Dave Wannstedt didn’t go to the air more, especially considering Notre Dame’s stout run defense and the success Pitt had in the air on their opening drive. For whatever reason, Tyler Palko and the Panthers were “held” to 220 yards passing. Cornerback Ambrose Wooden led all Irish defenders with 12 tackles.

Kicker: DJ Fitzpatrick was 6-for-6 on extra points, and Carl Gioia kept the ball in bounds. That’s all you could ask of either of them.

Punter: It’s usually a good thing when your punter isn’t needed for your first seven possessions. That was the case for the Irish on Saturday, as their first seven possessions resulted in 1 interception and 6 TDs. When DJ finally did come in to punt, he put up typically solid numbers: 45.7 yards per punt, a long of 54, and 1 of 3 inside the 20.

Kick Returner: There weren’t many kicks for the Irish to return. Justin Hoskins had a decent return of 24 yards, while Brandon Harris had 1 for 11 yards.

Punt Returner: Tom Zbikowski only saw one returnable punt, and he took it 23 yards. That’s a good number on a punt return.

Special Teams: Marcus Furman of Pitt had some decent returns, but a key stop always kept him from breaking it. He ended up with 80 return yards on 4 kickoff returns. None of DJ’s 3 punts were returned.

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

ND Football 2005
Issue 1: Pittsburgh

Pitt Rush Offense vs. ND Rush Defense

Dave Wannstedt has cleaned house with Pitt's run game. The Panthers' 2004 1st and 4th leading rushers in terms of yardage, Raymond Kirkley (560 yds) and Marcus Furman (116 yds), don't even show up on the depth chart. Instead, the run game will be headlined by freshman Rashad Jennings. Jennings will be backed up by sophomore Brandon Mason and freshman LaRod Stephens. But Pitt's run game isn't just about the tailback. Last year, fullback Tim Murphy, who will again be the starting blocking back this year, finished second on the team with 334 yards, and returning quarterback Tyler Palko finished third with 139 yards. (That number is misleading, however - Palko had 469 yards in the positive direction, and 330 lost to sacks.)
Wannstedt is known for favoring the run, but if there's one thing this Notre Dame defense has been able to do the past few years, it's stop the run. The linebacking corps is headlined by hard-hitting runstopped Brandon Hoyte, while the defensive line is anchored in the middle by Derek Landri, a solid senior nose tackle, and the talented Trevor Laws. Stopping the running backs shouldn't be a problem for ND. What they have to worry about is a scheme to contain the scrambling Palko. This will be the job of four first-time starters: Victor Abiamiri and Chris Frome at defensive end, and Corey Mays and Maurice Crum, Jr. at linebacker.

ND Rush Offense vs. Pitt Rush Defense

Julius Jones ran all over Pitt in 2003, and many argue that the duo of Darius Walker and Ryan Grant should have easily done the same in 2004. Walker is back for revenge, coming off a season where he lead the team with 786 rushing yards. He'll be backed up by Travis Thomas, whose fumbling problems quickly sank his 2004 season, and also perhaps by talented sophomore Justin Hoskins. What will be most interesting to watch is the role that fullback Rashon Powers-Neal plays. RPN's last coach thought that fullbacks were for receiving and blocking, not for rushing. But what does Charlie Weis think of this former tailback? Regardless of who runs the ball, Notre Dame's backfield should be confident in their veteran offensive line, featuring junior tackle Ryan Harris, and the new center duo of Bob Morton and John Sullivan.
Pitt is returning their top two tacklers, linebackers HB Blades and Clint Session, who combined for 199 tackles in 2004. Session, however, will start the season as a backup to redshirt sophomore Derron Thomas. Hey, when your team is coming off a season where it gave up 140 yards per game on the ground, you've got to try anything you think might work.

Pitt Pass Offense vs. ND Pass Defense

I was very upset dropped an F-bomb on live TV following last year's game, I was very upset. I had Jon Gruden and our own Chris Orenchuk in the "first unedited f-bomb during an NBC Notre Dame broadcast." (If we actually had a former ND player in the broadcast booth, that alum would have had plenty of reasons to drop sed f-bomb at some point between the 1997 and 2004 seasons.) Where was I? Oh yes, Palko. Do you really blame a kid for being excited after he threw five (five!) touchdown passes in Notre Dame stadium? For the past few years, Notre Dame has had two options in their pass defense: play straight up and take your chances with their #1 receiver (in this case, it will again be Greg Lee), or bracket that #1 receiver while Palko dinks and dunks to the backs, tight end Eric Gill, and "possession receiver" Joe DelSardo (both Gill and DelSardo are returning starters). In 2003, ND went bracket in the second half and Larry Fitzgerald didn't have a single catch. In 2004, the Irish went straight up in the first half, got beaten up by Lee, then switched to bracket in the second half and got demolished by Gill.
The giant question with this Notre Dame team is the pass defense. Gone are its top pass rusher, and 3/4 of its starting secondary. The good news is that the remaining 1/4 of that starting secondary was by far the best. This year, Tom Zbikowski will start at strong safety. Across from him, Chinedum Ndukwe, the hard-hitting former receiver, will try to step in at "weak safety." Now, normally, you think of the weak or free safety as the last line of defense in your passing game. Hardly a responsibility you want to give to someone who's played 9 games on defense in his entire life. However, the fact that he's called a "weak" safety (lined up on the side of the field the tight end isn't on) as opposed to a "free" safety makes me want to believe that Ndukwe and Zbikowski will be sharing the "last line of defense" duty from play to play.
Two years ago, everyone worried about the state of the defensive line after Anthony Weaver and Ryan Roberts left. Darrell Campbell and Ced Hilliard stepped in, and the line did just fine. Then, last year, with Campbell and Hilliard gone, everyone once again worried about the state of the line. But Justin Tuck and Derek Landri stepped up. This year, Landri is back but Tuck is gone, causing everyone to worry about the lack of a pass rush (which is especially an issue considering the inexperience in the secondary). Can ends Abiamiri and Frome, combined with Laws at tackle, pick up the slack?
In a world where catching passes out of the backfield is becoming an increasingly important tool for many offenses, the ability of Notre Dame's linebackers to cover running backs in pass patterns was lagging far behind. Enter the Apache linebacker. Much like Will, Mike, and Sam are the nicknames for the weak, middle, and strong-side linebackers, "Apache" is the nickname for the "adjuster backer." Think of the Apache as a small, fast linebacker, or a big, hard-hitting safety. The Apache can line up at linebacker when needed, spy a back out of the backfield, or play safety in three deep sets. This year, the role of Apache linebacker will be played by Maurice Crum, Jr. and Anthony Vernaglia.
Finally, there are the cornerbacks. Junior Ambrose Wooden is said to be the most athletic DB the Irish have. As a starter, he'll get a chance to prove it. Across from him, a senior will have a shot at redemption. Last year as a reserve, Mike Richardson made a name for himself by being posterized or by volunteering as a visual aid on the intricacies of pass interference. Most memorably, Richardson surrendered a late touchdown in last year's loss to Pitt. This Saturday, he will be given a chance to rewrite the Mike Richardson story.

ND Pass Offense vs. Pitt Pass Defense

Whether you like him or you're still skeptical, Brady Quinn is the #1 choice at quarterback for ND. Last year, Quinn spread 191 completions and 2586 yards among 21 receivers. Back this year are his three top options: Rhema McKnight, Anthony Fasano, and Maurice Stovall, who combined for 90 completions, 1290 yards, and 7 TDs. Other options at receiver are the reliable Jeff Samardzija and deep thread Matt Shelton. At tight end, the talented John Carlson and Marcus Freeman back up Fasano.
In 2004, Pitt gave up 255.2 ypg and 22 passing touchdowns, numbers that mirrored their offensive output in the air. Gone are Malcolm Postell and Tyrone Gilliard, who combined for 5 picks in 2004, but back are Tez Morris, Darrelle Revis, Mike Phillips, and Josh Lay, who combined for 7 INTs. The defense had 22 totals sacks. Their leader was JJ Horne with 3.5, but the redshirt senior will platoon with Brian Bennett at the Will linebacker position this year.

Special Teams

Pitt kicker Josh Cummings comes off a season where he made 18-17 field goals, with a long of 47. Not bad for a guy who plays half his games in Heinz Field. His counterpart is the versatile DJ Fitzpatrick, was 11-15, also with a long of 47.
Pitt's punter is also returning from last season. Adam Graessle put up good numbers last year, averaging 43.3 yards per punt with a long of 79 yards. Again, his counterpart will be Fitzpatrick. DJ began college as a placekicker, but he developed into quite a punter last year, averaging 41.8 yards with a long of 67 and 29 punts placed inside the 20.
Returning kicks for Pitt will be LaRod Stephens, a Joey Getherall-sized running back, and either backup backs Mason or Furman. Last year, Pitt averaged 19.9 yards per return while Notre Dame gave up that exact same amount per kick. Possible kick returners for the Irish include Chase Anastascio, who battled an ankle injury for most of last year, talented DB Terrail Lambert, freshman receiver DJ Hord, and Justin Hoskins. Notre Dame averaged 18.7 yards per return in 2004, while Pitt yielded 22.7.
Sophomore DB Darrelle Revis will return punts for Pitt. Last year, Pitt averaged a meager 5.5 yards per punt return, while Notre Dame surrendered a decent 8.2 yards per return. Several options for Notre Dame at punt returner include Tom Zbikowski, who has looked impressive in the open field, Rhema McKnight, who is also talented in the open field but looked lost returning punts last year. Notre Dame picked up 10.8 yards per punt return in 2004, while Pitt gave up 12.1.

Look for a big game from

Charlie Weis, Walker, Fasano, Stovall, the offensive line, Hoyte, Laws, Zbikowski, and Fitzpatrick.

ND 27, Pitt 17: Two by land (Walker), one by air (Fasano, set up by a turnover), and two by DJ.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Beisbol Copa Del Mundo
Group D: Games Played in the US (Florida or Arizona

The World Baseball Classic now has its own website, here. Without further ado, here are your Pool D participants:

Dominican Republic

Lineup
SS Miguel Tejada
RF Vlad Guerrero
1B Albert Pujols
DH David Ortiz
LF Manny Ramirez
2B Alfonso Soriano
3B Adrian Beltre
CF Sammy Sosa
C Miguel Olivo

I wouldn't want to face that lineup. Let's see, they have to have some negatives... Well, they only have one lefty. There's also no true center fielder. Vlad is probably in better shape to play center than Sammy, but for the time being I'll keep Vlad in right because of his arm. But, with all that said, any lineup with Tejada leading off and Guerrero batting second is OK in my book.

Bench
1B Julio Franco
SS/2B Rafael Furcal
OF Jose Guillen
3B Aramis Ramirez

Franco gets in as the fan favorite. Furcal can play an important role as a table-setter for all the big boppers. Plus, he is a switch hitter. Guillen is insurance at all three outfield positions, while the choice between Beltre and Aramis Ramirez at third is a toss up.

Rotation
SP Pedro Martinez
SP Bartolo Colon
SP Pedro Astacio
SP Odalis Perez
SP Jose Lima

Is it even legal to have Pedro and Lima in the same rotation? That's just too out of control. Martinez and Colon stand head and shoulders above the rest of the starters, but this is still a rotation that would be enough for any penant contenders.

Bullpen
RP Antonio Alfonseca
RP Octavio Dotel
RP Damaso Marte
RP Francisco Cordero
RP Guillermo Mota
CP Armando Benitez

The Cradle of Closers - of this bunch, only Marte has not been a closer in his career, and he still has 27 career saves. If I was managing this team, I'd be tempted to go with a two man rotation of Pedro and Colon, let them throw 3 innings every other day, and then just turn it over to the bullpen. Until the final rounds, at least, when I would "accidentally" forget that Benitez is on the team.

Venezuela

Lineup
CF Melvin Mora
SS Omar Vizquel
RF Bobby Abreu
LF Miguel Cabrera
C Victor Martinez
DH Magglio Ordonez
3B Carlos Guillen
2B Edgardo Alfonzo
1B Andres Galarraga

While the Dominicans will be hitting it out of the park, the Venezuelans will be hitting the ball everywhere inside the park. Top to bottom, this is a great lineup when it comes to hitting for average. This team could struggle - Abreu and Alfonzo are known for being inconsistent, Martinez always gets off to a slow start, and everyone else in the lineup except Cabrera has injury issues. But, if everyone's clicking, they'll give the Dominicans a run for their money.

Bench
C Ramon Hernandez
SS Cesar Izturis
OF Richard Hidalgo
IF Luis Sojo

Hernandez is a very underrated catcher - truly Gammonsesque. Izturis has the bat and the glove (and the wheels) to start at short, but Omar is the fan favorite in Venezuela. Hidalgo offers some depth in the outfield. And you just know that Luis Sojo can't pass up an offer to play in a tournament like this.

Rotation
SP Johan Santana
SP Carlos Zambrano
SP Freddy Garcia
SP Gustavo Chacin
SP Wilson Alvarez

Now that I take a look at how deep this rotation is, I have to give a slight edge to the Venezuelans in this pool. Again, the lineup doesn't have big pop (or Big Papi), but the starting pitchers will be able to keep the score down low enough to make good of the runs that the hitters do produce. Santana, Zambrano, and Garcia are lights out, and if Chacin can keep up the work he's doing this year, you could Tim Robbins in the 5th starter slot and still do alright.

Bullpen
RP Rafael Betancourt
RP Victor Zambrano
RP Kelvim Escobar
RP Juan Rincon
RP Carlos Silva
RP Ugueth Urbina
CP Francisco Rodriguez

Several decent starters will have to get used to bullpen life for this team to succeed. Zambrano, Escobar, and Silva are all capable pitchers - most of the time. They will be joined by three proven setup men in Betancourt, Rincon, and Ugueth Urbina, who will once again be given the 8th inning spot instead of the closer's role. Closing will be the hard-slinging Francisco Rodriguez.

Australia

Lineup
2B Trent Durrington
1B ?
3B ?
C Dave Nilsson
SS ?
LF ?
CF ?
RF ?

Hey, I remember Dave Nilsson? Whatever happened to him? Nilsson left the majors after the 1999 season to join the Aussie national team. Then, in 2004, he came back to the States to join the Braves organization. He'll be joined in the Australia lineup by Durrington, who has spent parts of four seasons with the Angels and Brewers.

Bench
none

Rotation
SP Damian Moss
SP John Stephens
SP Brad Thomas

Once considered a top prospect of the Braves, Moss has bounced around in many trades and is currently in the Seattle organization. He'll be joined by John Stephens, who pitched in 12 games for the Orioles in 2002, and Brad Thomas, who sponsored his own Baseball-Reference page as a birthday present to his wife.

Bullpen
RP Grant Balfour
CP Graeme Lloyd

Australia's bullpen will consist of Twins reliever Grant Balfour and the recently retired Graeme Lloyd.

Italy

No active Major Leaguers. Could have sworn there was at least one...

Monday, August 29, 2005

The Weekend(?) In Review

Miscellaneous Ramblings

How did I let this get under the radar? Megan Duffy helped lead the US team to a gold medal in the 2005 University Games. Duffy was named a co-captain by her teammates before the tournament, responded by averaging 6.1 points per game, leading the team in 3-point percentage (8/12, .400), and picking up the second-most assists (15).

For all of you Darrell Campbell fans out there, here's a nice little article about his thoughts and his mom's thoughts on Darrell's first game at Soldier Field. Unfortnately, Darrell's chances of making the Bears may be slipping. Originally, Chicago planned to carry him as a 5th defensive tackle (teams normally keep 4) due to his exceptional performance in training camp. However, his performance in actual games has been inconsistent so far. They and we may know for sure by 4pm eastern Tuesday, the day rosters must be cut down to 65.

Two ND alums didn't survive the round of 65: Javin Hunter was released by the 49ers, and Vontez Duff by the Steelers.

In other ND alum news, Carlyle Holiday is one of five people competing for the final two wide receiver spots in Arizona, while John Owens was traded by the Bears to Miami for linebacker Brendan Ayanbadejo. (Hat tip to reader Tara for keeping up on her ND alumni.)

How long before people start throwing out completely inappropriate Katrina and the Waves comments? ("KATW" was famous for "Walkin' on Sunshine.")

I've been wondering what GEICO stands for. Now I know, thanks to, of all places, The Bad Guys Won!, the story of the '86 Mets. In the book, a woman with insurance from the Government Employees Insurance Company tries to get money from Doc Gooden after he "allegedly" collides with the back end of her car.

Pitt Depth Chart Thoughts

It may be old news by now, by I did have a few thoughts on the depth chart for the Pitt game.

When it comes to college coaches, there's no set system for naming the positions. Here are Charlie's "variations on a theme" (with alternative names in parentheses): X, Y, Z receivers (SE, TE, FL), WLB - weak or "Will" linebacker and Apache LB (OLB), WS - weak safety (FS).

The thing that stands out in that naming convention (now that were' all familar with the Apache positon) is the fact that the tight ends are labeled as Z receivers. This tells me that Charlie is going to do a lot more with them than just put them in a three-point stance next to a tackle.

Travis Thomas will get a chance to redeem himself as the second string running back.

Some outsiders had senior Brian Beidatsch as a starter on the defensive line. But, he instead will be backing up the very talented Trevor Laws, while Chris Frome will be the "second" end across from Victor Abiamiri.

What isn't surprising is that Brandon Hoyte and Corey Mays will start at linebacker. What is surprising, somewhat, is that sophomore Maurice Crum, Jr. has played his way into the starting Apache spot, with Anthony Vernaglia as his backup.

The last small surprise is Chinedum Ndukwe at the WS spot. As I mentioned in my season preview, seemed to be loaded at strong safety (Vernaglia, Tom Zbikowski, Chinedum Nduwke), but without a true free safety. Enter Ndukwe, hard-hitting former wide receiver. Let's hope that one year plus one summer of practice is enough experience at safety for him to keep the job.

Coming Thursday: The return of the ND Football Previews.

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Know thy Enemy
ND Football's 2005 Opponent Bloggers

Borrowing from The Art of War (a Lou Holtz favorite), Fanblogs.com, and Pitt Sports Blather, I'm offering a look at blogs devoted to ND's 2005 opponents. I'm greatly appreciative of the attention Fanblogs has always given KankaNation. Meanwhile, Pitt Sports Blather's links to enemy blogs has been the best source of new traffic for this site since the new pope was named. So, without any further ado, here they are:

Pitt

Pitt Sports Blather
On the Prowl
Fanblogs Pitt

Michigan

...and Know Thyself

Notre Dame

The Blue-Gray Sky
The Backer
Catholic Packer Fan
Daily Contentions
Kelly Green
Irish Trojan
The Irish Brogue
The Irish Condo
Irish Law
Majorly English
Marchand Chronicles
Musings of a Domer
NDCHOOCHOO
Pieces of Flare
The Primary Main Objective
Running at the Mouth
Tough Guy
Fanblogs Notre Dame

If I've left anyone out, friend or foe, I apologize. Just email me or post to the message board, and I'll be sure to add it to the list.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Beisbol Clasic Del Mundo
Group C: Games Played in Latin America (likely Puerto Rico)

Cuba

HUGE DISCLAIMER: The MLB players I'm listing below are of Cuban descent. Of course, with international politics being as they are, none of these players are eligible for the Cuban national team.
Lineup
CF Alex Sanchez
SS Rey Ordonez
1B Rafael Palmeiro
LF Eli Marrero
DH Juan Diaz
C Michel Hernandez
2B ?
3B ?
RF ?

So maybe it was a couple of really strong cigars that did in Alex Sanchez and Rafael Palmeiro. Regardless, those two are decent headliners to any lineup. They're joined by the versatile Eli Marrero, and Rey Ordonez if he's still alive. Diaz and Hernandez are cup-of-coffee guys, Diaz's coming with Boston for 4 games in 2002, and Hernandez' coming from the Yankees for 5 games in 2003.

Bench
None

Rotation
SP Livan Hernandez
SP Orlando Hernandez
SP Jose Contreras
SP Rolando Vierra
SP Naels Rodriguez

Cuba's rotation starts out with two guys who are continuing to have successful Major League careers, and it's rounded out by three players who were the definition of Gammonsesquity in 2002 - literally. I Googled "gammons cuban pitching prospect," and it came up with a 2002 article about Vierra. At that time, Contreras, Vierra, and Rodriguez were considered the three best pitchers for the Cuban national team. Contreras had already signed with the Yankees, Vierra was just getting ready to work out for scouts (not sure whatever became of him), and the then-20-year-old Naels Rodriguez was still in Cuba.

Bullpen
RP Adrian Hernandez
RP Vladimir Nunez
RP Hansel Izquierdo
RP Eddie Oropesa
RP Michael Tejera
CP Danys Baez

I'm willing to bet anyone that at least three people will read this article and say, "Wow, Adrian Hernandez, I remember him." Well, thanks to the Gammonsesque rotation, Adrian is our long reliever. He's joined by four other veteran set up men in Nunez, Izquierdo, Oropesa, and Tejera (yeah, I had only heard of Nunez before, too). Closing will be the man that was Cleveland's first and only attempt to overpay for a Cuban refugee, current Tampa Bay closer Danys Baez.

Puerto Rico

Lineup
SS Roberto Alomar
2B Jose Vidro
CF Carlos Beltran
1B Carlos Delgado
C Ivan Rodriguez
DH Javy Lopez
RF Juan Gonzalez
LF Ruben Sierra
3B Mike Lowell

So, yeah, this team's stacked at catcher. Sandy Alomar didn't even make the cut. Oddly enough, though, there have been a plethora of Puerto Rican second baseman in recent years, but no Major League shortstops in the bunch. So, I've asked Robbie Alomar to dust off his spikes and step back into his original position. This team should have no trouble scoring runs, as Alomar, Vidro, Beltran, Delgado, and Rodriguez are normally found in one of the top three spots in the batting order. The bottom four hitters in the order would have made this lineup unstoppable in 2003, but unfortunately age and injury have taken their toll on Javy Lopez, Juan Gonzalez, Ruben Sierra, and Mike Lowell.

Bench
C Jorge Posada
IF Carlos Baerga
OF Jose Cruz, Jr.
OF Luis Matos

Posada? I told you they were deep at catcher. Baerga is the kind of beloved veteran/mascot that you just have to have on your team in a tournament like this (of course, considering the crowd reaction at Shea the other day, maybe he's not that beloved). Jose Cruz, Jr. and Luis Matos make the team solely based on the fact that Juan Gonzalez and Ruben Sierra should spend as little time as possible in the outfield.

Rotation
SP Javier Vazquez
SP Joel Pineiro
SP JC Romero
SP Hector Mercado
SP Dicky Gonzalez

Javy Vazquez is the ace of the Puerto Rican team, followed by the somewhat Gammonsesque Joel Pineiro and JC Romero, and the slightly less Gammonsesque Hector Mercado. Dicky Gonzalez has played 20 career games with the Mets and Devil Rays, starting 7.

Bullpen
RP Fernando Cabrera
RP Kiko Calero
RP Pedro Feliciano
RP Javier Lopez
RP Juan Padilla
RP Jose Santiago
CP Roberto Hernandez

Fernando Cabrera is a hot prospect in the Indians organization. Calero showed up big for the Cards in last year's playoffs, and is now with the A's following the Mark Mulder deal. Pedro Feliciano, Javier "don't call me Javy" Lopez, and Juan Padilla are all young Major League talents, while Jose Santiago is a proven veteran. Roberto Hernandez, with 320 career saves, is a fine closer on any team.

Panama

Lineup
SS Jose Macias
3B Olmedo Saenz
LF Carlos Lee
CF Ruben Rivera
1B Fernando Seguignol
C Einar Diaz
2B ?
RF ?
DH ?

Leading off will be utilityman Jose Macias, followed by utilityman Olmedo Saenz. Carlos Lee is the star of this team, easily. He'll be followed by veterans Ruben Rivera, Fernando Seguignol, and Einar Diaz. Yep, if you can't say anything nice about someone, and they have more than 4 years of Major League experience, just call them a veteran and move on.

Bench
None

Rotation
SP Ramiro Mendoza
SP Bruce Chen
SP Roger Deago

The man who revolutionized the long reliever role... kind of... will be the ace of the Puerto Rican staff. He'll be followed by Bruce Chen, who will probably find some way to be traded by the time the World Baseball Classic is over. The only other starter the Puerto Ricans have is Roger Deago, who started two games for the Padres in 2003.

Bullpen
CP Mariano Rivera

Well, obvious choice here. Psst, he's going to throw the cutter!

Netherlands

Lineup
C ?
2B ?
CF Andruw Jones
1B Randall Simon
3B ?
SS ?
LF ?
RF ?
DH ?

Well, if there's anyone who can cover 8 defensive positions at once, it's Andruw Jones. As mentioned at one point, both of these players are from the island of Curacao. But, the Netherlands owns Curacao, so Jones and Simon are eligible to play for the Dutch team. No word as to whether Tom Timmermans will play.

Bench
None

Rotation
None

Bullpen
None

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Recruiting Diary

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I spent most of last week in the New York area, being "recruited" to stay there. So, in that vein, here is my "recruiting diary" for the trip.

Wednesday

Wednesday was my first long drive. For a 10-hour trip, it actually wasn't too bad. Of course, I didn't have to drive downtown, so that helped. The only small snag came at the George Washington Bridge. First, traffic was backed up getting onto the bridge, as it was rush hour. So, 10-15 people decided they were going to drive up the shoulder to get a better spot in line. And, of course - hey, there's an Ohio guy! Let's cut in front of him to get back in a lane! Good, good. Then, of course, after going through the toll booth, the road goes from 15-20 booths to three traffic lanes. Fun. But all-in-all, I'd say that the traffic I encountered wasn't any worse than the Cleveland Shoreway during an accident.
Once I got to Dave's house, he and Ellen took me to pick out a birthday cake. I went with a cookie dough ice cream cake. Dave asked the girl at the counter to add "HAPPY BIRTHDAY KANKA" to the cake. And she did - in bright pink letters. Cute. Well, at least it was good (very good), but there's probably still a piece or two left in Dave's freezer.
After cake, we went to a bar called the Nutty Irishman. Decent bar, decent band. At one point during the night, Ellen finally did it - she offered me her cherry. Well, the cherry from her drink, at least. Who said that? I did get my first taste of the locals, and two new catchphrases were born. 1) "I don't have a collar to pop." 2) (when looking at a guy with a popped-collar, rolled-under sleeves, sunglasses, spiked hair, and a cell phone) "I'm sorry, I was distracted by his coolness."

Thursday

Thursday was water park day at a place called Splish Splash. I believe this was actually my first trip to a water park. (Well, considering Cedar Point's water park is an additional $50....) Dave's friends Will and Sabina came along. It was fun, even with the brilliant idea of letting the not-so-strong swimmers (Ellen and me) hang around each other the whole time.
It was there that I realized what it takes to be a Long Islander: If you're a girl, and older than 12 (I kid you not), you need a lower back tattoo and too much belly button jewelry. If you're a guy, you need a tribal armband tattoo and a gold chain necklace (brilliant at a water park, I know).
Speaking of 12-year-olds, that was probably the average age of the workers there. That was the lowlight of Splish-Splash. The highlight was the Best. Ride. Ever., the Hollywood Stunt Extravaganza! After waiting for 40 minutes in line while overhead sprinklers mist water on you (brilliant on a 105 degree day, not so brilliant on an 85 degree day), we got to watch a short animatronic presentation by our "director" that included water cannons. Then, after waiting another 10 minutes to climb up the slide, we finally got to go down the Best. Ride. Ever. I got to go down backwards, so it was even better! Yipee!
After the water park, Dave, Ellen, and I went to a BBQ joint called Smokin' Al's. The 40-minute wait was very enjoyable, thanks to the 40's jazz music they broadcast over outdoor speakers. Good times. If you ever go to Smokin' Al's, I highly recommend the barbeque nachos. Or, if you're in a Flinstones mood, go with the Monster Ribs.

Friday

Friday was meant to be a day spent at Fire Island (a "family-friendly" section of Fire Island, I should mention - even if that one 60-year-old topless woman didn't think so). But, after narrowly avoiding birds for an hour, the rains came. So, we headed back home for an afternoon of playing catch (I only dropped the ball once!) and video games. And let me tell you - mascot basketball is at least 100 times better than mascot football.
Friday night, we went to the Mets-Nationals game with quite a crew in tow: in addition to Dave and Ellen, we had Scott Howard, Dave's old roommate Danny and his girlfriend Adrienne, and Dave's West Islip friends Sal (the newest member of KankaMatic Fantasy Football) and Killah. One person that was noticeably missing was the ever-elusive Rhiana. Does she exist, or doesn't she? After my first trip on the 7 Train (not as bad as advertized), I got to see a 1-0 Mets win. The lone run came on a Ramon Castro double followed by a Victor Diaz single. Following Game 5 of the 2000 NLCS, I'm now 2-0 at Shea - a good reason for me to move, I suppose.
After the game, Scott drove us downtown to McSorley's, the oldest bar in New York (it turned 151 years old this past February). On the drive down, everyone tried to play faux tour guide for me. The highlight was when Scott or Sal mentioned that waiters came by with cocktail service when traffic is backed up in the midtown tunnel. McSorley's easily became my favorite New York bar. Years and years of newspapers clippings and keepsakes lined the walls (including references to prohibition and the court order that forced McSorley's to finally start admitting women in the early 1970's). You have two choices at McSorley's: light or dark. Beers are served two at a time in 8-ounce mugs by one of the feisty bartenders. All-in-all, the group of Scott, Dave, Ellen, Sal, and I consumed $80 of dark beer and fish-and-chips. Good times, even if the train didn't get us home until 3:30.

Saturday

Saturday morning was filled with trashy MTV shows and ice cream cake for breakfast (for me at least). I swear, that sweet 16 show is another time when you just want to see homeless people come out of the wings and start beating the crap out of these spoiled people. I did pick up another great catchphrase from the Real World: "That's weak. That's practice squad."
After a while, we drove out to Ellen's mid-renovation house. After an early dinner (yeah, I'm "too skinny"), we went to mass. I'm sure Ellen loves going to mass - she's surrounded by "cute old people" there. Afterwards, we headed to the Giants-Panthers game at Giants stadium. It was a good game, and a big win for the Giants. Justin Tuck had a huge game, including a big hit on Carolina's quarterback and an interception. Ryan Grant's day wasn't as memorable. He's officially fifth on the depth chart, behind people like Brandon Jacobs, who has absolutely been tearing up the preseason. Grant got in on one play when Jacobs was having trouble with his helmet (it was a pass). Later on, he got back in the game, only to drop a bubble screen pass. Of all the plays you would think that he'd be able to handle.... Ah well. Best of luck to him. After the game, Ellen's sketchy dad escorted us to the area outside of the locker room where fans and family members can watch the players load the busses. Ellen's dad was able to flag down Ryan Grant, much to her embarrassment. When Ellen's dad asked Grant if he remembered her, Grant replied, "Oh hell yeah I remember her." He asked her what she was up to these days, and she replied that she was about to start sports management school. His response: "Manager 4 Life!" Ha.

Sunday

Sunday was the drive back. But, of course, Mrs. Fitzgerald wouldn't let me leave without having a good breakfast first. So, Dave, Ellen, and I went to a little diner to eat. I had the waffle shortcake, marking the second day in a row that I had ice cream in some form for breakfast.
I noticed a sign for Williamsport on the way down, and also noticed that the Little League World Series started on Saturday, so I decided to stop by on the way back. Of course, I was never warned that Williamsport is a full 25 minutes off of Route 80. Not wanting to lose too much time, I decided to spend only half an hour in Williamsport. After going through a metal detector (which is more security than Shea or Giants Stadium had, by the way), I quickly checked out everything the LLWS had to offer. Besides the main stadium you always see on TV, there's also now a second feel that isn't as big, but probably still holds more people than some Single-A stadiums. There was also a very simple softball field, but that was being used for parking. To keep the players' younger siblings occupied (and possibly to keep the players themselves occupied), there are a variety of sponsored activties and stands set up on the grounds. I took a quick stop in the Little League Museum, which included a running speed test, pitching radar gun, and batting cages (yes, I did actually resist the temptation to jump in line with the little kids that were playing there), before heading back home for good.

Yeah, I probably forgot a ton. Dave, Ellen, (anyone else who was there), feel free to fill in the gaps on the message board.

Friday, August 05, 2005

Vacation, all I ever wanted

I'll be on vacation starting tomorrow. In the meantime, I highly recommend you check out the blogs I link to in the right sidebar - high quality every last one of them.

Finally, some good news: I figured that when the website for CJ's went down, that meant the bar was gone, too. However, The Backer is reporting that CJ's will be back in business by the home opener September 17.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Transaction Wire
MLB Trade Deadline Edition

Haven't gone a Transaction Wire in a while. Here's what I've missed:

Twins acquire, and then release, Bret Boone. Boone was hitting .231 for the Mariners, but the Twins needed any pop they could get. Boone went on to hit .170 for the Twinkies, and now he's gone. Say what you want about the chin (and what it implies) - the guy is 36 years old, and never was a great average hitter to begin with.

Yankees trade Paul Quantrill to San Diego for Tim Redding, Darrell May, and cash. How can Brian Cashman continually rob other teams in trades? Two guys and cash for Quantrill? A career double-A guy and pocket change for your best player? Cashman must have some connections with Scores, otherwise there's no way GM's would let him get away with these trades. As far as the players themselves go - the Yankees need starters and need them bad, so here are two guys who can start once or twice, then get released if need be.

Indians trade Alex Cora for Ramon Vazquez. This is basically a money deal. Neither of these utility infielders are exactly young. Cora has a good glove, but his offense was lacking this year. The reason the Tribe got him, though, was as insurance in case first-time starter Jhonny Peralta floundered at shortstop. Peralta is excelling - moving up from ninth in the order to third as the season progressed - so Cora became expendable, and ended up being traded in a move that saves Cleveland $2 million.

Rockies trade pitchers Joe Kennedy and Jay Witasick to the A's for Eric Byrnes and infielder Omar Quintanilla. Byrnes is later traded to the Orioles for Larry Bigbie. Byrnes is a game, and the Orioles needed something, anything from the right side of the plate. Kennedy falls into the "great young starter, if he ever gets out of Colorado" class. However, now that he's out of Colorado, he's been moved to the bullpen. There was speculation that he'd be used in a deadline deal, but he never was. Witasick is a serviceable veteran reliever. The Rockies aren't going to do anything this year, so they're just looking for youth.

Rockies also trade Preston Wilson for pitcher Zach Day and outfielder JJ Davis. The Nationals obvioulsly needed some pop in the lineup. The Rockies get Day, who has a great sinker (you need your breaking balls to be "great" in the thin air of Coors) but needs to develop into a better all-around pitcher, and a young outfielder.

Red Sox trade Jay Payton for Chad Bradford. The Sox had DFA'd Payton, so getting anything for him was a bonus. They need something, anything, in the bullpen, and Bradford is that something. Meanwhile, Payton's 10 HR and 35 RBI look powerful for an Oakland outfielder, especially with Byrnes now gone. Brian Stavisky and Steve Stanley are both hitting over .300 in double-A, but there's still at least a year away from The Show.

Cubs trade Jason Dubois to the Indians for Jody Gerut. Gerut is later traded to the Pirates for Matt Lawton. I'm not sure what the Cubs' plan would have been for Gerut, or if they had planned to trade him all along. Gerut was starting to get an inflated sense of self-worth in Cleveland, and he would not have enjoyed being part of a 4-man outfield rotation in 2006. What is Dubois' purpose in Cleveland? The Indians need a right-handed, middle of the lineup guy right now, but Dubois is still a couple years away. Is he the right fielder of the future, along side Coco Crisp and Grady Sizemore? No, unless he's just there to bridge the gap until Franklin Gutierrez is ready. Meanwhile, the Gerut/Lawton deal works out well for both parties involved. The Pirates get a talented young outfielder to complement Jason Bay, and the Cubs get a proven leadoff hitter who can get on for Derrek Lee.

Red Sox trade pitcher Scott Cassidy to the Padres for outfielder Adam Hyzdu. Hyzdu was apparently just there to fill the gap left by Jay Payton, as he was released when the Sox re-signed Gabe Kapler. Cassidy is more or less a career AAA guy, but he is insurance in case any of the young arms in the Padre rotation break down.

Red Sox trade outfielder Chip Ambres and pitcher Juan Cedeno to the Royals for Tony Graffanino. Graffanino can play all four infield positions, and could probably play some outfield if he wanted to. Plus, he's another righty in a lefty-heavy lineup. The Royals trade a 30-something veteran for two young players, which is the best they can do right now.

Braves trade Kevin Gryboski to Texas for pitcher Matt Lorenzo. It's interesting to see the Braves trade a proven reliever when the bullpen has been struggling this season, but that could have been a money move. Lorenzo is a starting pitching prospect. Apparently, Atlanta can pull a plethora of hitting prospects from out of their butts, but they need to acquire pitchers from elsewhere these days. Texas GM John Hart, meanwhile, has never been afraid to trade away young talent for a decent, but not great, middle reliever.

Diamondbacks trade Matt Kata to Philadelphia for Tim Worrell. The NL West is terrible this year, and thusly the D'Backs find themselves in the middle of a pennant race. Now, here's the first thing they teach you at GM school: as soon as someone says you're in the middle of a pennant race, you need to go out and trade for a middle reliever. With Rheal Cormier and Ugueth Urbina setting up Billy Wagner, the Phillies could afford to part with Worrell. With Craig Counsell at second, Arizona could afford to give up Kata. The Phillies already have a few utility infielders, so the addition of Kata just means a move towards youth more than anything.

Blue Jays trade John MacDonald to the Tigers for a player to be named later. MacDonald is known for his glove much more than his bat. With SS Carlos Guillen often on the DL, and with third base not being Brandon Inge's native position, this is a decent move for the Tigers.

Reds trade Joe Randa to San Diego for pitchers Justin Germano and Travis Chick. Joe Randa was going somewhere by 4 pm on July 31. The question was just where. It definitely wasn't Cleveland, as the list of players Cincinnati wanted in return was just preposterous. It turned out to be San Diego, who has had its fill with Sean Burroughs. The Reds, not going anywhere this year, got in return two minor league pitching prospects.

Padres (there they are again) trade SS JJ Furmaniak to Pittsburgh for C Dave Ross. When you're a Furmaniak, you're a Furmaniak 4 Life, Brother! The Padres needed some insurance at catcher due to the injury problems of Ramon Hernandez. Furmaniak is a decent utility infielder, but so are most of the other players on the Pirates.

Yankees trade pitchers Ramon Ramirez and Eduardo Sierra to the Rockies for Shawn Chacon. Again, the Yankees get something for minor leaguers who will never make the bigs. Chacon went from "great young starting pitcher, if he ever gets out of Colorado" to failed closer experiment to "why isn't he a good starter any more?" The Yankees, who almost activated Tommy John after Mel Stottlemyre watched the old-timers game, again are trying anyone and everyone as a starting pitcher. (Remember I haven't even mentioned Al Leiter yet.)

Mariners trade Randy Winn to San Francisco for pitcher Jesse Foppert and catcher Yorvit Torrealba. There was a good chance that Winn was going somewhere by July 31, it just didn't seem like San Francisco was the place. Of course, this trade made a little more sense a few days later, when the Giants released Marquis Grissom. Foppert is a serviceable-but-not-great reliever, but the Giants seem to have a surplus of those. The Torrealba pickup will make more sense below.

Padres (again!) trade Phil Nevin to Texas for Chan Ho Park. John Hart never met a power hitter he didn't like. Not sure what Park adds to the Padres - Sidney Ponson, who was to be traded for Nevin before Nevin nixed it, is younger and with more potential. Nevin, as I just mentioned, did enact his no-trade clause on the deal to the Orioles, but Texas was never mentioned in that clause. So, the Rangers now have a right-handed power hitter to complement the lefty Hank Blalock and the switch-hitting Mark Teixeira. Nevin can DH, play first or third when Blalock or Teixeira need a rare day off, or even catch when the Rangers need a little more pop at that position than Sandy Alomar, Jr. (I love the guy, but he's not exactly in his prime any more offensively). This trade was perhaps done in anticipation of an Alfonso Soriano deal that never went through. Soriano is currently the big right-handed bat in the Texas lineup - now that they're both with the club, that lineup is just all the more lethal.

Devil Rays trade Jose Cruz, Jr. to Boston for infielder Kenny Perez and pitcher Kyle Bono. Not much of a deal here. The D-Rays had DFA'd Cruz, so essentially they got something for nothing. That "something" isn't much, though, as Perez and Bono really aren't considered prospects.

Padres (I hope GM Kevin Towers has good minutes on his cell phone plan. Not that I would know anything about that.) trade C Miguel Ojeda to Seattle for C Miguel Olivo. Olivo was supposed to be a decent hitter, but the M's weren't getting anything out of him. So, they went for some new faces at catcher.

Marlins trade pitchers Mike Flannery and Yorman Bazardo to Seattle for Ron Villone. Villone is a good LOOGY - Lefty One Out GuY - and those are in high demand in a playoff run. The Mariners, not in a playoff run this year, get one good (Bazardo) and one OK (Flannery) pitching prospect.

White Sox trade P Ryan Meaux to San Diego (go figure) for 3B Geoff Blum. Blum will back up Joe Crede, who is still developing on defense and has yet to hit for a decent average (although he already has some power). Meaux is a LOOGY-in-training.

Yankees trade Buddy Groom to Arizona for a player to be named later. Well, he's a lefty reliever. Guess you can never have too many of those.

Brave trade pitchers Roman Colon and Zach Miner to Detroit for Kyle Farnsworth. Colon is still young, but already is a Major League-level reliever. Farnsworth is a huge pickup for the back of Atlanta's bullpen. Whether they use him in the 7th, 8th, or 9th inning, Farnsworth will bowl over opposing batters. As it turns out, Farnsworth and Matt Lawton turned out to be the biggest names traded on deadline day.

Well, there you have them. I'm going on vacation to Disney World next week. So, if you'd like to write a guest column, email it to me by Friday evening, and that way everyone can have some reading material for next week while I'm gone.

	DAYS
	HOURS
	MINUTES
	SECONDS
UNTIL FOOTBALL

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

MSU 44, ND 41

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

ND Football 2005

Issue 3: MSU

MSU Rush Offense vs. ND Rush Defense

ND Rush Offense vs. MSU Rush Defense

MSU Pass Offense vs. ND Pass Defense

ND Pass Offense vs. MSU Pass Defense

Special Teams

MSU Blogs

Monday, September 12, 2005

The Weekend in Review

NFL Kickoff Edition

NCAA Football

NFL

MLB

Sunday, September 11, 2005

ND 17, Michigan 10

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

ND Football 2005

Issue 2: Michigan

Michigan Rush Offense vs. ND Rush Defense

ND Rush Offense vs. Michigan Rush Defense

Michigan Pass Offense vs. ND Pass Defense

ND Pass Offense vs. Michigan Pass Defense

Special Teams

Michigan Blogs

Monday, September 05, 2005

ND 42, Pitt 21

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

ND Football 2005

Issue 1: Pittsburgh

Pitt Rush Offense vs. ND Rush Defense

ND Rush Offense vs. Pitt Rush Defense

Pitt Pass Offense vs. ND Pass Defense

ND Pass Offense vs. Pitt Pass Defense

Special Teams

Look for a big game from

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Beisbol Copa Del Mundo

Group D: Games Played in the US (Florida or Arizona

Dominican Republic

Venezuela

Australia

Italy

Monday, August 29, 2005

The Weekend(?) In Review

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Pitt Depth Chart Thoughts

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Know thy Enemy

ND Football's 2005 Opponent Bloggers

Pitt

Michigan

Michigan State

Washington

Purdue

USC

BYU

Tennessee

Navy

Syracuse

Stanford

...and Know Thyself

Notre Dame

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Beisbol Clasic Del Mundo

Group C: Games Played in Latin America (likely Puerto Rico)

Cuba

Puerto Rico

Panama

Netherlands

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Recruiting Diary

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday