Sabathia Fun to Watch; Could Be One of Best Big Men in Sports

Throughout the course of time in sports history the athletic big man has always been a favorite.  People just like to see big guys perform at the highest level of competition.

In basketball, who has been bigger, in terms of attention garnered in their day and for decades beyond, than Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? 

Modern day football has so many, but turn the clock back to the 60’s in the AFL, a pre-cursor to the AFC.  They boasted 6’9 Ernie “the Big Cat” Ladd, a giant defensive lineman, before Ernie turned to the world of professional wrestling.  The Cowboys dynasty of the 70’s featured defensive end Ed “Too Tall” Jones, another 6’9 athlete who could rush the passer as well as chase down running backs.  In the 80’s Coach Mike Ditka turned a heavy, sloppy looking, run-stuffing defensive tackle named William “the Refrigerator” Perry into an American hero by allowing him to touch the football for the Bears as a running back.

Heck, where would the wrestling entertainment industry be today had it not been blessed with the late, great Andre The Giant?

Long ago baseball was dubbed “America’s Pastime”.  Many think it was because it was a unique game played from coast to coast on the amateur and professional levels, but it was not common around the world; it was America’s game. I have a different thought. 

Just like America opened itself up in the early 20th century to all comers seeking an opportunity, the game of baseball has always done the same by welcoming anyone possessing the requisite ability, regardless of size.

It is not uncommon to see scrappy baseball players who stand just 5’8, yet have the necessary hitting, fielding, throwing, and base-running skills to make a living professionally.  On the other hand, there have not been a great number of big men who have had enduring baseball careers.  Some big guys have flirted with better than average careers, but very few have dominated, or at least had good success over their entire career.  One big man who is close to wrapping up his career is Randy Johnson, the 6’10 lefty pitcher, now throwing for the Giants.  Just a couple of weeks ago he reached a magical milestone by earning his 300^th career win.

Today baseball has a big man who, assuming he can stay healthy, should rise to the highest level of fame.  CC Sabathia is not just tall as a 6’9 southpaw hurler with the NY Yankees, but he is big—easily carrying 290 pounds on his large frame.  

What makes Sabathia an attraction is not just his 95 mph fastball, his darting slider, or his deft change-up, but his overall athletic ability.  Last year Sabathia was traded from the Indians to the National League Brewers and got to show his skills at the plate.  As a pitcher with limited time in the batting cage CC proudly owns a .263 batting average.  Playing for the Yankees, CC only gets to bat during inter-league games, like this weekend as the Yanks go against the cross-town rival Mets.   Friday night while limiting the Mets to three hits over seven innings, Sabathia hit two bullets up the middle, one producing a run and was robbed of another by the shortstop who was cheating the middle.  CC can also bounce off the mound to field his position with great hand-eye coordination and reactionary skills.  The big man is a complete player.

Last week Sabathia had to leave a game with just one out in the second inning due to muscle tightness in his left bicep.  Fortunately, some therapy in the training room and a throwing schedule on his off days allowed him to step right back into the rotation and tame the Mets.

If Sabathia were to ever lose his ability to pitch, I am sure he would make a great power-hitting first baseman while providing infielders a sizeable target.  Or, if he really wanted to try something different, NFL teams could line him up at left tackle and let him protect the blind side of their franchise quarterback.  Sabathia is known as a big hoops fan and also played that in his younger days.  I imagine him displaying that same combination of power and finesse that he shows on the mound.

At 29, Sabathia is in his first season playing on the world’s biggest stage with the Yankees.   If he continues to do the things that he has shown the last couple of years he should go down as the top big man baseball has seen in a long, long time. 

STEINBRENNER, MARTIN MADE HISTORY 21 YEARS AGO TODAY

It was June 23, 1988 when one of the most telling episodes occurred in the history of the Bronx Zoo, also known as the NY Yankees during the 70's, 80's & 90's, under owner George Steinbrenner's rule. I stumbled across an archive photo and story from the Sports Illustrated July 4, 1988 edition while browsing their website www.si.com.

The story was authored by one of baseball's premier journalists, Peter Gammons, well-before his career blossomed throughout sports TV via ESPN. I have copied the most important 80% of the story here for your reading enjoyment.

This day in baseball history saw the Yankees fire manager Billy Martin for the FIFTH TIME. That's not a typo. The Boss (Steinbrenner) hired and fired the same manager in the person of Billy Martin FIVE TIMES. For Yankee fans out there who know their Pinstripe folklore, this particular year the Bronx Bombers every day lineup featured Don Mattingly, Willie Randolph, Ricky Henderson, Dave Winfield and Mike Pagilarulo. Arming the mound was an aging Ron Guidry, an aged Tommy John, terrific lefty Dave Righetti, and the Candy Man, John Candelaria. At the time of Billy's fifth dismissal the Yankees had just fallen out of first place. Over the course of the next 90+ games they slipped to fifth place out of seven in the old AL East.

As a loyal Yankee fan and baseball aficionado, I am still amazed to this day. It goes to show that time can cloud memory. How in the world could I not have readily recalled how many times Billy Martin skippered the Yanks. That, my friends, is an historical feat that will never be challenged by any other sports franchise. I guess we have to take that along with the 26 World Series titles. By the way, when is that 27th coming? I am trying to be patient.

July 4, 1988 Sports Illustrated

by Peter Gammons

Billy V Turned into what Animal House V would probably be like. Billy I and Billy II worked. They were funny. Even Billy III got two stars. By Billy V, it was neither funny nor meaningful. Who wanted to watch an ashen, trembling man get thrown out of a Texas topless bar or toss dirt at an umpire? "I find this boring by now," says Yankee pitcher Ron Guidry, who has seen Billy I-V and survived 14 Yankee managerial changes since 1975, of which last week's sacking of Billy Martin—he was replaced by Lou Piniella, who had also preceded him—was only the latest.

Contrast the New York Mets and the Yankees: The Mets don't have people laughing at them. They finished second in 1987 and acquired 10 young players to restock their farm system. The Yankees finished fourth, rehired Martin and added some $4 million to their payroll. Davey Johnson is in his fifth season as the Mets' manager. In that time the Yankees have had Yogi Berra II, Billy IV, Lou Piniella I, Billy V and Lou II. Oh, yes. Billy I lasted 471 games; Billy II, III, IV and V a total of 471.

George Steinbrenner never has figured out that a baseball season is not a high-speed car chase. He also hasn't learned that making headlines doesn't get a team to the World Series. So his wild, emotional swerves continue, with 15 managerial and 22 pitching-coach changes since he became the team's owner in 1973. Steinbrenner was cunning in his most recent ousting of Martin, using his latest office boy (also known, in the Yankee scheme of things, as the general manager), Bob Quinn, to carry out his orders and take Martin's heat.

Despite a rash of injuries and a recent 2-7 road trip culminating in a three-game sweep by Detroit that knocked the Yankees out of first place, Martin's team was still in the race. However, Steinbrenner felt that the pitching staff was being blown out and that, with 94 games left, Piniella would have enough time to save a very talented team.

BAD NEWS WEEK IN SPORTS WORLD; NEED SUN TO SHINE ON U.S. OPEN

The last week or so around the world of sports has become increasingly depressing.

From our country’s land of wheat comes this sad news. Last weekend former Kansas director of athletics, Bob Frederick, died from injuries suffered in a bicycling accident the previous day. What makes this more tragic is that “Dr. Bob” was returning from a ride, wearing a helmet, and upon hitting a pot-hole, flipped over the handle-bars and sustained the fatal injuries. Dr. Frederick earned three degrees from KU, served as AD for 14 years, and most recently was teaching at the university in the College of Education. Under his watch, the Jayhawks reached their peek in 1992-93 when they won a basketball Final Four, a football bowl game, and made the school’s only appearance in the College World Series. People that I know and trust, who knew this man very well, say that he was known as a person who loved people, was a model of integrity in sports, and stood for what was right in college athletics, he was 69.

Also in the college arena, Alabama, no stranger to dancing outside the NCAA guidelines and time serving time on probation, was slapped with stiff penalties for a text book scandal. The end-result, as it stands now, is that the football team will have 21 victories earned over a span of three years (2005-2007) stripped from their record. There were 15 other sports involved, too. Crimson Tide athletes were caught using their scholarship to get free text books and other supplies for other students. ‘Bama is appealing the ruling.

Shifting to the professional level, in a case that makes you just shudder, especially if you have raised a daughter, former major league baseball outfielder Mel Hall, who finished his 13-year career in 1996, was found guilty this week of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl he coached on an elite basketball team a decade ago.

I remember Mel Hall because he grew up in Auburn, NY, which is only about 25 miles from my hometown.

A Tarrant County, Texas jury took about 90 minutes to convict the 48-year-old Hall on three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child. He received a 45-year sentence, and must serve at least 22-1/2 year of that term.

Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver Donte Stallworth took full responsibility for killing a pedestrian while driving drunk in Florida and began serving a 30-day jail sentence Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter. Stallworth helped himself by reporting the accident immediately, showing contrition, and cooperating with the investigation from the very beginning.

Stallworth reached a confidential financial settlement to avoid a potential lawsuit from the family of 59-year-old Mario Reyes, according to Stallworth's attorney, Christopher Lyons. Reyes was struck and killed March 14 by Stallworth, who was driving his black 2005 Bentley after a night drinking at a swanky hotel bar.

"I accept full responsibility for this horrible tragedy," said Stallworth, who was accompanied at the hearing by his parents, siblings and other supporters. "I will bear this burden for the rest of my life."

According to an ESPN report, Stallworth was covered by two insurance policies: a car insurance policy and a $5 million umbrella policy. Stallworth, 28, told Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy that he hopes to get involved in drunken-driving education programs. Stallworth had faced 15 years in prison. According to the plea agreement, Stallworth needs to serve only 24 days of his 30-day sentence. After his release from jail, Stallworth must serve two years of house arrest and spend eight years on probation.

Ryan Leaf, the tragic character who was a first-round NFL pick out of Washington State the same year that Peyton Manning came out, but ended up being the poster child for “bust” draft picks, posted a $45,000 bond Wednesday in Washington state for drug and burglary charges out of Texas after being arrested by customs agents as he returned to the United States from Canada.

He is charged with burglary to a habitation, a second-degree felony. Leaf was also indicted on seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance. This allegedly took place while Leaf was trying to carve out a career as a college football assistant coach at West Texas A & M, a Division II school in Canyon, TX.

Finally, in a news story that has all baseball fans trying to catch their breath in shock (just kidding) a congressional committee will look into former baseball slugger Sammy Sosa’s denial that he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs in light of a report that he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003.

In 2005, Sosa told Congress that he had never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Sosa tested positive two years before his appearance at a House hearing. Sosa’s name supposedly leaked out from a confidential report that listed 103 players who tested positive in 2003, before MLB had testing and banned drug policies in place. Alex Rodriguez was the first big name that leaked out a few months ago. This story will continue to drip, and drip, and drip

That’s enough bad news for quite a while. It’s now time to turn the page…as in Bethpage! Let’s hope for an exciting 109th U.S. Open Golf Championship this weekend being played on the Bethpage State Park’s Black Course on Long Island, in Farmingdale, NY. Given the fact that the opening round was delayed by rain, and for a whole lot of reasons like those above, we need Mother Nature to bring us some sunshine and cooperate.

By the way, who do you have…Tiger or the field?

FOOTBALL PLAYERS HEAD INTO NEXT SEASON--SUMMER

Spring sports seasons have wrapped up on the high school and college level.  The number of states that do allow high school programs some type of spring football practice, as well as the older guys playing college football, are now gearing up for their next season.  Most fans are not as in-tune with the football players’ next season, but it is very critical to their team’s success.  The next season is summer.

No sooner than the high school year ends, most competitive programs will have their players trying to get an edge on their opponents by getting right into their summer training program, which always consists of strength-training/conditioning, and often position skill development.

Unless restricted by their state’s rules, most high schools usually run their own camp at some point in the summer, and/or go away to a college campus for some type of camp.  “Skill position players” (everyone who is not a lineman) also compete in 7 on 7 passing leagues and camps.  Even the big guys, the offensive and defensive linemen, have position drill work and camps that are geared to them improving their fundamentals and techniques.  Where at one time in history guys who played other sports didn’t start worrying about football until August rolled around, today’s high school athlete is asked to commit much more time to just one sport.  If lucky, he may find time to play two sports.

College football players get about a two week hiatus between the end of their spring semester classes and post-spring ball training workouts before the start of “voluntary” summer workouts.  These workouts are called voluntary because, according to NCAA rules, they cannot be mandatory. But, when the athletic department is footing the bill for the cost of summer school tuition, and room/board, there is a real strong understanding that players will "voluntarily"partake in these workouts.

Just as the winter off-season training program fits into the college player’s yearly cycle between the regular fall season and spring practice season, summer training fits between spring practice and fall. 

This training is usually built around four hard days of strength-training (M-T-TH-F), with Wednesday used as a recovery day.  Combined with strength work, athletes also get a mix of speed, quickness, agility and position-specific training under the hot summer sun.  To that, mix in 3-4 nights of competitive 7 on 7 passing drill competition (for skilled players) and pass protection/pass rush drills (for linemen) with competition between the team’s own offensive and defensive players.  Team leaders on each side of the ball step-up to organize these workouts which are done without the benefit of  their coaches being present.   Not done yet, players also usually spend a couple of hours or more on opponent film study at the football office.

Throw in a couple of summer school courses, and tutoring or study hall for those classes, and your average Division I football player has put in quite a week’s worth of work--not as relaxing as people would like to think.

Summer workouts are all coordinated and supervised by the strength coach and his staff.  The regular football coaching staff is not allowed to work with players on the field in the summer.  Therefore, the strength & conditioning coaches take the responsibility for, and are held accountable for, each player’s development of physical traits, as well as their mental discipline and toughness. Has each player gotten stronger, more powerful, attained ideal body weight, improved his agility/quickness?  After toiling in the heat all summer, is he mentally tougher, more disciplined?

These questions all need to be answered in the affirmative for the summer training to be deemed successful.  The ultimate test is in seeing how the rigorous training translates to actual performance on the field in September.

THESE GUYS MAKE PHILS GO: A.L. SPEED RUNNING AWAY FROM N.L.

There is no secret to Philadelphia’s offensive success. It’s painfully obvious to opposing pitchers as to who you have to try to slow down.  The Phils have three players in the top seven of the NL in runs scored—Raul Ibanez (44), Chase Utley (39) and Shane Victorino (38) and two of the top five RBI men in Ibanez (53) and Ryan Howard (46).  The defending champions are the only team to have more than one player listed among the leaders in what should be the most important categories—production.

It used to be that there was a significant difference between AL and NL baseball strategy.  With the AL having the designated hitter, perception has been that teams move station to station and employ the Earl Weaver strategy of waiting for the 3-run bomb, whereas the NL employed more of a running game and small-ball approach, less dependent on the long ball. 

Where are the wheels in the NL? 

Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford is literally running away with the MLB stolen base lead with 34. Along with C.C. in the AL, Jacoby Ellsbury of Boston is second with 22 and the Angels’ Chone Figgins has 20.  These three are all ahead of the top NL base thief, Michael Bourn of the Astros, who has just 18.  The next closest NL base-stealer is the Mets’ David Wright (13).  Just for good measure, let’s round out the AL’s top five with TB’s B.J. Upton (17) and Angels’ Bobby Abreu (15)—all better than the NL’s second-best.

These stats offer several talking points, one of which has to be the fact that catchers in the NL must sleep a lot better than their counter-parts in the AL.

UPTON BROTHERS A LONG WAY APART

Justin Upton plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks while his brother, B.J., plays for the Tampa Bay Rays. Even those who slipped through US Geography with a D will tell you that the two talented brothers are miles and miles apart.

Looking at the statistical side of the 2009 MLB season the brothers are also miles and miles apart. Justin, 21, just concluded a monster month of May by hitting for a .402 average, which included seven HRs and 21 runners knocked in. Those numbers boosted his season totals to a healthy .322 average, with 9 round-trippers and 29 RBI. Justin inflated his slugging percentage to a whopping .592.

While the Upton family has been enjoying Justin's season, they most likely are spending more energy supporting older brother B.J., 24, in his quest to get on track. After a terrific post-season performance that helped spur the Rays through the AL Championship Series and into the World Series, B.J. has struggled mightily. His totals to date--.204 average, 2 HR, 9 RBI and a meager .290 slugging percentage. Yes, B.J. did have some work done on his shoulder in the off-season and he missed the first week of the season, but having played 45 games to date he hasn't come close to looking like the same offensive player of a year ago.

They are miles apart on the map right now, and miles apart in their peformance on the field.

DL IS PLACE TO BE FOR MLB PITCHERS

Reading a piece that was in a recent Sporting News Today publication, it's astounding to see the number of MLB players who are on the Disabled List (DL) at this point in the season. Sure, some of these roster moves stemmed from injuries coming out of spring training, but the vast majority of these have been come about since the start of the season. Yet, we have not even completed one-third of the 162-game season.

As of May 28th, there were a total of 141 players on the DL, 87 of which are pitchers (62%). There is incredible likeness between the American League and National League's DL numbers.. The AL total number was 70 with 44 pitchers (63%), while the senior circuit listed 71, including 43 pitchers (61%).

That's a lot of bad arms.

In the AL, the White Sox did not have a single player on the DL as of May 28th. That was also true in the NL for the defending world champions in Philadelphia. At the other end of the spectrum, the team orthopaedic staffs in San Diego and Tampa Bay have hung a sign on their doors, "Not Accepting Any New Patients." The Padres had 10 players (7 hurlers), and the AL defending champion Rays boasted 9 on the DL, with "just 4" pitchers among that group. Most teams overall had somewhere between 4 & 7 disabled bodies inactive by the end of May.

ROYALS' GREINKE BEST ARM YOU HAVEN'T SEEN

Coming off of those depressing stats, let's talk about some real positive pitching numbers. Zack Greinke has the misfortune of laboring in anonymity as a Kansas City Royal. But, the 25 year-old righty is off to a major league-leading 8-1 start. His ERA was a miniscule 0.88 until his last start this past weekend and now it has swollen ever so slightly to 1.10.

It's a shame most of America doesn't get to see Greinke. He battled through some personal and emtoional issues about 3 years ago, even heading home for some rest and down time during the early part of the season. He has now grown into arguably one of the top hurlers in the game. It's just that hardly anyone sees him. When he started his last game on a sunny 81-degree Sunday afternoon at home in Kaufman Stadium, there were plenty of good seats remaining considering the 18,000 and change who cared enough to show up. Sad isn't it. Because of the Royals' month of May free-fall from atop the AL Central to now barely holding down fourth place, we certainly aren't going to see Greinke any time soon on some version of a national telecast via ESPN, FOX, or TBS.