Rich Talks Sports

Andruw Jones is a man without a team. After completing his seperation with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Andruw Jones does not have a team. As we know he can field the ball with the best of them in center field, the question remains, can he hit. If he returned to the power numbers of years gone by, he would be the perfect fit for the clean up spot. However, that is a long row to hoe.

Though I think that idea of bringing Jones to Spring Training would be a good one for the Braves, I am not sure that it is the option that I would select. The biggest reason lies in right field. If Jeff Francoeur is going to remain the Braves right fielder, and all indications say that he will, then you can not carry two liabilities at this time. However, if either of them show a good spring, then it is possible that you can keep both and make a trade down the road.

Personally, I think they both suffer from the same problem. That problem is free swinging. Until they learn where the strike zone is, the pitchers are going to continue to throw them crap and they will continue to swing at crap.

Frank Wren has been breathed a deep sigh of relief. The reason why is simple; he has finally rebuilt the pitching staff. The reason for rebuilding this staff is simple as well. When one looks at the 2008 season, they can see how much injuries plagued their staff. With the loss of John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Tim Hudson just to name a few, showed that the issues with the age of their pitching staff would have to be answered before 2009.

Now, with the retooled pitching staff, Frank can now focus on finding a power hitter that can bat clean up for the Braves and bring that fearful bat that they once had in their line up. Personally, I hope that they do this before the start of 2009 Spring Training.

The Atlanta Braves are set to introduce Kenshin Kawakami as they have finalized their three year deal. The 33 year old Japanese pitcher has been pitching in the Central Japan League for the last 11 years. He has an arsenal of a 90 MPH fastball, a slow curve, and a very good cutter. Outside of that, he has not been tested in the major leagues yet. However, he was one of the top pitchers in Japan for years. The Braves expect that he will fall into 3rd or 4th in the rotation.

Now that we are starting to replace some of the pitchers that we lost last year, I wonder if we can replace the offense power that we lost. It is time to find some power to anchor the middle of the batting order. I hear Jason Giambi is available.

Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice are forever enshrined in the Hall of Fame. They took 2 separate paths to arrive at the same destination. Rickey was the consummate leadoff that had some pop in his bat. His biggest threat was his legs though. They will forever call him the “Steal King”. Rickey did all of this while playing in 9 different uniforms. This was his first ballot to be inducted and he was. As for Jim Rice, he played for one team and one team only. He was a huge bat in the middle of a line up and pitchers feared him his entire career. This was Jim’s 15th ballot and his last chance at getting into the Hall of Fame.

Today, America celebrates as two of Major League Baseball’s finest get their time in the spotlight. Congratulations gentlemen, you both deserved it.

Not only did the San Diego Chargers lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers today at Heinz Field, they did it while setting a new record. What record did they set, you ask? How about have just one snap in all of the 3rd quarter and generating 0 yards of offense? That feat has not been done and I fear will be a standing record for a long time to come.

I am sure that Phillip Rivers will be honored to have his name entered into the record books beside that very astute record. I am thinking that he might just go out and get several t-shirts made up to commenmorate the teams accomplishments.

In all seriousness though, I do think that Norv Turner has seen his last days as a Chargers coach. I am sure though, that he can find himself a new job. I know that the Detroit Lions, New york Jets, and several other teams can use a good coach.

It is truly a sad day when a player that has spent his entire major league career with one team moves on. It might not be so bad if that tenure ship is a couple of years, but John Smoltz has been an Atlanta Brave for more than just a couple of years. He has been a mainstay for a long portion of time and now he is walking away. The bad thing is, he is not walking away to retire.

John Smoltz will be jumping leagues to join the revamped Boston Red Soxs. He will be joined by Brad Penny who also made the move this off season. All in all, John will be greatly missed in Atlanta. I hate to see him go.

Right now, if you are a Utah Utes fan, alumni, student, faculty, coach, or football player, you are feeling screwed right now. That is about the consensus of everyone that I speak to as well. You, the football team of the Utah Utes, played your collective asses off this season and then marched into your bowl game an decisively beat the Alabama Crimson Tide. After the dust has settle, you now have a second place trophy to show. Second place is not more than the first loser.

For this very reason, this is why the BCS does not work. When the hell did we turn to a computer to tell us who is number 1. As for me, number 1 is determined on the field by the ONLY team that is left standing. This is why there is no conflict with the Super Bowl.

I feel for these guys that busted their can for their coaches, fans, alumni, boosters, sponsors, advertisers, family, and friends. For it is really them that have lost. Basically, for lack of betters words, the Utes were screwed by a computer.

It is time for Adam Jones to find a new job. Apparently, it is also time for him to find a new career. Touted as one of the best corner backs in the NFL, Pacman began to fall apart. Since that time, he has yet to figure out how to put himself back together. Maybe he should have been nickname Humpty Dumpty. It is apparent that all the king’s horse and all the king’s men can not put him back together again.

It truly is a shame when it comes to this. However, Adam has no one but himself to blame. He has been given so many chances that it is pathetic. At what portion do we say that enough is enough to these “role models” of our youth?

My biggest complaint with the 2008 season has been the lack of quality quarterbacks. Well, the 2009 NFl Draft might just very well remedy that issue. With the likes of Sam Bradford, Matt Stafford, Josh Freeman, Nate Davis, Tim Tebow, and Mark Sanchez all potentially joining an already rich corps of graduating quarterbacks, the quality issue for QBs in the NFL should improve. Personally, I think that Josh Freeman should stay another year, but all the others seem to be a good choice to jump. I have concerns with Tebow making the jump to the NFL only because he has only played in the spread and he will not be able to do in the NFL what he has done in the college ranks. The guys are much bigger, much faster, and look at you as fair game.

I do think that if Matt Stafford chooses to go, he will go very high in the draft right along with Sam Bradford. Matt Sanchez would be another in a long line of USC quarterbacks, but once again, he would be a concern to me in the transitional phase.

I can not wait for the draft as this year seems to have some great prospects that are actually READY to step on the field.

The University of Georgia Bulldogs will hold a press conference on Wednesday at 3:30 PM EST time. The purpose of this press conference is to reveal the decisions made by quarterback Matt Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno as to whether or not each will be entering the NFL Draft for 2009.. Personally, my opinion is that they are already gone.

The big question is if the two of them are ready to play football at the next level. The answer to that question really lies with the two individuals. However, I am going to put my 2 cents worth in the hat. As for Moreno, this guy has to be the closest thing to Herschel Walker that I have seen come through UGA in some time. He has explosive speed, can cut on a dime, and if need be, lower the shoulder. He also has a flair for the dramatic and a hustle that no one matches. In the case of Stafford, personally I think that he could use another year of college under his belt, but I believe he is as good as any of the other quarterbacks that are entering the draft, so why not.

I will be glued to the television today to hear their announcement.