YES, ROBERTO CLEMENTE REALLY DID HAVE EXCELLENT POWER!!!

                               Kallas Remarks by Steve Kallas

    

As many of you know, the anniversary of the death of the great Roberto Clemente is on December 31.  In 1972, Clemente was flying a rescue mission to help the victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua when his plane went down and his body was never found.

    

Whenever people talk about the great talents of Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, they always come to what was viewed to be his major weakness, that thing that kept him from being considered in the same class with the all-time greats.  Clemente really didn’t have power, they say, he only hit 240 home runs, how can he be considered one of the all-time greats if he didn’t hit a lot of homers?, etc.  Well, a review of what some of his contemporaries thought, plus a review of the field (Forbes Field) he played in for most of his career, will show that Clemente really did have excellent power and should not be left out of the all-time greats conversation.

 

“HE PLAYED IN AN AIRPORT”

     

This all started a few years ago when Hall of Famer Duke Snider was on a New York radio station talking about, among others, the great Clemente.  Clemente has always been considered an all-time great player, EXCEPT for that one fact — he didn’t have power.  When the interviewer said what everybody has repeated through the years – that Clemente didn’t have power, that he only hit 240 home runs – Snider interrupted and said, with surprise in his voice, “Clemente had power.  HE PLAYED IN AN AIRPORT.” 

    

This statement sounded surprising to those who knew that Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, a Pittsburgh Pirate great (1946-53) right before Clemente (1955-72), had led the National League in home runs for seven consecutive seasons.  How could Kiner, a prolific home run hitter, have done so well in Forbes Field while Clemente only managed to hit 240 home runs in his career?

 

GREENBERG GARDENS

     

Well, here’s the answer to that question:  In 1947, the Pirates talked legendary player Hank Greenberg into coming to Pittsburgh to play for the Pirates.  According to various reports, in order to sweeten the pot for Greenberg, the Pirates decided to move their bullpens to left-field.  Forbes Field, a massive ballpark first used by the Pirates in 1909, was 365 feet down the left-field line, 406 in left-center going out to 457 in deep left-center.

    

Prior to the 1947 season at Forbes Field, according to baseball-statistics.com, a “double-bullpen, 30 feet wide by 200 feet long, was placed behind the left field wall – it significantly cut the distances in left field, reducing the left field line from 365 to 335 feet and the left-center power alley from 406 to 355 feet.”  In Green Cathedrals by Philip Lowry, the dimensions of Forbes Field are listed as “Left Field, 365 (1930), 335 (1947), 365 (1954), Left Center, 406 (1942), 355 (1947), 406 (1954).”

    

The New York Times, in its April 19, 1947 edition, described the new “Greenberg Gardens” as a “tailor-made home-run area in left field.  The “Gardens” are an enclosed bullpen which shortens the 365-foot distance to the left-field wall by 30 feet.”

    

Well, that answers a few questions.

    

The Gardens, re-named by some as Kiner’s Korner since Greenberg retired after the 1947 season, stood at Forbes Field until Kiner, in a dispute with Branch Rickey, was traded during the 1953 season.  According to the New York Times, Rickey tried to immediately take down the bullpen and shorter fence, but the National League ordered Rickey to leave it up until the end of the 1953 season, when it was removed.  The old, absurd pre-1947 dimensions of Forbes Field were restored for the 1954 season (to have an understanding of how massive Forbes Field was, they stored the batting cage in left-center field ON the field DURING the games).

    

Of course, Roberto Clemente was a rookie for the Pittsburgh Pirates one year later in 1955.

 

CLEMENTE’S “MINOR-LEAGUE” CAREER

     

Some of you know the crazy rule that existed in baseball in the 1950s.  If you signed a player for more than $5,000, if that player was not put on the major-league roster for that season, he could then be drafted after a year in the minors in the “Rule 5” draft.  According to the excellent Clemente biography by David Maraniss, this is what happened to Roberto Clemente. 

    

After a glowing report from Dodger superscout Al Campanis (interestingly, he gave Clemente an A+ for power), Clemente was originally signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers (to keep him away from the New York Giants so they wouldn’t have Willie Mays and Clemente in the same outfield) and his bonus and contract made him someone who would have to be in the majors or subject to a draft at the end of the year.  The Dodgers did the same thing a year later with a pitcher named Sandy Koufax – but the Dodgers kept him on the major league team in 1955.

    

They tried to “hide” Clemente in the minors in 1954 but many knew of his great talents.  So, while Koufax was “protected,” Clemente had a bizarre one-year minor-league career – only 87 games, only 147 at-bats, only a .257 average. 

    

The hiding didn’t work and the Pirates took Clemente with the first pick of the Rule 5 draft.  

 

CLEMENTE’S MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER

    

So Roberto Clemente showed up at the airport (Forbes Fields) in 1955 as a very young (20), very inexperienced (147 minor league at-bats), very out of place (in Pittsburgh) player.  Below is a discussion of some of the power he showed and what some of his contemporaries thought of him from a power perspective:

 

ROGERS HORNSBY – A coach for the Chicago Cubs in 1959, the Hall of Famer witnessed Clemente hitting a home run out of Wrigley Field on May 17, 1959 that landed on Waveland Avenue, well over 500 feet.  It went out to the left of the scoreboard in center field.  Hornsby said it was one of the longest home runs he had ever seen in his 45 years in baseball.

 

SANDY KOUFAX — Two Koufax stories: 1) In the excellent Clemente biography by Kal Wagenheim, Koufax said that the longest ball ever hit off him to the opposite field was “hit off me by Clemente at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1961.  It was a fastball on the outside corner, and he drove it out of the park; not over the fence, but he knocked it way out.”  Koufax went on to say that Clemente “could hit a PITCHOUT for a home run”; 2) On May 31, 1964 at Forbes Field, Clemente hit a home run off Koufax 30 feet high off the light tower in center field.  Koufax said he couldn’t recall anyone hitting one longer off him (from “Tales of the Tape”).

 

JOHNNY PESKY – Many don’t know that the face of the Boston Red Sox was a coach for manager Harry Walker of the Pirates when Clemente played in Pittsburgh.  Two Pesky stories: 1) The Wagenhem bio talks of the day (May 15, 1967) when Clemente hit three home runs and a double against Cincinnati, driving in all seven runs for the Pirates in an 8-7 loss.  Pesky, who played with the great Ted Williams, said he had never seen such a fearful display of power in one game; 2) According to the Maraniss bio, Pesky told writer Les Biederman of the Pittsburgh Press that the only hitter he had ever seen get solid wood on the ball time after time as much as Clemente was his [Pesky’s] friend Ted Williams.

 

HARRY WALKER – Walker was the manager of the Pirates in 1966.  Before the season started, he went to Clemente and told him (according to the  Wagenheim bio) “Roberto, I wish this year you would go for power, hit 25 homers and get 115 runs batted in.  We will need it for the pennant.”  Clemente went out and, in his MVP season of 1966, hit 29 home runs and drove in 119 runs (and scored 105).  This was staggering because it was (and remains today) the third highest home run total for a right-handed batter in the history of Forbes Field (excluding, of course, the Greenberg Gardens years of 1947-1953).

 

CLEMENTE v. STARGELL v. KINER – It’s obviously hard to compare, but understand a few things about this trio.  Clemente only averaged about 5-6 home runs a year at Forbes Field, a place he played in for fifteen-and-a-half seasons.  Stargell only averaged about 10 home runs a year at Forbes Field in the seven-and-a-half seasons he played there.  Yes, Stargell was lefty and it was just about equally hard to hit home runs for lefties (although the deepest part of the park was 457 to left center).

    

The Kiner comparisons are fascinating.  Kiner played one year, his first, at Forbes Field when it was an airport (the year before Hank Greenberg came to Pittsburgh).  In that first year (old dimensions), Kiner hit 23 home runs.  Then, with the advent of Greenberg Gardens, Kiner hit 51, 40, 54, 47, 42 and 37 in his next six seasons (Kiner often credited his mentor, Hank Greenberg, with teaching him (Kiner) how to pull the ball, making him especially deadly with Greenberg Gardens in left to left center field at Forbes Field).

    

This is not to detract from Ralph Kiner in any way.  In fact, his 23 home runs in 1946 led the National League.  But Kiner, according to The Baseball Biography Project (www.bioproj.sabr.org), only hit eight home runs (of his 23) at Forbes Field in 1946.  In 1947, with the advent of Greenberg Gardens, he hit 28 (of his 51) at Forbes Field.  In his one season playing his home games in the old Forbes Field, Kiner hit 23 home runs for the season.  In the next six seasons playing his home games in the “new” Forbes Field, Kiner AVERAGED over 45 home runs per year. 

    

Give that a little thought when you think about Roberto Clemente.

        

ALL-TIME LEADING HOME RUN HITTERS AT FORBES FIELD – Without question, this is a misleading stat.  But it’s presented to show the futility of trying to hit home runs at Forbes Field.  The all-time list at Forbes Field, according to baseball-statistics.com, is 1) Ralph Kiner, 175, 2) Roberto Clemente, 85, 3) Willie Stargell, 74, 4) Frank Thomas (obviously of the old Pirates and, later, Mets, not the modern day slugger), 64, 5) Wally Westlake, 62.

    

Obviously, Clemente is high on the list because he played there for many years but the point here is that NOBODY could hit a lot of home runs in Forbes Field (except, again, during the Greenberg Gardens years).

 

        PIE TRAYNOR AND TRIPLES – While this quote from legendary Pirate Pie Traynor wasn’t about Clemente, it makes a further point.  Dave Anderson wrote a column in the New York Times on July 11, 1970 (just before the closing of Forbes Fields), discussing the fascinating point that, in the 61-year history of Forbes Field, a no-hitter was never pitched there.  Anderson quoted Traynor as saying: “The reason for that is that it’s a ‘triple’ ball park, not a ‘homer’ ball park.  Hitters shorten their swings.”

    

Fascinating stuff.  On more than one occasion, Clemente told sportswriters about the absurdity of trying to hit home runs in Forbes Field.  In 1964, for example, Clemente told a sportswriter that “As long as I’m in Forbes Field I can’t go for home runs; line drives, yes.”  Indeed, Clemente hit 166 triples in his career, playing home games for fifteen-and-a-half seasons in a “triple” park.  Who knows how many of them would have been home runs in a “normal” park or in Greenberg Gardens?

    

Interestingly, to almost prove Traynor’s point, two no-hitters (by Bob Gibson in 1971 and John Candelaria in 1976) were thrown in the Pirates new stadium, Three Rivers Stadium, in the first seven seasons there.  It seems that Traynor had a point.

     

1967 – With information at baseball-reference.com, a review was made of virtually every Clemente home at-bat in the 1967 season.  The goal was to try to get a feel for how many additional home runs Clemente might have hit in Greenberg Gardens or a more “reasonable” ballpark.  Not scientific, but the results are interesting.  In 1967 home games, Clemente hit approximately 18-20 balls that were fly outs to left or center (including sac flies) or extra base hits to the outfield (mainly triples).  There were eight home games for which actual at-bats were not available.

    

An exercise in futility?  Not really, because it’s just to make the additional point that Clemente had power that didn’t show up in his home run totals because of where he played in the 1950s and 60s.

     

SANDY KOUFAX AND FERGUSON JENKINS – Clemente didn’t hit more than six home runs against any individual pitcher.  But the two that he did hit six home runs off, Sandy Koufax and Ferguson Jenkins, are two Hall of Fame pitchers.  Interestingly, he hit six off Koufax in only 107 at-bats.  He hit six off Jenkins in only 94 at-bats.  Both work out to 30+ homer seasons with about 500 or so at-bats.

 

THE 1971 WORLD SERIES – The Baltimore Orioles, big favorites to beat the Pirates, didn’t really know how to pitch to Clemente (not that anyone else did).  Clemente stood far away from home plate and he would often be pitched away under the theory that he couldn’t reach the outside pitch.  Of course, he had excellent power the other way and many of his blasts were to right and right-center field.  But National Leaguers knew it was a waste of time to pitch him inside.  Clemente once said “pitch me inside and I’ll hit the ball to [expletive deleted] McKeesport.”

    

In the ’71 World Series, Clemente’s (finally) national recognition MVP World Series, according to the Maraniss bio, the Orioles had decided to pitch Clemente inside (contrary to Gene Mauch’s (Phillies manager) Clemente Rule – “Don’t pitch him inside.  He’ll kill you.”).  This led to his .414 Series average.  In Game 6, Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer came inside to Clemente in the first inning.  He hit a triple down the left field line.  In the third inning, Palmer went outside to Clemente.  He hit a home run to right field.  With the game tied at 2 in the tenth inning, Dave Cash singled but then stole second for the Pirates.  Unfortunately, that allowed the Orioles to intentionally walk Clemente.  The Orioles would win, 3-2, setting up Game 7.

    

Oriole ace Mike Cuellar started Game 7 for the Orioles.  Long-time rivals, Clemente turned on an inside pitch and hit it 390 feet over the left field wall after Cuellar had retired the first 11 Pirates he had faced in the pivotal game.  The run turned out to be the difference as the Pirates won Game 7, 2-1, and the World Series.  Clemente had at least one hit in every game and had two doubles, a triple and two home runs in the seven-game Series.

 

     OTHER CLEMENTE MOON SHOTS – By no means all-inclusive, here is a list of other Clemente notable smashes: 

   

1. In 1955, according to the Wagenheim bio, Clemente hit a Warren Spahn pitch OVER the scoreboard in left field at Forbes Field. The New York Times, on February 11, 1954, explained what a shot this would have to be when, discussing the tear down of Greenberg Gardens, the Times wrote “More important, however, is that instead of clearing a twelve-foot screen to land in homer territory, the hitter will now have to power his drive over the left-field scoreboard, which rises 25 feet 6 inches.”  A few days later, Clemente hit a 430- foot triple off Johnny Antonelli.
2. On September 8, 1958, Clemente tied a National League record by hitting three triples in one game.
3. Early in the 1960 season, Clemente went three for three against Cincinnati, with two doubles, a single and, according to the Maraniss bio, “a long sacrifice fly that would have been a home run in any other park but was hauled in by Vada Pinson near where the batting cage was stored at the 457-foot sign in deepest left center.”
4. On May 6, 1960, at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, Clemente hit a ball pitched by Sam Jones into a terrific wind.  According to the Wagenheim bio, “the shocked fans and players saw the home run ball land 450 feet away as Roberto calmly trotted around the bases.”  According to Tales of the Tape, “Despite the wind, the ball carried into the remote bleacher area beyond the left field fence.  Clemente and Ernie Banks are the only two visiting players to reach that remote area of the park (along with two Giant players).”
5. In June of 1966, according to the Wagenheim bio, during an 11-game home stand, Clemente hit .444 with 28 hits and six home runs.  Two of the home runs were to deep right center in Forbes Field, landing “between the Barney Dreyfuss monument and a light tower close to the 436-foot marker.”  During that home stand, according to “Tales of the Tape,” one of those home runs, hit off the Cardinal’s Al Jackson, was hit so far that Cardinal’s outfielder Curt Flood said, “I just didn’t think anyone could hit a ball that far.”
6. On September 2, 1966, Clemente got his 2,000th hit off Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins, a mammoth blast into the upper deck in right field at Forbes Field.        

 

SO, WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?

     

This is in no way meant to say that Clemente had the power of a Mantle or a Mays or an Aaron (even Clemente admitted that wasn’t true).  But it is to say that Roberto Clemente certainly had excellent power and, if he had played somewhere else (or during the time of Greenberg Gardens), his home run totals would have been much higher.  As Kal Wagenheim astutely noted in his Clemente bio, “Many a home run in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cincinnati, or Philadelphia would have fallen innocuously into the leftfielder’s glove at Forbes Field.”

    

Nor could you compare Clemente’s power to that of the great Joe DiMaggio, who hit 361 home runs playing in his own airport at the old Yankee Stadium. 

    

But Clemente had his moments (and many of them) where he showed what he could do.  He understood early on that it was pure folly to try and hit home runs at Forbes Field.  He stood far away from the plate, so most people would pitch him away.  He had stunning opposite field power for his time or any time.  He played mostly in the pre-1969, high mound “pitchers” era.  He came to the majors before he was ready, was thrown into the deep water and survived and then thrived.  The Maraniss bio lays out well the many injuries that Clemente had and played with throughout his career.  Despite those, he wound up passing the great Honus Wagner for most games played by a Pittsburgh Pirate.

    

To sum up, any conversation about the greatest baseball players ever is simply incomplete (and misguided) without the great Roberto Clemente’s name in the conversation.  He may not be a top five player of all-time, but once you go to the bottom of the top 10, and certainly to the top 15 or top 20, Roberto Clemente’s name is in the mix and on the list.

    

Remember, HE PLAYED IN AN AIRPORT (Thank you, Duke Snider).

    

© Copyright 2008 by Steve Kallas.  All rights reserved.

                  

BRETT FAVRE – END (?) OF AN ERROR

                               Kallas Remarks by Steve Kallas

    

Is it the end of the road for Brett Favre?  Well, if you’re a Jets fan, you’ve been brutally disappointed the last four weeks.  Cruising along at 8-3 after wins over the (at the time) undefeated Titans and the still-very-good Patriots, everything was wonderful in Jet land.  But a funny thing happened on the way to an AFC East Division Title and the playoffs.  Favre went very bad, very quickly and the Jets are on the verge of a huge collapse (and, given their easy schedule, arguably one of the greatest collapses ever).

    

A home loss (34-17) to OK Denver (now in the midst of a huge collapse of their own), a road loss to improving, at least, San Francisco, a miracle home gift win against Buffalo and then the disaster in Seattle has put them on the brink of Nowheresville.  And it doesn’t look like they will make the playoffs.  They’ll need a minor miracle to beat the Dolphins AND have either the Patriots or the Ravens lose to make the playoffs.

 

SO, WHAT HAPPENED TO BRETT FAVRE?

     

Well, he’s been good, not great, until the last four games.  Many thought that the Jets simply ran a Chad Pennington offense with a guy who has a much better arm.  But Favre throws a great short ball and, unlike last year, the Jets actually have a very good running game with Thomas Jones and with (inexplicably) a hardly-used Leon Washington.

    

Then, in the last four games, Favre fell off a cliff, never getting a QB rating over 62 and throwing 1 (one) TD to six interceptions.  When you consider the competition, these numbers become even more woeful.

 

IS BRETT HURT?

      

That seems to be the latest coming out of Brett-land.  But, if true, this guy has all but killed the Jet chances of making the playoffs by, what, being a hero?  If his shoulder is really hurt (although he hit Laveranues Coles in the numbers on that long fourth-down pass (incomplete) late in the game against Seattle), then he hurt his team showing us how tough he is.  If true, he put himself (and his streak?) ahead of the team.  If not true, he’s really regressed this year.  Would the Jets have had a better chance with another QB in the last four games?  Well, you can make a case that the answer to that is yes.

     

IS BRETT COMING BACK NEXT YEAR?

      

It doesn’t really matter, does it?  This was the year, with Brady’s injury, that the Jets could have made some real noise.  Their owner went out and spent a ton of money (and, to his credit, that was before Brady got hurt) and, after 11 games, the Jets were really in the mix.  But, as for next year, with Brady (and Maroney and Thomas and, maybe, Harrison back), it’s hard to believe that the Jets, with or without Favre (and probably with a tougher schedule), will make any noise in the AFC East.  The Dolphins haven’t passed them talent-wise but, by next season, they may very well be a better team with a better QB (some would argue that they already are better in both departments).

      

WILL BRETT ANNOUNCE HIS RETIREMENT AFTER THE GAME?

      

Does it matter?  You can’t believe anything he says on this issue.  It gets sickening every year to watch the back and forth for weeks (months?).  Will he or won’t he?  He’s decided.  He hasn’t decided.  He’s changed his mind.  News at 11.  The Jets might have been better off moving forward with Chad Pennington and (maybe) developing (or, at least, drafting) another QB.  Is Kellen Clemens the answer?  I don’t know and neither do you.  His growth has been stunted (stopped?) for still another season (and for yet another if Brett comes back to New York next season).

      

WHAT ABOUT THE COACH?

       

 Well, he’s tried to do things the Belichick way and, while commendable, there’s only one Bill Belichick.  Once the bring-Favre-to-New-York decision was made, his hands were, to some degree, tied.  But he’s mysteriously made Leon Washington disappear in the offense and certainly has had some trouble with play-calling and half-time adjustments (some would be harsher and say what half-time adjustments?).

      

But this is a very young coach in a very tough division who has had a winning record in two of his three years as a HC in the NFL.  It says here that he deserves another year.  But, quite frankly, next year might be worse than this year.  If that’s possible.  We’ll see.    

    

© Copyright 2008 by Steve Kallas.  All rights reserved.

GIANTS (KIND OF) GOING THE RIGHT WAY; JETS SHIP BE SINKIN’

                               Kallas Remarks by Steve Kallas

    

Well, there’s seeming euphoria for Giants fans and seeming disaster for Jets fans in the wake of the Giants OT home win against Carolina and the Jets disastrous 13-3 loss to Seattle on the road.  While the Jets have engaged in a Met-like collapse (maybe worse, if that’s possible), the Giants certainly aren’t the shoo-in Super Bowl winner they were viewed to be just a few weeks ago.

 

LET’S START WITH THE GOOD

     

The Giants used a stunning running game (Derrick Ward, 215 yards, and Brandon Jacobs’ punishing runs to put the team over 300 yards rushing) to squeak by a better-late-than-never Panthers team.  But the Giants barely avoided a Jet-like collapse (although at a higher level – they still had already clinched the division win or lose) and are now the number one seed with home advantage throughout the playoffs, a key factor for this year’s playoffs.

    

It’s interesting to note that, for decades, it’s always been thought that the offensive line makes the running back and not the other way around.  While that’s still true, you have to wonder, with the presence of (a still not 100%, it says here) Brandon Jacobs, whether that made the line better or the defense weaker or Derrick Ward better or all of the above.  Jacobs and his health are clearly the difference-maker for this team (watch the Dallas Game if you disagree) although, maybe, the health of the offensive line also was better against Carolina.

    

Despite the bouquets being thrown at the Giants, don’t forget that they were a 50-yard field goal (virtually impossible at the Meadowlands on a swirling December day) away from a terrible defeat.  Carolina has a lot of weapons and they have one that the Giants don’t have – a top-shelf receiver.  Carolina has their own excellent running game and, although their defense is just good, not excellent, they showed that they could play with the Giants. 

    

I just don’t think that was true when the Giants had Plaxico Burress.

    

Does it always come back to Plaxico?  Well, no, but clearly the Giants have come back to the pack when you project to the upcoming playoffs.  Will the Giants run the ball?  Of course they will.  Will the Giants be successful running the ball?  Well, probably.  But what the Giants don’t have now, that they had last year in that miraculous playoff run, is that wide-out who can destroy a corner one-on-one (see the Packer game last year).  They don’t have that wide-out who draws a double-team on virtually every play (do you think that helps the running game when Burress is there?).  They don’t have that 6’5” wide receiver who, in a jam, Eli Manning can throw it up for grabs to or throw it into the corner of the end zone to knowing the Giants have the advantage on that play.

    

And that’s, potentially, a huge problem.

 

LET’S MOVE TO THE BAD

     

After getting one of the greatest gifts in an NFL game from Dick Jauron (and J.P. Losman) since Joe Pisarcik (or was it Larry Csonka?) fumbled the ball into Herm Edwards’ hands at a time long ago, the Jets laid yet another egg against a better-playing-than-you-think Seattle team on the West Coast in terrible weather.  Seattle really has been playing well of late – they had the Patriots beat very late in that game and they came back to beat the lowly Rams last week.  And despite the terrible criticism of Seneca Wallace by those who don’t watch, he’s been VERY good of late (20-28, 212 yards, 3 TDs v. Patriots, 15-25, 226 yards v. Rams, 9 TDs v. 1 INT. for the season and he’s mobile).

    

But this wasn’t about the Jets inability to get to the quarterback who was protected by a line that, for all we know, could have been in the witness protection program until this past Sunday (cause they certainly weren’t starting in NFL games).  After all, Seattle only scored ten points.

    

This was about the Jets inability to make much happen on offense.  While Thomas Jones continues to have a Pro Bowl year, the lack of allowing Leon Washington to carry the ball on offense has hurt the Jets tremendously.  Why?  Well, just look at the Giants on Sunday.  That cross-up from the pounding Jacobs to Derrick Ward was a key to the Giants beating Carolina for the #1 seed in the NFC.  While the contrast isn’t as great between Jones and Washington, it is still there and that ability to change-up is something the Jets should have used in past weeks and should have at least tried (despite the weather) Sunday in Seattle.

              

LET’S MOVE TO THE UGLY

     

Well, there’s lots of ugly to go around for the Jets.  Brett Favre has seemed disconnected from the team for weeks.  He’s almost in a daze during these post-game press conferences and many would say he’s in a daze during the games as well.  Are you shocked that Favre leads the league in interceptions?  Are you shocked that Favre continues to underthrow receivers (in good weather and bad)?  Come on.  This guy’s at the end of the line and, whatever you think of MVP candidate Chad Pennington (he brought a lot more than excellent QB play to a team that lost 15 games a year ago – that’s what MVPs do), you have to believe that he would have done as well or better if he were the QB of the NYJ.

    

The coaching staff?  Well, Eric Mangini has fallen a long way from a guest shot on the Sopranos to this.  It’s hard to believe these stunning losses (and remember, the Patriots were an OT coin flip away from giving them a terrible loss before the roof caved in).  It has to be laid at the feet of the coaching staff.

    

Can they make the playoffs?  Well, the Jets have as much chance to make the playoffs as they had to win the Bills game – before Dick Jauron called that pass play.  I guess Jet fans can hope for lightning to strike twice – and that’s what they are hoping for (with Dick Jauron playing the part of lightning against the Patriots).

    

But ugliest of all, for the knowledgeable Jet fan, is the fact that the Jets small window is quickly coming to a close.  The Patriots, who might be 11-5 and fail to make the playoffs, would have had a win or two more if they hadn’t lost their best running back (Maroney), their best defensive back (Harrison) and their best linebacker (Thomas) for the season.  They’ve worked minor miracles in New England this year (did I forget to mention they lost their quarterback as well?) and still might be on the outside looking in.

    

The point for the Jets, of course, is if most, or all, of these guys come back next season, the battle will be for second place (and the wild card) in the AFC East.  And the Patriots won’t forget these guys next year (I thought they were trying to send the NFL a message by pounding the division winning Cardinals into submission – the Cardinals might be 8-8 and still make the playoffs).

     

WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US?

       

So, to recap, the Giants had a huge win but clearly have come back to the pack.  They no longer have that separation from themselves to the rest of the league.  They also don’t have that key receiver who, if he didn’t always get separation (and many times he did), could always outleap virtually every DB in the league.

    

The Jets are on the cusp of completing a gigantic collapse.  They no longer control what happens to them.  All they can do is go out and play hard and beat a Dolphin team that has their ex-QB and less talent than they do.  But, even with a win, it will probably be too little, too late.  And then the vultures will start circling.

    

© Copyright 2008 by Steve Kallas.  All rights reserved.

GIANTS GOING THE WRONG WAY; JETS (DESPITE A WIN) ARE EVEN IN WORSE SHAPE

                               Kallas Remarks by Steve Kallas

    

It was a tough Sunday for New York (New Jersey?) football fans as the Giants were manhandled by the Cowboys and the Jets, despite one of the luckiest wins you’ll ever see, were in even worse shape than the Giants.  Thankfully, the absurd “New York” Super Bowl conversation of just a few weeks ago has disappeared, a victim of Plaxico Burress’s gun and the Jets coming back to reality.

 

WHAT’S HAPPENED TO THE GIANTS?

 

Well, you didn’t have to be a brain surgeon or a football genius to know that the Giants would miss Plaxico Burress.  But, with the addition of an injured Brandon Jacobs (and, thus, the elimination of the main part of their running game), Eli Manning was under siege all night against the Cowboys.  On top of that, with no receivers requiring a Cowboy double-team and nobody to catch a fade in the end zone (see Kallas Remarks, 12/2/08), the Giants, offensively, are a mess.

    

The real question, of course, is what happens when Jacobs comes back (because, as we know, Plaxico isn’t coming back)?  The Giants can win without Burress, but they won’t do any playoff damage without Burress and Jacobs.

    

Can the Giants make a run without Burress?  Absolutely.  But they only have a few weeks to get it together.  Are they in trouble against Carolina?  You betcha.  The Panthers have been the fashionable, “in-the-know” pick in the NFC the last couple of seasons but have always fallen on their collective face.  This year, because of the Giants superb start, the Panthers have been under the radar.  Not anymore.

    

What happened to the Giants’ defense?  Well, no matter what Antonio Pierce says, his play has fallen off since the Burress shooting.  He’s probably got problems at home with the release of that video from the strip club of him and a woman (not his new wife) kissing at the strip club (that’s pre-Burress shooting but the same night).  As a football fan, you’d like to leave all that stuff aside, but it’s come front and center because of the Giants poor play.  And while the defense played well against the Cowboys, the picture of Pierce getting beat by (and being unable to run down) Westbrook of the Eagles is one that will stay in the minds of Giant fans the rest of the season (unless, of course, they make that dramatic turnaround).

 

WHAT’S HAPPENED TO THE JETS?

     

The Jets are in far worse shape.  Brett Favre, who seems to have been in a laconic state both on and off the field the last few weeks (his press conferences are filled with slow answers to simple questions – where’s the fiery leader of the Packers who was a three-time MVP?), doesn’t have the answers.  The coaching staff, under siege, doesn’t have the answers.

    

Without some stunning stupidity from the Bills’ coach, Dick Jauron, who, despite the fact that the Bills were running on the Jets like the Jets were playing with ten, not 11, called a bizarre pass play late in the game that resulted in a game-winning fumble/TD for the Jets, the Jets would already be done.  But a win is a win is a win (you know the drill) and the Jets are still alive.

    

Are the Jets in trouble against lowly Seattle?  You betcha.  Seattle almost beat the Patriots two weeks ago (of course, people who don’t watch the Patriots regularly had no understanding that a healthy, running Seneca Wallace would cause the slow Patriots much more trouble than the banged-up Matt Hasselbeck) and did beat the lowly Rams last Sunday.  The Jets have to fly cross-country, have been terrible on the West Coast (0-3) and are clearly close to playing themselves out of a playoff spot.

    

Worse, the Jets are probably ranked fourth out of the four teams who are 9-5 (Ravens, Patriots, Dolphins and then the Jets).  Maybe the Jets can beat the Dolphins in the last week of the season because it’s a home game but, again, if the Bills could just about beat them (sometimes smart coaches like Jauron either over coach or outthink themselves), than home field advantage isn’t what it should be for the Jets.

 

WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE THE GIANTS AND THE JETS?

 

Well, the Giants are going to get a bye and may even be the number one seed, although it says here that they’re going to have lots of problems with Carolina.  The bigger picture for the Giants is whether they can shore up their collective psyche to overcome the Burress mess and get a healthy Jacobs back to make a run in the playoffs.

    

The Jet problems are much greater.  They control their own destiny, blah, blah, blah, but it’s going to be very difficult for this team, as it is now, to beat Seattle on the road and Miami (and Chad Pennington) at home in Game 16.  Only two of those four 9-5 teams will make the playoffs: the AFC East winner and the Wild Card.  The Jets, despite monster wins over the Titans and Patriots, are going the wrong way.  We’ll see.

  

© Copyright 2008 by Steve Kallas.  All rights reserved.

RANGERS HIT A LOW POINT; DEVILS ON THE RISE

                               Kallas Remarks by Steve Kallas

 The Rangers hit a new low on Friday night as they were pummeled by the Devils, 8-5. The Rangers are still a “first-place” team, but that’s a misnomer (see below). The problems for them are far bigger than their position in the standings. This is a team that, defensively and on the power play, has lost its way.

CAN THE RANGERS DECLINE THE PENALTY?

Nothing’s been so maddening this year as the Rangers’ power play. A stunning 0-9 against the Devils, the worse news was that the Rangers gave up two short-handed goals, a very difficult feat. Of course, the Rangers gave up two short-handed goals early in November to lose 2-1 to the Islanders. So this isn’t new. It’s just scary.

    
To give you some context, the Rangers have allowed TEN short-handed goals already this year. According to hockeyreference.com, the league average per team, to date, is THREE. To scare a Ranger fan some more, the league average for the entire 2007-2008 NHL season was EIGHT. This is an epidemic.

    
The Rangers are now in the lower third of the NHL on the power play. While captain and leader Chris Drury was disappointed in the power play and the performance, he said, after the game on MSG, that he and his teammates weren’t “embarrassed.” Well, maybe that’s semantics, but the Rangers play against the Devils certainly was embarrassing.

    
Going minus 2 (stunning) on nine power plays against the Devils, maybe the Rangers can decline the penalty or commit one right after the other team does during the game. Just kidding. I think.

WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, BRENDAN SHANAHAN?

Could Brendan Shanahan have been the answer? Well, he certainly wanted to stay and money didn’t seem to be a big issue to him. But the Rangers left him hanging and simply wouldn’t make an offer to a guy who, last year, was an excellent two-way player, was one of the leading Ranger goal scorers (they could use one of those, no?) and was a leader in the clubhouse. While Drury seemed meek, almost apologetic, in his post-game interview, it’s hard to believe that Shanahan would stand for this type of performance.

    
Maybe Mats Sundin is the answer? Apparently he’ll be at the Garden on Saturday for the Carolina game. A huge goal scorer who has the support of fellow Swede Henrik Lundqvist, it seems like any quality scorer could help the Rangers now.

WHAT ABOUT THE DEFENSE?

The huge defensive changes that were made (Fedor Tyutin and Marek Malik out, Wayne Redden and Dimitri Kalinin in) haven’t really worked out to date. Kalinin has the worst plus/minus in the NHL for a defensemen and Redden often just seems to wander out of place. At this point, you’d think that the Rangers would give Corey Potter an extended try to, if nothing else, shake up the defensemen who have been with the big club all season.

WHAT ABOUT THE GOALIE?

Well, against the Devils, King Henrik looked like he was standing in front of the hit-the-net-win-the prize shooting gallery. After owning the Devils and the Great Brodeur (13-1-1 in the last 15 games between the teams), he gave up almost as many goals in one game (8) as he gave up to the Devils last year in eight games (9, the shootout doesn’t count in the last regular season game or it would be 10 but you get the point). Another stunning stat.

    
For you old-timers, it might have brought back memories of the late, great Gump Worsley, who faced these kinds of barrages often as a Ranger goalie in the early 1960s before he came to his senses, went to the Montreal Canadiens and became a multiple Stanley Cup winner and a Hall of Famer.

WHO’S REALLY IN FIRST PLACE?

The NHL games-in-hand thing is bizarre, especially this season. The Devils are in fourth place in the NHL Atlantic with 34 points. The Rangers are in first with 40 points. But the Devils have played SIX less games than the Rangers. That’s absurd. In addition, the Flyers, with 36 points, are four points behind the Rangers with FOUR games in hands. Even the Penguins, also with 36 points, have three games in hand.

     
In the land of NHL point inflation, when teams today can combine for three points in a game rather than two (see Kallas Remarks, 12/7/08), you can easily make the case that the Rangers are a third or even fourth place team in their own division. In fact, the Rangers have played more games than EVERY team in the NHL. That’s not a good thing.

HOW DO THE DEVILS DO THIS?

Well, the Devils are the Devils are the Devils. But nobody thought they could do this without the Great Brodeur. But they’ve actually been better (if that’s possible) since he went down with an injury. Believe it or not, back-up goalie Scott Clemmensen has won nine of the last 10 games for the Devils. That’s stunning stuff.

    
And although he wasn’t great tonight (the Rangers teased their fans by coming back from four goals down to tie the game at 5), he hung in there as the Devils pulled away by scoring three more. A strange hockey game, to say the least.

WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE THE RANGERS?

With the acquisitions last year of Drury and Scott Gomez, the Rangers, in the eyes of many (including this writer), became instant Stanley Cup contenders. But they fell short last year and, even though they are a “first-place” team this year, they’ve shown some big holes in their game that will hurt tremendously come playoff time. The season is young, but the warning bells are ringing. We’ll see.

 

© Copyright 2008 by Steve Kallas.  All rights reserved.