Quote of the day

Sid Garner: Remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Except for herpes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

The worst team in Texas needs to lose more

Just when you thought some of those God-awful Dallas Mavericks teams of the '90s were the very worst, the Houston Astros are in a serious battle of "we can be the worstest".

In their first year of the American League, the Astros are 8-25 for an impressive .250 "winning" percentage. The Astros did not play on Monday night, but still lost 5-3 in extra innings.

The Astros simply must lose more if they want any hope of challenging the 1899 Cleveland Spiders for the supremacy of crap. The Spiders were 20-134, a .120 winning percentage, the worst in pro baseball history. What the final record does not reflect is that the Spiders were in a lot of those games, and needed just a few calls and they could have won as many as 25 games.

At the very least, the Astros are hard at work trying to at least be "worser" than their garbage year of 2012, when they finished 55-107 (.340).

BTW - The worst season in the history of the Texas Rangers was their first in the state, 1972, when they finished 54-100.

The sad part is there is no way for the Astros to post a winning percentage bad enough to distinguish itself as the very worst in the history of pro sports in this great state.

The Dallas Cowboys were 0-11-1 in their first season. The Houston Oilers had a few one-win seasons.

The Astros can't challenge winning .000 percentages like that because they play too many games. But for sheer quality of badness, these Astros could challenge the 1992-'93 Dallas Mavericks (11-71, .134) as one of the worst in the history of the state.

The odd part is that normally teams that suffer through seasons such as the one by the Astros normally are in their early part of the existence. The Astros have been around since 1962.

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

Tommy Tuberville is honest about the support he had at Texas Tech

Tommy Tuberville may leave recruits at the dinner table for a different job, but there are few better friends to the media than the new Cincinnati head football coach.

Tubberville recently sat down for a long chat with Dennis Dobbs of CBSSports.com for this interview where he covered a variety of topics from the state of the Big 12, the invtitation of TCU and West Virginia to his replacement in Lubbock - Kliff Kingsbury.

Tuberville told Dobbs: "It's a perfect fit for them, native son, played for Leach. Not that I didn't have support but I didn't have 100 percent support. It just wasn't going to happen."

Nope, which is one of the reasons he left. It may have been the biggest reason he left a Big 12 job for a school that is in something called the American Athletic Conference.

There may not have been a coach alive who could have replaced Mike Leach and would have had the full support of that fan base. That type of support was certainly not going to exist for a guy with Tuberville's background.

Despite his ability to play nice with the media and the alums, Tuberville was not able to win enough games to make people forget about The Pirate. 

As a former Tech player, Kingsbury is going to not only have the full support of all things Tech, but he should be allowed to grow into the job.

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

Former Texas Rangers busted for crack possession but it wasn't his

The name "Otis Nixon" does not exactly conjure up a lot of great memories for Texas Rangers fans. He played the 1995 season for the Rangers where he batted .295 with 21 doubles and 50 stolen bases. That is the third most steals by a Ranger in franchise history.

His biggest contribution to the Rangers record books is that he was caught stealing a major-league leading 21 times that season, which remains a franchise single-season record.

Nixon played for nine teams in a 17-year career that ended in 1999, and now he appears to have hit some hard times. By hard times I mean, "Why are you carrying crack cocaine?" hard times.

Nixon was busted in Atlanta over the weekend, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. There were reports that his car was driving erractically on the highway when he was pulled over. Authorities reportedly found that Nixon was carrying crack cocaine, but according to Nixon it was not his.

It's weird because he had some crack cocaine, that wasn't his, his in pants' pocket. This gets better.

Nixon told the cops that crack cocaine and the pipe belonged to his son, thus proving once again that nothing can compare to the love between a father and a child.

 

 

 

 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

Ian Kinsler, Rudy Jaramillo & the most overrated positions in baseball

ARLINGTON, Texas - Ian Kinsler, please allow me to test a theory: All batting coaches are the same.  Of the 13 position players carried on a major league roster, the most a batting coach can genuinely affect or make a dramatic difference with is maybe two. If that.

"That sounds about right," Kinsler told me. 

The Rangers second baseman is killing it right now, batting .333 with eight doubles, six homeruns and 19 RBI. This has nothing to do with the fact the Rangers have yet another hitting coach, Dave Magadan.

Batting and pitching coaches are routinely changed with preposterous idea they are going to make a difference. If a guy can't hit, the batting coach is screwed. If the pitcher can't pitch, the pitching coach is toast.

This theory anchors around the notion that former Texas Rangers batting coach Rudy Jaramillo was a savant. The man has his own DVD on hitting and was once one of the highest paid batting coaches in baseball. To Rudy's credit, he parlayed the success of those monster (steroid?) Rangers' bashing clubs he worked for into a reputation as one of the very best in the business.

His hitters loved him, and he is a decent man and a true professional, but this team did not stop hitting after he left the club a couple of years ago.

He was fired in June of 2012 from the Chicago Cubs because the team sucked. That's not Rudy's fault. It's the nature of the job - you can only do so much.

The counter to this is current Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux. Since his arrival, a team once known as one of the worst pitching franchises in baseball is now one of the best. Is that Maddux, or the fact he has guys with ability?

Go with the latter, but Maddux is not a dummy who merits no credit.

The only coach I can think of who appeared to have magic dust was Tony LaRussa's long time friend, Dave Duncan. The man was a wizard, like one of the Harry Potter characters ... only different.

I asked long time major league pitcher Derek Lowe if he ever came across any bad pitching coaches.

"A bad pitching coach?" Lowe asked rhetorically before he sat there and thought for several seconds. "A bad one? I'd say no."

Lowe is 39, and been in the majors since he was 23. He has been around a looooot of pitching coaches. He figured the last time a pitching coach made a major difference with him was when he was in Double A.

"A good pitching coach (at the major league) is about making in-game adjustments," Lowe said. "This is your job and you have to be able to adjust, at this level. The scary part is that I have seen over time is the unwillingness of the pitcher to make an adjustment or change."

He said if a guy is struggling the people players usually lean on the most are the coaches from their past - high school, college, A ball, maybe a dad - someone with whom they have a much closer relationship with before they became a big leaguer.

A "bad" position coach apparently wills his approach on an individual player. At the major league level, that's not going to fly which is why no position coach embraces this method. 

"Rudy was the closest to a philosophy but he changed it hitter to hitter," Kinsler said. "He had a five-step way but he never changed a guy's natural way of hitting. He was really good at the mechanics of hitting. A hitting coach is not a swing coach like in golf. He's more of a psychologist and it's more fine tuning all the time."

A position coach can reach maybe one or two guys to the point where the batting average or the ERA makes a noticeable move. The rest are on their own.

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

Quote of the day

Alan: I wish monkeys could Skype. Maybe someday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

What a shock - SMU coach linked to Brooklyn Nets job

A rumor that began back in December is now beginning to grow legs because this is what happens when you hire Larry Brown.

The head coach of the SMU basketball team is reportedly a target to replace P.J. Carleismo as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, whose season ended on Saturday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Nets announced that it will be looking for another new head coach.

NBA.com writer and long time NBA inside man David Aldridge Tweeted, "Obvious Nets short list: Jeff/Stan Van Gundy, Larry Brown. Will ask Phil (Jackson), though PJ wants (Pat) Riley deal--control of franchise, not coaching it."

I will be shocked if Brown leaves SMU, but not because he doesn't want to. Brown, 72, may be a great teacher who can win at the college level, but he is an NBA coach who has a penchant of leaving all the time. 

The timing of these reports should come as a suprise to absolutely no one. This was always going to happen when SMU surprised everyone last year by hiring a lifer NBA coach who last worked in the college game in 1987.

This rumor began back in December when the Nets fired Avery Johnson. Rumors such as this are always going to exist with Larry Brown because they are just so believable.

The timing is also a bit odd in that it was reported Brown recently sold his Philadelphia home and actually relocated to Dallas. He recently landed SMU's best recruiting class, led by its first McDonald's All-American signee. The school is re-modeling its home arena, Moody Coliseum. The centerpiece to all of this is Brown.

But we're talking about Larry Brown, who it would appear grows restless waiting for the microwave to heat popcorn.

Brown last coached in the NBA in the 2010-'11 season when he was with the Charlotte Bobcats. He has coached 11 different NBA/ABA franchises that began back in 1972. He actually coached the New Jersey Nets in 1981 for two seasons.

The Nets giving his agent a call makes sense. Brown wins. He is from the New York area. It would certainly make the rivalry between the Nets and the New York Knicks interesting; Brown coached the Knicks in the 2005-'06 season that can at best be described as a "total bleeping disaster".

Brown would be dumb not to be interested in the Nets. They have a good roster and are in a position to win.

He could take the Nets for two years and then retire for the 19th time.

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

Mayweather needs to fight Canelo

For those of you smart enough NOT to spend dime 1 watching Floyd Mayweather defeat Robert Guerrero in 12 rounds on Saturday night, a tip of the cap to you.

In his first fight in about a year and since he was released from the slammer, Money ducked and dodged everything Guerrero could throw at him and claimed a unanimous decision; the fight was scored 117-111, but even that looks closer than the fight actually was. Mayweather is now undefeated in 44 professional fights.

Guerrero tried, and he could take a punch, but he could land zero.

Immediately after the decision, Mayweather was asked about who he may fight next, specifically Canelo Alvarez. Floyd ducked the question, and expect him to duck Canelo, too.

Floyd would likely defeat Alvarez, but why take the risk? He has five fights remaining in his buhzillion deal with Showtime, and then he will likely retire.

Even though he is 36, he is in great shape and can duck and dodge every punch thrown at him. Time appears to be the only opponent that will eventually defeat him, but he may not defeat him before Floyd retires.

He remains a maddeningly boring fighter. It's ironic for as much of a showman and pitchman as he is outside of the ring, inside he is the opposite. He was too quick for Guerrero to land any single big shot. Every time it looked like Mayweather was open to a punch, Guerrero didn't throw it or Mayweather dodged it.

Mayweather will fight one more time in 2013, tentatively scheduled for September. Canelo is likely the next best possible opponent, which means there is almost zero chance of it happening.

Mayweather may be the best PFP fighter alive, but he is undefeated because he will not fight anyone, anywhere, any time. He cherry picks with the best, and expect him to throw some challenger roughly $3 million while he takes home over $30 million so he can remain undefeated.

There is a reason he is called 'Money".

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

The keys to throwing out a successful first pitch

ARLINGTON, Texas - Should you ever be asked to throw out a first pitch and want to ensure a nice ovation, this is what need to have stand next to you on the mound:

a.) An active member of the U.S. military, who is preferably dressed in full uniform.
b.) Current NBA basketball player Jason Collins.
c.) A cute little 4-year-old girl.

Since I was unable to bring either A or B to the game, my daughter Vivian made the difference between the crowd's response of "Who is the loser with the great hair?" to "What an adorable little girl next to that dork with the fantastic hair."

Many thanks to the good people at the University of Texas-Arlington for inviting me to throw out the first pitch between UTA and Dallas Baptist on Saturday afternoon. This was a bucket list item.

Even more important than my reception was my pitch - right down the middle ... (but about eight inches too high for a strike; I blame the pitching coach and the HGH).

What this picture does not show is that my pitch was clocked at 98, and that no hitter alive or dead could have laid off that heat.

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel

This is what Josh Hamilton wanted all along

Not sure if you have seen this, but a pair of former Texas Rangers have their own TV spot.

Los Angeles Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson and outfielder Josh Hamilton are the centerpiece of a new ad campaign for Head and Shoulders shampoo. So is Josh's wife, Katie.

This seems about right.

 

 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel