What's the Fuss?

When Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James entered the NBA together in 2003, many were calling them the next Bird and Magic. As Michael Jordan declared a third and final end to his career, these two captivating young future stars were expected to return the NBA to its 1980's glory days.

But despite the ESPN hyped rivalry between Melo and LeDouche, nothing has really come of it. They never met in the Finals, and have thus been relegated to the mandatory two games per season, plus All-Star Games.

And aside from arguably being two of the least intelligent showcased "stars", their careers bear little resemblance to each other.

LeDouche has become the singularly most despised figure in sports. He is also a force on the basketball court, combining dominant physical gifts with uncanny instincts. LeDouche bulldozed the Cavs to the 2007 Finals, and has captured the last two league MVP's.

In contrast, Melo has shown himself to be little more than a highly efficient scorer. He has never taken the Nuggets to the Finals. And he has never finished higher than sixth in MVP voting.

As Melo stands in the middle of the NBA's worst kept trade rumor, there is something important worth noting - Melo isn't that good.

Call him the "Slumdog Millionaire" of the NBA. Ever since he lead Syracuse to a National Championship, Melo has been thought of as a marquee player who will one day lead a team to the Finals.

This has yet to happen, and with the New Jersey Nets seemingly willing to cripple their already crippled franchise for years to come by trading a great prospect in Derrick Favors, along with Devin Harris, future draft picks, and some moving parts for Melo and his equally moronic wife, LaLa.

By all accounts, Melo's career is eerily similar to a former Nugget who could light up the scoreboard - Alex English. Neither Melo, nor English showed a knack for doing much else aside from putting the ball in the basket. The biggest difference between the two is that English did this much more efficiently, albeit to much less fanfare.

Offhand, I can name no less than 15 players who I would rather have on my team than Melo. So placing him on a Nets team that boasts a weaker supporting cast than the one Melo currently has in Denver, will result in little more than some early round playoff exits.

All along, Melo's desired landing spot has been rumored to be the Knicks. As evidenced by Amar'e Stoudemire's ascension to a god-like figure in The Garden, Melo would not only become a giant celebrilete on the Knicks, he would also position himself to be on a team that could legitimately contend for a title.

The caveat here is that unless the Knicks can work out a trade for Melo before the trade deadline (stupid for the Knicks considering the players they'd lose in Wilson Chandler, and Landry Fields or Danilo Galinari would hurt the team more than Melo would help), Melo would be best served by playing out his expiring contract with the Nuggets.

The other option is to accept a trade to New Jersey without signing a contract extension (very possible given how desperate the Nets have been to acquire Melo), then turning around and signing with the Knicks over the summer.

The Nets seem to be in the mindset that once in Jersey, Melo will fall in love with the place and decide to sign the extension. But even with their impending move to Brooklyn, and their billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov, Melo would be setting himself up for failure in...New Jersey (former New York Gov. David Patterson voice)!!!

New York is the best landing spot for Melo because he will get to showcase his offensive prowess in coach Mike D'Antoni's up-tempo offense, while deferring half the pressure to Amar'e. Melo will also be able to continue hiding the fact that he's not nearly as great as most people have made him out to be. It's a win-win.

And maybe we'll finally see the Melo/LeDouche rivalry materialize.

Hall of Shame?

Every year, the members of the Baseball Writers Association of America cast their votes for players they deem acceptable for entry into baseball's sacred haven - the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Thanks to the recent boom in statistical analysis, coupled with the ever-increasing number of player's either suspected, or proven to have used steroids, the Hall of Fame debate has lead to endless debates.

The biggest criticism of the BBWAA's voting process is that many of the members will withhold votes against deserving players as some form of punishment for a) being a douche b to the media during their playing career, b) involvement in a unbecoming incident either on-field or off-field, or c) not having good enough numbers to be a first-ballot selection. (This might be the most absurd reasoning. If you're a Hall of Famer, you're a Hall of Famer. While time may give a better perspective on a playing career, it does not magically turn a player with a good, but not great career into a Hall-worthy candidate. Sorry, Bob Hamelin).

The 2010 election saw voters take a pass on Roberto Alomar because he spat at an umpire in 1996. In October of last year, there was an even more disturbing story claiming Alomar had unprotected sex with his wife, despite knowing he is HIV-positive.

We'll find out Wednesday if the latest drama surrounding Alomar will keep him away from the Hall for another year.

But until then, this certain non-voting member will cast his imaginary ballot into cyberspace. Enjoy!

Yes on:

Roberto Alomar - All controversies aside, Alomar was a spectacular second baseman offensively and defensively. Many sabermetrics statheads have claimed that Alomar's glove wasn't anywhere near as great as his reputation has lead people to believe. But as someone who witnessed Alomar rob countless seeing-eye-singles, I'll politely ignore the MIT geeks for now. Offensively, Alomar was a threat from both sides (that's what she said), and starred for two World Series teams in Toronto, along with some very good Baltimore and Cleveland teams in the late 90's and early 2000's.

Fred McGriff - This is one I really can't figure out. In his first year of eligibility last year, McGriff garnered just 21.5 percent of the vote. I even reached out to Mariners beat writer Larry Stone to ask why the Crime Dog wasn't getting any love. Stone chalked it up to McGriff playing in the steroids era and never hitting more than 37 home runs. But Stone also said he'd most like vote for him. And true to his word, he did. McGriff's career numbers are comparable to HOF members Willie McCovey and Willie Stargell, yet he got less votes than Mark McGwire. McGriff was one of the top power hitting first basemen for 15 years. He fell just seven home runs shy of 500. And by all appearances, McGriff played steroid free. My silent struggle to get McGriff into the Hall most likely will fail miserably again this year. But hopefully in time he will get his due in Cooperstown. He absolutely deserves it.

Bert Blyleven - I'm curious to know what Blyleven did on the 13 days when he found out he wouldn't be headed into the Hall. Did he sit by his phone like crazy Mel Gibson in "Ransom", ready to tell Jimmy Shaker to go kill himself? Well after falling just five overweight, overfed BBWAA member votes shy of election this year, it seems like a near certainty that Blyleven will finally get his due. Blyleven's career is an interesting one. He had some phenomenal seasons, sprinkled in with a couple mediocre one's, and a few full blown suck fests. He finished in the top ten in wins six times, losses nine times, and strikeouts a remarkable 15 times. Blyleven began his HOF quest some 13 years ago with a paltry 17.5 percent of the vote. He's just too close to be denied. Right?

Jeff Bagwell - In his first year on the ballot, Bags has gotten a decent amount of attention. There are a great deal of voters who believe he absolutely belongs. From 94-04, he was pretty much a lock for 30 plus home runs, 100 plus RBI and an OPS at or above .900. Bagwell also had a stellar glove at first. The knock on him is that although never implicated, he fits the profile of a roider (that profile being a burly white guy who hit a ridiculous amount of bombs throughout the 90's and into the 2000's). To exclude Bagwell because he "may" have been a roider, with no evidence pointing to him actually roiding is not only ignorant, but irresponsible.

Edgar Martinez - This is year 2 in Gar's journey to reach Cooperstown despite spending most of his career at DH. He had a solid first showing, getting 36.2 percent of the vote. But that's not even halfway to election. Those supporting Edgar point to the fact that he is one of 11 retired players to play 2,000 games and have a batting average over .300, an on-base percentage over .400, and a slugging percentage over .500. The 10 others are in the Hall of Fame. Those who don't, say his career numbers, mainly his 2,247 hits (157th all-time), along with the DH thing just aren't HOF worth enough. The DH thing is bothersome in part because a designated hitter is no more specialized than a closer. And unlike a closer, a DH has a far greater impact on a team throughout the course of a season. If Bruce Sutter can get in, so can Edgar. It will just take some time.

Missing the cut:

Mark McGwire/Rafael Palmeiro - It wasn't that long ago that this dynamic duo were considered locks for Cooperstown. It will be interesting to see if McGwire's roid confession will do anything to alter his candidacy. He's hovered in the low 20's every year percentage wise for voting. Palmeiro still insists he never took steroids. He came away from the 2005 Congressional hearings as the finger-waving winner of that melodrama. But then proceeded to test positive for roids and try to through fellow roider Miguel Tejada under the bus for it. And very much like McGwire before him, Raffy up and disappeared. McGwire at least has been welcomed back to the game. McGwire also has the nostalgic factor from the 98 home run chase. Palmeiro has nothing like that. Yes, he put up extraordinary numbers. But those now seem to be partially on account of Jose Canseco shooting roids into Raffy's butt. And if being a mustachioed liar wasn't bad enough. Those old Viagra commercials will surely close Palmeiro's HOF coffin.

Barry Larkin - Excellent career as one of the best shortstops and all-around players during his time. But Larkin wasn't Cal Ripken. He wasn't Ernie Banks either. He had some truly great seasons, especially 95-96. But he was also frequently injured. I really think Larkin's reputation as one of baseball's "good guys" has really skewed many voters opinions. Larkin's greatness can't be denied. His induction into Cooperstown should be.

Tim "Rock" Raines - In recent years, Raines has become the darling of the Sabermetric crowd. He possessed the rare quality of being a leadoff man who could hit for average, get on base, steal bases, score runs and was great defensively. Throughout the 1980's, he was like the Diet Coke to Rickey Henderson's Cherry Coke. (It's ironic that I bring up coke, because there was a time in the 80's when I'm pretty sure Raines tried to snort the first base line). But much like Barry Larkin, Raines, albeit very good, just isn't good enough for the Hall.

Unlike football and basketball, the baseball Hall of Fame has developed some pretty clear criteria that warrants induction. As the steroid era and further emphasis on sabermetrics blurs that criteria, nerds like me will continue to ponder HOF candidates validity.

Stupid Money

It's that time of year when baseball general manager's start acting like Michael Jordan's sons on a Vegas bender. Ah yes, it's the annual Winter Meetings where all of baseball's movers and shakers convene on a supersized hotel to throw out millions upon millions at generally undeserving players. Recession, resmeshion. If you spent time on a major league roster last year and now find yourself a free agent, there's a good chance your bank account will have a few extra zeroes in it.

Newly minted Washington National Jayson Werth should thank his agent Scott Boras for netting him what will one day (maybe tomorrow) be viewed as one of baseball's worst contracts. How a player who has three good seasons under his belt, and at 32-years-old gets locked up for seven years and $126 million is so far gone, it makes one wonder if Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has a serious drug problem.

The Nats lost 93 games last year. There is no reason to believe they will contend in the near future. Their prized prospect Stephen Strasburg's arm exploded after a handful of big league starts. They just lost their main power source in Adam Dunn to the Chicago White Sox for less than half of what Werth will earn.

And it's not like the Nats haven't seen countless $100 million plus contracts that have backfired terribly. Starting with the $105 million contract the Dodgers handed pitcher Kevin Brown in 1999, the list of players in the $100 million club seems like a cautionary tale. Mike Hampton. Jason Giambi. Carlos Lee. Carlos Beltran. Vernon Wells. Alfonso Soriano. Barry Zito. Even my beloved Ken Griffey Jr. makes this list for contracts that fail miserably to offer any significant return on investment.

The money isn't even the biggest issue. Player's salaries inflate every year. The problem usually is the length of the $100 million contracts. What kind of numbers will Wells and Soriano put up in the final year of their deals in 2013 and 2014, respectively? It's almost as frightening as imagining what Heidi Montag's face will look like then.

But despite all the bad $100 million plus deals that have gone down since Kevin Brown's, franchises continue to pull out their checkbooks without hesitation. Because as long as owners continue to try t0 one-up each other with their overpriced trophies, players will continue to flock to the highest bidder and continue to put up underwhelming numbers for the money.

G-Men

It's seems fitting that on a day when Randy Moss, arguably the most selfish and petulant athlete in recent memory, gets jettisoned from his second team in less than a month, that one of the great teams (in the truest sense of the word) in recent memory wins the World Series.

The San Francisco Giants captured baseball's ultimate prize with a patchwork lineup, brilliant starting pitching and a lock down bullpen. It reads a lot more simple than it was

Give credit to Giants manager Bruch Bochy who somehow got a lineup full of overpaid, underperforming veterans to buy into a team concept. Guys like Aaron Rowand and Pablo Sandoval who have seen better days playing-wise could have been poison to a clubhouse. Instead, they embraced their roles as bench players, doing whatever they could to help their team win.

Even Aubrey Huff, a player known around the league as being a "bad clubhouse guy", seemingly came up with big hit after big hit, only to lay down a bunt in a key situation in Game 5 of the Series to move runners to second and third.

The Giants starting pitching completely stifled the best lineup in baseball. The trio of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner submitted three classic World Series performances.

In other words, the Giants are an easy team to like. Catcher Buster Posey seems like he was put on this earth to be a big league catcher. Closer Brian Wilson, he of the absurd black beard that is the West Coast's answer to Jimmy McMillan from the Rent is Too Damn High Party, has entered the upper echelon of baseball firemen. And then there's Lincecum - the pot smoking hipster, who was passed over by nine teams because of fears his small frame would break down before the Giants selected him in the 2006 MLB Draft (The Mariners determined a drafting a diabetic pitcher would be a better choice).

In an era where many teams spend way too much time obsessing over OBP, pitch counts and UZR, the Giants went out and showed the country what real baseball looks like.

The Giants struck out a ton. They didn't get on base much either. But they hit bombs and were anchored by outstanding pitching. The object of the game is to score more runs than the other team. Not get more walks. The Giants understood this as well as any team.

Six teams made the 2010 postseason. The Giants easily had the weakest lineup of the six. Yet what set them apart was that every member on that team knew exactly what was expected of the them and they understood their roles.

And now they're World champs.

As for the Texas Rangers, I for one am relieved that they crashed and burned in the World Series.

The way I saw it, unless Justin Smoak became Albert Pujols 2.0 and lead the Mariners to a World Series title, the Cliff Lee to Texas deal would forever go down as one of the most lopsided in history.

It would go something like this - the Rangers got Lee and a World Series. The Mariners got Justin Smoak and a rapist. Terrible trade.

It's bad enough the Rangers even got to the Series. They can thank the Mariners for that. But as a great friend once told me, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Come next April, Lee will be in pinstripes, and the Rangers lone World Series appearance will be a distant memory.

Wedgie

The Seattle Mariners introduced their fifth field manager since July 2007 on Tuesday.

At this point the M's have become the baseball equivalent of the guy who always, no matter where he is in his life, has to have a girlfriend. You know the guy - he was the first kid in school to have a girlfriend in 4th grade, and could never be alone after that. Some relationships were pretty brief (John McLaren, Jim Riggleman, Darren Brown). Others lasted a little longer (Don Wakamatsu). Overall, none seemed too spectacular. And at the end of the day, the guy was no better or no worse off after they ended.

So now we're left to speculate on how the Eric Wedge era will play out. The 2007 AL Manager of the Year inherits a team that set new lows in underachievement and character. Wedge managed his share of underachieving teams, and even more underachieving players (Travis Hafner, 2008 Franklin Gutierrez). It's safe to assume he knows the drill.

During his press conference, Wedge remarked how the current Mariners are much farther along in the rebuilding process than the 2003 Cleveland Indians team he took over. That team was far better offensively than the Mariners are (not a hard thing to do when Michael Saunders isn't swinging at every breaking ball in the dirt). The current Mariners hold a clear edge in starting and relief pitching (even counting Ryan-Rowland-Smith, who hopefully will be getting a one-way ticket on Qantas Airlines).

For what the Mariners lack in offense, they come close to making up for it in young, explosive arms. It's safe to assume M's GM Jack Zduriencik will ship off some of those arms this offseason for a couple bats.

If all goes well, Wedge should have enough to at least bring the team back to .500 baseball. Wedge comes off as someone who is pretty intense, and won't put up with any of the crap the divisive Chone Figgins pulled last year under Wakamatsu.

While Wedge doesn't have the big ticket appeal of Bobby Valentine, or the sentimental value of Joey Cora (still seems odd to me that he didn't even get an interview), he is only three years removed from having the Indians one win away from the World Series.

And if that's not enough, Wedge looks 62, not 42 (the mustache doesn't help). He also gets points for raiding Dwight Schrute's closet, and for being Tom Niedenfuer's twin brother who was separated at birth.

Madness

Mad Men's fourth season began with Don Draper avoiding answering questions about himself from an Advertising Age reporter. It ended with Draper still refusing to address his own personal demons.

In between, we bore witness to a man seemingly intent on self destructing. Draper dapples in S&M, functioning alcoholism, and even stooping to a level he previously denounced - bedding the secretary (he took down two).

Season Four as a whole is arguably the series most in-depth and well rounded. I could go on way too long, detailing every episode. But I'll spare you.

What's driving me nuts is Sunday night's season finale. The episode starts with Don in bed, telling his new woman, Dr. Faye Miller, that he has a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. The lovely Faye encourages Don to come to terms with his past. The scene ends with a typical Draper make-out sesh, followed by him telling Faye that he's going to miss her while he's in L.A. with his kids.

Next thing you know, Draper is in L.A. with his kids, and defenseless secretary number 2 - Megan. And what d'ya know? Draper yet again seduces her. (Or maybe she seduced him with that french lullaby she used on his kids?)

Flash forward to Draper's West Village Bro Pad. Draper's in bed with the French seductress (and her oversized veneers). Out of nowhere, he tells her he loves her and proposes!

So Draper the hypocrite (remember Draper's disgust when the Silver Fox married his secretary?) continues to hide from his past. The French seductress is slightly smarter the Betty, but nowhere near as intelligent as Faye. (She's a doctor after all. But not a real one, according to Don).

Just when you think Draper is making major strides in his life, he goes ahead and does something ridiculously stupid.

I lay the majority of the blame for this abomination on Betty. If Betty didn't possess the maturity of a 10-year-old, then Carla would have joined Don and the children to L.A., as planned.

Does that mean we'd be looking forward to a Don and Carla wedding for next season? Hmmm...

Regardless, the finale was as shocking to me as last season's Dexter stunner. I keep telling myself this has to be a dream. But my Sopranos plot twists don't carry over to other series.

Faye (who coincidentally played Chrissy's wife on The Sopranos) was such a great character. A strong career woman who challenged Don is only good ways. Why does she have to leave Why? Why? Why!!!!!!!

What do you guys think?

Postseason Picks

I'm just getting ready to head out to the Safe for Game One of the ALDS...

Oh wait. My grandiose delusions have gotten the best of me once again.

Regardless, the 2010 postseason has the makings of something special. On display will be five of the best pitchers in the world (Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia, David Price), along with four of the best rookies to come along in some time (Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, Neftaili Feliz, Aroldis Chapman). And what would the postseason be without the New York Jankees?

Here are my quick picks for Octember.

ALDS

Rays over Rangers - The Rangers have been a chic pick to go all the way. Since when did chic mean a iffy pitching staff after everyone not named Cliff Lee? Keep in mind that the Rangers went 21-6 in June and were a .500 team the rest of the way.

Yankees over Twins - Yes, the Yanks starting rotation is a mess after CC. But that lineup doesn't quit and the Twins starting rotation is no sure thing. Carl Pavano and the Yankees don't mix.

NLDS

Phillies over Reds - This will be quick and easy. Halladay. Hamels. Oswalt. Unless Johnny Cueto starts kung fu fighting again and takes out Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jayson Werth, this series will be over in 3.

Giants over Braves - The Giants will ride the trio of Lincecum, Cain and Sanchez in what should be a classic 5 games series.

ALCS

Rays over Yankees - The Rays are too balanced to lose this series. They don't have the Yankees offensive firepower. But their pitching, speed and defense will be too much for the Bombers.

NLCS

Phillies over Giants - Another classic in the making. While the Phillies hold a slight edge in starting pitching, there is a huge discrepancy between offenses. The Giants don't have any game changing sluggers, and Buster Posey is untested in the playoffs.

World Series

Phillies over Rays - A repeat of the 2008 Fall Classic. And we'll have a repeat in the results. Again we go back to the Phillies vaunted starting 3. It's too much for any team to handle. Even Brad Lidge can't screw this up.

Those classy Phillies fans will be puking all over each other with their second World Series title in three years.