Easy debate to win - Sandy Koufax is not one of the top five pitchers of all time

Some dude named Allan Rosteing left a comment claiming I know nothing about baseball. He was upset that Sandy Koufax was left out of my all-time top pitchers. People who rate him in the top five are the ones who truly know nothing about baseball.

To prove Koufax is not in the top five off all time is well, easy. He was done by age 30. He only won 165 games. He is nowhere near the top in wins, career strikeouts or even ERA. How can we call him “one of the greatest”? The fact is, we can’t.

His first year was 1955. He was 2 and 2 with an ERA of 3.02. Okay, not note worthy at all. In 1956 he was 2 and 4 with an ERA of 4.91; a very bad year to say the least. In 1957 he was 5 and 4 and had an ERA of 3.88, also a joke. In 1958 he was 11 and 11 (at least he won ten games lol) and had another bad ERA of 4.48. In 1959 he was 8 and 6 with an ERA of 4.05, also bad. In 1960 he was 8 and 13 with an ERA of 3.91, another bad year. In 1961 he was 18 and 13 with an ERA of 3.52; okay, not too bad of a year there. In 1962 he finally pitched good going 14 and 7 and led the NL with an ERA of 2.54. From 1963 through 1966, Koufax was the best pitcher in the Majors.

But again, how can we call him one of the best ever? He pitched 12 seasons and had a losing record twice. He had an ERA over 4.00 three times. He won less than 10 games in a season five times, almost half of his career. He had 6 good seasons in 12 years, meaning he was okay or terrible the other half. How can we truly call that greatness?

Compare him to Greg Maddux. Maddux won nearly 200 games more than Koufax. He also won 18 Gold Gloves for his defense. Maddux also won at least 15 games in a season 17 straight seasons. He only won less than 10 games three times in his 23 year career; two being his first two seasons in the majors and his last. Koufax did that 5 times in only 12 seasons.

I could sit here all day and show pitchers who had longer and much better careers than Koufax. Should Koufax be in the Hall? Of course. But he is still not near the top five of all time.

Even Hall of Fame voters agree. Koufax only got 86% of the vote when elected. The all time greats like Seaver, had over 98%. I will bet money that Maddux hall of fame votes will be at least 5% higher than Koufax’s.

More Bret Farve drama - you're old, retire and count your millions already!

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2009/04/new_york_jets_officially_relea.html

Amid chatter that Brett Favre is contemplating coming out of retirement yet again, the Jets announced Tuesday evening that they have released the future Hall of Fame quarterback from the reserve/retirement list.

The move means that Favre is now free to sign with any team if he wishes, and the Jets wouldn't be owed any compensation because they no longer have his rights.

Favre's release from the Jets could pave the way for him to come back with the Vikings, the team he originally wanted to play for following his bitter divorce with Green Bay.

"Bus (Cook) and Mike (Tannenbaun) have been talking about this for a while," said Favre in a statement. "Nothing has changed. At this time, I am retired and have no intention of returning to football."

Last August, when the Packers traded Favre to the Jets, the deal mandated that the Jets would have to give up three first-round picks if they traded Favre to Minnesota or any other NFC North team.

When Favre announced his retirement in February, there was speculation that Cook had asked the Jets for his unconditional release so Favre could sign with another team if he so desired, but Cook denied it at the time.

Kentucky Derby this weekend - who cares?

I know I am so "un-Kentucky" like. But the Derby bores me. Little people beat a horse for two minutes. Wow, what a sport. Wow, Kid Rock is coming.... Michael Jordan is coming. And?

Gas prices are up due to this joke.... Crime always seem to go up during Derby.... DUI and hit and runs seem to go up around Derby time. Girls get naked and act like hookers... Yes, what a great thing! Derby does nothing for me. I'd rather watch reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond than watch the Derby.

Alabama to postpone sports also

http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/news/story?id=4115194

Alabama officials have shut down all athletic events following the discovery of likely cases of swine flu in Huntsville.

"Right now, we are being advised by our Medical Advisory Committee to shut down all activities until further notice," said Steve Savarese, executive director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association. "We hope to be able to resume activities by next Tuesday, but right now we must study the situation and take it one day at a time."

The move means the Alabama state track and field championships, scheduled for May 1-2, will be rescheduled. All other postseason activities scheduled through May 4 in sports including baseball, soccer, softball and golf are postponed until further notice.

"This is not something we want to do," Savarese said. "Right now, we want to be cautious."

On Tuesday, Texas officials postponed all public high school athletic and academic competitions on Wednesday until May 11 because of the swine flu outbreak.

School officials say 53,000 students are out of school due to concern over the virus, and dozens of schools were closed to be sanitized. With 16 confirmed cases of swine flu in Texas, Gov. Rick Perry announced a disaster declaration Wednesday for the entire state.

"This is a particularly contagious virus that is easily transmitted by contact," ESPN medical analyst Dr. Michael Kaplan said. "Any physical contact or inhalation/ingestion can infect another person. While most flu viruses are more virulent or dangerous for the very young and old debilitated individual, this strain seems most devastating to the young healthy adult."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Swine flu ruining sports all over Texas

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/29/SP1O17BIP8.DTL

The move suspends the baseball and softball seasons and eliminates the regional track championships that were to start Friday, said Charles Breithaupt, executive director of the University Interscholastic League. He said league officials acted on the recommendation of public health officials.

School officials say 53,000 students are out of school due to concern over the virus, and dozens of schools were closed.

In Bridgeview, Ill., A few fans wore surgical masks and hand sanitizers were installed around Toyota Park as thousands watched the Chicago Fire play an exhibition against Mexico's Club America, whose players received medical clearance before traveling.

Meantime in Mexico, the Nationwide Tour has postponed the Mexico Open golf tournament May 21-24 until later in the year and the nation's soccer games will remain only for players.

All 176 professional matches this weekend will be played behind closed doors, with fans staying home to avoid the outbreak suspected of causing at least 160 deaths in Mexico. At least six top-division matches - normally only on pay-per-view - will be available on free TV channels.

Mexican officials are suggesting clubs will lose about $2 million in ticket sales.

A-Rod may have doped in high school

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2009/04/report_arod_use.html

Relaying details from an upcoming book on Alex Rodriguez by Sports Illustrated's Selena Roberts, the New York Daily News reports today that Rodriguez may have started taking steroids as early as high school and is suspected of continuing his use of performance-enhancing drugs with the New York Yankees.



A front-page headline (right) reads, "A-Rod book bombshell" with text below adding, "Slugger may have taken HGH while playing for the Yankees" and, "Hints he took steroids as early as high school days."

The report indicates that a high school teammate of Rodriguez's told Roberts that A-Rod took steroids before being drafted as a No. 1 pick and that his high school coach knew it -- an allegation the coach, Rich Hoffman, denied.

The book also indicates that two anonymous Yankees said they believed Rodriguez was using banned substances based on visual side effects, which reportedly led to Rodriguez gaining an unflattering nickname that referenced an increased pectoral size comparable to a woman's chest. The report also notes that a clubhouse staffer suggested management had a suspicion that the third baseman may have been juicing.