The five most underwhelming World Series Champions

First off, sorry for the hiatus, I just really didn't feel like posting anything for a while. But now that spring training has started and the madness of March is upon us, hopefully I will be more inspired. Anyway, the topic here is the fie most underwhelming World Series Champions ever. Not necessarily the worst champions ever, just the teams that didn't really stand out compared to the rest of the teams that year, but won the World Series anyway.

5. 1940 Cincinnati Reds

This team basically got manager Bill McKechnie into the Hall of Fame. Besides McKechnie, the 1940 Reds had only one other Hall of Famer, catcher Ernie Lombardi, and he was injured for much of the second half and had only three at bats in the World Series. What's interesting about this team is that a lot of their key players were picked up off the scrap heap. First baseman Frank McCormick, who had 127 RBIs in 1940 and was the NL MVP that season, was rejected by the New York Giants. second baseman Lonny Frey previously played for Brooklyn and Chicago. 3rd Baseman Bill Werber, often remembered as the clubhouse leader was purchased from the Philadelphia Athletics after a holdout, and had previously played with the Red Sox and Yankees. Pitcher Bucky Walters, who won 22 games in 1940, was a failed third baseman who was sold to a minor league team by the Boston Braves before becoming a pitcher with the Phillies, who promptly screwed up and traded him to the Reds. This team wasn't full of superstars, but they had a lot of good players and won 100 games in 1940, despite injuries to Lombardi and the suicide of his backup, Willard Hershberger. The 1940 Reds were a good team, but most baseball fans probably have no clue who most of these guys are, so that's why it's on this list.

4. 1997 Florida Marlins

The team that bought the World Championship, and sold everything away soon after. Of the players on this team, the guys with the best chance of making the Hall of Fame are Gary Sheffield, who didn't have a particularly good season in 1997, and Kevin Brown. I think it's safe to say that neither one of those guys are first ballot Hall of Famers. Plus, this team was easy to dislike, not only because of their mercenary nature but because they had jerks like Sheffield, Brown, and Bobby Bonilla on the team. The team won 92 games to get the Wild Card, went through San Francisco and Atlanta in the playoffs, then played the most boring seven game World Series of all-time against the Cleveland Indians. All of this despite having two guys, Mosies Alou and Charles Johnson, performing above expectations, and getting disappointing seasons out of Jeff Conine, Sheffield, Luis Castillo, and Al Leiter. The main thing this team is remembered for is that owner Wayne Hyzengia traded or let go of every asset this team had, except for young guys like Castillo and Livan Hernandez, so they didn't have a chance to defend their championship. Other than that, this team was boring and hard to like.

3. 1990 Cincinnati Reds

I don't mean to pick on Cincinnati, but if you look at this team and their stats, they don't seem very remarkable at all. Sure, they had the Nasty Boys bullpen of Randy Myers, Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton, but other than that, they had few superstars. It's not even like they had a team full of guys with career years, as Myers, Dibble, Eric Davis, Chris Sabo, Paul O'Neill, Barry Larkin, and Jose Rijo usually put up similar or better numbers throughout their career. The only guys that had career years were second baseman Mariano Duncan and pitcher Jack Armstrong. Other than Larkin, these guys have very little chance of entering the Hall of Fame. Nevertheless, despite getting poor production out poor production out of starters Todd Benzinger, Joe Oliver, and Billy Hatcher, and despite Jack Armstrong's second half collapse, the Reds led the N.L. West wire to wire that year. Then they beat the Pirates, who had Bonds, Bonilla, Andy Van Slyke, and Doug Drabek, in the N.L.C.S. and shockingly swept the Oakland A's who had like 23 All-Stars that year, in the World Series, with Hatcher hitting .750 in the World Series. They might not have been the most talented team in baseball that year, but everything fell into place for them that year and the Reds became champions.

2. 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers

Never has a team gotten so far on the backs of two men, pitcher Orel Hershiser and outfielder Kirk Gibson, the 1988 N.L. Cy Young and MVP winners, respectively. Other than those two, this was a mediocre squad. Their bullpen pitched over their heads as Jay Howell, Alejandro Pena, and Brian Holton put up ERA over a full run below their career average (and they were usually pretty decent pitchers, in 1988, they were spectacular). Tim Leary somehow won 17 games for the Dodgers in 88, which made up for losing Fernando Valenzuela to injuries for much of the year. The pitching was good, and Hershiser was great, but the hitting suggests a team that finished below .500. They had only three players with double-digit home runs, Gibson (25), Mike Marshall (20), and John Shelby (10). The rest of the team, well, look below:

Franklin Stubbs, 242 at bats (.223/.288/.376)
Jeff Hamilton, 309 at bats (.236/.268/.353)
Mike Scoscia, 408 at bats (.257/.318/.324)
Alfredo Griffin, 316 at bats (.199/.259/.253)
Dave Anderson, 285 at bats (.249/.325/.319)
Mike Davis, 281 at bats (.196/.260/.270)

Sure, they played in a tough hitters park, but still, the 1988 Dodgers gave over 1,800 at bats to players who had little or no production. Yet, they won the N.L. West pretty easily, and beat out two teams that were very talented, the Mets (despite the team hitting .214 in the NLCS) and the A's, to win the World Series, even though Gibson struggled in the N.L.C.S. and had only one at-bat in the World Series (and what an at-bat it was).

1. 1945 Detroit Tigers

The Tigers won 88 games in the regular season in a watered down league (due to WWII), then beat the Cubs in seven games in the World Series. These Tigers had some good players. Hal Newhouser and Dizzy Trout could pitch whether it was wartime baseball or not, and midway through the '45 season, they got big-time slugger Hank Greenberg back. It's a good thing they got him back, as some of these Tigers couldn't hit the water if they were in the ocean. Bob Swift, Detroit's main catcher put up a (.233/.298/.251) line in 279 at bats. Or take Skeeter Webb, in 407 at bats, the shortstop put up the following line: (.199/.254/.238). I hope he was a damn good fielder. The rest of the team was no better than league average, with the exception of the historically underrated Roy Cullenbine (.398 OBP, 93 RBIs) As for the pitching, they had Newhouser, Trout, and Al Benton, which was enough to get the Tigers a World Championship. This team had a few good players, but they also had some players who would have never started if a lot of the players weren't off on war, and I have a feeling that, if you put all the World Series champions together, and play a 1000 game schedule, this team would end up with the worst record.

Super Bowl XLI

The road to the Super Bowl is long and pointless. Or, at least the two week wait is long and pointless. I see the point of having a two week layoff. It's so people can get healthy and everybody can be properly focused for the biggest game of the year. From a selfish perspective, however, it just kind of annoys me, because it allows an already overhyped event to become even more overhyped, as writers and pundits dissect every detail of every team and every part of the host city. But the NFL is making money hand over fist this week, so they seem to know what they're doing.

Anyway, there have been nine black head coaches in the history of the game (not counting Mike Tomlin, who hasn't coached a game yet). Two of them are going to be at Super Bowl XLI. I've heard some people say that it's really not a big deal. But consider this, in the 87 year history of the NFL, there have been nine black head coaches. Something doesn't quite add up there. 22.2% of the black head coaches in the NFL will be coaching at Super Bowl XLI. So, yes, I'd say that that's a big deal.

Furthermore, Lovie Smith is a former disciple, so to speak of Tony Dungy. Both men run the Cover-2 defense, so neither man will be surprised by anything that's thrown at them defensively. What it will come down to is who has the better players on defense. Despite all their injuries, and the Colts' improved play in the postseason, there should be no doubt that the Bears have the better defense, what with players like Urlacher, Briggs, Vasher, Alex Brown, etc. So, on defense, advantage Bears.

Just as the Bears have a wide edge on defense, the Colts have a wide edge on offense, even if Marvin Harrison has no career success in the postseason. The Colts used Dallas Clark a lot in the AFC championship game. They won't use him as much with Briggs and Urlacher being two of the best cover linebackers in football. Nevertheless, the Colts are an offensive machine, while the Bears are inconsistent on offense, advantage Colts.

The Colts have the best kicker in postseason history, Adam Vinatieri. However, their coverage units on kickoffs and punts are among the worst in the NFL. With Devin Hester returning for the Bears, that could be a huge problem. Plus the Bears are solid with kicker Robbie Gould and punter Brad Maynard, so, despite Vinatieri, the special team advantage goes to the Bears.

So, to me, there are two key factors. One, will the Colts be able to contain Devin Hester? And two, which weakness will step up in the big game, the Colts' defense or the Bears offense. The Bears have gotten away with spotty performances from Rex Grossman in the past. In order to win this game, Grossman has got to be good enough so the Colts won't put eight men in the box on every play. I don't think he will be, Manning will get his first Super Bowl win. Colts, 24-10.

Mexico in Oakland?

It has been rumored that the Atlanta Falcons and the Oakland Raiders have talked about a deal which would send Michael Vick and the 10th pick of the draft to Oakland for Randy Moss, Jerry Porter, and the number 1 pick. This coming after Vick was cleared of any wrongdoing from his incident at the Miami airport last Wednesday. After the incident, Vick was raked over the coals by his own management and every two-bit hack with a keyboard and a column. Now, he's supposedly going to Oakland.

First of all, I don't think this deal will happen. You saw how worked up Rich McKay and Arthur Blank got over Vick's water bottle. Now they're going to take on Moss, the most controversial player not named T.O., a man that once used a cop as a car ornament, and Porter, a guy who basically did whatever the hell he wanted in Oakland, including not showing up to practices, and got only a slight punishment for his actions. So you're going to trade the evil Ron Mexico for these two shining beacons of light. Whatever you say.

Second of all, it's a dumb trade. Yeah, you get two wide receivers who, if they're on, are among the best in the game. But Porter's not the answer you need and who the hell knows what's up with Moss half the time. And you get the number one pick. The last time the Falcons had the number one pick, they selected Michael Vick. So you never know about number one draft picks, I suppose. Also, as highly regarded as Matt Schaub is, people seem to forget that he has questionable arm strength and that he's really a Brad Johnson type quarterback at best. Unfortunately, the Falcons need more than a game manager at quarterback to succeed, and until they finally harness Vick's abilities, this team will be no better than mediocre.

The bottom line is this. Michael Vick is still the Falcons' best chance at winning. Not Matt Schaub or Brady Quinn or Randy Moss. If this team gives up on Vick, then I truly believe the Falcons will go back to the days where 7-9 is considered a good season. Vick is immensely talented, and there's still time (After all, he's only 26). He might be a knucklehead, but trading him for a problem child like Moss is going to create more problems. I say, give Vick one year with Petrino. If he doesn't improve, or things get worse, well Vick's still talented enough that some team will give up a lot for him. Maybe something more useful than a couple of coach-killing wide receivers.

NFL Playoffs: Conference Championships

Last week, I went 1-3, although two of teams I picked (San Diego, Seattle) lost by 3 points. Then again, New Orleans won by just 3 points, so I very well could have been 0-4. Hopefully, I'll do better this week.

New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears, 3:00 p.m. (EST). Fox.

The Saints enter the game as heavy sentimental favorites, what with everything that has transpired in the past two years. Their offense is full of weapons, and their defense is better than they are given credit for. The Bears got a pretty good performance from Rex Grossman, but their defense was very spotty, and if Matt Hasselbeck was the quarterback he was last year, the Seahawks would have won the game. The Seahawks ran all over the Bears last week, usually on runs up the middle, which suits Deuce McAllister just fine. For all the talk about Brian Urlacher being the greatest linebacker in the game, it seems to me, at least, that teams have much more success when they run straight at him, instead of to the sides where he can pursue. Plus, the Bears still are without All-Pro defensive tackle Tommie Harris, which would somewhat explain the success Shaun Alexander had against the middle of the Bears defense.

On offense, if Rex Grossman gets into a rhythm, the Saints secondary is not strong enough to stop him. Fred Thomas, the Saints' right corner, was picked on all night last Saturday, and I would expect the Bears to try to isolate Thomas and their deep threat, Bernard Berrian. Thomas is a hard-nosed player, but he doesn't have the speed to keep up with Berrian one-on-one.

The game is really going to come down to whether or not the Saints, a dome team, can handle to mid 30s temperatures expected for tomorrow's game, and whether or not Rex Grossman will come through again. Honestly, I didn't expect Grossman to have a good game last week. I think he'll be okay this week, and domed teams historically struggle in the cold during the playoffs. So, although I want the Saints to win, I don't see it happening. Bears win, 24-14.

New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts, 6:30 p.m. CBS

The game that nobody wants to see yet again is here. This time, Peyton Manning and the Colts are at home, and have momentum, as they have beaten the Patriots the last two years during the regular season. However, the playoffs are a whole different beast. Not many people expected the Colts to beat the Ravens last Saturday, especially with the way Peyton Manning played. But the Colts defense came through and Steve McNair played worse than Peyton Manning. The Patriots shouldn't have beaten the Chargers last Sunday either, as the Chargers were bigger, faster, and more talented. But the Chargers dropped a lot of passes (Eric Parker dropped 4, and fumbled a punt return) and the Patriots got through with grit, determination, and a little luck (and a big play by Troy Brown).

So, here we are, the two powers of the AFC in this decade, the tried and tested Patriots and the star-crossed Colts. The Colts have a potent offense, and their defense has played very well in the playoffs. But the defense has faced two offensively-challenged teams and the Patriots' defense have stopped the Colts before. The key player for this game is Peyton Manning. He's had two straight bad games, yet his team has won both games. But this week, if the Colts have any chance of winning, than Peyton's got to have a good game, it's as simple as that. Also, keep in mind that Adam Vinatieri is now on the Colts, which could be a big factor if the game is close.

This is Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy's best shot to get to the Super Bowl. The Patriots are talented, yet vulnerable, as they'll be probably without Rodney Harrison again this week. On paper, it looks as if it's finally the Colts time to shine, but my gut tells me that Brady and Patriots will come through yet again. Patriots win, 17-14.

Odds and Ends

The Braves made a trade on Wednesday, sending first baseman Adam LaRoche and a prospect (Jamie Romak), to the Pirates for left-handed reliever Mike Gonzalez and shortstop prospect Brent Lillibridge. Let me first say that I've always been a fan of Mike Gonzalez. After all, he strikes over one batter per inning and has an ERA below 2.50 for his career. But, I'm not crazy about this trade. First off, the Braves give up LaRoche, a guy who hit 32 home runs last year and, at 27, is just entering the prime of his career. Added to that is that the Braves have no real replacement in place, and the guy they're hoping wins the job, Scott Thorman, had an awful On-Base Percentage of .263 in 133 plate appearances last year. You can say I'm not exactly sold on Thorman.

Then there's Gonzalez. Last year, he missed the last five week of the season with tendonitis in his left elbow, his throwing elbow. Although there was no structural damage, it's still a medical red flag. Plus, the Braves just got another reliever in Rafael Soriano, who, like Gonzalez, throws hard and is considered to be medically fragile. It seems as if they emphasized improving their bullpen a little too much, while letting other areas of the team (namely the offense) disinigrate.

Gonzalez could well prove to be a good addition, but now the Braves has two big holes in the lineup (first and second), and relievers are much more likely to drop off suddenly than position players. So, we'll have to see if Soriano and Gonzalez will be as good as advertised. The Braves obviously improved their bullpen, but they have no proven replacements for Giles and LaRoche, and their counting on Mike Hampton to improve their rotation, a big question mark at this point. It just seems as if this team will be worse than last year's, but John Schuerholz and company have proven people wrong before, so I remain cautiously optimistic about the Braves hopes this year.

Michael Vick continues to improve his image, as he was caught with a suspicious bottle that reeked of marijuana in the Miami airport. Police haven't yet determined what's in the water bottle, but nevertheless, it's another black mark on the fading star that is Michael Vick. While it won't effect his play, this incident gives more ammo to his critics and pundits, which seem to growing in numbers by the day. I still think he's the best quarterback for the Falcons, and he'd have a better chance of winning than Matt Schaub, but it's possible that Bobby Petrino will use this incident as a reason to trade Vick. It doesn't seem likely, but you never know.

Oh, and Clemson proved that they are not ready for the big time just yet, losing by 22 to North Carolina at their (Clemson's) home court. The Tigers are probably an NCAA tournament team, but I don't expect them to make too much noise. Still, they have shown that they are capable team, which is more than I can say for the program since Rick Barnes left for Texas. They'll probably beat Boston College this weekend, now that Sean Williams has been kicked off the team.

Well, that's it for today. I'll be back tomorrow to preview the conference championship games, and hopefully do a little better than my 1-3 mark in last week's games. So long.

NFL Playoffs Round 2- Conference Semifinals

Last week, I went 4-0 picking playoff games, but only one game (N.Y. Jets-New England) played out the way I thought it would play out. Nevertheless, 4-0 is 4-0. On with the Round 2 picks.

Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore Ravens, Sat. 4:30 p.m. CBS

The Colts won last week despite Peyton Manning throwing three interceptions. It helped that the Chiefs looked utterly incompetent and really should have lost that game by 40 points. The Ravens have the best defense in football. Not only are they mean and nasty, they also have the speed to keep up with the Colts fast-paced offense. Also, Peyton Manning seems to have trouble with 3-4 defenses, as illustrated last year against the Steelers. On the other side of the ball, the Ravens have Steve McNair, who is still a pretty good quarterback and should be able to pass against the Colts should they stack the line, as they last week. Add to that that the Baltimore fans are still pissed off that the Colts left Baltimore in the middle of the night 23 years ago, so the Colts will have to contend with a crowd almost as rabid as the Ravens Defense. I don't really see how the Colts win this game. Baltimore wins 24-3.

Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints, Sat. 8:00 p.m. FOX

The Eagles are the hottest team in the NFC, riding a six-game winning streak into New Orleans. However, Pro-Bowl cornerback Lito Sheppard will be out for this game. Against Drew Brees and all the weapons the Saints have, Sheppard will be greatly missed. The key to this game will be Brian Westbrook. He's become the Eagles' horse ever since Donovan McNabb went out, and was the main reason why the Eagles advanced to the second round. The Saints have a good, but not great defense. If they can stop Westbrook and make Jeff Garcia win the game, the Saints will win the game. Don't forget that the Superdome crows will be pumped, and could very well play a factor in this game. I think Brees, McCalister, and co. will prevail. Saints win 23-17.

Seattle Seahawks vs. Chicago Bears, Sun. 1:00 p.m. FOX

This will be the ugliest game of the weekend. Chicago has Rex Grossman, who makes Jim McMahon look like Joe Montana. Seattle didn't win last week as much as Dallas lost the game. Chicago has made a habit of winning games this season despite getting nothing out of Rex Grossman, so all Grossman has to do is not screw up too much. The Bears' defense is ailing, but Seattle's offense has been out of synch for most of the year, not to mention the Bears still have Urlacher, Briggs, and both their cornerbacks, Tillman and Vasher are healthy again. As long as Grossman doesn't give the game away, the Bears should win. I say Grossman gives the game away. Seattle 17, Chicago 14.

New England Patriots vs. San Diego Chargers, Sun. 4:30 p.m. CBS

It's a matchup of the playoff-tested team and the most dominant team of the regular season. The Chargers went 14-2, won their last 10 games, and LaDanian Tomlinson has been ridiculous this season. The Chargers' coach, Marty Schottenheimer, is 5-12 in his postseason career, and a lot of those losses have come when his team was the favorite, with home-field advantage. History is not on the Chargers' side, but the Patriots will be without Rodney Harrison, so that helps them. I think that the PAtriots letting Adam Vinatieri go will bite them in the ass, and the Chargers win after Stephen Gostkowski misses a 45 yard field goal in the final seconds. Chargers win, 24-23.

Petrino is all about the birds

Or it seems that way, as Bobby Petrino has left the Louisville Cardinals to become the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. The move may seem disloyal, but nobody is going to turn down 24 million dollars over the next five years to coach a pro football team. Petrino is an offensive coach, and he had one heck of an offense at Louisville, putting up 38 points a game. Petrino's offense is a welcome change from the predictable West-Coast scheme used in the Mora regime, so chances are we won't see the same damn running play 30 times a game like we had the last two years. Hopefully, Petrino won't repeat the mistakes of Jim Mora and Greg Knapp, who basically tried to turn Michael Vick into Jeff Garcia, even though the only thing those two guys shared was mobility (obviously, Vick is more mobile than Garcia). Let's face it, Vick was not a good fit for the West Coast Offense, he simply does not have the required touch.

Obviously, change was needed, but was it the right move to hire Petrino? Lately, the record of coaches going from college football to the pro ranks isn't so good. Just look at Dennis Erickson, Nick Saban, and Steve Spurrier, just to name a few. Petrino has some experience as an assistant in the NFL, even serving as offensive coordinator for the Jaguars in 2001. The Jaguars finished 21st in points, which doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence. It will be interesting to see how Petrino's offense translates to the NFL, and how Petrino translates his offense in order to fit Vick, who is the NFL's version of a Rubik's Cube. Personally, I think it's an interesting hire, as Petrino seems to be the opposite of Jim Mora Jr. Mora's specialty was defense, Petrino's was offense. Mora was a laid-back coach who was very friendly with his players, Petrino is more of a disciplinarian. Coaching wise, Mora was conservative, while Petrino will take more chances downfield.

It's obvious that after firing Mora, Falcons owner Arthur Blank expects his team to compete for a Super Bowl, and mediocrity will not be acceptable (it only took 40 years for the Falcons to reach that point). I just don't know if Petrino is the guy that will take the Falcons to the next step. I certainly hope so, but I can't help but wonder if they should have hired Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt (a former Falcon) instead. I don't think Petrino's going to pull a Nick Saban and go back to college, and Petrino will give these players a much needed kick in the butt. But I'm not sure if Petrino's the right guy to take the Falcons to the next level. We shall see.