Coming in 2011: Dingerpalooza!

What's in a name?  For Major League Baseball's Home Run Derby, maybe everything.  Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a derby as "a race or contest open to all comers or to a specified category of contestants," and the given example is a "bicycle derby," whatever that is.  Like it's name implies, the Home Run Derby is generally extremely boring.  Even the special Derby balls (see right) are incredibly lame.  I still watch it every year knowing I'll be disappointed.  In reality, I tune in for the same reason you'd show up to watch your buddy do stand-up comedy at an open mic night; you feel obligated to show some support, have nothing better to do, and know that you'll be able to make fun of it at work the next day.  Here's the thing about the Home Run Derby, though; it could be awesome.  After a major overhaul, I think the Home Run Derby could become the highlight of the MLB All Star experience, without adding additional time to the already-long event.  Without further ado, I give you . . . Dingerpalooza!

First, a few generic rules that will govern the entire event:

• Dingerpalooza is a team event, AL versus NL.  Baseball's league rivalry is part of what makes it great, and that should extend to the home run event in addition to the All Star Game itself (no offense to the longstanding and passionate Hanley Ramirez / David Ortiz rivalry that was put to the test last night).
• I'm sorry, but the children in the outfield have to go.  If I wanted to see a bunch of scrawny kids running around awkwardly dropping fly balls, I'd get in a time machine, go back to 1997, and watch "ninth-grade me" play center field for Jericho High School's JV squad.  Instead, players who aren't hitting in the Dingerpalooza will man the outfield and try to rob opponent home runs.  I know the players would never agree to this, but bear with me.
• Hitters can't take more than two pitches in a row.  Said differently, hitters would have to swing at a minimum of every third pitch.  If I wanted to see someone stand uncomfortably in the batters box with a bat on his shoulder while pitches glide right down the middle of the strike zone, I'd get in a time machine, go back to 1997, and, well, you get the point.
• Participants have to be on the All Star rosters and are chosen at the discretion of the Managers.  If your Manager asks you to participate and you refuse, you don't play in the All Star Game either.  Simple as that.  Dingerpalooza is for the fans, and they should get to see the top hitters in the sport compete (sorry, Chris Young, but if anything I'd rather see the other Chris Young instead of you).
• Fans love long home runs, and we now have the technology to instantaneously measure (or at least approximately measure) home run distance.  Let's give bonus points for longer homeruns; homers of 400+ feet will be worth one extra point, and bombs of 450+ feet will be worth two bonus points. 
• Just like a baseball game, Dingerpalooza will be divided into nine innings.  Each inning will have a different "theme" that will govern who can participate and how points will be earned, and a given player can be chosen to represent his league once.  Here are my nine proposed innings / events, and who I would like to see represent each league in each one:

1. 1. Speed Kills: Instead of the traditional 10-out structure, the players would get a "speed round" of 90 seconds to hit as many homers as they can, regardless of outs made. Hanley Ramirez, Florida and Vernon Wells, Toronto.
2. 2. Help Your Own Cause: Pitchers only. Tim Hudson, Atlanta and C.C. Sabathia, New York.
3. 3. Size Doesn't Matter: Participants must be no more than 6' tall and 200 pounds. Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati and Dustin Pedroia, Boston.
4. 4. Going The Other Way: Only opposite field home runs count, with pulled homers treated like outs. David Wright, New York and Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay.
5. 5. Dead Pull: Only home runs hit within a specified distance from the foul pole count; everything else is an out. Joey Votto, Cincinnati and Vladimir Guerrero, Texas.
6. 6. Best of the West: Traditional Derby format, but participants must be from the AL / NL West.  Each home run counts for two points (before adding any distance bonus points). Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego and Josh Hamilton, Texas.
7. 7. Essentials of the Central: Traditional Derby format, but participants must be from the AL / NL Central.  Each home run counts for two points (before adding any distance bonus points).  This one probably needs a better name, but I'm too lazy to think of one. Matt Holliday, St. Louis and Miguel Cabrera, Detroit.
8. 8. Beasts of the East: Traditional Derby format, but participants must be from the AL / NL East.  Again, each home run counts for two points (before adding any distance bonus points). Ryan Howard, Philadelphia and Alex Rodriguez, New York.
9. 9. Sultans of Swat: Anyone can fill this slot, but better send your best; all home runs are worth three points before distance bonuses. Albert Pujols, St. Louis and David Ortiz, Boston.

I think this new format would renew interest in the Derby.  Who wouldn't want to see a pair of pitchers go head to head?  Wouldn't it be cool to find out which little guys can pack a punch?  Who's the top opposite field power hitter out there?  Not only would this format be more intriguing, but it involves an element of strategy for which baseball is notorious.  Obviously the NL wants Ryan Howard in there somewhere, but how should he be used?  Should he represent the NL East in the 8th inning, or be used in the 4th for his opposite field power?  Making the last rounds, and long home runs, worth more also guarantees that no league is ever "out of it" no matter how slowly they start, ensuring fan interest until the end of the event.  Lastly, top stars might be more willing to participate if they knew they'd only have to go the equivalent of one round in the current Derby format.  No disrespect to Corey Hart or Nick Swisher, but I think fans would rather see David Wright and Alex Rodriguez step to the plate in their place.

Will this ever happen?  Not in a million years, but it's fun to dream.  Let me know if you have additional suggestions or ideas.  For now I have to run; I have a friend's open mic night to attend.

Too Hard To Say Goodbye

I finally reached my boiling point as a Knicks fan this week.  Since I moved back to New York in early 2008, I've witnessed nothing but awful Knicks basketball as a result of Isiah Thomas's reign of terror.  The last two seasons featured countless double-digit losses, lopsided trades and squandered draft picks.  There was always a silver-lining, though; the Summer of 2010.  Donnie Walsh was supposed to rescue the franchise by clearing up enough cap space to sign two max free agents before the 2010-11 season, ensuring the Knicks would be featuring some combination of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh this fall.

Well, as we know now that didn't happen.  The big rewards for Walsh's admittedly shrewed dealings turned out to be Amar'e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton, fan favorite David Lee was shipped off to Golden State for three bench players, and the Knicks all but ensured themselves another half-decade of mediocrity.  Before this summer's free agent period, I promised myself and anyone who would listen that if the Knicks weren't rescued by a monster free-agent class this summer, I would finally renounce my fan-ship and pick another NBA team.  Even loyalist Bill Simmons declared this "kosher" in this Rules for Being a True Fan column, stating that a fan could switch teams if "the owner of your favorite team treated his fans so egregiously over the years that you couldn't take it anymore -- you would rather not follow them at all then support a franchise with this owner in charge."  To me, the Dolans had crossed this threshold long ago, and I had grounds to terminate my relationship with the team.

Only one problem: I couldn't do it.

As badly as I want to forget the Knicks and start fresh with a different franchise (The Warriors would be a perfect choice: they're not good yet so it wouldn't be considered bandwagoning, they have my former favorite Knick David Lee on the roster, and they play in the Bay Area where I'll be living starting this fall), I can't bring myself to abandon them.  To me, teams are like family; no matter how badly they treat you, you don't give up on them.  Even when they continually disappoint you to the point where you doubt if they can be saved, you never give up hope.  You find yourself optimistically looking forward to the next season, convincing yourself that the team really has a chance.

Maybe Anthony Randolph will emerge as a top-tier power forward in Mike D'Antoni's system.  Landry Fields went to Stanford; he's probably a smart player who could thrive in the NBA.  Danilo Gallinari is the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki; he just needs time to develop.

A few days ago I imagined myself spending time this weekend reading up on the Golden State Warriors roster and scouring their schedule for good games to attend at the Oracle Arena this season.  Instead, I spent part of this evening watching an encore presentation of the Knicks Las Vegas Summer League game versus Denver, talking myself into Andy Rautins and Marcus Landry becoming solid NBA rotation guys.  Giving up on the Knicks was way harder than I thought it would be, so I'm in it for the long haul (and, looking at the 2010-11 roster so far, it might be a really long haul).  There will always be that little piece of me that thinks the team is about to turn the corner, and that little piece is stronger than the bulk of me that knows that they won't.

LeBron's Decision, My Reaction

I've spent most of my first week back in the States talking about LeBron James, and I don't want to do it anymore.  I woke up this morning in a bad mood, knowing that I have at least a weekend of "what do you think about LeBron?" questions to answer and unhappy fellow Knicks fans to console.  My friends and family know that I work in professional sports, launched this blog to write about sports, and spend the bulk of my free time following sports; in the first twelve hours since "The Decision, brought to you by the University of Phoenix and Bing," dozens of people have approached me in person or in writing asking for my thoughts.  What do I think of the final chapter for LeBronathon 2010, you ask?

I'm disappointed. Of course, as a Knicks fan, I'm disappointed that I won't find the streets of New York City flooded with #6 "James" jerseys this summer.  I'm disappointed that I sacrificed the last two cold winters in Manhattan watching countless Knicks "contests" (if you've watched, too, you know why the quotation marks are there) featuring the likes of Earl Barron, Larry Hughes, Jordan Hill and Al Harrington, all with the hopes of landing a killer roster headlined by LeBron in 2010.  I'm disappointed that a team I grew up despising, the Miami Heat, is the beneficiary of three twenty-something year-old buddies' desires to play together, as if they were assembling the roster for a 92nd Street YMCA intramural team.

I'm surprised.  After hearing the rumors for two years since the USA won gold at the Beijing Olympics, I'm surprised that Miami was actually able to land James, Wade and Bosh.  I'm surprised that Wade, a player I actually liked and respected, wanted his team to gut its roster so that he could flank himself with two other top stars, rather than try to build a well-rounded roster of which he could be the unquestioned leader.  I'm surprised that LeBron was so willing to accept the role of Robin to Wade's Batman, joining a team where Wade is top-dog and a city where #3 is a beloved icon.  I'm surprised that people still attach the "superstar" moniker to Chris Bosh's name, when any sports fan knows that a true NBA superstar would never accept a role as third fiddle over the chance to be a team alpha dog.

I'm confused.  I'm confused to hear that these three stars, and tons of professional NBA analysts, see Miami as an NBA favorite after watching well-rounded clubs like Los Angeles, Boston and Orlando succeed over the past three seasons.  I'm confused to learn that LeBron James, a man who has been groomed for basketball greatness for the past decade, doesn't see the difference between winning an NBA title as the leader of a strong supporting cast (like he attempted to do in Cleveland) and winning an NBA title by stacking your team with other NBA All Stars - and seemingly doesn't have any interest in pursuing the latter.  I'm confused as to why God likes Mario Chalmers so much, and why he hates Michael Beasley.

I'm worried.  I'm worried that the Knicks have at least another half-decade of futility ahead of them, and that the 2010-11 roster might be even less impressive than the 2009-10 one was.  I'm worried that this announcement is going to extend the trend of top-tier athletes stacking the deck in order to play together, creating premeditated scenarios whereby they can collectively try and guarantee themselves a championship.  I'm worried that sports fans are going to perceive the NBA as a joke, a league run and controlled by overpaid kids who lack respect for true competition, great rivalries and organic roster building.  I'm worried that many NBA owners are going to be very upset this season, and even more incentivized to lead the league into a lockout before next fall. 

I'm curious.  My grandfather was the biggest Miami Heat fan I knew, and I'm curious about how he would have felt about last night's announcement; would he have been thrilled to see his team's roster feature three of the sport's best players, or ashamed to call himself a fan of a team that so brazenly rejects the traditional notions of "team basketball?"  I'm curious to see how good the Heat will be this season, and whether their lack of team depth will end up haunting them.  I'm curious to see how the Cavaliers, and especially the city of Cleveland, will recover from LeBron's defection.  I'm curious to see the public reactions to Dan Gilbert's open letter to Cavs fans, which will undoubtedly range from supportive to shocked.

Most of all, though, I'm relieved.  I'm relieved that this spectacle is finally (sort of) over, just like I've been every time Brett Favre makes one of his patented "earth-shattering" announcements.  I'm relieved that next season when I go to a Knicks game, I can cheer on the guys wearing blue and orange with the pride of knowing that they're doing the best they can with what they have, even if their best is losing by double-digits.  I'm relieved that sports news outlets can go back to reporting actual sports news, rather than merely broadcasting rumors as if they were facts.  Last, I'm relieved to learn that baseball, my first love, isn't the only league with a completely screwed up competitive structure, and that the New York Yankees, New York Rangers and Dallas Cowboys aren't the only high-priced teams that I can now hate.

Best and Worst of the World Cup

Since I've returned from South Africa, many people have been asking me about the best and worst parts of my experience.  While the trip was fantastic overall, there were definitely specific events that stuck out, either for being particularly great or particularly frustrating. With the World Cup coming to a close this Sunday, I wanted to take an opportunity to chronicle these moments before Americans stop paying attention to soccer until 2014.

VENUE
Best: While Green Point Stadium in Cape Town was modern and conveniently located near the waterfront, Soccer City in Johannesburg was incredible.  The unique clay pot facade was great during the day and even more impressive at night (when the lights glowing inside made the stadium look like it was filled with fire), and the sheer size of the venue made Soccer City the most "World Cup worthy."

Worst: Rustenberg, hands down.  My friends and I approximated that the USA has at least 100-150 stadiums nicer than Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenberg.  I just kept thinking back to a trip I took to Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin (home of the University of Wisconsin Badgers football team) this past fall; that venue was way more impressive and modern than Royal Bafokeng, and Camp Randall doesn't hold a candle to a place like the new Meadowlands Stadium or FedEx Field (or Soccer City, for that matter).  The fact that Rustenberg hosted World Cup games was kind of a joke, and it was particularly unfortunate that the USA had to play there twice (against England and Ghana, though I was only in attendance for the latter).

SPORTS CITY
Best: Cape Town had a great downtown, a fun waterfront area, and convenient transportation between the city center and the suburbs.  Fans could easily take the train into the city, grab food or drinks at tons of area restaurants and bars, and then easily walk to Green Point Stadium for the games.  Cape Town's Fan Fest was also within walking distance of the main part of the city, which was rare for this World Cup.
Worst: Rustenberg.  Again, I can't believe this was a World Cup host city.  I wasn't a huge fan of Pretoria, either, and Bloemfontein was more or less a farm town, but Rustenberg had absolutely nothing to offer fans.  The dilapidated stadium wasn't even located conveniently; we had to use the Park and Ride to get to it.

AFRICAN CULTURAL ELEMENT

Best: The yellow South African "Bafana Bafana" jerseys.  We saw them everywhere; native South Africans wore them with pride, and it was great to see how excited the people were not only about their team, but also about being the World Cup hosts.  The bright yellow jerseys made it easy to spot the locals, all of whom were friendly, helpful and knowledgable about their soccer.

Worst: When I first heard that FIFA wasn't going to ban vuvuzelas from World Cup games, I was glad; I didn't want soccer's organizers to rob South Africa of a piece of its culture.  After two weeks in South Africa, though, I can honestly say that I hate those horns.  They weren't too bad at the games; soccer matches are supposed to be loud, so I give the constant buzz inside the stadiums a pass.  I had people blowing vuvuzelas within inches of my ears while at restaurants, public restrooms and at gas stations, though, which was particularly annoying and made my blood boil after hearing it for two straight weeks.

MOMENT
Best: Obviously, this was the game winning goal against Algeria by Landon Donovan.  The eruption of the crowd after the goal was unlike anything else I've been a part of, and it's certainly a sports moment that I'll never forget.  Getting to run down to the edge of the field and greet the USA team, complete with getting to rub Jozy Altidore's head as he dove into the crowd, was the icing on the cake.
Worst: Slovenia's second goal of the first half, putting the USA in an early 2-0 hole in my personal first USA game of the World Cup.  Though the USA would come back and tie the game 2-2 (and should have won 3-2 if not for a bad call), at the time of the 2-0 deficit I was devastated.  I saw all hopes of the USA advancing to the Round of 16 flying out the window, and was already thinking about how unexcited I was about the prospect of attending a meaningless USA versus Algeria game.  While the deficit made the comeback especially sweet, that first half was the low point emotionally for me - even lower than the loss versus Ghana.

GAME
Best: While the USA win over Algeria was phenomenal in the end, the first 90 minutes of the contest were actually very frustrating.  My favorite game from start to finish was Germany's second round victory over England in Bloemfontein.  It was a warm day (I actually felt comfortable in a t-shirt the entire game, which is rare for the winter in South Africa) with the sun shining, it was high scoring (Germany won 4-1, though it should to be 4-2), and both teams played at a fast pace.  I wasn't expecting to be so entertained by soccer the afternoon after the USA's elimination at the hands of Ghana, but our final game was probably my favorite from start to finish.
Worst: USA's loss to Ghana.  I already talked about how much I disliked Rustenberg and Royal Bafokeng Stadium, but it's worth mentioning that the game was rough, too.  Ghana scored early to frustrate everyone, and even when the USA tied the game on Landon Donovan's penalty kick, it always felt as if Ghana had all the momentum.  After Ghana scored in the overtime period to take a 2-1 lead, and followed that up with faking injury after injury to waste time, the game became especially frustrating.  It was definitely a tough pill to swallow, both for USA fans and fans of good, clean soccer.

This (likely) concludes my World Cup-related posts for the foreseeable future.  I hope to make it to an MLS game later this summer, which will of course be post-worthy, but other than that we'll take an indefinite break from soccer starting now.  Next up, expect my thoughts on tomorrow night's LeBron James live press conference by the end of this week, and something about the MLB All Star Game early next week.

World Cup Pictures

Now that I'm back in the USA, I wanted to post some pictures of the various South African stadiums I visited while at the World Cup.  I have tons of other pictures that I can make available upon request, but these are the ones I thought would be most relevant to the loyal Caught Looking audience.  Enjoy!

Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg: Argentina vs. South Korea
 

Outside Soccer City Stadium

Closeup of Soccer City's "clay pot" facade

 Giant flag unfurled during South Korean national anthem

View of the action from our second-row seats

Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg: USA vs. Slovenia

 Corner of Ellis Park Stadium, a converted rugby venue

Views from our seats in the USA section (corner of the lower deck)

Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg: Brazil vs. Ivory Coast

 Views from our seats in the second deck

Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria: USA vs. Algeria

Views from our seats in the USA section (corner of the lower deck)

Green Point Stadium, Cape Town: Netherlands vs. Cameroon

Views from our seats in the upper deck

Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenberg: USA vs. Ghana

 

Views from our seats in the USA section (behind the net in the lower deck)
 

Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein: Germany vs. England

   Outside of Free State Stadium on the walk from the parking lot

 

Views from our seats in the upper deck