The All-80's Team: NL Center Field

Astroturf, powder blue uniforms, wearing batting helmets in the field to protect your jheri curl, hitting 25 homers and being considered a legitimate slugger, big-league hair, that horrible gum from packs of baseball cards.... who doesn't love baseball from the 80's? Over the next several weeks I will be looking at the best players of the decade as we assemble the TMS All-80's Team. We will start with the National League and then we'll tackle the American. To meet the criteria a player will have to have played in at least 4 seasons in the 1980's and they must have played the bulk of their games at a certain position during that time to qualify there. Included will be a poll on the left sidebar, so our faithful readers can weigh in on this great debate. But remember, we're focusing on a player's contributions in just the 1980's. What they did in the decades before and/or after are not being considered in this.

Last time we tackled the NL LF. Tim Raines won the online poll and has been named the starting LF to the TMS All-80's National League Team.

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTER FIELD

Chili Davis
San Francisco Giants (1981-87)

All-Star: 1984, 1986
Postseason: 1987 NLCS

Notes: Chili brought speed and solid bat to the Giants lineup. He's also the best outfielder in major league history named after an item on Wendy's Super Value Menu. Shown at right is Chili's rookie card. It was still back in the days when Topps wouldn't give rookies their own card so everyone had to share their first card with some other guy. So Chili's card is ruined by Bob Tufts choading it up on the right. At least Brenly managed a World Series champion. What did Tufts ever do besides be trade fodder for the Giants to acquire Atlee Hammaker?




Eric Davis
Cincinnati Reds (1984-89)

All-Star: 1987, 1989
Gold Gloves: 1987-89
Silver Sluggers: 1987, 1989

Notes: Its amazing that given the numbers Davis put up in the 80's, the most games he ever played in a season is only 135. Davis is one of those guys that makes you wonder what he could've done had he played a full career, relatively healthy. Either way he was a force in center field for the Reds, picking up 3 Gold Gloves in the decade. He later went on to the Dodgers where he enjoyed driving the car while Vince Coleman threw fireworks at kids or something.




Willie McGee
St. Louis Cardinals (1982-89)

All-Star: 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988
Awards: 1985 NL MVP
Gold Gloves: 1983, 1985, 1986
Silver Sluggers: 1985
Postseason: 1982 WS, 1985 WS, 1987 WS
NL Leader: 1985 Hits, AVG, Triples

Notes: Willie was the anchor of the Cardinals outfield for most of the decade. Baffling opponents with his bat and his glove, McGee played on three World Series teams and in 1985 won the National League MVP award. While Cooperstown passed on Willie, he was a first ballot inductee to the Ugly Athlete Hall of Fame, home to other notable freakshows such as Tom Henke and Otis Nixon.


Dale Murphy
Atlanta Braves (1980-89)

Nickname: The Murph
All-Star: 1980, 1982-87
Awards: 1982 & 1983 NL MVP
Gold Gloves: 1982-86
Silver Sluggers: 1982-85
Postseason: 1982 NLCS
NL Leader: 1982 RBI, 1983 RBI, 1984 HR, 1985 HR

Notes: There's been so much talk from a group of folks talking about how much of a crime it is that Jim Rice isn't in the Hall of Fame. While I agree with them, why is there no love for Dale? No one hit more home runs in the 80's than him, he won back to back MVP awards and was one of the most feared sluggers for a large chunk of the decade. Plus one thing that he even has over Rice is that he's pretty nice guy too. Enough is enough. Put Murph in the Hall.

Andy Van Slyke
St. Louis Cardinals (1983-86), Pittsburgh Pirates (1987-89)

All-Star: 1988
Gold Gloves: 1988-89
Silver Sluggers: 1988
Postseason: 1985 WS

Notes: Van Slyke didn't play as much with the Cardinals. It wasn't until he was sent along with Spanky LaValliere to Pittsburgh that he had his chance to shine. Andy had a career year in 1988, hitting .288 with 25 homers, 100 RBI and 101 R. He could run too, swiping 184 bases in the 80's.





Mookie Wilson
New York Mets (1980-89)

Postseason: 1986 WS, 1988 NLCS

Notes: Why the hell is he on here? Because he's Mookie frickin' Wilson, that's why. I was running low on candidates and I wanted to get at least 6 on the list so Mookie got the call. Despite the lack of accolades, Mookie was a pretty decent ballplayer. He even stole 50+ bases in back to back seasons. Plus I couldn't resist a chance to stick it to Red Sox fans.







Be sure and vote for your choice of NL Center Fielder for the TMS All-80's Team. Check out the poll in the left sidebar.

About Damn Time...

The Dodgers were about to lose to the god damned Padres for the 14th time this year when they suddenly realized this was bullshit. Something inside them said, "Hey, we're the better team. These guys from San Diego have Dave Roberts starting in left field for christ's sake, and Mike Piazza isn't getting any younger (or straighter)."

Responding to the voice of reason inside their head, down 9-5 in the ninth, Kent, Drew, Martin, and Marlon Anderson hit four consecutive home runs to tie the game. This was the fourth time in MLB history this has occurred and the first since the 1964 Minnesota Twins did it. Making it even sweeter was the fact that this was the first time in 24 chances that Trevor Hoffman blew a save against LA...and he took no time doing so.

On to the 10th, where just to make it interesting Aaron Sele gave up the go ahead run. To lose the game after that 9th inning probably would have crushed their soul and guaranteed they spend October playing golf. Not gonna happen. Kenny Lofton walked to start the inning, and then indicted War Criminal Nomar Garciaparra came up to the plate...

A few minutes later, the pitch Rudy Seanez had thrown landed somewhere near Palmdale and the Dodgers were celebrating an absolutely insane comeback. The fans gave a standing ovation worthy of a playoff win.

Hopefully this will be the needed spark for LA and the necessary nail in the Padres' coffin. Having Geoff Blum on the roster alone should keep San Diego home for the playoffs. LA has the hapless Pirates, who are now suffering from full blown Tracyball, coming to town and San Diego has to play Arizona and St. Louis. For now, everything is in its right place...

Guarantee This!

Can we just stop with the guaranteeing victory schtick at this point? Obviously Namath's bold prediction 37 years ago has become legendary, but now any knucklehead within a ten foot radius of a microphone thinks they're being tough and brash by guaranteeing they'll win. It's pretty much lost all of its meaning now. Lions WR Roy Williams is the latest to join the hall of shame for making a stupid guarantee. The Bears defense can pretty much chew up and spit out any offense out there, and for some reason Roy thought it'd be a good idea to fire them up some more. Nice job.

The Bears destroyed the Lions yesterday 34-7, led in part by the spectacular play of Rex Grossman. Grossman went 20-27 passing with 289 yards and 4 touchdowns. One potential mark on his stats, an interception by Boss Bailey, was overturned on a hands-to-the-face penalty on Detroit CB Jamar Fletcher. Grossman's sharp play has fans ecstatic about this year's much more balanced offense. No longer are the Bears relying heavily on grinding the ball down the field with their running game. Bears' receivers seem to be in tune with Rex as Bernard Berrian, Muhsin Muhammad, and Desmond Clark all had a handful of catches.

The Lions offense was led by Jon Kitna. Kitna was brought in this season to lead Detroit's stacked offense (on paper). What with their 3 stud first round receivers they drafted three years in a row, they should have no problem now that they have a reliable QB throwing to them. Oh wait, Roy Williams is the only one of those three that actually plays! Charles Rogers was cut, and Mike Williams was inactive. So instead the Lions started a fearsome trio of Williams, Mike Furrey, and Eddie Drummond. It's amazing the Bears weren't overwhelmed by their awesomeness.

A quick side note about Mike Furrey. He went to the same college as me (University of Northern Iowa), and I can attest that the man is a grade A douchebag. He thought he was King Shit on Turd Mountain because he was the top receiver in I-AA football. After the XFL folded he was back in Cedar Falls hanging out at the bar by himself until someone recognized him and a small crowd formed around him. What a douche. He was hanging out just to play the "Do you know who I am?" card and eventually had a handful of underclassmen drooling over him. That's the sign you know you've made it. When you go undrafted in the NFL and end up playing in some ill-fated football league that collapsed faster than Korey Stringer during two-a-days, then come back to your school so you can go hang out at Sharky's and have all the kids with fake ID's, and are full of Busch Light worship you. Screw you Furrey. You couldn't hold Eddie Berlin's jock.

Anyway moving on, the Bears will head up to Minnesota next week to take on the 2-0 Vikings. This should be Chicago's first real challenge as the Vikes have looked surprisingly good so far this season.

The All-80's Team: NL Left Field

Astroturf, powder blue uniforms, wearing batting helmets in the field to protect your jheri curl, hitting 25 homers and being considered a legitimate slugger, big-league hair, that horrible gum from packs of baseball cards.... who doesn't love baseball from the 80's? Over the next several weeks I will be looking at the best players of the decade as we assemble the TMS All-80's Team. We will start with the National League and then we'll tackle the American. To meet the criteria a player will have to have played in at least 4 seasons in the 1980's and they must have played the bulk of their games at a certain position during that time to qualify there. Included will be a poll on the left sidebar, so our faithful readers can weigh in on this great debate. But remember, we're focusing on a player's contributions in just the 1980's. What they did in the decades before and/or after are not being considered in this.

Last time we tackled the NL SS. Ozzie Smith won the online poll and has been named the starting SS to the TMS All-80's National League Team.

NATIONAL LEAGUE LEFT FIELD

Dusty Baker
Los Angeles Dodgers (1980-83), San Francisco Giants (1984)

All-Star: 1981-82
Gold Gloves: 1981
Silver Sluggers: 1980-81

Notes: Way back before he was our favorite whipping boy in Chicago, Dusty was fairly decent ballplayer. While his heydays were in the 1970's (You know he batted behind Hank Aaron? No really he did. He rarely mentions it), Dusty still managed a couple good years in the 80's making the All-Star team a couple times and even getting a Gold Glove.





Vince Coleman
St. Louis Cardinals (1985-89)

Nickname: Vincent Van Go
All-Star: 1988-89
Awards: 1985 NL ROY
Postseason: 1985 NLCS, 1987 WS
NL Leader: 1985-89 Stolen Bases

Notes: In the mid to late 80's, a kid named Vince Coleman gave Rickey Henderson a run for his money on the basepaths. In his first three seasons, Coleman stole a total of 326 bases. He was also the last player in the NL to top 80 steals in a season. He later went on to New York where he threw fireworks at kids or something.




Jose Cruz
Houston Astros (1980-87)

Nickname: Cheo
All-Star: 1980, 1985
Silver Sluggers: 1983-84
Postseason: 1980 NLCS, 1981 NLDS, 1986 NLCS

Notes: Long before his son drove us crazy in fantasy leagues with his terribly inconsistent play, Jose Cruz Sr. was the model of consistency, as he batted over .300 a handful of seasons for the 'stros in the 80's. He was also voted "Sexiest outfielder" in 1983 by Latin Beat magazine.






George Foster
Cincinnati Reds (1980-81), New York Mets (1982-86)

All-Star: 1981
Silver Sluggers: 1981

Notes: Foster had his best years in the 70's playing for the Reds, but he still put up some decent years in the early 80's, earning him an All-Star nod and a Silver Slugger in 1981. Like Dave Concepcion, Joe Morgan can't understand why George isn't in the Hall of Fame. Shit, why not? He'd be a better candidate than frickin' Tony Perez was. One thing's for certain, George's moustache was a first-ballot inductee in the Sports Hair Hall of Fame.





Gary Matthews
Atlanta Braves (1980), Philadelphia Phillies (1981-83), Chicago Cubs (1984-87)

Nickname: Sarge
Awards: 1983 NLCS MVP
Postseason: 1981 NLDS, 1983 WS, 1984 NLCS
NL Leader: 1984 OBP (.410), 1984 BB (103)

Notes: Good old Sarge. Who doesn't love this guy? Matthews was an offensive machine for the Phillies and Cubs, helping both into the postseason. In 1983, Matthews destroyed the Dodgers in with 3 homers and 8 RBI en route to becoming the NLCS MVP. In 1984 while playing for the Cubs he had one of his greatest seasons, amassing 103 BB with only 97 strikeouts. If only the Cubs of today could show that kind of plate discipline (*cough* Jacque Jones *cough*)



Tim Raines
Montreal Expos (1980-89)

Nickname: Rock
All-Star: 1981-87
Silver Sluggers: 1986
Awards: 1987 ASG MVP
Postseason: 1981 NLCS
NL Leader: 1981-84 Stolen Bases, 1986 AVG, 1986 OBP, 1984 Doubles

Notes: Rock seems to be one of those forgotten guys of that era. Playing the entire decade in Montreal, Raines put up monster numbers. He led the NL in steals four straight years until that Vince guy showed up. He won a batting title in 1986 and made 7 All-Star teams.




Be sure and vote for your choice of NL Left Fielder for the TMS All-80's Team. Check out the poll in the left sidebar.

Getting Comfy in the Basement

"Alright, that should be the last box. Now its time to start unpacking. This isn't so bad. Kinda musty but at least the couch pulls out to a bed. Basic cable, a mini fridge....hey and there's two bottles of Steel City left inside. Thanks Pittsburgh, but could you at least cleaned out the bathroom before you left? Its disgusting in there.

Hey what's this giant hole in the corner? Who would dig a giant pit in a basement? Oh my god! Is that Derek Bell? Hey Derek what's up? What? No I don't have any lotion......uh.....basket? Huh? Dude let me just go find a rope ladder ok?"

New York Time Warp

Ten years ago, if you told me the Mets had Julio Franco, Steve Trachsel, and Darren Oliver on their team, I wouldn't be surprised. Since its 2006, I'm absolutely floored to see them on the field. Oddly enough, the geriatric Julio Franco is the least shocking. At lease he's been playing steadily since I was still a baby. Darren Oliver and Steve Trachsel have been missing longer than that Austrian girl though.

I don't like the Mets. I don't like Shea Stadium. I don't like David Wright, Carlos Delgado, or Jose Reyes. Glad to see the Dodgers muster a split with them. Now its on to Chicago for the big board showdown...

Jamaica Me Horny

I will be scouting talent for the Cubs in Jamaica and stuffing myself with jerk chicken for the next week. Look for a new Realm of Red as soon as I get back. Odds are in favor of me profiling this guy to the left.

Bartender Banter: Thunder Lips and Hurricanes

I really have nothing of consequence to discuss today, but to keep our content fresh, I'll offer up a quick throwaway post to forget about 5 minutes later as you prepare for the weekend.


NFL Kicks Off on NBC
Well the season officially got underway last night with the Steelers beating the Dolphins 28-17. I caught bits and pieces while flipping channels. Two things I learned from the bits that I saw.

• Nick Saban should probably throw the red flag with a little more urgency next time.
• Wesley Welker is without a doubt the starting return specialist for the Reggie Cleveland All-Stars.

Thunder Matt on Urban Dictionary
Just like we've left our mark in Wikipedia, getting the "Thunder Matt" nickname out there to the masses, we've now added it to the lexicon of Urban Dictionary. So from hereon, Thunder Matt will be forever wedged between Thunder Lips, and thunder monkey.

Speaking of Thunder Lips, does anyone watch Hogan Knows Best? I caught an episode the other night, where Hulk's son got in the ring with John Cena and the Big Show for fun and began to consider following in his father's footsteps. There's no way this would work out well. At best, Hulk's kid would be like the Jakob Dylan of the WWE. He may gain some fame at first, but eventually would fade out of the spotlight, never coming close to his father's legacy.

TMS Fantasy Hurricane League Update
OK so I've slacked off a bit on keeping this updated but it doesn't mean we've forgotten about it. So far here's the official scores for the storms to date.

• Beryl - 55 points
• Chris - 10 Points
• Debby - 5 Points
• Ernesto - 105 Points
• Florence - TBD

So based on that here is the current standings.

1. Chaim Witz - 105
   
2. Chip Wesley - 60
3. GovGrayDavis- 10
4. BrantBrown - 0
5. Chi-Town Girl - 0

TMS FANTASY HURRICANE LEAGUE

Oh and the reason why this hurricane season has been so mild compared to the original forecasts/expectations is because of our old buddy, El Nino.

Dip into the Wells

I was cruising around the Cubs site when I saw their current poll. "Should the Cubs try to sign Juan Pierre to a long-term deal?" The current results are 79% to 21% in favor of re-signing him. Honestly I can't understand why. While he's not a horrible lead-off batter, he's really not all that great either, especially not for what he'll command for a salary. I went through and ranked all 30 teams' leadoff guys by OBP (On Base Percentage) to see how Juan stacks up. These leadoff guys were derived from the depth charts provided by Rototimes.com.

	Player	Team	Runs	OBP
1.	Reed Johnson	TOR	76	.390
2.	Grady Sizemore	CLE	114	.377
3.	Dave Roberts	SD	66	.376
4.	Jamey Carroll	COL	69	.371
5.	Maicer Izturis	LAA	57	.369
6.	David DeJesus	KC	69	.368
7.	Johnny Damon	NYY	103	.367
8.	Jason Kendall	OAK	64	.367
9.	Ryan Freel	CIN	64	.366
10.	Ichiro Suzuki	SEA	87	.365
11.	Gary Matthews	TEX	83	.364
12.	Rickie Weeks	MIL	73	.363
13.	Brian Roberts	BAL	75	.361
14.	Rafael Furcal	LAD	94	.360
15.	Alfonso Soriano	WAS	105	.360
16.	Jose Reyes	NYM	111	.353
17.	Luis Castillo	MIN	78	.352
18.	Marcus Giles	ATL	78	.351
19.	Carl Crawford	TB	75	.346
20.	Alfredo Almezaga	FLA	37	.342
21.	Jimmy Rollins	PHI	109	.342
22.	Curtis Granderson	DET	74	.339
23.	Juan Pierre	CHC	71	.335
24.	Aaron Miles	STL	37	.333
25.	Willy Taveras	HOU	74	.331
26.	Scott Podsednik	CHW	82	.330
27.	Eric Byrnes	ARI	69	.328
28.	Coco Crisp	BOS	54	.319
29.	Randy Winn	SF	75	.318
30.	Chris Duffy	PIT	31	.281

I think its safe to say that Pierre is being overvalued as a leadoff hitter, especially when you look at much cheaper options like Maicer Izturis, David DeJesus and Jamey Carroll. Hell even at a hair over $2 million, Dave Roberts is a bargain compared to Pierre. My point is, there's bound to be a cheaper more reliable option at the leadoff spot for next season than Juan Pierre.

So who would play CF then? No, not Felix Pie. As much as some people are pushing for this, he really should have another year in AAA before coming up to the bigs full-time. What the Cubs need to do is get Vernon Wells to play CF. Wells is currently 27 years old, and would provide the Cubs with a much more dependable bat to protect Derrek Lee. Imagine having the 3-4-5 slots in the order filled with Wells, Lee, and Ramirez (on the assumption that A-Ram doesn't try to leave)? That would be pretty tough to pitch around. And on defense, Wells would be an upgrade over Pierre, bringing his 2 Gold Gloves (2004, 2005) with him. Wells isn't for certain that he wants to stay in Toronto and I'm sure plenty of teams will be throwing offers at him (reports are that Wells could command as much as $15/year). Yeah he'll be expensive, but the Cubs already spend a lot of money (7th largest payroll), so there's really no excuse not to be in the running for his services.





Come on! Lets go out and get Vernon Wells. Him and Zambrano can refine their celebratory "point to the sky" technique.

It's Official

Well the Cubs officially confirmed what I had stated last week. With a wild pitch by Ryan Dempster, the Cubs lost 6-5 last night, thus giving them sole possession of last place in the NL Central.

On a positive note, Thunder Matt Murton and Ryan The Riot looked good once again. Thunder Matt going 3-4 with 1 walk, and The Riot went 1-3 with 2 walks and a triple.

The All-80's Team - Shortstops

Astroturf, powder blue uniforms, wearing batting helmets in the field to protect your jheri curl, hitting 25 homers and being considered a legitimate slugger, big-league hair, that horrible gum from packs of baseball cards.... who doesn't love baseball from the 80's? Over the next several weeks I will be looking at the best players of the decade as we assemble the TMS All-80's Team. We will start with the National League and then we'll tackle the American. To meet the criteria a player will have to have played in at least 4 seasons in the 1980's and they must have played the bulk of their games at a certain position during that time to qualify there. Included will be a poll on the left sidebar, so our faithful readers can weigh in on this great debate. But remember, we're focusing on a player's contributions in just the 1980's. What they did in the decades before and/or after are not being considered in this.

Last time we tackled the NL 3B. Mike Schmidt won the online poll and has been named the starting 3B to the TMS All-80's National League Team.

NATIONAL LEAGUE SHORTSTOP

Hubie Brooks
New York Mets (1980-84), Montreal Expos (1985-89)

All-Star: 1986-87
Silver Sluggers: 1985-86

Notes: Hubie got his start playing 3B for the Mets before being traded prior to 1985 season to the Expos for Gary Carter. Brooks then played a handful of years at shortstop in Montreal before moving to the outfield at the end of the decade. Hubie holds the longest hitting streak in Mets history, with 24 games. A feat he shares with Mike Piazza. He is also the all-time home run leader among players named Hubie.






Dave Concepcion
Cincinnati Reds (1980-88)

All-Star: 1980-82
Awards: 1982 All-Star Game MVP
Silver Sluggers: 1981-82

Notes: Concepcion was a defensive stud throughout the 70's and continued to shine through the 80's before giving way to a young kid named Barry. He even hit a little, earning a couple Silver Sluggers in 81 and 82. Joe Morgan can't understand why he's not in the Hall of Fame. Then again, Morgan can't understand why everyone, including the batboy from the "Big Red Machine" isn't in the Hall of Fame.





Shawon Dunston
Chicago Cubs (1985-89)

All-Star: 1988
Postseason: 1989 NLCS

Notes: Was a fan favorite in Chicago who gave us many great memories at Wrigley as well as yet another spelling of the name Shawn (later to be outdone by Chone Figgins). I'm surprised that he doesn't have any more All-Star appearances in the 80's than that. Maybe when I was a kid I just thought he was better than he was. Kind of like how I thought Mike Pagliarulo was a kickass slugger because he hit 32 homers one year for the Yankees.






Barry Larkin
Cincinnati Reds (1986-89)

All-Star: 1988-89
Silver Sluggers: 1988-89

Notes: OK before you go all buck wild and start pumping votes for Barry, I just want to note that this is the All-80's Team, not All-90's. Barry had some great seasons in the late-80's that warrant him getting a nod here, but lets keep things in perspective when voting. I had to argue down a handful of guys once who claimed he was a better 80's SS than Ozzie Smith.







Rafael Ramirez
Atlanta Braves (1980-87), Houston Astros (1988-89)

All-Star: 1984
Postseason: 1982 NLCS
NL Leader: 1983 Singles (160)

Notes: Why's he on here? Why the hell not!? Rafael has an All-Star appearance, a postseason appearance, and once led the NL in singles. He has every right to be here. Hell I may even vote for him.........Oh who am I kidding? I'd vote for this Rafael Ramirez before I would vote for Raffy the shortstop. Check out that hot salsa sound!






Ozzie Smith
St. Louis Cardinals (1984-89)

Nickname: Wizard of Oz
Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2002
All-Star: 1981-89
Gold Gloves: 1980-89
Silver Sluggers: 1987
Awards: 1985 NLCS MVP, 1989 Lou Gehrig Award
Postseason: 1982 WS, 1985 WS, 1987 WS

Notes: This contest is about as lop-sided as they come. While there are some decent shortstops on this list, pretty much none of them can sniff the Wizard's jockstrap when it comes to their play in the 80's




Garry Templeton
St. Louis Cardinals (1980-81), San Diego Padres (1982-89)

All-Star: 1985
Silver Sluggers: 1980, 1984
Postseason: 1984 WS

Notes: See what an obscene gesture will get ya? In 1981 while playing for St. Louis, Templeton apparently made a gesture to some hecklers, much to Whitey Herzog's dismay. He was traded to the Padres at the end of the year for some Ozzie guy.






Be sure and vote for your choice of NL Shortstop for the TMS All-80's Team. Check out the poll in the left sidebar.

R.I.P. Crocodile Hunter

Steve Irwin, the beloved Crocodile Hunter, is dead...killed by a god damned stingray. Normally when celebrities die, its a big ho hum, but Irwin is a tragic loss to the legions of nerds like myself who have been addicted to wildlife shows since we were young. He did what we would do, if we had balls or a thick australian accent.

A stingray is a pretty shitty way to die for a guy that wrestled crocodiles and captured poisonous snakes with his bare hands. Not more than three weeks ago I was petting them at the Aquarium of the Pacific. They're soft, playful, and generally harmless. In fact, Irwin was only the 2nd person EVER killed by one in Australia.

The Battle for Last Place