No. I shall not do a celebratory rant about Halloween today wherein I label various sports figures as ghouls or goblins or some other such nonsense. There are far more interesting – – nay even more important – – things to rant about today. For instance, the Dodgers won the World Series in 5 games winning last night by a score of 7-6. The Yankees led 5-0 until a disastrous fifth inning put the Dodgers back in the game; here is how it unfolded:
- Single
- Yankees’ error
- Yankees’ error (bases loaded)
- Strike out
- Strike out (things are looking up for the Yankees here)
- Grounder to first but pitcher does not cover the bag. One run in.
- Double scoring 2 runs
- Double scoring 2 more runs (score is now tied at 5-5).
Getting three outs in an inning is a challenge; getting six outs is asking far more from a defensive team than is reasonable. Congratulations to the Dodgers; they outplayed the Yankees significantly in the World Series; they earned their status as World Champs.
Moving on … One of the things I do on a random basis is to check on the box scores for various teams/players to see if there is anything interesting in “the numbers”. I know that the NBA season is only about a week old, but there is something to keep an eye on regarding the Memphis Grizzlies and their rookie center Zach Edey. In his first NBA game about a week ago, Edey fouled out (6 fouls) after playing all of 14 minutes and 44 seconds of action. If you run the numbers, he committed a foul every 90 seconds of playing time while he was on the court. If I may be so bold, let me assert that such performance is not sustainable in the NBA …
So, of course I had to see if that sort of bed-wetting was going to be the expectation for Zach Edey in the NBA. Using admittedly small samples for both pro and con, the trend seems to be an improving one.
- In his next three games, Edey committed 9 personal fouls in 49 minutes of “floor time”.
- That devolves to one foul every 5.9 minutes which is significantly better than in the first game of his career.
- Nevertheless, that is not an acceptable performance level for NBA play.
In 4 games in the 2024/25 NBA regular season, Edey is averaging 10.2 points per game and 5 rebounds per game. Those numbers for a rookie are reasonable – – so long as the fouling proclivity is not part of the evaluation.
Continuing on with comments on the NBA, there is an early season trend that needs to reverse itself as the season unfolds. Remember, NBA basketball is a television series that provides entertainment to the people who watch it. So, with that front and center in your mind, consider these two stats:
- The Boston Celtics average more than 50 three-point shot attempts per game so far this year. That is more than one long-range shot per minute of play.
- Two other NBA teams average more than 40 three-point shot attempts per game so far this year.
The three-point shooting competition during All-Star week is interesting, but it is not compelling TV from October through April which is the time span of the NBA regular season.
Switching gears and sports … The Indy Colts announced that they will bench QB Anthony Richardson and start Joe Flacco this week against the Vikes. Richardson has been mediocre at best when he was on the field for the Colts this year and one of his actions last week might have been a superbly bad look for him and his career. At one point in last week’s loss to the Texans, Richardson came to the sidelines to seek a substitution because he said he was “tired”. Really? That is your explanation for asking to be subbed for? Let me say carefully here that a QB is the last team member who should show up “tired” in a huddle; the QB may indeed have to spend more mental activity on executing his play responsibilities but on the physical side, the QB has the cushiest job in the stadium. Hell, the beer vendors walking up and down the stadium steps could cry “tired” as easily as an NFL QB.
When Anthony Richardson came out of Florida in the NFL Draft, I said then that he was a prospect but that his passing accuracy and his passing “touch” left a lot to be desired and that he would need tutoring at the NFL level. Yes, Anthony Richardson has had some injury issues, and those issues have limited his time on the field. Nevertheless, Anthony Richardson has been a part of the NFL for 2 years now and these stat lines are well below expectation for a guy taken with the overall #4 pick in the Daft:
- Oct 20, 2024 vs Miami: 10 of 24 for 129 yards with 0 TDs and 0 INTs
- Oct 27, 2024 at Houston: 10 of 32 for 175 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT
In his last two starts, Richardson has completed 35.7% of his pass attempts and has averaged only 5.4 yards per pass attempt. Taken as an overview, this benching is a bad sign for Richardson as a young NFL QB who was taken with the hope he would be the “face of the franchise” for a decade or so.
The Colts are not turning the reins of the offense over to a similarly young QB who might become the new face of the franchise. Rather they are giving the ball to Joe Flacco. Whenever the Colts’ braintrust convenes to ponder the “five-year plan” for the franchise, I suspect that Joe Flacco as the QB is not a foundation piece of such a plan. The Colts in 2024 are in contention for a wild-card entry to the playoffs in January; the team is making this change because they believe it gives the Colts a better chance to make the playoffs this year. To me, that means that Anthony Richardson is unlikely to be part of the team 5 years from now – – or even 3 years from now. This move by the Colts’ coaching staff is significant.
The Colts are facing a tough schedule between now and November 24:
- At Vikes – – underdogs
- Vs. Bills – – will be underdogs
- At Jets – – will probably be a short favorite
- Vs. Lions – – will be underdogs
The good news for the Colts is what the schedulers did for them after Thanksgiving:
- At Pats – – should be the favorite even on the road
- At Broncos – – should be a short underdog
- Vs. Titans – – should be the favorite
- At Giants – – should be the favorite even on the road
- Vs. Jags – – should be the favorite.
The Colts are 4-4 this morning. Looking at that schedule, a final record of 9-8 looks to be easily within reach. With another year of “Flacco-magic” as a substitute QB, they could wind up 10-7 and that should get the Colts into the playoffs. And if that happens, it will be another nail in Anthony Richardson’s NFL coffin.
Finally, Alexander Pope said:
“To err is human; to forgive is divine.”
I wonder if Yankee fans will show any tendencies toward divinity over the next few days…
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………
Fan against any New York team here. But I never saw a major league team like the vaunted Yankees unravel so profoundly in the 5th inning and I’ve been watching baseball for 7 decades. Ya can’t blame Aaron Boone for the poor execution. Judge drops a fly ball; catcher interference; pitcher fails to cover first base; and shortstop makes a bone headed attempt to get force out at 3rd when any out with 2 men on base and the obvious play is to first or 2nd base. It was the scene of self destruction. Hey Yanks, enjoy the winter.
willie jones:
Agree that the Yankees’ implosion was a complete failure on their part to execute basic baseball fundamental plays. I am not going to exult in that misery, but I will not try to gloss over it either.
Aaron Boone did not lose that Series. The players lost that Series.
You notice how many thing match up between Mookie Betts and Mookie Wilson’s plays?
Betts is the better player, but this may be the signature moment to his career so far.
Only two players ever named Mookie, both on the short, stocky side, their signature moments are World Series ground balls to injured first basemen (Buckner, leg, Rizzo, fingers) where the pitcher fails to break to first (Stanley) or runs halfway and pulls up (Cole), and both Mookies bust it down the line as a run scores.
And credit to Betts, who ran hard to first on a slow grounder. A Gleyber Torres jogs and it’s a 3 unassisted even if the pitcher doesn’t cover