Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Three Quick Thoughts

Should your team (or my team for that matter) even consider bringing Barry Bonds in before the deadline?

The short answer is…yes.

You might be saying to yourself, “Self, why should my team subject itself and its good reputation to the acquisition of a steroid freak who has an ego bigger than Kirstie Allie after an all-nighter at the Ryan’s mega bar?”

Well, the first thing that you have to ask yourself is does Barry Bonds make your team better. You are going to have to be completely objective and look at it almost strictly from a statistical standpoint (plus, we have to assume that your team’s scouts feel that he can put up roughly the same numbers that he was averaging in the 2007 season).

Barry Bonds, if put on your team on July 25 and barring any type of injury, would get somewhere in the neighborhood of 225 plate appearances (not at bats…but actual attempts at the plate). He could probably hit somewhere around 18-20 homers and drive in about 40 runs. But more important than any of that is that he would actually reach base 110 times. 110 times?! There is not a team in baseball that couldn’t benefit from a guy getting on base almost 50% of the time that he walks up to the plate.

From a purely offensive standpoint, I think that he adds almost a run per game to your scoreboard. As for his play in left field…if you’re the Braves, it’s not really a step back.

Should the University of Texas retire the numbers of Vince Young and Kevin Durant?

The short answer is…yes and no.

Vince Young – he played three years of college football for the Longhorns. He was an All-American, he set Big 12 records, he won a National Championship and he brought glory to the boys in burnt orange.

Kevin Durant – he played one year of college basketball for the Longhorns. He was an All-American, he set Big 12 records, he didn’t win a National title but, like Young, he brought glory to the boys in burnt orange.

That all being said, there is one thing that Vince Young did that Kevin Durant has not – Vince Young finished his degree.

If you want your number immortalized, or in Durant’s case, “raised into the rafters” you have to be a model student athlete at the university in which you attend. Now, there is no doubt in my mind that Durant was one of the finest athletic specimens to EVER come through Austin but as far as his scholastic achievements go…he’s no better than that sketchy guy who just hangs out in the corner of the college bar staring at the local co-eds. They probably have the same amount of actual college experience.

Durant, finish your degree then you can have your number raised.

Should anyone be surprised if Heath Ledger is nominated for an Oscar for his performance in The Dark Knight?

The short answer is…no.

I know that Heath Ledger has passed away and that we are still in that stage of grief where no one wants to harshly critique anything that he ever did but his performance in The Dark Knight was phenomenal.

It was so evil and so diabolical and so utterly captivating that it made us forget that Jack Nicholson ever even played the role. It literally took the character to a completely different level and left me walking out of the theatre wanting to know what exactly it was that made The Joker tick.

I know that one day people will make another series of Batman movies. And I know that you cannot possible have Batman without having The Joker. Therefore, I know that one day someone else will probably be cast as The Joker. But all that being said, if Heath Ledger was the last person to ever play The Joker, I’d be okay with that.