Big Unit More Dominant Than Clemens?

I'm not going to dispute that Roger Clemens has had a more celebrated, illustrious career. But with both pitchers dueling to finish number two on the all time strikeout list, is it conceivable to say that Randy Johnson has been the more dominant pitcher over the course of his career?

In almost 1000 less innings, Randy Johnson has just 12 less K's than Clemens. Roger has never had a season with 300 strikeouts, while Johnson has had 6. The Big Unit strikes out 2 more men per 9 innings and has thrown a perfect game in his career.

The rest is up for debate. Both players have an almost identical ERA, opp. batting average, opp. on-base %, opp. slugging, and winning %, and both have had a 20-strikeout game. Clemens has amassed more wins and more Cy Young awards, though he did have a 4-year head start. But consider Roger's 2004 Cy Young: Randy Johnson had more IP, K's, and a lower ERA, but lost the Cy for being on a losing team. If Randy gets the Cy that year, then he has the same # of Cy Youngs (6) while playing in 135 less games with equal strikeouts. Not bad for someone with a mullet.

Chauncey's Departure Could Shape The East

It's ironic to think that the Detroit Pistons, who were lauded for their teamwork and unity, could be divided once their players ask for a bigger paycheck. Yet with Chauncey Billups opting out of his last year in Detroit, it's certainly heading that way.

Billups loves Detroit and says he doesn't want to leave. "I really like it here. I really do, and I want to stay." Of course if he loved being in Detroit so much, he wouldn't need to opt out of his contract. Billups wants a giant deal, and forcing GM Joe Dumars to match offers is the only way he's getting it.

However you have to consider whether Joe Dumars is committed to keeping Billups around. The problem with being a 5-man-team is you have a lot of parts to keep in check, and giving one a max contract means the other ones would want one too.

Right now Detroit is paying a lot of money to Webber, Mohammed, and whoever they get in return for Rasheed Wallace (assuming they dump him). Then you got Flip Murarry (who's looking for an extension) and Richard Hamilton (who'll be a free agent next year). They might not be able to give Chauncey Billups the 6yr-$60 million contract that Orlando or Memphis can offer him.

Personally, I can see Billups signing with the Orlando Magic. With Grant Hill's 7yr-$93 million deal mercilessly coming to an end, the Magic have the cap space to give Billups what he wants. Chauncey may be more willing to go to Orlando over other suiters since he's been with the Magic before, back in 2000. Granted he never played with then due to a season-ending injury, but that's all the more reason to sign now.

Right now I'd say it's 60-40 that Billups returns to Detroit. Being the 2004 Finals MVP, Dumars would probably prefer him over any of his other players. If he did leave, it would make the East wide open for Toronto, Cleveland, Miami, and Chicago. If he landed with the Magic, the Billups-Howard duo would make them a contender too, especially since the one team they struggle with is Detroit.

Only Garnett Can Trade Garnett

The Los Angeles Times are reporting that the Lakers are in trade talks with Minnesota, Indiana, and a fourth team in order to acquire Kevin Garnett. While negotiations are a step in the right direction for LA, Minnesota has to reciprocate interest before it means anything.

The Lakers will never acquire Garnett on negotiations alone because they simply don't have enough to coerce Minnesota into letting KG go. The only way they can get him is if Garnett becomes a nuisance and demands a trade. Kevin McHale is never going to voluntarily give him up for Odom and Bynum (who would?). But if Garnett can tie his hands and force him to take the best deal available, he could be playing in Tinseltown next year.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, Garnett has yet to take such a stance. KG's reiterated that he likes it in Minnesota and might not be so inclined to playing with Kobe Bryant. While he's not opposed to a change of scenery, he isn't demanding one. The Sixers would've never dealt Iverson for Andre Miller had Iverson not necessitated a trade. Until the Big Ticket decides he's had enough with the Timberwolves, he has no shot at playing in Hollywood.

Oden or Durant? Probably Oden

Just 4 days from the NBA Draft and it's still up in the air whether the Blazers will select Kevin Durant or Greg Oden with the number one pick. Or at least it looks that way. ESPN probably waved money at Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard and told him to keep their selection confidential until the NBA Draft, which has been pointlessly stretched from 2 hours long to 4.5 hours long. And while seeing Oden drafted won't entice me to watch a minute of it, it may go down as one of the most important drafts ever.

Forgetting to juxtapose each other's strengths and skills, it looks pretty obvious Oden is going #1. The majority of input from sportswriters is that Greg Oden is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity who could be one of the best modern Centers ever. The vote on the Blazers homepage is 73% in favor of Oden, and I imagine people in the Portland area are honking once more than twice.

Any serious consideration to take Durant is probably less about Durant's potential and more that they have Zach Randolph. Randolph, who posted All-Star caliber numbers last year, is a trouble-ridden malcontent with a gargantuan contract. Moving him will be nearly impossible, and drafting the bigman Oden could make Randolph even more of an irritant. So they may succumb to drafting Durant to better balance their starting five. But not likely.

Not that my opinion matters, but let me be the first to say that I would take Durant if I was the Blazers. He follows in the category of Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony to lead his team deep in the tournament while clearly being their best player. The most gambled position on draft day has always been the Center. Look on every roster and you'll find a 7'3 stickfigure who they thought could be the next Dirk, or the next Shaq. The smaller SG/SF players tend to pan out more. I expect Oden to be good, but who's to say he won't fare better than Ralph Sampson or Pervis Ellison?

In a way, Portland's been in this exact scenario before. In the 84' Draft, no one was opposed to drafting Center Sam Bowie. There wasn't any regret for not selecting Michael Jordan; only until Jordan blossomed and Bowie floundered was it considered a bad pick. Now in 2007 they have the same two choices: the promising bigman or the explosive shooter.

The 500 Club Is A Little Too Crowded

A lot of people are asking what the steroids outbreak means in the long run for baseball. To me, the example that will truly define how rampant the effectiveness of roids are is Sammy Sosa hitting his epic 600th home run, and less than a week later Frank Thomas hitting his 500th.

This isn't an aberration either: Manny, Thome and A-Rod are going to get 500 this season, with Sheffield, Delgado, and Piazza following. Then there are the players in the 300's that could reach it, which include Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Pujols, Sexson, Green, Guerrero, Helton, Konerko and Kent just to name a few. Then include the players of tomorrow like Dunn, Fielder and Hafner that could get there.

What it ultimately means is that 500 home runs will no longer grant instant access to the Hall of Fame, nor should it. The sheer overpopulation of this once exclusive club may hold back the Jim Thomes and Gary Sheffields by itself. But the steroid implications that surround players like Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa will ostracize its fair share.

Hitting 500 home runs used to be what getting 300 wins is for pitchers, where once someone reached it, you knew it'd be about a decade before anyone got close again. In 1999 before McGwire hit #500, there were 15 people in the 500 club. By 2009 there'll be at least 25, and certainly 35 by 2019. What's worse is getting to this historic feat used to mean being a complete player. It meant players like Dave Kingman who just hit home runs couldn't get in. Even Mike Schmidt's .267 average was redeemed with his 10 gold gloves. Nowadays someone like Adam Dunn, who strikes out one every three at bats and has a career .246 average, has nothing keeping him from getting in.

Kobe Ain't Going Anywhere

If Mitch Kupchak went ahead and traded Kobe Bryant, he would go down as one of the most inept GM's in NBA history. He's already traded Shaq, but what's to suggest he'll do the same with Kobe?

The Lakers' era of success is as old as the NBA itself. In the 60 years the franchise has existed, they've missed the playoffs just 5 times, so they've never been in a situation to rebuild.

Right now they're in the worst position an NBA team can be: not good enough to go deep in the playoffs, and not bad enough to get a high lottery pick. So they have to figure out what kind of team they are. Are they a contender? If so they need to make some serious moves. Or are they a team for the future? If it's the latter, then trading Bryant is the only way Andrew Bynum will ever develop.

Personally, I just can't see Buss and Kupchak moving Bryant. It's easier to add another player and go for the championship than it is to start all over. Take away Kobe and you have a team with Smush Parker and Kwame Brown in the starting lineup, that's used all its cap space and won't be able to sign free agents. I doubt that Kupchak wants to enter that long process.

Now if the Lakers want to play the market and go after Jermaine O'Neal and Kevin Garnett, they have to be willing to give up Bynum and Odom, which they're not. Last year they annexed a trade with Jason Kidd because they didn't want to lose Bynum. But they have to come to the reality that there are only three moveable players on the Lakers: Kobe, Odom and Bynum, and one of them is going to have to move this summer.

There are still lots of offers that they can consider. One that no one is mentioning that I think could work would be Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum to the Nets for Vince Carter and Marcus Williams. For New Jersey it fills out their starting lineup and gets rid of Carter, who they wouldn't mind moving. For the Lakers it would add a player who can score 20 points and (if they get Williams) an upgrade at PG.

A Reminder To Whom We're Loyal

It was Jerry Seinfeld who said that being a sports fan is all about cheering laundry, that we pay more attention to the uniform than the people inside them. And I know most people understand this and hardly need any reminder.

But the folks over at ESPN apparently do. With rumors that malcontent superstars Barry Bonds and Kobe Bryant could be on the trading block, I'm starting to hear a lot of "Why would Bonds want to leave, the only people who like him are in the Bay Area" and "Why would Kobe want to leave, he's only liked in LA."

It's not a coincidence that the one city Bonds, Sosa, and Kobe are appreciated in happens to be the place where they play. If Roger Clemens was a Red Sox, Boston would be overjoyed to have him. I don't expect Brian Sabian to kill the cashcow that is Barry Bonds and trade him, but if he was traded, he would be immediately embraced wherever he played. Sammy Sosa's an indication of that. Technorati Profile