WEEI Is Losing A Loyal Listener

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

I have been a very loyal listener of WEEI Sports Talk Radio since the early 90's. Ever since they were broadcast on AM 590 instead of 850. I am a sports nut, and have always loved being kept up to date and listening to the slew of talk show hosts, writers and professional athletes voice their opinions. Until recently I've pretty much listened to WEEI from the time I start my commute to work until I pull back into my driveway.

So what's happened that makes me change the channel to the likes of the Toucher & Rich show on WBCN, or Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio? WEEI has become so bloated with power and arrogance they've made the morning and afternoon drive shows virtually unlistenable. Yes, I still do listen to the station at various times throughout the week, but just not nearly as much as I used to. Gerry Callahan has turned me off with his right wing, Republican diatribes that I can barely listen to the The Dennis & Callahan show in the morning. Nothing gets my blood boiling faster than his ripping of Barack Obama or how he thinks Gay Marriage will lead to someone marrying a goat.

In the afternoon, it's just even worse. Glenn Ordway loves the sound of his voice so much that the co-hosts have to yell over each other to be heard. Both shows rarely allow the listeners to voice their own opinions. Granted, most people who actually call these shows don't know much about the actually sport they called in to talk about, but the last time I checked it was a call in sports talk show. Without callers, you'd have no show. Don't get me started on Pete Shepherd. I knew more about sports at the age of 5 then Shepherd knows now. It doesn't help that he's an inarticulate, classless blowhard. I honestly don't know he got the job in the first place, and certainly don't know how he keeps it.

This might sound pathetic, but it pains me to write this article about a station that I've loved for so many years. Thanks to my MP3 player and my extensive iTunes library on my laptop, I finally have something else to listen to in the car and at work. Now, not everything at WEEI has gone down the toilet. I am still a fan of The Dale & Holly midday show. In my opinion, Michael Holly is the best co-host on the air. He's very logical in his decision making and fairly unbiased. He's also very knowledgeable of the four major sports. He's actually too qualified for the station.

I know there will be some readers out there that will point out that Gerry Callahan's antics are done just to get people riled up to call and listen and increase ratings. I totally understand that, but does not account for the abuse that is doled out to listeners throughout the day. If it was up to me I'd put Michael Felger on full time. He has some outrageous ideas, but at least isn't afraid to open his mouth in dissent and actually explain himself. I would love to think they'll make some changes and bring me back in full time. If not, then at least I'll tune in around 5:45 for the Whiner Line.

Fantasy Baseball: Chin Music

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

OK, I get it. Closers are important, there I said it.

It's always hard for me to admit that closers should be valued more than I value a penny, but perhaps closers are more like a nickel or a dime?

There's not way they're like a quarter, however. That investment is strictly for front-line position players and starters.

But the closer class, as a whole this season, has been nothing short of exceptional.

Where else would you find the 5th ranked player in standard Yahoo! 5 x 5 leagues.

Who is this guy you ask?

If you guessed Jonathan Broxton from the Dodgers, you're right. He's been as good as gold with six wins, 13 saves and 47 strikeouts in 29 inning. He also sports a 1.24 ERA and 0.66 WHIP.

Yes, he's even better than players like Evan Longoria or Mark Teixeira, at least he's ranked higher.

Would I draft Broxton, who can really pump that fastball at 96-plus, over Longoria or Teixeira. No way. Even today with all their stats up for the taking? No way.

But it does go to show you that closers can be a valuable commodity.

Some owners "punt" saves every year and I think it's the wrong approach to take. You'll be last in that category all year in roto leagues and you just might be able to tie a few times during the season in head-to-head with zero saves versus your opponent on that given week. It's hard to win titles without being competitive in every fantasy category.

HE'S NOT WASHED UP YET

Boy, the Padres sure know how to get rid of talent. But Trevor Hoffman is probably glad to be out of San Diego after the way he was treated anyway. And Hoffman, every time he notches a save, is probably laughing at the San Diego organization for not keeping him. Hoffman has laughed 15 times already this season since that's how many saves he has with the Brewers. Yes, he's still getting it done -- as a closer mind you -- with that marshmallow fastball and devastating changeup.

LIGHTS OUT

Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets is so money he might not even know it. Yes, he does know it and so do the New York Mets fans, who have watched K-Rod nail down 15 saves with a 0.70 ERA. K-Rod has only given up two earned runs all season and that was in the same game on April 24 against the Nationals, and he still got the win. He hasn't blown a save yet, either, but now I jinxed him ... sorry Mets fans and K-Rod owners.

HAPPY SO FAR

This goes out to the guys you didn't expect to close this year, but have been more than just serviceable in the 9th-inning role: Houston's LaTroy Hawkins (7 saves), Chicago Cubs' Kevin Gregg (10 saves), Seattle's David Aardsma (9 saves) and Toronto's Scott Downs (7 saves). 

Van Gundy is gutsier than we thought

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Three nights after Stan Van Gundy took some criticism for playing his star point guard Jameer Nelson too many minutes -- in his first action since February -- the Orlando Magic head coach comes back with an even bigger twist.

Thursday night, I suggested that Nelson got too many minutes, and just enough time to make the enigmatic Rafer "Skip 2 My Lou" Alston unnerved. Team leader, model citizen or not, you can't just throw a guy into the fire on his first game back, especially if it's the NBA Finals. That's how you screw up chemistry (and it's also classic "Ewing Theory" in action). I was talking about this with St. Mark's coach David Lubick over coffee Friday afternoon, and he suggested something different: you need Nelson in the lineup to some extent, because a flashy player like Alston is not a guy you want making decisions down the stretch.

Van Gundy apparently agrees with the both of us. Alston got about 10 more minutes than Nelson; but for the last six or seven minutes of the fourth quarter, and all of overtime, both sat on the bench. Van Gundy went with a bold, unorthodox move of putting Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Mickael Pietrus and J.J. Redick on the floor. Redick played the one, while Turkoglu manned the three spot in a "point forward" role (Phil Pressey, anyone?).

When Pietrus fouled out, Van Gundy replaced him with rookie Courtney Lee.

Literally, Van Gundy put the ball in the hands of his most consistent playmaker. If you're a fan of Malcolm Gladwell, you probably think this lineup gave them the best chance. It almost pulled through for them, too, until Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol took over in the extra frame to take a 101-96 win and 2-0 series lead.

As for the Lakers starting five...the more and more I watch this lineup of Bryant, Gasol, Derek Fisher, Trevor Ariza and Andrew Bynum, the more I love it. Lamar Odom played 45 minutes off the bench tonight, and was 8 of 9 from the floor, as Bynum (five fouls) and Ariza (3 for 13 fg) struggled. Gasol (7 of 14, 24 points, 10 rebounds) was crucial in the overtime period, scoring seven points. When you have a guy as foul-prone as Bynum, having Odom as your first guy off the bench -- playing alongside Ariza and Gasol in the frontcourt -- allows you to play big like few other teams in the league can.

Call me stupid, but I still think this series is going to go at least six games. This is turning into a great chess match between two of the game's top basketball minds, and this is hardly the last trick in Van Gundy's sleeve. Phil Jackson is, of course, Phil Jackson. I don't think a whole lot of rhetoric needs to be said at this point.

Dice-K is far from OK

By Jorge Bannister
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Is Daisuke Matsuzaka breaking down?

Don’t look at your monitor like that, it’s a legitimate question.

The phenom, who once threw an 18-inning complete game in his high school title game, can barely make it out of the fifth inning in his starts now.

In 2006 — after pitching Japan to the World Baseball Classic title over Cuba — Matsuzaka went 17-5 with an 2.13 ERA for the Seibu Lions. He threw 186-1/3 innings, striking out 200 and walking 34. Dice-K started 25 games and threw 13 complete games.

Matsuzaka threw 215 innings in 2005 for the Lions, and was 14-13 in 28 starts with an ERA of 2.30.

This year, Dice-K has been, well, less than stellar. He’s 1-4 with a 7.33 ERA in six starts. He’s only averaging four-plus innings a start, but finally got past the five-inning barrier Sunday against the Rangers.

Last year Matsuzaka was a sparkling 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA last year. Remember, though, he only threw 167-2/3 innings compared to 204-2/3 in his rookie campaign. Somehow, that gets lost in translation with some. In fact, if he had similar winning numbers and a solid ERA with more innings, he probably would’ve won the Cy Young Award.

Through 66 career MLB starts, Dice-K has only one complete game. It’s not his fault, he’s a nibbler. Oh. Wait.

In Sunday’s game against the Rangers, he showed something else, though. There was life on his fastball and he seemed to pound the strike zone early in the game. Matsuzaka finally threw more than five innings this season (5-2/3 to be exact), but was pounded for 10 hits and five earned runs. He struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter.

Maybe that’s why he nibbles?

In his MLB rookie season (2007), Dice-K threw fewer than six innings only 7 times in 32 starts. In fact, in his final five starts he only went six or more innings twice. His worst start of the year was 2-2/3 innings on Sept. 8 at Baltimore — he was shelled for eight runs on six hits and three walks.

Though he had a successful season last year, Matsuzaka failed to throw six innings in 14 of his 29 starts.

And there’s the problem. His pitch counts are near- to over-100 pitches by the fifth inning and Red Sox manager Terry Francona is forced to call his bullpen earlier when Dice-K is on the mound.

If you think I am crazy by asking that question in my lead, then ponder this little Jeopardy portion of the column. 

Answer: He was a Japanese pitcher who had successful outings for the Red Sox but ultimately turned out to be worthless and unable to pitch in the majors anymore. 

Question: Who is Hideo Nomo?

That’s right. I am comparing Matsuzaka to Nomo.

Can you say nasty?

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

You can say filthy, nasty or sick. 

Any way you want to describe it, it all means the same thing: Boston left-hander Jon Lester is just dealing right now.

For all those in Red Sox Nation and everywhere else that wanted to write Lester off when he was struggling, shame on you. While Lester had issues with his consistency early this year, he had shown that he still had power stuff but was just allowing too many base runners and giving up hits with men on base. Apparently, now he has regained the form that let him win 16 game last year.

Tonight's game against Texas was vintage Lester, who carried a no-hitter into the seventh before Michael Young stroked a clean double into the left-center field gap.

Lester was just outstanding. He fired a complete-game two-hitter, allowing one earned run, two walks and 11 strikeouts.

His stuff was virtually unhittable. It's like the guy in Wiffle Ball that throws the nasty deuce that no one can hit. That's how good Lester's stuff was.

Did you see the bite on that Uncle Charlie (AKA curveball)? His cut fastball kept fooling hitters and add in that changeup and Lester's stuff just wasn't fair.

This is a Texas lineup that flat out rakes, too, and Lester made them look foolish.

I know everybody is back to being a Lester fan, but if you jumped off that bandwagon early this year, you're looking pretty foolish now. Again, shame on you!

Lester might only be 5-5 with a 5.09 ERA, which obviously isn't impressive enough for a pitcher with his talent, but he's beginning to sizzle on the mound. That high ERA should just tell you how bad he was early on.

Make that two sparkling starts for Lester, who beat Toronto on May 31. In that game, he went six innings, allowing one run on three hits with three walks and 12 Ks. 

Yes, that's 23 punchouts in two games -- and opposing teams are taking notice. 

Besides giving up five runs in six innings against Minnesota on May 26, Lester has only yielded three runs combined (one run in each start) in three of his last four outings.

He's back, no question.

Go ahead and call Lester an ace once again, he's earned that label back.

Fantasy Baseball: Frozen Ropes

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

After a week off of the fantasy beat, I am back to bring you the Friday fantasy article known as Frozen Ropes. As always, we'll cover the best and worst of fantasy hitters over the past week and let you know what's on the horizon.

The Good

For the 2nd time this season, Carl Crawford has been the most productive fantasy hitter in the land. A .429 average, 3 homers, 4 RBI, 7 runs, 4 SB's and a 1.377 OPS will often do that. He's back to his old self this season as he already has 34 stolen bases and we still weeks away from the All Star break. As long as his legs are healthy, I expect him to keep this up all season. I doubt he'll reach the 100 stolen bases plateau, but should reach 80. Have you forgotten about Prince Fielder? Well, he's been somewhat quiet this year, but burst back on the scene this week. He hit .407 with 3 homers and 9 RBI this week. That brings him to a season total of 13 home runs and 52 RBI. I didn't even realize he was having that good of a season. It's always nice to see a young prospect start to fulfill his potential. That is exactly what Nelson Cruz has been doing in the hot sun of Arlington, Texas. He's hitting .295 with 16 home runs and 41 RBI on the season. 4 of those home runs have come this week. Throw in a .967 OPS on the season and this guy is legit. Like most Rangers, don't be surprised if you see him tail off during the 2nd half. It's extremely hard to play an entire season down in Texas. He should get fatigued at some point during the season. Ryan Howard just hits bombs. He also strikes out a lot, and will never hit for average, but I couldn't care less as long as he continues to hit 40+ home runs and 120+ RBI every year. He will be a very, very rich man soon enough. He added 4 homers and 12 RBI this week. He's just a machine. To round out the top 5 fantasy performers of the week, we'll take a look at Brandon Phillips. After a terrible start to the season, he's really turned things around. He's hit .348 this week with 3 HR's and 6 RBI. He has hit average up to .285, with 10 HR and 40 RBI on the season. Both Chad and I love the way he plays and what he brings to the table offensively for a second basemen. It also helps that he plays 81 games and a small little bandbox of a field.

The Bad: (a.k.a. The David Ortiz portion of Frozen Ropes)

I never actually put Big Papi in this portion of the article. He's just an honorary member each week. After the great hitting streak, Ryan Zimmerman has been brought back down to earth. He's hitting just .190 with 1 HR this week. He should bounce back. He's been far more productive this season than I've ever thought. Troy Tulowitzki continues his struggles. He hit just .133, going 2 for 15 this week. His average is down to .218 on the season. Stay as far away from him as possible. Adam Dunn is having a pretty good year in the Nation's Capitol so far, but he's had a tough time of it this week. A .091 average with 0 HR's, 0 RBI and just 2 Runs is a horrid week. Don't worry though, he does have 16 HR so you'll still get plenty of pop out of him. It might be a good time to bench him for a few days though. Ryan Ludwick has really struggled since coming off the DL. That is to be expected, so don't fret too much. He's 2 for his last 23 (.087), but should start to turn things around with a few more at bats. In my opinion, Vernon Wells is one of the most overrated players in the game. A .257 average, 5 HR & 25 RBI is not good enough for a clean up hitter in the bigs. He's been even worse this week with .111 average and a .190 OBP. Ouch.

Under the Radar:

With the trade of Nate McClouth, Andrew McCutchen is now the starting centerfielder for the Pirates. He's a dynamic prospect who finally gets a shot with plenty of playing time. I've already picked him up in two of my leagues and I suggest you take a flyer on him as well. He'll steal some bases, hit a few homers and has already been slotted in as the leadoff hitter. If you're in a deep league, or NL only league, you might want to take a look at the Red's Lance Nix. He's been on fire this week and now has 7 homers, 18 RBI and a .288 average in just 104 at bats. He's been playing pretty much every day as well. Could this be the time to pick up Jose Lopez? He's been struggling all year until this week. He's hit .348, with 2 homers & 8 RBI this week. If you need additional help at 2B, he could be a big pickup if he continues turning his season around. He's only owned in 43% of leagues. Does anyone outside of Minnesota realize Jason Kubel is having a fine season? He's hitting .322 with 7 HR & 31 RBI. Peter Gammons was all over Kubel about 5-6 years ago, and maybe he's finally going to hit like Gammons said he would. Well, that's all I have for now. Until next week

(Don't forget about Chin Music by Chad Garner on Monday)

Nelson Theory 101

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Before you get it twisted, let's not: Stan Van Gundy is a good coach.

Alright, he's a bit arrogant, and a bit brash. I know guys that played from him at UMass-Lowell who would agree with both sentiments.

But so is Geno Auriemma, and both guys can flat-out coach. This is a guy who, with the Heat coming off a 25-win season, put the ball in the hands of a rookie -- Dwyane Wade -- and let him take off (they won 42 games, a first-round series and nearly knocked off the Pacers). He is not a system guy; this is a guy who scans his team's strengths and gives them a style that gives them the best chance of winning. Better yet, this is a guy who doesn't try to hide the fact that he's a prick.

All that said, I can't believe what I saw tonight. Jameer Nelson played 23 minutes in game one of the NBA Finals, and not surprisingly the Lakers blew them out, 100-75.

Oh, there were other factors that led to their downfall tonight. They shot just 29 percent from the field, including 8 of 23 on three's, and were outrebounded a startling 55-41 (nothing new if you've been watching these guys, but just saying). But Van Gundy deserves some criticism for this move tonight.

Granted, he deserves all the credit for sticking to his guns in the Celtics series and keeping his starting five on the floor at the end, contrary to Dwight Howard's criticism. By standing firm, the team shook up its complacency and reaffirmed Van Gundy's acumen.

That was a turning point in the Magic's playoff run, much like this folly.

I'm a big believer in Bill Simmons' "Ewing Theory". For the uninformed, Simmons asserts that the Knicks often played better when their star center, Patrick Ewing, was in foul trouble, on the bench or injured. There are tons of examples to back this theory up -- this year's Rockets, the 2001 Mariners, the 1997 Flyers, to name the most glaring examples. He'll no doubt add this year's Magic to the list.

Listen, there is no doubt that Jameer Nelson is the alpha dog of that backcourt. This organization wouldn't be where it is without his character, and his commitment. But he's been out for four months; you can't just throw a guy into the lineup with major minutes if he's been out for four months, especially if it's GAME ONE OF THE FINALS.

And besides that, isn't this why you traded for Rafer Alston?

Marc Spears' article last week on Chris Herren has a great quote from Jerry Tarkanian about the difference between Herren and Alston when they played together at Fresno State: "Rafer was the first one in the gym and last one out. Chris had other things going on." Alston is a gamer, no doubt. But when you've cut your teeth on the famed New York City playgrounds, and you're THE Skip To My Lou, you're going to have an ego that needs to be soothed. Just ask Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair, Kenny Anderson and any other point guard from the Big Apple. Alston is a guy that needs to play 35 to 40 minutes a night to stay happy, and stay productive. When you give him just a minute more than Nelson, he's no use to you. He gives you a 2 for 9, 1 assist 6 point night.

If you really want to make this Nelson experiment work, stick him at the end of the bench.

-- One other minor note...attention Orlando Sentinel subscribers, please ignore your columnist Mike Bianchi's musing that "a win for Van Gundy is a win for the blue collars". You live in a tourist trap. Mickey Mouse. Sea World. That dinky Back to the Future ride. International Drive. Go-Karts.

Don't ever forget that for one second. Your city has no culture. That is all.