How the hell did Joe John Barea become the posterboy for sabermetrics?

Joe John: The face of analytics

The other day, the brilliant Jonah Lehrer wrote a piece for Bill Simmons' Grantland about professional sports teams depending on sabermetrics to make personnel decisions.

It's a good piece where he doesn't really take a side one way or the other. Still, it's been ripped to shreds by folks a billion times dumber than Lehrer. Criticism is criticism, nonetheless. It's been fun reading it all because it's all worth it.

ANYWAY, Lehrer takes a couple of paragraphs to highlight Joe John "J.J." Barea of the Dallas Mavericks.

Lehrer brings up that Barea -- statistically -- was a pretty ordinary player in the regular season and the first 98 percent of the playoffs when he was inserted in the Mavericks' starting line-up in games five and six of the Finals. As we all know, the Mavericks won those games and the title.

This, Lehrer notes, was the Mavericks ignoring any statistical analysis of Barea's game and made a decision based on Barea's seemingly connection with winning game.

There are several problems with this analysis by Lehrer (again, a dumb guy calling a genius to the carpet). First, I must say that no one is a bigger critic of Barea and his game than me.

OK, that's out of the way.

The Mavericks and Stats
Mark Cuban, Rick Carlisle and the Mavericks have been pretty early stalwarts in the statistics/sabermetrics movement in the NBA. Several years ago, Cuban hired Roland Beech, the man behind 82games.com. According to Cuban, post-Finals:

“Roland was a key part to all this. I give a lot of credit to Coach Carlisle for putting Roland on the bench and interfacing with him, and making sure we understood exactly what was going on. Knowing what lineups work, what the issues were in terms of play calls and training.”

Cuban is not saying the Mavericks don't make gut moves nor do they ignore statistics. In fact, it seems that Beech's reach within the organization is wide and highly regarded. Thus, the insinuation that starting Barea -- a statistically ordinary player to, maybe, the untrained eye -- was not based on stats is off base. I don't think there's a question as to whether there was an advantage. However, I didn't need stats to tell me that Barea would be able to blow by Mike Bibby (which he did), but I bet the stats would support this ... that Bibby is old and can't stop the much faster Barea.

Barea's Value
Barea is just not a statistically ordinary or poor basketball player. He's an extremely one-dimensional basketball player. He's got two things going for him: A complete lack of fear and speed. Unfortunately, those two assets help him in one regard: Getting relatively close to the hoop on offense and, thus, opening up potentially open shots for shooters.

As close as Barea shoots most of the time, he doesn't make a lot of them. I would bet he makes more from 23 feet with his feet beneath him than his wild floaters three feet from the basket. Mostly because there are 7-foot monsters at the three-point arc.

Still, he's a so-so passer, a poor defender and his size disadvantage kills him in a lot of facets of the game. Don't get me wrong, he has his place in the NBA and as long as he has those wheels, a team will want him and he'll have value.

My point: Barea has little value statistically and actually; however, that one ounce of value (speed) was worth more than DeShawn Stevenson's pound of value (defense, size). It doesn't make Barea an exponentially better basketball player, but it does make him exponentially quicker and that's what they needed. You don't put your best sprinter in the discus throw.

Barea's Value in Winning
Fourth quarter. Game on the line. Who's on the court? Dirk. Marion. Chandler. Kidd. Terry.

The real issue is this: What is more important, winning the first quarter or fourth quarter?

First the NBA Title, now the Silver Boot

Andy White with the lumber

Dallas-Fort Worth is cleaning up in 2010-11.

We never believed the high after winning the NBA title could get any higher. We never thought there was another plateau above nirvana.

Here we go.

The Texas Rangers won 3-2 in Houston last night winning not only the series, but the season series and, thus, the vaunted Silver Boot. It is staying exactly where its at.

I'm sure Neftali Feliz drank champagne out of it. I'm sure Nolan Ryan took a piss with it. I know that Michael Young left the field right after the final out to cry in the clubhouse.

I know that overemphasizing the importance of winning the Silver Boot, a trophy no one cares about, is fun and all, but there is a hint of seriousness. Although we may not necessarily care about the Houston Astros, I care a whole lot about beating the shit out of any team from Houston.

I hate Houston. Most notably, I hate the Rockets. But I have zero love for the Texans and Astros. Maybe there's not a rivalry, but I'd rather see those teams lose than most other teams. It is what it is.

Yesterday, Nolan Ryan said that he'd like to see the Houston Astros brought to the American League West as realignment talks have gotten hot over the weeks. Ryan, of course, talks about the television market and being able to stay in state. This is true.

It also wouldn't hurt having the Astros on your schedule 15 times a year.

Notes:
1. If nothing else, Colby Lewis is going to be well-rested for his next start. Lewis was cruising the entire game until the seventh inning. He was pulled after giving up two runs and three hits. He'd thrown 74 pitches. What I don't get is that Lewis absolutely wipes out the Astros for six innings and gets the yank at the first tilt of the boat, but C.J. Wilson can throw 130 pitches so you can avoid the bullpen? What happened to "one more inning?" It worked, so there's little to actually bitch about. Still, it's two straight nights for Neftali Feliz and Mark Lowe because of Tuesday night.

2. All of this, of course, is based on my idea that Lewis was alright. He did look extremely sweaty out there and the Houston smog might have gotten to him.

3. Ian Kinsler continues to kill it. Two home runs. Average up to .243.

4. No problem with Mark Lowe as of late. Funny, his ERA drops from 6.10 to 2.45 in his road/home splits. Him getting outs on the road is huge.

5. In his last 20.1 innings, Colby Lewis: 4 ER, 3 HR, 4 BBs. He's officially at 100 innings pitched.

6. Love the strike-them-out-throw-them-out to end a game. By the way, why was Carlos Lee on the bases, why was he stealing? This is why you want to play Houston 15 times a year.

7. If Colby Lewis and Andres Blanco are your big hitters, you're in trouble. Two straight starts for Brett Myers against the Rangers and he's handled them pretty well despite a 6.00 career ERA against them. Love of off-speed junk.

Nieuwy, Eddie get call

Fast Eddie

Two lynchpins in the Dallas Stars' glory days of the late 1990s were voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday.

Joe Nieuwendyk and Eddie Belfour were voted in. Both were gigantic in the Stanley Cup runs as guys that put the Stars over the top.

Nieuwendyk is the current general manager with the Stars. He played a ridiculous 20 years in the NHL, seven with the Dallas Stars after coming over from Calgary in the Jarome Iginla trade. He was really good with Dallas although injuries ate up quite a bit of his time. He scored 30 goals with the Stars twice and never approached the 80- and 90-point seasons he had with Calgary. But he had his role.

He won three Stanley Cups with three different teams (Calgary, Dallas, New Jersey) and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy (MVP of finals) with Dallas. He was awarded the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) with Calgary. Ironically (or not), the Ontario Lacrosse Association's rookie of the year trophy is named after Nieuwendyk as he was an accomplished lacrosse player. Good to know.

Belfour signed as a free agent before the 1997-98 season after being traded from his original team (Chicago) to San Jose. He promptly put up GAAs of 1.88, 1.99 and 2.10 in consecutive years, the best of his career. The Stars won the President's Cup two straight years and went to the Western Conference Finals his first year and the Stanley Cup Finals the two years following.

Great between the pipes, Belfour was also a noted badass. He was arrested at a Dallas hotel and attempted to bribe the police with $1 billion. Maybe the highlight of his career. He probably thinks so.

He also flipped out one time when asked by Ken Hitchcock to play goalie at the morning skate. He refused and left the team.

MVPs

Kins

I don't think I considered Ian Kinsler the Least Valuable Player for the Texas Rangers at any point this season. I sure didn't consider him the Most Valuable Player.

After some thought, it's an idea I can get behind. Although, Joltin' C.J. Wilson might have something to say about that.

Both were stellar last night as the Rangers guaranteed a tie in the battle for the Silver Boot in a 7-3 win in Houston.

Kinsler tallied a home run, triple and two walks. Just that pesky single and double short of the cycle.

Wilson was a single-home run-double short of a cycle as he had his first Major League hit. He also went seven innings of two-run ball.

Kinsler, arguably, has been the most consistent Ranger in the line-up. That might be definied as "consistently bad" but it's consistent nonetheless. Of course, his issue has been his road splits where he was hitting .123 a couple of weeks ago. That average on the road is up to .171 now after a seven-game stretch where he's gone 11-32 with two doubles, two homers and a triple.

Most notably, his presence is felt in the lead-off spot. In 103 games a year ago (his health this year should also be noted), he walked 56 times. In 75 games this year, he's walked 49 times. He's getting on base 36 percent of the time despite hitting .240. He's already matched his totals in stolen bases, homers, triples in 25 less games.

If Kinsler isn't this team's MVP, it's Wilson. When he takes the pill, he brings it. He hasn't gone less than six innings since May. He hasn't allowed a home run in 36 innings. He's not Cliff Lee. He allows some runs. Opponents are hitting .246 off of him. But at the end of this season, I expect the Rangers to do something for Wilson they weren't willing to do for Lee: Do whatever it takes to sign him to a longterm contract.

What I love best about those two guys is that they've gone half the season under the radar. If something's said about them, it's typically negative. Otherwise, they work. Others may get the press, but at the end of this year we might be looking back having underrated C.J. Wilson and Ian Kinsler.

Notes:
1. Neftali Feliz's game-saving pitch: An unhittable slider.

2. I love Yorvit Torrealba. Have I said that already?

3. Darren O'Day pitched again for Round Rock last night: 1.1 IP - 1 hit - 0 runs - 2 Ks.

4. The Rangers bullpen is screwed up or Ron Washington knows either more or less than I do. Why are your only reliable right-handed pitchers getting used in a 7-2 game? I'm no proponent of Dave Bush, but isn't that when you bring a guy like him in? By Thursday, Yoshi Tateyama and Mark Lowe will be unusable and they'll find themselves with Bush in the eighth of a close game. Haven't we seen this movie already?

5. Very satisfying night at the plate. Every Ranger starter got a hit. Twelve total. Two doubles, three homers, two triples mixed with two strikeouts and two walks.

6. Mike Young at 101 hits, on pace for more than 200. Fifty-one short of 2,000 for his career.

7. Josh Hamilton and Mitch Moreland's homers? Opposite field. Torrealba's double? Kinsler's triple? Opposite field.

8. The Houston Astros are fun to play six times a year.

9. There might be a better utility infielder in the league. I wouldn't trade Andres Blanco for that person.

Rangers take weekend series loss to do some scouting, apparently

Charles Beltran, Esq.

The Texas Rangers lost a series to the New York Mets.

And, yes, the umpires did screw them. Royally. I hate blaming officials for everything, but that was atrocious. You shouldn't have to make that pitch when you've already made it.

Moving on.

Some good did come out of that. Other than Lucas Duda's slugging percentage, the Rangers were eyeing outfielder Carlos Beltran and reliever Francisco Rodriguez.

Rodriguez pitched once -- Sunday -- over the weekend and was roughed up for two runs. He's got a 3.65 ERA and a .271 BAA. Still, he's converted 20 saves and struck a batter out per inning. And, he beats up his father-in-law. Cheerful!

Beltran's been the bane of the New York Mets faithful (outside of Bernie Madoff, of course) since signing that seven-year, $119 million deal in 2005. He hasn't played 100 games in two years. He's having a fine year now batting .278 with 49 RBI (five against the Rangers).

This is Beltran's final year of that contract and Mets are in semi-retreat already double-digit games out of the division lead, which is going to go to the Philadelphia Phillies, sooner or later.

Rodriguez is just 29, but he's been beaten up (so to speak) on the field and off. He's in the final year of a three-year, $37 million deal with a team option for 2012 totaling ... wait for it ... $17.5 million (!!!), which automatically vests if Rodriguez "finishes" 100 games between 2010-11 or 55 games in 2011 (there is a $3.5 million buyout). By "finished," I assume they mean saved. With 55 saves this season and the unliklihood of him getting 55 this year, that year won't vest.

Rodriguez would go into the eighth or ninth inning role, depending on Neftali Feliz' ability to get outs. He's be a big, ballsy arm in the bullpen, exactly what the Rangers need.

Beltran, I would assume, would be the everyday centerfielder with Josh Hamilton in left and Nelson Cruz in right. This leaves Dave Murphy, Julio Borbon, Craig Gentry and Endy Chavez on the bench or stuck in the minors. Beltran's also a handy switch hitter, although he's better from the left side of the plate. That's a lot of tools in the outfield if this should come down.

Love the Rangers being in the rumor mill. It's quality stuff.

Roddy Beaubois out 'til 2020

Foot in mouth

Remember way back when Roddy Beaubois was untouchable in a trade? Ha! Ha! LOLz. Party.

Bad news again from our second-favorite French Maverick (Ian Mahinmi has stolen title thanks to that jumper to end the third quarter in game 6), as Beaubois had foot surgery. Again.

I guess it was foolish to think that Beaubois could possibly play in the playoffs becaues he reinjured his left foot in the final game of the regular season. He was active.

It's noted that Beaubois will be out "two to three months." If last season was any indication, "two to three months" in Mavericks-speak means Beaubois will be back mid-season 2014.

Remember, Beaubois hurt his left foot last summer playing for the French national team and was supposed to be back by November ... then December ... then February ... it went on and on and the Mavericks were less than trasnparent about what was going on. Maybe his foot never got healthy in the first place.

Minor Threat 6.0: The Spokane Indians

Unattainable Minka Kelly

A somewhat weekly look at the Texas Rangers farm system. And an unattainable female.

The minor league season is in full swing, post-MLB Draft. The Rangers have signed 22 of their 51 draft picks (by my count ... which is less-than-official), seven of the top 11 and 14 of the top 21 picks.

Also, Scott Feldman, Brandon Webb, Eric Hurley, Leonys Martin and Darren O'Day are all amid their respective rehab assignments. Webb and Hurley are far from close. O'Day is really close and Feldman is probably ready in a pinch.

Joe Wieland was finally bumped to Double A-Frisco.

Enough of that. The Spokane Indians started their season, so let's take a look at who's on the roster.

Guillermo Pimentel
The outfield prospect was the Rangers' major coup in Latin American signings a few years back. Spent most of 2010 in Low-A Hickory and struggled. Probably why he's back in the Northwest again to start this season. Ripping it up, so far. Posting a .387 average and seeming more patient with six walks and seven strikeouts in 31 at-bats, a ratio more in tune with progress.

Zach Cone
The compensatory round pick for the Rangers a couple of years ago. Considered a reach, although he is hitting .357 in the early goings. Currently, taking advantage of lefties at a .625 clip.

Rougned Odor
Odor is become a name of great interest. He's a 17-year-old shortstop prospect getting high praise already and his last name isn't "Sardinas," "Profar" or "Andrus." Right now, he's hitting .325 with a triple, home run and three stolen bases. As raw as a 17-year-old professional baseball player should be.

Ruben Sierra
Entering his third professional season hitting .313 as things have started up. Already posted a five-RBI game. Time will tell. Has struck out 14 times and walked none.

Jorge Alfaro
In 2018, I would bet the Rangers would love Alfaro, Sierra and Odor up the middle in Arlington. Or something like it. Alfaro's 18 and is still maturing. He's projected to be a solid catcher with a really good arm. He's tall (6-2) and considered very athletic. He's projected to have plus-power at the plate. Right now in Spokane, hitting .212 with a triple and homer.

Juan Grullon
Nothing special, just funny that he's 3-0 in four relief appearances. Posting a 0.00 ERA.

David Perez
Considered by most as the Rangers' most promising prospect in the lower levels of the system. Has 14 strikeouts and two walks in eight Spokane innings.

Will Lamb
The Rangers' second-round pick has struck out three in his first two professional innings. Three hits, too.

Matt West/Leonel de los Santos
De los Santos is a 5-10, 21-year-old Dominican righty. West is a 6-1 righty 22-year-old kid from Houston. Both are significant -- in a way -- because both are transitioning from an infield position to pitching. De los Santos was a catcher with a bazooka arm and West was a high draft pick several years ago out of high school, who was busted for steroids early on and couldn't hit (or field, so it seems). Early on, West is having a better go of it striking out six and walking no one. Both are interesting projects.

Matty Ice

Dirk and 6-7 Mike Pelfrey played one-on-one later

Matt Harrison's changing perceptions around here. Stringing together quality stars was expected. Rolling into June healthy and dealing was another.

Harrison notched his sixth win tonight, beating the New York Mets 8-1 in front of 46,000 fans at the Ballpark.

It's becoming the norm. Over his past 37 innings, he's allowed just six earned runs. His ERA has dipped to 3.00. In his last two starts -- 13 innings -- he's struck out 10 and walked just two.

Harrison has also learned to keep the ball in the yard. He's allowed just six homer runs this season. Just one in his last 37 innings.

At 77 innings, he's matched his workload from his nine-win rookie season in 2008. Let's see:

2008
83.2 IP - 100 hits - 57 runs - 31 BBs - 42 Ks - 1.57 WHIP - 5.49 ERA - .300 BAA

2011
84 IP - 72 hits - 34 runs - 34 BBs - 52 Ks - 1.26 WHIP - 3.00 ERA - .238 BAA

Now is the tough part. The weather's getting hotter, teams are getting familiar and Harrison's never pitched this much as a Major Leaguer.

The Rangers are now 3-1 in this 18-game stretch before the All-Star break, all at home.

Notes:
1. Elvis Andrus sprained his wrist. No word on his injury or how severe it is. Mike Young at shortstop? Andres Blanco? Promote Jurickson Profar from Low-A Hickory? Hoping it's not serious, but if Andrus had to sit for a little while, I don't think it'd be all that bad.

2. Dirk Nowitzki threw out the first pitch. He should stick to basketball.

3. Speaking of, why wasn't Gary Pettis out there catching Nowitzki like he does when some third grader from an elementary school or the principal from South Grand Prairie throws out the first pitch? Dirk got Mike Young.

4. The Rangers have something in Mark Lowe. They just need to be patient with it. He's allowed just two baserunners in last four outings, striking out five. Strikeout tonight came on an 88-mph change-up.

5. Couldn't feel better for Yorvit Torrealba. Three hits gives him 13 in last 10 games. His average is up to .267. A fourth hit just missed from getting out of the park.

6. Really nice to see Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre hitting. Each had two-run knocks. Beltre added a pair of opposite-field doubles. Things are good.

Friday afternoon Texas Rangers tidbits

Mr. Met

The New York Metropolitans are in tonight.

****
Dirk Nowitzki is throwing out a good pitch. Finally, a decent closer on the mound. Ha.

****
Josh Hamilton said his day-night splits are due to his blue eyes. And he has a optometrist backing him up:

"Because of the lack of pigment in lighter color eyes -- like blue or green eyes as opposed to brown -- you get a lot more unwanted light and that can create glare problems."

The solution: Sunglasses.

****
Jon Daniels is not in town if you're trying to reach him to go out for drinks. I know I have. He's in the Far East. Scouting.

One specific player he's looking at is Japanese hurler Yu Darvish, the dude that's been teasing to come to the United States for two years. He's dominating, of course.

****
Eric Hurley was taken off the disabled list from his concussion after getting knocked in the head earlier this season. He's at Triple A Round Rock. The 40-man roster is full.

The Mavericks in flux

Making bank

The NBA Finals and Draft are out of the way. We are not beset with the extremely real probability of a lockout and the very real possibility of a truncated 2011-12 season or even -- gulp! -- no NBA season at all.

That's if the players and owners can't be friends. Nothing we can do about any of that. We don't understand a vast majority of it.

As of right now, I'm operating under the assumption that there will be some sort of 2011-12 NBA season and that the Dallas Mavericks will attempt to win back-to-back titles, however unlikely that seems.

You start, first, with your own home. As of this minute -- including the acquisition of Rudy Fernandez, the Mavericks are on the books for $63 million for 10 players. Last season, the paid $92 million.

Truth is, the Mavericks could look different next season. The core -- Kidd, Terry, Dirk, Marion -- are all back. However, I think the trade for Fernandez last night was an indicator that at least part of this team might not be around.

Of the $29 million coming off the books, about $2.7 million is that of Tim Thomas, Greg Buckner, Sasha Pavlovic and Steve Novak. Here is who is coming off the books and who the Mavericks will need to think long and hard about.

Tyson Chandler
31 - $12 million 2010-11 salary
The free agent-to-be played like one this season. He played in 74 games and was a huge factor in the Mavericks A) winning a title and B) becoming a good defensive team. Chandler is an animal the Mavericks have never had. I assume they'll try to keep him. Not that money is an issue ... but in sports, it's an issue. A year ago, Brendan Haywood's contract, some argued, wasn't big at six year, $55 million. Compare his output to that of Chandler, Haywood was severely overpaid. If you wonder what Chandler is going to get paid, consider that he was already getting $12 million. Then, this, comparing contract years:

Haywood -- 31 years old - 8 points - 7 rebounds - 2 blocks
Chandler -- 28 years old - 10 points - 9 rebounds - 1.1 blocks

Haywood went on to get $9 million a year. Three years older. And not nearly the player that Chandler is. I'm awful at predicting contracts, but I would assume Chandler will want $12-13 million a year for five years, give or take. Six years, $72 million? No way he'll want less than Haywood and no way he'll want less than five years, this probably being his last big contract. So, consider dedicating 12 years of contracts totaling $127 million. That's a lot of cash.

Also, consider that Chandler will shop around. He's a guy that's oft-injured and will look for the best deal he can find. He's no lock to come back.

Caron Butler
31 - $10 million 2010-11 salary
I don't know what missing most of a season does to a guy like Butler's negotiating power. Unlike Chandler, I do think Butler is more than likely to return because he's a second or third fiddle on a winning team. His ideal situation. He has almost no competition and can have as many minutes as he wants. Plus, he's been with four teams in his career. I doubt he'd want to keep moving around. Another point to consider is that no one's going to be knocking down his door. Getting a decent contract with the Mavs is as good as a decent contract in Milwaukee or New Orleans. Prepare for the Mavs to overpay a little here. They were woefully thin at the shooting guard/small forward spot for most of the year. Stabilizing that spot with Butler and Fernandez, they probably think, is a good option.

DeShawn Stevenson
30 - $4.1 million 2010-11 salary
Stevenson might have gotten his walking papers last night when the Mavericks traded for Fernandez. However, if he was willing to take a reduced role and a pay decrease, the Mavs would have him back. But, he will take neither. Stevenson thinks he's as good as anyone in the NBA. And I think he'll have suitors. He's just 30, he will not cost too much and he's proven that he can be valuable starting or off the bench. He may not be in Dallas, but Stevenson will land on his feet somewhere.

J.J. Barea
27 - $1.8 million 2010-11 salary
As the NBA Finals wore on, guess who was adding cash to their bankroll. Joe effin' John Barea! It's semi-shocking that he's as old as he is (he turns 27 in, like, five days). He's got a ton of holes in his game, but if you don't think every fan in the NBA weren't licking their chops at the possibility of having the Puerto Rican wonder, you are crazy. He's likable as hell and played himself into a significant pay increase. I bet he gets quite a bit of looks from other teams. Question is, is he really dedicated to the Mavericks or is he like anyone else and wants his payday?

Brian Cardinal
34 - $1.3 million 2010-11 salary
Zero problem with Cardinal and him making $1.3. If the Mavs wanted to throw $2 million at him next year, no problem there either. Cardinal's simply useful. He's The Custodian for crying out loud. Would love to see him back as the 10th man.

Peja Stojakovic
34 - $706K 2011-10 salary
In fantasy sports, you are often forced with making tough decisions. Often, you fall in love with a player and you take a hard look and realize they're not performing for you and you can improve in that position. The fact you have to consider is this, "If I look in the free-agent pool in a month, will he still be there?" The answer, most of the time, is "yes." If Brewer, Fernandez, Beaubois, Butler and Dom Jones are parts of this team, that leaves Stojakovic out. However, I bet you can look in on him in December and he'll still be there. Waiting.

Dallas Mavericks say 'HUMBUG!' to silly ol' NBA Draft

Rudy Fernandez doing his best Jay Gatsby

In perfect form, the Dallas Mavericks snubbed their nose at the annual NBA Draft and just decided to trade away all their picks. Not a bad idea. I don't know if they would've had the brains to pick anyone half decent at No. 26.

However, the Mavericks are far from empty handed.

The Mavericks actually drafted The University of Texas forward Jordan Hamilton. Just before, talks arose that they traded the pick to the Portland Trailblazers for guard/forward Rudy Fernandez. The pick, apparently, was then shipped to Denver in a Ray Felton-Andre Miller deal.

At the moment, all of this is rather officially unofficial.

The Mavs traded their No. 57 pick to Portland for the rights to Finnish point guard Petteri Kopenen, who was drafted in 2007 and has been in Italy ever since. He'll never, ever amount to anything because he's Finnish and should have played hockey.

As for the Fernandez move, I really like it. The Mavericks I think draft poorly because they don't know how to develop players, they've never had a coach that would develop them and with Dirk Nowitzki in place, they had little time for either. This thing, for the last decade, was built for a championship. They will still be in this mode until Nowitzki retires and probably for the decade after, whether they're any good or not.

Why not try to get young (Fernandez is 26 ... Corey Brewer is 25), yet add veteran rotation help along the way. It makes sense.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in love with Fernandez. Far from it. He doesn't play defense and he's a shooting guard that can't shoot. What's to like?

With the move, this probably spells the end to DeShawn Stevenson's time with the Mavericks. He is a free agent making $4.1 million last year. Fernandez is due $2.1 million.

It also probably means good things for Brewer. Stevenson was an erratic shooter. When he was on, he was on. When he wasn't, he wasn't. Still, he was tough, played some defense and was a bit of an enforcer. Fernandez is not this.

Neither he or Brewer will fill the shooting (shooting ... not scoring) void left by Stevenson, but Brewer should be able to pick up the slack defensively and Fernandez can fill it up in any game. He just doesn't.

As we pass judgement on the Mavericks, we are handicapped. For one, we are evaluating a the greatest basketball team in the world. It's a team that would draft Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Tyson Chandler if they could and roll into battle.

Two, we must evaluate based on expectations and history. Is taking Fernandez the most ideal situation? Certainly not. I would love to see what Hamilton, Tyler Honeycutt, Shelvin Mack, Jimmy Butler or Kyle Singler would do as a Dallas Maverick, but that will not happen. The Mavericks roll one way on draft day and that will not change outside of them landing in the lottery. If that should happen, we'd have bigger problems.

Meltdown

Can't Feliz it

Colby Lewis put together a brilliant performance last night for the Texas Rangers.

Some of his numbers as he gets back from an awful stretch:

Two Starts Before
4.2 IP - 17 hits - 15 runs - 4 homers - 3 BBs - 4 Ks

Last Two Starts
13.2 IP - 8 hits - 2 runs - 2 homers - 4 BBs - 18 Ks

Lewis went seven strong last night. Unfortunately, there were still six outs still to get. And the Rangers, apparently, had no one that could get them. They lost 5-3, all five Houston Astro runs coming in the final two frames.

Ron Washington takes more heat for the handling of the bullpen than anything else. He could DH Arthur Rhodes, and he still wouldn't take as much criticism than pitching Darren Oliver four times in five days.

Last night, up 2-0, Dave Bush was your eighth inning guy. Wash bypassed Rhodes and Mike Kirkman as the only reasonably rested guys. Bush allowed a run before inducing a double play to end the inning.

Then Neftali Feliz -- who'd pitched two innings the night before -- gave up four runs on a passed ball and a three-run home run by someone I'd never heard of.

Consider that one run was scored on a passed ball and Bush pitching in the game, it's a tied game if you eliminate shit that should never happen.

Maybe Feliz was the best option there. Maybe not. Mark Lowe, Darren Oliver and Yoshi Tateyama were not available for extensive work.

But it would make you wonder if over-pitching Lowe, Oliver and Tateyama the last five days was the best idea. Lowe pitched two-thirds of an inning and Oliver an inning Monday night in a 8-3 win. Would you not have loved to have Lowe and Oliver Tuesday night in extra innings and again last night.

As the bullpen turns.

Remember, though, this is probably the highlight of the Astros' season.

All-Star Game voting guide

Andrew McCutcheon deserves your vote

I take few things seriously. One exception is the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Don't ask me why. I do. I don't watch any other sports exhibitions. I don't care about them. I doesn't make any sense, I know.

To whit, I take the voting of the starters for the American and National leagues extremely seriously. I do not like how guys are grandfathered in and how much of a popularity contest it all becomes. I don't like that veterans, past their prime, get the vote due to legacy or whatever.

I don't like that teams campaign for unworthy players. I don't mind if the Texas Rangers want me to vote for Michael Young, Elvis Andrus or Adrian Beltre. But Yorvit Torrealba, Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler, frankly, do not deserve to play in the midsummer classic.

With that said, here are some worthy players deserving of your vote, should you chose to exercise that priviledge:

National League

1B - Prince Fielder
Milwaukee Brewers
Joey Votto may be the best player in the league. But Prince Fielder has more home runs, doubles, a worthy .303 average and a higher OPS. Plus, Fielder has 10 more walks than strikeouts.

2B - Rickie Weeks
Milwaukee Brewers
A thin crop. Weeks doesn't have all the best numbers, but he's the lead-off hitter for a first-place team. He leads all NL second basemen in just about any power category.

3B - Chase Headley
San Diego Padres
One name I didn't think I'd include here. Just two home runs, but he leads all NL third basemen in doubles and his head over heels better at on-base percentage. Not a lot of super strong candidates; however, that shouldn't take away from Headley deserving a look.

SS - Jose Reyes
New York Mets
The easiest pick here. Having a monster year. Killing it in all angles of the game.

OF - Matt Kemp
Los Angeles Dodgers
A really nice comeback year. Like Reyes, kind of the head of the class in the outfield playing for an awful team.

OF - Andrew McCutcheon
Pittsburgh Pirates
Numberswise, there might be more worthy candidates (the NL outfield situation is deep). Probably one of the more emotional picks for me. His numbers are comparable although he doesn't overshadow anyone quite like Kemp. He is also the best offensive player for a Pirates team that is not the worst thing in the world. If you want to see a superstar of the future for more than half an inning, pick McCutcheon.

OF - Justin Upton
Arizona Diamondbacks
A nice year for the Diamondbacks and Upton. A really nice, sleek year. Hitting well. Up there in doubles and hits. Nothing to complain about.

C - Brian McCann
Atlanta Braves
Yadier Molina is better defensively and is having a great year. McCann's a clean-up hitter, who can call a pretty nice game himself.

American League

1B - Adrian Gonzalez
Boston Red Sox
The hottest/coldest team of the year. Started off as bad as you can get. Then Gonzalez turned it around and the BoSox got really good, really quickly. No-brainer. A brilliant year so far.

2B - Robinson Cano
New York Yankees
Off years from Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler make this an easy pick.

3B - Adrian Beltre
Texas Rangers
Beltre goes toe to toe with any third baseman in the AL in any hitting category outside of average and on-base percentage. However, he's been a big part (53 RBI) of a first-place team and he plays probably the best defense in the league at the hot corner. I think he means more to the Rangers than, say, Kevin Youkilis (a very deserving guy) does to the Boston Red Sox.

SS - Asdrubal Cabrera
Cleveland Indians
Is tops or top three in every hitting category for shortstops. Is the engine of the most surprising team in Major League Baseball.

C - Alex Avila
Detroit Tigers
Name someone better in the American League.

DH - David Ortiz
Boston Red Sox
Quietly back to his former self.

The annual opportunity for the Dallas Mavericks to do what they do worst

Justin Harper: Flush

The NBA Draft is tomorrow.

It's damn-near impossible to pile any criticism on the Dallas Mavericks after winning the world championship. It's a hall pass. You can skip any time you want. You can goof up and knock up the principal's daughter. Doesn't matter. You've got a pass.

The Mavericks are there. No matter what they do in free agency or the draft, they can point to the ring and nobody can say a word.

Although this is extremely gratifying, I, for one, do not believe the Mavericks should spend the next decade looking at their ring fingers and hanging on for dear life to June 2011, much like the Dallas Stars did after 1999 or after the Dallas Cowboys after 1995. Now, more than ever, is the right time to get better. If nothing else, younger.

However, as much as I'm convinced that Jason Kidd is great and Dirk Nowitzki otherworldly, I don't think the Mavericks are much good at evaluating and developing young talent. It doesn't help that they get shitty draft picks every year. But other teams (see: San Antonio Spurs) seem to make it work.

With the NBA Draft a mere day away, we might as well consider it another opportunity for Donnie Nelson to take a wild flier on some unathletic white guy from overseas. Once taken, they'll stay in Europe or Turkey or wherever to "develop" and "hone" his game. And we'll never see them again. Adieu, Shan Foster, adieu.

Here are some mocks. Be prepared for vowels.

Yahoo! Sports
26. Davis Bertans
6-10 - 210 - Latvia
Pure shooter. Some say the Spurs are going to take him at No. 29. He's as white as he is Latvian.

Sports Illustrated
26. Justin Harper
6-9 - 228 - Richmond
Considered undersized with the need for bulk to be a power forward. In that case, he seems like a Brandon Bass starter kit. Seems to have more touch from the perimeter. Still, with these first two mocks, we are seeing a definite trend -- the Mavs are happy with their guard and center situation. It's depth at power forward and small forward that need addressing. I don't mind this strategy. Just needs to be blacker.

Hoops Hype
26. Nikola Mirotic
6-10 - 210 - Montenegro
The dude is signed to Real Madrid through 2015. Won't see the NBA until then. This mock has the Mavericks passing Duke's Kyle Singler. Although I abhor white guys, skipping someone has polished as Singler would be a mistake for a quality franchise. Singler helps you right now.

NECN
26. Davis Bertans
Again, has the Mavericks passing on both Singler and Harper.

The Hoop Doctors
26. Nolan Smith
6-4 - 190 - Duke
An unlikely selection considering the Mavericks will have Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, Joe John Barea, Roddy Beaubois and (potentially) Dom Jones vying for minutes at the guard position. How many undersized shooting point guards does a team need?

Ugly, but effective

Error of judgement

How bad are the Houston Astros?

On a night when nothing is going right with the Texas Rangers and their rookie starter is going seven inning keeping the Rangers at bay (on the road) they lose 5-4 in 11 innings.

Ridiculous. C.J. Wilson was not sharp. The Rangers line-up could muster very little outside of some solo home runs and Taylor Teagarden. And they committed ridiculous errors.

Nothing was going right. But give credit to Wilson. He powered through seven innings and put together a couple of scoreless innings allowing the Rangers to claw their way back.

It wasn't easy, but it was worth it. The theatrics have avoided the Rangers all season. Outside of a walk-off affair against the Kansas City Royals (I think), the Rangers have been the victim of late-inning high jinks more than they've been the perpetrators.

Keeping it close allowed Josh Hamilton to crush a game-tying solo bomb and keeping it tied allowed Mitch Moreland to bash his second home run in as many days.

The Rangers are 2-0 in this very important 18-game stretch. With the Seattle Mariners losing to Washington, the Rangers are up two games in the AL West.

Notes:
1. With four strikeouts and no walks, Wilson's K/BB ratio went up to 2.58. An improvement from 1.83 a year ago. In 14 innings with Taylor Teagarden as catcher, Wilson's walked three.

2. Wilson hasn't allowed a home run in 29.1 innings. His longest streak of the season.

3. Neftali Feliz, the last three games: 4 IP - 1 hit - 0 runs - 0 BBs - 6 Ks.

4. Ian Kinsler has 42 walks, 32 strikeouts. His on-base percentage is on par for his career total (.354) despite his average being 40 points below his career average (.276).

5. Yoshi Tateyama walked his first batter as a Major Leaguer. It took 15.1 innings.

6. Mike Young has 91 hits. He is 64 short of 2,000.

Glengarry Glen Gulutzan

There aren't a lot of "Glens" in the world, are there?

I've known one personally in my life. There's a new one in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The Dallas Stars replaced Marc Crawford with Glen Gulutzan.

All I can think about is money. The Stars still aren't owned, still step-children of the NHL and bastards of the Hicks Sports Group. They don't have money and I can't imagine Gulutzan required a ton of money to come on board.

Also, the fact that he's coached 80 percent of the team as the el jefe of the Texas Stars, the franchise's farm team. Of course, these kids -- although good -- are still getting playing time because the Stars are not adding names from free agency. Whoever is already getting a paycheck is getting ice time.

I'm not going to judge Gulutzan right now. I was underwhelmed by both Ron Washington and Rick Carlisle. Each have taken their teams to the championship level of their respective leagues. So, what the hell do I know?

Nuttin'.

Tiger 2.0

Yep, that's Rory McIlroy on a fucking cupcake

Media and fans of the game of golf have another love affair. Pun not intended.

It's Rory McIlroy, the 21-year-old dimpled Irishman who, if you haven't heard, won the U.S. Open by a billion strokes while having a happy-go-lucky, aw-shucks smirk with that shaggy haircut burrowing out from under that baseball cap. He probably doesn't need to save. He's played golf since he was a kid. He's been viewed as the Messiah. He had an emotional moment with his overbearing father when he finished his round.

Yeah, it sounds like Tiger Woods in 1997.

The more and more I've thought about the bullshit that's befallen Woods the last two years the more I've realized that he's gotten a bad shake. Yes, he cheated on his wife and he is a A No. 1 asshole for doing it (or doing them ... so to speak). However, he's not unlike anyone else. Why we are so angry is because Woods painted himself as a family man and all that bullshit. Again, he's not unlike anyone else.

We -- fans, media, spectators -- put these limitations on Woods and other celebrities and we see them as being beyond the basic carnal reflexes that wind many in jail for messing around with kids or raping women and send the rest of us to Internet porn.

We think celebrities or politicians who should be solely interested in their short game or running a country don't like to get laid. When we learn that they're as nitwitted as the rest of us, we get angry, for zero reason.

We love McIlroy the same way we all loved Woods in 1996. The kid that was a phenom and had known nothing but golf. The kid that had a weird relationship with his dad. The kid that was better than everyone else.

It's the same. McIlroy might win about six or 10 Majors. He could catch Jack Nicklaus. He is also going to get married. To some foxy chick because athletes get all the girls. More than likely, they will have children. There will be portraits. There will be blurred paparazzi shots of them -- sunglassed and in windbreakers -- taking walks and shit.

There will also be other women. There might be drugs or alcohol. There will be unfair expectations.

In fact, McIlroy has a better chance at winding up like Tiger than Jack. Because there is one Jack. There are millions of Tigers -- dudes with a divorce, alimony, a bad knee and shitty golf game.

Make hay

Defense is all about throwing and catching

OK, so the Texas Rangers suck on the road. Or at the very least a .500 road club.

That makes the next 18 ... I mean, 17 games even more important. As the first half winds down, the Rangers now have 14 of 17 at home including last night's 8-3 win over the AWFUL Houston Astros.

In fact, the Rangers have the Astros twice, the New York Mets, the Florida Marlins (whose coach quit), the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics going into the All-Star game. The Rangers need 80 percent of these games. Now is the time the Rangers make hay and put a stranglehold on the American League West.

Last night was a super start. Thoughts:

Derek Holland
I think The Ticket's Sean Bass had it right on Twitter last night: Holland's done just enough to keep him in the rotation. Yes, he's uneven and can get rattled. However, he's also your fifth starter, and I love Tommy Hunter and all, but Holland is your best bet moving forward. In fact, as an organization, I give Holland the entire season, sink or swim. Six of his last 10 starts have been good to great. In 2012, if you want to go a different direction, fine. I think you'd have a great trade chip. However, for right now, Holland is the guy. Unless he walks a No. 9 hitter. Then you can trade him.

Josh Hamilton
Feels like he's about to turn it on. RBIs in five of his last six despite going hitless in three of those games. He still gets runners home. A MVP-like Hamilton makes all the difference for that line-up.

Nelson Cruz
The same with Cruz as it is with Hamilton. He's got seven hits in his last four games, five of them doubles. Still, he's striking out at a torrid pace and not walking. Doesn't seem to be the same guy at the plate most nights.

Defense
The defense this season has been a trainwreck, I don't care what kind of fielding statistic you throw at me. Yes, I agree that they are very talented and deep defensively. They make plays many others at their position won't make (see Ian Kinsler's DP yesterday). If Dave Murphy is your worst defensive outfielder, then you have far worse problems elsewhere. However, unearned runs still count. It probably cost them a sweep in Atlanta. You can still be great while still being just good. On some plays, good is enough.

Craig Gentry
Has he made Murphy tradeable? The knock on the guy -- who's done all he can in Triple A -- is he can't hit in the Majors. Well, he's hitting .271 with a .377 OBP. He doesn't strike out a lot. He has no home run power, but can hit the gaps. Love his brains and hustle. One of the better baserunners (along with speed) on the roster.

Rangers ink top picks

Will. i. Lamb

No waiting around until August for the Texas Rangers' top picks.

I guess it's a perk of picking so late in the first round. And also picking guys most weren't going to take in the first around.

The Rangers signed first rounder Kevin Matthews for $936K and compensatory pick Zach Cone for $873K.

The Rangers have signed 17 of their 51 picks. This comes a day after signing second rounder Will Lamb. The Rangers have, obviously, signed their top three picks and six of their top 11.

Matthews is going to Arizona. Cone is going to Spokane. I assume Lamb will go there too.

A baseball buffet

The chase

For a week, the Texas Rangers could simply do nothing right. Every facet of their game sucked.

For one night, at least, the Rangers did everything right.

The hitting was fine, the starting pitching great, the bullpen super and the closer was ... scary good in a 6-2 win in Atlanta last night.

Start at the end:

1. Neftali Feliz simply looked like the guy we saw all of last season. He threw every pitch for strikes, his fastball was hitting 97 and it moved. Not only was it a strike. Not only was it 97 mph. But it was moving through the strike zone. The Braves did not have a chance in the ninth.

2. For once, the bullpen worked as it should. Arthur Rhodes got two of the three left handers that he faced out and Yoshi Tateyama -- brought into a 5-2 game with a runner on first, his first "pressure situation" -- got an inning-ending double play. I love it when a plan comes together.

3. Why did the bullpen work out? Colby Lewis. This was a huge game for him. How would he come back from his two worst starts in a very long time?

Last two starts
4.2 IP - 17 hits - 15 runs - 4 homers - 3 BBs - 4 Ks

Last night
6.2 IP - 5 hits - 2 runs - 2 homers - 3 BBs - 10 Ks

Not to rain on the parade, but home runs are becoming an issue for Lewis. In 201 innings a year ago, Lewis allowed 21 home runs. In 86 innings this year, he's allowed 19. When he's on (three total home runs in the six starts before his slide) he keeps the ball in the park (six home runs in last three starts).

3. Since Thad Bosley was fired, the Rangers offense has completely sucked. It's been awful. There's been legit questions about several guys including Nellie Cruz (who was on a 0-18 slump before last night) and Ian Kinsler (who's been certifiably awful all year). It didn't hurt facing a rookie just called up from Double A, but the Rangers had 12 hits and six runs, four coming in game-breaking fifth inning. Cruz went 2-4 with two doubles and three RBI. Josh Hamilton had four hits and three RBI, two coming on a two-run bomb. There were hard-hit balls all day. Not exactly efficient (Rangers were 1-8 with runners on at one point and they were shut down late by the Braves' bullpen), but a good one nonetheless.

A kidney stone-less Matty Harrison and the Rangers offense will be another interesting watch this afternoon.

Why making comparisons is dumb

Who can compare?

Why are American sports fans so obsessed with making comparisons or, if you will, comps?

There's a psychology to this. I think it comes down to insecurity. Most people don't understand the true complexity of an athlete's game -- from his brain to his body. For example, a vast majority of people that know who Lebron James is don't exactly know what makes him so good. The same with Dirk Nowitzki. In fact, let's go ahead and include every athlete -- professional or no.

Sports fans know how to play a game. They don't know how to dissect it or enjoy the nuance.

This is why we have sports writers, radio guys and the pundits we see on ESPN or we might read at Baseball Prospectus. It's what makes an OK color analyst on TV a great color analyst on TV: The ability to explain those subtleties and details to a dumb audience.

One of the biggest hubs of controversy in the recent NBA Finals were the comps of James to Michael Jordan (or Magic Johnson ... or Scottie Pippen) and those of Nowitzki to Larry Bird.

The camps were at a stalemate. James' comparisons were based on the observation that he stunk. Nowitzki's comparison were based on him being very good.

Comps are made because A) we're lazy; and B) we're stupid.

Both go hand in hand really. At first, we're stupid. Luckily, if you watch enough of the sports, read about it, study it, read more, listen to others you might develop a true grasp of the game with the ability to make salient and insightful points.

Most remain stupid and don't want to put the work into it. They just want to know why Tony Romo can't just throw the ball to Jason Witten 40 times a game. That's laziness.

Most people can't look at Nowitzki's game and tell another person what's so good about it: Maybe his ability to get his shot off against smaller guys, his touch, the ability to take certain guys off the dribble and, frankly, his noted improvement every year from passing to rebounding to understanding the flow of a game.

Comparisons are often shortsighted. Nowitzki is compared to Bird because they could both shoot, they have shaggy haircuts and they are both white. Those are actually where the comparison ends.

Truth is -- and I love Dirk Nowitzki -- but he is no Larry Bird.

Here's another truth: Of the 250,000 people that crammed into downtown Dallas yesterday, I would predict 95 percent have not seen Bird play a substantial amount of basketball.

Some are too young. Others merely just jumped on the Mavericks' bandwagon. Still, a vast majority have no idea what Bird was about.

First and foremost, he was not a good defender. He was a fantastic defender. He was gritty and tough his entire career. Nowitzki can not come even close to touching him here.

Bird was the superior passer. He was the superior rebounder.

Bird has three NBA titles. And three MVP awards. Bird was simply better.

Comparing the two is unfair ... to both.

For one, Bird was the superior player and if his name has to keep fighting off more and more white guys for eternity, then it sort of devalues what he was actually about.

It's unfair to Nowitzki, too. Bird had no comps. No one was watching him win those titles in the 1980s and simply commenting on his ability by saying he was in the mold of George Gervin or Jerry West. I don't remember anyone comparing Michael Jordan to Julius Erving or Oscar Robertson. They simply watched the game and enjoyed the brilliance.

If we are smart, we'd do the same. Instead of attempting to look "smart" and say so and so reminds me of so and so, why not take these players for what they are and enjoy it?

Fact is, most of us are dumb. A vast, vast, vast majority have never seen Erving, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Bob Cousy, Moses Malone or Earl Monroe play the game. Many others have never really seen Magic, Bird or, even, Jordan.

Just leave the comps alone.

Gay as a parade

There was an apparent parade this morning in downtown Dallas.

There was not enough money in the world to get me to go to this. I hate people, parades and heat.

A Bronx bombing

Not everyone digs the long ball

What started out as a stellar June (5-0) has turned into a disaster, so to speak (7-7).

The Texas Rangers lost, again, 12-4 to the New York Yankees and there's a lot not to like.

Just stealing. And I don't mean bases. The Yankees stole six of them, but that is not the story.

Steve Busby noted -- as reported by Jamey Newberg on Twitter -- on the radio broadcast that Derek Holland might be tipping his pitches. Makes sense. The Dutch Over allowed seven hits, six runs and two home runs in five innings. He also walked five and struck out none. Basically, he was terrible and had zero control. He might not have to tip his pitches.

Then, story came out that the Yankees -- particularly Andruw Jones -- was stealing signs from second base. I always thought that it went on, but it was bad form in baseball to steal signs. Ron Washington and Yorvit Torrealba didn't seem to mind. Although, Torrealba noted that he said something to Jones, we just don't know what.

There are bigger issues. Mark Lowe and Neftali Feliz were bombed again. The Rangers hitters had 10 hits, but none of them were important.

The bottom half of the order for the Yankees, this series:

9-22 - 6 runs - 5 RBI - 3 homers - 3 walks - 2 strikeouts - 3 stolen bases.

It's bad enough that Mark Teixeira, Robbie Cano and others are treating your pitchers like slow-pitch softball practice, but if the bottom of the order is killing you, you have no shot.

Leaks are spring up and it's concerning. Maybe it's losing traction on the road against a good team. Maybe it's long-term issues that needed fixed, quick. By the end of June, we'll know a lot. And they might still be in first place.

C.J. Wilson is our only hope against ... former Ranger farmhand and career minor leaguer Brian Gordon!!

Boston wins again

Bearish

Boston sports fans can no longer bitch.

Since 2000, they've won three Super Bowls, two World Series, an NBA Finals and, now, a Stanley Cup.

Plus, they've played in another Super Bowl and NBA Finals.

That 11 years and seven title and nine title games/series.

Remarkable.

And I thought it was kind of cool that Dallas-Fort Worth sports fans have had three Super Bowls, a Stanley Cup, an NBA title and participation in a World Series since 1992.

Boston doesn't know how lucky she is.

Still love the Stanley Cup Finals. Hockey players, in my opinion, are the acme of sportsmen and I think they care far more for their championship than other sports.

On another note: Canadians are crazier than first perceived. Luckily, they have socialized healthcare.

The legacy of Jason Kidd

Worth every penny

When the news came down in February of 2008 that the Dallas Mavericks had traded for Jason Kidd, I had already vehemently stated my case that it was a mistake.

It was essentially a swap of Devin Harris for the aging Kidd. I hated such desperate, panic move. I thought it was too steep of a price, although Kidd was rather expensive. The Mavs sent Harris, Trenton Hassell, Mo Ager, DeSagana Diop, Keith Van Horn, cash and first round picks to the Nets for Kidd and Malik Allen.

It doesn't sound like much. In reality, only Harris and Van Horn had any value, and Van Horn had a very sweet expiring deal at the time, not unlike the Erick Dampier trade chip they had last summer. The Van Horn chip was supposed to be a huge player in getting an impact guy. Instead, he was just another name in a trade for a point guard past his prime.

Despite all my bitching, I wrote this on Feb. 20, 2008:

"No more bitching, but also no more excuses about lack of toughness or leadership. This is it. The Mavs have to start winning and they must start winning playoff games by the handfuls. A NBA Championship within the next two years is the only thing that will make this entire rigmarole worth it. The Mavs win and all doubters are silenced."

It took more than three years, but it happened. Jason Kidd was the starting point guard -- an integral ingredient -- on a championship team.

All of the attention goes to Dirk Nowitzki and how this title will boost his image and legacy.

No one really talks about Jason Kidd. He'd been to the Finals twice before against a clearly outmatched, but scrappy, New Jersey Nets team. Kidd was the Nets (finished five times in the top 10 in MVP voting ... in 2001-02 he finished second behind Tim Duncan). He'd never won big before, but now he has.

I don't think it matters that he is clearly past his prime. He says he has years left. His brain is probably making decisions his legs can't handle. Despite what everyone says, he's not near the defender we think he is. Yes, he's highly intelligent on the court and that makes up for a lot of physical deficiencies. Still, he was important more so in working hard, staying the course and never, ever getting frazzled. The latter, I think, was Kidd's most vital contribution to the 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks.

My end game with Kidd's arrival was that only a title matters. You never trade a young commodity like Devin Harris for someone like Kidd unless it ended with a title. I stand by that. Now that the Mavericks have won, the trade is validated in my eyes. That was a good trade, zero doubt ... now.

I hate to judge Harris on this point. Yes, the injuries he's had since are scary. Still, we sent him to New Jersey. It's like sending someone to Siberia and not being able to believe that person can't stay warm. Everyone's going to look worse in New Jersey. Playing next to Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion and others is far and away a totally different set of circumstances that make comparisons unfair.

My most frustrating thoughts about Kidd regard how everyone treats him in the media and public. Like most things concerning the Mavericks, we ignore the bad and over-celebrate the good. No one talks about Kidd's 1-6 shooting nights. Everyone talks when he goes 4-6.

The shooting irks me too. Kidd's played in 17 season in the NBA. For 16 of those seasons, including the 14 previous to re-joining the Mavericks, he was an awful shooter. Then, suddenly, in 2009-10, he's shooting and shooting well. With time, his ability to beat defenders off the dribble has disappeared and he never gets to the free-throw line. Apparently, all it took was some tutoring from Nowitzki and he can suddenly shoot.

Kidd was a Hall-of-Fame point guard before he came back to Dallas. But him "learning" how to shoot this far into his career is like learning Shaquille O'Neal could really shooting 90 percent from the free-throw line. If Kidd could always learn to shoot, why didn't he do it earlier? Would it not have helped his team? No one's really explained this.

Note: I always like to bring up in the "Jason Kidd is a good shooter" discussion that he was 36 percent from the field this season and 34 percent from the three-point line. Kidd still can't shoot. But he can hit big shots. There's a marked difference.

Kidd has his limitations. He knows them even if the rest of us would like to think he's a 38-year-old, defying-all-odds superstar that no one really appreciates. I think he could give a shit. That dude, maybe more than anyone, including Nowitzki, wanted a ring. He cared nothing for legacy (or else he would've learned to shoot in 1994) or for how he looked (or else he wouldn't have beat his wife).

He was about the ring. It validates everything. It, in turn, solidifies his legacy.

Damn Yankees

See, the bat did get off Josh Hamilton's shoulders!

The New York Yankees are assholes. Not for any other reason other than the fact that they are perfectly maddening.

The Texas Rangers lost in New Yankee Stadium 12-4 last night, providing Alexi Ogando his first loss of the season. He lasted 1.1 innings.

This is due largely in part to the Yankees. In our baseball lifetimes, we've never seen a team absolutely work a pitcher to death.

Foul ball after foul ball. They'll take any pitch in any count. They're patient and they absolutely force your hand and make you throw a pitch that they can hit. It's been happening for 15 years and it might happen for another 15 more. Assholes.

They whipped Ogando good. Six runs and not making it out of the second inning. The dude threw pitch after pitch. They held off the bad ones and fouled away the others and smashed a few more into the outfield.

What killed me was "pitching around" Nick Swisher in the second inning. Runners at second and third, one out and Swisher at bat, Eduardo Nunez (the poor man's Derek Jeter) on deck. The Rangers effectively intentionally walk Swisher, although they do get two strikes on him. Sets up bases loaded and Nunez comes through.

I would venture a guess that Swisher is better than Nunez. No doubt. However, Swisher's hitting .227 this season and .176 against righties. With runners in scoring position, he's hitting .180 and .286 with the bases loaded.

There was an excellent chance that Swisher would have been an out. Not that pitching to Nunez is a bad idea. I just would have wanted to consider him out No. 3, not two.

Nunez singles. The Yankees add five more, then six more until the end of the game.

Ogando was awful. Yoshi Tateyama and Mike Kirkman were bad. Still, it might not overshadow the real issue: Hitting.

Until Nelson Cruz walked late in the game, the Rangers had gone 30+ innings without a walk having struck out 19 times. It sounds like Rudy Jaramillo hitting. No patience. Swinging at bad pitches and doing the complete opposite of the Yankees.

Hitters are easy outs if they aren't patient and choosy. The Rangers are neither right now.

It's an epidemic. Cruz looks horrid. Ian Kinsler is AWFUL. Josh Hamilton's slumping. In fact, the best hitter right now is Yorvit Torrealba (13 hits in last seven ... seven-game hit streak), and that is embarassing. Nothing against Torrealba, but it's nearly 70 games in and there are some definite trends in play.

I think it starts with Kinsler. Someone on Twitter called him a "designated out" last night. I don't know how you fix it, but it's gone beyond just "struggling" or "working through things." He's bad.

Maybe some Ivan Nova will fix things.

Classiness of classy

Someone was already at the kiddie urinal

Sunday night when the classy Dallas Mavericks won the classy NBA Finals over the classless Miami Heat, the common thread amongst Maverick supporters was that the "classy" team won.

In short, the Mavericks celebrated in a way that the Heat would not have celebrated: With class.
Since, DeShawn Stevenson's been seen with a T-shirt with the most juvenile of dick jokes, Mark Cuban's been photographed taking a piss with the Larry O'Brien trophy and, now, Stevenson's been arrested for public intoxication.

Everyone has "class" until they don't. Or, everyone has "class" when stood up next to the "classless." I also point to Stevenson posing in front of the Miami Heat bench in game 6. Again, if he were not a Maverick, we'd aboslutely hate him.

On the whole, I have no problem with any of this. I'm not interested in watching Cuban (the king of classlessness) pee or Stevenson get drunk. However, the Mavericks fandom (nor the team itself) has any right to call themselves "classy" after the last four days.

A Dallas Cowboys cheerleader feels "frisky" and "experimental"

This probably is not the cheerleader in question ... although it'd be nice

Deadspin recently posted a story about how some guy attempted to sell the Gawker Media sports blog a story (with photos!!!!) of a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader in lingerie and near nudity.

The editor A.J. Daulerio posted the series of e-mails between him and the guy with supposed photos in addition to a series of e-mail from a CraigsList post looking for sex fun.

There is talk of toys. Talk of "stretching."

Deadspin lowballed the guy and he declared that he didn't want to spoil someone's life for that amount of money. Classy!

The story never came out and probably never will unless people start digging. I wonder if Jerry Jones appreciates the Dallas Cowboys getting into the news, even if it involves "stretching"? I doubt it.

One thing that should be known: Even if the story never made it out, it still seems pretty true.

Stay classy, DeShawn Stevenson

Classy

When the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA title, it was generally thought that the Mavericks had class and the Miami Heat, I guess, I didn't.

This has nothing to do with what happened on the court. It has everything to do with last summer.

Still, I would guarantee you that most of Miami absolutely hate DeShawn Stevenson and Brian Cardinal. 100 percent.

Now, there's photos of Stevenson wearing a T-shirt that asks "Hey Lebron! How's My Dirk Taste?"

At the bottom of the shirt is the HD Net logo. Which is owned by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, the king of class.

"Class" is a fragile thing. Dick jokes are not classy.

Just goes to show that its cool if your team is doing it.

Minor Threat 5.0

I've become a huge Blake Lively fan. Huge.

A sometimes weekly look -- when I want, basically -- at the Texas Rangers' farm system. A glance, really.

Sadness. Mike Olt has a broken clavicle, which is really put a damper on my minor league boner I had going on. In addition, Leonys Martin -- the starting centerfielder for the 2012 Texas Rangers -- is out with back issues.

Also, the Rangers have signed 14 of their 51 draft picks, including eighth-rounder Kyle Hendricks.

Still we trudge on.

Round Rock Express
Joey Butler, the 25-year-old outfielder, is hitting .331 with four triples and nine doubles.

Chad Tracy is absolutely killing it. He's got 58 RBI with 13 homers and 14 doubles. Average at .281. He has a career 135 doubles in the minors. I wonder if he'll ever get a shot?

Zachary Phillips has strung together 5.2 straight scoreless innings. Having a miserable year, however.

I thought it'd be funny if Luis Cruz drugged Nelson Cruz and took the call-up. He's got 13 doubles and seven home runs.

Cody Eppley has a 1.04 ERA on his trek back to Arlington.

Julio Borbon's hitting .226 in his most recent stay in Triple A.

Speaking of ruined confidence, Pedro Strop's got a 5.51 ERA in the minors. Still has 23 strikeouts in 16 innings.

Frisco RoughRiders
Jon Greene has a .301 average and 18 doubles. By a mile, his best year in a while. Just doesn't have a position.

Whatever step forward Engel Beltre took a year ago, he's taken two steps back. His K/BB ratio is out of whack and his average is below the Mendoza line.

Soft-tossing Dick Bleier has allowed just two homers and four walks in 39 innings. Opponents are hitting .307 off of him. He also has a 2:1 groundball/flyball ratio.

Tommy Mendonca would be perfect if he didn't have 70 strikeouts. Hitting .315 and 30 extra-base hits.

If you want a name for the Rangers bullpen in 2011 or 2012: Tyler Tufts. For his career, 193 innings and 162 strikeouts.

Carlos Pimental, by the month: 6.11 ERA (April), 4.31 (May) and 1.93 (June, so far).

Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Joe Wieland has a ridiculous four (4!!) walks in 78 (seventy-eight!!) innings. Here are totals for Pelican players that are more than Wieland's walk total:

18
Errors by Leury Garcia. Five Pelicans have five or more errors.

5
Walks by Robbie Erlin, when he was a Pelican. He's now a Frisco RoughRider.

5
Wild pitches by Barret Loux.

5
Saves from converted infielder Johan Yan.

6
Triples by Ryan Strausborger.

7
Wins by Robbie Ross.

8
Doubles by Zach Zaneski.

6
Home runs allowed by Joe Wieland. Thankfully, a lot of them are solo.

Hickory Crawdads
Jake Skole over his last 10: .324/.422/.514 - 13 runs - 10 RBI - 7 walks - 6 strikeouts.

Tomas Telis is hitting .310. He's hit everywhere he's been, but never above low-A. Still doesn't walk (11) but doesn't strikeout either (15).

Nick Tepesch has a 44:13 K/BB ratio.

Watch out for Jorge Marban: .145 BAA in 18 innings of relief.

Odubel Herrera, by the month: .329 (April), .176 (May) and .410 (June). Add on 14 doubles and 17 stolen bases.

Ryan Rodebaugh has a gaudy 0.50 ERA and a .181 BAA.

As a starter, Cody Buckel has a 1.64 ERA and his BAA is 60 points lower than as a reliever.

A loss in 23 innings

Dog days

The Texas Rangers' high-A affiliate, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (owned by Chuck Greenberg) lost in fantastic fashion yesterday to the Kinston Indians, 3-2.

It was fantastic because it took 23 innings.

In games like these, you always get some cool numbers. Here are 11:

11
At-bats for Kinston second baseman Casey Frawley. He had two hits, an RBI and six strikeouts.

32
Strikeouts by Myrtle Beach pitchers. Joe Wieland struck out nine in six innings. Eight others came from Chad Bell in five innings of relief.

3
Hits for Pelican leftfielder David Paisano, in nine at-bats.

2
Hits off of Kasey Kiker, the losing pitcher. He got two outs.

14
Straight scoreless innings for the Pelicans going into today's game.

26
Total hits by both teams. In a regularly played game, that's like both teams totaling 12 hits.

387
Minutes of minor-league baseball.

0
Stolen bases by the Pelicans. They were caught once. Meanwhile, the Indians stole seven bases. In 23 innings, you'd think you'd get one stolen base, or try a lot. Press things and make the opponent make a mistake.

0.78
The Indians' team ERA for the game. Two runs allowed in two-and-half games.

15
Total pitchers used.

4
Walks issued by Wieland in 78 innings this year.

In review

The disappointment of the Miami Heat

Portrait of young man

Listen, no one wanted the Dallas Mavericks to win these NBA Finals more than I. I wanted it. I picked it.

However, I defied all of my sports logic and the general consensus around the nation, and I actually kind of adopted the Miami Heat as a secondary team that I kind of followed and I rooted for.

Mostly because of Lebron James and mostly because I think America is innately racist.

Now, I don't think everyone is racist nor do I think they're card-carrying members of the Ku Klux Klan. But I think we react to certain things. We demonized individuals for certain actions and I think the color of that person's skin has a lot to do with how we react.

Lebron James didn't kill anyone. He didn't get high or drunk and go driving (and get caught, anyways). He wasn't fighting dogs. He didn't roll into a club with a gun and fire it into his own leg. He wasn't hauling a half-ton of coke across state lines.

James is a dumb kid that's been told how fucking special he is for HIS ENTIRE LIFE and he frankly doesn't know how else to act. He's told what a global icon he can become and he acts on that not realizing the ancilliary outcomes.

I think James is super special and if you can't overcome what you think of him personally to realize this, then you are flawed and you probably really don't like basketball. It's why I love him. I love watching him play the game.

Unfortunately, we're starting to build a pretty good case against James being very good. I think its all mental, 100 percent.

We have the 2010 meltdown in the playoffs when he quit his team. There was "The Decision." Now, we have three rounds of superior play against the likes of the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics where he was outstanding.

We have the 2011 Finals now. James was, without a doubt, inferior in the last six games and, maybe more than anything, it prevented the Miami Heat from winning the world championship.

No, it wasn't the lack of role players. It wasn't Chris Bosh not "being a superstar." It was James. If he does his normal damage there's a really good chance the Heat win the title, and not the Mavericks.

This is fact. The Mavericks won this title fair and square and it was their defense against James that paved the way for that title. On the other hand, I've watched James carve up defenses as good as -- and better -- than the Mavericks' and I had little doubt watching the last several games that James could not have found better shots.

It's disappointing. Not that the Mavericks won, but because it really seemed too easy. That sounds cocky. And a little ridiculous considering these games were all close and came down to the fourth quarter. The point is that never once did I really worry about Lebron James taking over in the fourth quarter and scoring 20 for a Heat win.

That's disappointing. We can really consider James damaged goods at this point. I really think that he was too good for so long that he doesn't know how to A) get better or B) take criticism. I also don't think he knows how to handle the media or talk to people. These niceties that we take for granted are things he never learned or never needed to learn. He had other people do it. He's a professional now and its killing his image. He missed out on the natural growth a player receives in college. He missed out on the growing pains of being a professional.

He's retarded, frankly. It's partly his fault. James isn't some result of the system, although its safe to say he's the bearings, pistons, cogs and screws of a gigantic machine that I think has snowballed without his doing.

James is not a victim. He's also not an innocent bystander. He's a tragic mix of both.