The Odd Stat(s) of the Week

Issue: Does that mean we are getting more than one crazy stat?

Short Answer: It sure does.

Reasoning: June can often be a boring time for some sports fans.  The NBA is over (thank goodness), as is the NHL (who plays hockey in June anyway?).  Also, the NFL is still a few months off (or, in 2011, maybe a few years off?).  Major League Baseball and the PGA Tour pretty much dominate the major sports landscape.  Just as it should be.  Shockingly enough, the second week in June is one of my favorite sports weeks of the year.  The U.S. Open is the second best golf tournament of the year (next to the Masters) and the College World Series (something I never got to play in) is in full swing.  Plus, the Cincinnati Reds are on my TV or radio (two words for you: Marty. Brennaman.) every single day.  So, I thought I would use this time of year to spurn on my "Odd Stat of the Week" post.  Here goes:

1. Here is an odd enough stat about the U.S. Open that Rory McIlroy just dominated: the last two Open Champions both hail from tiny Northern Ireland (2010 winner was Graeme McDowell).  The population of Northern Ireland, in 2009, was 1.789 million people - that's bigger than Philadelphia, but smaller than Houston.  It covers 5,459 square miles - just slightly bigger than Connecticut.  Yet, that country has produced two golfers who have been able to win the most difficult championship in the world, in back-to-back years.  Maybe there is something in the water - or the Guinness.
2. How about some more about Rory McIlroy?  U.S. Open records that he set or tied last week: 1) Fewest holes to reach double digits under par (26); 2) Lowest first 36 holes (131); 3) Most strokes under par through 36 holes (-11 - remember, he double-bogied his 18th hole on Friday); 4) Largest 36 hole lead (6 - tied record); 5) Lowest first 54 holes (199); 6) Most strokes under par through 54 holes (-14); 7) Lowest 72 hole total (268); 8) Most strokes under par through 72 holes (-16).  Anyone see all that coming?  I thought not.
3. Now, that all sounds impressive, but, let us take a step back and realize how easy Congressional was playing in terms of a U.S. Open.  Going into last week there had only been 4 players EVER to shoot four rounds under par in a U.S. Open: Lee Trevino (1968), Tony Jacklin (1970), Lee Janzen (1993), and Curtis Strange (1994 - he didn't even win).  So, in 111 years of U.S. Opens, only 4 competitors shot four rounds under par.  In 2011, two players managed to accomplish this feat - McIlroy (duh) and Robert Garrigus (-6).  On top of that, Y.E. Yang shot three rounds under par and an even par round of 71.  Sergio Garcia also shot three rounds under par and an even par 71.  So, it is obvious the course wasn't a typical U.S. Open course, but, what McIlroy did was exceptional anyway.
4. Enough golf, let's move to college baseball.  Sort of.  Alright, this stat has nothing to do with baseball, but, the only reason I know the stat is because I saw it when I was watching the College World Series, so I think it counts.  Almost unbelievably (or absolutely believable, I still haven't decided), out of the 120 schools in the Bowl Subdivision (or, Division I for people who like to make sense, unlike the NCAA), only 17 of them have never been found guilty of a major violation in any sport.  That is about 14%.  And, it gets worse.  Only 4 of those 17 schools are from Automatic Qualifying conferences (SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 10, Big East, Pac 10).  The four schools are: Boston College, Northwestern, Stanford, and Penn State.  What makes it even worse is the fact that between these four schools they have exactly two National Championships in the three major sports (football, basketball, baseball) - Penn State football in 1982 and Penn State football in 1986.  Of course, most students choose to go to the other three school because of their academic prowess, but it seems if a school doesn't cheat today, a National Championship is out of reach.  Maybe we should just pay athletes so cheating can't happen.  Then there would be no need for the NCAA, so, I bet that won't happen any time soon.
5. Vanderbilt University is making its first appearance at the College World Series ever.  This is odd only because they have been so good over the past decade or so.  They are attempting to become the first team to reach the finals of the World Series, in their first trip there, since...the 1994 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets led by Jason Varitek, Nomar Garciaparra, and Jay Payton.  This is only odd because I'm sure most readers are surprised that I played baseball at a school that produced quality major leaguers.  It still surprises me too.

That's all for this week's edition of the Odd Stat of the Week.  On a side note, I had mentioned here earlier that I was writing for examiner.com as the Cincinnati Reds Examiner.  Well, I quit.  Mostly because I put a lot of effort into writing my articles and I got paid about 8 cents.  Seriously.  I'd rather write for free on my blog than write for 8 cents.  At least this way I get to express my own opinion.  Farewell, Examiner (thank goodness).

Nepotism is Alive and Well

Issue: Nepotism is not usually condoned most places, why here?

Short Answer: Because it's my blog.

Reasoning: For those of you who are still confused, "nepotism" is defined as "patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship."*  Generally, in the "real world," nepotism is frowned upon, as well it should be.  However, when someone writes their own blog, there is no one to stop the favoritism that I am about to bestow on one of my family members, i.e., the first family member to have an entire post dedicated to him (guess that officially rules out my mother, stepmother, and sister - sorry!).  Yes, I have mentioned my brother Casey here numerous times, since he sends me articles and videos that he believes may be appropriate for the blog.  But, I have never written an entire post on him alone.

For those of you who know me and my family, you have probably already deduced who I am talking about: my little brother Michael.  For everyone else (who doesn't know), Michael is the starting shortstop for the Indiana Hoosiers.  They are having a fairly good year so far (24-12, 6-3 in Big Ten), including a win over #23 Louisville last night (they also have wins over then #18 Coastal Carolina and #14 Connecticut).  Currently Michael is hitting .295, with 10 2B, 3 HR, 16 RBI, and a .495 Slugging %.  Not bad for a sophomore (although, I know he will be reading this, so, DUDE - you aren't drawing enough walks.  5 in 105 at-bats?  Stop thinking you need to get a hit every time up and start being a little more selective at the plate).  Indiana has won its first three series in Big Ten play, taking 2 of 3 from Michigan, Ohio State, and Iowa.  They play Minnesota this weekend, which is the consensus best-team-in-the-Big-Ten, unless, of course, Indiana goes in and takes 2 or 3 games from them.  We shall see.

Back to the Ohio State series though.  Indiana dropped the first game of the series 6-1.  Ohio State's pitchers combined to give up exactly 0 earned runs over the nine inning game, and, well, Indiana was never really in it (Michael ended up 1 for 4).  Saturday though, the Hoosiers turned it around.  The score was 5-3 after three innings, and, strangely enough, 5-3 was the final score (could have been an Odd Stat of the Week).  Michael had himself a good one, going 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored.  Then came the Sunday rubber match.  Win and you have had a heck of a weekend; lose and you have just dropped a home series to a team that probably will not contend for the Big Ten title (Ohio State is in a down year).  The game was more high scoring than the first two (as per usual on Sundays, when weaker pitchers are generally starting), and ended in crazy fashion.  Indiana came into the bottom of the ninth inning down by 3 runs (9-6).  An error and two singles meant the bases were loaded for the Hoosiers, but, after a strikeout, there were two outs, and they were still down three.  But, as Yogi Berra once said: "It ain't over 'til it's over."  I wish cellphone cameras were around when I was playing baseball, because what happened next can't be explained in words, only in pictures:

Nice job bro.  Man, do I miss playing baseball.

*Dictionary.com

The Demon Deacon

Issue: You played college baseball, right?  How come there hasn't been a single post about it?

Short Answer: I was just asking myself that the other day...

Reasoning: College baseball is a fringe sport.  Most college baseball programs are supported by the football team and all the money they make.  In fact, only two sports are profitable on the college level - men's football and men's basketball (sorry ladies - even though, how can anyone be shocked that women's amateur sports aren't profitable?).  Occasionally, however, men's baseball can be profitable.  Case in point - my junior year at Georgia Tech.  We spent quite a few weeks ranked as the #1 team in the nation.  Mark Teixeira was our 3rd baseman that year (and Jason Basil was our left fielder!), and we were generally considered one of the teams that would ultimately vie for the National Championship.  We won the ACC Tournament Championship, we hosted (and won) the Regional Tournament (beating Stetson University in the finals), and we hosted a Super Regional in which we were beaten by the University of Southern California (who went on the be National Runner-Up).  After all that, we actually made money for the school.  The only reason I know this, is because they made a huge deal out of it.  Georgia Tech was ecstatic, because it doesn't happen often.

That is why it sometimes flies under the radar when a big story happens in the college baseball realm.  No large media outlet takes the time to report on it because they are afraid that no one will care.  I, a mere blogger, don't have the same problem.  So, when my good friend Doug sent me a news article yesterday, that had to do with college baseball, I immediately wanted to write a blog post about it.  Then, I actually read the article, and I can't tell you how moving it was.  I'm shocked (sort of) that I haven't heard more about it elsewhere.  The fact that this story takes place at Wake Forest, which is part of the ACC conference in which I played college baseball, only made me want to get this story out there even more.

Kevin Jordan is a freshman at Wake Forest.*  He signed a national letter of intent in 2009, before his senior season in high school.  Toward the end of that senior season he was diagnosed with "ANCA vasculitis, a type of autoimmune swelling caused by autoantibodies. The immune system produces normal antibodies to fight infection in the body. However, an autoantibody is an abnormal antibody that attacks a person's own cells. ANCA stands for Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Autoantibody and when these autoantibodies are present in the kidneys, it causes a leaking of blood and protein into the urine and eventually results in kidney failure."  At 18 years of age, Kevin had to start kidney dialysis three times a week.  When that didn't improve his kidney function, he went through dialysis every single day, from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m.  Doctors also told him that the next step (and maybe only step) was a kidney transplant.  18 years old and having to think about a kidney transplant.  It doesn't seem quite fair.  Kevin's parents were both tested, along with his brother, and none were a match.  During the fall of 2010, head baseball coach Tom Walter had told Kevin's father, Keith, that he would be willing to go through a compatibility test, to see if he was possibly a match for Kevin.  And, after all the family members failed to match, that is exactly what Tom Walter did.  And guess what?  He was a match.  Now, it is one thing to go through a compatibility test, and entirely another to actually donate a kidney.  Tom Walter, only 11 days after finding out he was a match, decided he would do just that.  On February 7, 2011, Tom Walter, head coach at Wake Forest, donated one of his kidneys to Kevin Jordan, freshman baseball player.  That, ladies and gentlemen, is the definition of selflessness.

After the surgery, Coach Walter stated that "[c]ertainly, the best-case scenario is that Kevin and I just lead a normal life...Forget the baseball part of it for now. If he gets back on the field, that's going to be the best story of all. That's when (the media) are going to be calling back for another press conference, because that's going to be the great story, when he makes it back to the playing field. But, take that aside, just him having a normal life, where he can be a normal college student and not be hooked up to a dialysis machine from 11 o'clock at night to eight in the morning every night and just be a normal freshman."  Yes folks, life does come before baseball, and it's nice to see someone is such a high position realize that, and pass that lesson onto his players.

I was thinking about how to end this post when I realized the author of the linked article below said it best already (and if it ain't broke...): "Wake Forest's slogan for the 2011 baseball season is '[w]hat are you willing to sacrifice to help make this team better?'  Head coach Tom Walter's intent was to have his players thinking about sacrifice bunts, moving runners over, and giving up personal glory to help the Demon Deacons improve as a team.  But what Walter chose to sacrifice is greater than simply hanging in on a curve ball and taking one for the team."

Somehow, I know I will find myself rooting for Wake Forest this year (as long as they aren't playing Georgia Tech), and deservedly so.  Thank you, Coach Walter, for being the man, coach, and mentor that we should all strive to be.

*All direct quotes and information taken from the Wake Forest Athletics site.