A Conference Realignment Plan That Makes Sense

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany has been one of the most influential men in the conference realignment landscape.

Since 2009, we have been teased with rumors coming from university athletic departments to some guy on a computer in his mom's basement about major athletic programs moving from one conference to another. The first domino in the three year long wave was in June 2010 when the University of Nebraska left longtime rivals Oklahoma and others behind in the Big 12 by heading to the Big Ten, which they viewed as a land of more financial prosperity and institutional stability. Then an unprecedented movement of schools across the country ensued as schools and conferences were seeking the same thing: more money and stability. Schools made moves for a number of reasons including access to BCS bowls (later College Football Playoff), more lucrative television revenue, better athletic competition, stronger academic associations, geographic considerations, and much more. Major shifts took place until as recently as 2013, when the historically strong basketball-centric conference, the Big East, was separated into a basketball-only version and a new football and basketball conference, the American Athletic Conference.

On April 22, 2013, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced a grant of media rights that was signed by members, which effectively put conference realignment in the Power 5 conferences on hold. Aside from the Big 12 continuously flirting with adding two more schools to actually get back to a 12 team conference, every other major conference is standing pat. So we are now left with every major conference having endured changes, several new albatross television contracts and a new college football playoff system.

None of it makes any sense. Historic rivalries have been thrown away like paper and geographic considerations are non-existent. But what if there was a conference overhaul that did make sense? One that preserves most rivalries, sustains geographic integrity, and sets up for a behemoth of a college football playoff that everyone wants so badly? Here's what I have in mind.

There have been many issues at hand in this extended wave of realignment, nearly all of which have a significant place in my new structure. They include geographic continuity, number of schools per conference, current status in college athletics, historic rivalries and tradition and the ability to create a stable football and basketball playoff/tournament.

My plan calls for seven major conferences in Division 1 football, each consisting of ten schools. There will then also be six other "mid-major" or "non-power" conferences (also with ten teams each) consisting of the remaining Division 1 (current FBS) schools. This does not include the conferences such as the Big East or the Atlantic 10, which do not sponsor football but would still be included in Division 1 athletics for all other sports.

Here are the seven major conferences with an accompanying map showing the location of each conference's member schools:

The 2014 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot... According To You

What an odd process. Over 571 BBWAA voters cast ballots on whom belongs in Cooperstown this past week and boy, was it controversial. Voters that have been away from the game for years are still able to vote because they have a lifetime ballot. Some voters feel that too many electees ruin the ceremony, so they arbitrarily determine that they'll only vote for 3 players even though the ballot goes up to 10. And one voter allowed a website to conduct a poll to determine the votes he would cast. 

We here at O's, Bros & Natty Bohs saw the final tally and immediately reacted with a wide range of emotions. One of, if not the most, overstuffed ballots of all time, there were upwards of 12 candidates that arguably deserved to be immortalized in the halls of Cooperstown. The final HOF vote from BBWAA only included 3 of them, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas. In addition to the three managers elected from the veteran's committee, we're looking at a six person class for 2014. Yeah, that's better than last year's class when no one was elected, but it hardly does justice to issue at hand.

Your feelings on this ballot largely depend on how you feel about PED allegations that surround MLB. Some, like Rafael Palmeiro, tested positive for banned substances in their careers. Others, like Mike Piazza, never did but still face tremendous scrutiny because of hearsay amongst voters. We wanted to see what our readers thought of the ballot and conducted a poll over a few days to see who would be elected amongst our target audience. The results? Surprising. With a mandatory 75% of the vote required to be elected we saw very similar results to what actually transpired. Was this the most scientific poll ever conducted? No, we took it the day the results were announced, likely biasing people inherently and had a much smaller sample size to work with compared to the 500+ that actually vote. That's fine. We still think the results are interesting and shed some light on the controversy the BBWAA faces.

We outlined the main contenders for the 2014 ballot and what makes them worthy of discussion in our eyes. While Jacque Jones and Armando Benetiz did garner attention from some poor sap, we elected to focus on the most controversial and most one-sided players.

At the end, we (Matt and Tyler) will share our ballots and give a short synopsis of the reasoning behind our voting. We polled 29 of our friends and associates to see who they would have voted for. Many voted for the maximum ten players, while one voter voted for just four players. It was interesting to see the different types of ballots. Without further ado, here are the results of our unofficial Hall of Fame poll:


Voting Tally (22 votes needed out of 29):

Greg Maddux: 29-100%
Tom Glavine: 28-97%
Frank Thomas: 27-93%
Mike Piazza: 26-90%
--------------------
Craig Biggio: 21-72%
Roger Clemens: 19-66%
Mike Mussina: 18-62%
Barry Bonds: 17-59%
Curt Schilling: 12-41%
Jeff Bagwell: 10-34%
Jack Morris: 9-31%
Tim Raines, Sr.: 8-28%
Edgar Martinez: 5-17%
Larry Walker: 5-17%
Mark McGwire: 4-14%
Sammy Sosa: 4-14%
Rafael Palmeiro: 4-14%
Alan Trammell: 3-10%
Jeff Kent: 2-7%
Fred McGriff: 2-.7%
Lee Smith: 1-3%
Armando Benitez: 1-3%
Richie Sexson: 1-3%

The Hall of Fame Class (According to You)

Greg Maddux
Starting Pitcher
1986-2008 (29 of 29 votes, 100%)

The Mad Dog. When he wasn't hazing teammates or pulling pranks he was an OK pitcher. His career WAR exceed 100, won four Cy Youngs, logged over 5000 innings and won 355 games. There's not much to debate. He is a first ballot Hall of Famer. Period. His impeccable control more than compensated for a middle of the road fastball and his knowledge of what opponent's wanted to do in the batter's box is unrivaled.

Tom Glavine
Starting Pitcher
1987-2008 (28 of 29 votes, 97%)

Tom Glavine was one of the best left-handers of his generation. Sure, he may have benefitted from being on some stacked Braves teams in the '90s, but his dominance helped form one of the most feared pitching trios with Maddux and John Smoltz. A winner of 305 games and two Cy Young Awards, Glavine's model of consistency makes him a deserving first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Frank Thomas "The Big Hurt"
DH/First Base
1990-2008 (27 of 29 votes, 93%)

521 home runs, .419 career OBP, 2 MVP awards and 7 seasons with an OPS above 1.000, there's no doubting the candidacy of Frank Thomas. The Big Hurt boasted near super-human strength (and was never even rumored to be in on PED usage) during his longtime career as a DH on the south side of the windy city.

Mike Piazza
Catcher
1992-2007 (26 of 29 votes, 90%)

The illustrious career of Mike Piazza is highlighted by two signature moments: Being the target of Roger Clemens in the 2000 Subway Series and hitting a home run in Shea Stadium following the 9/11 attacks. Boasting gaudy power numbers for a catcher, Piazza stands with the likes of Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra among the best to ever don a facemask on the diamond. Steroid allegations will continue to plague his Hall of Fame candidacy, but there's no denying where he stands among the all-time greats behind the plate. He is the only player to get elected in our mock election that did not get elected in real life.


The Contenders

Craig Biggio
Catcher/Second Base/Outfield
1988-2007 (21 of 29 votes, 72%)

Craig the Compiler? The lifetime Houston Astro made a career of doing everything slightly above average. 3,060 hits. .281 career average, 668 doubles and 291 career home runs paint a pretty good picture of what kind of hitter Biggio was. He finished top-5 in MVP voting twice and played three different positions to boot, including a very respectable second base. The catalyst to some very good Astros teams loaded with power in the 90's, Biggio never was the biggest name on the team but always appeared in the lineup. He appeared in fewer than 130 games just once in his career after becoming a regular player save for the strike-shortened season. Durable, consistent and reliable epitomize the type of player Craig Biggio was, just don't expect to see flashy milestones besides 3,000 hits. Biggio finished one vote shy of induction in our mock election and it is expected that he will really get elected in the coming years.

Roger Clemens
Starting Pitcher
1984-2007 (19 of 29 votes, 66%)

Roger Clemens is one of the five greatest pitchers of all time. There is no disputing that. He is in the conversation with Cy Young, Walter Johnson and maybe two or three others. The numbers: 354 wins, 3.12 ERA, nearly 5,000 IP, 4,672 strikeouts, one MVP and seven (!!!) Cy Young Awards. That's not even including dozens of other regular and advanced statistics that show just how dominant he was. Young and powerful in Boston, revived in Toronto, controversial in New York, and the hometown kid in Houston, he was the best. But unfortunately, the steroid cloud hangs heavy over him. He's another example of someone who was a Hall of Famer without PEDs, but the tail end of his career is shrouded in doubt. His vote totals are higher than others like Sosa and McGwire, meaning he may someday get in, but I wouldn't hold my breath just yet.

Mike Mussina "Moose"
Starting Pitcher
1991-2008 (18 of 29 votes, 62%)

Moose was a workhorse during his tenure with the Orioles, one of the top right handers in the game but was often overshadowed by the likes of Maddux, Clemens and Pedro Martinez. His quiet demeanor, lack of a Cy Young, and only one 20 win season hurt his case to old timers, but if you look deeper, he is truly deserving of a spot in the Hall. 270 wins, 2800+ strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.192. The ERA is a little high at 3.68, but this is a guy who pitched in the hitter friendly AL East his whole career. Using FanGraphs WAR, Mussina was the 6th best pitcher from 1988-2008 (despite not debuting til '91). Ahead of him? Clemens, Maddux, Randy Johnson, Martinez and Schilling). He nearly made it into the Hall on our mock ballot (due to high number of Orioles fans voting), but will have to wait until the PED users are cleared from the ballot to get in the real Hall. It will take some time, but Mike Mussina will eventually be a Hall of Famer.

Barry Bonds
Leftfield
1986-2007 (17 of 29 votes, 59%)

One of the most polarizing sports figures in history, Bonds' prolific MLB career spanned two teams and three decades. On paper, there isn't a player that could define "First ballot Hall of Famer" more than Bonds. 762 HR (MLB Record). 73 HR in a single season (MLB Record). 2,558 BB (MLB Record). 7x MVP. 14-time All-Star. There's also wide-spread belief that Bonds used performing enhancing drugs after being linked to BALCO during his latter years with the Giants. Never testing positive, Bonds maintains his innocence to this day after quietly stepping away from the game he dominated in 2007. Bonds also had his moments with the media and certainly did not endear himself to voters and writers with his comments and attitude throughout the years. Bonds has everything a Hall of Famer needs in terms of longevity, consistency, hardware and production. But his alleged foray into PED's may mean it takes a long, long time before we see a bronze bust of Bonds in the halls of Cooperstown.

Curt Schilling
Starting Pitcher
1988-2007 (12 of 29 votes, 41%)

Schilling is an interesting case. Great raw numbers (over 3,000 strikeout, great postseason record, etc.) but seems to be viewed just outside that top group, similar to Mussina. If not for Randy Johnson, he would have won multiple Cy Young awards in Arizona. In his prime, he was just as overpowering as Johnson and Clemens and has the winning pedigree to back it up. Several injuries and not being a starter until age 25 hurts his totals, but he will eventually be in the Hall.

Jeff Bagwell
First Base
1991-2005 (10 of 29 votes, 34%)

Part II of the "Killer B's" that comprised the Astros roster throughout the 1990's, Jeff Bagwell made a living out of hitting for power and squatting wide in the right handers batting box. Winner of the strike-shortened 1994 MVP award, Bagwell mounted an eerily consistent career; from 1996-2004 he never hit less than 31 home runs. His raw total numbers put him in an unparalleled class of power hitting first basemen, despite falling short of 500 career homers. The speculation around potential PED use could keep him out of the Hall for a few more years at least.

Jack Morris
Starting Pitcher
1977-1994 (9 of 29 votes, 31%)

In his 15th and final year, Jack Morris failed to get the 75% necessary for induction. It's a shame, because he was arguably the best starting pitcher of his era (80's). Sure, his ERA is high (3.90), but he has 254 wins (led baseball with 162 wins in the 80's), three World Series rings, and was an opening day starter 14 times. In an age when we are caught up in statistics and advanced metrics, I think the writers failed to account for old fashioned workmanship and value. He was also hurt by the stacked ballot in his final years, but Jack Morris should be a Hall of Famer, even if the writers and the younger population don't realize it.

Tim Raines Sr. "Rock"
Outfield
1979-2002 (8 of 29 votes, 28%)

Another player who was overshadowed by the ridiculous accomplishments at the leadoff spot (Rickey Henderson). 808 steals, .294 avg, .385 OBP, 2605 hits, 1571 runs. The guy was a stud and is one of the greatest leadoff hitters of all time. He will struggle to get in because he is older now and the stacked ballot will work against him, which is a shame.
The Best of the Rest:

Rafael Palmeiro fell of the ballot this year. It's a shame that one of four 500 HR/3,000 hit members got caught up in PEDs late in his career and was publicly humiliated for it. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, the two men who captivated the nation with their epic home run record chase in 1998 will eventually fall of the ballot. The steroid use and little value beyond home runs makes their cases pretty futile. Under appreciated stars Larry Walker and Edgar Martinez also fell well short. Their career numbers are HOF-worthy, but playing in small markets and being overshadowed by bigger stars hurts them. Jeff Kent (the most homers by a 2B) and Fred McGriff (493 HRs) are more examples of power hitters that aren't being valued by the writers. And finally, Alan Trammell, one of the best shortstops of his generation. Advanced metrics are kind to Trammell, but he doesn't have enough star power to ever get in.

Matt's Ballot & Take:

-Barry Bonds
-Greg Maddux
-Roger Clemens
-Mike Piazza
-Tom Glavine
-Frank Thomas
-Mike Mussina
-Jeff Bagwell
-Curt Schilling
-Craig Biggio

Growing up and discovering baseball during the middle of the PED era has definitely tainted my view of whom I feel deserves to belong in Cooperstown. A few years ago one of my favorite Orioles to ever don the orange and black tested positive for a PED in Rafael Palmeiro. I saw him record his 3,000th hit and anchor the middle of the O's lineup in his two tours through Baltimore. It was tough to watch and I was disgusted that someone would cheat the game. But then reality hit me. It wasn't just Raffy. It wasn't just Miguel Tejada. It was Ken Caminiti, Larry Bigbie, Jason Grimsley. It was probably Sammy Sosa. Probably Mark McGwire. Probably a lot of guys. I'll never know who took PEDs and who didn't. Neither will you. But that's Ok. Baseball did this to itself. Bud Selig knew full well what was taking place in the 90's and early 2000's and he was just fine with it. Baseball was in a bad place in 1994 with the labor strife and roiders put butts back in the seats as majestic home run chases and achievements transpired. Because of that, I'm not able to confidently cast a ballot that picks and chooses based on suspected PED usage. I picked whom I believed to be the most deserving candidates based on their accomplishments on the diamond and overall impact on the game of baseball. You can argue the morality of my ballot ad nausem, but you can't argue the quality of the candidacy of any of my 10.


Tyler's Ballot & Take:

- Greg Maddux
- Tom Glavine
- Mike Mussina
- Jack Morris
- Curt Schilling
- Frank Thomas
- Mike Piazza
- Craig Biggio
- Tim Raines
- Alan Trammell

I agree with much of what Matt has to say, but with such a stacked ballot, felt that my ten votes should go to deserving non-PED users. I would definitely be someone who would flip flop on this stance each year, but this is my stance this year. Bonds, Clemens and Bagwell should be in, and maybe eventually will, but these are ten men worthy of induction. Maddux, Glavine, Mussina and Schilling were the best of their generation, and Morris was the best of his. Thomas and Piazza are no brainers, and Craig Biggio was an all-star caliber player his whole career. Tim Raines is one of the best lead off men of all time and Alan Trammell was an honorary inclusion by me, knowing he will never get in. His career should be recognized and not overlooked.

2013 MLB Predictions

Is there a chance the Orioles could be celebrating at the expense of the Nationals this October? A Beltway World Series is not as far fetched as it once seemed.

Tyler's Predictions

AL East
1. Toronto Blue Jays
2. Baltimore Orioles (Wild Card)
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Boston Red Sox
5. New York Yankees

The AL East is about to be turned upside down this season. The Yankees and Red Sox in the cellar? It could happen. Age and injuries have depleted the usual powerhouses. The Blue Jays brought in an all-star cast of pitchers and top of the lineup studs in Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera. On paper, Toronto should be the best team in the division, but we all know that how things look on paper does not translate to on the field success. The second spot could be up for grabs between the 2012 surprise Orioles and the strong-pitching Rays. I see the Orioles returning the playoffs, assuming the starting pitching depth proves to be an asset.

2013 AL East Predictions

American League East

Expect Jose Reyes to be scoring very often batting at the top of the revamped Blue Jays  lineup

1. Toronto Blue Jays

Key Acquisitions:
SS Jose Reyes, OF Melky Cabrera, IF Emilio Bonifacio, SP Mark Buehrle, SP Josh Johnson, SP R.A. Dickey

Key Losses:

No team will put out such a drastically different opening day lineup than the Blue Jays. The blockbuster trade with the Marlins in which they acquired Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson, as well as trading for 2012 NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey and signing Melky Cabrera have made the Blue Jays the trendy pick to leap the standings in the East and capture their first division title since 1993. 

Why they will win the East: The new three headed monster of Dickey, Buehrle and Johnson will form a top of the rotation that will reek of the Phillies, circa 2011. Also, Melky Cabrera's bounce back from steroid suspension and the growth of Brett Lawrie will be important for the offense. 

Why they will flop: Dickey struggles in transitioning to the American League, Mark Buehrle shows he can't get people out with an 84 MPH fastball, Melky Cabrera returns to his pre-PED days and Edwin Encarnacion proves his breakout 2012 was a statistical outlier. 

Projected Lineup:

SS Jose Reyes

LF Melky Cabrera

RF Jose Bautista

1B Edwin Encarnacion

DH Adam Lind

3B Brett Lawrie

CF Colby Rasmus

C JP Arencibia

2B Maicer Izturis/Emilio Bonifacio

Projected Rotation:

RA Dickey

Mark Buehrle

Josh Johnson

Brandon Morrow

Ricky Romero

My Top Ten Maryland Sports Moments as an Undergrad

Maryland students rush the court after beating No. 2 Duke on February 16, 2013

With Maryland falling to North Carolina on Senior Night at Comcast, nearly every major athletic event I will attend as an undergrad at this great university is over (with the exception of maybe a lacrosse game or two). So as my career here comes to an end, I wanted to put together a list of the top ten games I attended during my four years. Without further ado, here they are starting from the bottom:

Natty Bros NFL Pick'em: Week 1

Each week, the Natty Bros will be doing picks of all the NFL games and will publish them on the blog, with a season record to be tallied each week. Enjoy.

Cowboys vs. Giants
Matt: Giants
Tyler: Giants
Vince: Giants
(And we all started the season 0-1, as did all of the ESPN "experts")

Colts vs. Bears
Matt: Bears
Tyler: Bears
Vince: Bears

Eagles vs. Browns
Matt: Eagles
Tyler: Eagles
Vince: Eagles

Patriots vs. Titans
Matt: Patriots
Tyler: Patriots
Vince: Patriots

I've waited 14 Years For... This?

Did Mark Reynolds add some late-season fuel to keep the Orioles' fire burning in September?  (Photo credit: Baltimore Sun, 8/17)

 

 

I remember 2002 very fondly. I remember watching Travis Driskill get his major league callup. I remember Tony Batista launching bombs with his quirky stance. But most of all, I remember 4-32. Mike Hargrove managing and steering a ship with no rudder. The team miraciously was 63-63 before the collapse(!). That right there should have garnered Grover some MOY votes, the team was awful. Worse, way worse, than this current team trotted out everynight by Buck Showalter.


Let's flash forward to the present. I still sense the apprehension, the genuine doubt fans have in this Orioles team. I feel it too, don't get me wrong, much has been made of lately that the Orioles run differential is a paltry negative 46, in the same company as the 52-66 Kansas City Royals and the 54-65 Philadelphia Phillies. The adjusted W/L total for the Orioles accounting for their run differential? 55-64, according to baseballreference.com's Pythagorean formula.


Unfortunately, there's no formula for analyzing the atmposphere at the ballpark. I was at the game last Tuesday when Mark Reynolds hit two home runs and the Red Sox were roughed up pretty darn good. The last time I was at a Red Sox/Orioles game at OPACY? "LET'S GO RED SOX" chants and constant screams of joy each time a BoSock reached base, recorded an out and of course, when they eventually won. This time, there was very little of that. The crowd was a decent 26k draw, but what got my attention was the overwhelmingly pro-Orioles theme that reviberated around the stadium. Fans on their feet screaming for Reynolds when he did his Sosa-esque home run jump, oohing and ahhing at Manny Machado making plays at third base that Brooksie would nod his head in approval at. I left that game with a legitimate sense that things are turning around in Baltimore. What could be a better barometer than a Red Sox game in mid August?


This all brings me back to the genesis of this piece. What proof do Orioles fans have that this run will continue into Sepetmber when it matters most? When they win it's by the narrowest of margins, 40 of their 64 wins have come by one or two runs. Yes, their bullpen has a 3.01 ERA, 3rd best in the AL. Their starters though? 9th in the AL with a 4.68 ERA. The inconsistencies of the "calvary" include the likes of Brian Matusz and Jake Arrieta - both relegated to AAA. Zach Britton has battled a shoulder injury and has been largely ineffective in his 2012 season between Norfolk and Baltimore. Chris Tillman has been the brightest spot but even he has had a few rough patches in his big league stint thus far.  The hitting is an enigma in every sense of the word. JJ Hardy has had multiple stretches of downright stink (.200 OBP in June(!!)). Mark Reynolds has been stinky all year, to be polite. Including this recent stretch of hot play his average again remains teetering just above the Mendoza line, but the problem truly lies with the 12 home runs.


So maybe there is no hope for the Birds and the last month and a half will be a screeching regression to the mean. Maybe the starting pitching will completely collapse, Jason Hammel's knee stays balky and the bullpen's run ends because of the grueling season length. 4-32 happened once, I suppose it could happen again.


Or this could happen. Hardy progresses to the mean for his average on balls hit in play. Remember what I just said about his awful stretches this season? June and July he hit .193 and .184 respectfully. His batting average on balls in play those two months? Almost identical, .208 and .207. For his career? .274. And for Reynolds, there is a proven track record with his power production. He has hit below 20 HRs once in a major league season, his rookie year when he played 111 games. There can be any number of factors as to why his season has been a disappointment, but in his career it's worth noting the month that he has hit the most home runs -- August.

Taking a step back and looking at this season is a real treat to Orioles and baseball fans alike. This is a cinderella story, not in the sense of March Madness where a team can catch fire for a few games. The Orioles have battled through peaks and valleys, injuries and ineffectiveness. No different than any other team really (well maybe different than the Astros, who really never "peaked, but I digress). The difference between this team and the previous 14 Orioles teams is hard to pinpoint. 2004 and 2005 had some talent but also some serious clubhouse issues. Maybe this team is succeeding because there are no cancers in the clubhouse as Reynolds said a few days ago. Maybe Buck really does know what he is doing, pressing the right buttons like keeping Hardy batting in the two hole despite his subpar season. Maybe Dan Duquette isn't the bumbling baffoon many made him out to be when he was hired after the Orioles were spurned by just about everyone else they reached out to.

There's no rational explanation as to why the Orioles are where they are, which is smack dab in the middle of the playoff race and in possession of a wildcard spot. With leaders on the team like Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and Matt Wieters the team has a young and hungry core. Reynolds' passionate outburst and subsequent comments about the umpiring last night in Detroit may be the best indicator any of us have as to why this team is winning. They haven't mailed it in. They never did. Somehow, when pundits across the nation predicted 58-70 wins for the Orioles, the players didn't listen. Neither did Duquette, who declared 'We are going to do whatever we can to make the playoffs' --back in June!

That's fine though by me. There doesn't have to be a statistic to back up every win. Yes it's fun to analyze and measure every tangible attribute related to the team, but at the end of the day the Orioles are winning because of the intangibles. And those can't, no matter how hard you try, be measured. Sit back, enjoy the ride, go out to the ballpark and watch the Orioles continue their run. You've waited 14 years for this.