The Scoop

By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer

The next time Joe Maddon pencils Greg Norton into the lineup over Jonny Gomes will be the last time I consider him a competent manager. Norton is batting .190 with a .601 OPS, while Gomes has a .834 OPS. The worst part of it all is that Norton is 35 years old, while Gomes is only 26. The goal should be to win now or put your team in the best position to win later – Tampa Bay accomplishes neither every time they sit Gomes for a veteran who can’t hit.

In 53 at-bats against southpaws this season, Ryan Braun has a line that reads .509/.571/1.189 – good for a 1.760 OPS. The other shoe will drop eventually, but right now it’s pretty fun owning him.

Before Garrett Anderson hit a home run Sunday, the Angels collectively as a team hadn’t left the yard in 14 games, a homerless stretch that reached 134.1 innings. That said, I still say this is a dangerous team flying under the radar. Everyone talks about the Red Sox and Tigers, and deservedly so, but who wants to face a rotation with John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar and Jered Weaver in a short series? No one, that’s who, and with that bullpen shortening games, they are one bat away from being legitimate title contenders. There was an interesting study I just read and in summation: runs scored over the course of a regular season have essentially zero correlation to postseason success. That is, teams that led MLB in runs scored have done no better in the postseason than those with middling offenses. Squads with top-flight aces at the front of their staff (along with defense and bullpen), however, have shown the greatest propensity to win in October.

The Michael Vick saga is compelling, sad and obviously headline-worthy. But I hope it doesn’t completely overshadow the beginning of football season, because with training camp set to open, there’s a whole lot to be excited about. The thing about Vick is, he’s not even very good. Sure, he’s a solid fantasy QB, but in real football, he’s well below average, but I guess the absolute shock value of the allegations (electrocuting dogs?!) warrants such immense attention. Plain and simple – the guy’s an idiot.

During a recent trip to Las Vegas, I noticed that Caesar’s Palace Sportsbook placed the odds on the Oakland Raiders to win the Super Bowl at 30-1. 18-1 to win the AFC. What?!?! In comparison, the Buffalo Bills were 70-1. The Raiders fielded a terrific defense last year, but its offense was historically bad. The coaching changes can only be an upgrade and so can the QB play, but it’s still rather likely a raw rookie will be the signal caller for the majority of the season. They play in the same division as the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. My point – getting just 18-1 odds is not a very good bet.

I’ve heard on more than one occasion recently how the Indianapolis Colts have lost too many players during the offseason to have a chance at repeating. They have lost some fairly key defenders (Nick Harper, Jason David, Cato June) but nothing earth shattering, especially if they counter with a healthy Bob Sanders for 16 games. If losing Dominic Rhodes means Joseph Addai is on the field more, then that was addition by subtraction. As long as Peyton Manning, who might be the greatest player of all-time, is still around, the Colts enter the 2007 season on the short list of favorites (along with the Chargers and Pats) to win the Super Bowl.