OK, with the Browns playing tonight, we’re shuffling the deck a bit this week—let’s do another installment of Joe-Pourri, just a whole bunch of thoughts about a whole bunch of things as we close in on the end of the year.
I hope to see the Football 100 available someday in book format, even if you just bundle up what you've already written and make it available on Kindle. It's worth it just to have it in one document rather than 100 different blog posts.
Joe, I apologize if you’ve addressed this elsewhere but I’ve noticed that The Athletic has released a Football 100 book. Is this a blatant rip-off of your idea with Baseball 100. I know that you also did a Football 101 so this seems even stranger that they’d release this book. Did they do so with your permission?
Man, do I love subscribing to Joe! Here I am, idling my week off away, bipping thru a day behind this column without a thot or care in mind and I get to the bottom and... wha?... a Gordy Coleman mention!?
That's my cousin's name! He is also a huge baseball guy -- Dodgers, so he is insufferable now since I am the lachrymose Angels sad sack - and for awhile a few years ago I was going out of my way to buy Coleman baseball cards to give my cuz on birthdays, etc. Lotta Cincy cards since the primordial Gordon Coleman started with the Tribe for a second, then his career downstate Ohio with the Reds.
Prototypical visual mental image of the guy I have seared on my inner eyelids from buying these is the '66 Topps base card. Look at this tight head/upper torso image at your peril... an intense/scowling/take no prisons Gordon, fiercely menacing bat in hand. like a lot of ol' time power lefty bats of the '50s-60s, intent on overswinging at any righty pitcher they met.
So did you need to know this? Absolutely not. BUT, folks, as the year runs down, THIS is why we are lucky to have the Joe-ness of Joe plying his trade on our behalf and engaging us so well.
I can hardly wait for 2024 for more of everything that he continually has to offer!
I don't know what the Broncos are doing. At first, I thought they had decided to cut him and didn't want him to get injured before that like the Raiders did with Carr last season, and Payton was just taking the bullet. Then I found out that Wilson's dead cap next year (per Spotrac) is $85 million. (or $35.5 to have him hold a clipboard)
While Wilson has not been the star he once was, he has not had a poor season by any measure. It would boggle me if Payton actually believes Stidham (a 27 year old with only 131 career pass attempts, a 73.5 QB rating - Wilson's is above 90 as a Bronco - and more interceptions than TDs) actually gives the Broncos a better chance to win. This team is actually still mathematically alive for the division title, and still in the playoff race and they are just throwing in the towel.
The Broncos were once a boogeyman. Now they are a joke of an organization with a .395 winning percentage since Manning retired, possibly soon to be worse.
Re: Bernie/Belichik - they butted heads over how the offense should be run (and Belichik was a defensive guy, so why that was ever an issue...) Bernie was not playing well because he couldn't even get the ball in his hands before some DL was in his face. I am absolutely convinced, and will never be persuaded otherwise, that Bill told his OL to let that happen. Once Bernie was gone, and Testeverde was the QB, suddenly there was plenty of time to get set up to throw. The difference in the blocking was easy to see, and it was the same OL.
Absolutely yes to the Ring Lardner and Vin Scully awards going forward. Also, one of the few West Coast advantages over the east cost in sports is in signing Japanese ballplayers is the time zone 3 hour edge. The flight time to Japan is about 5 hours shorter. Day games on the east cost at 1:00 start at 3 a.m. on the East coast and 6 a.m. on the West Coast. Although my movie taste runs to Sci Fi and Action, my favorite is still the original Mary Poppins so bravo for Willie Wonka. As to providing a spark, Russell Wilson has lead 4 fourth quarter winning drives this year, tied for most in the NFL. The move is all about Sean Payton, not Russell Wilson.
I agree with you about the Chiefs offense. Just about the only time that the Chiefs offense has looked this discombobulated was in the Super Bowl against the Bucs when the entire line was hurt or sitting out the COVID season. It is not just the tackles, though. The interior offensive line was supposed to be among the most dominant, but Trey Smith has taken a step back this season. Creed Humphrey is still very good, but he was in the conversation last year for best center in the league, and he isn't anymore.
The receivers though are also really bad. They are constantly lining up incorrectly, committing dumb penalties, not flowing to the ball when the play breaks down, and then lead the league in drops by a mile. The Chiefs likely beat Detroit if Toney doesn't giftwrap a pick six on opening night. They likely beat Philly if MVS catches the ball in the last minute of the game. They take the lead on Buffalo in the last minute or so if Toney checks with the official. I think all of the stupidity and carelessness that the Chiefs position players are playing with is close to breaking Mahomes. They burned a timeout on 4th down against the Raiders because the play call was late, Rice and Pacheco lined up in the wrong spots, and so on. The lack of awareness to detail is shocking. The WR coach is new this year, and obviously Nagy replaced Bieniemy as OC.
It is a shame because the KC defense is so far and away the best that it has been in the Mahomes era. Each game is now a race to 17-20 points, and still the Chiefs are losing these games. It is wild as a Chiefs fan.
Yes they did in a trade after the 1959 season. The Reds gave up long time all-star second baseman Johnny Temple for Coleman, Cal McLish, and Billy Martin. I imagine that Coleman
was the key to the deal from the Reds' standpoint since he had a 353/416/606 slash line
in AA during 1959. If I remember correctly this was the first inter league trade made during
a special month long period allowing it. Before this period inter league trades were prohibited
unless waivers were obtained. Coleman was one of the key offensive forces (along with Frank
Robinson and Vada Pinson) in the Reds unexpected 1961 pennant winning team that lost to the
I didn't remember Thome with the Twins. He was with them in 2010 and for most of 2011. He certainly had an interesting 2010. He put up a .627 slugging average and .412 OBP in 340 plate appearances, and he got two MVP points, presumably based off of a 10-9-8, etc., voting count. What is odd is that he had only those 340 plate appearances, and yet he doesn't seem to have been hurt and doesn't seem to have been heavily platooned. The most games he played in a month was 19, and he was between 17 and 19 every month. Yet 28% of his plate appearances still came against lefties. Apparently, the theory was he needed rest, or he just couldn't play every day at age 39. And, judging by the way he hit, this model may have really helped him.
I will remember Thome with Twins. Because I traveled to see the Royals in their new stadium, and he hit the longest home run I have ever seen in person. Previously vying for the first spot were Johnny Bench (at the 1973 All Star Game) John Mayberry (in a game that was not on TV. I wish it had been. It was a monster - I would have put that as the longest) and Grady Sizemore (Yes, Grady Sizemore).
Thome also hit the longest home run I have ever seen on TV (also against the Royals) while with Cleveland.
I got curious about Gordy Coleman so I looked him up. He was basically a platoon player in ‘66 and only hit 4th 53 times. That was (a) still the most of anyone on the club and (b) 53 more times than he deserved (.251-5-37, OPS+ 73). Seems the Reds had traded their ‘65 cleanup hitter because he turned 30…
They didn’t have a very set order after the first 3 (Harper, Rose, Pinson) but many of their lineups read a bit like they were drawn out of a hat. Fun fact: in ‘67 Coleman hit cleanup the day before they sent him to the minors because he wasn’t hitting. He never made it back…
Also, he got his first cup o’joe with Cleveland, so hold that in reserve for immaculate grid…
We have some news regarding one of our JoeBlogs Pools, namely: “Why will JoeBlogs leave Substack and when?”
For those who do not recall or were not in Joe’s comments sections during the interim between Joe’s brief tenure at The Athletic and this Substack version of JoeBlogs (aka JoeBlogs IV: The Voyage Home), this is a two-zone Pool. The betting shop window has been closed since 2021, but you can find the rules®s and the forms for Pool Zone One and Pool Zone Two here: joeblogs.pools/leave-substack-why?-when?
In Pool Zone One (Why will JoeBlogs leave Substack?), it does not appear that we’ll have any winners. Popular choices included: “Becoming Commissioner of Baseball”; “Sabbatical to finish reading Infinite Jest”; “Buying Athletics & moving to Montreal”; “Taking talents to Mets Subreddit”, none of which now seems likely to be the cause. There was one write-in of “Nazis”, but it was DQd because the tail end of the “s” touched the perimeter. Gotta keep it in the square, folks.
In Pool Zone Two (When will JoeBlogs leave Substack?), even though there were many options, every entrant chose “within three years”. We’ll have to call this one a draw.*
Joe- so happy for your Browns! as a 49ers fan i gotta admit a bit of schadenfruede watching the Chiefs recent struggles, they're not getting back to the Super Bowl playing the way they are, but then again neither will the Eagles! also as Niners fan i never liked Russell Wilson because he was always tormenting us w/the Hawks; now that he's obviously a shell of his former self (although as mentioned, his TD/INT ratio isn't bad), it seems as if the Broncs will unload him- and surely, someone else will take him, for a restructured/reduced contract!
oh PS: haven't gotten around to taking the survey yet, since i knew from the header it would be lengthy and nerdy as hell; i just haven't been in the proper mood yet, i guess...
The award renaming won't ever work out. Same as the platform exodus. No name or platform policy will ever satisfy everyone. So as long as people are complaining, it's just a question of how much grief and judgment you can tolerate, and more importantly, from whom.
I hope to see the Football 100 available someday in book format, even if you just bundle up what you've already written and make it available on Kindle. It's worth it just to have it in one document rather than 100 different blog posts.
Joe, I apologize if you’ve addressed this elsewhere but I’ve noticed that The Athletic has released a Football 100 book. Is this a blatant rip-off of your idea with Baseball 100. I know that you also did a Football 101 so this seems even stranger that they’d release this book. Did they do so with your permission?
Man, do I love subscribing to Joe! Here I am, idling my week off away, bipping thru a day behind this column without a thot or care in mind and I get to the bottom and... wha?... a Gordy Coleman mention!?
That's my cousin's name! He is also a huge baseball guy -- Dodgers, so he is insufferable now since I am the lachrymose Angels sad sack - and for awhile a few years ago I was going out of my way to buy Coleman baseball cards to give my cuz on birthdays, etc. Lotta Cincy cards since the primordial Gordon Coleman started with the Tribe for a second, then his career downstate Ohio with the Reds.
Prototypical visual mental image of the guy I have seared on my inner eyelids from buying these is the '66 Topps base card. Look at this tight head/upper torso image at your peril... an intense/scowling/take no prisons Gordon, fiercely menacing bat in hand. like a lot of ol' time power lefty bats of the '50s-60s, intent on overswinging at any righty pitcher they met.
So did you need to know this? Absolutely not. BUT, folks, as the year runs down, THIS is why we are lucky to have the Joe-ness of Joe plying his trade on our behalf and engaging us so well.
I can hardly wait for 2024 for more of everything that he continually has to offer!
I hope A’s fans are wearing “The Giants were my second choice.” to games all summer long.
I would like to make the case for Joe-Pourri to be renamed the Cornu-Joe-pia! The Joe of Plenty...
I don't know what the Broncos are doing. At first, I thought they had decided to cut him and didn't want him to get injured before that like the Raiders did with Carr last season, and Payton was just taking the bullet. Then I found out that Wilson's dead cap next year (per Spotrac) is $85 million. (or $35.5 to have him hold a clipboard)
While Wilson has not been the star he once was, he has not had a poor season by any measure. It would boggle me if Payton actually believes Stidham (a 27 year old with only 131 career pass attempts, a 73.5 QB rating - Wilson's is above 90 as a Bronco - and more interceptions than TDs) actually gives the Broncos a better chance to win. This team is actually still mathematically alive for the division title, and still in the playoff race and they are just throwing in the towel.
The Broncos were once a boogeyman. Now they are a joke of an organization with a .395 winning percentage since Manning retired, possibly soon to be worse.
Re: Bernie/Belichik - they butted heads over how the offense should be run (and Belichik was a defensive guy, so why that was ever an issue...) Bernie was not playing well because he couldn't even get the ball in his hands before some DL was in his face. I am absolutely convinced, and will never be persuaded otherwise, that Bill told his OL to let that happen. Once Bernie was gone, and Testeverde was the QB, suddenly there was plenty of time to get set up to throw. The difference in the blocking was easy to see, and it was the same OL.
Absolutely yes to the Ring Lardner and Vin Scully awards going forward. Also, one of the few West Coast advantages over the east cost in sports is in signing Japanese ballplayers is the time zone 3 hour edge. The flight time to Japan is about 5 hours shorter. Day games on the east cost at 1:00 start at 3 a.m. on the East coast and 6 a.m. on the West Coast. Although my movie taste runs to Sci Fi and Action, my favorite is still the original Mary Poppins so bravo for Willie Wonka. As to providing a spark, Russell Wilson has lead 4 fourth quarter winning drives this year, tied for most in the NFL. The move is all about Sean Payton, not Russell Wilson.
I agree with you about the Chiefs offense. Just about the only time that the Chiefs offense has looked this discombobulated was in the Super Bowl against the Bucs when the entire line was hurt or sitting out the COVID season. It is not just the tackles, though. The interior offensive line was supposed to be among the most dominant, but Trey Smith has taken a step back this season. Creed Humphrey is still very good, but he was in the conversation last year for best center in the league, and he isn't anymore.
The receivers though are also really bad. They are constantly lining up incorrectly, committing dumb penalties, not flowing to the ball when the play breaks down, and then lead the league in drops by a mile. The Chiefs likely beat Detroit if Toney doesn't giftwrap a pick six on opening night. They likely beat Philly if MVS catches the ball in the last minute of the game. They take the lead on Buffalo in the last minute or so if Toney checks with the official. I think all of the stupidity and carelessness that the Chiefs position players are playing with is close to breaking Mahomes. They burned a timeout on 4th down against the Raiders because the play call was late, Rice and Pacheco lined up in the wrong spots, and so on. The lack of awareness to detail is shocking. The WR coach is new this year, and obviously Nagy replaced Bieniemy as OC.
It is a shame because the KC defense is so far and away the best that it has been in the Mahomes era. Each game is now a race to 17-20 points, and still the Chiefs are losing these games. It is wild as a Chiefs fan.
Didn't the Reds get Gordy Coleman from the Indians?
Yes they did in a trade after the 1959 season. The Reds gave up long time all-star second baseman Johnny Temple for Coleman, Cal McLish, and Billy Martin. I imagine that Coleman
was the key to the deal from the Reds' standpoint since he had a 353/416/606 slash line
in AA during 1959. If I remember correctly this was the first inter league trade made during
a special month long period allowing it. Before this period inter league trades were prohibited
unless waivers were obtained. Coleman was one of the key offensive forces (along with Frank
Robinson and Vada Pinson) in the Reds unexpected 1961 pennant winning team that lost to the
Maris/Mantle Yankees in the 1961 World Series.
Rename the Fricken’ award already!
I didn't remember Thome with the Twins. He was with them in 2010 and for most of 2011. He certainly had an interesting 2010. He put up a .627 slugging average and .412 OBP in 340 plate appearances, and he got two MVP points, presumably based off of a 10-9-8, etc., voting count. What is odd is that he had only those 340 plate appearances, and yet he doesn't seem to have been hurt and doesn't seem to have been heavily platooned. The most games he played in a month was 19, and he was between 17 and 19 every month. Yet 28% of his plate appearances still came against lefties. Apparently, the theory was he needed rest, or he just couldn't play every day at age 39. And, judging by the way he hit, this model may have really helped him.
I will remember Thome with Twins. Because I traveled to see the Royals in their new stadium, and he hit the longest home run I have ever seen in person. Previously vying for the first spot were Johnny Bench (at the 1973 All Star Game) John Mayberry (in a game that was not on TV. I wish it had been. It was a monster - I would have put that as the longest) and Grady Sizemore (Yes, Grady Sizemore).
Thome also hit the longest home run I have ever seen on TV (also against the Royals) while with Cleveland.
I got curious about Gordy Coleman so I looked him up. He was basically a platoon player in ‘66 and only hit 4th 53 times. That was (a) still the most of anyone on the club and (b) 53 more times than he deserved (.251-5-37, OPS+ 73). Seems the Reds had traded their ‘65 cleanup hitter because he turned 30…
They didn’t have a very set order after the first 3 (Harper, Rose, Pinson) but many of their lineups read a bit like they were drawn out of a hat. Fun fact: in ‘67 Coleman hit cleanup the day before they sent him to the minors because he wasn’t hitting. He never made it back…
Also, he got his first cup o’joe with Cleveland, so hold that in reserve for immaculate grid…
** JoeBlogs Pools: Year-End Report **
We have some news regarding one of our JoeBlogs Pools, namely: “Why will JoeBlogs leave Substack and when?”
For those who do not recall or were not in Joe’s comments sections during the interim between Joe’s brief tenure at The Athletic and this Substack version of JoeBlogs (aka JoeBlogs IV: The Voyage Home), this is a two-zone Pool. The betting shop window has been closed since 2021, but you can find the rules®s and the forms for Pool Zone One and Pool Zone Two here: joeblogs.pools/leave-substack-why?-when?
In Pool Zone One (Why will JoeBlogs leave Substack?), it does not appear that we’ll have any winners. Popular choices included: “Becoming Commissioner of Baseball”; “Sabbatical to finish reading Infinite Jest”; “Buying Athletics & moving to Montreal”; “Taking talents to Mets Subreddit”, none of which now seems likely to be the cause. There was one write-in of “Nazis”, but it was DQd because the tail end of the “s” touched the perimeter. Gotta keep it in the square, folks.
In Pool Zone Two (When will JoeBlogs leave Substack?), even though there were many options, every entrant chose “within three years”. We’ll have to call this one a draw.*
*Entry fees will not be refunded.
Good to see you again Nik, along with another well phrased comment from you.
Thank you, Bill. Likewise.
Joe- so happy for your Browns! as a 49ers fan i gotta admit a bit of schadenfruede watching the Chiefs recent struggles, they're not getting back to the Super Bowl playing the way they are, but then again neither will the Eagles! also as Niners fan i never liked Russell Wilson because he was always tormenting us w/the Hawks; now that he's obviously a shell of his former self (although as mentioned, his TD/INT ratio isn't bad), it seems as if the Broncs will unload him- and surely, someone else will take him, for a restructured/reduced contract!
oh PS: haven't gotten around to taking the survey yet, since i knew from the header it would be lengthy and nerdy as hell; i just haven't been in the proper mood yet, i guess...
The award renaming won't ever work out. Same as the platform exodus. No name or platform policy will ever satisfy everyone. So as long as people are complaining, it's just a question of how much grief and judgment you can tolerate, and more importantly, from whom.