Bishop Media Sports Network
All Smyles
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I’m a sucker for puns. Good puns, bad puns (there are none), doesn’t matter. I love puns.
So, the endless possibilities that sprung to mind when the news broke on Monday that the Atlanta Braves had signed Drew Smyly made me, uh…grin.
In any case, Atlanta signed the left-handed hurler to a one-year, $11 million contract.
Alex Anthopoulos’ second signing of the offseason after bringing back righty Josh Tomlin on a one-year, $1 million deal (to hopefully pitch out of the bullpen, where he’s been very good, only).
It isn’t a massive splash, of course that’s never been Atlanta’s style, regardless of who the general manager is. However, it’s a solid move to begin the process of going after a 4th straight NL East division championship (all due respect to Tomlin).
While eight figures seems like it might be a lot for a guy who certainly didn’t top the list of free agent pitchers (Trevor Bauer is about to make bank, though), Smyly is coming off of what was (or was almost going to be, had he not missed some time to injury) the best season of his career, pitching for the San Francisco Giants.
For a 31-year-old pitcher, that’s a pretty impressive feat and it’s likely owing to the fact that his velocity has somehow actually increased as he’s entered his 30s.
Granted, the 2020 season was an anomaly and Smyly probably had more gas in the tank on the whole (his longest outing was just 5 1/3), but the fact that 2019 was a good run for him and he took further steps the next season speaks to his improvement. It’s likely the combo of the two seasons that put him on Anthopoulos’ radar.
Now, you’re probably thinking that only one start into the 6th inning coupled with a good-but-not-jaw-dropping 3.42 ERA isn’t anything to get excited about, and to be fair, you’re absolutely correct. But this signing isn’t the kind of signing that’s supposed to get you all riled up.
Smyly is essentially going to be expected to play the role of the capable veteran in the rotation, a role that was desperately unfilled in 2020, much in part to Cole Hamels’ inability to get healthy enough to earn that $18 million that Atlanta had to pay him for three innings this year.
In short, this was a move to acquire more depth, and it comes at a position that was horrifically devoid of that, particularly as the year went by.
And to that end, Smyly is a low(ish)-risk, high(ish)-reward signing: the deal is for a single season (which the higher-tier pitchers won’t be looking at this early in the offseason), not for no money but cheaper than the aforementioned Hamels was or plenty of other pitchers will be.
While Smyly is unlikely to be in the Cy Young conversation for next season and there is a history of injury, he’s capable of being a solid hand who can rack up 10+ wins with a sub-4.00 ERA.
Every playoff-hopeful team needs one or two and the Braves had none last year. This is just the kind of piece that could potentially make a difference, especially if the 2021 season goes ahead as planned and they get a full 162-game schedule in (can you imagine if Atlanta had had to play a full complement of games with the rotation they had for most of last year?).
This signing allows Atlanta to devote more resources to either resigning or replacing Marcel Ozuna this offseason and hoping that the big splash in the pitching rotation comes when Mike Soroka fully recovers from his injury towards the beginning of next season.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender November 18
The Boss
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
A few years ago, I wrote a story about Augusta National allowing women to play golf at their club. I pointed out that the mere fact that it was news that women were breaking new ground in the 21st century was shameful in and of itself. Not that the move wasn’t important or newsworthy, because it was, just that it was ridiculous how late in the game (no pun intended) that the rule was being changed.
In a similar – but also distinct – manner, the Miami Marlins made the historic move to hire the first female General Manager in Major League Baseball history: Kim Ng.
Not for nothing, she will also be the first Asian-American GM and the first female GM in any of the four major North American Sports.
Ng comes to the gig with 30 years of high-level experience in the league, including the last nine as Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of baseball operations.
Before that, she spent 21 years in the front offices of the Chicago White Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, showing up to be GM Brian Cashman’s right-hand woman in New York at the start of their World Series three-peat from 1998-2000.
At the time she was the youngest assistant GM in the league at just 29 years old and only the second woman to be hired to that gig.
In short, she is supremely qualified (the kind of qualifications that, let’s not kid ourselves, would have gotten her hired 10 years ago if she’d been a man), and while likely not the first woman that’s capable of handling the job, Derek Jeter and the Marlins have made her the first to rise to the top.
But with all that said, she’s got work to do. Ng is inheriting a Marlins team that made the postseason for just the third time in history on the backs of an incredibly young and gifted pitching rotation.
All eyes will be on her to solidify their position as a playoff team in a division populated by a Braves team that will be expected to repeat, Nationals & Phillies teams that will one day figure out what to do with their talent, and a Mets team with a new owner who will want to make a splash, and soon.
In the face of all that, it makes sense that Ng might want to make a splash of her own.
Incidentally, the Cleveland Indians have made it known that All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor is on the market.
Ng and the Marlins have a farm system ready to be utilized, and Lindor is just the kind of franchise player that Miami has lacked since JT Realmuto was shipped off to Philadelphia.
Getting Lindor would be a no-brainer acquisition for any team. He’s been the best shortstop in baseball since his rookie season in 2015, even with his underproductive (for him) 2020 campaign.
The best part is – as Lindor is a free agent after 2021 – the Indians’ asking price would have to be (somewhat) reasonable.
Whether or not Ng could extend the shortstop is a whole different conversation, but the appeal of being able to trade for such a marquee name for only a handful of prospects and only one or two top-tier ones would be hard to resist.
Would Lindor put the Marlins over the top in the NL East? Absolutely not.
They’ve got too many holes in their lineup and bullpen for one elite player to change the entire future of the team, even one that made the playoffs last season.
But the positive spotlight is on the Marlins for once and going after Mr. Smile will keep it there.
I Have The Power
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Thanksgiving is almost upon us in the pandemic-stricken football season of 2020.
Just this weekend alone you have four games in the SEC that have been postponed and scheduled for a later date due to the Coronavirus. Will we make it through the regular season?
Who knows that answer, but here are my SEC Power Rankings at this point of the season:
Alabama: The Crimson Tide hung 52 points on Texas A&M. Alabama hung 41 on Georgia before Georgia’s defense was officially exposed as a fraud.
Mac Jones and Najee Harris are Heisman candidates.
This defense is starting to come around, and there is no team in the conference that will stand in their way on a cruise to the SEC Championship.
Florida could pose some problems, but that defense can’t stop a faucet drip.
Nick Saban is still the best in the business. Alabama’s offense might be better than a couple of NFL teams that are in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes. SEC Champion and College Football playoff team.
Texas A&M: By virtue of beating Florida the Aggies land here.
The Aggies played awful against Alabama, but doesn’t everyone not named Auburn and LSU once every 8 years?
Jimbo Fisher is in position to get a College Football playoff bid without winning a conference championship if his team can run the table and finish 9-1 in this pandemic season. This team is improving weekly.
Florida: The Gators got over the UGA hurdle last week, but UGA left three TD’s on the field with awful QB play.
Kyle Trask may be the Heisman front-runner at the moment.
Dan Mullen needs to get something out of this season because Trask will not be back next year.
This defense can’t stop an elite team like Alabama. I see Florida finishing the season with a 10-2 record with a nice NY6 Bowl win over someone to be determined.
This offense is really good, and they just completed another 40-yard wheel route to a running back on Georgia.
Mullen still has a month to fix this defense before the Alabama SEC title game.
Georgia: UGA lands here by default.
The QB room is a mess and the defense can’t stop a good college passing offense.
UGA may finish 8-2 who knows, but last weekend in Jacksonville left a bitter taste in the mouth of the Bulldog Nation.
Carson Beck needs to get his shot Kirby.
Auburn: With the win over a bad LSU team Gus may have survived once again.
Perception is reality you know.
This is a team that did not score a TD against UGA.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks are the most improved team in the SEC.
“The Pit Boss” Sam Pittman is the SEC coach of the year. Arkansas is the SEC feel good story of the year. The Hogs are 3-3 currently and are a pretty decent football team.
Ole Miss: The Rebels have the third best offense in the SEC.
Once Lane Kiffin can shore up that defense with a couple of recruiting cycles look out SEC.
This is an exciting team to watch.
LSU: Yeah, we know the Tigers lost 14 players to the NFL draft, but damn this is LSU.
Covid-19 delayed a monumental beating from Alabama this weekend, but don’t worry LSU its coming in December.
Tennessee: You can shake 9-14 up in a bag.
Tennessee should be better than this.
Missouri: The Tigers are rebuilding and show signs of life.
South Carolina: Hugh Freeze is sitting by the phone Carolina fans.
Kentucky: Watching this offense is like staring at paint drying.
Mississippi State: The Air Raid is a dud in the SEC. The LSU game was fool’s gold against an awful defense.
Vanderbilt: Baseball season will start soon Vandy fans.
Power Rankings in Coastal Georgia seem to be a hot topic these days.
Glynn Academy Red Terrors Coach’s Show w Rocky Hidalgo November 12
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show w Brandon Derrick November 11
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender November 11
The Quarterback Room
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The eighth ranked Florida Gators topped the #5 ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday in the World’s Largest Cocktail Party, taking control of the SEC East at the midway point in the 2020 season.
Florida was led by Senior quarterback Kyle Trask. Trask completed 30 of 43 passes for 474 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception. Trask became the first quarterback in SEC history to throw for 4 plus touchdowns in 5 consecutive games.
Trask was a low three-star quarterback coming out of Manvel, Texas, where he played behind D’Eriq King. Trask’s composite score was 0.7984 and ranked the 2123rd player in the country.
Georgia’s starting quarterback Stetson Bennett was a high three star with a composite score of 0.8304. Bennett was replaced by four-star quarterback D’Wan Mathis, whose composite score was 0.8992.
After the game on Saturday, whining Bulldog fans were making excuses for the loss.
Some were saying ‘we would have won but we have five players out with injuries and a walk on quarterback’.
Another said I really miss Jake Fromm. I also heard Bennett could not start for Valdosta State University. Injuries are part of the game, but the quarterback position at Georgia is another issue.
Georgia’s quarterback issues started when Justin Fields transferred to Ohio State. The Georgia coaching staff selected Fromm over Fields and the rest is history. Fields is currently the front runner for the Heisman Trophy.
In January, Jamie Newman, the Wake Forest graduate transfer, announced he was transferring to Georgia. On September 2, Georgia’s projected starting quarterback opted out of the 2020 season.
Many speculated that five-star transfer from USC J.T. Daniels would assume the starting job. Daniels has yet to see the field due to medical clearance on his knee. Daniels was the 18th overall in the 2018 class and threw for 2,672 yards as a true freshman in 2018.
D’Wan Mathis started the opening game against Arkansas but was benched in the second half for former walk-on, Stetson Bennett. Bennett has done a very serviceable job for the Bulldogs leading them to victories over Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky. Bennett gives UGA the best chance to win.
Georgia’s quarterback problems can be traced to a couple factors: coaching, development and offensive systems.
Georgia’s offensive coordinators/quarterback coach under Kirby Smart have been Jim Chaney 2016-18, James Coley 2019 and Todd Monken 2020. Three coordinators in three years, how can a player be developed?
The product on the field in big games prove that UGA quarterbacks are not being developed or coached up to their true strengths.
Kirby Smart has brought in three different coordinators to run a spread offense in Athens, but Smart’s football DNA is to run the ball and play stout defense. The strength of this team is its defense and running the football.
However, it appears offenses have finally caught up to Georgia’s defense. LSU sliced and diced the Dawgs in last season’s SEC Championship Game and Alabama did the same three weeks ago.
Florida handed Georgia their second loss of the season by a score of 44-28.
The defeat also makes it very unlikely for the Bulldogs to claim its fourth straight SEC East title.
It also created questions at the quarterback position moving forward. Who should start at quarterback: Bennett, Daniels, Mathis or Carson Beck (true freshman for Jacksonville)?
Wait until next year when another five star comes to Athens in Brock Vandagriff.
Bulldog fans, accept your loss to the better team last week and stop making excuses! It is embarrassing!
Making The Grade?
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Going into the season many experts thought the NFC South would be the toughest division. Now that we’re a little more than halfway through the season let’s take a look at how each team is doing and grade them on their midseason report card.
Tampa Bay: The Buccaneers (6-3) have a lot of hype surrounding them.
As you know they signed the greatest quarterback of all time Tom Brady in the off-season. They also traded to get his favorite target, tight end Rob Gronkowski. They already had Pro Bowl wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
They also signed running back Leonard Fournette and recently acquired future Hall of Fame receiver Antonio Brown.
They are stacked with talent, but the Saints are their kryptonite. They were swept by New Orleans and they did not play well in those games.
This past week they were pummeled 38 – 3 by them. The week before they barely beat the 1-7 New York Giants 25 – 23.
The defense is pretty good, ranked fourth in the league in total defense.
The Bucs are a playoff team but not as good as we expected. Grade: B-.
New Orleans: The Saints (6-2) are flying high. Their tied for the best record in the NFC.
They have the potential to be the top seed and have home field advantage in the playoffs. I will admit that with limited crowd sizes this season due to the pandemic it might not mean as much as it has previously.
Star wide receiver Michael Thomas has missed several games due to a suspension for a fight in practice and a hamstring injury.
In the two games he’s played in he has 8 catches and 68 yards. On the bright side he should be well rested.
The defense is 3rd in the league in total defense, allowing 312 yards and 25 points per game.
New Orleans is the total package. Grade: A.
Atlanta: The Falcons (3-6) got off to another slow start, losing the first five games of the season.
Head Coach Dan Quinn was fired, and Raheem Morris was named the interim head coach.
In those four games they are 3-1. I look at it as too little, too late. Quarterback Matt Ryan is leading the league in passing yards and he’s on his way to another Pro Bowl.
Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley are both on pace to have over a thousand yards and they both have missed games.
Running back Todd Gurley was signed as a free agent and he’s having a decent season.
Gurley is fifth in rushing yards (584) and second in rushing touchdowns (9). The defense is 28th in total defense, allowing 410 YPG and 27.9 PPG.
Grade: D-.
Carolina: The Panthers (3-6) got rid of Cam Newton and signed Teddy Bridgewater to replace him.
The best running back in the NFL, Christian McCaffrey is their only real threat on offense.
McCaffrey injured his ankle Week 2 and missed 6 games before returning Week 9.
They signed former Jets receiver Robby Anderson as a free agent and that was a great move. Anderson is fourth in the league in receiving yards with 751. DJ Moore is also having a good season with 640 receiving yards and 3 TD’s.
The defense is average, ranking 17th in total defense. They give up 362 YPG and 25 PPG.
Grade: D.
Jimmie
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With the exception of a few years in the mid to late 2000’s where I was a casual watcher, I’ve never really been a fan of NASCAR.
It’s not that I had anything against it, watching racing just wasn’t my thing.
However, as Jimmie Johnson’s full-time career comes to an end- and I say full time because race car drivers are like WWE wrestlers, they never seem to completely retire- I can’t help but think back on how he was perceived during that time.
Now, just to be clear, I’m not talking about his legacy- I’m not nearly knowledgeable enough to make those kinds of assessments. I’m referring to how he was viewed among most NASCAR fans, and why.
Johnson entered NASCAR as Jeff Gordon 2.0. He was a good looking, well dressed, articulate speaking (no accent) individual, which meant the ladies loved him and the men, not so much.
The fact he drove for the same owner as Gordon, Richard Hendrick, led to me hearing them referred to as the “Backstreet Boys of racing” on more than one occasion.
It would be easy to put the lion’s share of Johnson’s struggle to win over the diehard fan on him being an outsider, but it goes a little deeper than that.
NASCAR is a tight knit community where names like Petty, Wallace, and Allison mean something; and no name carries more weight in that sport than Earnhardt.
I honestly think had Earnhardt been around the Hatfield and McCoy’s feud would’ve ended with “…and they all gathered around the table in their Earnhardt shirts, thanking the good lord for placing the Intimidator on this earth.”
Fan loyalty runs deeper in NASCAR than any other sport, so to have a racer like Jimmie Johnson winning five straight Cup Series Championships over Dale Earnhardt Jr. was blasphemy at its highest level.
It would’ve been bad enough to have a racer like Tony Stewart or Kevin Harvick defeating Earnhardt Jr. when it was supposed to be his time, but for those defeats to come at the hands of a pretty boy from California was unacceptable.
If Johnson was your average racer, winning a race or two here and there, I still think fans would’ve had the same opinion of him, it just wouldn’t have been nearly as deep seeded.
(I feel like I need to mention I don’t ever remember Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson having any issues with each other, outside of the normal confrontations all drivers seem to have with each other some point. Like most things related to sports, it had nothing to with the drivers themselves, but rather the fans.)
I also believe Johnson’s popularity with the casual NASCAR fan outside of the south was a major reason the sport reached its peak around that time- something I think the diehard fan had difficulty coming to grips with.
If I had to guess it’s been ten years since I, not only watched a NASCAR race, but actually followed what was taking place. I have no idea if Johnson’s popularity within the sport has increased over that time or if it’s stayed the same; I imagine it’s gotten better, but probably not by much.
I have no idea where Johnson ranks among the pantheon of great race car drivers, but for a few years he was one of the more polarizing drivers in the sport, and NASCAR was all the better for it.
