They always come back. Sooner or later...

We're bound to crawl back, over the shame of 45-42, over the disappointment of the Capital One Bowl, and over the outrage of Arn Tellem and his merry bunch of heinous crooks.  Also, finals are over, so I can once again resume such luxuries as blogging and sleep.  Not necessarily in that order.

One thing that should be noted is that, in our week and a half absence, we gained 2 new followers.  I don't know if it was my lack of posting that interested people, or the inevitable media curiosity following the new contract of "trusty correspondent" Ryan Lavner, but it's interesting nonetheless.  And if you are still with us after we failed to keep you up to date for near two weeks, then hats off to you.

The most important thing that has happened this week in the realm of Atlanta is the juke by Rafael Furcal's agent that shattered the ankles of Frank Wren.  Wren, who is already under heavy criticism for doing his job properly and not following the George Steinbrenner business model, believed he had a 3 year contract in place for Rafael Furcal.  Furcal's agent reportedly called him up, quoted as "Furkie is excited.  Send me the paperwork."  Said paperwork, used in baseball as a handshake agreement, was then shopped to the Dodgers to wrangle out an extra .667 million dollars per year.  Not to understate the value of the average yearly salary of a good doctor, but it seems kind of insignificant in baseball terms to declare yourself as someone who is actually slimier than Scott Boras.  JJ at You Are Looking Live pretty much summarizes my feelings on the entire matter.

Meanwhile, the Braves have ceased all negotiations with Tellem's agency, which means that they won't sign such notable free agents as Randy Wolf and Sammy Sosa.  It should also be noted that they do represent Pete Moylan, who I actually like.  Fortunately for Atlanta, it does not appear that they will be signing anybody this offseason, thus following my backup plan.  They had rumored interest in Oliver Perez, who I can be quoted on liking, but I've grown a bit more tedious about him after reading the interesting tidbit that David O'Brien pulled up.

"Get this:  Perez is 5-2 with a 3.39 ERA in 10 starts against the Braves since the beginning of the 2006 season.  Against everyone else in that period, he's 23-28 with a 4.70 ERA in 75 starts"

Woof.

In more upbeat news, Jeff Owens wisely decided to stay in school for one more year, allowing the Georgia D-Line to look somewhat more competent going into next year.  With solid verbals from Owens and Atkins for next year, and Asher Allen not likely to leave, Georgia only has to wait (and dream) that Stafford and Moreno aren't going anywhere.  Emphasis on the dreaming.

Also in upbeat news, the Hawks are miraculously still good.  For all the praise that I have lavished on this team over the past four years, I still refuse to accept their competency, and can show no emotion save stunned silence every time the phrase "Coach of the Year candidate Mike Woodson" is uttered.  Woodson, I maintain, is a worse coach than either Dennis Felton or Paul Hewitt.  And I fully understand how inept both of those coaches are, but nobody has traditionally done less with more than Woodson's last few years with the Hawks.

In closing, as you all know, Christmas is in less than a week.  I've never asked for much, but I was informed earlier this week that I have really good karma and am going to have good stuff coming to me later on in life.  So if anybody feels the need to share, I would like...

1)  A playoff appearance for the Falcons

2) A solid front of the line starter for Atlanta

3) A good pair of contacts for Jeff Francoeur

4) An opportunity to not get shafted in fantasy sports

5) A girlfriend

6) A letter of acceptance from Pharmacy School.

These are ordered from likeliest at the top to most unrealistic at the bottom.  

Until next time...

Who Throws a Shoe? Honestly!

Apparently, I run a blog. It appears as if I have been neglecting my duties as blogmaster general, mostly due to the hectic end of a semester. But I'm back, and rest assured, OTR is still going strong.

Since we've been gone, AJ Burnett has signed with the Yankees, Sam Bradford has won the Heisman, Auburn has hired Gene Chizik, and an Iraqi journalist hurled a size-10 wingtip at the President of the United States.

To quote Austin Powers, who throws a shoe? I mean, obviously people hate George Bush. A lot of people. But aren't there more effective ways of expressing your hatred of someone? Best case scenario for this guy, he hits Bush between the eyes. Maybe he makes his nose bleed. Meanwhile, the Secret Service makes him and his family disappear by the time Air Force One leaves the tarmac.

As Tony Kornheiser quipped the other day, it's surprising the Yankees haven't offered this rubber-armed Iraqi a five-year deal at $50 million. It's getting a little silly. Of course, Major League Baseball doesn't have a salary cap so the Evil Empire is well within its rights in spending like crazy this offseason. It was only a matter of time before the Steinbrenner clan got an itchy trigger finger and started collecting All-Stars for their army.

Realistically, I'm glad the Yanks got Burnett. The Braves were going to overpay for him and at least he's not on a National League squad. The only problem is, now the Braves are going to be hard pressed to find the ace they've been looking for this offseason. They could revive the Peavy talks. Derek Lowe and Ben Sheets (one's old and one's a walking blob of tendonitis) are still out there. Anyone have Danny Almonte's number?

Regardless, not even a top-of-the-line starter would save the Braves this year. There's still a gaping hole where their outfield's offensive production used to be, and the bullpen is still...interesting.

Then we have Rafael Furcal returning to Atlanta. Or not? Yes, he is! Oh, nevermind, he's staying. Apparently, Furcal is represented by Ari Gold. Paul Kinzer, Furcal's shark...er...I mean agent, basically pulled the old okie-doke on the Braves, using the Atlanta offer as leverage to sweeten the pot for Los Angeles.

Braves president John Schuerholz is less than amused about the whole turn of events. He basically said Kinzer and his partner Arn Tellem they can sit on it, saying that all of their clients are dead to the Braves (kind of like that studio head that died on Entourage).

I never really understood the Furcal deal in the first place, unless they were planning on using Yunel Escobar as trade bait for Jake Peavy with Furcal's arrival. Still, the Braves feel like they got hosed.

Essentially, the Braves are swimming in a sea of failure this offseason. Whether you agree with the proposed moves or not, Atlanta has went after three players this offseason (Peavy, Burnett and Furcal) and came up empty (much like Jeff Francoeur). A team that used to have free agents lining up down Hank Aaron Drive to play for Bobby Cox now can't get anyone to play in Atlanta. It's not the players that the Braves lost that hurts, it's the fact that they cant get players that they agressively went after.

Speaking of frustrating, how about that Gene Chizik hiring on The Plains. I, for one, feel bad for the guy. He has already been given no chance by the Auburn fan base. Next year was going to be a rebuilding effort of sorts anyway. Recruits began to jump ship as soon as Tubberville packed up the U-Haul. In short, it was going to be a tough year regardless of the coach.

Now, the guy already has everyone from Charles Barkley to Auburn boosters calling for his head and he hasn't even picked out an orange-and-blue golf shirt yet. Granted, the guy was 5-19 at Iowa State, which isn't exactly a gold star on the resume.

He's following a very well-liked guy in Tommy Tubberville so there's bound to be sour grapes. All I know is that the dude better be ready for a battle going up against Saban in a recruiting war. He's going to have a tough sell trying to tell some kid he should come to The Plains and play for a 5-19 coach as opposed to moving into Sabanation.

Loathing the Loved in More Ways than One

With a lawsuit for wrongful termination still pending in district court, your trusty correspondent has returned to his blogging birthplace -- Off the Record.

Oh, what a feeling it is to be back, pounding away in this sophisticated HTML format and again seeing the barely discernible graphic and title in the header. You may be asking yourself what sparked the merger of OTR and 2 Guys, 1 Blog -- and if you're not, you probably should -- and it was quite simple: Eight readers is a lot more appealing than four!

Although the run of 2 Guys, 1 Blog was valiant -- it existed for two months without the contributions from second guy on the one blog, Jordan Backs -- every blogger of import must advance his career.

So advance we must.

As did the Florida Gators -- to the BCS National Championship Game.

Can't say your noteworthy scribe is shocked -- it was written in a similar space about five weeks ago that the Gators would be co-participants in the sport's grandest game -- and there certainly cannot be any qualms about their position in the final BCS standings released Sunday.

Saturday's SEC championship game against Alabama lived up to its billing, and although the 11-point margin of victory was one more than originally predicted here, it was close throughout.

Love him or loathe him, Gators quarterback Tim Tebow probably won himself another Heisman Trophy, and rightfully so. Since that now-famous apology after the shocking loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 27 -- and hey, Houston Nutt's bunch didn't turn out to be so bad this season, huh? -- Tebow has been sensational.

The dude makes very few mistakes -- he's thrown only two interceptions this season -- and with speedster Percy Harvin held out because of an ankle injury, Tebow reverted to his 2007 Heisman-winning form, when the entire offense ran through him.

Because OTR Sports was not officially founded until late August, we did not qualify to submit a Heisman vote this season. So this year's decision-makers will have wrestle with this question: Does Tim Tebow deserve to become the second player in college football history to win back-to-back Heisman Trophies?

If you listened to the talkingheads before and after the Gators' win on Saturday, they were elevating Tebow to elite status, calling him one of the best college football players of all-time. And you can make all the jokes you want about his affinity for circumcisions and social work, but there's no denying he's been great for the game -- a genuine kid who plays with so much emotion that he's bumping into the kickoff unit and chomping, clapping and flailing the entire fourth quarter.

The belief here is that he will win the Heisman on Saturday, joining Archie Griffin as the only players to win back-to-back trophies in sports' most prestigious club. And he will do so not only because of his incredible statistics -- and the Gators' nine-game win streak and second BCS title-game appearance in three years helps -- but because of the intangibles and his leadership ability. No player is more important to his team's success than Tebow.

This prediction is subject to change, but right now, with Harvin expected to be at full speed in exactly one month: Florida 38, Oklahoma 34.


Impulsive Thoughts on the BCS

-- There's no complaining here about the BCS title game matchup. We know the Blatantly Corrupt System is unfair, and the Longhorns and seething coach Mack Brown are this year's victims. We know Texas defeated eventual Big 12 champ Oklahoma 45-35 on a neutral field a month and a half ago. But we also know that, unfortunately, this is the system we have, and that this is the tiebreaking mechanism the Big 12 has (although it immediately began revising the process). Looking for justice in this system? Not happening, especially with ESPN's recent contract to televise BCS games dashing hopes for a playoff until at least the 2014 season.

-- Alabama did expose a weakness that Oklahoma and stud running back DeMarco Murray could exploit: Florida appeared somewhat soft against a power run game. Glen Coffee ran between the tackles and through the Gators' defense with great success Saturday, but when the Tide was forced into a downfield passing game, quarterback John Parker Wilson was -- predictably -- unable to move the ball. Wilson was also pummeled by a strong Gators pass rush, something Georgia couldn't provide when the otherwise unspectacular senior torched the secondary during the since-forgotten -- haha, yeah right! -- beating Between the Hedges.

-- After a quick perusal of this year's bowl games, here are five that your trusty observer is interested in watching:

1. BCS National Championship, Florida/Oklahoma: Duh.
2. BCS Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State/Texas: The feeling here is that Ohio State will upset the Longhorns, who will still be filing complaints into the Big 12 commissioner's office about their conference championship-game snub. Look for Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryer to put on a Youngian performance in one of the postseason's most intriguing matchups. Or they could epically flop, like they did the past two seasons.
3. Cotton Bowl, Ole Miss/Texas Tech: TT coach Mike Leach already has one foot out the door, and that could only further the legend of first-year Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt, whose reclamation project is surely one of this season's feel-good stories.
4. Chick-fil-A Bowl, Georgia Tech/LSU: Georgia Tech will drive only two miles to put on a unmatched rushing display that will garner nationwide attention. Seriously: Tech will rush for 500 yards against LSU's beleaguered defense.
5. Capital One Bowl, Georgia/Michigan State: To avoid a public backlash, we put this on the list. The game will feature two of the best running backs in the nation, Georgia's Knowshon Moreno and Michigan State's Javon Ringer, although we wholeheartedly disagree with the Red and Black's assertion last Friday that Moreno is the best back in the nation. (Iowa's Shonn Greene is.)


More Weekend Grumblings

-- Rehabbing pitcher John Smoltz reportedly threw off the mound for the first time Friday and impressed both manager Bobby Cox and pitching coach Roger McDowell. That, of course, is a good sign for Braves fans who predicted that Smoltz's shoulder surgery in June was career-ending. He is apparently about a month ahead of schedule, and should be ready when the Braves start Spring Training. After watching the fallout from October's Atlanta Magazine article in which Smoltz was quoted as saying he will pitch elsewhere if the Braves don't offer him a contract -- duh! -- general manager Frank Wren will likely offer the veteran hurler a one-year, incentives-laden deal sometime in the next two months. Whether he will start or pitch out of the bullpen is unclear.

-- There was great satisfaction Friday night in watching Buffalo terminate Ball State's perfect season, and thereby ending quarterback Nate Davis' slim chances of winning the Heisman. An unnamed source told OTR Sports that Buffalo coach Turner Gill is a finalist to fill the head-coaching vacancy at Syracuse -- is that really an upgrade? -- along with East Carolina's Skip Holtthhss. Gill will reportedly meet with Auburn officials early this week to discuss that opening as well.

His revival of once-downtrodden Buffalo has been remarkable, though, and a similar transformation at either Auburn or Syracuse will happen -- in three or four years.


-- Team Buckiiiiits began its earnest march toward a championship Sunday with a 65-15 beatdown of Ain't Got a Clue, which truly did not. The game was called with 11 minutes remaining because of the 50-point margin of victory. (See photo right for visual representation.)

Besides obvious contributions from yours truly -- five points and immeasurable statistics, such as team-morale boosting and mistake-free ball-handling (a miracle) -- OTR Sports chairman Adam Rosenberg scored a team-high 18 points, and Jordan Backs added 15 points and 11 assists.

The game was, however, marred by some very disturbing and unsportsmanlike behavior.

Disturbing: Big Guy, the recipient of a beautiful outlet pass by a certain blogger, airmailed a layup attempt and went tumbling into the sparse crowd. Luckily Kiel was there to clean up the mess, but the world's least intimidating player -- at 6-foot-3, Big Guy is taller than everyone else in the league -- finished with two points, a few steals and even more boneheaded plays. (Notice awkward landing and the ball's position, on the other side of the basket.)

Unsportsmanlike behavior: Team captain Mayonnaise, obviously thinking we were playing in a high school game where blowouts draw headlines on p. 5 of the Athens Banner-Herald, decided a full-court press was necessary when Buckiiiits was up by 44 with 15 minutes to play in the second half. For those who weren't in attendance -- and that's not many of you -- this team had obvious difficulties handling, passing and, most critical to the game of basketball, shooting the ball.

But was that any reason to exacerbate their miscues, further humiliate a team that was already down by more than 40 and show blatant disrespect in a league that is supposed to be about having fun with your friends? No. It's understood that points allowed makes a difference in playoff seeding, but let the darn kids shoot the ball on their side of the floor, at the very least. If they miss -- and by god they did! -- so be it. To be honest, it was disheartening to be on a team that exhibited such poor sportsmanship. Here's to hoping Buuckkiiits can play with a little more class in four weeks.

<3 187

Good Day For Golf If You're a Dawg Fan

For those of you (us) who asked off work this weekend or planned trips around it because you expected to be in Atlanta decked out in red and black, you may want to avert your eyes.

Of course, Georgia Tech resides in Georgia's capital city fresh off their first state championship this decade. The Jacket Nation is rightfully enjoying their victory, complete with Keith Brooking forcing D.J. Shockley to wear Tech gear into the locker room.

However, the real stomach-turner for Georgia fans is happening a few miles away from North Avenue at the Georgia Dome. Alabama and Florida, two teams that beat Georgia by a combined score of 467-31, are locking up in "the biggest SEC title game in history."

We all know Georgia's season of destiny turned into a Donnanesque disaster, but this weekend is the personification of that disaster.

The Dome with Georgia in its name is hosting Georgia's most hated rival and a team that handed the Dawgs an epic beating Between the Hedges. Nick Saban and Urban Meyer in the same place at the same time has to have those little machines the Ghostbusters use to detect evil in a frenzy. Has there ever been more concentrated scumbaggery in one building?

Most Georgia fans will tell you the only way this game will be satisfying is if the Dome collapses at halftime. While I won't go that far, I will see either team winning this game would be unsettling.

However, as both SEC Championship Game participants already proved this year, they don't care what Georgia or their fans think. It will come down to play on the field, and these two teams present an interesting matchup.

Bama's defense is absolutley brutal, with guys like Mt. Cody demanding double teams and Rolando McClain waiting behind him to gobble up the leftovers. If there's any defense in the SEC, or maybe the nation, that matches up with the Gators, it has to be the Crimson Tide's. They pressure quarterbacks and the secondary has been opportunistic. All of these things are necessary to defend Florida.

Meanwhile, the Tide's offense isn't a world-beater by any means. Of course, the plowed through Georgia's defense. So did Kentucky. John Parker Wilson and his feathered bangs could be in for a painful day against a lightning-fast Gator defense. Alabama needs to just run it down Florida's throat, because I don't see JPW beating anyone with his arm (except Georgia...notice a trend?).

We all know about the Gators' offense. Sometimes, I think Meyer just throws a dart at his offensive depth chart to decide who's getting the ball on each play. However, Percy Harvin most certainly won't be 100% healthy. Neither will Chris Rainey. In their absence, Tebow is going to try to put the offense on his shoulders. Needless to say, it's worked in the past. With or without Harvin and Rainey, the Florida offense is seemingly averaging 60 points per game this season. The Georgia Dome hasn't seen offense like that since the Rams brought the Greatest Show on Turf to town.

The uncertainty on offense for the Gators puts pressure on the defense. That's fine for Brandon Spikes and company. The Florida defense has been devestating offenses all season, and they're scary-young. Janoris Jenkins is a freshman. Major Wright and Ahmad Black are sophomores. Ruh Roh. The Gators should feast on JPW, but the Bama rushing attack is effective enough to temper the pass rush a little.

Florida is 10-point favorites heading into this game. They also have been obliterating the competition for two months, so it doesn't seem like a bad spread. But Alabama hasn't lost a game, and they're extremely well-coached. They also have a large chip on their shoulder.

Prepare to have your jaws dropped. I'm following the lead of Georgia-grad and ESPN.com writer Mark Schlabach. I'm picking the Tide in the upset special, and not because I hate Florida. I really think the Red Elephants take home the trophy as Saban begins his reign of terror. To make matters worse, he'll leave Atlanta with four or five more top-10 recruits for next year's class.

Tide 31-Gators 28

Apparently, there's some sort of championship game in Tampa on Saturday as well. Boston College and Virginia Tech will entertain the masses with a thrilling showdown in Raymond James Stadium. I posed this question earlier in the season and I ask it again. If someone wins the ACC title, and nobody is there to see it, does it make a sound?

I don't know or care about either of these teams. The fact that they are in this game speaks to the fact that every other ACC team wanted it less. I have seen Va Tech's offense this year, and it looked terrible. I'll go off that.

BC 17-VT 10

The most deserving team in the Big 12 will spend Saturday on the couch dowining nachos, as Texas can only watch and root for Mizzou as they take on Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game. Sure, beating a team on a neutral site sounds like a good tiebreaker, but going by BCS standings is much more logical. Do you think that OU fans even feel like they deserve this one?

Imagine being a Texas fan or player right now. It would be like if Georgia and Florida each had one loss (ah, that would be nice), and Georgia had beaten Florida in Jacksonville by 10 points. Yet, inexplicably, the Gators go to the Dome. We would all be rightfully livid. I feel your pain Longhorn fans.

Anyway, the Missouri Paper Tigers have a chance against the Sooners. Just not a good one. OU is hot right now and they will complete their bizzare torment of the Horns. OU punches their ticket to Miami in this one.

Sooners 42-Tigers 31

Enjoy the day of football. And if you're a Georgia fan, try not to think of what could have been.

Breaking News

Athens--During the week, the Off the Record Board of Directors conducted its year-end meetings at the Sandals Beach Resort in Jamaica. In addition to enjoying the robust buffet and numerous on-site watersports opportunities, Off the Record left the meeting with some big news to report.

If you'll remember back to OTR's infancy, we had a promising young writer named Ryan Lavner on staff. Due to creative differences (I was creative, he wasn't), Lavner and OTR agreed to part ways. Lavner went on to co-found Two Guys, One Blog with Jordan Backs. After Backs opted out of the blog for a career in modeling, Lavner was left to fend for himself.

However, we here at OTR thoroughly enjoy Lavner's analysis and writing ability. He is a talented writer and a half-decent human.

With that being said, we are pleased to announce that Lavner will be rejoining the OTR team, effective immediately. Lavner's new contract is good through 2011, paying him $2.4 million per year with incentives for good columns.

Along with the phenom that is Bill Kitson, OTR looks to be formidable for years to come.

Lavner will be issuing a press release through his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, some time during the weekend.

Please, if you think Lavner sucks, tell us. We will be glad to kick him back out on his backside.

Stay tuned for more on this late-breaking development.

All I want for christmas is a starting rotation

Now that Georgia has managed it's semi-annual tradition of ripping out and stomping on my heart, it is now once again time for me to turn my attention towards the most important thing going on in December for fans of football teams that can't manage championship bowls:  The Winter Meetings.

Starting next Tuesday, MLB representatives for each team will all do everything they possibly can to ingratiate themselves to Scott Boras and his ilk, hoping to not make the signing that every other team laughs at for being abused.  In the past, such notable contracts as Barry Zito and Alfonso Soriano have egregiously been agreed on to the horror of one fanbase and the general amusement of 29 others.  This year, it looked like the Braves were going to be the one to set the laughably high standard, with leaked reports indicating that they were offering A.J. Burnett some absurdly high amount of money that would pay him on the level that C.C. Sabathia is likely going to make.  It appears that the offer made towards Burnett was overblown, but it's nice to see that the Braves are willing to make a splash on the free agent market for the first time in ages.

For those of you who remembered the Bill Kitson offseason plan, I supported one of two methods.  Option One, which is the preferred method, involved trading for Jake Peavy and reworking the entire structure of the team around him.  Option two was standing pat and letting the kids play.  It appears that Jake Peavy will probably not be coming to Atlanta, which is unfortunate for a team so desperate for pitching.  However, I will give credit to Frank Wren for a) Not Giving In, and b) Not Giving Up.

When it was reported that the Braves and White Sox were close to a deal, I assumed it was going to be for former Atlanta prospect Jermaine Dye, who had been rumored to be on the market.  To my surprise, however, the Braves obtained fantasy baseball all-star Javier Vasquez, who makes up for his poor ratios with a high amount of strikeouts.  Personally, I'm quite fine with the trade.  I've coveted Vasquez for quite some time, since he and Bartolo Colon made up a temporary one two punch for the Montreal Expos that rivaled any other team in the league.  While that Javier Vasquez is not who Atlanta acquired this week, they did obtain a pitcher who is capable of pitching a lot of innings and striking out a lot of batters.  The former is incredibly important, as right now the Braves rotation could very possibly include Jair Jurrjens, Charlie Morton, and Tommy Hanson next year, who would have a combined year and a half of big league experience among them.  As we all witnessed with Jurrjens (and to a lesser amount Jorge Campillo) this year, there reaches a point in the year where a young arm can no longer pitch effectively.  We'll call this the "Blaine Boyer point."  The strikeouts are important because, quite frankly, I've watched Martin Prado and Kelly Johnson play second base, and I've watched this Braves team find ways to lose.

Some pundits have criticized Atlanta for giving up highly regarded prospect Tyler Flowers in the deal.  While I was certainly not thrilled to see his inclusion, I was also not particularly upset.  As was pointed out on 2G1B earlier in the week, Flowers is blocked at every angle in the big leagues.  With Brian McCann and Casey Kotchman firmly entrenched at catcher and first base, respectively, Flowers was destined to languish in AAA long after he had progressed past that level, or to piddle on the bench hoping for an injury.  He was inevitably going to be traded for something, and since his value is currently at an all-time high after a torrid season in the Arizona Fall League, Frank Wren was wise to shop him around.  What people don't seem to recall is that Flowers was, at best, Atlanta's fifth best non-pitching prospect in the minor league system.  To get an above average pitcher (even on an off-year, his ERA+ was 98 and his stat-neutralized ERA was 4.02) without including a single big league player is a coup for Frank Wren, and I say this as a self-proclaimed "prospects" guy.  On that note, I'm more upset about Atlanta including third base prospect Jon Gilmore in the trade, as the organization is painfully thin at third base behind Eric Campbell, who may never reach AA, and Van Pope, who will likely perennially disappoint after a promising start.

What is interesting about the acquisition of Vasquez in addition to the pursuit of Burnett, however, is the change in mindset of the Braves pitching gurus.  After a decade of Leo Mazzone preaching low and away, the Braves are suddenly targeting strikeout pitchers.  A rotation with those two and a returning John Smoltz would likely set strikeout records for Atlanta.  While I am dubious about this method after a decade of Maddux and Glavine, I do trust Roger McDowell, whose performance has been a pleasant surprise.  If McDowell thinks he can work with A.J. Burnett, who may have the best pure stuff in the major leagues without the mindset to work it, then I would not hesitate to give him the rumored 16 or 17 million dollars a year that he is looking for.  

So we've deviated away from my recommendation of Peavy/Jurrjens/Perez and are instead looking at a still-formidable rotation of Burnett/Jurrjens/Vasquez.  While it's not as sexy of a rotation for a pitching nerd, it's easily good enough to compete in the National League East, as long as the offense can perform as expected.  Unfortunately, the Braves still have holes in the outfield (and Jeff Francoeur's head) that need to be filled, and the money that could have been used is quickly disappearing.  Adam Dunn's price has supposedly taken a dive, and he is rumored to be available at 10-12 million a year.  As much as Adam (and Joe Simpson!) would loathe this move, it would put a formidable power bat in the outfield that Atlanta has lacked since Andruw Jones's 50 HR season.  Unfortunately, between Dunn and Frenchy the Atlanta Lineup would be able to match the new Atlanta Rotation strikeout for strikeout over the regular season.

It has been indicated that the Braves are going to give Jordan Schafer every opportunity to win the center field job this spring.  Likewise, common sense indicates that Jeff Francoeur is not going anywhere.  So if Atlanta truly intends to raise payroll this year, they'll have about 28 million dollars a year to fill left field, resign Will Ohman, and maybe sign a fourth starter.  While it would be fun to go for broke and sign Manny Ramirez for the comedy gold that would involve him in Bobby Cox's clubhouse, I'm starting to like the thought of a high-dollar, 2 year contract to either Bobby Abreu or Garrett Anderson.  Neither was offered arbitration, so Atlanta wouldn't lose any supplemental round draft picks, and both still have the ability to mash.  The money left over could go towards a project, be it a pitcher who's coming of surgery such as Mark Mulder or Kris Benson, or just one who wouldn't be expected to do anything other than eat innings (Mark Hendrickson).  Or they could make a run at creating the all-time Expos rotation with Pedro Martinez, Bartolo Colon, and Randy Johnson all free agents.

Unlike Adam, I don't feel as if Frank Wren has done something to lose my trust.  This offseason has been no different, unless that absurd 5 year, 140 million dollar contract was close to accurate.  If nothing else, I appreciate the fact that the free agent market is once again a resource, allowing Atlanta to add to the list of notable free agents who signed here (Greg Maddux, Andres Galarraga, and Brian Jordan.  From there, you drop off to Walt Weiss, and then drop off to Rico Brogna).

I'm not going to go into predictions this week, as the only game I truly care about is the one where the ideal outcome would be the stadium blowing up.  However, I'll go ahead and predict that Florida wins by two touchdowns at least.  However, it needs to be said:  Now that Tuberville is gone from Auburn, the SEC is in HUGE trouble.  Not because Tuberville was not a good coach, because that is incredibly untrue, but now Nick Saban essentially has free reign over the state of Alabama for recruiting, and that's quite scary.

Until next time.

Tackling 101

Well, it had to happen sometime. I could use all sorts of cute sayings about blind squirrels and broken clocks, but it wouldn't do the 2008 installment of Clean, Old Fashioned Hate any justice.

Georgia Tech marched between the rain-soaked hedges and handed the Bulldogs' defense an embarrassing beating. Apparently, having two weeks to prepare and superior athletes isn't enough to put together a coherent defensive effort. Neither is facing the most unbalanced offense in recent BCS conference history.

I have been more reluctant than just about anyone I know to jump on the "fire Willie Martinez" bandwagon, but if this season's consistent defensive problems aren't his fault, who's are they?

I'm not going to spend too much time talking about our defensive woes because they have been the same woes all year. They don't tackle well. They don't stay on their assignments. They don't take good angles.

They gave up 38 points (the Tech defense scored 7) to a team that completed one pass for 19 yards. Yep, one pass. That's the kind of stuff I put in my box scores on Friday nights.

If Reshad Jones were honorable, he would give up his scholarship to someone that is actually interested in tackling someone. Watch Roddy Jones' game-sealing touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Reshad has a chance to bring Roddy down. Instead, he gives him a playful chest bump before he trots into the end zone.

Obviously, Jones wasn't the only one to miss a tackle.

If I'm Matthew Stafford or Knowshon Moreno, I start thinking about which NFL city I want to live in. Because I definitley don't want to come back and play another year with a defense like this.

As badly as the Tech option attack embarrassed the Georgia defense, the Georgia offense was even more effective against the Tech defense. Stafford topped 400 yards and threw for 5 touchdowns. Mohamed Massaquoui caught three of those TDs. Moreno rushed for 97 yards and a score.

Yet, it wasn't enough. All that offense couldn't overcome the worst defensive showing I've ever seen in person by a Georgia team. It couldn't overcome Blair Walsh failing to kick the ball inbounds on a kickoff. It couldn't overcome one errant Stafford pass. And finally, it couldn't overcome Richard Samuel continuing to prove he has no business returning kicks. His fumble was the death penalty for the Dawgs.

However well Paul Johnson motivated his team at halftime, Richt did the opposite. If there was ever a time for some kind of outward display of bravado, this was it. Tech is a scrappy team with a chip on its shoulder, and Georgia let them gain confidence.

There's a big difference between scoring on the opening drive of the second half and scoring on the opening play of the second half. When Jonathan Dwyer went 60 yards to the house on the second half's first play, Tech had the new life it needed.

Suddenly, Georgia found itself on the ropes. They would never recover.

First off, let me give credit to the Bulldogs that actually showed up. Mohamed Massaquoi is a damn good Dawg if there ever was one. He virtually carried the team on his back, emotionally and with his performance on the field. It's a shame he had to go out like this.

Stafford probably heard a "cha-ching" with each pass he completed, but he showed up and played his best game of the season. However, his interception that Morgan Burnett returned for a touchdown was a major blow.

Moreno continued to make something out of nothing. He almost broke 100 yards against one of the nation's best defensive fronts.

I'll address Willie Martinez in another post. It's too big of a subject to mention in passing.

Adam Krohn of the Daily Citizen has an interesting take on Coach Richt and Coach Johnson in this column.It's worth a read and I plan on addressing it some time this week.

Also, a congratulations to Tech. Not the fat moron team manager that spent the whole game taunting the crowd as if his team hadn't lost for the past seven years. But everyone else. Tech came to play and were 3 points better on this day.

I still think when you literally run one play over and over again, you're asking for trouble. They won't have the element of surprise much longer.

To all you Georgia fans that are salty over the Tech players taking a piece of the hedges with them, get over it. At least we have something at our stadium worth taking. Hopefully some Georgia defensive players took a mental picture.

I'm not buying any of this "it's a rivalry again" talk either. To me it's always been a rivalry. Whether it has balanced itself out again remains to be seen. Remember how Georgia fans thought we had turned the rivalry with Florida after last year? I still don't think they've found all the remains and scattered limbs from the beating that took place in Jacksonville this year.

If the Bugs beat us gain next year, things could get interesting.

As for me, it was my last game as a student in Sanford Stadium. I'm going to miss it immensely. Despite games like this, there's nowhere I would rather be on a Saturday. Certainly not the Joke by Coke.