OMG Rex Ryan, What Have You Done (Geno starting Week 13)?

Geno Smith gets the start again for Week 13 against the Dolphins... are you kidding me?  I cannot figure out what is going on inside of Rex Ryan's head right now.  Here is a coach who was supposedly a dead man walking before the season began and the football gods decided to take pity on by practically gift-wrapping him a playoff berth before heading into the bye week only to have him give it right back to them and saying "It's the wrong color, I don't want it."  This upcoming Dolphins game is do-or-die for the Jets right now since a loss means that they would have to run the table to make the playoffs which is about the only thing that can save Rex Ryan's job at this point.  Knowing that, what kind of coach stubbornly refuses to bench a quarterback who has thrown for 1 TD in his last 6 games to go along with 10 interceptions (maybe the same kind of guy who takes his team out to Dave & Buster's to relax and have a few beers right before the most important game of the season)?

Let's not kid ourselves.  Despite the Jets surprisingly good start to the season (surprise only to the NFL pundits, not by me since I predicted an 8-8 record before the season began), Geno Smith has NOT been very good with the exception of 2-3 games and the Jets were largely winning games in spite of him and not because of him.  Still, I had hope that he might turn things around after the bye week when the schedule softened up and he had a full two weeks to study plays and improve his football IQ, but instead he's been in an absolute freefall ever since.  I don't know if it's because of the giant shot to the chest he took during that last Buffalo game, but he's had a different look to him ever since.  Do you remember that "eye of the tiger" that Apollo talked about in Rocky 3?  Well Geno sort of has the opposite of that right now and I'm afraid that if he botches up this upcoming Miami game, our season will be over. 

For all of his athletic gifts and playmaking ability, Geno is looking remarkably like Sanchize 2.0 (with better arm and legs).  Like Sanchize, Geno has not looked any better in Weeks 11-12 of his career than he has in Weeks 1-2, which I am taking as an ominous sign.  Like Sanchize, he still struggles a LOT with his reads, can't hold onto the ball, and has a propensity to crumble badly when things aren't going his way.  Let's give Matt Simms a shot (what do we possibly have to lose?).  If Simms catches fire and plays like Nick Foles, the Jets can ride him all the way into the playoffs and have a Cinderella type season -- and if he doesn't, Geno can always reclaim his starting spot after a couple of weeks and continue along his developmental journey if management still believes that he's the answer.  I'm sick to death of hearing that 1-2 weeks on the bench will destroy Geno's confidence (this was the same argument made in support of Sanchez).  If Geno is so mentally fragile that sitting two weeks on the bench will ruin him, then I do NOT want him to be my guy in a big spot.  Rex Ryan is basically coaching for his job next week, and he's placing his trust in Geno, who has been so bad in the last two games that he's not even being allowed to THROW out of fear that he might turn the ball over?  If I were Rex Ryan, I'd throw everything but the kitchen sink at the quarterback position right now (Simms, a warm-body, maybe even Cribbs) and if John Idzik told me to do otherwise, I'd give him the finger.  

World's 1st Ever Blitzball Trick-Shot Video!

BLITZBALL TRICK-SHOT VIDEO! Check out this awesome new trick-shot video by Fastclax98! Feeling inspired, we will open our 2014 Video Contest to trick-shot videos as well for possibly even MORE cash prizes (see our website for trick-shot bonus details)! 

"ThatsNasty19" Voted as 2013 Video Contest Champion!

ThatsNasty19 has now been crowned Blitzball video contest champion a record TWO times and you can see their latest prize-winning video entry here:




Congrats to all 3 of our finalists! The final results are as follows:

1st Place: ThatsNasty19 (54% of the vote)
2nd Place: AaronTorchio (41% of the vote)
3rd Place: ClassicCard11 (5% of the vote)

Video Product Review (by SpearLikesCricket23):

Just discovered this on YouTube last night, awesome! Thank you SpearLikesCricket23 for your support and a great review of our product!

Blitzball T-Shirts!

T-SHIRT DRAWINGS: To enter, just LIKE our Facebook page and then vote your favorite color (blue or yellow) on our latest posting for the chance to win a limited edition Blitzball t-shirt! We also have a 2nd T-shirt drawing going on for followers of our new Google+ page so follow and vote on there as well!

Blitzball's Nastiest Slider?

As one of our only two-time video contest winners (ThatsNasty19 is the other), "Steee013" really needs no introduction in Blitzball community.  Already one of the greatest Blitzball pitchers on this planet, Steee013 continues to amaze by putting out better and better stuff each year!  You may have seen his stuff before in our recent demo/compilation videos but his slider is absolutely crazy! So good in fact, that a video clip of it (this slider HAS to be some kind of curving record) was even featured on CBSsports.com in this recent article that compared it to a Clayton Kershaw curveball. Presumably preparing for a record-breaking run at a 3rd Blitzball video contest prize in 2014, Steee013 recently posted this 2-minute directors cut (we've used portions of it in our main demo video) to give the Blitzball community something to look forward to!

Rain, bloopers, and some NASTY Blitzball pitching!

Rain won't stop these guys from practicing and making a big run at our 2014 Blitzball video contest! Some indoor awesomeness brought to you by YouTube's "Brian Beard"

We Will Never Forget

R.I.P. to all victims of 9/11 and remembering the friends and family members they left behind. (image from starzlife.com)    

Nathan Beard: Blitzball's R.A. Dickey?

2011 video contest finalist Nathan Beard might very well be Blitzball's knuckleball king and has even been featured in this Bleacher Report article few years back. I have no idea how he gets his knuckleball to flutter the way it does, but its a thing of beauty to watch.  Check out this nasty knuckleball sequence starting at 2:54 of his most recent Blitzball video:

We'll have to get him to produce a "how-to" video for us in the future, but if you want to throw a great Blitzball knuckleball now, visit our how to throw a knuckleball tutorial page for video instruction by ThatsNasty19 for his power/sinking version!

Top 5 reasons why the NY Jets CAN make the playoffs in 2013

I know, I know... the words "playoffs" and "NY Jets" seemingly do not belong together in the same sentence, page, or book as they've been the laughing stock of the NFL (and deservedly so) for the past two seasons. But for the first time in three years, I see some real hope for this franchise and believe that they will be one of the surprise teams of the NFL and possibly even compete for a playoff spot depending on the progress of ANY young QB that isn't named Mark Sanchez. I admit that there are a lot of "ifs" in this equation and I'm not saying that they WILL make the playoffs, I'm only saying that they CAN make to the post season, and that the most recent Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, and ESPN power rankings of #30, #30, and #32 respectively (out of 32 teams) for the Jets are WAY off, and here are my reasons why:

1. John Idzik as GM: I don't know much about John Idzik's previous experience, but so far I like what I'm seeing of his work with the Jets. He appears relatively objective and calculating with his decisions (an anti-Ryan) and seems unafraid of making unpopular moves if he feels they would benefit the team. I think that a system of checks and balances is sorely needed when it comes to Jets personnel decisions, and I'm of the belief that the less input that Rex Ryan has on this front, the better. If tattoo's are any indication, Rex Ryan seems to have his sentimental favorites within the locker room and is too much of a player's coach to make hard personnel decisions that might ultimately be what's best for the team. 
2. Offensive Improvement: I expect the Jets offense will be more dynamic this year under Mornhinweg's West Coast system, and I also feel that less Ryan involvement on the offensive side will benefit the team as well. The offensive line already looks much more cohesive than last year and (contrary to popular belief) I expect that the Jets receiving corps will actually be pretty solid with a dependable Kerley, a not-so-disgruntled Holmes, and a much-improved Stephen Hill (with the right QB, could be a game changer for this offense). 
3. Defensive Improvement: As Jet fans, the one thing that we can always depend on is a Rex Ryan defense. I do believe Ryan when he says that this squad has it in them to become a top 5 defense by year's end and I think that the loss of Revis will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I expect some growing pains with Milliner as he adjusts to the league, but I also expect the pass rush to be much better this year with Wilkerson and an emerging Coples providing a scary 1-2 punch. Revis was an all-time great, but I don't think that a cornerback-centric defense really works in this league and I'm curious to see what Ryan can do with a legitimate pass-rush and a truly balanced defense. I also think the fact that Ryan will have less personnel and offensive responsibilities will free him up to focus on helping the defense, which is where he truly shines. 
4. Upgrade at QB: I really think that the whole Sanchez vs. Smith debate is quite laughable. For those critics who argue that Sanchez give us the best chance to win games now (even though he probably doesn't), does it really matter? After 4 full years, we kind of know what Sanchez is about... and that's an average QB AT BEST. At normal, Sanchez was quite possibly the worst starting QB in the league over the past two years -- are people really that scared of Geno Smith doing worse? Smith is an unknown, and this is why he needs to start. We need to know if he's got some awesome in him, or if he completely sucks so that we can quickly decide if we need some 1st round talent at the position. I think that chances are good that the unknown Smith will be an improvement over the worst starting QB in the league, so I'm calling this an upgrade (I'd call Matt Simms an upgrade as well). Also, if reports are true that Smith really is Mornhinweg's guy, then we have to see what this guy can do. But who knows what the Jets brain trust will ultimately decide when Sanchez is healthy again. How Jets-like it would be to hire a brand new OC and his system, and then stick him with the QB that he DIDN'T want. 
5. The Insult Factor: For all of Rex Ryan's short-comings as a head coach, there are three things that he is GREAT at: 1) coaching defense, 2) eating snacks, 3) playing the underdog card. Ryan is a guy with tremendous pride, and there is no way that he's taking this latest ESPN #32 power ranking as anything but a complete bitch-slap to the face. Ryan seems to have a knack for firing up his troops in order to win tough games that they aren't supposed to and then inexplicably losing the easy games that they are supposed to win. Since the Jets aren't "supposed" to win many games at all this year, perhaps this bodes well for the entire 2013 season. 

MY PREDICTION: Jets go 8-8, (up to 10-6 if Geno Smith goes Russell Wilson on the league)
BIGGEST WILDCARD: Geno Smith's development

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment!

Summer 2013 Video Highlight (courtesy of Fastclax98)

Even though Summer is winding down, we hope to keep the fun going by sharing some of our favorite Blitzball video highlights of the 2013 Summer, starting with this one by YouTube's "Fastclax98"!  Fastclax98 is an up-and-coming young Blitzball star who already features a nasty 2-seam fastball, slider, and knuckle-curveball and shares a number of his outstanding pitching tutorial videos with our Blitzball community.  A strong contender for our upcoming 2014 Video Contest, Fastclax98 plans to produce even more great Blitzball content in the future so look out for his latest stuff by subscribing to his YouTube Channel!

Could Ichiro Have Reached 4,000 Hits in the U.S.? (A numerical analysis of Adam Wells Bleacher Report Article)

Bleacher Report's Adam Wells recently wrote a Bleacher Report article estimating that Ichiro projects to have 3616 current hits if he debuted as a 22 year-old rookie (Ichiro debuted as an 18 year-old rookie in Japan, but Wells adds a few years of minor league development time) and played his entire career in the U.S.  He arrived at this number by substituting for Ichiro's early career numbers with those of Lloyd Waner and Willie McGee, which I thought was completely crazy (but looking back, perhaps not as crazy as I thought).  So being something of a stats geek, I decided to delve into the numbers a bit to arrive at my own projections after adjusting for league differences, games played per season, initial learning curve, and BB/AB differences between both leagues which were surprising. Here's the deal:

1. 1. League Differences: Obviously there is an overall skill difference between the MLB and its Japanese counterpart, so I used Ichiro's 3-year total average (1998-2000 statistics) of .363 in Japan and equated it to his 3-year total average (2001-2003 statistics) of .328 in the U.S. (convenient for comparison since the league switch occurred in 2001 when Ichiro was 27 years old -- a baseball player's peak year according to many experts).  This gave me a conversion factor of .903, meaning that you could knock roughly 10% off of Ichiro's batting averages in Japan to arrive at a U.S. adjusted equivalent for each season. For example, Ichiro's hypothetical rookie year batting average (in 1996 at age 22) of .356 in Japan would be adjusted downward to .322 in the U.S.
2. 2. Games Played Per Season: Since the Japanese league played a 130 game schedule until 1997, and then 135 games until Ichiro's MLB debut in 2001, his Japanese "At Bat" totals need to be bumped up (25% and 20% respectively) in each season to accommodate for 162 game seasons in the U.S. Ichiro's hypothetical rookie year AB total of 542 in Japan would get bumped up to 675 in the U.S.
3. 3. Learning Curve: Since it takes time for rookies to adjust to MLB pitching, I worked under conservative assumptions that 1st year batting averages are generally 70% of their prime year numbers, that an 85% figure can be applied in year two, and that star players are usually pretty close to their batting average prime by year three. Ichiro's hypothetical U.S. adjusted rookie average of .322 gets pushed down further to .225 and his adjusted 2nd year average falls from .312 to .265.
4. 4. BB/AB Differences: Even after adjusting for the differences in games played, Ichiro's adjusted AB totals still seemed a bit low to me, so I started snooping around his walk totals in both leagues.  I was surprised to find that Ichiro walked at nearly twice the rate in Japan (.113 BB/AB) as he did in the U.S. (.060 BB/AB) which now makes sense since he was much more of a slugging/home run threat in Japan.  Adjusting for this would give Ichiro an extra 36 AB during his rookie year pushing his total to 711 AB in the U.S.

After making all four of these adjustments, I arrived at the following Japan-to-MLB projections for Ichiro's early career:

1996 - 711 AB, .225 AVG, 160 HITS (Rookie year, Age 22)

1997 - 677 AB, .265 AVG, 179 HITS

1998 - 639 AB, .323 AVG, 207 HITS

1999 - 519 AB, .310 AVG, 161 HITS

2000 - 499 AB, .350 AVG,  175 HITS

5-Year Japan Hit Total Adjusted for U.S.: 882

13-Year U.S. Hit Total as of 8/21/13: 2722

Projected MLB Hit Totals if 22 Year-Old Rookie in 1996: 3604 (eerily close to Adam Wells 3616 estimate)

But what if Ichiro broke into the big leagues as a 21 or 20 year-old?  Using the same exact methodology, we would arrive at a current MLB hit total of 3819 if Ichiro began his U.S. career as a 21 year-old, and 4059 if he started out as a 20 year-old rookie.  Could Ichiro have made a run at the hallowed MLB 4,000 hit mark if he played his entire career in the U.S.? It really depends on his age as an MLB rookie (purely conjecture) and other factors like injuries and how much longer he can continue playing, but just by looking at the numbers, it seems very possible.