Author Archives: Kent Sterling
Kyle Schwarber goes bombs away as Cubs owner Tom Ricketts counts the pennies he saved by letting him go
Kyle Schwarber has broken into a home run trot nearly as often since June 12 (15) as his entire former team (22).
Kyle Schwarber has hit 15 home runs in his last 16 games.
Fifteen homers is a lot in 16 games, which is 10% of a season. Prorated over an entire season, Schwarber would total an astronomical 150 home runs. That’s a more slow-pitch softball number of dingers than baseball. Schwarber’s success pleases me because he is a really nice guy and graduate of Indiana University. That the former Chicago Cub is doing all this damage since June 12th as a Washington National has me more than a little disturbed.
The Cubs made the decision not to bring Schwarber back as a cost-cutting move. They allowed him to sign with the Nationals for $7M this season – $10K less than the Cubs paid him last year. There is a mutual option for next season that could lift Schwarber’s salary to $11.5M.
The Cubs filled the Schwarber void by bringing in Joc Pederson. They signed him to a similarly structured deal – one year, $4.5M with a mutual option for $10M. Pederson has hit four fewer home runs this season than Schwarber has in the last 17 days.
It would be easy to castigate Cubs president Jed Hoyer as some kind of moron for making this swap if not for two reasons: Hoyer’s boss is owner Tom Ricketts – a nickel counter of the first order, and today is June 29 – leaving more than half the season for Pederson to get similarly hot in July, August, or September.
Hoyer is not entirely off the hook, but with the Cubs scoring only 43 runs since Schwarber began blasting bombs in bulk, it certainly is not the best look for the franchise that used to crow about how they would never rebuild because so many robust revenue streams had been established.
The Cubs face a game tonight and another tomorrow in Milwaukee that could leave them six games behind the Brewers as they try to remain relevant enough to not become sellers at the trade deadline.
With Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javy Baez – the core three from the 2016 World Champions – scheduled to become free agents, Hoyer has a decision. He can roll the dice that his flawed team somehow gets hot enough to make a playoff push, or deal those three to contenders for a bounty of prospects that would re-stock the Cubs anemic farm system.
Already gone are Cy Young candidate Yu Darvish and Schwarber, so what might be the point in hanging on to Bryant, Rizzo, and Baez?
It’s sad to see the heroes of the first ever World Series winner on the north side of Chicago (yes, I know the Cubs won championships in 1907 and 1908, but they did it on the west side of town) devolve into a soulless gaggle of mediocres, but with Ricketts running the show I supposed it was inevitable.
Maybe the smart play is to cheer for the 2016 Cubs wherever they play rather than the cut-rate group Ricketts has instructed Hoyer to assemble – at least until they get good again.
I hope Schwarber hits another three bombs tonight, and that Baez, Rizzo, and Bryant go similarly bonkers after they are traded to a team committed to providing fans a competitive product.
Colts camp Schedule released; Sterling stars – England earns Euros revenge over Germany; Schwarber teaching Cubs regret
IU Hoops to face Syracuse! Pacers 1st pre-draft workout! Dawson Garcia gone! Cubs crumble!
Indiana Pacers drafts – 1st rounders Erick Dampier and T.J. Leaf, not near as bad as fans believe!
Pacers hoping 2021 NBA Draft is a silver anniversary edition of the historic 1996 version
If then GM Donnie Walsh hadn’t been enamored with Erick Dampier in the 1996 Draft, Kobe Bryant might have been photograhed here biting a Pacers jersey.
Twenty-five years ago, the arc of the NBA changed and so did the Indiana Pacers. That’s how good the 1996 NBA Draft was.
As we ponder the silver anniversary of one of the greatest drafts in league history, assessing how the Pacers changed because of it is a (mostly) fun trip down memory lane. It’s not that then GM Donnie Walsh totally screwed up – he didn’t, but the talent available where the Pacers selected at #10 is worth remembering for what they brought to the league and could have meant to a franchise without an NBA title in its history.
Let’s talk about who the Pacers took before we dig into who they could have taken. After Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby, Stefan Marbury, Ray Allen, and Antoine Walker were among the nine picks that preceded the Pacers, Walsh and his staff settled on Erick Dampier out of Mississippi State as their guy.
Dampier had a nice long NBA career as a power forward, but only one of his 16 seasons was spent with the Pacers. He earned nearly $100 million as a physically intimidating rebounder for five teams. His true value to the Pacers was as the key piece was in a trade with the Golden State Warriors for Chris Mullin, who became an integral piece of Larry Bird‘s very successful three seasons as coach.
The next two picks were Todd Fuller of N.C. State and Vitaly Potapenko of Wright State who went to Golden State and Cleveland respectively. Fuller was out of the NBA after five seasons and Potapenko earned just over $40 million over 11 seasons – not bad for the 12th pick in most drafts – but the Cavs will forever be remembered as the team who chose Potapenko over Kobe Bean Bryant.
Of course, the Charlotte Hornets are even better known as the team that actually drafted Bryant but then traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for two years of Vlade Divac before he left as a free agent.
The Sacramento Kings were reasonable in the use of the 14th pick as they grabbed Peja Stojakovic, one of the best shooters in NBA history. Next, the Phoenix Suns drafted a slightly better shooter (averaged better than 50%, 40% and 90% from the field, three-point arc, and foul line), and the third most prolific assist man in NBA history. His name is Steve Nash.
The 17th overall pick was a player Pacers fans would come to enjoy a few years later – Jermaine O’Neal. He was selected by the Portland Trailblazers prior to turning 18, and traded four years later to the Pacers for Dale Davis.
Among the first 20 players drafted in 1996, four have been enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, three were NBA MVPs, and 10 combined to play in 64 All-Star Games.
That is a historic haul of quality players who were spread quite evenly among the top 20 picks – an exceptional level for a draft shelf.
The Pacers have the 13th overall pick in the draft to be held one month and one day from today – one the experts say is deep with potential generational talent – but the Pacers don’t need 2021 to be the second incarnation of that historic draft 25 years ago to substantially enrich their roster. It wouldn’t hurt for the next Kobe to be available when the Pacers are on the clock, but the recent history of the 13th pick is reason for optimism too.
The last three players taken with the 13th pick during odd year drafts were Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell, and Tyler Herro. Pacers president Kevin Pritchard would be thrilled to land the equivalent of any of those three. The three #13s from even years were Georgios Papagiannis, Jerome Robinson, and Kira Lewis Jr., players yet to prove worthy of that slot.
At 13, the Pacers could get a Kobe – or they could get a Kira. They could get a Donovan or a Jerome, or a Booker or Papagiannis. Thirty-one days until the Pacers find a classic or a clunker.
That’s why we love draft night.
Indiana Pacers – Can 2021 Draft be like 1996? Colts Camp coming! Fever waive 2020 #3 pick!
Indiana Football fans need to adjust expectations and gameday routine #iufb
Tom Allen is trying to lead Indiana fans out of a 75 year fast.
Indiana fans are the Trappist Monks of college football, and their old habits die hard.
Trappist Monks forego all measures of life’s enjoyable indulgences as they attempt to achieve enlightenment. At some point, Trappists forget all about the delicacies they left behind. They adapt to the new normal lacking all those things we covet that put smiles on our faces.
Fans of the Hoosiers have gone so long without consistent winning, they have adapted quite nicely to meager expectations. Instead of game days filled with hope for victory, they tailgate with enthusiasm, laugh while reconnecting with friends, wander into Memorial Stadium at the end of the first quarter, leave for Nick’s at halftime, and keep one eye on the game on TV and the other on their game of Sink the Biz.
Memorial Stadium hasn’t been full in years – other than Ohio State visits where Buckeye fans (and their money) are welcomed in droves. Indiana fans have been satisfied with this arrangement as they vow to win the party if not the game.
When Indiana loses, fans shrug and enjoy the rest of their day. It’s been that way for as long as anybody can remember. Sure, there are promises of making the trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl when the Hoosiers find their way back, but just like the Trappists might dream of a steak dinner with a nice lady one day, fans know it’s just a dream. No one actually buys tickets or makes hotel reservations.
But something has changed down in Bloomington. Now fans are trying to adjust to the possibility that competence and winning football might be a regular part of their lives. For the first time in more than 30 years, Indiana has posted back-to-back winning Big 10 seasons. If the Hoosiers manage a third straight winning season, it will be for the first time since before the Big 10 was called the Big 10.
Back in 1946, Indiana was among its better teams in the Western Conference, led to a 4-2 record by Bo McMillan. That was 75 years ago, and if you were a student at Indiana during those halcyon days, you are at least 93 years old today.
Now in 2021, Indiana might bring back that glory, and fans may have to get used to a new routine where an afternoon inside Memorial Stadium lasts longer than the time it takes to play the second quarter, Nick’s can wait until after the game, and a reservation in Pasadena or wherever the College Football Playoff might be played is worth making.
There have been a few false starts for Indiana in the past – the 1967 Rose Bowl team, the 1979 Holiday Bowl team, and Bill Mallory’s teams from 1987 through 1993 among them, so excuse long time fans if they are wary of buying into Tom Allen’s L.E.O. driven resurgence.
Once a Trappist gives up red meat for long enough, eating a steak can cause explosive digestive distress. The same thing happens with a sports fans exposed to relentless failure. Winning requires a change in constitution, and Hoosiers might be in for just such a change.
The fast might just be over for Indiana fans, but just in case Nick’s will keep its lights on and buckets at the ready!
Kaleb Glenn visit to IU goes well! Pacers feeling good about Carlisle! Purdue celebrates Trevion Williams return!
Pacers pay through to scalp for Rick Carlisle to return as head coach
Rick Carlisle will come back to Indiana with similar expectations to win and far less hair than when he left.
What is it with Pacers president Kevin Pritchard hiring bald coaches?
Rick Carlisle will become the third straight Pacers coach who shaves his scalp rather than proudly rock what he’s got.
We know follicle maintenance had nothing to do with Pritchard’s decision to negotiate a four-year, $29 million deal to bring Carlisle back to the franchise for a third time. Carlisle first worked for the Simons as an assistant to Larry Bird for three seasons beginning with 1997-1998. He then served as the head coach for four seasons beginning with the 2003-2004.
The Pacers won a franchise record 61 games in Carlisle’s first year as a head coach, and he also won an NBA championship with Dallas in 2011. That tells you that Carlisle can coach. The real question is whether coaches matter in today’s NBA, where rosters are assembled to win championships by players who act in concert to give themselves the best opportunity.
That is the subject of a post for another day. Back to Carlisle…
As with any coach who has been around for a significant stretch, there are negatives that can be isolated too. Every Pacers team under Carlisle after the 2004 team won fewer games than the previous year. That wasn’t Carlisle’s fault. The Brawl eviscerated the 2005 team, and Reggie Miller’s retirement in 2005 didn’t help the 2006 team. By 2007, the Pacers were in the process of responding to fan disenchantment over nightlife chaos by dealing core members of that team.
Carlisle was told to pack in 2007 after a 37-45 season. After a year in media, he was tapped by Mavs owner Mark Cuban to replace Avery Johnson. Carlisle’s first three teams won 50, 55, and 57 games. That third team won the franchise’s only NBA Championship.
Since the championship in Dallas, Carlisle has spent a full decade unable to advance to the second round of the playoffs, including a seven-game loss to the Clippers just a couple of weeks ago.
One week ago, Carlisle announced he was stepping down as Mavs coach, a position he held for 13 seasons.
The Pacers have everyone but T.J. McConnell, Doug McDermott, and JaKarr Sampson under contract for next season, plus the 13th overall pick in next month’s NBA Draft. That should give Carlisle and the Pacers an opportunity to hit the ground running and win a bunch of games.
Whether it translates to postseason success, we will have to wait ten months to find out.