Stephon Gilmore Signs Deal

Posted on May 17, 2012 12:20 pm by The Commish

By: Chris Dommermuth

Say what you want about the new slotting system for draft picks, but it’s certainly making the deals happen at a much quicker rate. With players having a certain amount they’ll make based off of where their drafted, there’s no longer millions of dollars to argue or negotiate over. Teams can now make deals with more guaranteed money and salary, rather then a majority of signing bonus’s.

That was evident Thursday when we saw the second top-10 pick signed as 10th overall pick Stephon Gilmore agreed to a 4-yr. $12.1 million deal that includes a 5th yr. option with the Bills. Linebacker Luke Kuechly was the first top-10 pick to sign last week with the Carolina Panthers.

Gilmore is the seventh of the Bills’ nine draft choices to sign a contract. Second round offensive lineman Cordy Glenn and third round wide receiver T.J. Graham remain unsigned.

“He played well and did well in this camp. Now, when he goes against the other guys he’s going to lose some. How does he handle getting beat? He didn’t get beat a lot out here, so how does he handle that?” Gailey said. “He’s going to go through some emotions so that maturity and that confidence will help him, I think. He’s played in a tough league. He knows what it’s about.”

Gilmore has a nice combination of speed and physicality that will fit nicely in the Bills secondary. Those same skills are the reason he shot up so many draft boards and reach the top-10. There were some experts who even felt that Gilmore was the best corner in the draft.

“I always play with confidence. You can’t be a corner unless you play with confidence. … If I just keep learning, the sky is the limit.” -Stephon Gilmore

Gilmore should start immediately in on the Bills defense, with Terrence McGee and last season’s second round pick Aaron Williams competing for the opposite corner position.

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Brett Lawrie’s Suspension Should Be Longer

Posted on May 16, 2012 10:09 pm by The Commish

By: Chris Dommermuth

Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie has been suspended 4 games for his childish tirade Tuesday night against the Rays, after being tossed out of the game after a 9th inning strikeout. He was also fined an undisclosed amount.

Lawrie started to jog to first base after a 3-1 ball seemed to be outside of the strike-zone, but was called a strike. The next pitch a ball that seemed even further out of the strike-zone was called a strike and it got ugly.

Lawrie then turned to home-plate umpire Bill Miller and threw his helmet at the ground which ricocheted off of Miller. Lawrie then proceeded to yell in the face of Miller. The helmet hit Miller in the hip, Lawrie later said it was an “unlucky bounce,” and that it wasn’t his intention to hit Miller.

“That was not my intention at all,” Lawrie said. “I’ve never, ever done anything to go at an umpire before in my life, and I didn’t mean to tonight. I apologize for that.

Lawrie was in the lineup Wednesday night, and will appeal the decision of 4 games. Blue Jay GM Alex Anthopoulis would not say if Lawrie deserved a suspension or not, but he did want further information on why the suspension was 4 games.

I’ll start by saying that I do believe both the pitches Lawrie was disputing were balls, and I think Miller did call that last pitch a strike because Lawrie “showed him up” on the previous pitch.

But Lawrie has to understand that as an up and coming young ball-player, he’s not going to get a lot of the calls until he establishes himself. I understand it’s wrong, and umpires should be “un-bias,” but that’s how baseball is played. It’s plagued by the “unwritten rules” that everyone in the game follows.

His suspension should be longer then just 4 games. It should be more severe after striking an umpire. He needs to be made an example of and I believe 8 games is how many he deserves. I understand he didn’t mean to hit Miller with his helmet- but the fact still remains- he did.

I’m not someone who likes to use real life examples for professional sports, but just because you don’t mean to do something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be punished for it. If I’m texting on my phone and get into a car accident that injures someone, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, but the fact remains that I did injure someone.

To compare his suspension, Cole Hamels was suspended 5 games earlier this month for admitting he threw at Bryce Harper. The Phillies just shuffled their rotation and Hamels didn’t even miss a start.

In 2000, Carl Everett made contact with the umpire when he head-butt him while arguing his point. He was suspended 10 games.

Head-butting is worse then throwing your helmet, but how much worse? He still inflicted some potential physical harm against the umpire.

I don’t feel Lawrie is a bad person for this incident, and from what I’ve read, he’ll apologize before Wednesday’s game. Lawrie just clearly has some growing up to do.

If he doesn’t act a little more mature after not getting his way, he’ll never get a call. Umpires are a fraternity, and they’ll always stick together. If he continues to show up the umps, it will get around, and he’ll be black listed with any ball or strike call.

If you don’t believe me, just look at Roberto Alomar’s career after his 1996 incident where he spit in the face of an umpire after not getting a call. They’ll always come back to get you.

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Torry Holt Comes on w/ the Commish

Posted on May 16, 2012 3:51 pm by The Commish

By: Chris Dommermuth

From the NFL Network and former Pro-Bowl wide receiver Torry Holt joined the Commish to discuss the latest news and notes in the NFL.

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Who Should Replace Niemann?

Posted on May 16, 2012 10:24 am by The Commish

By: Chris Dommermuth

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Jeff Niemann was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday and is said to be out 4-6 weeks after being struck by a ball in the first inning of his start Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays. An MRI later showed a fracture in Niemann’s leg.

Niemann was seen in the clubhouse Tuesday on crutches borrowed from the Toronto Raptors. The 6’9″ Niemann needed special, extra long, crutches that niether the Rays nor Blue Jays had available.

The Rays have been absolutely ravaged with injuries this season. In spite of the 8 players placed on the DL, the Rays currently sit tied for first place with the Balitmore Orioles in the American League East.

For the time being, the Rays have called up reliever Josh Lueke from Triple-A Durham. Lueke has a rough first stint with the Rays this season, allowing 7 earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings in 2 games. He was brought up to provide a much needed fresh arm for a bullpen that had just got done pitching 8 innings in relieve of Niemann.

With Niemann out of the rotation for at least a month an a half, what do the Rays do now?

Well to start, lets go over the possibilities and when the spot needs to be replaced. The Rays use a 5-man rotation that gives them until Saturday to set their roster in time to replace Niemann’s spot in the rotation.

The three legitimate contenders are minor-leaguers Chris Archer, Alex Cobb, or currently on the roster, (but in the bullpen) Wade Davis.

Davis obviously has the most experience as a starter, but Joe Maddon has said that he’d like to keep Davis in the bullpen. He has started 29 games in each of the last two seasons but has excelled out of the bullpen this season posting a 2.04 ERA in 17 innings.

I believe Maddon would like Davis to continue working at his new role and doesn’t want to interrupt his growth and yank him back and forth between the rotation and bullpen. I think the Rays look at Davis as a future back of the bullpen guy and no longer as a top-of-the-rotation pitcher.

“Probably it’s going to come from the minor-league area,” Maddon said.

The replacement is likely to come from the minors (as I’ve heard above). If there’s a team that has the depth to have more than one of it’s 5 previous season starters on th DL, and another to the pen and still be alright, it’s the Rays.

Chris Archer was most recently awarded with the International pitcher of the week. Archer has had trouble with consistency in finding the strike zone all of his career, this season hasn’t been any different.

Archer has issued 28 walks in just 42 innings this season with a 4.71 ERA. He does have 40 strikeouts over that same span, so the ability is their, but I believe Archer still needs sometime in the majors to work on his accuracy.

The situation that would make the most sense is to bring Alex Cobb up to replace Niemann this Saturday. Cobb’s next scheduled start would be Saturday, which mean the Rays wont have to shuffle their rotation and can plug him in without skipping a beat.

Cobb has somewhat struggled this season at Durham with a 1-4 record and a 4.14 ERA in 8 starts. During two stints with the Rays last season Cobb went 3-2 with a 3.42 ERA in 9 starts.

The 23-yr. old has the most polished stuff of anyone in the Rays minor league system. I do believe Archer has more potential as a top of the rotation guy then Cobb, but for now, Cobb is the guy the Rays should go with.

His below average stats this season have been partly a product of being rusty and coming back from an injury and a little bad luck. Cobb has been better then his stats have shown.

Bringing Cobb up just makes the most sense. You don’t have to reconstruct your bullpen and change roles by yanking Wade Davis out of it and you don;t have to pitch anyone on shorter rest then there used to for the rotation.

The Rays always seem to make moves that leave you scratching your head, and those usually work out. They’ve been known as the smartest organization at baseball, but this is a no-brainer. The Rays should promote Alex Cobb to take Niemann’s spot.

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Daily Dose of The Commish – 5/15/12

Posted on May 16, 2012 9:56 am by The Commish

Armwood High School in Seffner could be in serious trouble after several members of the 2011 Championship team were found to have falsified residency information.

According to an article in The Tampa Bay Times, five members of the 2011 team falsified addresses in order to be eligible to play for Armwood’s football team.

Was this a matter of recruiting? Negligence? Justin Pawlowski, The Commish, was joined by John Cotey of the Times to discuss the details and possible ramifications for the violations surrounding Armwood.

“Recruiting, fortunately or unfortunately, goes on,” Pawlowski said. “The question is, did Armwood have any knowledge of those players that transferred?”

It is still unclear how much the school’s employees had to do with the false addresses or how much of the blame hinges on the parents of these players. What is clear, however, is that Armwood is caught up in a violation that gave it an advantage over other schools.

“Public schools have zones. You can go to private school anywhere,” Cotey said. ”This is really just about parents falsifying addresses and not doing a complete move.”

As far as penalties are concerned, according to the article, Armwood has 10 business days to respond before possible penalties are handed down. Consequences could include forfeiting wins or incurring even fines.

Still, Cotey told Pawlowski that he think didn’t the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) would try to make an example out of Armwood.

The 44-page report of FHSAA’s findings can be found here.

Sean Callahan, football coach of Armwood, declined to discuss specifics relating to the claims.

The Commish with Justin Pawlowski airs Monday-Friday from noon-3pm on 1010Sports. For live blogging and sports news, follow 1010Sports on Twitter here.

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Matt Kemp Lands on th DL

Posted on May 15, 2012 3:21 pm by The Commish

By: Chris Dommermuth

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp has been placed on the 15-day dl with a left hamstring pull that he’s been dealing with for about the last week or so. Kemp previously had a major league high 399 consecutive games played streak that ended Monday.

Kemp originally hurt the hamstring while running the bases on May 5th in Chicago, and played through the pain, but re-aggravated it on Sunday while running out a grounder. An MRI taken on Monday confirmed the strain.

“We just feel it’s the right thing to do. We’ve got to get this thing healthy and healed up.”-Dodgers manager Don Mattingly.

Kemp seems optimistic in being healthy enough to play once his 15-days are up. Hamstring injuries do tend to linger, but with Kemp’s desire to play everyday, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be out any longer.

“The team needs me. I don’t think this is a 15-day thing; I think this is maybe one, two, three days.” -Matt Kemp

After being arguably the best hitter in baseball during the month of April while slugging .417 with 12 home runs and 25 RBI’s, he has gone cold in May with no home runs and a .212 batting average.

I don’t believe the injury is effecting him as much as the stats have shown. Player go through hot and cold streaks throughout the season. I think Kemp has just experienced dip in production because of a streak. Kemp isn’t making any excuses.

“I haven’t been able to run the way I wanted to run and do some of the things I wanted to do, but definitely no excuses,” Kemp said.

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Desmond Jennings Sent to DL

Posted on May 15, 2012 1:10 pm by The Commish

By: Chris Dommermuth

The Tampa Bay Rays were hit with yet another loss when left fielder Desmond Jennings after he sprained his left knee during a May 6th game against the A’s. He was placed on the DL Tuesday, but it’s retroactive to last Saturday after he appeared in a Friday night game as a pinch hitter.

To replace Jennings spot on the roster, Stephen Vogt has been brought up from Triple-A Durham. He previously played 7 games with the Rays this season, going hitless in 13 at-bats during his first stint with the “big club.”

“We really thought it wasn’t going to be a normal 15-day situation, so that’s why we refrained from the DL. We’ve got to stay on top of it because we are not seeing great progress. We’re not seeing regress or progress. We’re still seeing pretty much the same feeling on a day-to-day basis. We were expecting a little bit more progress by now.” -Joe Maddon to the Tampa Bay Times.

We’ve heard about Jennings knee not being a big deal, but it hasn’t seemed to heal as quickly as first thought. It’s a tough situation to figure out, as most Rays injuries are. They tend to be on the cautious side with most injuries.

The Rays will now be set at outfield for the next two weeks using Matt Joyce in left, B.J. Upton in center, and Ben Zobrist at right, with Brandon Guyer getting the occasional start in left. The move of Zobrist from second to right opens up another spot for the carousel of Pete’s Dragon, Sean Rodriguez, Will Rhymes, and Jeff Keppinger to fill. With Evan Longoria still out, Maddon will need to fill third, second, and shortstop with those 4 players.

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Jeff Passan Talks MLB w/ the Commish

Posted on May 14, 2012 3:30 pm by The Commish

By: Chris Dommermuth

The Commish has MLB columnist for Yahoo! Sports, Jeff Passan. Passan has been on with the Commish before is knowledgeable on all things baseball.

He wrote an article recently on Josh Hamilton and broke down the 9 home runs hit last week. When asked if Hamilton is the best player in baseball or just the hottest hitter, Passan said that Matt Kemp is the better all-around player but Hamilton “might be playing baseball better then anyone does anything in the world right now.”

The Commish also asked Passan if there’s a team out there who’ll sign Hamilton to a contract longer then 5 yrs. Passan talked about some of the factors that go into signing him to a long-term contract.

The two of them discussed the Boston Red Sox ongoing situation that seems to change every week. The latest in the soap opera is starting pitcher Josh Beckett missing a start on May 2nd because of a lat injury and then going golfing the next day. The act wasn’t the part that got as much attention as his unapologetic post start news conference.

To listen to the interview with Jeff Passan, click below:

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Phil Taylor to Have Surgery

Posted on May 11, 2012 12:43 pm by The Commish

By: Chris Dommermuth

Cleveland Browns DT Phil Taylor will have surgery some time next week on a torn left pectoral muscle according to Browns head coach Pat Shurmur. Taylor tore the muscle Thursday while lifting weights at the Browns facilities.

The injury is expected to keep Taylor out 4-6 months and according to Shurmur, “could be” a season ending injury.

“He’s going to miss a significant amount of time … more months than weeks. It’s too early to speculate how long that will be. It’s just one of those things that happened.” -Pat Shurmur

Taylor was the Browns first round pick last season (21st overall) out of Baylor and started all 16 games last season. He recorded 4 sacks and had one forced fumble during his rookie season.

“Everybody  recovers at a different rate,” said Shurmur. “Our guess is he’ll be a fast healer. It’s unfortunate. We feel bad for Phil. But he’s in good spirits and he’s going to come back from this thing stronger than ever.”

The Browns will miss Taylor in the middle of their defense, opposing running backs will have some bigger holes to run through if the Browns can’t figure the situation out. Taylor is a candidate to open the season on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list.

The Browns drafted Cincinnati DT John Hughes and Boise State’s Billy Winn last month in hopes of creating better depth. Both will need to step up sooner rather then later if the Browns are going to have any success on defense.

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Bucs Lose Da’Quan Bowers to Achilles Injury

Posted on May 10, 2012 8:09 pm by The Commish

By: Chris Dommermuth

According to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers twitter page, DE Da’Quan Bowers has torn his Achilles tendon while participating in the team’s off season workout programs.

It not yet clear if it’s a partial or full tear of the ligament so the time table is uncertain for his return. Shortly after the Bucs announced his injury via twitter, Bowers used the same social media forum to explain that he plans on being back sometime this season.

“2013?? Get real… I’m playing THIS year 2012″ -Da’Quan Bowers through his twitter feed.

The injury leaves the Bucs very thin at DE. Bowers was a second round pick last season. He was looked at as a top-5 talent coming out of Clemson, but was recovering from micro-fracture knee surgery that had many team questioning his stability and length of career.

The Bucs were looking forward to he, and last season’s first round pick Adrian Claiborne to start at both DE spots. Bowers started off slow last season but showed improvement as the season went on. Michael Bennett will likely replace Bowers.

Look for the Bucs to sign a veteran free agent over next week or so to serve as a backup to Bennett in order to add some depth.

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