The FA Cup, and Few Other Things Off My Mind

The Yankees couldn't reach an agreement with Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima.

My father, a nominal Met fan (translation: He prefers them to the Yankees but he doesn't get worked up about them or any other baseball team -- no, I'm not adopted) says the problem is that they didn't speak the same language.

Yes they do: Money.

Why were the Yankees going after this guy in the first place? They have a shortstop.

And if he can't play, there's Eduardo Nunez... Okay, maybe they do need a backup.

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Timothy Dolan, the St. Louis native who is now the Archbishop of New York, has been promoted by the Pope.

Have I telegraphed this punchline or what?

This makes him a St. Louis Cardinal.

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Do you remember this trick question: "Who are the 2 former Cardinals in Monument Park in Yankee Stadium?" Popes Paul VI and John Paul II.

Of course, Miller Huggins and Roger Maris both played for the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, with the additional Mass by Benedict XVI shortly before the old Stadium closed, there are 3 "former Cardinals in Monument Park." So my response to the old joke doesn't work anymore.

At least, until Joe Torre gets his Plaque.

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The other night, West Virginia beat Clemson in the Orange Bowl, 70-33.

WVU was ranked Number 23, Clemson Number 14.

Imagine that: You're ranked 14th in the nation, you're higher-ranked than your opponent, you're a lot closer to the game site than you opponent, and you scored 33 points... and it wasn't even half enough!

Clemson deserved to get 70 hung on them. Not that I have anything against them, or (being a Rutgers fan) particularly support West Virginia. But those Clemson uniforms were hideous. I know, it's called the Orange Bowl, but did their uniforms have to be THAT orange?

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Thierry Henry is back at Arsenal, on a 2-month loan from the New York Red Bulls.

Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 226 goals, King Henry will be available for Monday's Football Association Cup 3rd Round match against Leeds United.

Henry was born August 17, 1977, the day after Elvis Presley died. King Elvis goes out, King Henry comes in. You can't make this stuff up. (Henry's former Arsenal and France teammate William Gallas was born the same exact day.)

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Ah, the FA Cup. I love the FA Cup. It's England's version of March Madness, except it's all season long, concurrent with the regular season. It starts in August with preliminary rounds, with 763 eligible teams in England and Wales, narrowing it down to 256 in a 1st Round Proper in November.

The 92 teams in the Football League, including the 20-team Premier League as the top division, get byes into the 2nd Round in December. And the Premier League teams get byes into the 3rd Round, always held on the 1st Saturday in January, unless that happens to be New Year's Day, in which case it gets pushed back a week.

After that 3rd Round pares the teams from 64 down to 32, a 4th Round is held in late January, a 5th in February, and the Quarterfinals in March. To this point, teams always wanted a home draw -- not so much for the home-field advantage, but for the additional revenue.

Historically, the Semifinals were always held at neutral sites, usually near both clubs if both were from the same area, or roughly between them if they were far apart. More recently, since the 2007 opening of the new Wembley Stadium in London, the Semis have been played there on the 3rd Saturday and Sunday in April. The Final is held there on a Saturday in May.

From its founding in 1872 until 1922, the FA Cup Final was usually held at a large stadium in London such as the Kennington Oval (which has been rebuilt as a cricket ground) or the Crystal Palace stadium (since demolished and had no connection to the Crystal Palace team located in South London). In 1923, the original Wembley Stadium opened, and hosted the Final until it closed in 2000, nearly always filled to its 100,000-seat capacity. While it, with its iconic Twin Towers (built half a century before the World Trade Center, though far shorter) and large overhanging roof were demolished and the new 90,000-seat Wembley was built (with its big white arch and no running track, bringing the seats far closer to the pitch than the original), the Final was held at the next-biggest stadium in Britain, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

Arsenal have won the FA Cup Final 10 times. Only Manchester United have won it more, 11. Here are Arsenal's wins:

1930 over Huddersfield Town (Arsenal's 1st major trophy)
1936 over Sheffield United
1950 over Liverpool
1971 over Liverpool again (Charlie George's goal and lie-on-the-ground celebration, with Arsenal having won the League, clinches "The Double")
1979 over Manchester United ("the Five Minute Final," Arsenal blew a 2-0 lead in the last 5 minutes, but Alan Sunderland's goal won it "at the death")
1993 over Sheffield Wednesday (also beat Wednesday in the League Cup Final, the first "Cup Double" in English history)
1998 over Newcastle United (doing a 2nd Double)
2002 over Chelsea (also a London club, Arsenal completed a 3rd Double the next week)
2003 over Southampton
2005 over Manchester United (on penalties -- for the moment, Arsenal's last trophy)

And lost it 5 times:

1927 to Cardiff City (the only non-English club ever to make the Final, let alone win it, with Arsenal goalie Dan Lewis presaging Bill Buckner by nearly 60 years)
1932 to Newcastle United
1952 to Newcastle again
1972 to Leeds United, the Centennial Cup Final
2001 to Liverpool

Hopefully, Arsenal will be able to eliminate Leeds, as they did last season, and go on to win the thing.

Andy Carey, 1931-2011; Don Mueller, 1927-2011

My thanks to David Lippman for informing me of the death of Andy Carey this past December 15 -- I didn't know until tonight.

I was at Old-Timers' Day in 1991, and saw him taking pictures with an old-style 35mm camera. But the last few times I'd seen him, he was in a wheelchair and looked pretty bad.

That was not the case for most of his career. Born on October 18, 1931 -- 2 days before his teammate Mickey Mantle -- in Oakland, California, he was one in a long line of Yankees from the San Francisco Bay Area that stretched back to Tony Lazzeri in 1926, included the great Joe DiMaggio, and continues to CC Sabathia today.

He had "cups of coffee" with the Yankees in 1952 and '53, succeeded Gil McDougald as the starting 3rd baseman in '54 (Gil was moved to shortstop as Yank management cruelly forced out Phil Rizzuto), '55 and '56, was hurt for much of '57, was the starter again in '58, then gave way to Tony Kubek in '59 and was traded in '60 -- and if you're familiar with the late Fifties Yankees, you can probably guess to which team he was traded: The Kansas City Athletics.

He hung on for another couple of years, going to the Chicago White Sox in mid-'61 and finishing with the Los Angeles Dodgers in '62, playing his last major league game at age 30. He never played in the minors after that, and I can find no explanation as to why.

Carey, who wore Number 6 for most of his time with the Yankees, played in 4 straight World Series, 1955 through '58, winning rings in '56 and '58. He is best known for a game in which he made one great play and couldn't make another.

In Game 5 of the '56 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, in the top of the 2nd inning, Jackie Robinson hit a line shot off his glove. Fortunately for the Yankees, it caromed over to McDougald at short, and his throw nipped Robinson oh-so-slightly. (The photo proves the umpire got the call right.)

In the top of the 8th, he snared a Gil Hodges liner to further preserve what became Don Larsen's perfect game, still the only no-hitter in World Series history -- and the only postseason no-hitter pitched later than Game 1 of a Division Series. (Thanks for messing up a great distinction, Roy Halladay.)

Oh yeah: Unlike any of the Dodgers, Carey got a hit that day, a single in the bottom of the 6th, and he scored on a Hank Bauer single, combining with Mantle's 4th-inning homer to make the score Yankees 2, Dodgers 0, which remained the final.

Interestingly, when the A's traded him to the White Sox in mid-1961, one of the players they traded with him was Larsen. The A's got some good players, too, outfielder Wes Covington and pitchers Bob Shaw and Gerry Staley. When the Yankees sent him to the A's in the first place, it was one of the many Yanks/A's transactions involving Bob Cerv, who seemed to be the "special relationship" between the teams in a nutshell.

Statistically, Carey's best season was 1958: He batted .286, hit 12 homers with 45 RBIs and an OPS+ of 136 -- not bad at all for a righthanded hitter with only 365 plate appearances in the pre-renovation original Yankee Stadium.

With Carey's death, the only 2 men who played in the perfect game, 55 years and 3 months later, are Larsen and Yogi Berra. None of the Dodgers who got into the game are still alive. Still living but not playing in the game are: Yankees Cerv, Whitey Ford, Jerry Coleman, Johnny Kucks, Norm Siebern, Bob Turley and George Wilson; and Dodgers Don Zimmer, Don Newcombe, Carl Erskine, Roger Craig, Randy Jackson (not the Jackson 5 singer or the American Idol panelist) and Ed Roebuck.

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Also dying in the, well, dying days of 2011 was Don Mueller. Born on April 14, 1927 in St. Louis, he played for the New York Giants from 1948 to 1957, and was the starting right fielder on their 1951 National League Champions and their 1954 World Champions. Known as "Mandrake the Magician" after a comic-strip character, he was a career .296 hitter, 3 times batting over .300, peaking at .342 in the Jints' '54 title season, leading the NL with 212 hits.

Unfortunately, he's best known not for his great World Championship season or for his magical nickname, but for an injury. In the bottom of the 9th of the Bobby Thomson Game (you know: "The Giants win the Pennant!"), he singled, then was knocked over to 3rd by Whitey Lockman (1926-2009), but broke his ankle sliding into the base, and had to leave the game. Clint Hartung pinch-ran for him and scored when Thomson hit the homer.

His father, Walter Mueller, played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1920s. Until the 1980s and the arrivals of Cal Ripken Jr., Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds, most of the father-son combinations in Major League Baseball had the fathers as the more successful half. The Muellers turned out to be an exception, although Walter did hit a home run in his 1st major league at-bat. Unfortunately, he spent the Pirates' entire 1925 World Championship season in the minors and was gone from the majors for good before they won the 1927 Pennant.

With Mueller's death, the survivors from that game, now over 60 years ago, are: Giants Willie Mays, Monte Irvin and Alvin Dark; and Dodgers Ralph Branca, Don Newcombe and Andy Pafko. Just 6 left. Giant pitcher George Spencer did not appear in the game, but was on their roster and is also still alive; so are Dodger reserves Carl Erskine, Rocky Bridges, Tommy Brown and Wayne Terwilliger.

Just in the last 3 years, the following players from that day have died: Giants Mueller, Thomson, Lockman, Hartung, Larry Jansen, Davey Williams, Jack Lohrke and Artie Wilson; and Dodgers Duke Snider, Preacher Roe, Gene Hermanski, Don Thompson, Clyde King, future legendary manager Dick Williams, and Johnny Schmitz, who I (when I covered this game on its October 3, 2011 60th Anniversary) had as still alive, not knowing he'd died 2 days before.

UPDATE: Muller was buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in the St. Louis suburb of Hazelwood, Missouri. Carey was cremated, so there is no gravesite.

Moneyball's Failure Reaching Catastrophic Proportions

R.I.P., 1968-2014?

In October, I did a piece titled "Moneyball Failed." It mentioned the weak gross the movie of the same title was getting, but the point was that the philosophy of "Moneyball" failed. To wit:

Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane is called a genius because he uses this philosophy he calls "Moneyball" to win.

But since getting the job in 1998, he has only won Division Titles, in the American League West in 2000, '02, '03 and '06, and the AL Wild Card in 2001. He has never won a Pennant, much less a World Series.

He has failed miserably in October. In 2000, the A's won Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the Yankees, and had the deciding Game 5 at home, and they lost.

In 2001, the A's beat the Yankees in Games 1 and 2 at the original Yankee Stadium, with the next 2 at the Oakland Coliseum (or whatever corporate name the Mausoleum had at the time). And the Yankees won the next 3 straight.

In 2002, the A's had the best record in baseball (well, tied with the Yankees, at 103 wins), and didn't have to face the Yankees in the ALDS. They led the Minnesota Twins 2 games to 1 and, if a Game 5 was necessary, it would be at home... and they lost.

In 2003, the A's again avoided the Yankees in the ALDS, facing the Boston Red Sox with the first 2 games at home, and won them both. Even if they dropped the 2 at Fenway Park, they'd still have Game 5 at home. And they lost all 3.

In 2006, the A's finally won a postseason series for the first time since 1990 and got into an AL Championship Series for the first time since 1992 (at which point the Division Series hadn't yet been instituted), and got swept by the Detroit Tigers.

Since then, the A's haven't reached the Playoffs in 5 years -- presumably using the same "Moneyball" philosophy.

Over that same stretch, such "small-market" teams as the Phoenix-based Arizona Diamondbacks, the South Florida-based Florida (now renamed "Miami") Marlins, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Houston Astros, the Detroit Tigers, the Denver-based Colorado Rockies, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Dallas-area-based Texas Rangers have won Pennants.

The New York Mets, the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have proven that you can be the 2nd-most popular team in a market and still win a Pennant.

Over the course of his tenure as A's GM, Beane has refused to pay to keep his talent, thus winning a Pennant for the Yankees (Jason Giambi), a World Series for the Yankees (Nick Swisher), a World Series for the Cardinals (Mark Mulder), and a World Series for the cross-Bay Giants (Barry Zito -- okay, he's gone just 43-61 with a 93 ERA+ for the Giants and wasn't on the 2010 postseason roster, but he was there).

And the A's stadium situation is bleak. The Oakland Coliseum, especially since its reworking to bring the NFL's Raiders back from Los Angeles, is woefully inadequate. The team has tried to get a new stadium built in Oakland, both at the Coliseum complex site and downtown. They've tried in neighboring Fremont. (Not that surprising: The previous team in Oakland, the Oaks of the Pacific Coast League, played not in Oakland but in neighboring Emeryville.)

And now they're trying to get a stadium built in San Jose, as the Giants once tried -- only, in this case, the Giants, who have their Class A California League team in San Jose, are refusing to waive their territorial rights to the city, thus standing in the way of the A's leaving the East Bay to the Raiders and the NBA's Golden State Warriors and sharing the South Bay with the NHL's San Jose Sharks.

With several other cities interested in getting teams -- including such geographically convenient (they'd be able to stay in the AL West) cities as Sacramento, Portland, Vancouver, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City -- the A's are in considerable danger of being lost to some other metro area.

I said then, and I repeat it now: Billy Beane is not only not a genius, he is a coward. He should have gone to the A's ownership group and said, "I need more money to build a Pennant winner. If you won't let me spend it, I'll quit, and I can name my price because everybody thinks I'm a genius." If they called his bluff, he could have become the new GM at any number of clubs, and proved that he wasn't bluffing after all.

Instead of working out a solution -- for himself, if not for the A's -- Beane became part of the problem: He now has an ownership stake in the A's, meaning it's now, at least in part, his own money that he won't spend.

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When I posted this information in its original form this past October, I was ripped for saying that Moneyball was not an effective strategy for the A's. I got about as many unkind comments as I got when I said Joe Paterno was a disgrace -- 2 years before the Jerry Sandusky scandal came out.

The facts convict Beane, and mark the commenters out as the truly ignorant ones.

The facts have gotten worse. Beane has traded away more young talent, and gotten only cheap prospects in return. He has gutted a franchise with a proud, if rollercoaster, history, one that has won 6 Pennants and 4 World Series, and that's not even counting what they did in Philadelphia under Connie Mack (who also had a tendency to build great teams only to break them up to cut costs).

Check this out, from the Bay Area Sports Guy blog, admittedly a Giants fan, not an A's fan, but he's right.

One of his commenters, in response to an A's fan, said this:

The Giants at one time were leaving..the A’s were drawing 3 mill..and all motives were driven by winning and losing.

Now-Beane cant even claim the A’s lose money no matter how bad they do-so whats left is,he’s a greedy bitch..who wants more.

This is corporate greed-and why Beane is in hiding giving no explanation of why he’s tradeing all stars for bums. What is Beane going to say? I’m a f’ing greedy bastard,I admit it?

Beane has been operating as a welfar queen since becoming a part owner. I said for years he sold out,but local media stuck to “Beane has a plan”..I saw through that fast talker early.

The A’s are set for a 120 loss year..with full support of the shill local media

This is true: From 1981 to 1995, the A's had the higher per-home-game attendance in 12 out of 15 seasons. This despite the fact that, in that stretch, the Giants won a National League Western Division title in 1987 (one of the 3 years), a Pennant in 1989 (the A's still beat them, and then beat them in the World Series), and nearly won another Division title in 1993 (one of the 3 years, the other being 1986 when the A's were a bit down before their LaRussa-McGwire-Canseco-Stewart-Eckersley revival).

Starting in 1996, the A's have never had better attendance than the Giants again. What's the cause? The Giants' new ballpark, now named AT&T Park? They didn't get it until 2000, so how do you explain having better attendance from '96 to '99 at drafty old Candlestick Park? Was it Barry Bonds? No, because he arrived in 1993 and, while his arrival explains why the Giants led the A's that year, the A's still led in '94 and '95.

More likely, it was because the Giants, under Peter Magowan, who bought them in 1992 to save them from being moved to Tampa Bay, were determined to build a winner. And the A's were not. And still aren't.

Check out another comment on that BASG piece:

I just watched “Moneyball” and I’m already tired of Beane. Why didn’t the team that beat them in the playoffs that year get a movie?? The Minnesota Twins had an almost identical payroll in the season depicted in the film! They are also backed by a billionaire family (The Pohlads), but I guess the difference is they successfully blackmailed the taxpayers/government for Target Field…and Twins fans (before last season) had to be content with management building teams to win the division and get crushed by the damned Yankers in the ALCS…I thought that was a pretty slick oversight in the film…Beane’s budget ballclub got beat by another budget ballclub in the ALCS, not a major market Titan.

It should also be noted that the Giants won a Worlds Series pure magic and starting pitching…the biggest contracts on the team weren’t the keys to winning the last game of the season. (Mike's note: Emphasis mine, not the author's, although his point is quite valid.)

I think you hit the nail on the head. If I was an A’s fan, I’d be pissed. Can’t Beloved Leader Selig step in and give Billy a talking-to about clearly tanking the season? He could’ve KILLED at the trade deadline with Bailey and possibly Gio…can’t you see an AL East team giving up the crown jewel of their system for that package, or even one of those guys if they were hurting at the deadline?

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It has been rumored that the A's just might make a deal with the MLB offices and the Giants to get the go-ahead to build in San Jose, ready to go for Opening Day 2014. (More likely 2015, because while they won't be building a superstadium like the Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Meadowlands teams, considering how long it takes to arrange and build these things, construction delays are probably inevitable.)

That won't make people in Oakland and elsewhere in Alameda County happy, but a 35-to-50 mile drive down Interstate 880 is a whole lot better than an 80-to-90 mile drive up I-80 to Sacramento, or a 500+ mile drive to Vegas, or a 600+ mile drive to Portland, or a 700+ mile drive to Salt Lake. (Public transportation would still be possible for East Bay fans: Taking the BART rapid rail service to Fremont and an express bus to downtown San Jose would take roughly an hour and a half, or about as long as it takes me to get from my Central Jersey hometown to Port Authority to either of the NYC parks.)

But if the San Jose deal doesn't happen, then there's a pretty good chance that, come Opening Day 2015, there will be no more Oakland A's.

Imagine the Sacramento A's. The Sac-A's.

The Oregon A's.

The Utah A's.

The Las Vegas A's. (They'd never end up as "The Nevada A's.")

Being a Yankee Fan, this is no skin off my nose.

But it's not far to the people in the East Bay who cheered on the Reggie-Catfish-Fingers "Swingin' A's" of the Seventies.

Or to the people who became A's fans because of Billy Martin's "Billyball" in the early Eighties.

Or to the people who got hooked on baseball by the Bash Brothers of the late Eighties & early Nineties -- even knowing what we now know about them, they sure were entertaining, in a typically whacked-out Eighties sort of way.

Or to the people who became baseball fans thanks to the Moneyballers of the early 2000s.

Those people don't deserve to lose their baseball team.

Billy Beane deserves to lose his job. And his reputation as a genius.

He's not a genius. He's a damn fool. And a damn coward.

Explain that away, Moneyball fans. You can't.

UPDATE: Through the 2017 season, there was no deal to build the A's a new ballpark. They will play the 2018 season at the Coliseum. Probably also 2019 and 2020, probably because nobody but Montreal has a stadium even temporarily worthy for Major League Baseball both standing and vacant.

Will the A's still be playing home games in Northern California in April 2021? When the Coliseum will be 55 years old?

Most Playoff Appearances -- NHL Teams

This is the 4th and final part of a series that began yesterday with the NFL. I had considered doing it for MLS and the WNBA, but decided against it.

As one of the incorrectly, but semantically correctly, named "Original Six" franchises of the National Hockey League, the New York Rangers -- known on this site as The Scum -- are one of the leaders on this list. But the New Jersey Devils have done pretty well on it as well. So have the New York Islanders -- although not lately.

From 1942-43 to 1966-67, 4 of the NHL's 6 teams made the Playoffs. From 1967-68 to 1969-70, it was 8 out of 12. From 1979-80 to 1990-91, it was a whopping 16 out of 21. You had to be really bad to not make it -- as the Colorado Rockies/New Jersey Devils were for most of that period. In 1991, the Minnesota North Stars made the Finals with a losing record. Today, it's 16 out of 30, still a pretty good percentage.

This makes the total times a team has reached the Playoffs much bigger than it would be in MLB and the NFL. And the amount of franchise relocations in the NHL makes the proportions much smaller as well. Indeed, while the Yankees lead MLB by making the Playoffs, on the average, every 2.14 seasons, 5 NFL teams can beat that, and fully 4/5 of the NBA does. And the Montreal Canadiens make even the Yankees, Celtics and Lakers look lazy.

1 Montreal Canadiens 82
2 Boston Bruins 66
3 Toronto Maple Leafs 64
4 Detroit Red Wings 59
5 Chicago Blackhawks 56
6 New York Rangers 53
7 Philadelphia Flyers 35
8 St. Louis Blues 35
9 Buffalo Sabres 29
Flames combined 29
North Stars/Stars combined 29
10 Calgary Flames 26
Nordiques/Avalanche combined 26
11 Pittsburgh Penguins 26
12 Edmonton Oilers 25
13 Los Angeles Kings 25
14 Vancouver Canucks 24
15 Washington Capitals 22
Scouts/Rockies/Devils combined 21
16 New York Islanders 21
Whalers/Hurricanes combined 20
17 New Jersey Devils 20
Jets/Coyotes combined 17
Both sets of Jets combined 17
18 San Jose Sharks 14
19 Colorado Avalanche 12
20 Dallas Stars 12
21 Ottawa Senators 12
22 Anaheim Ducks 8
23 Phoenix Coyotes 7
24 Nashville Predators 6
25 Tampa Bay Lightning 6
26 Carolina Hurricanes 5
27 Florida Panthers 3
28 Minnesota Wild 3
29 Columbus Blue Jackets 1
Thrashers/Jets combined 1
30 Winnipeg Jets 0

Here's the proportions. The 1st column to the right of the team is the number of times they've made the Playoffs. The next is their number of seasons. The last is, on the average, every how many years they make the Playoffs. This chart would have seriously favored the Isles up until 1987, and would have been rather kind them even as recently as 1995. No longer: Both the Rangers and, especially, the Devils are well ahead of them.

1 Calgary Flames 26 30 1.15
2 Philadelphia Flyers 35 43 1.23
3 St. Louis Blues 35 43 1.23
4 Montreal Canadiens 82 102 1.24
5 Colorado Avalanche 12 15 1.25
6 Boston Bruins 66 86 1.30
Flames combined 29 38 1.31
7 San Jose Sharks 14 19 1.36
8 Buffalo Sabres 29 40 1.38
Both sets of Jets combined 17 24 1.41
9 Dallas Stars 12 17 1.42
10 Detroit Red Wings 59 84 1.42
11 New Jersey Devils 20 29 1.45
12 Toronto Maple Leafs 64 93 1.45
Nordiques/Avalanche combined 26 38 1.46
North Stars/Stars combined 29 43 1.48
13 Chicago Blackhawks 56 84 1.50
14 Ottawa Senators 12 18 1.50
15 Edmonton Oilers 25 38 1.52
16 New York Rangers 53 84 1.58
17 Washington Capitals 22 36 1.64
18 Pittsburgh Penguins 26 43 1.65
19 Vancouver Canucks 24 40 1.67
Scouts/Rockies/Devils combined 21 36 1.71
20 Los Angeles Kings 25 43 1.72
21 New York Islanders 21 38 1.81
Whalers/Hurricanes combined 20 38 1.90
22 Nashville Predators 6 12 2.00
23 Phoenix Coyotes 7 14 2.00
24 Anaheim Ducks 8 17 2.13
Jets/Coyotes combined 17 38 2.24
25 Carolina Hurricanes 5 13 2.60
26 Tampa Bay Lightning 6 18 3.00
27 Minnesota Wild 3 10 3.33
28 Florida Panthers 3 17 5.67
29 Columbus Blue Jackets 1 10 10.00
Thrashers/Jets combined 1 11 11.00
30 Winnipeg Jets 0 0 0.00

Most Playoff Appearances -- NBA Teams

This is the 3rd part of a series that began yesterday with the NFL.

As one of the 1946 charter franchises of the National Basketball Association, the New York Knickerbockers -- very few people call them anything other than the Knicks, unless, they're trying to insult them -- are one of the leaders on this list.

Marv Albert, longtime voice of the Knicks (and the Rangers, and the Jets) remembered a time in the late 1950s and early 1960s when the NBA had just 9 teams, and 8 made the Playoffs, and said the NBA regular season seemed to have no other purpose but to eliminate the Knicks from Playoff contention.

But that 8 out of 9 became a 16 out of 23. It's now a 16 out of 30, but teams with losing records have made it to the NBA Playoffs many times. In 1981, the Houston Rockets made the Finals with a losing record.

This makes the total times a team has reached the Playoffs much bigger than it would be in MLB and the NFL. And the amount of franchise relocations in the NBA makes the proportions much smaller as well. Indeed, while the Yankees lead MLB by making the Playoffs, on the average, every 2.14 seasons, 5 NFL teams can beat that, and fully 2/3 of the NBA does.

Lakers combined 58
1 Boston Celtics 49
2 Los Angeles Lakers 47
Nationals/76ers combined 46
Hawks combined 40
Pistons combined 40
3 New York Knicks 40
Chaparrals/Spurs combined 39
4 San Antonio Spurs 34
5 Detroit Pistons 32
6 Philadelphia 76ers 32
7 Denver Nuggets 31
8 Chicago Bulls 30
9 Phoenix Suns 29
10 Portland Trail Blazers 29
Royals/Kings combined 29
Warriors combined 28
11 Indiana Pacers 28
12 Atlanta Hawks 27
Rockets combined 26
13 Milwaukee Bucks 26
14 Houston Rockets 25
Bullets/Wizards combined 25
Sonics/Thunder combined 24
15 Utah Jazz 24
Jazz combined 24
Nets combined 23
16 Cleveland Cavaliers 18
17 Washington Wizards 18
18 Dallas Mavericks 17
19 Golden State Warriors 16
20 New Jersey Nets 16
21 Miami Heat 15
22 Orlando Magic 13
Hornets combined 12
23 Sacramento Kings 10
24 Minnesota Timberwolves 8
Braves/Clippers combined 7
25 Toronto Raptors 5
26 New Orleans Hornets 5
27 Los Angeles Clippers 4
28 Memphis Grizzlies 4
Grizzlies combined 4
29 Oklahoma City Thunder 2
30 Charlotte Bobcats 1

Here's the proportions. The 1st column to the right of the team is the number of times they've made the Playoffs. The next is their number of seasons. The last is, on the average, every how many years they make the Playoffs. This chart is less kind to the local teams.

1 Los Angeles Lakers 47 51 1.09
Lakers combined 58 63 1.09
2 San Antonio Spurs 34 38 1.12
Chaparrals/Spurs combined 39 44 1.13
3 Boston Celtics 49 65 1.33
Nationals/76ers combined 46 62 1.35
4 Utah Jazz 24 33 1.38
5 Portland Trail Blazers 29 41 1.41
6 Denver Nuggets 31 44 1.42
7 Phoenix Suns 29 43 1.48
8 Chicago Bulls 30 45 1.50
9 Oklahoma City Thunder 2 3 1.50
10 Philadelphia 76ers 32 48 1.50
11 Miami Heat 15 23 1.53
Jazz combined 24 37 1.54
12 Indiana Pacers 28 44 1.57
Hawks combined 40 63 1.58
Pistons combined 40 64 1.60
13 Houston Rockets 25 40 1.60
14 New York Knicks 40 65 1.63
15 Milwaukee Bucks 26 43 1.65
Rockets combined 26 44 1.69
16 Orlando Magic 13 22 1.69
17 Detroit Pistons 32 55 1.72
18 New Orleans Hornets 5 9 1.80
19 Dallas Mavericks 17 31 1.82
Sonics/Thunder combined 24 44 1.83
Nets combined 23 44 1.91
Hornets combined 12 23 1.92
Bullets/Wizards combined 25 50 2.00
20 Washington Wizards 18 38 2.11
Royals/Kings combined 29 63 2.17
21 New Jersey Nets 16 35 2.19
22 Cleveland Cavaliers 18 41 2.28
23 Atlanta Hawks 27 62 2.30
Warriors combined 28 65 2.32
24 Memphis Grizzlies 4 10 2.50
25 Sacramento Kings 10 26 2.60
26 Minnesota Timberwolves 8 22 2.75
27 Golden State Warriors 16 49 3.06
28 Toronto Raptors 5 16 3.20
Grizzlies combined 4 16 4.00
Braves/Clippers combined 7 41 5.86
29 Los Angeles Clippers 4 27 6.75
30 Charlotte Bobcats 1 7 7.00

Most Playoff Appearances -- MLB Teams

This is the 2nd part of a series that began yesterday with the NFL.

The Yankees have won more World Series than any other Major League Baseball team. As you might guess, they have also made the Playoffs more times than any MLB team.

For the purpose of this chart, I'm counting making it to, despite then losing, "play-in games" such as the 1978 Bucky Dent Game, a.k.a. the Boston Tie Party, as "making the Playoffs." But not end of season deciders, such as 1949 Yankees over Red Sox: That one counts for the Yankees, but not the Red Sox. Other such examples: 1950 counts for the Phillies, not the Dodgers; 1967 counts for the Red Sox, not the Twins; 1982 counts for the Brewers, not the Orioles, who overcame a 4-game deficit with 5 to play only to lose the finale to the Brewers; and 1987 counts for the Tigers, not the Blue Jays, who blew a 7-game lead with 4 to play, including 4 against the Tigers.

I'm also counting the strike years. In 1981, all teams that won either the first-half or second-half division titles are included, as are the Cardinals and Reds, who each had the best record in their respective division over the course of the season, but didn't win either half's division title.

In 1994, the Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, Expos, Reds and Dodgers were leading their divisions, and the Indians and Astros stood to be the Wild Cards; these are included, even if the MLB officials don't count them as such. The wankers.

1 New York Yankees 51
Braves combined 34
Dodgers combined 30
2 St. Louis Cardinals 29
Giants combined 27
A's combined 24
3 Boston Red Sox 23
4 Atlanta Braves 17
5 Los Angeles Dodgers 17
6 Pittsburgh Pirates 16
7 Cincinnati Reds 16
Senators/Twins combined 15
8 Oakland Athletics 15
9 Philadelphia Phillies 14
10 Detroit Tigers 14
11 Chicago Cubs 13
12 Minnesota Twins 12
13 Cleveland Indians 11
Browns/Orioles combined 11
14 Chicago White Sox 11
15 Baltimore Orioles 10
16 Houston Astros 10
17 San Francisco Giants 9
18 Anaheim Angels 9
19 Kansas City Royals 7
20 New York Mets 7
21 Texas Rangers 6
22 San Diego Padres 5
23 Arizona Diamondbacks 5
24 Toronto Blue Jays 5
25 Seattle Mariners 4
26 Milwaukee Brewers 3
27 Colorado Rockies 3
28 Tampa Bay Rays 3
29 Miami Marlins 2
Expos/Nationals combined 2
30 Washington Nationals 0

The Nats are the only team that has not won the Playoffs in its current form. As the Montreal Expos, they did win the split-season NL East title in 1981 and were leading the race in 1994 when the strike hit and ended the season.

Here's the proportions. The first column to the right of the team is the number of times they've made the Playoffs. The next is their number of seasons. The last is, on the average, every how many years they make the Playoffs.

As you might guess, the Yankees lead this one, too -- but it's a bit closer than you might think.

1 New York Yankees 51 109 2.14
2 Atlanta Braves 17 46 2.71
3 Oakland A's 15 44 2.93
4 Los Angeles Dodgers 17 54 3.18
5 Arizona Diamondbacks 4 14 3.50
Braves combined 34 140 4.12
6 St. Louis Cardinals 29 120 4.14
7 Minnesota Twins 12 51 4.25
Dodgers combined 30 128 4.27
A's combined 24 111 4.63
8 Tampa Bay Rays 3 14 4.67
Giants combined 27 129 4.78
9 Boston Red Sox 23 111 4.83
10 Houston Astros 10 50 5.00
11 Anaheim Angels 9 50 5.56
12 Baltimore Orioles 10 58 5.80
13 San Francisco Giants 9 54 6.00
14 Kansas City Royals 7 43 6.14
15 Colorado Rockies 3 19 6.33
16 Texas Rangers 6 40 6.67
17 Toronto Blue Jays 5 35 7.00
18 New York Mets 7 50 7.14
Senators/Twins combined 15 111 7.40
19 Pittsburgh Pirates 16 125 7.81
20 Detroit Tigers 14 111 7.93
21 Cincinnati Reds 16 130 8.13
22 San Diego Padres 5 42 8.40
23 Seattle Mariners 4 35 8.75
24 Philadelphia Phillies 14 129 9.21
25 Miami Marlins 2 19 9.50
26 Cleveland Indians 11 111 10.09
Browns/Orioles combined 11 111 10.09
27 Chicago White Sox 11 111 10.09
28 Chicago Cubs 13 135 10.38
29 Milwaukee Brewers 3 43 14.33
Expos/Nationals combined 2 42 21.00
30 Washington Nationals 0 7 Not applicable

Most Playoff Appearances -- NFL Teams

So, the Giants had a chance to beat the Dallas (George Carlin word)ing Cowboys, and win the NFC East, and get the 3rd seed and a first-round home game in the NFC Playoffs.

And the Jets had a chance to beat the Miami Dolphins, and, if 3 other games fell their way, make the AFC Playoffs.

The G-Men stepped up, and delivered.

The J-E-T-S-Jets-Jets-Jets did not.

As we would say if they were an English soccer team, the Jets bottled it. Again. Against the Dolphins. Again. And they can't even blame Dan Marino. Yes, he was in New York, but he wasn't working for the Dolphins. He was working for CBS on The NFL Today.

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This newly-completed regular season was the Giants' 87th. In those 87 seasons, they have made the NFL Playoffs 32 times -- this counts the 1927 season when they finished 1st in the NFL, before there were separate divisions and an NFL Championship Game. That means they make it once every 2.7 seasons.

This was the Jets' 52nd season in the AFL and the NFL combined. In those 52 seasons, they have made the Playoffs 14 times. An average of once every 3.7 seasons.

The Giants and Jets have both made the Playoffs 4 times: 1981, '85, '86 and 2002. Only in 2002 did both teams make it and the Jets went farther.

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The Giants have not won more NFL Championships than any other team. That's the Green Bay Packers, with 13. And the Chicago Bears, with 9, are also ahead of the Giants, who have 7.

But the New York Giants have made the Playoffs more times than any NFL team: 32.

1 New York Giants 32
2 Green Bay Packers 30
3 Dallas Cowboys 29
4 Cleveland Browns 28
5 Chicago Bears 26
6 Minnesota Vikings 26
7 Pittsburgh Steelers 26
Rams combined 26
8 San Francisco 49ers 24
Colts combined 24
9 Philadelphia Eagles 23
10 Miami Dolphins 22
11 Oakland Raiders 21
12 Washington Redskins 21
Oilers/Titans combined 21
13 New England Patriots 19
14 Denver Broncos 18
15 Buffalo Bills 17
16 San Diego Chargers 17
17 Kansas City Chiefs 16
18 Detroit Lions 15
19 New York Jets 14
20 Indianapolis Colts 14
21 Atlanta Falcons 11
22 Seattle Seahawks 11
23 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10
24 Cincinnati Bengals 9
25 Baltimore Ravens 8
26 New Orleans Saints 8
27 Jacksonville Jaguars 6
28 Tennessee Titans 6
Cardinals combined 6
29 St. Louis Rams 5
30 Carolina Panthers 4
31 Arizona Cardinals 3
32 Houston Texans 1

The Texans made it this year, for the 1st time in their history. Now all 32 current NFL teams have made it, and each in their current city.

In comparison, all 30 NBA teams, and all 30 NHL teams, have done so. All 30 MLB teams have made the Playoffs, but the Washington Nationals have not done so since they moved out of Montreal. And there are a few NBA teams that have still not made it.

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Of course, some context is needed. Of course, "most times made Playoffs" is weighted toward the older teams. So how about percentage?

The 1st column to the right of the team's name is the number of times they've made the Playoffs. The next is their number of seasons. The last is, on the average, every how many years they make the Playoffs.

1 Dallas Cowboys 29 52 1.79
2 Minnesota Vikings 26 51 1.96
3 Indianapolis Colts 14 28 2.00
4 Baltimore Ravens 8 16 2.00
5 Miami Dolphins 22 46 2.09
6 Tennessee Titans 6 13 2.17
7 Cleveland Browns 28 63 2.25
Colts combined 24 59 2.46
8 Oakland Raiders 21 52 2.48
Oilers/Titans combined 21 52 2.48
9 New York Giants 32 87 2.72
10 New England Patriots 19 52 2.74
11 San Francisco 49ers 24 66 2.75
12 Jacksonville Jaguars 6 17 2.83
Rams combined 26 75 2.88
13 Denver Broncos 18 52 2.89
14 Green Bay Packers 30 91 3.03
15 Pittsburgh Steelers 26 79 3.04
16 Buffalo Bills 17 52 3.06
17 San Diego Chargers 17 52 3.06
18 Kansas City Chiefs 16 52 3.25
19 Seattle Seahawks 11 36 3.27
20 St. Louis Rams 5 17 3.40
21 Philadelphia Eagles 23 79 3.43
22 Chicago Bears 26 92 3.54
23 Washington Redskins 21 75 3.57
24 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 36 3.60
25 New York Jets 14 52 3.71
26 Atlanta Falcons 11 46 4.18
27 Carolina Panthers 4 17 4.25
28 Cincinnati Bengals 9 44 4.89
29 Detroit Lions 15 78 5.20
30 New Orleans Saints 8 45 5.63
31 Arizona Cardinals 3 24 8.00
32 Houston Texans 1 10 10.00
Cardinals combined 6 92 15.33

This really doesn't do the New York teams any favors, especially the Jets.

So, the Cowboys are Number 1 on this list.

It doesn't change the opinion, shared by all people with taste, that DALLAS SUCKS.

Speaking of things that suck, that reminds me: I have to hold my nose and root for the Philadelphia Flyers to beat the Rangers in today's NHL Winter Classic.

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Hours until Arsenal play again: 2, this afternoon, away to West London club Fulham. It is not yet known if the returning Thierry Henry will play.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 19, a Saturday matinee against the Flyers on January 21, at the Prudential Center. They next play The Scum on Tuesday night, January 31, at the Prudential. The next game against the New York Islanders isn't until March 4, a Sunday matinee at the Nassau Coliseum.

Days until the next North London Derby: 55, on Sunday, February 26, at New Highbury. This game had been scheduled for the day before, but was moved to accommodate TV -- never mind accommodating fans.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 72, on Sunday afternoon, March 11, at FC Dallas.

Days until the Red Bulls' home opener: 83, on Sunday afternoon, March 25, at Red Bull Arena, opponent to be announced.

Days until the Yankees' next Opening Day: 95, on Friday afternoon, April 6, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg against the Tampa Bay Rays. A little over 3 months.

Days until the Yankees' home opener: 102, on Friday afternoon, April 13, against the Whatever They're Calling Themselves This Year Angels of Anaheim.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 109, on Friday night, April 20, at Fenway Park in Boston.

Days until the last Nets game in New Jersey: 112, on Wednesday night, April 23, against the Philadelphia 76ers, at the Prudential Center. Just 16 weeks before New Jersey no longer has an NBA team.

Days until the 2012 Olympics begin in London: 207 (July 27). Under 7 months.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 250, on Saturday September 8, against an opponent and at a location to be announced. A little over 8 months. They closed the 2011 season this past Friday by winning the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium II, 27-13 over Iowa State.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 256, on Friday, September 14, opponent and location to be determined.

Days until the 2012 President election: 309, on Tuesday, November 6. Register to vote... and on November 6, vote!

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 325.

Days until Alex Rodriguez collects his 3,000th career hit: 565 (estimated around July 20, 2013).

Days until Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands: 762 (February 2, 2014). 25 months.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 700th career home run: 835 (estimated).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 756th career home run to surpass all-time leader Hank Aaron: 1,670 (estimated).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 763rd career home run to become as close to a "real" all-time leader as we are likely to have: 1,704 (estimated -- estimating 28 home runs a year, he should get it late in the 2016 season, maybe around September 1, at age 41).