NCAA TOURNAMENT
Del Olaleye: Bracket guy, you are the worst
Del Olaleye
Mar 14, 2018, 5:44 am
The NCAA bracket brings out the worst in people. NCAA.com
We’re a day away from the start of the NCAA Tournament. Save your First Four arguments. The tournament starts on Thursday. Semantics aside, this time of year brings out a March menace, “Bracket Guy.” I’m well aware women fill out brackets too, but “Bracket Person” sounds terrible. Because it is March everyone has an opinion on teams they have never watched play. All of sudden people know how good South Dakota State is and why they have a real shot to beat Ohio State. Stop. You’re being ridiculous. You don’t know and frankly I don’t care if you actually do. Keep it to yourself and the same for your bracket.
As a kid I loved when my dad would bring home the Monday paper after Selection Sunday. It had a two-page pull-out of the bracket. I’d keep that pull-out but I didn’t fill it out. It was fun to see the matchups and the regions. Who was going to the West Region? Was Kentucky the No. 1 seed in the South or the East? This was before the somewhat recent change to pods. Now you can be in the East Region but start out in San Diego if you’re a West Coast team. Confusing, but not the reason bracket season bothers me so much. It must be the eagerness and fervor that people approach March Madness with. Emails about bracket contests. Questions about who you like in game that starts at 2:10 in Dallas. Stop it. You don’t really care what I think. You’re just looking to find a reason to put Michigan into the Elite 8.
If I could I use the remote that Adam Sandler had in that movie Click (What up, Kate Beckinsale) my life would be complete. If you haven’t seen the movie, Adam Sandler gets a remote that allows him to fast forward through life’s moments that don’t interest him. Oh the joy of knowing the next time someone wants to discuss their bracket I could hit a button and not remember the mind-numbing conversation that took place 10 minutes prior. Of course a movie like that has to have a message. Adam Sandler’s character realizes he’s been a spectator during his life and has missed all of the important moments. He gets a do-over. I don’t want a do-over. I’d gladly miss all the bracket talk moments. It would be sports nirvana. Just give me the games.
By the time this piece is published you and other likes you may have filled out multiple brackets. I hope the games in Dayton on Tuesday night destroy your bracket. It would be just what you deserve if you pretended at any point to have any real insight on Radford or LIU-Brooklyn. You didn’t watch them play at all. I’d have more respect for you if you picked one of those teams based on their uniforms or the name of the mascot. My co-host on the Raheel and Del show has a young daughter. She’s almost three. She has Georgia State and Lipscomb in the Final Four only because she likes how their names sound. I respect her selections more than yours, Bracket Guy.
There are so many of you that it should be easy to find others like yourself. I’m not a part of your cult. I don’t care if one of your Final Four teams is knocked out during the opening weekend. No one really does. Before you approach anyone about your bracket just take a breath and think to yourself, “If someone tried to draw me into a conversation about how they did in fantasy football this week would I care?” If the answer is no, realize you’re no different than that fantasy player. If the answer is yes and you would care, there is no helping you.
March and early April are for upsets, buzzer beaters, One Shining Moment and Charles Barkley awkwardly analyzing college teams that he’s barely watched.
Beat it, Bracket Guy.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
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