Blog Archives
Around the Cooler 06/17/13 – “It’s mid-June and all our teams are terrible…”
Here’s what we’re talking about:
“…and I’m going to buy a Breitling watch for each of my pet iguanas…”
- Flyers defenseman Mark Streit musing about his newfound riches. (Not a real quote)
Image via 98.5 Sports
- Rollin’ 3-deep today as Nick makes his triumphant return to the the Cooler
- We note that the Phillies have six players under contract for 2014, at a total salary of $103.5M, then suggest that they all get traded (0:00)
- We break news to ourselves (at the time) that Mark Streit agreed to a 4-year, $21M contract with the Flyers and discuss cap implications moving forward. Can this team afford to keep Giroux, Schenn, and Couturier for 2014 and beyond? (27:00)
Play on your Mobile Device or Right Click to Download: Around the Cooler 06-17-13
What are you talking about around the water cooler this week? Leave us a comment!
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Awesome musical theme written by the awesome Matthew Schwalm
Despite Rampant Steroid Usage, MLB has Huge Balls
image via personal.psu.edu
In what has become a super-scandal of sorts (Roidsgate, anyone? No?), the MLB could be suspending 20+ players due to their connection with a Florida group called Biogenesis. Assuming that most of the accused parties are suspended, this will be another damaging blow for baseball as it continues its quest to make the game clean.
Some of baseball’s biggest names are connected to Biogenesis. Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers, Nelson Cruz of the Rangers and the already disgraced Yankee Alex Rodriguez have all been listed as suspects thus far. This is great and terrible news.
On the surface, this is ugly. The war on steroids has been exhausting for the MLB as it fights to regain the image of America’s beloved pastime. The problem is that you need stars to sell every sport and when those stars appear tarnished (deserved or not) the casual fan shies away. Instead, they seek the stars who seem unquestionable, unbreakable, heroic…and from other sports.
The problem is that cheating is prevalent in all of the other leagues, they simply don’t have the guts to root it out.
For example, in the NBA eight players have been given suspensions for the use of banned substances. Ever. The most recent case being Hedo Turkoglu, who was suspended 20 games for using methenolone in February. However, the NBA is content with allowing cheating considering their questionable drug testing procedures and the presence of a star-loving, meddlesome commissioner in David Stern.
Read the rest of this entry
Around the Cooler 05/29/13 – Philthy
Here’s what we’re talking about:
Image via Croix de Candlestick
- Vince and Hank take a decidedly negative view on the 2013 Phillies’ prospects and discuss what the organization should do next
Play on your Mobile Device or Right Click to Download: Around the Cooler 05-29-13
What are you talking about around the water cooler this week? Leave us a comment!
Follow us on Twitter @TheWooderCooler
Musical theme written by Matthew Schwalm
Figuring out why Braydon Coburn was so bad in 2013 (with advanced stats!)
Image via Wikipedia Commons
Braydon Coburn has long been considered a solid, consistent defender and has been a fixture on the Flyers’ top-two defensive pairings since he was acquired at the 2007 trade deadline. So consistent, in fact, that during the 2011-12 season, the Flyers jumped at the chance to extend his contract for 4 years at a healthy $4.5 million-per-year price tag. Hardly a small commitment for a team that is perennially bumping its head against the salary cap.
But Coburn’s 2013 season was – and I’m being kind here – a break from the mold.
Oh who am I kidding? It was awful. In order to set up the second half of my analysis, I’ll spend the first half explaining just how awful it was.
Here is a quick recap of Coburn’s career in terms of the standard statistics:
WARNING: Minors, the elderly, and those living with a heart condition may wish to avert their eyes from the row marked ’2013′
| Scoring Stats | Goals | Assists | Ice Time | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | EV | PP | SH | EV | SH | PP | S | S% | ATOI |
| 2006-07 | 21 | 49 | 3 | 8 | 11 | -1 | 46 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 5.6 | 15:29 |
| 2007-08 | 22 | 78 | 9 | 27 | 36 | 17 | 74 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 10 | 113 | 8.0 | 21:14 |
| 2008-09 | 23 | 80 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 7 | 97 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 130 | 5.4 | 24:37 |
| 2009-10 | 24 | 81 | 5 | 14 | 19 | -6 | 54 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 122 | 4.1 | 21:08 |
| 2010-11 | 25 | 82 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 53 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 114 | 1.8 | 21:04 |
| 2011-12 | 26 | 81 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 10 | 56 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 113 | 3.5 | 22:03 |
| 2013 | 27 | 33 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -10 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 2.6 | 22:37 |
| Career | 493 | 31 | 109 | 140 | 30 | 425 | 21 | 10 | 0 | 79 | 6 | 24 | 688 | 4.5 | 21:09 | |
Generated 5/17/2013.
Those numbers look bad. Really bad. But the season was shortened to start and Coburn was on the DL for 1/3 of those games, so it may help to break down his 2013 stats in terms of ice time.
Stats per 60 minutes of ice time (with career rank):
Goals/60: .08 (2nd worst)
Assists/60: .322 (worst)
Points/60: .402 (worst)
Plus-Minus/60: -.804 (worst)
PIM/60: 3.3 (2nd worst)
Shots/60: 3.06 (worst)
Even Strength Points/60: .402 (worst)
Yuck. How about a nail in the coffin? In the 33 games in which Coburn played, the Flyers went 13-17-3, averaged 2.64 goals for and 3.12 goals against. In the 15 games in which Coburn did not appear, the Flyers were 10-5-0, averaging 3.07 goals for and 2.53 goals against.
Now, I already trashed Coburn’s lockout season a month ago, but I swear I’m really not trying to pile it on. I am simply attempting to provide some perspective. I went into this study because I was genuinely baffled that such a dependable player could just roll over and die at the prime age of 28. How was this possible? Outside of my private suspicions that Dan Bylsma spent his off-hours poking needles into a Braydon voodoo doll somewhere in the bowels of the CONSOL Energy Center, there was seemingly no explanation for such a precipitous fall…
Unless, of course, you like advanced stats. I’ve recently shown my ardent support for the proliferation of advanced statistics, and this seemed like a ripe opportunity to break them out. As it turns out, the fancy numbers indicate that it wasn’t simply poor luck or bad mojo that led to Coburn’s bad year.
There was another reason:
Peter Laviolette.
Around the Cooler 05/03/13
Here’s what we’re talking about:
This guy used to play quarterback?!
Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE
Image via SBNation
- The Eagles’ 2013 Draft class, Chip Kelly’s philosophy, and other draft stuff that doesn’t have to do with the Eagles (00:00)
- Which pro playoffs are more exciting, hockey or basketball? Also, Hank shockingly reveals that he can neither jump, nor go to his left (25:00)
- Other NHL playoff thoughts, wherein we hate-respect the Penguins and feel bad for the Islanders, among other things (32:00)
Play on your Mobile Device or Right Click to Download: Around the Cooler 05-03-13
What are you talking about around the water cooler this week? Leave us a comment!
Follow us on Twitter @TheWooderCooler
A Vulgar, Bitter, and Disrespectful Obituary for the 2013 Flyers
Last Tuesday when the Orange-and-Black traveled to the crumbling Coliseum to face the Blue-and-Orange, it was the Bullies who came away black and blue. That all-but season-ending loss to the Islanders led many local and national hockey writers to cut bait on this no-good, very-bad, lockout-shortened, overpaid, oft-injured, ineffective, unlucky, uncoordinated, ungainly, uninspiring team.
Hell if I’m going to miss out on the fun!
The Flyers are now many points back with few games to go, and just wrapped up their fourth loss in a row. They currently have a 1 in 625 chance of getting the 8th playoff seed.
What the puck happened?! Damn near this exact same team earned 103 points last season! They were +32! They pummeled the Pens in the playoffs! They have the best player in the world! How could everything fall so heels-over-ass apart?
“Maybe more Mike Knuble will fix this?”
Image via prohockeytalk.com // AP
Let’s take it back to the summer. Read the rest of this entry
Briere “Out Indefinitely” with Concussion
Uh oh, where have we seen this before?
Sam Carchidi reports that Briere failed to finish Friday’s practice after crashing hard into the boards, and he has been sidelined indefinitely with a concussion. Nick Grossman is also out with the ever-informative “upper body injury” designation.
It’s a tough break for the 4-time 30 goal scorer, who was already having a terrible run this season and was just demoted to the 3rd line. The injury effectively kills any chance for the Flyers to trade Briere (and his $6.5 million-per-season salary) to a playoff contender before the NHL trade deadline in 9 days. Read the rest of this entry
Laviolette demotes Briere at practice, promotes Read
Image via Zimbio.com
Ugh, it’s about time.
Sam Carchidi of the Inquirer reported that at Friday’s practice, Danny Briere had been demoted from the second line to the third, paired with Scott Hartnell and Max Talbot. Matt Read was promoted to the top line. I’m praying that this change carries over to the starting lineup on Sunday against the Penguins. Despite the terrible fact that the average yearly salary of the three forwards on the third line would would be $4.15 million, this change should have been made a month ago.
In Laviolette’s defense, the delay is somewhat understandable: Despite netting a mere 5 goals in 26 games, Briere’s been getting about 2.6 shots per game on net, which is roughly in line with his career average, and he’s suffering from the worst shooting percentage of his career (7.8%, half his 14.8% career average). So there’s some bad luck involved on the offensive end.
But Briere, who always carried a reputation as a bit of a defensive liability, has recently become such a problem in 5v5 play that his time on the ice is doing more damage than good. Opposing teams consistently take more shots than the Flyers while he is on the ice (his Corsi rating is -5.57 despite facing mediocre opposing lines). If Briere were paired with two possession-driving players this might be surmountable, but pair him with Wayne Simmonds – who has similar issues (-2.06 Corsi) but provides a physicality that cements his spot on the 2nd line – and you have a recipe for failure. Brayden Schenn is good, but he’s not good enough to make up for the defensive deficiencies of both linemates. (Learn about Corsi here, stats via behindthenet.ca)
Around the Cooler 03/22/13 – Weekly Recap
Here’s what we’re talking about:
Phillies: Roy-pocalypse and Total Dom-ination (2:00)
Flyers: Is making a trade at the deadline a smart move? (17:30)
Eagles: We talk more Eagles offseason, Vince has a crush on Chip Kelly (30:00)
Play:
Right Click for Download: Around the Cooler 03-22-13
What are you talking about around the water cooler this week? Leave us a comment!
