I’m a big Pudge Rodriguez guy – he’s my favorite non-pitcher of all time, I think. That being said, I was really surprised by the news that he will be joining the Nationals. He has reportedly signed a two year, $6 million contract. I’m surprised that at this time in his career he’d be interested in playing in such a hopeless situation. Or at least that’s what I thought until I considered it more and came up with one big consideration in their favor – Stephen Strasburg. Pudge gets to spend likely his last two years in the league catching for the most exciting prospect in baseball in a long, long time. The Nats get to be sure that their prize star is well-handled, and they get to benefit from the veteran leadership and instant credibility he brings to the table.
Not that much surprise in the Heisman voting yesterday, though I do think that it’s more than a little bit of a travesty that Tim Tebow got invited and C.J. Spiller didn’t. Tebow got the votes based solely on his name because his play certainly doesn’t warrant it. At least we know he’s not going to win. Who is going to win, though, is an interesting question. Mark Ingram is the solid betting favorite, but different media outlets have tabbed him, McCoy, Gerhart and even Suh . This is the most uncertain, wide open race I have seen in a long while – the announcement will truly be a surprise. If I had a vote it would be for Gerhart. Yesterday I saw him at 3/1 just after the announcement, and at that price he’s attractive – he’ll carry the west coast votes without competition while McCoy and Suh will split some of the Big 12 votes and Tebow will take SEC votes away from Ingram.
Charlie Weis got his last bit of revenge on the Irish – Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate are both turning pro, and they both give credit for that decision to their former coach. I guess I can’t really argue with either decision, but I would think that it would make sense to at least see who the new coach is before making a decision. There certainly isn’t any hurry – it’s not like an extended decision making process would get in the way of their bowl preparations or anything.
