Hair of the Dog, 11/20/08

I'm still in the middle of boxing up all of my meager possessions, but I found some time to listen to a Bucks game and monitor the free agent news.

The Bucks couldn't hold a big third quarter lead against Utah last night and fell to the Jazz 105 to 94. The Bucks fell back by 10 in the first quarter, but rallied big in the second to take a 2 point lead at the half. They held the lead going into the final quarter, but Utah pulled away. Jefferson had 25 points, while Bogut added 16 points and 20 rebounds. Mbah a Moute went down hard in the 2nd quarter, which looked like bad news for an already shorthanded team, but he returned to start the second half and finished the game with 8 points and 7 rebounds. The Bucks are 5 and 8 on the season. A few points:

• The Schedule. The schedule seems ridiculous. The Bucks played their fourth consecutive back-to-back set of games, with 5 of those 8 games on the road. They have back-to-back games at New York and against Chicago this weekend.
• Richard Jefferson. Jefferson spoke about being disappointed in his performance after the Bucks' loss to Denver, and came up big last night with 23 points in the first 28 minutes and lead the Bucks' second quarter come-back.
• Andrew Bogut. Bogut played strong against Boozer and is starting to look like an offensive and rebounding stud. Most of the time.
• Home Court advantage. I was in Salt Lake City last year for work and was walking around the city just as a Jazz game was letting out. I don't know numbers or anything, but it had to have been a sell-out and something like 90% of the fans were wearing Jazz gear. I guess it's the only show in town and they have a strong tradition of winning, but I'd love to see that kind of support in Milwaukee. Besides all the crazy drinking laws, Salt Lake City is a cool town.

The C.C. Sabathia Sweepstakes. A poster at BCB put together this spreadsheet comparing the Brewers' alleged $100 Million/5 years offer to the Yankee's alleged $140 Million/6 years. Another poster also compared the offers. Basically, between taxes and cost of living, depending on how much money Sabathia wants to spend in his new community, the offers are pretty similar. The tax difference in New York could take an additional 10-15% bite out of his contract. If that number is around 13%, the offers are about the same on an annualized basis. It's also important to consider the next contract. Although getting locked in now is important, Sabathia's odds of staying healthy and productive for the next 5 years are greater than him staying healthy and productive for the next 6 years. The other money factor to consider is present value. Player salaries inflate faster than real world inflation. How much with Sabathia really be worth in 6 years versus what the Yankees are offering him in that year? It's all arguable, but the Yankee's money advantage, at least with their present offer, is not a slam dunk over the Brewers.

A gentleman's game. There's a quote in The Legend of Bagger Vance that I'm probably going to get totally wrong, but a google search isn't coming up with anything. Young Hardy Greaves says, "Golf is the greatest game in the world. It's fun, it's hard, and you call your own fouls. If you're honest. And most people are." Pro Golfer and Appleton, Wisconsin native, J.P. Hayes proved it two days ago when he realized he had played one hole in one round of the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School with an non-conforming ball. This cost him a chance to qualify for either the PGA or the Nationwide tour. That's refreshing in today's sports world.