I've really enjoyed going through all of the teams over the course of this project. This post should be the most fun, though. Yes, I've enjoyed tearing into some teams' poor decisions, but celebrating the best uniforms is the most fun. You'll probably disagree to some point, but I feel like I've done a good job of being objective enough that there shouldn't be any major issues.
#25 - Iowa State Cyclones
Once again, simplicity rules the day in Ames. I preferred the old helmet logo a little more, as it's one of the rare good goofy logos (along with Oregon State and Boise), but there are no major gaffes here.
#24 - Arizona Wildcats
The Wildcats' uniforms are in the same vein as Kansas', but they benefit from a slightly better logo and a deeper shade of blue. Arizona also gets bonus points for the nice gold alternate helmets they wore this year, proving that you don't need to completely reinvent the wheel to have successful alternates. The cherry on top is the nice bi-colored double stripe down the pants, which is a look that not enough teams try to pull off.
#23 - North Carolina State Wolfpack
All-red uniforms can make for a tricky balancing act, but the Wolfpack pulls it off handily. The thick stripe on the helmet and the sublte "S" logo on the chest are nice touches to make this more than just a plain red uniform.
#22 - Navy Midshipmen - Commander-in-Chief Trophy
I'm not a fan of the Nike collar that's also sweeping the NFL, but everything else works on these classic uniforms. I especially love the anchor on the sleeve. Navy also tends to have the classiest alternates of anyone.
#21 - Boise State Broncos
In the past decade, Boise has done as good of a job building an identity through their uniforms as anyone other than Oregon. The fact that they've designed trick plays where a player blends into their blue turf is simultaneously shady and awesome. Boise does a good job with their alternates as well, making some small changes without losing their message of blue is good.
#20 - USC Trojans
In spite of the whole rivalry thing, I love these uniforms. The single shoulder stripe and simple block numbering is great. The only thing that mars these sharp uniforms is the weak logo.
#19 - Florida Atlantic Owls
I could probably do without the wings on the sleeves, but at least it fits well with the shape of the logo. Everything else is quite sharp on these uniforms. Blue and red will never get old.
#18 - Rice Owls - CUSA Champions
The stylish font used in the logo and team name is both extremely classy and a reminder that Rice is a baseball school. The all-blues are great as well. One day, when there's advertising on all uniforms, Rice will likely climb up the rankings with their Uncle Ben logo.
#17 - Virginia Cavaliers
They've been wearing these uniforms a lot this season, so they get a bit of a downgrade from where they would have been (likely the top 10). The new uniforms aren't too bad (mainly because they keep the nice interplay of blue and orange), but they just don't match the classiness of the normal helmets. The all oranges aren't too bad either, thought they're better with the superior blue helmet.
#16 - Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State loses a few points for adding names to the back of the jerseys, but these are still some of the best duds in the game. The other reason that they're not higher is that, in spite of my praising of simple uniforms, there may be such a thing as too simple.
#15 - Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
The red version of Penn State's uniforms in terms of simplicity, with a truly unique helmet logo to boot. The red towel comes from an old basketball coach who was upset that their towels were getting stolen, and thus ordered that they be made red.
#14 - Illinois Fighting Illini
In spite of the striping, Illinois checks in at #14, largely on the strength of their helmet. A great shade of orange and a nice plain font make for a sharp helmet. The blue and orange combination is pretty much always a winner when executed this well.
#13 - San Diego State Aztecs - Mountain West Champions
In my opinion, these are the best black uniforms in college football, largely because of the helmet. The deep shade of red on their helmets allows them to overcome a fair number of deficiencies, such as the thin stripe all the way down the side. I like the old logo a little better (as well as the red trim on the numbering), but I think the darker color more than makes up for any downgrade.
#12 - Indiana Hoosiers - Big Ten Champions
These are basically the same as Oklahoma's uniforms, except for a superior logo. The thicker letters, symmetry, and unique design make it one of the best logos in the game. They also get bonus points for improving an insane amount over their previous outfit.
#11 - Auburn Tigers
Here's another good use of blue and orange. What makes it superior to the others is a great shiny off-white helmet that looks great at night.
#10 - Cal Bears
I could do without the slashes on the legs and jersey, but the helmet is one of the best in the game. Script lettering on a beautiful deep blue with a great yellow accent makes for a beautiful design. The white helmets are an unfortunate disappointment compared to their regular ones.
#9 - Tennessee Volunteers
A unique shade of light orange, and a helmet logo much like Indiana's in spirit make for a fantastic uniform. My love for these uniforms goes all the way back to when I was first watching football and rooted for Tennessee for that reason (having Peyton Manning didn't hurt either). The black alternates are as bad as Georgia's. Just replacing your jersey with a black one is not clever nor a good idea.
#8 - Kansas State Wildcats
We've reached the portion of the rankings where there aren't really any negative things to say about the remaining teams. The Wildcats sport my favorite shade of purple in the game (not too light, and not too Vikings' blue-ish purple), a nice silver helmet, a simple yet effective logo, and a nice standard design with the shoulder and pants stripes.
#7 - Texas Longhorns - Big 12 Champions
As unique as Tennessee's orange is, Texas' burnt orange is even uniquer (that's a word, right?) Texas also wins bonus points for being even better dressed on the road.
#6 - Florida International Panthers - Sun Belt Champions
Didn't expect this one, did you? Of all the teams that have come up to FBS in the last couple of decades, FIU has the classiest uniforms, by far. The all-blue color is gorgeous, and nothing is out of place anywhere on the jersey or pants. They also boast the rare combination logo that works well.
#5 - Florida State Seminoles
My favorite touch on this set is the secondary Seminoles logo on the hip. The unique collar is a close second. Everything else works great on this classic red and gold look.
#4 - Alabama Crimson Tide
If not for the brilliance of the three teams ahead of it, Alabama would get my vote for the best uniform because of the unmatched combination of simplicity and classicness, highlighted by the numbered helmets. Alabama's refusal to compromise their classic design is perfectly reflected in their old codger of a coach Nick Saban, who would probably rather turn his team into a hurry-up attack than change one inch of the Tide's uniforms. And he isn't going to a hurry-up attack.
#3 - UCLA Bruins - Pac 12 Champions
UCLA has just about everything going for it in the uniform department. The script logo. The beautiful baby blue jersey. The relatively straightforward design of every part of the uniform. The only reason they aren't higher than #3 is a very nit-picky reason (there's going to be nits to pick at this point of the rankings): Their uniform doesn't translate very well on the road. UCLA and USC do get bonus points for both wearing home uniforms when they play each other.
#2 - Ole Miss Rebels - SEC Champions
Not only are helmets with script lettering great, but when they're paired with an old-timey name like Ole Miss and displayed in blue and red, they're extremely appropriate. The red jerseys are a step down from the blue ones, but still fit the aesthetic well. Probably the most impressive accomplishment of these uniforms is that they make grey pants work well, which is not easy.
#1 - Clemson Tigers - ACC and National Champions
I imagine that many who read this will disagree with my selection of Clemson for the top spot. I would guess that the most common reason would be a dislike of orange. I think we could at least agree that if we accept the prior condition of me liking orange uniforms a lot, then it would stand to reason that I would put Clemson at the top of the list.
Of all the great shades of orange in college football, Clemson orange is one of the most straightforward and perhaps the best. I prefer white pants over the all orange look, but you can't go wrong with either. Furthermore, when you combine that orange with one of the best logos in the game, you get the best helmet.
Of course, you don't just get the orange with Clemson, you also get the Regalia. Regalia is dangerously close to the Vikings purple that I abhor, but it stays just far away enough from the blue end of the spectrum to work well. I can see how even orange-lovers might not like the combination of colors, but I think it works quite well, mostly because of it's audacity.
Up next: Probably something other than college football uniforms.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
CFB Uniform Countdown: #50-26
This weekend, I had a lovely time in South Bend watching the Irish defeat Stanford in a thrilling battle. During that time, Mr. Brian Tracy asked me why I am doing this particular series of posts. My response was "boredom," but I'd like to amend that. It's actually a Walter White-ian "because I can." Now, on with the show:
#50 - Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
My video game team won't win any awards for prettiest uniform, but I like the combination of basic primary colors here. I like to call uniforms like this "marker" uniforms because they use the basic colors you get from a set of kid's markers. The helmet logo is also incredibly snappy, simple, and unique (not many other teams have the shape of their state on their helmet). Finally, I love those shoulder stripes. I can't get enough of that.
#49 - Houston Cougars
Nothing spectacular here, other than a redesigned helmet that I really like, both for the color and the design. The jersey and pants are standard issue.
#48 - Michigan Wolverines
Yes, the helmet is iconic, and Michigan gets a lot of points for that (even though it looks a little odd). What they lose points for are some weird alternates (also these), and a lack of anything else exciting. Yes, I'm probably a little biased (or a lot biased), but even so, I don't think I'm underranking them that much.
#47 - Tulsa Golden Hurricanes
On one hand, the script helmet is great and I love the blue-gold combination. On the other hand, they have a few weird things going on there, mainly with the numbering and the pants stripe. However their largest downgrade comes from this terrible alternate they've apparently worn multiple times. On the whole, it's not the worst attire, but the helmet is such a downgrade from the norm that I have no problem calling it terrible.
#46 - Oregon Ducks
Many people hate them. Many recruits love them. While they're not going to win any awards for taste or beauty, I do appreciate the unique strain of aesthetics that Nike U's uniforms represent. First, they're forming an identity through their uniforms in a truly novel way. Secondly, and more sneakily, they're able to get rid of the true misfires quickly, since they never wear the same thing twice. While I personally prefer their old uniforms (mostly for the helmet and not for the weird black jersey), I respect what they do now.
#45 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish
If this ranking was just for ND's regular uniforms, then it would likely be 10-20 spots higher. However, these rankings take into account the bizarre things that we choose to do. Yes, sometimes the alternates hit the mark, but a team as steeped in tradition as Notre Dame probably shouldn't mess too much with what works.
#44 - LSU Tigers
I'm not a fan of the cluttered helmet, but LSU gets points for keeping everything else simple and for being the only team to wear white at home (except for their one-off games).
#43 - Oregon State Beavers
I usually don't like "modern" fonts, but the one they use for their numbering actually works pretty well as a subtle alternative to their in-state rivals. Pair that with a great helmet, and you have a pretty nice outfit.
#42 - Wake Forest Demon Deacons
I'm starting to feel like a bit of a broken record, but here's another team with a great helmet and a mediocre jersey. The helmet has the perfect mix of simplicity and subtle flair with the font, while highlighting the contrast between their colors. The jersey is pretty forgettable, and they fall victim to the thin striping trend.
#41 - Iowa Hawkeyes
My favorite touch on these classic uniforms is the black collar with the Hawkeye logo. A lot of teams place the logo further down, right above the number, and it often looks out of place. This small difference makes the whole jersey stronger.
#40 - Louisiana Monroe Warhawks
This is another good example of how keeping it simple can be the way to go. The trim on the side of the jerseys isn't the best, but it doesn't hurt too much given that that is their only misstep. The angles of the jersey font and the helmet logo compliment each other well and leads me to believe that there was some thought put into this design.
#39 - Pittsburgh Panthers - Big East Champs
The first "conference champion" of the list is Pitt, which means the Big East comes in last, especially since Pitt is leaving after this year (although they have a few future members in the top 25). I'm not a big fan of the helmet, but everything else is great, especially the color combination.
#38 - Miami (Florida) Hurricanes
The U is known for its swagger (both good and bad), and these uniforms do a good job of representing that without being too gawdy. This isn't my favorite shade of orange, but it's kept under control with the nice green trim and a classy helmet. I liked the green jersey a little better, but they don't appear to wear it anymore.
#37 - San Jose State Spartans
Three of the four Greek teams in FBS (USC, Michigan State, and SJSU) have helmets with a warrior on it. In my opinion, SJSU's is the sharpest, and the clever spear/stripe helps make these truly great helmets. The rest of the uniform is great as well, as they recently got rid of the striping. Of course, regardless of what their current uniforms are, pretty much anything would be a major upgrade over these.
#36 - Northwestern Wildcats
I'm too big a fan of the logo and the Wildcats' particular shade of purple to downgrade them too much for the black stripe across the jersey. The road jersey is actually a bit sharper because of how pronounced the numbering is.
#35 - Wisconsin Badgers
Much like Northwestern, you could probably make an argument against the slightly-goofy helmet logo. However, both of these logos have lasted a long time, and fit well with the uniform as a whole. Everything else on the Badgers uniform is simple and well done. Red is one of those colors that can work well on its own.
#34 - Stanford Cardinal
Similar to Wisconsin, except darker, even simpler, and more classic. As I've seen the roadies live a few times now, I know how well those can play off of others' garb (most notably blue). This isn't a bad alternate (this either), but it isn't really necessary. Now that we're getting to this point in the list, even decent alternates can get you downgraded a bit.
#33 - Fresno State Bulldogs
This is a modern redesign that works well because it sticks to a few simple items of flair, and keeps the focus on the primary red color. I especially like how the silver trim on the numbering makes it pop, which elevates the jersey from fine to great. I've always loved the secondary V logo on the back of the helmet as well. It's a great way to subtly represent the region.
#32 - Kansas Jayhawks
I would probably choose to go without the Jayhawk on the jersey, but you probably do have to put in on the uniform somewhere, and it's better there than on the helmet. The red trim on all the logos and numbering is a nice theme that manages to incorporate red without losing focus on the main blue color. At least Charlie's team has one thing right.
#31 - Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders
Blue and silver will never get old. When executed as well as this, it gets a spot near the top of my rankings. The so-so logo (with an awkward horse) is probably the only thing holding this set back from the top 25.
#30 - UTSA Roadrunners
UTSA is the tops of all the new schools by a pretty good margin. The main reason is their well-executed helmet. I normally decry combination logos, but this one balances the mascot and the name equally while not overcrowding the helmet.
#29 - Bowling Green Falcons - MAC Champions
There's a few problems here (most notably the text on the jersey). However, I like the shade of orange, and the overall level of simplicity. The old helmets were a bit better because of their 70s charm, but everything else is better now, so the upgrade is probably a net positive.
#28 - Utah State Aggies - WAC Champions
This is a snappy upgrade for a team that might actually win the WAC in real life. I don't normally like matte helmets, but dark colors such as the Aggies blue work best with that fad. That would make USU the Dos Equis of uniforms, if only I were more interesting.
#27 - Nebraska Cornhuskers
I can't be truly objective about Nebraska, but I think this is about where they belong. Their uniforms are a good balance of simplicity and old-school sensibility with the plain N helmets being the obvious highlight. Yes, the alternates are bad, but whatever points they lose for those are made up for by the relatively quick decision to get rid of this redesign. Also, I do miss last year's kinda funny double patches.
#26 - Virginia Tech Hokies
Virginia Tech is this high on the list mainly because they manage to pull off such an audacious combination of colors. Those really shouldn't work together, but they do. Having such a beautifully simple logo doesn't hurt, either. I also like the reversed jersey, but not quite as much. They've had a mixed record with alternate uniforms, but some of them work really well, including a rare subtle example of camo.
Up next: #25-1, which featues a stunning number of Sun Belt teams.
#50 - Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
My video game team won't win any awards for prettiest uniform, but I like the combination of basic primary colors here. I like to call uniforms like this "marker" uniforms because they use the basic colors you get from a set of kid's markers. The helmet logo is also incredibly snappy, simple, and unique (not many other teams have the shape of their state on their helmet). Finally, I love those shoulder stripes. I can't get enough of that.
#49 - Houston Cougars
Nothing spectacular here, other than a redesigned helmet that I really like, both for the color and the design. The jersey and pants are standard issue.
#48 - Michigan Wolverines
Yes, the helmet is iconic, and Michigan gets a lot of points for that (even though it looks a little odd). What they lose points for are some weird alternates (also these), and a lack of anything else exciting. Yes, I'm probably a little biased (or a lot biased), but even so, I don't think I'm underranking them that much.
#47 - Tulsa Golden Hurricanes
On one hand, the script helmet is great and I love the blue-gold combination. On the other hand, they have a few weird things going on there, mainly with the numbering and the pants stripe. However their largest downgrade comes from this terrible alternate they've apparently worn multiple times. On the whole, it's not the worst attire, but the helmet is such a downgrade from the norm that I have no problem calling it terrible.
#46 - Oregon Ducks
Many people hate them. Many recruits love them. While they're not going to win any awards for taste or beauty, I do appreciate the unique strain of aesthetics that Nike U's uniforms represent. First, they're forming an identity through their uniforms in a truly novel way. Secondly, and more sneakily, they're able to get rid of the true misfires quickly, since they never wear the same thing twice. While I personally prefer their old uniforms (mostly for the helmet and not for the weird black jersey), I respect what they do now.
#45 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish
If this ranking was just for ND's regular uniforms, then it would likely be 10-20 spots higher. However, these rankings take into account the bizarre things that we choose to do. Yes, sometimes the alternates hit the mark, but a team as steeped in tradition as Notre Dame probably shouldn't mess too much with what works.
#44 - LSU Tigers
I'm not a fan of the cluttered helmet, but LSU gets points for keeping everything else simple and for being the only team to wear white at home (except for their one-off games).
#43 - Oregon State Beavers
I usually don't like "modern" fonts, but the one they use for their numbering actually works pretty well as a subtle alternative to their in-state rivals. Pair that with a great helmet, and you have a pretty nice outfit.
#42 - Wake Forest Demon Deacons
I'm starting to feel like a bit of a broken record, but here's another team with a great helmet and a mediocre jersey. The helmet has the perfect mix of simplicity and subtle flair with the font, while highlighting the contrast between their colors. The jersey is pretty forgettable, and they fall victim to the thin striping trend.
#41 - Iowa Hawkeyes
My favorite touch on these classic uniforms is the black collar with the Hawkeye logo. A lot of teams place the logo further down, right above the number, and it often looks out of place. This small difference makes the whole jersey stronger.
#40 - Louisiana Monroe Warhawks
This is another good example of how keeping it simple can be the way to go. The trim on the side of the jerseys isn't the best, but it doesn't hurt too much given that that is their only misstep. The angles of the jersey font and the helmet logo compliment each other well and leads me to believe that there was some thought put into this design.
#39 - Pittsburgh Panthers - Big East Champs
The first "conference champion" of the list is Pitt, which means the Big East comes in last, especially since Pitt is leaving after this year (although they have a few future members in the top 25). I'm not a big fan of the helmet, but everything else is great, especially the color combination.
#38 - Miami (Florida) Hurricanes
The U is known for its swagger (both good and bad), and these uniforms do a good job of representing that without being too gawdy. This isn't my favorite shade of orange, but it's kept under control with the nice green trim and a classy helmet. I liked the green jersey a little better, but they don't appear to wear it anymore.
#37 - San Jose State Spartans
Three of the four Greek teams in FBS (USC, Michigan State, and SJSU) have helmets with a warrior on it. In my opinion, SJSU's is the sharpest, and the clever spear/stripe helps make these truly great helmets. The rest of the uniform is great as well, as they recently got rid of the striping. Of course, regardless of what their current uniforms are, pretty much anything would be a major upgrade over these.
#36 - Northwestern Wildcats
I'm too big a fan of the logo and the Wildcats' particular shade of purple to downgrade them too much for the black stripe across the jersey. The road jersey is actually a bit sharper because of how pronounced the numbering is.
#35 - Wisconsin Badgers
Much like Northwestern, you could probably make an argument against the slightly-goofy helmet logo. However, both of these logos have lasted a long time, and fit well with the uniform as a whole. Everything else on the Badgers uniform is simple and well done. Red is one of those colors that can work well on its own.
#34 - Stanford Cardinal
Similar to Wisconsin, except darker, even simpler, and more classic. As I've seen the roadies live a few times now, I know how well those can play off of others' garb (most notably blue). This isn't a bad alternate (this either), but it isn't really necessary. Now that we're getting to this point in the list, even decent alternates can get you downgraded a bit.
#33 - Fresno State Bulldogs
This is a modern redesign that works well because it sticks to a few simple items of flair, and keeps the focus on the primary red color. I especially like how the silver trim on the numbering makes it pop, which elevates the jersey from fine to great. I've always loved the secondary V logo on the back of the helmet as well. It's a great way to subtly represent the region.
#32 - Kansas Jayhawks
I would probably choose to go without the Jayhawk on the jersey, but you probably do have to put in on the uniform somewhere, and it's better there than on the helmet. The red trim on all the logos and numbering is a nice theme that manages to incorporate red without losing focus on the main blue color. At least Charlie's team has one thing right.
#31 - Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders
Blue and silver will never get old. When executed as well as this, it gets a spot near the top of my rankings. The so-so logo (with an awkward horse) is probably the only thing holding this set back from the top 25.
#30 - UTSA Roadrunners
UTSA is the tops of all the new schools by a pretty good margin. The main reason is their well-executed helmet. I normally decry combination logos, but this one balances the mascot and the name equally while not overcrowding the helmet.
#29 - Bowling Green Falcons - MAC Champions
There's a few problems here (most notably the text on the jersey). However, I like the shade of orange, and the overall level of simplicity. The old helmets were a bit better because of their 70s charm, but everything else is better now, so the upgrade is probably a net positive.
#28 - Utah State Aggies - WAC Champions
This is a snappy upgrade for a team that might actually win the WAC in real life. I don't normally like matte helmets, but dark colors such as the Aggies blue work best with that fad. That would make USU the Dos Equis of uniforms, if only I were more interesting.
#27 - Nebraska Cornhuskers
I can't be truly objective about Nebraska, but I think this is about where they belong. Their uniforms are a good balance of simplicity and old-school sensibility with the plain N helmets being the obvious highlight. Yes, the alternates are bad, but whatever points they lose for those are made up for by the relatively quick decision to get rid of this redesign. Also, I do miss last year's kinda funny double patches.
#26 - Virginia Tech Hokies
Virginia Tech is this high on the list mainly because they manage to pull off such an audacious combination of colors. Those really shouldn't work together, but they do. Having such a beautifully simple logo doesn't hurt, either. I also like the reversed jersey, but not quite as much. They've had a mixed record with alternate uniforms, but some of them work really well, including a rare subtle example of camo.
Up next: #25-1, which featues a stunning number of Sun Belt teams.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
CFB Uniform Countdown: #75-51
I promised more semi-witty commentary on football uniforms. Here it is.
#75 - SMU Mustangs
These are pretty solid uniforms other than the giant stripes on the shoulders. The pony logo is nice and the rest of the uniform is free of frills.
#74 - UTEP Miners
This is probably the toughest single call on my list, due to an equal amount of positives and negatives. I really like their shade of orange, but there's just a bit too much of it. Another obvious negative is the wording down the pants. The blue shoulders and simple font and number do make for a nice jersey, though. I'm mixed on the logo; while the pickax is a nice touch that ties into the mascot well, it's almost a little too cutesy.
#73 - Washington State Cougars
I'm a bigger fan of their older uniforms, and an even bigger fan of their older older uniforms, but the new design is still pretty good. The main detraction is yet another set of gloomy grey helmets.
#72 - South Florida Bulls
So, that's a lot of green. The gold helmets add a bit of balance, but it's such a weird gold that I'm not sure I like it. Then, there's white helmets because, why not? As odd as the back and forth between the different uniforms is, I like that they keep the design of the helmet the same throughout. The nice, simple bull logo helps to provide their identity through all of the variations.
#71 - Georgia Bulldogs
A solid, but not spectacular set of uniforms. They get a bit of a downgrade, because anytime they try alternates, they turn out poorly.
#70 - Kent State Golden Flashes
Nothing much to complain about here, either. A nifty little logo is offset by the infernal striping on the jerseys.
#69 - BYU Cougars
And, this completes our triumvirate of average uniforms. I promise that my critiques will get more exicitng soon. As for BYU, the oval logo is a little odd, but fits well with the rest of the uniform.
#68 - Texas State Bobcats
This is the lowest of the 4 teams that are new to FBS, so they all managed to avoid the bottom 50. I guess they're all trying to fit in by not rocking the boat too hard with crazy designs. Texas State definitely manages to avoid rocking the boat by having one of the most generic uniforms out there. They look like something you could easily create in a video game. That said, there's nothing really wrong with them, so they end up here.
#67 - Michigan State Spartans
A classic look, but a little bit of a boring look because of the lack of any other colors besides green for contrast. These alternates were OK, if only for the gold numbering.
#66 - Vanderbilt Commodores
More striping and more boring black uniforms. However, I do like the simple, yet elegant helmet logo a lot, whether it's on gold, black, or white.
#65 - UCF Knights
Similar to Vandy, you'll see UCF wear differing amounts of black, gold, and white throughout the year. I like the sharpness of the helmet logo, but they didn't really need to repeat it on the jersey, as the diagonal flow doesn't look good there.
#64 - Marshall Thundering Herd
This is a pretty solid set of uniforms, with the best part being a sharp helmet. This is one of the highest-rated teams that features green. I don't even dislike green uniforms; I just don't think that most college football teams use green well.
#63 - Massachusetts Minutemen
Much like fellow new team Texas State, these uniforms are both pretty sharp and pretty generic. A very appropriate description for the team smack dab in the middle of the list.
#62 - Colorado Buffaloes
I like how straightforward the design and the jersey font are. The one detraction is that the helmet doesn't pop at all. When you have a giant mascot like Ralphie, a nondescript little buffalo on the helmet doesn't really do it justice.
#61 - Army Black Knights
I'm torn between really liking these for their simplicity, and thinking that it's disappointing that our Army has relatively drab uniforms. Of course, when I see these, I gain a litle more appreciation for their regular garb.
#60 - South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina's uniforms fall in the category of gloriously, triumphantly ugly. Their maroon is not the most attractive shade of maroon, and the helmet logo is kind of a mess, but it all works fairly well together. Their occasional venture into alternate-land isn't great, but at least they don't go there often.
#59 - Ohio State Buckeyes
These are basically Georgia's uniforms, but with bonus points for having a silver helmet. Their alternates usually stay within the bounds of taste, so there's no major deductions there.
#58 - Western Michigan Broncos
Their regular uniforms are pretty good, but the story here is that they have wacky alternates that I actually like. The reason I like them is that they limit the wackiness to the helmet, which actually goes pretty well with the solid black jerseys.
#57 - South Alabama Jaguars
Here's another new team with a solid uniform. The white helmet with a largely white logo is a little weak, but they do compliment it with a nice, simple road jersey (in spite of the striping).
#56 - Northern Illinois Huskies
That's a snappy helmet logo paired with a relatively plain black uniform. I could definitely do without the weirdly-shaped stripe on the side of the jersey. I prefer the red alternates, since they reduce the black monotony of their regular outfit.
#55 - Oklahoma Sooners
Simple and classic. I especially love the plainess of the jersey font and numbering. Yet I can't put them higher than this because there isn't much else to gush about. Plus, the logo isn't very inspiring in it's plainness.
#54 - Baylor Bears
The gold helmet is what holds them up this high on the list. The softer font and greater separation between the B and U makes for a significantly better logo than Oklahoma. Set against the soft gold color, it's just a winning piece of headgear. Of course, when they go with the white helmet, or worse those garish green matte ones, they lose major points. The one alternate I'm a big fan of is the black one, which benefits from the classy green numbers.
#53 - Washington Huskies
A nice shade of purple is complimented by a sharp helmet. The black alternates work well, once again because they remembered to use the numbers for contrast (this time they're purple).
#52 - West Virginia Mountaineers
I really like the Mountaineers' logo because it looks like it came straight out of the seventies (it was actually designed in 1980....so close). Everything else they do is pretty standard fare. The grey alternates seem like kind of thing I would hate, but they work fairly well on them. The grey is a little darker than most of the ones I've been complaining about, and they don't really do anything else different with the trim and such.
#51 - TCU Horned Frogs
When they stick with the above uniforms, TCU might have my favorite purple uniforms in football. However, they've been doing so many weird things lately that I have to drop them (The worst offender has to be those numbers in the first link).
Up next: #50-26, where I'll finally get to Oregon, some "conference champions," and a certain alma mater of mine.
#75 - SMU Mustangs
These are pretty solid uniforms other than the giant stripes on the shoulders. The pony logo is nice and the rest of the uniform is free of frills.
#74 - UTEP Miners
This is probably the toughest single call on my list, due to an equal amount of positives and negatives. I really like their shade of orange, but there's just a bit too much of it. Another obvious negative is the wording down the pants. The blue shoulders and simple font and number do make for a nice jersey, though. I'm mixed on the logo; while the pickax is a nice touch that ties into the mascot well, it's almost a little too cutesy.
#73 - Washington State Cougars
I'm a bigger fan of their older uniforms, and an even bigger fan of their older older uniforms, but the new design is still pretty good. The main detraction is yet another set of gloomy grey helmets.
#72 - South Florida Bulls
So, that's a lot of green. The gold helmets add a bit of balance, but it's such a weird gold that I'm not sure I like it. Then, there's white helmets because, why not? As odd as the back and forth between the different uniforms is, I like that they keep the design of the helmet the same throughout. The nice, simple bull logo helps to provide their identity through all of the variations.
#71 - Georgia Bulldogs
A solid, but not spectacular set of uniforms. They get a bit of a downgrade, because anytime they try alternates, they turn out poorly.
#70 - Kent State Golden Flashes
Nothing much to complain about here, either. A nifty little logo is offset by the infernal striping on the jerseys.
#69 - BYU Cougars
And, this completes our triumvirate of average uniforms. I promise that my critiques will get more exicitng soon. As for BYU, the oval logo is a little odd, but fits well with the rest of the uniform.
#68 - Texas State Bobcats
This is the lowest of the 4 teams that are new to FBS, so they all managed to avoid the bottom 50. I guess they're all trying to fit in by not rocking the boat too hard with crazy designs. Texas State definitely manages to avoid rocking the boat by having one of the most generic uniforms out there. They look like something you could easily create in a video game. That said, there's nothing really wrong with them, so they end up here.
#67 - Michigan State Spartans
A classic look, but a little bit of a boring look because of the lack of any other colors besides green for contrast. These alternates were OK, if only for the gold numbering.
#66 - Vanderbilt Commodores
More striping and more boring black uniforms. However, I do like the simple, yet elegant helmet logo a lot, whether it's on gold, black, or white.
#65 - UCF Knights
Similar to Vandy, you'll see UCF wear differing amounts of black, gold, and white throughout the year. I like the sharpness of the helmet logo, but they didn't really need to repeat it on the jersey, as the diagonal flow doesn't look good there.
#64 - Marshall Thundering Herd
This is a pretty solid set of uniforms, with the best part being a sharp helmet. This is one of the highest-rated teams that features green. I don't even dislike green uniforms; I just don't think that most college football teams use green well.
#63 - Massachusetts Minutemen
Much like fellow new team Texas State, these uniforms are both pretty sharp and pretty generic. A very appropriate description for the team smack dab in the middle of the list.
#62 - Colorado Buffaloes
I like how straightforward the design and the jersey font are. The one detraction is that the helmet doesn't pop at all. When you have a giant mascot like Ralphie, a nondescript little buffalo on the helmet doesn't really do it justice.
#61 - Army Black Knights
I'm torn between really liking these for their simplicity, and thinking that it's disappointing that our Army has relatively drab uniforms. Of course, when I see these, I gain a litle more appreciation for their regular garb.
#60 - South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina's uniforms fall in the category of gloriously, triumphantly ugly. Their maroon is not the most attractive shade of maroon, and the helmet logo is kind of a mess, but it all works fairly well together. Their occasional venture into alternate-land isn't great, but at least they don't go there often.
#59 - Ohio State Buckeyes
These are basically Georgia's uniforms, but with bonus points for having a silver helmet. Their alternates usually stay within the bounds of taste, so there's no major deductions there.
#58 - Western Michigan Broncos
Their regular uniforms are pretty good, but the story here is that they have wacky alternates that I actually like. The reason I like them is that they limit the wackiness to the helmet, which actually goes pretty well with the solid black jerseys.
#57 - South Alabama Jaguars
Here's another new team with a solid uniform. The white helmet with a largely white logo is a little weak, but they do compliment it with a nice, simple road jersey (in spite of the striping).
#56 - Northern Illinois Huskies
That's a snappy helmet logo paired with a relatively plain black uniform. I could definitely do without the weirdly-shaped stripe on the side of the jersey. I prefer the red alternates, since they reduce the black monotony of their regular outfit.
#55 - Oklahoma Sooners
Simple and classic. I especially love the plainess of the jersey font and numbering. Yet I can't put them higher than this because there isn't much else to gush about. Plus, the logo isn't very inspiring in it's plainness.
#54 - Baylor Bears
The gold helmet is what holds them up this high on the list. The softer font and greater separation between the B and U makes for a significantly better logo than Oklahoma. Set against the soft gold color, it's just a winning piece of headgear. Of course, when they go with the white helmet, or worse those garish green matte ones, they lose major points. The one alternate I'm a big fan of is the black one, which benefits from the classy green numbers.
#53 - Washington Huskies
A nice shade of purple is complimented by a sharp helmet. The black alternates work well, once again because they remembered to use the numbers for contrast (this time they're purple).
#52 - West Virginia Mountaineers
I really like the Mountaineers' logo because it looks like it came straight out of the seventies (it was actually designed in 1980....so close). Everything else they do is pretty standard fare. The grey alternates seem like kind of thing I would hate, but they work fairly well on them. The grey is a little darker than most of the ones I've been complaining about, and they don't really do anything else different with the trim and such.
#51 - TCU Horned Frogs
When they stick with the above uniforms, TCU might have my favorite purple uniforms in football. However, they've been doing so many weird things lately that I have to drop them (The worst offender has to be those numbers in the first link).
Up next: #50-26, where I'll finally get to Oregon, some "conference champions," and a certain alma mater of mine.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
CFB Uniform Countdown: #100-76
I recently began a semi-audacious project to rank all FBS uniforms, and this is the continuation of said project. With the formalities out of the way, here we go:
#100 - Miami Redhawks
This section of the list starts out with a pretty boring entry. There's nothing special about the M logo, so I don't like seeing it repeated on the jersey, and then again on the pants. The medium-sized stripes are a little odd, too.
#99 - Air Force Falcons
I've never been a big fan of the lightning bolts everywhere, but these uniforms aren't the worst. These, on the other hand, are.
#98 - Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Once again, we have a perfectly fine set of regular uniforms with some terrible alternates. I actually prefer these alternates because they're at least trying something a little exciting. The faded shoulder look is something I actually like, although I could easily see it being overdone in the future.
#97 - North Texas Mean Green
There's nothing particularly remarkable here. The shade of green they use has potential, but they don't give it a chance to play off of anything else (a little black trim could work nicely). Also, they fall victim to that weird swoosh-y leg stripe that's struck other teams as well.
#96 - East Carolina Pirates
As far as purple goes, I'm a pretty big fan of East Carolina's shade. I just don't like that helmet logo at all. It's a little too cartoony (it almost make Bruce look tough by comparison), although I must get the number of that pirate's dentist. The old ones weren't great either, but they were better.
#95 - Utah Utes
We're firmly entrenched in the part of the list where a lot of the teams are just blah. No real positive or negative comments here; just a forgettable uniform.
#94 - Syracuse Orange
I'm normally a big fan of orange uniforms, but these miss the mark for me. First, the S helmet isn't great. I preferred the blank helmet look of yesteryear. Second, Syracuse's shade of orange is a little too neon for my taste.
#93 - North Carolina Tar Heels
When it comes to sports, North Carolina is first and foremost a basketball school (well, women's soccer is probably actually first). Thus, it makes sense that a classic basketball uniform fails to make the translation to football. Much like North Texas's green, UNC's blue doesn't get to play off of much else, and thus fades into the background.
#92 - UConn Huskies
Once again, snappy basketball uniforms just don't translate. One of the bug culprits here is a poor helmet logo, which the basketball team doesn't have to worry about. I also wouldn't mind the sharp "UConn" name across the jersey in football as well.
#91 - Wyoming Cowboys
I give Wyoming credit for trying the yellow and brown combination. However, it just doesn't work that well, in part because of the white helmets. And then there are these. I think camo loses it's point when it's the part of the uniform that sticks out the most. Also, the "WYO" is terrible. Some team names can be shortened without looking ridiculous, but Wyoming is not one of them.
#90 - Ohio Bobcats
Another matte helmet with a boring logo. And of course there's a black alternate, because you just can't miss out on that sweet, sweet Ohio Bobcat jersey sales revenue.
#89 - Purdue Boilermakers
I have never liked the elongated P on their helmets, and now I finally have a forum to vent this displeasure. I'm glad to finally get that off of my chest.
#88 - Idaho Vandals
Once again, there's nothing remarkable here. I'm rarely one to decry script logos, but the combination with the block I is just a little weird. Everything else is forgettable, partially because it is Idaho.
#87 - Toledo Rockets
There's just too many different things going on here. There's this. And this. And this. I'm not exactly sure what they're going for with so many uniform changes. They don't have the clout or creativity of Oregon, so all they're really accomplishing is creating confusing among casual MACtion fans, of which there are dozens.
#86 - Akron Zips
An example of the hard work I do for this blog: I had to sort through a lot of pictures of fat Terry Bowden to find a good Akron photo. It was not pleasant. Also not pleasant: The giant swath of white space on the side of Akron's jerseys.
#85 - Southern Miss Golden Eagles
All it takes to drop to 85th on my list is an odd helmet logo and more thin striping. A sharp color combination is wasted on pretty standard fare.
#84 - Boston College Eagles
These are probably the least inspiring uniforms in all of football, but there's nothing offensive about them, so this is a good place for BC. I would consider this the mean rating, and thus you can consider BC the Coldplay of uniforms.
#83 - Duke Blue Devils
A snappy jersey is done in by a so-so logo. Also, we've got another unnecessary black alternate, which looks particularly silly with the blue stripe. Of course, they've one-upped that by wearing blue pants with the black jersey. Gross.
#82 - Buffalo Bulls
They're basically a blue Houston (pretty similar logo), which isn't all that bad, but also isn't all that original. Of course, they get downgrade for a poor choice in black pants, which they made even poorer with the team name down the side.
#81 - Memphis Tigers
I think they pull off the helmet logo pretty well, which is impressive given that integrating a tiger and an M can be difficult (believe me, I've tried). However, there is the issue of the team name on the side of the pants, which will always get you a downgrade in my book.
#80 - Texas A&M Aggies
The Aggies had a pretty classic uniform, but then they went and added a matte helmet and that weird grey shading in the numbers. Not to mention it still says "ATM" on their helmets.
#79 - Kentucky Wildcats
That's a pretty sharp uniform in spite of the checkerboad trim, which you barely notice anyway. The all blue design really captures the spirit of the basketball team, which can only be a good thing. Of course, they've also fallen victim to the black alternate, so this is as high as they get.
#78 - New Mexico Lobos
As silver helmets slowly get phased out by dull gray ones, I grow ever more appreciative of New Mexico's. The rest of the uniform is pretty standard fare, although I do like the slightly slanted font.
#77 - Mississippi State Bulldogs
I like the sharpness and relative simpleness of the helmet logo, but writing the whole name of the school on the chest is a little much. There's also a big ole white stripe everywhere which sticks out poorly.
#76 - Colorado State Rams
If college football was an eye chart, then the jersey text from the Rams' uniforms would be the bottom line.
Up next: Numbers 75-51, where the black alternates actually become desirable! Also, there's like half of the Big 12.
#100 - Miami Redhawks
This section of the list starts out with a pretty boring entry. There's nothing special about the M logo, so I don't like seeing it repeated on the jersey, and then again on the pants. The medium-sized stripes are a little odd, too.
#99 - Air Force Falcons
I've never been a big fan of the lightning bolts everywhere, but these uniforms aren't the worst. These, on the other hand, are.
#98 - Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Once again, we have a perfectly fine set of regular uniforms with some terrible alternates. I actually prefer these alternates because they're at least trying something a little exciting. The faded shoulder look is something I actually like, although I could easily see it being overdone in the future.
#97 - North Texas Mean Green
There's nothing particularly remarkable here. The shade of green they use has potential, but they don't give it a chance to play off of anything else (a little black trim could work nicely). Also, they fall victim to that weird swoosh-y leg stripe that's struck other teams as well.
#96 - East Carolina Pirates
As far as purple goes, I'm a pretty big fan of East Carolina's shade. I just don't like that helmet logo at all. It's a little too cartoony (it almost make Bruce look tough by comparison), although I must get the number of that pirate's dentist. The old ones weren't great either, but they were better.
#95 - Utah Utes
We're firmly entrenched in the part of the list where a lot of the teams are just blah. No real positive or negative comments here; just a forgettable uniform.
#94 - Syracuse Orange
I'm normally a big fan of orange uniforms, but these miss the mark for me. First, the S helmet isn't great. I preferred the blank helmet look of yesteryear. Second, Syracuse's shade of orange is a little too neon for my taste.
#93 - North Carolina Tar Heels
When it comes to sports, North Carolina is first and foremost a basketball school (well, women's soccer is probably actually first). Thus, it makes sense that a classic basketball uniform fails to make the translation to football. Much like North Texas's green, UNC's blue doesn't get to play off of much else, and thus fades into the background.
#92 - UConn Huskies
Once again, snappy basketball uniforms just don't translate. One of the bug culprits here is a poor helmet logo, which the basketball team doesn't have to worry about. I also wouldn't mind the sharp "UConn" name across the jersey in football as well.
#91 - Wyoming Cowboys
I give Wyoming credit for trying the yellow and brown combination. However, it just doesn't work that well, in part because of the white helmets. And then there are these. I think camo loses it's point when it's the part of the uniform that sticks out the most. Also, the "WYO" is terrible. Some team names can be shortened without looking ridiculous, but Wyoming is not one of them.
#90 - Ohio Bobcats
Another matte helmet with a boring logo. And of course there's a black alternate, because you just can't miss out on that sweet, sweet Ohio Bobcat jersey sales revenue.
#89 - Purdue Boilermakers
I have never liked the elongated P on their helmets, and now I finally have a forum to vent this displeasure. I'm glad to finally get that off of my chest.
#88 - Idaho Vandals
Once again, there's nothing remarkable here. I'm rarely one to decry script logos, but the combination with the block I is just a little weird. Everything else is forgettable, partially because it is Idaho.
#87 - Toledo Rockets
There's just too many different things going on here. There's this. And this. And this. I'm not exactly sure what they're going for with so many uniform changes. They don't have the clout or creativity of Oregon, so all they're really accomplishing is creating confusing among casual MACtion fans, of which there are dozens.
#86 - Akron Zips
An example of the hard work I do for this blog: I had to sort through a lot of pictures of fat Terry Bowden to find a good Akron photo. It was not pleasant. Also not pleasant: The giant swath of white space on the side of Akron's jerseys.
#85 - Southern Miss Golden Eagles
All it takes to drop to 85th on my list is an odd helmet logo and more thin striping. A sharp color combination is wasted on pretty standard fare.
#84 - Boston College Eagles
These are probably the least inspiring uniforms in all of football, but there's nothing offensive about them, so this is a good place for BC. I would consider this the mean rating, and thus you can consider BC the Coldplay of uniforms.
#83 - Duke Blue Devils
A snappy jersey is done in by a so-so logo. Also, we've got another unnecessary black alternate, which looks particularly silly with the blue stripe. Of course, they've one-upped that by wearing blue pants with the black jersey. Gross.
#82 - Buffalo Bulls
They're basically a blue Houston (pretty similar logo), which isn't all that bad, but also isn't all that original. Of course, they get downgrade for a poor choice in black pants, which they made even poorer with the team name down the side.
#81 - Memphis Tigers
I think they pull off the helmet logo pretty well, which is impressive given that integrating a tiger and an M can be difficult (believe me, I've tried). However, there is the issue of the team name on the side of the pants, which will always get you a downgrade in my book.
#80 - Texas A&M Aggies
The Aggies had a pretty classic uniform, but then they went and added a matte helmet and that weird grey shading in the numbers. Not to mention it still says "ATM" on their helmets.
#79 - Kentucky Wildcats
That's a pretty sharp uniform in spite of the checkerboad trim, which you barely notice anyway. The all blue design really captures the spirit of the basketball team, which can only be a good thing. Of course, they've also fallen victim to the black alternate, so this is as high as they get.
#78 - New Mexico Lobos
As silver helmets slowly get phased out by dull gray ones, I grow ever more appreciative of New Mexico's. The rest of the uniform is pretty standard fare, although I do like the slightly slanted font.
#77 - Mississippi State Bulldogs
I like the sharpness and relative simpleness of the helmet logo, but writing the whole name of the school on the chest is a little much. There's also a big ole white stripe everywhere which sticks out poorly.
#76 - Colorado State Rams
If college football was an eye chart, then the jersey text from the Rams' uniforms would be the bottom line.
Up next: Numbers 75-51, where the black alternates actually become desirable! Also, there's like half of the Big 12.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
CFB Uniform Countdown: #124-101
Since I started this blog two years ago, I'd always had the idea of doing a countdown of NFL uniforms in order of their general aesthetic appeal. Due to my laziness and the worldwide leader stealing my totally novel idea of ranking things, I probably won't be doing that (One sentence column: my top three would be Colts, 49ers, and Bucs, while the bottom three would all be the Vikings).
However, I had another idea a couple of weeks ago. I happened to be sitting around watching college football all day, and had the thought that maybe I could be a little more ambitious with my original idea. I watch much more of the college game, and play much more NCAA than Madden, so it only makes sense to talk about what I know (which, in this case, is clothes I guess). Of course, I don't get the chance to watch as many South Alabama games as I would like, but luckily, we live in the era of Google.
A couple of general guidelines for this completely subjective exercise:
1. I will mainly be judging on teams' normal home uniforms. I will attempt to be as up-to-date as possible with what teams are wearing, but I probably won't be perfect.
2. That being said, road and alternate uniforms will be considered. Most teams who try alternate uniforms have made a poor choice and will be downgraded accordingly.
3. Tradition will play a role in the ratings. If a school has had a uniform forever, then they'll probably get a few bonus points. There's still plenty of room for newcomers in the top part of the rankings, however.
That is all. Now to the fun part. Fun being a relative word since these are the worst uniforms.
#124 - Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
There are more garish uniforms in the game right now, but nothing subtly digs at me over the course of a game more than Georgia Tech's new monstrosities. Tech never had the most exciting uniforms, but the old ones were at least decent. Between the honeycomb tracing on the helmet and the raindrop-looking numbers it's hard to find a patch of their uniforms that is defensible.
#123 - Tulane Green Wave
There's nothing in the design department that's really wrong here, save for the white helmets that I'm not a big fan of. The biggest problem here is a simple matching scheme: Green and baby blue probably shouldn't go together....ever. You could probably pull it off in a wedding, but that looks ridiculous on a football uniform. Shaun King would not approve.
#122 - Central Michigan Chippewas
I've never been a fan of anything on those uniforms, whether it be the logo, colors, or the striping (I really hate thin striping, as you might notice throughout this series). But then they went and released these. There's a lot of terrible black alternates out there, but that one might take the cake.
#121 - Missouri Tigers
Missouri never had a particularly great wardrobe, but their new uniforms are a massive downgrade nonetheless. The black one is probably the best, but it's not exactly facing strong competition. The helmets are a mess, and some of the wacky trim (such as the font of the numbers) is really out of place in the SEC. Too bad their play thus far has been as bad as their clothes.
#120 - UAB Blazers
Everything below the neck is fine (except for the team name's weirdly gaunt font). The reason for such a low ranking rests entirely with the worst regular helmet in the game. The straight-across UAB leaves no room for the logo, which is almost a good thing since it's pretty ugly.
#119 - Minnesota Golden Gophers
I was never much of a fan of their color scheme, nor their weirdly slanted and small "M" logo. Now, they've gone to a matte helmet (my least favorite trend in helmetry), so they end up here.
#118 - Florida Gators
As this series goes on, you'll undoubtedly notice that I typically like orange. Florida's particular shade is one of the few exceptions. There's something weirdly red about it, and it doesn't really go well with the bright blue with which it is paired. The saving grace is the script lettering on the helmet, which will pretty much always get bonus points from me. Of course, a few years ago they went and had alternates where they got rid of that part. If they still had those, they might be even further down the list.
#117 - Lousiville Cardinals
Fair warning: The Big East is not well represented in this list. Louisville takes the bottom spot because they're basically the epitome of all the things wrong with modern uniforms. There's black trim that doesn't work too well, an ugly "modern" font on the jersey, and there's the mascot logo that looks just a little too angry.
#116 - Arkansas Razorbacks
Roughly half of the teams in the SEC have some variety of dark red/maroon, and Arkansas' is the least impresive. The "Razorbacks" down the side of the legs is silly, and the razorback logo is pretty uninspiring. Just blah.
#115 - Maryland Terrapins
While Arkansas may be blah, Maryland is anything but. Most people would probably rank the Terps lower, but I at least give them credit for trying to make use of the great Maryland flag. They could maybe take a lesson from the Ravens though, who use it in a way that isn't ridiculous.
#114 - Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State has rolled out a few different uniforms in the last couple of years. The orange and black duds aren't all that bad. However, they are responsible for the single worst helmet I've seen. The matte actually works OK with the black helmets, but it just looks like the essence of "gloomy, cloudy day" with the grey. Plus grey and orange is just a bizarre combination.
#113 - Ball State Cardinals
We're starting to enter the set of uniforms that are no longer spectacularly bad. Most of the next 20 or so suffer from trying to look too "modern." The black trim on the pants is a prime example of that. Plus, the helmet logo looks like a high school design project gone awry.
#112 - UNLV Rebels
More grey helmets. Boring logo. Odd choice with the double stripe on the arm. Instead of being ranked #112 for being garish (like you would expect something from Las Vegas to be), they get ranked here for lack of inspiration.
#111 - Cincinnati Bearcats
I appreciate the dedication to the bearcat theme, but both the logo and the little scratches on the leg don't look great. All-black uniforms are possible to pull off, but it's a delicate balance due to the over-saturation of such a design. You have to make them distinct, while avoiding the cutesy things that Cincinnati doesn't avoid.
#110 - Texas Tech Red Raiders
Similar failure as Cincinnati, except Tech is a spot higher for not having the scratches. Perfect example of why black uniforms can be boring, too.
#109 - Nex Mexico State Aggies
An oddly plain helmet font dooms the Aggies in my rankings. They also sport those random half-stripe things on their sleeves, much like Oklahoma State. At least they seem to have gotten rid of those terrible leg stripes this year.
#108 - Eastern Michigan Eagles
There's nothing offensive about these uniforms; they're just incredibly boring. There's just a big E on the helmets and nothing else to speak of. Hopefully the ugly alternates they rolled out for the Michigan State game don't become a regular thing. Even if they do, I don't plan on watching too many EMU games, so I guess it will all work out.
#107 - Arkansas State Red Wolves
Your nickname is the Red Wolves and you go with "stAte" as your logo? Come on!
#106 - Troy Trojans
Similarly, Troy has a randomly large J on their jersey. The helmets are OK, but there isn't much else to distinguish these uniforms. Hence, they end up here.
#105 - Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns
Sorry, Sun Belt (don't worry there'll be some pretty high rankings for other members). I don't want to punish the ULL uniforms for the sins of a terrible nickname, but you don't have to display it so distinctly and yet so plainly on your helmets. It just sticks out poorly. Add that weird Georgia Tech-y trim on the pants and the sleeves, and I'm not a big fan of what's going on here. They have a nice enough logo elsewhere. A good first step towards respectability would be putting in on the helmet.
#104 - Nevada Wolfpack
Decent shade of blue, but nothing else works that well. The white trim, overly-straight font, and monotone logo all fail to impress.
#103 - Hawaii Warriors
I've never liked the helmets that much, and the rest of the uniform is surprisingly boring for a team from Hawai'i that used to be called the Rainbow Warriors.
#102 - Temple Owls
The hollowed-out T on the helmet is odd, but passable. What I can't stand is the dotted line on the pants. The Big East continues to get pummeled here, but check out those Villanova uniforms in the background....those will be a good pickup.
#101 - Arizona State Sun Devils
I'm actually a big fan of their really dark maroon color, but I don't like this recent redesign. The ASU on the sleeves is kind of odd, and the logo is a little garish. The old uniforms aren't the prettiest in the world, but I like the whimsy of the old logo and the contrast of the colors is a little more pronounced.
Up Next: Numbers 100-76, which include some iconic basketball uniforms that just don't translate to football, as well as a glut of bad black alternates. Don't say you weren't warned.
However, I had another idea a couple of weeks ago. I happened to be sitting around watching college football all day, and had the thought that maybe I could be a little more ambitious with my original idea. I watch much more of the college game, and play much more NCAA than Madden, so it only makes sense to talk about what I know (which, in this case, is clothes I guess). Of course, I don't get the chance to watch as many South Alabama games as I would like, but luckily, we live in the era of Google.
A couple of general guidelines for this completely subjective exercise:
1. I will mainly be judging on teams' normal home uniforms. I will attempt to be as up-to-date as possible with what teams are wearing, but I probably won't be perfect.
2. That being said, road and alternate uniforms will be considered. Most teams who try alternate uniforms have made a poor choice and will be downgraded accordingly.
3. Tradition will play a role in the ratings. If a school has had a uniform forever, then they'll probably get a few bonus points. There's still plenty of room for newcomers in the top part of the rankings, however.
That is all. Now to the fun part. Fun being a relative word since these are the worst uniforms.
#124 - Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
There are more garish uniforms in the game right now, but nothing subtly digs at me over the course of a game more than Georgia Tech's new monstrosities. Tech never had the most exciting uniforms, but the old ones were at least decent. Between the honeycomb tracing on the helmet and the raindrop-looking numbers it's hard to find a patch of their uniforms that is defensible.
#123 - Tulane Green Wave
There's nothing in the design department that's really wrong here, save for the white helmets that I'm not a big fan of. The biggest problem here is a simple matching scheme: Green and baby blue probably shouldn't go together....ever. You could probably pull it off in a wedding, but that looks ridiculous on a football uniform. Shaun King would not approve.
#122 - Central Michigan Chippewas
I've never been a fan of anything on those uniforms, whether it be the logo, colors, or the striping (I really hate thin striping, as you might notice throughout this series). But then they went and released these. There's a lot of terrible black alternates out there, but that one might take the cake.
#121 - Missouri Tigers
Missouri never had a particularly great wardrobe, but their new uniforms are a massive downgrade nonetheless. The black one is probably the best, but it's not exactly facing strong competition. The helmets are a mess, and some of the wacky trim (such as the font of the numbers) is really out of place in the SEC. Too bad their play thus far has been as bad as their clothes.
#120 - UAB Blazers
Everything below the neck is fine (except for the team name's weirdly gaunt font). The reason for such a low ranking rests entirely with the worst regular helmet in the game. The straight-across UAB leaves no room for the logo, which is almost a good thing since it's pretty ugly.
#119 - Minnesota Golden Gophers
I was never much of a fan of their color scheme, nor their weirdly slanted and small "M" logo. Now, they've gone to a matte helmet (my least favorite trend in helmetry), so they end up here.
#118 - Florida Gators
As this series goes on, you'll undoubtedly notice that I typically like orange. Florida's particular shade is one of the few exceptions. There's something weirdly red about it, and it doesn't really go well with the bright blue with which it is paired. The saving grace is the script lettering on the helmet, which will pretty much always get bonus points from me. Of course, a few years ago they went and had alternates where they got rid of that part. If they still had those, they might be even further down the list.
#117 - Lousiville Cardinals
Fair warning: The Big East is not well represented in this list. Louisville takes the bottom spot because they're basically the epitome of all the things wrong with modern uniforms. There's black trim that doesn't work too well, an ugly "modern" font on the jersey, and there's the mascot logo that looks just a little too angry.
#116 - Arkansas Razorbacks
Roughly half of the teams in the SEC have some variety of dark red/maroon, and Arkansas' is the least impresive. The "Razorbacks" down the side of the legs is silly, and the razorback logo is pretty uninspiring. Just blah.
#115 - Maryland Terrapins
While Arkansas may be blah, Maryland is anything but. Most people would probably rank the Terps lower, but I at least give them credit for trying to make use of the great Maryland flag. They could maybe take a lesson from the Ravens though, who use it in a way that isn't ridiculous.
#114 - Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State has rolled out a few different uniforms in the last couple of years. The orange and black duds aren't all that bad. However, they are responsible for the single worst helmet I've seen. The matte actually works OK with the black helmets, but it just looks like the essence of "gloomy, cloudy day" with the grey. Plus grey and orange is just a bizarre combination.
#113 - Ball State Cardinals
We're starting to enter the set of uniforms that are no longer spectacularly bad. Most of the next 20 or so suffer from trying to look too "modern." The black trim on the pants is a prime example of that. Plus, the helmet logo looks like a high school design project gone awry.
#112 - UNLV Rebels
More grey helmets. Boring logo. Odd choice with the double stripe on the arm. Instead of being ranked #112 for being garish (like you would expect something from Las Vegas to be), they get ranked here for lack of inspiration.
#111 - Cincinnati Bearcats
I appreciate the dedication to the bearcat theme, but both the logo and the little scratches on the leg don't look great. All-black uniforms are possible to pull off, but it's a delicate balance due to the over-saturation of such a design. You have to make them distinct, while avoiding the cutesy things that Cincinnati doesn't avoid.
#110 - Texas Tech Red Raiders
Similar failure as Cincinnati, except Tech is a spot higher for not having the scratches. Perfect example of why black uniforms can be boring, too.
#109 - Nex Mexico State Aggies
An oddly plain helmet font dooms the Aggies in my rankings. They also sport those random half-stripe things on their sleeves, much like Oklahoma State. At least they seem to have gotten rid of those terrible leg stripes this year.
#108 - Eastern Michigan Eagles
There's nothing offensive about these uniforms; they're just incredibly boring. There's just a big E on the helmets and nothing else to speak of. Hopefully the ugly alternates they rolled out for the Michigan State game don't become a regular thing. Even if they do, I don't plan on watching too many EMU games, so I guess it will all work out.
#107 - Arkansas State Red Wolves
Your nickname is the Red Wolves and you go with "stAte" as your logo? Come on!
#106 - Troy Trojans
Similarly, Troy has a randomly large J on their jersey. The helmets are OK, but there isn't much else to distinguish these uniforms. Hence, they end up here.
#105 - Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns
Sorry, Sun Belt (don't worry there'll be some pretty high rankings for other members). I don't want to punish the ULL uniforms for the sins of a terrible nickname, but you don't have to display it so distinctly and yet so plainly on your helmets. It just sticks out poorly. Add that weird Georgia Tech-y trim on the pants and the sleeves, and I'm not a big fan of what's going on here. They have a nice enough logo elsewhere. A good first step towards respectability would be putting in on the helmet.
#104 - Nevada Wolfpack
Decent shade of blue, but nothing else works that well. The white trim, overly-straight font, and monotone logo all fail to impress.
#103 - Hawaii Warriors
I've never liked the helmets that much, and the rest of the uniform is surprisingly boring for a team from Hawai'i that used to be called the Rainbow Warriors.
#102 - Temple Owls
The hollowed-out T on the helmet is odd, but passable. What I can't stand is the dotted line on the pants. The Big East continues to get pummeled here, but check out those Villanova uniforms in the background....those will be a good pickup.
#101 - Arizona State Sun Devils
I'm actually a big fan of their really dark maroon color, but I don't like this recent redesign. The ASU on the sleeves is kind of odd, and the logo is a little garish. The old uniforms aren't the prettiest in the world, but I like the whimsy of the old logo and the contrast of the colors is a little more pronounced.
Up Next: Numbers 100-76, which include some iconic basketball uniforms that just don't translate to football, as well as a glut of bad black alternates. Don't say you weren't warned.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
2012 MLB Awards
It's that time of the year again. The MLB postseason is about to start, and all anyone in the media can seem to talk about is the awards, specifically the one at the end of this post. Yes, the awards themselves don't matter as much as you would believe from the buildup. However, the debates reveal a lot the state of adoption of modern metrics, and give us a lot of opportunities to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of various techniques, which I think is an important process as we move towards a better understanding of what makes teams win.
Since this is my blog, I'll list as many candidates as I like for each award, and not the number that appear on the actual award ballots. If you want more information on any of the stats listed, the Fangraphs library is a great place to start, or of course you can ask me.
First, a brief note on the A's
Before I get to all of that, I feel like I should touch briefly on my A's. They're in the playoffs for the first time since 2006, which I'm obviously quite excited about. One of the greatest parts of it is that they'll be on the national stage for the first time in a while. Thinking of this, I'm reminded of the famous last day of the regular season last year, when the Rays and Cardinals stormed back to clinch playoff spots as the Braves and Red Sox let them slip away. After I was done watching all of that excitement, I turned off my TV where the folks on Baseball Tonight were hyperventalating, and went to my desk. I flipped open my computer and watched the last inning of the A's final game against the Mariners. It was well after midnight and no other games were on and I was staring at my computer watching the A's play out the string (They won 2-0). The funny thing was how far removed it felt from the drama I had just witnessed.
The A's have definitely felt like a second-rate team for the past few years, partly because they've been a second-rate team. The only time the stadium is usually full is when a "real" team comes to town. That's why watching yesterday's game was so rewarding. Not only was it the center of the baseball universe, but the place was actually sold out, and was full of absolutely crazy people (in a good way). I'm excited to see the Coli with the tarp off next week. That should be wild, especially if they take 1 or 2 in Detroit.
Now onto the awards.
NL MVP
1. Andrew McCutchen
2. Buster Posey
3. Yadier Molina
4. Ryan Braun
5. Chase Headley
6. David Wright
Let's start with the toughest race first. You can make a really strong case for any of the top 4. Ryan Braun basically matched Miguel Cabrera's triple slash (.320/.392/.598), but with better defense. Buster Posey put up just as good of an offensive season as Braun, but from the most important position on the field. Yadier Molina wasn't quite as hot with the bat as Posey, but his defense might just be the best ever at the position. He also played nearly 200 more innings at catcher than Mr. Posey. In the end though, I went with McCutchen. His .320/.400/.554 is pretty much the same line as Trout's, and I tend to think that Pittsburgh's odd outfield makes his advanced defensive stats look worse than he actually is (-6.3 UZR, -5 DRS). Whoever wins, I can't really complain.
NL Cy Young
1. R.A. Dickey
2. Cliff Lee
3. Clayton Kershaw
4. Craig Kimbrel
This was a tough decision between the top 2. RA Dickey churned out the most innings while keeping his walk rate shockingly low for a knuckleballer (2.03 BB/9). Cliff Lee led the league in xFIP and SIERA (Medlen and Strasburg were better, but they fell short of qualifying), while posting a ridiculous league-leading 1.23 BB rate. Terrible run support and bad luck (he only had 6 wins) will probably doom him in the actual voting, but it won't here. Kershaw was just a touch behind those two, but followed up on his Cy Young season quite well. In the end, Dickey's edge in innings and ERA give him the nod. His low ERA may have been a little BABIP-fueled, but knuckleballers can actually sustain lower than average BABIPs, so we can probably trust his raw ERA figure more than we can for most pitchers.
NL Rookie
1. Bryce Harper
2. Wade Miley
This is a close race (both are hovering around 5 fWAR), so it comes down to age for me. Performing so well as such a young age is rare, and thus Bryce Harper has put up one of the best seasons ever for a teenager. His .270/.340/.477 batting line is well above average (wRC+ of 122), and his baserunning and defense at a plus position create the picture of a complete, immensely valuable player. As much media hype as there was surrounding his season, he did his best to live up to it. Don't be shocked when he has an MVP-caliber season next year.
AL Cy Young
1. Justin Verlander
2. David Price
3. Felix Hernandez
4. Fernando Rodney
Here are Verlander's last two seasons, side by side:
2011: 251 IP, 8.96 K/9, 2.04 BB/9, 0.86 HR/9, 2.40 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 3.12 xFIP, 2.99 SIERA, 7.0 fWAR
2012: 238.1 IP, 9.03 K/9, 2.27 BB/9, 0.72 HR/9, 2.64 ERA, 2.95 FIP, 3.32 xFIP, 3.26 SIERA, 6.8 fWAR
Last season, as you may remember, Verlander dominated the Cy Young and the MVP voting. This year, there is no talk of MVP and the Cy Young seems to be a relative toss-up. Looking at those stat lines, I'm not exaclty sure what's different. The 2011 line is slightly more impressive, with a few more innings, fewer walks, and a lower ERA. However, none of those differences are particularly huge - for all intents, Verlander has been the same pitcher this year.
Of course, I left off one famous stat which I think explains the whole difference. Last year, Verlander went 24-5, while this year he is 17-8. As far as we've progressed with Felix winning the Cy a couple of years ago with a 13-12 record, we still seem to be bogged down by the whole win-loss record. Oh well, baby steps.
Note: I typed this part the night before Jonah Keri published this column that lays out the same exact rationale for Mr. Verlander. So maybe I'm secretly Jonah Keri's ghostwriter.
AL Rookie
1. Mike Trout
Yeah, there were some other great rookie seasons, but let's not complicate this. Mike Trout dominated not only his fellow rookies, but all of baseball. Which brings me to....
AL MVP
1. Mike Trout
2. Miguel Cabrera
3. Adrian Beltre
4. Robinson Cano
I've really been flabbergasted by the widespread support for Cabrera this year. Mike Trout is full of all the grit, heart, intangibles and whatnot that sportswriters always seem to lionize, and is instead getting passed over by a one dimensional slugger (don't get me wrong though, it's a hell of a dimension). You don't even need advanced stats to make a case that Trout is running away with the award. Let's start by comparing their batting lines and going from there:
Trout: .324/.397/.561
Cabrera: .331/.394/.608
The perception is that Cabrera is far and away the better hitter, but those are basically the same line (except for a bit of an advantage in slugging for Cabrera, which is cancelled out by the fact that Comerica is a little more friendly to hitters than Angels Stadium). In fact, you can even make the argument that Trout was better with the bat if you consider context. So, the perceived advantage in Cabrera's offense doesn't really exist. Since those aspects of their value appear to "cancel out," all you're left with is Trout's massive advantage in defensive and baserunning value. I don't really see how you can make an honest argument that Cabrera is more valuable than Trout. Thus, I will break down the most ridiculous arguments I have seen:
1. Cabrera led his team to the playoffs and Trout didn't.
First, I think Verlander and Jackson and Scherzer and Prince might have had something to do with the Tigers making the playoffs as well. Ascribing all of the Tigers' success to Cabrera is just silly. Second, the Angels actually won one more game than the Tigers. You can't argue team success, and then reward the player on the less successful team. Some teams just have easier roads to the playoffs. Of course, I would argue that team success should be a minimal consideration towards MVP voting, but that doesn't even matter in this particular example.
2. Cabrera's hot September led the Tigers to surge into the playoffs, while Trout cooled off.
First, yes, Cabrera was better in September. But Trout was better in all those other months, and those games counted exactly the same as the games in September. Second, the biggest reason that the Tigers surged into the playoffs was that the White Sox collapsed. Consider the following September/October records:
Tigers: 18-13
White Sox: 13-18
Athletics: 20-11
Rangers: 15-16
Angels: 19-11
So, the Angels also had a better September record than the Tigers, but they couldn't quite catch up to the A's and Rangers. If only those teams would have done what the White Sox did, then the Angels would be in the playoffs as a wildcard.
3. Cabrera moved to 3B to make room for Prince Fielder, so he should get credit for that, too.
This one is easy. The Angels also added a high-priced 1B this year, but luckily, Trout already played a different position. If you reward Cabrera for his switch, then you're punishing Trout for already playing a different position in the first place. WAR and such give Cabrera the positional adjustment he deserves for playing a more difficult position. Let's not double that because his owner had deep pockets.
Furthermore, if you like guys who switch positions, where has the support been for Ben Zobrist? He played at least 40 games each at SS, 2B, and RF this year. I do think current implementations of WAR may understate the value of players who are flexible enough to move around as the team needs them to (same goes for platooning). But that wouldn't apply to Cabrera this year, as he played just two games at 1B.
4. Cabrera had the triple crown, which is so rare that it should be rewarded.
Two can play at this game. Mike Trout had a 30 HR, 40 SB, 125 run season. That "triple crown" of sorts is so rare that no one has done it before. I don't think this is a legitimate argument for Trout or anything, but it shows the silliness of awarding the MVP based on the triple crown. If you just pick three stats (all of which are positively correlated), then you're missing out on a lot.
5. Cabrera had a career year, and has had a great career...he's earned it.
First of all, his offensive line this year is basically the same as the previous two years. Yes, he won the triple crown this year, but fundamentally he was the same player this year as he has been in the past. He was just a little luckier this year such that the triple crown was able to work out (for example, Jose Bautista hit more homers than Cabrera the last two years, but missed most of this year with injury). Secondly, who cares that Mike Trout was a rookie? It's most valuable player. Trout was the most valuable player. Sometimes it's just that easy.
Since this is my blog, I'll list as many candidates as I like for each award, and not the number that appear on the actual award ballots. If you want more information on any of the stats listed, the Fangraphs library is a great place to start, or of course you can ask me.
First, a brief note on the A's
Before I get to all of that, I feel like I should touch briefly on my A's. They're in the playoffs for the first time since 2006, which I'm obviously quite excited about. One of the greatest parts of it is that they'll be on the national stage for the first time in a while. Thinking of this, I'm reminded of the famous last day of the regular season last year, when the Rays and Cardinals stormed back to clinch playoff spots as the Braves and Red Sox let them slip away. After I was done watching all of that excitement, I turned off my TV where the folks on Baseball Tonight were hyperventalating, and went to my desk. I flipped open my computer and watched the last inning of the A's final game against the Mariners. It was well after midnight and no other games were on and I was staring at my computer watching the A's play out the string (They won 2-0). The funny thing was how far removed it felt from the drama I had just witnessed.
The A's have definitely felt like a second-rate team for the past few years, partly because they've been a second-rate team. The only time the stadium is usually full is when a "real" team comes to town. That's why watching yesterday's game was so rewarding. Not only was it the center of the baseball universe, but the place was actually sold out, and was full of absolutely crazy people (in a good way). I'm excited to see the Coli with the tarp off next week. That should be wild, especially if they take 1 or 2 in Detroit.
Now onto the awards.
NL MVP
1. Andrew McCutchen
2. Buster Posey
3. Yadier Molina
4. Ryan Braun
5. Chase Headley
6. David Wright
Let's start with the toughest race first. You can make a really strong case for any of the top 4. Ryan Braun basically matched Miguel Cabrera's triple slash (.320/.392/.598), but with better defense. Buster Posey put up just as good of an offensive season as Braun, but from the most important position on the field. Yadier Molina wasn't quite as hot with the bat as Posey, but his defense might just be the best ever at the position. He also played nearly 200 more innings at catcher than Mr. Posey. In the end though, I went with McCutchen. His .320/.400/.554 is pretty much the same line as Trout's, and I tend to think that Pittsburgh's odd outfield makes his advanced defensive stats look worse than he actually is (-6.3 UZR, -5 DRS). Whoever wins, I can't really complain.
NL Cy Young
1. R.A. Dickey
2. Cliff Lee
3. Clayton Kershaw
4. Craig Kimbrel
This was a tough decision between the top 2. RA Dickey churned out the most innings while keeping his walk rate shockingly low for a knuckleballer (2.03 BB/9). Cliff Lee led the league in xFIP and SIERA (Medlen and Strasburg were better, but they fell short of qualifying), while posting a ridiculous league-leading 1.23 BB rate. Terrible run support and bad luck (he only had 6 wins) will probably doom him in the actual voting, but it won't here. Kershaw was just a touch behind those two, but followed up on his Cy Young season quite well. In the end, Dickey's edge in innings and ERA give him the nod. His low ERA may have been a little BABIP-fueled, but knuckleballers can actually sustain lower than average BABIPs, so we can probably trust his raw ERA figure more than we can for most pitchers.
NL Rookie
1. Bryce Harper
2. Wade Miley
This is a close race (both are hovering around 5 fWAR), so it comes down to age for me. Performing so well as such a young age is rare, and thus Bryce Harper has put up one of the best seasons ever for a teenager. His .270/.340/.477 batting line is well above average (wRC+ of 122), and his baserunning and defense at a plus position create the picture of a complete, immensely valuable player. As much media hype as there was surrounding his season, he did his best to live up to it. Don't be shocked when he has an MVP-caliber season next year.
AL Cy Young
1. Justin Verlander
2. David Price
3. Felix Hernandez
4. Fernando Rodney
Here are Verlander's last two seasons, side by side:
2011: 251 IP, 8.96 K/9, 2.04 BB/9, 0.86 HR/9, 2.40 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 3.12 xFIP, 2.99 SIERA, 7.0 fWAR
2012: 238.1 IP, 9.03 K/9, 2.27 BB/9, 0.72 HR/9, 2.64 ERA, 2.95 FIP, 3.32 xFIP, 3.26 SIERA, 6.8 fWAR
Last season, as you may remember, Verlander dominated the Cy Young and the MVP voting. This year, there is no talk of MVP and the Cy Young seems to be a relative toss-up. Looking at those stat lines, I'm not exaclty sure what's different. The 2011 line is slightly more impressive, with a few more innings, fewer walks, and a lower ERA. However, none of those differences are particularly huge - for all intents, Verlander has been the same pitcher this year.
Of course, I left off one famous stat which I think explains the whole difference. Last year, Verlander went 24-5, while this year he is 17-8. As far as we've progressed with Felix winning the Cy a couple of years ago with a 13-12 record, we still seem to be bogged down by the whole win-loss record. Oh well, baby steps.
Note: I typed this part the night before Jonah Keri published this column that lays out the same exact rationale for Mr. Verlander. So maybe I'm secretly Jonah Keri's ghostwriter.
AL Rookie
1. Mike Trout
Yeah, there were some other great rookie seasons, but let's not complicate this. Mike Trout dominated not only his fellow rookies, but all of baseball. Which brings me to....
AL MVP
1. Mike Trout
2. Miguel Cabrera
3. Adrian Beltre
4. Robinson Cano
I've really been flabbergasted by the widespread support for Cabrera this year. Mike Trout is full of all the grit, heart, intangibles and whatnot that sportswriters always seem to lionize, and is instead getting passed over by a one dimensional slugger (don't get me wrong though, it's a hell of a dimension). You don't even need advanced stats to make a case that Trout is running away with the award. Let's start by comparing their batting lines and going from there:
Trout: .324/.397/.561
Cabrera: .331/.394/.608
The perception is that Cabrera is far and away the better hitter, but those are basically the same line (except for a bit of an advantage in slugging for Cabrera, which is cancelled out by the fact that Comerica is a little more friendly to hitters than Angels Stadium). In fact, you can even make the argument that Trout was better with the bat if you consider context. So, the perceived advantage in Cabrera's offense doesn't really exist. Since those aspects of their value appear to "cancel out," all you're left with is Trout's massive advantage in defensive and baserunning value. I don't really see how you can make an honest argument that Cabrera is more valuable than Trout. Thus, I will break down the most ridiculous arguments I have seen:
1. Cabrera led his team to the playoffs and Trout didn't.
First, I think Verlander and Jackson and Scherzer and Prince might have had something to do with the Tigers making the playoffs as well. Ascribing all of the Tigers' success to Cabrera is just silly. Second, the Angels actually won one more game than the Tigers. You can't argue team success, and then reward the player on the less successful team. Some teams just have easier roads to the playoffs. Of course, I would argue that team success should be a minimal consideration towards MVP voting, but that doesn't even matter in this particular example.
2. Cabrera's hot September led the Tigers to surge into the playoffs, while Trout cooled off.
First, yes, Cabrera was better in September. But Trout was better in all those other months, and those games counted exactly the same as the games in September. Second, the biggest reason that the Tigers surged into the playoffs was that the White Sox collapsed. Consider the following September/October records:
Tigers: 18-13
White Sox: 13-18
Athletics: 20-11
Rangers: 15-16
Angels: 19-11
So, the Angels also had a better September record than the Tigers, but they couldn't quite catch up to the A's and Rangers. If only those teams would have done what the White Sox did, then the Angels would be in the playoffs as a wildcard.
3. Cabrera moved to 3B to make room for Prince Fielder, so he should get credit for that, too.
This one is easy. The Angels also added a high-priced 1B this year, but luckily, Trout already played a different position. If you reward Cabrera for his switch, then you're punishing Trout for already playing a different position in the first place. WAR and such give Cabrera the positional adjustment he deserves for playing a more difficult position. Let's not double that because his owner had deep pockets.
Furthermore, if you like guys who switch positions, where has the support been for Ben Zobrist? He played at least 40 games each at SS, 2B, and RF this year. I do think current implementations of WAR may understate the value of players who are flexible enough to move around as the team needs them to (same goes for platooning). But that wouldn't apply to Cabrera this year, as he played just two games at 1B.
4. Cabrera had the triple crown, which is so rare that it should be rewarded.
Two can play at this game. Mike Trout had a 30 HR, 40 SB, 125 run season. That "triple crown" of sorts is so rare that no one has done it before. I don't think this is a legitimate argument for Trout or anything, but it shows the silliness of awarding the MVP based on the triple crown. If you just pick three stats (all of which are positively correlated), then you're missing out on a lot.
5. Cabrera had a career year, and has had a great career...he's earned it.
First of all, his offensive line this year is basically the same as the previous two years. Yes, he won the triple crown this year, but fundamentally he was the same player this year as he has been in the past. He was just a little luckier this year such that the triple crown was able to work out (for example, Jose Bautista hit more homers than Cabrera the last two years, but missed most of this year with injury). Secondly, who cares that Mike Trout was a rookie? It's most valuable player. Trout was the most valuable player. Sometimes it's just that easy.
Monday, October 1, 2012
College Football: The First Month
We're a third of the way through the college football season, and since my preview looks utterly ridiculous at this point, I thought I would make a post about what I've observed thus far. I've been watching what most would call an unhealthy amount of the college game to this point, so hopefully that has at least resulted in some legitimate insights. If not, feel free to make fun of me in a month when all of this sounds ridiculous, too.
The Good
-For the first time in a while, both of my teams are actually good. Notre Dame is 4-0 for the first time since I was applying to it....for undergrad. While that eventual 8-0 start in 2002 was largely smoke and mirrors, this start feels a little more legitimate because of the strength of the defense. Sure, the schedule has featured a couple of teams that might not live up to their pre-season billing, but holding opponents to nine points a game is good no matter who you play. Nebraska probably isn't as strong of a team as ND thanks to their leaky D and the still-mistake-prone Taylor Martinez. However, there's enough playmakers on the offense to pull off a 10-2 season and a trip to Indy, given the weakened state of the Big 10.
- In other Big 10 news, Northwestern is off to a 5-0 start. None of their wins are particularly impressive, but they're the only team in the nation to have beaten teams from 4 different BCS conferences. What is impressive is the way that Pat Fitzgerald has juggled their two-quarterback system with Kain Colter running and Trevor Siemian passing. Their diversity on offense reminds me a bit of the only really successful duel-QB system I can remember: Arizona went 12-1 in 1998 with the duo of Keith Smith and Ortege Jenkins. The likely reason this model works is because a defense literally has to prepare for everything. The likely reason you don't see this model more often is that it's hard to get two such differently skilled QBs. It should be exciting seeing the Wildcats make a run at Indy with their favorable schedule (no Ohio State, Wisconsin, or Purdue).
- Before the season, my big concern about Alabama was whether or not they'd be able to replace all the NFL talent they lost from their secondary, especially since their road schedule looked so imposing. Since then, we've seen Dee Milliner and company look just as impressive as last year's bunch, if not even better. At the same time, Alabama's road opponents have looked terrible. Arkansas got completely destroyed by the Tide, and Missouri and LSU's offenses haven't come close to preseason expectations. So if Alabama ends up 13-0, you'll have to give them all the credit in the world, but do remember that the SEC West doesn't have quite the bite we thought it would.
The Meh
- Georgia's defense got a lot of pre-season love, but it has yet to show up. Of course, suspensions are at least partly to blame, and it will be interesting to see if they can successfully re-intergrate Bacarri Rambo and Alec Ogletree, among others. Yes, the offense has been awesome, but someone is going to outscore them at some point if they don't fix what's broken. And if you don't think it's broken, just rewatch Cordarrelle Patterson's ridiculous TD run from last weekend's game.
- My "surprise" teams, Tennessee and Oklahoma State, have both lost two games. While that means they probably won't reach my lofty expectations, they haven't exactly looked bad either. Tennesee's defense has been continually gashed for long runs in their two losses, but Georgia and Florida are both really good offenses, and Tennessee was firmly in both of those games until the end. The schedule doesn't get much easier for the Vols, but I think they'll pull off a big win at some point. Okie State has been hit by a few injuries and a missed fumble call at the end of the Texas game, but they looked as sharp as any team last weekend, largely thanks to new new quarterback JW Walsh. As a result, I have them still ranked, unlike every single AP voter. Last year's #3 team isn't going away just because they lost Brandon Weeden.
- In spite of taking the second half off against Marshall, Purdue looks like a pretty complete team. And hey, they're a 1/2 game up in the Leaders division! Because they're 0-0. And everyone else who is eligible lost last weekend. I think I have a motto for the 2012 Boilermakers: They're good....by default.
The Ugly
- Yes, the Big 10 is down this year. However, their level of ineptitude is nothing compared to the ACC. 9 of the 12 teams in the league have already lost non-conference games, and many of those losses have been of the embarassing variety. The other three have tough tests remaining (Wake Forest travels to ND, and Florida State and Clemson have their annual rivalry games with Florida and South Carolina). The good news is that maybe Duke will make a bowl. So yeah. Basketball starts November 9th.
- TCU racked up all of 156 yards against terrible SMU and beat terrible Kansas by only 14. I know they had to replace a lot, but this has been a disappointing start nonetheless. Good luck against non-terrible teams.
Rankings
1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Florida State
4. Oregon
5. Texas
6. Georgia
7. South Carolina
8. Florida
9. Notre Dame
10. West Virginia
11. Kansas State
12. Clemson
13. USC
14. Ohio State
15. Oregon State
16. Oklahoma
17. TCU
18. Mississippi State
19. Nebraska
20. Stanford
21. Texas A&M
22. Oklahoma State
23. Northwestern
24. Purdue
25. Louisiana Tech
Also considered: Arizona State, Texas Tech, Rutgers, UCLA
One third of a Heisman (A Hei?):
1. Geno Smith - Yes, we all know by now that Mr. Smith has better numbers than RGIII had through four games last year. However, Baylor had already played TCU and Kansas State, and Geno has yet to leave West Virginia. That being said, it's been a pretty boring year for top-end talent in college football, so here is Geno.
2. Kain Colter - The whole "Dan Persa for Heisman" bandwagon turned out to be a year early for the Wildcats, as they have their legitimate candidate now. Here is his bizarre statline from last week: 161 yards rushing, 131 yards receiving, all of 2 yards passing, and a pity interception. Yep, a game against Indiana doesn't mean much, but I don't really care.
3. Manti Teo - Manti has been the rare overhyped ND player that has lived up to the overhype. As good as he was the last three years, he's taken it to a new level this year, as he has finally learned how to intercept. Maybe I'll finally stop accidentally calling him Rhema once a game.
4. Every defensive lineman - While offenses have been as offensive as ever, the year of the defensive lineman is still in effect. From FSU's Bjoern Werner to Purdue's Kawann Short, dominant lineman have stolen the spotlight enough to show that it's OK to play defense sometimes. I have also started using Barkevious as an adjective, so there's that.
5. Gurshall - I love how the trend of having two awesome RBs has rotated through the SEC. First it was Caddy and Ronnie Brown with Auburn, then McFadden and Jones at Arkansas, then Ingram and Richardson at Bama, and now the two super freshman at Georgia.
6. Mark Weisman - This may indeed be the one who slays the vengeful AIRBHG. It's just too bad that I can't think of a good Heisman campaign slogan for him.
The Good
-For the first time in a while, both of my teams are actually good. Notre Dame is 4-0 for the first time since I was applying to it....for undergrad. While that eventual 8-0 start in 2002 was largely smoke and mirrors, this start feels a little more legitimate because of the strength of the defense. Sure, the schedule has featured a couple of teams that might not live up to their pre-season billing, but holding opponents to nine points a game is good no matter who you play. Nebraska probably isn't as strong of a team as ND thanks to their leaky D and the still-mistake-prone Taylor Martinez. However, there's enough playmakers on the offense to pull off a 10-2 season and a trip to Indy, given the weakened state of the Big 10.
- In other Big 10 news, Northwestern is off to a 5-0 start. None of their wins are particularly impressive, but they're the only team in the nation to have beaten teams from 4 different BCS conferences. What is impressive is the way that Pat Fitzgerald has juggled their two-quarterback system with Kain Colter running and Trevor Siemian passing. Their diversity on offense reminds me a bit of the only really successful duel-QB system I can remember: Arizona went 12-1 in 1998 with the duo of Keith Smith and Ortege Jenkins. The likely reason this model works is because a defense literally has to prepare for everything. The likely reason you don't see this model more often is that it's hard to get two such differently skilled QBs. It should be exciting seeing the Wildcats make a run at Indy with their favorable schedule (no Ohio State, Wisconsin, or Purdue).
- Before the season, my big concern about Alabama was whether or not they'd be able to replace all the NFL talent they lost from their secondary, especially since their road schedule looked so imposing. Since then, we've seen Dee Milliner and company look just as impressive as last year's bunch, if not even better. At the same time, Alabama's road opponents have looked terrible. Arkansas got completely destroyed by the Tide, and Missouri and LSU's offenses haven't come close to preseason expectations. So if Alabama ends up 13-0, you'll have to give them all the credit in the world, but do remember that the SEC West doesn't have quite the bite we thought it would.
The Meh
- Georgia's defense got a lot of pre-season love, but it has yet to show up. Of course, suspensions are at least partly to blame, and it will be interesting to see if they can successfully re-intergrate Bacarri Rambo and Alec Ogletree, among others. Yes, the offense has been awesome, but someone is going to outscore them at some point if they don't fix what's broken. And if you don't think it's broken, just rewatch Cordarrelle Patterson's ridiculous TD run from last weekend's game.
- My "surprise" teams, Tennessee and Oklahoma State, have both lost two games. While that means they probably won't reach my lofty expectations, they haven't exactly looked bad either. Tennesee's defense has been continually gashed for long runs in their two losses, but Georgia and Florida are both really good offenses, and Tennessee was firmly in both of those games until the end. The schedule doesn't get much easier for the Vols, but I think they'll pull off a big win at some point. Okie State has been hit by a few injuries and a missed fumble call at the end of the Texas game, but they looked as sharp as any team last weekend, largely thanks to new new quarterback JW Walsh. As a result, I have them still ranked, unlike every single AP voter. Last year's #3 team isn't going away just because they lost Brandon Weeden.
- In spite of taking the second half off against Marshall, Purdue looks like a pretty complete team. And hey, they're a 1/2 game up in the Leaders division! Because they're 0-0. And everyone else who is eligible lost last weekend. I think I have a motto for the 2012 Boilermakers: They're good....by default.
The Ugly
- Yes, the Big 10 is down this year. However, their level of ineptitude is nothing compared to the ACC. 9 of the 12 teams in the league have already lost non-conference games, and many of those losses have been of the embarassing variety. The other three have tough tests remaining (Wake Forest travels to ND, and Florida State and Clemson have their annual rivalry games with Florida and South Carolina). The good news is that maybe Duke will make a bowl. So yeah. Basketball starts November 9th.
- TCU racked up all of 156 yards against terrible SMU and beat terrible Kansas by only 14. I know they had to replace a lot, but this has been a disappointing start nonetheless. Good luck against non-terrible teams.
Rankings
1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Florida State
4. Oregon
5. Texas
6. Georgia
7. South Carolina
8. Florida
9. Notre Dame
10. West Virginia
11. Kansas State
12. Clemson
13. USC
14. Ohio State
15. Oregon State
16. Oklahoma
17. TCU
18. Mississippi State
19. Nebraska
20. Stanford
21. Texas A&M
22. Oklahoma State
23. Northwestern
24. Purdue
25. Louisiana Tech
Also considered: Arizona State, Texas Tech, Rutgers, UCLA
One third of a Heisman (A Hei?):
1. Geno Smith - Yes, we all know by now that Mr. Smith has better numbers than RGIII had through four games last year. However, Baylor had already played TCU and Kansas State, and Geno has yet to leave West Virginia. That being said, it's been a pretty boring year for top-end talent in college football, so here is Geno.
2. Kain Colter - The whole "Dan Persa for Heisman" bandwagon turned out to be a year early for the Wildcats, as they have their legitimate candidate now. Here is his bizarre statline from last week: 161 yards rushing, 131 yards receiving, all of 2 yards passing, and a pity interception. Yep, a game against Indiana doesn't mean much, but I don't really care.
3. Manti Teo - Manti has been the rare overhyped ND player that has lived up to the overhype. As good as he was the last three years, he's taken it to a new level this year, as he has finally learned how to intercept. Maybe I'll finally stop accidentally calling him Rhema once a game.
4. Every defensive lineman - While offenses have been as offensive as ever, the year of the defensive lineman is still in effect. From FSU's Bjoern Werner to Purdue's Kawann Short, dominant lineman have stolen the spotlight enough to show that it's OK to play defense sometimes. I have also started using Barkevious as an adjective, so there's that.
5. Gurshall - I love how the trend of having two awesome RBs has rotated through the SEC. First it was Caddy and Ronnie Brown with Auburn, then McFadden and Jones at Arkansas, then Ingram and Richardson at Bama, and now the two super freshman at Georgia.
6. Mark Weisman - This may indeed be the one who slays the vengeful AIRBHG. It's just too bad that I can't think of a good Heisman campaign slogan for him.
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