Decisions, opinions could prove to be costly

by Nathan Wall, staff writer

Every once in a while, I get so heated up about various sports issues that my need to express myself is greatly constricted by my ability to get my thoughts to the public that needs to read them.

So, taking a cue from some of my favorite sports writers, I’ve decided to combine two of my opinions together to let my loyal readers know what is really grinding my gears.

When someone spends $200 million on a good or service, they usually expect what they pay for to be top notch. However, for George Steinbrenner, it apparently gets you high-priced whiners and seven years of painful exits from the playoffs.

 Recently, the New York Yankees have done more complaining and less performing, a major reason why one of the most successful coaches in Major League history, Joe Tore, was let go this past fall.

The Yankees, in an attempt to try and out-spend the NASA space program, were unable to do with their money what the Marlins, White Sox, Angels and Cardinals could do with far less, win a World Series during this decade.

It seemed that what this ball club needed was to get back to its hard-nosed roots and actually work hard. It was as though this group of perennial All-Stars thought that they were above the hard work and dedication it took to win in October. Sure, Alex Rodriguez is one of the best players in the game, Derek Jeter is a proven winner and Jason Giambi, well, we won’t talk about his work ethic.

No, what this ball club was supposed to need was a new no-nonsense leader. Enter Joe Girardi, a man who was going to bring his old-school style to New York and whip those boys into shape. So far, all Steinbrenner has gotten for his money is more of the same.

On May 8, a Tampa Bay player trying to prove his mettle did what every ball player has been taught to do since the inception of the game. He ran over a catcher standing in the base path.

Was the play rough? Yes. Was the play legal? Also, yes.

The hard-nosed effort drew praise from Rays coach Joe Maddon, but proceeded to upset Girardi’s feelings, and evidently those of his players.

Immediately after the game, Girardi complained about the play, which resulted in minor league catcher Francisco Cervelli suffering a broken wrist. He said that it was inappropriate for this time of year, and that action should be taken by the league.

When it was apparent that the MLB and Maddon didn’t share those feelings, Girardi got even more upset. Four days later, no-name minor leaguer Shelly Duncan took a hard slide into second with his spikes up into big leaguer Akinori Iwamura, a play that is widely known as a cheap play and has seriously injured several players in the past.

It would appear that in an attempt to keep spring training classy and risk-free that Girardi likes to be the pot calling the kettle black. Good move, Girardi. Way to have an attitude reflecting that of your under-achieving players. Maybe it was the players who rubbed off on the coach this time.

Lately, in the world of pro-football, I have been hearing from experts and wannabes alike that the Cowboys must do everything in their power to keep Pro Bowl running back Marion Barber, that trading him for even a first- and a third-round draft pick would be crazy. The more I hear from the fans who blindly follow, about how the Cowboys shouldkeep this guy, the more I begin to hate the idea.

It’s not that I hate Barber; I love the guy. I just want better for my Silver and Blue. I have heard all the reasons to keep him, such as he’s a proven player and a guy like McFadden isn’t. Barber also became a Pro Bowler as a backup and ran for almost 1,000 yards.

 Yes, Barber is a hard worker and a punishing runner. But has it ever occurred to anyone that maybe we think he is so good because Cowboys fans haven’t had anyone else to really compare him to in a while? Of course, when you compare Barber to Julius Jones, and his knack for going down all the time because of a shoestring tackle, he is going to look like the best runner ever.

Has it ever occurred to anyone that players can make the Pro Bowl who don’t deserve to be there? I think Roy Williams has done that the past three seasons. Just a thought.

It really seems to me that Barber is one of those backs who is more effective with less carries, while Jones is the exact opposite. The reason Jones was so good in 2004 (besides the fact that he was fresh), was because he wasn't being challenged for carries. He could get 20-25 carries, allowing him to bust more long ones off. Every back needs to get into a groove, even Ladanian Tomlinson. In fact, Jones has had a 1,000-yard season (something Barber has not) even when he shared the carries.

Did you know Jones had 112 yards off of 22 carries in the playoff loss to Seattle? However, no one is talking about that performance of Jones and how he has proven himself, and I’m definitely not saying that, unlike they do with Barber and his lone start of his career.

In the one game, Barber had the backfield all to himself, the Cowboys lost. He started hot in the first half, with 101 yards on 16 carries, but in the second half had just 28 yards on 11 carries.

It’s not like Jason Garret took Barber completely out of the game. In the first half, Barber had two runs that went for 56 yards, vastly skewing his stats.

No, it wasn’t that the Giants started playing any better in the second half of that playoff loss. They just figured out the pathetic 17th^-ranked run game of the Cowboys was sure to wear down sooner or later.

The Giants were more than happy to let Barber eat up the clock with runs of 2 yards because they knew he would tire and did not posses the speed to take it to the house from anywhere on the field. That allowed them to play the pass much more aggressively.

Barber is a wear-you-down type of back. But that also has the same effect on him. The more carries he gets, the more he is apt to wear down, or even disappear, in some games, despite the fact that he still gets 15-plus carries.

The stats are there people, and they’re undeniable. Barber gets his free passes off of his growing folklore. People have fallen in love with his style because they haven’t seen it in years. So he gets a free pass when he goes stretches of games without producing.

I think the Cowboys’ entire running game was used wrong this past season.

Yes, Barber should have been the starter. But that doesn't mean you take a Jones-type of player completely out. I think they should have used Barber to wear down the defense in the beginning. Then, when the defense is tired and less likely to put everything into a hit, use Jones to run past them.

The problem is that Jones never could prove his worth as a 15-carries back, and Barber hasn't proven to be a 25-plus carry back. So the Cowboys are stuck with a platoon situation and a running back who went to the Pro Bowl (because of the large number of Cowboys fans, including me, who voted for him) but wants to be paid like a top-10 feature back, which he has yet to prove that he is.

Fans who have blinders on say that he has proven he can do it, and I say he hasn't. We haven't seen him in a feature role, so when people use the “proven” excuse for not drafting a far more gifted back in the draft, it angers me.

What Barber has proven is that he is a darn good platoon back. In fact, he is the best back to share carries with.... ever, but that is all.

Can you be happy with that?