Jay Greeson: 5-at-10: Fat Friday mailbag on Aaron Rodgers, the Braves stars, and was Jimmy Chitwood a prima donna

Nov. 5—This is where we normally handle our business. But our business got busy today.

We will have to update the Rushmores around lunch. Sorry. We all have deadlines.

Here's Paschall on UT wrapping its internal investigation into the NCAA violations (i.e. cash in the Mickey D's bags) and concluding not to issue a self bowl ban. Cool. I'd likely dragged my feet a little longer and waited until Monday, that way if you go stub your toe in a pick 'em game in Lexington, and the best bowl options were Memphis or Birmingham, then you take your Happy Meal and roll. But either way.

(Also of note: No es bueno is the news out of Athens that Adam Anderson, one of the dozens of defensive ducks for Kirby's crew, has been suspended during investigations and allegations that he raped a girl.)

Vote on the title match in the 5-at-10 Bracket Challenge. You know the drill. And if the final four of the best college football stadium atmosphere is UT vs. UGA and Michigan vs. LSU, what is the biggest snub off that list? I would like to say either of the SEC schools in the state of Alabama has a case. So does The Swamp, although my one experience was unbelievably great and I was unbelievably lucky I didn't either a) get into a fight, or b) go to jail. Thoughts?

I will post the names of those still swimming in the Eliminator Pool later today, too.

To the bag, which was filled with a heavy dose of feedback on two main points — Aaron Rodgers and the world champion Atlanta Braves.

First, some Aaron Rodgers questions/response

"(Bleep) You, Jay! It's not any of your (bleeping) business if anyone is vaccinated. That's their decision. You preaching liberal media exists make me sick and are the reason your industry is dying."

And

"Jay, did you see the First Take discussion of Aaron Rodgers and what J-Williams had to say to Stephen A.? It was pretty good TV."

And

"So, Jay. You voted for Trump, but you want mandatory vaccines. You talk about freedom and rights and the flag but then backtrack and say Aaron Rodgers should be forced to get a shot that was rushed through the FDA protocol. Pick a side, man — jellyfish have more backbone than you do."

Gang —

So we're going to start with the closest thing we have to hate mail this week. (Side note: Normally, the hate mail is generated from A2 opining. This time it was my stance on Aaron Rodgers' duplicitousness in terms of the vaccine and the protocol. So it goes.)

First, the jellyfish line was well placed. Misguided and wrong, but well used. That said, the side I try to find is right. Not in terms of aisle but in terms of the opposite of wrong. If that does not align with party, then I'm strong enough to walk my own path.

And you're right, I do talk about freedoms and the flag — like Colin Kaepernick's freedom to kneel while we honor the flag, but not his freedom from the repercussions from his decision to use his freedom to kneel while we honor the flag — and in truth, I can't see where I have backtracked or wavered on those discussions, even in this polarizing pandemic.

For example, I've had little to say about Kyrie Irving's decision not to get vaccinated. That's because he's been open in his opposition to the vaccine and tried to work with the Nets on possibilities until it became clear that he just could not be part of the team and make shots without getting the shots.

I disagree with that view. Strongly, in fact. And my 11-year-old has an appointment for Monday to get her first round. But that's me and my view and my family. Just like it's Kyrie and his view and his personal life.

My biggest problem with Aaron Rodgers in this mess is that he's too smart of a dude to pretend like he was unknowing in this or unaware or even uninformed. Dude knew the deal, tried to sneak around the protocols with clever wordplay — and the reporters on that beat should be getting chewed out by their editors, in my opinion, for not following up with better questions — and lies.

At least Kyrie was honest and took his lumps and moved along but stood for what he believed. Aaron lied, played coy and then ignored the protocols because he simply did not care about them — or his teammates, for that matter. For me, this forever changes all his 'leadership' rhetoric and makes him more of an accomplished Jeff George than Dan Marino with a title.

And yes, I did see Jay Williams call out "Screaming" A for Mr. Smith's hypocrisy of giving Kyrie a pass and blasting Aaron Rodgers. And challenging Smith's rants on race is completely fair. But as I just said, you can disagree with Irving's decision and that's fine. But he was honest and forthright and did not put anyone other than himself in danger.

I did not see it live — I refuse to watch that show the same way I refuse to watch the screaming political diatribes that appeal to the lowest common denominator or preaching to the choir of under-informed — and other than the heat of the exchange, the interweb replays do not convey a lot of layers of the discussion. Shocking, I know.

(Side note: Max Kellerman's addition to Keyshawn and J-Will in the mornings has made that show a lot better. So there's that.)

Where were we? Oh yeah, Rodgers theoretically said "(bleep) everyone, the rules don't apply to me" and did as he dang well pleased. And that's the biggest difference between the two, to me.

And yes, I know people who are vaccinated get COVID-19. And nothing is foolproof. And athletic bodies in great shape are far less likely to be seriously impacted. And, yada-yada-yada.

When do the rules apply to you? When you agree with them or when someone in a position of authority lays them down? You may not like the rules, but aren't they still rules?

At least the Washington State coach said the vaccine was against his religion and followed the protocol.

Aaron Rodgers revealed himself as the biggest "Me first, last and only" faux teammate since, who, Rickey Henderson?

As for our vulgar lead-off letter, I know it's not my business directly who is and is not vaccinated. I'll handle my little tribe and we'll do the best we can with you all the misinformed around us. But your personal freedom is not more important than mine or anyone else's, sir or madam, and I'm sure that's a fact that you conveniently forget under the guise of your 'Don't Tread on Me' personal motto.

And one more thing: You seriously must have picked up Thursday's 5-at-10 randomly from an outside source, because anyone saying I resemble anything close to a preacher — professionally or in daily life — or a liberal is clearly misinformed.

As for my industry, well, we got a lot of problems. Too many to name, in fact, and your tangential (look it up) point has merit. A lot of them have been self-inflicted through the years.

But another one is the changing dynamic of our customers in which readers expect their version of the truth and will keep searching until they find news or opinion with which they agree.

That's not news, sir or madam. That's propaganda, and in some ways, your tangential (I told you to look it up) point translates there too because the propaganda business is booming. For now.

That said, you have a great day.

From Spy

Saw Akron canned Arth. Hope he lands on his feet.

I was thinking — yes, I know, it's dangerous and it can only hurt the ball club — but if the Braves do pony up the dough to keep Freeman, does that give the Braves the best 3B through 1B infield in baseball? I think even the Magic 8 Ball would agree with a yes.

And fire Geoff Collins.

Spy —

I think Arth will land quite nicely. Dude has a lot of buddies, especially in the NFL, and there's a very real chance he could be an NFL offensive assistant sooner rather than later. Heck, who knows. He may be Saban's next rehab project, and then poof, he's got a Power 5 job somewhere.

Side story on Coach Arth: Had his son Tommy on many teams in youth sports and before our first flag football game, Coach Arth was sitting in a camping chair on a crisp Saturday morning with the Mocs waiting to play later that afternoon. I walked over and asked if he had any play suggestions. He sipped his coffee, peered over his Times Free Press and offered, "I'm not on the clock yet. You'll do fine." And went right back to reading the TFP. I still laugh about that.

Ah, to the good stuff. We got a bunch of Braves questions, and rightfully so.

We'll start with Spy's, which raises a fair question.

Is Riley-Swanson-Albies-Freeman, better than, say, Turner-Seager-Turner-Muncy in L.A.? And yes, it was better in October.

It's as good as any for sure. And could have a chance to be an all-timer.

But it also begs the question of how much is Swansby worth moving forward.

Side question for the group: Best infield all-time? Dodgers or Reds in the late-1970s? Other? Disscuss.

From Chas

I heard a report this morning that the Bravos were a 50-1 shot to win the World Series, but no info on when those were the odds. Jay, you're my wagering source. At what point would those have been the odds? End of regular season, perhaps?

Somewhere in your celebration lift a glass of remembrance to Dirtbag Lemke, Crime Dog McGriff, Javy, and the rest of the 1995 gang. That gang had four future Hall of Famers. How many do you think this one has?

Chas —

First, that 1995 bunch could very easily have six Hall of Famers. Scan McGriff's stats, and he's got a much stronger case than several of the recently included folks like Ted Simmons, Harold Baines or Alan Trammell.

And while I agree with Intern Scott's theory that this is the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Really Good, and if you have to wonder whether someone is a Hall of Famer, then the answer is an unequivocal no, so I understand the Crime Dog being on the outside looking in.

That said, Andruw Jones should be on the inside looking out, especially with the recent run of very good inclusions.

As for the odds, those odds were likely available right up to the start of the playoffs. Start rattling off teams in each league that were considered better bets than the 88-win Braves. And know this: I got a taste of the Braves at 20-to-1 just to win the NL East in late July, so the winning the World Series number at that time would have been, what Vader, 100-to-1 when they were third in the East and floundering below .500?

As for current Hall of Famers, Freddie is on a very strong path for a lot of reasons.

If he comes back from the injury with any type of comparable results, Ronald Acuña Jr. is too.

And know this: For his position, Ozzie Albies is on an all-time trajectory.

He's played in 560 games — roughly four seasons — with averages of .273, 26 homers and 90 RBIs with 17 steals and 106 runs per 162 games. His career WAR is 14.4

Now, if you carry that over even a 15-year career — Albies is five years in and will be 25 in January — that's 390 homers, 1,350 RBIs and almost 1,600 runs scored.

That would make him the most powerful second baseman ever — 89 homers clear of Rogers Hornsby, who has the most of any second baseman in the Hall and 13 clear of Jeff Kent, who holds the record at 377 — and a slew of stats that will rank among some of the all-time best.

Sandberg hit .285 with 344 homers and 1,061 RBIs and will not have anything close to Albies' postseason ledger. Joe Morgan hit .271 with 268 homers and 1,133 RBIs. And for Albies to put up numbers comparable to (if not better than) the best second power-speed combo second basemen of my lifetime puts him on that trajectory too.

From Joe Don, aka Big Whistle

JG:

Wowzers threw me right under the Greyhound with no provocation.

"Their coach is pledging not to get a technical. (I'd say those odds are 1-in-4 in favor of not getting T-ed up, unless Joe Don is on the whistle"

That short leash just got shorter. I know how you Signal Mountain elitist are about some good ol' Red Bank High products.

Good refereeing can't overcome sub-par coaching unless a Guthrie's gift card is in the offing.

Are you gonna run The Picket Fence in the season-opener?

See you on the court from one fat face to another.

Joe Don —

My man you know that was a friendly shoutout. And consider my gym bag full of Guthrie's gift cars come playoff time.

As for the picket fence, well, I doubt it. I try to run one offense and run it very well. Yes it has multiple parts and options, but still, doing one thing as good as anyone, especially at that age, works wonders.

(Side question: I know I have asked this before, but why does Coach Dale's "Four passes before you shoot" rule go out the window when Jimmy rejoins the Huskers? And side question on the side question: Is that good coaching or just conforming to please the masses? Side question on the side question on the side question? Can good coaching and conforming to the masses actually coexist or are they even or proportions? Discuss.)

Speaking of the picket fence and "Hoosiers," what is the Rushmore of sports movie play calls? There's the 'picket fence' of course — "Boys, don't get caught watching the paint dry" — and "The annexation of Puerto Rico" from "Little Giants." What else?

As for Hoosiers, was Jimmy Chitwood a prima donna? Didn't play until he got his way in the coaching hire. Back-talked in the huddle when the final play wasn't called for him? Twitter would have roasted Chitwood.

Looking forward to it Joe Don/Big Whistle. After missing last year, I'm looking forward to it a whole bunch.