Cooperstown for those who might have forgotten the first decade

NEW ORLEANS -- After turning down every interview request during the week, Seattle tight end Jimmy Graham figured to do his talking on the field in his return to the Superdome.He didnt make much noise there, either. Graham caught three passes for 34 yards in the Seahawks 25-20 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. He then ignored a series of questions while walking more than half of the length of the field -- wearing headphones -- on his way out of the Superdome.He wants to win and he didnt win, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson said. Thats his only thing, and were all that way. Were all looking forward to watching the film to see where we can get better.The Seahawks obtained Graham, a three-time Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro in 2013 with the Saints, in a trade in March 2015. Aside from a 15-yard third-down reception that set up a field goal in the fourth quarter, he had little impact in his first game against the Saints.His three receptions were his fewest since Week 2. His 34 yards were his lowest total since Week 1. Wilson tried to connect with him in the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter but threw high on a day when Seattle managed only one offensive touchdown.Defending Graham was a big part, but he wasnt the whole game plan, Saints linebacker Craig Robertson said. We did a good job of staying consistent with what we do as a defense instead of just focusing on one player.Graham, who caught 16 touchdowns with the Saints in 2013, has one touchdown grab this year and three in his 19 games since joining Seattle. He missed the final five regular- season games and the playoffs last season with a torn patella tendon.There are times when you have a linebacker on him and times you have a safety on him, Saints coach Sean Payton said. But listen, Ill be honest; it was good to see him running around healthy.The Seahawks gave up All-Pro center Max Unger (2012) plus a first-round draft pick to obtain Graham. Due in part to an inconsistent, injury-affected offensive line, Seattle ranked 22nd in total offense before struggling again on Sunday.They certainly werent blaming Graham.Hes just focused on doing his job at the highest level, Wilson said. Hes a great teammate. Obviously he had a great career here (New Orleans), but hes looking forward to building on what hes been doing. I love the guy to death. Hes arguably the best tight end in the National Football League.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Andrew Chafin Jersey . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. Abraham Almonte Jersey . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. 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But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. ?As we move higher up in #MLBRank -- and arrive at Red Sox slugger?David Ortiz in particular -- one question piques my interest: What would the ranking of the top 100 players of all time look like if we didnt have the designated hitter?Right off the bat, you wonder whether Ortiz gets to have the kind of career that puts him into this conversation. Does his having to play the field -- badly -- handicap his chances at having a career, let alone getting that five-year deal (four plus an option, actually) through 2007-11 that gave him job security while he saw his production dip to .238/.332/.462 in 2009? Maybe, and maybe not. Because what little weve seen from Big Papi afield hasnt been pretty.To put Ortiz at his worst in perspective, among all-time first base/DH types with at least 3,000 plate appearances, Papi has been worth less afield (minus-21.2 dWAR) in terms of career defense-only WAR than all but three men: Willie McCovey, Don Baylor and Frank Thomas. Keep in mind: Defense-only WAR is a counting stat -- contributed in just 277 of more than 2,300 games. Thats historically awful when you put him against the totals of the other all-time baddies in this group.Baylor played almost 1,000 games in the field, many of them with the injured elbow that ultimately forced him to DH, while McCovey spread his defensive impact across 2,300 games in 22 seasons. Well get to the Big Hurt in a moment, but he played almost four times as many games at first base as Ortiz.In short, if not for the existence of the DH, youd have to ask the original Dr. Strangeglove, first-base horror Dick Stuart, to hand over his title. From what little weve had to see, Ortiz could have been the all-time worst regular at first base in the history of the game.If the DH was originally invented more than 40 years ago to give aging or injured stars the opportunity to continue to contribute (and draw fans), Ortiz is something truly different: A man whose ability to contribute was guaranteed by the DH rule, and perhaps only by the DH rule. And when his at-bat-only contributions dipped down around one or two WAR per year in that 2008-10 stretch, if hes also wreaking damage in the infield to erase even that value, would we still get to enjoy his raking at the plate these past few seasons?Its unknowable, but lets be grateful we never saw that brand of DH-less baseball. Of course, Papi isnt the only player in this ranking we should thank the DH rule for. Todays tranche of #MLBRank players includes Thomas, Eddie Murray and Dave Winfield, and how different would their careers be without the outlet of the DH as an opporrtunity to keep kicking in offense?Frank ThomasIf you remember the part of Thomas game that most folks in Chicago would rather forget, you accepted the bad hands and lived in fear that hed be asked to make any throw longer than the flip to first base because of what he could do at the plate.dddddddddddd Fortunately for fans of Frank, he spent 1,310 games at DH against just 971 at first base. He was done as a regular first baseman after 1997, but he played 11 more years in the majors, putting up a .904 OPS with 264 home runs, playing just 131 games at first over that time, and none after 2004.Even if you think he could still play first base without exacerbating the injuries that hampered him in the second half of his career, hes probably long gone before we get to talk about tacking on those last four seasons and 85 homers he hit for the White Sox, Athletics and Blue Jays. Without the DH rule, hes not just out of this ranking, he may not even make it to Cooperstown.Eddie MurrayIn Murrays case, being able to DH gave him the opportunity to get to 500 home runs, because after being the Mets regular first baseman in 1992-93, he played just one game in the field in those final four seasons. They werent great years -- Murray hit a combined .272/.328/.436, with an OPS+ of just 95 -- well below what you want from a DH.But they got him to 504 career blasts and probably pre-punched his ticket to Cooperstown for those who might have forgotten the first decade of his career, when he was among the best players in baseball. Ironically, that career started when he won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 1977 while mostly playing DH, because the job at first belonged to veteran Lee May.Dave WinfieldFinally, while Winfield didnt spend a huge chunk of his career at DH -- he returned to the outfield for two seasons in his comeback from career-threatening back injury that shelved him for all of 1989 -- the opportunity to DH is what put him on the Toronto Blue Jays team that won the first of back-to-back World Series titles in 1992. Since that was Winfields one ring, I suspect hes pretty happy that DH-ing was an option during the tail end of his career.Taking all of that into consideration, Id say its a great (perhaps only) reason to thank former Oakland As owner Charlie Finley for suggesting that the AL adopt the DH back in 1973. Without it, we would not have gotten to enjoy Papi or the Big Hurt for what they could do, without having to endure what they could not. ' ' '