My post a couple of days ago I talked about building offenses and the type of players teams build around. I got a couple of e-mails, saying that I forgot about pitching.

I guess I didn't make my thoughts clear enough. I don't think pitching gives a team its identity very often, really only the recent Atlanta Braves got their identity from pitching, and there were 3 Hall of Famers there.

Yes, pitching is important and probably more important than offense, but I think teams get their identity from their starting eight and bench and how the front office builds the team.

I wrote that the Twins and Angels are gritty "baseball" players. Steal, bunt, play defense, play hit-and-run baseball. The Indians are powerful strikeout kings who don't field well much like the Yankees. I didn't say a team can't win the way the Indians are playing the game; I just think it is an expensive way to play.

ESPN.com's Andy Katz has an interesting story about LeBron James and what he has meant to the University of Akron basketball program. One paragraph caught my attention and it had nothing to do with LeBron.

Dambrot is entering his fifth season as head coach after serving as an assistant for three seasons under Dan Hipsher. Scheduling became a bit easier within the past year, when the administration gave him $160,000 to buy three guaranteed games, something that a number of MAC teams can't afford. Teams at this level usually have to do only home-and-home series and can't afford to buy a team for a home game without a return.

That money could be a big benefit for UA.

The other interesting note is that Darius Miles is trying to come back from microfracture surgery. Should the Cavs be interested?

It is interesting to see how teams build their offenses in the AL, and how much success they have.

With the Twins, you get a player who is a "baseball" player … down and dirty. The positives in these type of players are they don't put up flashy numbers and that means they don't cost a lot. But so far for the Twins it has meant little success in the postseason.

With the Red Sox, you get a player who works the count and who can play defense. If you look at Youkilis and Pedoria and Ellsbury, they play the game the same way. They are tough. Obviously with two titles in four years this has been successful.

With the Indians, you get a player who puts up monster offensive numbers but who strikes out a lot and who struggles with a glove on their hand. See all of the recent offensive prospects, and by the way, Matt LaPorta fits right in here. It is what Travis Hafner was when the Tribe got him from the Rangers. It is who Michael Aubrey is, who Andy Marte is, who Lonnie Chisenhall is. Now obviously this formula came within a game of the World Series last season. But it is also expensive to keep together. See Hafner contract.

The Yankees, Tigers, White Sox seem to have bought much of their offense.

The A's focus more on pitching and let the offense take care of itself.

The Angels are another team that is like the Red Sox.

What does this all mean? I don't think it is set in stone, but it seems to me the teams with the most success get offensive players who get on base, run the bases well, don't strike out a ton and play defense. See Angels, Red Sox and the White Sox team from a few years ago.

What do you think the average fan is looking for in Olympic coverage, beyond the gazillion hours of coverage that NBC is going to provide?

We are going to keep you up to date on how our local athletes, besides LeBron James, are doing in Beijing.

Is there anything else you would like to see on Ohio.com or in the Beacon Journal to help you navigate your way through the 16 days of competition in August.