Wow, what can I write about on a weekend when Charlie Weis and Lawrence Frank both got fired, the Jets earned a hard-fought victory against Carolina using some seemingly cockamamie color-code system to direct their rookie QB, and two NFL games were decided by last-minute touchdowns thrown by the likes of Vince Young and Chris Redman? And let’s not forget Dennis Dixon.
Well, it’s easy really. I don’t really care that much about Notre Dame or Charlie Weis. I figure both parties will make out just fine, thank you. And Lawrence Frank is better off going elsewhere, given the bad roster and bad luck he has been handed. Lawrence Frank will come up roses if it’s true that good things happen to good people.
And all I can say about Vince Young is that I was wrong about him. I’ve been thinking for five weeks now that he’d be a total failure. I’ve been thinking he’s just another one of these great college QB’s who couldn’t make it in the big time. But he lead that Titans team down the field twice from deep, deep in his own team’s territory to ultimately come back and win the game…twice.
And it was great that a backup QB you never hear “boo” about stepped up in a big situation to lead his Falcons team to victory, and on fourth down no less. Chris Redman did just that yesterday to keep the Falcons in the playoff picture, for at least one more week anyway.
And I was amazed as Dixon kept the Steelers in the game against the Ravens for about 4 ½ quarters. He did it on short notice too, as Big Ben Roethlisberger’s headaches occurred only Saturday.
But, without a doubt, the best prospect for discussion is the color-code system that Rex Ryan and the Jets concocted to keep a rein on their rambunctious quarterback, Mark Sanchez. It seemed too simple and a little silly. How confident could we be that the Jets made the right pick? I mean, did this guy ever play football? Was USC always ahead?
For his part, Sanchez was exultant after the victory and was only too happy to heartily accept the color-codes. That at least shows some humility. He may eat franks on the sideline and he might “diss” the entire NYC media population but he does readily accept direction and, too often this season, blame.
But for once there was no blame. Not that he lit up the joint, an impossible feat given the conservative plan, but he did throw for some yardage, not a lot, and he only threw one interception. He didn’t fumble one time.
Two things bother me a little though.
For one, this system worked great in a game their defense easily controlled. Jake Delhomme, as I had foreseen in my last words on the subject, threw the ball all over the yard. His only problem was he didn’t discriminate on the color uniforms to which he threw the ball. The Jets were only too happy to catch it when he did. The Jets took the early lead. The closest the game got was 7-3.
So when was the code any color but red? I mean, maybe he had an amber somewhere along the line, but the predominant color all night had to be red. What happens when they have to give him the green?
The only other troubling thing is that he’d need the system at all. But hey, maybe a rookie QB, who’s had to digest all this new information week after week, needs the focus, needs the hand-holding, to keep his tenuous hold on reality in a game that can be chaotic at best.
I just hope he understands the game a little. A lot of millions went his way. There were reservations from his USC coach Pete Carroll as to whether Sanchez was ready for the NFL at all. Hopefully, Pete was wrong about Sanchez. He’ll be the face and future of our New York Jets for many years to come. He started the season on fire but has stumbled through too many games, games his very tough defense deserved to win.
It’s great to have an athletic quarterback though. Just watching him avoid the rush and take off once in a while gives me hope for the Jets in the future. He’s really not all that accurate, at least not thus far, but he throws very well on the run, and, hell, Eli Manning isn’t all that accurate either, not like his big brother.
And some NFL experts would undoubtedly say he’s too short.
(As this is written, Drew Brees has been beating up the Patriots. Drew is just a hair over 6 feet and seems to manage quite well. They’re now ahead by 38-17 and it’s great to see the Pats get their noses rubbed in it a little. The Saints are now just running the ball into the line so as not to embarrass them any more than they’ve already been. I love sweet justice).
But the point is that, short or tall, a real quarterback has other resources to beat you with. Sanchez seems to have some of them, if not all of them just yet.
Rex Ryan seemed to think so too, and was challenged to find a way to deal with Sanchez’s wilder impulses. He seems to have found just the thing. If it takes a little more communication with the sideline to make the rookie a top-flight quarterback, I’m on board with that.
Maybe when the color does change to green, he’ll respond. The last two Jets games will be against the undefeated Colts and the top defense right now, the Cincinnati Bengals. But the next three, at Buffalo, and then against Atlanta and Tampa Bay, are certainly winnable, especially if Sanchez is working in red mode, or even amber.
Sometimes things that work very simply simply work. Rex Ryan has found a system that’s a lot like that.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
On Jets and Giants and Week 12 Picks
Week 11 was very very good to me as the best bets were all good for the first time in six weeks, putting me up $4 as I picked up the ten-spot. The weekly cumulative record was 9-6 to put my season cumulative at 63-46, not too shabby.
My favorite Week 11 best bet was the Niners, who appeared to be getting blown out before coming back to once again cover the 6 ½ point spread. The Eagles were another narrow winner as they edged the Bears by 4 against a spread of 3. The other two picks looked easy as the Falcons covered against the lowly G-Men and the Skins nearly beat the Boyz outright.
Once again, I keep thinking I’m due for a bad week, so bet with your head……and remember who’ll be on the bench or worse this week. Injuries are mounting all around the league.
Anyway, here’s the picks:
Favorite Spread Underdog 4 Best My Pick Reason
Ind 3 ½ HOU Ind Texans have failed easier tests
CIN 14 Cle * Cle Browns found out they can play
MIN 11 Chi MIN Vikes cover a lot
PHI 9 Was * Was Skins looking good-they’ll cover
Mia 3 BUF * Mia Rick-eeeeee
TEN 3 Ari * Ari Warner’s okay, so line is nuts
Sea 3 STL Sea Bulger to Boller for Rams
ATL 12 ½ Bucs Bucs Bucs will find ATL easier than last
NYJ 3 Car Car This is the Pick Bowl
SF 3 Jac SF Niners are my friend
SD 13 ½ Kcy Kcy Chargers nothing after Steelers
BAL 1 ½ Pit BAL Big Ben a target and no Polamalu
NO 2 Pats NO Saints have real desire
The best bets for Week 12:
Cleveland – The Bengals are hurting all over. The Brownies came so very close against the Lions last week and found out they can have an offense too, much like a non-Mangini team. No Cedric Benson figures hugely.
Skins – well, they DO have a Defense. They’re perfectly capable of slowing down those Eagle big-play threats and hey! They have Rock Cartwright too.
Fish – Buffalo’s wagons shot thru with arrows. Circling them will accomplish nothing versus Rickee and all those crazy wildcat options. Also no Marshawn for Bills, jus ol’ Fred.
Arizona – Let’s see, the Cards went to the Super Bowl, the Titans lost their first six and are currently riding a horse named Vince Young, who’ll discover the Cards don’t kid around. Warner will once again be emcee.
Biggest game of the week for me will be the Monday Night showdown between the undefeated Saints and the tough-luck Pats, who managed to lose to the Jets early and then went for a first down on 4th and 2 from their own 28. If they’re not yet tired of Belichick’s nonsense, they soon will be.
I do think the Saints will be more motivated than the Pats, even knowing that the arrogance of the Pats will force them into playing hard. But they’ll be playing for the wrong reasons, i.e. to punish another team for the audacity of playing to a perfect record. The Saints motivation will be more pure, just to win a big Monday Night game to remain unbeaten.
It says here that the Saints have the better team. It won’t be so much Brees vs. Brady as it will be the overall balance of the Saints compared to the Pats. They have a better running game and they have more receivers to go to, not just the same tired Brady to Welker, Brady to Moss combinations. Stop those two guys and stop the Pats.
Meanwhile, I’m almost sorry I picked on Brandon Jacobs as he looked even worse than I thought he would vs. the Broncos. The Giants pass defense was about par for them, which is to say they were lousy, bad, clueless, Sheridan-ian even. Oh well, at least they have Danny Ware, um, I mean DJ.
Seriously, there’s Cory Webster back there and…..well, that’s it. Pick your Johnson, they can’t cover, and then there was the specter of C.C. Brown again. And there’s nobody better at tackling after watching a receiver catch the ball than Boley. It’s hard to imagine he had been the Defensive Player of the Week….ever.
I keep asking myself what’s different about this defense until I really think about it. Pierce’s absence alone could account for a TD or two and they never replaced the likes of Phillips at safety. Then Aaron Ross is still listed as the third corner. What you see is what you get, the likes of Johnson and Johnson and Rouse. God help us.
Although I didn’t pick our Jets to cover the 3-point spread against the Panthers, I am looking forward to the game itself, which will either break a record for interceptions in a single game or go totally the other way as both the crazy rookie and the crazy veteran have been made quite aware of their shakiness. If caution takes over, there could be a lot of punts. If both QB’s just let it fly, it could be a shootout, in an obverse sort of way.
New York’s favorite coach’s latest big brain fart of sitting that rich safety Kerry Rhodes seems to signal that the Jets are looking to the future officially. But what better QB to sit your safety against than the scatological Jake Delhomme? I have to admit though that I’d feel better if two other secondary men weren’t out at the same time. The whole thing makes as much sense as the war in Afghanistan.
But Rex will be funny after the game. Of that we can be sure. Proud and funny and humble all at the same time. I sure hope he knows something the rest of us don’t. Otherwise, maybe the next move will be Tannenbaum’s.
Here’s hoping the rest of Week 12 will be better than the first three games. The Lions and Raiders just mailed it in. The Giants…..?
My favorite Week 11 best bet was the Niners, who appeared to be getting blown out before coming back to once again cover the 6 ½ point spread. The Eagles were another narrow winner as they edged the Bears by 4 against a spread of 3. The other two picks looked easy as the Falcons covered against the lowly G-Men and the Skins nearly beat the Boyz outright.
Once again, I keep thinking I’m due for a bad week, so bet with your head……and remember who’ll be on the bench or worse this week. Injuries are mounting all around the league.
Anyway, here’s the picks:
Favorite Spread Underdog 4 Best My Pick Reason
Ind 3 ½ HOU Ind Texans have failed easier tests
CIN 14 Cle * Cle Browns found out they can play
MIN 11 Chi MIN Vikes cover a lot
PHI 9 Was * Was Skins looking good-they’ll cover
Mia 3 BUF * Mia Rick-eeeeee
TEN 3 Ari * Ari Warner’s okay, so line is nuts
Sea 3 STL Sea Bulger to Boller for Rams
ATL 12 ½ Bucs Bucs Bucs will find ATL easier than last
NYJ 3 Car Car This is the Pick Bowl
SF 3 Jac SF Niners are my friend
SD 13 ½ Kcy Kcy Chargers nothing after Steelers
BAL 1 ½ Pit BAL Big Ben a target and no Polamalu
NO 2 Pats NO Saints have real desire
The best bets for Week 12:
Cleveland – The Bengals are hurting all over. The Brownies came so very close against the Lions last week and found out they can have an offense too, much like a non-Mangini team. No Cedric Benson figures hugely.
Skins – well, they DO have a Defense. They’re perfectly capable of slowing down those Eagle big-play threats and hey! They have Rock Cartwright too.
Fish – Buffalo’s wagons shot thru with arrows. Circling them will accomplish nothing versus Rickee and all those crazy wildcat options. Also no Marshawn for Bills, jus ol’ Fred.
Arizona – Let’s see, the Cards went to the Super Bowl, the Titans lost their first six and are currently riding a horse named Vince Young, who’ll discover the Cards don’t kid around. Warner will once again be emcee.
Biggest game of the week for me will be the Monday Night showdown between the undefeated Saints and the tough-luck Pats, who managed to lose to the Jets early and then went for a first down on 4th and 2 from their own 28. If they’re not yet tired of Belichick’s nonsense, they soon will be.
I do think the Saints will be more motivated than the Pats, even knowing that the arrogance of the Pats will force them into playing hard. But they’ll be playing for the wrong reasons, i.e. to punish another team for the audacity of playing to a perfect record. The Saints motivation will be more pure, just to win a big Monday Night game to remain unbeaten.
It says here that the Saints have the better team. It won’t be so much Brees vs. Brady as it will be the overall balance of the Saints compared to the Pats. They have a better running game and they have more receivers to go to, not just the same tired Brady to Welker, Brady to Moss combinations. Stop those two guys and stop the Pats.
Meanwhile, I’m almost sorry I picked on Brandon Jacobs as he looked even worse than I thought he would vs. the Broncos. The Giants pass defense was about par for them, which is to say they were lousy, bad, clueless, Sheridan-ian even. Oh well, at least they have Danny Ware, um, I mean DJ.
Seriously, there’s Cory Webster back there and…..well, that’s it. Pick your Johnson, they can’t cover, and then there was the specter of C.C. Brown again. And there’s nobody better at tackling after watching a receiver catch the ball than Boley. It’s hard to imagine he had been the Defensive Player of the Week….ever.
I keep asking myself what’s different about this defense until I really think about it. Pierce’s absence alone could account for a TD or two and they never replaced the likes of Phillips at safety. Then Aaron Ross is still listed as the third corner. What you see is what you get, the likes of Johnson and Johnson and Rouse. God help us.
Although I didn’t pick our Jets to cover the 3-point spread against the Panthers, I am looking forward to the game itself, which will either break a record for interceptions in a single game or go totally the other way as both the crazy rookie and the crazy veteran have been made quite aware of their shakiness. If caution takes over, there could be a lot of punts. If both QB’s just let it fly, it could be a shootout, in an obverse sort of way.
New York’s favorite coach’s latest big brain fart of sitting that rich safety Kerry Rhodes seems to signal that the Jets are looking to the future officially. But what better QB to sit your safety against than the scatological Jake Delhomme? I have to admit though that I’d feel better if two other secondary men weren’t out at the same time. The whole thing makes as much sense as the war in Afghanistan.
But Rex will be funny after the game. Of that we can be sure. Proud and funny and humble all at the same time. I sure hope he knows something the rest of us don’t. Otherwise, maybe the next move will be Tannenbaum’s.
Here’s hoping the rest of Week 12 will be better than the first three games. The Lions and Raiders just mailed it in. The Giants…..?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Good But Boring-Bad But Funny
You can’t say it hasn’t been entertaining. The Jets are a bad soap opera. The Giants are just, well, I don’t really know what they are. They beat the Falcons. That’s definitely a good thing. But, beyond that, it’s really hard to say anything more.
But you know I will.
Even a casual observer would have to agree that, at the very least, the Jets are a very entertaining team. The quarterback is a nut job, the head coach is even funnier and everybody else just tries to keep their heads up. And that’s okay. Anybody who really expected playoffs this year was just dreaming.
The Giants’ defense stinks. That’s really all you can say. But, with Eli firing bullets and lobs and showing a magnificent touch, and with his bevy of receivers seemingly open all the time, we could really see some shootouts in our future, and that’s not a bad thing either.
I guess that’s the biggest difference between these two teams. The Giants play a great football game, on one side of the ball at least, but they’re a bore off the field. The Jets turn in stinker after stinker on the field, but they’re a barrel of laughs off of it.
Did anybody expect the Jets to beat the Patriots again? I know I didn’t. I did think they’d beat the spread, which was 10 ½, a ridiculous spread, given that the Jets beat them the first time they played.
My mistake was that I thought they’d attempt to cover Wes Welker. At the very least, I figured they’d harass him coming off the line, or knock the bejeezus out of him when he caught the ball, thus discouraging him from perpetrating any further aerial offenses against them.
But that didn’t happen. Welker ran here and there unmolested. When he caught the ball, which was quite often, he either ran for big yardage or hit the ground before he could be pummeled.
And, last but certainly not least, the rookie quarterback started bad, came back a little, and then totally came undone.
But that’s what Bill Belichick teams do to rookie quarterbacks. That Sanchez somehow escaped that fate in the season’s first matchup with New England was nothing short of miraculous. Sanchez tried to win the game, though, and along the way, he threw a perfect long pass to Cotchery in the end zone that brought the Jets back to within 10.
But he started the game very badly by throwing that INT that went for a touchdown. That’s a killer for a team to start the game in a 7-point hole right off the bat. But he brought the team back before imploding and, all in all, I’d rather watch him than his backup. The kid still shows a lot of promise. He reminds me of Joe Montana in a lot of ways, the scrambling, the arm, the demeanor….he just needs the same head, and that will come.
Rex has promised to address his young QB’s turnover problem personally. That’s what makes you love him. It may not be the right thing to do but ya gotta love the attitude. Rex has taken as many shots as has Sanchez, and he’s apparently taken them to heart.
So the Jets are a riot, if not a successful one.
The G-Men are a playoff contender but a boring one. I still don’t think they’ll make it to the playoffs though. Their defense won’t allow it. When their opponent has needed to score, they have scored. That’s not a good sign. And, while Eli was able to take advantage of the sieve of a Falcons pass defense, I can’t imagine he’ll be able to do the same this Thanksgiving against the Broncos.
Philip Rivers and his Chargers did though. But they have a strong defense and a better running game. They have LaDainian, we have Twinkletoes. They have Sproles, we have Bradshaw. Their offensive line blocks for the run as well as the pass. Ours blocks quite well for the passing game but the holes just aren’t there in the running game, and even the powerful Bradshaw can’t run through a wall.
Regular readers may wonder why I keep picking on Jacobs. Well, aside from picking up that 4th and 1 against the Pats in that wonder-filled Super Bowl, he’s done nothing up the middle. He has no explosiveness whatsoever, runs high and doesn’t have that much leg strength. What he can do is build up a head of steam and really roll, once he gets an opening.
That’d be great if they used him a little differently, I guess, but the Giants don’t. And they usually have better options in Smith and Manningham, Nicks and Boss and, well, just about anybody else….Hedgecock?
So I can’t be bullish on this Broncos game. We won’t be seeing Simms, we’ll get their first string of Kyle Orton, and the Broncs do have some receivers who can hurt us, Marshall and Gaffney and Royal and a nice tight end who can catch. The Broncs will be able to pass and they may even be able to run. They also have some nice defenders against the passing game, aka Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins. Hell, Ty Law is their second-string corner.
Can our G-Men win in a shootout? I don’t think so. The only way they win this game is if they’re able to run the ball and stop the passing game. I don’t think they can do either. (I just deleted a whole passage ripping Sheridan, the defensive coordinator in name only, a new butt-hole). But who’s to blame when the defense has no clue?
Almost everything else NFL-wise went my way though this past weekend so I’m not complaining. My picks against the spread went 9-6, and, better yet, my best bets were flawless and I finally won my imaginary ten bucks. I won in both my fantasy leagues and still have a shot at the playoffs.
Not the Giants.
But you know I will.
Even a casual observer would have to agree that, at the very least, the Jets are a very entertaining team. The quarterback is a nut job, the head coach is even funnier and everybody else just tries to keep their heads up. And that’s okay. Anybody who really expected playoffs this year was just dreaming.
The Giants’ defense stinks. That’s really all you can say. But, with Eli firing bullets and lobs and showing a magnificent touch, and with his bevy of receivers seemingly open all the time, we could really see some shootouts in our future, and that’s not a bad thing either.
I guess that’s the biggest difference between these two teams. The Giants play a great football game, on one side of the ball at least, but they’re a bore off the field. The Jets turn in stinker after stinker on the field, but they’re a barrel of laughs off of it.
Did anybody expect the Jets to beat the Patriots again? I know I didn’t. I did think they’d beat the spread, which was 10 ½, a ridiculous spread, given that the Jets beat them the first time they played.
My mistake was that I thought they’d attempt to cover Wes Welker. At the very least, I figured they’d harass him coming off the line, or knock the bejeezus out of him when he caught the ball, thus discouraging him from perpetrating any further aerial offenses against them.
But that didn’t happen. Welker ran here and there unmolested. When he caught the ball, which was quite often, he either ran for big yardage or hit the ground before he could be pummeled.
And, last but certainly not least, the rookie quarterback started bad, came back a little, and then totally came undone.
But that’s what Bill Belichick teams do to rookie quarterbacks. That Sanchez somehow escaped that fate in the season’s first matchup with New England was nothing short of miraculous. Sanchez tried to win the game, though, and along the way, he threw a perfect long pass to Cotchery in the end zone that brought the Jets back to within 10.
But he started the game very badly by throwing that INT that went for a touchdown. That’s a killer for a team to start the game in a 7-point hole right off the bat. But he brought the team back before imploding and, all in all, I’d rather watch him than his backup. The kid still shows a lot of promise. He reminds me of Joe Montana in a lot of ways, the scrambling, the arm, the demeanor….he just needs the same head, and that will come.
Rex has promised to address his young QB’s turnover problem personally. That’s what makes you love him. It may not be the right thing to do but ya gotta love the attitude. Rex has taken as many shots as has Sanchez, and he’s apparently taken them to heart.
So the Jets are a riot, if not a successful one.
The G-Men are a playoff contender but a boring one. I still don’t think they’ll make it to the playoffs though. Their defense won’t allow it. When their opponent has needed to score, they have scored. That’s not a good sign. And, while Eli was able to take advantage of the sieve of a Falcons pass defense, I can’t imagine he’ll be able to do the same this Thanksgiving against the Broncos.
Philip Rivers and his Chargers did though. But they have a strong defense and a better running game. They have LaDainian, we have Twinkletoes. They have Sproles, we have Bradshaw. Their offensive line blocks for the run as well as the pass. Ours blocks quite well for the passing game but the holes just aren’t there in the running game, and even the powerful Bradshaw can’t run through a wall.
Regular readers may wonder why I keep picking on Jacobs. Well, aside from picking up that 4th and 1 against the Pats in that wonder-filled Super Bowl, he’s done nothing up the middle. He has no explosiveness whatsoever, runs high and doesn’t have that much leg strength. What he can do is build up a head of steam and really roll, once he gets an opening.
That’d be great if they used him a little differently, I guess, but the Giants don’t. And they usually have better options in Smith and Manningham, Nicks and Boss and, well, just about anybody else….Hedgecock?
So I can’t be bullish on this Broncos game. We won’t be seeing Simms, we’ll get their first string of Kyle Orton, and the Broncs do have some receivers who can hurt us, Marshall and Gaffney and Royal and a nice tight end who can catch. The Broncs will be able to pass and they may even be able to run. They also have some nice defenders against the passing game, aka Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins. Hell, Ty Law is their second-string corner.
Can our G-Men win in a shootout? I don’t think so. The only way they win this game is if they’re able to run the ball and stop the passing game. I don’t think they can do either. (I just deleted a whole passage ripping Sheridan, the defensive coordinator in name only, a new butt-hole). But who’s to blame when the defense has no clue?
Almost everything else NFL-wise went my way though this past weekend so I’m not complaining. My picks against the spread went 9-6, and, better yet, my best bets were flawless and I finally won my imaginary ten bucks. I won in both my fantasy leagues and still have a shot at the playoffs.
Not the Giants.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Quick Hitters and Week 11 NFL Picks
Favorite Spread Underdog 4 Best My Pick Reason
GIANTS 6 ½ Falcons * Falcons If G-Men win at all, will be close
PATS 10 ½ Jets Jets If Jets don’t cover, I’ll cry
LIONS 3 Browns LIONS Browns show no good signs
JAGS 9 Bills Bills New coach, new effort?
Steelers 10 CHIEFS Steelers Steelers embarrassed by Bengals
Colts 1 RAVENS Colts I like beans, not Rice
PACK 6 ½ 49ers * 49ers 49ers like the Midwest
VIKES 10 ½ Sea VIKES Vikes like to cover
BOYZ 11 Skins * Skins Aw, c’mon man…11?
Saints 11 ½ TB TB Bucs have found themselves
Cards 9 RAMS Cards That’s about it for Rams
Bengals 9 ½ OAK OAK Bengals too high, win close
BRONCS 3 Chargers Chargers Bolts keep flashing
Eagles 3 BEARS * Eagles McNabb has a field day
TEXANS 5 Titans TEXANS Titans pass defense, convince me..
Things are really lookin’ good the last several weeks. Week 10 yielded a 9-5 record and cumulative now stands at a pretty healthy 54-40 (or fight). I don’t pick Thursday games and from the lineup I’ve seen, I won’t be missing much. Best bets though suffered once again, a result of the Cowboys and Saints miserable performances.
I must say I took it on the chin for the Saints pick big-time. My brother, the Rams expert, let me know what a horrible pick it was before the game so I’m humbled. He does have a knack now and then, and it’s never a secret.
I keep thinking I’m due for a bad week, so bet with your head……yada yada. I’m half-expecting SHRINKAGE, in my cumulative record that is..
The G-Men haven’t won in quite some time. I’ll be happy if they win by 1. 6 ½ seems kind of optimistic. I mean, really. Just exactly which Giants are going to come to the fore, with all that pressure at home. Even if they’re good, the defensive coordinator will screw it up.
The Niners have really done pretty well when they’ve played in the Midwest and after the Niners last week’s paltry offensive performance and the Pack’s great showing against the Cowboys, I’m expecting a return to form.
Meanwhile, I know the game’s in Big D but this is one of those classic NFC East matchups and the Skins have been looking way better than they had in the early season. They have a lot of making up to do and I think this might be the spot for it.
My Eagles pick is more of a slap at the horrid Bears and their equally horrid coach than it is some kind of affirmation for the Eagles. But somebody has to play some pass defense and the Bears have shown no inclination to do so.
Aside from football, I’m really happy for Michelle Wie finally breaking out and not becoming the Anna Kournikova of golf. And I’m glad she pulled out of her most recent tournament after shooting a 72. When you’re hurt, you’re hurt. Especially if you happen to be 19 years old.
The Mets haven’t made a move yet and spent less on the amateur draft than everybody else. That can’t be good.
Why can’t I get into the NBA this year? And it’s not just the Knicks and Nets being awful, it’s the whole damn thing. Lebron, Kobe, ad nauseum still and why can’t rookies get a break? In what other sport do rookies have no chance at all? Why was I ever watching this stuff? Well, maybe it was Jason Kidd.
The Yanks are supposed to be looking at getting Mark DeRosa. If so, it would be an excellent move. With age all over the place on that roster, it can’t hurt to have better backups. Ask the Mets.
Oh, and I still want Matt Holliday over Roy Halladay. I hope Omar was saving his money for him first. The pitching is shaky but the lineup is very very weak. What if Wright doesn’t break out of his power slump? What if Beltran’s now chronic knee problems continue?
Okay, that’s enough of the quick hitters. And speaking of quick hitters, there’s a fella named Figgins who’s one. What if Reyes can’t come back strong…or healthy…or fast?
GIANTS 6 ½ Falcons * Falcons If G-Men win at all, will be close
PATS 10 ½ Jets Jets If Jets don’t cover, I’ll cry
LIONS 3 Browns LIONS Browns show no good signs
JAGS 9 Bills Bills New coach, new effort?
Steelers 10 CHIEFS Steelers Steelers embarrassed by Bengals
Colts 1 RAVENS Colts I like beans, not Rice
PACK 6 ½ 49ers * 49ers 49ers like the Midwest
VIKES 10 ½ Sea VIKES Vikes like to cover
BOYZ 11 Skins * Skins Aw, c’mon man…11?
Saints 11 ½ TB TB Bucs have found themselves
Cards 9 RAMS Cards That’s about it for Rams
Bengals 9 ½ OAK OAK Bengals too high, win close
BRONCS 3 Chargers Chargers Bolts keep flashing
Eagles 3 BEARS * Eagles McNabb has a field day
TEXANS 5 Titans TEXANS Titans pass defense, convince me..
Things are really lookin’ good the last several weeks. Week 10 yielded a 9-5 record and cumulative now stands at a pretty healthy 54-40 (or fight). I don’t pick Thursday games and from the lineup I’ve seen, I won’t be missing much. Best bets though suffered once again, a result of the Cowboys and Saints miserable performances.
I must say I took it on the chin for the Saints pick big-time. My brother, the Rams expert, let me know what a horrible pick it was before the game so I’m humbled. He does have a knack now and then, and it’s never a secret.
I keep thinking I’m due for a bad week, so bet with your head……yada yada. I’m half-expecting SHRINKAGE, in my cumulative record that is..
The G-Men haven’t won in quite some time. I’ll be happy if they win by 1. 6 ½ seems kind of optimistic. I mean, really. Just exactly which Giants are going to come to the fore, with all that pressure at home. Even if they’re good, the defensive coordinator will screw it up.
The Niners have really done pretty well when they’ve played in the Midwest and after the Niners last week’s paltry offensive performance and the Pack’s great showing against the Cowboys, I’m expecting a return to form.
Meanwhile, I know the game’s in Big D but this is one of those classic NFC East matchups and the Skins have been looking way better than they had in the early season. They have a lot of making up to do and I think this might be the spot for it.
My Eagles pick is more of a slap at the horrid Bears and their equally horrid coach than it is some kind of affirmation for the Eagles. But somebody has to play some pass defense and the Bears have shown no inclination to do so.
Aside from football, I’m really happy for Michelle Wie finally breaking out and not becoming the Anna Kournikova of golf. And I’m glad she pulled out of her most recent tournament after shooting a 72. When you’re hurt, you’re hurt. Especially if you happen to be 19 years old.
The Mets haven’t made a move yet and spent less on the amateur draft than everybody else. That can’t be good.
Why can’t I get into the NBA this year? And it’s not just the Knicks and Nets being awful, it’s the whole damn thing. Lebron, Kobe, ad nauseum still and why can’t rookies get a break? In what other sport do rookies have no chance at all? Why was I ever watching this stuff? Well, maybe it was Jason Kidd.
The Yanks are supposed to be looking at getting Mark DeRosa. If so, it would be an excellent move. With age all over the place on that roster, it can’t hurt to have better backups. Ask the Mets.
Oh, and I still want Matt Holliday over Roy Halladay. I hope Omar was saving his money for him first. The pitching is shaky but the lineup is very very weak. What if Wright doesn’t break out of his power slump? What if Beltran’s now chronic knee problems continue?
Okay, that’s enough of the quick hitters. And speaking of quick hitters, there’s a fella named Figgins who’s one. What if Reyes can’t come back strong…or healthy…or fast?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Getting Serious in the NFL
It’s been one of those days here hard by the Short Hills Arboretum as chimney cleaners scurry in and out, up and down, all around la casa. Then the sofa we never needed arrived, the delivery people for it avoiding the chimney sweeps and their ladders by just inches. And all of that happened only after some tedious negotiation and Web searching made it all seem worthwhile.
So I’m already worn out but I did want to throw my two cents in for Rex Ryan, who had a darker day and week than I’ve had. Rex managed to leave ‘em laughin’ after firing his long-time friend and defensive line coach, parrying what had to be annoying questions as to his talented yet brash quarterback and all the time mindful that his audience knew full well that he had cried in front of his team in a post-game meeting, the game that all but broke the Jets’ backs in the AFC playoff picture.
Dick Vermeil made it okay, if not quite fashionable, to cry in front of your players. When you show somebody how much you care, you tend to make them care, and that can’t hurt results at all. Of course, Vermeil was also a hell of a football coach. And while we can’t be quite sure yet whether Ryan is or isn’t, we can be quite certain any failures won’t be because he doesn’t care.
The G-Men had their bye week and all you hear is how players are coming back from injury and hopes are higher for a playoff spot after losses by Dallas and Philadelphia. The Eagles especially will find some tough going without Brian Westbrook and the Boyz looked bad in their loss to the Packers. Roy Williams couldn’t make a big catch or three and the Pack must’ve found at least a partial answer for Miles Austin.
Atlanta lost too, I know, but I still can’t get too excited about the possibility of backing into the playoffs. I want to see them beat Atlanta this Sunday and then beat the Broncos on Thanksgiving. Then I’ll be happy. Let me see that big horse Jacobs finally start running over some people. Let me see Manning go back to Hakeem Nicks or Mario Manningham for some big gainers. Let me see a hurried opposing QB throw some picks. Then there might be some hope for a meaningful playoff game.
Serious teams replace their injured players before it’s too late to make any difference. The Bengals are a perfect example. Cedric Benson went down and they replaced him with Larry Johnson. When Kenny Phillips, the Giants starting safety, was lost for the season, the Giants did nothing. Only when C.C. Brown stunk the place out for two games did the G-Men decide to do anything. And Aaron Rouse may be the answer, but it may not be a strong affirmative one.
I was actually kind of dumbstruck to learn that C.C. Brown was never considered a coverage guy but that he could tackle. Hell, anybody can tackle. Those guys are all over the place. You expect a secondary player to be able to cover a wide receiver. If he can’t do that, he belongs on special teams….only.
That big hole the G-Men allowed to go unfilled for two weeks makes me wonder a bit about the seriousness of their intent. They’re playing the season to get by, to not look totally foolish out there on the field. But that attitude didn’t beat the Chargers, in the final analysis, and it may not be good enough to beat the Falcons or Broncos either.
The G-Men may have caught a break when Falcon RB Michael Turner went down with a high ankle sprain, though, and Jerious Norwood, his backup, is out too. The Giants may be able to throw some extra defensive backs (not that they have them) in there to stop Matt Ryan, as I don’t see the Falcons running a lot.
Then the Broncos’ Kyle Orton went down too in Week 10 and, while he may be the starter against them on Thanksgiving in Denver, he may be hampered some. And we all know what that seemed to do to Eli when he was hurt. Chris Simms would otherwise go for the Broncos and Mr. Simms hasn’t really been lighting it up.
Word in Denver is that even Orton couldn’t have had good numbers with their banged-up offensive line. Well, that’s a bit specious, I think, since Orton did throw two TD passes in the first quarter before he was hurt. But, in any event, with a banged-up Orton and a rusty Simms, the G-Men’s chances seem really good. Of course, they’ll still have the same defensive coordinator. (Just one more dig won’t hurt).
But do ya think Roddy White and Brandon Marshall might take advantage of that secondary, especially if there’s no pressure from the defensive front? I think so, no matter who’s at quarterback.
Okay, that’s enough about the local contingents. They’ve made their beds and they’ve been lying in them. And they didn’t add any support when the springs sort of fell apart. It’ll be hard to feel sorry for them when they find themselves sleeping on the floor, so to speak.
A couple of other NFL teams got serious this week. Buffalo’s head coach Dick Jauron won’t be circlin’ the wagons anymore and the Skins staff will have Sherm Lewis staring over their shoulders throughout. That’s in addition to the Jets parting ways with their defensive line coach. It’s a tough league and at least some teams are making tough choices.
The next tough choice might be made in Cleveland. Our own Eric Mangini (if he was ever truly one of us), has been hugely ineffective there and his GM has already bitten the dust. You know he’ll start getting very serious indeed (assuming he has ever been anything else.
Week 11 should start answering whether the Giants and Jets have been serious enough.
So I’m already worn out but I did want to throw my two cents in for Rex Ryan, who had a darker day and week than I’ve had. Rex managed to leave ‘em laughin’ after firing his long-time friend and defensive line coach, parrying what had to be annoying questions as to his talented yet brash quarterback and all the time mindful that his audience knew full well that he had cried in front of his team in a post-game meeting, the game that all but broke the Jets’ backs in the AFC playoff picture.
Dick Vermeil made it okay, if not quite fashionable, to cry in front of your players. When you show somebody how much you care, you tend to make them care, and that can’t hurt results at all. Of course, Vermeil was also a hell of a football coach. And while we can’t be quite sure yet whether Ryan is or isn’t, we can be quite certain any failures won’t be because he doesn’t care.
The G-Men had their bye week and all you hear is how players are coming back from injury and hopes are higher for a playoff spot after losses by Dallas and Philadelphia. The Eagles especially will find some tough going without Brian Westbrook and the Boyz looked bad in their loss to the Packers. Roy Williams couldn’t make a big catch or three and the Pack must’ve found at least a partial answer for Miles Austin.
Atlanta lost too, I know, but I still can’t get too excited about the possibility of backing into the playoffs. I want to see them beat Atlanta this Sunday and then beat the Broncos on Thanksgiving. Then I’ll be happy. Let me see that big horse Jacobs finally start running over some people. Let me see Manning go back to Hakeem Nicks or Mario Manningham for some big gainers. Let me see a hurried opposing QB throw some picks. Then there might be some hope for a meaningful playoff game.
Serious teams replace their injured players before it’s too late to make any difference. The Bengals are a perfect example. Cedric Benson went down and they replaced him with Larry Johnson. When Kenny Phillips, the Giants starting safety, was lost for the season, the Giants did nothing. Only when C.C. Brown stunk the place out for two games did the G-Men decide to do anything. And Aaron Rouse may be the answer, but it may not be a strong affirmative one.
I was actually kind of dumbstruck to learn that C.C. Brown was never considered a coverage guy but that he could tackle. Hell, anybody can tackle. Those guys are all over the place. You expect a secondary player to be able to cover a wide receiver. If he can’t do that, he belongs on special teams….only.
That big hole the G-Men allowed to go unfilled for two weeks makes me wonder a bit about the seriousness of their intent. They’re playing the season to get by, to not look totally foolish out there on the field. But that attitude didn’t beat the Chargers, in the final analysis, and it may not be good enough to beat the Falcons or Broncos either.
The G-Men may have caught a break when Falcon RB Michael Turner went down with a high ankle sprain, though, and Jerious Norwood, his backup, is out too. The Giants may be able to throw some extra defensive backs (not that they have them) in there to stop Matt Ryan, as I don’t see the Falcons running a lot.
Then the Broncos’ Kyle Orton went down too in Week 10 and, while he may be the starter against them on Thanksgiving in Denver, he may be hampered some. And we all know what that seemed to do to Eli when he was hurt. Chris Simms would otherwise go for the Broncos and Mr. Simms hasn’t really been lighting it up.
Word in Denver is that even Orton couldn’t have had good numbers with their banged-up offensive line. Well, that’s a bit specious, I think, since Orton did throw two TD passes in the first quarter before he was hurt. But, in any event, with a banged-up Orton and a rusty Simms, the G-Men’s chances seem really good. Of course, they’ll still have the same defensive coordinator. (Just one more dig won’t hurt).
But do ya think Roddy White and Brandon Marshall might take advantage of that secondary, especially if there’s no pressure from the defensive front? I think so, no matter who’s at quarterback.
Okay, that’s enough about the local contingents. They’ve made their beds and they’ve been lying in them. And they didn’t add any support when the springs sort of fell apart. It’ll be hard to feel sorry for them when they find themselves sleeping on the floor, so to speak.
A couple of other NFL teams got serious this week. Buffalo’s head coach Dick Jauron won’t be circlin’ the wagons anymore and the Skins staff will have Sherm Lewis staring over their shoulders throughout. That’s in addition to the Jets parting ways with their defensive line coach. It’s a tough league and at least some teams are making tough choices.
The next tough choice might be made in Cleveland. Our own Eric Mangini (if he was ever truly one of us), has been hugely ineffective there and his GM has already bitten the dust. You know he’ll start getting very serious indeed (assuming he has ever been anything else.
Week 11 should start answering whether the Giants and Jets have been serious enough.
Monday, November 16, 2009
An NFL Upside Down Day
The world turned upside down yesterday. I didn’t even notice until I saw a team that was behind trying not to score against a team that was ahead trying to let them score. Then I watched a press conference that kicked off with the subject presenting a statement that outlined the key points of the game, followed by his implication that no further questions could be expected after his fine exposition.
Then, as if to reaffirm a ridiculous point, I watched a good defensive team with a 6-point lead go for a 4th and 2 from their own 28 yard line with just a little more than 2 minutes left on the clock. The team’s gamble went down the tubes as their delighted opponent scored a touchdown and extra point, leaving their bewildered opponent just 13 seconds to do something about it.
Of course, everybody knows what I’m talking about. The Jets defense, blah blah blah, wonders of the modern football world, whose spokesman just about a month ago asked how the media could dare to ask a question that didn’t hint at his team’s greatness, were trying their best to allow the Jaguars to score.
The Jags were down by two points with time swiftly running down. They were driving through the Jets defense as if they were seashells caught in a wave from a Nor’easter. They couldn’t stop the run and they were clueless against the pass, a team on the run, a beaten defense whose best option was to concede the touchdown quickly so that their offense would have time left to score.
Of course, they screwed that tactic up too. The Jags, immediately detecting the ruse and needing just a field goal to win, proceeded to fall down at the one, and then run around in circles for a few downs so as to totally run out the clock as they kicked the winning field goal.
Witnessing this whole thing was disgusting if you had any good feeling for the Jets at all after their high-mindedness of the preceding weeks. That they could continue their braggadocio even after having lost several games in every conceivable fashion seemed unreal. They were a team in denial.
Well, they know who they are now. Thank all the football gods. They found out who they were in that last Jacksonville drive when they went belly up. Their self-proclaimed great defense had no thoughts of forcing a fumble or getting a pick, or stopping the Jags dead in their tracks to force a long field goal. They just gave up.
Yeah, I know all about the strategy. I know it could have worked out, as unlikely as that seems to me now. But I hate the whole idea. It stinks, it smells bad. If I were a true Jets fan, I’d be embarrassed by the very notion.
A team has to have a personality. The Jets personality had become that of a strong defensive team. After three undefeated weeks followed by strong defensive efforts in several unfortunate losses, that personality was still largely intact….but not after yesterday. Now, they’re just a bad team, no good on offense, no good on defense and certainly no good on special teams.
The theme I kept hearing after yesterday’s disgraceful exhibition was that the team needed to finish, meaning that they had to stop losing games in the fourth quarter. And while that is certainly true, it isn’t the whole story. The Jets need better discipline all around. They need better communications before, during and after the game. They need to somehow accommodate for their lost presence in the middle of their defensive line. And they need to catch the ball.
They probably can’t accomplish all those things this season. But what they can do is try to re-establish a personality, even if it’s that of a brash but formidable defense. The Jets can either fortify that defensive line or change their schemes somewhat to make up for that weakness. They’ll then be something again, that something being a strong defensive team.
I won’t mind terribly if the Jets have a losing season. I rather expect one now. What I would mind is to see a team that is lost, a team that doesn’t know what it is or what it is trying to be. Yesterday’s tactics smelled of that.
As unlikely as it seems to me, Bill Belichick was guilty of the same mistake. He drank whatever Kool-Aid Peyton Manning was handing out and decided that the probability of his offense making a fourth and two exceeded that of his defense stopping Peyton Manning and the rest of the Colts offense on a final drive.
By doing so, he fired up the Colts defense and, unavoidably really, alienated his own defense. That may play into the hands of the Jets or some other opponent down the road for the Pats. If he punted, he may still have lost the game. But Manning would have had to be great once again against a strong defense. And he’d have had to take his Colts a long way, probably around 65 to 70 yards.
But he didn’t give his defense that opportunity. It’s too bad really. It’s out of character too. A man noted for his brilliant defensive schemes decided to gamble it all away on one offensive play, and in so doing, he challenged another good defensive team to be great. It was upside down, inside out and backwards, for anyone really, but especially for Bill Belichick.
And that’s probably the reason it didn’t work.
I’d like to see the world righted again. Rex Ryan should have a dominant defense and so should Belichick. A rookie quarterback shouldn’t be dictating terms to the media, even if he were a good quarterback, which Sanchez so far hasn’t really shown.
I’m quite sure Belichick would have punted against the Jets.
And Horse of the Year should be a tie. Both Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra proved their greatness.
.
Then, as if to reaffirm a ridiculous point, I watched a good defensive team with a 6-point lead go for a 4th and 2 from their own 28 yard line with just a little more than 2 minutes left on the clock. The team’s gamble went down the tubes as their delighted opponent scored a touchdown and extra point, leaving their bewildered opponent just 13 seconds to do something about it.
Of course, everybody knows what I’m talking about. The Jets defense, blah blah blah, wonders of the modern football world, whose spokesman just about a month ago asked how the media could dare to ask a question that didn’t hint at his team’s greatness, were trying their best to allow the Jaguars to score.
The Jags were down by two points with time swiftly running down. They were driving through the Jets defense as if they were seashells caught in a wave from a Nor’easter. They couldn’t stop the run and they were clueless against the pass, a team on the run, a beaten defense whose best option was to concede the touchdown quickly so that their offense would have time left to score.
Of course, they screwed that tactic up too. The Jags, immediately detecting the ruse and needing just a field goal to win, proceeded to fall down at the one, and then run around in circles for a few downs so as to totally run out the clock as they kicked the winning field goal.
Witnessing this whole thing was disgusting if you had any good feeling for the Jets at all after their high-mindedness of the preceding weeks. That they could continue their braggadocio even after having lost several games in every conceivable fashion seemed unreal. They were a team in denial.
Well, they know who they are now. Thank all the football gods. They found out who they were in that last Jacksonville drive when they went belly up. Their self-proclaimed great defense had no thoughts of forcing a fumble or getting a pick, or stopping the Jags dead in their tracks to force a long field goal. They just gave up.
Yeah, I know all about the strategy. I know it could have worked out, as unlikely as that seems to me now. But I hate the whole idea. It stinks, it smells bad. If I were a true Jets fan, I’d be embarrassed by the very notion.
A team has to have a personality. The Jets personality had become that of a strong defensive team. After three undefeated weeks followed by strong defensive efforts in several unfortunate losses, that personality was still largely intact….but not after yesterday. Now, they’re just a bad team, no good on offense, no good on defense and certainly no good on special teams.
The theme I kept hearing after yesterday’s disgraceful exhibition was that the team needed to finish, meaning that they had to stop losing games in the fourth quarter. And while that is certainly true, it isn’t the whole story. The Jets need better discipline all around. They need better communications before, during and after the game. They need to somehow accommodate for their lost presence in the middle of their defensive line. And they need to catch the ball.
They probably can’t accomplish all those things this season. But what they can do is try to re-establish a personality, even if it’s that of a brash but formidable defense. The Jets can either fortify that defensive line or change their schemes somewhat to make up for that weakness. They’ll then be something again, that something being a strong defensive team.
I won’t mind terribly if the Jets have a losing season. I rather expect one now. What I would mind is to see a team that is lost, a team that doesn’t know what it is or what it is trying to be. Yesterday’s tactics smelled of that.
As unlikely as it seems to me, Bill Belichick was guilty of the same mistake. He drank whatever Kool-Aid Peyton Manning was handing out and decided that the probability of his offense making a fourth and two exceeded that of his defense stopping Peyton Manning and the rest of the Colts offense on a final drive.
By doing so, he fired up the Colts defense and, unavoidably really, alienated his own defense. That may play into the hands of the Jets or some other opponent down the road for the Pats. If he punted, he may still have lost the game. But Manning would have had to be great once again against a strong defense. And he’d have had to take his Colts a long way, probably around 65 to 70 yards.
But he didn’t give his defense that opportunity. It’s too bad really. It’s out of character too. A man noted for his brilliant defensive schemes decided to gamble it all away on one offensive play, and in so doing, he challenged another good defensive team to be great. It was upside down, inside out and backwards, for anyone really, but especially for Bill Belichick.
And that’s probably the reason it didn’t work.
I’d like to see the world righted again. Rex Ryan should have a dominant defense and so should Belichick. A rookie quarterback shouldn’t be dictating terms to the media, even if he were a good quarterback, which Sanchez so far hasn’t really shown.
I’m quite sure Belichick would have punted against the Jets.
And Horse of the Year should be a tie. Both Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra proved their greatness.
.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
On Sports and New Notebooks
Yeah, yeah, sports, I know, sports. There’s so much going on, right? Rutgers is playing South Florida soon and they’re still in the running for a bowl, no, not that kind of bowl, but close. And BIG game tonight on the ol’ MLB Network, the Niners and da Bears. Be still my heart. Then the Mets are apparently making some noises in Chicago, noises that’ll eventually translate into a player or two or three. That’s the major news of the day.
In other new, the Yanks are considering Damon and Matsui (notice I didn’t say versus) and basking in their newfound World Series glory (for, what is it, the 27th time, who cares, I mean, really). And the football Giants ponder their carelessness and stupidity while the Jets just seem to send Mark Sanchez out to the podium to blame himself for everything… very tricky.
Aah, but let me digress for a moment. it’s so nice to finally have this notebook (an HP 2.2 meg big-screen screamer)working as it should. My docked configuration is working just great now. My old HP keyboard works just great (I’m converting from an old HP desktop) for typing and my wireless mouse makes it one hell of a lot easier to navigate around the screens, no matter how terrific these new touchpads are. A cheap USB hub makes all this a snap, by the way. Printer?... no problem, just stick it in the USB hub. Now, if I just had one more USB cable, I’d be set.
The logistics of the whole thing are slightly problematical though. Wires are, after all, still wires and they have to go somewhere. You’d think all that time I spent as a satellite TV installer would have helped in this regard, but, alas, so far it has not, not on a conscious level at least.
And it took me quite a while to figure out how to get a docked config at all as there are no hardware profiles included in Windows 7. (The answer was to change the way the notebook behaved when the AC power was engaged and the cover was down (closed) position).
Going from Windows XP to Windows 7 is a trip too. Learning those differences along with changes incorporated in the Microsoft Office 7 has been a real challenge and….do I really need all these menus and dropdowns and couldn’t they have included Outlook (the e-mail program) somewhere? I mean, Windows Live Mail looks familiar but am I going to be able to synch the two? Microsoft, what the heck are you doing to me? That Apple store at the Mall is calling me…..”Jimmy…..Jimbo…..look at this”)!
Pardon the lengthy aside but I’m all excited now…and then there’s the HDMI connection to my hot-stuff new Panasonic 42 incher yet to come. And should I get that Google Chrome?
But let’s get back to sports and the Mets, my favorite subject. The word coming from WFAN and ESPN is that the Mets are talking about Matt Holliday and Roy Halladay and there may have even been a trade for Castillo. And, if Bengie Molina is your catching cup of tea, you’re a happy Mets fan right about now.
Let me first throw my blessing upon getting either or both Holliday/Halliday(s). Acquiring one of the best pure hitters in the game in Matt and perhaps THE premiere pitcher in the game in Roy would be just exquisite. Even John Lackey would be quite an upgrade in our starting pitcher rotation.
Bengie’s getting a little long in the tooth though, isn’t he? Or are we just stocking up on power so we can continue our experiment with Murphy playing first base? Whatever the motivation, the man can hit and that’s something Mr. Schneider was never able to provide. And there may be no better alternatives on the free-agent market after all.
Then there’s the second base situation. Luis Castillo had a very creditable 2009. I certainly wouldn’t make replacing him a priority. I’m going to assume he was included in a potential trade for somebody else, maybe a catcher or a first baseman. I’ll throw my hat in for getting a real-live first baseman. Being the Mets, after all, wouldn’t Murphy be a nice pinch-hitter candidate and part-time first baseman?
It will be difficult for Omar Minaya to maintain his focus amongst so many alternatives. I’m assuming he does have his priorities firmly set despite a plethora of needs. Hopefully, power-hitting outfielder is one. First base and catcher would be tied for two.
After all, we have two incumbents who haven’t been too terrible at each spot, if either is not quite capable of being considered a real starter. But both Murphy and Omir Santos show promise. (They could probably start for Kansas City).
Whatever our Metsies wind up doing, it would have to be a step up, wouldn’t it? I’m going to assume our hard luck won’t continue and we’ll have a somewhat healthy Carlos Beltran in center and Jose Reyes at short.
While I can’t get overly excited about Rutgers, they did show some remarkable skill against Connecticut in their last. Beating the Huskies in the final seconds on a long touchdown pass was very impressive even if they made themselves beatable after building up a big lead. I think they’ll nip South Florida.
The Niners certainly have had a lot to say about their matchup with da Bears. Who do they think they are….the Jets? They seem to think they’ll dominate on both sides of the line and I hope they’re right but what about that secondary? Didn’t Vince Young just have his way with you? I think Jay Cutler could carve himself a nice 400-yard game out of this one.
The Giants have a bye and thank God. Hopefully, they’ll take Coughlin’s blaming of himself to heart as I think the head coach is right. It’s largely his fault.
And could some Jets besides Sanchez start looking in the mirror? It’s high time.
In other new, the Yanks are considering Damon and Matsui (notice I didn’t say versus) and basking in their newfound World Series glory (for, what is it, the 27th time, who cares, I mean, really). And the football Giants ponder their carelessness and stupidity while the Jets just seem to send Mark Sanchez out to the podium to blame himself for everything… very tricky.
Aah, but let me digress for a moment. it’s so nice to finally have this notebook (an HP 2.2 meg big-screen screamer)working as it should. My docked configuration is working just great now. My old HP keyboard works just great (I’m converting from an old HP desktop) for typing and my wireless mouse makes it one hell of a lot easier to navigate around the screens, no matter how terrific these new touchpads are. A cheap USB hub makes all this a snap, by the way. Printer?... no problem, just stick it in the USB hub. Now, if I just had one more USB cable, I’d be set.
The logistics of the whole thing are slightly problematical though. Wires are, after all, still wires and they have to go somewhere. You’d think all that time I spent as a satellite TV installer would have helped in this regard, but, alas, so far it has not, not on a conscious level at least.
And it took me quite a while to figure out how to get a docked config at all as there are no hardware profiles included in Windows 7. (The answer was to change the way the notebook behaved when the AC power was engaged and the cover was down (closed) position).
Going from Windows XP to Windows 7 is a trip too. Learning those differences along with changes incorporated in the Microsoft Office 7 has been a real challenge and….do I really need all these menus and dropdowns and couldn’t they have included Outlook (the e-mail program) somewhere? I mean, Windows Live Mail looks familiar but am I going to be able to synch the two? Microsoft, what the heck are you doing to me? That Apple store at the Mall is calling me…..”Jimmy…..Jimbo…..look at this”)!
Pardon the lengthy aside but I’m all excited now…and then there’s the HDMI connection to my hot-stuff new Panasonic 42 incher yet to come. And should I get that Google Chrome?
But let’s get back to sports and the Mets, my favorite subject. The word coming from WFAN and ESPN is that the Mets are talking about Matt Holliday and Roy Halladay and there may have even been a trade for Castillo. And, if Bengie Molina is your catching cup of tea, you’re a happy Mets fan right about now.
Let me first throw my blessing upon getting either or both Holliday/Halliday(s). Acquiring one of the best pure hitters in the game in Matt and perhaps THE premiere pitcher in the game in Roy would be just exquisite. Even John Lackey would be quite an upgrade in our starting pitcher rotation.
Bengie’s getting a little long in the tooth though, isn’t he? Or are we just stocking up on power so we can continue our experiment with Murphy playing first base? Whatever the motivation, the man can hit and that’s something Mr. Schneider was never able to provide. And there may be no better alternatives on the free-agent market after all.
Then there’s the second base situation. Luis Castillo had a very creditable 2009. I certainly wouldn’t make replacing him a priority. I’m going to assume he was included in a potential trade for somebody else, maybe a catcher or a first baseman. I’ll throw my hat in for getting a real-live first baseman. Being the Mets, after all, wouldn’t Murphy be a nice pinch-hitter candidate and part-time first baseman?
It will be difficult for Omar Minaya to maintain his focus amongst so many alternatives. I’m assuming he does have his priorities firmly set despite a plethora of needs. Hopefully, power-hitting outfielder is one. First base and catcher would be tied for two.
After all, we have two incumbents who haven’t been too terrible at each spot, if either is not quite capable of being considered a real starter. But both Murphy and Omir Santos show promise. (They could probably start for Kansas City).
Whatever our Metsies wind up doing, it would have to be a step up, wouldn’t it? I’m going to assume our hard luck won’t continue and we’ll have a somewhat healthy Carlos Beltran in center and Jose Reyes at short.
While I can’t get overly excited about Rutgers, they did show some remarkable skill against Connecticut in their last. Beating the Huskies in the final seconds on a long touchdown pass was very impressive even if they made themselves beatable after building up a big lead. I think they’ll nip South Florida.
The Niners certainly have had a lot to say about their matchup with da Bears. Who do they think they are….the Jets? They seem to think they’ll dominate on both sides of the line and I hope they’re right but what about that secondary? Didn’t Vince Young just have his way with you? I think Jay Cutler could carve himself a nice 400-yard game out of this one.
The Giants have a bye and thank God. Hopefully, they’ll take Coughlin’s blaming of himself to heart as I think the head coach is right. It’s largely his fault.
And could some Jets besides Sanchez start looking in the mirror? It’s high time.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Forget the Playoffs
The Giants weren’t awful yesterday, but in a way they were. They got a maximal effort from just about every player. They had the lead with a couple of minutes left, but they couldn’t stop San Diego when it mattered most. When they needed to put pressure on the passer, they didn’t. When they needed to cover their best receiver, they didn’t.
It becomes more and more obvious every single week that the biggest loss from last season is Steve Spagnuolo. They never replaced him. To replace him, you’d need a guy who could inspire players. And, more important, you’d need a guy who had some canoles. The new defensive coordinator doesn’t.
I won’t even glorify him by putting his name in print. This is a guy, though, who had early communications problems with a couple of his stars. This is a guy who didn’t recognize that one particular cornerback couldn’t cover at all. This is a guy who was ignorant of any communications problem when the whole team knew they had one.
Coughlin’s meetings with the team seem to have denigrated into one-way communications. He too could use some canoles, as evidenced by the ridiculous play-calling down by the goal line and his gutless decision to kick a field goal.
But that’s ok. They won’t make the playoffs but they’ll be somewhat competitive from week to week. The games will be entertaining. They just won’t be one of the better teams. They’ll be mediocre. And they deserve to be mediocre. Let the gutsy teams rise to the heights. Let those teams that would have shut the door on those Chargers yesterday reap the benefits.
Not that Coughlin is really that much different from the coach whose team won it all in 2007. He always has played conservatively. I’m reminded of the playoff game against the Cowboys in that 2007 year. He ran three plays into the line, had to punt, and very easily could have lost that one. But he had a defense then. He had a guy named Steve Spagnuolo. Now he’s just got what’s his face.
So I’ve written off this season. The Giants never make changes mid-season and this year will not be any different. And, as long as they stand pat, they’ll be lousy. Well, maybe not that bad, but certainly not approaching good.
Thank the media gods for alternatives. With the NFL RedZone, I’ve been able to stay in touch with all the games. I’ve been able to see the difference between the good teams and the bad. A lot of the difference has to do with having smart coaches. But there is better than a smidgeon that has to do with heart, with intensity, with a fighting spirit.
It’s impossible to play hard for a bad coach, a guy who seems to make all the wrong decisions, a guy who will always lose a tight game for you in the final seconds. My poster boy for this kind of coach is Herman Edwards. He prided himself on his ability to motivate, but his teams just didn’t play smart football. You can still see examples of intellectual defects around the league. Yesterday’s finest example would be the Chicago Bears, who elected to cover the best receiver in the league, Larry Fitzgerald, with just one totally overmatched cornerback. Kurt Warner threw to him at will all day.
Then there are those coaches who are all intellect and possess no ability to motivate. You could name several head coaches for this category too. Zorn, Mangini, and several others, just have teams that can’t sustain any fighting spirit throughout the game. Why play hard for a management group that doesn’t know the difference, or appreciate the difference? How can you make plays when nobody ever says, “nice play”?
The Jets had a bye yesterday, thank God. Their coach Rex Ryan has so far shown himself to be a great communicator and motivator, but, alas, he hasn’t yet shown he can make good decisions. I won’t pick on Ryan though. It’s a little early for that. He can gain the experience that will help him become a better coach. He already has that innate sense of what buttons to push to motivate football players, a sense that takes a much longer time to acquire, if it can ever be truly mastered.
The Jets have to play in the AFC East, a division that has one of the best coaches in the game in Bill Belichick. Miami too has Bill Parcells pushing buttons at the top and what appears to be an imaginative and fiery head coach in Tony Sparano. The Giants have to play in the NFC East, a division that’s got Andy Reid of the Eagles and even Wade Phillips of the Cowboys. The other team is the Washington Redskins, thank the football gods.
You can pretty much bet the farm that both our local NFL representatives will finish behind those teams this year. It won’t be a surprise when it happens, for a team, first and foremost, needs good management and then they need a good quarterback, the manager of each and every game.
Not that I’m picking on either Eli Manning or Mark Sanchez.
Eli’s playing with a bunch of new receivers who, while very talented, don’t seem to be on the same page as Eli more often than not. He’s also got a giant running back in Brandon Jacobs who seems to prefer running the ends, seems to have no explosiveness whatever, and who also opens his mouth only to say stupid and hurtful things.
Sanchez is a rookie, and, while some rookies have made it big in their first years, I don’t see Mark as being one of them. And it won’t entirely be his fault. His defense, despite its bravado, hasn’t measured up in key situations all year. His receivers either don’t get open or drop the ball.
Both teams should have enough to finish third in their divisions. Forget the playoffs.
It becomes more and more obvious every single week that the biggest loss from last season is Steve Spagnuolo. They never replaced him. To replace him, you’d need a guy who could inspire players. And, more important, you’d need a guy who had some canoles. The new defensive coordinator doesn’t.
I won’t even glorify him by putting his name in print. This is a guy, though, who had early communications problems with a couple of his stars. This is a guy who didn’t recognize that one particular cornerback couldn’t cover at all. This is a guy who was ignorant of any communications problem when the whole team knew they had one.
Coughlin’s meetings with the team seem to have denigrated into one-way communications. He too could use some canoles, as evidenced by the ridiculous play-calling down by the goal line and his gutless decision to kick a field goal.
But that’s ok. They won’t make the playoffs but they’ll be somewhat competitive from week to week. The games will be entertaining. They just won’t be one of the better teams. They’ll be mediocre. And they deserve to be mediocre. Let the gutsy teams rise to the heights. Let those teams that would have shut the door on those Chargers yesterday reap the benefits.
Not that Coughlin is really that much different from the coach whose team won it all in 2007. He always has played conservatively. I’m reminded of the playoff game against the Cowboys in that 2007 year. He ran three plays into the line, had to punt, and very easily could have lost that one. But he had a defense then. He had a guy named Steve Spagnuolo. Now he’s just got what’s his face.
So I’ve written off this season. The Giants never make changes mid-season and this year will not be any different. And, as long as they stand pat, they’ll be lousy. Well, maybe not that bad, but certainly not approaching good.
Thank the media gods for alternatives. With the NFL RedZone, I’ve been able to stay in touch with all the games. I’ve been able to see the difference between the good teams and the bad. A lot of the difference has to do with having smart coaches. But there is better than a smidgeon that has to do with heart, with intensity, with a fighting spirit.
It’s impossible to play hard for a bad coach, a guy who seems to make all the wrong decisions, a guy who will always lose a tight game for you in the final seconds. My poster boy for this kind of coach is Herman Edwards. He prided himself on his ability to motivate, but his teams just didn’t play smart football. You can still see examples of intellectual defects around the league. Yesterday’s finest example would be the Chicago Bears, who elected to cover the best receiver in the league, Larry Fitzgerald, with just one totally overmatched cornerback. Kurt Warner threw to him at will all day.
Then there are those coaches who are all intellect and possess no ability to motivate. You could name several head coaches for this category too. Zorn, Mangini, and several others, just have teams that can’t sustain any fighting spirit throughout the game. Why play hard for a management group that doesn’t know the difference, or appreciate the difference? How can you make plays when nobody ever says, “nice play”?
The Jets had a bye yesterday, thank God. Their coach Rex Ryan has so far shown himself to be a great communicator and motivator, but, alas, he hasn’t yet shown he can make good decisions. I won’t pick on Ryan though. It’s a little early for that. He can gain the experience that will help him become a better coach. He already has that innate sense of what buttons to push to motivate football players, a sense that takes a much longer time to acquire, if it can ever be truly mastered.
The Jets have to play in the AFC East, a division that has one of the best coaches in the game in Bill Belichick. Miami too has Bill Parcells pushing buttons at the top and what appears to be an imaginative and fiery head coach in Tony Sparano. The Giants have to play in the NFC East, a division that’s got Andy Reid of the Eagles and even Wade Phillips of the Cowboys. The other team is the Washington Redskins, thank the football gods.
You can pretty much bet the farm that both our local NFL representatives will finish behind those teams this year. It won’t be a surprise when it happens, for a team, first and foremost, needs good management and then they need a good quarterback, the manager of each and every game.
Not that I’m picking on either Eli Manning or Mark Sanchez.
Eli’s playing with a bunch of new receivers who, while very talented, don’t seem to be on the same page as Eli more often than not. He’s also got a giant running back in Brandon Jacobs who seems to prefer running the ends, seems to have no explosiveness whatever, and who also opens his mouth only to say stupid and hurtful things.
Sanchez is a rookie, and, while some rookies have made it big in their first years, I don’t see Mark as being one of them. And it won’t entirely be his fault. His defense, despite its bravado, hasn’t measured up in key situations all year. His receivers either don’t get open or drop the ball.
Both teams should have enough to finish third in their divisions. Forget the playoffs.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
A Feeling for Seven
Thank your lucky stars, if you’re not too disappointed with your particular election results, for Game 6 finally arriving. Since the end of Game 5, since Jeter hit that double play groundball and Teixeira struck out, we’ve been hearing about the starting pitching, and how bad they’re going to be. That’s led to insane discussions of relief pitching, and pleas to bring Mariano Rivera into the game at the earliest possible opportunity.
Seldom in life, or elections for that matter, do things turn out exactly as we thought they might. I think it’s entirely likely that both Andy Pettitte and Pedro Martinez will be great. One’s a super-Yankee and one’s a super Hall of Famer. They should both be relieved of an awful lot of pressure, being that everyone’s expectations of them are so low.
They both have long histories of successes and they both have the hearts of baseball fans firmly in their uniform pockets. Pedro is 219-100 in his career. He’s pitching to put a fine shiny cap on an almost unbelievable career. Pettitte is 229-135 for his career. He’s pitching to go down in Yankee lore as one of their best, alongside names such as Ford and Guidry.
So they both have all the incentive in the world to pitch the greatest game of their career. There’s really no pressure on either of them.
Pettitte is pitching on three days rest. If he fails, it was Girardi’s mistake. He’s 37 years old and has pitched for the Yankees, except for a 3-year stint with Houston, since 1995. So his arm has lots of miles on it. Besides, even if he loses, the Yanks can still pull out a Game 7.
Pedro cares more about his reputation than he does about a Phillies win. That he’s with the Phils at all is entirely a matter of money and opportunity. He looks great. Pedro just turned 38 on October 25th. He can still throw pretty hard and his ball moves like crazy. He changes speeds with every pitch. And of course, he works in and out, up and down, and all the other things a great pitcher does.
Pettitte won’t go more than 6 regardless of the game circumstances. The Yanks are too concerned with pitch counts, and even at this ridiculously late date, their behavior is too ingrained to stop now. Pedro could go the whole nine. If he’s having success out there, they’ll let him pitch himself into the ground. The Phillies relievers haven’t had enough success this Series to warrant any other decision-making process.
I fully expect them to shut down those heavy-hitters on both sides. Pettitte has a couple of other things going for him. He’s a lefty and lefties have been particularly successful in this Series. He’s also great with men on base. Almost nobody is able to sustain a running game against Andy Pettitte. His move to first base is the best in the game and probably illegal.
I figure the game to be even at between two and three runs after 6 innings. That will be where the real fun starts. Pedro will go out there for the 7th and beyond. The Yanks, in an even game, will go to Joba or Marte, depending upon the lefty-righty matchups. It’ll still be an even match after 7, a tired Pedro vs either Yankee is no better than even.
The Yanks will go to Rivera for the eighth. The Phils will stay with Pedro if they’re still even. And then we’ll see the real reason pitchers blow up. It’s not pitch counts that finishes pitchers. It’s pressure. It’s confidence. How many times can a team expect a 4-out, 5-out, 6-out save or hold from a guy who’ll be 40 on November 29th? My guess is not too many times, maybe not even one time.
It’s hard to imagine Pedro going more than 7 unscathed by all that Yankee lumber. But they do have this Madsen guy and he hasn’t been too bad. He throws hard and he’s got a nice breaking ball. Lidge does too for that matter, and I think these Phillies relievers may be primed to shut up all those Yankee nay-sayers.
That’s one scenario, and maybe a more likely scenario could be imagined too. Maybe the years will show on both old reliables and they’ll both be gone early. In that event, the Phillies have some nice answers, either Happ or Myers or anybody wearing a red uniform in the pen. The Yanks have less reliable alternatives to my mind. Hughes has been inconstant, and he’s their most likely long guy, I would think. Of course, there’s Aceves and Coke and all the rest but nobody who really inspires confidence.
In the latter event, the failure of the starters, the Phils have the advantage but it’s probably a slim one. One thing’s for sure though. The attention in this Series will quickly shift to the hitters and then the story will shift to Arod or Utley, the big hitters in this Series, or it could turn to somebody nobody expected, like Scottie Brosius in one of those Yankee stories of yesteryear.
I can’t say as I’d mind if the hero were someone totally unexpected. I’d love to see Shane Victorino have a big game, he of the smashed fingers from Game 5. Both teams have a bevy of secondary stars, if you will, hitters all.
And both teams have legitimate stars who have not yet produced in this Series. Ryan Howard and Mark Teixeira could be having a futility contest. Certainly more could be expected from Rollins in this Series, or for the Yanks, Cano and Swisher, who will be starting tonight. And what about Matsui, who’s been limited only by opportunity?
I’m rooting for a Game 7 though. And, as a long-time Mets fan, I’d like to see a National League team take the whole shebang. This Series deserves to go 7. And I have a feeling that it will.
Seldom in life, or elections for that matter, do things turn out exactly as we thought they might. I think it’s entirely likely that both Andy Pettitte and Pedro Martinez will be great. One’s a super-Yankee and one’s a super Hall of Famer. They should both be relieved of an awful lot of pressure, being that everyone’s expectations of them are so low.
They both have long histories of successes and they both have the hearts of baseball fans firmly in their uniform pockets. Pedro is 219-100 in his career. He’s pitching to put a fine shiny cap on an almost unbelievable career. Pettitte is 229-135 for his career. He’s pitching to go down in Yankee lore as one of their best, alongside names such as Ford and Guidry.
So they both have all the incentive in the world to pitch the greatest game of their career. There’s really no pressure on either of them.
Pettitte is pitching on three days rest. If he fails, it was Girardi’s mistake. He’s 37 years old and has pitched for the Yankees, except for a 3-year stint with Houston, since 1995. So his arm has lots of miles on it. Besides, even if he loses, the Yanks can still pull out a Game 7.
Pedro cares more about his reputation than he does about a Phillies win. That he’s with the Phils at all is entirely a matter of money and opportunity. He looks great. Pedro just turned 38 on October 25th. He can still throw pretty hard and his ball moves like crazy. He changes speeds with every pitch. And of course, he works in and out, up and down, and all the other things a great pitcher does.
Pettitte won’t go more than 6 regardless of the game circumstances. The Yanks are too concerned with pitch counts, and even at this ridiculously late date, their behavior is too ingrained to stop now. Pedro could go the whole nine. If he’s having success out there, they’ll let him pitch himself into the ground. The Phillies relievers haven’t had enough success this Series to warrant any other decision-making process.
I fully expect them to shut down those heavy-hitters on both sides. Pettitte has a couple of other things going for him. He’s a lefty and lefties have been particularly successful in this Series. He’s also great with men on base. Almost nobody is able to sustain a running game against Andy Pettitte. His move to first base is the best in the game and probably illegal.
I figure the game to be even at between two and three runs after 6 innings. That will be where the real fun starts. Pedro will go out there for the 7th and beyond. The Yanks, in an even game, will go to Joba or Marte, depending upon the lefty-righty matchups. It’ll still be an even match after 7, a tired Pedro vs either Yankee is no better than even.
The Yanks will go to Rivera for the eighth. The Phils will stay with Pedro if they’re still even. And then we’ll see the real reason pitchers blow up. It’s not pitch counts that finishes pitchers. It’s pressure. It’s confidence. How many times can a team expect a 4-out, 5-out, 6-out save or hold from a guy who’ll be 40 on November 29th? My guess is not too many times, maybe not even one time.
It’s hard to imagine Pedro going more than 7 unscathed by all that Yankee lumber. But they do have this Madsen guy and he hasn’t been too bad. He throws hard and he’s got a nice breaking ball. Lidge does too for that matter, and I think these Phillies relievers may be primed to shut up all those Yankee nay-sayers.
That’s one scenario, and maybe a more likely scenario could be imagined too. Maybe the years will show on both old reliables and they’ll both be gone early. In that event, the Phillies have some nice answers, either Happ or Myers or anybody wearing a red uniform in the pen. The Yanks have less reliable alternatives to my mind. Hughes has been inconstant, and he’s their most likely long guy, I would think. Of course, there’s Aceves and Coke and all the rest but nobody who really inspires confidence.
In the latter event, the failure of the starters, the Phils have the advantage but it’s probably a slim one. One thing’s for sure though. The attention in this Series will quickly shift to the hitters and then the story will shift to Arod or Utley, the big hitters in this Series, or it could turn to somebody nobody expected, like Scottie Brosius in one of those Yankee stories of yesteryear.
I can’t say as I’d mind if the hero were someone totally unexpected. I’d love to see Shane Victorino have a big game, he of the smashed fingers from Game 5. Both teams have a bevy of secondary stars, if you will, hitters all.
And both teams have legitimate stars who have not yet produced in this Series. Ryan Howard and Mark Teixeira could be having a futility contest. Certainly more could be expected from Rollins in this Series, or for the Yanks, Cano and Swisher, who will be starting tonight. And what about Matsui, who’s been limited only by opportunity?
I’m rooting for a Game 7 though. And, as a long-time Mets fan, I’d like to see a National League team take the whole shebang. This Series deserves to go 7. And I have a feeling that it will.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Pulling Out All The Stops
A lot was made of two big NY-Philly games occurring on the same day in the same venue. But there was only one game that was played like a big game. Only that terrific World Series Game 4 will be remembered. The Yankees won it 7-4 and they took it from a very determined Phillies team that in the end were only one relief pitcher short of tying the Series at 2’s.
To get it out of the way, let me first say the football Giants were awful in the afternoon game. They have no pass defense. They have no cover guys, they have no defensive line and they have no Steve Spagnuolo anymore. They do have a defensive coordinator with not much nerve and not much imagination. So the Giants lost. The score doesn’t even matter. The Eagles scored at will.
The first intriguing thing about the Yanks-Phils Game 4 was the starting pitching matchup. The Yanks pitched their ace, C.C. Sabathia, on 3 days rest. The Phillies pitched Joe Blanton, their regular guy in the rotation. Phils Manager Charlie Manuel can’t be faulted for not starting his ace, Cliff Lee, as he had never pitched on just 3 days rest before. And the Phillies had beaten Sabathia in the past.
And, if the Phils had managed to survive Game 4, they’d have had their ace going on normal rest in a Game 5, and they’d have likely been up 3-2 in the Series 9 innings later. So the move made sense, I guess. But while it made sense, it seemed to me the game meant more to the Yankees. They were going all out to win. They were pulling out all the stops. The Phillies were doing business as usual.
As things turned out, of course, the game didn’t hinge on the starters. Blanton wasn’t as tough as was Sabathia but he managed to give up just four runs after six full innings. And, when C.C. left in the seventh, immediately after Chase Utley banged a long solo home run to right, the Yanks were still up 4-3.
Damaso Marte managed to get the Yanks out of the seventh and Joba struck out the side in the eighth. There was just one problem. Before he struck out the side, he gave up a tying dinger to Phils 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz. So the game rested on those ninth inning pitchers. The Phils selection was their closer, Brad Lidge, even though Ryan Madsen had just finished pitching a very nice eighth.
Lidge looked just terrific for 2/3 of an inning. It was Johnny Damon who did him in. After taking some pitches and fouling off some pitches and pretty much wearing Lidge out, Damon stroked a single to left. It was an at-bat that a few players mentioned after the game, one that will probably be remembered fifty years from now when youngsters in the stands today discuss the 2009 World Series. Lidge was never the same after Damon.
Lidge then had to face Mark Teixeira, which would have been bad enough. But then Damon stole second, and, as the Phillies had shifted their defense to the right hand side for Teixeira, Damon popped up from the keystone and stole third too, as nobody was covering the bag.
Lidge was a mess now because he couldn’t really use that slider of his that bounces in the dirt with a runner on third. So he proceeds to hit Teixeira with a pitch. Of course, with the Yankees lineup, things never seem to get any easier. Now he just had to face Arod, he of the many post-season homers and rbi’s.
Arod didn’t disappoint either, smacking a double to left that scored Damon with the eventual game-winning run and a hustling Teixeira went first to third. It was academic after that, but Posada drove in both Teixeira and Arod anyway. The game was all but over as they handed a 3-run lead to Mariano Rivera.
But it was a classic World Series game. Jeter and Damon were workmanlike in putting the Yanks ahead and Joe Blanton was cool as he managed the Yankees through the first six. Utley’s at-bat versus Sabathia in the 7th was a beauty and his homer seemed to give the Phils momentum even though they were still down a run. Then Feliz’s shot to left off Joba in the 8th to tie the game at last could have spelled the end for the Bombers.
But even before that, there were unusual things. I mean, how often do you see Ryan Howard steal a base? How often do you see any quick pitches, not just one but two for strikeouts? How about all those meetings on the mound with Sabathia? What gamesmanship was employed by both sides, and Posada and Sabathia were definitely playing with Werth’s mind when they struck him out with two men on. Once again, it was the Yankees who were pulling out all the stops, even the psychological ones.
Charlie Manuel’s supposed reliance on hunches wasn’t so evident for this game. He seemed to be doing everything strictly by the book. He pulled Blanton after six for no particular reason. The move to Chan Ho Park didn’t seem particularly wise as Joe had been pretty much coasting. That Park got them through the seventh isn’t really my point.
Ryan Madsen was pretty good in the 8th too, but that didn’t stop Charlie from pulling him for Lidge in the 9th, probably his last disastrous and fateful move in this Series. Lidge couldn’t handle the adversity Damon threw his way. No, I didn’t see many hunches being played by Manuel last night.
The Yanks go with Burnett on 3 days rest now and, even with Lee going for the Phillies, I expect the Yanks now to finish this one off in 5. The Yanks are playing to win, pulling out all the stops. The Phillies, with as much talent as they possess, are playing by the book.
To get it out of the way, let me first say the football Giants were awful in the afternoon game. They have no pass defense. They have no cover guys, they have no defensive line and they have no Steve Spagnuolo anymore. They do have a defensive coordinator with not much nerve and not much imagination. So the Giants lost. The score doesn’t even matter. The Eagles scored at will.
The first intriguing thing about the Yanks-Phils Game 4 was the starting pitching matchup. The Yanks pitched their ace, C.C. Sabathia, on 3 days rest. The Phillies pitched Joe Blanton, their regular guy in the rotation. Phils Manager Charlie Manuel can’t be faulted for not starting his ace, Cliff Lee, as he had never pitched on just 3 days rest before. And the Phillies had beaten Sabathia in the past.
And, if the Phils had managed to survive Game 4, they’d have had their ace going on normal rest in a Game 5, and they’d have likely been up 3-2 in the Series 9 innings later. So the move made sense, I guess. But while it made sense, it seemed to me the game meant more to the Yankees. They were going all out to win. They were pulling out all the stops. The Phillies were doing business as usual.
As things turned out, of course, the game didn’t hinge on the starters. Blanton wasn’t as tough as was Sabathia but he managed to give up just four runs after six full innings. And, when C.C. left in the seventh, immediately after Chase Utley banged a long solo home run to right, the Yanks were still up 4-3.
Damaso Marte managed to get the Yanks out of the seventh and Joba struck out the side in the eighth. There was just one problem. Before he struck out the side, he gave up a tying dinger to Phils 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz. So the game rested on those ninth inning pitchers. The Phils selection was their closer, Brad Lidge, even though Ryan Madsen had just finished pitching a very nice eighth.
Lidge looked just terrific for 2/3 of an inning. It was Johnny Damon who did him in. After taking some pitches and fouling off some pitches and pretty much wearing Lidge out, Damon stroked a single to left. It was an at-bat that a few players mentioned after the game, one that will probably be remembered fifty years from now when youngsters in the stands today discuss the 2009 World Series. Lidge was never the same after Damon.
Lidge then had to face Mark Teixeira, which would have been bad enough. But then Damon stole second, and, as the Phillies had shifted their defense to the right hand side for Teixeira, Damon popped up from the keystone and stole third too, as nobody was covering the bag.
Lidge was a mess now because he couldn’t really use that slider of his that bounces in the dirt with a runner on third. So he proceeds to hit Teixeira with a pitch. Of course, with the Yankees lineup, things never seem to get any easier. Now he just had to face Arod, he of the many post-season homers and rbi’s.
Arod didn’t disappoint either, smacking a double to left that scored Damon with the eventual game-winning run and a hustling Teixeira went first to third. It was academic after that, but Posada drove in both Teixeira and Arod anyway. The game was all but over as they handed a 3-run lead to Mariano Rivera.
But it was a classic World Series game. Jeter and Damon were workmanlike in putting the Yanks ahead and Joe Blanton was cool as he managed the Yankees through the first six. Utley’s at-bat versus Sabathia in the 7th was a beauty and his homer seemed to give the Phils momentum even though they were still down a run. Then Feliz’s shot to left off Joba in the 8th to tie the game at last could have spelled the end for the Bombers.
But even before that, there were unusual things. I mean, how often do you see Ryan Howard steal a base? How often do you see any quick pitches, not just one but two for strikeouts? How about all those meetings on the mound with Sabathia? What gamesmanship was employed by both sides, and Posada and Sabathia were definitely playing with Werth’s mind when they struck him out with two men on. Once again, it was the Yankees who were pulling out all the stops, even the psychological ones.
Charlie Manuel’s supposed reliance on hunches wasn’t so evident for this game. He seemed to be doing everything strictly by the book. He pulled Blanton after six for no particular reason. The move to Chan Ho Park didn’t seem particularly wise as Joe had been pretty much coasting. That Park got them through the seventh isn’t really my point.
Ryan Madsen was pretty good in the 8th too, but that didn’t stop Charlie from pulling him for Lidge in the 9th, probably his last disastrous and fateful move in this Series. Lidge couldn’t handle the adversity Damon threw his way. No, I didn’t see many hunches being played by Manuel last night.
The Yanks go with Burnett on 3 days rest now and, even with Lee going for the Phillies, I expect the Yanks now to finish this one off in 5. The Yanks are playing to win, pulling out all the stops. The Phillies, with as much talent as they possess, are playing by the book.
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