It’s interesting to look back sometimes on these posts of mine to see where my mind was a week ago and where it is now. In my last column that was almost two weeks ago, I reflected on the Cards being the team to beat, that it was the Cards who had all those no-name guys who would hurt you.
Since then, the Cards did manage to make the Brewers look awful and then took Game 1 of the Series behind a lot of pitching and one of those no-name guys, one Allen Craig, who hit a little flare to right against Alexi Ogando, a Texas guy much too fond of his fastball, to drive in the winning run in the Cards 3-2 victory against the Rangers in St. Louis.
But, last night, the Rangers showed that they could play some small-ball too. Rangers second-sacker Ian Kinsler got a hell of a jump on Cards closer Jason Motte in the 9th and just got his hand in to touch the corner of the bag ahead of Rafael Furcal’s swipe tag. Cards catcher Yadier Molina made the perfect throw but it wasn’t enough to nail Kinsler.
Then, a guy named Elvis Andrus kept the line moving along with another single, sending Kinsler to third and taking second on the somewhat-muffed relay. All of a sudden, it was second and third and nobody out. Both runners would wind up scoring on sac-flies from Hamilton and Young and that was it for the day as far as scoring would go. Rangers closer Neftali Feliz made sure of that.
So the American League entry can play small-ball too. They’ve also got some guys who can hit in the clutch, some guys who can steal bases and play defense too. Their shortstop Elvis Andrus made one play that looked impossible and another that just was as fine a play as you’ll ever see.
Until that ninth inning, it looked as if the Cards would once again employ the same method of destroying an opponent’s will as they had been doing all the way down the stretch of the regular season, take the lead and trot out one fine reliever after another to shut down that opposing offense.
If Kinsler didn’t steal second, if Andrus didn’t take second on the throw, the Rangers would have been down 2-0 in games on their way back to Texas. But they put the pressure on, they hung tough, much as the Cards had been doing with regularity. The Rangers got the big hits and made the big plays. Momentum now has to favor the Rangers. They beat the LaRussa formula.
That Neftali Feliz looked so unhittable in the ninth didn’t hurt either, as far as inspiring confidence in the Rangers’ chances. Feliz was the man, not Motte. The Rangers won’t fear Jason Motte anymore.
I had been thinking the Cards still had an advantage in starting pitching, if only because they had three lefties going against all those right-handed hitters of the Cardinals, especially Pujols and Holliday. But, a quick look at the split-stats for Matt Harrison, the Rangers lefty who’ll be starting Game 3, shows that he’s better against righties than lefties, in terms of opposing batting and slugging percentages. The Rangers could easily take Game 3.
Derek Holland, Game 4’s probable Rangers lefty starter, may have a lot more trouble against that Cards right-handed lineup. I’d imagine the Cards would tie the Series up in Game 4 at two apiece. He’ll be facing Edwin Jackson for St. Louis, someone who has been effective all year but with limited experience in the playoffs. If the Cards did lose this one, they’d be down 3-1 in the Series, an event that these Cards won’t let happen.
Game 5 should also go to the Cards as Chris Carpenter is a much better pitcher than he has shown thus far in the first game. Facing C.J. Wilson again, who I thought pitched over is head in Game 1, Carpenter should send the Series back to St. Louis with the Cards holding a 3-2 lead.
Then it’ll be Garcia-Lewis again in Game 6 in St. Louis. The Rangers obviously won Game 2 with the same SP matchup so it’s not inconceivable that, with the Rangers’ backs firmly against the wall, as they were to a lesser extent last night, the Texas contingent can tie the Series at 3 apiece, setting up still another Harrison-Lohse matchup in Game 7.
Your guess is as good as mine as to which of these two tough teams will take that one. Whatever happens though, it’ll be a team that can play small-ball, good defense, steals, taking the extra base and getting tough at-bats in tough situations.
The weather has negated the power of both these teams so far, both games in St. Louis having been played in weather in the 40’s with a stiff wind. Pujols’s drive especially last night would have soared out of the park on any normal baseball night.
The Rangers definitely broke through in a big way with last night’s come-from-behind win. They beat LaRussa’s formula, they beat their feared closer, they fielded the ball better and they were better on the basepaths. They have the closer to watch out for now. They have more experience in the playoffs and they’ve had their taste of failure in last year’s World Series vs. the Giants.
That’s a lot of advantages, a lot of stuff that’s hard to evaluate. I now think that the only way the Cards win this Series is if they take 2 out of 3 in Texas, a tough test against this Rangers team that loves to play at home, a fact that I heard Josh Hamilton re-affirm today, and in just about those same words.
Of course, there’s also NFL football still rolling along. The Jets, borderline sociopaths all, will lose to the Chargers if there’s any justice in this world. The Giants should have their way with Fish.
Showing posts with label Texas Rangers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas Rangers. Show all posts
Friday, October 21, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
September Is Looking Good
Oh good, it’s not raining.
And the Yanks are fielding their irregulars for the day after late-night game with the Orioles. It’s Nunez leading off, then Martin, Swisher, Arod, Andruw Jones, the rook Montero, then Laird, Golson and Pena. So far, Arod looks good and Montero got caught lunging at a low and away slider. But there’s more fun in store with that 7 thru 9 lineup….Laird, Golson and Pena, whew!
It should be interesting to see what A.J. Burnett gives up today. So far it doesn’t look good. First baseman Laird just muffed an easy grounder to give the Birds another run. It could be a long day.
The Mets took one in unusual fashion last night from the Marlins. Parnell failed as a closer yet again, giving up two runs to allow Florida to tie the game at four. It took 3 more innings of work to finally win it 7-4. Pagan, Bay, Evans and Reyes combined to score three big runs in the top of the 12th to win it.
Not that any of these heroics mean anything, but, what the hell, it is still baseball. Nominally.
The big stir for me today is the NFL opener tomorrow night between the Saints and the Packers, the super Bowl champs against the champs of two years ago. There’ll be Saints rookie running back Mark Ingram to check out in his first real game and, of course, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. Sounds good.
The Football Giants can’t get a break, unless you count bones. Now their linebacker Goff is gone too. He’ll join the rookie corner who went down after about one play in pre-season and the other 2nd-year LB Clint Sintim on the DL. And let’s not forget Terrell Thomas.
Yes, folks, that same defense that gave up all those second half points to the Eagles last year, that same horrible excuse for a defense, will be right back this year. Oh well, at least they tried to fix things. It’s just that anybody who could have helped is hurt. I won’t even mention the offensive losses of Steve Smith and Kevin Boss. As things turned out, they’re both injured anyway. But you would be forgiven for forgetting the names of the guys playing middle linebacker and one of the corners.
But the Giants do have the advantage of playing against the Redskins, lo these many years low these many years. The current Redskins under Mike Shanahan feature Rex Grossman as its quarterback. Donovan McNabb is off in the wilds of the north and I hope Shanahan will be happy now. As he already divested himself of Haynesworth the Ugly, this is a Redskins team that might be very close to a Shanahan ideal, good running game, zone blocking, yada yada ya. But what about the Skins defense?
(Montero, the Yankee rookie who looked so bad in his first AB, just hit a long single to right to score two and tie the game up for AJ and the Bombers).
The Jets have had a lot more luck with just about everything. They return an offense that ‘ll be remarkably identical to last year’s, the exception being Plaxico Burress taking over for Braylon Edwards at wide receiver. On defense, they’ll probably wind up being less consistent than last year’s group, as veterans have been let go but big things are expected from two big bodies in Kenrick Ellis and Muhammad Wilkerson.
The Jets will be facing the Cowboys. Who knows where this score could end up? If you told me it’d be high-scoring, I’d believe you. If you said it’d be a scoreless tie, I could entertain that idea too. The Cowboys are just all over the place. Romo is back and he’ll be trying to find Jersey boy Miles Austin and the sometimes sensational Dez Bryant. They’ll score points for sure but their running game will probably be harder for this Jets defense to stop. Expect to see a lot of Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. Look for those two rookies. They may be on the ground a lot.
Meanwhile, back to baseball, the MVP race in the American League seems to be tightening. Curtis Granderson, Adrian Gonzalez and Robinson Cano, to my mind, could all stake a legitimate claim to the title but there’re still quite a few games to go. Cano especially seems to be coming on, and have you seen him play the field? It seems he’s a human highlight reel.
Who’ll be the playoff teams in each league? While the wildcard teams will come from the East in both the NL and AL, the only real question marks will be who’ll win the West . In the AL West Texas is still only 3 games up on the Angels while in the NL West, the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks are a full 6 games up on the World Series Champs SF Giants.
The D’Backs have the pitching to lock out the Giants, both on the starting and relieving end. Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders and Josh Collmenter are all well below the 4.0 ERA marker and they seem to finally have the lineup to back up that pitching.
Justin Upton is the closest thing to Curtis Granderson in the National League, batting .297 with 27 homers and 93 runs scored. Miguel Montero is perhaps the best hitting catcher in the NL while other role players such as Chris Young, Ryan Roberts and Willie Bloomquist keep on keeping on.
The Angels are looking old though, and despite some pretty awesome pitching, just don’t have the firepower to knock out the resilient Texas Rangers. The Rangers have just enough pitching to see themselves to the Promised Land, especially with their beefing up of the relief corps with Mike Adams.
September is looking good if you discount all the rain. The baseball playoffs should be riveting, especially those involving the Red Sox and Yankees. Let’s hope the Giants and Jets can keep the month interesting.
And the Yanks are fielding their irregulars for the day after late-night game with the Orioles. It’s Nunez leading off, then Martin, Swisher, Arod, Andruw Jones, the rook Montero, then Laird, Golson and Pena. So far, Arod looks good and Montero got caught lunging at a low and away slider. But there’s more fun in store with that 7 thru 9 lineup….Laird, Golson and Pena, whew!
It should be interesting to see what A.J. Burnett gives up today. So far it doesn’t look good. First baseman Laird just muffed an easy grounder to give the Birds another run. It could be a long day.
The Mets took one in unusual fashion last night from the Marlins. Parnell failed as a closer yet again, giving up two runs to allow Florida to tie the game at four. It took 3 more innings of work to finally win it 7-4. Pagan, Bay, Evans and Reyes combined to score three big runs in the top of the 12th to win it.
Not that any of these heroics mean anything, but, what the hell, it is still baseball. Nominally.
The big stir for me today is the NFL opener tomorrow night between the Saints and the Packers, the super Bowl champs against the champs of two years ago. There’ll be Saints rookie running back Mark Ingram to check out in his first real game and, of course, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. Sounds good.
The Football Giants can’t get a break, unless you count bones. Now their linebacker Goff is gone too. He’ll join the rookie corner who went down after about one play in pre-season and the other 2nd-year LB Clint Sintim on the DL. And let’s not forget Terrell Thomas.
Yes, folks, that same defense that gave up all those second half points to the Eagles last year, that same horrible excuse for a defense, will be right back this year. Oh well, at least they tried to fix things. It’s just that anybody who could have helped is hurt. I won’t even mention the offensive losses of Steve Smith and Kevin Boss. As things turned out, they’re both injured anyway. But you would be forgiven for forgetting the names of the guys playing middle linebacker and one of the corners.
But the Giants do have the advantage of playing against the Redskins, lo these many years low these many years. The current Redskins under Mike Shanahan feature Rex Grossman as its quarterback. Donovan McNabb is off in the wilds of the north and I hope Shanahan will be happy now. As he already divested himself of Haynesworth the Ugly, this is a Redskins team that might be very close to a Shanahan ideal, good running game, zone blocking, yada yada ya. But what about the Skins defense?
(Montero, the Yankee rookie who looked so bad in his first AB, just hit a long single to right to score two and tie the game up for AJ and the Bombers).
The Jets have had a lot more luck with just about everything. They return an offense that ‘ll be remarkably identical to last year’s, the exception being Plaxico Burress taking over for Braylon Edwards at wide receiver. On defense, they’ll probably wind up being less consistent than last year’s group, as veterans have been let go but big things are expected from two big bodies in Kenrick Ellis and Muhammad Wilkerson.
The Jets will be facing the Cowboys. Who knows where this score could end up? If you told me it’d be high-scoring, I’d believe you. If you said it’d be a scoreless tie, I could entertain that idea too. The Cowboys are just all over the place. Romo is back and he’ll be trying to find Jersey boy Miles Austin and the sometimes sensational Dez Bryant. They’ll score points for sure but their running game will probably be harder for this Jets defense to stop. Expect to see a lot of Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. Look for those two rookies. They may be on the ground a lot.
Meanwhile, back to baseball, the MVP race in the American League seems to be tightening. Curtis Granderson, Adrian Gonzalez and Robinson Cano, to my mind, could all stake a legitimate claim to the title but there’re still quite a few games to go. Cano especially seems to be coming on, and have you seen him play the field? It seems he’s a human highlight reel.
Who’ll be the playoff teams in each league? While the wildcard teams will come from the East in both the NL and AL, the only real question marks will be who’ll win the West . In the AL West Texas is still only 3 games up on the Angels while in the NL West, the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks are a full 6 games up on the World Series Champs SF Giants.
The D’Backs have the pitching to lock out the Giants, both on the starting and relieving end. Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders and Josh Collmenter are all well below the 4.0 ERA marker and they seem to finally have the lineup to back up that pitching.
Justin Upton is the closest thing to Curtis Granderson in the National League, batting .297 with 27 homers and 93 runs scored. Miguel Montero is perhaps the best hitting catcher in the NL while other role players such as Chris Young, Ryan Roberts and Willie Bloomquist keep on keeping on.
The Angels are looking old though, and despite some pretty awesome pitching, just don’t have the firepower to knock out the resilient Texas Rangers. The Rangers have just enough pitching to see themselves to the Promised Land, especially with their beefing up of the relief corps with Mike Adams.
September is looking good if you discount all the rain. The baseball playoffs should be riveting, especially those involving the Red Sox and Yankees. Let’s hope the Giants and Jets can keep the month interesting.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Magic Will Decide the Series
On the eve of the greatest World Series since 1986, when the Mets prevailed over the Red Sox in seven games, with heroes named Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter, Bobby Ojeda and Ray Knight, Sid Hernandez and Mookie Wilson, Lenny Dykstra and Darryl Strawberry, I gleefully look forward to witnessing another Series for the Ages, one featuring great pitching, great hitting, great home parks and even better home crowds. And perhaps magic too.
This grand event comes on the tail-end of a week of Yankee whining, coming off a Series featuring failed Yanks pitching and even more dismal Yankee hitting. You couldn’t write home about Yankee fielding either as Arod and Jeter played deep and then couldn’t make the throws. A Yankee-hater loves hearing Yanks fans whine.
But, even better than that, the Yankee future looks ridiculous. While other serious teams (like Boston) seek to shed their older players while they still have value and well before their inevitable decline, the Yanks will pursue the long and painful path. Keeping all these old guys while limiting their playing time and plugging in utility players, mixing and matching with lesser players to ensure a decade or so of future futility. Oh baby! Bring on the Don Mattingly years.
They’ll re-sign Derek Jeter, of course, justifying it with nothing but non-baseball reasons, i.e. he’s a legacy player, he’s the captain, he’s the franchise, yada yada. And Mariano Rivera, at 41 years of age and already showing signs of decline in 2010, will also be eagerly courted. Having already re-signed Arod and Posada, that pretty much ensures they’ll be an old tired club for not just next year but well beyond.
So, at the same time as I can look forward to this Series, and be happily oblivious to the outcome, as both teams were my favorites in their respective leagues, I get the security of knowing the Yanks will be worse, maybe much worse, and the Mets will get better. (As this is written, the Mets are pursuing at least two of the finest General Managers in the game today).
Why do I like the Rangers so much? How about Nolan Ryan making a mockery of the Yanks obsession with pitch counts? How about keeping their manager on board despite his problem with drugs? How about their working with Josh Hamilton, the MVP in the American League to everyone outside the New York area, to help him beat an even more pronounced drug problem?
How about the way they developed their youth, evidenced by the successes of Michael Young and Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus? How about their mid-season moves, out-Yankee-ing the Yanks for Cliff Lee and acquiring one of the best post-season catchers ever in Bengie Molina?
Okay, that’s enough rhapsodizing on the Rangers for, in the Giants, they’ll be facing another team that will be the most dangerous team the Rangers have faced this post-season. In fact, it was the Giants that let Molina go, only to replace him with arguably the best rookie in the National League, a young fella named Buster Posey.
If any team has better pitching than the Rangers, it would have to be the Giants. Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and young Bumgarner are, one thru four, arguably better than Lee, C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter. They have a great closer in Brian Wilson and a great setup guy in Javier Lopez. They match up well with the Rangers closer Neftali Feliz and Lopez beats anybody the Rangers throw out there, in either Oliver or O’Day, Holland or Ogando.
I have a feeling the Rangers will be missing that setup guy. If baseball champions are characterized by pitching alone, then the Giants have a distinct advantage. Even giving the Rangers the Cliff Lee starts, Games 1 and 5, they’ll be in trouble against Cain and Sanchez and possibly Bumgarner too.
For what it’s worth, I think Lee will win Game 1 in San Fran. Then the Giants will tie the Series in Game 2 behind Cain. Then the Giants will take the lead in Texas in Game 3 with Sanchez pitted against ALCS hero Colby Lewis. There will then be a furor over whether Cliff Lee can go in Game Four. He won’t. Bumgarner and Hunter will duel evenly in Game 4 but the Giants relief pitching will give them Game 4, making it 3-1 Giants and with the Series headed back to that city by the bay.
But Lee will pitch in Game 6, probably again matched against Lincecum. The Rangers, now with Lee and with their backs to the wall, will take Game 6, thus creating a Game 7 scenario of Matt Cain for the Giants going head-to-head with C.J. Wilson. This matchup will favor the Giants again and, I’d have to think, unless the Rangers can pull off some more playoff magic, he Giants could very well win this 2010 World series.
The magic could come from Hamilton or Cruz, Kinsler or Andrus. The Giants have their own list of potential heroes but do they really match up? Posey and Huff, Uribe and Torres? I don’t think so. It’ll be pitching that wins the Series for these Giants, and if not, they won’t win it at all.
It’ll be up to Matt Cain and Brian Wilson. If they can’t keep the Rangers under 3 runs in that deciding game, the Series will go to those magic Rangers. If Cain can hold those Rangers bats down for 7 more innings (he’ll have already won Game 2 to get to this point), he’ll wind up being the Series MVP. If not, then the MVP will go to one of those other guys in red, and my money would be on the wunderkind, Josh Hamilton.
I could live with either result, I’m sure, but all things considered, I’d have to side with the Rangers of Ryan and Hamilton, Michael Young and Ian Kinsler.
Besides, the Cowboys are dead. Texas needs a real America’s team…..
This grand event comes on the tail-end of a week of Yankee whining, coming off a Series featuring failed Yanks pitching and even more dismal Yankee hitting. You couldn’t write home about Yankee fielding either as Arod and Jeter played deep and then couldn’t make the throws. A Yankee-hater loves hearing Yanks fans whine.
But, even better than that, the Yankee future looks ridiculous. While other serious teams (like Boston) seek to shed their older players while they still have value and well before their inevitable decline, the Yanks will pursue the long and painful path. Keeping all these old guys while limiting their playing time and plugging in utility players, mixing and matching with lesser players to ensure a decade or so of future futility. Oh baby! Bring on the Don Mattingly years.
They’ll re-sign Derek Jeter, of course, justifying it with nothing but non-baseball reasons, i.e. he’s a legacy player, he’s the captain, he’s the franchise, yada yada. And Mariano Rivera, at 41 years of age and already showing signs of decline in 2010, will also be eagerly courted. Having already re-signed Arod and Posada, that pretty much ensures they’ll be an old tired club for not just next year but well beyond.
So, at the same time as I can look forward to this Series, and be happily oblivious to the outcome, as both teams were my favorites in their respective leagues, I get the security of knowing the Yanks will be worse, maybe much worse, and the Mets will get better. (As this is written, the Mets are pursuing at least two of the finest General Managers in the game today).
Why do I like the Rangers so much? How about Nolan Ryan making a mockery of the Yanks obsession with pitch counts? How about keeping their manager on board despite his problem with drugs? How about their working with Josh Hamilton, the MVP in the American League to everyone outside the New York area, to help him beat an even more pronounced drug problem?
How about the way they developed their youth, evidenced by the successes of Michael Young and Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus? How about their mid-season moves, out-Yankee-ing the Yanks for Cliff Lee and acquiring one of the best post-season catchers ever in Bengie Molina?
Okay, that’s enough rhapsodizing on the Rangers for, in the Giants, they’ll be facing another team that will be the most dangerous team the Rangers have faced this post-season. In fact, it was the Giants that let Molina go, only to replace him with arguably the best rookie in the National League, a young fella named Buster Posey.
If any team has better pitching than the Rangers, it would have to be the Giants. Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and young Bumgarner are, one thru four, arguably better than Lee, C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter. They have a great closer in Brian Wilson and a great setup guy in Javier Lopez. They match up well with the Rangers closer Neftali Feliz and Lopez beats anybody the Rangers throw out there, in either Oliver or O’Day, Holland or Ogando.
I have a feeling the Rangers will be missing that setup guy. If baseball champions are characterized by pitching alone, then the Giants have a distinct advantage. Even giving the Rangers the Cliff Lee starts, Games 1 and 5, they’ll be in trouble against Cain and Sanchez and possibly Bumgarner too.
For what it’s worth, I think Lee will win Game 1 in San Fran. Then the Giants will tie the Series in Game 2 behind Cain. Then the Giants will take the lead in Texas in Game 3 with Sanchez pitted against ALCS hero Colby Lewis. There will then be a furor over whether Cliff Lee can go in Game Four. He won’t. Bumgarner and Hunter will duel evenly in Game 4 but the Giants relief pitching will give them Game 4, making it 3-1 Giants and with the Series headed back to that city by the bay.
But Lee will pitch in Game 6, probably again matched against Lincecum. The Rangers, now with Lee and with their backs to the wall, will take Game 6, thus creating a Game 7 scenario of Matt Cain for the Giants going head-to-head with C.J. Wilson. This matchup will favor the Giants again and, I’d have to think, unless the Rangers can pull off some more playoff magic, he Giants could very well win this 2010 World series.
The magic could come from Hamilton or Cruz, Kinsler or Andrus. The Giants have their own list of potential heroes but do they really match up? Posey and Huff, Uribe and Torres? I don’t think so. It’ll be pitching that wins the Series for these Giants, and if not, they won’t win it at all.
It’ll be up to Matt Cain and Brian Wilson. If they can’t keep the Rangers under 3 runs in that deciding game, the Series will go to those magic Rangers. If Cain can hold those Rangers bats down for 7 more innings (he’ll have already won Game 2 to get to this point), he’ll wind up being the Series MVP. If not, then the MVP will go to one of those other guys in red, and my money would be on the wunderkind, Josh Hamilton.
I could live with either result, I’m sure, but all things considered, I’d have to side with the Rangers of Ryan and Hamilton, Michael Young and Ian Kinsler.
Besides, the Cowboys are dead. Texas needs a real America’s team…..
Monday, October 4, 2010
Series Hopes on an All-Sports Sunday
It was one of the best sports days ever. NFL action and all its fantasy implications, MLB playoffs races coming down to the wire and the Mets on the verge of finally ending the Omar Minaya era and its four years of disappointing mercenary baseball.
Ultimately, it will be that last event that will be the most important event in my life. But in the short run, for sheer excitement and that feeling of true participation in the day’s events, you just can’t beat Sunday NFL action, especially if you have the resources to buy the NFL Redzone package, or watch streaming videos of games on the Internet.
After watching the G-Men (yes, they finally deserve that name) vanquish da Bears last night on mainstream TV, I can’t imagine going back to that totally unwatchable platform for commercials, even if it did afford me the opportunity to get along further in my reading . I also became quite accomplished in manipulating the remote control, especially the “mute” and “last” buttons.
The G-Men weren’t expected by many to beat da Bears last night. That was before the nation witnessed the total humiliation of the Bears offensive line. It reminded me of a similar game against McNabb’s Philadelphia Eagles a year or two ago when Osi Umenyiora just ate up the guy in front of him. (Come to think of it, it looked a lot like the Colts decimation of the Giants offensive line just last week).
Things change so quickly in the NFL. Those same Giants who looked like gangbusters in that first game of the season returned last night. After that pitiful effort against the Colts, they turned their season around with a resounding victory against a Chicago team that had been undefeated at 3 and 0. And that result wasn’t even as surprising as the action in a few other games on the slate.
The lowly Lions from Detroit gave Green Bay fits before losing. The Jaguars, a team I had thought incapable of ever winning a game this season, beat those same Colts who ate up that Giants offensive line just last week. And they did it by outcoaching the brash Indi team, who called timeouts for their offense while the Jags still had the ball!
Ahmad Bradshaw broke my heart by fumbling once again down by the goal line, even if he did have a really marvelous day. I could watch those nifty changes in direction forever, that and his ability to run over people. Tom Coughlin broke it again when he inserted old sourpuss Brandon Jacobs into the game, in effect rewarding the Twink for his surliness by giving him the touchdown, not Bradshaw.
That last decision crippled my chances of winning my fantasy contest this week. Coughlin also limited the participation of Mario Manningham, a player who could have played after his concussion fears were laid to rest. And a player I had foolishly decided to pick up to replace Miles Austin and/or Percy Harvin in my fantasy lineup. Manningham gave me the big zero.
I still have a fantasy of a chance, but even the most optimistic outlook would snigger at the prospects of my opponent’s Ronnie Brown and Davone Bess (from Miami) failing to achieve 80 yards or a touchdown, even against a New England team that hasn’t really distinguished itself for defense of any kind this year.
And all that NFL action was only a portion of the excitement for the day. The interminable 162-game baseball season finally actually ended. And, in the National League, the only league that still plays the actual original game of baseball, the playoff teams were actually determined on the season’s final day!
It ended much to my satisfaction too. The San Diego Padres, a team with almost no hitting, a team that had relied almost entirely on pitching all year long, finally succumbed to the Giants from San Francisco, a result that cemented the Giants as NFC West Champions while, at the same time, anointing the Braves as the wildcard, thus assuring that the venerable Bobby Cox, long-time manager of that forever Mets rival Braves team, would get a chance to win a World Series.
The San Francisco Giants had been a favorite of mine all year, what with their great pitching and exciting (if nothing else) brand of baseball. I had relied upon some of their players for my fantasy baseball team, the Panda Pablo Sandoval and the 4-tool Andres Torres giving opponents fits when super-sub Juan Uribe did not, or when big Jersey guy Matt Cain couldn’t otherwise pitch himself into another win.
So it’ll be the Phils and Reds, the Giants and Braves, and that’s okay with me. The Phillies are the real class of this bunch but I’ll be pulling for the Giants, the only other team that rates a chance of unseating the American League World Series representative, whether that winds up being the Twins or Rangers, Rays or Yankees (God forbid).
I’ll be pulling for the Rangers in the American League. Even including the baseball Giants, they were my favorite team, with the likes of Ian Kinsler and Michael Young, Josh Hamilton and Pedro Guerrero all capable of bashing the ball and the opposing team out of the ballpark, especially at home in the friendly confines of that Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
In Josh Hamilton, the Rangers own the most exciting and revered baseball player since Mickey Mantle. That’s a huge statement, sure, but Hamilton is that kind of player. It’s Hamilton who’ll be the MVP and it’s the Rangers who’ll win the World Series.
They open against Tampa Bay, who couldn’t duck as fast as the Yankees in their efforts to avoid the prospect of playing them. The Yanks will beat the Twins. The Rangers will beat the Rays, Yanks and then the Giants in a dream of a Series.
The Yanks have Sabathia and Arod. You can have the rest. And that’s what the Rangers will do.
Ultimately, it will be that last event that will be the most important event in my life. But in the short run, for sheer excitement and that feeling of true participation in the day’s events, you just can’t beat Sunday NFL action, especially if you have the resources to buy the NFL Redzone package, or watch streaming videos of games on the Internet.
After watching the G-Men (yes, they finally deserve that name) vanquish da Bears last night on mainstream TV, I can’t imagine going back to that totally unwatchable platform for commercials, even if it did afford me the opportunity to get along further in my reading . I also became quite accomplished in manipulating the remote control, especially the “mute” and “last” buttons.
The G-Men weren’t expected by many to beat da Bears last night. That was before the nation witnessed the total humiliation of the Bears offensive line. It reminded me of a similar game against McNabb’s Philadelphia Eagles a year or two ago when Osi Umenyiora just ate up the guy in front of him. (Come to think of it, it looked a lot like the Colts decimation of the Giants offensive line just last week).
Things change so quickly in the NFL. Those same Giants who looked like gangbusters in that first game of the season returned last night. After that pitiful effort against the Colts, they turned their season around with a resounding victory against a Chicago team that had been undefeated at 3 and 0. And that result wasn’t even as surprising as the action in a few other games on the slate.
The lowly Lions from Detroit gave Green Bay fits before losing. The Jaguars, a team I had thought incapable of ever winning a game this season, beat those same Colts who ate up that Giants offensive line just last week. And they did it by outcoaching the brash Indi team, who called timeouts for their offense while the Jags still had the ball!
Ahmad Bradshaw broke my heart by fumbling once again down by the goal line, even if he did have a really marvelous day. I could watch those nifty changes in direction forever, that and his ability to run over people. Tom Coughlin broke it again when he inserted old sourpuss Brandon Jacobs into the game, in effect rewarding the Twink for his surliness by giving him the touchdown, not Bradshaw.
That last decision crippled my chances of winning my fantasy contest this week. Coughlin also limited the participation of Mario Manningham, a player who could have played after his concussion fears were laid to rest. And a player I had foolishly decided to pick up to replace Miles Austin and/or Percy Harvin in my fantasy lineup. Manningham gave me the big zero.
I still have a fantasy of a chance, but even the most optimistic outlook would snigger at the prospects of my opponent’s Ronnie Brown and Davone Bess (from Miami) failing to achieve 80 yards or a touchdown, even against a New England team that hasn’t really distinguished itself for defense of any kind this year.
And all that NFL action was only a portion of the excitement for the day. The interminable 162-game baseball season finally actually ended. And, in the National League, the only league that still plays the actual original game of baseball, the playoff teams were actually determined on the season’s final day!
It ended much to my satisfaction too. The San Diego Padres, a team with almost no hitting, a team that had relied almost entirely on pitching all year long, finally succumbed to the Giants from San Francisco, a result that cemented the Giants as NFC West Champions while, at the same time, anointing the Braves as the wildcard, thus assuring that the venerable Bobby Cox, long-time manager of that forever Mets rival Braves team, would get a chance to win a World Series.
The San Francisco Giants had been a favorite of mine all year, what with their great pitching and exciting (if nothing else) brand of baseball. I had relied upon some of their players for my fantasy baseball team, the Panda Pablo Sandoval and the 4-tool Andres Torres giving opponents fits when super-sub Juan Uribe did not, or when big Jersey guy Matt Cain couldn’t otherwise pitch himself into another win.
So it’ll be the Phils and Reds, the Giants and Braves, and that’s okay with me. The Phillies are the real class of this bunch but I’ll be pulling for the Giants, the only other team that rates a chance of unseating the American League World Series representative, whether that winds up being the Twins or Rangers, Rays or Yankees (God forbid).
I’ll be pulling for the Rangers in the American League. Even including the baseball Giants, they were my favorite team, with the likes of Ian Kinsler and Michael Young, Josh Hamilton and Pedro Guerrero all capable of bashing the ball and the opposing team out of the ballpark, especially at home in the friendly confines of that Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
In Josh Hamilton, the Rangers own the most exciting and revered baseball player since Mickey Mantle. That’s a huge statement, sure, but Hamilton is that kind of player. It’s Hamilton who’ll be the MVP and it’s the Rangers who’ll win the World Series.
They open against Tampa Bay, who couldn’t duck as fast as the Yankees in their efforts to avoid the prospect of playing them. The Yanks will beat the Twins. The Rangers will beat the Rays, Yanks and then the Giants in a dream of a Series.
The Yanks have Sabathia and Arod. You can have the rest. And that’s what the Rangers will do.
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