Yup, the Mets lost another tough one today and it was lost by Carrasco and the relievers, most of whom didn’t do much. The ones who did perform were in for just a batter. The right fielder Duda let one go right over his head. The Mets wasted 7 innings of terrific starting pitching from the resurgent Chris Young. The Nats Tyler Clifford made the Mets lineup look like monkeys.
But all that was nothing, just 1 more of 153 left to go. The real excitement is happening in Augusta at the Masters. It seems as if there’re ten guys who could win it and Tiger is one of the guys. The 21-year old phenom from Northern Ireland has faltered, finally. Woods may not win this thing but he sure made a lot of folks uncomfortable.
First, I have to say that Masters course looks great on an HD TV. Mine is just 42 inches but everything looks just beautiful. It can’t be much nicer in person. But the really amazing thing going on there is this phenomenal race to the finish line amongst 6 or 7 really different horses.
There’s the swaggering Woods, of course. Compare him to the sturdy and reliable K.J. Choi or either of them to the lumbering Angel Cabrera, all of these real pro’s pros. They’re pitted against the young lions of the game, Jason Day and Luke Donald and Charl Schwartzel , older fellas Geoff Ogilvy and Bo Van Pelt.
It’s each of them against the course, of course, but it sure doesn’t seem that way.
As this is written, Tiger’s round is nearly done. He gets a big hand from the crowd around the clubhouse. But he misses his 20-footer for birdie. So he’ll finish at 10-under, the most popular score, it seems, for the last nine holes. Now he’s done and the crowd gives him another hand. So I guess he’s forgiven, or everybody’s just overwhelmed by the moment, or maybe they’re just being nice Southern people.
It’s really a mind-bender to watch. The variety of shots that present themselves, the impossible lies and the rolls this way and that, the skinny fairways and gigantic traps, the water and the trees. Adam Scott is actually the leader right now. But somehow I can’t see him leading this thing at the end. I figure it’ll be Choi or Ogilvy, the more experienced players.
But, whatever happens, you know there is only one of these Masters crowns handed out each year. The tension is palpable. The only one not feeling anything is Choi. An explosion might not even do it. Now Ogilvy finishes his 10-under. Now we see Schwartzel on the fairway, he’s 10-under too but his seemingly nice approach shot rolls over the impossibly narrow and sloping green.
The baseball game, the Mets game of course, was interesting though, if just for the decisions that went awry for Mets manager Terry Collins. He took the starter who was rolling out after 7 innings and replaced him with a guy who just wouldn’t throw a strike. Pitch count anxiety claims still another victim. The theory is that he’ll live to pitch another day. Sure. What about today?
This golf tournament is all about today. The guy I haven’t been expecting much from, Adam Scott, is now 12-under. Go figure. He seems to be enjoying the attention. Here’s Jason Day again. I wonder what could’ve happened if he could have been in the final pairing again with the youngster Rory McIlroy. They played so well together. I knew pairing him with Cabrera would be a problem.
Now Schwartzel, the young South African, makes an incredible downhill putt from at least 10 feet to make his 12-under and share the lead. He extends the lead to 13-under later and stands just about 15 feet and two putts from keeping it that way. And he doesn’t look that worried, even for a downhill runner speeding toward a tiny pocket in the green. Maybe that’s why it goes in in one. The new Masters Champion is now this unflappable South African fellow.
There was no tomorrow in any one of these guys fighting for the green jacket. There’s nothing but tomorrows for our Mets. Collins just trots his pitchers out there. If they do the job, fine, but he doesn’t worry that much about it. Maybe he should start acting with a little urgency for a win. When a team gets the opportunity, it should close the door.
My worst fears about this Mets team look to be coming true. The starters who surprised us last year with some very good performances all year have thus far stunk it up in 2011, starting with Mr. Pelfrey but Niese hasn’t blown anyone away either this year. Dickey looked ridiculous on the mound Friday. The best pitchers have been the new guys, Chris Young and Chris Capuano, but one wonders how long that can last. And the relievers have been just awful.
The lineup has potential but doesn’t fulfill its potential very often. Wright’s been good but strikes out a lot. Beltran had a big day with 2 homers and Collins immediately gave him an off day. Reyes gets in position to steal a lot but never attempts a steal. I’m forced to say that Collins’s situational awareness kind of sucks.
As a manager so far, I’d give him a D+. He’s a nice guy though. Geez.
There’s not a lot of pop in the lineup. And if Jason Bay ever stops feeling “discomfort in his ribs”, we’ll find out how long it takes him to get hurt again. His willingness to play through discomfort is non-existent. The concussion in July was discomfiting enough for him to miss the entire rest of the 2010 season. This is a man who wants to be traded. This is a man who’s afraid to show himself at CitiField.
This team might show some feistiness and contend or it might just wait for tomorrow.
Showing posts with label Tiger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tiger. Show all posts
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Worst and Best of 2009
I think I’m going to be sick. Tiger Woods has been named Athlete of the Decade by AP. What timing, huh?
I don’t even care whether he is or not but it seems the AP is trying to get in the good graces of Tiger, amidst all the well-deserved media (and universal) criticism. If not for his good graces, the award was given to make sure he’d return to the game so that AP writers would have something to write about, as if there’re no other good candidates for a little more press.
I’m not a moralist but Tiger has lived a despicable existence for a married man, not because he fooled around but because he fooled around and took almost no pains to disguise the fact. It was okay with Woods to embarrass his wife and his kid…..over and over again.
So spare me if I spit on your award, AP. I’m happy not to be a part of it.
Speaking of despicable human beings, Bret Favre was hailed in a recent Newark Star-Ledger article that boosted him for MVP, as if there were no other candidates, as if there were nobody performing better, not Peyton Manning, not Drew Brees or Philip Rivers, to name just a few.
The writer in question also seemed to think all the criticism was unfounded, a theory that just doesn’t wash.
Let me say it one more time. Favre ruined the Jets season last year by playing hurt. He hid his arm injury to keep his consecutive games record alive. He didn’t care what he did to the Jets season. That he had a perfectly willing Jets management to assist him in that regard isn’t really the point. The man needed an arm operation LAST YEAR, not in the off-season so that he could come back totally healthy with his rocket arm working perfectly well for his old team’s biggest rival.
Favre certainly has been great this year. And he was pretty great for a lot of years. And maybe he would be a viable candidate for NFL MVP this year. But he cheated the Jets and the Jets fans. He took a playoffs season away from them. That’s my problem with Favre. The fact that he never met a camera or microphone he didn’t like has nothing to do with it.
Let’s see….who else can I pick on? Oh, I know, how about Serena Williams, the latest quasi-star to get a break from the U.S. press and the powers that be in tennis.
She deserved a suspension for her ugly emotional display (and arguably, assault upon the lineswoman) at the U.S. Open. She got a fine instead. She now has the green light to ruin everybody’s good time at another major tennis event. Along the way, we can listen to her whine that the whole ugly matter should be put to rest.
She not only ruined the Open, she also robbed the winner, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, of her victory on the court, a hard-fought and decisive victory, one for which Williams had no ready excuse. She hadn’t launched her crippled act. She hadn’t tapped into the trainers-session delays she had used in several important past matches to demoralize opponents who had finer tennis skills but couldn’t match her for gamesmanship and rules-twisting.
There is still some good in the world though. As this is the Christmas season, let me now focus on some positively good people, some people who aren’t just talented but who always seem to personify hard work and class.
How about Mark Teixeira? Teixeira did nothing but good things for the Yankees in 2009, earning every bit of his money and hustling all along the way. I’ll always remember his scoring from first base with the winning run against the Mets on a fly ball that 99.5 % of the time gets caught. But since it was Luis Castillo, the ball wasn’t caught. Teixeira stole one for his Yankees, not with his considerable talent but with his remarkable hustle.
How about Eli Manning? All Eli does is try to win. He can’t quite manage the fine sense of humor his brother has always had. And he doesn’t have his brother’s accuracy to be perfectly honest.
Eli just had exactly the confident but humble demeanor his team needed in 2007, one that he still brought to the table this year and last, no matter that he was robbed first of his wide-outs and then of his defense. You never hear a word of complaint from Eli, although I suspect his receivers hear about their route-running from time to time.
How about Drew Brees? Here’s a true man of stature who lacks only height, a guy who has been “dissed” throughout his lifetime by football experts, a guy who kept Philip Rivers on the bench in San Diego, where he started his pro career, for two full years, a guy who should have won the Heisman in 2000 but lost to the taller Chris Weinke from Florida State (but did finish ahead of LaDainian Tomlinson and a fella named Michael Vick).
When Brees was eligible for free agency in 2006, the Chargers elected to let him go with nary an unkind word from Mr. Brees, to the Saints, who Brees lead to their first NFC Championship Game in his first year.
Ever since his acquisition, Brees has been top notch offensively, starting every game for the Saints and gaining over 4400 yards in his first two years before topping the 5000 yard mark in 2008. This year, Brees is once again among the NFC leaders in yardage and touchdowns, this despite the fact that the Saints are running more than ever in their quest for that elusive Super Bowl victory.
Unlike Peyton and Brady, though, Brees throws to everyone ,usually making sure every wide-out gets his touchdown each game, making household names of Marques Colston, Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson.
He’s the best of 2009 and King of Bacchus too!
I don’t even care whether he is or not but it seems the AP is trying to get in the good graces of Tiger, amidst all the well-deserved media (and universal) criticism. If not for his good graces, the award was given to make sure he’d return to the game so that AP writers would have something to write about, as if there’re no other good candidates for a little more press.
I’m not a moralist but Tiger has lived a despicable existence for a married man, not because he fooled around but because he fooled around and took almost no pains to disguise the fact. It was okay with Woods to embarrass his wife and his kid…..over and over again.
So spare me if I spit on your award, AP. I’m happy not to be a part of it.
Speaking of despicable human beings, Bret Favre was hailed in a recent Newark Star-Ledger article that boosted him for MVP, as if there were no other candidates, as if there were nobody performing better, not Peyton Manning, not Drew Brees or Philip Rivers, to name just a few.
The writer in question also seemed to think all the criticism was unfounded, a theory that just doesn’t wash.
Let me say it one more time. Favre ruined the Jets season last year by playing hurt. He hid his arm injury to keep his consecutive games record alive. He didn’t care what he did to the Jets season. That he had a perfectly willing Jets management to assist him in that regard isn’t really the point. The man needed an arm operation LAST YEAR, not in the off-season so that he could come back totally healthy with his rocket arm working perfectly well for his old team’s biggest rival.
Favre certainly has been great this year. And he was pretty great for a lot of years. And maybe he would be a viable candidate for NFL MVP this year. But he cheated the Jets and the Jets fans. He took a playoffs season away from them. That’s my problem with Favre. The fact that he never met a camera or microphone he didn’t like has nothing to do with it.
Let’s see….who else can I pick on? Oh, I know, how about Serena Williams, the latest quasi-star to get a break from the U.S. press and the powers that be in tennis.
She deserved a suspension for her ugly emotional display (and arguably, assault upon the lineswoman) at the U.S. Open. She got a fine instead. She now has the green light to ruin everybody’s good time at another major tennis event. Along the way, we can listen to her whine that the whole ugly matter should be put to rest.
She not only ruined the Open, she also robbed the winner, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, of her victory on the court, a hard-fought and decisive victory, one for which Williams had no ready excuse. She hadn’t launched her crippled act. She hadn’t tapped into the trainers-session delays she had used in several important past matches to demoralize opponents who had finer tennis skills but couldn’t match her for gamesmanship and rules-twisting.
There is still some good in the world though. As this is the Christmas season, let me now focus on some positively good people, some people who aren’t just talented but who always seem to personify hard work and class.
How about Mark Teixeira? Teixeira did nothing but good things for the Yankees in 2009, earning every bit of his money and hustling all along the way. I’ll always remember his scoring from first base with the winning run against the Mets on a fly ball that 99.5 % of the time gets caught. But since it was Luis Castillo, the ball wasn’t caught. Teixeira stole one for his Yankees, not with his considerable talent but with his remarkable hustle.
How about Eli Manning? All Eli does is try to win. He can’t quite manage the fine sense of humor his brother has always had. And he doesn’t have his brother’s accuracy to be perfectly honest.
Eli just had exactly the confident but humble demeanor his team needed in 2007, one that he still brought to the table this year and last, no matter that he was robbed first of his wide-outs and then of his defense. You never hear a word of complaint from Eli, although I suspect his receivers hear about their route-running from time to time.
How about Drew Brees? Here’s a true man of stature who lacks only height, a guy who has been “dissed” throughout his lifetime by football experts, a guy who kept Philip Rivers on the bench in San Diego, where he started his pro career, for two full years, a guy who should have won the Heisman in 2000 but lost to the taller Chris Weinke from Florida State (but did finish ahead of LaDainian Tomlinson and a fella named Michael Vick).
When Brees was eligible for free agency in 2006, the Chargers elected to let him go with nary an unkind word from Mr. Brees, to the Saints, who Brees lead to their first NFC Championship Game in his first year.
Ever since his acquisition, Brees has been top notch offensively, starting every game for the Saints and gaining over 4400 yards in his first two years before topping the 5000 yard mark in 2008. This year, Brees is once again among the NFC leaders in yardage and touchdowns, this despite the fact that the Saints are running more than ever in their quest for that elusive Super Bowl victory.
Unlike Peyton and Brady, though, Brees throws to everyone ,usually making sure every wide-out gets his touchdown each game, making household names of Marques Colston, Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson.
He’s the best of 2009 and King of Bacchus too!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
/>
