Yeah, Jose is hurt again and Murphy’s down too. And it’s true that Santana and Ike Davis won’t be returning soon. But look at the bright side. We’ll get to see even more guys moving up from Buffalo which, thus far, hasn’t really been detrimental.
And there really hasn’t been in a big dip in the standings. This Mets team keeps hanging around the .500 mark, not that they’re going anywhere. The Phillies have been playing light out and the Mets are 17 games behind. And they’re really not close to the Braves either for the wildcard.
The Mets have played gallantly under the circumstances and last night’s game may have been their finest effort of the year. With the entire infield seemingly playing musical chairs all game (which may have led to Murphy’s injury while playing second base), they hung close all game and won the game in the bottom of the ninth against one of the better closers in the National League.
In my last column, I just killed a couple of players, notably Pelfrey, Pagan and Duda. But after last night, Duda gets a reprieve. Pagan gets a nod for playing well last night but whether he’ll keep it going is anybody’s guess. And it would take a few perfect games in a row to change my mind about Pelfrey. He comes up the shortest when he’s needed the most, time after time after time.
It’s all about the future for our Metsies, the present having been rendered totally irrelevant. Sandy Alderson will have to make some sense out of this, um, mess? I hesitate to characterize this current team as a mess though. There are several pretty serviceable players on board. And the pitching hasn’t really been bad either.
I’d like to rid the roster of symbols of losing. To me, that means Pagan has to go. He may go to another team and shine for a while but I’m just tired of looking at him. The same goes for Pelfrey. Other than those two though, Sandy can keep the rest. There really is a whole lot to like about the way they play, especially when they just hit and hit and hit some more.
Next year can’t come soon enough. Ike should be healthy (finally), Turner at second, Tejada at short and Wright at third should be a fine infield. Josh Thole’s been a pretty good catcher.
Jason Bay is starting to relax at the plate, an important factor. Duda will be adequate in right field and Jason Pridie does enough in center to not be embarrassing. I’d rather have him there than Pagan if only because he’d appreciate it more.
Pagan seems to be pouting all the time. “Ewww, I;m batting second, ewww I’m batting 5th, ewww I’m batting first”..get rid of him. He’s one of the only fast men in baseball who can’t run the bases. And he messes up in centerfield about two games out of seven. The man’s a menace. (Maybe it’s the beard).
We’d still have good ol’ Daniel Murphy to spell just about anybody anywhere. But the spots he can fill adequately are first and second. In any event the man can hit and can be a roving utility guy and pinch-hitter.
Free agency? Who knows? After the pirates in bankruptcy court get finished pillaging the Wilpons, who can say what will be left. It’s a long shot that we’ll keep Reyes. I’m beginning to think it’d be acceptable to let him go, especially in the face of dwindled resources. We need other pieces more, such as in the pen and in the outfield.
If there’s a point to all this, it’s just that Mets fans should have already forgotten about 2011. Think 2012 and beyond. The lawyers (and judges) may have finished stealing by then.
What can we do in the meantime? Well, there’re the Yankees of course. And there’s the NFL Jets and Giants. And oh yeah, there’s Rutgers football. Heh-heh.
I like the Yankees a lot more now that I’m playing Cano and Granderson 5 or 6 times a week on my fantasy team. Cano has been unspectacular but really steady. Granderson has been great. While I expected him to have a good year, he has exceeded all expectations. While I could wax poetic about him, the best thing I could write would simply be his stat line, currently .273, 28 homers, 86 rbi’s, a nice even 100 runs scored and 22 stolen bases.
But Granderson is more than just his stats. He plays a nice centerfield, he’ll hit anywhere in the lineup, and he picks up the balls that get away from the opposing catcher. A nicer guy you’ll never find.
Cano is the anti-Granderson. He’s a study in lack of intensity. But it’s only a façade. It’s just that he’s such a good baseball player that he seems to not be trying….anywhere. In the field, he just floats around; at the plate he seems asleep until the last moment when he absolutely rips at the ball. His line is .295, 18 homers, 75 rbi’s, 71 runs scored and 8 stolen bases, not too shabby for a guy who’s sleepwalking.
The Yanks are in trouble though. If even CC can’t beat the Red Sox, nobody can, at least none of the Yanks. AJ Burnett and Phil Hughes aren’t really what the Yanks expected while the others are better than expected but worse than will probably be required. Colon, Garcia, Nova? I don’t think so.
It’s looking more and more like a Phillies-Red Sox World Series although I suppose the Rangers or Giants could insinuate themselves into the picture. I’ve been mourning the Pirates lately and wondering what effect their demise will have on two of my fantasy guys, McCutchen and Neil Walker, two very nice players, especially McCutchen, and did I mention the Mets could use a centerfielder?
The baseball season seems over. Look to the Jets. The Giants are just marking time.
And, um, Rutgers?
Showing posts with label Yankees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yankees. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
A Moment Made For Jeter and by Jeter
A Mets fan has it rough these days, all of which seem to be Yankee days. First, there was the 3000th hit by the most famous Yankee of them all, oh what is his name? Then tonight I got to watch as Robinson Cano won the Home Run Derby in Arizona with some really prodigious shots.
Oh well, at least I did get to see Jose Reyes interviewing Carlos Beltran before the festivities began on the MLB Network, one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while.
But, truth to tell, I was really happy for Jeter on Saturday. If he had just dribbled a seeing-eye grounder for that long-awaited milestone, it wouldn’t have meant anything. But Jeter always had a flair for the dramatic and Saturday was certainly no exception.
It kills me to say so but the whole day validated all the ballyhoo and the high esteem he’s held in by every fan of Major League Baseball. I mean, really!
He needed two hits and he started his day off by getting the first one he needed right off the bat, so to speak. Then, with the whole world watching, and a great pitcher, David Price, on the mound, he had one of the best at-bats I’ve ever seen, fouling off pitch after pitch, taking the close balls, and then just driving that ball, no doubt about it, into the left-center field seats.
It was one of those moments you remember. I was in my garage workin’ out, one eye on the screen and the other on the mat. But I was watching every pitch. If he had struck out, it would have been a great at-bat. I jumped in the air as I heard the crack of the bat and watched that drive and heard that call.
It was a moment made for Jeter and by Jeter. Of course, there have been other Jeter moments, but everybody remembers two especially, his flip to the plate to nail the incredibly stupid Jeremy Giambi at the plate in a playoff game against Oakland and that flying leap into the seats in short left-center field to complete a catch that couldn’t have been made any other way.
But those other moments had been surprises, moments made by Jeter but not especially for him, as was his quest for that elusive 3000th hit. There had been the injury, then the rainout and the interminable questions about his feelings about the whole thing. When he stepped into that batter’s box for that second at-bat, he had to know the whole baseball world was watching.
And that’s why Jeter is a great player. When the pressure is on, he turns up his game. He feels he can make the play, no, not just can but will make the play. Other players don’t make that flying leap, other players don’t have the presence of mind to stay with that play in Oakland, one he admits to this day had only been made because the runner didn’t slide, and, even then, it had been a close thing.
I love watching Jose Reyes play but he wouldn’t have made either of those Jeter plays. He doesn’t have that presence of mind and he doesn’t have the kind of drive that would mean possibly sacrificing his body. Now don’t get me wrong. Jose will make a lot of plays that Jeter couldn’t ever make but Jeter will make every play he can possibly make. Jeter is in the game.
There’s a little hot dog in all the greats and Jeter is no exception to that either. But, to me, only hot dogs make those impossible plays.
Not that that 3000th hit was an impossible play. If anything, it was inevitable. But hitting the homer was something else again, and it was a moment that really cried out for something special. Jeter heard the call and made the most of it. He knew he could hit one in that spot so he did.
With every player on both sides hanging over the dugout, with many thousands watching live and millions taking it in on television, Jeter made the moment one worth everybody’s time. He knocked one over the wall. It was great, even the probably scripted Posada dash to the front of the congratulatory line and Mariano there too at the forefront, three old soldiers of baseball just really happy in the moment. The captain had done it again.
And, of course, he didn’t stop there. Jeter was on fire. He was 3 for 3 and 4 for 4 and 5 for 5 and the game-winner. What else? It was a glorious Jeter day, a great day to be a Yankee fan.
A total of 27 other players have reached 3000 hits, most of them notable names too, and all but two made it to the Hall of Fame. And one of those two, Pete Rose, should be in there too. The other is Rafael Palmeiro, not a Hall of Fame player to me, even discounting the juice.
The 3000 hit plateau is one that speaks of greatness and longevity. You have to be a pretty damned good player to be in the game that long, but other marks of longevity such as most consecutive games played
If Jeter hadn’t been assured of always having a place in New York’s hearts before Saturday, he has it now, no matter what follows, much as was and is the case for Eli Manning and Broadway Joe and Walt Frazier.
He may not finish his career as the leadoff man for the Yankees but will hardly matter now. Those other icons won titles but Jeter already had more titles than any of them. What he may not have had before Saturday was that one big day.
Well, he sure had one Saturday. Five for five, the 3000th hit a homer, and the game-winning hit to top it all off.
The 3000th after all had to come on a winning day.
(Christian Lopez made the day even more special by returning the ball he caught, passing up many thousands of dollars in the bargain).
Oh well, at least I did get to see Jose Reyes interviewing Carlos Beltran before the festivities began on the MLB Network, one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while.
But, truth to tell, I was really happy for Jeter on Saturday. If he had just dribbled a seeing-eye grounder for that long-awaited milestone, it wouldn’t have meant anything. But Jeter always had a flair for the dramatic and Saturday was certainly no exception.
It kills me to say so but the whole day validated all the ballyhoo and the high esteem he’s held in by every fan of Major League Baseball. I mean, really!
He needed two hits and he started his day off by getting the first one he needed right off the bat, so to speak. Then, with the whole world watching, and a great pitcher, David Price, on the mound, he had one of the best at-bats I’ve ever seen, fouling off pitch after pitch, taking the close balls, and then just driving that ball, no doubt about it, into the left-center field seats.
It was one of those moments you remember. I was in my garage workin’ out, one eye on the screen and the other on the mat. But I was watching every pitch. If he had struck out, it would have been a great at-bat. I jumped in the air as I heard the crack of the bat and watched that drive and heard that call.
It was a moment made for Jeter and by Jeter. Of course, there have been other Jeter moments, but everybody remembers two especially, his flip to the plate to nail the incredibly stupid Jeremy Giambi at the plate in a playoff game against Oakland and that flying leap into the seats in short left-center field to complete a catch that couldn’t have been made any other way.
But those other moments had been surprises, moments made by Jeter but not especially for him, as was his quest for that elusive 3000th hit. There had been the injury, then the rainout and the interminable questions about his feelings about the whole thing. When he stepped into that batter’s box for that second at-bat, he had to know the whole baseball world was watching.
And that’s why Jeter is a great player. When the pressure is on, he turns up his game. He feels he can make the play, no, not just can but will make the play. Other players don’t make that flying leap, other players don’t have the presence of mind to stay with that play in Oakland, one he admits to this day had only been made because the runner didn’t slide, and, even then, it had been a close thing.
I love watching Jose Reyes play but he wouldn’t have made either of those Jeter plays. He doesn’t have that presence of mind and he doesn’t have the kind of drive that would mean possibly sacrificing his body. Now don’t get me wrong. Jose will make a lot of plays that Jeter couldn’t ever make but Jeter will make every play he can possibly make. Jeter is in the game.
There’s a little hot dog in all the greats and Jeter is no exception to that either. But, to me, only hot dogs make those impossible plays.
Not that that 3000th hit was an impossible play. If anything, it was inevitable. But hitting the homer was something else again, and it was a moment that really cried out for something special. Jeter heard the call and made the most of it. He knew he could hit one in that spot so he did.
With every player on both sides hanging over the dugout, with many thousands watching live and millions taking it in on television, Jeter made the moment one worth everybody’s time. He knocked one over the wall. It was great, even the probably scripted Posada dash to the front of the congratulatory line and Mariano there too at the forefront, three old soldiers of baseball just really happy in the moment. The captain had done it again.
And, of course, he didn’t stop there. Jeter was on fire. He was 3 for 3 and 4 for 4 and 5 for 5 and the game-winner. What else? It was a glorious Jeter day, a great day to be a Yankee fan.
A total of 27 other players have reached 3000 hits, most of them notable names too, and all but two made it to the Hall of Fame. And one of those two, Pete Rose, should be in there too. The other is Rafael Palmeiro, not a Hall of Fame player to me, even discounting the juice.
The 3000 hit plateau is one that speaks of greatness and longevity. You have to be a pretty damned good player to be in the game that long, but other marks of longevity such as most consecutive games played
If Jeter hadn’t been assured of always having a place in New York’s hearts before Saturday, he has it now, no matter what follows, much as was and is the case for Eli Manning and Broadway Joe and Walt Frazier.
He may not finish his career as the leadoff man for the Yankees but will hardly matter now. Those other icons won titles but Jeter already had more titles than any of them. What he may not have had before Saturday was that one big day.
Well, he sure had one Saturday. Five for five, the 3000th hit a homer, and the game-winning hit to top it all off.
The 3000th after all had to come on a winning day.
(Christian Lopez made the day even more special by returning the ball he caught, passing up many thousands of dollars in the bargain).
Monday, May 23, 2011
Trying Their Brains Out
The kindest thing to say is that it just wasn’t meant to be. The Mets only had a puncher’s chance anyway. To take 2 of 3 from the Yankees would have been highly unlikely under the best of circumstances. And as just about every circumstance went against the Mets in Game 3, the result somehow became more palatable.
Taking the first game of the Series from the Yanks took all the pressure off the Mets, immediately ensuring that they wouldn’t be swept. So when Game 2 was lost, it wasn’t really very painful. It wasn’t that hard to figure that Chris Capuano, always vulnerable to the long ball, would be victimized somewhat while AJ Burnett would roll.
I’d say Game 3 was a typical Mike Pelfrey loss if it weren’t for the fact that he did so well for so long, pitching lights out for 6 innings. Usually he falls apart much sooner than the 7th inning. All he really did wrong in that 7th was give up a single and a walk. And, oh yeah, he hit Cervelli with a pitch to load the bases. By then, every Mets fan knew it was curtains for Mikey. The more cogent ones though knew he was done after he walked Dickerson.
Unfortunately, manager Terry Collins isn’t as smart as most Mets fans. He let Pelfrey pitch to Jeter, who promptly singled in two runs. Only then did Collins call for a reliever, after Jeter’s single tied the score at 3-3. Collins likes to give his players an opportunity to show their character. Pelfrey showed his when he nailed Cervelli. He’s really not that good with adversity.
It was interesting for a very short while thereafter. When Girardi sent the Yanks leader in home runs up to bunt the runners over to second and third, I figured the Yanks wasted an out and, if the Mets could walk Teixeira and get a ground ball from Arod, all would be right with the world. Reliever Beato had always been tough with runners in scoring position.
The ironic thing was that Beato did get his ground ball from Arod. But it was too soft, unplayably soft, and the winning run came trotting home. Even then, things might have been salvageable if Beato could have eked out a ground ball from Cano. But he couldn’t. Cano rifled a single to center and two more runs came scurrying home. Only then was it time to switch to the French Open.
What happened after all the above isn’t really important. Things got worse. Willie Harris booted a chance at third base but by then everybody had lost interest. Mets fans were left to wonder what could have been if Collins hadn’t been such an optimist with respect to Pelfrey.
But sometimes things just catch up to you. How long could the Mets keep going as if losing David Wright and Ike Davis didn’t really mean that much? How long could Justin Turner, the Mets RBI machine for the past week, keep practicing his magic? How long could the relief staff keep throwing up zeroes?
Our local heroes have a day off before traveling out to Chicago for three against the Cubbies before hosting the Phillies and then Pittsburgh. One hopes they just forget all about yesterday’s foibles. Instead, they could think about all the good things they have, because they can still win a lot of games with Justin Turner and Pridie and yes, even Willie Harris.
They just have to keep pitching well. There does seem to be enough talent there. By some miracle, R.A. Dickey’s knuckler has returned and the other starters, Gee and Niese and Capuano have been good enough so far to keep them in games. And the hitting isn’t really as bad as all the local media would have you believe, even without Davis and Wright.
You shouldn’t judge the Mets hitting off a series with the Yankees. Those relievers in the Bronx were and are pretty darned good. While the Cubbies have a couple of good ones in Marmol and Marshall, if the Mets can take and hold a lead against their starters, they may not have to face the really tough ones.
If this all sounds a little too optimistic, it shouldn’t. While these upstarts from Buffalo don’t have any reputations, they do seem to play defense and do all the other things needed to win. They’re not the Yankees but then even the Yankees aren’t really knockin’ ‘em dead.
The Yankees lineup just doesn’t seem that intimidating anymore. Arod seems to be coming on and Granderson hits the more than occasional dinger but otherwise they’ve been pretty mundane. Besides, the lineup is crazy. Having Granderson in the two spot is ridiculous. Although he did lay down a nice bunt yesterday and he does have speed, he’s really not making enough contact to be a two.
Teixeira’ not a three, Jeter’s not a one, and just about no Yankees seem to really fit in the lineup spot they find themselves in. Gardner should be the leadoff hitter with his speed and ability to take pitches. If anybody’s a three, it’s Arod and well, it’s not really my business but they are looking old to me, especially Posada but Jeter’s looking a little too creaky to me at shortstop. His error in taking a beautiful throw from Cervelli yesterday looked suspiciously to me like an old guy trying to do things only a younger guy could pull off.
And Cano looks as if his mind’s on something else more often than not. He’s not so far the wunderkind he was last year, especially in the field. Even at the plate more often than not, it looks as if he’s just not that into it.
The Mets never look complacent. The Mets are all trying their brains out. And as Beltran and Reyes are in their contract years, they’re playing for their very livelihoods. It’s a peculiar mix that just might work.
Taking the first game of the Series from the Yanks took all the pressure off the Mets, immediately ensuring that they wouldn’t be swept. So when Game 2 was lost, it wasn’t really very painful. It wasn’t that hard to figure that Chris Capuano, always vulnerable to the long ball, would be victimized somewhat while AJ Burnett would roll.
I’d say Game 3 was a typical Mike Pelfrey loss if it weren’t for the fact that he did so well for so long, pitching lights out for 6 innings. Usually he falls apart much sooner than the 7th inning. All he really did wrong in that 7th was give up a single and a walk. And, oh yeah, he hit Cervelli with a pitch to load the bases. By then, every Mets fan knew it was curtains for Mikey. The more cogent ones though knew he was done after he walked Dickerson.
Unfortunately, manager Terry Collins isn’t as smart as most Mets fans. He let Pelfrey pitch to Jeter, who promptly singled in two runs. Only then did Collins call for a reliever, after Jeter’s single tied the score at 3-3. Collins likes to give his players an opportunity to show their character. Pelfrey showed his when he nailed Cervelli. He’s really not that good with adversity.
It was interesting for a very short while thereafter. When Girardi sent the Yanks leader in home runs up to bunt the runners over to second and third, I figured the Yanks wasted an out and, if the Mets could walk Teixeira and get a ground ball from Arod, all would be right with the world. Reliever Beato had always been tough with runners in scoring position.
The ironic thing was that Beato did get his ground ball from Arod. But it was too soft, unplayably soft, and the winning run came trotting home. Even then, things might have been salvageable if Beato could have eked out a ground ball from Cano. But he couldn’t. Cano rifled a single to center and two more runs came scurrying home. Only then was it time to switch to the French Open.
What happened after all the above isn’t really important. Things got worse. Willie Harris booted a chance at third base but by then everybody had lost interest. Mets fans were left to wonder what could have been if Collins hadn’t been such an optimist with respect to Pelfrey.
But sometimes things just catch up to you. How long could the Mets keep going as if losing David Wright and Ike Davis didn’t really mean that much? How long could Justin Turner, the Mets RBI machine for the past week, keep practicing his magic? How long could the relief staff keep throwing up zeroes?
Our local heroes have a day off before traveling out to Chicago for three against the Cubbies before hosting the Phillies and then Pittsburgh. One hopes they just forget all about yesterday’s foibles. Instead, they could think about all the good things they have, because they can still win a lot of games with Justin Turner and Pridie and yes, even Willie Harris.
They just have to keep pitching well. There does seem to be enough talent there. By some miracle, R.A. Dickey’s knuckler has returned and the other starters, Gee and Niese and Capuano have been good enough so far to keep them in games. And the hitting isn’t really as bad as all the local media would have you believe, even without Davis and Wright.
You shouldn’t judge the Mets hitting off a series with the Yankees. Those relievers in the Bronx were and are pretty darned good. While the Cubbies have a couple of good ones in Marmol and Marshall, if the Mets can take and hold a lead against their starters, they may not have to face the really tough ones.
If this all sounds a little too optimistic, it shouldn’t. While these upstarts from Buffalo don’t have any reputations, they do seem to play defense and do all the other things needed to win. They’re not the Yankees but then even the Yankees aren’t really knockin’ ‘em dead.
The Yankees lineup just doesn’t seem that intimidating anymore. Arod seems to be coming on and Granderson hits the more than occasional dinger but otherwise they’ve been pretty mundane. Besides, the lineup is crazy. Having Granderson in the two spot is ridiculous. Although he did lay down a nice bunt yesterday and he does have speed, he’s really not making enough contact to be a two.
Teixeira’ not a three, Jeter’s not a one, and just about no Yankees seem to really fit in the lineup spot they find themselves in. Gardner should be the leadoff hitter with his speed and ability to take pitches. If anybody’s a three, it’s Arod and well, it’s not really my business but they are looking old to me, especially Posada but Jeter’s looking a little too creaky to me at shortstop. His error in taking a beautiful throw from Cervelli yesterday looked suspiciously to me like an old guy trying to do things only a younger guy could pull off.
And Cano looks as if his mind’s on something else more often than not. He’s not so far the wunderkind he was last year, especially in the field. Even at the plate more often than not, it looks as if he’s just not that into it.
The Mets never look complacent. The Mets are all trying their brains out. And as Beltran and Reyes are in their contract years, they’re playing for their very livelihoods. It’s a peculiar mix that just might work.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Concede 2011 to the Yanks? Not Yet!
Everybody hits. That’s been the theme for this Thursday afternoon Mets game versus the Cards in Port St Lucie. Just to give you an idea, it’s 16-3 Mets in the eighth.
The new second baseman has gone 4 for 4 as has David Wright. Angel Pagan has been having a monster game. But I’ve been really impressed by this centerfielder Dendecker who so far has made an over-the-shoulder catch on the track and, oh yeah, he also smacked a home run.
Jesus!
I’m out of synch again. Everybody else is worried about the 2 basketball games tonight. After all, it is the greatest basketball tournament in the world. Just ask TNT or TBS or TRU. But not me. I’m watching the Mets, listening to Keith throw the baloney with Gary, and just now enjoying watching Bobby Parnell strike out a Cards batter.
It’s really too bad some more of these rookies can’t make the team. Twenty-five man rosters are really difficult to determine. Right now, it looks as if there’ll be 6 outfielders and seven infielders, two catchers and ten pitchers. I know it sounds like a lot (25) but it isn’t. Too many promising rooks go back down.
I’d love to see this Dandecker guy do his thing in the outfield, especially if Carlos Beltran has to be rested about half the time. But I shouldn’t complain, there will be at least a few adds to the roster, from the minors and free agency too. And I like them all. What a surprise, right?
The Mets current depth chart shows Chin Lung Hu backing up Reyes at short, Daniel Murphy backing up Davis at first and Luis Hernandez, the glove guy, backing up a brand new face (and maybe bat) named Brad Emaus (rhymes with Remus they tell me). David Wright appears un-backed up at the corner but Murphy could probably spell him too. One gets the feeling that they’ll all get a lot of playing time.
New in the outfield will be Nick Evans backing up Beltran in right, baseball legacy Scott Hairston spelling Angel Pagan in center and strongman Lucas Duda backing for Jason Bay in left. It’s really a pretty solid outfield.
I wonder about the catching depth behind relative newcomer Josh Thole. Pete Nickeas hasn’t shown a whole lot yet and Ronnie Paulino just got here after some paper issue. If there is an obvious weakness, it’s behind the plate.
Chris Capuano didn’t do anything to hurt his chances today. He pitches like a really experienced fellow, which he is. And all his stuff was down, um, when it did stay down. Along with the other free agent, Chris Young, they’ve been looking more like the two and three guys in the rotation rather than number 5 starters.
My only fear about the pitching is that the current number 1, Mike Pelfrey, isn’t really a number one ace. R.A. Dickey, the knuckleballer, isn’t a number one either despite his great showing so far. Jonathan Niese hasn’t had a great spring either. Most of my hopes will be for the two free agents and Dickey. Niese and Pelfrey will have to show me something. In terms of mental toughness, Pelfrey and Niese don’t really cut it, as talented as they may prove to be.
The relievers look pretty good to me too. Missing is Perpetual Pedro but D.J. Carrasco could be the setup guy the Mets have needed for years. He has experienced good success with the White Sox and Pittsburgh. Bobby Parnell and Manny Acosta looked pretty good last year and one Taylor Bucholz, another experienced pitcher, is now listed as the number 5 reliever. K-Rod of course will continue to be the closer….not too shabby at all.
Everybody says the lineup depends solely on Beltran but I don’t think so. The problem will be yanking him in and out of the lineup. I’m actually wishing the Mets would trade him before his perceived value goes totally in the hole. Any other power hitter would do in his place, especially one with good knees. As much as I sympathize with Beltran’s problems, and he’s always played pretty hard, he’s more of a chronic problem now than he is an asset.
My brother tells me the Mets have no chance, also that the fantasy value of even Mets stars such as Wright and Reyes will be way down because of the weak lineup around them. He’s a Yankee fan though, which is to say the only good players are ones that have done it for years, that players such as Pagan and Jason Bay and Ike Davis have little worth. I disagree. And it’s even easier to disagree on a day like today when the Mets score 16 runs.
We’ll see how his Yankee old guys do this year, especially Arod and Jeter and Posada. On the pitching side, we’ll see if Mariano still has it at 42. (I don’t think so). I anxiously await the demise of the Yankees, who have hung too long with all these players. And this will be the year the Red Sox show them just how old they really are.
The Yanks may still make the playoffs but whether they’ll prevail past the first round is very questionable. The pitching isn’t there and the lineup is old. An old lineup usually looks older in the dog days of August. We’ll see, but the picture isn’t a promising one for the Yankees. One through five as a whole, I’d be happier with the Mets starters.
And so far nobody’s counting on anything from Johan Santana, who’ll return after the All-Star break or thereabouts. How’d that be for a shot in the arm?
Yeah, the Mets are undervalued and the Yanks quite the opposite. What’s new under the sun? Surely that’s been the case lo these many baseball seasons. I may be forced to concede eventually that the best team in New York resides in the Bronx.
But not yet, not yet.
The new second baseman has gone 4 for 4 as has David Wright. Angel Pagan has been having a monster game. But I’ve been really impressed by this centerfielder Dendecker who so far has made an over-the-shoulder catch on the track and, oh yeah, he also smacked a home run.
Jesus!
I’m out of synch again. Everybody else is worried about the 2 basketball games tonight. After all, it is the greatest basketball tournament in the world. Just ask TNT or TBS or TRU. But not me. I’m watching the Mets, listening to Keith throw the baloney with Gary, and just now enjoying watching Bobby Parnell strike out a Cards batter.
It’s really too bad some more of these rookies can’t make the team. Twenty-five man rosters are really difficult to determine. Right now, it looks as if there’ll be 6 outfielders and seven infielders, two catchers and ten pitchers. I know it sounds like a lot (25) but it isn’t. Too many promising rooks go back down.
I’d love to see this Dandecker guy do his thing in the outfield, especially if Carlos Beltran has to be rested about half the time. But I shouldn’t complain, there will be at least a few adds to the roster, from the minors and free agency too. And I like them all. What a surprise, right?
The Mets current depth chart shows Chin Lung Hu backing up Reyes at short, Daniel Murphy backing up Davis at first and Luis Hernandez, the glove guy, backing up a brand new face (and maybe bat) named Brad Emaus (rhymes with Remus they tell me). David Wright appears un-backed up at the corner but Murphy could probably spell him too. One gets the feeling that they’ll all get a lot of playing time.
New in the outfield will be Nick Evans backing up Beltran in right, baseball legacy Scott Hairston spelling Angel Pagan in center and strongman Lucas Duda backing for Jason Bay in left. It’s really a pretty solid outfield.
I wonder about the catching depth behind relative newcomer Josh Thole. Pete Nickeas hasn’t shown a whole lot yet and Ronnie Paulino just got here after some paper issue. If there is an obvious weakness, it’s behind the plate.
Chris Capuano didn’t do anything to hurt his chances today. He pitches like a really experienced fellow, which he is. And all his stuff was down, um, when it did stay down. Along with the other free agent, Chris Young, they’ve been looking more like the two and three guys in the rotation rather than number 5 starters.
My only fear about the pitching is that the current number 1, Mike Pelfrey, isn’t really a number one ace. R.A. Dickey, the knuckleballer, isn’t a number one either despite his great showing so far. Jonathan Niese hasn’t had a great spring either. Most of my hopes will be for the two free agents and Dickey. Niese and Pelfrey will have to show me something. In terms of mental toughness, Pelfrey and Niese don’t really cut it, as talented as they may prove to be.
The relievers look pretty good to me too. Missing is Perpetual Pedro but D.J. Carrasco could be the setup guy the Mets have needed for years. He has experienced good success with the White Sox and Pittsburgh. Bobby Parnell and Manny Acosta looked pretty good last year and one Taylor Bucholz, another experienced pitcher, is now listed as the number 5 reliever. K-Rod of course will continue to be the closer….not too shabby at all.
Everybody says the lineup depends solely on Beltran but I don’t think so. The problem will be yanking him in and out of the lineup. I’m actually wishing the Mets would trade him before his perceived value goes totally in the hole. Any other power hitter would do in his place, especially one with good knees. As much as I sympathize with Beltran’s problems, and he’s always played pretty hard, he’s more of a chronic problem now than he is an asset.
My brother tells me the Mets have no chance, also that the fantasy value of even Mets stars such as Wright and Reyes will be way down because of the weak lineup around them. He’s a Yankee fan though, which is to say the only good players are ones that have done it for years, that players such as Pagan and Jason Bay and Ike Davis have little worth. I disagree. And it’s even easier to disagree on a day like today when the Mets score 16 runs.
We’ll see how his Yankee old guys do this year, especially Arod and Jeter and Posada. On the pitching side, we’ll see if Mariano still has it at 42. (I don’t think so). I anxiously await the demise of the Yankees, who have hung too long with all these players. And this will be the year the Red Sox show them just how old they really are.
The Yanks may still make the playoffs but whether they’ll prevail past the first round is very questionable. The pitching isn’t there and the lineup is old. An old lineup usually looks older in the dog days of August. We’ll see, but the picture isn’t a promising one for the Yankees. One through five as a whole, I’d be happier with the Mets starters.
And so far nobody’s counting on anything from Johan Santana, who’ll return after the All-Star break or thereabouts. How’d that be for a shot in the arm?
Yeah, the Mets are undervalued and the Yanks quite the opposite. What’s new under the sun? Surely that’s been the case lo these many baseball seasons. I may be forced to concede eventually that the best team in New York resides in the Bronx.
But not yet, not yet.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday in New York
It’s another Tuesday, it’s raining, there’s nothing particularly that needs doing so I’ll just vedge(sp) and take the hour or so it will take me to whine.
First of all, the Monday Night Football game was horrid…totally unwatchable. Why can’t anybody figure out in advance that Arizona is just barely a professional team at all? To match them up with any team is risky. What team wouldn’t have beaten the Cardinals last night? Detroit plays harder. Buffalo definitely plays harder, and smarter too. The Rams, now that they have a real live quarterback, would dance rings around that sorry bunch from Arizona.
Of course, the Giants won. That makes me happy since I thought it would take their best effort to knock off even the likes of Jacksonville. It’s really a tribute to them from the coaches to all the remaining healthy players that they were able to come from behind to take the lead and then hold it against a Jaguar team that was still trying to show some fight. The Jets won too on Thanksgiving but they were once again nothing to write home about.
The Knicks have been doing better than expected and the Nets started really slow but are showing signs of life. All of the above is promising better times for New York fans this winter, and maybe even into the March Madness of college basketball. And by that time, spring training will have started. Life is good if you’re into sports and not so much into shopping and Cyber Monday crapola, the teetering economy or global warming.
Another melodrama that will keep the NY area humming until the wee hours of February is the Derek Jeter negotiation. I’m enjoying it immensely so far. The one question, it seems to me, that no one is asking is how the Players Union and the MLB Commissioner’s office feel about rewarding a player for his marketing value. There is the power of precedent to be considered. Why shouldn’t every player want to add value to their contracts? Wouldn’t the Commissioner want the Yanks to take a hard line on this icon talk?
All this is great stuff for a Mets fan. There couldn’t be a wider division between the parties. And, while it’s hard to envision Jeter playing for any other team, the Yankees have essentially told Jeter to get other offers. But other teams will be skittish about being a pawn in that game. So any offers will come late, only after they are convinced Jeter may really consider a uniform without stripes. How great would it be for some team that would be willing to pay Jeter a premium for his market value? A Detroit or a Boston (just to drive the Yanks crazy) might enjoy getting some attention and more fannies in their seats for just a few million dollars premium per year. Then the question will really be how much the Yankees want Jeter and how much Jeter wants the Yankees.
The team is clearly in the driver’s seat. The Yankees can function quite nicely without Jeter. While they’d take a lot of heat in the first Jeter-less year, especially when he’d get his 3000th hit for say, Kansas City. Heh-heh,. They’d look better and better as Jeter would get older and older. It’d be virtually impossible for Jeter to score his hundred runs per year for any other team but the Yankees, who have continually surrounded him with hitters in their own right.
Juan Uribe, about five years younger than Jeter and the San Francisco Giants postseason wunderkind, just signed a 3-year contract with the Dodgers for 21 million. Based on that figure, I’d say Jeter’s worth about 10 to 11 million per year. The Yankees offered him 15 mill for 3 years, a figure already that included market value. I’d understand totally if the Yankees felt that Jeter was holding them up. They would be entitled to be thinking Jeter should accept a pay cut from his last contract, his 10-year 189 million deal. The Yankees should stick to their guns, and if they do, things should get really interesting. And what if they withdraw their 15 million offer? Then what?
Meanwhile, the Mets have done almost nothing. Today I heard that their pretty fine left-handed specialist in the bullpen, Pedro Feliciano, turned down arbitration, which would seem to indicate that the market is good. It would also seem the Mets want to keep their better players, definitely a good sign for us Mets fans. The Mets need pitching though and I’m not crazy about the free agent starters. I wouldn’t mind seeing them shop Jason Bay and/or Carlos Beltran for a couple of pitchers. And I’d rather see them get young guns with limitless potential than see them go for broke with a veteran commanding a high salary.
A second baseman wouldn’t hurt either. But there are plenty of second basemen. It’s just not that critical a position. I was happy to see Florida’s slugging Dan Uggla go elsewhere. His fielding has always been atrocious and the Mets fans wouldn’t be tolerant of that. Uggla will be fine in Atlanta though, and Atlanta may be ready next year to challenge the Phillies seriously for the Division Championship. Whatever the Mets do next year, it’s difficult to think they’ll overtake either of the top two contenders.
The Knicks play the Nets tonight and it should be a barn-burner. Although the Knicks are the better team, they’ll be without their starting center Ronnie Turiaf, a factor that should hurt them a lot being that the Nets Lopez will be firing from all directions. But the Knicks have found an unlikely answer to their 2 guard spot in Landry Fields, who doesn’t really score so often as he does all the other things. He shoots well though when he does shoot, he rebounds and assists, goes for loose balls and, well, you get the idea.
The Nets need two more players to compete. Newark anyone?
First of all, the Monday Night Football game was horrid…totally unwatchable. Why can’t anybody figure out in advance that Arizona is just barely a professional team at all? To match them up with any team is risky. What team wouldn’t have beaten the Cardinals last night? Detroit plays harder. Buffalo definitely plays harder, and smarter too. The Rams, now that they have a real live quarterback, would dance rings around that sorry bunch from Arizona.
Of course, the Giants won. That makes me happy since I thought it would take their best effort to knock off even the likes of Jacksonville. It’s really a tribute to them from the coaches to all the remaining healthy players that they were able to come from behind to take the lead and then hold it against a Jaguar team that was still trying to show some fight. The Jets won too on Thanksgiving but they were once again nothing to write home about.
The Knicks have been doing better than expected and the Nets started really slow but are showing signs of life. All of the above is promising better times for New York fans this winter, and maybe even into the March Madness of college basketball. And by that time, spring training will have started. Life is good if you’re into sports and not so much into shopping and Cyber Monday crapola, the teetering economy or global warming.
Another melodrama that will keep the NY area humming until the wee hours of February is the Derek Jeter negotiation. I’m enjoying it immensely so far. The one question, it seems to me, that no one is asking is how the Players Union and the MLB Commissioner’s office feel about rewarding a player for his marketing value. There is the power of precedent to be considered. Why shouldn’t every player want to add value to their contracts? Wouldn’t the Commissioner want the Yanks to take a hard line on this icon talk?
All this is great stuff for a Mets fan. There couldn’t be a wider division between the parties. And, while it’s hard to envision Jeter playing for any other team, the Yankees have essentially told Jeter to get other offers. But other teams will be skittish about being a pawn in that game. So any offers will come late, only after they are convinced Jeter may really consider a uniform without stripes. How great would it be for some team that would be willing to pay Jeter a premium for his market value? A Detroit or a Boston (just to drive the Yanks crazy) might enjoy getting some attention and more fannies in their seats for just a few million dollars premium per year. Then the question will really be how much the Yankees want Jeter and how much Jeter wants the Yankees.
The team is clearly in the driver’s seat. The Yankees can function quite nicely without Jeter. While they’d take a lot of heat in the first Jeter-less year, especially when he’d get his 3000th hit for say, Kansas City. Heh-heh,. They’d look better and better as Jeter would get older and older. It’d be virtually impossible for Jeter to score his hundred runs per year for any other team but the Yankees, who have continually surrounded him with hitters in their own right.
Juan Uribe, about five years younger than Jeter and the San Francisco Giants postseason wunderkind, just signed a 3-year contract with the Dodgers for 21 million. Based on that figure, I’d say Jeter’s worth about 10 to 11 million per year. The Yankees offered him 15 mill for 3 years, a figure already that included market value. I’d understand totally if the Yankees felt that Jeter was holding them up. They would be entitled to be thinking Jeter should accept a pay cut from his last contract, his 10-year 189 million deal. The Yankees should stick to their guns, and if they do, things should get really interesting. And what if they withdraw their 15 million offer? Then what?
Meanwhile, the Mets have done almost nothing. Today I heard that their pretty fine left-handed specialist in the bullpen, Pedro Feliciano, turned down arbitration, which would seem to indicate that the market is good. It would also seem the Mets want to keep their better players, definitely a good sign for us Mets fans. The Mets need pitching though and I’m not crazy about the free agent starters. I wouldn’t mind seeing them shop Jason Bay and/or Carlos Beltran for a couple of pitchers. And I’d rather see them get young guns with limitless potential than see them go for broke with a veteran commanding a high salary.
A second baseman wouldn’t hurt either. But there are plenty of second basemen. It’s just not that critical a position. I was happy to see Florida’s slugging Dan Uggla go elsewhere. His fielding has always been atrocious and the Mets fans wouldn’t be tolerant of that. Uggla will be fine in Atlanta though, and Atlanta may be ready next year to challenge the Phillies seriously for the Division Championship. Whatever the Mets do next year, it’s difficult to think they’ll overtake either of the top two contenders.
The Knicks play the Nets tonight and it should be a barn-burner. Although the Knicks are the better team, they’ll be without their starting center Ronnie Turiaf, a factor that should hurt them a lot being that the Nets Lopez will be firing from all directions. But the Knicks have found an unlikely answer to their 2 guard spot in Landry Fields, who doesn’t really score so often as he does all the other things. He shoots well though when he does shoot, he rebounds and assists, goes for loose balls and, well, you get the idea.
The Nets need two more players to compete. Newark anyone?
Thursday, October 14, 2010
All That and Chile Miners Too!
It’s getting more difficult to focus. Definitely. There are a lot of things happening worthy of some commentary, that’s for sure, Brett Favre’s, um, sticky situation, the Mets hiring a GM, the Yankees looking a little vulnerable (though the Twins folded nicely, bent, folded and mutilated even). My favorite team (and God only knows why), the Mets, are starting over, hiring a GM who’ll run the show. The football Giants have been looking good lately and the baseball Giants are, like the Yankees, looking vulnerable, for totally different reasons. My adopted team this year, the Texas Rangers (they’re easy to like if you forget about George Bush and who’s more eminently forgettable), finally put away the Rays in a ridiculous series that featured great performances by the “away” team in the home park. Even the Knicks and Nets are beginning to become print-worthy.
I’m so tempted to just come out and say that Brett Favre is a pig, evil incarnate, one hell of a quarterback, if you don’t count all those turnovers. And then, what a surprise, a 41 year old guy has tendinitis! Bummer. The Vikings would be a pretty good team otherwise. But I can’t really come down on him until it’s clear whether he really took a picture of his privates and sent it out as a text message to his latest, um, amour? Anyway, I never liked Favre so anything I said would be just piling on.
As for the Mets, one burning question keeps coming to me. And that is, “Where did it all go wrong, Omar?” We were looking so good for a while back in ’06 and then we folded in ’07 and ’08, and then we really fixed all the problems in ’09 only to have the most ridiculously horrible streak of bad luck and injuries ever to befall a major league club. Things were never the same after that. The Wilpons closed the checkbook after Jason Bay and Oliver Perez. 2010 was a little interesting early before the team just folded up its tent right before the mid-season and right through the mid-term break.
To my mind, Omar is just unlucky. They say you make your own breaks, and there’s some truth to that, but really, he’s got that Mr Mxtplyk (from Superman) hanging over his head. I mean, could anyone have figured Ollie Perez would so utterly fail? Well, maybe. But still, he was Pavano-bad and worse, if just because he kept showing up, like a bad apple, a really rotten one, to the core, as they say. And then there was Jason Bay. If Bay hadn’t run into that wall, he would have been boo-ed out of the stadium when the Mets returned to CitiField. He was that bad.
It was right around then, I figure, that the Wilpons decided not to send good money after bad and let Minaya play out the season with what he already had, which was, sadly, not nearly enough. It’ll be a different GM and manager who reap the benefits of R.A. Dickey and Ike Davis, Josh Thole and that nifty second baseman. And that’s a shame, because there was a lot to like about the Mets before their tailspin. An acquisition then would have made a big difference. But it is what it is, or was what it was, I guess.
Jerry Manuel will be missed for sure. That he couldn’t make a third or fourth place team finish first is no reflection on him. He was funny, wise, ironic, and totally in the game mentally, almost too much at times. But you can’t hold that against him. He won as many games as he lost. And managers do win and lose games for sure, just as much as bad umpires if not more, although that’s hard to imagine. To me, 2010 was the year of the bad umpires, even more than it was the year of pitching.
Omar will be missed too, by me at least. Omar was a very personable guy, and if not for his road-rage-like tirade against a New York reporter, you could say the guy never made a mistake in that respect. Omar’s clubs played exciting ball almost all the time. Too often, that excitement kind of petered out in the really big games. That will ultimately be his legacy but not to this guy. As I said, the man was just unlucky. I’ll look forward to the new administration. I can’t imagine that they’ll be more likeable though than what we had.
The Twins stink in the post-season. ‘Nuff said. That the Yankees beat them means nothing. The Twins never had a post-season game they couldn’t lose. Without getting into cases, the Twins never faced a Yankee they could look in the eye. Every Yankee pitcher and every player in pin-stripes became a superhero. It was disgusting to watch.
But let’s review. There is Sabathia looking a little worn, a Pettite who pitched one good game, a young guy in Hughes who may get rattled in a big one, and a psycho-Burnette who’ll maybe be bad and maybe be good. If pitching wins post-season games, if that’s true, then the Yankees are in big trouble. They might finish off the Rangers, who were a little too happy after their win over the Rays to suit me, but even that’s pretty questionable. The Rangers match up pretty well with the Yankees position for position. They have pitching too, and not just Cliff Lee. C.J. Wilson, Tommy Hunter, Colby Lewis, they’re not too shabby. If you match 1-2-3-4 vs 1-2-3-4, closer vs. closer, setup guy vs. setup guy, the Rangers should be more than competitive.
We’ll see if the Yanks are the best team money can buy. The Phils and Rangers spent some too.
The Giants and Jets…..what can you say? Both teams are playing great football. The Giants do have an offensive line, even without Sean O’Hara. The Jets do have a secondary, even without Darrelle Revis.
All of that and Chilean miners too, life is good.
I’m so tempted to just come out and say that Brett Favre is a pig, evil incarnate, one hell of a quarterback, if you don’t count all those turnovers. And then, what a surprise, a 41 year old guy has tendinitis! Bummer. The Vikings would be a pretty good team otherwise. But I can’t really come down on him until it’s clear whether he really took a picture of his privates and sent it out as a text message to his latest, um, amour? Anyway, I never liked Favre so anything I said would be just piling on.
As for the Mets, one burning question keeps coming to me. And that is, “Where did it all go wrong, Omar?” We were looking so good for a while back in ’06 and then we folded in ’07 and ’08, and then we really fixed all the problems in ’09 only to have the most ridiculously horrible streak of bad luck and injuries ever to befall a major league club. Things were never the same after that. The Wilpons closed the checkbook after Jason Bay and Oliver Perez. 2010 was a little interesting early before the team just folded up its tent right before the mid-season and right through the mid-term break.
To my mind, Omar is just unlucky. They say you make your own breaks, and there’s some truth to that, but really, he’s got that Mr Mxtplyk (from Superman) hanging over his head. I mean, could anyone have figured Ollie Perez would so utterly fail? Well, maybe. But still, he was Pavano-bad and worse, if just because he kept showing up, like a bad apple, a really rotten one, to the core, as they say. And then there was Jason Bay. If Bay hadn’t run into that wall, he would have been boo-ed out of the stadium when the Mets returned to CitiField. He was that bad.
It was right around then, I figure, that the Wilpons decided not to send good money after bad and let Minaya play out the season with what he already had, which was, sadly, not nearly enough. It’ll be a different GM and manager who reap the benefits of R.A. Dickey and Ike Davis, Josh Thole and that nifty second baseman. And that’s a shame, because there was a lot to like about the Mets before their tailspin. An acquisition then would have made a big difference. But it is what it is, or was what it was, I guess.
Jerry Manuel will be missed for sure. That he couldn’t make a third or fourth place team finish first is no reflection on him. He was funny, wise, ironic, and totally in the game mentally, almost too much at times. But you can’t hold that against him. He won as many games as he lost. And managers do win and lose games for sure, just as much as bad umpires if not more, although that’s hard to imagine. To me, 2010 was the year of the bad umpires, even more than it was the year of pitching.
Omar will be missed too, by me at least. Omar was a very personable guy, and if not for his road-rage-like tirade against a New York reporter, you could say the guy never made a mistake in that respect. Omar’s clubs played exciting ball almost all the time. Too often, that excitement kind of petered out in the really big games. That will ultimately be his legacy but not to this guy. As I said, the man was just unlucky. I’ll look forward to the new administration. I can’t imagine that they’ll be more likeable though than what we had.
The Twins stink in the post-season. ‘Nuff said. That the Yankees beat them means nothing. The Twins never had a post-season game they couldn’t lose. Without getting into cases, the Twins never faced a Yankee they could look in the eye. Every Yankee pitcher and every player in pin-stripes became a superhero. It was disgusting to watch.
But let’s review. There is Sabathia looking a little worn, a Pettite who pitched one good game, a young guy in Hughes who may get rattled in a big one, and a psycho-Burnette who’ll maybe be bad and maybe be good. If pitching wins post-season games, if that’s true, then the Yankees are in big trouble. They might finish off the Rangers, who were a little too happy after their win over the Rays to suit me, but even that’s pretty questionable. The Rangers match up pretty well with the Yankees position for position. They have pitching too, and not just Cliff Lee. C.J. Wilson, Tommy Hunter, Colby Lewis, they’re not too shabby. If you match 1-2-3-4 vs 1-2-3-4, closer vs. closer, setup guy vs. setup guy, the Rangers should be more than competitive.
We’ll see if the Yanks are the best team money can buy. The Phils and Rangers spent some too.
The Giants and Jets…..what can you say? Both teams are playing great football. The Giants do have an offensive line, even without Sean O’Hara. The Jets do have a secondary, even without Darrelle Revis.
All of that and Chilean miners too, life is good.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Winning at What Cost?
How strange that I should feel tongue-tied. George Steinbrenner is dead. The National League finally won an All-Star Game. The second half is starting in baseball, and Carlos Beltran, heretofore my favorite Mets player, is coming back.
So many thoughts go through my mind, some of them not even coherent, especially with respect to Steinbrenner and Beltran.
We’ve heard, over and over, “all George cared about was winning, he was all about winning,” while acknowledging that he was a sonova bitch, usually followed by a story about some anonymous contribution that everybody seems to know about. I’ve seen sportswriters wax poetic and get tearry-eyed because he remembered their name.
When Steinbrenner came into baseball, I thought he was a jerk. Most people did. He didn’t do anything unless it was stupid. Later on, when he finally stepped back a bit to let baseball people run his club, he made sure to get his face and name back in the papers, usually by doing something outlandish and petty, something brash and mean and arrogant.
I’m sorry the man died, I truly am, and sorrier still that he was apparently gravely ill before his heart finally gave way. But I never liked him. I was sorry Yogi and he got back together. And I don’t think he should be in the Hall of Fame, not that that’s even all that important.
If I were ever a Yankee fan, I’d probably feel much different. But I was never a Yankee fan. It goes against my nature. I’m one of those champions of the underdog…always have been. And that is why I became a Mets fan, after having been a Dodgers fan before that.
I don’t believe in winning at all costs. Yankee fans do. George Steinbrenner certainly did. His every action was self-serving, at least his public actions. And self-serving meant Yankee-serving by definition. So I can understand Yankee fans liking him, even loving him. And that may be the only thing I’ll ever understand about Yankee fans, that, and their win at all costs philosophy.
If George had bought the Mets, and ran the Mets the way he ran the Yankees, I’d have become another team’s fan, probably a team like the Phillies or Boston, but not the Cubs or Kansas City. My team would have to care passionately about winning, but not at all costs.
There are examples of the Yankee avarice too numerous to mention but the most recent and heinous example was their attempted acquisition of Cliff Lee. The Yanks have Sabathia, Pettitte, Burnett, Vazquez and Hughes. That’s five very fine starters. That should be enough.
For anyone who cares about competitiveness, the Yankees were already loaded. They didn’t need Cliff Lee. But the Yankees don’t care about the rest of baseball. They only care about the Yankees, their storied history, their hallowed stadium, their rings, their monuments and on and on.
The Yankees tried to guarantee their World Series win. It wasn’t enough to have Arod and Jeter and Teixeira and Cano, Posada and even Swisher, and all those pitchers. That wasn’t enough surety for the Evil Empire. For Yankee management and fans, what fun is there in watching a good baseball game?
All of that now brings me to Carlos Beltran. Carlos was out of the game for most of last season and most of this season with a bone bruise of the knee. Not that I don’t believe he was really hurt. I do. But I know there are probably contract issues that entered into the situation.
Beltran has it made in the shade, if he can find any of that in Flushing. The Mets are 4 games out, have a nice pitching staff, some good young players and, as he will still be considered as recovering, there are no outlandish expectations of him. As he always has been a great player though, we can expect that he will provide some big hits, make some nice catches, and, in most respects, be Carlos Beltran. But he won’t be expected to carry the club.
What annoys me most is that he’ll be playing at someone else’s expense. In every case, that someone else has been a key player for the Mets this year, whether it’s Francoeur, Pagan or Jason Bay.
Once again, that brings me to my point about winning at any cost. As good as Beltran has been, I’d like to see him earn his way back into the lineup. But that won’t happen, it can’t really happen, it probably shouldn’t happen, as winning certainly takes precedence over some bruised feelings.
But it doesn’t go down easy for me as a Mets fan. This Mets club seems well-knit as a team. So I worry about chemistry. But I also enjoy watching every one of those outfielders, especially Francoeur and Pagan. From my standpoint, I’d rather see Bay sit.
But, for the same reasons as Beltran must play, Bay must play. It’s that crazy but true axiom in baseball that says players eventually find their level. It’s very often true. As hard as it may be for me to believe right now, the axiom says that Jason Bay will get hot, or even torrid. And Carlos Beltran will eventually hit .300, drive in 100 runs and score a hundred times in a full season.
But it’s those exceptions to the rule that grate the most on a fan’s patience and compassion. David Wright had his worst year by far last year. His power just disappeared and never came back. Recall the lean times of Carlos Delgado in years past before he went absolutely crazy at the plate to carry the club seemingly all by himself for about six weeks.
Mets fans have to hope for the best, that a club that finishes 4 games out at the half, with Francoeur and Pagan, can finish first at season’s end with Carlos Beltran, all other things being equal (which in and of itself is saying a mouthful).
Go Carlos!!
So many thoughts go through my mind, some of them not even coherent, especially with respect to Steinbrenner and Beltran.
We’ve heard, over and over, “all George cared about was winning, he was all about winning,” while acknowledging that he was a sonova bitch, usually followed by a story about some anonymous contribution that everybody seems to know about. I’ve seen sportswriters wax poetic and get tearry-eyed because he remembered their name.
When Steinbrenner came into baseball, I thought he was a jerk. Most people did. He didn’t do anything unless it was stupid. Later on, when he finally stepped back a bit to let baseball people run his club, he made sure to get his face and name back in the papers, usually by doing something outlandish and petty, something brash and mean and arrogant.
I’m sorry the man died, I truly am, and sorrier still that he was apparently gravely ill before his heart finally gave way. But I never liked him. I was sorry Yogi and he got back together. And I don’t think he should be in the Hall of Fame, not that that’s even all that important.
If I were ever a Yankee fan, I’d probably feel much different. But I was never a Yankee fan. It goes against my nature. I’m one of those champions of the underdog…always have been. And that is why I became a Mets fan, after having been a Dodgers fan before that.
I don’t believe in winning at all costs. Yankee fans do. George Steinbrenner certainly did. His every action was self-serving, at least his public actions. And self-serving meant Yankee-serving by definition. So I can understand Yankee fans liking him, even loving him. And that may be the only thing I’ll ever understand about Yankee fans, that, and their win at all costs philosophy.
If George had bought the Mets, and ran the Mets the way he ran the Yankees, I’d have become another team’s fan, probably a team like the Phillies or Boston, but not the Cubs or Kansas City. My team would have to care passionately about winning, but not at all costs.
There are examples of the Yankee avarice too numerous to mention but the most recent and heinous example was their attempted acquisition of Cliff Lee. The Yanks have Sabathia, Pettitte, Burnett, Vazquez and Hughes. That’s five very fine starters. That should be enough.
For anyone who cares about competitiveness, the Yankees were already loaded. They didn’t need Cliff Lee. But the Yankees don’t care about the rest of baseball. They only care about the Yankees, their storied history, their hallowed stadium, their rings, their monuments and on and on.
The Yankees tried to guarantee their World Series win. It wasn’t enough to have Arod and Jeter and Teixeira and Cano, Posada and even Swisher, and all those pitchers. That wasn’t enough surety for the Evil Empire. For Yankee management and fans, what fun is there in watching a good baseball game?
All of that now brings me to Carlos Beltran. Carlos was out of the game for most of last season and most of this season with a bone bruise of the knee. Not that I don’t believe he was really hurt. I do. But I know there are probably contract issues that entered into the situation.
Beltran has it made in the shade, if he can find any of that in Flushing. The Mets are 4 games out, have a nice pitching staff, some good young players and, as he will still be considered as recovering, there are no outlandish expectations of him. As he always has been a great player though, we can expect that he will provide some big hits, make some nice catches, and, in most respects, be Carlos Beltran. But he won’t be expected to carry the club.
What annoys me most is that he’ll be playing at someone else’s expense. In every case, that someone else has been a key player for the Mets this year, whether it’s Francoeur, Pagan or Jason Bay.
Once again, that brings me to my point about winning at any cost. As good as Beltran has been, I’d like to see him earn his way back into the lineup. But that won’t happen, it can’t really happen, it probably shouldn’t happen, as winning certainly takes precedence over some bruised feelings.
But it doesn’t go down easy for me as a Mets fan. This Mets club seems well-knit as a team. So I worry about chemistry. But I also enjoy watching every one of those outfielders, especially Francoeur and Pagan. From my standpoint, I’d rather see Bay sit.
But, for the same reasons as Beltran must play, Bay must play. It’s that crazy but true axiom in baseball that says players eventually find their level. It’s very often true. As hard as it may be for me to believe right now, the axiom says that Jason Bay will get hot, or even torrid. And Carlos Beltran will eventually hit .300, drive in 100 runs and score a hundred times in a full season.
But it’s those exceptions to the rule that grate the most on a fan’s patience and compassion. David Wright had his worst year by far last year. His power just disappeared and never came back. Recall the lean times of Carlos Delgado in years past before he went absolutely crazy at the plate to carry the club seemingly all by himself for about six weeks.
Mets fans have to hope for the best, that a club that finishes 4 games out at the half, with Francoeur and Pagan, can finish first at season’s end with Carlos Beltran, all other things being equal (which in and of itself is saying a mouthful).
Go Carlos!!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
On 2010 Fantasy Baseball
Let me first offer my apologies to any regular readers for my extreme laziness of late. The Winter Olympics, though, is not really my cup of java, or anything else for that matter. Basketball doesn’t send me either, especially lately, although I suppose Tracy McGrady going to the Knicks was worthy of a few words.
And there’s been nothing new with the ol’ blue and orange. Even with spring training under way, there haven’t been too many nuggets upon which to comment. And I’m even having trouble filling out my fantasy baseball league. You don’t suppose it’s my inane posts, do you?
Fantasy baseball, for the uninitiated, is to me by far the best fantasy game, especially if you have some time to spare, as the opportunities to make moves abound, setting your pitching staff for the week, deciding between your fast second baseman and your slugger, or even picking up spot pitchers in a given week to put some pressure on your opponent. (This almost never works).
It’s still three weeks to the fantasy draft so I have ample time to obsess about which players I’d especially like to have on my roster. But I can’t even begin my period of real obsession until the draft order is set, and that really can’t be done until the league hopefully fills out a bit.
For the present then, I can just hope against hope that I don’t draw the number 1 pick, as Albert Pujols would be the only logical pick there, and I’m really not enthralled with the prospect of rooting for either him or the Cardinals. Of course, Matt Holliday is there in St Loo too, along with a couple of other fellows who can hit, so I should perhaps change my view.
Then there is the question of whether or not I want to have Mets on my roster. While Carlos Beltran has been practically a fixture on my annual fantasy teams, it’ll be troubling to assess how many rounds he should drop due to his late start and, even more troubling perhaps, how he’ll play when he returns.
Will he be a stolen base threat at all? Will his apparent disgruntledness make him take a seat when he’s a little sore? Will he decide it’s just too much trouble to take that extra base? Will the absence of Carlos Delgado bother him a lot? I’m thinking yes to that last question and really have very little clue as to the answers to the first two questions.
Should I continue my anti-Yankee policy? While my heart says yes, my head is screaming no, no, no. Even without Damon and Matsui, that Yankee lineup could be a real killer…again. Granderson is dangerous and, while I’m quite sure Nick Johnson will get hurt again, he still poses a threat to keep those rallies going when he is in the lineup.
But really, how can I live with having Arod or Jeter or Posada on my team? Do I really want to put myself in the position of having to root for them? I think not. I’ll just have to find a competing roster that can score nearly as much. Certainly the Phillies will find their way to home plate quite often this year, and the Cards should do very nicely indeed.
I’m sure my spring training trip next week will also affect my selections and, as I’ll be seeing a lot of the Marlins and Cards along with the Mets, I’m sure a Hanley Ramirez or Dan Uggla might find his way into my lineup, possibly to join a Holliday or a Poo Holes.
I know one thing for sure. I’ll be more likely to acquire a Jeff Francoeur in a late round rather than a David Wright or Jose Reyes early. And the same goes for pitchers, I guess, as Santana is coming off an operation and only the true faithful could expect big seasons from Perez, Pelfrey or Maine.
Who’ll be the surprise team of 2010? It could be the Reds or even the Pirates, believe it or not, or maybe those strange Brewers. And I’m expecting more from the Cubs and less from the Dodgers. In the American League, I’m expecting a lot from Seattle and, of course, the Twins, not that that would be that much of a surprise. And the M&M twins, Mauer and Morneau, could have very big years….hmmm.
Will a guy like Giants starter Tim Lincecum relax after his big contract? Will the Phils outfielder Jayson Werth go nuts in this last year of his contract? And how will Jason Bay react to his first year as a Met?
Then there’s the question of the newbies, the future stars and big bonus babies who sometimes pan out but more often either split time or play in AAA until July. There’ll be a run on those types in the late rounds and you don’t want to be caught with your pants down when that pick string commences.
Here is where you can find a good summary of those rookies expected to break out in 2010. You’ve probably heard of Stephen Strasburg, the million dollar baby with the Nationals (who could be another sleeper team), but you may not be familiar with Drew Storen, that same team’s potential closer.
And Neftali Feliz, who, I seem to recall, put in some innings last year as a reliever is said to be the Rangers’ Joba Chamberlain. He might become a starter if he can handle the innings.
On the hitting side of your roster, you might consider the Giants’ Buster Posey (and I love the name too, a nice baseball name), a catcher who can spell Bengie Molina, whose penchant for free-swinging is legendary. Another great baseball name is the Rangers’ Justin Smoak, who should be a pitcher with that moniker but actually plays the outfield and can hit like crazy.
So good luck, fantasy nuts, and make sure that first pick is solid. You’ll need him.
And there’s been nothing new with the ol’ blue and orange. Even with spring training under way, there haven’t been too many nuggets upon which to comment. And I’m even having trouble filling out my fantasy baseball league. You don’t suppose it’s my inane posts, do you?
Fantasy baseball, for the uninitiated, is to me by far the best fantasy game, especially if you have some time to spare, as the opportunities to make moves abound, setting your pitching staff for the week, deciding between your fast second baseman and your slugger, or even picking up spot pitchers in a given week to put some pressure on your opponent. (This almost never works).
It’s still three weeks to the fantasy draft so I have ample time to obsess about which players I’d especially like to have on my roster. But I can’t even begin my period of real obsession until the draft order is set, and that really can’t be done until the league hopefully fills out a bit.
For the present then, I can just hope against hope that I don’t draw the number 1 pick, as Albert Pujols would be the only logical pick there, and I’m really not enthralled with the prospect of rooting for either him or the Cardinals. Of course, Matt Holliday is there in St Loo too, along with a couple of other fellows who can hit, so I should perhaps change my view.
Then there is the question of whether or not I want to have Mets on my roster. While Carlos Beltran has been practically a fixture on my annual fantasy teams, it’ll be troubling to assess how many rounds he should drop due to his late start and, even more troubling perhaps, how he’ll play when he returns.
Will he be a stolen base threat at all? Will his apparent disgruntledness make him take a seat when he’s a little sore? Will he decide it’s just too much trouble to take that extra base? Will the absence of Carlos Delgado bother him a lot? I’m thinking yes to that last question and really have very little clue as to the answers to the first two questions.
Should I continue my anti-Yankee policy? While my heart says yes, my head is screaming no, no, no. Even without Damon and Matsui, that Yankee lineup could be a real killer…again. Granderson is dangerous and, while I’m quite sure Nick Johnson will get hurt again, he still poses a threat to keep those rallies going when he is in the lineup.
But really, how can I live with having Arod or Jeter or Posada on my team? Do I really want to put myself in the position of having to root for them? I think not. I’ll just have to find a competing roster that can score nearly as much. Certainly the Phillies will find their way to home plate quite often this year, and the Cards should do very nicely indeed.
I’m sure my spring training trip next week will also affect my selections and, as I’ll be seeing a lot of the Marlins and Cards along with the Mets, I’m sure a Hanley Ramirez or Dan Uggla might find his way into my lineup, possibly to join a Holliday or a Poo Holes.
I know one thing for sure. I’ll be more likely to acquire a Jeff Francoeur in a late round rather than a David Wright or Jose Reyes early. And the same goes for pitchers, I guess, as Santana is coming off an operation and only the true faithful could expect big seasons from Perez, Pelfrey or Maine.
Who’ll be the surprise team of 2010? It could be the Reds or even the Pirates, believe it or not, or maybe those strange Brewers. And I’m expecting more from the Cubs and less from the Dodgers. In the American League, I’m expecting a lot from Seattle and, of course, the Twins, not that that would be that much of a surprise. And the M&M twins, Mauer and Morneau, could have very big years….hmmm.
Will a guy like Giants starter Tim Lincecum relax after his big contract? Will the Phils outfielder Jayson Werth go nuts in this last year of his contract? And how will Jason Bay react to his first year as a Met?
Then there’s the question of the newbies, the future stars and big bonus babies who sometimes pan out but more often either split time or play in AAA until July. There’ll be a run on those types in the late rounds and you don’t want to be caught with your pants down when that pick string commences.
Here is where you can find a good summary of those rookies expected to break out in 2010. You’ve probably heard of Stephen Strasburg, the million dollar baby with the Nationals (who could be another sleeper team), but you may not be familiar with Drew Storen, that same team’s potential closer.
And Neftali Feliz, who, I seem to recall, put in some innings last year as a reliever is said to be the Rangers’ Joba Chamberlain. He might become a starter if he can handle the innings.
On the hitting side of your roster, you might consider the Giants’ Buster Posey (and I love the name too, a nice baseball name), a catcher who can spell Bengie Molina, whose penchant for free-swinging is legendary. Another great baseball name is the Rangers’ Justin Smoak, who should be a pitcher with that moniker but actually plays the outfield and can hit like crazy.
So good luck, fantasy nuts, and make sure that first pick is solid. You’ll need him.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Olympian Effort in Baseball?
Oh baby! Baseball’s really revving up now as baseball articles intrude on the Olympics and basketball coverage inundating the sports pages. But, this happens just as I was starting to get into Bode Miller and Lindsay Vonn, and, if I must say so, Julia Mancuso. And the ice dancing, something I ordinarily wouldn’t watch, drew me in last night as the coverage led off with a piece on White and Davis, one of the two American entries skating in the top 5.
What struck me were the sacrifices these two had put in for so many years of their lives. It makes you realize that these Olympians are athletes, highly trained athletes in every sense of the word. And then to see them put up some ridiculously high number to vie for gold was very gratifying. Their attitudes were great too, happy that they did their jobs pretty splendidly and only hoping for the best. They wound up with silver, of course, and I had to grudgingly admit that that Canadian couple looked pretty damned good too. (How’s that for analysis)?
It made me wonder too. Do baseball players try that hard to achieve excellence? More particularly, do Mets players try that hard? More particularly even than that, does Oliver Perez even toss the ball around in the off-season?
I pick on Perez as I had just finished reading that Sandy Koufax was impressed with him and that Jerry Manuel was impressed that he could duplicate the same delivery twice in a row. I can understand Koufax being impressed with his arm. Koufax was notoriously wild early in his career. His success came relatively late. I can recall watching some of his early games, wondering what all the fuss was about him. He couldn’t come near the plate some games.
Let’s hope Ollie’s career takes a similar path. That’d be nice. It’s encouraging too that Manuel had some good things to say about him. At this point, I don’t think Manuel would go out of his way to say good things about someone who has arguably been the Mets greatest failure.
But really, how hard is that guy capable of working? And how long will he be able to keep it up? I guess 2010 will tell us. We’ll see if he can become the #2 starter the Mets have needed. Not that a good or even great performance from Perez would have made any difference last year.
But, all in all, there have been a lot of good indicators coming out of Mets camp. You hear that Pelfrey dropped 25 pounds, not that that’s necessarily a good thing. I can recall Sid Fernandez, one of my all-time favorite Mets pitchers, dropping weight and being dreadful. But Pelfrey’s dropping some pounds is a good sign of effort.
Carlos Beltran, too, seems over his funk, or at least that has become his story. I personally don’t think Beltran is the type of person to worry too much about anything. And while he was obviously perturbed with the Mets and their medical staff, it sounds as if it was for good reason. He knows it, the Mets probably know it, and the whole incident just smells of bad public relations and bad communications within the Mets hierarchy. Again.
Ah well, let’s face it. Everything can’t be rosy. Sometimes it’s tough to be a Mets fan. For example, I had been looking forward to watching Omir Santos break out and have a good year. Next thing I know, he’s out and Rod Barajas is in. Why? I have no idea. And Santos won’t even be the second catcher. That job will go to another guy, Thole, nobody’s ever heard of. Why? I have no idea. Maybe it’s excessive perspiration or he needs a breath mint once in a while. He sure seemed to hit in the clutch. How bad can his pitch selection be?
And speaking of pitch selection, there’s the story out of Yankee camp that Burnett and Posada have worked out their differences, or, alternately, that there was never a problem to begin with. That Girardi gave Burnett Molina to catch all his games was just some kind of miraculous coincidence. Posada isn’t as stupid as he looks….or something.
Ah geez, there’s that Yankee hate coming out of me again. I just can’t help myself sometimes, like Newman (from Seinfeld) railing against the postal system. At least he had Kramer to rein him in and bring him back to reality. I have to rely only on Yankee beat writers and the few pearls of what is supposed to be wisdom from Brian Cashman.
Okay, he finally got them a World Series. After outspending the entire free world for baseball players for around ten years or so, he finally got one. Let’s anoint him baseball’s version of Bill Walsh. Oops, there I go again.
But really, the difference between the Mets and Yanks is astounding when it comes to PR. The Mets say nothing, the Yanks spin stories. For example, Joba is officially off his pitch count, but, oh by the way, he may be going to the pen.
I’m still amazed the Yanks let Johnny Damon go. He was the perfect Yankee in that nobody was ever more full of baloney. He’s thrilled to be a Tiger, he always wanted to play for Detroit, he’s happy with his one-year contract for 8 mill. Heeeere’s Johnny….
Let’s see now, is there a point to these ramblings? I’ll tie it all up with this….if the Mets put as much effort into communications as they expect their players to put into baseball, things would be better. And if the Yankees put as much effort into baseball as they put into baloney, they’d probably have some more Series rings to their credit.
Oh, and they really should have made more of an effort for Damon/Matsui. I can’t wait for crunchtime in Yankee games when it’s all on the line for, um, Granderson? Nick Johnson? Heh-heh.
What struck me were the sacrifices these two had put in for so many years of their lives. It makes you realize that these Olympians are athletes, highly trained athletes in every sense of the word. And then to see them put up some ridiculously high number to vie for gold was very gratifying. Their attitudes were great too, happy that they did their jobs pretty splendidly and only hoping for the best. They wound up with silver, of course, and I had to grudgingly admit that that Canadian couple looked pretty damned good too. (How’s that for analysis)?
It made me wonder too. Do baseball players try that hard to achieve excellence? More particularly, do Mets players try that hard? More particularly even than that, does Oliver Perez even toss the ball around in the off-season?
I pick on Perez as I had just finished reading that Sandy Koufax was impressed with him and that Jerry Manuel was impressed that he could duplicate the same delivery twice in a row. I can understand Koufax being impressed with his arm. Koufax was notoriously wild early in his career. His success came relatively late. I can recall watching some of his early games, wondering what all the fuss was about him. He couldn’t come near the plate some games.
Let’s hope Ollie’s career takes a similar path. That’d be nice. It’s encouraging too that Manuel had some good things to say about him. At this point, I don’t think Manuel would go out of his way to say good things about someone who has arguably been the Mets greatest failure.
But really, how hard is that guy capable of working? And how long will he be able to keep it up? I guess 2010 will tell us. We’ll see if he can become the #2 starter the Mets have needed. Not that a good or even great performance from Perez would have made any difference last year.
But, all in all, there have been a lot of good indicators coming out of Mets camp. You hear that Pelfrey dropped 25 pounds, not that that’s necessarily a good thing. I can recall Sid Fernandez, one of my all-time favorite Mets pitchers, dropping weight and being dreadful. But Pelfrey’s dropping some pounds is a good sign of effort.
Carlos Beltran, too, seems over his funk, or at least that has become his story. I personally don’t think Beltran is the type of person to worry too much about anything. And while he was obviously perturbed with the Mets and their medical staff, it sounds as if it was for good reason. He knows it, the Mets probably know it, and the whole incident just smells of bad public relations and bad communications within the Mets hierarchy. Again.
Ah well, let’s face it. Everything can’t be rosy. Sometimes it’s tough to be a Mets fan. For example, I had been looking forward to watching Omir Santos break out and have a good year. Next thing I know, he’s out and Rod Barajas is in. Why? I have no idea. And Santos won’t even be the second catcher. That job will go to another guy, Thole, nobody’s ever heard of. Why? I have no idea. Maybe it’s excessive perspiration or he needs a breath mint once in a while. He sure seemed to hit in the clutch. How bad can his pitch selection be?
And speaking of pitch selection, there’s the story out of Yankee camp that Burnett and Posada have worked out their differences, or, alternately, that there was never a problem to begin with. That Girardi gave Burnett Molina to catch all his games was just some kind of miraculous coincidence. Posada isn’t as stupid as he looks….or something.
Ah geez, there’s that Yankee hate coming out of me again. I just can’t help myself sometimes, like Newman (from Seinfeld) railing against the postal system. At least he had Kramer to rein him in and bring him back to reality. I have to rely only on Yankee beat writers and the few pearls of what is supposed to be wisdom from Brian Cashman.
Okay, he finally got them a World Series. After outspending the entire free world for baseball players for around ten years or so, he finally got one. Let’s anoint him baseball’s version of Bill Walsh. Oops, there I go again.
But really, the difference between the Mets and Yanks is astounding when it comes to PR. The Mets say nothing, the Yanks spin stories. For example, Joba is officially off his pitch count, but, oh by the way, he may be going to the pen.
I’m still amazed the Yanks let Johnny Damon go. He was the perfect Yankee in that nobody was ever more full of baloney. He’s thrilled to be a Tiger, he always wanted to play for Detroit, he’s happy with his one-year contract for 8 mill. Heeeere’s Johnny….
Let’s see now, is there a point to these ramblings? I’ll tie it all up with this….if the Mets put as much effort into communications as they expect their players to put into baseball, things would be better. And if the Yankees put as much effort into baseball as they put into baloney, they’d probably have some more Series rings to their credit.
Oh, and they really should have made more of an effort for Damon/Matsui. I can’t wait for crunchtime in Yankee games when it’s all on the line for, um, Granderson? Nick Johnson? Heh-heh.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Week 14 Picks and Hot Stove Stuff
Finally, it happened. Week 13 wasn’t very good for me. Not that 6 and 8 is so horrible but after consecutive weeks of 9 and 5, 9 and 6, and 8-4 and 1, it just feels lousy. Just looking things over, the Steelers continued their downward spiral, something I didn’t expect, and Texas is apparently worse than I thought.
My best bets were just 2 and 2. So, after winning this 4-pick bet last week for a pickup of ten bucks, I lost my imaginary dollar again. The Eagles beat up the Falcons as I thought, and the scared-for-their-jobs Panthers covered against the Bucs. My next two were less prescient, I fear.
Our G-Men actually covered against the Cowboys, but they played out of their minds….for them anyway. And how often does friggin’ Domenik Hixon run one back? Then the Pats, who I thought would come out like screamin’ banshees after bowing to the Saints the previous week, let Miami and Chad Henne make monkies out of ‘em.
Week 14 begins tonight, of course, and I’m not picking Thursday games but, if I were, I’d still try to pass the game entirely. Both teams are beaten down but, relatively speaking, I’d think the Browns had less pressure this week and could be primed for a nice upset.
As for the other games, with spreads from The Star-Ledger, here’s the picks:
Favorite Spread Underdog 4 Best My Pick Reason
GIANTS 1 Eagles * Eagles No way Giants s/b favored in this
Jets 3 BUCS Jets But it won’t be easy…..
COLTS 7 Broncos Broncos Wishful thinkin’ maybe but DEE…..
VIKINGS 6 ½ Ten Ten Titans on a roll, will cover
CHIEFS Pk Bills Bills This will be a great game
Pack 3 BEARS Pack Pack’s roll keeps rolling
Saints 10 ½ Falcons Saints Saints could score at will
RAVENS 13 ½ Lions RAVENS If they’re not mad, they should be
JAGS 3 Miami * Miami JAGS don’t send me…Fish win
PATS 13 ½ Panthers Panthers They’re home but geez, 13 ½
TEXANS 6 Seahawks Seahawks Lucky if they win at all
TITANS 13 Rams Rams Here’s a real barn burner
Skins 1 RAIDERS * Skins Skins will run the ball
BOYZ 3 Chargers * Chargers Recent form sez no
Cards 3 ½ NINERS Cards I’m mad at Singletary
The best bets for Week 14:
Eagles – That the G-Men are favored at all is anathema to me. Didn’t the Giants play them once before this season? Didn’t they stink it up? Are they that much better now, especially after coming off a big win against Dallas? The Eagles will fly, Eagles, fly on the road to vic-to-reeee…..
Dolphins – let’s see, Jags stop the run, Miami runs, but now they pass too. Then they can run again off the pass. Let’s see, a short trip up the coast, no fans in the stands for the Jags, and maybe some Miami faithful show up in the stands…hmmm
Redskins – The Skins have really bad luck all the time but they always seem to work hard and that’s just the type of thing to take them to victory over the Raiders. They’ll run it and win the battles of the trenches. And all they gotta do is stop Gradkowski.
Chargers –San Diego is just loaded right now and the Cowboys just keep looking bad. Then they compound things by sending out Bum’s little son to face the ravenous Dallas media. Boyz have to show character to take this one and, my guess is, they come up on empty.
But that’s enough football. The Mets put a bid in for Jason Bay. While I should be doing handsprings, I’m sure, I have to be sad the Mets are afraid of Scott Boras, Matt Holliday’s agent. Holliday’s the better player and a way more consistent player. The Mets need a big bat, sure, and they got one, but I think we’ll be seeing some extended slumps. But hey! Be happy…he’s not Endy Chavez.
Then they’ll be getting the older Molina, Bengie, and he’s always hit a ton and been pretty consistent over his career, but why’s the little man in my head saying that’s why he’ll get injured this year, just in time for the Mets. But, once again, he’s a real live catcher, a major-league catcher…which is to say, he’s not the guy they traded for LoDuca, our last real major-league catcher.
Everybody’s saying the Yanks just improved themselves with the pickup of Granderson in that 3-way trade. Hard to argue with, but if they lose both Damon and Matsui, I say they won’t be stronger at all. Of course, the Yanks, I’m sure, have a contingency for this eventuality and they have all that money…..so…
My guess would be the Mets decided not to go for one of the big-time pitchers. But maybe they’re just biding their time, seeing what develops with the contract demands and the various offers.
And, they’re still looking to trade Luis Castillo, of course, not that he’s been any kind of a problem really. Unless you count dropping Arod’s easy fly ball to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, Teixeira racing from first with the winning run and, oh God, let’s not make me re-live that horror….
Are the Nets or Knicks worth mentioning? If they were, it’d be noteworthy that the Nets finally looked tough in Chicago against the Bulls. And you could notice that the Knicks went off on a very limited run.
I think, though, the Nets are playing harder for Kiki and they’re actually running now, something that they haven’t done since some expert said the only way to win in the playoffs was to play half-court basketball. What they didn’t realize was that the NBA and the refs were going to give the trophy to Shaq, no matter what happened out on the court.
The NBA…..I watched the Bulls point guard palm the ball all night without a call. This is basketball? I ask you??
My best bets were just 2 and 2. So, after winning this 4-pick bet last week for a pickup of ten bucks, I lost my imaginary dollar again. The Eagles beat up the Falcons as I thought, and the scared-for-their-jobs Panthers covered against the Bucs. My next two were less prescient, I fear.
Our G-Men actually covered against the Cowboys, but they played out of their minds….for them anyway. And how often does friggin’ Domenik Hixon run one back? Then the Pats, who I thought would come out like screamin’ banshees after bowing to the Saints the previous week, let Miami and Chad Henne make monkies out of ‘em.
Week 14 begins tonight, of course, and I’m not picking Thursday games but, if I were, I’d still try to pass the game entirely. Both teams are beaten down but, relatively speaking, I’d think the Browns had less pressure this week and could be primed for a nice upset.
As for the other games, with spreads from The Star-Ledger, here’s the picks:
Favorite Spread Underdog 4 Best My Pick Reason
GIANTS 1 Eagles * Eagles No way Giants s/b favored in this
Jets 3 BUCS Jets But it won’t be easy…..
COLTS 7 Broncos Broncos Wishful thinkin’ maybe but DEE…..
VIKINGS 6 ½ Ten Ten Titans on a roll, will cover
CHIEFS Pk Bills Bills This will be a great game
Pack 3 BEARS Pack Pack’s roll keeps rolling
Saints 10 ½ Falcons Saints Saints could score at will
RAVENS 13 ½ Lions RAVENS If they’re not mad, they should be
JAGS 3 Miami * Miami JAGS don’t send me…Fish win
PATS 13 ½ Panthers Panthers They’re home but geez, 13 ½
TEXANS 6 Seahawks Seahawks Lucky if they win at all
TITANS 13 Rams Rams Here’s a real barn burner
Skins 1 RAIDERS * Skins Skins will run the ball
BOYZ 3 Chargers * Chargers Recent form sez no
Cards 3 ½ NINERS Cards I’m mad at Singletary
The best bets for Week 14:
Eagles – That the G-Men are favored at all is anathema to me. Didn’t the Giants play them once before this season? Didn’t they stink it up? Are they that much better now, especially after coming off a big win against Dallas? The Eagles will fly, Eagles, fly on the road to vic-to-reeee…..
Dolphins – let’s see, Jags stop the run, Miami runs, but now they pass too. Then they can run again off the pass. Let’s see, a short trip up the coast, no fans in the stands for the Jags, and maybe some Miami faithful show up in the stands…hmmm
Redskins – The Skins have really bad luck all the time but they always seem to work hard and that’s just the type of thing to take them to victory over the Raiders. They’ll run it and win the battles of the trenches. And all they gotta do is stop Gradkowski.
Chargers –San Diego is just loaded right now and the Cowboys just keep looking bad. Then they compound things by sending out Bum’s little son to face the ravenous Dallas media. Boyz have to show character to take this one and, my guess is, they come up on empty.
But that’s enough football. The Mets put a bid in for Jason Bay. While I should be doing handsprings, I’m sure, I have to be sad the Mets are afraid of Scott Boras, Matt Holliday’s agent. Holliday’s the better player and a way more consistent player. The Mets need a big bat, sure, and they got one, but I think we’ll be seeing some extended slumps. But hey! Be happy…he’s not Endy Chavez.
Then they’ll be getting the older Molina, Bengie, and he’s always hit a ton and been pretty consistent over his career, but why’s the little man in my head saying that’s why he’ll get injured this year, just in time for the Mets. But, once again, he’s a real live catcher, a major-league catcher…which is to say, he’s not the guy they traded for LoDuca, our last real major-league catcher.
Everybody’s saying the Yanks just improved themselves with the pickup of Granderson in that 3-way trade. Hard to argue with, but if they lose both Damon and Matsui, I say they won’t be stronger at all. Of course, the Yanks, I’m sure, have a contingency for this eventuality and they have all that money…..so…
My guess would be the Mets decided not to go for one of the big-time pitchers. But maybe they’re just biding their time, seeing what develops with the contract demands and the various offers.
And, they’re still looking to trade Luis Castillo, of course, not that he’s been any kind of a problem really. Unless you count dropping Arod’s easy fly ball to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, Teixeira racing from first with the winning run and, oh God, let’s not make me re-live that horror….
Are the Nets or Knicks worth mentioning? If they were, it’d be noteworthy that the Nets finally looked tough in Chicago against the Bulls. And you could notice that the Knicks went off on a very limited run.
I think, though, the Nets are playing harder for Kiki and they’re actually running now, something that they haven’t done since some expert said the only way to win in the playoffs was to play half-court basketball. What they didn’t realize was that the NBA and the refs were going to give the trophy to Shaq, no matter what happened out on the court.
The NBA…..I watched the Bulls point guard palm the ball all night without a call. This is basketball? I ask you??
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.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Pay Attention, Baseball Fans
Yeah, they’re worried…bigtime. CC getting beat, Arod slumping, Teixeira showing nothing at all and Jeter striking out 3 times yesterday. But, even after watching Burnett throw a gem last night, they still don’t trust him to throw another. Life is good for a Mets fan and Yankee-hater.
I love seeing Yankees fans torture themselves. Is there anything better than watching them agonize? Unfortunately, they survived Game 2. The joy I had anticipated of witnessing their total unraveling as they went down 2-zip to Pedro can’t happen now. I’ll have to live with them still thinking their Bronx bumblers have a chance against the World Champion Phillies. They’ll be a little less frantic now. Too bad.
What a melodrama! First it was CC this and CC that and how the big guy was unhittable. Nine innings later, it was their anxiety over A.J. Burnett, how inconsistent he’s been, how big his contract was. It went something like this, “He got the big money to win in the post-season. He’d better show that he’s the pitcher the Yanks thought they were getting when they plunked down the 82 million.”
Those crazed fans were actually starting to turn back the clock, to turn back to the times when Joba was dominant out there, before Cashman and Girardi started playing with his innings. Joba would save them, Joba would show that fight and determination he displayed in his early outings, Joba would mow down the Phillies and take his rightful place amongst all those great Yankee arms of yesteryear.
Imagine if they had lost again and Arod’s 3 strikeouts had been staring them in the face. Not to mention Teixeira’s lackluster performance so far. And let’s not even talk about middle-relief! Do you want to give them a heart attack? They’ve totally dumped on Hughes and Joba as a middle reliever. They are now actually thinking that Damaso Marte will somehow save them.
But A.J. really was magnificent last night. Too bad! Looking at the bright side though, their agony will be more prolonged this way. If they had been 2-zip down, Yankee fans may have just given up early and waited for the sweep. Now they can feel they’re still in it.
They can look forward to their hero Pettitte somehow regaining his old late-Nineties form. And, even though their hero-worship of CC seems done (there was talk of giving Sabathia his 4 days rest), they can still hope for a reincarnation from the big man and a less masterful performance from Yankee-killer Cliff Lee.
But, to be honest, it’s hard for me to root against some of these Yankees. This team reminds me of those Nineties Yankees of Tino and Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams and Scottie Brosius, all hustlers, all team guys, and yes, even Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada too. And of course Mariano, who saved their butts last night with his six-out save. And Girardi, who managed a perfect game last night but had been Posada’s backup then.
How can you root against Mark Teixeira? I still recall his winning that infamous Mets-Yanks Castillo-drop game. Yes, Luis lost the game but Teixeira won it too, by running out that apparent routine fly ball, all the way from first to home so that when Castillo picked the ball up, there was no chance to get Teixeira. And just last week he covered second base because that’s what he was supposed to do.
How can you root against Godzilla? So tough in the clutch, seemingly always, and once again last night. Or Swisher, who’s been castigated far and wide in Yankee-Land for his recent troubles at the plate. Or Johnny Damon, who may be playing his last World Series in New York, but so ably led the Red Sox over the Yanks in that fateful 2004 ALCS.
So it’s not the individuals a Yankee-hater hates. It’s just the fact that the Yankees have all these great players at all. But, even with all the furious buying activity over the years, they’ve not been past an ALCS since 2004, watching other teams take the AL crown, the Tigers or the Red Sox or even the Tampa Bay Rays.
So I wouldn’t be heartbroken if the Yanks won this Series because they have a great team. Great teams should win the World Series. And they should have to beat another great team to be able to call themselves champions.
And the Phillies are a great team. As fearsome as the Yanks lineup is, the Phillies can match them overall, both in the lineup, on the field, on the mound and in the bullpen. Before last night, the Phillies seemed to think the Series would be a walk-over, a 5-game affair as per Jimmy Rollins, their mercurially-mouthed shortstop.
We can all look forward to Game 3 now as each game seems to have its own little storyline. Game 1 will be memorable for CC and Lee, for Game 2 it will be Burnett emerging as a bigtime playoffs and Series pitcher besting crafty old Pedro Martinez, who was gallant for a full six and even went out there for a 7th.
Yeah, the story has been pitching so far but you know that with the sheer numbers of hitters on both these worthy Series opponents, the bats won’t be so silent much longer. Game 3 goes deeper into those pitching rotations, pitting what has this year been a very hittable Hamel against another old Nineties Yankee in Andy Pettitte.
The younger fellow, Burnett, outpitched his older counterpart last night and I suspect that that scenario will repeat itself tomorrow night. But then it’ll be CC-Lee II and one wonders whether the replay will yield quite different results. And how things will go from there.
That’s all you could want in a Series really. This is the Series I wanted and it’s playing out as I had imagined. Pay attention, baseball fans, because you may not be seeing a Series like this again for quite some time.
I love seeing Yankees fans torture themselves. Is there anything better than watching them agonize? Unfortunately, they survived Game 2. The joy I had anticipated of witnessing their total unraveling as they went down 2-zip to Pedro can’t happen now. I’ll have to live with them still thinking their Bronx bumblers have a chance against the World Champion Phillies. They’ll be a little less frantic now. Too bad.
What a melodrama! First it was CC this and CC that and how the big guy was unhittable. Nine innings later, it was their anxiety over A.J. Burnett, how inconsistent he’s been, how big his contract was. It went something like this, “He got the big money to win in the post-season. He’d better show that he’s the pitcher the Yanks thought they were getting when they plunked down the 82 million.”
Those crazed fans were actually starting to turn back the clock, to turn back to the times when Joba was dominant out there, before Cashman and Girardi started playing with his innings. Joba would save them, Joba would show that fight and determination he displayed in his early outings, Joba would mow down the Phillies and take his rightful place amongst all those great Yankee arms of yesteryear.
Imagine if they had lost again and Arod’s 3 strikeouts had been staring them in the face. Not to mention Teixeira’s lackluster performance so far. And let’s not even talk about middle-relief! Do you want to give them a heart attack? They’ve totally dumped on Hughes and Joba as a middle reliever. They are now actually thinking that Damaso Marte will somehow save them.
But A.J. really was magnificent last night. Too bad! Looking at the bright side though, their agony will be more prolonged this way. If they had been 2-zip down, Yankee fans may have just given up early and waited for the sweep. Now they can feel they’re still in it.
They can look forward to their hero Pettitte somehow regaining his old late-Nineties form. And, even though their hero-worship of CC seems done (there was talk of giving Sabathia his 4 days rest), they can still hope for a reincarnation from the big man and a less masterful performance from Yankee-killer Cliff Lee.
But, to be honest, it’s hard for me to root against some of these Yankees. This team reminds me of those Nineties Yankees of Tino and Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams and Scottie Brosius, all hustlers, all team guys, and yes, even Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada too. And of course Mariano, who saved their butts last night with his six-out save. And Girardi, who managed a perfect game last night but had been Posada’s backup then.
How can you root against Mark Teixeira? I still recall his winning that infamous Mets-Yanks Castillo-drop game. Yes, Luis lost the game but Teixeira won it too, by running out that apparent routine fly ball, all the way from first to home so that when Castillo picked the ball up, there was no chance to get Teixeira. And just last week he covered second base because that’s what he was supposed to do.
How can you root against Godzilla? So tough in the clutch, seemingly always, and once again last night. Or Swisher, who’s been castigated far and wide in Yankee-Land for his recent troubles at the plate. Or Johnny Damon, who may be playing his last World Series in New York, but so ably led the Red Sox over the Yanks in that fateful 2004 ALCS.
So it’s not the individuals a Yankee-hater hates. It’s just the fact that the Yankees have all these great players at all. But, even with all the furious buying activity over the years, they’ve not been past an ALCS since 2004, watching other teams take the AL crown, the Tigers or the Red Sox or even the Tampa Bay Rays.
So I wouldn’t be heartbroken if the Yanks won this Series because they have a great team. Great teams should win the World Series. And they should have to beat another great team to be able to call themselves champions.
And the Phillies are a great team. As fearsome as the Yanks lineup is, the Phillies can match them overall, both in the lineup, on the field, on the mound and in the bullpen. Before last night, the Phillies seemed to think the Series would be a walk-over, a 5-game affair as per Jimmy Rollins, their mercurially-mouthed shortstop.
We can all look forward to Game 3 now as each game seems to have its own little storyline. Game 1 will be memorable for CC and Lee, for Game 2 it will be Burnett emerging as a bigtime playoffs and Series pitcher besting crafty old Pedro Martinez, who was gallant for a full six and even went out there for a 7th.
Yeah, the story has been pitching so far but you know that with the sheer numbers of hitters on both these worthy Series opponents, the bats won’t be so silent much longer. Game 3 goes deeper into those pitching rotations, pitting what has this year been a very hittable Hamel against another old Nineties Yankee in Andy Pettitte.
The younger fellow, Burnett, outpitched his older counterpart last night and I suspect that that scenario will repeat itself tomorrow night. But then it’ll be CC-Lee II and one wonders whether the replay will yield quite different results. And how things will go from there.
That’s all you could want in a Series really. This is the Series I wanted and it’s playing out as I had imagined. Pay attention, baseball fans, because you may not be seeing a Series like this again for quite some time.
Friday, October 9, 2009
It's A New Week, Isn't It?
Okay, I’m trying to look at the bright side. Sure, the Mets have had nothing all season. It’s raining. It’s soggy. No, not saggy, that would be Posada’s face. Talk about pouting, come on, Jorge, suck it up. And Holliday makes a 2-out friggin’ drop to just kill the Cardinals. Made his homer look really inconsequential.
In football, I went 6 and 8 against the spread, just awful. I’m embarrassed. And Francesa’s broadcasting from Yankee Stadium. How depressing is that? Mike really lines up a great Friday show though, and he’s got college and NFL football, Troy Aikman, who isn’t a total fool, and various assorted (and sordid) guests of questionable renown….better than Manny from Brooklyn?
I tried an outline for this piece, first line was “Posada is a ____. I can’t even tell you how bad that is. I mean, let’s look at Posada’s good points. There are many. For example, Jorge can hit. Um, let’s see, what else, what else….hmm..he’s a leader in the clubhouse, how friggin vague is that?
Surely there’s more, um, can he throw people out? Well, 30% of the time, that’s not horrible, I guess. Is he good with pitchers? Hmmm. I hated him with Chamberlain and he doesn’t match Burnett that well….at all. He’s ok with CC and Pettite, so the theory goes…Molina doesn’t throw out a ton of runners either but he’s probably not obnoxious would be my guess. Heh-heh.
Did I mention Posada can hit? Oh yeah, that. I’d play Molina every day of the week. But that’s me, hitting isn’t everything, or haven’t I made that clear yet?
I was extremely ready for the Cards to hold on in Game 2. Wainwright was awesome for eight, and Holliday’s solo homer helped build a 2-1 lead. Then I worried that Franklin wouldn’t hold them, them being the Dodgers. It didn’t look as if he would hold them but then he got a liner to left. I said, “whew” when I saw Holliday would get there. Then there was his muff…..oh man.
It was one of those balls that hit you in the middle of things, glove up, glove down… and he was coming in hard and …… well, he missed it. And then you knew things were seriously downhill already. So the Dodgers are in real good shape, not an outcome I was personally looking forward to.
Then there was Week 4 that fooled me in a lot of spots. Who would’ve believed the Chargers had such a bunch of pushovers on defense? Not me. And I thought the Giants would have a down week for sure. But the Chiefs made mistakes early. It wasn’t a game after that. And I’m afraid I may have under-rated those Browns. If those three went as expected, my overall picks record would’ve looked ok. Anyway, here’s my week 5 picks. (I feel a 10-4 coming on).
Week 5 Picks
Favorite Underdog Spread 4 Best My Pick Reason
Min STL 10 * Min Favre will pad lead to run up his stats
Dal KC 8 ½ Dal After loss to Den, Dallas will run up score
CAR Was 3 ½ CAR Campbell is awful
PHI TamBay 15 PHI Tampa can’t stop pass, #5 is back
NYG Oak 15 Oak Giants don’t run up score, Oak pass defense good
BUF Cle 6 Cle Buffalo can’t stop run
BAL Cin 8 ½ * Cin Cinci Defense will surprise
Pit DET 10 ½ Pit Lost momentum w/o Stafford
SF Atl 2 ½ SF Niners may win it all
NewEng DEN 3 NewEng Pats make a point –master beats apprentice
ARZ Hou 5 ½ * ARZ Cards had plenty of prep time after bye week
Jac SEA NL Jac Seattle’s a mess, Jags aren’t
Ind TEN 4 Ind Hard to tell when Titans will stop anybody
Jets MIA 2 * Jets Jets will stop Miami run, Sanchez bounceback
My best bets (which I didn’t bother with last week, thank Jupiter) are the Vikings, Bengals, Cards and Jets. I’m going to pretend my best bets are one of those betting slips and I’ve got to pick all four to win.
“So what”? you ask. Let’s look closer at these contests.
Okay, the Vikings. They just rolled over the Packers. It was very sad indeed, especially if you happen to hate Favre. Green Bay did stop the run pretty well and Peterson didn’t do much. But maybe that wasn’t the way to go with defense as things turned out. And the Rams just were annihilated vs. the Niners last week. The Niners didn’t really even have much of an offense. The Vikings apparently do. It would take an enormous Viking flop for them not to just win but cover at just ten points.
I’ve liked Cincinnati all year. Cleveland was playing way above their heads last week, I was really impressed. But the Bengals didn’t fold. They hung on. How much better will Flacco and the Colts be than were Derek Anderson and the Browns in the Battle of Ohio? C’mon man, it was the Battle of friggin’ Ohio.
Kurt Warner with a week off along with his Arizona team should wipe up the Texans. They had a week to work on their running game and get receivers well. They did go to the Super Bowl last year. The Texans had horrible defensive performances for three weeks before holding the Raiders down last week. That’s Al Davis’s Raiders, folks. The Cards will romp.
Aah, and then there’s the Jets at Miami and a spread of two. I think the Jets are better than that. I think they can stop the run, they won’t be fooled by a wildcat, and they’re coming off a week of stopping New Orleans, one of the best offensive teams in the league. (I would have said THE best two weeks ago). Then there’s a relatively new quarterback in Miami. Another Chad named Henne. He didn’t do badly last week but it’s a new week, isn’t it.?
In football, I went 6 and 8 against the spread, just awful. I’m embarrassed. And Francesa’s broadcasting from Yankee Stadium. How depressing is that? Mike really lines up a great Friday show though, and he’s got college and NFL football, Troy Aikman, who isn’t a total fool, and various assorted (and sordid) guests of questionable renown….better than Manny from Brooklyn?
I tried an outline for this piece, first line was “Posada is a ____. I can’t even tell you how bad that is. I mean, let’s look at Posada’s good points. There are many. For example, Jorge can hit. Um, let’s see, what else, what else….hmm..he’s a leader in the clubhouse, how friggin vague is that?
Surely there’s more, um, can he throw people out? Well, 30% of the time, that’s not horrible, I guess. Is he good with pitchers? Hmmm. I hated him with Chamberlain and he doesn’t match Burnett that well….at all. He’s ok with CC and Pettite, so the theory goes…Molina doesn’t throw out a ton of runners either but he’s probably not obnoxious would be my guess. Heh-heh.
Did I mention Posada can hit? Oh yeah, that. I’d play Molina every day of the week. But that’s me, hitting isn’t everything, or haven’t I made that clear yet?
I was extremely ready for the Cards to hold on in Game 2. Wainwright was awesome for eight, and Holliday’s solo homer helped build a 2-1 lead. Then I worried that Franklin wouldn’t hold them, them being the Dodgers. It didn’t look as if he would hold them but then he got a liner to left. I said, “whew” when I saw Holliday would get there. Then there was his muff…..oh man.
It was one of those balls that hit you in the middle of things, glove up, glove down… and he was coming in hard and …… well, he missed it. And then you knew things were seriously downhill already. So the Dodgers are in real good shape, not an outcome I was personally looking forward to.
Then there was Week 4 that fooled me in a lot of spots. Who would’ve believed the Chargers had such a bunch of pushovers on defense? Not me. And I thought the Giants would have a down week for sure. But the Chiefs made mistakes early. It wasn’t a game after that. And I’m afraid I may have under-rated those Browns. If those three went as expected, my overall picks record would’ve looked ok. Anyway, here’s my week 5 picks. (I feel a 10-4 coming on).
Week 5 Picks
Favorite Underdog Spread 4 Best My Pick Reason
Min STL 10 * Min Favre will pad lead to run up his stats
Dal KC 8 ½ Dal After loss to Den, Dallas will run up score
CAR Was 3 ½ CAR Campbell is awful
PHI TamBay 15 PHI Tampa can’t stop pass, #5 is back
NYG Oak 15 Oak Giants don’t run up score, Oak pass defense good
BUF Cle 6 Cle Buffalo can’t stop run
BAL Cin 8 ½ * Cin Cinci Defense will surprise
Pit DET 10 ½ Pit Lost momentum w/o Stafford
SF Atl 2 ½ SF Niners may win it all
NewEng DEN 3 NewEng Pats make a point –master beats apprentice
ARZ Hou 5 ½ * ARZ Cards had plenty of prep time after bye week
Jac SEA NL Jac Seattle’s a mess, Jags aren’t
Ind TEN 4 Ind Hard to tell when Titans will stop anybody
Jets MIA 2 * Jets Jets will stop Miami run, Sanchez bounceback
My best bets (which I didn’t bother with last week, thank Jupiter) are the Vikings, Bengals, Cards and Jets. I’m going to pretend my best bets are one of those betting slips and I’ve got to pick all four to win.
“So what”? you ask. Let’s look closer at these contests.
Okay, the Vikings. They just rolled over the Packers. It was very sad indeed, especially if you happen to hate Favre. Green Bay did stop the run pretty well and Peterson didn’t do much. But maybe that wasn’t the way to go with defense as things turned out. And the Rams just were annihilated vs. the Niners last week. The Niners didn’t really even have much of an offense. The Vikings apparently do. It would take an enormous Viking flop for them not to just win but cover at just ten points.
I’ve liked Cincinnati all year. Cleveland was playing way above their heads last week, I was really impressed. But the Bengals didn’t fold. They hung on. How much better will Flacco and the Colts be than were Derek Anderson and the Browns in the Battle of Ohio? C’mon man, it was the Battle of friggin’ Ohio.
Kurt Warner with a week off along with his Arizona team should wipe up the Texans. They had a week to work on their running game and get receivers well. They did go to the Super Bowl last year. The Texans had horrible defensive performances for three weeks before holding the Raiders down last week. That’s Al Davis’s Raiders, folks. The Cards will romp.
Aah, and then there’s the Jets at Miami and a spread of two. I think the Jets are better than that. I think they can stop the run, they won’t be fooled by a wildcat, and they’re coming off a week of stopping New Orleans, one of the best offensive teams in the league. (I would have said THE best two weeks ago). Then there’s a relatively new quarterback in Miami. Another Chad named Henne. He didn’t do badly last week but it’s a new week, isn’t it.?
Friday, September 25, 2009
A Very Little Bit of Uncertainty
I have to admit to being somewhat confused this Friday. What’s interesting? Certainly not the upcoming Giants and Jets games on Sunday. The G-Men will most likely romp while the Jets play another Jeff Fisher version of an NFL team, the Titans, all defense (but not this year so much) and absolutely no passing game.
The G-Men go against the Tampa Bay Bucs, who have shown nothing in the way of pass defense in their first two games, so Eli should just eat them up whenever he gets the notion. Now that they’ve found Mario Manningham, things should go very smoothly. He and Steve Smith are among the leaders in the NFC receiving categories and they may approach stratospheric numbers after this week. The Bucs toughened their run defense while absolutely killing their historically tough cover-2 pass defense.
The Jets play the Titans from Tennessee and, although the Titans played Houston very tough in their last game, they still managed to lose, even with an unbelievable performance from their fleet running back, Chris Johnson.
The Titans also lost to Pittsburgh 13-10 in the opener, and, well, they may put up a good fight against Ryan’s warriors but I get the feeling that they’ll manage to lose again, but not before they bore us all to death. The Jets will smother the run and then pick-off Kerry Collins ad infinitum.
The Mets are dead. And have been dead, lo these many months of this sorriest of sorry baseball seasons. I refuse to even discuss Beltran and Reyes and Delgado and Maine and Wright’s power slump. I mean, really, how excited can I get about Jeff Francoeur and Angel Pagan? Oh, and Luis Castillo too. And K-Rod and Santana, I guess. Let’s face it, the Mets are in purgatory.
The Yanks face the Red Sox with a five game lead in the loss column, so a lot of the potential drama was drained from this series last week when the Bombers held on to take two of three from the Angels. I had been looking forward to the Angels kicking their butts, but it just didn’t happen. The Yanks pitchers held on in those last two games to make it clear that this isn’t the Yankees of the last few years.
Of course, Joba goes in the Yanks opener and that will undoubtedly have some tongues wagging again, no matter how he does. If he wins against Lester, the story will be his inconsistency. If he loses, it’ll be about his stupid innings-limit (again). Really, the Yanks may have bought the pennant (again), but the general management stinks (again), and the broadcast team is laughable (again).
The NJ Nets are in the news but not in any good way. What a surprise, huh? They sold the team to a Russian nickel and financial magnate whose only other claim to fame is his way with the ladies. And David Stern loves the deal. How nice for him. How sad for the locals.
The poor Knicks haven’t been in the news at all and that situation is an upgrade over where they’ve been the last few years. They did sign David Lee for about 8.5 million and that move bodes well for this year, I suppose. All signs though point to another year of holding steady until they can pick up a top free agent in 2010.
I almost never watch hockey so I won’t bore you any comments in that direction.
Given these circumstances, to me there are only a couple of things that could capture my attention. One is the remarkable comeback of the Twins and the other, strangely enough for a Mets fan, is the almost unreal performance of the Braves under a soon-retiring Bobby Cox.
The Braves could very well steal the wildcard from the Rockies. They play the hapless Washington Nationals in 7 of their last 10 games. The Rockies have a much harder schedule, playing the Central Division-leading Cards, then the hard-hitting Brewers and then the Western Division-leading Dodgers. If the Braves go 8 and 2 while the Rocks can manage only 4 and 5, a distinct possibility, they’ll wind up in a flat-out tie for the NL wildcard.
The SF Giants are still there, of course, and the Marlins have been hanging around, but the hottest team is the Braves, and the niftiest schedule imaginable plays right into their hands. How cool it would be for Atlanta to once again rise to baseball prominence under a beloved but retiring manager? For a city buried in water after a 21-inch pounding of rain, I can think of nothing better; it does my heart good.
And then there’s the upcoming NFL blackouts. What a shame ! Detroit is dying and now they won’t even get to watch their Lions play on Sunday. The same goes for Jacksonville and maybe even some other lower-profile NFL entities but my heart really goes out to Detroit.
A friend pointed out that fans will still see other games on cable but that’s really not making me feel better if I’m a Lions fan. With something approaching 40% unemployment in Motor City, another hit below the belt is not what’s needed. While it’s nice that the Tigers are probably making the playoffs, chances are they’ll be buried in the first round.
So, not being a Yanks fan, and as I foresee Jets and Giants easy wins, I guess I’ll just have to immerse myself in my fantasy team this weekend. That team is at least exciting, with Drew Brees leading the exciting Saints and Marques Colston too. But this will be one of those nail-biter weeks, as my opponent’s got the Baltimore defense and Tony Gonzalez, who keeps getting better and better.
But who really knows in football? The G-Men surely didn’t impress vs. the run against the Boyz and the Bucs have shown they can run the ball with Cadillac and former Giant Derrick Ward. And maybe the Titans will surprise us all.
The G-Men go against the Tampa Bay Bucs, who have shown nothing in the way of pass defense in their first two games, so Eli should just eat them up whenever he gets the notion. Now that they’ve found Mario Manningham, things should go very smoothly. He and Steve Smith are among the leaders in the NFC receiving categories and they may approach stratospheric numbers after this week. The Bucs toughened their run defense while absolutely killing their historically tough cover-2 pass defense.
The Jets play the Titans from Tennessee and, although the Titans played Houston very tough in their last game, they still managed to lose, even with an unbelievable performance from their fleet running back, Chris Johnson.
The Titans also lost to Pittsburgh 13-10 in the opener, and, well, they may put up a good fight against Ryan’s warriors but I get the feeling that they’ll manage to lose again, but not before they bore us all to death. The Jets will smother the run and then pick-off Kerry Collins ad infinitum.
The Mets are dead. And have been dead, lo these many months of this sorriest of sorry baseball seasons. I refuse to even discuss Beltran and Reyes and Delgado and Maine and Wright’s power slump. I mean, really, how excited can I get about Jeff Francoeur and Angel Pagan? Oh, and Luis Castillo too. And K-Rod and Santana, I guess. Let’s face it, the Mets are in purgatory.
The Yanks face the Red Sox with a five game lead in the loss column, so a lot of the potential drama was drained from this series last week when the Bombers held on to take two of three from the Angels. I had been looking forward to the Angels kicking their butts, but it just didn’t happen. The Yanks pitchers held on in those last two games to make it clear that this isn’t the Yankees of the last few years.
Of course, Joba goes in the Yanks opener and that will undoubtedly have some tongues wagging again, no matter how he does. If he wins against Lester, the story will be his inconsistency. If he loses, it’ll be about his stupid innings-limit (again). Really, the Yanks may have bought the pennant (again), but the general management stinks (again), and the broadcast team is laughable (again).
The NJ Nets are in the news but not in any good way. What a surprise, huh? They sold the team to a Russian nickel and financial magnate whose only other claim to fame is his way with the ladies. And David Stern loves the deal. How nice for him. How sad for the locals.
The poor Knicks haven’t been in the news at all and that situation is an upgrade over where they’ve been the last few years. They did sign David Lee for about 8.5 million and that move bodes well for this year, I suppose. All signs though point to another year of holding steady until they can pick up a top free agent in 2010.
I almost never watch hockey so I won’t bore you any comments in that direction.
Given these circumstances, to me there are only a couple of things that could capture my attention. One is the remarkable comeback of the Twins and the other, strangely enough for a Mets fan, is the almost unreal performance of the Braves under a soon-retiring Bobby Cox.
The Braves could very well steal the wildcard from the Rockies. They play the hapless Washington Nationals in 7 of their last 10 games. The Rockies have a much harder schedule, playing the Central Division-leading Cards, then the hard-hitting Brewers and then the Western Division-leading Dodgers. If the Braves go 8 and 2 while the Rocks can manage only 4 and 5, a distinct possibility, they’ll wind up in a flat-out tie for the NL wildcard.
The SF Giants are still there, of course, and the Marlins have been hanging around, but the hottest team is the Braves, and the niftiest schedule imaginable plays right into their hands. How cool it would be for Atlanta to once again rise to baseball prominence under a beloved but retiring manager? For a city buried in water after a 21-inch pounding of rain, I can think of nothing better; it does my heart good.
And then there’s the upcoming NFL blackouts. What a shame ! Detroit is dying and now they won’t even get to watch their Lions play on Sunday. The same goes for Jacksonville and maybe even some other lower-profile NFL entities but my heart really goes out to Detroit.
A friend pointed out that fans will still see other games on cable but that’s really not making me feel better if I’m a Lions fan. With something approaching 40% unemployment in Motor City, another hit below the belt is not what’s needed. While it’s nice that the Tigers are probably making the playoffs, chances are they’ll be buried in the first round.
So, not being a Yanks fan, and as I foresee Jets and Giants easy wins, I guess I’ll just have to immerse myself in my fantasy team this weekend. That team is at least exciting, with Drew Brees leading the exciting Saints and Marques Colston too. But this will be one of those nail-biter weeks, as my opponent’s got the Baltimore defense and Tony Gonzalez, who keeps getting better and better.
But who really knows in football? The G-Men surely didn’t impress vs. the run against the Boyz and the Bucs have shown they can run the ball with Cadillac and former Giant Derrick Ward. And maybe the Titans will surprise us all.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Mid-Beginning and Beginning of End
What a weekend for sports as football moved to the middle of the beginning and baseball moved toward the beginning of the end.
In pro football, it’s hard to decide whether the Giants or the Jets had the better game. They both won, of course, and while the Jets beat Brady and the Pats, something they surely haven’t made into a habit, the Giants had to come back still one more time to edge the Cowboys in their new digs with a game-ending drive that reminded some fans (i.e. me) of Eli’s Super Bowl clincher.
This guy was in San Francisco. I had the pleasure of watching Frank Gore score on two long runs of about 80 yards each for touchdowns in beating one of the would-be NFC West contenders, the Seattle Seahawks. The Raiduhs won too in a laugh-fest against the Chiefs, a game that had a lot of people in KC wondering whether their head coach has any thimbleful of a brain.
The Saints rolled again. The Steelers lost to the Bears. Arizona bounced back from their loss to the Niners with an execution of the Jaguars. Seattle lost its quarterback in much the same fashion as had Donovan McNabb and Number 5’s replacement passed for 391 yards but still managed to get his team shellacked..
Peyton Manning seemed to do it all by himself in the Colts win over the Fish and Houston, which looked vey bad against the Jets, beat the Titans in a shootout. All in all, the Week 2 action lent a little more information towards deciding which teams will be 2009 contenders.
The best thing about the Giants game might have been the emergence of Mario Manningham as their Number One receiver. Manningham seemingly was open all night and he was catching everything too, even the one he juggled in the end zone. The question of who’ll replace Plaxico may have been answered. (Condolences to Plax who got sentenced for the full two years today).
The G-Men didn’t escape unscathed though. Justin Tuck’s shoulder looked as if it might not be the same for weeks to come. They also seemed to get every break imaginable, which, while nice, doesn’t really bode well for the future. The running game really didn’t impress, Jacobs and Bradshaw managing just 95 yards, and their defense against the run was a little bit scary at times.
But they’re 2-0 and they’ve beaten two division opponents. While they haven’t beaten the Eagles yet, things don’t look too good for the Birds. So the G-Men are lookin’ good heading into Week 3. As they’re slated to play the Tampa Bay Bucs, whose pass defense has gone decidedly south, it should be one more week of big numbers for the passing game.
As I was in that city by the bay, I didn’t catch the Jets game, except for highlights. Most of those featured Tom Brady sliding and ducking and throwing before he would have liked. It’s a tribute to his savvy in the pocket that he didn’t get sacked, but the outcome was the same, hurried passes and a non-existent passing game by Patriot standards. And Revis shut down Randy Moss….not too shabby.
And yeah, the Pats didn’t have Welker, but it’s hard to say whether it would have made that much difference. In truth, I think it would have been a lot harder if Welker were able to play. And, in general, the Jets offense really didn’t do much against a Pats defense that featured 3 or 4 newbies that replaced some very big names in Boston.
So there is a decided buzz in New York for football. After the decidedly non-buzzing Mets season, and the recent decline of the Yankees, it’s nice to hear, especially for Jets fans, I imagine.
But the Jets per se are getting a little full of themselves, even though that whole defensive toughness thing that Ryan has instilled may require it, I suppose. But I’m not crazy about the talk. It’s Week friggin’ Two. And the usually strong but winless Titans are on tap. Let’s beat a few more teams before we get crazy.
But the weekend wasn’t all about football. The Yanks lost again and are just four games ahead in the loss column in the Division over the Red Sox. As they’re now in La-la Land playing (and losing to) the Angels, things might be looking up for Boston….finally.
The Yanks are down on their pitching too, especially as they’ve gone out of their way to screw up Joba, and they’re already driving Burnett to distraction. I’m looking forward to the Yanks losing two more to the Angels and host Boston only two games up in the loss column.
The Twinkies aren’t dead yet either, and, aside from losing a bet to my brother if they make the playoffs, the thought doesn’t really upset me. Detroit doesn’t send me. The Twins have the better lineup, I believe, and are a little more exciting to watch.
The Rangers are just about dead, which disturbs me. What a hard-luck team, losing Michael Young, their shortstop, and Josh Hamilton to injuries down the stretch. Losing six in a row to Seattle and the lowly A’s quite did the job.
Much to my dismay, in the National League, the Giants hit a road block and the Rockies are sailing. The Marlins are still in it too. So the last eleven games of the baseball season look to be very exciting.
My Metsies are still in the news too, if only to say what bad shape they’re in and point out how difficult it may be to right the ship. A painful topic maybe, but one that is at least interesting. I understand they’ll have about thirty million to spend if they stick to their current budget.
And, if the Wilpons want to hang on to their financial credibility, which has been questioned in some quarters, they’ll spend some money. And keep most of the core.
In pro football, it’s hard to decide whether the Giants or the Jets had the better game. They both won, of course, and while the Jets beat Brady and the Pats, something they surely haven’t made into a habit, the Giants had to come back still one more time to edge the Cowboys in their new digs with a game-ending drive that reminded some fans (i.e. me) of Eli’s Super Bowl clincher.
This guy was in San Francisco. I had the pleasure of watching Frank Gore score on two long runs of about 80 yards each for touchdowns in beating one of the would-be NFC West contenders, the Seattle Seahawks. The Raiduhs won too in a laugh-fest against the Chiefs, a game that had a lot of people in KC wondering whether their head coach has any thimbleful of a brain.
The Saints rolled again. The Steelers lost to the Bears. Arizona bounced back from their loss to the Niners with an execution of the Jaguars. Seattle lost its quarterback in much the same fashion as had Donovan McNabb and Number 5’s replacement passed for 391 yards but still managed to get his team shellacked..
Peyton Manning seemed to do it all by himself in the Colts win over the Fish and Houston, which looked vey bad against the Jets, beat the Titans in a shootout. All in all, the Week 2 action lent a little more information towards deciding which teams will be 2009 contenders.
The best thing about the Giants game might have been the emergence of Mario Manningham as their Number One receiver. Manningham seemingly was open all night and he was catching everything too, even the one he juggled in the end zone. The question of who’ll replace Plaxico may have been answered. (Condolences to Plax who got sentenced for the full two years today).
The G-Men didn’t escape unscathed though. Justin Tuck’s shoulder looked as if it might not be the same for weeks to come. They also seemed to get every break imaginable, which, while nice, doesn’t really bode well for the future. The running game really didn’t impress, Jacobs and Bradshaw managing just 95 yards, and their defense against the run was a little bit scary at times.
But they’re 2-0 and they’ve beaten two division opponents. While they haven’t beaten the Eagles yet, things don’t look too good for the Birds. So the G-Men are lookin’ good heading into Week 3. As they’re slated to play the Tampa Bay Bucs, whose pass defense has gone decidedly south, it should be one more week of big numbers for the passing game.
As I was in that city by the bay, I didn’t catch the Jets game, except for highlights. Most of those featured Tom Brady sliding and ducking and throwing before he would have liked. It’s a tribute to his savvy in the pocket that he didn’t get sacked, but the outcome was the same, hurried passes and a non-existent passing game by Patriot standards. And Revis shut down Randy Moss….not too shabby.
And yeah, the Pats didn’t have Welker, but it’s hard to say whether it would have made that much difference. In truth, I think it would have been a lot harder if Welker were able to play. And, in general, the Jets offense really didn’t do much against a Pats defense that featured 3 or 4 newbies that replaced some very big names in Boston.
So there is a decided buzz in New York for football. After the decidedly non-buzzing Mets season, and the recent decline of the Yankees, it’s nice to hear, especially for Jets fans, I imagine.
But the Jets per se are getting a little full of themselves, even though that whole defensive toughness thing that Ryan has instilled may require it, I suppose. But I’m not crazy about the talk. It’s Week friggin’ Two. And the usually strong but winless Titans are on tap. Let’s beat a few more teams before we get crazy.
But the weekend wasn’t all about football. The Yanks lost again and are just four games ahead in the loss column in the Division over the Red Sox. As they’re now in La-la Land playing (and losing to) the Angels, things might be looking up for Boston….finally.
The Yanks are down on their pitching too, especially as they’ve gone out of their way to screw up Joba, and they’re already driving Burnett to distraction. I’m looking forward to the Yanks losing two more to the Angels and host Boston only two games up in the loss column.
The Twinkies aren’t dead yet either, and, aside from losing a bet to my brother if they make the playoffs, the thought doesn’t really upset me. Detroit doesn’t send me. The Twins have the better lineup, I believe, and are a little more exciting to watch.
The Rangers are just about dead, which disturbs me. What a hard-luck team, losing Michael Young, their shortstop, and Josh Hamilton to injuries down the stretch. Losing six in a row to Seattle and the lowly A’s quite did the job.
Much to my dismay, in the National League, the Giants hit a road block and the Rockies are sailing. The Marlins are still in it too. So the last eleven games of the baseball season look to be very exciting.
My Metsies are still in the news too, if only to say what bad shape they’re in and point out how difficult it may be to right the ship. A painful topic maybe, but one that is at least interesting. I understand they’ll have about thirty million to spend if they stick to their current budget.
And, if the Wilpons want to hang on to their financial credibility, which has been questioned in some quarters, they’ll spend some money. And keep most of the core.
Monday, September 7, 2009
I Love Labor Day!
I love Labor Day. What could be better for a sports fan? First of all, performing any actual labor is practically forbidden and what could be better than that? But the sports tableau is unbelievable, especially if you like tennis.
Now I’m watching this little mercuric Melanie Oudin drive this Russian crazy, and being that it’s Nadia Petrova, that shouldn’t be that hard. Ms Oudin is playing smart, taking full advantage of her fitness, moving Petrova left and right, up and down, and she kicked her butt in the second set tie-breaker.
I’m not ordinarily a jingo, but I find myself saying, “move that fat Russian” at every opportunity. But I have an excuse. This little fireball inspires some loyalty; she plays so hard!
But enough about tennis. The great thing on Labor Day is that you can switch between the Yankee game and the tennis, or you can watch the Mets encore against the Cubs with Mike Pelfrey apparently trying to prove he really doesn’t stink. (I had reamed him a new butt in my last article.)
The Yankee pitcher, C.C. Sabathia, is similarly easy to root for (even if the team is not). The last time I looked, he was tie at 1, his only wayward pitch was one that ventured over the plate against Tampa Bay’s Longoria.
Tampa Bay is still hanging in there, especially with Garza on the mound. He’s another real competitor, throwing hard all the time an with every pitch purposeful. (Sabathia’s in trouble now, turning back to the Yankee game).
Labor Day is also like the end of the sports fiscal year, if you will. Baseball’s winding down and it seems apparent who’ll be in the Series (although this year may be different), the football season is just beginning, fantasy drafts have all been conducted, and, as I said, there’s this U.S. Open.
But basketball’s right on the horizon too. And this year, we may even be able to root for the Knicks a little harder. I like the moves they’ve made so far, but it’s almost funny to see the horrible Curry pulling down the money he’s making, 9.7 million. It’s hard to make up that kind of deficit.
But there’s life at the end of the Knicks tunnel. They may not have Nate Robinson anymore, or that nice power forward, but they do have Larry Hughes, Darko Milicic and Cuttino Mobley. They’re all making some fancy bucks too, but I’m pretty sure those salaries will be coming off soon.
Back at Flushing Meadows, Oudin is up 5-3 in the third, and thoroughly wiping out the Red Menace. (Really, I’m no jingoist). Petrova’s done. Oudin just missed on her first match point, but she’s so so close and the result seems inevitable. Relentless is what she is.
And there it is, the end of things; Oudin has prevailed. “Down goes Dementieva, down goes Sharapova, and down goes Petrova”, says the announcer. Three Russians in a row, they’ll be talking about Oudin down in friggin’ Moscow for a long long time. Wow! I’m really psyched!
Geez, the Yankee game seems kind of tame compared to Oudin. But it’s over, it’s time to move along. The Yanks are still tied 1-1, a real pitching duel between CC and Garza. Bottom of the sixth and with these two horses, we may not see any relievers for a long time yet.
Arod just got a little single, and it’s his third hit in as many tries. With just one out and men on first and second now, this could be the end for Garza. Arod’s actually holding up pretty well this year, batting about .280 now with about 24 homers and 80 ribbies, not too shabby for missing April.
It’s so tough to watch men’s tennis and not just for obvious reasons. The thought of watching these guys for up to five sets is just too daunting, kind of the same way I feel in the first quarter of a basketball game. The women just have to win two sets and every point holds your attention.
Nevertheless, Federer is going now against Robredo, and while Federer may be the best player in the world, it’s the first set and I know there’ll be another two hours, at least, before this match winds itself down.
Geez, I just had to explain to my wife about Labor Day. It seems she’s never heard that you don’t work on Labor Day. Wikipedia tells me that I am right (again). This day has its origins back in the 1880’s after a particularly harsh treatment of labor unions in the Pullman Strike. Beyond that though, tradition has always called for this day to be a day of rest, something totally alien to my Brit wife.
At any rate, there is a conspicuous absence of football today unless you’re rabid enough to watch the 4th exhibition games. Not me. The NFL seems to think they can put anybody out there and still command the same commercial dollars from advertisers. No way. Not this guy, I have trouble slogging through all the commercials for a regular season contest.
There have been some things happening though, and I was sorry to see David Tyree let go, albeit totally agreeing with the move. Now both heroes of the Super Bowl are gone and they’ll be missed, if just for the sake of nostalgia. But Tyree’s routes (and hands) were always an adventure.
Back to the Yankees, Posada and Cano (and Hughes for that matter) just teamed up on a great pitchout and throwout of Crawford, the fastest Ray, at second base. Just when I was thinking what a huge mistake it was for Hughes to walk Crawford, the error gets expunged by a beautiful play (and call).
And that’s what makes this Yankee team kinda special, their infield defense is formidable and their hitting and relief pitching are all there too. I was surprised to hear that even Aceves has ten wins.
Aaaaah, Labor Day.
Now I’m watching this little mercuric Melanie Oudin drive this Russian crazy, and being that it’s Nadia Petrova, that shouldn’t be that hard. Ms Oudin is playing smart, taking full advantage of her fitness, moving Petrova left and right, up and down, and she kicked her butt in the second set tie-breaker.
I’m not ordinarily a jingo, but I find myself saying, “move that fat Russian” at every opportunity. But I have an excuse. This little fireball inspires some loyalty; she plays so hard!
But enough about tennis. The great thing on Labor Day is that you can switch between the Yankee game and the tennis, or you can watch the Mets encore against the Cubs with Mike Pelfrey apparently trying to prove he really doesn’t stink. (I had reamed him a new butt in my last article.)
The Yankee pitcher, C.C. Sabathia, is similarly easy to root for (even if the team is not). The last time I looked, he was tie at 1, his only wayward pitch was one that ventured over the plate against Tampa Bay’s Longoria.
Tampa Bay is still hanging in there, especially with Garza on the mound. He’s another real competitor, throwing hard all the time an with every pitch purposeful. (Sabathia’s in trouble now, turning back to the Yankee game).
Labor Day is also like the end of the sports fiscal year, if you will. Baseball’s winding down and it seems apparent who’ll be in the Series (although this year may be different), the football season is just beginning, fantasy drafts have all been conducted, and, as I said, there’s this U.S. Open.
But basketball’s right on the horizon too. And this year, we may even be able to root for the Knicks a little harder. I like the moves they’ve made so far, but it’s almost funny to see the horrible Curry pulling down the money he’s making, 9.7 million. It’s hard to make up that kind of deficit.
But there’s life at the end of the Knicks tunnel. They may not have Nate Robinson anymore, or that nice power forward, but they do have Larry Hughes, Darko Milicic and Cuttino Mobley. They’re all making some fancy bucks too, but I’m pretty sure those salaries will be coming off soon.
Back at Flushing Meadows, Oudin is up 5-3 in the third, and thoroughly wiping out the Red Menace. (Really, I’m no jingoist). Petrova’s done. Oudin just missed on her first match point, but she’s so so close and the result seems inevitable. Relentless is what she is.
And there it is, the end of things; Oudin has prevailed. “Down goes Dementieva, down goes Sharapova, and down goes Petrova”, says the announcer. Three Russians in a row, they’ll be talking about Oudin down in friggin’ Moscow for a long long time. Wow! I’m really psyched!
Geez, the Yankee game seems kind of tame compared to Oudin. But it’s over, it’s time to move along. The Yanks are still tied 1-1, a real pitching duel between CC and Garza. Bottom of the sixth and with these two horses, we may not see any relievers for a long time yet.
Arod just got a little single, and it’s his third hit in as many tries. With just one out and men on first and second now, this could be the end for Garza. Arod’s actually holding up pretty well this year, batting about .280 now with about 24 homers and 80 ribbies, not too shabby for missing April.
It’s so tough to watch men’s tennis and not just for obvious reasons. The thought of watching these guys for up to five sets is just too daunting, kind of the same way I feel in the first quarter of a basketball game. The women just have to win two sets and every point holds your attention.
Nevertheless, Federer is going now against Robredo, and while Federer may be the best player in the world, it’s the first set and I know there’ll be another two hours, at least, before this match winds itself down.
Geez, I just had to explain to my wife about Labor Day. It seems she’s never heard that you don’t work on Labor Day. Wikipedia tells me that I am right (again). This day has its origins back in the 1880’s after a particularly harsh treatment of labor unions in the Pullman Strike. Beyond that though, tradition has always called for this day to be a day of rest, something totally alien to my Brit wife.
At any rate, there is a conspicuous absence of football today unless you’re rabid enough to watch the 4th exhibition games. Not me. The NFL seems to think they can put anybody out there and still command the same commercial dollars from advertisers. No way. Not this guy, I have trouble slogging through all the commercials for a regular season contest.
There have been some things happening though, and I was sorry to see David Tyree let go, albeit totally agreeing with the move. Now both heroes of the Super Bowl are gone and they’ll be missed, if just for the sake of nostalgia. But Tyree’s routes (and hands) were always an adventure.
Back to the Yankees, Posada and Cano (and Hughes for that matter) just teamed up on a great pitchout and throwout of Crawford, the fastest Ray, at second base. Just when I was thinking what a huge mistake it was for Hughes to walk Crawford, the error gets expunged by a beautiful play (and call).
And that’s what makes this Yankee team kinda special, their infield defense is formidable and their hitting and relief pitching are all there too. I was surprised to hear that even Aceves has ten wins.
Aaaaah, Labor Day.
Monday, August 31, 2009
On Joba And NFL Jobs
Okay, I think I’ve really had it now. I’m going to take my Joba Rules shirt and burn it. What am I saying if I wear his shirt…..that I’m a sissy boy? It’s okay, Joe, take me out after three, watch every pitch, call every pitch and then take me out whenever you feel like it, whenever the mood strikes you, because I’m SOOOOO happy to be a Yankee.
What a wimp!
I’ll trade you for an old David Wells shirt, another big guy but he had some uh, canoles? Really, it’s sickening. Joba had been the only Yankee I liked and now that feeling’s out the window too.
I’m just glad that I didn’t buy one of those exorbitant tickets to the game. Imagine laying out all that hard-earned cash expecting to see Joba and getting him for just 3 innings, no matter that he just gave up a couple of runs. I mean, what about truth in advertising? Isn’t a “start” supposed to be something in particular? Anyway, if I had the poor judgment to buy a ticket, I’d be asking for a refund now.
And then Joba makes it worse by saying he’s fine with it. I don’t know, Joba. You lost me. I mean forever.
The Yanks appear unbeatable right now. Looks like that 140 mill paid off. Teixeira, Sabathia, Burnet, what’s not to like? The one weak spot was Mitre and then he goes and delivers a quality start. Relief had been a problem and then, lo and behold, Hughes becomes Mr. Lightsout in the 8th.
Jeter’s locked in, and he’s been locked in for a long time. Damon’s hitting them over that short wall with regularity; a juiceless Arod’s delievering less but still enough to get by. It’s sickening really. You have to look pretty hard to find a weak spot; in fact, it’ll be a fruitless search.
Argh, enough about the friggin’ Yankees. I’m just glad the Rangers wooped their butts. There’re some real men down there in Texas, just as you’d expect.
And now I see some articles to the effect that the Wilpons’ management of the Mets club isn’t affected by the huge losses they suffered in the Madoff soaking. Yeah, sure. And still nobody knows how much they really lost. They don’t have to tell. I mean, that’s fine, but if the losses have been so insignificant, why not let anybody know how bad it was or wasn’t.
I won’t dwell on the Mets. It is amazing, though, how many hits it takes to score a run with these new guys. Day after day, you see numbers like 13 hits, 4 runs and if you’re a Mets fan, you don’t know whether to be happy for the hits or unhappy for the runs.
This weekend was all about football. The Jets and Giants put on a good show but it’s hard to really judge whether the Jets are that good or the Giants are that bad. I know I saw a lot of bad things as a Giants fan. I surely didn’t see any Plaxico look-alikes. Hakeem Nicks made some nice catches though.
Sinorice Moss showed nothing. Manningham showed even less. Hixon, Smith, none of the “regulars” showed anything, unless you count the ability to drop the big one. This questionable attribute was displayed by Smith and Hixon for sure, and Manningham was only consistent in that he dropped nearly everything.
The depth chart right now is scary. Hixon and Smith are the starters backed up by Manningham and Moss. The third string shows Nicks and David Tyree, the Super Bowl hero, who didn’t play. Smith is great as a possession receiver. It looks as if he’s a long way from catching the long ball. Hixon is a decent backup, that’s all. Moss and Manningham should be cut. That’ll give Nicks and Barden their chances.
The Giants tackling left a lot to be desired too. On the Sanchez pass to Chansi Stuckey, Stuckey broke three Giants tackles with no trouble at all….as if they weren’t there. Coming off his disappointing showing against the Ravens, Sanchez looked great against the G-Men so the question becomes obvious, i.e. “how bad are the Giants”?
But you have to like Sanchez. He seems to read the defenses, he delivers the ball right where it needs to be, and he seems to be a leader. There’s not much missing, is there? There aren’t even any nits to pick.
So, all in all, everything’s rosy for Gang Green going into the 4th week of exhibitions. Having a quarterback everrybody believes in is half the battle in football. Of course, as Thomas Jones pointed out, it’s still the exhibition season, but still…..
Other than the locals, I watched several other exhibitions, if, for no other reason, to watch for good fantasy sleepers. My draft was Saturday morning, and Brady’s injury Friday night pretty much locked me up on Drew Brees as my number 1 pick. Not just because Brady was nicked up, but because his line didn’t hold up. The final straw was Belichick giving absolutely no indication as to the severity of the injury.
Brady looked great though. I have to hand it to him. He and dandy Randy Moss seem to still have that magic that carried them to so many td’s and so many yards back in 2007 before Brady was hurt. He could have looked even better, too, except that Wes Welker didn’t play.
The Packers certainly look impressive as do the Saints. The Steelers haven’t lost much either. As for individuals, Matt Cassell, KC’s new QB , was hurt already. And I almost felt bad for Josh McDaniels, Denver’s new coach (from the Pats again), who was made to look foolish in the Broncos’ exhibition versus da Bears.
Kyle Orton just isn’t Jay Cutler, that was all too obvious as Cutler ate up the Broncos and Orton did very little, and then got hurt. Then there’s the new NFL idiot, Brandon Marshall.
What a wimp!
I’ll trade you for an old David Wells shirt, another big guy but he had some uh, canoles? Really, it’s sickening. Joba had been the only Yankee I liked and now that feeling’s out the window too.
I’m just glad that I didn’t buy one of those exorbitant tickets to the game. Imagine laying out all that hard-earned cash expecting to see Joba and getting him for just 3 innings, no matter that he just gave up a couple of runs. I mean, what about truth in advertising? Isn’t a “start” supposed to be something in particular? Anyway, if I had the poor judgment to buy a ticket, I’d be asking for a refund now.
And then Joba makes it worse by saying he’s fine with it. I don’t know, Joba. You lost me. I mean forever.
The Yanks appear unbeatable right now. Looks like that 140 mill paid off. Teixeira, Sabathia, Burnet, what’s not to like? The one weak spot was Mitre and then he goes and delivers a quality start. Relief had been a problem and then, lo and behold, Hughes becomes Mr. Lightsout in the 8th.
Jeter’s locked in, and he’s been locked in for a long time. Damon’s hitting them over that short wall with regularity; a juiceless Arod’s delievering less but still enough to get by. It’s sickening really. You have to look pretty hard to find a weak spot; in fact, it’ll be a fruitless search.
Argh, enough about the friggin’ Yankees. I’m just glad the Rangers wooped their butts. There’re some real men down there in Texas, just as you’d expect.
And now I see some articles to the effect that the Wilpons’ management of the Mets club isn’t affected by the huge losses they suffered in the Madoff soaking. Yeah, sure. And still nobody knows how much they really lost. They don’t have to tell. I mean, that’s fine, but if the losses have been so insignificant, why not let anybody know how bad it was or wasn’t.
I won’t dwell on the Mets. It is amazing, though, how many hits it takes to score a run with these new guys. Day after day, you see numbers like 13 hits, 4 runs and if you’re a Mets fan, you don’t know whether to be happy for the hits or unhappy for the runs.
This weekend was all about football. The Jets and Giants put on a good show but it’s hard to really judge whether the Jets are that good or the Giants are that bad. I know I saw a lot of bad things as a Giants fan. I surely didn’t see any Plaxico look-alikes. Hakeem Nicks made some nice catches though.
Sinorice Moss showed nothing. Manningham showed even less. Hixon, Smith, none of the “regulars” showed anything, unless you count the ability to drop the big one. This questionable attribute was displayed by Smith and Hixon for sure, and Manningham was only consistent in that he dropped nearly everything.
The depth chart right now is scary. Hixon and Smith are the starters backed up by Manningham and Moss. The third string shows Nicks and David Tyree, the Super Bowl hero, who didn’t play. Smith is great as a possession receiver. It looks as if he’s a long way from catching the long ball. Hixon is a decent backup, that’s all. Moss and Manningham should be cut. That’ll give Nicks and Barden their chances.
The Giants tackling left a lot to be desired too. On the Sanchez pass to Chansi Stuckey, Stuckey broke three Giants tackles with no trouble at all….as if they weren’t there. Coming off his disappointing showing against the Ravens, Sanchez looked great against the G-Men so the question becomes obvious, i.e. “how bad are the Giants”?
But you have to like Sanchez. He seems to read the defenses, he delivers the ball right where it needs to be, and he seems to be a leader. There’s not much missing, is there? There aren’t even any nits to pick.
So, all in all, everything’s rosy for Gang Green going into the 4th week of exhibitions. Having a quarterback everrybody believes in is half the battle in football. Of course, as Thomas Jones pointed out, it’s still the exhibition season, but still…..
Other than the locals, I watched several other exhibitions, if, for no other reason, to watch for good fantasy sleepers. My draft was Saturday morning, and Brady’s injury Friday night pretty much locked me up on Drew Brees as my number 1 pick. Not just because Brady was nicked up, but because his line didn’t hold up. The final straw was Belichick giving absolutely no indication as to the severity of the injury.
Brady looked great though. I have to hand it to him. He and dandy Randy Moss seem to still have that magic that carried them to so many td’s and so many yards back in 2007 before Brady was hurt. He could have looked even better, too, except that Wes Welker didn’t play.
The Packers certainly look impressive as do the Saints. The Steelers haven’t lost much either. As for individuals, Matt Cassell, KC’s new QB , was hurt already. And I almost felt bad for Josh McDaniels, Denver’s new coach (from the Pats again), who was made to look foolish in the Broncos’ exhibition versus da Bears.
Kyle Orton just isn’t Jay Cutler, that was all too obvious as Cutler ate up the Broncos and Orton did very little, and then got hurt. Then there’s the new NFL idiot, Brandon Marshall.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Beat Goes On
The Mets saga conTINuuuuues. Just when you’ve decided not to watch, even on TV, here come the Mets again, the Mets you expected, well, maybe not expected exactly, but the team you know they could be, iff they would just pitch once in a while.
Well, pitch they did, well, Pelfrey sure did. It seemed as if he was suddenly unhittable. How nice for him. I just wonder where the heck that pitcher goes every fifth day? It’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Pelfrey. Maybe he can only whip the San Francisco’s of the world?
Then there was this kid Parnell. He sure did very nicely in his first start ever. The kid has some speed and some stuff too. Hell, he could be the number two starter. I got almost excited as the Weather Channel guys at the prospects of that new tropical storm, or the Republicans after helping kill any healthcare changes.
Anyway, in the short term, there’s somebody besides tired old Livan friggin’ Hernandez and the crazy lefty Perez to throw out there. The depth chart now reads Santana, Pelfrey, Hernandez, Perez and Parnell. That’s not too shabby really, they sure are all different. It’s just that you’d like to see some more consistency, y’know?
But starting with the last game vs. Arizona, the Mets are on an impressive run. Crazy Ollie pitched that last game and allowed just one run in 5 1/3 impressive innings. Even the atrocious reliever Sean Green couldn’t lose it for him. Then it was Parnell with the shutout, a shaky Santana which is still not horrible, and then Pelfrey’s little gem. A Mets fan could get used to this.
And just when you thought the baseball gods had forgotten about the Mets, here they came with one more salvo, leveling the one remaining core guy, good ol’ David Wright. It came in the form of a shot to the head, of course, that nobody thought was intentional, but….still. There may have been a feeble attempt at retaliation as roly-poly Bengie Molina was hit by a pitch much later on, but you can never really get even for your rock going down for the count. With a concussion, he may as well be lost for the season, especially this season.
Fernando Tatis is now our third baseman, backed up by a fella named Andy Green, who is, surprise, surprise, a very light-hitting guy indeed. But the lineup against the Giants on Sunday was Pagan, Castillo, Sheffield, Francoeur, Tatis, Murphy, Santos and Anderson Hernandez, which can be a pretty entertaining group. I’m looking forward to seeing if Livan can get by SanFran’s Joe Martinez.
Oh, but just to keep things in perspective, the Mets are 55-62, 12 games back of the Phillies in the NL East and 9 ½ behind the Rockies for the wildcard. And they’re way way back on that list too. It’s good that football season is almost upon us, unless of course you’re a Yankee fan.
The Yankees are way ahead of Boston and are 41-18 at home, the best home record in either league. They lead Detroit in that respect by a game but Detroit has a losing record away from home. The Yanks are also 33-26 on the road. They have the best overall record in both leagues, Mark Teixeira is being touted for MVP and Jeter just passed Luis Aparicio for most hits be a shortstop. So what’s not to like?
Aside from this innings thing with Joba, there’s almost nothing left to criticize. You see little chinks now and then, like Sergio Mitre maybe not being that good, and I suppose Chad Gaudin hasn’t really proven anything yet. And now Matsui’s a little banged up.
But with the Yankees, if they’re close through 6 or 7 innings, you get the feeling they’re going to win the game. There are not that many teams you can say that about.
The big news in the American League is the Texas Rangers. It looks as if they have the staying power to outlast Boston for the AL wildcard. They put them away yesterday head-to-head after losing a tough one a day earlier. And with the same pitcher to close things out, Frank Francisco, who had a 2.01 ERA before Boston lambasted him for 6 big runs on Saturday.
Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Josh Hamilton…the Rangers have got a hell of a team and even the pitching is holding up. It’s a pitching staff put together by a real man named Nolan Ryan, who pees on pitch counts. This team stayed together and played well, even after losing Hamilton and Kinsler to injuries for, in Hamilton’s case anyway, a good portion of the season.
The Red Sox seem a mess compared to what they had been. Between injuries to key players like Matsuzaka and Wakefield and performance funks from the likes of David Ortiz and the shortstop position, the Red Sox are hanging into the race by the tips of their fingernails. And their confidence had to be shaken by the sweep the Yanks laid on them.
So things should be quite tolerable for the rest of the baseball season, even for a Mets fan. When boredom really sets in, we can just tune in to the NFL station and watch some exhibitions. For me, I’ve been checking out the quarterbacks for fantasy purposes, especially QB’s who changed teams or whose team was enhanced by some key additions.
In Buffalo, I watched Trent Edwards looking good throwing to Lee Evans, even with Terrell Owens out with a bad toe. On the other hand, the much-ballyhooed Jay Cutler looked lousy with da Bears and Kyle Orton didn’t look that great in his exhibition. Tony Romo looked as if he was trying a bit harder to stay in the pocket and looked pretty good while Donovan McNabb seemed to have an easy time of it in his few minutes on the field.
Then there’s Mark Sanchez. And we’ll see Eli tonight!
Well, pitch they did, well, Pelfrey sure did. It seemed as if he was suddenly unhittable. How nice for him. I just wonder where the heck that pitcher goes every fifth day? It’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Pelfrey. Maybe he can only whip the San Francisco’s of the world?
Then there was this kid Parnell. He sure did very nicely in his first start ever. The kid has some speed and some stuff too. Hell, he could be the number two starter. I got almost excited as the Weather Channel guys at the prospects of that new tropical storm, or the Republicans after helping kill any healthcare changes.
Anyway, in the short term, there’s somebody besides tired old Livan friggin’ Hernandez and the crazy lefty Perez to throw out there. The depth chart now reads Santana, Pelfrey, Hernandez, Perez and Parnell. That’s not too shabby really, they sure are all different. It’s just that you’d like to see some more consistency, y’know?
But starting with the last game vs. Arizona, the Mets are on an impressive run. Crazy Ollie pitched that last game and allowed just one run in 5 1/3 impressive innings. Even the atrocious reliever Sean Green couldn’t lose it for him. Then it was Parnell with the shutout, a shaky Santana which is still not horrible, and then Pelfrey’s little gem. A Mets fan could get used to this.
And just when you thought the baseball gods had forgotten about the Mets, here they came with one more salvo, leveling the one remaining core guy, good ol’ David Wright. It came in the form of a shot to the head, of course, that nobody thought was intentional, but….still. There may have been a feeble attempt at retaliation as roly-poly Bengie Molina was hit by a pitch much later on, but you can never really get even for your rock going down for the count. With a concussion, he may as well be lost for the season, especially this season.
Fernando Tatis is now our third baseman, backed up by a fella named Andy Green, who is, surprise, surprise, a very light-hitting guy indeed. But the lineup against the Giants on Sunday was Pagan, Castillo, Sheffield, Francoeur, Tatis, Murphy, Santos and Anderson Hernandez, which can be a pretty entertaining group. I’m looking forward to seeing if Livan can get by SanFran’s Joe Martinez.
Oh, but just to keep things in perspective, the Mets are 55-62, 12 games back of the Phillies in the NL East and 9 ½ behind the Rockies for the wildcard. And they’re way way back on that list too. It’s good that football season is almost upon us, unless of course you’re a Yankee fan.
The Yankees are way ahead of Boston and are 41-18 at home, the best home record in either league. They lead Detroit in that respect by a game but Detroit has a losing record away from home. The Yanks are also 33-26 on the road. They have the best overall record in both leagues, Mark Teixeira is being touted for MVP and Jeter just passed Luis Aparicio for most hits be a shortstop. So what’s not to like?
Aside from this innings thing with Joba, there’s almost nothing left to criticize. You see little chinks now and then, like Sergio Mitre maybe not being that good, and I suppose Chad Gaudin hasn’t really proven anything yet. And now Matsui’s a little banged up.
But with the Yankees, if they’re close through 6 or 7 innings, you get the feeling they’re going to win the game. There are not that many teams you can say that about.
The big news in the American League is the Texas Rangers. It looks as if they have the staying power to outlast Boston for the AL wildcard. They put them away yesterday head-to-head after losing a tough one a day earlier. And with the same pitcher to close things out, Frank Francisco, who had a 2.01 ERA before Boston lambasted him for 6 big runs on Saturday.
Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Josh Hamilton…the Rangers have got a hell of a team and even the pitching is holding up. It’s a pitching staff put together by a real man named Nolan Ryan, who pees on pitch counts. This team stayed together and played well, even after losing Hamilton and Kinsler to injuries for, in Hamilton’s case anyway, a good portion of the season.
The Red Sox seem a mess compared to what they had been. Between injuries to key players like Matsuzaka and Wakefield and performance funks from the likes of David Ortiz and the shortstop position, the Red Sox are hanging into the race by the tips of their fingernails. And their confidence had to be shaken by the sweep the Yanks laid on them.
So things should be quite tolerable for the rest of the baseball season, even for a Mets fan. When boredom really sets in, we can just tune in to the NFL station and watch some exhibitions. For me, I’ve been checking out the quarterbacks for fantasy purposes, especially QB’s who changed teams or whose team was enhanced by some key additions.
In Buffalo, I watched Trent Edwards looking good throwing to Lee Evans, even with Terrell Owens out with a bad toe. On the other hand, the much-ballyhooed Jay Cutler looked lousy with da Bears and Kyle Orton didn’t look that great in his exhibition. Tony Romo looked as if he was trying a bit harder to stay in the pocket and looked pretty good while Donovan McNabb seemed to have an easy time of it in his few minutes on the field.
Then there’s Mark Sanchez. And we’ll see Eli tonight!
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