Ok, so let’s see, where are we?
The Yanks lost. Arod is the goat, of course. New York’s favorite goat, that’s Arod. No sense in whining about it, Yankee fans, you’ve got him for six more years. Sure, it seems like a lot of money, but look at the bright side.
Ummm, Arod can play his position somewhat, he probably still has the potential to hit 30-40 home runs, he still can command attention in that Number 4 spot, at least when he’s healthy. He’s taken care of most of his physical problems and he really wasn’t in a groove yet by the time the playoffs rolled around.
I hate feeling sorry for Arod. But really, he wasn’t the only Yankee not doing much at the plate. Teixeira and Swisher weren’t exactly awe-inspiring. Jeter still can hit that ball, almost well enough to put the Yanks in front down the stretch in that final game.
What the heck, Texas probably would have beaten them anyway.
I just watched a re-run of the final Brewers-D-Backs game. Maybe if the Yankees had somebody like Nyjer Morgan, they’d be a lot scarier. I felt the Yanks would lose when they didn’t send Arod home when they had the chance, then they had the bases loaded again and didn’t do anything with the opportunity.
The Yanks have no speed, none at all. Yeah, I know they have Brett Gardner and Jeter and Granderson but Jeter isn’t really a burner. He’s just a smart runner. Grandy can still turn on the burners too but he’s not as scary as, well, Jose Reyes for example. Besides, hitting in the ninth spot in the order, Gardner’s often not right in the heart of things, y’know? There’re guys who can set the table, and Gardner is one of those, but it’s just a little harder from the nine spot.
I know Jeter is after all Jeter but, really, does he have to bat leadoff more often than not? Jeter can still steal a base but the pitcher and catcher don’t get all hot and bothered when Jeter’s on first base. But a lack of speed is not why they lost. I keep asking myself how that game turns out if the 3rd-base coach sends Arod home. And I’m not even a Yankee fan.
I’d feel more comfortable with another speedy outfielder. Swisher’s a good outfielder, well, maybe a fair outfielder, and he gets some big hits during the season but not so many during the post-season. He’s not a threat on the bases at all. Since the Yanks are locked in with no speed in their infield for quite some time, I’d think that situation would demand that all the outfielders have some speed.
I love Swisher, and who’s to say he won’t become a good post-season hitter, but Nick would probably fit better on some other team, a team that already has some speed. That middle of the Yanks lineup is ponderous when you think about it, Teixeira, Arod, Cano, Swisher……there are no extra bases in the Yanks future.
But I still wish they had sent Arod. He sure was ready to go.
There are those moments in every game when it’s either won or lost. You can play like you mean it, go for the win with everything you’ve got, or you can sit back, play it safe, and hope that still one more batter will come through for you. That second option really doesn’t work as often as you might think, not in a big game when the opponent’s pitching ain’t too shabby.
Oh well, the Yanks are dead. Arod probably would have been out anyway. Right?
The Brewers won their series with the D-Backs with speed and it was a lot of fun. The Brew Crew had a speed-burner on first base and another one at the plate, one Nyjer Morgan. The burner on first stole second as the catcher, Henry Blanco of Mets fame, came up throwing before he actually had the ball in his glove. He only muffed the play because the guy on first was fast. See what I mean?
With that burner now in scoring position, all Nyjer Morgan had to do was hit a ground ball through the middle to bring home the winning run and give the Brewers their first playoff-series win since, well, a long long time ago.
The best storyline for me is that Cardinals team, if only because I’ve been watching them since spring training. Just before Game 1, I told my cousin Joey, a Phillies fan, to watch out for the Cards. They had too many players who could come up in big spots and deliver. Deliver they did and now the Cards get to face those Brewers.
While I’d been somewhat prophetic , the Cards won because of Chris Carpenter. What a great pitchers duel it was, the Cards ace against the Phillies ace for all the marbles. And it wasn’t just a match of aces. It was a matchup of good friends. You knew you were going to see a great pitchers duel and that’s what you got. You not only got the results but the anticipation as well.
I think the Cards will be too much for the Brewers. The Brewers have Braun and Fielder (and Morgan) but the Cards have Pujols and Berkman and Holliday. They also have these no-name guys who just kill you in big spots, Friese and Theriot, Schumacher and Furcal.
The Brewers have better pitching overall but so did the Phillies. It didn’t seem to matter in the end. Those guys who just battle the whole game through, who pick each other up, those guys are mostly on the Cardinals.
So it’ll be Cards-Brewers in the NLCS and Rangers-Tigers in the ALCS. I’ve seen them all play and there’s great managers all around too, La Russa (I still hate him) and Leyland and Washington, but when push comes to shove, those Cardinals are playing to win.
Showing posts with label Yanks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yanks. Show all posts
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
September Is Looking Good
Oh good, it’s not raining.
And the Yanks are fielding their irregulars for the day after late-night game with the Orioles. It’s Nunez leading off, then Martin, Swisher, Arod, Andruw Jones, the rook Montero, then Laird, Golson and Pena. So far, Arod looks good and Montero got caught lunging at a low and away slider. But there’s more fun in store with that 7 thru 9 lineup….Laird, Golson and Pena, whew!
It should be interesting to see what A.J. Burnett gives up today. So far it doesn’t look good. First baseman Laird just muffed an easy grounder to give the Birds another run. It could be a long day.
The Mets took one in unusual fashion last night from the Marlins. Parnell failed as a closer yet again, giving up two runs to allow Florida to tie the game at four. It took 3 more innings of work to finally win it 7-4. Pagan, Bay, Evans and Reyes combined to score three big runs in the top of the 12th to win it.
Not that any of these heroics mean anything, but, what the hell, it is still baseball. Nominally.
The big stir for me today is the NFL opener tomorrow night between the Saints and the Packers, the super Bowl champs against the champs of two years ago. There’ll be Saints rookie running back Mark Ingram to check out in his first real game and, of course, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. Sounds good.
The Football Giants can’t get a break, unless you count bones. Now their linebacker Goff is gone too. He’ll join the rookie corner who went down after about one play in pre-season and the other 2nd-year LB Clint Sintim on the DL. And let’s not forget Terrell Thomas.
Yes, folks, that same defense that gave up all those second half points to the Eagles last year, that same horrible excuse for a defense, will be right back this year. Oh well, at least they tried to fix things. It’s just that anybody who could have helped is hurt. I won’t even mention the offensive losses of Steve Smith and Kevin Boss. As things turned out, they’re both injured anyway. But you would be forgiven for forgetting the names of the guys playing middle linebacker and one of the corners.
But the Giants do have the advantage of playing against the Redskins, lo these many years low these many years. The current Redskins under Mike Shanahan feature Rex Grossman as its quarterback. Donovan McNabb is off in the wilds of the north and I hope Shanahan will be happy now. As he already divested himself of Haynesworth the Ugly, this is a Redskins team that might be very close to a Shanahan ideal, good running game, zone blocking, yada yada ya. But what about the Skins defense?
(Montero, the Yankee rookie who looked so bad in his first AB, just hit a long single to right to score two and tie the game up for AJ and the Bombers).
The Jets have had a lot more luck with just about everything. They return an offense that ‘ll be remarkably identical to last year’s, the exception being Plaxico Burress taking over for Braylon Edwards at wide receiver. On defense, they’ll probably wind up being less consistent than last year’s group, as veterans have been let go but big things are expected from two big bodies in Kenrick Ellis and Muhammad Wilkerson.
The Jets will be facing the Cowboys. Who knows where this score could end up? If you told me it’d be high-scoring, I’d believe you. If you said it’d be a scoreless tie, I could entertain that idea too. The Cowboys are just all over the place. Romo is back and he’ll be trying to find Jersey boy Miles Austin and the sometimes sensational Dez Bryant. They’ll score points for sure but their running game will probably be harder for this Jets defense to stop. Expect to see a lot of Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. Look for those two rookies. They may be on the ground a lot.
Meanwhile, back to baseball, the MVP race in the American League seems to be tightening. Curtis Granderson, Adrian Gonzalez and Robinson Cano, to my mind, could all stake a legitimate claim to the title but there’re still quite a few games to go. Cano especially seems to be coming on, and have you seen him play the field? It seems he’s a human highlight reel.
Who’ll be the playoff teams in each league? While the wildcard teams will come from the East in both the NL and AL, the only real question marks will be who’ll win the West . In the AL West Texas is still only 3 games up on the Angels while in the NL West, the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks are a full 6 games up on the World Series Champs SF Giants.
The D’Backs have the pitching to lock out the Giants, both on the starting and relieving end. Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders and Josh Collmenter are all well below the 4.0 ERA marker and they seem to finally have the lineup to back up that pitching.
Justin Upton is the closest thing to Curtis Granderson in the National League, batting .297 with 27 homers and 93 runs scored. Miguel Montero is perhaps the best hitting catcher in the NL while other role players such as Chris Young, Ryan Roberts and Willie Bloomquist keep on keeping on.
The Angels are looking old though, and despite some pretty awesome pitching, just don’t have the firepower to knock out the resilient Texas Rangers. The Rangers have just enough pitching to see themselves to the Promised Land, especially with their beefing up of the relief corps with Mike Adams.
September is looking good if you discount all the rain. The baseball playoffs should be riveting, especially those involving the Red Sox and Yankees. Let’s hope the Giants and Jets can keep the month interesting.
And the Yanks are fielding their irregulars for the day after late-night game with the Orioles. It’s Nunez leading off, then Martin, Swisher, Arod, Andruw Jones, the rook Montero, then Laird, Golson and Pena. So far, Arod looks good and Montero got caught lunging at a low and away slider. But there’s more fun in store with that 7 thru 9 lineup….Laird, Golson and Pena, whew!
It should be interesting to see what A.J. Burnett gives up today. So far it doesn’t look good. First baseman Laird just muffed an easy grounder to give the Birds another run. It could be a long day.
The Mets took one in unusual fashion last night from the Marlins. Parnell failed as a closer yet again, giving up two runs to allow Florida to tie the game at four. It took 3 more innings of work to finally win it 7-4. Pagan, Bay, Evans and Reyes combined to score three big runs in the top of the 12th to win it.
Not that any of these heroics mean anything, but, what the hell, it is still baseball. Nominally.
The big stir for me today is the NFL opener tomorrow night between the Saints and the Packers, the super Bowl champs against the champs of two years ago. There’ll be Saints rookie running back Mark Ingram to check out in his first real game and, of course, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. Sounds good.
The Football Giants can’t get a break, unless you count bones. Now their linebacker Goff is gone too. He’ll join the rookie corner who went down after about one play in pre-season and the other 2nd-year LB Clint Sintim on the DL. And let’s not forget Terrell Thomas.
Yes, folks, that same defense that gave up all those second half points to the Eagles last year, that same horrible excuse for a defense, will be right back this year. Oh well, at least they tried to fix things. It’s just that anybody who could have helped is hurt. I won’t even mention the offensive losses of Steve Smith and Kevin Boss. As things turned out, they’re both injured anyway. But you would be forgiven for forgetting the names of the guys playing middle linebacker and one of the corners.
But the Giants do have the advantage of playing against the Redskins, lo these many years low these many years. The current Redskins under Mike Shanahan feature Rex Grossman as its quarterback. Donovan McNabb is off in the wilds of the north and I hope Shanahan will be happy now. As he already divested himself of Haynesworth the Ugly, this is a Redskins team that might be very close to a Shanahan ideal, good running game, zone blocking, yada yada ya. But what about the Skins defense?
(Montero, the Yankee rookie who looked so bad in his first AB, just hit a long single to right to score two and tie the game up for AJ and the Bombers).
The Jets have had a lot more luck with just about everything. They return an offense that ‘ll be remarkably identical to last year’s, the exception being Plaxico Burress taking over for Braylon Edwards at wide receiver. On defense, they’ll probably wind up being less consistent than last year’s group, as veterans have been let go but big things are expected from two big bodies in Kenrick Ellis and Muhammad Wilkerson.
The Jets will be facing the Cowboys. Who knows where this score could end up? If you told me it’d be high-scoring, I’d believe you. If you said it’d be a scoreless tie, I could entertain that idea too. The Cowboys are just all over the place. Romo is back and he’ll be trying to find Jersey boy Miles Austin and the sometimes sensational Dez Bryant. They’ll score points for sure but their running game will probably be harder for this Jets defense to stop. Expect to see a lot of Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. Look for those two rookies. They may be on the ground a lot.
Meanwhile, back to baseball, the MVP race in the American League seems to be tightening. Curtis Granderson, Adrian Gonzalez and Robinson Cano, to my mind, could all stake a legitimate claim to the title but there’re still quite a few games to go. Cano especially seems to be coming on, and have you seen him play the field? It seems he’s a human highlight reel.
Who’ll be the playoff teams in each league? While the wildcard teams will come from the East in both the NL and AL, the only real question marks will be who’ll win the West . In the AL West Texas is still only 3 games up on the Angels while in the NL West, the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks are a full 6 games up on the World Series Champs SF Giants.
The D’Backs have the pitching to lock out the Giants, both on the starting and relieving end. Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders and Josh Collmenter are all well below the 4.0 ERA marker and they seem to finally have the lineup to back up that pitching.
Justin Upton is the closest thing to Curtis Granderson in the National League, batting .297 with 27 homers and 93 runs scored. Miguel Montero is perhaps the best hitting catcher in the NL while other role players such as Chris Young, Ryan Roberts and Willie Bloomquist keep on keeping on.
The Angels are looking old though, and despite some pretty awesome pitching, just don’t have the firepower to knock out the resilient Texas Rangers. The Rangers have just enough pitching to see themselves to the Promised Land, especially with their beefing up of the relief corps with Mike Adams.
September is looking good if you discount all the rain. The baseball playoffs should be riveting, especially those involving the Red Sox and Yankees. Let’s hope the Giants and Jets can keep the month interesting.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Series Hopes on an All-Sports Sunday
It was one of the best sports days ever. NFL action and all its fantasy implications, MLB playoffs races coming down to the wire and the Mets on the verge of finally ending the Omar Minaya era and its four years of disappointing mercenary baseball.
Ultimately, it will be that last event that will be the most important event in my life. But in the short run, for sheer excitement and that feeling of true participation in the day’s events, you just can’t beat Sunday NFL action, especially if you have the resources to buy the NFL Redzone package, or watch streaming videos of games on the Internet.
After watching the G-Men (yes, they finally deserve that name) vanquish da Bears last night on mainstream TV, I can’t imagine going back to that totally unwatchable platform for commercials, even if it did afford me the opportunity to get along further in my reading . I also became quite accomplished in manipulating the remote control, especially the “mute” and “last” buttons.
The G-Men weren’t expected by many to beat da Bears last night. That was before the nation witnessed the total humiliation of the Bears offensive line. It reminded me of a similar game against McNabb’s Philadelphia Eagles a year or two ago when Osi Umenyiora just ate up the guy in front of him. (Come to think of it, it looked a lot like the Colts decimation of the Giants offensive line just last week).
Things change so quickly in the NFL. Those same Giants who looked like gangbusters in that first game of the season returned last night. After that pitiful effort against the Colts, they turned their season around with a resounding victory against a Chicago team that had been undefeated at 3 and 0. And that result wasn’t even as surprising as the action in a few other games on the slate.
The lowly Lions from Detroit gave Green Bay fits before losing. The Jaguars, a team I had thought incapable of ever winning a game this season, beat those same Colts who ate up that Giants offensive line just last week. And they did it by outcoaching the brash Indi team, who called timeouts for their offense while the Jags still had the ball!
Ahmad Bradshaw broke my heart by fumbling once again down by the goal line, even if he did have a really marvelous day. I could watch those nifty changes in direction forever, that and his ability to run over people. Tom Coughlin broke it again when he inserted old sourpuss Brandon Jacobs into the game, in effect rewarding the Twink for his surliness by giving him the touchdown, not Bradshaw.
That last decision crippled my chances of winning my fantasy contest this week. Coughlin also limited the participation of Mario Manningham, a player who could have played after his concussion fears were laid to rest. And a player I had foolishly decided to pick up to replace Miles Austin and/or Percy Harvin in my fantasy lineup. Manningham gave me the big zero.
I still have a fantasy of a chance, but even the most optimistic outlook would snigger at the prospects of my opponent’s Ronnie Brown and Davone Bess (from Miami) failing to achieve 80 yards or a touchdown, even against a New England team that hasn’t really distinguished itself for defense of any kind this year.
And all that NFL action was only a portion of the excitement for the day. The interminable 162-game baseball season finally actually ended. And, in the National League, the only league that still plays the actual original game of baseball, the playoff teams were actually determined on the season’s final day!
It ended much to my satisfaction too. The San Diego Padres, a team with almost no hitting, a team that had relied almost entirely on pitching all year long, finally succumbed to the Giants from San Francisco, a result that cemented the Giants as NFC West Champions while, at the same time, anointing the Braves as the wildcard, thus assuring that the venerable Bobby Cox, long-time manager of that forever Mets rival Braves team, would get a chance to win a World Series.
The San Francisco Giants had been a favorite of mine all year, what with their great pitching and exciting (if nothing else) brand of baseball. I had relied upon some of their players for my fantasy baseball team, the Panda Pablo Sandoval and the 4-tool Andres Torres giving opponents fits when super-sub Juan Uribe did not, or when big Jersey guy Matt Cain couldn’t otherwise pitch himself into another win.
So it’ll be the Phils and Reds, the Giants and Braves, and that’s okay with me. The Phillies are the real class of this bunch but I’ll be pulling for the Giants, the only other team that rates a chance of unseating the American League World Series representative, whether that winds up being the Twins or Rangers, Rays or Yankees (God forbid).
I’ll be pulling for the Rangers in the American League. Even including the baseball Giants, they were my favorite team, with the likes of Ian Kinsler and Michael Young, Josh Hamilton and Pedro Guerrero all capable of bashing the ball and the opposing team out of the ballpark, especially at home in the friendly confines of that Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
In Josh Hamilton, the Rangers own the most exciting and revered baseball player since Mickey Mantle. That’s a huge statement, sure, but Hamilton is that kind of player. It’s Hamilton who’ll be the MVP and it’s the Rangers who’ll win the World Series.
They open against Tampa Bay, who couldn’t duck as fast as the Yankees in their efforts to avoid the prospect of playing them. The Yanks will beat the Twins. The Rangers will beat the Rays, Yanks and then the Giants in a dream of a Series.
The Yanks have Sabathia and Arod. You can have the rest. And that’s what the Rangers will do.
Ultimately, it will be that last event that will be the most important event in my life. But in the short run, for sheer excitement and that feeling of true participation in the day’s events, you just can’t beat Sunday NFL action, especially if you have the resources to buy the NFL Redzone package, or watch streaming videos of games on the Internet.
After watching the G-Men (yes, they finally deserve that name) vanquish da Bears last night on mainstream TV, I can’t imagine going back to that totally unwatchable platform for commercials, even if it did afford me the opportunity to get along further in my reading . I also became quite accomplished in manipulating the remote control, especially the “mute” and “last” buttons.
The G-Men weren’t expected by many to beat da Bears last night. That was before the nation witnessed the total humiliation of the Bears offensive line. It reminded me of a similar game against McNabb’s Philadelphia Eagles a year or two ago when Osi Umenyiora just ate up the guy in front of him. (Come to think of it, it looked a lot like the Colts decimation of the Giants offensive line just last week).
Things change so quickly in the NFL. Those same Giants who looked like gangbusters in that first game of the season returned last night. After that pitiful effort against the Colts, they turned their season around with a resounding victory against a Chicago team that had been undefeated at 3 and 0. And that result wasn’t even as surprising as the action in a few other games on the slate.
The lowly Lions from Detroit gave Green Bay fits before losing. The Jaguars, a team I had thought incapable of ever winning a game this season, beat those same Colts who ate up that Giants offensive line just last week. And they did it by outcoaching the brash Indi team, who called timeouts for their offense while the Jags still had the ball!
Ahmad Bradshaw broke my heart by fumbling once again down by the goal line, even if he did have a really marvelous day. I could watch those nifty changes in direction forever, that and his ability to run over people. Tom Coughlin broke it again when he inserted old sourpuss Brandon Jacobs into the game, in effect rewarding the Twink for his surliness by giving him the touchdown, not Bradshaw.
That last decision crippled my chances of winning my fantasy contest this week. Coughlin also limited the participation of Mario Manningham, a player who could have played after his concussion fears were laid to rest. And a player I had foolishly decided to pick up to replace Miles Austin and/or Percy Harvin in my fantasy lineup. Manningham gave me the big zero.
I still have a fantasy of a chance, but even the most optimistic outlook would snigger at the prospects of my opponent’s Ronnie Brown and Davone Bess (from Miami) failing to achieve 80 yards or a touchdown, even against a New England team that hasn’t really distinguished itself for defense of any kind this year.
And all that NFL action was only a portion of the excitement for the day. The interminable 162-game baseball season finally actually ended. And, in the National League, the only league that still plays the actual original game of baseball, the playoff teams were actually determined on the season’s final day!
It ended much to my satisfaction too. The San Diego Padres, a team with almost no hitting, a team that had relied almost entirely on pitching all year long, finally succumbed to the Giants from San Francisco, a result that cemented the Giants as NFC West Champions while, at the same time, anointing the Braves as the wildcard, thus assuring that the venerable Bobby Cox, long-time manager of that forever Mets rival Braves team, would get a chance to win a World Series.
The San Francisco Giants had been a favorite of mine all year, what with their great pitching and exciting (if nothing else) brand of baseball. I had relied upon some of their players for my fantasy baseball team, the Panda Pablo Sandoval and the 4-tool Andres Torres giving opponents fits when super-sub Juan Uribe did not, or when big Jersey guy Matt Cain couldn’t otherwise pitch himself into another win.
So it’ll be the Phils and Reds, the Giants and Braves, and that’s okay with me. The Phillies are the real class of this bunch but I’ll be pulling for the Giants, the only other team that rates a chance of unseating the American League World Series representative, whether that winds up being the Twins or Rangers, Rays or Yankees (God forbid).
I’ll be pulling for the Rangers in the American League. Even including the baseball Giants, they were my favorite team, with the likes of Ian Kinsler and Michael Young, Josh Hamilton and Pedro Guerrero all capable of bashing the ball and the opposing team out of the ballpark, especially at home in the friendly confines of that Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
In Josh Hamilton, the Rangers own the most exciting and revered baseball player since Mickey Mantle. That’s a huge statement, sure, but Hamilton is that kind of player. It’s Hamilton who’ll be the MVP and it’s the Rangers who’ll win the World Series.
They open against Tampa Bay, who couldn’t duck as fast as the Yankees in their efforts to avoid the prospect of playing them. The Yanks will beat the Twins. The Rangers will beat the Rays, Yanks and then the Giants in a dream of a Series.
The Yanks have Sabathia and Arod. You can have the rest. And that’s what the Rangers will do.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Week 15 NFL and Aspetta! to Mets Fans
Well, Week 14 worked very nicely, thank you. The weekly record was 10-5, making the cumulative a nice comfy 82-63-1. Oh, and did I mention going 4 for 4 on best bets, thus pocketing another ten big ones?
The first best bet was the Eagles to cover vs. the Giants. I said there was no way the G-Men should be favored and unfortunately for the Giants, Coughlin and especially Sheridan, I was only too right.
Miami beat the Jags who were favored in Jacksonville, and my thought was that there might be more Miami fans in the stands than one might think at any other stadium, and that the Fish would prevail, or swim faster or sumthin’. That worked out too.
I felt really strongly about the Skins running ALL over the Raiduhs and lo and behold, Quinton Ganther went nuts and the Silver and Black turned black and blue, 34-13.
Another line I thought was all messed up was the Boyz being favored over the Chargers. Even a 3-point spread was ridiculous. The Chargers proved me right by holding on for a 20-17 outright win.
On top of all that, my fantasy team, dem Crabs, won in the first round of the playoffs, romping behind Brees and Colston, Grant and Ganther, a late pickup.
So life is good, and there are some real nice matchups scheduled for Week 15. I’ve continued my practice of ignoring Thursday games so I’ll just say that the Jags defense really isn’t so super. The Colts couldn’t be stopped or even slowed down very much.
Week 15 resumes Saturday night, of course, with the big Cowboys-Saints matchup in N’Awlins and the Saints are favored by 7, a pretty big spread for a Boyz team backed up against the wall. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Here’s the picks for all the games, with spreads again from The Star-Ledger
Favorite Spread Underdog 4 Best My Pick Reason
SAINTS 7 Cowboys * Cowboys Boyz need the win
JETS 4 Falcons Falcons Falcons too good to end so badly
PITT 1 Pack Pack You are what your record sez, no?
TITANS 3 Mia TITANS Very strong run D and home cookin’..
Pats 7 ½ BILLS Pats Pats away not so hot but still….
Cards 12 LIONS Cards Schizo Cards come back big
EAGLES 8 ½ Niners Niners A real defense shows up
RAVENS 11 Bears Bears 11’s too much if Bears show up
CHIEFS 2 Browns CHIEFS Browns improving but road wins hard
Texans 10 RAMS * Texans Still a lot to prove for Texans
SD 7 Bengals SD Hard to weigh Henry loss
DEN 14 Raiders * DEN New QB in hostile digs
SEA 8 Bucs * SEA Hawks tough at home
Vikes 9 CAR Vikes What’s to recommend Car?
Giants 3 SKINS SKINS Giants just run around stupid
The best bets for Week 15:
Cowboys – It’s been almost painful seeing the Cowboys get roughed up. They may play better away from home and Saints defense can be had. Brees and Colston, Meachem, Shockey, all these weapons may have to score a LOT. Boyz may be able to control the ball for long stretches.
Texans – Texans HOT and Rams are NOT. Texans may be finally growing up and won’t have to do too much to pull away from a struggling Rams squad.
Broncos – Gigantic spread but the Raiders go with a veteran QB they pulled off the street. Seems like a punishment for Russell. Can’t imagine a team responding to that kind of thing. Broncs happy and they do have a running back or two to pound the ball.
Seahawks –All that noise in Seattle should rattle the young Bucs and 8 points doesn’t seem to even things up that much. This could be another blowout.
I’d just like to bid a fond farewell to Johnny Damon. It looks as if his Yanks career is over. He’ll wind up somewhere else at more years and money and wish he and his agent weren’t so greedy. Damon was as responsible as anyone for the Yanks resurgence to the top and they really don’t have anyone as clutch as he was, unless it was Matsui who’ll be hanging his hat in La-la Land.
Matsui will probably wind up being another great pickup for the Angels, much as was their one-year Bobby Abreu deal of last year. But his knees are very shaky and the Mets couldn’t realistically look to him for any long-term solutions.
I wish folks could show a little more patience with the Mets. I applaud their move back towards Holliday. Bay is over-rated and Mets shouldn’t tie up their long-term future with anyone, never mind a Jason Bay.
As for pitching, we’ll see how their Igarashi signing works out. He should be an adequate setup man for K-Rod. The Mets could see a resurgence from any one of their young arms, especially given the return of Reyes and Beltran to the lineup.
Free agency isn’t the only route towards acquiring a hitter and it seems to me that a trade may make more sense in the long run. I think they could offer any of several of their young pitchers as bait for a guy with power. They just aren’t all that rare.
So….as my Dad would often say….aspetta!
The first best bet was the Eagles to cover vs. the Giants. I said there was no way the G-Men should be favored and unfortunately for the Giants, Coughlin and especially Sheridan, I was only too right.
Miami beat the Jags who were favored in Jacksonville, and my thought was that there might be more Miami fans in the stands than one might think at any other stadium, and that the Fish would prevail, or swim faster or sumthin’. That worked out too.
I felt really strongly about the Skins running ALL over the Raiduhs and lo and behold, Quinton Ganther went nuts and the Silver and Black turned black and blue, 34-13.
Another line I thought was all messed up was the Boyz being favored over the Chargers. Even a 3-point spread was ridiculous. The Chargers proved me right by holding on for a 20-17 outright win.
On top of all that, my fantasy team, dem Crabs, won in the first round of the playoffs, romping behind Brees and Colston, Grant and Ganther, a late pickup.
So life is good, and there are some real nice matchups scheduled for Week 15. I’ve continued my practice of ignoring Thursday games so I’ll just say that the Jags defense really isn’t so super. The Colts couldn’t be stopped or even slowed down very much.
Week 15 resumes Saturday night, of course, with the big Cowboys-Saints matchup in N’Awlins and the Saints are favored by 7, a pretty big spread for a Boyz team backed up against the wall. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Here’s the picks for all the games, with spreads again from The Star-Ledger
Favorite Spread Underdog 4 Best My Pick Reason
SAINTS 7 Cowboys * Cowboys Boyz need the win
JETS 4 Falcons Falcons Falcons too good to end so badly
PITT 1 Pack Pack You are what your record sez, no?
TITANS 3 Mia TITANS Very strong run D and home cookin’..
Pats 7 ½ BILLS Pats Pats away not so hot but still….
Cards 12 LIONS Cards Schizo Cards come back big
EAGLES 8 ½ Niners Niners A real defense shows up
RAVENS 11 Bears Bears 11’s too much if Bears show up
CHIEFS 2 Browns CHIEFS Browns improving but road wins hard
Texans 10 RAMS * Texans Still a lot to prove for Texans
SD 7 Bengals SD Hard to weigh Henry loss
DEN 14 Raiders * DEN New QB in hostile digs
SEA 8 Bucs * SEA Hawks tough at home
Vikes 9 CAR Vikes What’s to recommend Car?
Giants 3 SKINS SKINS Giants just run around stupid
The best bets for Week 15:
Cowboys – It’s been almost painful seeing the Cowboys get roughed up. They may play better away from home and Saints defense can be had. Brees and Colston, Meachem, Shockey, all these weapons may have to score a LOT. Boyz may be able to control the ball for long stretches.
Texans – Texans HOT and Rams are NOT. Texans may be finally growing up and won’t have to do too much to pull away from a struggling Rams squad.
Broncos – Gigantic spread but the Raiders go with a veteran QB they pulled off the street. Seems like a punishment for Russell. Can’t imagine a team responding to that kind of thing. Broncs happy and they do have a running back or two to pound the ball.
Seahawks –All that noise in Seattle should rattle the young Bucs and 8 points doesn’t seem to even things up that much. This could be another blowout.
I’d just like to bid a fond farewell to Johnny Damon. It looks as if his Yanks career is over. He’ll wind up somewhere else at more years and money and wish he and his agent weren’t so greedy. Damon was as responsible as anyone for the Yanks resurgence to the top and they really don’t have anyone as clutch as he was, unless it was Matsui who’ll be hanging his hat in La-la Land.
Matsui will probably wind up being another great pickup for the Angels, much as was their one-year Bobby Abreu deal of last year. But his knees are very shaky and the Mets couldn’t realistically look to him for any long-term solutions.
I wish folks could show a little more patience with the Mets. I applaud their move back towards Holliday. Bay is over-rated and Mets shouldn’t tie up their long-term future with anyone, never mind a Jason Bay.
As for pitching, we’ll see how their Igarashi signing works out. He should be an adequate setup man for K-Rod. The Mets could see a resurgence from any one of their young arms, especially given the return of Reyes and Beltran to the lineup.
Free agency isn’t the only route towards acquiring a hitter and it seems to me that a trade may make more sense in the long run. I think they could offer any of several of their young pitchers as bait for a guy with power. They just aren’t all that rare.
So….as my Dad would often say….aspetta!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
On Sports and New Notebooks
Yeah, yeah, sports, I know, sports. There’s so much going on, right? Rutgers is playing South Florida soon and they’re still in the running for a bowl, no, not that kind of bowl, but close. And BIG game tonight on the ol’ MLB Network, the Niners and da Bears. Be still my heart. Then the Mets are apparently making some noises in Chicago, noises that’ll eventually translate into a player or two or three. That’s the major news of the day.
In other new, the Yanks are considering Damon and Matsui (notice I didn’t say versus) and basking in their newfound World Series glory (for, what is it, the 27th time, who cares, I mean, really). And the football Giants ponder their carelessness and stupidity while the Jets just seem to send Mark Sanchez out to the podium to blame himself for everything… very tricky.
Aah, but let me digress for a moment. it’s so nice to finally have this notebook (an HP 2.2 meg big-screen screamer)working as it should. My docked configuration is working just great now. My old HP keyboard works just great (I’m converting from an old HP desktop) for typing and my wireless mouse makes it one hell of a lot easier to navigate around the screens, no matter how terrific these new touchpads are. A cheap USB hub makes all this a snap, by the way. Printer?... no problem, just stick it in the USB hub. Now, if I just had one more USB cable, I’d be set.
The logistics of the whole thing are slightly problematical though. Wires are, after all, still wires and they have to go somewhere. You’d think all that time I spent as a satellite TV installer would have helped in this regard, but, alas, so far it has not, not on a conscious level at least.
And it took me quite a while to figure out how to get a docked config at all as there are no hardware profiles included in Windows 7. (The answer was to change the way the notebook behaved when the AC power was engaged and the cover was down (closed) position).
Going from Windows XP to Windows 7 is a trip too. Learning those differences along with changes incorporated in the Microsoft Office 7 has been a real challenge and….do I really need all these menus and dropdowns and couldn’t they have included Outlook (the e-mail program) somewhere? I mean, Windows Live Mail looks familiar but am I going to be able to synch the two? Microsoft, what the heck are you doing to me? That Apple store at the Mall is calling me…..”Jimmy…..Jimbo…..look at this”)!
Pardon the lengthy aside but I’m all excited now…and then there’s the HDMI connection to my hot-stuff new Panasonic 42 incher yet to come. And should I get that Google Chrome?
But let’s get back to sports and the Mets, my favorite subject. The word coming from WFAN and ESPN is that the Mets are talking about Matt Holliday and Roy Halladay and there may have even been a trade for Castillo. And, if Bengie Molina is your catching cup of tea, you’re a happy Mets fan right about now.
Let me first throw my blessing upon getting either or both Holliday/Halliday(s). Acquiring one of the best pure hitters in the game in Matt and perhaps THE premiere pitcher in the game in Roy would be just exquisite. Even John Lackey would be quite an upgrade in our starting pitcher rotation.
Bengie’s getting a little long in the tooth though, isn’t he? Or are we just stocking up on power so we can continue our experiment with Murphy playing first base? Whatever the motivation, the man can hit and that’s something Mr. Schneider was never able to provide. And there may be no better alternatives on the free-agent market after all.
Then there’s the second base situation. Luis Castillo had a very creditable 2009. I certainly wouldn’t make replacing him a priority. I’m going to assume he was included in a potential trade for somebody else, maybe a catcher or a first baseman. I’ll throw my hat in for getting a real-live first baseman. Being the Mets, after all, wouldn’t Murphy be a nice pinch-hitter candidate and part-time first baseman?
It will be difficult for Omar Minaya to maintain his focus amongst so many alternatives. I’m assuming he does have his priorities firmly set despite a plethora of needs. Hopefully, power-hitting outfielder is one. First base and catcher would be tied for two.
After all, we have two incumbents who haven’t been too terrible at each spot, if either is not quite capable of being considered a real starter. But both Murphy and Omir Santos show promise. (They could probably start for Kansas City).
Whatever our Metsies wind up doing, it would have to be a step up, wouldn’t it? I’m going to assume our hard luck won’t continue and we’ll have a somewhat healthy Carlos Beltran in center and Jose Reyes at short.
While I can’t get overly excited about Rutgers, they did show some remarkable skill against Connecticut in their last. Beating the Huskies in the final seconds on a long touchdown pass was very impressive even if they made themselves beatable after building up a big lead. I think they’ll nip South Florida.
The Niners certainly have had a lot to say about their matchup with da Bears. Who do they think they are….the Jets? They seem to think they’ll dominate on both sides of the line and I hope they’re right but what about that secondary? Didn’t Vince Young just have his way with you? I think Jay Cutler could carve himself a nice 400-yard game out of this one.
The Giants have a bye and thank God. Hopefully, they’ll take Coughlin’s blaming of himself to heart as I think the head coach is right. It’s largely his fault.
And could some Jets besides Sanchez start looking in the mirror? It’s high time.
In other new, the Yanks are considering Damon and Matsui (notice I didn’t say versus) and basking in their newfound World Series glory (for, what is it, the 27th time, who cares, I mean, really). And the football Giants ponder their carelessness and stupidity while the Jets just seem to send Mark Sanchez out to the podium to blame himself for everything… very tricky.
Aah, but let me digress for a moment. it’s so nice to finally have this notebook (an HP 2.2 meg big-screen screamer)working as it should. My docked configuration is working just great now. My old HP keyboard works just great (I’m converting from an old HP desktop) for typing and my wireless mouse makes it one hell of a lot easier to navigate around the screens, no matter how terrific these new touchpads are. A cheap USB hub makes all this a snap, by the way. Printer?... no problem, just stick it in the USB hub. Now, if I just had one more USB cable, I’d be set.
The logistics of the whole thing are slightly problematical though. Wires are, after all, still wires and they have to go somewhere. You’d think all that time I spent as a satellite TV installer would have helped in this regard, but, alas, so far it has not, not on a conscious level at least.
And it took me quite a while to figure out how to get a docked config at all as there are no hardware profiles included in Windows 7. (The answer was to change the way the notebook behaved when the AC power was engaged and the cover was down (closed) position).
Going from Windows XP to Windows 7 is a trip too. Learning those differences along with changes incorporated in the Microsoft Office 7 has been a real challenge and….do I really need all these menus and dropdowns and couldn’t they have included Outlook (the e-mail program) somewhere? I mean, Windows Live Mail looks familiar but am I going to be able to synch the two? Microsoft, what the heck are you doing to me? That Apple store at the Mall is calling me…..”Jimmy…..Jimbo…..look at this”)!
Pardon the lengthy aside but I’m all excited now…and then there’s the HDMI connection to my hot-stuff new Panasonic 42 incher yet to come. And should I get that Google Chrome?
But let’s get back to sports and the Mets, my favorite subject. The word coming from WFAN and ESPN is that the Mets are talking about Matt Holliday and Roy Halladay and there may have even been a trade for Castillo. And, if Bengie Molina is your catching cup of tea, you’re a happy Mets fan right about now.
Let me first throw my blessing upon getting either or both Holliday/Halliday(s). Acquiring one of the best pure hitters in the game in Matt and perhaps THE premiere pitcher in the game in Roy would be just exquisite. Even John Lackey would be quite an upgrade in our starting pitcher rotation.
Bengie’s getting a little long in the tooth though, isn’t he? Or are we just stocking up on power so we can continue our experiment with Murphy playing first base? Whatever the motivation, the man can hit and that’s something Mr. Schneider was never able to provide. And there may be no better alternatives on the free-agent market after all.
Then there’s the second base situation. Luis Castillo had a very creditable 2009. I certainly wouldn’t make replacing him a priority. I’m going to assume he was included in a potential trade for somebody else, maybe a catcher or a first baseman. I’ll throw my hat in for getting a real-live first baseman. Being the Mets, after all, wouldn’t Murphy be a nice pinch-hitter candidate and part-time first baseman?
It will be difficult for Omar Minaya to maintain his focus amongst so many alternatives. I’m assuming he does have his priorities firmly set despite a plethora of needs. Hopefully, power-hitting outfielder is one. First base and catcher would be tied for two.
After all, we have two incumbents who haven’t been too terrible at each spot, if either is not quite capable of being considered a real starter. But both Murphy and Omir Santos show promise. (They could probably start for Kansas City).
Whatever our Metsies wind up doing, it would have to be a step up, wouldn’t it? I’m going to assume our hard luck won’t continue and we’ll have a somewhat healthy Carlos Beltran in center and Jose Reyes at short.
While I can’t get overly excited about Rutgers, they did show some remarkable skill against Connecticut in their last. Beating the Huskies in the final seconds on a long touchdown pass was very impressive even if they made themselves beatable after building up a big lead. I think they’ll nip South Florida.
The Niners certainly have had a lot to say about their matchup with da Bears. Who do they think they are….the Jets? They seem to think they’ll dominate on both sides of the line and I hope they’re right but what about that secondary? Didn’t Vince Young just have his way with you? I think Jay Cutler could carve himself a nice 400-yard game out of this one.
The Giants have a bye and thank God. Hopefully, they’ll take Coughlin’s blaming of himself to heart as I think the head coach is right. It’s largely his fault.
And could some Jets besides Sanchez start looking in the mirror? It’s high time.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Pulling Out All The Stops
A lot was made of two big NY-Philly games occurring on the same day in the same venue. But there was only one game that was played like a big game. Only that terrific World Series Game 4 will be remembered. The Yankees won it 7-4 and they took it from a very determined Phillies team that in the end were only one relief pitcher short of tying the Series at 2’s.
To get it out of the way, let me first say the football Giants were awful in the afternoon game. They have no pass defense. They have no cover guys, they have no defensive line and they have no Steve Spagnuolo anymore. They do have a defensive coordinator with not much nerve and not much imagination. So the Giants lost. The score doesn’t even matter. The Eagles scored at will.
The first intriguing thing about the Yanks-Phils Game 4 was the starting pitching matchup. The Yanks pitched their ace, C.C. Sabathia, on 3 days rest. The Phillies pitched Joe Blanton, their regular guy in the rotation. Phils Manager Charlie Manuel can’t be faulted for not starting his ace, Cliff Lee, as he had never pitched on just 3 days rest before. And the Phillies had beaten Sabathia in the past.
And, if the Phils had managed to survive Game 4, they’d have had their ace going on normal rest in a Game 5, and they’d have likely been up 3-2 in the Series 9 innings later. So the move made sense, I guess. But while it made sense, it seemed to me the game meant more to the Yankees. They were going all out to win. They were pulling out all the stops. The Phillies were doing business as usual.
As things turned out, of course, the game didn’t hinge on the starters. Blanton wasn’t as tough as was Sabathia but he managed to give up just four runs after six full innings. And, when C.C. left in the seventh, immediately after Chase Utley banged a long solo home run to right, the Yanks were still up 4-3.
Damaso Marte managed to get the Yanks out of the seventh and Joba struck out the side in the eighth. There was just one problem. Before he struck out the side, he gave up a tying dinger to Phils 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz. So the game rested on those ninth inning pitchers. The Phils selection was their closer, Brad Lidge, even though Ryan Madsen had just finished pitching a very nice eighth.
Lidge looked just terrific for 2/3 of an inning. It was Johnny Damon who did him in. After taking some pitches and fouling off some pitches and pretty much wearing Lidge out, Damon stroked a single to left. It was an at-bat that a few players mentioned after the game, one that will probably be remembered fifty years from now when youngsters in the stands today discuss the 2009 World Series. Lidge was never the same after Damon.
Lidge then had to face Mark Teixeira, which would have been bad enough. But then Damon stole second, and, as the Phillies had shifted their defense to the right hand side for Teixeira, Damon popped up from the keystone and stole third too, as nobody was covering the bag.
Lidge was a mess now because he couldn’t really use that slider of his that bounces in the dirt with a runner on third. So he proceeds to hit Teixeira with a pitch. Of course, with the Yankees lineup, things never seem to get any easier. Now he just had to face Arod, he of the many post-season homers and rbi’s.
Arod didn’t disappoint either, smacking a double to left that scored Damon with the eventual game-winning run and a hustling Teixeira went first to third. It was academic after that, but Posada drove in both Teixeira and Arod anyway. The game was all but over as they handed a 3-run lead to Mariano Rivera.
But it was a classic World Series game. Jeter and Damon were workmanlike in putting the Yanks ahead and Joe Blanton was cool as he managed the Yankees through the first six. Utley’s at-bat versus Sabathia in the 7th was a beauty and his homer seemed to give the Phils momentum even though they were still down a run. Then Feliz’s shot to left off Joba in the 8th to tie the game at last could have spelled the end for the Bombers.
But even before that, there were unusual things. I mean, how often do you see Ryan Howard steal a base? How often do you see any quick pitches, not just one but two for strikeouts? How about all those meetings on the mound with Sabathia? What gamesmanship was employed by both sides, and Posada and Sabathia were definitely playing with Werth’s mind when they struck him out with two men on. Once again, it was the Yankees who were pulling out all the stops, even the psychological ones.
Charlie Manuel’s supposed reliance on hunches wasn’t so evident for this game. He seemed to be doing everything strictly by the book. He pulled Blanton after six for no particular reason. The move to Chan Ho Park didn’t seem particularly wise as Joe had been pretty much coasting. That Park got them through the seventh isn’t really my point.
Ryan Madsen was pretty good in the 8th too, but that didn’t stop Charlie from pulling him for Lidge in the 9th, probably his last disastrous and fateful move in this Series. Lidge couldn’t handle the adversity Damon threw his way. No, I didn’t see many hunches being played by Manuel last night.
The Yanks go with Burnett on 3 days rest now and, even with Lee going for the Phillies, I expect the Yanks now to finish this one off in 5. The Yanks are playing to win, pulling out all the stops. The Phillies, with as much talent as they possess, are playing by the book.
To get it out of the way, let me first say the football Giants were awful in the afternoon game. They have no pass defense. They have no cover guys, they have no defensive line and they have no Steve Spagnuolo anymore. They do have a defensive coordinator with not much nerve and not much imagination. So the Giants lost. The score doesn’t even matter. The Eagles scored at will.
The first intriguing thing about the Yanks-Phils Game 4 was the starting pitching matchup. The Yanks pitched their ace, C.C. Sabathia, on 3 days rest. The Phillies pitched Joe Blanton, their regular guy in the rotation. Phils Manager Charlie Manuel can’t be faulted for not starting his ace, Cliff Lee, as he had never pitched on just 3 days rest before. And the Phillies had beaten Sabathia in the past.
And, if the Phils had managed to survive Game 4, they’d have had their ace going on normal rest in a Game 5, and they’d have likely been up 3-2 in the Series 9 innings later. So the move made sense, I guess. But while it made sense, it seemed to me the game meant more to the Yankees. They were going all out to win. They were pulling out all the stops. The Phillies were doing business as usual.
As things turned out, of course, the game didn’t hinge on the starters. Blanton wasn’t as tough as was Sabathia but he managed to give up just four runs after six full innings. And, when C.C. left in the seventh, immediately after Chase Utley banged a long solo home run to right, the Yanks were still up 4-3.
Damaso Marte managed to get the Yanks out of the seventh and Joba struck out the side in the eighth. There was just one problem. Before he struck out the side, he gave up a tying dinger to Phils 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz. So the game rested on those ninth inning pitchers. The Phils selection was their closer, Brad Lidge, even though Ryan Madsen had just finished pitching a very nice eighth.
Lidge looked just terrific for 2/3 of an inning. It was Johnny Damon who did him in. After taking some pitches and fouling off some pitches and pretty much wearing Lidge out, Damon stroked a single to left. It was an at-bat that a few players mentioned after the game, one that will probably be remembered fifty years from now when youngsters in the stands today discuss the 2009 World Series. Lidge was never the same after Damon.
Lidge then had to face Mark Teixeira, which would have been bad enough. But then Damon stole second, and, as the Phillies had shifted their defense to the right hand side for Teixeira, Damon popped up from the keystone and stole third too, as nobody was covering the bag.
Lidge was a mess now because he couldn’t really use that slider of his that bounces in the dirt with a runner on third. So he proceeds to hit Teixeira with a pitch. Of course, with the Yankees lineup, things never seem to get any easier. Now he just had to face Arod, he of the many post-season homers and rbi’s.
Arod didn’t disappoint either, smacking a double to left that scored Damon with the eventual game-winning run and a hustling Teixeira went first to third. It was academic after that, but Posada drove in both Teixeira and Arod anyway. The game was all but over as they handed a 3-run lead to Mariano Rivera.
But it was a classic World Series game. Jeter and Damon were workmanlike in putting the Yanks ahead and Joe Blanton was cool as he managed the Yankees through the first six. Utley’s at-bat versus Sabathia in the 7th was a beauty and his homer seemed to give the Phils momentum even though they were still down a run. Then Feliz’s shot to left off Joba in the 8th to tie the game at last could have spelled the end for the Bombers.
But even before that, there were unusual things. I mean, how often do you see Ryan Howard steal a base? How often do you see any quick pitches, not just one but two for strikeouts? How about all those meetings on the mound with Sabathia? What gamesmanship was employed by both sides, and Posada and Sabathia were definitely playing with Werth’s mind when they struck him out with two men on. Once again, it was the Yankees who were pulling out all the stops, even the psychological ones.
Charlie Manuel’s supposed reliance on hunches wasn’t so evident for this game. He seemed to be doing everything strictly by the book. He pulled Blanton after six for no particular reason. The move to Chan Ho Park didn’t seem particularly wise as Joe had been pretty much coasting. That Park got them through the seventh isn’t really my point.
Ryan Madsen was pretty good in the 8th too, but that didn’t stop Charlie from pulling him for Lidge in the 9th, probably his last disastrous and fateful move in this Series. Lidge couldn’t handle the adversity Damon threw his way. No, I didn’t see many hunches being played by Manuel last night.
The Yanks go with Burnett on 3 days rest now and, even with Lee going for the Phillies, I expect the Yanks now to finish this one off in 5. The Yanks are playing to win, pulling out all the stops. The Phillies, with as much talent as they possess, are playing by the book.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
All About Expectations
What a gigantic lull in the sports schedule! It’s almost unprecedented. No baseball, no football since Monday, basketball a distant event on the horizon. If you’re not a soccer enthusiast or fanatic enough to enjoy “NFL Replay” past games, you could go absolutely bonkers.
Or maybe you’re one of those held spellbound by the side stories, Rush Limbaugh assigned to NFL limbo and Jon Gruden being considered for a couple of NFL head coaching spots. And then, of course, there’re all the side stories associated with the MLB Playoffs, the cold weather, the rain, the pitching assignments, and Mariano, Mariano, Mariano….makes a Mets fan sick!
Wasn’t it Mariano who blew the series with Boston back in 2004, a date that marked the resurgence of the Red Sox? He’s not infallible, Yankee fans. And maybe we’ll find out in this Angels series. We might find out a couple of other things too, like how stupid it was to get rid of Bobby Abreu. (A Mets fan can only hope).
The prospect of the first Yankee game Friday night seems to be casting a large shadow over the Phils-Dodgers series in the National League. There the story is, as you might expect, mostly about Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre, although you could make a case for the failures of Brad Lidge. The media loves failure, especially after a skein of successes.
So there’s really nothing happening but expectations. I had expected the Dodgers to be gone already, blown away by the Cards pitchers, Wainwright and Carpenter. That didn’t happen. Then the Phils dispatched the Rockies pretty handily, easier than I had expected given the Rockies newfound prowess in the starting pitching and relief categories.
It looked bad for the Phils in Colorado in that top of the ninth inning. Huston Street was just rolling along, striking out one batter and then getting a fielders choice grounder after a Jimmy Rollins infield base hit. He and the Rockies then just needed one more out to send the series back to Philadelphia.
Street just needed to deal with Chase Utley. Yeah, it was righty vs. lefty but still….and my recollection is that the count went to 3-2, but, in any event, Street walked Utley and then you knew he had to face big Ryan Howard, another lefty, and you started to feel a little nervous, and then, before you knew it, Howard put a big swing on a ball left out over the plate and the game was tied.
And then, just to put a punctuation point on the proceedings, Jayson Werth knocked in the winning run. Those Phillies were still the reigning World Champions, not the Yankees, not the Dodgers, but those tough guys from Philadelphia, and there were no tougher Philly batters than the ones Street faced in that fateful 9th inning.
But you don’t hear much about the Phillies. Expectations again. I guess the thinking goes, “well, the Yanks picked up Teixeira and Sabathia and Burnett and they still had Arod and Jeter and Damon and Posada and yada yada.yanka”. And for the Dodgers, it would be “their young guys like Kemp and Ethier and Loney have all picked it up in Manny’s absence and they’ve got all that relief pitching.”
Yeah, I guess so, but those Phillies sure looked pretty tough to me in that ninth inning in Denver. So I’ve changed my expectations. Until somebody knocks them out, my money (if I had any money) would be on the defending champions.
Yankee fans are probably saying that their team did the same thing against the Twins. Yeah, they did, and it was very impressive, Arod tying it up and Teixeira delivering the clincher. And they’d be right, but…..
Well, I know if I were a Yankee fan, I’d be getting just a little bit nervous about all this conjecture about the starting rotation for the next series. I mean, can they make it any more obvious that they only trust three of their starters? I guess that means they may have only three playoff-ready starters.
That’s Sabathia, Burnett and Pettite, of course. With Joba now a reliever, that leaves them with Chad Gaudin as the fourth starter. He’s been really pretty good this year too, with a respectable ERA and strong overall outings. But that brain trust is working overtime trying to figure out what the rain will do.
The rain may push back the opener but that will probably be the extent of it. The Yanks will still have to deal with using Sabathia on three days rest. Only the most optimistic Yankee forecast could expect better. You’re still left with facts. The Yanks only have three starters they trust, which means they only have three starters.
Hmm. The Angels have at least four. I say at least four, because a fella named Ervin Santana is listed at five, and he’s probably better than Chad Gaudin. The others are very respectable, John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders and Scott Kazmir. And those last two are lefties, just to change things up a little. Oh, and Brian Fuentes, their closer, is a lefty too.
Even knowing that the Yanks have right-handed batters, and guys who can be turned around, like Teixeira and Posada, it will still be helpful to throw a different look at your opponent. And Posada may not be catching all the time either. That’s another vaguely troubling thing for a Yankee fan, I would imagine. (even though I can’t really imagine the sheer horror of being one myself).
Another net difference from last year to this year is in the Yankee right field. And it’s a net loss, from Bobby Abreu to Nick Swisher. Bobby was one of those perennial .300 hitters with a hundred each year in both runs and ribbies. One thing he didn’t do in the Bronx was run into the outfield wall. Nick loves doing that, but that’s his only baseball advantage over Abreu.
You can expect a hell of a series, folks.
Or maybe you’re one of those held spellbound by the side stories, Rush Limbaugh assigned to NFL limbo and Jon Gruden being considered for a couple of NFL head coaching spots. And then, of course, there’re all the side stories associated with the MLB Playoffs, the cold weather, the rain, the pitching assignments, and Mariano, Mariano, Mariano….makes a Mets fan sick!
Wasn’t it Mariano who blew the series with Boston back in 2004, a date that marked the resurgence of the Red Sox? He’s not infallible, Yankee fans. And maybe we’ll find out in this Angels series. We might find out a couple of other things too, like how stupid it was to get rid of Bobby Abreu. (A Mets fan can only hope).
The prospect of the first Yankee game Friday night seems to be casting a large shadow over the Phils-Dodgers series in the National League. There the story is, as you might expect, mostly about Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre, although you could make a case for the failures of Brad Lidge. The media loves failure, especially after a skein of successes.
So there’s really nothing happening but expectations. I had expected the Dodgers to be gone already, blown away by the Cards pitchers, Wainwright and Carpenter. That didn’t happen. Then the Phils dispatched the Rockies pretty handily, easier than I had expected given the Rockies newfound prowess in the starting pitching and relief categories.
It looked bad for the Phils in Colorado in that top of the ninth inning. Huston Street was just rolling along, striking out one batter and then getting a fielders choice grounder after a Jimmy Rollins infield base hit. He and the Rockies then just needed one more out to send the series back to Philadelphia.
Street just needed to deal with Chase Utley. Yeah, it was righty vs. lefty but still….and my recollection is that the count went to 3-2, but, in any event, Street walked Utley and then you knew he had to face big Ryan Howard, another lefty, and you started to feel a little nervous, and then, before you knew it, Howard put a big swing on a ball left out over the plate and the game was tied.
And then, just to put a punctuation point on the proceedings, Jayson Werth knocked in the winning run. Those Phillies were still the reigning World Champions, not the Yankees, not the Dodgers, but those tough guys from Philadelphia, and there were no tougher Philly batters than the ones Street faced in that fateful 9th inning.
But you don’t hear much about the Phillies. Expectations again. I guess the thinking goes, “well, the Yanks picked up Teixeira and Sabathia and Burnett and they still had Arod and Jeter and Damon and Posada and yada yada.yanka”. And for the Dodgers, it would be “their young guys like Kemp and Ethier and Loney have all picked it up in Manny’s absence and they’ve got all that relief pitching.”
Yeah, I guess so, but those Phillies sure looked pretty tough to me in that ninth inning in Denver. So I’ve changed my expectations. Until somebody knocks them out, my money (if I had any money) would be on the defending champions.
Yankee fans are probably saying that their team did the same thing against the Twins. Yeah, they did, and it was very impressive, Arod tying it up and Teixeira delivering the clincher. And they’d be right, but…..
Well, I know if I were a Yankee fan, I’d be getting just a little bit nervous about all this conjecture about the starting rotation for the next series. I mean, can they make it any more obvious that they only trust three of their starters? I guess that means they may have only three playoff-ready starters.
That’s Sabathia, Burnett and Pettite, of course. With Joba now a reliever, that leaves them with Chad Gaudin as the fourth starter. He’s been really pretty good this year too, with a respectable ERA and strong overall outings. But that brain trust is working overtime trying to figure out what the rain will do.
The rain may push back the opener but that will probably be the extent of it. The Yanks will still have to deal with using Sabathia on three days rest. Only the most optimistic Yankee forecast could expect better. You’re still left with facts. The Yanks only have three starters they trust, which means they only have three starters.
Hmm. The Angels have at least four. I say at least four, because a fella named Ervin Santana is listed at five, and he’s probably better than Chad Gaudin. The others are very respectable, John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders and Scott Kazmir. And those last two are lefties, just to change things up a little. Oh, and Brian Fuentes, their closer, is a lefty too.
Even knowing that the Yanks have right-handed batters, and guys who can be turned around, like Teixeira and Posada, it will still be helpful to throw a different look at your opponent. And Posada may not be catching all the time either. That’s another vaguely troubling thing for a Yankee fan, I would imagine. (even though I can’t really imagine the sheer horror of being one myself).
Another net difference from last year to this year is in the Yankee right field. And it’s a net loss, from Bobby Abreu to Nick Swisher. Bobby was one of those perennial .300 hitters with a hundred each year in both runs and ribbies. One thing he didn’t do in the Bronx was run into the outfield wall. Nick loves doing that, but that’s his only baseball advantage over Abreu.
You can expect a hell of a series, folks.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
On Playoffs and Bad Football
The playoffs in both leagues start today without the Mets. Groan. I can’t help but wonder whether they could have taken the measure of the Phils or the Dodgers, Cards or Rockies, if they had remained healthy. Maybe, who knows, who’ll ever know?
These NL teams are really stacked though. It would have been tough. I think the Cards are the strongest overall with a powerful lineup and pitching to die for, especially in a five-game series with Carpenter and Wainwright sporting ERA’s of 2.24 and 2.76 respectively. L.A.’s Wolf was just 11-7 with a 3.23 ERA. Kershaw had a great 2.79 ERA but was just 8-8.
Then there’s Pujols and Holliday and a bunch of .300 hitters facing a nice lineup but not an exceptional one, not unless Manny Ramirez should suddenly catch fire. And that’s just not that likely.
In the other series, the Phillies against the Rockies, I know everybody likes the defending champion Phillies, but not me. Even if you forget about the Brad Lidge closer failures, their lineup just hasn’t performed as they did last year, when magic seemed to bloom out of their butts. They may wind up prevailing, with Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels providing a powerful 1-2 punch, but I just don’t think it’s their year.
The Rockies aren’t that impressive either really but were hotter for sure down the stretch and I like their Tulowitzki, Helton and Hawpe in the middle. The Rocks have Ubaldo Jiminez and Jorge De La Rosa too, and possess a better closer in Huston Street. Although it’s tough to pick against the World Champs, they just haven’t clicked as has that hot Denver team. Besides, my nephew likes them and he’s pretty lucky.
Over in the American League, the Yanks are just loaded. It seems almost ridiculous to even go through any analysis. They kill the Twins all the time too. So kiss it goodbye, Minnesota, maybe you should have picked up Favre. They’ll be lucky to take one game.
The other AL matchup should be a classic and I don’t even want to pick a winner as I like both teams. The Red Sox have dominated in their matchups in the past. But it’ll be a new series and, if Lester and Beckett should falter, the Angels have a shot. I love their lineup with real battlers like Figgins and Abreu at the top.
The Yanks can take everybody in either league except for maybe the Angels. So naturally I’m hoping the Angels can make it through Boston. If Figgins and the rest of the speed they’ve got can get on base, they’ll be murderous on either Varitek or Victor Martinez to stop.
So I’m hoping for Rockies-Cards and Angels-Yanks. I have to think the Cards can take the Rockies and hope for a miracle that the Angels will take the Yanks. Actually, come to think of it, maybe it would be pretty neat for the Yanks to get by. Then I can root against them in the World Series once again.
The Cards would have a shot against anybody.
Okay, that’s enough baseball for now. It’s high time to pick on the Jets. No, not really. It’s hard not to like Sanchez and he had a rough, rough day in New Orleans. The offensive line of the Jets took some hits this week and then the Jets picked up Braylon Edwards for Chansi Stuckey and some picks.
I sure hope it’ll be one of those trades that benefit both parties but Edwards can’t catch, a sure-fire weakness in a wideout. I see lots of dropped balls in their future. He sure does get open though.
Then Eli getting hurt in the Chiefs game was decidedly inconvenient. That injury sounds as if it’ll be hanging around for some time too. We have to hope it doesn’t affect Eli’s accuracy. He was having one of his better years in that respect, or is it just that his receivers are better at finding spaces and understanding the offense?
It’d be tough to get on Coughlin’s charges for anything. They didn’t miss a beat against the Chiefs, a game I expected them to win but not cover the spread. I thought they’d let down. They didn’t. With Steve Smith and Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks to throw to, you have to wonder if they just might run the table.
They seem as loaded as the Yankees are in baseball. There just aren’t any weaknesses. Of course, I said that about the Mets early this year before every Met of any consequence got hurt. I can only hope it won’t happen to the Giants. Eli’s going down, even for a little time, is not a good sign.
One vaguely upsetting thing in the NFL going forward is the weakness, especially defensively, in at least ten teams. The Chargers are one of those teams for sure after seeing their Sunday night exhibition against the Steelers, who became a great running team seemingly overnight. Then we got to witness a Packers team on Monday that couldn’t block and couldn’t rush the passer. That the passer was my least favorite person in the entire world did not make for a pleasant night, I assure you.
It was good to see that Favre is still a hot dog though, and still looks out for his interests more so than for his team’s. His stupid long pass attempt down the sideline kept Green Bay in the game, and a better team may have been able to capitalize on the opportunity.
Tampa Bay and Washington are both horrible though, Tampa on the defense and the Skins on offense. The Bills once again seem pathetic. The Rams got slaughtered by the 49ers. The Raiders are horrible under a fat and lousy Jamarcus Russell. There’s hope for the Browns as they showed against the tough Bengals but can Mangini really be expected to turn that club around?
Well, it’s just Week Five and hopefully, things only get better.
These NL teams are really stacked though. It would have been tough. I think the Cards are the strongest overall with a powerful lineup and pitching to die for, especially in a five-game series with Carpenter and Wainwright sporting ERA’s of 2.24 and 2.76 respectively. L.A.’s Wolf was just 11-7 with a 3.23 ERA. Kershaw had a great 2.79 ERA but was just 8-8.
Then there’s Pujols and Holliday and a bunch of .300 hitters facing a nice lineup but not an exceptional one, not unless Manny Ramirez should suddenly catch fire. And that’s just not that likely.
In the other series, the Phillies against the Rockies, I know everybody likes the defending champion Phillies, but not me. Even if you forget about the Brad Lidge closer failures, their lineup just hasn’t performed as they did last year, when magic seemed to bloom out of their butts. They may wind up prevailing, with Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels providing a powerful 1-2 punch, but I just don’t think it’s their year.
The Rockies aren’t that impressive either really but were hotter for sure down the stretch and I like their Tulowitzki, Helton and Hawpe in the middle. The Rocks have Ubaldo Jiminez and Jorge De La Rosa too, and possess a better closer in Huston Street. Although it’s tough to pick against the World Champs, they just haven’t clicked as has that hot Denver team. Besides, my nephew likes them and he’s pretty lucky.
Over in the American League, the Yanks are just loaded. It seems almost ridiculous to even go through any analysis. They kill the Twins all the time too. So kiss it goodbye, Minnesota, maybe you should have picked up Favre. They’ll be lucky to take one game.
The other AL matchup should be a classic and I don’t even want to pick a winner as I like both teams. The Red Sox have dominated in their matchups in the past. But it’ll be a new series and, if Lester and Beckett should falter, the Angels have a shot. I love their lineup with real battlers like Figgins and Abreu at the top.
The Yanks can take everybody in either league except for maybe the Angels. So naturally I’m hoping the Angels can make it through Boston. If Figgins and the rest of the speed they’ve got can get on base, they’ll be murderous on either Varitek or Victor Martinez to stop.
So I’m hoping for Rockies-Cards and Angels-Yanks. I have to think the Cards can take the Rockies and hope for a miracle that the Angels will take the Yanks. Actually, come to think of it, maybe it would be pretty neat for the Yanks to get by. Then I can root against them in the World Series once again.
The Cards would have a shot against anybody.
Okay, that’s enough baseball for now. It’s high time to pick on the Jets. No, not really. It’s hard not to like Sanchez and he had a rough, rough day in New Orleans. The offensive line of the Jets took some hits this week and then the Jets picked up Braylon Edwards for Chansi Stuckey and some picks.
I sure hope it’ll be one of those trades that benefit both parties but Edwards can’t catch, a sure-fire weakness in a wideout. I see lots of dropped balls in their future. He sure does get open though.
Then Eli getting hurt in the Chiefs game was decidedly inconvenient. That injury sounds as if it’ll be hanging around for some time too. We have to hope it doesn’t affect Eli’s accuracy. He was having one of his better years in that respect, or is it just that his receivers are better at finding spaces and understanding the offense?
It’d be tough to get on Coughlin’s charges for anything. They didn’t miss a beat against the Chiefs, a game I expected them to win but not cover the spread. I thought they’d let down. They didn’t. With Steve Smith and Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks to throw to, you have to wonder if they just might run the table.
They seem as loaded as the Yankees are in baseball. There just aren’t any weaknesses. Of course, I said that about the Mets early this year before every Met of any consequence got hurt. I can only hope it won’t happen to the Giants. Eli’s going down, even for a little time, is not a good sign.
One vaguely upsetting thing in the NFL going forward is the weakness, especially defensively, in at least ten teams. The Chargers are one of those teams for sure after seeing their Sunday night exhibition against the Steelers, who became a great running team seemingly overnight. Then we got to witness a Packers team on Monday that couldn’t block and couldn’t rush the passer. That the passer was my least favorite person in the entire world did not make for a pleasant night, I assure you.
It was good to see that Favre is still a hot dog though, and still looks out for his interests more so than for his team’s. His stupid long pass attempt down the sideline kept Green Bay in the game, and a better team may have been able to capitalize on the opportunity.
Tampa Bay and Washington are both horrible though, Tampa on the defense and the Skins on offense. The Bills once again seem pathetic. The Rams got slaughtered by the 49ers. The Raiders are horrible under a fat and lousy Jamarcus Russell. There’s hope for the Browns as they showed against the tough Bengals but can Mangini really be expected to turn that club around?
Well, it’s just Week Five and hopefully, things only get better.
Monday, October 5, 2009
And Back to Baseball.....
After a decidedly mediocre week of picks in Week 4 of the NFL action (6-7 against the spread thus far), it’s an easy matter to turn my head back to baseball. The Mets finally get to think about next year. The Twins and Tigers battle for the final playoff spot tonight. The Yanks are all set to play somebody. And Arod incredibly reached 30 homers and 100 rbi’s on his very last at-bat of the regular season.
That last fact is the most amazing stat of all. I’m not crazy about Arod but it is almost magical that he managed to attain still another baseball record in such a fashion. He had 28 homers and only 93 rbi’s entering the contest. Going into the sixth inning, he still needed two dingers and 7 rbi’s for his record 13th 30-homer and 100 ribbie season!
No problem for Arod. He hit a 3-run homer early in the sixth and, after the Rays walked Teixeira with two men on, for the sole reason of guaranteeing their man Pena would stay tied with Teixeira for the AL lead in home runs, Arod had his chance. He made the most of it too. I have to give him a lot of credit. Finally. Even if it could have happened to a nicer guy. He missed 28 games! Unbelievable!
Getting back to the Mets though, we’ll be seeing some changes very soon, and probably first with the coaching staff. It’s pretty much assured that their pitching coach Warthen will be replaced, a move that can’t really be faulted as the Mets staff led the league in walks. They may get a new third base coach as well, and the two moves taken together set a strong precedent for rewarding success and punishing failure. A good thing.
If the Mets do stay the course with their core players, they’ll only need a left fielder. I’ve read over and over that they need a first baseman, a left fielder and a catcher but that’s not necessarily the case.
Omir Santos showed a lot of promise as a clutch rbi guy for a good portion of the season, at least while I was still paying attention. Schneider really had a horrible year at the plate but he’ll be leaving. Yeah, they need a catcher but not a great catcher, not somebody who’ll break the bank.
At first base, who knows? They could re-sign Delgado if he’ll go for a limited number of years, say one or two. And Daniel Murphy, though not possessed of the power numbers required for a first baseman, certainly qualifies as a reserve at first. He did lead the team in home runs even if the number was only 12. He’s a young guy who can only get better.
That leaves left field and one proven pitcher. Left field should be easy. I’d love for the Mets to get Matt Holliday. I don’t think they will but they should. He’s a legitimate star and he only gets better when everything’s on the line. The Cards will probably try to keep him, but the pockets in St Loo aren’t that deep. If Holliday doesn’t become the World Series MVP, he may be available. After all, the Cards already have Pujols. Talk about an embarrassment of riches.
Holliday batted .313 this year with 24 homers and 109 rbi’s. After being traded to St. Louis, his numbers on the year improved dramatically. He smacked 13 hr’s for the Cards in just 2/3 of the at-bats he had in Oakland. His career numbers are .318 and, well, he’s basically your everyday run-of-the-mill 30 homer 100 rbi guy. He’ll be 30 years old in January.
Assuming the Mets can’t get Holliday, or if they’re just not interested, a more likely explanation although I have no idea why any team wouldn’t want one of the premiere players in both leagues, there are also some other nice players out there.
There’s Jason Bay, who was even more productive for the Red Sox, but he batted just .267 and he strikes out a LOT, with 162 K’s to Holliday’s 101. Another intriguing possibility is getting Hideki Matsui, who, despite garnering just 456 at-bats, hit 28 homers and knocked in 90 runs. He’s also the definition of “clutch”. Plus, how nice would it be to keep the Godzilla in New York?
There’re also some other possibly good choices but to my eyes riskier propositions. Rick Ankiel will be available and so will Andruw Jones. Then there’re Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero and former Met Xavier Nady, to take a bit of a step down. Most of these are either centerfielders or right-fielders but I’m sure Beltran may be ready to move to another outfield position that may be easier on his legs.
At first base, all things considered, I’d stay with Delgado, assuming he can be had reasonably. Available are Hank Blalock, Russ Branyan, Ross Gload, Nick Johnson and Adam LaRoche. While any of them could supply some power, it would be impossible for any of them to provide the leadership and continuity that Delgado would.
Then there’s the starting pitching situation. The possibilities there are almost too numerous to mention. But there are some big names, Bedard and Hudson, Lackey and Lee, Myers and Penny, Piniero and Prior, Sheets and Wolf, Washburn and Brandon Webb, who’d be one of my favorites if healthy.
For comic relief, Carl Pavano will be a free agent once again, currently serving his one-year contract out with the Twins after putting together a pretty nice year. Overall, he’s 14-12 with a 5.10 ERA with 147 strikeouts and just 39 walks.
The Mets situation is fixable. Easily fixable. Things would have to fall their way but don’t they always? I just heard that Jose Reyes will have surgery after so long dismissing the possibility. Beltran is still hurting a bit apparently. Wright can’t hit for power anymore. Delgado is old.
That’s the core. But can the Mets luck stay bad?
That last fact is the most amazing stat of all. I’m not crazy about Arod but it is almost magical that he managed to attain still another baseball record in such a fashion. He had 28 homers and only 93 rbi’s entering the contest. Going into the sixth inning, he still needed two dingers and 7 rbi’s for his record 13th 30-homer and 100 ribbie season!
No problem for Arod. He hit a 3-run homer early in the sixth and, after the Rays walked Teixeira with two men on, for the sole reason of guaranteeing their man Pena would stay tied with Teixeira for the AL lead in home runs, Arod had his chance. He made the most of it too. I have to give him a lot of credit. Finally. Even if it could have happened to a nicer guy. He missed 28 games! Unbelievable!
Getting back to the Mets though, we’ll be seeing some changes very soon, and probably first with the coaching staff. It’s pretty much assured that their pitching coach Warthen will be replaced, a move that can’t really be faulted as the Mets staff led the league in walks. They may get a new third base coach as well, and the two moves taken together set a strong precedent for rewarding success and punishing failure. A good thing.
If the Mets do stay the course with their core players, they’ll only need a left fielder. I’ve read over and over that they need a first baseman, a left fielder and a catcher but that’s not necessarily the case.
Omir Santos showed a lot of promise as a clutch rbi guy for a good portion of the season, at least while I was still paying attention. Schneider really had a horrible year at the plate but he’ll be leaving. Yeah, they need a catcher but not a great catcher, not somebody who’ll break the bank.
At first base, who knows? They could re-sign Delgado if he’ll go for a limited number of years, say one or two. And Daniel Murphy, though not possessed of the power numbers required for a first baseman, certainly qualifies as a reserve at first. He did lead the team in home runs even if the number was only 12. He’s a young guy who can only get better.
That leaves left field and one proven pitcher. Left field should be easy. I’d love for the Mets to get Matt Holliday. I don’t think they will but they should. He’s a legitimate star and he only gets better when everything’s on the line. The Cards will probably try to keep him, but the pockets in St Loo aren’t that deep. If Holliday doesn’t become the World Series MVP, he may be available. After all, the Cards already have Pujols. Talk about an embarrassment of riches.
Holliday batted .313 this year with 24 homers and 109 rbi’s. After being traded to St. Louis, his numbers on the year improved dramatically. He smacked 13 hr’s for the Cards in just 2/3 of the at-bats he had in Oakland. His career numbers are .318 and, well, he’s basically your everyday run-of-the-mill 30 homer 100 rbi guy. He’ll be 30 years old in January.
Assuming the Mets can’t get Holliday, or if they’re just not interested, a more likely explanation although I have no idea why any team wouldn’t want one of the premiere players in both leagues, there are also some other nice players out there.
There’s Jason Bay, who was even more productive for the Red Sox, but he batted just .267 and he strikes out a LOT, with 162 K’s to Holliday’s 101. Another intriguing possibility is getting Hideki Matsui, who, despite garnering just 456 at-bats, hit 28 homers and knocked in 90 runs. He’s also the definition of “clutch”. Plus, how nice would it be to keep the Godzilla in New York?
There’re also some other possibly good choices but to my eyes riskier propositions. Rick Ankiel will be available and so will Andruw Jones. Then there’re Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero and former Met Xavier Nady, to take a bit of a step down. Most of these are either centerfielders or right-fielders but I’m sure Beltran may be ready to move to another outfield position that may be easier on his legs.
At first base, all things considered, I’d stay with Delgado, assuming he can be had reasonably. Available are Hank Blalock, Russ Branyan, Ross Gload, Nick Johnson and Adam LaRoche. While any of them could supply some power, it would be impossible for any of them to provide the leadership and continuity that Delgado would.
Then there’s the starting pitching situation. The possibilities there are almost too numerous to mention. But there are some big names, Bedard and Hudson, Lackey and Lee, Myers and Penny, Piniero and Prior, Sheets and Wolf, Washburn and Brandon Webb, who’d be one of my favorites if healthy.
For comic relief, Carl Pavano will be a free agent once again, currently serving his one-year contract out with the Twins after putting together a pretty nice year. Overall, he’s 14-12 with a 5.10 ERA with 147 strikeouts and just 39 walks.
The Mets situation is fixable. Easily fixable. Things would have to fall their way but don’t they always? I just heard that Jose Reyes will have surgery after so long dismissing the possibility. Beltran is still hurting a bit apparently. Wright can’t hit for power anymore. Delgado is old.
That’s the core. But can the Mets luck stay bad?
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.
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Yanks Are the Story
So to what do Mets fans look forward in these last months of a lost season? Well, there is next year of course. Santana and K-Rod are keepers. I know that much. Wright too I suppose. Who else can we feel is indispensable?
Let’s talk disappointments. How about Sean Green? No offense but he’s been awful and I’m sure some other team would love to have him. Goodbye Sean. It’s been real. That catcher of ours, the arguable number one catcher, Brian Schneider, he can hit the dusty trail too. Other than those two, there really aren’t that many players you can point to who have had to live up to grand expectations. Well, if you don’t count the pitching side, and other than the core guys who’ve been out.
Most of the players on the field now for the Mets are reserves in the real world. Even a Pagan, who seems as if he could be a regular, doesn’t have enough of a track record in the bigs yet to inspire any kind of expectation. Cora’s a nice reserve, there’s just not enough bat there. Berroa seems like a retread. From Kansas City, hmm.
Any good performances have been surprising, from players nobody expected much from. Omir Santos, the catcher, is a nice example. Jeremy Reed, this new kid Sullivan, certainly David Murphy, these fellas just play the game hard and a fan hopes for the best, but there are really no expectations.
We need to get back to reality, a time when there were expectations of performance at every position, especially shortstop, first base and centerfield. It’s high time we looked at contract situations for Beltran, Delgado and Reyes.
Beltran got a seven-year contract for 119 million back in 2005. That takes Mr Beltran all the way out to 2011, only two years from now. I for one would love to see Carlos in centerfield for the next five years or so, but only if he could be a happy, healthy Carlos. We don’t need a guy who’s unhappy.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Delgado back at first base either but he’s 38, he’s hurt and he’s expendable if his demands become unbelievable. Reason would dictate a new first baseman though, one of the young guns that we can find in Kansas City’s Brett Butler or Pittsburgh’s kid, Garrett Jones.
Reyes should be moved if possible. He signed a 4-year back in 2006 for 23.25 million, a bargain if he plays but a bust if he sits. I’d start looking for a suitor. I’m tired of hearing about potential. He’d have great trade value. It’s almost a lock that some other team would be interested.
But this team needs big-time performance at these slots. The only other position player capable of big performance at the plate is Wright. Francoeur will be a question mark, Sheffield is too old, that centerfielder from the minors is always hurt. Murphy hasn’t shown any real consistency and, well, we need hitters badly. First base and centerfield would be good places to shop.
And then there’s the pitching. Santana is in a class by himself which he proved again yesterday, a real competitor and leader. Pelfrey, Maine and Perez have been very disappointing, for one reason or another, inconsistency or physical well-being always cropping up. But at this point, hanging on to them might make the most sense.
On the relief front, Billy Wagner can probably be traded. Putz should be better as should Green. We could maybe get a big-time position player for Wagner. Everybody needs a good closer, everybody but the Mets. K-Rod’s been a revelation when he’s not been bored to death.
“Boring” is watching this Mets team facing San Diego in San Diego. Could anything be worse? The mind boggles. Thank God for Santana.
As boring as the Mets were, the Yankees were unbelievable. As much as I dislike the whole Yankee organization, you have to give them credit for their demolition of the Red Sox head to head Thursday through Sunday. They hit when they had to hit and they pitched all the time, whether they had to or not.
What a disaster for the Red Sox! They pretty much kissed the AL East title goodbye and their quest must now be for the wildcard. Sabathia, Burnet and Pettite buried them after Joba just got by. When Joba faltered, the Yankees bats came to the fore. It was either Arod or Teixeira or Damon or Posada, it seemed but they got production from just about everybody in a striped shirt.
Teixeira went 6 for 17 with 2 homers, Arod went 4 for 18 with 2 homers, Damon had his 2 homers too, and he scored 4 times, Posada and Cano both went 8 for 18 and Posada had a homer of his own. The new Hinske and Swisher platoon seems pretty formidable too, and their infield defense, with the addition of Teixeira and the improvement in Cano, is almost scary.
Yes, I hate to say it, but the Yanks are loaded. They’re serious, very serious. While I was thinking that they might try to go forward with Mitre as a fifth starter, they picked up Chad Gaudin, a legitimate starter, who has kicked around the majors for several years with mixed success but had really shown marked improvement recently.
So while the Mets have nothing, the Yankees have everything, starters, relievers, hitters, fielders, you name it, they’ve got it. While they can and probably will look bad in certain games going forward, particularly if they get a bad start out of a starter, since their middle relievers can be somewhat compromised.
That alone should make for a livable August and September. I’d hate to have to just live and die with the Cubs or the Rangers for the rest of the season. And it’s still too early to get into football.
The Yanks are the story. The Mets are the footnote. I’ll try to wear a smile.
Let’s talk disappointments. How about Sean Green? No offense but he’s been awful and I’m sure some other team would love to have him. Goodbye Sean. It’s been real. That catcher of ours, the arguable number one catcher, Brian Schneider, he can hit the dusty trail too. Other than those two, there really aren’t that many players you can point to who have had to live up to grand expectations. Well, if you don’t count the pitching side, and other than the core guys who’ve been out.
Most of the players on the field now for the Mets are reserves in the real world. Even a Pagan, who seems as if he could be a regular, doesn’t have enough of a track record in the bigs yet to inspire any kind of expectation. Cora’s a nice reserve, there’s just not enough bat there. Berroa seems like a retread. From Kansas City, hmm.
Any good performances have been surprising, from players nobody expected much from. Omir Santos, the catcher, is a nice example. Jeremy Reed, this new kid Sullivan, certainly David Murphy, these fellas just play the game hard and a fan hopes for the best, but there are really no expectations.
We need to get back to reality, a time when there were expectations of performance at every position, especially shortstop, first base and centerfield. It’s high time we looked at contract situations for Beltran, Delgado and Reyes.
Beltran got a seven-year contract for 119 million back in 2005. That takes Mr Beltran all the way out to 2011, only two years from now. I for one would love to see Carlos in centerfield for the next five years or so, but only if he could be a happy, healthy Carlos. We don’t need a guy who’s unhappy.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Delgado back at first base either but he’s 38, he’s hurt and he’s expendable if his demands become unbelievable. Reason would dictate a new first baseman though, one of the young guns that we can find in Kansas City’s Brett Butler or Pittsburgh’s kid, Garrett Jones.
Reyes should be moved if possible. He signed a 4-year back in 2006 for 23.25 million, a bargain if he plays but a bust if he sits. I’d start looking for a suitor. I’m tired of hearing about potential. He’d have great trade value. It’s almost a lock that some other team would be interested.
But this team needs big-time performance at these slots. The only other position player capable of big performance at the plate is Wright. Francoeur will be a question mark, Sheffield is too old, that centerfielder from the minors is always hurt. Murphy hasn’t shown any real consistency and, well, we need hitters badly. First base and centerfield would be good places to shop.
And then there’s the pitching. Santana is in a class by himself which he proved again yesterday, a real competitor and leader. Pelfrey, Maine and Perez have been very disappointing, for one reason or another, inconsistency or physical well-being always cropping up. But at this point, hanging on to them might make the most sense.
On the relief front, Billy Wagner can probably be traded. Putz should be better as should Green. We could maybe get a big-time position player for Wagner. Everybody needs a good closer, everybody but the Mets. K-Rod’s been a revelation when he’s not been bored to death.
“Boring” is watching this Mets team facing San Diego in San Diego. Could anything be worse? The mind boggles. Thank God for Santana.
As boring as the Mets were, the Yankees were unbelievable. As much as I dislike the whole Yankee organization, you have to give them credit for their demolition of the Red Sox head to head Thursday through Sunday. They hit when they had to hit and they pitched all the time, whether they had to or not.
What a disaster for the Red Sox! They pretty much kissed the AL East title goodbye and their quest must now be for the wildcard. Sabathia, Burnet and Pettite buried them after Joba just got by. When Joba faltered, the Yankees bats came to the fore. It was either Arod or Teixeira or Damon or Posada, it seemed but they got production from just about everybody in a striped shirt.
Teixeira went 6 for 17 with 2 homers, Arod went 4 for 18 with 2 homers, Damon had his 2 homers too, and he scored 4 times, Posada and Cano both went 8 for 18 and Posada had a homer of his own. The new Hinske and Swisher platoon seems pretty formidable too, and their infield defense, with the addition of Teixeira and the improvement in Cano, is almost scary.
Yes, I hate to say it, but the Yanks are loaded. They’re serious, very serious. While I was thinking that they might try to go forward with Mitre as a fifth starter, they picked up Chad Gaudin, a legitimate starter, who has kicked around the majors for several years with mixed success but had really shown marked improvement recently.
So while the Mets have nothing, the Yankees have everything, starters, relievers, hitters, fielders, you name it, they’ve got it. While they can and probably will look bad in certain games going forward, particularly if they get a bad start out of a starter, since their middle relievers can be somewhat compromised.
That alone should make for a livable August and September. I’d hate to have to just live and die with the Cubs or the Rangers for the rest of the season. And it’s still too early to get into football.
The Yanks are the story. The Mets are the footnote. I’ll try to wear a smile.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Reflections in a Lost Season
It’s another day for day-games, the travel day for the Yanks, Orioles, Cubs and Phillies at the very least. Just my luck, the Phils are down 5-3 just now as Feliz drives in a couple. Looks like Zambrano, my fantasy opponent pitcher, is, as we used to say “blowing up”.
I can’t watch the Yankees-Orioles, it’s too uneven a match. The O’s still haven’t scored and it doesn’t look as if they’re going to. Burnett is just wacking them down and he doesn’t look troubled by the prospect of continuing. My fantasy opponent, though, is playing Roberts so maybe I’ll just root against him.
What is with this necklace on Burnett. I preferred the days when men didn’t wear jewelry. Me, I don’t even like the wedding band, and not because I have any bad intentions. If you want jewelry, wear a watch. You know, the thing you don’t need anymore because the time is staring you in the face from your cell phone, Blackberry, i-phone, and every electronic device in your house.
Hey-hey, the O’s finally scored two, and on a wild pitch too, but I’d rather blame Posada, one of my Yankee kicking-boys this season. The pitch wasn’t that bad, Jorge just missed it. Nice to make this thing competitive though for the 8th and 9th.
Over in Philadelphia, the Phils are getting thrashed by the Cubs. It’s 7-3 now and did you really expect much from Moyer? I think that if you want to pay a 43-year old guy to take the mound every 5th day or so, you deserve what you get.
For many baseball fans, though, the actual playing of the game has become secondary, even the watching of the actual game. But I have to admit, some of the peripheral action is pretty interesting…who’ll get Halladay (nobody), who’ll get Holliday (nobody), and who’s a buyer, who’s a seller, yada yada.
My beloved Metsies, alas, seem to be racing towards the seller side of things. Give them an opportunity to lose and most times they’ll take it. But one constant in the games they lose in awful fashion is the absence of pitching. In the games that are competitive, about every other game, they get good pitching. Let’s check the game log….
In the last 10 games, going back to the last game at LA, they lost two, then Santana pitched a beautiful game against Cincinnati and the Mets won 4-0. Then they won again with Pelfrey allowing only 3 runs over 7 innings. They won that one 9-7, so the relief pitching was horrible, but as the Mets decided to hit that day, it didn’t matter.
Then against the Braves, things started to unravel. They lost a tough 5-3 decision after Perez had turned in a good performance for him, and the Mets relievers couldn’t hold those pesky Braves off, giving up two runs in the last three innings. Pelfrey was awful the next day and the Mets got killed 11-0.
Then it was Santana’s turn. The Mets won 5-1. Getting my drift here? Then it was Nieve’s turn and he immediately got hurt so he could watch Tim Redding get blasted. The Mets lost and it wasn’t very close. But, behind a very creditable performance from Livan Hernandez in the Washington opener, the Mets won. Then Ollie the crazy man Perez turned in a clunker so the Mets lost again.
As bad as all this sounds, the Mets finished that ten-game stretch 4-6. Two wins from Santana, and one each from Pelfrey and Hernandez. Perez really wasn’t that bad, giving up 7 runs in 12 innings in his two starts. The relief pitching has been dreadful except for the rock, K-Rod.
My contention had been that the Mets could still contend if they got their big guns back soon. That was based on the schedule too, which didn’t seem daunting, but the Braves were one team the Mets should have split with, and they only took one of four. They have to do better than that. They did take 2 of 3 from the Reds though, and they’ve split with Washington so far. This last game against the Nats will show me a lot about the Mets, and whether they should be buyers or sellers thereafter.
The Mets will have Pelfrey going on his fifth day. Stammen is the Nats pitcher and he’s nothing to write home about. And I’d think, as Pelfrey is the team’s union representative, that the Mets will try hard to get him the win. The Mets have to win this game, if, for nothing else, my stick-to-it-iveness.
If they can’t beat Washington with their number 2 starter, they’re in really terrible shape as a team. Then I’d say they should be sellers. But Beltran and Reyes are both coming off injuries, minimizing their current market value and who really wants them to go anyway? Beltran had been one of the “rocks” before getting hurt and Reyes is Reyes after all, which is to say, alternately good and bad. Make that very good and bad, quite a distinction actually.
Until Beltran and Reyes get well, there’s really no point in dealing. That goes for Delgado too. But the needs are very clear in the long run, at least a reliever or two and a legitimate starter.
Of their two big relief acquisitions Green has been a real bust, for the most part, and Putz is an unknown after shoulder surgery. That’s a lot of money tied up in two relievers who haven’t been able to perform up to expectations. The Mets must hope that those two come back strong, thus mitigating their relief situation.
The more it’s analyzed, the more depressing it gets. The only logical thing to do is stay pat for now and hope that a Niese or somebody else from the minors will fill that 5th starter position. The relief will just have to get better with experience.
Next year is the best time to deal.
I can’t watch the Yankees-Orioles, it’s too uneven a match. The O’s still haven’t scored and it doesn’t look as if they’re going to. Burnett is just wacking them down and he doesn’t look troubled by the prospect of continuing. My fantasy opponent, though, is playing Roberts so maybe I’ll just root against him.
What is with this necklace on Burnett. I preferred the days when men didn’t wear jewelry. Me, I don’t even like the wedding band, and not because I have any bad intentions. If you want jewelry, wear a watch. You know, the thing you don’t need anymore because the time is staring you in the face from your cell phone, Blackberry, i-phone, and every electronic device in your house.
Hey-hey, the O’s finally scored two, and on a wild pitch too, but I’d rather blame Posada, one of my Yankee kicking-boys this season. The pitch wasn’t that bad, Jorge just missed it. Nice to make this thing competitive though for the 8th and 9th.
Over in Philadelphia, the Phils are getting thrashed by the Cubs. It’s 7-3 now and did you really expect much from Moyer? I think that if you want to pay a 43-year old guy to take the mound every 5th day or so, you deserve what you get.
For many baseball fans, though, the actual playing of the game has become secondary, even the watching of the actual game. But I have to admit, some of the peripheral action is pretty interesting…who’ll get Halladay (nobody), who’ll get Holliday (nobody), and who’s a buyer, who’s a seller, yada yada.
My beloved Metsies, alas, seem to be racing towards the seller side of things. Give them an opportunity to lose and most times they’ll take it. But one constant in the games they lose in awful fashion is the absence of pitching. In the games that are competitive, about every other game, they get good pitching. Let’s check the game log….
In the last 10 games, going back to the last game at LA, they lost two, then Santana pitched a beautiful game against Cincinnati and the Mets won 4-0. Then they won again with Pelfrey allowing only 3 runs over 7 innings. They won that one 9-7, so the relief pitching was horrible, but as the Mets decided to hit that day, it didn’t matter.
Then against the Braves, things started to unravel. They lost a tough 5-3 decision after Perez had turned in a good performance for him, and the Mets relievers couldn’t hold those pesky Braves off, giving up two runs in the last three innings. Pelfrey was awful the next day and the Mets got killed 11-0.
Then it was Santana’s turn. The Mets won 5-1. Getting my drift here? Then it was Nieve’s turn and he immediately got hurt so he could watch Tim Redding get blasted. The Mets lost and it wasn’t very close. But, behind a very creditable performance from Livan Hernandez in the Washington opener, the Mets won. Then Ollie the crazy man Perez turned in a clunker so the Mets lost again.
As bad as all this sounds, the Mets finished that ten-game stretch 4-6. Two wins from Santana, and one each from Pelfrey and Hernandez. Perez really wasn’t that bad, giving up 7 runs in 12 innings in his two starts. The relief pitching has been dreadful except for the rock, K-Rod.
My contention had been that the Mets could still contend if they got their big guns back soon. That was based on the schedule too, which didn’t seem daunting, but the Braves were one team the Mets should have split with, and they only took one of four. They have to do better than that. They did take 2 of 3 from the Reds though, and they’ve split with Washington so far. This last game against the Nats will show me a lot about the Mets, and whether they should be buyers or sellers thereafter.
The Mets will have Pelfrey going on his fifth day. Stammen is the Nats pitcher and he’s nothing to write home about. And I’d think, as Pelfrey is the team’s union representative, that the Mets will try hard to get him the win. The Mets have to win this game, if, for nothing else, my stick-to-it-iveness.
If they can’t beat Washington with their number 2 starter, they’re in really terrible shape as a team. Then I’d say they should be sellers. But Beltran and Reyes are both coming off injuries, minimizing their current market value and who really wants them to go anyway? Beltran had been one of the “rocks” before getting hurt and Reyes is Reyes after all, which is to say, alternately good and bad. Make that very good and bad, quite a distinction actually.
Until Beltran and Reyes get well, there’s really no point in dealing. That goes for Delgado too. But the needs are very clear in the long run, at least a reliever or two and a legitimate starter.
Of their two big relief acquisitions Green has been a real bust, for the most part, and Putz is an unknown after shoulder surgery. That’s a lot of money tied up in two relievers who haven’t been able to perform up to expectations. The Mets must hope that those two come back strong, thus mitigating their relief situation.
The more it’s analyzed, the more depressing it gets. The only logical thing to do is stay pat for now and hope that a Niese or somebody else from the minors will fill that 5th starter position. The relief will just have to get better with experience.
Next year is the best time to deal.
Monday, July 20, 2009
On Joba and Yankee Idiots
“Snake-bit” doesn’t really cover it, y’know. Not unless it’s a really big snake, more like that Harry Potter’s basilisk. This Mets team just can’t get a break. When their starting pitcher, Fernando Nieve, went down to injury early in yesterday’s game, it seemed just too much.
As small as it may have seemed, losing a journeyman pitcher, it proved to be big. The Mets filled in with a guy they’re soon either sending down or releasing, Tim Redding, and then looked lifeless for nine long innings. In the face of such disaster, why even try? The gods of baseball had already decided their fate, this day and most days in this horrible 2009 injury-fest.
It’s difficult to watch, of course, so you wind up turning the game off. Almost anything would be more interesting, say, a reality show featuring celebrities watching grass grow. Did they do that one yet?
Of course, there is an alternative, but it’s a bad one. Watching the hated Yankees. Yesterday they even had Joba going, and it’s really difficult not to like Joba, even if he is on the wrong team. Joba was great yesterday, and the announcer only mentioned pitch counts maybe 63 or 64 times in the game.
But there’s an even better alternative…two actually, but one is turning off the TV altogether, unthinkable for a baseball fan of limited means. After all, the weekly fantasy baseball contests wind up on Sunday. The other alternative is watching the MLB channel when they’re covering things live.
I had wanted to re-acquire Joba in my fantasy league on Saturday night. I was tied in wins and losses with my weekly opponent and only slightly ahead in ERA and WHIP and strikeouts. Plus, he had three pitchers going, three pretty fair pitchers, Matt Cain probably the least of them, but I had been afraid that if Joba turned in another clunker, I’d lose the advantages I had.
Bad choice. Even the idiots in the Yankee dugout, not to mention the one behind the plate, couldn’t shake Joba’s confidence yesterday. He pitched into the seventh inning, giving up just a lone home run and 3 hits overall, struck out 8 batters and looked confident until the very end when the idiots finally prevailed. Girardi pulled Joba with two outs and nobody on in the seventh. Much to my delight, the crowd booed lustily, and never was a panning more deserved.
The announcers stressed that it was the right move. Sure it was. The crowd got to watch Coke, Hughes and Rivera finish the Tigers off and Joba got the win. And he got a tremendous ovation from the crowd when they finally stopped jeering.
As I found out later on, Joba went home for the break and forgot about baseball except for a bullpen session with a good friend. He “did not think about baseball one time”. He also said, “I needed that” before resorting to the typical Yankee line, how he loved the place to death yada yada (insert finger down throat).
If he loves the place to death so much, why was it so wonderful to get away? Why did he come back renewed? Why did his fastball attain upper-90’s and where did he finally get all that confidence? In Nebraska, that’s where, well away from the idiots and the corporate atmosphere that is the Yankees.
Joba’s a great pitcher on the wrong team. If he pitched for the Rangers, where Nolan Ryan has loudly excoriated all the crap written about the significance of pitch counts, he’d be much better. If he had a catcher who didn’t drive him crazy, if every pitch and every location wasn’t dictated from the bench, the sky would be the limit on Joba.
But that’s just wishful thinking. Joba won’t go anywhere. They’ll throw money at him when the time comes and wheel out some of the old-timers and that will be that. In a couple of years, they’ll remove the shackles and let him breathe. But until then, you won’t see any complete games from Joba.
You won’t see a fist-pump after striking out an even dozen batters over nine. You won’t see the jubilation achieved only after really having completed something you started. You won’t experience any late-inning buzz, the kind of group near-frenzy that typifies baseball at its finest.
What you’ll get is those corporate guys congratulating themselves after the game, after they’ve counted the daily take from those thrice-over-priced tickets, after the W.B. Mason guys have celebrated still another sighting of a Yankee pop-up sailing over that embarrassingly short wall.
The Yanks are a game out of first and Cashman is already celebrating his acumen. They have a glut of fine talent, Arod and Teixeira, all the rest of the aging Jeters and Pettites and Posadas and now Sabathia and Burnet too. They’ll undoubtedly be there at the end of September, especially if all these old guys can hold on until then.
But at what price? I’m not just talking about the tickets. I’m talking about the cost of a stifling atmosphere in the dugout, the clubhouse and even the broadcast booths, the cost of hearing the same Yankee line from every player and announcer, an announcer who knows nothing about baseball but can tell you only how many strikes and how many balls have been thrown.
This is an emphasis that can only come from above, from that embarrassingly stupid Yankee hierarchy that has only managed to achieve a higher form of mediocrity these last several years, this achieved despite spending double and triple that of virtually every other team in major league baseball.
And while I won’t be seeing any blue and orange in this year’s festivities, the Mets having all gone to the trainer’s room, I’ll take solace in watching those Torre-less guys in pinstripes go down once again, hopefully to a team that still has fun playing baseball, the Red Sox or the Rays, or in a perfect world, the Rangers.
As small as it may have seemed, losing a journeyman pitcher, it proved to be big. The Mets filled in with a guy they’re soon either sending down or releasing, Tim Redding, and then looked lifeless for nine long innings. In the face of such disaster, why even try? The gods of baseball had already decided their fate, this day and most days in this horrible 2009 injury-fest.
It’s difficult to watch, of course, so you wind up turning the game off. Almost anything would be more interesting, say, a reality show featuring celebrities watching grass grow. Did they do that one yet?
Of course, there is an alternative, but it’s a bad one. Watching the hated Yankees. Yesterday they even had Joba going, and it’s really difficult not to like Joba, even if he is on the wrong team. Joba was great yesterday, and the announcer only mentioned pitch counts maybe 63 or 64 times in the game.
But there’s an even better alternative…two actually, but one is turning off the TV altogether, unthinkable for a baseball fan of limited means. After all, the weekly fantasy baseball contests wind up on Sunday. The other alternative is watching the MLB channel when they’re covering things live.
I had wanted to re-acquire Joba in my fantasy league on Saturday night. I was tied in wins and losses with my weekly opponent and only slightly ahead in ERA and WHIP and strikeouts. Plus, he had three pitchers going, three pretty fair pitchers, Matt Cain probably the least of them, but I had been afraid that if Joba turned in another clunker, I’d lose the advantages I had.
Bad choice. Even the idiots in the Yankee dugout, not to mention the one behind the plate, couldn’t shake Joba’s confidence yesterday. He pitched into the seventh inning, giving up just a lone home run and 3 hits overall, struck out 8 batters and looked confident until the very end when the idiots finally prevailed. Girardi pulled Joba with two outs and nobody on in the seventh. Much to my delight, the crowd booed lustily, and never was a panning more deserved.
The announcers stressed that it was the right move. Sure it was. The crowd got to watch Coke, Hughes and Rivera finish the Tigers off and Joba got the win. And he got a tremendous ovation from the crowd when they finally stopped jeering.
As I found out later on, Joba went home for the break and forgot about baseball except for a bullpen session with a good friend. He “did not think about baseball one time”. He also said, “I needed that” before resorting to the typical Yankee line, how he loved the place to death yada yada (insert finger down throat).
If he loves the place to death so much, why was it so wonderful to get away? Why did he come back renewed? Why did his fastball attain upper-90’s and where did he finally get all that confidence? In Nebraska, that’s where, well away from the idiots and the corporate atmosphere that is the Yankees.
Joba’s a great pitcher on the wrong team. If he pitched for the Rangers, where Nolan Ryan has loudly excoriated all the crap written about the significance of pitch counts, he’d be much better. If he had a catcher who didn’t drive him crazy, if every pitch and every location wasn’t dictated from the bench, the sky would be the limit on Joba.
But that’s just wishful thinking. Joba won’t go anywhere. They’ll throw money at him when the time comes and wheel out some of the old-timers and that will be that. In a couple of years, they’ll remove the shackles and let him breathe. But until then, you won’t see any complete games from Joba.
You won’t see a fist-pump after striking out an even dozen batters over nine. You won’t see the jubilation achieved only after really having completed something you started. You won’t experience any late-inning buzz, the kind of group near-frenzy that typifies baseball at its finest.
What you’ll get is those corporate guys congratulating themselves after the game, after they’ve counted the daily take from those thrice-over-priced tickets, after the W.B. Mason guys have celebrated still another sighting of a Yankee pop-up sailing over that embarrassingly short wall.
The Yanks are a game out of first and Cashman is already celebrating his acumen. They have a glut of fine talent, Arod and Teixeira, all the rest of the aging Jeters and Pettites and Posadas and now Sabathia and Burnet too. They’ll undoubtedly be there at the end of September, especially if all these old guys can hold on until then.
But at what price? I’m not just talking about the tickets. I’m talking about the cost of a stifling atmosphere in the dugout, the clubhouse and even the broadcast booths, the cost of hearing the same Yankee line from every player and announcer, an announcer who knows nothing about baseball but can tell you only how many strikes and how many balls have been thrown.
This is an emphasis that can only come from above, from that embarrassingly stupid Yankee hierarchy that has only managed to achieve a higher form of mediocrity these last several years, this achieved despite spending double and triple that of virtually every other team in major league baseball.
And while I won’t be seeing any blue and orange in this year’s festivities, the Mets having all gone to the trainer’s room, I’ll take solace in watching those Torre-less guys in pinstripes go down once again, hopefully to a team that still has fun playing baseball, the Red Sox or the Rays, or in a perfect world, the Rangers.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
A Break Is a Break....
A break is a break. There's really nothing else to say, right? I have absolutely nothing to say about the All-Star game. The NL lost again. That makes it again and again and again and on and on for way too many years. You'd think the NL would win at least once just by accident.
And then there's Halladay. Going somewhere, but not to the Mets. Do I care whether the Yanks or Phils or Red Sox or even Dodgers gets him. Most assuredly, I do not. Pedro Martinez is back with the Phils though and immediately went on the DL. That makes me so happy I could just jump up and down and kick my heels. Yuk-yuk-yuk.
Oh yeah, there's the British Open, and Tiger at the British Open. Ho-hum. And a 15-year old in World Team Tennis beat Serena. Woo-hoo.
The Jets are opening up their waiting list. Now all those thousands of fans will get the happy opportunity to pay 10 to 20 thousand dollars for a seat. But I ask you, is that worth writing about? I say no.
A break really is a break.
And then there's Halladay. Going somewhere, but not to the Mets. Do I care whether the Yanks or Phils or Red Sox or even Dodgers gets him. Most assuredly, I do not. Pedro Martinez is back with the Phils though and immediately went on the DL. That makes me so happy I could just jump up and down and kick my heels. Yuk-yuk-yuk.
Oh yeah, there's the British Open, and Tiger at the British Open. Ho-hum. And a 15-year old in World Team Tennis beat Serena. Woo-hoo.
The Jets are opening up their waiting list. Now all those thousands of fans will get the happy opportunity to pay 10 to 20 thousand dollars for a seat. But I ask you, is that worth writing about? I say no.
A break really is a break.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A Day for the Downtrodden
It was a day for the downtrodden. It started in the morning when a tough young woman named Gisela Dulko took the measure of Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon. Then in the afternoon, the incredible U.S.A. soccer team beat the best soccer team in the world in the Confederations Cup. It continued into the evening when the under-manned Mets just trounced the Cardinals and the Yanks won with the help of an unlikely home run from catcher Francisco Cervelli.
It’s hard to not just enjoy the heck out of seeing great performances in very unlikely places. It gives us all hope. If these yahoos on TV can do it, then we can do it too, whatever our particular “it” may be. Or, if you’re one of those superstars who really doesn’t need any more hope, well, Mazeltof.
Anyhow, the Mets were great tonight. After seeing them do absolutely NOTHING the night before, how great was it to watch a very unlikely Fernando Nieve pitch the Mets to within a game and a half of the Phillies, this despite playing without Carlos Beltran, after having already lost Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, J.J. Putz, John Maine, Oliver Perez and some others too.
Just winning by 11-0 is nice. And winning with three Fernando’s has got to be pretty special too. If there was anything I didn’t like, at first anyway, it was Ryan Church and Brian Schneider, who I’ve just killed in this column every time I’ve had the chance, who did the most damage at the plate, just socking the ball all over the place.
It makes you think maybe the Mets really can withstand all these hurts and ow-ies. Just replace Delgado with Murphy, Tatis and now Evans. Just spell Jose Reyes with Alex Cora. Just put Reed in center to try to replace Carlos. Put Nieve on the mound for Maine (or Perez, take your pick). Try a few relievers out to see who wants Putz’s set-up job.
If Church and Schneider can continue playing well, something they’ve never been able to sustain over any period of time before, and if so many others chip in in a little, players like Omir Santos and yes, even Gary Sheffield. And tonight it was Nick Evans, bringing back that hot 2008 duo of Murphy and Evans. Evans was great tonight, and maybe his return will give Murphy a little shot in the arm, not that he’s needed one lately.
It really does take a total team effort when you’ve lost so many players. And, incredibly enough, the Mets are getting it, over and over. Even when they’ve lost, they’ve played pretty well; they just haven’t hit. Another thing that made tonight’s win so good was that they managed to hit a sinkerball pitcher after having been totally shut down the night before by a sinkerballer…..in the most boring exhibition of baseball I’d seen in a long time.
So Mets fans can be happy for another day or two. It really doesn’t make much sense to look too far ahead. Just trot out the uninjured and see what happens. And, so far, it’s working nice and easy, a tribute really to the composition of the original team. The backups almost everywhere are pretty good, it would seem. They can play baseball, all of them.
And let’s say this about Joba. He was great tonight. Well, maybe not great, but pretty good for sure. He didn’t face many batters, started the game well and actually got better as he went along, striking out 4 batters in the 4th and 5th innings, and he pitched well into the 7th inning.
That the catcher was Cervelli was especially sweet, after having to witness the embarrassing Posada singlehandedly destroy Joba’s confidence last time out. His insistence on controlling the game seems to be tiring out a lot of Yankee pitchers. After seeing that throw he made from his knees to second base the other night, I’d just sit him down for a long while.
Oh, and Arod came through with a hit in a big situation. That’s been missing, and while I can’t really root for him, maybe it’ll quiet the detractors for a while. The team really hasn’t been hitting though, and they’re now 5 games out, tied with the Blue Jays for 2nd. Boston keeps rolling so the Yanks will have to roll a little too. Maybe they can do that if Arod chips in, if not as the Arod of old, just as a major-league third baseman, somebody who can produce home runs and rbi’s.
Maybe the most heartening victory of the day was the incredible U.S. victory over Spain in the semifinal round of the Confederations Cup. The U.S. goalie, Tim Howard, stopped shot after shot and Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey scored to keep the heat on a team that had won 35 matches in a row. But everybody dressed in white today looked pretty good to me, and to Spain too. Not too shabby! It’s comparable to the U.S.A. hockey team victory over the Russians so many years ago. It was great to see Landon Donovan have a good day too, not to mention the coach Bob Bradley.
On the beautiful lush green that is Wimbledon, everybody expected Maria Sharapova to beat Gisela Dulko, especially after she came back in the second set to win about 5 or 6 games in a row. It certainly appeared that Ms. Dulko was quitting, but then she came back and it was the much taller Sharapova who was wilting a bit at the end.
Of course, Sharapova has been having her share of hard luck with injuries lately too, so it was good to just see her on the court again. If she can stay healthy for a stretch, I think we’ll be hearing from Sharapova again before the 2009 tennis year runs out.
So in baseball, soccer and tennis, it was truly a day for the downtrodden. We should have more of those.
It’s hard to not just enjoy the heck out of seeing great performances in very unlikely places. It gives us all hope. If these yahoos on TV can do it, then we can do it too, whatever our particular “it” may be. Or, if you’re one of those superstars who really doesn’t need any more hope, well, Mazeltof.
Anyhow, the Mets were great tonight. After seeing them do absolutely NOTHING the night before, how great was it to watch a very unlikely Fernando Nieve pitch the Mets to within a game and a half of the Phillies, this despite playing without Carlos Beltran, after having already lost Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, J.J. Putz, John Maine, Oliver Perez and some others too.
Just winning by 11-0 is nice. And winning with three Fernando’s has got to be pretty special too. If there was anything I didn’t like, at first anyway, it was Ryan Church and Brian Schneider, who I’ve just killed in this column every time I’ve had the chance, who did the most damage at the plate, just socking the ball all over the place.
It makes you think maybe the Mets really can withstand all these hurts and ow-ies. Just replace Delgado with Murphy, Tatis and now Evans. Just spell Jose Reyes with Alex Cora. Just put Reed in center to try to replace Carlos. Put Nieve on the mound for Maine (or Perez, take your pick). Try a few relievers out to see who wants Putz’s set-up job.
If Church and Schneider can continue playing well, something they’ve never been able to sustain over any period of time before, and if so many others chip in in a little, players like Omir Santos and yes, even Gary Sheffield. And tonight it was Nick Evans, bringing back that hot 2008 duo of Murphy and Evans. Evans was great tonight, and maybe his return will give Murphy a little shot in the arm, not that he’s needed one lately.
It really does take a total team effort when you’ve lost so many players. And, incredibly enough, the Mets are getting it, over and over. Even when they’ve lost, they’ve played pretty well; they just haven’t hit. Another thing that made tonight’s win so good was that they managed to hit a sinkerball pitcher after having been totally shut down the night before by a sinkerballer…..in the most boring exhibition of baseball I’d seen in a long time.
So Mets fans can be happy for another day or two. It really doesn’t make much sense to look too far ahead. Just trot out the uninjured and see what happens. And, so far, it’s working nice and easy, a tribute really to the composition of the original team. The backups almost everywhere are pretty good, it would seem. They can play baseball, all of them.
And let’s say this about Joba. He was great tonight. Well, maybe not great, but pretty good for sure. He didn’t face many batters, started the game well and actually got better as he went along, striking out 4 batters in the 4th and 5th innings, and he pitched well into the 7th inning.
That the catcher was Cervelli was especially sweet, after having to witness the embarrassing Posada singlehandedly destroy Joba’s confidence last time out. His insistence on controlling the game seems to be tiring out a lot of Yankee pitchers. After seeing that throw he made from his knees to second base the other night, I’d just sit him down for a long while.
Oh, and Arod came through with a hit in a big situation. That’s been missing, and while I can’t really root for him, maybe it’ll quiet the detractors for a while. The team really hasn’t been hitting though, and they’re now 5 games out, tied with the Blue Jays for 2nd. Boston keeps rolling so the Yanks will have to roll a little too. Maybe they can do that if Arod chips in, if not as the Arod of old, just as a major-league third baseman, somebody who can produce home runs and rbi’s.
Maybe the most heartening victory of the day was the incredible U.S. victory over Spain in the semifinal round of the Confederations Cup. The U.S. goalie, Tim Howard, stopped shot after shot and Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey scored to keep the heat on a team that had won 35 matches in a row. But everybody dressed in white today looked pretty good to me, and to Spain too. Not too shabby! It’s comparable to the U.S.A. hockey team victory over the Russians so many years ago. It was great to see Landon Donovan have a good day too, not to mention the coach Bob Bradley.
On the beautiful lush green that is Wimbledon, everybody expected Maria Sharapova to beat Gisela Dulko, especially after she came back in the second set to win about 5 or 6 games in a row. It certainly appeared that Ms. Dulko was quitting, but then she came back and it was the much taller Sharapova who was wilting a bit at the end.
Of course, Sharapova has been having her share of hard luck with injuries lately too, so it was good to just see her on the court again. If she can stay healthy for a stretch, I think we’ll be hearing from Sharapova again before the 2009 tennis year runs out.
So in baseball, soccer and tennis, it was truly a day for the downtrodden. We should have more of those.
Monday, June 22, 2009
June Snooze
There’s nothing to get excited about, I guess, but Mickelson just lost out on an Open win and now Sharapova has gotten by the first round at Wimbledon. The Penguins beat the Red Wings and the U.S. soccer team very unexpectedly got into the semifinals of the Confederations Cup. In just about everything except Major League Baseball, there’s excitement galore.
In baseball, nobody seems to want it, not unless you’re talking about the Colorado Rockies. They’ve won 8 straight and 16 of their last 17 games, an incredible streak for this fickle sport. But it is reminiscent of their World Series year when they preactically ran the table at the end of the regular season.
The incredible Denver contingent has swept St Louis and Milwaukee, taken two of three from the Rays and then swept the Pirates. If they can somehow get by the tough Angels and take the measure of the Oakland A’s, it’ll set up a real barn-burner against the Dodgers, presently the toughest team in both leagues by a large margin.
Of course, there are teams who want it, but the fates seem to be intervening on the side of the devils. In the case of our beloved Mets, they’re just totally snake-bit. Now Beltran is having an MRI, and if it shows something that indicates that playing will make his knee worse, Carlos will join all the others on the DL. Depending upon the length of his disability, that could really end things this year for our Metsies.
The Yanks have never been my favorite but they’re in the throes of a bad stretch too. They just have no relief pitching whatsoever. The starters look shaky lately, and come to think of it, the whole team really hasn’t been anything to write home about. Teixeira has been quite a find though.
Now Boston wants it, I’m sure of that. And it’s looking as if they’ll get it. Except for the conspicuous failures of Dice-K, the pitching looks as if it’s holding up and in the batting order, Big Papi is even starting to come around with 5 homers in June. They have some great relief pitchers in Papelbon, Saito, Ramirez, and Okajima, and it’s amazing that they’re not in front by even more than they are.
They talk about the dog days of August but right now, it sure seems to be occurring in June, much as this non-stop June rain reminds me of April. If Philadelphia were doing a little better, I’d just forget about the whole season right now. But it’s now official, Beltran will be out for a while and here come some pretty tough teams, St Louis, the Yanks and the Brewers to close out the month.
Maybe I should just pay attention to the tennis for a while and break my focus only for the NBA Draft. Thursday night should be interesting for both the Knicks and Nets, as there are some excellent players available at their respective draft positions.
The Knicks need a point guard and if they manage to get Curry from Davidson, they will have done very well for themselves. The Nets may go with a guard too, but I’m hoping they go a little bigger and get some really athletic guy who can shoot the ball, somebody like Vince Carter without the arm socks, or maybe a tough guy like Dejuan Blair.
Whatever else June might bring, let’s hope the baseball picks up a little. I just heard Tatis will be batting cleanup for the Metsies, God help us.
In baseball, nobody seems to want it, not unless you’re talking about the Colorado Rockies. They’ve won 8 straight and 16 of their last 17 games, an incredible streak for this fickle sport. But it is reminiscent of their World Series year when they preactically ran the table at the end of the regular season.
The incredible Denver contingent has swept St Louis and Milwaukee, taken two of three from the Rays and then swept the Pirates. If they can somehow get by the tough Angels and take the measure of the Oakland A’s, it’ll set up a real barn-burner against the Dodgers, presently the toughest team in both leagues by a large margin.
Of course, there are teams who want it, but the fates seem to be intervening on the side of the devils. In the case of our beloved Mets, they’re just totally snake-bit. Now Beltran is having an MRI, and if it shows something that indicates that playing will make his knee worse, Carlos will join all the others on the DL. Depending upon the length of his disability, that could really end things this year for our Metsies.
The Yanks have never been my favorite but they’re in the throes of a bad stretch too. They just have no relief pitching whatsoever. The starters look shaky lately, and come to think of it, the whole team really hasn’t been anything to write home about. Teixeira has been quite a find though.
Now Boston wants it, I’m sure of that. And it’s looking as if they’ll get it. Except for the conspicuous failures of Dice-K, the pitching looks as if it’s holding up and in the batting order, Big Papi is even starting to come around with 5 homers in June. They have some great relief pitchers in Papelbon, Saito, Ramirez, and Okajima, and it’s amazing that they’re not in front by even more than they are.
They talk about the dog days of August but right now, it sure seems to be occurring in June, much as this non-stop June rain reminds me of April. If Philadelphia were doing a little better, I’d just forget about the whole season right now. But it’s now official, Beltran will be out for a while and here come some pretty tough teams, St Louis, the Yanks and the Brewers to close out the month.
Maybe I should just pay attention to the tennis for a while and break my focus only for the NBA Draft. Thursday night should be interesting for both the Knicks and Nets, as there are some excellent players available at their respective draft positions.
The Knicks need a point guard and if they manage to get Curry from Davidson, they will have done very well for themselves. The Nets may go with a guard too, but I’m hoping they go a little bigger and get some really athletic guy who can shoot the ball, somebody like Vince Carter without the arm socks, or maybe a tough guy like Dejuan Blair.
Whatever else June might bring, let’s hope the baseball picks up a little. I just heard Tatis will be batting cleanup for the Metsies, God help us.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Mets and Yanks and the NFL Draft
News from the NFL disturbs and interrupts my thoughts for the Mets today as I discover the Detroit Lions, that most ridiculous of all the losing NFL franchises, has selected another huge question mark with their number 1 pick.
All those losers they took for three straight years at wide receiver haven’t apparently had any influence on them. So a new GM continues in the steps of his horrendously flawed predecessor, gambling on success.
Not that I have any particular thoughts about that quarterback. Stafford’s probably better than anybody out there, but how good are they?
Now I know there are those who think the only way to revive a team is to have that super quarterback, leader, whatever, but the learning curve is long in the NFL and Detroit stinks right now. Detroit should have either taken Curry, the consensus best player in the draft, or they should have traded down.
The Giants and Jets haven’t said much about what they’ll be doing today and that’s as it should be….. I know the Jets need a quarterback, after all, why give the guys they have any chance? And the Giants need a wide receiver, after giving Plaxico the ol’ heave-ho. And let’s not forget Toomer.
It can almost be guaranteed the Giants won’t take a receiver. They like defensive linemen. It doesn’t matter what they need. It doesn’t matter that it’s not a good class. And I wouldn’t even mind. I’d rather have them trade for a wide-out and they probably will. But Braylon Edwards? Mr. Dropsy?
The Jets can’t be trusted anymore to do anything really intelligent. Favre proved that to me. They’re just interested in making a big splash. So look for them to take a good-looking guy, first and foremost, and probably a quarterback. It’ll be “Yes, Mr. Johnson”. Nice to have money, isn’t it? You can get anything you want, but you can’t do it without looking like an idiot, which of course he is.
That’s why the Jets got Vernon Gholston. Big muscles…not much between the ears, mind you, not a good football player but one with unlimited potential. He’ll be a factor in 2013….maybe.
The Giants, thank the football gods, are as smart as the Jets are stupid. They seem to realize that it’s football players that win football games. While the opposition flexes its muscles and runs like the wind but can’t catch, the Giants just play good ball and make them look silly. I love it.
Whoever Reese selects, I’m with him all the way. And I don’t expect him to trade for Braylon Edwards. He may want everyone to think he will but he won’t, unless it becomes a total give-away. Then it’s a moot point. But look for the G-Men to take guys who have proven they can play the game. And the positions will probably be linebacker, defensive line and then offense.
As exciting as the NFL draft may be, my attention is still on baseball and particularly the Mets. Johan Santana won another one last night, of course, and now the fun starts…the rest of the rotation. It wouldn’t even be such a bad situation if our guys could start hitting when it counts. (I hate to say “runners in scoring position” or even “RISP”).
I was soooo happy to see the lineup change though, and happy to see Murphy’s butt planted firmly on the bench. If baseball were all about hitting, he’d be my choice to play, but….alas! It’s not. So we saw guys on the field who can actually catch a ball. Even Sheffield, the poor man’s Brett Favre.
But last night, it was my lineup of choice, with Beltran swapping spots with Wright, who has proven he can’t handle the three spot, at least for now. So it was Reyes, Castillo, Beltran, Delgado, Wright and Sheffield in the first six spots, and that’s as it should be, against a lefty anyway.
But you can’t hide guys who can’t hit in big spots. Reyes and Wright proved that theory right by leaving 12, that’s twelve, men on base. Reyes keeps swinging for the fences and Wright suffers from the same misconception, that is, that they are the reincarnation of Babe friggin’ Ruth. It was nice to hear the fans let them have it too.
As this is written, I see the lineup for today’s 1PM game is the same with respect to Beltran and Wright, but Murphy and Church are back in the lineup. So it should be interesting to say the least. I’m certainly rooting for Murphy. Church is a better outfielder than Sheffield, will probably hit for a better average, and, as an extra added benefit, does not scowl all the time. (Not that maybe that’s just what the Mets need).
But Pelfrey’s on the mound and that can’t be good. It should be a nice test for him vs. the lowly Nationals. And it’s very nice to know that Manuel will not hesitate to change that starting rotation after this go-around. Most of these pitchers are clueless, beginning with Pelfrey and Maine.
I have to admit that I actually watched the Yanks-Red Sox at least as much as the Mets. I love watching Joba on the mound and, while he pitched like Aaron Heilmann in his last game with Posada behind the plate, Molina seemed to bring out the best in him. While he still can’t bring it at 95 or better, he looked like a pitcher in command, and I give the credit at least as much to Molina as to Joba.
Posada can hit, he can throw out runners, and he thinks everybody is Pettite. If Sabathia keeps losing, you can start looking forward to a lot of head-shaking on the mound. I really think Posada is that bad. Ask Randy Johnson, who preferred the hot-dog guy behind the plate rather than deal with the genius Posada.
Ahhhh, life is good, hope for the Mets and disdain for the Yanks.
All those losers they took for three straight years at wide receiver haven’t apparently had any influence on them. So a new GM continues in the steps of his horrendously flawed predecessor, gambling on success.
Not that I have any particular thoughts about that quarterback. Stafford’s probably better than anybody out there, but how good are they?
Now I know there are those who think the only way to revive a team is to have that super quarterback, leader, whatever, but the learning curve is long in the NFL and Detroit stinks right now. Detroit should have either taken Curry, the consensus best player in the draft, or they should have traded down.
The Giants and Jets haven’t said much about what they’ll be doing today and that’s as it should be….. I know the Jets need a quarterback, after all, why give the guys they have any chance? And the Giants need a wide receiver, after giving Plaxico the ol’ heave-ho. And let’s not forget Toomer.
It can almost be guaranteed the Giants won’t take a receiver. They like defensive linemen. It doesn’t matter what they need. It doesn’t matter that it’s not a good class. And I wouldn’t even mind. I’d rather have them trade for a wide-out and they probably will. But Braylon Edwards? Mr. Dropsy?
The Jets can’t be trusted anymore to do anything really intelligent. Favre proved that to me. They’re just interested in making a big splash. So look for them to take a good-looking guy, first and foremost, and probably a quarterback. It’ll be “Yes, Mr. Johnson”. Nice to have money, isn’t it? You can get anything you want, but you can’t do it without looking like an idiot, which of course he is.
That’s why the Jets got Vernon Gholston. Big muscles…not much between the ears, mind you, not a good football player but one with unlimited potential. He’ll be a factor in 2013….maybe.
The Giants, thank the football gods, are as smart as the Jets are stupid. They seem to realize that it’s football players that win football games. While the opposition flexes its muscles and runs like the wind but can’t catch, the Giants just play good ball and make them look silly. I love it.
Whoever Reese selects, I’m with him all the way. And I don’t expect him to trade for Braylon Edwards. He may want everyone to think he will but he won’t, unless it becomes a total give-away. Then it’s a moot point. But look for the G-Men to take guys who have proven they can play the game. And the positions will probably be linebacker, defensive line and then offense.
As exciting as the NFL draft may be, my attention is still on baseball and particularly the Mets. Johan Santana won another one last night, of course, and now the fun starts…the rest of the rotation. It wouldn’t even be such a bad situation if our guys could start hitting when it counts. (I hate to say “runners in scoring position” or even “RISP”).
I was soooo happy to see the lineup change though, and happy to see Murphy’s butt planted firmly on the bench. If baseball were all about hitting, he’d be my choice to play, but….alas! It’s not. So we saw guys on the field who can actually catch a ball. Even Sheffield, the poor man’s Brett Favre.
But last night, it was my lineup of choice, with Beltran swapping spots with Wright, who has proven he can’t handle the three spot, at least for now. So it was Reyes, Castillo, Beltran, Delgado, Wright and Sheffield in the first six spots, and that’s as it should be, against a lefty anyway.
But you can’t hide guys who can’t hit in big spots. Reyes and Wright proved that theory right by leaving 12, that’s twelve, men on base. Reyes keeps swinging for the fences and Wright suffers from the same misconception, that is, that they are the reincarnation of Babe friggin’ Ruth. It was nice to hear the fans let them have it too.
As this is written, I see the lineup for today’s 1PM game is the same with respect to Beltran and Wright, but Murphy and Church are back in the lineup. So it should be interesting to say the least. I’m certainly rooting for Murphy. Church is a better outfielder than Sheffield, will probably hit for a better average, and, as an extra added benefit, does not scowl all the time. (Not that maybe that’s just what the Mets need).
But Pelfrey’s on the mound and that can’t be good. It should be a nice test for him vs. the lowly Nationals. And it’s very nice to know that Manuel will not hesitate to change that starting rotation after this go-around. Most of these pitchers are clueless, beginning with Pelfrey and Maine.
I have to admit that I actually watched the Yanks-Red Sox at least as much as the Mets. I love watching Joba on the mound and, while he pitched like Aaron Heilmann in his last game with Posada behind the plate, Molina seemed to bring out the best in him. While he still can’t bring it at 95 or better, he looked like a pitcher in command, and I give the credit at least as much to Molina as to Joba.
Posada can hit, he can throw out runners, and he thinks everybody is Pettite. If Sabathia keeps losing, you can start looking forward to a lot of head-shaking on the mound. I really think Posada is that bad. Ask Randy Johnson, who preferred the hot-dog guy behind the plate rather than deal with the genius Posada.
Ahhhh, life is good, hope for the Mets and disdain for the Yanks.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Holy Cow ! Winning is Risky !!
Holy Cow! Almost lost against the backdrop of NFL playoff games have been some very interesting baseball developments, not just signings but also the behind-the-scenes skullduggery among the various contenders for the talent that’s still out there.
For me, two signings take precedence. Both of them relate to the Yanks recent finalization of their humongous contract with Mark Teixeira, the wunderkind first baseman, who of course got 22.5 million dollars per year for eight long years.
First, I’m very happy for Jason Giambi, who Teixeira is replacing. Jason landed back in Oakland, the team for which he built his formidable reputation as a hitter for both average and power. That Oakland legacy was enough to inspire the Yankees to sign Giambi seven years ago for record numbers.
Sadly for Jason and Yankees fans, that signing never really bore fruit in terms of World Series victories. The prevailing remembrances for most New Yorkers of Giambi’s New York service will be steroids and a fervent wish that the Yanks had kept Tino.
But for the true baseball aficionado, Jason Giambi was a potent presence in the Yanks lineup, more than capable of knocking one over the wall or, at the very least, to draw a base on balls after coaxing about ten more pitches out of their opponent’s starter. If he had any speed on the bases, or anywhere for that matter, Jason would have been even more valuable.
Giambi will be missed in New York, I suspect, much as Tino Martinez was before him. Not because Mark Teixeira can’t play the game, but just as a Yankees presence and overall good guy and teammate. Giambi was always affable with the media, too, even after some rough nights in the field.
But his gaffes in the field and his lack of speed on the base paths severely limited his overall value and suppressed his runs scored quite severely. Surely though, he was valued by his teammates and management as a hard-nosed player who wanted to win. But in hindsight, he surely was not the player the Yanks had envisioned.
The second signing I’ve been anxiously awaiting took place yesterday. That would be the Indians signing of a true Yankees disaster, Carl Pavano, probably the biggest mistake the Yankees, or any team for that matter, has ever made in free agency except perhaps for the Albert Belle fiasco.
Pavano was beset by injuries throughout the term of his 4-year $50 million contract with the Yanks and pitched just 26 starts in four years. That’s basically 2 mill per start. Even the Roger Clemens partial-year deal doesn’t compare in sheer magnitude of loss.
But what makes this deal most intriguing is its structure. It’s for one year only at 1.5 mill, but Carl can make as much as 5.3 mill with 18 starts, not a bad deal for anyone concerned really. What makes this even better is that Pavano may be pitching against the Yankees in the middle of April, at the new stadium, as the Indians third starter behind Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona.
Those two signings typify the risk involved for teams and players in free agency. It appears that only the major league players, like New York, Boston, Philly, LA…. can even contend for the really big earners, your Teixeiras and Mannys and Sabathias. Cleveland can’t compete for Sabathia or Burnet maybe but they can wind up picking up a potentially great pitcher for fair value.
If Pavano doesn’t make his starts number, he walks away with just 1.5 million. But, if he does win 15 or more games, and as he’s already undergone the arm surgery, his chances of doing just that are quite good, he’ll make, say, 5 million. That’s just 300K per win, and, figuring 25 starts, just 200k per start.
It’s good for the game that a team such as the Indians can still pick up a bargain and actually compete. And it’s just as good, if not better, that a team such as the Yankees or Boston can make such huge mistakes. Surely a Milwaukee can’t be so colossally stupid!
That’s not to say that the signings of Sabathia and Burnet and Teixeira are stupid. But the risk is pretty large. Ask yourself what are the chances that Teixeira will put in even close to eight full seasons. He’s a big fellow, he’ll be 29 in April and he’ll be playing the lion’s share of his contract years in his thirties, the last three years in his 35’s, so to speak.
Burnet’s getting 82.5 mill for 5 years and he’s already 32. Sabathia got better money, 7 years for 161 mill. He’s another big guy but he’s only 28 and he seems to throw effortlessly most of the time. The chances are pretty good, though, that all three free agents won’t finish their contracts in one piece.
To say the very least, the Yankees will be paying 3 or 4 times the Indians rate per win, and waaaay more than that for RBI’s. Ryan Garko, Cleveland’s first baseman, had 90 rbi’s in 2008 and 14 homers in 495 at bats. Teixeira averages over 100 ribbies per year and is a career .290 hitter. Garko makes about 420K. Their best player, Grady Sizemore, makes about 3 mill and their biggest bust is Travis Hafner, who only pulls down about 8 million.
What the big teams are really paying for is the surety of winning, the percentage chances of winning it all. That’s why the New York-Boston battle is so intriguing. Only God and the Yankees know what winning the title is really worth. It must exceed the marginal cost of these players, especially if you introduce the factor that these contracts are usually insured.
In the last ten years, big-market teams have made the World Series contests 12 times. But the little guys have made it 8 times, including Tampa Bay, Colorado, St Louis twice, Houston, Florida, Arizona and Atlanta.
Money alone won’t always make the difference. Holy Cow!
For me, two signings take precedence. Both of them relate to the Yanks recent finalization of their humongous contract with Mark Teixeira, the wunderkind first baseman, who of course got 22.5 million dollars per year for eight long years.
First, I’m very happy for Jason Giambi, who Teixeira is replacing. Jason landed back in Oakland, the team for which he built his formidable reputation as a hitter for both average and power. That Oakland legacy was enough to inspire the Yankees to sign Giambi seven years ago for record numbers.
Sadly for Jason and Yankees fans, that signing never really bore fruit in terms of World Series victories. The prevailing remembrances for most New Yorkers of Giambi’s New York service will be steroids and a fervent wish that the Yanks had kept Tino.
But for the true baseball aficionado, Jason Giambi was a potent presence in the Yanks lineup, more than capable of knocking one over the wall or, at the very least, to draw a base on balls after coaxing about ten more pitches out of their opponent’s starter. If he had any speed on the bases, or anywhere for that matter, Jason would have been even more valuable.
Giambi will be missed in New York, I suspect, much as Tino Martinez was before him. Not because Mark Teixeira can’t play the game, but just as a Yankees presence and overall good guy and teammate. Giambi was always affable with the media, too, even after some rough nights in the field.
But his gaffes in the field and his lack of speed on the base paths severely limited his overall value and suppressed his runs scored quite severely. Surely though, he was valued by his teammates and management as a hard-nosed player who wanted to win. But in hindsight, he surely was not the player the Yanks had envisioned.
The second signing I’ve been anxiously awaiting took place yesterday. That would be the Indians signing of a true Yankees disaster, Carl Pavano, probably the biggest mistake the Yankees, or any team for that matter, has ever made in free agency except perhaps for the Albert Belle fiasco.
Pavano was beset by injuries throughout the term of his 4-year $50 million contract with the Yanks and pitched just 26 starts in four years. That’s basically 2 mill per start. Even the Roger Clemens partial-year deal doesn’t compare in sheer magnitude of loss.
But what makes this deal most intriguing is its structure. It’s for one year only at 1.5 mill, but Carl can make as much as 5.3 mill with 18 starts, not a bad deal for anyone concerned really. What makes this even better is that Pavano may be pitching against the Yankees in the middle of April, at the new stadium, as the Indians third starter behind Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona.
Those two signings typify the risk involved for teams and players in free agency. It appears that only the major league players, like New York, Boston, Philly, LA…. can even contend for the really big earners, your Teixeiras and Mannys and Sabathias. Cleveland can’t compete for Sabathia or Burnet maybe but they can wind up picking up a potentially great pitcher for fair value.
If Pavano doesn’t make his starts number, he walks away with just 1.5 million. But, if he does win 15 or more games, and as he’s already undergone the arm surgery, his chances of doing just that are quite good, he’ll make, say, 5 million. That’s just 300K per win, and, figuring 25 starts, just 200k per start.
It’s good for the game that a team such as the Indians can still pick up a bargain and actually compete. And it’s just as good, if not better, that a team such as the Yankees or Boston can make such huge mistakes. Surely a Milwaukee can’t be so colossally stupid!
That’s not to say that the signings of Sabathia and Burnet and Teixeira are stupid. But the risk is pretty large. Ask yourself what are the chances that Teixeira will put in even close to eight full seasons. He’s a big fellow, he’ll be 29 in April and he’ll be playing the lion’s share of his contract years in his thirties, the last three years in his 35’s, so to speak.
Burnet’s getting 82.5 mill for 5 years and he’s already 32. Sabathia got better money, 7 years for 161 mill. He’s another big guy but he’s only 28 and he seems to throw effortlessly most of the time. The chances are pretty good, though, that all three free agents won’t finish their contracts in one piece.
To say the very least, the Yankees will be paying 3 or 4 times the Indians rate per win, and waaaay more than that for RBI’s. Ryan Garko, Cleveland’s first baseman, had 90 rbi’s in 2008 and 14 homers in 495 at bats. Teixeira averages over 100 ribbies per year and is a career .290 hitter. Garko makes about 420K. Their best player, Grady Sizemore, makes about 3 mill and their biggest bust is Travis Hafner, who only pulls down about 8 million.
What the big teams are really paying for is the surety of winning, the percentage chances of winning it all. That’s why the New York-Boston battle is so intriguing. Only God and the Yankees know what winning the title is really worth. It must exceed the marginal cost of these players, especially if you introduce the factor that these contracts are usually insured.
In the last ten years, big-market teams have made the World Series contests 12 times. But the little guys have made it 8 times, including Tampa Bay, Colorado, St Louis twice, Houston, Florida, Arizona and Atlanta.
Money alone won’t always make the difference. Holy Cow!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Ten Four ...Joba... Over?
Although I’m a Mets fan through and through, and would love to wax poetic today about Jerry Manuel’s relief-pitcher shuffling, or Jose Reyes’s diving stop on that hard line drive today to end the game, or even Beltran’s newly regained power at the plate, let me today turn my thoughts to those other locals, those Yankees, who, after all, have been written off by even their most loyal followers. But there is still hope.
Playing 2-4 baseball at home in their last six, losing all kinds of different ways over that stretch, and facing ten games in four different and distant cities in the next ten days, one might think the Yankees were done. I'm sure we've all heard it these last few days, "Stick a fork in 'em, they're done". Well, I'm here to tell you, it ain't necessarily so.
The Yanks are now 72-64; the Red Sox are at 79-57. Over in
If the Yanks can take the Tigers tomorrow in a makeup game in Detroit, then fly to Tampa and take two of three, then fly to Seattle and sweep, and then fly to LA, drive over to Anaheim and take 2 of 3 from their old nemeses Angels, they'll be at 80-66 in ten days.
The Red Sox seemingly have an easier time over the same ten days, traveling to only one city over this same time period to face the Texas Rangers. Sandwiching that series will be six at Fenway - three against the lowly Orioles but then three versus those
The Red Sox will then play 14, featuring
The Yanks would have just 13 games versus the Rays, White Sox, Orioles and Blue Jays. If the Yanks can go 10-3 over that stretch, they’ll be at 90-69 too. And they’d still have to take 2 out of 3 at
I won't bore you with the details of the schedules for the Twins and White Sox over the same time period but, after only a cursory inspection, it looks pretty easy for them But my point is that this game is baseball, and just go ask the Colorado Rockies what can happen in this strangest of national pastimes. Or the Mets for that matter.
The Twins and White Sox are, after all, just, well, the Twins and White Sox. It’s entirely possible for them to falter too. In fact, for the Twins, who have been doing rather well as of late, it’s almost a sure thing. So, for the purposes of this exercise, I’m assuming the Twins will fold and the White Sox will take the Central. The Twins, now at 77-60, would just have to lose 11 of their remaining 25 to finish at 91-71.
That may be a little too complicated for most people not totally obsessed by numbers and the vagaries of baseball. Let me simplify it for those folks. Remember me saying the Twins are the Twins? Well, the Yanks are the Yanks. But they have not really been the Yanks for most of this year. And they soon will be.
You can see that Hideki Matsui has rejoined the team after his knee problems. And, while he hasn’t been hitting for average yet, he’s already been knocking in some runs and you can see his affect on the team.
And Joba Chamberlain will be coming back too. But not as a starter, where he did not seem as formidable over five to seven innings as he did for just one. I must say that seeing Joba almost every day for just one inning beats seeing him for six or seven innings every five days. Just think of it, five amazing Joba sightings every single week. WOOHOO!
Arod showed some life yesterday and Giambi continued his little hot streak too. With Matsui back, the boys are all in line, so to speak, with the whole team back except for Posada. And the pitching hasn’t been that bad. Incredible as it may have seemed, Pavano was great in his two appearances, Ponson could have been a lot worse and Rasner is credible too. Mussina has been great. Pettite hasn’t been but there’s no reason he can’t come back to form either.
If the Red Sox were not showing signs of weakness, it would be a lot more difficult to predict a close finish. But really, they’re getting very little from Big Papi and they let Manny go. How long can they really expect Pedroia to go 10 for 10? How long before Youkilis reverts to the late-season Youkilis of old?
Beckett’s a little banged up too. The Red Sox are really not the Red Sox who won the World Series. And the Yankees could soon be the team that made the playoffs those thirteen years in a row.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
/>
