So many sports going on and almost no focus this Election Day. How can sports compare with today's Obama-McCain duel? Even with Obama seemingly firmly in control, one must only think back to Bush's surprise win, and his steal of Florida, to keep tonight's interest solidly on election results.
Not that there's nothing happening, especially on the New York sports scene. The Mets picked up Delgado's option, thank God, and are, by all accounts, avidly seeking Brian Fuentes, if not Francisco Rodriguez, to shore up their bullpen. Shore up may not really be the right term; an entire replacement might certainly be in order.
Then, of course, there are the NY Football Giants, yes, your favorite team (probably) and mine, the GEEEE-Men. Even after a decisive win over the Steelers, and then the Romo-less Cowboys, who looked pathetic on Sunday, all the news is about the misbehaving Plaxico Burress, whose production has been down and who has (gasp!) missed meetings and practices (as Iverson says "It's just practice, man").
And speaking of Iverson, you'll notice that the Pistons traded for Iverson, not Stephon Marbury, to replace Chauncey Billups in their backcourt. And a certain N.Y. Times sportswriter says the Knicks have to do something with Marbury. It's apparently more than his sensitivity can bear to see him sitting on the end of the bench, in shorts or in a snazzy 3-piece suit.
Life is crazy. It's always been crazy and seldom is it really fair. It's crazy that one of the Super Bowl heroes should get a nice contract extension and raise, and then seemingly lose all perspective, despite his teammates' pulling for him. But Burress will always be Burress, much as Manny has always been Manny. It can be painful to live with him, but it sure is nice to have him double-covered all the time.
It's crazy that one of the best Knicks guards should occupy the bench when lesser players run around not doing very much. But people make their own beds and Steph is on record as not willing to accept one penny less than the 21 million he has coming to him. And Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni is on record as wanting to play an up-tempo game with good defenders, hardly a Marbury forte.
You want crazy? How about the Browns benching their quarterback Derek Anderson for 2nd-year man Brady Quinn? Anderson's leading receiver, Braylon Edwards, drops more balls than he catches. His All-Star tight end is more concerned with staph infections, and their origins, than with playing. His defense can't stop the run (except, inexplicably, against the Giants) and two of his other potential receivers, Donte Stallworth and Joe Jurevicius, have been hurt. Not only that, but it's a short week, and the Browns need to play Denver on Thursday night. And a loss might kill this year's playoff chances for the Brownies. That's really crazy.
It’s crazy that the Pistons should trade possibly the single biggest reason for their success these last five years or so, point guard Chauncey Billups. Iverson certainly won’t take them over the top. I guess Iverson’s expiring 21 mill contract was a consideration, a huge one, but it certainly isn’t fair to Billups, or the rest of his teammates for that matter.
Of course, all this craziness pales in comparison to other more important considerations in our lives. Take the war in Iraq, for example. A pointless and unwinnable war, it killed and maimed our youth, drained our financial resources, weakened the dollar, and went a long way towards totally destroying our world image.
You want crazy? How about lending billions and billions of dollars to people who couldn’t possibly handle that kind of debt? And then bailing out these criminally-inept companies with our hard-earned money. And doing so without really consulting the populace; after all, we’re too stupid to understand the reasons and the consequences.
You want crazy? One of the questions on my ballot is whether we should take further action to make sure our legislators have to consult the public on any of their fantasy projects, not just some of them. The crooked politicians in New Jersey find a way around everything.
Crazy? How about paying huge site license fees for the right to purchase a seat to a Giants or Jets game? How about the folly of building a new stadium at all? None of these stadiums were really needed, not the Giants/Jets new un-named stadium, not the new Yankee Stadium, not the new Mets home(although it was time for Shea to bite the dust), and not the new arena in Newark that the Devils call home.
Crazy? How about a new stadium for the Rutgers football team? Don’t we have better things on which to spend our money? That this team plays totally forgettable football is not really the point. Who really asked for a new stadium?
Oh, and who can forget the Dallas Cowboys? Jerry Jones is getting a new stadium too, maybe the biggest of them all. Did he really need to take on a guy named Pac-Man? How was that helpful, except to make Terrell Owens look like Mr. Rogers in comparison? Backup quarterbacks? Not for Jerry. Surely, Brad Johnson and that other guy would be able to hold the fort.
Ah hell, I don’t care. Let Marbury stew on the end of the bench. Maybe he can chew on his money, or his contract, while he’s sitting there. Maybe he can contemplate the wisdom of getting himself an agent. I know he’ll enjoy watching Larry Brown come to town on Wednesday.
Play or sit Burress, I don’t care. Personally, I think the Giants would have a lot more trouble winning without him. It’s those long arms, and the speed, and the sticky fingers on those hands, and his teammates really do seem to like him. Is he an idiot? Probably, but I think he’s no crazier than Coughlin in the final analysis.
Yeah, life, it’s as crazy as the choices we have today.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Chase Utley - The Keystone Difference
Well, as I had predicted, it was the Phillies, but easier than I had thought, the Phils prevailing in five, not seven, games. But it couldn't have been more exciting. And today, as callers to the FAN's Mike Francesa discussed who the MVP of the Series should have been, nobody mentioned Chase Utley. And that's just plain wrong.
Just to recap, Cole Hamels was voted the MVP. He won Game 1 and was the starting pitcher in Game 5, that the Phils went on to win. But, as Francesa pointed out, he was really just 1-0 for the Series. And, as he reviewed the batting stats for Phillies in the Series, he basically said, "well, there really was nobody else".
Spoken like a Yankee fan. Yankee fans are all about home runs. That's all they know, except perhaps for batting average. Those were the categories Francesa reviewed. And I had to wonder whether he even watched the Series. He mentioned Carlos Ruiz, the Phils catcher, and he mentioned Howard's production in Game 4. He pointed out a few others and totally ignored Chase Utley, except to point out that he did make an excellent play in Game 5 when he faked a throw to first and threw a runner out at home.
What he neglected to point out was that that play kept the score tied. Utley had made the game-changing play and Francesa missed it totally. Fielding doesn't count to Yankees fans. Nor does running for that matter. And they love the designated hitter. Idiots.
I probably shouldn't let this bother me so much. After all, Utley was only 3 for 18 in the Series. But let's review. Utley scored five runs, walked five times, stole 3 bases and made the game-deciding fielding play in the final.
His 4 rbi's won two games, Game 1 and Game 3, which were both won by just one run. Of the four Phillies victories, I figure Utley was the key player in three of them. In the 10-2 laugher in Game 4, Utley really didn't do that much. But then, he didn't really have to.
In Game 1, the opener in Tampa Bay, when a tone needed to be set, if ever there was to be a tone, Utley stepped up to the plate in the first inning against the Rays top pitcher, Scott Kazmir and promptly smacked a two-run homer. Those two runs held up for the entire game until Ruiz plated the winning run on a ground ball late in the game.
In the pivotal Game 3, back in Philadelphia, Utley set the tone once again. He drove in Jimmy Rollins in the first inning and then he and Ryan Howard hit back to back solo homers in the bottom of the 6th to extend a 2-1 lead to 4-1. Those runs prevented the Rays from ever taking the lead when they came back in the 7th and 8th to tie the game.
Game 4 was the laugher, of course, the Phils winning it 10-2. But, before it was a laugher, Utley scored the run that extended a 1-0 lead to 2-0 in the third. And he was on base for Howard's drive in the Phillies 8th that ensured the Phillies win.
In the all-important Game 5, a game that had to be won lest the Series go back to Tampa, Utley followed Werth's walk in the first inning by getting hit with a pitch. He was therefore on base when Victorino singled both him and Werth home to take the critical 2-0 lead, once again in the first inning, once again helping to break the Rays back before things really even got started. The Rays would finally tie the game in the top of the sixth to make it 2-2, which, of course, allowed the game to be suspended, setting up its dramatic resumption.
Of course, in the resumed game, Jenkins and Werth put the Phils immediately ahead in the bottom of the sixth, and Utley struck out in that inning against the tough Rays lefty J.P. Howell. Things looked bad in the 7th after Baldelli's homer tied the game, only to be followed by still another Rays hit and a sacrifice that put the winning run on 2nd base in the person of the pesky Rays shortstop James Bartlett.
If Utley had been looking for an opportunity to change the momentum, he found it almost immediately. His counterpart at second base for the Rays, Akinori Iwamura, whose misplay of Werth's Texas Leaguer had put the Phils ahead an inning earlier, hit a hard ground ball to Utley's right. Utley, sensing that he had no play on the speedy Iwamura at first, nevertheless faked the throw to first, inducing Bartlett to break hard for home. Utley then made a very nice throw to Ruiz to nail the runner and end the inning still tied at 3-3.
Pat Burrell's double and then Pedro Feliz's single later put the Phillies ahead again, of course, and the Phillies wouldn't relinquish that lead. J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge made sure of that with some fine pitching.
But Utley tried his utmost to extend that Phillies lead once again in the eighth, drawing a walk off the tough Rays lefty reliever Price with two outs. Utley then stole second base to put himself in scoring position for Howard once again. That Howard struck out isn’t really the point. Utley put himself in position to make sure the Phillies would prevail.
There's no doubt in my mind that Utley played a key role in this Series. As did Ruiz and Werth and Howard and Feliz, and all those tough Phillies pitchers. But all those momentum swingers by Utley were hard to miss. Not to mention all those double plays that more often than not cut down the Rays tough B.J. Upton.
Second base is called the keystone for good reason. Chase Utley drove home that point. It was the keystone difference in this 2008 World Series.
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Just to recap, Cole Hamels was voted the MVP. He won Game 1 and was the starting pitcher in Game 5, that the Phils went on to win. But, as Francesa pointed out, he was really just 1-0 for the Series. And, as he reviewed the batting stats for Phillies in the Series, he basically said, "well, there really was nobody else".
Spoken like a Yankee fan. Yankee fans are all about home runs. That's all they know, except perhaps for batting average. Those were the categories Francesa reviewed. And I had to wonder whether he even watched the Series. He mentioned Carlos Ruiz, the Phils catcher, and he mentioned Howard's production in Game 4. He pointed out a few others and totally ignored Chase Utley, except to point out that he did make an excellent play in Game 5 when he faked a throw to first and threw a runner out at home.
What he neglected to point out was that that play kept the score tied. Utley had made the game-changing play and Francesa missed it totally. Fielding doesn't count to Yankees fans. Nor does running for that matter. And they love the designated hitter. Idiots.
I probably shouldn't let this bother me so much. After all, Utley was only 3 for 18 in the Series. But let's review. Utley scored five runs, walked five times, stole 3 bases and made the game-deciding fielding play in the final.
His 4 rbi's won two games, Game 1 and Game 3, which were both won by just one run. Of the four Phillies victories, I figure Utley was the key player in three of them. In the 10-2 laugher in Game 4, Utley really didn't do that much. But then, he didn't really have to.
In Game 1, the opener in Tampa Bay, when a tone needed to be set, if ever there was to be a tone, Utley stepped up to the plate in the first inning against the Rays top pitcher, Scott Kazmir and promptly smacked a two-run homer. Those two runs held up for the entire game until Ruiz plated the winning run on a ground ball late in the game.
In the pivotal Game 3, back in Philadelphia, Utley set the tone once again. He drove in Jimmy Rollins in the first inning and then he and Ryan Howard hit back to back solo homers in the bottom of the 6th to extend a 2-1 lead to 4-1. Those runs prevented the Rays from ever taking the lead when they came back in the 7th and 8th to tie the game.
Game 4 was the laugher, of course, the Phils winning it 10-2. But, before it was a laugher, Utley scored the run that extended a 1-0 lead to 2-0 in the third. And he was on base for Howard's drive in the Phillies 8th that ensured the Phillies win.
In the all-important Game 5, a game that had to be won lest the Series go back to Tampa, Utley followed Werth's walk in the first inning by getting hit with a pitch. He was therefore on base when Victorino singled both him and Werth home to take the critical 2-0 lead, once again in the first inning, once again helping to break the Rays back before things really even got started. The Rays would finally tie the game in the top of the sixth to make it 2-2, which, of course, allowed the game to be suspended, setting up its dramatic resumption.
Of course, in the resumed game, Jenkins and Werth put the Phils immediately ahead in the bottom of the sixth, and Utley struck out in that inning against the tough Rays lefty J.P. Howell. Things looked bad in the 7th after Baldelli's homer tied the game, only to be followed by still another Rays hit and a sacrifice that put the winning run on 2nd base in the person of the pesky Rays shortstop James Bartlett.
If Utley had been looking for an opportunity to change the momentum, he found it almost immediately. His counterpart at second base for the Rays, Akinori Iwamura, whose misplay of Werth's Texas Leaguer had put the Phils ahead an inning earlier, hit a hard ground ball to Utley's right. Utley, sensing that he had no play on the speedy Iwamura at first, nevertheless faked the throw to first, inducing Bartlett to break hard for home. Utley then made a very nice throw to Ruiz to nail the runner and end the inning still tied at 3-3.
Pat Burrell's double and then Pedro Feliz's single later put the Phillies ahead again, of course, and the Phillies wouldn't relinquish that lead. J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge made sure of that with some fine pitching.
But Utley tried his utmost to extend that Phillies lead once again in the eighth, drawing a walk off the tough Rays lefty reliever Price with two outs. Utley then stole second base to put himself in scoring position for Howard once again. That Howard struck out isn’t really the point. Utley put himself in position to make sure the Phillies would prevail.
There's no doubt in my mind that Utley played a key role in this Series. As did Ruiz and Werth and Howard and Feliz, and all those tough Phillies pitchers. But all those momentum swingers by Utley were hard to miss. Not to mention all those double plays that more often than not cut down the Rays tough B.J. Upton.
Second base is called the keystone for good reason. Chase Utley drove home that point. It was the keystone difference in this 2008 World Series.
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Monday, October 27, 2008
Red Hot Phillies May Only Need Five
Wow. What can you say? The Phillies continued their drive towards the World Championship last night by embarrassing the stumblin' bumblin' Rays in Game 4 by a score of 10-2 to take a 3-1 lead in the Series. After eking out just a 1-run victory in Game 3, it seemed the guys in the home reds might just finish these hotshot Rays in five games.
Over the weekend, the Phils hurlers Moyer and Blanton outdueled the Rays Garza and Sonnanstine while a little-known guy named Carlos Ruiz showed why he can be added to the list of nobodies to star in a World Series. And Ryan Howard showed everybody why he's Ryan Howard.
But last night it was all about Joe Blanton. He was friggin' magnificent. It's so good to see a guy come up big in the World Series. He not only pitches great, he hits a home run too. Now, this shouldn't have come as so much a surprise as it was. Joe had actually helped win 9 of the 13 games he pitched for the Phils since he was acquired from the A's in July. And any fantasy player knew how good he was.
But Joe was lost in the whoop-de-doo over the Rays starters and the Phils ace, Cole Hamels. And he was only the fourth starter behind Hamels and Myers and Jamie Moyer, who is about a hundred and three years old. So big Joe looked like he meant business last night as he pitched 6 strong innings for the NL Champs, surrendering just two solo home runs. Oh, and he cranked a low fastball over the fence in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-2 Phillies. The place became electric.
This self-proclaimed pundit thought it would be the Phillies in seven when this whole thing started. But I didn't count on Jamie Moyer coming up quite so large in Game 3. I figured that game for the Rays. And I thought either Myers or Blanton could come up big. But it seems like everything is going the Phillies way.
The Rays are having some trouble in the field as of late. When had that last happened to the sure-handed Rays? When they do make a play, the umpires miss it. But between Longoria and Iwamura, they've produced adventure to rival some Indiana Jones movie. And then Ryan Howard came to life with two dingers, and Jayson Werth came back to life too.
And then there's a guy like Carlos Ruiz behind the plate for the Phillies. Ruiz just took over a large part of this Series from Game 2 on. Just when the Rays have finished with the likes of Rollins, Utley, Werth and Howard, here comes Carlos Ruiz. It's really been kind of comical. The Phils catcher got the game-winning ground ball the other night and has been just a real pest since Game 2.
But, here's the funny part about baseball. The worm could turn at any time. Now the Rays are up against the wall. And the Phillies have been riding high. And , while the Phils have their ace Hamels going one more time, the Rays Scott Kazmir ain't exactly chopped liver. And, if the Rays get Game 5, it's back to that monstrosity of a ball field in Florida for Games Six and Seven. The Rays would like that.
Would they ever. Then it would be just a matter of winning two straight at home. With Shields and Garza on the mound. They would have to like their chances.
So the real key is tonight. If the Phils can't win this one tonight, they might have to wait another twenty years or so to win a World Series. Not that they can't beat Shields and Garza in Tampa but can guys like Moyer and Myers do it again? I don't even want to think about it.
But it would make this Series one for the ages rather than just a footnote in Red Sox history. In five games, it’ll just be the year the Rays shocked the world but fell apart against a veteran Phillies team. In seven games, it’s something else entirely, and maybe guys like Longoria and Upton and Pena make more of a mark on this Series.
<>If the Phillies really are a smart veteran team, they’ll realize that Game 5 might be the now or never game. They’re hot now and have the Rays on the run. Let the team that beat the Red Sox live one more day at their peril. <>
I’d still like the Phillies to win this thing, even if they do lose tonight. I sense that they’re a team that’s ready now. The Rays have too many excuses for a breakdown with that much youth on their squad, no matter who’s on the mound. And the Phillies do have Utley and Rolo and big Ryan Howard. And that little sparkplug of a Victorino whose “I Got It I Got IT I Got It” is the loudest in either league. <>
But for a New York fan, even a rabid National League and Mets fan, who’d like nothing better than a World Series victory for the team that knocked off his team, yesterday wasn’t all about the baseball. There was a whole lot of football being played in Pittsburgh by the defending champion Giants. And the Jets managed to play a bit more football than the lowly Chiefs.
As well as the Giants played down the stretch, I did see the single ugliest play I’ve ever seen by a secondary man in safety James Butler’s horrible coverage on Roethlisberger’s long pass to Nate Washington. Not only did he appear to just let his man run by him, but when he caught up, he pirouetted away from his man.
<>The Jets are just awful. But not as awful as a Herman Edwards team that ran three into the line when they desperately needed a first down. Count your blessings, Jets fans.
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Over the weekend, the Phils hurlers Moyer and Blanton outdueled the Rays Garza and Sonnanstine while a little-known guy named Carlos Ruiz showed why he can be added to the list of nobodies to star in a World Series. And Ryan Howard showed everybody why he's Ryan Howard.
But last night it was all about Joe Blanton. He was friggin' magnificent. It's so good to see a guy come up big in the World Series. He not only pitches great, he hits a home run too. Now, this shouldn't have come as so much a surprise as it was. Joe had actually helped win 9 of the 13 games he pitched for the Phils since he was acquired from the A's in July. And any fantasy player knew how good he was.
But Joe was lost in the whoop-de-doo over the Rays starters and the Phils ace, Cole Hamels. And he was only the fourth starter behind Hamels and Myers and Jamie Moyer, who is about a hundred and three years old. So big Joe looked like he meant business last night as he pitched 6 strong innings for the NL Champs, surrendering just two solo home runs. Oh, and he cranked a low fastball over the fence in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-2 Phillies. The place became electric.
This self-proclaimed pundit thought it would be the Phillies in seven when this whole thing started. But I didn't count on Jamie Moyer coming up quite so large in Game 3. I figured that game for the Rays. And I thought either Myers or Blanton could come up big. But it seems like everything is going the Phillies way.
The Rays are having some trouble in the field as of late. When had that last happened to the sure-handed Rays? When they do make a play, the umpires miss it. But between Longoria and Iwamura, they've produced adventure to rival some Indiana Jones movie. And then Ryan Howard came to life with two dingers, and Jayson Werth came back to life too.
And then there's a guy like Carlos Ruiz behind the plate for the Phillies. Ruiz just took over a large part of this Series from Game 2 on. Just when the Rays have finished with the likes of Rollins, Utley, Werth and Howard, here comes Carlos Ruiz. It's really been kind of comical. The Phils catcher got the game-winning ground ball the other night and has been just a real pest since Game 2.
But, here's the funny part about baseball. The worm could turn at any time. Now the Rays are up against the wall. And the Phillies have been riding high. And , while the Phils have their ace Hamels going one more time, the Rays Scott Kazmir ain't exactly chopped liver. And, if the Rays get Game 5, it's back to that monstrosity of a ball field in Florida for Games Six and Seven. The Rays would like that.
Would they ever. Then it would be just a matter of winning two straight at home. With Shields and Garza on the mound. They would have to like their chances.
So the real key is tonight. If the Phils can't win this one tonight, they might have to wait another twenty years or so to win a World Series. Not that they can't beat Shields and Garza in Tampa but can guys like Moyer and Myers do it again? I don't even want to think about it.
But it would make this Series one for the ages rather than just a footnote in Red Sox history. In five games, it’ll just be the year the Rays shocked the world but fell apart against a veteran Phillies team. In seven games, it’s something else entirely, and maybe guys like Longoria and Upton and Pena make more of a mark on this Series.
<>If the Phillies really are a smart veteran team, they’ll realize that Game 5 might be the now or never game. They’re hot now and have the Rays on the run. Let the team that beat the Red Sox live one more day at their peril. <>
I’d still like the Phillies to win this thing, even if they do lose tonight. I sense that they’re a team that’s ready now. The Rays have too many excuses for a breakdown with that much youth on their squad, no matter who’s on the mound. And the Phillies do have Utley and Rolo and big Ryan Howard. And that little sparkplug of a Victorino whose “I Got It I Got IT I Got It” is the loudest in either league. <>
But for a New York fan, even a rabid National League and Mets fan, who’d like nothing better than a World Series victory for the team that knocked off his team, yesterday wasn’t all about the baseball. There was a whole lot of football being played in Pittsburgh by the defending champion Giants. And the Jets managed to play a bit more football than the lowly Chiefs.
As well as the Giants played down the stretch, I did see the single ugliest play I’ve ever seen by a secondary man in safety James Butler’s horrible coverage on Roethlisberger’s long pass to Nate Washington. Not only did he appear to just let his man run by him, but when he caught up, he pirouetted away from his man.
<>The Jets are just awful. But not as awful as a Herman Edwards team that ran three into the line when they desperately needed a first down. Count your blessings, Jets fans.
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