“If there is a turning point to the season, this should be it.” Those were the prophetic words of Bernice Williams on Tuesday night after the Yankees railed for 13 runs off Travis Harper and the vaunted Tampa Bay Devil Rays. This prediction may not rank up there with the Chicago Tribune going out incorrectly with Dewey’s victory in 1948, but it sure isn’t far behind. Bernie, Bernie, Bernie – you should know better. Tuesday night wasn’t the turning point of anything and especially not this Yankee season of discontent. Tuesday night was an anomaly. A mere uptick on an EKG that is basically flat-lining. So what happened just 18 hours after Bernie made his astute observation? The Yanks went out and got punked again by that Tampa steamroller. This time, the blame fell at the feet of Careless Pavano who came inside and ended up getting knocked out in the seventh by some tomato can named Nick Green. As is typical for this staff, Pavano claimed afterward that he had great stuff but just made a couple bad pitches. Enough already. Careless is now 4-6 with an ERA of 4.6 and guess what Yankess fans – he isn’t even one-eighth of the way through that $40 million contract. Interestingly enough, after the game, Yankee PR Director Joe Torre said that a blister may have bothered Pavano, but Carl shut such talk down by saying “I don’t know what he is talking about.” Hey, he may not be able to pitch, but at least he scored a point for his honesty. So the beat goes on for the Bombers who suddenly find themselves unable to beat the hapless Rays, who have taken six of nine off the Yanks this year. To put that in perspective, the Yanks went 13-5 against Tampa last year. And that raises the question: if the Yanks can’t beat the bad teams in the league, what are they going to do against the good ones. Well, they better figure things out quickly because after this weekend’s series with the Mets, the Yanks don’t play a team with a losing record (as of today) until August 15. That is shaping up like a seven-week death march.
Brian Cashman must wake up every morning and thank god that he lives and works in the same city as Isiah Thomas. I say this because with Thomas around, Brian can rest at night knowing he is not the most incompetent general manager in the Big Apple. Here is Zeke’s latest move, as first reported by realgm.com. Isiah, having decided his team was flush with big men, has sent Kurt Thomas packing for Phoenix and in return, the Knicks will get Quentin Richardson. Quentin Richardson? This one is right in my sweet spot since I argued for much of last season that Q was one of the most over-rated players in the NBA. So what does Zeke do? He trades for him and in the process, gives up his toughest inside player. Here are some of the things you need to know about Q. He shot under 40 percent from the floor. Granted, this percentage is hindered by the fact that he launches so many threes, but at the end of the day, his percentage is still under forty percent. Now Q defenders will argue that on an adjusted basis, Q actually shoots close to 50 percent. This is true, but as long as we are breaking down the numbers, I would point out that Q almost never gets to the line. NEVER. His point per minutes numbers are certainly nothing to get excited about and more importantly, because he never gets to the line, his points per shot totals are just about the worst of any shooting guard in the league. So Zeke has brought in another one-dimensional long range gunner to go along with Jamal Crawford, who is another low percentage guy who sports a tiny point per shot total. And in an effort to build redundancy, Zeke ended up giving up a soft shooting big guy who could grab ten rebounds with one hand tied behind his back. Kurt also brings a nasty streak to the court and that will be sorely missed. I can’t wait to hear Zeke defend this one and point out what a joy it will be next year to watch that frontline of Mike Sweetney, Tim Thomas and Mo Taylor.
Staying with the Knicks, it was reported by the New York Daily News this morning that the NBA’s new CBA may contain a little clause that could help the Knicks finally dump Allen Houston and his horrific contract. This was classic Daily News – pumping a story because it was a scoop, but losing sight of the story’s actual importance. This is the deal – the News learned that the new CBA will allow NBA teams a little amnesty program where teams can cut one player off its roster and avoid paying any luxury tax on that player’s contract. So in Houston’s case, the Knicks will be able to cut him and avoid paying $40 million in luxury tax. Mind you, the Knicks would still have to honor the contract itself. The end result is the Knicks will cut Houston and save some money, but such outcomes will do nothing to help their dire salary cap situation. That is because if Houston is cut, his mammoth salary will still count against the cap so the Knicks will still be in salary cap hell. If you don’t read the News story closely, you might think this was not the case. Moreover, what difference does it make if Houston is on the team or not so long as his contract remains in place. At the end of the day, the Knicks stink and their salary commitments place them miles about the league’s cap. The new CBA and Houston’s departure will do nothing to ameliorate either of these problems. As far as I am concerned, the News story was hardly news.
So what else happened in Baseball last night? We’ll start in Cleveland where the Red Sox nailed down a real nice win, coming back three times before winning it in the ninth and completing the three-game sweep over the Tribe. Wade Miller was not terrific last night, but he kept the Sox in the game and the offense responded with some very clutch late-game hits. Alan Embree actually made a contribution last night by coming into the game and getting out of a bases loaded – no out- jam without giving up a run. Proving that all good things must end, Embree put two guys on in the seventh that both came into score. How long will it take for Theo to pull Everyday Eddie G out of Seattle? It feels like a Boston breakout is coming and its time for Theo to bring in some more armor to breach the gap. On the second base watch: Belhorn went 0-3 with two whiffs last night while Little Pedro (Dustin Pedroia) went 1-4 with a double in his first game at AAA. If this kid hits at Pawtucket like he has hit everywhere else (Tempa, Sarasota, Wilmington, Portland), he won’t be there too long. By the way, his Sun Devils are still alive in the CWS.
Out West the Angels took command of the division by completing the sweep over the Rangers. Kenny Rogers came out flat and got rocked for the second time in his last three outings. It was a brutal series for the Rangers who were outscored 19-7 and lost with their three best pitchers – Rogers, Young and Park They now find themselves 4.5 back which isn’t terrible but it does give the Angels some breathing room as they prepare to move forward without Steve Finley. I am not sure that injury is all that significant anyways since the Angels have proved to be pretty resilient. Hell, if they managed without Vlad for three weeks, they can easily get by without Mr. Finley, especially if Erstad remains warm. Elsewhere in the AL, the Twins got punked again and even though they scored some runs early today, it looks like this team just doesn’t have enough firepower to be consistently good. The top of the staff is solid and the bullpen is terrific, but where is all that production from Mauer and Morneau? Neither played yesterday and let me tell you, nobody is scared of a team that hits Torii Hunter cleanup. That guy hits sixth in a big time lineup. Baltimore’s lead in the East was trimmed to one when the birds came up empty against Pete Walker, a guy who hasn’t started since 2002. Melvin Mora missed the game with a strained hammy and if that injury lingers, this team is in real trouble. They have had a nice first half, but injuries are taking a toll and it feels like a swoon is coming. And speaking of poor cleanup hitters, what is Sammy still doing in the four hole? If I were Maz, I would flip him with Raffy and go righty-lefty-righty. On second thought, does it really matter?
Why is anyone throwing the ball to Andruw Jones right now? The Braves have no one in that lineup and Jones is just mashing the ball. He has nine bombs in his last 11 games and for some reason or another, guys keep throwing him strikes. Those must be mistakes because there is no way in the world that Johnny Estrada’s presence is forcing guys to throw strikes. When the Braves and Fish got together last night, it may have pitted the NL’s two worst leadoff men against each other. Both Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre have been staying at Motel Struggle this year although Furcal was able to scratch out a hit and a couple runs last night. For those of you asleep at the wheel – the Fish are now at .500 and are pulling up on the Yanks in the race for this year’s most disappointing team. Jason Schmidt sure knows how to hold an audition? Last night, Schmidt threw eight shutout innings with a number of scouts looking on. He has now had a couple of real solid starts and he therefore is no longer being shown out on the lawn of a rummage sale A couple weeks ago, a team probably could have had Schmidt for a bag of balls and some Ben Gay for Barry’s ailing knee. But who knows anymore. Giants GM Brian Sabean is probably going to hold out for good value now that Schmidt has proven he isn’t a total basket case. Here is my wild prediction: Sabean will hose the Yanks on Schmidt. The Yanks will give up Wang and get stuck with Schmidt’s ailing arm and $10M option in 06. Finally, we get to the Mets who lost a nail-biter down at the Little Lock Box in Philly last night. The Mets actually got a good performance out of Victor Zambrano, but that trusty bullpen could not keep the team in the game. Aaron Heilman certainly did not impress in his first appearance as a late innings guy. Has anyone noticed that Kenny Lofton is having a sick year for the Phils. He doesn’t have a ton of at bats, but he is hitting .380 and slugging almost .500. It stands to reason that the Yanks decided to let this guy go and are now looking for a centerfielder to take his place.
The clear leader in the race to win 2005’s worst signing is Eric Milton. Check out some of these factoids. Eric Milton has given up 25 bombs while walking only 24. That is not a reflection of Eric’s great control. Instead, it just shows that this guy simply can’t keep the ball in the park, whether it’s at home on the road. The other thing worth noting is that Milton is letting right-handers hit .335 and slug .650 against him. In essence, Milton turns every righty into a batting champion and silver slugger. At 3-9 and with an ERA of almost eight, this guy is an absolute meltdown waiting to happen. The word is that Cincy is already trying to dump this guy but good luck, nobody is taking that contract so long as Milton continues to throw BP.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
June 22 - Yank Glass is Half Full or Half Empty?
What should one make of the Yankees comeback win in the Bronx last night? On the one hand, digging oneself out from a buried grave and then mauling the grave-digger is an impressive move and that is just about what happened. Hey, how many times do you see a team come back from a 10-2 spot and then outscore its opponent 18-1. That is pretty crazy stuff. Of course, the Yankee press and PR Director Torre are seizing on the positive this morning, but things were not all rosy last night. Due to the comeback, people seem to forget that Big Unit Johnson got mauled like one of those guys on When Animals Attack. Here are the relevant numbers: 3 innings, eight hits, seven runs and three bombs allowed. But look on the bright side, he only walked one of the 18 batters he faced and he didn’t hit anyone. This is what Johnson had to say after the game: “My location was off considerably. Its just one of those things you put to bed.” Someone should put this guy to bed before he coughs up another mixed metaphor. I would give the Unit the award for top post-game comment if it weren’t for the fact that Bernice outdid him with this: “If there is a turning point to the season, this should be it.” Cmon Music Man – you have been playing the game for too long to say something so asinine. Since when do comebacks against the D Rays and big innings off guys like Eddie Nunez and Travis Harper qualify as pinnacle moments? Hitting three run walkoff bombs off Frankie Rodriguez is a moment. Coming back from a 6-2 ninth inning deficit against the Red Sox is a moment. Torturing poor Travis Harper may be violent and destined to be repeated on the Yankees state owned television network, but it is not a season-turning moment. Last point – what is it about Yankee fans that they love to see piling on. It seems nothing excites a Yankee fan more then a meaningless AROD shot in a game that was already laid to rest. Such moments are meant to be ignored – not applauded.
I loved Devil Ray manager Lou Pinella hanging Travis Harper out to dry last night after it was clear that the kid couldn’t keep anything in the ballpark. Everyone at the bar I was out was screaming for Lou to take Harper out, but what’s the point? Why go to another guy when you are down five and only need one more out to end the misery? So what if the kid will have nightmares for a week. What is a few nightmares for a twenty-nine year old who makes 750K a year? My problem is not with Pinella – it is with Harper. If that kid had any balls, he would have nailed Arod or Matsushi once the game got out of hand. At least that way if he wanted out, he would have been tossed. And once tossed, he should have taken a shot at Lou, much like Rex Dibble did 15 years ago. Something tells me that if Harper got something started with Lou, a couple of Devil Rays would have cheap shot their manager.
While I am taking Lou’s side on last night, I have a problem with his argument that he was sold a bill of goods to come to Tampa and ownership is not honoring the commitment they made. His word is that ownership agreed to spend $40 million to build a team and has reneged by spending less then thirty. So what? Message to Lou – whether its 30 or 40 – it doesn’t matter. You aren’t winning at either level. Do you think adding ten million in talent to this payroll is going to make a difference? Lou, $10 million doesn’t go too far – just ask the Yankees. $10 million equates to one good starting pitcher a very solid middle innings guy. Sure, such additions would help this club, but lets not go crazy and assume the only thing keeping this club from the playoffs is Carl Pavano’s 2005 salary. Lou is barking up the wrong tree if he wants my sympathy on this one. He should know better then anyone that a club needs to spend at least $60 million (bare minimum) to win consistently and that is assuming a great farm system and a real sharp GM is in charge.
On Sunday night, the Cleveland Indian pitching staff actually led the American League in ERA. So what has happened since? They gave up ten runs to Boston on Monday and another nine last night. As such, they are now in third, just a nose in front of Minnesota. Last night, Kevin Millwood played the gimp, giving up two bombs and five runs in six innings. The Sox got one jack from Manny and two more from Papi, while Bronson Arroyo came up with his second strong outing in a row. He seems to have much more action on his slider then he did three weeks ago. The big question for Boston will be what to do with Bronson when Curt Schilling returns. Arroyo is throwing better then Wade Miller, but he is probably more suited then Miller for bullpen work. With that said, is Bronson a possible solution to some of Boston’s bullpen woes? And for those of you keeping score at home, Mark Belhorn struck out two more times last night while Dustin Pedroia went 1-3 for Portland and is now hitting .324 and slugging over .500. How much longer is Theo going to keep that car in the garage? Another hundred AA at bats? [LATE BREAKING NEWS - DUSTIN HAS BEEN PROMOTED TO PAWTUCKET] Interesting factoid – the Sox moved to 40-30 with last night’s win – that is the same record they had in both 2004 and 2003 after 70 games.
It seems to me that Derrick Lowe used up about a decades worth of run support over the past three years in Boston. Last night, he was on the short end of a 2-1 loss at the Pet Store in a game that he gave up two runs over six innings. Lowe wasn’t great last night and hasn't been all season, but he probably deserves to be a bit better then 5-8. The Dodgers are just a mess right now, having lost eight straight .To make matters worse, Eric Gagne is headed for Tommy John surgery and Hee Sop has used up his yearly quota of bombs and its still June. The Padres continue to struggle offensively at the Pet Store and you have to wonder when Kevin Towers will do something about his hole at third. If I were Kevin, I’d call Cincy and check on Joe Randa and if he isn’t available, I might put in a call to Toronto to check on Shea Hillenbrand or Eric Hinske. To make matters worse for Los Madres, Phil Nevin was a late scratch and he could be out a while.
The White Sox did it again last night with their seventh straight win over Kansas City and Jon Garland is now 12-2 on the season. That is pretty shocking considering he has never won more then 12 games in his MLB career and he really doesn’t blow the ball past many batters. After all, guys are hitting .250 against him and his strikeout numbers are far from impressive. Nonetheless, he gives the Sox seven innings EVERY time he goes out there and stands a pretty good shot at winning twenty. That isn’t bad for a guy who many claim is Chicago’s fifth starter. What does that mean anyways? I will always maintain the “numbering” of pitchers is one of the most asinine things that fans and pundits debate. While the Sox keep winning, the Twinkies are suddenly sputtering as they lost again last night, this time to Jason Bonderman at the Motown Cathouse. Bonderman threw a complete game against a Twins team that is just getting nothing from the middle of its order. The Tigers meanwhile have climbed over .500 and that AL Central is no longer looking so tame. The Twins, meanwhile, no longer lead the AL wildcard race and with Chicago long gone, that is what they need to focus on.
There should be a s horror movie trilogy made about the Atlanta Braves because every time you think they are dead, they come storming back. Last night, Smoltz blanked Florida, while Andrew Jones clubbed another. I am no fan of Jones but he has come up huge during Atlanta’s time of need. Teams in the NL East should be warned – you better knock this team out over the next couple weeks because they should start getting healthy around the all-star break (Hampton and Chipper), assuming Tim Hudson’s injury doesn’t linger like it usually does. As for the Fish, ESPN’s Jayson Stark mentioned this morning that he thought manager Jack McKeown could be in some trouble. I agree wholeheartedly. This team was built to win now but it has disappointed in a big way. Sure, the bullpen is soft, but there is too much starting pitching there for the Fish to be just a game over .500. Elsewhere in the East, the Mets picked up a win they had to have, beating Brett Myers to a pulp down at the Lock Box in Philly. Krissie Benson wasn’t great for the Mets last night but for once, his offense came up with some juice. Beltran and Floyd both had a couple of knocks and even Minky got into it with a 350 foot jack. If I had a show and could interview Willie Randolph, my first question would be: What is so fucking hard about making out a lineup card that has Mike Piazza in the seven hole? The next question would be: How fucking hard is to just write Dave Wright’s name down on the line with a five in front of it? Listen, being a Sox fan, I have the market corned on living with bad managers, and I got to say I see a lot of potential in Willie. I have long thought Lee Mazilli was an idiot and now it looks like Willie may be one as well. If this is what you get from Torre’ Troops, the last thing I would ever do is hire Luis Sojo to be my manager.
While I agreed with Stark on the Florida managing situation, he also mentioned something today that I ardently reject. Stark came on the radio this mornig and tried to make a case for why some contenders would be interested in trading for Tom Glavine. Listen, I know why the Mets would love to part ways with Glavine, but I cannot buy any argument that suggests Glavine has value elsewhere. Stark’s basic premise is that Glavine is sure better then anything else reasonably priced on a market that includes such luminaries as Kip Wells. I disagree. I’d take Wells over Glavine at this point. Tommy G’s ERA is over five and he pitches at the best park in the country. That is not the kind of stuff a contender wants out there in big spots. Plus, if Tom throws another 100 plus innings, his 2006 option gets picked up at $10 million and 80 innings nets him $8 million. There is not a team in baseball that wants that commitment, including the Mets.
I loved Devil Ray manager Lou Pinella hanging Travis Harper out to dry last night after it was clear that the kid couldn’t keep anything in the ballpark. Everyone at the bar I was out was screaming for Lou to take Harper out, but what’s the point? Why go to another guy when you are down five and only need one more out to end the misery? So what if the kid will have nightmares for a week. What is a few nightmares for a twenty-nine year old who makes 750K a year? My problem is not with Pinella – it is with Harper. If that kid had any balls, he would have nailed Arod or Matsushi once the game got out of hand. At least that way if he wanted out, he would have been tossed. And once tossed, he should have taken a shot at Lou, much like Rex Dibble did 15 years ago. Something tells me that if Harper got something started with Lou, a couple of Devil Rays would have cheap shot their manager.
While I am taking Lou’s side on last night, I have a problem with his argument that he was sold a bill of goods to come to Tampa and ownership is not honoring the commitment they made. His word is that ownership agreed to spend $40 million to build a team and has reneged by spending less then thirty. So what? Message to Lou – whether its 30 or 40 – it doesn’t matter. You aren’t winning at either level. Do you think adding ten million in talent to this payroll is going to make a difference? Lou, $10 million doesn’t go too far – just ask the Yankees. $10 million equates to one good starting pitcher a very solid middle innings guy. Sure, such additions would help this club, but lets not go crazy and assume the only thing keeping this club from the playoffs is Carl Pavano’s 2005 salary. Lou is barking up the wrong tree if he wants my sympathy on this one. He should know better then anyone that a club needs to spend at least $60 million (bare minimum) to win consistently and that is assuming a great farm system and a real sharp GM is in charge.
On Sunday night, the Cleveland Indian pitching staff actually led the American League in ERA. So what has happened since? They gave up ten runs to Boston on Monday and another nine last night. As such, they are now in third, just a nose in front of Minnesota. Last night, Kevin Millwood played the gimp, giving up two bombs and five runs in six innings. The Sox got one jack from Manny and two more from Papi, while Bronson Arroyo came up with his second strong outing in a row. He seems to have much more action on his slider then he did three weeks ago. The big question for Boston will be what to do with Bronson when Curt Schilling returns. Arroyo is throwing better then Wade Miller, but he is probably more suited then Miller for bullpen work. With that said, is Bronson a possible solution to some of Boston’s bullpen woes? And for those of you keeping score at home, Mark Belhorn struck out two more times last night while Dustin Pedroia went 1-3 for Portland and is now hitting .324 and slugging over .500. How much longer is Theo going to keep that car in the garage? Another hundred AA at bats? [LATE BREAKING NEWS - DUSTIN HAS BEEN PROMOTED TO PAWTUCKET] Interesting factoid – the Sox moved to 40-30 with last night’s win – that is the same record they had in both 2004 and 2003 after 70 games.
It seems to me that Derrick Lowe used up about a decades worth of run support over the past three years in Boston. Last night, he was on the short end of a 2-1 loss at the Pet Store in a game that he gave up two runs over six innings. Lowe wasn’t great last night and hasn't been all season, but he probably deserves to be a bit better then 5-8. The Dodgers are just a mess right now, having lost eight straight .To make matters worse, Eric Gagne is headed for Tommy John surgery and Hee Sop has used up his yearly quota of bombs and its still June. The Padres continue to struggle offensively at the Pet Store and you have to wonder when Kevin Towers will do something about his hole at third. If I were Kevin, I’d call Cincy and check on Joe Randa and if he isn’t available, I might put in a call to Toronto to check on Shea Hillenbrand or Eric Hinske. To make matters worse for Los Madres, Phil Nevin was a late scratch and he could be out a while.
The White Sox did it again last night with their seventh straight win over Kansas City and Jon Garland is now 12-2 on the season. That is pretty shocking considering he has never won more then 12 games in his MLB career and he really doesn’t blow the ball past many batters. After all, guys are hitting .250 against him and his strikeout numbers are far from impressive. Nonetheless, he gives the Sox seven innings EVERY time he goes out there and stands a pretty good shot at winning twenty. That isn’t bad for a guy who many claim is Chicago’s fifth starter. What does that mean anyways? I will always maintain the “numbering” of pitchers is one of the most asinine things that fans and pundits debate. While the Sox keep winning, the Twinkies are suddenly sputtering as they lost again last night, this time to Jason Bonderman at the Motown Cathouse. Bonderman threw a complete game against a Twins team that is just getting nothing from the middle of its order. The Tigers meanwhile have climbed over .500 and that AL Central is no longer looking so tame. The Twins, meanwhile, no longer lead the AL wildcard race and with Chicago long gone, that is what they need to focus on.
There should be a s horror movie trilogy made about the Atlanta Braves because every time you think they are dead, they come storming back. Last night, Smoltz blanked Florida, while Andrew Jones clubbed another. I am no fan of Jones but he has come up huge during Atlanta’s time of need. Teams in the NL East should be warned – you better knock this team out over the next couple weeks because they should start getting healthy around the all-star break (Hampton and Chipper), assuming Tim Hudson’s injury doesn’t linger like it usually does. As for the Fish, ESPN’s Jayson Stark mentioned this morning that he thought manager Jack McKeown could be in some trouble. I agree wholeheartedly. This team was built to win now but it has disappointed in a big way. Sure, the bullpen is soft, but there is too much starting pitching there for the Fish to be just a game over .500. Elsewhere in the East, the Mets picked up a win they had to have, beating Brett Myers to a pulp down at the Lock Box in Philly. Krissie Benson wasn’t great for the Mets last night but for once, his offense came up with some juice. Beltran and Floyd both had a couple of knocks and even Minky got into it with a 350 foot jack. If I had a show and could interview Willie Randolph, my first question would be: What is so fucking hard about making out a lineup card that has Mike Piazza in the seven hole? The next question would be: How fucking hard is to just write Dave Wright’s name down on the line with a five in front of it? Listen, being a Sox fan, I have the market corned on living with bad managers, and I got to say I see a lot of potential in Willie. I have long thought Lee Mazilli was an idiot and now it looks like Willie may be one as well. If this is what you get from Torre’ Troops, the last thing I would ever do is hire Luis Sojo to be my manager.
While I agreed with Stark on the Florida managing situation, he also mentioned something today that I ardently reject. Stark came on the radio this mornig and tried to make a case for why some contenders would be interested in trading for Tom Glavine. Listen, I know why the Mets would love to part ways with Glavine, but I cannot buy any argument that suggests Glavine has value elsewhere. Stark’s basic premise is that Glavine is sure better then anything else reasonably priced on a market that includes such luminaries as Kip Wells. I disagree. I’d take Wells over Glavine at this point. Tommy G’s ERA is over five and he pitches at the best park in the country. That is not the kind of stuff a contender wants out there in big spots. Plus, if Tom throws another 100 plus innings, his 2006 option gets picked up at $10 million and 80 innings nets him $8 million. There is not a team in baseball that wants that commitment, including the Mets.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
June 21 - Nineteen is not Enough
It now appears that the NBA and its players association are nearing an agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which is good news for those eleven thousand remaining NBA fans around the country. That is the good news. The bad news is that as part of the new CBA, the NBA has decided on a new age limit restriction that is incredibly illoigical and poorly conceived. The new CBA, will reportedly require that a kid be nineteen years old before he is eligible to be drafted into the league. Hence, if you are not 19 on draft night, you have to wait another year. For most, this will mean they will not be eligible for selection until after their freshman year of college. For others who are born after late June, it will mean they have to sit out two basketball seasons before they are eligible for selection. If you ask me, this is a half-assed solution to a legitimate problem.
The problem, as the NBA sees it, is that many kids make themselves eligible for the draft and are not ready to playing the NBA. Some of these kids go undrafted and at that point, they have no options left since they forfeited their college eligibility. Others get drafted and become discipline problems while they are waiting their turn at the end of NBA benches. So what did the NBA do to address this situation? They basically enacted a one-year waiting period for prospective players. I am not sure what the league hopes to accomplish with this and it doesn’t seem to address a problem that is larger then what the league is ready to stipulate in public.
I say this because one of the major problems with the league is that it has turned off suburban whites. You can sugarcoat it all you want, but at the end of the day, the sport no longer has mass appeal, particularly in red states where people are quite easily offended by the young hip hoppers who are entering the league with very hard street edges. Guys like Allen Iverson may be terrific players, but their exterior is just too abrasive for wonder bread America. The result is television ratings have not been this low since Magic Johnson was playing high basketball in Flint and Larry was letting loose in French Lick. So how do you remediate this problem? Well, there is no perfect solution but one thing that has helped in the past is making these kids attend some college before they are thrust into the league and into the laps of America. While at school, these kids are forced to deal with campus life and in many cases, the experience dulls some of that previously mentioned street edge. As such, many kids come out of college much more polished and marketable to the public. If you don’t believe me, take a look at Pat Ewing in 1982 and compare him to Pat Ewing in 1985. The change was startling.
So back to the age limit policy. What does a one-year moratorium accomplish? Not much in my book. First of all, it puts the colleges in a bad spot. What coach wants to recruit and sign a player when he knows his school is just a temporary stop? Sure, these kids will still find spots, like Carmelo Anthony did, but that doesn’t mean the college game is helped but this new requirement. College basketball is at its best when there is continuity and this policy does nothing but foster upheavel. Moreover, it doesn't address the problem which is the socialization of these kids. Does anyone think that a single year on the campus of Louisville is going to turn a kid like Seb Telafir into a strip mall darling? It is ludicrous to think so, although I am sure that many out there think league policy should not aim to achieve such goals. I beg to differ.
At the very least, the league should have pushed for and secured a two season waiting period that does not get bogged down in the actual age of the player. Such a restriction would restore a bit more continuity to the college game and it would provide players with a second needed year of polish both on the court and in front of the public. This isn’t a perfect solution but it beats the one-year program that has reportedly been agreed upon. Moreover, a two-season delay would eliminate the inequity that is inherent in the nineteen-year limit now being negotiated. That limit would allow many players who are one year out of high school to join the NBA, but keep out those kids born after July 1. It seems a little capricious to kiss a kid born in May and fuck a kid born six weeks later. To correct this, the new policy should just say that a player is not eligible to be drafted for two basketball seasons.
If had my druthers, I would have gone for something more like baseball where a player is given the opportunity to enter immediately after high school, but if he goes to college, he can’t make himself eligible for the draft again until after his junior year. Such a program allows a handful of superstars to jump ship without any collegiate matriculation, but it keeps the rest in school long enough for them to gain a meaningful college experience. By the time basketball players have put in three years in college, their games will have improved, but more importantly, they will have lived with college kids long enough so that they are more palatable in red state living rooms. The league should have been shooting for such an outcome with its new age policy, but in this instance, the league’s shot from 20 clanked left.
They may have stopped the Tribe’s nine game winning streak, but the Boston Red Sox bullpen problem has reached critical proportions. Alan Embree came in with a four run lead last night and got torched again as Travis Hafner hit a two-run bomb into Lake Erie. This is what Embree had to say after the game: ''It was a tough at-bat," but I thought I threw the ball well. I felt better today than I have all year.” If that was his best, what was the worst? Following Embree’s abortion, Keith Foulke came in and got into the act by giving up another home run and a series of hard hit balls, the last of which Johnny Damon was able to run down to end the game. Despite the fact that the Sox won, this bullpen is in dire shape. Embree’s time is up and Foulke is clearly struggling with his location. At this point, the Sox must go out and find a lefty who can get at least a few guys out and then throw some dollars at first round pick Craig Hansen in order to get him ready for September. All indications are Hansen could help this year and at this rate, the Sox will need it. But rather then harp on only the negatives, it should be pointed out that the Sox offense is clicking. Manny has found his stroke and JD continues to prove he is the best leadoff hitter in baseball right now. You know things are going good for this offense when they find a way to hit a tough lefty like they did last night against C.C. Sabathia.
Those Yankee fans singing Jason Giambi’s song last week were noticeably silent last night as Giambolic struck out twice in key spots last night. For some reason, his forearm was wrapped last night and I couldn’t help thinking gthat it was to hide some recent injection marks. After all, is there any other explanation for last week’s big home run off Jose Mesa? Should the Yanks get a pass for losing to Casey “The Blade” Fossum last night? Some may argue yes since rookie Sean Henn was forced to start in place of Downtown Kevin Brown, but I would argue there is never an excuse to let the Blade throw seven scoreless. Isn’t the argument that Bernie heats up when it gets warm out? If that is the case, he should probably find a team that plays near the equator since 90-degree days in New York are obviously not doing the trick. Fortunately for the Yanks, the O’s got smoked up in Toronto in the opening game of the great avian war. Should it come as any surprise that Ted Lilly shut down another good offensive team? This guy is uncanny – he beats Boston, St. Louis and Baltimore but he can’t beat garbage like Oakland, Seattle and Houston.
Do the White Sox ever lose? They already have 47 wins and it looks like they can hit the half-mile pole with 54 or 55 wins. The scary thing about this team is Paul Konerko is now on fire. The Sox brought up 21 year-old phenom Brandon McCarthy to pitch last night but unfortunately for some fantasy speculators, the kid got tossed around in a Kansas city spin cycle. In a big AL West matchup, Paul Byrd completely shut down Texas out in Anaheim while Vlad knocked in four. The Angels are winning so it isn’t a big deal right now, but you have to wonder whether this team can go too far with Dallas McPherson in the lineup. He has no glove, he strikes out a ton and he sports a OPS of just .710. Plus, he is named for a city and that is just plain queer.
Jake Peavy was downright nasty last night, fanning thirteen during eight scoreless innings at the Pet Store. Brad Penny nearly matched him in one of the better pitching duels of the year. Since hitting all those bombs, last week, Hee Sop Choi is just 2-21. Elsewhere, Livan Hernandez picked up his tenth win for the Nats, while Jose Guillen clubbed two bombs. With the win, Washington now leads the East by three and they are not too far away from burying the Mets who find themselves 7.5 back and two games behind last year’s pedestrian pace. In New York, the sharks are circling Willie Randolph, who is bleeding and adrift at sea. In my mind, the criticism is justified because Willie remains committed to a plan that simply is not working. Willies big problem: he is more of a chaperone then manager. I love those pundits who mention the possibility that Todd Helton could be moved this year. Lets forget for a second that he has one of the worst contracts in the sport. Here is all you need to know: he is hitting just .250, and only .237 with three home runs away from Coors. Further, he is slugging under .200 against lefties. I am not sure Colorado could pay half his contract and still move him. This situation in Cincinnati is spinning out of control. You know it’s going to be a bad week in Southeastern Ohio when ace Aaron Harang loses on Monday. After all, once his turn passes, there is not much to look forward to in the River City. And finally, Greg Maddux won his 311th game last night with a win over the Brew Crew. Didn’t he win his 311th last year? Is it possible that he is going backwards?
The problem, as the NBA sees it, is that many kids make themselves eligible for the draft and are not ready to playing the NBA. Some of these kids go undrafted and at that point, they have no options left since they forfeited their college eligibility. Others get drafted and become discipline problems while they are waiting their turn at the end of NBA benches. So what did the NBA do to address this situation? They basically enacted a one-year waiting period for prospective players. I am not sure what the league hopes to accomplish with this and it doesn’t seem to address a problem that is larger then what the league is ready to stipulate in public.
I say this because one of the major problems with the league is that it has turned off suburban whites. You can sugarcoat it all you want, but at the end of the day, the sport no longer has mass appeal, particularly in red states where people are quite easily offended by the young hip hoppers who are entering the league with very hard street edges. Guys like Allen Iverson may be terrific players, but their exterior is just too abrasive for wonder bread America. The result is television ratings have not been this low since Magic Johnson was playing high basketball in Flint and Larry was letting loose in French Lick. So how do you remediate this problem? Well, there is no perfect solution but one thing that has helped in the past is making these kids attend some college before they are thrust into the league and into the laps of America. While at school, these kids are forced to deal with campus life and in many cases, the experience dulls some of that previously mentioned street edge. As such, many kids come out of college much more polished and marketable to the public. If you don’t believe me, take a look at Pat Ewing in 1982 and compare him to Pat Ewing in 1985. The change was startling.
So back to the age limit policy. What does a one-year moratorium accomplish? Not much in my book. First of all, it puts the colleges in a bad spot. What coach wants to recruit and sign a player when he knows his school is just a temporary stop? Sure, these kids will still find spots, like Carmelo Anthony did, but that doesn’t mean the college game is helped but this new requirement. College basketball is at its best when there is continuity and this policy does nothing but foster upheavel. Moreover, it doesn't address the problem which is the socialization of these kids. Does anyone think that a single year on the campus of Louisville is going to turn a kid like Seb Telafir into a strip mall darling? It is ludicrous to think so, although I am sure that many out there think league policy should not aim to achieve such goals. I beg to differ.
At the very least, the league should have pushed for and secured a two season waiting period that does not get bogged down in the actual age of the player. Such a restriction would restore a bit more continuity to the college game and it would provide players with a second needed year of polish both on the court and in front of the public. This isn’t a perfect solution but it beats the one-year program that has reportedly been agreed upon. Moreover, a two-season delay would eliminate the inequity that is inherent in the nineteen-year limit now being negotiated. That limit would allow many players who are one year out of high school to join the NBA, but keep out those kids born after July 1. It seems a little capricious to kiss a kid born in May and fuck a kid born six weeks later. To correct this, the new policy should just say that a player is not eligible to be drafted for two basketball seasons.
If had my druthers, I would have gone for something more like baseball where a player is given the opportunity to enter immediately after high school, but if he goes to college, he can’t make himself eligible for the draft again until after his junior year. Such a program allows a handful of superstars to jump ship without any collegiate matriculation, but it keeps the rest in school long enough for them to gain a meaningful college experience. By the time basketball players have put in three years in college, their games will have improved, but more importantly, they will have lived with college kids long enough so that they are more palatable in red state living rooms. The league should have been shooting for such an outcome with its new age policy, but in this instance, the league’s shot from 20 clanked left.
They may have stopped the Tribe’s nine game winning streak, but the Boston Red Sox bullpen problem has reached critical proportions. Alan Embree came in with a four run lead last night and got torched again as Travis Hafner hit a two-run bomb into Lake Erie. This is what Embree had to say after the game: ''It was a tough at-bat," but I thought I threw the ball well. I felt better today than I have all year.” If that was his best, what was the worst? Following Embree’s abortion, Keith Foulke came in and got into the act by giving up another home run and a series of hard hit balls, the last of which Johnny Damon was able to run down to end the game. Despite the fact that the Sox won, this bullpen is in dire shape. Embree’s time is up and Foulke is clearly struggling with his location. At this point, the Sox must go out and find a lefty who can get at least a few guys out and then throw some dollars at first round pick Craig Hansen in order to get him ready for September. All indications are Hansen could help this year and at this rate, the Sox will need it. But rather then harp on only the negatives, it should be pointed out that the Sox offense is clicking. Manny has found his stroke and JD continues to prove he is the best leadoff hitter in baseball right now. You know things are going good for this offense when they find a way to hit a tough lefty like they did last night against C.C. Sabathia.
Those Yankee fans singing Jason Giambi’s song last week were noticeably silent last night as Giambolic struck out twice in key spots last night. For some reason, his forearm was wrapped last night and I couldn’t help thinking gthat it was to hide some recent injection marks. After all, is there any other explanation for last week’s big home run off Jose Mesa? Should the Yanks get a pass for losing to Casey “The Blade” Fossum last night? Some may argue yes since rookie Sean Henn was forced to start in place of Downtown Kevin Brown, but I would argue there is never an excuse to let the Blade throw seven scoreless. Isn’t the argument that Bernie heats up when it gets warm out? If that is the case, he should probably find a team that plays near the equator since 90-degree days in New York are obviously not doing the trick. Fortunately for the Yanks, the O’s got smoked up in Toronto in the opening game of the great avian war. Should it come as any surprise that Ted Lilly shut down another good offensive team? This guy is uncanny – he beats Boston, St. Louis and Baltimore but he can’t beat garbage like Oakland, Seattle and Houston.
Do the White Sox ever lose? They already have 47 wins and it looks like they can hit the half-mile pole with 54 or 55 wins. The scary thing about this team is Paul Konerko is now on fire. The Sox brought up 21 year-old phenom Brandon McCarthy to pitch last night but unfortunately for some fantasy speculators, the kid got tossed around in a Kansas city spin cycle. In a big AL West matchup, Paul Byrd completely shut down Texas out in Anaheim while Vlad knocked in four. The Angels are winning so it isn’t a big deal right now, but you have to wonder whether this team can go too far with Dallas McPherson in the lineup. He has no glove, he strikes out a ton and he sports a OPS of just .710. Plus, he is named for a city and that is just plain queer.
Jake Peavy was downright nasty last night, fanning thirteen during eight scoreless innings at the Pet Store. Brad Penny nearly matched him in one of the better pitching duels of the year. Since hitting all those bombs, last week, Hee Sop Choi is just 2-21. Elsewhere, Livan Hernandez picked up his tenth win for the Nats, while Jose Guillen clubbed two bombs. With the win, Washington now leads the East by three and they are not too far away from burying the Mets who find themselves 7.5 back and two games behind last year’s pedestrian pace. In New York, the sharks are circling Willie Randolph, who is bleeding and adrift at sea. In my mind, the criticism is justified because Willie remains committed to a plan that simply is not working. Willies big problem: he is more of a chaperone then manager. I love those pundits who mention the possibility that Todd Helton could be moved this year. Lets forget for a second that he has one of the worst contracts in the sport. Here is all you need to know: he is hitting just .250, and only .237 with three home runs away from Coors. Further, he is slugging under .200 against lefties. I am not sure Colorado could pay half his contract and still move him. This situation in Cincinnati is spinning out of control. You know it’s going to be a bad week in Southeastern Ohio when ace Aaron Harang loses on Monday. After all, once his turn passes, there is not much to look forward to in the River City. And finally, Greg Maddux won his 311th game last night with a win over the Brew Crew. Didn’t he win his 311th last year? Is it possible that he is going backwards?
Monday, June 20, 2005
June 20 - Open Snore and Big Shot Bob
There are some pundits out this morning saying that this year’s US Open is an Instant Classic, but such pundits either have very short memories, little appreciation for past open’s or editors who won’t take sublime for an answer. This weekend’s open was simply not a classic. I am not going to sit here and say Michael Campbell’s win wasn’t a nice story and Reteif Goosen’s collapse wasn’t memorable, but can’t we just leave it at that. After all, how can you have a classic if the winner just needs to make six on 18. Sorry, what makes the US Open terrific is drama and we didn’t have a whole lot of it yesterday. Sure, Goosen’s collapse was a bit Shakespearean and Tiger’s charge (and eventual COLLAPSE) was a bit Hollywood, but this wasn’t a nail biter. Not even close. If you want nailbiters, go back to Congressional in 1997 where the four players in the final two groups were chasing each other all day. If you want drama, go back to last year where Phil and Reteif battled each other all day until Phil inexplicably lost his lunch on 17. And if that isn’t enough, try pulling out the tape from 1999 when Phil, Payne and Tiger went at it all afternoon at the Deuce. As for yesterday, the big moment happened at about 5:45 PM when Tiger made a birdie at 15 and Campbell responded with a splendid approach to 14. That doesn’t make for a classic. In fact, that doesn’t make for much at all. Opens are just not supposed to be decided before six o’clock on Fathers Day, and unfortunately, that is pretty what happened yesterday. Hell,.I like Campbell and I was glad to see him stand up to Tiger and face him down, but lets not go crazy here. It was nice to see the underdog come through, but for sheer drama, this year’s Open was a bit of a snooze.
Speaking of letdowns, Reteif Goosen attempted to corner the disappointment mark yesterday. What went wrong with the Goose? He didn’t merely crap himself. A 76 would have been crap. No, he took it to a whole new level of excrement. What the Goose pulled yesterday was totally historic. You just don’t see players with his skill, his experience and his cool blow up like that and throw away an Open Championship. The Shark’s legendary collapse at Augusta was probably worse since he led the entire field by seven lengths coming off the final turn, but Goosen’s 81 at the 05 Open is going to be remembered and lampooned for a long time. The big question I have is whether Goose can ever get his mystique back. I guess if he comes back next year and wins at Winged Foot, yesterday will be chalked up as an anomaly, and the mystique will be restored. But if he pulls this again at Winged Foot or Torrey Pines, he may become known as the guy who almost coughed one up at Southern Hills and may have just gotten lucky at Shinecock.
If you do it once, you are Rex Chapman. If you do it twice, you are in there with Steve Kerr. When you do it as many times as Robert Horry has done it in big NBA playoff games, you are in a club that only has one other totally exempt member. Horry’s legacy as perhaps the greatest role player in NBA history was secure well before he hit a monstrous three to win game five of the NBA Finals last night. But last night, Bob earned my vote for the Basketball hall of Fame. I agree with ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowher on this one: Bob Horry’s playoff exploits deserve to be immortalized at that ugly shrine up there in Springfield. There is now just too large a body of work to ignore and for those of you who point to Robert’s tame regular exploits as a reason for disbarment, I say go fuck yourself. If you missed last night’s game, you missed a classic and one of Horry’s best. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Bob was singlehandedly keeping his team in the game, nailing threes, driving hard and grabbing offensive rebounds. This guy is just uncanny. He is simply the second deadliest shooter in NBA Finals history. PERIOD. (Sorry Larry) For years now, Big Shot Bob has been nailing huge shots with NBA championship and semi-final games on the line. I don’t care that the guy sports modest career numbers. I don’t care that he hasn’t scored 20,000 points or collected 8000 rebounds. I don’t care that he hasn’t made many (any) all-star games. I don’t care that he has never averaged more then a dozen points a game. All I care is this guy is a specialist and his specialty is nailing threes when huge games are on the line. That is like specializing in hitting three run bombs in championship series when your team is a run down or hitting game winning field goals from fifty with the wind in your face. Bob Horry’s specialty is something worth memorializing. This guy is becoming synonymous with winning games in the NBA Finals like Whitey Ford became known for winning World Series games. This guy has just done it too much and for too long. Hell, if Adam Vinaterri is going into Canton for nailing all those kicks, I think we can clear some space for Bob in Springfield. And for those of you who say allowing Bob entry into Springfield would cheapen the honor, I say that honor was cheapened long ago. Hell, we trip over ourselves honoring longevity so why not honor brilliance for a change.
[Editors Note - Robert Horry stands no chance of being elected to the Hall of Fame.]
Following Jason Giambi’s walk off home run Wednesday night, I direly predicted the Yanks would go on a roll and look what happened. Four wins later, the Yanks are four games over .500 and headed into a cupcake series with the Devil rays. Could we be looking at a ten game winning streak by the time this club opens with the Mets on Friday? It is definitely possible, although a Senn Henn start could be a loss. Kevin Brown is now on the DL for the 28th time of his career which is a record for pitchers. Kerry Wood and Jaret Wright both have shots at that record, that is if either can ever get healthy. If the Yanks truly get ths turned around, the guys to blame are Jose Mesa, who gave up that charity to Giambolic, and that first base umpire who inexplicably gave the Yanks an extra out. I am not going to panic because the last time I checked, Carl Pavano, Tanyon and Tom Gordon still pitch for the Yanks and Bernie, Jason and Tino are still around, but things look a lot worse today then they did a week ago.
Does this Cleveland run have legs? Don’t look now, but the Tribe has won nine in a row after sweeping San Francisco, Colorado and Arizona. That isn’t exactly sweeping Murderers Row, the Gas House Gang, and the Big Red Machine, but a nine win streak is nothing to quibble with. These guys have pitched great of late although some of it is a bit misleading since San Diego can’t hit at home and Colorado can’t hit on the road. Nonetheless, the Tribe are back in the Central hunt with the Red Sox coming in for three this week. I am still not sold that a bullpen comprised of guys like Rhodes, Sauerbeck, Howry and Wickman can hold up. Riding these guys is like riding 10,000 mile Bridgestones for an extra 5,000 miles .Those beat up tires may last for a little while longer, but a blowout looms.
The Red Sox took two out of three this weekend off the Pirates, although Saturday’s loss exposed their short bullpen once again. Foulke seems to be improving, Timlin has been rock solid, and Mike Meyers has been effective, but the rest of that crew has been atrocious. Matt Mantei and John Halama are digging their own graves, while an order for Alan Embree’s oak coffin was placed Saturday night. Mantei is particularly hard to figure out - he has high octane gas and a solid hook yet there may not be a more hittable guy in the American League. With that bullpen a mess, Theo may have to give first round pick Craig Hansen his dough in order to have him available by September. On the plus side for Boston, Billy Mueller is white hot, while Kevin Millar is finding his stroke. It comes at an important time for the Sox who play 16 of their next 19 against winning teams. 12-7 is probably a stretch, but I’d love 11-8 and could live with 10-9.
Both the Mets and the Dodgers had miserable weeks as LA dropped six at KC and Comisky, while the Mets took five body blows out West in Oakland and Seattle. The Dodgers lost two late inning leads this weekend and they now find themselves two games under .500 as they head into a series with Los Madres this week. You take that hot start away from LA and they are basically Houston. With all those injuries, its hard to see this team hanging tough. And what the hell is Jeff Weaver doing complaining about lack of run support - his ERA is close to five. The 2nd Armored Division would have trouble giving him the firepower he needs. The Mets, meanwhile, are starting to look a little like the 2004 Mets. You know things are bad when Pedro Martinez actually loses a game to Seattle - a franchise which has been his little bitch since 1998. Petey was something like 14-0 against the Mariners going into Saturday night, but the M’s evidently got tired of playing the submissive. I am not sure what the Mets can do at this point, but dumping Kaz Ishii is a given and perhaps its time to trade Mike Cameron and begin thinking about 2006. I think it’s a forgone conclusion at this point that the Mets are not going to let Glavine pitch enough to guarantee that 2006 contract. I think I could make a few bucks around Shea selling shirts that say "Free Aaron."
The Twins suddenly look pretty ordinary while the White sox just may put away the AL Central by Mid-August. This weekend, the Twins lost another series to a team from the pitiful NL West, which makes it three series in a row. Mr. Santana was the loser yesterday and for some reason, he is having trouble keeping the ball in play at the Metrodome. He is still fanning people all over the place, but he has given up 10 bombs at home and only two away. Another problem for Minnesota has been Brad Radke who has had a miserable month and may miss his next start with a neck injury. While the Twinkies have been lethargic, the White Sox keep chugging along. Its unlikely the Sox will get a single everyday player on the all-star team, but pitchers Jon Garland, Mark Buehrle, Dustin Hermanson and Cliff Politte all stand a decent shot to be selected. Politte, in particular, has been spectacular. The guy is 5-0 with seven holds while striking out 30 in 27 innings. Oh, by the way, he hasn’t given up a bomb since Matt Stairs tagged him in April. He is so far from himself that it would take an Eric Milton type second half for him to truly revert back to his historical norm. If Chicago weren’t hot enough, they now get Kansas City for three. That would have sounded cushier three weeks ago but since Buddy Bell has taken over, the Royals are 12-6 with sweeps over both the Yanks and the Dodgers. Bell took over when the Royals were 13-37. I say give him manager of the year if he can somehow coax 70 wins out of this horrific club. That would leave Bell’s Royals at 57-58. I don’t think Ozzie has anything to worry about.
There has been an awful lot of talk this year about how the Yanks made a huge mistake letting Jon Lieber go and I tend to agree that it was a mistake, but it is not as though Lieber is having any kind of year whatsoever. He does have eight wins, but that 4.6 ERA is not exactly mint. And while its true he has been hammered at that bandbox in Philly, it is not as if he has been Steve Carlton on the road. Part of Lieber’s problem is lefties are killing him and that wouldn’t have served the Yanks well against Boston’s southpaws.
Speaking of letdowns, Reteif Goosen attempted to corner the disappointment mark yesterday. What went wrong with the Goose? He didn’t merely crap himself. A 76 would have been crap. No, he took it to a whole new level of excrement. What the Goose pulled yesterday was totally historic. You just don’t see players with his skill, his experience and his cool blow up like that and throw away an Open Championship. The Shark’s legendary collapse at Augusta was probably worse since he led the entire field by seven lengths coming off the final turn, but Goosen’s 81 at the 05 Open is going to be remembered and lampooned for a long time. The big question I have is whether Goose can ever get his mystique back. I guess if he comes back next year and wins at Winged Foot, yesterday will be chalked up as an anomaly, and the mystique will be restored. But if he pulls this again at Winged Foot or Torrey Pines, he may become known as the guy who almost coughed one up at Southern Hills and may have just gotten lucky at Shinecock.
If you do it once, you are Rex Chapman. If you do it twice, you are in there with Steve Kerr. When you do it as many times as Robert Horry has done it in big NBA playoff games, you are in a club that only has one other totally exempt member. Horry’s legacy as perhaps the greatest role player in NBA history was secure well before he hit a monstrous three to win game five of the NBA Finals last night. But last night, Bob earned my vote for the Basketball hall of Fame. I agree with ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowher on this one: Bob Horry’s playoff exploits deserve to be immortalized at that ugly shrine up there in Springfield. There is now just too large a body of work to ignore and for those of you who point to Robert’s tame regular exploits as a reason for disbarment, I say go fuck yourself. If you missed last night’s game, you missed a classic and one of Horry’s best. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Bob was singlehandedly keeping his team in the game, nailing threes, driving hard and grabbing offensive rebounds. This guy is just uncanny. He is simply the second deadliest shooter in NBA Finals history. PERIOD. (Sorry Larry) For years now, Big Shot Bob has been nailing huge shots with NBA championship and semi-final games on the line. I don’t care that the guy sports modest career numbers. I don’t care that he hasn’t scored 20,000 points or collected 8000 rebounds. I don’t care that he hasn’t made many (any) all-star games. I don’t care that he has never averaged more then a dozen points a game. All I care is this guy is a specialist and his specialty is nailing threes when huge games are on the line. That is like specializing in hitting three run bombs in championship series when your team is a run down or hitting game winning field goals from fifty with the wind in your face. Bob Horry’s specialty is something worth memorializing. This guy is becoming synonymous with winning games in the NBA Finals like Whitey Ford became known for winning World Series games. This guy has just done it too much and for too long. Hell, if Adam Vinaterri is going into Canton for nailing all those kicks, I think we can clear some space for Bob in Springfield. And for those of you who say allowing Bob entry into Springfield would cheapen the honor, I say that honor was cheapened long ago. Hell, we trip over ourselves honoring longevity so why not honor brilliance for a change.
[Editors Note - Robert Horry stands no chance of being elected to the Hall of Fame.]
Following Jason Giambi’s walk off home run Wednesday night, I direly predicted the Yanks would go on a roll and look what happened. Four wins later, the Yanks are four games over .500 and headed into a cupcake series with the Devil rays. Could we be looking at a ten game winning streak by the time this club opens with the Mets on Friday? It is definitely possible, although a Senn Henn start could be a loss. Kevin Brown is now on the DL for the 28th time of his career which is a record for pitchers. Kerry Wood and Jaret Wright both have shots at that record, that is if either can ever get healthy. If the Yanks truly get ths turned around, the guys to blame are Jose Mesa, who gave up that charity to Giambolic, and that first base umpire who inexplicably gave the Yanks an extra out. I am not going to panic because the last time I checked, Carl Pavano, Tanyon and Tom Gordon still pitch for the Yanks and Bernie, Jason and Tino are still around, but things look a lot worse today then they did a week ago.
Does this Cleveland run have legs? Don’t look now, but the Tribe has won nine in a row after sweeping San Francisco, Colorado and Arizona. That isn’t exactly sweeping Murderers Row, the Gas House Gang, and the Big Red Machine, but a nine win streak is nothing to quibble with. These guys have pitched great of late although some of it is a bit misleading since San Diego can’t hit at home and Colorado can’t hit on the road. Nonetheless, the Tribe are back in the Central hunt with the Red Sox coming in for three this week. I am still not sold that a bullpen comprised of guys like Rhodes, Sauerbeck, Howry and Wickman can hold up. Riding these guys is like riding 10,000 mile Bridgestones for an extra 5,000 miles .Those beat up tires may last for a little while longer, but a blowout looms.
The Red Sox took two out of three this weekend off the Pirates, although Saturday’s loss exposed their short bullpen once again. Foulke seems to be improving, Timlin has been rock solid, and Mike Meyers has been effective, but the rest of that crew has been atrocious. Matt Mantei and John Halama are digging their own graves, while an order for Alan Embree’s oak coffin was placed Saturday night. Mantei is particularly hard to figure out - he has high octane gas and a solid hook yet there may not be a more hittable guy in the American League. With that bullpen a mess, Theo may have to give first round pick Craig Hansen his dough in order to have him available by September. On the plus side for Boston, Billy Mueller is white hot, while Kevin Millar is finding his stroke. It comes at an important time for the Sox who play 16 of their next 19 against winning teams. 12-7 is probably a stretch, but I’d love 11-8 and could live with 10-9.
Both the Mets and the Dodgers had miserable weeks as LA dropped six at KC and Comisky, while the Mets took five body blows out West in Oakland and Seattle. The Dodgers lost two late inning leads this weekend and they now find themselves two games under .500 as they head into a series with Los Madres this week. You take that hot start away from LA and they are basically Houston. With all those injuries, its hard to see this team hanging tough. And what the hell is Jeff Weaver doing complaining about lack of run support - his ERA is close to five. The 2nd Armored Division would have trouble giving him the firepower he needs. The Mets, meanwhile, are starting to look a little like the 2004 Mets. You know things are bad when Pedro Martinez actually loses a game to Seattle - a franchise which has been his little bitch since 1998. Petey was something like 14-0 against the Mariners going into Saturday night, but the M’s evidently got tired of playing the submissive. I am not sure what the Mets can do at this point, but dumping Kaz Ishii is a given and perhaps its time to trade Mike Cameron and begin thinking about 2006. I think it’s a forgone conclusion at this point that the Mets are not going to let Glavine pitch enough to guarantee that 2006 contract. I think I could make a few bucks around Shea selling shirts that say "Free Aaron."
The Twins suddenly look pretty ordinary while the White sox just may put away the AL Central by Mid-August. This weekend, the Twins lost another series to a team from the pitiful NL West, which makes it three series in a row. Mr. Santana was the loser yesterday and for some reason, he is having trouble keeping the ball in play at the Metrodome. He is still fanning people all over the place, but he has given up 10 bombs at home and only two away. Another problem for Minnesota has been Brad Radke who has had a miserable month and may miss his next start with a neck injury. While the Twinkies have been lethargic, the White Sox keep chugging along. Its unlikely the Sox will get a single everyday player on the all-star team, but pitchers Jon Garland, Mark Buehrle, Dustin Hermanson and Cliff Politte all stand a decent shot to be selected. Politte, in particular, has been spectacular. The guy is 5-0 with seven holds while striking out 30 in 27 innings. Oh, by the way, he hasn’t given up a bomb since Matt Stairs tagged him in April. He is so far from himself that it would take an Eric Milton type second half for him to truly revert back to his historical norm. If Chicago weren’t hot enough, they now get Kansas City for three. That would have sounded cushier three weeks ago but since Buddy Bell has taken over, the Royals are 12-6 with sweeps over both the Yanks and the Dodgers. Bell took over when the Royals were 13-37. I say give him manager of the year if he can somehow coax 70 wins out of this horrific club. That would leave Bell’s Royals at 57-58. I don’t think Ozzie has anything to worry about.
There has been an awful lot of talk this year about how the Yanks made a huge mistake letting Jon Lieber go and I tend to agree that it was a mistake, but it is not as though Lieber is having any kind of year whatsoever. He does have eight wins, but that 4.6 ERA is not exactly mint. And while its true he has been hammered at that bandbox in Philly, it is not as if he has been Steve Carlton on the road. Part of Lieber’s problem is lefties are killing him and that wouldn’t have served the Yanks well against Boston’s southpaws.
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