Some Independence Day thoughts:
Is Richard Scrushy insane? The recently acquitted looter of HealthSouth is now asking the company’s board to reinstate him as CEO. This is a bit like O.J. Simpson asking Avis for his job back or Robert Blake asking CBS to cast him in Baretta Returns. Hey Dick, just because some crackers down in Birmingham let you slide, doesn't mean you are innocent. The Justice Department really screwed this one up since trying Scrushy in Alabama is a bit trying a Nazi in Munich. Heck, if Himmler had been tried at the Berchtasgarden for war crimes, he would have walked on every major count except slander. Sometimes these prosecutors jsut refuse to acknowledge that there is something called a home court advantage in things other then sport. With that said, god help Chuck Dolan if he is ever caught stealing from Cablevision because there is not a jury in his home town of New York City that would shy away from locking that clown up for life.
Kudos are in order for whoever said they were surprised the Portland Trailblazers didn't select Baylor outside shooter Carlton Dotson. That is good stuff.
Here is a quote from Yankee President Randy Levine regarding Gary Sheffield: “We APPLAUD Gary Sheffield for appealing this [suspension]” What the hell is this – the House of Representatives where words like applaud and commend are tossed around like sea bass at a Seattle fish market. Take it easy Randy – Gary’s pro forma decision to appeal his two-game suspension was not exactly heroic. In fact, it is just about as routine as those fly balls that Bernie has made a habit of dropping. Just imagine what Randy what have said if Gary have rescued a cat from a tree. "Today, Gary Sheffield performed an act of heroism that makes everyone in this organization proud. If it weren't for Gary's selfless act in the face of great danger, we may have lost Whiskey for good."
Speaking of suspensions – Steve Kline was outraged the league gave him a four game hook for arguing a balk early this week. “It’s a joke, I’ve seen worse then what I did.” Yeah, so have I but guests on Springer don't count. Steve totally flipped out the other night over something that was correctly called. If I were Bud Selig, I would give him a fifth game for ignorance and invited him to appear on the next MLB installment of "When Ballplayers Attack."
I love this little brouhaha going on between the Yanks and the Mets over who approached who about trading Gary Sheffield. The Yankees are obviously going out of their way to convince their sophomoric star that the Mets conceived the trade while the Mets are telling the New York Post that it was the Yankees who got this whole ball rolling. Listen, I am not sure who started this whole thing but both side’s motives are clear. For the Yankees, the last thing they want to do is let Sheffield think they don’t want him. Once that happens, its game over – the Yanks will have the most insufferable player in baseball starting in right field. If you think he is a butcher out there now – just wait until he starts dogging it. Meanwhile, the Mets are clearly trying to convince New Yorkers that the Yankees are the desperate soul at this dance. Tired of being portrayed as the ugly bitch, the Mets are trying to paint the Yanks as the ones who came with hat in hand. The one thing I really like about this story is the Post not letting it die simply because the Yankees said it was over. Its odd, but these press savvy guys in the Bronx just don’t understand that reporters don’t like being told they are wrong – especially when they are right.
Texas was right on the verge of being knocked out of the AL West this week before they rallied to beat the Angels on Wednesday and Thursday. Alfonso Soriano had gone 1-22 in the previous five games against the Angles, but he perked up by going 5-11 in the Rangers two big wins this week. Mark Texiera had a huge month for Texas – Slugging .611 with nine bombs and 29 RBI. He should not only start the all-star game but he should play all nine innings.
ESPN came out with their ridiculous ESPY award nominations this week and it got me wondering how in the world they did not nominate the beach volleyball tandem of Misty May and Kerri Walsh in the best team category? Over the past two years, Maya and Walsh have won 19 of the 26 professional tournaments they entered. Oh yea, they also won an Olympic gold medal. They may not have punked the Steelers or come back from a three game to zero deficit against the Yankess, but they, along with the U.S. Women’s softball team, were probably the most dominant teams in sport last year. So why am I not marketing the softball team for a nomination. Simple - I would rather look at Walsh then Lisa Fernandez and that 225 pound slugger who played third base for Team USA.
The Arizona Diamond Backs are doing a great job right now of proving April was a fluke. By losing last night, the rattlers finished June at a not so pretty 9-19. One problem for Arizona has been starting pitching, which aside from Brandon Webb, has been downright lousy. Jay Vasquuez, in particular, had a miserable June, posting an ERA over six. He gave up ten or more hits on three occasions over the past month. Imagine where this team would be without super-sub Tony Clark. He may finish the first half with 50 RBI in less then 175 at bats. That extrapolates out to a 150 RBI year with a full complement of plate appearances. That isn’t too bad for a guy who I thought should be teaching sixth grade.
It is pretty hard to imagine of any player in baseball who had a worse month than Dodger Cesar Izturis. Take a look at these numbers. Cesar hit just .105 in June while slugging a geriatric .116. Further, he was 9-86 with zero RBI, one double and just five runs scored. Both Dennis Kozlowski and Iranian Reformists had better months then Cesar.
Carlos Lee is my NL player of the month – He hit .377 with 10 bombs and 28 RBI. The General gets the nod over Chad Cordero who seemed to earn a save every night last month. Let the record show that Cordero had 15 saves in June – throwing 16 innings without giving up a single run. If George Bush were smart, he would hightail it down to RFK and hire Chad to save his Social Security reform effort before it goes down the toilet. On second thought, that can’t work since you can’t save a game you trail 16-3.
The Oakland A’s have got it going right now as they open a big three game series with Chicago tonight. They went 19-8 in June and in the process, they have climbed their way back into the wildcard hunt. Harden is a good for a win tonight and it will be interesting to see if they can get one off either Garland or Buehrle on Saturday and Sunday. Danny Haren probably wishes June had 40 days since he had a perfect 5-0 month. Over the last 11 games – Oakland starters are 10-0 with an ERA around 1.50. Since when did this staff become the 1963 Dodgers?
You think the Yankees are still pining for Jon Lieber? The Gas Can is now just 8-8 with an ERA over five after getting knocked around yesterday at Shea. He certainly has been a victim of that rat hole they call Citizen Bank Park, but he has not exactly been a road warrior either. Since April, Lieber has simply been Milton-esque.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
June 28 - Prickie V's Draft Day Dodge
Dick “the Prick” Vitale is in mid-season form and we are still six months away from the start of conference play. Lest you missed it this moring, and I am sure you did, Dick was asked to give his “winners and losers” assessment of the NBA draft. So on the winner’s side, he listed seven teams – Charlotte, New Orleans, Minnesota, Utah, Boston, New York and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, on the loser’s side, he singled out only Toronto as a franchise that had its head up its own ass. Oh yea, he did mention three other clubs as losers, but they only showed up on this side of the ledger because they didn’t have picks. Prickie Veee really went out on the limb with that one. As expected, the Godfather of Crap once again refused to criticize anyone in his fraternity and went out of his way to congratulate all those who selected players from UNC. So according to Dick, everyone wins on draft night except those who don’t have invites. That is some party. It is almost as if this were a senior prom and the only kid who didnt get laid was the fat Canadian kid. When it comes to the draft, there simply are no bad picks as far as Prick is concerned - just like there are no bad point guards in the ACC and no bad coaches roaming the sidelines in the Big 12. Aside from jumping on Toronto a bit for selecting Charlie Villanueva and being a bit tepid on some of the foreign selections, Dickie V was all sunshine on the morning after. This is standard fare for a guy who will receive half his pension from the Grand Optimists Club of America. I have said it once and I will say it again – it is disgraceful that a guy born without a skeptical bone in his body is paid to offer analytic insight.
That was an absolute car wreck in Boston last night as Mike Timlin and Keith Foulke were unable to protect an 8-5 eighth inning lead. Timlin was bad, but Foulke was downright horrific as he gave up five ninth inning runs to seal Boston’s fate. I am not sure what happened over the off-season, but Keith Foulke is not the same guy who pitched brilliantly for the Sox at the end of last season. His velocity is down and he hits his spots about as often as a general speaks candidly with the press. There is some talk that his knee is bothering him but who cares at this point since his ERA in save opportunities is in double digits. At this point, Terry Francona and GM Theo Epstein have to consider looking at other alternatives since this bullpen just cannot get to the finish line without a large cushion, and even that wasn’t good enough last night. So where can the Sox turn? Well, with Curt Schilling coming back, Bronson Arroyo could be headed to the pen and that could help, especially against tough righties, but I don’t think BA is ready to close. Cla Merideth has been decent at AAA (22Ks in 21 IP, but an ERA close to three), but his first shot at the majors was not good and its tough to see a rookie closing games in Boston. With the internal options being poor, the Sox need to start looking for an import and I suggest Theo does what it takes to pry Eddie Guardado from the Mariners. The M’s are clearly going to be sellers and the Egg Man – EG for short - would be a perfect replacement for Alan Embree. Moreover, Everyday Eddie could probably close and that is probably what will be needed given Foulke’s problems. If they can get Guardado and pair him with Timlin and Arroyo, the Sox could be back in business. Until that time, no lead is safe when the Sox are on the field.
So have the Yankess finally gotten so desperate that they are contemplating parting ways with Gary Sheffield? That is the story out this morning in several New York papers that say Sheff could be traded to the Mets for Mike Cameron and Miguel Cairo. Wow. Sheff for Cameron says a few things to me: The Yankess are desperate for an outfielder who can catch, the Yanks are tired of Sheff’s crap in the clubhouse, and the Yanks are basically ready to throw in the towel on 2005. I think the Yankees are thinking in the right direction on this one, but to trade Sheff and only get Cameron in return is not the answer. Cameron is a decent player, but he is no cornerstone and he certainly is not a long-term solution for the Yankees. All his addition will do is end this season and cast a cloud over 2006. After all, Hideki Matsui is currently unsigned for 2006 so the Yanks will end 2005 with possible openings at both corner spots and Cameron signed to play center. With little on the free agent market, the Yanks could be back to having guys like Juan Rivera and Karim Garcia playing in the outfield come opening day. Getting back to 2005, losing Sheff for Cameron is tantamount to raising the white flag. Sure, Cameron would help that outfield defense, but he can’t possibly replace Sheff’s bat in a lineup that already struggles to come up with big hits. And once Sheff is gone, who is going to play right? Fifty-seven year old Ruben Sierra? If this trade comes off, I will be jacked since it will drive a dagger through the hearts of all Yankee fans who are only just beginning to see how hard it is too re-load when there are no bullets available. I can’t think of a better mid-year gift.
What has gotten into the Atlanta Braves? What have they done since I compared them to the Gereman Army post Battle of the Bulge? Well, they have won 10 of 12 and five straight without a number of regulars. They are doing it with a bunch of enlisted guys, including grizzled staff sergeant Julio Franco who had a grand slam on Monday and drove in three more last night. If the Braves torched D-Train last night, what do you think they are going to do to Al Leiter tonight? Does Washington ever lose at home? After winning last night, the Nats are 27-10 at RFK this year and that is almost as good as some of Joe Gibbs teams. But unlike Gibbs better teams, these Nats have almost no pop – 15th in NL slugging. Vidro’s return will help that number, but Washington needs another offensive threat. On the flip side for the Nats, Ryan Drese has thrown two very good games since coming over from the AL and Chad Cordero is lurking within striking distance of the NL MVP award. The Mets got back to .500 last night and if they really have a shot at Sheff, they would be crazy to not pull the trigger. Putting Sheff behind Beltran and ahead of Floyd would give the Mets the best 3-4-5 in the NL East. Victor Zambrano got the win for New York last night and he has quietly been pretty solid for the Mets. The thing about Zambrano is he always gives the Mets a chance. He may never shut the other team down, but he hasn’t been blown out since April 24. Los Madres are banged up right now and can’t really think about going on the offensive until they get some guns back, but I don’t think they should be too concerned by Arizona. The Dbacks are only 9-16 in June and you get the feeling that this team has a fairly low ceiling – probably no more then 84 wins. Jason Schmidt wasn’t great for the Giants last night but he did pick up a win. After watching Schmidt give up nine hits and three walks in six innings, I am not sure Brian Sabean’s phone will be all that busy until Schmidt’s next start. The Cubs pitching staff got knocked around last week, but since Saturday the staff has only given up two runs in 27 innings. The bet here is Wood won’t keep it going today against Sheets.
After crushing the Rangers over the past week, the Angels are close to pushing their lead in the West to double digits. If they can get there by the end of June, you can almost take it to the bank that they will finish the year on top. I say that because the last 26 teams to amass ten game leads in June have gone to win their leagues or divisions. The White Sox and Cards are basically in the same spot, each needing to tack on a game to get to that magic number of 10. I am no fan, but both Jarad Washburn and John Lackey are twirling for the Angels right now. Washburn went deep last night and Lackey goes today. With these guys going strong, who cares if Escobar is gone for the year? Meanwhile, the Rangers’ lungs are gasping for air. One of the big reasons Texas has been getting mauled by California is Alfonso Soriano has been staying at a place called Motel Struggle. He is 1-22 in the Rangers five losses to the Angles. If the Rangers don’t find some life over the next two weeks, I suspect Soriano will be dealt, presumably to a team that is odne playing California. I am not sure Minnesota could afford him, but he would be a nice addition to that lineup.
That was an absolute car wreck in Boston last night as Mike Timlin and Keith Foulke were unable to protect an 8-5 eighth inning lead. Timlin was bad, but Foulke was downright horrific as he gave up five ninth inning runs to seal Boston’s fate. I am not sure what happened over the off-season, but Keith Foulke is not the same guy who pitched brilliantly for the Sox at the end of last season. His velocity is down and he hits his spots about as often as a general speaks candidly with the press. There is some talk that his knee is bothering him but who cares at this point since his ERA in save opportunities is in double digits. At this point, Terry Francona and GM Theo Epstein have to consider looking at other alternatives since this bullpen just cannot get to the finish line without a large cushion, and even that wasn’t good enough last night. So where can the Sox turn? Well, with Curt Schilling coming back, Bronson Arroyo could be headed to the pen and that could help, especially against tough righties, but I don’t think BA is ready to close. Cla Merideth has been decent at AAA (22Ks in 21 IP, but an ERA close to three), but his first shot at the majors was not good and its tough to see a rookie closing games in Boston. With the internal options being poor, the Sox need to start looking for an import and I suggest Theo does what it takes to pry Eddie Guardado from the Mariners. The M’s are clearly going to be sellers and the Egg Man – EG for short - would be a perfect replacement for Alan Embree. Moreover, Everyday Eddie could probably close and that is probably what will be needed given Foulke’s problems. If they can get Guardado and pair him with Timlin and Arroyo, the Sox could be back in business. Until that time, no lead is safe when the Sox are on the field.
So have the Yankess finally gotten so desperate that they are contemplating parting ways with Gary Sheffield? That is the story out this morning in several New York papers that say Sheff could be traded to the Mets for Mike Cameron and Miguel Cairo. Wow. Sheff for Cameron says a few things to me: The Yankess are desperate for an outfielder who can catch, the Yanks are tired of Sheff’s crap in the clubhouse, and the Yanks are basically ready to throw in the towel on 2005. I think the Yankees are thinking in the right direction on this one, but to trade Sheff and only get Cameron in return is not the answer. Cameron is a decent player, but he is no cornerstone and he certainly is not a long-term solution for the Yankees. All his addition will do is end this season and cast a cloud over 2006. After all, Hideki Matsui is currently unsigned for 2006 so the Yanks will end 2005 with possible openings at both corner spots and Cameron signed to play center. With little on the free agent market, the Yanks could be back to having guys like Juan Rivera and Karim Garcia playing in the outfield come opening day. Getting back to 2005, losing Sheff for Cameron is tantamount to raising the white flag. Sure, Cameron would help that outfield defense, but he can’t possibly replace Sheff’s bat in a lineup that already struggles to come up with big hits. And once Sheff is gone, who is going to play right? Fifty-seven year old Ruben Sierra? If this trade comes off, I will be jacked since it will drive a dagger through the hearts of all Yankee fans who are only just beginning to see how hard it is too re-load when there are no bullets available. I can’t think of a better mid-year gift.
What has gotten into the Atlanta Braves? What have they done since I compared them to the Gereman Army post Battle of the Bulge? Well, they have won 10 of 12 and five straight without a number of regulars. They are doing it with a bunch of enlisted guys, including grizzled staff sergeant Julio Franco who had a grand slam on Monday and drove in three more last night. If the Braves torched D-Train last night, what do you think they are going to do to Al Leiter tonight? Does Washington ever lose at home? After winning last night, the Nats are 27-10 at RFK this year and that is almost as good as some of Joe Gibbs teams. But unlike Gibbs better teams, these Nats have almost no pop – 15th in NL slugging. Vidro’s return will help that number, but Washington needs another offensive threat. On the flip side for the Nats, Ryan Drese has thrown two very good games since coming over from the AL and Chad Cordero is lurking within striking distance of the NL MVP award. The Mets got back to .500 last night and if they really have a shot at Sheff, they would be crazy to not pull the trigger. Putting Sheff behind Beltran and ahead of Floyd would give the Mets the best 3-4-5 in the NL East. Victor Zambrano got the win for New York last night and he has quietly been pretty solid for the Mets. The thing about Zambrano is he always gives the Mets a chance. He may never shut the other team down, but he hasn’t been blown out since April 24. Los Madres are banged up right now and can’t really think about going on the offensive until they get some guns back, but I don’t think they should be too concerned by Arizona. The Dbacks are only 9-16 in June and you get the feeling that this team has a fairly low ceiling – probably no more then 84 wins. Jason Schmidt wasn’t great for the Giants last night but he did pick up a win. After watching Schmidt give up nine hits and three walks in six innings, I am not sure Brian Sabean’s phone will be all that busy until Schmidt’s next start. The Cubs pitching staff got knocked around last week, but since Saturday the staff has only given up two runs in 27 innings. The bet here is Wood won’t keep it going today against Sheets.
After crushing the Rangers over the past week, the Angels are close to pushing their lead in the West to double digits. If they can get there by the end of June, you can almost take it to the bank that they will finish the year on top. I say that because the last 26 teams to amass ten game leads in June have gone to win their leagues or divisions. The White Sox and Cards are basically in the same spot, each needing to tack on a game to get to that magic number of 10. I am no fan, but both Jarad Washburn and John Lackey are twirling for the Angels right now. Washburn went deep last night and Lackey goes today. With these guys going strong, who cares if Escobar is gone for the year? Meanwhile, the Rangers’ lungs are gasping for air. One of the big reasons Texas has been getting mauled by California is Alfonso Soriano has been staying at a place called Motel Struggle. He is 1-22 in the Rangers five losses to the Angles. If the Rangers don’t find some life over the next two weeks, I suspect Soriano will be dealt, presumably to a team that is odne playing California. I am not sure Minnesota could afford him, but he would be a nice addition to that lineup.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
June 27 - Its Drafty in Here
So here are my thoughts on tonight’s NBA draft: I’ll take the NBA draft over the NFL draft any day of the week even though I don’t give two shits about the NBA. The NBA does it right by limiting teams to only five minutes between picks. In doing so, the entire first round takes 2.5 hours to complete while the first round of the NFL draft usually doesn’t end in time for me to catch Saturday’ Night Live’s opening monologue. Marvin Williams has plenty of athletic upside but at this time, he has absolutely no game whatsoever. Teams expecting help next year should be forewarned – Williams post up game is spottier then a fire truck Dalmatian. Ray Felton will be a better pro then collegian. I was not a fan of Felton’s at UNC but his shot has improved and perhaps if someone can get him under control, he can excel at the next level. There will be growing pains with Felton but there may be some upside. Andrew Bogut will be no better then Vlade. That isn’t bad but is it worth the number one pick? Five years from now, there will be at least six players from this draft considered better then Bogut. Chris Paul can motor, but I would rather have Deron Williams. Paul has all that speed, much like Baron Davis, but he doesn’t have Baron’s strength. Some have compared Sean May to Tractor Traylor but I see Marcus Pfizer as a better comp. I loved this guy in college but I don’t see how he will be as effective in the pros. That seems to be the consensus on May so I will play the contrarian and predict he will be a 16-8 guy. Channing Frye is getting a little too much bump from that game against Illinois. He dominated that game but he was a seven rebound guy at Zona. Careful with that guy – he has skills but he couldn’t dominate UCLA so how is he going to do against the Clips and Lakes. I wouldn’t mind the Celts grabbing Joey Graham or Jarrett Jack. Jack played Paul and Felton straight up over the past two years and Graham has a big-time body. You put him on a front line with Al Jefferson and you got size, strength and speed. If you want an eight and five guy – Charlie Villanueva is your man. Not only is Charlie a punk, but he is the scariest looking kid in the draft. I’d go wig if I were CV. anyone taking this kid Ed Bynum in the top 20 is an idiot. The kid would have sat at UCONN so how is he going to play in the NBA? Bynum is this year's Kedrick Perkins.
WFAN’s Mike Francesa struck twice yesterday with a couple of missives that require ridicule and condemnation. The first occurred early in his afternoon telecast when he blatantly plagiarized material that was published earlier in the day. Here is the setup. On Monday morning, ESPN’s Peter “Gasbag” Gammons published a piece reporting Oakland GM Billy Beane “has told everyone who calls that he will not trade Barry Zito during the season.” Further, Gammons writes that Beane will trade Mark Kotsay to the Cubs or the Yankees in the right deal if a contract extension doesn't get done with Kotsay. Lets forget for a second that Gammons hasn’t sourced any of these tidbits - the general implication is he has spoken with either Beane or someone who has had a conversation with Beane. The problem is that without direct attribution, or even indirect for that matter, Gasbag’s comments lie somewhere in between opinion and fact. Unless he has Beane or others on the record, which he does in one instance later in his piece, Gammon’s piece is a bit shaky, at least in this former reporter’s mind. So lets get back to Fat Ass. Later in the day, during the first hour of his show, Francesa was discussing various trade possibilities for the Yankess. The talk turned to the A’s, at which point Francesa DECLARED that Barry Zito isn’t available and Kotsay may not be as available as some assume. That’s odd – didn’t’ I read that somewhere? The problem here is Mike implied that he had original sources for these statements. Let me be very clear on this point: Francesa left little doubt that he was bringing original source material to this discussion. It’s as if he wants his listeners to believe he gets in at 10:00 in the morning and starts working the phones. Nothing could be further from the truth. In all likelihood, fat ass got in and read Gammon’s piece and then pawned off that questionable drivel as his own. No credit was given to Gammons whatsoever. Thee was no mention of the fact that Fat Ass merely read Gammon’s piece and then regurgitated it as if it were his own. I guess such admissions might lead some to believe that Mike may not be is plugged in as he wants them to believe.
Point number two cropped up a few hours later when the discussion turned to the pool of center fielders who are due to be free agents and could be of interest to the Yankess. At this point, Francesa broached two names – Andruw Jones and Vernon Wells – as guys he has heard the Yankees are looking at quite seriously. That revelation is pretty interesting since Jones is signed through 2007 (13.5M in 07) and Wells is signed through 2007 as well. So according to Francesa, the Yanks are looking at two guys who won’t be unrestricted for another 400 games. Hmmmm. His partner called him on Jones and went to break by asking the production crew to look into it. When the guys returned, there was no mention of Francesa’s gaffe. Again, in this case, the big guy was attempting to convince his listeners that he had original source material on this issue. It was as if guys within the Yankee organization had told him of the club’s interest. That sure seems odd given the contract status of both Jones and Wells. Francesa also talked about the Yanks interest in Juan Pierre – something that is once again curious since Pierre only has five years of MLB service and is therefore not eligible for free agency until after 2006. Now the Yanks may have an interest in all three of these guys, as Francesa says, but contrary to what Mike thinks, they won’t be getting any of them as free agents for a little while. The Fat Man strikes again!
WFAN’s Mike Francesa struck twice yesterday with a couple of missives that require ridicule and condemnation. The first occurred early in his afternoon telecast when he blatantly plagiarized material that was published earlier in the day. Here is the setup. On Monday morning, ESPN’s Peter “Gasbag” Gammons published a piece reporting Oakland GM Billy Beane “has told everyone who calls that he will not trade Barry Zito during the season.” Further, Gammons writes that Beane will trade Mark Kotsay to the Cubs or the Yankees in the right deal if a contract extension doesn't get done with Kotsay. Lets forget for a second that Gammons hasn’t sourced any of these tidbits - the general implication is he has spoken with either Beane or someone who has had a conversation with Beane. The problem is that without direct attribution, or even indirect for that matter, Gasbag’s comments lie somewhere in between opinion and fact. Unless he has Beane or others on the record, which he does in one instance later in his piece, Gammon’s piece is a bit shaky, at least in this former reporter’s mind. So lets get back to Fat Ass. Later in the day, during the first hour of his show, Francesa was discussing various trade possibilities for the Yankess. The talk turned to the A’s, at which point Francesa DECLARED that Barry Zito isn’t available and Kotsay may not be as available as some assume. That’s odd – didn’t’ I read that somewhere? The problem here is Mike implied that he had original sources for these statements. Let me be very clear on this point: Francesa left little doubt that he was bringing original source material to this discussion. It’s as if he wants his listeners to believe he gets in at 10:00 in the morning and starts working the phones. Nothing could be further from the truth. In all likelihood, fat ass got in and read Gammon’s piece and then pawned off that questionable drivel as his own. No credit was given to Gammons whatsoever. Thee was no mention of the fact that Fat Ass merely read Gammon’s piece and then regurgitated it as if it were his own. I guess such admissions might lead some to believe that Mike may not be is plugged in as he wants them to believe.
Point number two cropped up a few hours later when the discussion turned to the pool of center fielders who are due to be free agents and could be of interest to the Yankess. At this point, Francesa broached two names – Andruw Jones and Vernon Wells – as guys he has heard the Yankees are looking at quite seriously. That revelation is pretty interesting since Jones is signed through 2007 (13.5M in 07) and Wells is signed through 2007 as well. So according to Francesa, the Yanks are looking at two guys who won’t be unrestricted for another 400 games. Hmmmm. His partner called him on Jones and went to break by asking the production crew to look into it. When the guys returned, there was no mention of Francesa’s gaffe. Again, in this case, the big guy was attempting to convince his listeners that he had original source material on this issue. It was as if guys within the Yankee organization had told him of the club’s interest. That sure seems odd given the contract status of both Jones and Wells. Francesa also talked about the Yanks interest in Juan Pierre – something that is once again curious since Pierre only has five years of MLB service and is therefore not eligible for free agency until after 2006. Now the Yanks may have an interest in all three of these guys, as Francesa says, but contrary to what Mike thinks, they won’t be getting any of them as free agents for a little while. The Fat Man strikes again!
Monday, June 27, 2005
June 26 - Golf's Finest Hour: A Birdie and a Bomb
If you are a golf fan and weren’t tuned in late yesterday afternoon, you probably missed this year’s quota of amazing finishes. First, over there on NBC, you had Birdie Kim pull off a Bob Tway and sink one out of a trap to win the U.S. Women’s Open. In case you missed it, Kim was sitting in a greenside bunker at 18, tied for the lead but starring at bogey. Her competition, seventeen year-old Morgan Pressel, was sitting back in the fairway in a perfect spot. At this point, Pressel looks good for four and Kim is looking at five. So what does Birdie Kim do? She repeats what Tway did at Inverness and sinks the impossible sandy for three. Pressel, obviously shaken, left her second shot short of the green and that was it. While Kim’s shot was the story of the Open, a close second is the youth movement in women’s golf. Pressel is 17. Michelle Wie was on the leaderboard and she is 15. Paula Creamer is the second hottest player on tour and she is 18. When did woman’s golf become gymnastics? Should I be watching for Carly Patterson to start showing up and playing in pro-ams? A few more thoughts from the open: Dottie Pepper is fire in the booth. She and Johnny don’t pull any punches, especially when it comes to death marches. Second, I love Meg Mallon. She may be a huge slob but she shows disgust as well as any player on the men’s tour. She has a bigger set of balls then two out of three men on the PGA tour – I mean that figuratively and literally. Last thought – can someone tell me how Michelle Wie can afford to play all these events? Is she some heiress to a macadamia fortune?
If Kim’s shot wasn’t enough for golf fans, just fifteen minutes later, Padraig Harrington dropped an Irish Car Bomb on the 18th green of Westchester Country Club. Lying two, and probably needing a three to win outright, Harrington nailed a 60 foot eagle putt to snatch the tourney away from Jim Furyk. While Harrington certainly deserves some credit for that draino, Furyk deserves some scorn for a late meltdown. On a blistering day that clearly was not designed with the fair-skinned Irish in mind, Furyk just couldn’t get to the line. This was not the greatest collapse of the season – the frontrunner for that title still belongs to Darren Clarke for his work at Hilton Head - but this is up there and probably sits in third. (Jim Driscoll is probably in 2nd for missing that four footer that could have won New Orleans.)
I actually watched some of the U.S. Track and Field Championships this weekend and there were some great performances worth noting. First, The U.S. has a 400 hurdler named Kerron Clement who is simply awesome. He ran 47.2 this weekend and I have no doubt he can take out that world record (46.78) held by UCLA’s Kevin Young. Another emerging studette is Sanya Richards who ran a 49.28 in the women’s 400. She isn’t a threat to take out that juiced up record held by Marita Koch (47 and change), but if she can peel a second of her time from Saturday, she will have the cleanest 400 ever run. Look out for these two at the World Championships in Helsinki this August. Oh, but the way, keep your eyes on Justin Gaitlin, Jeremy Wariner and Allyson Felix who are all in top form right now. Warriner could be on the cusp of taking on Michael Johnson's 43.18 that was set back in 1999. It could be a nice year for U.S. track, made more so because Marion and Tim will be forced to sit and watch from the comfort of their own private pharmacy. By the way, Jones pulled out of the 100 last week with a hip flexor problem. That is what happens when you keep sticking those needles into your hip.
In Sunday’s New York Post, Steve Serby asked Bernie Williams the following question: Are you a better center fielder or guitarist? At first blush, this seemed like about as soft a softball as you will ever see, but Bernie ended up dropping this pop up much like he drops everything hit to him these days. After hearing Bernie claim he is a better center fielder then guitarist, I developed a migraine thinking of what his latest CD must sound like. I am no music critic, but I remember fourteen year olds back in Southern California garage bands that play their instruments better then Bernie plays center. I say this because there is no better monument to the decay of the Yankees then Bernie Williams. I am not saying Bernie is a bad guy because he certainly has dignity and grace. What I am saying is Bernie Williams flat out stinks. I dare anyone who watched him play center on Friday and Saturday come to a different conclusion. He isn’t bad. He is downright pathetic. It seems as if he is tortured by both arthritis and attention deficit disorder. I would call him the Tin Man, but with this rally we have had in metals, an authentic Tin Man is worth more then Bernie. Moreover, that arm is not only the worst in baseball right now – it may be the worst I have seen in 30 years and that includes historic weenie arms like Kirk Gibson and Rondell White (Question – how could a great athlete like Gibson who also weighed 230 pounds end up throwing like a little school girl?). Guys now tag on him when the ball is hit no further then 130 feet beyond second base. Before you disagree, Mike Cameron’s tag on Saturday was more like 120 feet. Watching third base coaches around the league manage against Bernie reminds me of Roy Turner in the Bad News Bears. Lest you forget the scene, Turner instructs his Yankees to run at will against the feeble Bears, knowing full well that nobody on the Bears (pre Kelly, pre-Amanda, pre-coming together) had the skill to throw a base runner out. In fact, Bernie kind of reminds me of the Bears centerfielder at this point. That gentleman’s name was Ahmad and he was the one who stripped down to his underwear and climbed a tree after the Bears were shellacked on opening day. I wouldn’t be surprised if after Saturday afternoon’s game Yankee Skip Joe Torre had to be summoned to get Bernie down form one of those tress that stand outside Yankee Stadium. I said it early in the year and I will say it again – Bernie Williams is the worst starting centerfielder in baseball. Sure, he is still good for a clutch hit once in a while, but this guy is hitting .250 with no power. When you throw in the defense, you got a guy who trails David DeJesus and Tike Redman. Bernie Williams is now longer a baseball player. He is a fossil and currently is nothing more then a symbol of Yankee decay and largess. He will be gone at the end of the season, free to pursue his love of music. Here’s hoping he finds a way to play guitar better then he played center these past three months.
It probably isn’t a great sign for Red Sox fans when Boston Globe Columnist Dan Shaugnessey predicts the Sox will now run away with the AL EAST title, but it sure looks at this time that just such an event is possible. The Sox are just screaming right now, having won seven straight, six of which came on the road. Going back further, the Sox are 12-1 since dropping a Fox afternoon debacle at Wrigley. This team is just mashing the ball right now and since that day in Chicago, the starting pitching, with a couple of David Wells exceptions, has been very good. Manram is killing the ball (also picked up his league leading 10th assist), Papi always kills the ball and even Billy Mueller is getting in on the fun. The bullpen is still a huge question mark outside of Mike Timlin and Johnny Damon’s shoulder eventually could necessitate a stint on the DL, but all in all, this team is rolling. The Sox late spring offensive comes at a time when both the Birds and Yanks are fatigued and in need of replacements. The O’s got swept down in Atlanta this weekend and its time to break out the defibrillators in Baltimore since this team is flat-lining. Losing Javy Lopez was one thing, but losing Melvin Mora is another thing entirely. They need Mel’s bat in the lineup everyday and this hammy injury could not have come at a worse time. By the way, when is Sammy going to start hitting all those bombs at Camden? Wasn’t he supposed to take out Brady Anderson’s record? For those of you not counting, Sammy has exactly two long balls in over one hundred plate appearances at Camden this year. Another telling thing about Sammy – he is slugging less than .400 against righties this year. That is more then 150 points off his rolling four-year average. Would you like to reconsider your testimony Mr. Sosa? As for the Yankees, things just got worse this weekend as they lost two of three to the Mets. We already took care of Bernie, but he wasn’t the only problem to surface this weekend. Mike Mussina got bounced around Friday night, and the defense looked horrible all weekend. Giambi looks like a juiced up Lady Liberty at first and I question whether Cano is short for Cannot, as in “I cannot field my position?” The Yanks did scare up some offense on Sunday night, but bottom line, this team’s Superstar’s don’t scare anyone. You can preach stats all you want, but at the end of the day, this offense is as shallow as Hal.
Has anyone noticed that the Oakland A’s are one of the hottest teams in Baseball, having gone 18-8 since May 30th. That followed a May in which the injury-ravaged A’s went 7-20. That dismal stretch was achieved without Nick Swisher, Rich Harden and Bobby Crosby, but with these guys back in the lineup, the A’s are a club that can pitch, catch and score at times. Danny Haren is pitching great and Kirk Saarloos is coming on strong as well. Swisher has given the lineup some pop and Eric Chavez is quietly resuscitating his year. The A’s now find themselves only five games under .500 and they have managed to climb their way back to the periphery of the wild card race. As such, I think it may be a bit premature to assume GM Billy Beane is going to toss in the towel and trade both Barry Zito and slumping center fielder Mark Kotsay. (Surprisingly, Kotasy has slumped while the A’s have surged – he is hitting only .238 in June.) The A’s do have six with the White Sox before the break, but if they can get to .500 by the break, Beane may stick with the hand he’s got and go for that wildcard spot. As such, it may not be too easy to pry Zito and Kotsay loose, at least until the end of July when Beane has a better idea of whether 2005 is a lost cause and preparations for 2006 should begin. On the other hand, if Kotsay continues to falter, Beane may peddle him while he can still get something of value in return. I suspect Beane feels Kotsay will exercise his option and walk after the end of the season, so his mid-season departure appears more likely.
Final Baseball Thoughts: I am making it official – I am getting on this Milwaukee Brewer wagon right now while there are plenty of seats available. I like this team and think it can contend in 2006. Weeks and Hall look real nice up the middle and Clark is one of my favorites in center. They need some maturity and probably another arm, but this team is not that far away. The Pirates are in a similar spot at Milwaukee, but I would take the Brewers upside right now. If you could combine these two clubs and give the franchise a $75 million dollar budget, it would win the next three NL pennants. Were my eyes playing tricks on me or was that Damian Jackson going four for four for San diego yesterday with two bombs. That can’t be the same guy who used to play in Boston. The Damian Jackson I know is delivering packages for UPS in Riverside County. I love how the picture ESPN.Com shows of Jackson has him wearing a Red Sox lid. Is that some kind of joke? Los Madres have a big series this week against the Dodgers and unfortunately the pitching matchups are abysmal. God Bless Andrew Jones. Winston Churchill was the last guy to do as much for his team when it was on the skids. A lot of pundits still say the Cards don't have the arms to go all the way but who has a better right-handed combo right now then Carpenter and Morris. Carps has given up 7 runs over his past 47 innings. That is ace-like in my book. The AL Wildcard race is looking pretty crazy right now. There are seven teams within five games of the WC. Texas is on a slide right now and Minnesota is struggling as well. Don’t count out Cleveland. The Twins are probably the conventional pick, but I wouldn’t rule out the Tribe.
If Kim’s shot wasn’t enough for golf fans, just fifteen minutes later, Padraig Harrington dropped an Irish Car Bomb on the 18th green of Westchester Country Club. Lying two, and probably needing a three to win outright, Harrington nailed a 60 foot eagle putt to snatch the tourney away from Jim Furyk. While Harrington certainly deserves some credit for that draino, Furyk deserves some scorn for a late meltdown. On a blistering day that clearly was not designed with the fair-skinned Irish in mind, Furyk just couldn’t get to the line. This was not the greatest collapse of the season – the frontrunner for that title still belongs to Darren Clarke for his work at Hilton Head - but this is up there and probably sits in third. (Jim Driscoll is probably in 2nd for missing that four footer that could have won New Orleans.)
I actually watched some of the U.S. Track and Field Championships this weekend and there were some great performances worth noting. First, The U.S. has a 400 hurdler named Kerron Clement who is simply awesome. He ran 47.2 this weekend and I have no doubt he can take out that world record (46.78) held by UCLA’s Kevin Young. Another emerging studette is Sanya Richards who ran a 49.28 in the women’s 400. She isn’t a threat to take out that juiced up record held by Marita Koch (47 and change), but if she can peel a second of her time from Saturday, she will have the cleanest 400 ever run. Look out for these two at the World Championships in Helsinki this August. Oh, but the way, keep your eyes on Justin Gaitlin, Jeremy Wariner and Allyson Felix who are all in top form right now. Warriner could be on the cusp of taking on Michael Johnson's 43.18 that was set back in 1999. It could be a nice year for U.S. track, made more so because Marion and Tim will be forced to sit and watch from the comfort of their own private pharmacy. By the way, Jones pulled out of the 100 last week with a hip flexor problem. That is what happens when you keep sticking those needles into your hip.
In Sunday’s New York Post, Steve Serby asked Bernie Williams the following question: Are you a better center fielder or guitarist? At first blush, this seemed like about as soft a softball as you will ever see, but Bernie ended up dropping this pop up much like he drops everything hit to him these days. After hearing Bernie claim he is a better center fielder then guitarist, I developed a migraine thinking of what his latest CD must sound like. I am no music critic, but I remember fourteen year olds back in Southern California garage bands that play their instruments better then Bernie plays center. I say this because there is no better monument to the decay of the Yankees then Bernie Williams. I am not saying Bernie is a bad guy because he certainly has dignity and grace. What I am saying is Bernie Williams flat out stinks. I dare anyone who watched him play center on Friday and Saturday come to a different conclusion. He isn’t bad. He is downright pathetic. It seems as if he is tortured by both arthritis and attention deficit disorder. I would call him the Tin Man, but with this rally we have had in metals, an authentic Tin Man is worth more then Bernie. Moreover, that arm is not only the worst in baseball right now – it may be the worst I have seen in 30 years and that includes historic weenie arms like Kirk Gibson and Rondell White (Question – how could a great athlete like Gibson who also weighed 230 pounds end up throwing like a little school girl?). Guys now tag on him when the ball is hit no further then 130 feet beyond second base. Before you disagree, Mike Cameron’s tag on Saturday was more like 120 feet. Watching third base coaches around the league manage against Bernie reminds me of Roy Turner in the Bad News Bears. Lest you forget the scene, Turner instructs his Yankees to run at will against the feeble Bears, knowing full well that nobody on the Bears (pre Kelly, pre-Amanda, pre-coming together) had the skill to throw a base runner out. In fact, Bernie kind of reminds me of the Bears centerfielder at this point. That gentleman’s name was Ahmad and he was the one who stripped down to his underwear and climbed a tree after the Bears were shellacked on opening day. I wouldn’t be surprised if after Saturday afternoon’s game Yankee Skip Joe Torre had to be summoned to get Bernie down form one of those tress that stand outside Yankee Stadium. I said it early in the year and I will say it again – Bernie Williams is the worst starting centerfielder in baseball. Sure, he is still good for a clutch hit once in a while, but this guy is hitting .250 with no power. When you throw in the defense, you got a guy who trails David DeJesus and Tike Redman. Bernie Williams is now longer a baseball player. He is a fossil and currently is nothing more then a symbol of Yankee decay and largess. He will be gone at the end of the season, free to pursue his love of music. Here’s hoping he finds a way to play guitar better then he played center these past three months.
It probably isn’t a great sign for Red Sox fans when Boston Globe Columnist Dan Shaugnessey predicts the Sox will now run away with the AL EAST title, but it sure looks at this time that just such an event is possible. The Sox are just screaming right now, having won seven straight, six of which came on the road. Going back further, the Sox are 12-1 since dropping a Fox afternoon debacle at Wrigley. This team is just mashing the ball right now and since that day in Chicago, the starting pitching, with a couple of David Wells exceptions, has been very good. Manram is killing the ball (also picked up his league leading 10th assist), Papi always kills the ball and even Billy Mueller is getting in on the fun. The bullpen is still a huge question mark outside of Mike Timlin and Johnny Damon’s shoulder eventually could necessitate a stint on the DL, but all in all, this team is rolling. The Sox late spring offensive comes at a time when both the Birds and Yanks are fatigued and in need of replacements. The O’s got swept down in Atlanta this weekend and its time to break out the defibrillators in Baltimore since this team is flat-lining. Losing Javy Lopez was one thing, but losing Melvin Mora is another thing entirely. They need Mel’s bat in the lineup everyday and this hammy injury could not have come at a worse time. By the way, when is Sammy going to start hitting all those bombs at Camden? Wasn’t he supposed to take out Brady Anderson’s record? For those of you not counting, Sammy has exactly two long balls in over one hundred plate appearances at Camden this year. Another telling thing about Sammy – he is slugging less than .400 against righties this year. That is more then 150 points off his rolling four-year average. Would you like to reconsider your testimony Mr. Sosa? As for the Yankees, things just got worse this weekend as they lost two of three to the Mets. We already took care of Bernie, but he wasn’t the only problem to surface this weekend. Mike Mussina got bounced around Friday night, and the defense looked horrible all weekend. Giambi looks like a juiced up Lady Liberty at first and I question whether Cano is short for Cannot, as in “I cannot field my position?” The Yanks did scare up some offense on Sunday night, but bottom line, this team’s Superstar’s don’t scare anyone. You can preach stats all you want, but at the end of the day, this offense is as shallow as Hal.
Has anyone noticed that the Oakland A’s are one of the hottest teams in Baseball, having gone 18-8 since May 30th. That followed a May in which the injury-ravaged A’s went 7-20. That dismal stretch was achieved without Nick Swisher, Rich Harden and Bobby Crosby, but with these guys back in the lineup, the A’s are a club that can pitch, catch and score at times. Danny Haren is pitching great and Kirk Saarloos is coming on strong as well. Swisher has given the lineup some pop and Eric Chavez is quietly resuscitating his year. The A’s now find themselves only five games under .500 and they have managed to climb their way back to the periphery of the wild card race. As such, I think it may be a bit premature to assume GM Billy Beane is going to toss in the towel and trade both Barry Zito and slumping center fielder Mark Kotsay. (Surprisingly, Kotasy has slumped while the A’s have surged – he is hitting only .238 in June.) The A’s do have six with the White Sox before the break, but if they can get to .500 by the break, Beane may stick with the hand he’s got and go for that wildcard spot. As such, it may not be too easy to pry Zito and Kotsay loose, at least until the end of July when Beane has a better idea of whether 2005 is a lost cause and preparations for 2006 should begin. On the other hand, if Kotsay continues to falter, Beane may peddle him while he can still get something of value in return. I suspect Beane feels Kotsay will exercise his option and walk after the end of the season, so his mid-season departure appears more likely.
Final Baseball Thoughts: I am making it official – I am getting on this Milwaukee Brewer wagon right now while there are plenty of seats available. I like this team and think it can contend in 2006. Weeks and Hall look real nice up the middle and Clark is one of my favorites in center. They need some maturity and probably another arm, but this team is not that far away. The Pirates are in a similar spot at Milwaukee, but I would take the Brewers upside right now. If you could combine these two clubs and give the franchise a $75 million dollar budget, it would win the next three NL pennants. Were my eyes playing tricks on me or was that Damian Jackson going four for four for San diego yesterday with two bombs. That can’t be the same guy who used to play in Boston. The Damian Jackson I know is delivering packages for UPS in Riverside County. I love how the picture ESPN.Com shows of Jackson has him wearing a Red Sox lid. Is that some kind of joke? Los Madres have a big series this week against the Dodgers and unfortunately the pitching matchups are abysmal. God Bless Andrew Jones. Winston Churchill was the last guy to do as much for his team when it was on the skids. A lot of pundits still say the Cards don't have the arms to go all the way but who has a better right-handed combo right now then Carpenter and Morris. Carps has given up 7 runs over his past 47 innings. That is ace-like in my book. The AL Wildcard race is looking pretty crazy right now. There are seven teams within five games of the WC. Texas is on a slide right now and Minnesota is struggling as well. Don’t count out Cleveland. The Twins are probably the conventional pick, but I wouldn’t rule out the Tribe.
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