She gave it quite a run, but Stephanie was unable to pull the chicks together and ended up getting booted off Survivor last night. With seven people left – four women and three men – Stephanie tried lo launch a gender war but it was squashed by an alliance who felt she was just too dangerous to keep around any longer. After all, she was a threat to win some immunity down the stretch and nobody wanted to face her in the finals. So the final member of ULONG is now history and that leaves us with just six competitors: Tom, Ian, Greg, Jennifer, Karyn and Katie. The next ousting is really pivotal since the way I see it, there are basically two three-member alliances right now. Tom, Ian and Katie have been hooked up since day one and will probably stick together. So that leaves Greg, Jen and Karyn on the outside looking in. What makes this interesting is Greg and Jen have been banging each other so Karyn is really the swing vote here. Can she be brought into Camp 1 and make it 4-2 against Greg and Jen.? Greg better hope not since his days are numbered if she buys a ticket to the Final four with Team Tom. Conversely, can Greg hold Karyn in line and peel off Katie or Ian? That would expose Tom, who would be at risk if he does not own immunity at tribal council. The real wildcard here is Katie who has the trust of Ian and Tom but could always flip and turn the game around. If I had to guess, I would say she will be the one to shake things up down the stretch. It will be one of those game changing moments when she flips on Tom the moment he doesn’t have immunity. She probably doesn’t have the votes to win the whole thing, but if she does knock out Tom, she will have a shot at that second place check.
Baseball Bytes from Thursday Night: The Marlins watched helplessly as their last three games at Coors got washed out. The fish aren’t scheduled to go back to Colorado this year so how in the world are those games going to be made up? This happened with Boston and Cleveland a few years back and it absolutely destroyed the Sox pitching when they hade to play seven games in four days. The moral to this story is the fish will not be playing 162 games this year. The Brewers finally cooled off the Cards as Russ Branyon hit his fifth blast of the season. The Cards now move on to Atlanta where we will see two former A’s – Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson – hook up tonight. Wade Miller had a nice outing for Pawtucket last night and it now looks like he will make his Red Sox debut on May 8th. Miller’s return more then offsets the loss of Wells, but John Halama is not exactly Curt Schilling. The Royals flat out stink even though they did get to Joe Nathan yesterday afternoon. Baseball really needs to consider contracting that franchise. Mike Maroth had a nice line for the Tigers last night as Detroit moved back to .500. Aaron Boone had a night to forget, going 0-4, with three whiffs and five runners stranded. The Yanks finally got something out of Kevin Brown last night but they were absolutely hopeless at the plate against one of the AL’s worst pitchers. Look at some of the guys who have shut the Yanks down this year: John Lackey, Chan Ho Park, Bruce Chen and Hideo Nomo. That didn’t happen in year’s past. Gil Meche threw a nice game for the M’s, but Seattle has got to be wondering when Adrian Beltre will show up. His OPS is 400 points short of where it was a season ago. You got to wonder if the Mariners bought the high and are now perhaps stuck with something a bit better then ordinary. Tonight we have Clemens vs. Maddux which is twelve Cy Youngs and 634 career wins. There is also a big matchup in the Bronx where Roy Halladay will go up against Randy Johnson. With some guy fresh off the boat slated to go for New York tomorrow, the Yanks need the Big Unit to show up tonight or they run the risk of losing yet another series at home
Friday, April 29, 2005
Thursday, April 28, 2005
April 28 - Denver Bends Over in San Antonio
What the hell happened in San Antonio last night? Somebody from Colorado hasn’t been pounded like that since an Eagle County concierge went upstairs to swap spit with Kobe and ended up getting Bryant’s double-pump reverse jam. The only difference was Bryant lasted longer in that hotel room then the Nuggets did last night at the SBC Center. In case you missed it, the score of the Spurs- Nuggets game was 63-32 at the half. Who gets doubled up at half? Did someone on the Nuggets draw a yellow card early forcing the Noogies to play a man down? Listen, I understand the Noogies were playing with the House’s money and therefore they probably conceded the game, but there is never an excuse for getting doubled up half way through the game. Looking on the bright side for Denver, they now get to go home where they have been awesome and even though Tim Duncan was terrific last night, he doesn’t seem quite right. As such, I think the Spurs would gladly get this thing back to San Antonio all even. Has anyone other then myself realized that the this matchup features the home towns of two telco giants since SBC is based in San Antonio and Qwest is based in Denver? I wonder if the CEO’s of these companies have a side bet like Mayors and Governors often make on the Super Bowl. Here is one suggestion - if San Antonio wins, Qwest has to make Manu Ginobli its corporate spokesman and if Denver wins, Carmelo Anthony will get to headline SBC’s new DSL marketing campaign. I can just see it now: “If you want to be as quick as me, get DSL now!”
Notes from the National: You can officially scratch the Giants off your post-season invite list after Armando Benitez tore his hammy the other night. That is a minimum of four months which translates into at least a dozen blown saves from Matt Herges and Jeff Fassero. The Giants bullpen was a disaster last year with Herges and there is absolutely no reason to think Act II will be any different. I think at this point, Giants GM Brian Sabean has to take a hit but I’ll save that for later. The Astros were shut out yesterday by the Pirates, but that is no surprise since it is the fifth time this has happened to Houston since April 13. Pirate hurler Kip Wells had the honor yesterday which is somewhat surprising given the fact he entered the game with an ERA of 6.47, but I guess with Houston's Berkman-lite lineup, nothing is impossible. Greg Maddux is the next lotto winner to get a shot at this feeble lineup. The Braves absolutely have Tom Glavine’s number despite his protestations to the contrary. He got smacked around yesterday by his old team and that leaves him 1-7 with an ERA over nine against the Braves since coming to New York. If you don’t think Leo Mazzone isn’t the best pitching coach in the majors, just take a look at what he has down with Mike Hampton. The Jose Reyes watch has now reached 96 plate appearances without a walk. The century mark will be pierced Friday night at RFK. Mark Grudzielanek has one triple and one dong this year and he happened to hit them both yesterday while going for the cycle. The Cards have now won six in a row and eleven of twelve. They face Hudson on Friday and Smoltz on Sunday. Derrick Lee is tearing through the National League like Goerge Patton tore through France. He had two blasts yesterday and is now hitting .430 and slugging .800. Didn’t the Cubs get Lee for his glove? Here is a scary thought – Reds shortstop Felipe Lopez has a slugging percentage that is two hundred points higher then the Reds slap hitting centerfielder. Padres GM Kevin Towers really made a shrewd move at the end of spring training by trading for Tim Redding who is now 0-4 with an ERA of almost eight. Are you telling me the Padres couldn’t find someone from within the organization to put up Redding’s numbers? The Dodgers have officially cooled off while the Diamondbacks are officially hot. The Dbacks have won fourteen games this year while they only won 51 in all of 2004. Someone should call the Sports Bureau to see what the greatest one year turnaround in history is because these guys may have a shot.
Airmail from the AL: Here is the stat of the day – Mike Mussina threw 105 pitches last night and the Angels only missed five of them. Why do Yankee fans have any confidence in this guy? He had a miserable year in 2004 and he now is having trouble reaching 88 on the gun. This is the year Mike transitions from a bit above average to a bit below average. If you have Yankee tickets for tonight’s game, get there early because John Lackey against Kevin Brown will surely feature a 7:05 fireworks show. I wouldn’t be surprised to see these guys give up four home runs tonight before being lifted. The A’s cooled down the White Sox for a couple days but Chicago now gets to play Detroit, KC, Toronto and Tampa over its next dozen games. They could easily be 24-10 by the time their schedule toughens on May 12th. Jason Bonderman won his third yesterday but he has not exactly had the kind of breakthrough start many pundits were predicting. He hasn’t been bad, just not special. The same cannot be said of his teammate Carlos Guillen who has been terrific. You know the Indians have bullpen problems when Scott Sauerbeck gets time. Before popping up in Cleveland, Scotty was last seen cleaning out the latrine at Fenway. The best forty something lefties in the AL right now are - in order: Jamie Moyer, Kenny Rogers and Randy Johnson. Rogers held Seattle scoreless for six last night even though he walked five. Do the Twins play the Royals every night? It is no wonder people predicted the Twins would win 100 – it is because they play Kansas City 35 times. I don’t see how Scott Kazmir can handcuff the Sox and get drilled by the Jays. Maybe Boston should trade for Alex Rios and keep him around as their designated Kazmir killer.
I think it is about time somebody took at shot at San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean who has been coddled by the national media for far too long. Has Sabean done a good job in San Francisco? The answer to that question is a resounding yes. Since he took over in 1997, Sabean has built the Giants into a consistent winner that has been to four playoffs in eight years and was a Scott Spiezio at bat away from a world championship. Granted, Sabean inherited the central piece to these recent teams, but that shouldn’t cloud the fact that he has done a great job of re-tooling the Giants with a mid-market budget. But Sabean’s story has been a little less rosy of late and its time he took a hit. In case you haven’t followed the Giants, Sabean’s stable is a little bit long in the tooth. To be specific, Bonds is 40, Grissom is 38, Tucker is 34, Snow is 37, Alfonzo is 32 in Dominican years, and Durham is 33. If this wasn’t enough maturity, Sabean went out this off-season and acquired 32 year old Armando Benitez. 35 year-old Mike Matheny, 38 year-old Omar Vizquel and 40 year old Moises Alou. In sum, Sabena took an aging team and made it ancient. And guess what – it is now breaking down. Alou got hurt right out of the box, Bonds has missed April and will likely miss May and now Benitez is probably done for the season. Sabean can’t be faulted for all these injuries, but what do you expect when you rely on guys whose odometers have all turned over. I understand that Sabean was in a bit of a box this winter since Bonds is headed for jail and therefore there is pressure to win right now. But my critique is not just about the old guys Brian brought in this off-season. Look at this team – with the exception of Pedro Feliz, there is not a single home grown player in the lineup. Everyone is a mid-range free agent import and that suggests to me that Sabean has done a very poor job developing and keeping young players. Sure, he has uncovered some value in the free agent market, but where are the low cost farm hands that are a must for mid-market teams? Secondly, this is a team whose bullpen has stunk in recent years, but whose fault is that since Sabean was the one who gave up on the Twins all-star Joe Nathan. It was hard to predict Nathan’s rise, but that is what good GM’s are paid to do. Finally, what about the case of catcher A.J Pierzynski? With A.J around last year, the Giants got unusually good starting pitching but with him gone, Frisco’s staff ERA is third worst in the NL. Oh, by the way, A.J. went to the Chicago White Sox and their staff ERA is now TWO RUNS lower then what it was last year. Is that a coincidence? I don’t want to make it seem like I am a huge critic of Sabean, because I am not. Hell, he caught some bad luck with the Benitez injury, but he has made a number of questionable moves that deserve critique. You will never hear such critiques form Peter Gammons and the rest of Brian’s fan club, but I think its time somebody hit this guy with something other then 24 ounce gloves. Sabean has done a good job in Frisco, but the guy across the Bay is just much better in my estimation. You give Billy Beane the same budget as Brian, and he will win you some pennants. And he will do it with guys who weren’t old enough to vote for Michael Dukakis.
For those of you who still think Penn State football is relevant, I suggest you take a look at what happened at last weekend’s NFL draft. Not a single Nitany Lion was selected in the draft. More then 250 players were selected in the draft but not a single one had the privilege of matriculating under the tutelage of Tyrannosaurus Paterno. That is pretty staggering when you consider that players from Grand Valley State, William Penn and Tuskegee all had their names read at the podium over the weekend. So that begs the question: How much further can this program fall? They were 4-7 last year, 3-9 the year before and a less then ordinary 26-33 since 2000. So let me get this straight. Penn State doesn’t win and can’t put any players into the pros yet the school remains wedded to a seventy-eight year old coach. What are they waiting for in College Park? Is it going to take a winless season to get rid of Paterno? Will 1-10 with a high-profile sexual abuse case be enough? How about 2-9 and the disclosure that Paterno lied on the job application he first filed back in 1951? Would that do the trick? I couldn’t care less that Paterno is an institution in Central Pennsylvania. There are countless institutions that have outlived their usefulness and Paterno is one of them. Hell, communism’s final years in Russia were better than Joe’s most recent at Penn State and you don’t see that economic institution still in place. Last weekend just confirmed what I have been saying for several years. It is time for Joe to go!
Notes from the National: You can officially scratch the Giants off your post-season invite list after Armando Benitez tore his hammy the other night. That is a minimum of four months which translates into at least a dozen blown saves from Matt Herges and Jeff Fassero. The Giants bullpen was a disaster last year with Herges and there is absolutely no reason to think Act II will be any different. I think at this point, Giants GM Brian Sabean has to take a hit but I’ll save that for later. The Astros were shut out yesterday by the Pirates, but that is no surprise since it is the fifth time this has happened to Houston since April 13. Pirate hurler Kip Wells had the honor yesterday which is somewhat surprising given the fact he entered the game with an ERA of 6.47, but I guess with Houston's Berkman-lite lineup, nothing is impossible. Greg Maddux is the next lotto winner to get a shot at this feeble lineup. The Braves absolutely have Tom Glavine’s number despite his protestations to the contrary. He got smacked around yesterday by his old team and that leaves him 1-7 with an ERA over nine against the Braves since coming to New York. If you don’t think Leo Mazzone isn’t the best pitching coach in the majors, just take a look at what he has down with Mike Hampton. The Jose Reyes watch has now reached 96 plate appearances without a walk. The century mark will be pierced Friday night at RFK. Mark Grudzielanek has one triple and one dong this year and he happened to hit them both yesterday while going for the cycle. The Cards have now won six in a row and eleven of twelve. They face Hudson on Friday and Smoltz on Sunday. Derrick Lee is tearing through the National League like Goerge Patton tore through France. He had two blasts yesterday and is now hitting .430 and slugging .800. Didn’t the Cubs get Lee for his glove? Here is a scary thought – Reds shortstop Felipe Lopez has a slugging percentage that is two hundred points higher then the Reds slap hitting centerfielder. Padres GM Kevin Towers really made a shrewd move at the end of spring training by trading for Tim Redding who is now 0-4 with an ERA of almost eight. Are you telling me the Padres couldn’t find someone from within the organization to put up Redding’s numbers? The Dodgers have officially cooled off while the Diamondbacks are officially hot. The Dbacks have won fourteen games this year while they only won 51 in all of 2004. Someone should call the Sports Bureau to see what the greatest one year turnaround in history is because these guys may have a shot.
Airmail from the AL: Here is the stat of the day – Mike Mussina threw 105 pitches last night and the Angels only missed five of them. Why do Yankee fans have any confidence in this guy? He had a miserable year in 2004 and he now is having trouble reaching 88 on the gun. This is the year Mike transitions from a bit above average to a bit below average. If you have Yankee tickets for tonight’s game, get there early because John Lackey against Kevin Brown will surely feature a 7:05 fireworks show. I wouldn’t be surprised to see these guys give up four home runs tonight before being lifted. The A’s cooled down the White Sox for a couple days but Chicago now gets to play Detroit, KC, Toronto and Tampa over its next dozen games. They could easily be 24-10 by the time their schedule toughens on May 12th. Jason Bonderman won his third yesterday but he has not exactly had the kind of breakthrough start many pundits were predicting. He hasn’t been bad, just not special. The same cannot be said of his teammate Carlos Guillen who has been terrific. You know the Indians have bullpen problems when Scott Sauerbeck gets time. Before popping up in Cleveland, Scotty was last seen cleaning out the latrine at Fenway. The best forty something lefties in the AL right now are - in order: Jamie Moyer, Kenny Rogers and Randy Johnson. Rogers held Seattle scoreless for six last night even though he walked five. Do the Twins play the Royals every night? It is no wonder people predicted the Twins would win 100 – it is because they play Kansas City 35 times. I don’t see how Scott Kazmir can handcuff the Sox and get drilled by the Jays. Maybe Boston should trade for Alex Rios and keep him around as their designated Kazmir killer.
I think it is about time somebody took at shot at San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean who has been coddled by the national media for far too long. Has Sabean done a good job in San Francisco? The answer to that question is a resounding yes. Since he took over in 1997, Sabean has built the Giants into a consistent winner that has been to four playoffs in eight years and was a Scott Spiezio at bat away from a world championship. Granted, Sabean inherited the central piece to these recent teams, but that shouldn’t cloud the fact that he has done a great job of re-tooling the Giants with a mid-market budget. But Sabean’s story has been a little less rosy of late and its time he took a hit. In case you haven’t followed the Giants, Sabean’s stable is a little bit long in the tooth. To be specific, Bonds is 40, Grissom is 38, Tucker is 34, Snow is 37, Alfonzo is 32 in Dominican years, and Durham is 33. If this wasn’t enough maturity, Sabean went out this off-season and acquired 32 year old Armando Benitez. 35 year-old Mike Matheny, 38 year-old Omar Vizquel and 40 year old Moises Alou. In sum, Sabena took an aging team and made it ancient. And guess what – it is now breaking down. Alou got hurt right out of the box, Bonds has missed April and will likely miss May and now Benitez is probably done for the season. Sabean can’t be faulted for all these injuries, but what do you expect when you rely on guys whose odometers have all turned over. I understand that Sabean was in a bit of a box this winter since Bonds is headed for jail and therefore there is pressure to win right now. But my critique is not just about the old guys Brian brought in this off-season. Look at this team – with the exception of Pedro Feliz, there is not a single home grown player in the lineup. Everyone is a mid-range free agent import and that suggests to me that Sabean has done a very poor job developing and keeping young players. Sure, he has uncovered some value in the free agent market, but where are the low cost farm hands that are a must for mid-market teams? Secondly, this is a team whose bullpen has stunk in recent years, but whose fault is that since Sabean was the one who gave up on the Twins all-star Joe Nathan. It was hard to predict Nathan’s rise, but that is what good GM’s are paid to do. Finally, what about the case of catcher A.J Pierzynski? With A.J around last year, the Giants got unusually good starting pitching but with him gone, Frisco’s staff ERA is third worst in the NL. Oh, by the way, A.J. went to the Chicago White Sox and their staff ERA is now TWO RUNS lower then what it was last year. Is that a coincidence? I don’t want to make it seem like I am a huge critic of Sabean, because I am not. Hell, he caught some bad luck with the Benitez injury, but he has made a number of questionable moves that deserve critique. You will never hear such critiques form Peter Gammons and the rest of Brian’s fan club, but I think its time somebody hit this guy with something other then 24 ounce gloves. Sabean has done a good job in Frisco, but the guy across the Bay is just much better in my estimation. You give Billy Beane the same budget as Brian, and he will win you some pennants. And he will do it with guys who weren’t old enough to vote for Michael Dukakis.
For those of you who still think Penn State football is relevant, I suggest you take a look at what happened at last weekend’s NFL draft. Not a single Nitany Lion was selected in the draft. More then 250 players were selected in the draft but not a single one had the privilege of matriculating under the tutelage of Tyrannosaurus Paterno. That is pretty staggering when you consider that players from Grand Valley State, William Penn and Tuskegee all had their names read at the podium over the weekend. So that begs the question: How much further can this program fall? They were 4-7 last year, 3-9 the year before and a less then ordinary 26-33 since 2000. So let me get this straight. Penn State doesn’t win and can’t put any players into the pros yet the school remains wedded to a seventy-eight year old coach. What are they waiting for in College Park? Is it going to take a winless season to get rid of Paterno? Will 1-10 with a high-profile sexual abuse case be enough? How about 2-9 and the disclosure that Paterno lied on the job application he first filed back in 1951? Would that do the trick? I couldn’t care less that Paterno is an institution in Central Pennsylvania. There are countless institutions that have outlived their usefulness and Paterno is one of them. Hell, communism’s final years in Russia were better than Joe’s most recent at Penn State and you don’t see that economic institution still in place. Last weekend just confirmed what I have been saying for several years. It is time for Joe to go!
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
April 27 - It ain't about the shoes
It is all about the shoes, according to Sean Farnham, an analyst for Southern California Sports Report. Listen to this theory. There is a kid from Mater Dei High School in Orange County named Taylor King who is supposed to be the second coming of Chris Mullin. I think this comparison is made because the kid is white and can shoot, but maybe he is just a drunk like good old “Twelve Pack” Mullin. Regardless, Taylor is being coveted by a number of big schools even though he said two years ago – as a freshman – he was going to attend UCLA. Obviously, as a high school freshman, he wasn’t allowed to sign a national letter of intent, but some deranged UCLA fans (myself not included) thought Taylor’s verbal was carved in stone. Well, a couple of weeks ago, Taylor dropped the expected bomb and said he was rescinding his oral commitment and opening up the bidding to other schools. The junior says he is still considering UCLA, but is also looking at North Carolina, Syracuse, Arizona, Gonzaga and UCONN. So how does Farhnam describe the situation? Well, his theory suggests that King is now taking a look at schools that are sponsored by Nike since his current coach - Gary McKnight - has a pretty strong relationship with the shoe company. UCLA, it should be noted, is not a NIKE school and that, according to Farnham, sparked King to look elsewhere. This is a shining example of over-analysis in the media. Does Farnham, who couldn’t play a lick at UCLA, really believe that this kid’s college decision is going to come down to shoes? Is King really going to choose North Carolina simply out of loyalty to his coach and his coach’s shoe contract? This is a bit much for me, particularly because a former player of McKnight’s – Cedric Bozeman – currently plays at UCLA. If this shoe thing is such a big deal for McKnight, then why didn’t he steer Bozeman clear of Westwood. This Bruin alum wishes he had since Bozeman is arguably the worst prep All-American ever to play for UCLA and that includes Ray Young. Anyways, getting back to King, isn’t it possible that the kid just wants to weigh some options as he moves closer to making his binding commitment? Here is my theory on the subject – King is reconsidering because he wants to take five overnight recruiting trips where he will get to hook up with sure things in Chapel Hill, Tucson, Storrs and Syracuse. Sorry Taylor, there are no sure things at Gonzaga so you should replace that visit with a trip to Washington. All white kids from Orange County care about is getting some “Girls Gone Wild” ass, especially those who attend all-boys catholic schools. So Sean, spare us the Nike crap.
Notes from the National: How in the world did the Braves, without Chipper, get seven hits and four runs of Pedro? I could have sworn that was going to be a no-hitter. It was good to see Smoltz finally get a win, although the Braves cannot feel too good about lifting their closer - Danny Kolb - in the ninth. How long before Chris Reitsma gets that job? Jon Lieber finally lost last night as he uncharacteristically walked four in Washington. Philly fans have begun huddling outside of Citizens Bank Park and looking for the black smoke that will indicate GM Ed Wade has been fired or killed. Lance Berkman has played in a few rehab starts and it looks like he is about a week away from joining the A-Holes. Carlos Zambrano and Eric Milton took turns being gang banged last night at Wrigley and even Ken Griffey got in on the act with four RBI. The Cubs have many problems right now but Derrick Lee is not one of them. Jeff Suppan actually won a game at Busch last night but it was a costly victory for the Cards as they lost their closer – Jason Isringhausen – for a while with a pulled stomach muscle. Peter Gammons NL Rookie of the Year pick – J.J Hardy of the Brewers – is hitting .140 with two extras in fifty at bats. My ROY pick – Garret Atkins – debuted for the Rockies last night and had two hits. Josh Beckett’s line doesn’t read so well but he did hold the Rockies in check at Coors. The Diamondbacks have now won five straight while the Dodgers have lost five or six after Arizona’s 3-2 win in LA. The DBacks unquestionably overpaid for Russ Ortiz in the off-season, but four of his five starts this year have been pretty solid. Jason Schmidt was all over the place last night as it took him 131 pitches to get 20 outs. Benitez got touched up last night, giving up a game tying home run to Nevin, but J.T. Snow bailed him out in the bottom of the eighth. Snow had two doubles and a triple last night and is hitting .421 over the past week.
Airmail from the AL: The Red Sox are quickly using up their season’s allotment of bad losses as last night was a killer. As I wrote yesterday, Keith Foulke has been incredibly shaky and he showed that again last night as he gave up not one, but two Jacks. Matt Clement was completely ineffective and Alan Embree proved once again that he cannot keep inherited runners from scoring. You know things are bad in Boston when the Sox get to their nemesis – Rod Lopez – yet still lose. And to make matters worse, Curt Schilling is now going on the DL because of a bruised ankle, which makes him the third Red Sox pitcher to hurt his foot this week. Wade Miller better get his ass up to the majors in a hurry. On the bright side for Boston, Manny is certifiably on fire as he drove in his 21st over the past 11 games. Miggy and Mora were 8-11 last night with five runs scored. GAYROD had a season last night with three blasts and ten RBI. He now has 25 RBI on the year, but 16 have come in two games that the Yankees collectively won by 19 runs. “Mr. Rodriguez, would you like to hang those numbers up with these shirts?” Pavano chipped in with seven strong innings but where are the Ks? Johan won his seventeenth straight decision for the Twinkies last night. That streak dates back to July 11th and with three more wins, Santana will tie the Rocket for most consecutive victories in AL history. Wasn’t Joe Mauer supposed to be a difference maker for the Twins this year? He has five RBI in seventeen games. Ted Lilly picked up a cheap win over Dewon Brazelton in Toronto last night, moving Dewon’s career record on the road to a terrific 0-11. If you combine Brazelton at home with Jeff Suppan on the road, you may have something. Oakland scored a week’s worth of runs last night in a pitching duel that never materialized between Harden and Buehrle. Chavez had a couple of knocks last night and perhaps that gets him going. Beltre finally hit a dong for the Ms, but that only gives him two on the year. He is traditionally a slow starter so perhaps last night gets the ball rolling. Ichio, by the way, is down to .333 after hitting only .192 over the past week. It has been a bad stretch for the Japanese as the Hideki Matsui has now dipped below .300 and the Chinese are calling bullshit on that weak World War II apology.
Jason Kidd and Vince Carter are certifiable stars but it is now clear that they can’t take out the Heat by themselves. The Nets just don’t have the guns up front to stop the Heat, even though Nenad Kristic did play well last night. Take a look at what New Jersey’s starting forwards contributed. Jason Collins was 0-4 with a single point and Brian Scalabrine was 0-3 on a scoreless night. If that wasn’t bad enough, Cliff Robinson came off the bench to snag just two rebounds before he fouled out in fifteen minutes of action. The Nets just got pounded on the boards last night while shooting a putrid 36 percent from the field. And while they did a much better job stopping Dwayne Wade, the Nets were still haunted by Damon Jones who drained four bombs. I had thought the Nets were probably good enough to win a pair in this series, but I now think one is more realistic. What is the over/under on attendance for Game 3 at the Meadowlands Friday night?
Notes from the National: How in the world did the Braves, without Chipper, get seven hits and four runs of Pedro? I could have sworn that was going to be a no-hitter. It was good to see Smoltz finally get a win, although the Braves cannot feel too good about lifting their closer - Danny Kolb - in the ninth. How long before Chris Reitsma gets that job? Jon Lieber finally lost last night as he uncharacteristically walked four in Washington. Philly fans have begun huddling outside of Citizens Bank Park and looking for the black smoke that will indicate GM Ed Wade has been fired or killed. Lance Berkman has played in a few rehab starts and it looks like he is about a week away from joining the A-Holes. Carlos Zambrano and Eric Milton took turns being gang banged last night at Wrigley and even Ken Griffey got in on the act with four RBI. The Cubs have many problems right now but Derrick Lee is not one of them. Jeff Suppan actually won a game at Busch last night but it was a costly victory for the Cards as they lost their closer – Jason Isringhausen – for a while with a pulled stomach muscle. Peter Gammons NL Rookie of the Year pick – J.J Hardy of the Brewers – is hitting .140 with two extras in fifty at bats. My ROY pick – Garret Atkins – debuted for the Rockies last night and had two hits. Josh Beckett’s line doesn’t read so well but he did hold the Rockies in check at Coors. The Diamondbacks have now won five straight while the Dodgers have lost five or six after Arizona’s 3-2 win in LA. The DBacks unquestionably overpaid for Russ Ortiz in the off-season, but four of his five starts this year have been pretty solid. Jason Schmidt was all over the place last night as it took him 131 pitches to get 20 outs. Benitez got touched up last night, giving up a game tying home run to Nevin, but J.T. Snow bailed him out in the bottom of the eighth. Snow had two doubles and a triple last night and is hitting .421 over the past week.
Airmail from the AL: The Red Sox are quickly using up their season’s allotment of bad losses as last night was a killer. As I wrote yesterday, Keith Foulke has been incredibly shaky and he showed that again last night as he gave up not one, but two Jacks. Matt Clement was completely ineffective and Alan Embree proved once again that he cannot keep inherited runners from scoring. You know things are bad in Boston when the Sox get to their nemesis – Rod Lopez – yet still lose. And to make matters worse, Curt Schilling is now going on the DL because of a bruised ankle, which makes him the third Red Sox pitcher to hurt his foot this week. Wade Miller better get his ass up to the majors in a hurry. On the bright side for Boston, Manny is certifiably on fire as he drove in his 21st over the past 11 games. Miggy and Mora were 8-11 last night with five runs scored. GAYROD had a season last night with three blasts and ten RBI. He now has 25 RBI on the year, but 16 have come in two games that the Yankees collectively won by 19 runs. “Mr. Rodriguez, would you like to hang those numbers up with these shirts?” Pavano chipped in with seven strong innings but where are the Ks? Johan won his seventeenth straight decision for the Twinkies last night. That streak dates back to July 11th and with three more wins, Santana will tie the Rocket for most consecutive victories in AL history. Wasn’t Joe Mauer supposed to be a difference maker for the Twins this year? He has five RBI in seventeen games. Ted Lilly picked up a cheap win over Dewon Brazelton in Toronto last night, moving Dewon’s career record on the road to a terrific 0-11. If you combine Brazelton at home with Jeff Suppan on the road, you may have something. Oakland scored a week’s worth of runs last night in a pitching duel that never materialized between Harden and Buehrle. Chavez had a couple of knocks last night and perhaps that gets him going. Beltre finally hit a dong for the Ms, but that only gives him two on the year. He is traditionally a slow starter so perhaps last night gets the ball rolling. Ichio, by the way, is down to .333 after hitting only .192 over the past week. It has been a bad stretch for the Japanese as the Hideki Matsui has now dipped below .300 and the Chinese are calling bullshit on that weak World War II apology.
Jason Kidd and Vince Carter are certifiable stars but it is now clear that they can’t take out the Heat by themselves. The Nets just don’t have the guns up front to stop the Heat, even though Nenad Kristic did play well last night. Take a look at what New Jersey’s starting forwards contributed. Jason Collins was 0-4 with a single point and Brian Scalabrine was 0-3 on a scoreless night. If that wasn’t bad enough, Cliff Robinson came off the bench to snag just two rebounds before he fouled out in fifteen minutes of action. The Nets just got pounded on the boards last night while shooting a putrid 36 percent from the field. And while they did a much better job stopping Dwayne Wade, the Nets were still haunted by Damon Jones who drained four bombs. I had thought the Nets were probably good enough to win a pair in this series, but I now think one is more realistic. What is the over/under on attendance for Game 3 at the Meadowlands Friday night?
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
April 26 - The Stars Come Out in Dallas
The NBA is all about stars as Houston’s two big guns proved quite emphatically last night in Dallas. Houston’s big duo of Yao and Tracy McCrady were simply too much for Dallas for stop as Yao went 13-14 from the field and Tracy poured in 28 including the game winner with two seconds to go. Maverick coach Avery Johnson better figure out a way to guard McCrady and Bobby Sura off those high screens or this series will never make it back to Dallas. Even as things stand right now, Dallas has almost no chance of prevailing as it would be only the third team in NBA history to lose the first two games of a seven game series at home and then come back to win the series. While Dallas looks to be in real trouble, Houston looks like a team capable of coming out of the West. McCrady is playing terrific right now and Van Gundy’s supporting cast is probably good enough to play with any other team out west. David Wesley is a bit of a stiff at point guard, but who needs Wesley when the rest of your team is making well over fifty percent of its shots? It is a bit too early to go crazy over this team, but if they were to lose this series, it would be the greatest collapse the city of Houston has seen since Enron got swept off the Big Board in the fall of 2001. For my money, I’ll take Van Gundy over Lay any day of the week to coach my team.
It was not a pretty sight in Boston last night where the Celtics experienced a complete fourth quarter meltdown and, in doing so, let the Indiana Pacers back into this best-of-seven series. In case you missed it, Boston led 75-68 with more then eight minutes to go. From there on out, the Celts scored an impressive four points on their way to a 82-79 loss. Along the way, the Celts missed a bunch of threes and made only one of eleven shots from the field. The Celts shot selection wasn’t merely bad – it was terrifying. Pierce took a few shots from Brookline while Toine took one shot that he wouldn’t try again in a game of HORSE. Toine then compounded his error by missing a couple of layups just as the Pacers were rallying. Indiana wasn’t playing a whole lot better down the stretch, but everything is relative in the NBA. While the Celtics were counting their money, the Pacers did just enough to get by, led of course, by fifty-four year old Reggie Miller who went for 28. Miller hasn’t had an outburst like that since his late forties and it clearly caught the Celtics off guard. Tell me how the Pacers won last night while being out-rebounded 44-31. I’ll tell you how – the Celts turned the ball over sixteen times, including some real killers down the stretch.
Notes from the National League: The Phillies, short Pat Burrell, snapped a three game losing streak at Washington last night behind Corey Lidle. Philly pinch-hitter Jose Offerman actually had a triple in this game, although replays showed National third baseman Vinny Castilla tagged Jose’s wheelchair before he got to the bag. Oliver Perez finally showed up to give the Pirates a nice outing as he threw seven scoreless innings against the A-holes. Atlanta and Pittsburgh have the worst offenses in the NL but Houston isn’t too far behind. Why was Chris Burke, a second baseman, playing left for Houston last night while Craig Biggio was playing second? Aaron Heilman gave the Mets seven strong innings last night although I have to deduct a couple of points since it came against the Braves. We got Smoltz and Pedro at Shea tonight at 7:10. You want to know what batters are hitting against Pedro this year - .110! Petey could very well throw a no hitter tonight. The Cubs blasted the Reds last night at Wrigley but if looks like they may have lost reliever Chad Fox for the year. Can anyone on that staff stay healthy? Mark Prior pitched well last night, striking out ten in six innings, while Nomar’s replacement, Neifi Perez, hit his third home run of the year. That is three more then the Cubs eight million dollar man. Meanwhile, Ken Griffey had a few hits for the Reds who are probably dying for Griff to get hot so they can begin talks to move Sean Casey or Adam Dunn, The Diamondbacks won their fourth straight last night behind AL East castoffs Javy Vasquez and Brandon Lyon. I guess the Diamondbacks don’t miss Randy Johnson after all. Wasn’t Shawn Green going to sit out this week because of Passover? The Padres got well last night against the hapless Giants who are just 3-10 against teams other then Colorado.
Airmail from the American League: Are any leads in baseball safe anymore? Now Minnesota’s Juan Rincon is getting into the swing with a blown save against Detroit yesterday. The stated attendance for that makeup was fifteen thousand but it looked like there were no more then three thousand at Comerica. It looked like a New York Knights game before Roy Hobbs was brought up. For the Twins, Justin Morneau is 3-7 since returning from that beaning so I guess we can put that issue to sleep. Take a look at the top of Detroit’s lineup – all five regulars are hitting .300 while Carlos Guillen is chasing Ted Williams. Boy did the Mariners mess up when they let him go. The Red Sox were lackluster again last night and I’ll have more on them later, while the Orioles keep chugging along behind Bruce Chen. The Panamanian-born Chen has some of the worst stuff in baseball, but he has given the birds four good starts. Chen is a perfect example of what can happen when a pitcher actually throws strikes. Sosa struck out swinging four times last night – doesn’t that entitle him to upgrade his golden sombrero to a platinum version? Manny also whiffed four times while Mark Belhorn picked up number 26. You know it’s a bad night in Boston when not one, but two Sox sprain their ankles. The White Sox are simply on fire right now as they won their eighth straight last night in Oakland. Jon Garland, who pitched a four hit shutout, sure looks like an ace right now although Oakland is probably the proper benchmark. He’s only given up eleven hits in his last 24 innings. The White Sox ERA is 2.91 this season while it was 4.90 a year ago when they won 83 games. Meanwhile, Barry Zito dropped to 0-4 and the Oakland offense officially bottomed out. Eric Chavez is in a miserable slump and Jason Kendell is providing absolutely no spark. Is it too early to start dangling Dotel for a bat? The Blue Jays had the nerve yesterday to fire their batting coach, Mike Barnett, just twenty games into the season. The Jays must have expected this guy to work miracles but, in his defense, there is only so much you can do with Corey Koskie and Alex Rios.
I have been highly critical of the Yankees over the past week, but to be fair, their main rival in the AL East has not exactly been setting the world on fire this year. After twenty games, the Red Sox are a pedestrian 11-9 against an exclusive diet of AL East teams. This team has a bunch of problems right now. Starting with the staff, Curt Schilling has lost his ability to put batters away and you never know what you are going get with David Wells. Alan Embree has been dreadful since he started squawking off to the Boston Globe and Keith Foulke has certainly had his own troubles. And what about that vaunted offense that scored fifty runs more than any other team in the American League last year? Well, Mark Belhorn has struck out 26 times in 66 at bats, Kevin Millar has yet to hit a home run and Edgar Renteria has been extremely quiet so far. Add in Billy Mueller’s weeklong battle with a mysterious flu strain and it all computes to some inconsistent production, especially against lefthanders. And let’s take a look at the big three of Manny, Papi and Damon for a second. All have pretty decent numbers but I have watched virtually every inning this year and a big chunk of this largesse has come against Tampa. I expect some of these offensive problems to iron themselves out, but that is not to say that changes to this lineup don’t loom. First of all, Belhorn has to go. I was able to stomach his whiffs last year when he was getting on base .380 of the time, but this year, his Ks are up and his OBP is now under .350. More importantly, Belhorn just cannot be relied upon in a big spot as he proved Saturday night when he whiffed with the game on the line. If his problems continue, and I suspect they will, I would not be surprised to see AA stud Dustin Pedroia called up on July 1st so long as he keeps tearing it up at Portland. First base is the other spot worth watching. Kevin Millar’s bat can no longer justify his glove and his inability to hit in the clutch is a real problem. Do you think Theo is going to sit by and let this beer leaguer continue to kill rallies? This should be an easy spot to fill in July if the streaky Millar doesn’t turn it around. I suspect that both Sean Casey and Adam Dunn will be made available by the Reds and I can see them biting on an Arroyo for Casey deal. Things will not get any easier for the Sox tonight as they go up against their nemesis Rodrigo Lopez. With a loss tonight, the Sox will be 11-10 and that is a far cry from the April this team had last year. On the bright side, last year’s team plodded along in May and June so this team will have an opportunity to get back on pace.
It was not a pretty sight in Boston last night where the Celtics experienced a complete fourth quarter meltdown and, in doing so, let the Indiana Pacers back into this best-of-seven series. In case you missed it, Boston led 75-68 with more then eight minutes to go. From there on out, the Celts scored an impressive four points on their way to a 82-79 loss. Along the way, the Celts missed a bunch of threes and made only one of eleven shots from the field. The Celts shot selection wasn’t merely bad – it was terrifying. Pierce took a few shots from Brookline while Toine took one shot that he wouldn’t try again in a game of HORSE. Toine then compounded his error by missing a couple of layups just as the Pacers were rallying. Indiana wasn’t playing a whole lot better down the stretch, but everything is relative in the NBA. While the Celtics were counting their money, the Pacers did just enough to get by, led of course, by fifty-four year old Reggie Miller who went for 28. Miller hasn’t had an outburst like that since his late forties and it clearly caught the Celtics off guard. Tell me how the Pacers won last night while being out-rebounded 44-31. I’ll tell you how – the Celts turned the ball over sixteen times, including some real killers down the stretch.
Notes from the National League: The Phillies, short Pat Burrell, snapped a three game losing streak at Washington last night behind Corey Lidle. Philly pinch-hitter Jose Offerman actually had a triple in this game, although replays showed National third baseman Vinny Castilla tagged Jose’s wheelchair before he got to the bag. Oliver Perez finally showed up to give the Pirates a nice outing as he threw seven scoreless innings against the A-holes. Atlanta and Pittsburgh have the worst offenses in the NL but Houston isn’t too far behind. Why was Chris Burke, a second baseman, playing left for Houston last night while Craig Biggio was playing second? Aaron Heilman gave the Mets seven strong innings last night although I have to deduct a couple of points since it came against the Braves. We got Smoltz and Pedro at Shea tonight at 7:10. You want to know what batters are hitting against Pedro this year - .110! Petey could very well throw a no hitter tonight. The Cubs blasted the Reds last night at Wrigley but if looks like they may have lost reliever Chad Fox for the year. Can anyone on that staff stay healthy? Mark Prior pitched well last night, striking out ten in six innings, while Nomar’s replacement, Neifi Perez, hit his third home run of the year. That is three more then the Cubs eight million dollar man. Meanwhile, Ken Griffey had a few hits for the Reds who are probably dying for Griff to get hot so they can begin talks to move Sean Casey or Adam Dunn, The Diamondbacks won their fourth straight last night behind AL East castoffs Javy Vasquez and Brandon Lyon. I guess the Diamondbacks don’t miss Randy Johnson after all. Wasn’t Shawn Green going to sit out this week because of Passover? The Padres got well last night against the hapless Giants who are just 3-10 against teams other then Colorado.
Airmail from the American League: Are any leads in baseball safe anymore? Now Minnesota’s Juan Rincon is getting into the swing with a blown save against Detroit yesterday. The stated attendance for that makeup was fifteen thousand but it looked like there were no more then three thousand at Comerica. It looked like a New York Knights game before Roy Hobbs was brought up. For the Twins, Justin Morneau is 3-7 since returning from that beaning so I guess we can put that issue to sleep. Take a look at the top of Detroit’s lineup – all five regulars are hitting .300 while Carlos Guillen is chasing Ted Williams. Boy did the Mariners mess up when they let him go. The Red Sox were lackluster again last night and I’ll have more on them later, while the Orioles keep chugging along behind Bruce Chen. The Panamanian-born Chen has some of the worst stuff in baseball, but he has given the birds four good starts. Chen is a perfect example of what can happen when a pitcher actually throws strikes. Sosa struck out swinging four times last night – doesn’t that entitle him to upgrade his golden sombrero to a platinum version? Manny also whiffed four times while Mark Belhorn picked up number 26. You know it’s a bad night in Boston when not one, but two Sox sprain their ankles. The White Sox are simply on fire right now as they won their eighth straight last night in Oakland. Jon Garland, who pitched a four hit shutout, sure looks like an ace right now although Oakland is probably the proper benchmark. He’s only given up eleven hits in his last 24 innings. The White Sox ERA is 2.91 this season while it was 4.90 a year ago when they won 83 games. Meanwhile, Barry Zito dropped to 0-4 and the Oakland offense officially bottomed out. Eric Chavez is in a miserable slump and Jason Kendell is providing absolutely no spark. Is it too early to start dangling Dotel for a bat? The Blue Jays had the nerve yesterday to fire their batting coach, Mike Barnett, just twenty games into the season. The Jays must have expected this guy to work miracles but, in his defense, there is only so much you can do with Corey Koskie and Alex Rios.
I have been highly critical of the Yankees over the past week, but to be fair, their main rival in the AL East has not exactly been setting the world on fire this year. After twenty games, the Red Sox are a pedestrian 11-9 against an exclusive diet of AL East teams. This team has a bunch of problems right now. Starting with the staff, Curt Schilling has lost his ability to put batters away and you never know what you are going get with David Wells. Alan Embree has been dreadful since he started squawking off to the Boston Globe and Keith Foulke has certainly had his own troubles. And what about that vaunted offense that scored fifty runs more than any other team in the American League last year? Well, Mark Belhorn has struck out 26 times in 66 at bats, Kevin Millar has yet to hit a home run and Edgar Renteria has been extremely quiet so far. Add in Billy Mueller’s weeklong battle with a mysterious flu strain and it all computes to some inconsistent production, especially against lefthanders. And let’s take a look at the big three of Manny, Papi and Damon for a second. All have pretty decent numbers but I have watched virtually every inning this year and a big chunk of this largesse has come against Tampa. I expect some of these offensive problems to iron themselves out, but that is not to say that changes to this lineup don’t loom. First of all, Belhorn has to go. I was able to stomach his whiffs last year when he was getting on base .380 of the time, but this year, his Ks are up and his OBP is now under .350. More importantly, Belhorn just cannot be relied upon in a big spot as he proved Saturday night when he whiffed with the game on the line. If his problems continue, and I suspect they will, I would not be surprised to see AA stud Dustin Pedroia called up on July 1st so long as he keeps tearing it up at Portland. First base is the other spot worth watching. Kevin Millar’s bat can no longer justify his glove and his inability to hit in the clutch is a real problem. Do you think Theo is going to sit by and let this beer leaguer continue to kill rallies? This should be an easy spot to fill in July if the streaky Millar doesn’t turn it around. I suspect that both Sean Casey and Adam Dunn will be made available by the Reds and I can see them biting on an Arroyo for Casey deal. Things will not get any easier for the Sox tonight as they go up against their nemesis Rodrigo Lopez. With a loss tonight, the Sox will be 11-10 and that is a far cry from the April this team had last year. On the bright side, last year’s team plodded along in May and June so this team will have an opportunity to get back on pace.
Monday, April 25, 2005
The Holic Catches Hell From Pete Coors
The following showed up in the Holic's inbox this afternoon from the Colorado Cat, who swears he isn't Gary Barnett, Gov. Bill Owens or Pat Bowlen.
"The Sportsaholic appears to have been drinking too much this weekend. Not a lot of love for anyone in the sports world more than 30 miles from the big dig. I’m thinking bender Saturday and Sunday… First of all, the mastermind made a great pick at the end of the third round. Clarett is one of the most talented players in the draft and received a completely bad wrap for the very minor and way overblown issues at OSU. And part of the issue, which he brought on himself by telling the truth about OSU after they screwed him on eligibility, I commend him for! Would have thought the Sportsaholic had Claretts back with spilling the beans under those circumstances… Combine times are also way overrated in my opinion; especially when you look at what the kid has done on the field (1,237 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman despite missing three games with injuries.) Clarett seems humble now and is ready to work to prove he belongs. He’s going to be a player! And if not- Who cares, he is basically a 4th round pick. How many 4th rounders and below will make NFL squads this year?
Staying in Colorado, the Sportsaholic also failed to realize the true story is the West 2 vs. 7 series. The story is the second best record in NBA history since the all star break, not Duncan’s ankle.. Is the Sportsaholic beginning to align himself with Barkley and Kenny Smith. Next we will probably see the Sportsaholic taking the Spurs in this series… ""
Wow, those are some fighting words even though the Holic will concede up front that he had a few this weekend. Where do I start. I guess I have to start off with that referrence to a "mastermind." I suspect the Cat is referring to Mike Shanahan, who is otherwise known as "The Retard of the Rockies. Lest anyone forgot this little set of facts: Shanahan hasn't won a playoff game since John Elway retired. That is six seasons with only three playoff appearances. His teams happened to lose those heartbreakers by the following scores: 21-3, 41-10, and 49-24. Had the "mastermind" not had those two rings that Elway bought him from Zales, he would have been fired two years ago. And it was too bad for Broncos fans that this didn't happen since this off-season has been an unmitigated disaster.
So let's get to Maurice. Combine times aren't important if they are off by fractions but Clarett took 6.9 seconds to run forty yards and that was with the help of a 75 mile tailwind down on the gulf. Clarett isn't merely slow - he is catatonic. They don't call him "flat tire" for nothing. Further, I give Clarett no credit for ratting out his boys at Ohio State, True, those scumbags at OSU hung him out to dry, but he was the one accepting gifts. I didn't see him offering any press releases while he still had his eligibility. In the Holic's book, once you take the gift, you get short shrift. The Holic also takes issue with the Cat's view that fourth rounders have little value. Wasn't Terrel Davis a sixth rounder?
So on to the Nuggets. I have nothing against this series, but I just couldn't find anything of note to say on game one. What do you want me to say - that if the Nuggets win this series, it will be the biggest playoff upset since the 8th seeded Noogies beat the top seeded Sonics? That woudln't be truthful since the Nuggets are only +175 which isn't exactly David versus that Big Guy. I give the Nugggets a fighting chance in this tiff, which is a big story, at least as big as they come in the NBA. But that isn't saying too much.
Sox down 3-2 in the second to the O's. I guess Wells is struggling with the gout once again.
"The Sportsaholic appears to have been drinking too much this weekend. Not a lot of love for anyone in the sports world more than 30 miles from the big dig. I’m thinking bender Saturday and Sunday… First of all, the mastermind made a great pick at the end of the third round. Clarett is one of the most talented players in the draft and received a completely bad wrap for the very minor and way overblown issues at OSU. And part of the issue, which he brought on himself by telling the truth about OSU after they screwed him on eligibility, I commend him for! Would have thought the Sportsaholic had Claretts back with spilling the beans under those circumstances… Combine times are also way overrated in my opinion; especially when you look at what the kid has done on the field (1,237 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman despite missing three games with injuries.) Clarett seems humble now and is ready to work to prove he belongs. He’s going to be a player! And if not- Who cares, he is basically a 4th round pick. How many 4th rounders and below will make NFL squads this year?
Staying in Colorado, the Sportsaholic also failed to realize the true story is the West 2 vs. 7 series. The story is the second best record in NBA history since the all star break, not Duncan’s ankle.. Is the Sportsaholic beginning to align himself with Barkley and Kenny Smith. Next we will probably see the Sportsaholic taking the Spurs in this series… ""
Wow, those are some fighting words even though the Holic will concede up front that he had a few this weekend. Where do I start. I guess I have to start off with that referrence to a "mastermind." I suspect the Cat is referring to Mike Shanahan, who is otherwise known as "The Retard of the Rockies. Lest anyone forgot this little set of facts: Shanahan hasn't won a playoff game since John Elway retired. That is six seasons with only three playoff appearances. His teams happened to lose those heartbreakers by the following scores: 21-3, 41-10, and 49-24. Had the "mastermind" not had those two rings that Elway bought him from Zales, he would have been fired two years ago. And it was too bad for Broncos fans that this didn't happen since this off-season has been an unmitigated disaster.
So let's get to Maurice. Combine times aren't important if they are off by fractions but Clarett took 6.9 seconds to run forty yards and that was with the help of a 75 mile tailwind down on the gulf. Clarett isn't merely slow - he is catatonic. They don't call him "flat tire" for nothing. Further, I give Clarett no credit for ratting out his boys at Ohio State, True, those scumbags at OSU hung him out to dry, but he was the one accepting gifts. I didn't see him offering any press releases while he still had his eligibility. In the Holic's book, once you take the gift, you get short shrift. The Holic also takes issue with the Cat's view that fourth rounders have little value. Wasn't Terrel Davis a sixth rounder?
So on to the Nuggets. I have nothing against this series, but I just couldn't find anything of note to say on game one. What do you want me to say - that if the Nuggets win this series, it will be the biggest playoff upset since the 8th seeded Noogies beat the top seeded Sonics? That woudln't be truthful since the Nuggets are only +175 which isn't exactly David versus that Big Guy. I give the Nugggets a fighting chance in this tiff, which is a big story, at least as big as they come in the NBA. But that isn't saying too much.
Sox down 3-2 in the second to the O's. I guess Wells is struggling with the gout once again.
April 24 - It's Getting Drafty in Here
There is a ton to cover today after a busy weekend in Sports. As such, I have 2000 words on the draft, the Jets selection of a kicker and a convict, Kiper's deference to Belichick, and meltdowns in Denver and Washington. I also have a ton of stuff on Baseball and some thoughts on the opening NBA playoff games. Lastly, I am putting on my media analyst hat today with some comments on some Radio programming. You want to know how busy a weekend it was - it was so busy I don't have a single word on Vijay's playoff win over Daly.
I didn’t spend a ton of time watching the nonsense that is the NFL draft but here are a few observations on the first round: Aaron Rogers lost about $12 million dollars on Saturday, which is s about the difference in signing bonuses that one gets from being the first pick in the draft and the 24th pick. It is hard to argue that it was worth it, but Rogers probably ended up in a good spot where he will be able to learn how to throw game ending interceptions from the best. Braylon Edwards may have tons of talent, but Trent Dilfer will be unable to get him the ball fifty times next year. Three corners went before the first pass rusher was selected on Saturday. That confirms this was one of the weakest drafts in recent memory. The Lions selected a wide receiver – Mike Williams - with a top-10 pick for the third straight year. I guess they are through watching Charles Rogers sit out a dozen games with a broken collarbone. The Lions selection of Williams really screwed San Diego who really wanted the former Trojan. Can you imagine that red zone offense with both Williams and Antonio Gates? So Parcells got a couple of defensive ends that supposedly will bulk up his defense. Does that mean he’s back? Not with Drew Bledsoe slinging the pigskin. As I suspected, Parcells life long partner – Mike Francesa – is fawning all over what the Cowboys did this weekend. No surprise there from Bill’s WFAN-based publicist. Would you trade Randy Moss for Troy Williamson, a serviceable linebacker (Napolean Harris) and some salary cap flexibility that could be used to beef up your defense? A lot of people gave the Vikings hell for trading Moss, but this one looks alright to me if Williamson emerges within a couple years as a 65 catch guy who can find the end zone. I actually like the second guy the Vikes picked in round one – Erasmus James from Wisconsin. For some reason, I actually watched a few Badger games last year and this guy can get to the passer. With James and Kenechi Udeze on the corners and emerging superstar Kevin Williams at tackle, the Vikes have a young group that should be able to pressure quarterbacks for the next three or four years when Williams will become a FA.
The Chiefs caught a falling knife at fifteen when they selected Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson. It seems Vermeil was persuaded by his old defensive coordinator - Greg Robinson – who coached Johnson at Texas this year and vouched for the kid. But that begs the question of why Vermeil is listening to a guy he fired a year ago? Matt Jones, the kid Jacksonville took from Arkansas, looks a lot more like a surf rat from Orange County than a born again NFL wide receiver. This kid appears to have a ton of athletic skill but will this former quarterback be able to flourish as a wide out? The question on Jones is whether he will better or worse then Drew Bennett, the other quarterback convert who catches ball in the AFC South. Everyone seems to love the Ravens selection of wide receiver Mark Clayton, and I suspect he is an upgrade over Travis Taylor, but you could put Terrell Owens in Baltimore and it wouldn’t matter so long as Kyle Boller was throwing the ball. Everyone is getting on Seattle for selecting a center from Mississippi in the first round, but should that come as a surprise given the turnover the Hawks have had in the front office. Northwestern defense tackle Luis Castillo snuck in to the first round despite admitting past steroid abuse – do you think that would have happened if he had been guilty of spousal abuse? The Patriots ran the ball down the Colts throat in the playoffs last year so what did Indy GM Bill Polian do – he picked up a cornerback. I guess that is better then another punkass wide receiver or undersized defensive tackle. You would have thought the Steelers just got their hands on Tony Gonzalez the way people are gushing over Heath Miller. Is Miller that good or is the media just obsessed with this franchise? The answer is probably somewhere in the middle.
Some other draft day thoughts:
Over the past two years, the Skins have given up four high picks (a first, second, third and fourth) for Mark Brunell and Jason Campbell. That is a heavy cost for one scrub headed for retirement and a SEC quarterback who was helped out by a big-time running game. The move to get Campbell was another debacle in an off-season of discontent in Washington. Gibbs should go back to NASCAR before his reputation is completely sullied.
Did the Jets stretch by selecting Ohio State Kicker Dave Nugent in the second round? Some outside of New York think it was a reach, but I think it was a sound pick, especially since it may be therapeutic for those fans still smarting from the ay last season ended in Pittsburgh. Having a deadly kicker can be a very valuable tool, especially for those who are ready to win right now. But are the Jets that close? Over the past 36 hours, I have heard some Jets fans say Nugent is all the Jets need to close a small gap between gang green and the Patriots. What gap are these people talking about? The Jets have lost four in a row to New England and only a meaningless late score prevented the Jets from losing 23-0 to the Pats at the Meadowlands last year. Nugent may be good, but he isn’t good enough to close that gap.
Jets fans are also excited by the selection of Justin Miller from Clemson, probably because ESPN showed some highlights of Miller this weekend that were nothing short of spectacular. Here is a message to those fans – highlight reels are intended to showcase a player’s strengths and should not be used to assess a player’s overall skill. To get the other part of Miller’s story, you should check out some footage that South Carolina troopers have of Miler playing nickel back at a party last weekend in Clemson. For those of you who don’t know Miler’s story, he was arrested for fighting with cops just days before the NFL draft. He is supposedly a great hitter who will certainly be a factor when the inmates play the guards.
What were the Denver Broncos doing this weekend? The Broncos selected three corners with rap sheets with their first three picks and then went for Maurice Clarett with the final pick in the third round. Since when did the Broncos get good enough to throw away valuable picks on disgruntled running backs that can’t run? This team is an absolute mess right now. They spent the off-season gathering former Cleveland flameouts and now they are going for another Buckeye state bust. What is next – bringing Ken Griffey in to play strong safety?
Is it just me or do other people think it is funny how much deference NFL draft analysts now give New England Coach Bill Belichick and Personnel Director Scott Pioli? This weekend, you could look far and wide, but almost no print or broadcast analysts (other then the Boston Herald’s Kevin Mannix) were willing to criticize the Patriots brain trust for selecting Fresno State tackle Logan Mankins at the end of the first round, even though Mankins was considered by many to be a third round prospect. Other teams would have been vilified for selecting Mankins, especially by NFL draft guru Mel Kiper who usually takes teams to task for reaching in the first two rounds. But Kiper was silent early Saturday evening when Mankins name was called and the thought here is Kiper, along with other draft analysts, is leery of challenging anything that the Belichick and Pioli touch. My sense is Pioli and Bells have nailed so many home runs in the past five years that analysts no longer have the confidence or the balls necessary to challenge their primary picks. After all, these are the guys who found Brady in the sixth round, starting center Dan Koppen in the fifth round and starting receiver David Givens in the seventh round. With that kind of track record, who is to say that Mankins won’t be playing in Hawaii within a couple years?
National League Notes: Its one thing to get knocked up by the Mets, but Vinnie Padilla got smacked around yesterday by the Braves of all people. That was an ugly weekend for the Phills, getting outscored 20-3 in a three game sweep to the Bravos. Speaking of the Braves, they have given up only 15 runs in their last nine games, although they only went 5-4 over that stretch. At some point, the Braves will have to go out and get some offense if their outfield continues to struggle. The Reds scored a whopping six runs this weekend down in Miami, but two on Sunday were good enough to stave off the sweep. John Kerry ran very poorly in Cincinnati in the last presidential election, but if he ran today against Ken Griffey in a citywide popularity contest, who would get more votes? The bet here is Kerry would as long as Griffey continues to hit .204 and slug .288. Heck, Kerry used to slug .300 before he flipped and became a pitcher. How many Asian pitchers play for the Mets? Let’s see, there is Koo, there is Ishii, and there is Seo. I thought you were supposed to keep the Koreans and the Japanese separate and that is why I think the Mets should trade Ishii to Texas for the revitalized Chan Ho Park? On second thought, if you put three South Koreans on the field at Shea, it may lead to increased tensions with the clowns in North Korea who love the Yanks. Jose Reyes has now failed to walk in 82 appearances. Does Jose think we are spinning the wheel on the Price is Right where the winner is closest to a hundred without going over? Jose, you are trying to win baseball games - not advance to the Showcase Showdown. The Cards swept the Astros this weekend and have won nine of ten. Maybe last year wasn’t a fluke after all. The M&M boys, Mulder, Marquis and Morris, all picked up wins this weekend. Mulder was particularly impressive on Saturday as he threw a ten inning shutout against the Rocket. Clemens, but the way, has given up exactly one earned run in 28 innings. How long before the Yankees call Houston to check on his availability? Kerry Wood picked up a win against the hapless Bucs yesterday at Wrigley, but why was he pulled in the bottom of the fifth after just 76 pitches? Is he hurt again? The Dodgers had a nice comeback win yesterday in Denver and guess who was the culprit? The answer is none other then BK Kim. The suicidal Korean came in during a tight game and hit a batter, gave up a double, and then gave up a single. Was that Little Penny or Brad Penny who pitched for the Dodgers yesterday? The boxscore says it was Brad and it also says he was nothing short of sub-par. Carlos Lee smacked Jerome Williams around pretty well yesterday. The Padres made it interesting at Arizona Sunday, but Brandon Lyon came in to shut the door. I cannot believe he already has eight saves. I wish the Sox hadn’t given him up for Schilling.
Airmail from the AL: We had a good old fashioned beanball war down in Tampa yesterday as the Sox and Rays went at it at the Trop. These two teams have been throwing at each other since the beginning of time, or least since Pedro first thought it would be funny to start plunking Florida’s top minor leaguers. I love Bronson Arroyo – he is always in the middle when tempers flare. Little stat – the Sox have hit thirteen batters this season – that leads the AL by three. Papi got knocked on his ass yesterday, but he hit three bombs over the weekend. Mark Belhorn has now struck out 25 times in 62 at bats and his whiff with the bases loaded in the eighth on Saturday was the Pringles Game Changing Moment. The Rays Rob Bell is the worst pitcher in baseball, but there are some everyday Tampa players I really like, including Carl Crawford and Julio Lugo. Randy Johnson talked some Yankee fans off the ledge yesterday with a nice win over Texas, but there were red flags along the way. He struck out only seven and he barely cracked 90 on the gun. How long can he exist on baseball’s equivalent of the Adkins diet where no heaters are allowed? More bad news for the Yanks came on Saturday when Jaret Wright went down. He is expected to miss only six weeks, but can a season-ender be far off? Is anyone other then GM Brain Cashman surprised Mr. Durability is hurt again. That was a real astute signing by Cashman, although as a Yankee hater, I would rather have Wright getting bloodied on the mound than bloodied on the operating table. The Orioles lit up Roy Halladay yesterday as Sammy blasted a pair. I guess it took a couple weeks for the new roids to begin kicking in. The White Sox made it seven straight yesterday with a comeback win over the hapless Royals. I say they make it eight in a row with a win over Zito tomorrow but the streak ends at the hands of Rich Harden on Tuesday. Jamie Moyer is now 4-0 for the Mariners, while Brett Boone had two hits to his brother’s one this weekend. This is a message to Vinny Padilla and Brad Penny – some guys come off the DL and throw well. Just ask Kelvim Escobar who threw six scoreless for the Orange County Halos last night. Let’s hope Colon can keep it going against Pavano on Tuesday night in the Bronx.
Radio Rambllings: What is Stephen A. Smith doing with his own two-hour radio show in New York? First of all, Smith is a Philadelphia guy. Second of all, he doesn’t know squat about any sport other then basketball, as he demonstrated last year when he thought you could re-kick errant field goals if they were missed on third down. Third, Smith has about as much cross-over appeal with whites as David Duke has with blacks. When ESPN hired this guy, I think they forgot their station’s airwaves actually reach suburbia. ESPN 1050’s Brandon Tierney is a funny dude with talent and it is too bad he is stuck over at ESPN where the suits have no idea what they want to do with their personnel, or their station for that matter. If I were running the show over there, I would pull the plug on Stephen A., and give Brandon a couple hours around lunch. Why does The Forward, the nation’s “leading” Jewish newspaper advertise on ESPN radio in New York? Is that where their target audience resides? Shouldn’t they be over there on Bloomberg or CBS Marketwatch? I love their ad by the way – “What do Larry David, Natalie Portman and Madonna all have in common?” A three pound spread of Nova and White Fish for anyone who can nail that one (My guess below). ESPN Radio’s coverage of the draft this weekend was nothing short of atrocious. There is a reason it is called a “made for television” event but evidently the guys at ESPN Radio didn’t get the message. Six hours of Mike Golic and Mike Greenburg on the radio talking about the draft is indecent and a clear violation of FCC regulation. It shocks me that ass clowns on the right will scream about some harmless MNF skit, but no one will lift a finger to complain when Mike Greenburg claims he is a dedicated football fan whose favorite receiver in the draft is Mike Williams. As for Golic, he is still trying to find a single pick to criticize. I think he may find one in the thrid round.
My guess to the Forward’s trivia question – Larry David, Natalie Portman and Madonna all practice Kabbalah. They also share the distinction of having never eaten a meal in my mother’s kitchen. Bonus points for those who know where that came from.
So the long awaited NBA playoffs are finally upon us and here are my initial thoughts. The Detroit-Philly series is not worth watching for another second. The Pistons are just too much for the Sixers. In the intra-Texas steel cage match, Dallas simply has no answer for Tracy McGrady which is a huge problem given the fact that tonight is a must win for the Mavericks. After watching some of that game on Saturday, I was left wondering if Dallas has ever seen a pick and roll before. Also, it is only one game, but it sure looks like Ryan Bowen gives Nowitski some trouble. Boston absolutely annihilated Indiana in game one but they can’t count on Raef doing that again. That was a total blowout but I wouldn’t count Indiana out just yet. For those Celtics fans who may be feeling a little cocky, may I remind you what happened on May 27, 1985. The Celts beat the Lakers that day 148-114 in the Memorial Day Massacre. The Lakers won four of the next five to win the NBA Championship. Mike Bibby had one of the worst games in playoff history Saturday night, even though I admit I watched that game through some beer goggles. Bibs was 1-16 while his opposing point guard Luke Ridnour was 0-6. That is 1-22 from the two teams starting floor leaders. That is some of the worst generalship since Meade let Lee escape back to Virginia in 1863. The Heat’s starting backcourt probably couldn’t have done much more against Kidd and Carter, as they collectively scored 62 points on 22-30 shooting. Wade had no problems getting to the rim and Damon Jones simply had no trouble draining those seven bombs. This is an interesting factoid although it is probably not too shocking – this is the first time in Shaq’s career that two of his teammates have sprung for 30. By the way, Damon Jones is one of the best interviews in the NBA. I only watched the first half of the Bulls game, but that was enough to tell me Ben Gordon is a star. The guy had 30 in 33 minutes – that is Andrew Toney versus Boston stuff. Meanwhile, Gilbert Arenas played almost as bad as Mike Bibby and that cannot happen for the Wizards to survive. What happened there? I love Arenas but he was out of it last night. Tim Duncan says he is playing at only 80 percent. The Spurs better hope he finds the other twenty percent pretty quickly or they run the risk of going to Denver down 0-2. I challenge any of you to watch the rest of that Phoenix-Memphis series. That is like starring at the Sun on a nice clear day, no pun intended.
I didn’t spend a ton of time watching the nonsense that is the NFL draft but here are a few observations on the first round: Aaron Rogers lost about $12 million dollars on Saturday, which is s about the difference in signing bonuses that one gets from being the first pick in the draft and the 24th pick. It is hard to argue that it was worth it, but Rogers probably ended up in a good spot where he will be able to learn how to throw game ending interceptions from the best. Braylon Edwards may have tons of talent, but Trent Dilfer will be unable to get him the ball fifty times next year. Three corners went before the first pass rusher was selected on Saturday. That confirms this was one of the weakest drafts in recent memory. The Lions selected a wide receiver – Mike Williams - with a top-10 pick for the third straight year. I guess they are through watching Charles Rogers sit out a dozen games with a broken collarbone. The Lions selection of Williams really screwed San Diego who really wanted the former Trojan. Can you imagine that red zone offense with both Williams and Antonio Gates? So Parcells got a couple of defensive ends that supposedly will bulk up his defense. Does that mean he’s back? Not with Drew Bledsoe slinging the pigskin. As I suspected, Parcells life long partner – Mike Francesa – is fawning all over what the Cowboys did this weekend. No surprise there from Bill’s WFAN-based publicist. Would you trade Randy Moss for Troy Williamson, a serviceable linebacker (Napolean Harris) and some salary cap flexibility that could be used to beef up your defense? A lot of people gave the Vikings hell for trading Moss, but this one looks alright to me if Williamson emerges within a couple years as a 65 catch guy who can find the end zone. I actually like the second guy the Vikes picked in round one – Erasmus James from Wisconsin. For some reason, I actually watched a few Badger games last year and this guy can get to the passer. With James and Kenechi Udeze on the corners and emerging superstar Kevin Williams at tackle, the Vikes have a young group that should be able to pressure quarterbacks for the next three or four years when Williams will become a FA.
The Chiefs caught a falling knife at fifteen when they selected Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson. It seems Vermeil was persuaded by his old defensive coordinator - Greg Robinson – who coached Johnson at Texas this year and vouched for the kid. But that begs the question of why Vermeil is listening to a guy he fired a year ago? Matt Jones, the kid Jacksonville took from Arkansas, looks a lot more like a surf rat from Orange County than a born again NFL wide receiver. This kid appears to have a ton of athletic skill but will this former quarterback be able to flourish as a wide out? The question on Jones is whether he will better or worse then Drew Bennett, the other quarterback convert who catches ball in the AFC South. Everyone seems to love the Ravens selection of wide receiver Mark Clayton, and I suspect he is an upgrade over Travis Taylor, but you could put Terrell Owens in Baltimore and it wouldn’t matter so long as Kyle Boller was throwing the ball. Everyone is getting on Seattle for selecting a center from Mississippi in the first round, but should that come as a surprise given the turnover the Hawks have had in the front office. Northwestern defense tackle Luis Castillo snuck in to the first round despite admitting past steroid abuse – do you think that would have happened if he had been guilty of spousal abuse? The Patriots ran the ball down the Colts throat in the playoffs last year so what did Indy GM Bill Polian do – he picked up a cornerback. I guess that is better then another punkass wide receiver or undersized defensive tackle. You would have thought the Steelers just got their hands on Tony Gonzalez the way people are gushing over Heath Miller. Is Miller that good or is the media just obsessed with this franchise? The answer is probably somewhere in the middle.
Some other draft day thoughts:
Over the past two years, the Skins have given up four high picks (a first, second, third and fourth) for Mark Brunell and Jason Campbell. That is a heavy cost for one scrub headed for retirement and a SEC quarterback who was helped out by a big-time running game. The move to get Campbell was another debacle in an off-season of discontent in Washington. Gibbs should go back to NASCAR before his reputation is completely sullied.
Did the Jets stretch by selecting Ohio State Kicker Dave Nugent in the second round? Some outside of New York think it was a reach, but I think it was a sound pick, especially since it may be therapeutic for those fans still smarting from the ay last season ended in Pittsburgh. Having a deadly kicker can be a very valuable tool, especially for those who are ready to win right now. But are the Jets that close? Over the past 36 hours, I have heard some Jets fans say Nugent is all the Jets need to close a small gap between gang green and the Patriots. What gap are these people talking about? The Jets have lost four in a row to New England and only a meaningless late score prevented the Jets from losing 23-0 to the Pats at the Meadowlands last year. Nugent may be good, but he isn’t good enough to close that gap.
Jets fans are also excited by the selection of Justin Miller from Clemson, probably because ESPN showed some highlights of Miller this weekend that were nothing short of spectacular. Here is a message to those fans – highlight reels are intended to showcase a player’s strengths and should not be used to assess a player’s overall skill. To get the other part of Miller’s story, you should check out some footage that South Carolina troopers have of Miler playing nickel back at a party last weekend in Clemson. For those of you who don’t know Miler’s story, he was arrested for fighting with cops just days before the NFL draft. He is supposedly a great hitter who will certainly be a factor when the inmates play the guards.
What were the Denver Broncos doing this weekend? The Broncos selected three corners with rap sheets with their first three picks and then went for Maurice Clarett with the final pick in the third round. Since when did the Broncos get good enough to throw away valuable picks on disgruntled running backs that can’t run? This team is an absolute mess right now. They spent the off-season gathering former Cleveland flameouts and now they are going for another Buckeye state bust. What is next – bringing Ken Griffey in to play strong safety?
Is it just me or do other people think it is funny how much deference NFL draft analysts now give New England Coach Bill Belichick and Personnel Director Scott Pioli? This weekend, you could look far and wide, but almost no print or broadcast analysts (other then the Boston Herald’s Kevin Mannix) were willing to criticize the Patriots brain trust for selecting Fresno State tackle Logan Mankins at the end of the first round, even though Mankins was considered by many to be a third round prospect. Other teams would have been vilified for selecting Mankins, especially by NFL draft guru Mel Kiper who usually takes teams to task for reaching in the first two rounds. But Kiper was silent early Saturday evening when Mankins name was called and the thought here is Kiper, along with other draft analysts, is leery of challenging anything that the Belichick and Pioli touch. My sense is Pioli and Bells have nailed so many home runs in the past five years that analysts no longer have the confidence or the balls necessary to challenge their primary picks. After all, these are the guys who found Brady in the sixth round, starting center Dan Koppen in the fifth round and starting receiver David Givens in the seventh round. With that kind of track record, who is to say that Mankins won’t be playing in Hawaii within a couple years?
National League Notes: Its one thing to get knocked up by the Mets, but Vinnie Padilla got smacked around yesterday by the Braves of all people. That was an ugly weekend for the Phills, getting outscored 20-3 in a three game sweep to the Bravos. Speaking of the Braves, they have given up only 15 runs in their last nine games, although they only went 5-4 over that stretch. At some point, the Braves will have to go out and get some offense if their outfield continues to struggle. The Reds scored a whopping six runs this weekend down in Miami, but two on Sunday were good enough to stave off the sweep. John Kerry ran very poorly in Cincinnati in the last presidential election, but if he ran today against Ken Griffey in a citywide popularity contest, who would get more votes? The bet here is Kerry would as long as Griffey continues to hit .204 and slug .288. Heck, Kerry used to slug .300 before he flipped and became a pitcher. How many Asian pitchers play for the Mets? Let’s see, there is Koo, there is Ishii, and there is Seo. I thought you were supposed to keep the Koreans and the Japanese separate and that is why I think the Mets should trade Ishii to Texas for the revitalized Chan Ho Park? On second thought, if you put three South Koreans on the field at Shea, it may lead to increased tensions with the clowns in North Korea who love the Yanks. Jose Reyes has now failed to walk in 82 appearances. Does Jose think we are spinning the wheel on the Price is Right where the winner is closest to a hundred without going over? Jose, you are trying to win baseball games - not advance to the Showcase Showdown. The Cards swept the Astros this weekend and have won nine of ten. Maybe last year wasn’t a fluke after all. The M&M boys, Mulder, Marquis and Morris, all picked up wins this weekend. Mulder was particularly impressive on Saturday as he threw a ten inning shutout against the Rocket. Clemens, but the way, has given up exactly one earned run in 28 innings. How long before the Yankees call Houston to check on his availability? Kerry Wood picked up a win against the hapless Bucs yesterday at Wrigley, but why was he pulled in the bottom of the fifth after just 76 pitches? Is he hurt again? The Dodgers had a nice comeback win yesterday in Denver and guess who was the culprit? The answer is none other then BK Kim. The suicidal Korean came in during a tight game and hit a batter, gave up a double, and then gave up a single. Was that Little Penny or Brad Penny who pitched for the Dodgers yesterday? The boxscore says it was Brad and it also says he was nothing short of sub-par. Carlos Lee smacked Jerome Williams around pretty well yesterday. The Padres made it interesting at Arizona Sunday, but Brandon Lyon came in to shut the door. I cannot believe he already has eight saves. I wish the Sox hadn’t given him up for Schilling.
Airmail from the AL: We had a good old fashioned beanball war down in Tampa yesterday as the Sox and Rays went at it at the Trop. These two teams have been throwing at each other since the beginning of time, or least since Pedro first thought it would be funny to start plunking Florida’s top minor leaguers. I love Bronson Arroyo – he is always in the middle when tempers flare. Little stat – the Sox have hit thirteen batters this season – that leads the AL by three. Papi got knocked on his ass yesterday, but he hit three bombs over the weekend. Mark Belhorn has now struck out 25 times in 62 at bats and his whiff with the bases loaded in the eighth on Saturday was the Pringles Game Changing Moment. The Rays Rob Bell is the worst pitcher in baseball, but there are some everyday Tampa players I really like, including Carl Crawford and Julio Lugo. Randy Johnson talked some Yankee fans off the ledge yesterday with a nice win over Texas, but there were red flags along the way. He struck out only seven and he barely cracked 90 on the gun. How long can he exist on baseball’s equivalent of the Adkins diet where no heaters are allowed? More bad news for the Yanks came on Saturday when Jaret Wright went down. He is expected to miss only six weeks, but can a season-ender be far off? Is anyone other then GM Brain Cashman surprised Mr. Durability is hurt again. That was a real astute signing by Cashman, although as a Yankee hater, I would rather have Wright getting bloodied on the mound than bloodied on the operating table. The Orioles lit up Roy Halladay yesterday as Sammy blasted a pair. I guess it took a couple weeks for the new roids to begin kicking in. The White Sox made it seven straight yesterday with a comeback win over the hapless Royals. I say they make it eight in a row with a win over Zito tomorrow but the streak ends at the hands of Rich Harden on Tuesday. Jamie Moyer is now 4-0 for the Mariners, while Brett Boone had two hits to his brother’s one this weekend. This is a message to Vinny Padilla and Brad Penny – some guys come off the DL and throw well. Just ask Kelvim Escobar who threw six scoreless for the Orange County Halos last night. Let’s hope Colon can keep it going against Pavano on Tuesday night in the Bronx.
Radio Rambllings: What is Stephen A. Smith doing with his own two-hour radio show in New York? First of all, Smith is a Philadelphia guy. Second of all, he doesn’t know squat about any sport other then basketball, as he demonstrated last year when he thought you could re-kick errant field goals if they were missed on third down. Third, Smith has about as much cross-over appeal with whites as David Duke has with blacks. When ESPN hired this guy, I think they forgot their station’s airwaves actually reach suburbia. ESPN 1050’s Brandon Tierney is a funny dude with talent and it is too bad he is stuck over at ESPN where the suits have no idea what they want to do with their personnel, or their station for that matter. If I were running the show over there, I would pull the plug on Stephen A., and give Brandon a couple hours around lunch. Why does The Forward, the nation’s “leading” Jewish newspaper advertise on ESPN radio in New York? Is that where their target audience resides? Shouldn’t they be over there on Bloomberg or CBS Marketwatch? I love their ad by the way – “What do Larry David, Natalie Portman and Madonna all have in common?” A three pound spread of Nova and White Fish for anyone who can nail that one (My guess below). ESPN Radio’s coverage of the draft this weekend was nothing short of atrocious. There is a reason it is called a “made for television” event but evidently the guys at ESPN Radio didn’t get the message. Six hours of Mike Golic and Mike Greenburg on the radio talking about the draft is indecent and a clear violation of FCC regulation. It shocks me that ass clowns on the right will scream about some harmless MNF skit, but no one will lift a finger to complain when Mike Greenburg claims he is a dedicated football fan whose favorite receiver in the draft is Mike Williams. As for Golic, he is still trying to find a single pick to criticize. I think he may find one in the thrid round.
My guess to the Forward’s trivia question – Larry David, Natalie Portman and Madonna all practice Kabbalah. They also share the distinction of having never eaten a meal in my mother’s kitchen. Bonus points for those who know where that came from.
So the long awaited NBA playoffs are finally upon us and here are my initial thoughts. The Detroit-Philly series is not worth watching for another second. The Pistons are just too much for the Sixers. In the intra-Texas steel cage match, Dallas simply has no answer for Tracy McGrady which is a huge problem given the fact that tonight is a must win for the Mavericks. After watching some of that game on Saturday, I was left wondering if Dallas has ever seen a pick and roll before. Also, it is only one game, but it sure looks like Ryan Bowen gives Nowitski some trouble. Boston absolutely annihilated Indiana in game one but they can’t count on Raef doing that again. That was a total blowout but I wouldn’t count Indiana out just yet. For those Celtics fans who may be feeling a little cocky, may I remind you what happened on May 27, 1985. The Celts beat the Lakers that day 148-114 in the Memorial Day Massacre. The Lakers won four of the next five to win the NBA Championship. Mike Bibby had one of the worst games in playoff history Saturday night, even though I admit I watched that game through some beer goggles. Bibs was 1-16 while his opposing point guard Luke Ridnour was 0-6. That is 1-22 from the two teams starting floor leaders. That is some of the worst generalship since Meade let Lee escape back to Virginia in 1863. The Heat’s starting backcourt probably couldn’t have done much more against Kidd and Carter, as they collectively scored 62 points on 22-30 shooting. Wade had no problems getting to the rim and Damon Jones simply had no trouble draining those seven bombs. This is an interesting factoid although it is probably not too shocking – this is the first time in Shaq’s career that two of his teammates have sprung for 30. By the way, Damon Jones is one of the best interviews in the NBA. I only watched the first half of the Bulls game, but that was enough to tell me Ben Gordon is a star. The guy had 30 in 33 minutes – that is Andrew Toney versus Boston stuff. Meanwhile, Gilbert Arenas played almost as bad as Mike Bibby and that cannot happen for the Wizards to survive. What happened there? I love Arenas but he was out of it last night. Tim Duncan says he is playing at only 80 percent. The Spurs better hope he finds the other twenty percent pretty quickly or they run the risk of going to Denver down 0-2. I challenge any of you to watch the rest of that Phoenix-Memphis series. That is like starring at the Sun on a nice clear day, no pun intended.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
April 23 - Baseball Bytes from Friday Night
Notes from the National: Was that Cubs-Pirates game suspended last night because of rain or the Cubs refusal to play without a big league shortstop and leftfielder? Tommy Glavine showed up last night and gave the Mets a nice outing. Jose Reyes is now up to 77 at bats without being walked. Will he hit 100?? Chris Guzman had a monster night yesterday, going 1-4 with a solo shot. The Braves actually scored some runs for Mike Hampton last night, but he didn’t really need them as he continued his hot start. He’s gone eight innings in his last three starts and has only allowed one dong in thirty plus innings. Why was Jim Thome sat last night? Perhaps he was out late celebrating his first home run on Thursday night. A.J. Burnett struck out thirteen Reds last night in six innings. That is heady stuff but it did come against a Cinci lineup that leads the league in whiffs. Jeff Weaver got bombed last night in Colorado and it now looks like Elmer Dessens is going on the DL. The Dodgers had probably hoped to drop Scott Ericson from the rotation when Brad Penny returns this week, but it now looks like Ericson will get at least a few more starts. Brad Halsey has had a better start then Randy Johnson - the guy who he was traded for. Barry Bonds is still on crutches and doesn’t look like he is coming back anytime soon. Can the Giants hang in there until June 1? The did get some good news yesterday as Moises Alou returned, but it didn’t help last night as Brewer Victor Santos threw a five hit complete game. Where has that vaunted Giants staff gone? I know they have played some games at Colorado, but does that explain a staff ERA that is fourteenth in the NL?
Airmail from the AL: The Twins bullpen actually blew a game last night when Pudge smacked a walkoff homerun off Terry Mulholland. What is more surprising – the Twins bullpen blowing a game or the Twins lineup actually drawing a couple of walks in a single game? Alan Embree has had some week. On Tuesday, he gave up a game tying home run to Vernon Wells and last night he gave up a walkoff blast to Eduardo Perez. Scott Kazmir has Boston’s number even though he didn’t get the win. Kevina Brown is officially shot. There are no “ands,” “ifs,” or “buts” about it. I don’t want to hear him talk about how well he pitched after the second inning. When you give up four in the top of the first, nothing else matters. Where are the people who were ready to hand Hideki Matsui the AL MVP after the first two games of the season. He is 21st in league slugging and 23rd in league OPS. In my book, he is at best the fourth best Japanese import behind Ichiro, the Sony PSP and the Lexus LS. The Orioles got back in the swing of things last night after being shut out twice by the Red Sox this week. The Birds went yard four times off the Blue Jays last night, although Oriole pitcher Dan Cabrera continued to get smacked around. The White Sox won their fifth straight last night and continue to get great pitching. Teams are only hitting .229 against the Southsiders. Let me see – with A.J Pierzynski catching in San Francisco last year, the Giants had solid starting pitching. Without him, the Giants are 14th in the league in EPA. Meanwhile, the Sox staff has gone from almost-worst to first. Is there a connection here? Here is a sign of the apocalypse – John Lackey actually made it through five innings for the Angles but KROD blew it in the ninth. You won’t see that combo too often. Tribe second baseman Ronnie Belliard has hit four home runs – that is the same amount that Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, and Casey Blake have combined.
Airmail from the AL: The Twins bullpen actually blew a game last night when Pudge smacked a walkoff homerun off Terry Mulholland. What is more surprising – the Twins bullpen blowing a game or the Twins lineup actually drawing a couple of walks in a single game? Alan Embree has had some week. On Tuesday, he gave up a game tying home run to Vernon Wells and last night he gave up a walkoff blast to Eduardo Perez. Scott Kazmir has Boston’s number even though he didn’t get the win. Kevina Brown is officially shot. There are no “ands,” “ifs,” or “buts” about it. I don’t want to hear him talk about how well he pitched after the second inning. When you give up four in the top of the first, nothing else matters. Where are the people who were ready to hand Hideki Matsui the AL MVP after the first two games of the season. He is 21st in league slugging and 23rd in league OPS. In my book, he is at best the fourth best Japanese import behind Ichiro, the Sony PSP and the Lexus LS. The Orioles got back in the swing of things last night after being shut out twice by the Red Sox this week. The Birds went yard four times off the Blue Jays last night, although Oriole pitcher Dan Cabrera continued to get smacked around. The White Sox won their fifth straight last night and continue to get great pitching. Teams are only hitting .229 against the Southsiders. Let me see – with A.J Pierzynski catching in San Francisco last year, the Giants had solid starting pitching. Without him, the Giants are 14th in the league in EPA. Meanwhile, the Sox staff has gone from almost-worst to first. Is there a connection here? Here is a sign of the apocalypse – John Lackey actually made it through five innings for the Angles but KROD blew it in the ninth. You won’t see that combo too often. Tribe second baseman Ronnie Belliard has hit four home runs – that is the same amount that Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, and Casey Blake have combined.
Friday, April 22, 2005
April 22 - Steph Survives on Survivor
While Survivor is not really a traditional sport, I think it is competitive and entertaining, much more so then the NBA, so I will give it some coverage over the final five weeks of the season. And let me tell you, there was a huge development on the show last night as Stephanie dodged a bullet and now finds herself among the final seven contestants. In case you don’t follow the show, Stephanie is the lone remaining member of the nine-person Ulong tribe and her head was on the chopping block last night. The case for her ousting is really quite easy – she is one tough chick who has what it takes to win physical challenges. As such, most view her as a threat and the tribe was ready to boot her last night. But at the last minute, she was saved when the 73 pound Janu resigned her commission and dropped out of the game. This is a huge turn of the events since the alliance that really pushed for Stephanie to leave, now finds itself outnumbered, or so it seems. It will be interesting to see next week what Stephanie can do with her reprieve. If she can somehow persuade, Tom, Ian and Katy to join her, Greg and his crew are toast. This may be tough, but if it happens, Stephanie is basically a lock for the final four and the bet here is if she makes it that far, she will take it to the house.
Notes from the National League: Am I dreaming or did the Dodgers actually lose last night. I guess you can’t win every night, especially when Scott Erickson is on the mound. Padre pitcher Adam Eaton just completely shut down the Dodgers and especially the bottom half of the order. Ryan Klesko showed some life for the Padres last night which is long overdue since the middle of that lineup has really struggled so far. The Giants used eight pitchers in their thirteen inning win last night over the Diamondbacks, and got five scoreless innings from their questionable bullpen. This team is just trying to buy time until Bonds returns but that day no longer seems too imminent. The Brewers actually got to Brad Lidge last night, and of all people, it was Brady Clark who did the damage. Willy Taveras has been a godsend for the Astros, but the bet here is Willy will not keep it up. Pedro was dominant once again last night, getting through seven with only 88 pitches, 64 of which were strikes. You spot that guy a lead, and its lights out as the Fish found out last night. Al Leiter reverted back towards the mean last night, walking five in three innings. You cannot expect that guy to beat a team five days after he last faced them. Chris Carpenter completely dominated the Cubs last night on the first night of the post-Nomar era. The Cubs responded to Nomar’s injury by sliding Corey Patterson down the three slot. That is a better fit for Patterson then leading off, but he should really be further down in the order. When the Cubs say Nomar will be out from two to three – do they mean months or years? GM Jim Hendry better get on the phone because Nefi Perez isn’t going to cut it for too long as the Cubs everyday shortstop. It took 56 at bats, but Jim Thome finally jacked on out of the park last night. Why in the world did the Yankees let Jon Lieber go? He is 4-0 down in Philly after beating Colorado last night. He may not strike a ton of guys out, but he almost always gives his team a chance to win. What does John Smoltz have to do to pick up a win? Last night, he gave up one run in seven innings, but that putrid Braves offense let him down once again. Although Pittsburgh finally won last night, Teke Redman had a night to forget – 0-5 with seven runners left on base. Including Redman, the Pirates have three everyday players hitting below .200. This club isn’t exactly reminiscent of the old lumber and lightening crews in Pittsburgh as evidenced by the fact that they are last in the league in extra base hits.
Observations on the American League: The pitching duel between Mark Buehrle and Jason Bonderman never really materialized yesterday, but Buehrle was able to eek out a win by going seven pretty strong innings. The sox are on fire right now but what do they do when Frank Thomas is ready to return? Does that mean Carl Everett goes back to the outfield? The Red Sox are getting terrific starting pitching as they blanked Baltimore for the second straight time last night. Matt Clement was super, getting ahead of hitters and putting them a way with that nasty slider. It took a few weeks, but perhaps Jason Varitek now has him under control. David Ortiz and Edgar Renteria are shivering right now but this weekend they get to feast on some Tampa pitching. There is no better way to cure a slump. Mike Mussina got his first win last night but it was far from impressive. He needed 99 pitches to get through five and a third and he left the game in the sixth with runners on second and third. Moose looks to me like an American League version of Al Leiter and that doesn’t cut it for a guy who will make $19 million this year. More bad news for the Yankees – Ruben Sierra arm problem looks pretty serious and there is no telling how long he will be out. If that bicep is torn, he is gone for the year, leaving the Yanks with almost no bench whatsoever. The Twins bullpen finally gave up a meaningful run last night, although the team was able to overcome the mistake and beat the Tigers in ten. I don’t think the Twins read Moneyball because if they had, they wouldn’t have just 18 walks in their first 16 games. How long can you continue to win with a team OBP of just .279? Alfonso Soriano is cold right now and it makes me wonder if Texas missed their opportunity to trade their moody leadoff man. What about Soriano to the Cubs – after all, he did come up as a shortstop, albeit one who was not very good in the field. The Cleveland bullpen was at it again last night, blowing a ninth inning lead. If I were Billy Bean, I would lock Rich Harden up right now because his price tag is only going to rise. This guy isn’t going to be good – he’s already there.
North Carolina basketball fans got the news they were dreading this afternoon when it was announced that Sean May, Marvin Williams and Raymond Felton would all be leaving school early to join the NBA. In addition to these loses, UNC will also lose Rashard McCants, Jackie Manuel, Melvin Scott and Jawad Williams off this year’s national championship. This represents the entire core of this years team, as only two reserves with any experience will be coming back in 2006. I, for one, am surprised that Marvin Williams decided to leave early. Williams is clearly not ready to play in the NBA, yet he was told by Coach Roy Williams and others that he will most likely be a top-5 pick and I guess he found that persuasive. If I had to guess, I would say that Williams and Felton made a collective decision since neither wanted to be stuck back in Chapel Hill without the other. So what does North Carolina have coming back? In a nutshell, the answer is nothing. David Noel returns and he has shown some ability to play out on the wing and Quentin Thomas will be coming back to take Felton’s place at point guard. But it should be noted that he started exactly one game last year and UNC lost that contest to Santa Clara. That is not exactly the kind of resume you want from the leader of your team. While things now look pretty bleak at UNC, there is some help along the way in the form of four recruits, all considered to be amongst the top fifty in the country Tyler Hansbrough from Missouri is considered a top-10 talent, while 6’3 Bobby Frasor, 6’5 Danny Green and 6’5 Marcus Ginyard all have impressive scholastic credentials. Nonetheless, next year’s team will be incredibly inexperience, small and shallow. It is a good thing Roy Williams won this year because next year, things could be real ugly down in Chapel Hill. The only saving grace for UNC is the ACC will lose a bunch of top players to graduation and the NBA so the league may not be quite as strong as it was this year. But that alone will not be enough for this crew. And that is why I say that if Williams can somehow mold next year’s team into an NCAA qualifier, it will be his best coaching achievement to date. Even better then this year’s national championship.
Notes from the National League: Am I dreaming or did the Dodgers actually lose last night. I guess you can’t win every night, especially when Scott Erickson is on the mound. Padre pitcher Adam Eaton just completely shut down the Dodgers and especially the bottom half of the order. Ryan Klesko showed some life for the Padres last night which is long overdue since the middle of that lineup has really struggled so far. The Giants used eight pitchers in their thirteen inning win last night over the Diamondbacks, and got five scoreless innings from their questionable bullpen. This team is just trying to buy time until Bonds returns but that day no longer seems too imminent. The Brewers actually got to Brad Lidge last night, and of all people, it was Brady Clark who did the damage. Willy Taveras has been a godsend for the Astros, but the bet here is Willy will not keep it up. Pedro was dominant once again last night, getting through seven with only 88 pitches, 64 of which were strikes. You spot that guy a lead, and its lights out as the Fish found out last night. Al Leiter reverted back towards the mean last night, walking five in three innings. You cannot expect that guy to beat a team five days after he last faced them. Chris Carpenter completely dominated the Cubs last night on the first night of the post-Nomar era. The Cubs responded to Nomar’s injury by sliding Corey Patterson down the three slot. That is a better fit for Patterson then leading off, but he should really be further down in the order. When the Cubs say Nomar will be out from two to three – do they mean months or years? GM Jim Hendry better get on the phone because Nefi Perez isn’t going to cut it for too long as the Cubs everyday shortstop. It took 56 at bats, but Jim Thome finally jacked on out of the park last night. Why in the world did the Yankees let Jon Lieber go? He is 4-0 down in Philly after beating Colorado last night. He may not strike a ton of guys out, but he almost always gives his team a chance to win. What does John Smoltz have to do to pick up a win? Last night, he gave up one run in seven innings, but that putrid Braves offense let him down once again. Although Pittsburgh finally won last night, Teke Redman had a night to forget – 0-5 with seven runners left on base. Including Redman, the Pirates have three everyday players hitting below .200. This club isn’t exactly reminiscent of the old lumber and lightening crews in Pittsburgh as evidenced by the fact that they are last in the league in extra base hits.
Observations on the American League: The pitching duel between Mark Buehrle and Jason Bonderman never really materialized yesterday, but Buehrle was able to eek out a win by going seven pretty strong innings. The sox are on fire right now but what do they do when Frank Thomas is ready to return? Does that mean Carl Everett goes back to the outfield? The Red Sox are getting terrific starting pitching as they blanked Baltimore for the second straight time last night. Matt Clement was super, getting ahead of hitters and putting them a way with that nasty slider. It took a few weeks, but perhaps Jason Varitek now has him under control. David Ortiz and Edgar Renteria are shivering right now but this weekend they get to feast on some Tampa pitching. There is no better way to cure a slump. Mike Mussina got his first win last night but it was far from impressive. He needed 99 pitches to get through five and a third and he left the game in the sixth with runners on second and third. Moose looks to me like an American League version of Al Leiter and that doesn’t cut it for a guy who will make $19 million this year. More bad news for the Yankees – Ruben Sierra arm problem looks pretty serious and there is no telling how long he will be out. If that bicep is torn, he is gone for the year, leaving the Yanks with almost no bench whatsoever. The Twins bullpen finally gave up a meaningful run last night, although the team was able to overcome the mistake and beat the Tigers in ten. I don’t think the Twins read Moneyball because if they had, they wouldn’t have just 18 walks in their first 16 games. How long can you continue to win with a team OBP of just .279? Alfonso Soriano is cold right now and it makes me wonder if Texas missed their opportunity to trade their moody leadoff man. What about Soriano to the Cubs – after all, he did come up as a shortstop, albeit one who was not very good in the field. The Cleveland bullpen was at it again last night, blowing a ninth inning lead. If I were Billy Bean, I would lock Rich Harden up right now because his price tag is only going to rise. This guy isn’t going to be good – he’s already there.
North Carolina basketball fans got the news they were dreading this afternoon when it was announced that Sean May, Marvin Williams and Raymond Felton would all be leaving school early to join the NBA. In addition to these loses, UNC will also lose Rashard McCants, Jackie Manuel, Melvin Scott and Jawad Williams off this year’s national championship. This represents the entire core of this years team, as only two reserves with any experience will be coming back in 2006. I, for one, am surprised that Marvin Williams decided to leave early. Williams is clearly not ready to play in the NBA, yet he was told by Coach Roy Williams and others that he will most likely be a top-5 pick and I guess he found that persuasive. If I had to guess, I would say that Williams and Felton made a collective decision since neither wanted to be stuck back in Chapel Hill without the other. So what does North Carolina have coming back? In a nutshell, the answer is nothing. David Noel returns and he has shown some ability to play out on the wing and Quentin Thomas will be coming back to take Felton’s place at point guard. But it should be noted that he started exactly one game last year and UNC lost that contest to Santa Clara. That is not exactly the kind of resume you want from the leader of your team. While things now look pretty bleak at UNC, there is some help along the way in the form of four recruits, all considered to be amongst the top fifty in the country Tyler Hansbrough from Missouri is considered a top-10 talent, while 6’3 Bobby Frasor, 6’5 Danny Green and 6’5 Marcus Ginyard all have impressive scholastic credentials. Nonetheless, next year’s team will be incredibly inexperience, small and shallow. It is a good thing Roy Williams won this year because next year, things could be real ugly down in Chapel Hill. The only saving grace for UNC is the ACC will lose a bunch of top players to graduation and the NBA so the league may not be quite as strong as it was this year. But that alone will not be enough for this crew. And that is why I say that if Williams can somehow mold next year’s team into an NCAA qualifier, it will be his best coaching achievement to date. Even better then this year’s national championship.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
April 21 - The NBA Playoffs are Brought to you by Ambien
The NBA playoffs are finally upon us after a completely forgettable year and the only question I have is whether ANYONE still cares about this made-for-TV event? I am not kidding. I don’t know more then a handful of people who have even a passing interest in this spectacle which will take more then six hellish weeks to complete. There is simply no juice left in this glass. It isn’t half full as optimists claim – it is completely dry. NBA junkies, who are currently protected under the Endangered Species Act, will tell you there are a number of compelling stories in play this post-season, but I don’t see any of them getting my pulse above 68. I may get into a series or two and I will watch a quarter here and a quarter there, but you won’t catch me sitting there on Sunday watching the NBA in lieu of the Shell Houston Open or the Colonial. I will concede there will be times over the next couple weeks I will be watching the Sacramento Kings play, but it is only because it will be 2:00 AM on the East Coast and the West Coast baseball games will have ended an hour earlier. As far as I am concerned, the NBA playoffs are something to be watched out of the corner of your eye or perhaps caught between commercials on other stations. And this is a shame because I used to be a big NBA fan. Growing up, the NBA playoffs were almost on par with the Baseball playoffs and just a notch below the NCAAs in my book. To this scribe, the mid-80s were the high-water mark and I held on through the rise and fall of Michael Jordan, but ever since that night when number 23 put away Utah for the second time, my interest has been fading. Fast forward to this year, and my interest barely registers on even the most precise diagnostic equipment. As such, I will equate my NBA viewing habits over the next six weeks to the play of Vince Carter. As Vince does, I will show up from time to time, but my heart won’t really be in it and I’ll never take it hard to the hoop and demand that a bartender show a particular game. I’ll save that chip for something more important like a rerun of Leave it to Beaver.
Whatever happened to David Stern’s promise to shorten the first round of the NBA playoffs? In case you forgot, Stern caved to pressure last year and said the NBA would no longer spread the first round over an absolutely ridiculous eighteen day period. That schedule was constructed so the NBA could spread its disgusting smorgasbord over three full weekends, as if this would have any positive impact on the league’s abysmal ratings. So Stern relented to pressure and came up with a new plan this year which calls for the first round to be compressed to a mere sixteen days. This is almost too asinine to lampoon. It would be like making fun of the special education kids in middle school. You know they are retarded and they know they are retarded – so does it make much sense to make a big deal of it? Why in the world does the NBA torment us like this. There is absolutely no reason for the first round to last more then fourteen days. NONE! As such, here is my recommended strategy and I believe it is the only viable option available. In a perfect world, you would stagger the start where four series start one day and four the next. Then, each series is played every other night, just like it was in the good old days. Under such a plan, the second group of series would be completed on the fourteenth day. Cmon Dave, get with the program and shave a couple days off this dog’s mangy coat. If you shave two days here and two days there, suddenly we are talking about the finals ending before the anniversary of D-Day. That should be your goal since your ratings stink regardless of whether you play on a weekday or the weekend. With that said, let’s err on the side of haste and get this procedure over as quick and painlessly as possible.
For the second year in a row, Lebron James will be watching the playoffs from the comfort of his very nice home. This is the case because the New Jersey Nets last night were able to beat Boston and secure the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Nets showed a lot of resilience this year, rebounding form a 2-9 start and the loss of Ricardo Jefferson to finish at 42-40 and sneak by Cleveland by virtue of a tiebreaker. As Cleveland picks up the pieces of its late season collapse, the last thing I want to hear is any whining from James. His team had a hammerlock on a playoff spot six weeks ago, yet frittered it away with a series of poor performances down the stretch. If I had to point to two critical games that killed the Cavs, I would single out an April 5 slaughter at home to the Nets and an April 14 loss at home against Isiah’s Idiots. In the first instance, Lebron and his Cavs lost by 31 to the Nets. The last team to lose by 31 at home was the Republican Guard in 1991. That just shouldn’t happen especially against the mediocre Nets. Meanwhile, the loss to the Knicks in Ohio, while in the throes of a playoff hunt, is just unexplainable. The Knicks couldn’t beat anyone down the stretch, but on that night, Jimmy Crawford torched King James and ended up delivering what turned out to be a deathblow. A lot of things went wrong for the Cavs over the past two months, but these two games are the ones that Cleveland fans will look back on with particular contempt. But look on the bright side Cavalier fans. You now have some balls in that lotto and if your number comes up, Chris Paul would look pretty good alongside James.
Baseball Observations – National League: The Dodgers were hot without any contribution from J.D. Drew but that cracker is starting to heat up. The peach state choir boy had four hits last night including a game tying blast in the eighth but it was Jose Valentin’s triple in the tenth that sparked the Dodgers to their eighth win in a row. The Dodgers are slugging almost .500 as a team and as a result, I don’t hear anyone still blasting the team for letting Adrian Beltre split. What was Brian Cashman thinking when he threw Yhency Brazoban into the Jeff Weaver for Kevin Brown deal? You think he doesn’t wish every day he had Brozoban back in that shaky Yankee pen? The Braves offense is putrid, having scored the second fewest runs in the NL. Andrew Jones did his part last night going 0-4 and leaving five guys stranded. It is hard to fault the Braves front office for anything but why is this guy still in Atlanta? The situation in Denver is bleak but Clint Barmes is a bright spot as he is killing the ball right know (.463). Aaron Heilman returned to earth last night as he labored down in Miami. What are the Mets going to do with Victor Diaz when Mike Cameron returns? Here is one suggestion – bat him cleanup and eat some of Cameron’s contract as they push him out the door. Diaz can hit and his bat has to be in that lineup. Meanwhile, someone has to tell Jose Reyes that on ball four, the player gets first base. He has no walks in 67 at bats. That is not acceptable for a leadoff guy. Beckett wasn’t great last night but he sure was good enough. Nomar tore his scrotum last night so I guess Mia will have to take care of herself over the next several months. Garciaparra wasn’t doing anything on the field so it is hard to argue that Dusty will miss him too much. Has anyone fallen as far and as quickly as Nomie? Zambrano and Prior have given the Cubs great pitching over the past two nights and guess what – Jeff Suppan lost another game at home. Why was Oliver Perez lifted last night after four? I guess throwing only 48 strikes in 92 pitches had something to do with it. OP now has 16 walks in 19 innings. The D Backs got Brandon Lyon as a throw-in as part of the Curt Schilling trade. Don’t look now, but the guy already has six saves while the centerpiece of the trade – Casey Fossum – is throwing meaningless middle relief for Tampa.
Baseball Observations – American League: David Wells was awesome last night as he completely handcuffed the potent Orioles. You know you have done something right when Brian Roberts goes hitless. Fatass was helped last night by Jason Varitek who actually hit a home run that meant something. Bruce Chen pitched a lot better then his line indicates, as he had the Sox tied up until Varitek went yard in the sixth. The White Sox are almost as hot as the Ddogers as John Garland picked up his third win last night. Buehrle goes against Bonderman this afternoon in a game that should be fun to watch. Too bad the MLB package passed over this game in order to bring us KC and Minny. Let me get this straight – the Yankees can’t hit Bruce Chen or Hideo Nomo but they can drill a tough lefty like Ted Lilly? That makes no sense whatsoever. God help them if they ever come up against Chan Ho or Arron Sele. Should Ryan Drese get credit for a win last night? After all, he did give up seven in five and change. There should be a separate statistical category for those type games. The Rangers got Lance Nix back last night and he promptly knocked out three hits. With Nix replacing Gary Mathews in center, Bernie Williams unquestionably is the worst centerfielder in the AL. The Royals weren’t good enough to win last night but at least they kept Johan Santana from notching his fourth win. If you want to know why the Twins are so good just take in the following stat. The Twins strike out more then six guys for every walk given up. The next highest team in the league strikes out only 2.6 guys per every walk. Control is everything and the Twins have it in large supply. Bartolo Colon is off to a hot start as he picked up his third win last night. The Angels need a huge season out of this guy because the rest of their starters stink. Meanwhile, where are all those Steve Finely fans who claimed on Opening Day that the centerfielder was the best free agent pickup in the entire off-season? Cleveland’s offense is a joke right now. Ichiro’s run for .400 took a hit over the past three nights as he has only two hits in 13 at bats. Huston Street sure didn’t look last night as if he were ready to become Oakland’s closer anytime soon.
Clemson corner back Justin Miller sure knows how to market himself to the NFL. Just days before the NFL draft, Miller, who was potentially a late first round pick, was busted last weekend in South Carolina for disorderly conduct and causing a ruckus. According to reports, Miller was hanging out with some Clemson players at a party to celebrate the end of Spring Practice when all hell broke loose. While a female cop was trying to bust up the party, Miller supposedly lost it and began screaming for partygoers to disobey police orders. Miller then put up a fight when police moved in to arrest him for his antics. This is a helluva move that is just dripping with stupidity. NFL teams are putting an increasing emphasis of selecting kids with good character and Miller did not help himself in this area by being arrested. This kid has to be a full-blown idiot to put himself in this spot. The arrest is probably not as bad as running a 4.7 40 at the combine, but it is equivalent to perhaps running something in the high 4.5s. It signifies a total lack of judgment and don’t think for a second that a number of NFL front offices didn’t take notice. NFL teams read those blotter sheets in college towns with a fine tooth comb and this one surely cropped up on the radar. And so what happens to Miller? My guess is he falls 15 spots which isn’t a full blown disaster. After all, it is not like he raped anyone or assaulted anyone. Had that happened, Miller probably wouldn’t have been picked until Oakland selected early in the third.
It is interesting to note that Scouts Inc. has a mock draft out on ESPN.com where Justin Miller is expected to be selected by the Patriots with the final pick in the first round. Have these guys not seen the news of Miler’s arrest or have they lost their minds and think Bill Belichek will simply overlook it on draft day. I hope it is the former because to assume the latter would indicate a total disregard for how the Patriots operate. Listen, Belichek did hit a home run when he brought in problem child Corey Dillon, but this is not a guy who has a lot of patience for guys with questionable character. In fact, he is all about character and you have to wonder whether he would ever take a kid who got entangled with the police just days before his lifelong dream came to fruition. Hey, I could be proven wrong on Saturday, but I have to think Miller’s arrest caused him to fall a long way down New England’s draft board. Interestingly enough, there is also speculation that the Pats may select Georgia linebacker Odell Thurman with their first pick. In case you haven’t heard, Thurman scored 12 out of 50 of the NFL’s wonderlic test which is intended to test intelligence. Twelve isn’t a bad score. Twelve is an abomination. To put a twelve into perspective, Grady Little got a 15, Isiah Thomas got a 14, the retarded kid from Life Goes On got an 11 and Terry Schiavo got a six. Again, the Pats put a premium on intelligence and it is clear from the wonderlic that Thurman comes up short in this category. As such, I wouldn’t think his rights will be owned by New England come Saturday around 7:00 P.M. If I had to guess, I would say he falls to the Raiders at 38.
Whatever happened to David Stern’s promise to shorten the first round of the NBA playoffs? In case you forgot, Stern caved to pressure last year and said the NBA would no longer spread the first round over an absolutely ridiculous eighteen day period. That schedule was constructed so the NBA could spread its disgusting smorgasbord over three full weekends, as if this would have any positive impact on the league’s abysmal ratings. So Stern relented to pressure and came up with a new plan this year which calls for the first round to be compressed to a mere sixteen days. This is almost too asinine to lampoon. It would be like making fun of the special education kids in middle school. You know they are retarded and they know they are retarded – so does it make much sense to make a big deal of it? Why in the world does the NBA torment us like this. There is absolutely no reason for the first round to last more then fourteen days. NONE! As such, here is my recommended strategy and I believe it is the only viable option available. In a perfect world, you would stagger the start where four series start one day and four the next. Then, each series is played every other night, just like it was in the good old days. Under such a plan, the second group of series would be completed on the fourteenth day. Cmon Dave, get with the program and shave a couple days off this dog’s mangy coat. If you shave two days here and two days there, suddenly we are talking about the finals ending before the anniversary of D-Day. That should be your goal since your ratings stink regardless of whether you play on a weekday or the weekend. With that said, let’s err on the side of haste and get this procedure over as quick and painlessly as possible.
For the second year in a row, Lebron James will be watching the playoffs from the comfort of his very nice home. This is the case because the New Jersey Nets last night were able to beat Boston and secure the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Nets showed a lot of resilience this year, rebounding form a 2-9 start and the loss of Ricardo Jefferson to finish at 42-40 and sneak by Cleveland by virtue of a tiebreaker. As Cleveland picks up the pieces of its late season collapse, the last thing I want to hear is any whining from James. His team had a hammerlock on a playoff spot six weeks ago, yet frittered it away with a series of poor performances down the stretch. If I had to point to two critical games that killed the Cavs, I would single out an April 5 slaughter at home to the Nets and an April 14 loss at home against Isiah’s Idiots. In the first instance, Lebron and his Cavs lost by 31 to the Nets. The last team to lose by 31 at home was the Republican Guard in 1991. That just shouldn’t happen especially against the mediocre Nets. Meanwhile, the loss to the Knicks in Ohio, while in the throes of a playoff hunt, is just unexplainable. The Knicks couldn’t beat anyone down the stretch, but on that night, Jimmy Crawford torched King James and ended up delivering what turned out to be a deathblow. A lot of things went wrong for the Cavs over the past two months, but these two games are the ones that Cleveland fans will look back on with particular contempt. But look on the bright side Cavalier fans. You now have some balls in that lotto and if your number comes up, Chris Paul would look pretty good alongside James.
Baseball Observations – National League: The Dodgers were hot without any contribution from J.D. Drew but that cracker is starting to heat up. The peach state choir boy had four hits last night including a game tying blast in the eighth but it was Jose Valentin’s triple in the tenth that sparked the Dodgers to their eighth win in a row. The Dodgers are slugging almost .500 as a team and as a result, I don’t hear anyone still blasting the team for letting Adrian Beltre split. What was Brian Cashman thinking when he threw Yhency Brazoban into the Jeff Weaver for Kevin Brown deal? You think he doesn’t wish every day he had Brozoban back in that shaky Yankee pen? The Braves offense is putrid, having scored the second fewest runs in the NL. Andrew Jones did his part last night going 0-4 and leaving five guys stranded. It is hard to fault the Braves front office for anything but why is this guy still in Atlanta? The situation in Denver is bleak but Clint Barmes is a bright spot as he is killing the ball right know (.463). Aaron Heilman returned to earth last night as he labored down in Miami. What are the Mets going to do with Victor Diaz when Mike Cameron returns? Here is one suggestion – bat him cleanup and eat some of Cameron’s contract as they push him out the door. Diaz can hit and his bat has to be in that lineup. Meanwhile, someone has to tell Jose Reyes that on ball four, the player gets first base. He has no walks in 67 at bats. That is not acceptable for a leadoff guy. Beckett wasn’t great last night but he sure was good enough. Nomar tore his scrotum last night so I guess Mia will have to take care of herself over the next several months. Garciaparra wasn’t doing anything on the field so it is hard to argue that Dusty will miss him too much. Has anyone fallen as far and as quickly as Nomie? Zambrano and Prior have given the Cubs great pitching over the past two nights and guess what – Jeff Suppan lost another game at home. Why was Oliver Perez lifted last night after four? I guess throwing only 48 strikes in 92 pitches had something to do with it. OP now has 16 walks in 19 innings. The D Backs got Brandon Lyon as a throw-in as part of the Curt Schilling trade. Don’t look now, but the guy already has six saves while the centerpiece of the trade – Casey Fossum – is throwing meaningless middle relief for Tampa.
Baseball Observations – American League: David Wells was awesome last night as he completely handcuffed the potent Orioles. You know you have done something right when Brian Roberts goes hitless. Fatass was helped last night by Jason Varitek who actually hit a home run that meant something. Bruce Chen pitched a lot better then his line indicates, as he had the Sox tied up until Varitek went yard in the sixth. The White Sox are almost as hot as the Ddogers as John Garland picked up his third win last night. Buehrle goes against Bonderman this afternoon in a game that should be fun to watch. Too bad the MLB package passed over this game in order to bring us KC and Minny. Let me get this straight – the Yankees can’t hit Bruce Chen or Hideo Nomo but they can drill a tough lefty like Ted Lilly? That makes no sense whatsoever. God help them if they ever come up against Chan Ho or Arron Sele. Should Ryan Drese get credit for a win last night? After all, he did give up seven in five and change. There should be a separate statistical category for those type games. The Rangers got Lance Nix back last night and he promptly knocked out three hits. With Nix replacing Gary Mathews in center, Bernie Williams unquestionably is the worst centerfielder in the AL. The Royals weren’t good enough to win last night but at least they kept Johan Santana from notching his fourth win. If you want to know why the Twins are so good just take in the following stat. The Twins strike out more then six guys for every walk given up. The next highest team in the league strikes out only 2.6 guys per every walk. Control is everything and the Twins have it in large supply. Bartolo Colon is off to a hot start as he picked up his third win last night. The Angels need a huge season out of this guy because the rest of their starters stink. Meanwhile, where are all those Steve Finely fans who claimed on Opening Day that the centerfielder was the best free agent pickup in the entire off-season? Cleveland’s offense is a joke right now. Ichiro’s run for .400 took a hit over the past three nights as he has only two hits in 13 at bats. Huston Street sure didn’t look last night as if he were ready to become Oakland’s closer anytime soon.
Clemson corner back Justin Miller sure knows how to market himself to the NFL. Just days before the NFL draft, Miller, who was potentially a late first round pick, was busted last weekend in South Carolina for disorderly conduct and causing a ruckus. According to reports, Miller was hanging out with some Clemson players at a party to celebrate the end of Spring Practice when all hell broke loose. While a female cop was trying to bust up the party, Miller supposedly lost it and began screaming for partygoers to disobey police orders. Miller then put up a fight when police moved in to arrest him for his antics. This is a helluva move that is just dripping with stupidity. NFL teams are putting an increasing emphasis of selecting kids with good character and Miller did not help himself in this area by being arrested. This kid has to be a full-blown idiot to put himself in this spot. The arrest is probably not as bad as running a 4.7 40 at the combine, but it is equivalent to perhaps running something in the high 4.5s. It signifies a total lack of judgment and don’t think for a second that a number of NFL front offices didn’t take notice. NFL teams read those blotter sheets in college towns with a fine tooth comb and this one surely cropped up on the radar. And so what happens to Miller? My guess is he falls 15 spots which isn’t a full blown disaster. After all, it is not like he raped anyone or assaulted anyone. Had that happened, Miller probably wouldn’t have been picked until Oakland selected early in the third.
It is interesting to note that Scouts Inc. has a mock draft out on ESPN.com where Justin Miller is expected to be selected by the Patriots with the final pick in the first round. Have these guys not seen the news of Miler’s arrest or have they lost their minds and think Bill Belichek will simply overlook it on draft day. I hope it is the former because to assume the latter would indicate a total disregard for how the Patriots operate. Listen, Belichek did hit a home run when he brought in problem child Corey Dillon, but this is not a guy who has a lot of patience for guys with questionable character. In fact, he is all about character and you have to wonder whether he would ever take a kid who got entangled with the police just days before his lifelong dream came to fruition. Hey, I could be proven wrong on Saturday, but I have to think Miller’s arrest caused him to fall a long way down New England’s draft board. Interestingly enough, there is also speculation that the Pats may select Georgia linebacker Odell Thurman with their first pick. In case you haven’t heard, Thurman scored 12 out of 50 of the NFL’s wonderlic test which is intended to test intelligence. Twelve isn’t a bad score. Twelve is an abomination. To put a twelve into perspective, Grady Little got a 15, Isiah Thomas got a 14, the retarded kid from Life Goes On got an 11 and Terry Schiavo got a six. Again, the Pats put a premium on intelligence and it is clear from the wonderlic that Thurman comes up short in this category. As such, I wouldn’t think his rights will be owned by New England come Saturday around 7:00 P.M. If I had to guess, I would say he falls to the Raiders at 38.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
April 20 - What Do You Have To Say Now George?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the "enough is enough" edict George Steinbrenner put out on Sunday was supposed to be good for more then a single night. I guess I should have read the fine print since George’s $200 million dollar team and his $48 million dollar capital improvement project lost last night to perhaps the worst starting pitcher in baseball. Clearly, enough was not enough as The Yankees lost as a (-350) favorite last night. That doesn’t happen in baseball. Maybe Pedro against Seattle nets you those kinds of odds, but you don’t see that too often. Despite being a heavy favorite, Randy Johnson went out last night and got bombed by the punch-less Rays while Hideo Nomo was able to shut down the Yankee’s vaunted offense. This is the same Nomo who gave up eight runs in two innings last Friday at Fenway. Its funny how the tabloids and the Yankee’s state-run television network pronounced the Bombers all better after Monday’s thrashing of Tampa, but there is little out this morning discussing last night’s historic debacle. This is tantamount to the old Soviet Tass network coming out the morning after Chernobyl and saying there was a little accident at the plant but things should be alright down the road. The only difference between Randy and Chernobyl is the plant only had one meltdown while it was in operation. Randy has had two in one week and three of this year’s starts have looked a lot more like John Halama than Sandy Koufax. It is clear to this scribe that Johnson has lost some velocity and as a result, he is having trouble keeping the ball in the yard. The Rays jacked two dongs last night and the Sox hit three last Thursday. This doesn’t happen against vintage Johnson. Joe Torre can smile all he wants, but deep down he knows the sound under the hood could be a big problem and one that a simple overhaul cannot fix. I have said this once and I will say it again. When it goes – IT GOES and if you don’t believe me, you should take a look at the careers of Steve Carlton and Warren Spahn. These two guys hit a wall and it ended overnight. What if we are seeing history repeat itself? The early indications are not promising for the Yanks, especially since Steiny has $48 million dollars committed to this guy through 2007. Like Herpes, that is a gift that just keeps on stinging
Could someone tell me why the Redskins are in such a hurry to end the Patrick Ramsey experiment? It was just three years ago that the Skins moved up in the draft to select Ramsey, a hard thrower out of Tulane. While Ramsey hasn’t exactly turned the world on its ear, he has had some moments and has demonstrated he can play in the NFL. His numbers have not been great but he hasn’t exactly marched out there with a ton of weapons. After all, Rod Gardener has never been confused for Randy Moss and Laverneaus Coles is not exactly Art Monk. Further, the Skins have never been able to protect Ramsey and this has led to a number of forced errors. Well, after investing two years in Ramsey, ESPN is reporting that the Skins are ready to replace Ramsey with Auburn’s Jason Campbell. In order to do this, the Skins had to trade away some of their future for Denver's first round pick on Saturday. This strikes me as a bit of knee jerk reaction from a franchise that always seems to be on its heels. The Skins just spent two years grooming Ramsey but are now ready to fold just before seeing the flop. And for what? Jason Campbell? It just seems to me that Washington is stuck on a treadmill. They spent a whole bunch of time grooming Ramsey and now they are going to start the whole process over with Campbell. I guess this shouldn’t come as much surprise since Washington has never been bullish on Ramsey, but to throw it all away on a flier like Jason Campbell seems odd to me, espeically since securing Campbell's pick was particularly expensive. They must either love this kid from Auburn or think Ramsey just flat out stinks. Regardless of whether it is the former or the latter, I think Washington is on the cusp of making a big mistake and one that could set the franchise back for years to come. Haven't we been saying the same thing for years now.
Baseball Observations – National League: Vincent Padilla should have stayed on the disabled list. Giving up five bombs in three innings to the Mets is not exactly announcing one’s presence with authority. The Dodgers just keep finding ways to win as they showed yesterday by coming back from a six run deficit in Milwaukee. Olmedo Saenz had the big hit yesterday and you have to wonder why this guy isn’t getting a few starts ahead of Hee Sop at first. With the exception of J.D. Drew, everyone on this team is hitting right now and D Lowe will go tonight as LA looks for its eighth straight. You think Arron Heilman is going to make it two in a row over Josh Beckett tonight down in Florida? The fish are riding a three game streak and the bet here is Florida makes it four tonight. Chris Guzman had three hits last night and in the process, raised his batting average fifty points. Another couple games like that and he will be hitting.250. Pittsburgh has lost four in a row and there are some in baseball who think this club has a shot to lose more games then Colorado. Last night they were shut down at home by Matt Morris of all people and you got to now wonder whether Jack Wilson’s 2004 campaign was a fluke. Mark Prior looked good last night and Corey Patterson is starting to show some signs of life. It is a good thing because Nomar is flat-lining. Dusty to Nomar: “Can I see you in my office for a minute?” Ken Girffey is still looking for his first home run. Russ Springer had a great hold for Houston last night after former Mets Dan Wheeler and John Franco almost tossed the salad. Andrew Jones had one of his typical 0-4, three strikeout games last night, while Chipper continued to tear it up. The Padres are 2-0 with Dave Roberts back in the lineup. I swear this guy is good luck.
Baseball Observations – American League: Manny’s last five hits have all been jacks. Last night’s blast went through the lights and one-hopped onto the Mass turnpike. Sox reliever Alan Embree blew last night’s game just a day after he popped off to the Boston Globe about how great he felt on the mound. Meanwhile, Roy Halladay looked great with the exception of a couple long balls and Corey Koskie woke up and had a huge night at the plate and in the field. I am curious to see how the Jays do against the Yanks with Lilly and Chacin going over the next two games. Did the Rangers actually record a shutout yesterday? That was none other then Pedro Astacio who threw eight shutout innings for Texas yesterday. This reclamation project has paid big dividends with three strong starts to open the season. With David DeJesus playing well in Center for KC, I have no option but to say Bernie is the worst centerfielder in the American League. It is close right now, but Bernie is just a shade worse than Gary Mathews down in Texas. Jeremy Reed is slowly picking things up in Seattle while Jamie Moyer is off to a quick start. Who would have thought that Moyer would be out pointing Randy Johnson in the race to be the best forty-something lefty in the AL? Brian Roberts hit another home run last night. This dwarf had fifty doubles last year and I am beginning to wonder if he has a shot at 50 jacks this season. He gets Dave Wells tonight and Matt Clement tomorrow. The bet here is Roberts will have at least seven home runs before the start of play Friday night. Is any team off to a more surprising start than the Chicago White Sox? El Duque gave them six strong innings last night and who would have thought this staff would lead the AL in era 14 games into the season. They are now 4-1 against Minnesota and 4-2 against Cleveland – the two teams who were favored to battle it out for the AL Central crown.
On ESPN Radio this morning, Tim Legler was asked about Vince Carter and what he thought about Carter’s admission that he dogged it up in Toronto in hopes it would spark the team to trade him south of the border. Specifically, Legler was asked whether Carter’s reputation would suffer as a result of this disclosure. ESPN’s three point specialist responded by saying Carter’s reputation “would take a hit in the short-term,” but could be repaired. I thought I had heard it all but Legler proved me wrong once again. What the hell does he mean that Carter's reputation would take a hit in the “short-term?” Is he kidding? Carter’s offense is just a technicality short of shaving points. He may not have been paid to dog it, but that is just semantics as far as I am concerned. At the end of the day, he layed down solely because he thought it would get him out of town. This is a guy who is paid eight figures a year to play hard 82 times a year. Everyone knows players take nights off, but Carter actually admitted to such malaise and he did it for completely selfish reasons. This is a serious ethical breach as far as I am concerned and it is one that Carter will have to carry for the rest of his career. From here on out – he is a bum in my mind. He may be a very talented bum, but at the end of the day, he is a selfish bum who let down his team and its fans. This is not a short-term problem as Legler suggests. Instead, it is a permanent blot on Carter’s record. As long as he plays, Carter will be known as a dog by every fan other then those NBA apologists like Legler who are willing to forgive just about any transgression so long as it doesn’t involve fisticuffs with the fans.
Could someone tell me why the Redskins are in such a hurry to end the Patrick Ramsey experiment? It was just three years ago that the Skins moved up in the draft to select Ramsey, a hard thrower out of Tulane. While Ramsey hasn’t exactly turned the world on its ear, he has had some moments and has demonstrated he can play in the NFL. His numbers have not been great but he hasn’t exactly marched out there with a ton of weapons. After all, Rod Gardener has never been confused for Randy Moss and Laverneaus Coles is not exactly Art Monk. Further, the Skins have never been able to protect Ramsey and this has led to a number of forced errors. Well, after investing two years in Ramsey, ESPN is reporting that the Skins are ready to replace Ramsey with Auburn’s Jason Campbell. In order to do this, the Skins had to trade away some of their future for Denver's first round pick on Saturday. This strikes me as a bit of knee jerk reaction from a franchise that always seems to be on its heels. The Skins just spent two years grooming Ramsey but are now ready to fold just before seeing the flop. And for what? Jason Campbell? It just seems to me that Washington is stuck on a treadmill. They spent a whole bunch of time grooming Ramsey and now they are going to start the whole process over with Campbell. I guess this shouldn’t come as much surprise since Washington has never been bullish on Ramsey, but to throw it all away on a flier like Jason Campbell seems odd to me, espeically since securing Campbell's pick was particularly expensive. They must either love this kid from Auburn or think Ramsey just flat out stinks. Regardless of whether it is the former or the latter, I think Washington is on the cusp of making a big mistake and one that could set the franchise back for years to come. Haven't we been saying the same thing for years now.
Baseball Observations – National League: Vincent Padilla should have stayed on the disabled list. Giving up five bombs in three innings to the Mets is not exactly announcing one’s presence with authority. The Dodgers just keep finding ways to win as they showed yesterday by coming back from a six run deficit in Milwaukee. Olmedo Saenz had the big hit yesterday and you have to wonder why this guy isn’t getting a few starts ahead of Hee Sop at first. With the exception of J.D. Drew, everyone on this team is hitting right now and D Lowe will go tonight as LA looks for its eighth straight. You think Arron Heilman is going to make it two in a row over Josh Beckett tonight down in Florida? The fish are riding a three game streak and the bet here is Florida makes it four tonight. Chris Guzman had three hits last night and in the process, raised his batting average fifty points. Another couple games like that and he will be hitting.250. Pittsburgh has lost four in a row and there are some in baseball who think this club has a shot to lose more games then Colorado. Last night they were shut down at home by Matt Morris of all people and you got to now wonder whether Jack Wilson’s 2004 campaign was a fluke. Mark Prior looked good last night and Corey Patterson is starting to show some signs of life. It is a good thing because Nomar is flat-lining. Dusty to Nomar: “Can I see you in my office for a minute?” Ken Girffey is still looking for his first home run. Russ Springer had a great hold for Houston last night after former Mets Dan Wheeler and John Franco almost tossed the salad. Andrew Jones had one of his typical 0-4, three strikeout games last night, while Chipper continued to tear it up. The Padres are 2-0 with Dave Roberts back in the lineup. I swear this guy is good luck.
Baseball Observations – American League: Manny’s last five hits have all been jacks. Last night’s blast went through the lights and one-hopped onto the Mass turnpike. Sox reliever Alan Embree blew last night’s game just a day after he popped off to the Boston Globe about how great he felt on the mound. Meanwhile, Roy Halladay looked great with the exception of a couple long balls and Corey Koskie woke up and had a huge night at the plate and in the field. I am curious to see how the Jays do against the Yanks with Lilly and Chacin going over the next two games. Did the Rangers actually record a shutout yesterday? That was none other then Pedro Astacio who threw eight shutout innings for Texas yesterday. This reclamation project has paid big dividends with three strong starts to open the season. With David DeJesus playing well in Center for KC, I have no option but to say Bernie is the worst centerfielder in the American League. It is close right now, but Bernie is just a shade worse than Gary Mathews down in Texas. Jeremy Reed is slowly picking things up in Seattle while Jamie Moyer is off to a quick start. Who would have thought that Moyer would be out pointing Randy Johnson in the race to be the best forty-something lefty in the AL? Brian Roberts hit another home run last night. This dwarf had fifty doubles last year and I am beginning to wonder if he has a shot at 50 jacks this season. He gets Dave Wells tonight and Matt Clement tomorrow. The bet here is Roberts will have at least seven home runs before the start of play Friday night. Is any team off to a more surprising start than the Chicago White Sox? El Duque gave them six strong innings last night and who would have thought this staff would lead the AL in era 14 games into the season. They are now 4-1 against Minnesota and 4-2 against Cleveland – the two teams who were favored to battle it out for the AL Central crown.
On ESPN Radio this morning, Tim Legler was asked about Vince Carter and what he thought about Carter’s admission that he dogged it up in Toronto in hopes it would spark the team to trade him south of the border. Specifically, Legler was asked whether Carter’s reputation would suffer as a result of this disclosure. ESPN’s three point specialist responded by saying Carter’s reputation “would take a hit in the short-term,” but could be repaired. I thought I had heard it all but Legler proved me wrong once again. What the hell does he mean that Carter's reputation would take a hit in the “short-term?” Is he kidding? Carter’s offense is just a technicality short of shaving points. He may not have been paid to dog it, but that is just semantics as far as I am concerned. At the end of the day, he layed down solely because he thought it would get him out of town. This is a guy who is paid eight figures a year to play hard 82 times a year. Everyone knows players take nights off, but Carter actually admitted to such malaise and he did it for completely selfish reasons. This is a serious ethical breach as far as I am concerned and it is one that Carter will have to carry for the rest of his career. From here on out – he is a bum in my mind. He may be a very talented bum, but at the end of the day, he is a selfish bum who let down his team and its fans. This is not a short-term problem as Legler suggests. Instead, it is a permanent blot on Carter’s record. As long as he plays, Carter will be known as a dog by every fan other then those NBA apologists like Legler who are willing to forgive just about any transgression so long as it doesn’t involve fisticuffs with the fans.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
April 19 - Smith or Rogers? Who Cares?
I have just about had it with all this speculation over who is going to select Alex Smith and Arron Rogers in this weekend’s NFL draft. It is just sickening how much attention this issue has received over the past two weeks and I, for one, am ready to see it end. Does anyone really care whether San Francisco takes Alex Smith? The better question is whether anyone outside of the Mountain Time Zone has ever seen this kid play? The answer to this question is a resounding no even though pundits around the country speak as if they have been watching Smith since he was in 8th grade. Let me tell you – nobody has seen this kid play. Judging from the ratings, nobody saw him light up Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl and I will challenge anyone to claim they spent anytime watching Smith torch Colorado State, North Carolina or BYU. Despite Smith’s anonymity, radio show hosts and talking heads have had no problems offering their views on whether the Niners should select the Ute with the first pick on Saturday. And while Smith is a virtual unknown outside Utah, Rogers is not exactly a household name either, especially east of the Mississippi where pundits think the Pacific Ten is an Asian trade bloc. People may have caught Rogers carve up USC, but I don’t want to hear anyone claim they were there for the entire Holiday Bowl. He may be better known than Smith, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot along the eastern seaboard.
The truth is nobody knows a whole lot about these players but that hasn’t stopped many jerkoffs from offering their opinion on which teams should grab them during the draft. This critique is not really limited to Smith and Rogers since the same thing goes for countless other players being discussed right now. Case in point – I just heard Mike Francesca on WFAN offer his views on Virginia Tight End Heath Miller. I will bet my weekly allowance that Mike has never spent one minute watching Miller on film or in a private workout. Moreover, I will double down and bet that he never spent any time checking out Miller play in the ACC. In fact, I would bet that if I had asked Mike last November what school Miller played for, he would have had no clue unless he had somehow stumbled over a recent press clipping. Although there is some good analysis of the draft, much of it done by Scout Inc., I think the event is way over-analyzed, especially by a large group of guys who are unequipped to do anything other then regurgitate what they read in draft literature. Unfortunately, that is about all we get this time of year – a whole lot of plagiarism from pundits who are way out of their element. If pundits want to discuss what kinds of “needs” a team has – that is fine with me. But please, let’s tone down all this discussion of specific players and leave some of that analysis to those who are equipped to make informed assessments.
So the NFL is moving over from ABC to ESPN on Monday nights in 2006 and I for one, don’t think this was a very smart move for the league or ESPN. Some would argue that it really makes no difference where the games are shown since the overwhelming majority of homes now have access to ESPN. I disagree with this position although I must admit I do it with little passion. My basic instinct tells me MNF will lose a little cache over at ESPN and here is why. There is still a bit of a stigma attached with cable television. Granted, cable has matured from its humble inception but there is still something about cable that remains bush league. Don’t get me wrong, HBO puts out the best original programming on television and Emergency Vets on Animal Planet is pretty cool, but in other areas, cable is still a bit creepy. By and large, cable is where ordinary stuff is broadcast while big EVENTS like the Oscars and the Super Bowl remain planted with the networks. I am not going to compare MNF to the Oscars, but it was an EVENT in its heyday and still is in some circles. If you don’t believe me, then please answer the following; why do friends still gather every week to catch up, eat chicken wings and watch MNF? You may disagree, but MNF is still a special occasion for many in this country and there is absolutely nothing special about ESPN. My fear is that with the switch to ESPN, MNF will become just another game, particularly if NBC is able to grab some of the marquee games that were previously on Monday. Friends will still gather on Monday, but will they do it with as much frequency now that ESPN is involved and the game package is weaker? Perhaps, but I am not so confident. We shall see, but the bet here is that the switch to ESPN will cost MNF ten percent of its viewers right off the bat. As such, this is not a great deal for ESPN, especially given the fees it just paid.
Staying with MNF, the big question I have is whether ESPN will use its decrepit Sunday night team to broadcast its Monday night games in 2006. That would be a disaster since there is not team in the game as bad as Mike Patrick, Joey Heisman and The Drunk. I cannot imagine ESPN would sour its investment with this crew, but the folks in Bristol have been known to do strange things. Now the counter to this argument is that by switching Mike, Joey and Mac the Drunk over from Sundays to Mondays, the trio would be getting the same amount of airtime only on a different evening. And if that is the case, what is the big deal? I’ll tell you why it is a big deal for me. It is because this group of jerkoffs is currently only allowed to broadcast the leftovers that ESPN is tossed every Sunday night. I rarely watch that garbage anyways so it is easy for me to avoid this pitiful crew. But what happens if they now get tossed some of the better stuff that is reserved for Monday nights. That raises an interesting question. Will ESPN use this as an opportunity to finally can this crew and bring in Al and Madden, or do they bump them over to Monday? If it is the former, I will rejoice since that will mean the three headed retarded hydra is dead. But if it is the latter, we got problems.
Here is the answer to yesterday’s trivia question which asked readers to name the 19 sports figures who have hosted SNL: Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Andy Roddick, Jeff Gordon, Johney Moseley, George Foreman, Deion Sanders. Charles Barkley. Nancy Kerrigan, Oranthal James Simpson, Bill Russell, Bob Uecker, Alex Karras, Howard Cosell, Marvin Hagler, Billy Martin, Wayne Gretzky, George Steinbrenner, and Michael Jordan.
Baseball Observations – National League: How hot are the Dodgers right now? Odalis Perez picked up his third win in as many games last night after getting just 13 decisions in 31 starts last year. I still cannot believe nobody wanted this guy over the off-season. Washington finally lost at home but at least they were successful knocking out a Marlins pitcher before he tossed a complete game. If a player strikes out four times in a single game, he gets a golden sombrero so what does Luis Castillo get for walking four times in a game – a sombrero worn by Barry Bonds? The Christian Guzman death watch continues in Washington as he went hitless against last night. Who gets benched first – Guzman or Majority Leader Tom DeLay? That’s more like it Kaz – A week after he threw a gem against Roger Clemens, Kaz Isshi was his old self last night, walking six and giving up five in five innings. Jim Thome is off to an Arod start but the big difference is Jim doesn’t have Tampa coming to town anytime soon. The Mets really need Cliff Floyd in that lineup. Hey, Mark Mulder won a game. Kerry Wood was staked to a four run first inning lead last night but couldn’t hold on as he was lifted after giving up five runs in six innings. Wood is a mess right now as evidenced by those nine walks and twenty-one hits in just twenty innings. In fact, Wood has been a mess since he blew game seven of the 2003 NLCS. That was a sick pitching matchup in Houston last night between Hudson and Clemens. Both these guys are off to white hot starts, although collectively they only have two wins to show for it. Rocket now has 26 strikeouts and only two walks in 21 innings. Houston is just dying to score runs right now and facing Hudson was certainly no tonic for them last night. Jake Peavy threw another gem for the Pads and it is about time Phil Nevin got a big knock. Dave Roberts came off the DL last night and got a couple of hits. Perhaps his return will spark San Diego’s offense. Omar Vizquel was given a gift in San Diego last night when he wasn’t charged with a clear error, showing clearly that major league scorers do everything in their power to protect good reputations.
Baseball Observations – American League. Manny hit a couple bombs on Patriot Day in Boston yesterday but he sure looked like a child in left field, butchering two fly balls. While Manny got off to a horrendous start, he does start today with the second most RBI’s in the American League. Mark Belhorn reached the twenty strikeout plateau yesterday and that has to be some kind of record. Boy, Steinbrenner’s message was heard loud and clear. If you believe that, you are a clown. Steinbrenner was playing with a loaded deck last night as the starting lineup of the Yanks was hitting over .400 lifetime against Devil Ray starter Rob Bell. If you don’t think George knew that when he put out that ridiculous press release, you are on crack. And here is a little message for GAYROD – going five for six against the Rays in April does not clear the air. Jaret Wright sure pitched great with that thirteen run lead. Lou Pinella is going to have a stroke this year. The Orioles proved last night that the only team they own is the Yankees. Let me get this straight – Jason Johnson can shut down Brian Roberts and the Orioles but Carl Pavano and Kevin Brown cannot? Chan Ho returned to Earth last night while Mark Kotsay remained on fire with a couple of hits and three RBIs. The A’s are better than people think. Tribe hurler Cliff Lee threw a great game last night but do games against KC count? Ichiro went 0-5 last night – how many times will that happen again this season?
If I were a New York Knicks fan, which I’m not, I would be paying close attention to what is going on with Cablevision’s bid to acquire Adelphia and its five million cable customers. I say this because if Cablevision is successful, it just may spark the company to sell the Knicks and Madison Square Garden, thus freeing thousands of Knicks fans who have long felt Cablevision's James Dolan is an idiot who cannot competently run the franchise. Well, it is being reported in today’s WSJ that Cablevision has upped its offer for Adelphia from $16.5 Billion to $17.1 Billion. A healthy slug of this offer would be conveyed in cash, meaning Cablevision would have to issue a lot of debt to finance the deal.
So that brings me to the Knicks. If Cablevision were to acquire Adelphia, the company would lose some of its New York-centric focus since Adelphia’s systems are spread out throughout the country. As such, there would not be as much need to own New York properties such as MSG. Further, the Knicks and MSG could probably fetch a big number on the open market and such a windfall could help Cablevision finance its Adelphia acquisition. I say probably because it is not the best time to be selling MSG with the Rangers stuck in a lockout and the Knicks being jailed in salary cap hell. It is clear to me that post acquisition, MSG has much less strategic value for Cablevision and it begs the question of why the company would want to keep the team. The only answer I can provide is Jimmy Dolan is an egomaniac who has an unquenchable thirst for the spotlight. Without the Knicks and MSG, he is just a typical corporate executive and I am sure that does not excite him much. And I don’t blame him since porn stars and models always take team owners over cable execs. So Jimmy’s ego remains the greatest impediment standing in the way of a sale, but the times are a changing and the financial implications of a deal for Adelphia could upend the landscape. So for all you Knicks fans that have been in exile under the Dolan regime, this may be your shot at a pardon. The odds may not be great, but at least there is now a reason to pick up the WSJ once in a while.
The truth is nobody knows a whole lot about these players but that hasn’t stopped many jerkoffs from offering their opinion on which teams should grab them during the draft. This critique is not really limited to Smith and Rogers since the same thing goes for countless other players being discussed right now. Case in point – I just heard Mike Francesca on WFAN offer his views on Virginia Tight End Heath Miller. I will bet my weekly allowance that Mike has never spent one minute watching Miller on film or in a private workout. Moreover, I will double down and bet that he never spent any time checking out Miller play in the ACC. In fact, I would bet that if I had asked Mike last November what school Miller played for, he would have had no clue unless he had somehow stumbled over a recent press clipping. Although there is some good analysis of the draft, much of it done by Scout Inc., I think the event is way over-analyzed, especially by a large group of guys who are unequipped to do anything other then regurgitate what they read in draft literature. Unfortunately, that is about all we get this time of year – a whole lot of plagiarism from pundits who are way out of their element. If pundits want to discuss what kinds of “needs” a team has – that is fine with me. But please, let’s tone down all this discussion of specific players and leave some of that analysis to those who are equipped to make informed assessments.
So the NFL is moving over from ABC to ESPN on Monday nights in 2006 and I for one, don’t think this was a very smart move for the league or ESPN. Some would argue that it really makes no difference where the games are shown since the overwhelming majority of homes now have access to ESPN. I disagree with this position although I must admit I do it with little passion. My basic instinct tells me MNF will lose a little cache over at ESPN and here is why. There is still a bit of a stigma attached with cable television. Granted, cable has matured from its humble inception but there is still something about cable that remains bush league. Don’t get me wrong, HBO puts out the best original programming on television and Emergency Vets on Animal Planet is pretty cool, but in other areas, cable is still a bit creepy. By and large, cable is where ordinary stuff is broadcast while big EVENTS like the Oscars and the Super Bowl remain planted with the networks. I am not going to compare MNF to the Oscars, but it was an EVENT in its heyday and still is in some circles. If you don’t believe me, then please answer the following; why do friends still gather every week to catch up, eat chicken wings and watch MNF? You may disagree, but MNF is still a special occasion for many in this country and there is absolutely nothing special about ESPN. My fear is that with the switch to ESPN, MNF will become just another game, particularly if NBC is able to grab some of the marquee games that were previously on Monday. Friends will still gather on Monday, but will they do it with as much frequency now that ESPN is involved and the game package is weaker? Perhaps, but I am not so confident. We shall see, but the bet here is that the switch to ESPN will cost MNF ten percent of its viewers right off the bat. As such, this is not a great deal for ESPN, especially given the fees it just paid.
Staying with MNF, the big question I have is whether ESPN will use its decrepit Sunday night team to broadcast its Monday night games in 2006. That would be a disaster since there is not team in the game as bad as Mike Patrick, Joey Heisman and The Drunk. I cannot imagine ESPN would sour its investment with this crew, but the folks in Bristol have been known to do strange things. Now the counter to this argument is that by switching Mike, Joey and Mac the Drunk over from Sundays to Mondays, the trio would be getting the same amount of airtime only on a different evening. And if that is the case, what is the big deal? I’ll tell you why it is a big deal for me. It is because this group of jerkoffs is currently only allowed to broadcast the leftovers that ESPN is tossed every Sunday night. I rarely watch that garbage anyways so it is easy for me to avoid this pitiful crew. But what happens if they now get tossed some of the better stuff that is reserved for Monday nights. That raises an interesting question. Will ESPN use this as an opportunity to finally can this crew and bring in Al and Madden, or do they bump them over to Monday? If it is the former, I will rejoice since that will mean the three headed retarded hydra is dead. But if it is the latter, we got problems.
Here is the answer to yesterday’s trivia question which asked readers to name the 19 sports figures who have hosted SNL: Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Andy Roddick, Jeff Gordon, Johney Moseley, George Foreman, Deion Sanders. Charles Barkley. Nancy Kerrigan, Oranthal James Simpson, Bill Russell, Bob Uecker, Alex Karras, Howard Cosell, Marvin Hagler, Billy Martin, Wayne Gretzky, George Steinbrenner, and Michael Jordan.
Baseball Observations – National League: How hot are the Dodgers right now? Odalis Perez picked up his third win in as many games last night after getting just 13 decisions in 31 starts last year. I still cannot believe nobody wanted this guy over the off-season. Washington finally lost at home but at least they were successful knocking out a Marlins pitcher before he tossed a complete game. If a player strikes out four times in a single game, he gets a golden sombrero so what does Luis Castillo get for walking four times in a game – a sombrero worn by Barry Bonds? The Christian Guzman death watch continues in Washington as he went hitless against last night. Who gets benched first – Guzman or Majority Leader Tom DeLay? That’s more like it Kaz – A week after he threw a gem against Roger Clemens, Kaz Isshi was his old self last night, walking six and giving up five in five innings. Jim Thome is off to an Arod start but the big difference is Jim doesn’t have Tampa coming to town anytime soon. The Mets really need Cliff Floyd in that lineup. Hey, Mark Mulder won a game. Kerry Wood was staked to a four run first inning lead last night but couldn’t hold on as he was lifted after giving up five runs in six innings. Wood is a mess right now as evidenced by those nine walks and twenty-one hits in just twenty innings. In fact, Wood has been a mess since he blew game seven of the 2003 NLCS. That was a sick pitching matchup in Houston last night between Hudson and Clemens. Both these guys are off to white hot starts, although collectively they only have two wins to show for it. Rocket now has 26 strikeouts and only two walks in 21 innings. Houston is just dying to score runs right now and facing Hudson was certainly no tonic for them last night. Jake Peavy threw another gem for the Pads and it is about time Phil Nevin got a big knock. Dave Roberts came off the DL last night and got a couple of hits. Perhaps his return will spark San Diego’s offense. Omar Vizquel was given a gift in San Diego last night when he wasn’t charged with a clear error, showing clearly that major league scorers do everything in their power to protect good reputations.
Baseball Observations – American League. Manny hit a couple bombs on Patriot Day in Boston yesterday but he sure looked like a child in left field, butchering two fly balls. While Manny got off to a horrendous start, he does start today with the second most RBI’s in the American League. Mark Belhorn reached the twenty strikeout plateau yesterday and that has to be some kind of record. Boy, Steinbrenner’s message was heard loud and clear. If you believe that, you are a clown. Steinbrenner was playing with a loaded deck last night as the starting lineup of the Yanks was hitting over .400 lifetime against Devil Ray starter Rob Bell. If you don’t think George knew that when he put out that ridiculous press release, you are on crack. And here is a little message for GAYROD – going five for six against the Rays in April does not clear the air. Jaret Wright sure pitched great with that thirteen run lead. Lou Pinella is going to have a stroke this year. The Orioles proved last night that the only team they own is the Yankees. Let me get this straight – Jason Johnson can shut down Brian Roberts and the Orioles but Carl Pavano and Kevin Brown cannot? Chan Ho returned to Earth last night while Mark Kotsay remained on fire with a couple of hits and three RBIs. The A’s are better than people think. Tribe hurler Cliff Lee threw a great game last night but do games against KC count? Ichiro went 0-5 last night – how many times will that happen again this season?
If I were a New York Knicks fan, which I’m not, I would be paying close attention to what is going on with Cablevision’s bid to acquire Adelphia and its five million cable customers. I say this because if Cablevision is successful, it just may spark the company to sell the Knicks and Madison Square Garden, thus freeing thousands of Knicks fans who have long felt Cablevision's James Dolan is an idiot who cannot competently run the franchise. Well, it is being reported in today’s WSJ that Cablevision has upped its offer for Adelphia from $16.5 Billion to $17.1 Billion. A healthy slug of this offer would be conveyed in cash, meaning Cablevision would have to issue a lot of debt to finance the deal.
So that brings me to the Knicks. If Cablevision were to acquire Adelphia, the company would lose some of its New York-centric focus since Adelphia’s systems are spread out throughout the country. As such, there would not be as much need to own New York properties such as MSG. Further, the Knicks and MSG could probably fetch a big number on the open market and such a windfall could help Cablevision finance its Adelphia acquisition. I say probably because it is not the best time to be selling MSG with the Rangers stuck in a lockout and the Knicks being jailed in salary cap hell. It is clear to me that post acquisition, MSG has much less strategic value for Cablevision and it begs the question of why the company would want to keep the team. The only answer I can provide is Jimmy Dolan is an egomaniac who has an unquenchable thirst for the spotlight. Without the Knicks and MSG, he is just a typical corporate executive and I am sure that does not excite him much. And I don’t blame him since porn stars and models always take team owners over cable execs. So Jimmy’s ego remains the greatest impediment standing in the way of a sale, but the times are a changing and the financial implications of a deal for Adelphia could upend the landscape. So for all you Knicks fans that have been in exile under the Dolan regime, this may be your shot at a pardon. The odds may not be great, but at least there is now a reason to pick up the WSJ once in a while.
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