So I've decided that the San Diego Padres (45-30) just never seem to lose as they swept the Marlins (35-40) in Miami this weekend after taking two of three from the Rays (44-31) in St. Petersburg earlier this week. It's really starting to frustrate me as I'd really like the Giants (40-34) to make up some ground on them. The division lead is 4.5 games and the Dodgers (40-35) are just a half-game back of the Orange and Black. This leads to my next point: the Giants and Dodgers are renewing hostilities this week at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Start times are 8:15 p.m. MT on Monday and Tuesday and 1:45 p.m. MT on Wednesday. All the games are available via MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv. It's kind of a big deal to be able to win this series at home, not just because it's against our most hated rival, but also because it deals with positioning in the NL West and Wild Card races. The Giants trail the Mets (43-32) by 2.5 games in the Wild Card with the Phillies (40-33) and Cardinals (41-34) in between them.
The Giants also need to rebound from losing two of three to the Red Sox (46-31), who are looking really good but suffered some tough injuries in the series, at home this weekend. This is the last home series before the All Star Break for the Giants so it's really important for them to gain this momentum for the playoff races and leave for their 11 game road trip with visits to Colorado (39-36) and Milwaukee (34-41) for four games each and then Washington (33-43) for three. It's important to still be within striking distance at the break. It's important to note that the Giants host the Mets right after the All Star Game for four games and then visit Dodger Stadium for the following series. That's two series right out of the gate that are against playoff contenders.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
USA falls to Ghana in Round of 16
The USA soccer team dropped its match to Ghana in the round of 16 in the World Cup yesterday by a score of 2-1. Team USA once again gave up an early goal, this time in the first five minutes of the game and were forced to chase the lead for much of the match. They finally obtained the equalizer on a penalty kick by Landon Donovan about sixty minutes in. However, Ghana scored within the first minute of the thirty allotted minutes of extra time and were able to hold on for the win.
It was a game that I felt the USA should have been able to pull out; it was really disappointing for them to give up a goal so early in the match again. If they had been able to take a lead, things might have shaken out differently. I felt they had the momentum after tying it up, they just gave up that goal in extra time and it proved to be one too many times of them falling behind in the tournament. It's frustrating because they showed flashes of how great they can be but weren't able to be consistent enough to take charge of matches and get as many wins as they would have liked in the World Cup.
I haven't been particularly thrilled with the officiating in this World Cup. There have been a couple of bad calls against the United States (though none too egregious in the match against Ghana) and from what I hear there were a couple of more missed calls in matches today that helped to influence outcomes. FIFA needs to use the technology that is available to have at least some measure of replay to review controversial calls. Replay is available to some extent in all four of the major sports played in North America now and it's time for soccer to catch up. There clearly needs to be more accountability given to the referees; controversial calls should have to be explained and consequences should be levied. These referees should not be able to just hide under the umbrella that is FIFA and not address their mistakes as seems to have become commonplace. The soccer world deserves much better.
It was a game that I felt the USA should have been able to pull out; it was really disappointing for them to give up a goal so early in the match again. If they had been able to take a lead, things might have shaken out differently. I felt they had the momentum after tying it up, they just gave up that goal in extra time and it proved to be one too many times of them falling behind in the tournament. It's frustrating because they showed flashes of how great they can be but weren't able to be consistent enough to take charge of matches and get as many wins as they would have liked in the World Cup.
I haven't been particularly thrilled with the officiating in this World Cup. There have been a couple of bad calls against the United States (though none too egregious in the match against Ghana) and from what I hear there were a couple of more missed calls in matches today that helped to influence outcomes. FIFA needs to use the technology that is available to have at least some measure of replay to review controversial calls. Replay is available to some extent in all four of the major sports played in North America now and it's time for soccer to catch up. There clearly needs to be more accountability given to the referees; controversial calls should have to be explained and consequences should be levied. These referees should not be able to just hide under the umbrella that is FIFA and not address their mistakes as seems to have become commonplace. The soccer world deserves much better.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
USA beats Algeria in dramatic finish
Landon Donovan (pictured above celebrating with teammates) scored in the 91st minute to lift the USA soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Algeria. The USA wins Group C with the victory and advances to the knockout stage. England also advanced with a 1-0 win over Slovenia. If the game had ended in a draw, Slovenia, not the USA would have advanced. Team USA takes on Ghana on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. MT on ABC.
It was quite dramatic to have the goal occur in stoppage time and I have to admit that I was quite nervous. It was a heck of a game and a heck of a finish. It would have been a big disappointment if the U.S. had failed to advance and they only did so by the skin of their teeth. They had several scoring chances throughout the match and I thought clearly outplayed Algeria throughout. Algeria curiously appeared to be content to playing for a draw which was interesting when they were still mathematically alive to advance during the match. It seemed that their main objective was to keep the U.S. team from advancing. I thought it was pretty sad that they had been reduced to that.
It would be nice to see the USA take an early lead against Ghana just to ease everyone's nerves. I think they did better kicking it into gear today early in the match, though they were lucky to avoid an early Algerian goal when the ball bounced off the crossbar. With so many chances, it would be great to put one in the back of the net early on. To be fair, the U.S. should have had a goal about twenty minutes in, but Clint Dempsey's goal was disallowed for on an offsides call. However, it was pretty clear in looking at replays that Dempsey was not offsides and that the Americans had once again gotten the raw end of a bad call. Fortunately Donovan was able to put one in and it's a rather moot point now as the USA won the group. I'm looking forward to the match on Saturday.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Baseball thoughts for the week ahead 6/21/10
The Giants (38-30) salvaged the finale of their series with the Blue Jays (38-32) by winning yesterday's game 9-6. The offense came alive and I'm really starting to believe this team will hang around all year. Edgar Renteria is finally off the disabled list and looks good out there. I think third baseman Pablo Sandoval is starting to bust out of his slump which is good news for the offense. We really need him to get going if we're going to make a push for the postseason. The Giants take on the Astros (26-44) in Houston tomorrow through Thursday. The Giants are 6-0 so far this season against Houston and I think they'll keep it rolling this week -- I'm optimistically hoping for a sweep.
Jimmy Rollins is coming off the disabled list this week for the Phillies (35-32) who are in third in the NL East and trail the Braves (42-28) by 5 1/2 games. They're still in the race but clearly have missed the 2007 NL MVP being in the lineup but also in the clubhouse. I've read a lot of comments from his teammates about how he brings swagger, charisma and leadership to the club. I think he really is invaluable to the Phillies and makes them a much better team. All this stuff is why he's my favorite player in the game right now. I thought the Phils were turning it around this weekend, but coughed up a 5 run lead in the 9th inning on Saturday to the Twins (40-29) and went on to lose in extra innings. They went on to lose yesterday as well. The Phillies host the Indians (26-42) and really need to win the series and preferably sweep the Tribe to help get some of that mojo back.
The Reds (37-33) were swept up in Seattle (28-41) this weekend and really struggled to score. They now trail NL Central favorite St. Louis (38-31) by a game and a half. The Cards are in Toronto and the Reds in Oakland (34-37) this week. I think the Reds offense really needs to produce if they are going to stay in this race and I think they will be strong enough to stay in the race, particularly as they play their home games in a hitters park. I still think the Cardinals will win the division, though.
The Rangers (41-28) have now won eight in a row and are still surprising me, particularly with their pitching staff which I thought would be the team's undoing this year. The Red Sox (43-28) have won six in a row and are right in the hunt in the AL East and it's weird to think that one of the teams with the three best winning percentages right now in baseball will be left out of the playoffs. The Yankees are atop the division at 43-26 and the Rays are one back at 42-27. I was happy that the Red Sox swept the Dodgers (38-31) who now trail the Giants by a half-game for second in the NL West. The Dodgers face their southern California rivals the Angels (39-33) this week in Anaheim and I'm hoping the Angels can sweep them again. The Padres (40-29) lead the division by a game and a half and visit the Rays this week.
The AL Central is really heating up right now with some good baseball. The Twins were in impressive in winning two of three in Philadelphia and showing some really good resiliency on Saturday in making an incredible comeback, capped by a tying home run by Joe Mauer with two outs in the top of the ninth off Brad Lidge. The Tigers (38-30) have won eight of ten and just took two of three from the Diamondbacks (27-43) this weekend. The White Sox (34-34) are back to .500 and are finally playing some good baseball, having won six in a row and nine of ten after a sweep of the Nationals (31-39) this weekend. Maybe the Sox really will get into the race in the division after all, but I'm still not holding my breath. They take on the Braves at home this week in what is a good opportunity for them to prove themselves as legitimate. The Twins visit the disappointing Brewers (29-40) and the Tigers visit the Mets (39-30). Jerry Seinfeld will be visiting the Mets broadcast booth on Wednesday and I'm hoping to catch the game just for that, not to mention two teams playing well this year.
It's a light schedule tonight and right now I'm checking out the Royals (29-41) at the Nationals on MLB Extra Innings. Since Stephen Strasburg isn't pitching tonight, there is a very and I mean very sparse crowd at Nationals Park. It doesn't help that the Royals, who have become perennial losers are in town either. Strasburg's next start is Wednesday against the Royals and I'm betting more fans will be there for that 4:35 p.m. local time start than in the first two night games combined. Credit to Strasburg for bringing any level of excitement to D.C. about baseball, though, and now the Nats need to bring the rest of the team up to speed and become a contender to really build a strong fan base.
I'd really love to see the Royals do well and I was really surprised to hear that they have scored more runs than the Phillies this year. Reigning Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke has had a down year so far to this point. His ERA isn't too bad (3.94), but his record isn't great and he hasn't been close to as dominating as he was last year. But it can't really be pinned that much on him. A lot of the problem with smaller market teams like the Royals is pitching, particularly in the bullpen. The Royals have a good closer in "The Mexicutioner" Joakim Soria, but the rest of their staff doesn't inspire a lot of confidence as their team ERA is 4.90 which is good for 13th out of 14 teams in the American League. It's weird that my team, the Giants, have pretty much the opposite problem with ample pitching but not as much hitting, when more teams than not always seem to be in need of more pitching.
Jimmy Rollins is coming off the disabled list this week for the Phillies (35-32) who are in third in the NL East and trail the Braves (42-28) by 5 1/2 games. They're still in the race but clearly have missed the 2007 NL MVP being in the lineup but also in the clubhouse. I've read a lot of comments from his teammates about how he brings swagger, charisma and leadership to the club. I think he really is invaluable to the Phillies and makes them a much better team. All this stuff is why he's my favorite player in the game right now. I thought the Phils were turning it around this weekend, but coughed up a 5 run lead in the 9th inning on Saturday to the Twins (40-29) and went on to lose in extra innings. They went on to lose yesterday as well. The Phillies host the Indians (26-42) and really need to win the series and preferably sweep the Tribe to help get some of that mojo back.
The Reds (37-33) were swept up in Seattle (28-41) this weekend and really struggled to score. They now trail NL Central favorite St. Louis (38-31) by a game and a half. The Cards are in Toronto and the Reds in Oakland (34-37) this week. I think the Reds offense really needs to produce if they are going to stay in this race and I think they will be strong enough to stay in the race, particularly as they play their home games in a hitters park. I still think the Cardinals will win the division, though.
The Rangers (41-28) have now won eight in a row and are still surprising me, particularly with their pitching staff which I thought would be the team's undoing this year. The Red Sox (43-28) have won six in a row and are right in the hunt in the AL East and it's weird to think that one of the teams with the three best winning percentages right now in baseball will be left out of the playoffs. The Yankees are atop the division at 43-26 and the Rays are one back at 42-27. I was happy that the Red Sox swept the Dodgers (38-31) who now trail the Giants by a half-game for second in the NL West. The Dodgers face their southern California rivals the Angels (39-33) this week in Anaheim and I'm hoping the Angels can sweep them again. The Padres (40-29) lead the division by a game and a half and visit the Rays this week.
The AL Central is really heating up right now with some good baseball. The Twins were in impressive in winning two of three in Philadelphia and showing some really good resiliency on Saturday in making an incredible comeback, capped by a tying home run by Joe Mauer with two outs in the top of the ninth off Brad Lidge. The Tigers (38-30) have won eight of ten and just took two of three from the Diamondbacks (27-43) this weekend. The White Sox (34-34) are back to .500 and are finally playing some good baseball, having won six in a row and nine of ten after a sweep of the Nationals (31-39) this weekend. Maybe the Sox really will get into the race in the division after all, but I'm still not holding my breath. They take on the Braves at home this week in what is a good opportunity for them to prove themselves as legitimate. The Twins visit the disappointing Brewers (29-40) and the Tigers visit the Mets (39-30). Jerry Seinfeld will be visiting the Mets broadcast booth on Wednesday and I'm hoping to catch the game just for that, not to mention two teams playing well this year.
It's a light schedule tonight and right now I'm checking out the Royals (29-41) at the Nationals on MLB Extra Innings. Since Stephen Strasburg isn't pitching tonight, there is a very and I mean very sparse crowd at Nationals Park. It doesn't help that the Royals, who have become perennial losers are in town either. Strasburg's next start is Wednesday against the Royals and I'm betting more fans will be there for that 4:35 p.m. local time start than in the first two night games combined. Credit to Strasburg for bringing any level of excitement to D.C. about baseball, though, and now the Nats need to bring the rest of the team up to speed and become a contender to really build a strong fan base.
I'd really love to see the Royals do well and I was really surprised to hear that they have scored more runs than the Phillies this year. Reigning Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke has had a down year so far to this point. His ERA isn't too bad (3.94), but his record isn't great and he hasn't been close to as dominating as he was last year. But it can't really be pinned that much on him. A lot of the problem with smaller market teams like the Royals is pitching, particularly in the bullpen. The Royals have a good closer in "The Mexicutioner" Joakim Soria, but the rest of their staff doesn't inspire a lot of confidence as their team ERA is 4.90 which is good for 13th out of 14 teams in the American League. It's weird that my team, the Giants, have pretty much the opposite problem with ample pitching but not as much hitting, when more teams than not always seem to be in need of more pitching.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Baseball notes, who's hot and who's not
The Pittsburgh Pirates (23-44) lost their 12th straight game last night, dropping a 4-3 decision at home to the Cleveland Indians (26-40). The Bucs once again just have a really, really bad team. Patience in Pittsburgh has to be wearing thin and I'm impressed that they actually get decent crowds sometimes, although it's understandable when there are sparse crowds on other occasions. The Pirates haven't even had a winning season since 1992 and aren't really showing any signs of coming out of that anytime soon. Every time they've had exciting players like Jason Schmidt, Freddy Sanchez, Jason Bay, Xavier Nady and Aramis Ramirez they just seem to trade them away. They get more prospects and then just trade them away. Here's to hoping at least for the sake of sanity of people in Pittsburgh that they don't trade away promising young outfielder Andrew McCutchen.
As for teams that have been playing well as of late, we have the New York Mets (39-29), whose eight game winning streak was snapped earlier today in the Bronx by the Yankees (42-26), who have been pretty consistently good themselves this year. The Mets have been playing pretty good baseball overall, and even their much-maligned bullpen has been doing pretty well. I don't think the bullpen and the team will hold up this pace all year, though. They may stay within relative striking distance, but I think the Phillies (35-30) still win the division. The Phils have really been starting to put it together, beating the Minnesota Twins (38-29) by a score of 9-5 last night and hold an 8-4 lead today in the top of the seventh.
The Detroit Tigers (37-29) have won seven in a row and could actually take the lead in the division tonight with a win against the Diamondbacks (26-42) if the score in Philadelphia holds up. Their offense can be really potent and if they can pitch well enough they'll be right there with the Twins at the end of the year. Out in the AL West, the Rangers (39-28) have won six in a row and nine of ten and are up four games on the Angels (39-32) in the loss column. It's important that the Rangers don't fall behind at this point and keep themselves in the race. They continue their series in Houston against their in-state rivals the Astros (26-42) tonight.
The Boston Red Sox (41-28) have really been putting it together as of late as I said they would need to get back in the race. They now only have two more losses than the Yankees (42-26) and Rays (41-26). They are leading the Dodgers (38-29) by a score of 4-3 in the top of the seventh right now. The Rays take on their in-state rivals the Marlins (32-35) later tonight.
The Giants (37-30) got shut out 3-0 by the Blue Jays (38-31, not out of the race in the AL East yet either) after dropping the series opener last night 3-2. It's really a shame because Barry Zito last night and Matt Cain today both pitched outstanding games and just didn't have any run support to speak of. The Giants have to find out a way to score on the road if they want to make any kind of run at the playoffs. They are just 13-18 away from AT&T Park. I think their offense has been better since the signing of Pat Burrell and with the emergence of Buster Posey but for some reason it just hasn't always traveled. Hopefully they can turn around the way they are playing on the road because they definitely have the players to do it.
I still can't believe how well the Padres (39-28) are playing and there was a really good graphic shown on FOX highlighting just how dominating their bullpen has been. Their starters have been good as well, but the numbers they were showing for the bullpen were just staggering. I think it was 5 guys who all have an ERA under 3. Heath Bell has been doing a good job as closer and has some filthy pitches, but he didn't even have the lowest ERA of the relievers. FOX's Ken Rosenthal said that Mets outfielder Jeff Francoeur told him that this Padres bullpen is the best he's ever seen in his 5 or so years in the majors. So it looks like the Padres are going to stick around the top of the standings for a while after all. It's pretty amazing because they were a really bad team last year. The Padres rallied to beat the Orioles (18-49) last night and play them again later today. Fortunately the Giants are pretty close to both the Padres and Dodgers and look like they will at least stay within striking distance.
That's all for now, but I will also be monitoring the NL Central race with the Cardinals (37-30) and Reds (37-31) and have more thoughts on that later.
As for teams that have been playing well as of late, we have the New York Mets (39-29), whose eight game winning streak was snapped earlier today in the Bronx by the Yankees (42-26), who have been pretty consistently good themselves this year. The Mets have been playing pretty good baseball overall, and even their much-maligned bullpen has been doing pretty well. I don't think the bullpen and the team will hold up this pace all year, though. They may stay within relative striking distance, but I think the Phillies (35-30) still win the division. The Phils have really been starting to put it together, beating the Minnesota Twins (38-29) by a score of 9-5 last night and hold an 8-4 lead today in the top of the seventh.
The Detroit Tigers (37-29) have won seven in a row and could actually take the lead in the division tonight with a win against the Diamondbacks (26-42) if the score in Philadelphia holds up. Their offense can be really potent and if they can pitch well enough they'll be right there with the Twins at the end of the year. Out in the AL West, the Rangers (39-28) have won six in a row and nine of ten and are up four games on the Angels (39-32) in the loss column. It's important that the Rangers don't fall behind at this point and keep themselves in the race. They continue their series in Houston against their in-state rivals the Astros (26-42) tonight.
The Boston Red Sox (41-28) have really been putting it together as of late as I said they would need to get back in the race. They now only have two more losses than the Yankees (42-26) and Rays (41-26). They are leading the Dodgers (38-29) by a score of 4-3 in the top of the seventh right now. The Rays take on their in-state rivals the Marlins (32-35) later tonight.
The Giants (37-30) got shut out 3-0 by the Blue Jays (38-31, not out of the race in the AL East yet either) after dropping the series opener last night 3-2. It's really a shame because Barry Zito last night and Matt Cain today both pitched outstanding games and just didn't have any run support to speak of. The Giants have to find out a way to score on the road if they want to make any kind of run at the playoffs. They are just 13-18 away from AT&T Park. I think their offense has been better since the signing of Pat Burrell and with the emergence of Buster Posey but for some reason it just hasn't always traveled. Hopefully they can turn around the way they are playing on the road because they definitely have the players to do it.
I still can't believe how well the Padres (39-28) are playing and there was a really good graphic shown on FOX highlighting just how dominating their bullpen has been. Their starters have been good as well, but the numbers they were showing for the bullpen were just staggering. I think it was 5 guys who all have an ERA under 3. Heath Bell has been doing a good job as closer and has some filthy pitches, but he didn't even have the lowest ERA of the relievers. FOX's Ken Rosenthal said that Mets outfielder Jeff Francoeur told him that this Padres bullpen is the best he's ever seen in his 5 or so years in the majors. So it looks like the Padres are going to stick around the top of the standings for a while after all. It's pretty amazing because they were a really bad team last year. The Padres rallied to beat the Orioles (18-49) last night and play them again later today. Fortunately the Giants are pretty close to both the Padres and Dodgers and look like they will at least stay within striking distance.
That's all for now, but I will also be monitoring the NL Central race with the Cardinals (37-30) and Reds (37-31) and have more thoughts on that later.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Myriad of baseball thoughts 6/18/10
The San Francisco Giants (37-28) look to continue their solid play as they start a six game road trip tonight with a visit to the Toronto Blue Jays (36-31) at 5 p.m. MT. The game will be televised via MLB Extra Innings and available online via mlb.tv. Same story for watching the games Saturday and Sunday except coverage of both of those games starts at 11 a.m. MT. The Giants have showed they can play well at home and now here's a chance to show they can take it on the road against a solid team. The Giants haven't really played that well on the road so I think Toronto will take two of three, but I'm hoping for two of three the other way.
Here's a look at the top of the National League West Standings entering this weekend:
Team W-L GB
1. San Diego Padres 38-28 --
1. Los Angeles Dodgers 38-28 --
3. San Francisco Giants 37-28 .5
The Giants are also a half-game back of the New York Mets (38-28) in the Wild Card right now. The Atlanta Braves (39-28) have a half-game lead on the Mets in the East. The Padres host the Baltimore Orioles (18-48) this weekend and should win at least two there. San Diego continues to surprise everyone with their continued solid play. The Dodgers visit the Boston Red Sox (40-28) in Manny Ramirez's first return to Fenway Park for the first time since he was traded in 2008 under unpleasant circumstances. The Red Sox have been surging of late and I think they will take two of three in that series.
In other baseball news, Washington Nationals (31-36) rookie phenom pitcher Stephen Strasburg makes his third start tonight at home against the Chicago White Sox (31-34). Coverage of that game starts at 5 p.m. MT on MLB Network. Strasburg is 2-0 in his first two starts with an ERA of 2.19 in 12 1/3 innings pitched. He has an astounding 22 strikeouts already, with 14 in his first start against the Pittsburgh Pirates (23-43) and 8 more Sunday on the road against the Indians (25-40). I thought that Jason Heyward (.266 AVG, 11 HR, 44 RBI, .383 OBP, .489 SLG) of the Braves had a beat on rookie of the year, but Strasburg is fast closing the gap and will win the award at this pace. I don't remember having two rookies this talented in the same league at the same time. Heyward and the Braves take on the Kansas City Royals (29-38) this weekend at Turner Field with the opener tonight at 5:35 p.m. MT on MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv. I think Strasburg will continue to dazzle and will end up winning the Rookie of the Year, but will probably dip slightly from his current pace. Heyward, though, I think is the real deal and will keep playing well.
My second favorite team, the Philadelphia Phillies (34-30) are coming off taking two of three from the hated New York Yankees (41-25) in the Bronx this week including an impressive performance from 47-year-old pitcher Jamie Moyer on Wednesday in which he gave up only two runs in eight innings of work. Kyle Kendrick pitched well last night as well to help make things more bearable for me as the Lakers won the NBA Title last night. The Phils try to keep it up against the Minnesota Twins (38-28) this weekend at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. I think the Phillies are starting to pull out of their slump and will win two of three this weekend, particularly as they are at home. It will help when my favorite player (and 2007 MVP) star short stop Jimmy Rollins comes off the disabled list soon as well. Hopefully that will be soon. He's been having a solid year and is definitely an emotional leader of the team that helps others around him play better. For all of the talk about the Phillies struggles, they are just 3.5 games back of the Braves and only two back in the loss column. I think they'll figure it out and when the NL East for the fourth consecutive year. The Twins are no slouches themselves and find themselves once again in a tight race with the Detroit Tigers (36-29). I could see that one going down to the final week of the season once again. The Tigers host the Arizona Diamondbacks (26-41) this weekend.
There's lots of intrigue to look for in baseball this weekend so I recommend you catch at least some of it. National coverage features the aforementioned White Sox-Nationals match-up tonight at 5 p.m. MT on MLB Network. Tomorrow it's the second game of the Dodgers-Red Sox series at 2 p.m. MT on FOX and then the Oakland Athletics (33-35) visiting the St. Louis Cardinals (36-30) at 5 p.m. MT on MLB Network. On Sunday it's the Subway series between the Mets and Yankees in the Bronx at 11 a.m. MT on TBS and then the finale of the Dodgers and Red Sox from Fenway Park at 6 p.m. MT on ESPN. Saturday and Sunday it's the Angels (37-32) and Cubs (30-36) from Wrigley Field tomorrow at 11 a.m. MT and Sunday at 12:20 p.m. MT on WGN. And of course all games are available on MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv. I know I'm going to be enjoying some baseball this weekend and you'd do well to do so too.
Here's a look at the top of the National League West Standings entering this weekend:
Team W-L GB
1. San Diego Padres 38-28 --
1. Los Angeles Dodgers 38-28 --
3. San Francisco Giants 37-28 .5
The Giants are also a half-game back of the New York Mets (38-28) in the Wild Card right now. The Atlanta Braves (39-28) have a half-game lead on the Mets in the East. The Padres host the Baltimore Orioles (18-48) this weekend and should win at least two there. San Diego continues to surprise everyone with their continued solid play. The Dodgers visit the Boston Red Sox (40-28) in Manny Ramirez's first return to Fenway Park for the first time since he was traded in 2008 under unpleasant circumstances. The Red Sox have been surging of late and I think they will take two of three in that series.
In other baseball news, Washington Nationals (31-36) rookie phenom pitcher Stephen Strasburg makes his third start tonight at home against the Chicago White Sox (31-34). Coverage of that game starts at 5 p.m. MT on MLB Network. Strasburg is 2-0 in his first two starts with an ERA of 2.19 in 12 1/3 innings pitched. He has an astounding 22 strikeouts already, with 14 in his first start against the Pittsburgh Pirates (23-43) and 8 more Sunday on the road against the Indians (25-40). I thought that Jason Heyward (.266 AVG, 11 HR, 44 RBI, .383 OBP, .489 SLG) of the Braves had a beat on rookie of the year, but Strasburg is fast closing the gap and will win the award at this pace. I don't remember having two rookies this talented in the same league at the same time. Heyward and the Braves take on the Kansas City Royals (29-38) this weekend at Turner Field with the opener tonight at 5:35 p.m. MT on MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv. I think Strasburg will continue to dazzle and will end up winning the Rookie of the Year, but will probably dip slightly from his current pace. Heyward, though, I think is the real deal and will keep playing well.
My second favorite team, the Philadelphia Phillies (34-30) are coming off taking two of three from the hated New York Yankees (41-25) in the Bronx this week including an impressive performance from 47-year-old pitcher Jamie Moyer on Wednesday in which he gave up only two runs in eight innings of work. Kyle Kendrick pitched well last night as well to help make things more bearable for me as the Lakers won the NBA Title last night. The Phils try to keep it up against the Minnesota Twins (38-28) this weekend at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. I think the Phillies are starting to pull out of their slump and will win two of three this weekend, particularly as they are at home. It will help when my favorite player (and 2007 MVP) star short stop Jimmy Rollins comes off the disabled list soon as well. Hopefully that will be soon. He's been having a solid year and is definitely an emotional leader of the team that helps others around him play better. For all of the talk about the Phillies struggles, they are just 3.5 games back of the Braves and only two back in the loss column. I think they'll figure it out and when the NL East for the fourth consecutive year. The Twins are no slouches themselves and find themselves once again in a tight race with the Detroit Tigers (36-29). I could see that one going down to the final week of the season once again. The Tigers host the Arizona Diamondbacks (26-41) this weekend.
There's lots of intrigue to look for in baseball this weekend so I recommend you catch at least some of it. National coverage features the aforementioned White Sox-Nationals match-up tonight at 5 p.m. MT on MLB Network. Tomorrow it's the second game of the Dodgers-Red Sox series at 2 p.m. MT on FOX and then the Oakland Athletics (33-35) visiting the St. Louis Cardinals (36-30) at 5 p.m. MT on MLB Network. On Sunday it's the Subway series between the Mets and Yankees in the Bronx at 11 a.m. MT on TBS and then the finale of the Dodgers and Red Sox from Fenway Park at 6 p.m. MT on ESPN. Saturday and Sunday it's the Angels (37-32) and Cubs (30-36) from Wrigley Field tomorrow at 11 a.m. MT and Sunday at 12:20 p.m. MT on WGN. And of course all games are available on MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv. I know I'm going to be enjoying some baseball this weekend and you'd do well to do so too.
USA comes back to earn draw with Slovenia
At the World Cup in South Africa, the USA soccer team rallied from a 2-0 deficit at halftime to earn a 2-2 draw in their match with Slovenia today. Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley, the coach's son scored in the second half for the U.S. The U.S. should have gotten the win with a goal late in the game by Maurice Edu that was disallowed by some sort of phantom call. It wasn't offsides and there wasn't a foul against any of our players. It was simply a terrible call. Inexcusable. It's really too bad because we earned that win. The officiating was poor throughout the game, but this call was just unacceptable. It's hard to take when I know we should have had a win and now it becomes more difficult to advance to the knockout stage.
However, it still was a remarkable comeback and the U.S. showed great resiliency in getting the draw. They were pretty bad in the first half though in falling behind 2-0 and you just can't throw away halves like that in the World Cup. I thought Donovan's goal within the first four minutes of the second half really helped the USA to feel like they were right in the game. Another Group C match is coming up at 12:30 p.m. MT on ESPN2 and espn3.com. It'll be England vs. Algeria. If Algeria wins, then the U.S. can be assured of advancing with a win against them next Wednesday. If not, then we may need some help. It's hard to sort out right now. It'll be easier to sort out when the England-Algeria match is in the books.
However, it still was a remarkable comeback and the U.S. showed great resiliency in getting the draw. They were pretty bad in the first half though in falling behind 2-0 and you just can't throw away halves like that in the World Cup. I thought Donovan's goal within the first four minutes of the second half really helped the USA to feel like they were right in the game. Another Group C match is coming up at 12:30 p.m. MT on ESPN2 and espn3.com. It'll be England vs. Algeria. If Algeria wins, then the U.S. can be assured of advancing with a win against them next Wednesday. If not, then we may need some help. It's hard to sort out right now. It'll be easier to sort out when the England-Algeria match is in the books.
Lakers outlast Celtics
The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to clinch their second consecutive NBA Title. It's not nearly as bad of a feeling as I had when the Yankees beat the Fightin' Phils in the World Series last year but it still really sucks. I hate the Lakers, I hate how arrogant Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher are (I very possibly could be leaving out more in this category) and I hate that Ron Artest was the one that made such a huge three late in the game. Seriously, you almost have to live with that if you're the Celtics because he isn't a great outside shooter. It just tears your guts out.
The Celtics had a 13 point lead on the road and had plenty of chances to win this one. I don't like blaming losses on officiating, but there were plenty of bad calls down the stretch that favored the home team, the two most notable ones coming when Pau Gasol's shot had already been rebounded and the Celtics were whistled for inexcusably late foul call and the no-call in the last two minutes when Gasol shoved Rajon Rondo to the ground in pursuit of an offensive rebound and the Lakers clinging to a 3 point lead. I read the lips of Celtics coach Doc Rivers on the sideline and he said "That's terrible." And I agree with him. Very pivotal moment considering Boston could have had the ball with a chance to tie and instead it was the Lakers headed to the line shortly after to extend it to a two possession game. I felt like the officiating definitely helped propel the Lakers to victory, but that's what you have to expect when you play against them in the Staples Center, particularly in the playoffs. It seemed like pretty much all of the Laker points down the stretch were on free throws. Yes, some were actually fouls, but I still feel like the calls were unbalanced.
All this being said, the Celtics had chances to win and probably are kicking themselves right now. And the Lakers are a really good team and did capitalize on the breaks they received. They won under the circumstances, the Celtics lost. I think the Celtics did benefit from some calls in Boston, so that's just the way it goes sometimes. It's part of the game, whether we like it or not (and even though David Stern still stubbornly denies that it affects outcomes of games) and so credit the Lakers for winning. They earned the title, they're a really talented team that plays well at home and like any championship team, is capable of capitalizing on breaks that come their way.
On the bright side for me today, the University of Utah did officially join the Pac-10. Man, it just feels good to be a part of such a big-time conference. And coming up later this morning is the World Cup on ESPN with the United States taking on Slovenia in a crucial match-up in Group Play. It's pretty much got to be viewed as a must win game for the Americans. Coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. MT. I'll definitely be watching. Hopefully our national soccer team can give me another thing to feel good about.
The Celtics had a 13 point lead on the road and had plenty of chances to win this one. I don't like blaming losses on officiating, but there were plenty of bad calls down the stretch that favored the home team, the two most notable ones coming when Pau Gasol's shot had already been rebounded and the Celtics were whistled for inexcusably late foul call and the no-call in the last two minutes when Gasol shoved Rajon Rondo to the ground in pursuit of an offensive rebound and the Lakers clinging to a 3 point lead. I read the lips of Celtics coach Doc Rivers on the sideline and he said "That's terrible." And I agree with him. Very pivotal moment considering Boston could have had the ball with a chance to tie and instead it was the Lakers headed to the line shortly after to extend it to a two possession game. I felt like the officiating definitely helped propel the Lakers to victory, but that's what you have to expect when you play against them in the Staples Center, particularly in the playoffs. It seemed like pretty much all of the Laker points down the stretch were on free throws. Yes, some were actually fouls, but I still feel like the calls were unbalanced.
All this being said, the Celtics had chances to win and probably are kicking themselves right now. And the Lakers are a really good team and did capitalize on the breaks they received. They won under the circumstances, the Celtics lost. I think the Celtics did benefit from some calls in Boston, so that's just the way it goes sometimes. It's part of the game, whether we like it or not (and even though David Stern still stubbornly denies that it affects outcomes of games) and so credit the Lakers for winning. They earned the title, they're a really talented team that plays well at home and like any championship team, is capable of capitalizing on breaks that come their way.
On the bright side for me today, the University of Utah did officially join the Pac-10. Man, it just feels good to be a part of such a big-time conference. And coming up later this morning is the World Cup on ESPN with the United States taking on Slovenia in a crucial match-up in Group Play. It's pretty much got to be viewed as a must win game for the Americans. Coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. MT. I'll definitely be watching. Hopefully our national soccer team can give me another thing to feel good about.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Utes set to join Pac-10; Giants win again; Game 7 Thursday night
So word is that the University of Utah will officially announce it is joining the Pac-10 on Thursday. I'm just ecstatic about the news. There's more money, more exposure on TV and better overall competition on a consistent basis. And of course, there's the thing about being in a BCS automatic qualifying conference which will certainly help with recruiting.
Although I will miss the traditional rivalries that the Mountain West has provided on a yearly basis, I feel like this is an opportunity that Utah just couldn't pass up. My guess is that we will still play BYU on a yearly basis even though we won't be in the same conference. The rivalry will likely just be more heated as BYU fans will be upset (and already are) that the Utes have bolted for a new conference. BYU would have done the same thing and I don't think there is any way you can criticize Utah for taking an opportunity to better their program. Wow, this will give us the potential to more easily be a big time program on a consistent basis. This should definitely help recruiting (as I mentioned), not to mention our facilities.
The San Francisco Giants (37-28) beat the Baltimore Orioles (18-48) 6-3 and took two of three in the series and five of six on the home stand. Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe each hit their 11th home runs of the year in the sixth inning and Tim Lincecum improved his record to 7-2 with ten strikeouts and two earned runs in six innings of work. Brian Wilson picked up another five out save. The Giants continue to play well and I'm looking forward to seeing their series up in Canada against the Blue Jays (36-31) starting on Friday.
And of course Game 7 of the NBA Finals is Thursday night at 7 p.m. MT on ABC. I'd highly recommend checking that one out. The Celtics looked terrible in Game 6 and it's going to take a lot more from them if they want to take home the title. I'm really excited about the prospect of a Game 7 for all the marbles. It should be really intense and exciting. Unfortunately for the Celtics Kendrick Perkins will likely miss the game with an injury. I think the Lakers will win at home behind Kobe Bryant coming up big. But I hope I'm wrong and I'm definitely expecting a close, highly contested game.
Although I will miss the traditional rivalries that the Mountain West has provided on a yearly basis, I feel like this is an opportunity that Utah just couldn't pass up. My guess is that we will still play BYU on a yearly basis even though we won't be in the same conference. The rivalry will likely just be more heated as BYU fans will be upset (and already are) that the Utes have bolted for a new conference. BYU would have done the same thing and I don't think there is any way you can criticize Utah for taking an opportunity to better their program. Wow, this will give us the potential to more easily be a big time program on a consistent basis. This should definitely help recruiting (as I mentioned), not to mention our facilities.
The San Francisco Giants (37-28) beat the Baltimore Orioles (18-48) 6-3 and took two of three in the series and five of six on the home stand. Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe each hit their 11th home runs of the year in the sixth inning and Tim Lincecum improved his record to 7-2 with ten strikeouts and two earned runs in six innings of work. Brian Wilson picked up another five out save. The Giants continue to play well and I'm looking forward to seeing their series up in Canada against the Blue Jays (36-31) starting on Friday.
And of course Game 7 of the NBA Finals is Thursday night at 7 p.m. MT on ABC. I'd highly recommend checking that one out. The Celtics looked terrible in Game 6 and it's going to take a lot more from them if they want to take home the title. I'm really excited about the prospect of a Game 7 for all the marbles. It should be really intense and exciting. Unfortunately for the Celtics Kendrick Perkins will likely miss the game with an injury. I think the Lakers will win at home behind Kobe Bryant coming up big. But I hope I'm wrong and I'm definitely expecting a close, highly contested game.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Giants streaking, Utes could join Pac-10
The San Francisco Giants (36-28) swept the Oakland Athletics (33-33) at home this weekend at AT&T Park. I was able to attend the wins on Friday and Saturday and I have to say that the atmosphere was simply electric. The offense played well and the pitching was outstanding also. Pablo Sandoval homered on Saturday while Pat Burrell and Bengie Molina went deep on Friday. Tim Lincecum pitched 8 strong innings in the series opener and Barry Zito was solid through 7 against his former team Saturday. Zito now has wins against all 30 teams in MLB. Juan Uribe continues to swing a hot bat for the offense and Aubrey Huff is playing well also (he had two homers Sunday). The Giants have split the first two games against the AL East cellar dwellers Baltimore Orioles (18-47). The finale is this afternoon in San Francisco. I'm really happy with the way the Giants are playing and how they are right in the race in the NL West, just behind the Padres (38-27) and Dodgers (37-27). The offense for the Giants has come alive and the pitching is doing well as always. Closer Brian Wilson had a couple of saves this weekend and is anchoring the bullpen. I was impressed that he came in Saturday in the 8th inning with the bases loaded and a 1 run lead. He was lights out, getting five outs for the save. Wilson really has turned into a top notch closer. I'll be back with more baseball thoughts before long.
As for college football, Texas has turned down an invitation to join the Pac-10 and will remain in the Big 12, which now has 10 teams (the Big Ten has 12 teams now). Comcast SportsNet Bay Area has reported that the University of Utah will be invited to join the Pac-10 and that an announcement will come today. I hope that's true. It would just be awesome to be a part of a BCS Conference. I'll continue to update with my thoughts as more news breaks.
As for college football, Texas has turned down an invitation to join the Pac-10 and will remain in the Big 12, which now has 10 teams (the Big Ten has 12 teams now). Comcast SportsNet Bay Area has reported that the University of Utah will be invited to join the Pac-10 and that an announcement will come today. I hope that's true. It would just be awesome to be a part of a BCS Conference. I'll continue to update with my thoughts as more news breaks.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
College conferences shaking up
The college athletics landscape as we know it looks to be undergoing massive changes. Officially all we really know to this point is that Nebraska will be joining the Big Ten in 2011 and that Colorado will be joining the Pac-10 at the same time. Rumor has it that the Pac-10 is trying to lure five other schools currently in the Big-12 (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State) to join the conference and form a Pac-16. Texas A&M is also reportedly considering joining the SEC. Should those five schools all leave the Big 12, the conference could dissolve with Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Iowa State and Baylor possibly looking at joining the Mountain West Conference.
Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe is said to be working feverishly to preserve the Big 12 with the ten schools that remain in it by trying to convince them that they would be better off financially by staying put than joining the Pac-10. That could happen, but those five all could depart at which point the remaining five schools could try to preserve the Big 12 brand and expand to a viable number while maintaining BCS Automatic Qualifier status or look at joining the Mountain West.
Boise State joined the MWC last week to bring membership to ten. The conference reportedly would pursue the remaining schools from the Big 12 should the conference dissolve with the exception of Baylor. TCU reportedly would lobby strongly to block Baylor from joining as there are administrators and powerful alumni who remain upset about Baylor being picked over TCU to join the Big 12. Personally I would be fine with Baylor being stuck on the outside as I think that their membership in the Big 12 should never have happened and wouldn't have if it weren't for the then Texas governor saying the conference couldn't have the other schools without Baylor. I feel this led to Utah being snubbed from the conference, so I would be happy to see Baylor in turn snubbed.
So many things could still happen, it's hard to say what the outcome will be. If the Big 12 stays put with the ten teams it now has, Utah would most likely be asked to join the Pac-10. This would be a favorable situation and I would be pretty happy with it. I'd also be pretty confident in Utah's chances at joining a revamped Big 12 that tried to remain intact following potential desertions by Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. If the Big 12 dissolves I'd see it as being pretty likely that most of the remaining schools would join the Mountain West at which point the MWC would be strengthened to the point of probably commanding BCS Automatic Qualifier status in the near future. Any way you slice it, it looks like Utah will probably face a conference with increased competition. But in these times it's hard to know exactly how things will shake out.
Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe is said to be working feverishly to preserve the Big 12 with the ten schools that remain in it by trying to convince them that they would be better off financially by staying put than joining the Pac-10. That could happen, but those five all could depart at which point the remaining five schools could try to preserve the Big 12 brand and expand to a viable number while maintaining BCS Automatic Qualifier status or look at joining the Mountain West.
Boise State joined the MWC last week to bring membership to ten. The conference reportedly would pursue the remaining schools from the Big 12 should the conference dissolve with the exception of Baylor. TCU reportedly would lobby strongly to block Baylor from joining as there are administrators and powerful alumni who remain upset about Baylor being picked over TCU to join the Big 12. Personally I would be fine with Baylor being stuck on the outside as I think that their membership in the Big 12 should never have happened and wouldn't have if it weren't for the then Texas governor saying the conference couldn't have the other schools without Baylor. I feel this led to Utah being snubbed from the conference, so I would be happy to see Baylor in turn snubbed.
So many things could still happen, it's hard to say what the outcome will be. If the Big 12 stays put with the ten teams it now has, Utah would most likely be asked to join the Pac-10. This would be a favorable situation and I would be pretty happy with it. I'd also be pretty confident in Utah's chances at joining a revamped Big 12 that tried to remain intact following potential desertions by Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. If the Big 12 dissolves I'd see it as being pretty likely that most of the remaining schools would join the Mountain West at which point the MWC would be strengthened to the point of probably commanding BCS Automatic Qualifier status in the near future. Any way you slice it, it looks like Utah will probably face a conference with increased competition. But in these times it's hard to know exactly how things will shake out.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Many thoughts on sports
The Celtics and the Lakers are tied at 2 games each. The Lakers won Game 3 with some key baskets by Derek Fisher down the stretch and the Celtics were led in Game 4 by strong bench play by Nate Robinson and Glen Davis. Game 5 is Sunday night at 6 p.m. MT on ABC. If the Celtics are to have any realistic chance of winning the series, I think they have to win Game 5. Robinson's energy was a big boost for them off the bench last night and if he can bring that again the Celtics will be in good shape at home.
The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night behind a Patrick Kane overtime goal in Philadelphia in Game 6. Like everyone else, I didn't see the puck go in right away but after looking at the replay it was clearly a goal. It was kind of an anticlimactic ending in a way because it took a while to verify, but the Blackhawks were still rightfully excited. They were definitely the most consistent team throughout the playoffs and deserved to hoist the Cup. I thought Flyers goalie Michael Leighton let in a couple more soft goals in Game 6 and it's tough to win a championship when you have stuff like that happening. It was the Blackhawks first Cup since 1961, so now maybe there is hope for my Toronto Maple Leafs winning it for the first time since 1967. Okay, so maybe there's not much hope right away. But a guy can always wish.
The FIFA World Cup is officially underway now. Host country South Africa and Mexico got things under way earlier today with a 1-1 draw. South Africa isn't expected to make it past the group stage so earning the draw is quite an achievement, but they are disappointed they didn't get the win after having chances late in the match. Right now Uruguay and France are just underway and are scoreless about 11 minutes in. The big one for early in the tournament is tomorrow when England the United States go at it at noon MT on ABC. I'm pretty stoked for it. The USA has shown promise in international play in recent matches and now has a chance to prove it on the biggest soccer stage against a highly ranked international foe in England.
The San Francisco Giants (32-27) are coming off a split of a four game series against the Reds (35-26) in Cincinnati. It's disappointing to only get a split after taking the first two, but the Reds are a good team. The Giants now take on their rivals from across the bay, the Oakland Athletics (32-30) this weekend at AT&T Park. I will be at least one and possibly two of the games. I'm pretty excited to see my team in person and I think they should perform well as they are at home where they have a strong 19-11 record so far this year and have the top 3 of the rotation (Lincecum, Zito and Cain) lined up to pitch the three games. The first game is tonight at 8:15 p.m. MT.
Speaking of the Athletics, they did indeed get their split with the Angels (33-30), although the Rangers (33-27) still have a hold on the AL West after taking three straight against the disappointing Mariners (23-37). Contrary to my prediction, the Rays (39-21) cooled off the Blue Jays (34-27) by taking two of three at Tropicana Field. I know it's still the first half of the season, but the Rays are tearing it up and I don't see any way that team doesn't make the playoffs. The Reds and the Braves (35-26) are atop their respective divisions in the National League but I still don't see either of them taking the crowns as the Phillies (31-27) and Cardinals (33-27) are not far back. The Dodgers (36-24) continue to play well and swept the Cardinals this week just as they did in last year's NLDS. The Padres (35-25) are a game back and lead the Cardinals by 2 games and the Giants by 2.5 in the Wild Card. Interleague play is in full force this weekend and there are some exciting match-ups going on. If you have some time you might want to check them out as well as soaking in some of the World Cup.
The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night behind a Patrick Kane overtime goal in Philadelphia in Game 6. Like everyone else, I didn't see the puck go in right away but after looking at the replay it was clearly a goal. It was kind of an anticlimactic ending in a way because it took a while to verify, but the Blackhawks were still rightfully excited. They were definitely the most consistent team throughout the playoffs and deserved to hoist the Cup. I thought Flyers goalie Michael Leighton let in a couple more soft goals in Game 6 and it's tough to win a championship when you have stuff like that happening. It was the Blackhawks first Cup since 1961, so now maybe there is hope for my Toronto Maple Leafs winning it for the first time since 1967. Okay, so maybe there's not much hope right away. But a guy can always wish.
The FIFA World Cup is officially underway now. Host country South Africa and Mexico got things under way earlier today with a 1-1 draw. South Africa isn't expected to make it past the group stage so earning the draw is quite an achievement, but they are disappointed they didn't get the win after having chances late in the match. Right now Uruguay and France are just underway and are scoreless about 11 minutes in. The big one for early in the tournament is tomorrow when England the United States go at it at noon MT on ABC. I'm pretty stoked for it. The USA has shown promise in international play in recent matches and now has a chance to prove it on the biggest soccer stage against a highly ranked international foe in England.
The San Francisco Giants (32-27) are coming off a split of a four game series against the Reds (35-26) in Cincinnati. It's disappointing to only get a split after taking the first two, but the Reds are a good team. The Giants now take on their rivals from across the bay, the Oakland Athletics (32-30) this weekend at AT&T Park. I will be at least one and possibly two of the games. I'm pretty excited to see my team in person and I think they should perform well as they are at home where they have a strong 19-11 record so far this year and have the top 3 of the rotation (Lincecum, Zito and Cain) lined up to pitch the three games. The first game is tonight at 8:15 p.m. MT.
Speaking of the Athletics, they did indeed get their split with the Angels (33-30), although the Rangers (33-27) still have a hold on the AL West after taking three straight against the disappointing Mariners (23-37). Contrary to my prediction, the Rays (39-21) cooled off the Blue Jays (34-27) by taking two of three at Tropicana Field. I know it's still the first half of the season, but the Rays are tearing it up and I don't see any way that team doesn't make the playoffs. The Reds and the Braves (35-26) are atop their respective divisions in the National League but I still don't see either of them taking the crowns as the Phillies (31-27) and Cardinals (33-27) are not far back. The Dodgers (36-24) continue to play well and swept the Cardinals this week just as they did in last year's NLDS. The Padres (35-25) are a game back and lead the Cardinals by 2 games and the Giants by 2.5 in the Wild Card. Interleague play is in full force this weekend and there are some exciting match-ups going on. If you have some time you might want to check them out as well as soaking in some of the World Cup.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Strasburg dazzles in debut
Washington Nationals (28-31) rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg actually managed to exceed all the hype surrounding him in his Major League debut on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates (23-35) in Washington, D.C. Strasburg went seven innings and struck out 14 batters, while allowing zero walks and two earned runs. He unleashed an array of devastating pitches and got better as the game went on. He started piling up strikeouts like crazy toward the end of his outing and just looked really good. The kid is the real deal. I'd encourage you to check out the highlights if you haven't yet and if you get a chance check out his next start Sunday at Cleveland (21-36). Based on early reviews, Strasburg could anchor the Nationals staff and help them to be competitive for years to come.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Stephen Strasburg debuts Tuesday night
Washington Nationals (27-31) rookie starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg makes his much anticipated Major League debut Tuesday night at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates (23-34). The first pitch is set for just after 5 p.m. MT and the game is scheduled to be televised on MLB Network. If you can I would recommend checking it out. The Nationals have already had the game sold out for several days now and just began selling standing room only tickets.
Strasburg was the number one overall pick in last year's MLB Draft coming out of San Diego State. He throws hard and has been simply dazzling during his tour of the minor leagues these past two months. He's being thought of as the guy who will lead the Nationals to a turn in their fortunes after being arguably the worst team in baseball the past couple of years. I'm anxious to see how he does in the big leagues and I think he will do quite well. The Nats still have a couple of more pieces to add, but if Strasburg pitches well and becomes dominant then they will be that much closer to having a competitive team for the first time in quite a while for the Montreal/Washington, D.C. franchise.
Strasburg was the number one overall pick in last year's MLB Draft coming out of San Diego State. He throws hard and has been simply dazzling during his tour of the minor leagues these past two months. He's being thought of as the guy who will lead the Nationals to a turn in their fortunes after being arguably the worst team in baseball the past couple of years. I'm anxious to see how he does in the big leagues and I think he will do quite well. The Nats still have a couple of more pieces to add, but if Strasburg pitches well and becomes dominant then they will be that much closer to having a competitive team for the first time in quite a while for the Montreal/Washington, D.C. franchise.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Baseball Thoughts 6/7/2010
Baseball has some good match-ups coming up this week and here are some to keep your eyes on: the St. Louis Cardinals (33-24) visit the Los Angeles Dodgers (33-24) for three games in a rematch of last year's NLDS. The Dodgers have been on a tear as of late and I think they'll be able to take two of three although I really hope the Cards slow them down. The Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim (31-28) visit the Oakland Athletics (30-28) for a key four game series between AL West foes. The A's have been scuffling a bit and would be well served to at least gain a split for psychological purposes for their positioning in the division. The Angels have been surging as of late and I think they'll win 3 of 4. The Toronto Blue Jays (33-25) visit the Tampa Bay Rays (37-20) for three games at Tropicana Field. The Blue Jays have been playing some good baseball but nobody has been talking about them at all. If they sweep this series then people should start talking and the division race could really tighten up. I actually think they will take two out of three as they have come off of winning two of three at home this weekend against the New York Yankees (35-22).
As for my San Francisco Giants (30-25), they just took two of three competitive games from the Pittsburgh Pirates (23-33) at PNC Park. The Pirates proved tough and I think the Giants showed some resiliency in winning the series whereas if they had given up they could have lost all 3 games. They had spirited comebacks, one of which was successful, in Friday and Saturday's game, and survived a blown save from Brian Wilson (who to his credit has been very good all season) on Sunday to win the game in 10 innings. Tim Lincecum seemed to gain some of his old form back on Sunday's start, pitching 7 innings and giving up 3 earned runs. Freddy Sanchez had a great series against his old team and I'm officially glad he's off of the disabled list and back playing. He had the game-winning sacrifice fly in the tenth inning.
The Giants next head to Cincinnati to face the Reds (33-24) for four games. The Reds have been playing surprisingly well this year and are tied for first place in the NL Central with the St. Louis Cardinals. I'm thinking this will be a split and a competitive series. Barry Zito and Matt Cain start the first two games of the series and the Reds will throw out Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake to bookend the series. The most surprising thing about the Reds this year is their pitching and Cueto and Leake are two of the guys having really good years.
The Giants are in third place and trail the San Diego Padres (33-23) by 2.5 games in the tightly contested National League West. The Padres finish up their four game wraparound series in Philadelphia against the Phillies (30-25) on Monday night before visiting the New York Mets (30-27) for three games. The Colorado Rockies (29-27) are still within striking distance in the division and host the Houston Astros (22-35) for four games this week. The Arizona Diamondbacks (22-35) just took two of three from the Rockies after suffering through a miserable 10 game losing streak and aren't a threat to compete for the division crown. The Snakes host the Atlanta Braves (33-24) for four games this week. The Braves have been playing really well as of late en route to taking the lead in the NL East and should take 3 if not 4 of the games in that series.
Highly touted Washington Nationals (27-31) rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg makes his much-anticipated major league debut on Tuesday night at home. I'll have more on that later.
As for my San Francisco Giants (30-25), they just took two of three competitive games from the Pittsburgh Pirates (23-33) at PNC Park. The Pirates proved tough and I think the Giants showed some resiliency in winning the series whereas if they had given up they could have lost all 3 games. They had spirited comebacks, one of which was successful, in Friday and Saturday's game, and survived a blown save from Brian Wilson (who to his credit has been very good all season) on Sunday to win the game in 10 innings. Tim Lincecum seemed to gain some of his old form back on Sunday's start, pitching 7 innings and giving up 3 earned runs. Freddy Sanchez had a great series against his old team and I'm officially glad he's off of the disabled list and back playing. He had the game-winning sacrifice fly in the tenth inning.
The Giants next head to Cincinnati to face the Reds (33-24) for four games. The Reds have been playing surprisingly well this year and are tied for first place in the NL Central with the St. Louis Cardinals. I'm thinking this will be a split and a competitive series. Barry Zito and Matt Cain start the first two games of the series and the Reds will throw out Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake to bookend the series. The most surprising thing about the Reds this year is their pitching and Cueto and Leake are two of the guys having really good years.
The Giants are in third place and trail the San Diego Padres (33-23) by 2.5 games in the tightly contested National League West. The Padres finish up their four game wraparound series in Philadelphia against the Phillies (30-25) on Monday night before visiting the New York Mets (30-27) for three games. The Colorado Rockies (29-27) are still within striking distance in the division and host the Houston Astros (22-35) for four games this week. The Arizona Diamondbacks (22-35) just took two of three from the Rockies after suffering through a miserable 10 game losing streak and aren't a threat to compete for the division crown. The Snakes host the Atlanta Braves (33-24) for four games this week. The Braves have been playing really well as of late en route to taking the lead in the NL East and should take 3 if not 4 of the games in that series.
Highly touted Washington Nationals (27-31) rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg makes his much-anticipated major league debut on Tuesday night at home. I'll have more on that later.
Double barrel finals action
Tonight it was double barrel finals action with the (4) Boston Celtics taking care of the (1) Los Angeles Lakers 103-94 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals and the (2) Chicago Blackhawks beating the (7) Philadelphia Flyers 7-4 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The NBA Finals are tied at one game each and the Blackhawks lead the Stanley Cup Final 3 games to 2.
I'm not happy that both games tonight went on the air at exactly the same time. I think that both could recognize that there is a championship series from another major professional sports league going on and try to work around each other. I blame the NHL for not being more pro-active in trying to grow its fan base. The NHL is definitely in 4th place in terms of popularity among the major team sports in the United States and should recognize this. Logically that means that it would lose the ratings battle against a sport that is more popular than it in the NBA. I think the NHL is taking too hard of a line on this and that Commissioner Gary Bettman and the other higher-ups in the NHL should work on avoiding starting times that conflict with the NBA Finals. Hockey is king in Canada and will always be watched there, but hockey officials should try harder to gain popularity in America and tonight wasn't a great example of how to do that.
As for the games, I mostly watched the NBA Finals and checked out some of the hockey during the commercials. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 32 points and had a Finals record 8 three-pointers made. Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Pau Gasol had 25 points and Kobe Bryant 21 for the Lakers. With Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett not having their best games, it was huge for the Celtics that Allen and Rondo both came up big. Allen lit it up in the first half in which he made 7 of his 3s and Rondo helped secure the win down the stretch. The Celtics were down with five minutes to go but I think their championship experience which enabled them to not be fazed by the hostile environment that is the Staples Center plus having a star point guard in Rondo were the keys to them pulling this one out.
Bryant seemed to disappear down the stretch for the Lakers. I lost track of how many shots he missed late in the game, but it was a lot. I watched the game with my brother and the two of us both noted that on several possessions he didn't even look to pass it, rather being bound and determined to jackknife up shots no matter the percentages of it actually going in. It was great to see the Lakers lose on their home floor, it's one of those things in basketball that just makes me happy. I kind of enjoyed seeing how angry Bryant looked in his post game press conference, plus hearing coach Phil Jackson whine (again) about the referees, proving once again he may be the most classless coach in all of sports. Some people are just sore losers. The Celtics played better and deserved to win. Game 3 is on Tuesday at 7 p.m. MT on ABC. It's a very pivotal game and the winner will essentially have a firm grasp on the series. I'm looking forward to it and I think the Celtics will win it at home.
As for the hockey game, I didn't get to watch a whole lot of it, but it seemed like every time I switched to it that somebody was scoring a goal. The Blackhawks apparently separated their star players from the same line for this game and it paid great dividends with 7 goals being scored. Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, who is detested in Chicago, had a miserable game and had an awful plus-minus rating. Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton gave up 3 goals in the first period and was replaced for the second time in the series by Brian Boucher, who didn't fare a whole lot better. My guess is Leighton will be back in net for Game 6 in Philadelphia, where he has played well throughout the playoffs. Game 6 is set for Wednesday at 6 p.m. MT on NBC.
I'm not happy that both games tonight went on the air at exactly the same time. I think that both could recognize that there is a championship series from another major professional sports league going on and try to work around each other. I blame the NHL for not being more pro-active in trying to grow its fan base. The NHL is definitely in 4th place in terms of popularity among the major team sports in the United States and should recognize this. Logically that means that it would lose the ratings battle against a sport that is more popular than it in the NBA. I think the NHL is taking too hard of a line on this and that Commissioner Gary Bettman and the other higher-ups in the NHL should work on avoiding starting times that conflict with the NBA Finals. Hockey is king in Canada and will always be watched there, but hockey officials should try harder to gain popularity in America and tonight wasn't a great example of how to do that.
As for the games, I mostly watched the NBA Finals and checked out some of the hockey during the commercials. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 32 points and had a Finals record 8 three-pointers made. Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Pau Gasol had 25 points and Kobe Bryant 21 for the Lakers. With Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett not having their best games, it was huge for the Celtics that Allen and Rondo both came up big. Allen lit it up in the first half in which he made 7 of his 3s and Rondo helped secure the win down the stretch. The Celtics were down with five minutes to go but I think their championship experience which enabled them to not be fazed by the hostile environment that is the Staples Center plus having a star point guard in Rondo were the keys to them pulling this one out.
Bryant seemed to disappear down the stretch for the Lakers. I lost track of how many shots he missed late in the game, but it was a lot. I watched the game with my brother and the two of us both noted that on several possessions he didn't even look to pass it, rather being bound and determined to jackknife up shots no matter the percentages of it actually going in. It was great to see the Lakers lose on their home floor, it's one of those things in basketball that just makes me happy. I kind of enjoyed seeing how angry Bryant looked in his post game press conference, plus hearing coach Phil Jackson whine (again) about the referees, proving once again he may be the most classless coach in all of sports. Some people are just sore losers. The Celtics played better and deserved to win. Game 3 is on Tuesday at 7 p.m. MT on ABC. It's a very pivotal game and the winner will essentially have a firm grasp on the series. I'm looking forward to it and I think the Celtics will win it at home.
As for the hockey game, I didn't get to watch a whole lot of it, but it seemed like every time I switched to it that somebody was scoring a goal. The Blackhawks apparently separated their star players from the same line for this game and it paid great dividends with 7 goals being scored. Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, who is detested in Chicago, had a miserable game and had an awful plus-minus rating. Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton gave up 3 goals in the first period and was replaced for the second time in the series by Brian Boucher, who didn't fare a whole lot better. My guess is Leighton will be back in net for Game 6 in Philadelphia, where he has played well throughout the playoffs. Game 6 is set for Wednesday at 6 p.m. MT on NBC.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Back on the internet
Guess what everyone!? I'm back on the internet here at my apartment! So crisis resolved and I can get back to much more frequent blogging.
The Lakers beat the Celtics last night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. I think the Celtics need to be much more consistent and smart to take Game 2. It's basically a must-win for the Celtics with Games 3-5 in Boston. It's going to be very difficult for them to take all 3 at home just because of how good both teams are. And it wouldn't be ideal to come back to LA down 3-2. So let's hope the Celtics take Game 2 in LA Sunday night (6 p.m. MT, ABC).
The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight to even up the series at 2 games each. The Flyers jumped out to a 4-1 lead and really seemed to feed off the crowd. A pivotal Game 5 is Sunday night in Chicago at 6 p.m. MT on NBC. The Blackhawks are going to be really pumped up for that one on their home ice in front of about 22,000 rabid fans. I'll be interested to see who wins.
I don't know what in the world is going on with the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals being scheduled on the same night and at the same time but that's what is happening on Sunday. Neither series is being played Saturday or Monday night so it seems that something should have been worked out. It's very frustrating to me, but at least this is the only time this year that the two series will overlap.
In baseball, Detroit Tigers (28-26) pitcher Armando Galaragga had a perfect game taken away from him on a blown call by first base umpire Jim Joyce on Wednesday night. Galaragga covered first on a throw from first baseman Miguel Cabrera and clearly caught the ball and put his foot on the bag before Indians (20-33) short stop Jason Donald got there. Joyce ruled Donald safe however. It was a travesty. I think in that situation that if it's even close and you're not sure as an umpire that you have to call the guy out because now history has been tampered with when it should have been something really amazing. It'll always be a perfect game in my mind. I feel really bad for Joyce, and it's clear that he feels awful about what happened.
I think Commissioner Bud Selig should reverse the call and grant Galaragga a perfect game, which he has power to do, but Selig has opted not to do so. This move (or lack thereof) from Selig is not surprising to me at all since he has been content to sit on his hands for most of his tenure as Commissioner. I agree with White Sox (23-31) broadcaster Hawk Harrelson that extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. Even though such an overturn has never been performed before and certainly should not become commonplace, I think it is the right thing to do in this situation.
The Lakers beat the Celtics last night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. I think the Celtics need to be much more consistent and smart to take Game 2. It's basically a must-win for the Celtics with Games 3-5 in Boston. It's going to be very difficult for them to take all 3 at home just because of how good both teams are. And it wouldn't be ideal to come back to LA down 3-2. So let's hope the Celtics take Game 2 in LA Sunday night (6 p.m. MT, ABC).
The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight to even up the series at 2 games each. The Flyers jumped out to a 4-1 lead and really seemed to feed off the crowd. A pivotal Game 5 is Sunday night in Chicago at 6 p.m. MT on NBC. The Blackhawks are going to be really pumped up for that one on their home ice in front of about 22,000 rabid fans. I'll be interested to see who wins.
I don't know what in the world is going on with the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals being scheduled on the same night and at the same time but that's what is happening on Sunday. Neither series is being played Saturday or Monday night so it seems that something should have been worked out. It's very frustrating to me, but at least this is the only time this year that the two series will overlap.
In baseball, Detroit Tigers (28-26) pitcher Armando Galaragga had a perfect game taken away from him on a blown call by first base umpire Jim Joyce on Wednesday night. Galaragga covered first on a throw from first baseman Miguel Cabrera and clearly caught the ball and put his foot on the bag before Indians (20-33) short stop Jason Donald got there. Joyce ruled Donald safe however. It was a travesty. I think in that situation that if it's even close and you're not sure as an umpire that you have to call the guy out because now history has been tampered with when it should have been something really amazing. It'll always be a perfect game in my mind. I feel really bad for Joyce, and it's clear that he feels awful about what happened.
I think Commissioner Bud Selig should reverse the call and grant Galaragga a perfect game, which he has power to do, but Selig has opted not to do so. This move (or lack thereof) from Selig is not surprising to me at all since he has been content to sit on his hands for most of his tenure as Commissioner. I agree with White Sox (23-31) broadcaster Hawk Harrelson that extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. Even though such an overturn has never been performed before and certainly should not become commonplace, I think it is the right thing to do in this situation.
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