The Utah Jazz lost to the Denver Nuggets by a score of 116-102 tonight in the Pepsi Center. The Jazz now lead the series 3 games to 2 with Game 6 on Friday back in Salt Lake City at 8 p.m. MT on ESPN2, FSN-Utah and espn3.com. Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with 26 points and 11 rebounds and only had one turnover as opposed to the 9 he had in Game 4. Chauncey Billups had 18 as well. The Jazz were led by Deron Williams with 34 points and 10 assists while Carlos Boozer had 25 points and 16 rebounds. Paul Millsap had 16 points off the bench.
The Nuggets simply played better down the stretch. J.R. Smith, he of the twitter post claiming the Nuggets were too selfish in Game 4, had 17 points off the bench and was 4-5 on 3-pointers, which always seemed to come at the most inopportune time for the Jazz. When he's making threes like that, Denver is a tough team to beat. He does seem to be a streaky shooter whose shot is better at home so hopefully he'll leave those 3-pointers behind in Denver. I thought the Nuggets played better team basketball and deserved to win this game.
I thought the Jazz had a lot of good chances to take hold of this game, but didn't have as good of a team game as they had in the previous three. Don't get me wrong, some of our guys had really good games, just not everyone did -- Kyle Korver was scoreless on 0-6 shooting for one thing (I still don't mind him shooting because he is such a great shooter). I think Korver and a lot of the other guys will play better in Game 6. I think the Jazz will close this one out Friday at home with a good team performance and a raucous crowd, but the pressure is on as I think a trip back to Denver for Game 7 would spell doom for the Jazz. Who knows, I may end up going to this one in person.
Here are the rest of the NBA Playoffs scores from the past couple of days:
Tuesday:
Game 5 -- (4) Boston 96, (5) Miami 86 (Celtics win series 4-1)
Game 5 -- (1) Cleveland 96, (8) Chicago 94 (Cavaliers win series 4-1)
Game 5 -- (2) Dallas 103, (7) San Antonio 81 (Spurs lead series 3-2)
Game 5 -- (1) LA Lakers 111, (8) Oklahoma City 87 (Lakers lead series 3-2)
Wednesday:
Game 5 -- (6) Milwaukee 91, (3) Atlanta 87 (Bucks lead series 3-2)
I was particularly impressed with the Bucks' Game 5 win on the road in Atlanta behind an 18-5 run in the last five minutes. John Salmons and Brandon Jennings in particular played well for Milwaukee. And the saying they've been repeating on TNT is catchy: Fear the Deer.
Here's the NBA Playoffs schedule for the next two days:
Thursday:
Game 6 -- (2) Dallas at (7) San Antonio, 6 p.m. MT (TNT, Spurs lead series 3-2)
Game 6 -- (3) Phoenix at (6) Portland, 8:30 p.m. MT (TNT, Suns lead series 3-2)
Friday:
Game 6 -- (3) Atlanta at (6) Milwaukee, 5 p.m. MT (ESPN, espn3.com, Bucks lead series 3-2)
Game 6 -- (1) LA Lakers at (8) Oklahoma City, 7:30 p.m. MT (ESPN, espn3.com, LA Lakers lead series 3-2)
Game 6 -- (4) Denver at (5) Utah, 8 p.m. MT (ESPN2, FSN-Utah, espn3.com, Jazz lead series 3-2)
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
4/28/10 -- Giants take two of three from Phils, blow sweep
Here's the San Francisco Giants (12-9) Weekdays Review: The Giants beat the Phillies 5-1 and 6-2 on Monday and Tuesday. Jonathan Sanchez labored through five innings on Monday but made enough pitches and came away with the win. Todd Wellemeyer pitched well last night. Today Tim Lincecum pitched 8 1/3 awesome innings but departed with one out in the ninth with a 4-1 lead after walking Shane Victorino on four pitches. Closer Brian Wilson was summoned and got one more out but put two more guys on to load the bases. Jayson Werth hit a bases clearing double to tie the game at 4 and the Phillies (12-9) went on to win 7-6 in 11 innings.
It was a gut-wrenching loss and it almost feels like the Giants lost the series after snapping defeat from the jaws of victory in the Wednesday matinee. I think Lincecum should have been allowed to face at least one more hitter and if that guy got on then manager Bruce Bochy could have gotten Wilson. Lincecum had pitched so well and deserved a chance to finish the game, especially since the tying run wasn't even at the plate yet. That being said, Wilson hadn't blown a save this year until today and is a very solid closer that I have confidence in. It's just a tough one to swallow. Still I'll take it as a good thing taking two of three from the team that won the last two NL Pennants and the 2008 World Series. The offense, questioned by me a few days ago, really came alive. Hopefully that bodes well for games to come. The Giants look a lot better at home so far, hopefully they can take this stuff with them on the road next week.
SFG Weekend Preview: At home Friday through Sunday against the Colorado Rockies (11-11) at 8:15 p.m. MT, 2:05 p.m. MT and 2:05 p.m. MT. The games Friday and Sunday are on FSN-Rocky Mountain and for people that live in regions where I don't on MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv. Saturday's game is available only on a tape-delayed basis on mlb.tv in the United States due to FOX's exclusive Saturday afternoon broadcast window. I'm excited to see how the Giants hold up in their first series of the year against the team I picked to win the NL West. The rivalry seems to be growing between these two teams as they had some intense games last year. Hopefully the Giants put together another good series and don't let today's loss have too much of a carry-over effect.
It was a gut-wrenching loss and it almost feels like the Giants lost the series after snapping defeat from the jaws of victory in the Wednesday matinee. I think Lincecum should have been allowed to face at least one more hitter and if that guy got on then manager Bruce Bochy could have gotten Wilson. Lincecum had pitched so well and deserved a chance to finish the game, especially since the tying run wasn't even at the plate yet. That being said, Wilson hadn't blown a save this year until today and is a very solid closer that I have confidence in. It's just a tough one to swallow. Still I'll take it as a good thing taking two of three from the team that won the last two NL Pennants and the 2008 World Series. The offense, questioned by me a few days ago, really came alive. Hopefully that bodes well for games to come. The Giants look a lot better at home so far, hopefully they can take this stuff with them on the road next week.
SFG Weekend Preview: At home Friday through Sunday against the Colorado Rockies (11-11) at 8:15 p.m. MT, 2:05 p.m. MT and 2:05 p.m. MT. The games Friday and Sunday are on FSN-Rocky Mountain and for people that live in regions where I don't on MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv. Saturday's game is available only on a tape-delayed basis on mlb.tv in the United States due to FOX's exclusive Saturday afternoon broadcast window. I'm excited to see how the Giants hold up in their first series of the year against the team I picked to win the NL West. The rivalry seems to be growing between these two teams as they had some intense games last year. Hopefully the Giants put together another good series and don't let today's loss have too much of a carry-over effect.
Habs beat Caps in Game 7, other hockey notes
The (8) Montreal Canadiens beat the (1) Washington Capitals 2-1 tonight in Washington, D.C. I typically cheer for teams from Canada in the NHL since one of them hasn't won a Stanley Cup in quite some time. However, the Habs are big rivals with my favorite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs and I really love the hockey loving atmosphere that is present in D.C. The Caps sold out every game this year and people were rocking the red all year and all series long. I think it's really cool that a U.S. team has that kind of atmosphere at their home games and I think it's good for hockey. It's too bad their season ending in such a disappointing manner.
Here are the scores from the past few days in hockey:
Sunday:
Game 6 -- (4) Phoenix Coyotes 5, (5) Detroit Red Wings 2 (Series tied 3-3)
Game 6 -- (3) Vancouver Canucks 4, (6) Los Angeles Kings 2 (Canucks win series 4-2)
Monday:
Game 6 -- (6) Boston Bruins 4, (3) Buffalo Sabres 3 (Bruins win series 4-2)
Game 6 -- (8) Montreal Canadiens 4, (1) Washington Capitals 1 (Series tied 3-3)
Game 6 -- (2) Chicago Blackhawks 5, (7) Nashville Predators 3 (Blackhawks win series 4-2)
Tuesday:
Game 7 -- (5) Detroit Red Wings 6, (4) Phoenix Coyotes 1 (Red Wings win series 4-3)
I said last week that the road teams win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs more often than they do in the NBA Playoffs (in fact the Capitals led for less than 7 minutes in their four home games of their series), but I didn't mention that I also thought that in Game 7 home ice was a huge advantage because the pressure is on both teams and the crowd can help out. However, in both Game 7s in the first round, the road teams won so it's not an end-all, be-all type rule for sure.
Here are the second round matchups for the Stanley Cup Playoffs (remember the NHL is different from the NBA in that the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed rather than a strictly bracket style tournament):
Eastern Conference:
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
(6) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Philadelphia Flyers
Western Conference:
(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings
(2) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (3) Vancouver Canucks
Here's Thursday's schedule:
Game 1 -- (5) Detroit Red Wings at (1) San Jose Sharks, 7 p.m. MT (Versus)
Here are the scores from the past few days in hockey:
Sunday:
Game 6 -- (4) Phoenix Coyotes 5, (5) Detroit Red Wings 2 (Series tied 3-3)
Game 6 -- (3) Vancouver Canucks 4, (6) Los Angeles Kings 2 (Canucks win series 4-2)
Monday:
Game 6 -- (6) Boston Bruins 4, (3) Buffalo Sabres 3 (Bruins win series 4-2)
Game 6 -- (8) Montreal Canadiens 4, (1) Washington Capitals 1 (Series tied 3-3)
Game 6 -- (2) Chicago Blackhawks 5, (7) Nashville Predators 3 (Blackhawks win series 4-2)
Tuesday:
Game 7 -- (5) Detroit Red Wings 6, (4) Phoenix Coyotes 1 (Red Wings win series 4-3)
I said last week that the road teams win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs more often than they do in the NBA Playoffs (in fact the Capitals led for less than 7 minutes in their four home games of their series), but I didn't mention that I also thought that in Game 7 home ice was a huge advantage because the pressure is on both teams and the crowd can help out. However, in both Game 7s in the first round, the road teams won so it's not an end-all, be-all type rule for sure.
Here are the second round matchups for the Stanley Cup Playoffs (remember the NHL is different from the NBA in that the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed rather than a strictly bracket style tournament):
Eastern Conference:
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
(6) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Philadelphia Flyers
Western Conference:
(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings
(2) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (3) Vancouver Canucks
Here's Thursday's schedule:
Game 1 -- (5) Detroit Red Wings at (1) San Jose Sharks, 7 p.m. MT (Versus)
Monday, April 26, 2010
Carmelo Anthony says "I need some help"
As promised here are the Carmelo Anthony comments from after Game 4 in Salt Lake City. http://www.nba.com/video/channels/playoffs/2010/04/25/0040900174_den_sound3.nba/
Notice how he uses the phrase "I need some help." And now here are comments from the famous Leon from the Budweiser commercials from several years back. Leon was a fictional athlete notoriously painted as an arrogant hothead in the commercials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BkIh1R5utY
Also included the phrase "I need some help." Strikingly similar comments about teammates if you ask me. I can see the reporter asking Carmelo Anthony "So your 9 turnovers weren't a factor in your mind?" followed by a Leon like response by Anthony.
To be fair Anthony had 39 points and 11 rebounds and was a major force in Denver sticking anywhere close to the Jazz at all. But he also was one turnover away from what I like to call an "Evan Turner Triple Double" named for the Ohio State standout who had a traditional double-double this season that was lauded by analysts, but still had 10 turnovers in the same game.
Anthony said he wasn't trying to point fingers, but he clearly was when saying he needed help and that he couldn't do it on his own. I think he did play well but, as I noted earlier, the Jazz were clearly playing better team basketball last night. I don't know that Anthony is completely parallel with Leon, but his comments were strikingly similar and don't speak well of chemistry in the Denver locker room.
Here are the rest of the NBA scores for the last couple of days:
Sunday:
Game 4 -- (5) Miami 101, (4) Boston 92 (Celtics lead series 3-1, Dwayne Wade had a monster game with 46 points for the Heat)
Game 4 -- (1) Cleveland 121, (8) Chicago 98 (Cavaliers lead series 3-1, LeBron James' triple-double and half court shot at the end of the third quarter were impressive)
Game 4 -- (7) San Antonio 92, (2) Dallas 89 (Spurs lead series 3-1)
Monday:
Game 4 -- (2) Orlando 99, (7) Charlotte 90 (Magic win series 4-0)
Game 4 -- (6) Milwaukee 111, (3) Atlanta 104 (Series tied 2-2)
Game 5 -- (3) Phoenix 107, (6) Portland 88 (Suns lead series 3-2)
And here's the schedule for Tuesday:
Game 5 -- (5) Miami at (4) Boston, 5 p.m. MT (NBA TV, Celtics lead series 3-1)
Game 5 -- (8) Chicago at (1) Cleveland, 6 p.m. MT (TNT, Cavaliers lead series 3-1)
Game 5 -- (7) San Antonio at (2) Dallas, 7:30 p.m. MT (NBA TV, Spurs lead series 3-1)
Game 5 -- (8) Oklahoma City at (1) LA Lakers, 8:30 p.m. MT (TNT, Series tied 2-2)
Notice how he uses the phrase "I need some help." And now here are comments from the famous Leon from the Budweiser commercials from several years back. Leon was a fictional athlete notoriously painted as an arrogant hothead in the commercials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BkIh1R5utY
Also included the phrase "I need some help." Strikingly similar comments about teammates if you ask me. I can see the reporter asking Carmelo Anthony "So your 9 turnovers weren't a factor in your mind?" followed by a Leon like response by Anthony.
To be fair Anthony had 39 points and 11 rebounds and was a major force in Denver sticking anywhere close to the Jazz at all. But he also was one turnover away from what I like to call an "Evan Turner Triple Double" named for the Ohio State standout who had a traditional double-double this season that was lauded by analysts, but still had 10 turnovers in the same game.
Anthony said he wasn't trying to point fingers, but he clearly was when saying he needed help and that he couldn't do it on his own. I think he did play well but, as I noted earlier, the Jazz were clearly playing better team basketball last night. I don't know that Anthony is completely parallel with Leon, but his comments were strikingly similar and don't speak well of chemistry in the Denver locker room.
Here are the rest of the NBA scores for the last couple of days:
Sunday:
Game 4 -- (5) Miami 101, (4) Boston 92 (Celtics lead series 3-1, Dwayne Wade had a monster game with 46 points for the Heat)
Game 4 -- (1) Cleveland 121, (8) Chicago 98 (Cavaliers lead series 3-1, LeBron James' triple-double and half court shot at the end of the third quarter were impressive)
Game 4 -- (7) San Antonio 92, (2) Dallas 89 (Spurs lead series 3-1)
Monday:
Game 4 -- (2) Orlando 99, (7) Charlotte 90 (Magic win series 4-0)
Game 4 -- (6) Milwaukee 111, (3) Atlanta 104 (Series tied 2-2)
Game 5 -- (3) Phoenix 107, (6) Portland 88 (Suns lead series 3-2)
And here's the schedule for Tuesday:
Game 5 -- (5) Miami at (4) Boston, 5 p.m. MT (NBA TV, Celtics lead series 3-1)
Game 5 -- (8) Chicago at (1) Cleveland, 6 p.m. MT (TNT, Cavaliers lead series 3-1)
Game 5 -- (7) San Antonio at (2) Dallas, 7:30 p.m. MT (NBA TV, Spurs lead series 3-1)
Game 5 -- (8) Oklahoma City at (1) LA Lakers, 8:30 p.m. MT (TNT, Series tied 2-2)
Jazz beat Nuggets, go up 3-1
The Jazz beat the Nuggets last night 117-106 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead with Game 5 on Wednesday in Denver at 8:30 p.m. MT on TNT and FSN-Utah. Carlos Boozer had a huge game with 31 points and 13 rebounds while Deron Williams had 24 points and 13 assists. C.J. Miles continued his big series with 21 and rookie Wesley Matthews had 18. Everyone seems to be playing well.
I think D-Will had more assists than the entire Nuggets team, so to me that shows that the Jazz are playing much better team basektball. I really like the way Boozer is playing hard and attacking, he's having a really good series. And Miles is really coming of age I think. And well, everyone seems to have brought their A game. Let's hope the Jazz can close this out on Wednesday.
Carmelo Anthony had 39 points for the Nuggets, but also had nine turnovers, something interim coach Adrian Dantley pointed out in the post-game press conference, saying "'Melo" needs to take better care of the ball. However, I thought he did play hard and at least kept the Nuggets in the game to some extent. Anthony had some interesting comments after the game which I'll chronicle later. Go Jazz!
I think D-Will had more assists than the entire Nuggets team, so to me that shows that the Jazz are playing much better team basektball. I really like the way Boozer is playing hard and attacking, he's having a really good series. And Miles is really coming of age I think. And well, everyone seems to have brought their A game. Let's hope the Jazz can close this out on Wednesday.
Carmelo Anthony had 39 points for the Nuggets, but also had nine turnovers, something interim coach Adrian Dantley pointed out in the post-game press conference, saying "'Melo" needs to take better care of the ball. However, I thought he did play hard and at least kept the Nuggets in the game to some extent. Anthony had some interesting comments after the game which I'll chronicle later. Go Jazz!
Baseball Weekdays Preview 4/26/2010
Here's the Baseball Weekdays Preview 4/26/2010:
Most intriguing series: Philadelphia Phillies (11-7) at San Francisco Giants (10-8). Not just because they're my two favorite teams (don't worry I'm still pulling for the Giants in this series) but because the series involves two playoff contenders and I'll be interested to see who mamkes an early statement. For more, see below.
Another intriguing series: Minnesota Twins (13-6) at Detroit Tigers (10-9) Tuesday through Thursday at 5:05 p.m. MT (MLB EI, mlb.tv), 5:05 p.m. MT (ESPN, MLB EI, espn3.com, mlb.tv) and 11:05 a.m. MT (MLB EI, mlb.tv). These two are in first and second in the AL Central. I think the Twins will be able to keep up their hot start against the Tigers and will take two of three. The Tigers will try and throw their weight around at home against a division foe. Another series of note is Oakland (12-8) at Tampa Bay (14-5) Tuesday and Wednesday.
Least intriguing series: Cleveland Indians (8-10) at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (10-10). I dunno I had to pick one to fill this category and this definitely isn't the top series of the week. I'll take the Angels in a sweep. There doesn't seem to be a lot of buzz around the Tribe these days.
Most intriguing series: Philadelphia Phillies (11-7) at San Francisco Giants (10-8). Not just because they're my two favorite teams (don't worry I'm still pulling for the Giants in this series) but because the series involves two playoff contenders and I'll be interested to see who mamkes an early statement. For more, see below.
Another intriguing series: Minnesota Twins (13-6) at Detroit Tigers (10-9) Tuesday through Thursday at 5:05 p.m. MT (MLB EI, mlb.tv), 5:05 p.m. MT (ESPN, MLB EI, espn3.com, mlb.tv) and 11:05 a.m. MT (MLB EI, mlb.tv). These two are in first and second in the AL Central. I think the Twins will be able to keep up their hot start against the Tigers and will take two of three. The Tigers will try and throw their weight around at home against a division foe. Another series of note is Oakland (12-8) at Tampa Bay (14-5) Tuesday and Wednesday.
Least intriguing series: Cleveland Indians (8-10) at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (10-10). I dunno I had to pick one to fill this category and this definitely isn't the top series of the week. I'll take the Angels in a sweep. There doesn't seem to be a lot of buzz around the Tribe these days.
Baseball Weekend Review 4/26/2010, Howard extension
Ryan Howard got a big contract extension, that and more in the Baseball Weekend Review 4/26/2010:
Most impressive performance: The Chicago Cubs (9-10) had a convincing sweep on the road at the Milwaukee Brewers (8-10), winning by scores of 8-1, 5-1 and 12-2. The Cubs were the better team in just about every faze of the game over the three games at Miller Park. I'm surprised by their dominance this past weekend and I thought they showed glimpses of their division winning team of 2008 that played so well. I think they are moving things in the right direction. For the Brewers, I think this is cause for concern, but I also think they'll stay within striking distance in the Central for at least a little while.
Another impressive performance: The San Diego Padres (11-7) had stretched their winning streak to eight games before dropping the finale of their series to the Reds in Cincinnati. I didn't think the Padres would be a threat at all this year, but they have been playing some good baseball of late and are in first place in the NL West. I don't think they'll stay in the race, but they're off to a good start.
Least impressive performance: The Pittsburgh Pirates (7-11) were swept again, this time in Houston by the Astros (8-10) who had started the year 0-8. At least the scores this weekend weren't as lopsided as they were in their previous series against the Brewers, this time it was 4-3, 5-2 and 10-3. The Bucs look like they're in for another long year. The Astros are starting to turn it around but I still don't think they'll be close to the playoffs.
Regarding my predictions: I correctly picked the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (10-10) to take two of three from the New York Yankees (12-6) in what was one of the weekend's better series. We'll see if the Angels can use this to launch themselves to more series like this. I totally missed on the Brewers-Cubs series as I picked Milwaukee to win two of three. I got the Astros to win the series but not the sweep and I missed on the Giants taking two of three from the Cardinals (but I'll take it).
San Francisco Giants (10-8) Review: See below.
Final thought: The Philadelphia Phillies (11-7) signed star first baseman Ryan Howard to a five year, $125 million contract extension that should keep him in Philadelphia through at least 2016. It's a big deal that this contract got done as Howard is a key to what the Phillies do and is the biggest power threat in the middle of their order. I didn't know that this deal would get done with all the difficulties in contract talks the two sides have had in the past but I'm glad it did. It's good that he'll be staying in Philly for a while on my second favorite team.
Most impressive performance: The Chicago Cubs (9-10) had a convincing sweep on the road at the Milwaukee Brewers (8-10), winning by scores of 8-1, 5-1 and 12-2. The Cubs were the better team in just about every faze of the game over the three games at Miller Park. I'm surprised by their dominance this past weekend and I thought they showed glimpses of their division winning team of 2008 that played so well. I think they are moving things in the right direction. For the Brewers, I think this is cause for concern, but I also think they'll stay within striking distance in the Central for at least a little while.
Another impressive performance: The San Diego Padres (11-7) had stretched their winning streak to eight games before dropping the finale of their series to the Reds in Cincinnati. I didn't think the Padres would be a threat at all this year, but they have been playing some good baseball of late and are in first place in the NL West. I don't think they'll stay in the race, but they're off to a good start.
Least impressive performance: The Pittsburgh Pirates (7-11) were swept again, this time in Houston by the Astros (8-10) who had started the year 0-8. At least the scores this weekend weren't as lopsided as they were in their previous series against the Brewers, this time it was 4-3, 5-2 and 10-3. The Bucs look like they're in for another long year. The Astros are starting to turn it around but I still don't think they'll be close to the playoffs.
Regarding my predictions: I correctly picked the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (10-10) to take two of three from the New York Yankees (12-6) in what was one of the weekend's better series. We'll see if the Angels can use this to launch themselves to more series like this. I totally missed on the Brewers-Cubs series as I picked Milwaukee to win two of three. I got the Astros to win the series but not the sweep and I missed on the Giants taking two of three from the Cardinals (but I'll take it).
San Francisco Giants (10-8) Review: See below.
Final thought: The Philadelphia Phillies (11-7) signed star first baseman Ryan Howard to a five year, $125 million contract extension that should keep him in Philadelphia through at least 2016. It's a big deal that this contract got done as Howard is a key to what the Phillies do and is the biggest power threat in the middle of their order. I didn't know that this deal would get done with all the difficulties in contract talks the two sides have had in the past but I'm glad it did. It's good that he'll be staying in Philly for a while on my second favorite team.
4/26/10 -- Lincecum, Zito dazzle against Cardinals
Here's the San Francisco Giants (SFG) Weekend Review (WER) and Weekdays Preview (WDP) 4/26/2010. Pictured at left is Tim Lincecum pitching on Friday and sporting the Giants' new orange jersey look.
Weekend Review: The San Francisco Giants (10-8) took two out of three this weekend from the St. Louis Cardinals (11-7) at home this weekend. Tim Lincecum (4-0, 1.00 ERA) was once again the man who was instrumental in stopping a losing streak, this one had lasted four games. Closer Brian Wilson, who picked up a pair of saves in the series had this to say about Lincecum: "When Tim's on the mound, we have the utmost confidence we could score one run and still win. Anytime Tim pitches, the crowd is electric. We can feel that, and it gives us a sense of confidence as well." On Friday "The Franchise" went seven innings and gave up only one run in the 4-1 victory. I'm just glad the Giants have Lincecum. I said last week that Roy Halladay of the Phillies is "probably" the best pitcher in the game today but I'd like to rescind that for now. I'll stick with saying he and Lincecum are two of the best and the way things are going they could be neck and neck for the NL Cy Young Award this year.
Friday also marked the debut of the Giants' new orange jerseys that they will be wearing on Fridays at home this season. They look pretty cool but I'm kind of sad the team isn't just sticking with the traditional white and gray jerseys this year. I still kind of like the jerseys, though.
On Saturday, Barry Zito struck out 10 hitters in eight shutout innings and looked pretty dominant. Toward the end of his outing the crowd started chanting "Barry, Barry" much the way they did for Barry Bonds for many years. It was pretty cool to see Zito pitching to his full capabilities again. The Giants scored two in the bottom of the eighth to take the game 2-0. The Giants dropped the finale as the Cardinals took it 2-0 behind a strong pitching performance from former Giant Brad Penny. Of course Jaime Garcia and Adam Wainwright were both pretty good earlier in the series for the Cards, but were on the wrong end of stick.
Two out of three against the odds-on favorite to win the NL Central is a pretty good performance, but I'm still concerned about the offense. The Giants only scored 6 runs the whole the series and half of those were the result of Cardinals miscues. The Cards do have a very strong pitching staff, but this is two series in a row now where I haven't seen much offense from the Giants.
Looking ahead (Weekdays Preview): The Giants take on the two time reigning National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies (11-7) Monday through Wednesday at 8:15, 8:15 and 1:45 p.m. MT (all on MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv). Wednesday's game featuring a pitching matchup of Lincecum and Cole Hamels is also available on MLB Network. The Phils send Halladay tonight and the ageless Jamie Moyer tomorrow night while the Giants counter with Jonathan Sanchez and Todd Wellemeyer. I think the Phillies are a very deep and talented team. I'll take them to win two of three. The winner of Tuesday's game could determine the series. Also, the Phillies have reportedly signed star first baseman Ryan Howard to a lucrative multiyear contract extension. I'll have more on that later.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
NHL Playoffs update
The NHL Playoffs are in the first round and I've been catching a little bit here and there. Here are the scores from Saturday's games:
West Game 5 -- (2) Chicago Blackhawks 5, (7) Nashville Predators 4 (OT, Blackhawks lead series 3-2)
East Game 6 -- (4) Pittsburgh Penguins 4, (5) Ottawa Senators 3 (OT, Penguins win series 4-2)
West Game 6 -- (1) San Jose Sharks 5, (8) Colorado Avalanche 2 (Sharks win series 4-2)
And here are the games slated for Sunday:
West Game 6 -- (4) Phoenix Coyotes at (5) Detroit Red Wings, noon MT (NBC, Red Wings lead series 3-2)
West Game 6 -- (3) Vancouver Canucks at (6) Los Angeles Kings, 7 p.m. MT (Versus, Canucks lead series 3-2)
Here's a look at the rest of the series...
East:
(1) Washington Capitals lead (8) Montreal Canadiens 3-2
(7) Philadelphia Flyers defeated (2) New Jersey Devils 4-1
(6) Boston Bruins lead (3) Buffalo Sabres 3-2
The playoffs can be pretty exciting, I find it interesting that in hockey being the home team doesn't seem to be as big of a deal as it is in basketball. Road teams seem to win a much greater percentage of the games. I also enjoy all the big crowds and how into the fans seem to be. I think it's really cool that the Washington Capitals sold out every game this year and always play in front of a sea of red. The Canadian fans are passionate so it's cool to see that from a U.S. team's fan base. I don't know everything about hockey, but I do enjoy watching it, especially when the playoffs roll around.
West Game 5 -- (2) Chicago Blackhawks 5, (7) Nashville Predators 4 (OT, Blackhawks lead series 3-2)
East Game 6 -- (4) Pittsburgh Penguins 4, (5) Ottawa Senators 3 (OT, Penguins win series 4-2)
West Game 6 -- (1) San Jose Sharks 5, (8) Colorado Avalanche 2 (Sharks win series 4-2)
And here are the games slated for Sunday:
West Game 6 -- (4) Phoenix Coyotes at (5) Detroit Red Wings, noon MT (NBC, Red Wings lead series 3-2)
West Game 6 -- (3) Vancouver Canucks at (6) Los Angeles Kings, 7 p.m. MT (Versus, Canucks lead series 3-2)
Here's a look at the rest of the series...
East:
(1) Washington Capitals lead (8) Montreal Canadiens 3-2
(7) Philadelphia Flyers defeated (2) New Jersey Devils 4-1
(6) Boston Bruins lead (3) Buffalo Sabres 3-2
The playoffs can be pretty exciting, I find it interesting that in hockey being the home team doesn't seem to be as big of a deal as it is in basketball. Road teams seem to win a much greater percentage of the games. I also enjoy all the big crowds and how into the fans seem to be. I think it's really cool that the Washington Capitals sold out every game this year and always play in front of a sea of red. The Canadian fans are passionate so it's cool to see that from a U.S. team's fan base. I don't know everything about hockey, but I do enjoy watching it, especially when the playoffs roll around.
Brandon Roy returns, Blazers win
Trail Blazers star forward Brandon Roy returned to the lineup just eight days after having knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. I am very surprised that he was able to return so soon and it really speaks to his toughness. It's just a great story. Not only did he return but he chipped in 10 points including a couple of key baskets down the stretch. The Blazers were led by LaMarcus Aldridge who had 31 points and 11 rebounds. Andre Miller chipped in 15 for Portland while Amare Stoudemire had 26 for Phoenix in the loss. The best-of-seven series is tied at two games each. I was saying today while watching the game that if Roy has a big part in the Blazers going on to win the series he will be elevated to legend status in Portland. After blowout wins by the Suns in Games 2 and 3 I had thought the series was all but over, but now it becomes very interesting.
In other NBA action the Oklahoma City Thunder were never seriously challenged by the Los Angeles Lakers in taking Game 4 110-89. The Thunder were led by Kevin Durant's 22 points. It really was an impressive performance by Oklahoma City who evened the series at 2 games each. After Game 3 was close I definitely didn't see a blowout win by the Thunder coming, but it makes me happy anyway. I love it when the Lakers lose. Game 5 should be a good one and I think the Lakers should be worried.
In the other NBA game Saturday, Milwaukee took care of Atlanta pretty easily, winning it 107-89 behind John Salmons' 22 points. The Bucks cut Atlanta's series lead to 2-1. I enjoyed hearing the crowd chant "ole, ole, ole, ole" late in the game in salute of their injured star Andrew Bogut, who is from Australia. Pretty cool stuff. Of course I have a soft spot for Bogut (and Portland's Andrew Miller for that matter) since he starred at the University of Utah.
Here's the NBA Playoff schedule for Sunday:
Game 4 -- (4) Boston at (5) Miami, 11 a.m. MT (ABC, Celtics lead series 3-0)
Game 4 -- (1) Cleveland at (8) Chicago, 1:30 p.m. MT (ABC, Cavaliers lead series 2-1)
Game 4 -- (2) Dallas at (7) San Antonio, 5 p.m. MT (TNT, Spurs lead series 2-1)
Game 4 -- (4) Denver at (5) Utah, 7:30 p.m. MT (TNT, FSN-Utah, Jazz lead series 2-1)
It's a big one in Salt Lake tomorrow night, a must win for the Nuggets. I'll definitely be watching and have my thoughts on it afterward. Go Jazz!
In other NBA action the Oklahoma City Thunder were never seriously challenged by the Los Angeles Lakers in taking Game 4 110-89. The Thunder were led by Kevin Durant's 22 points. It really was an impressive performance by Oklahoma City who evened the series at 2 games each. After Game 3 was close I definitely didn't see a blowout win by the Thunder coming, but it makes me happy anyway. I love it when the Lakers lose. Game 5 should be a good one and I think the Lakers should be worried.
In the other NBA game Saturday, Milwaukee took care of Atlanta pretty easily, winning it 107-89 behind John Salmons' 22 points. The Bucks cut Atlanta's series lead to 2-1. I enjoyed hearing the crowd chant "ole, ole, ole, ole" late in the game in salute of their injured star Andrew Bogut, who is from Australia. Pretty cool stuff. Of course I have a soft spot for Bogut (and Portland's Andrew Miller for that matter) since he starred at the University of Utah.
Here's the NBA Playoff schedule for Sunday:
Game 4 -- (4) Boston at (5) Miami, 11 a.m. MT (ABC, Celtics lead series 3-0)
Game 4 -- (1) Cleveland at (8) Chicago, 1:30 p.m. MT (ABC, Cavaliers lead series 2-1)
Game 4 -- (2) Dallas at (7) San Antonio, 5 p.m. MT (TNT, Spurs lead series 2-1)
Game 4 -- (4) Denver at (5) Utah, 7:30 p.m. MT (TNT, FSN-Utah, Jazz lead series 2-1)
It's a big one in Salt Lake tomorrow night, a must win for the Nuggets. I'll definitely be watching and have my thoughts on it afterward. Go Jazz!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Stern, Jackson trade barbs
NBA Commissioner David Stern is not happy with all the criticism the league's officials have been taking lately. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy as well as forward Matt Barnes and Celtics forward Rasheed Wallace were all fined Thursday for comments made criticizing officials. Lakers coach Phil Jackson has been fined twice in the past month for comments critical of officials.
Stern had this to say Thursday: "I wish I had it to do all over again, and starting 20 years ago, I'd be suspending Phil and Pat Riley for all the games they play in the media, because you guys know that our referees go out there and they knock themselves out and do the best job they can. We have coaches who will do whatever it takes to try to work them publicly. What that does is erode fan confidence, and then we get some of the situations that we have. So, our coaches should be quiet because this is a good business that makes them good livings and supports a lot of families, and if they don't like, they should go get a job someplace else."
Stern continued: "It's corrosive. It's corrosive, and because of the pressure cooker that is the NBA Playoffs, over the years I've let it go." He went on to reference a number of shots Pat Riley and Phil Jackson made a couple of decades ago about NBA referees in the Playoffs and continued with comments about Stan Van Gundy taking shots at the officials which he says leads the players to join in as well.
Stern then said " ... if I had it to do again, I would stop it and the price wouldn't be a modest $35,000 fine. It would be whatever a day's pay is and then two days' pay and then a week's pay. And if someone wants to try me the rest of these playoffs, you know, make my day because the game is too important and I don't think the people who trash it are respecting it and what we'll do what we have to do -- to players and coaches alike."
Stern finished off by basically saying the officials only agenda was to work hard to support themselves and their families, etc. and not to help out any particular teams or players.
Van Gundy said prior to Orlando's Game 3 win over Charlotte "I've been fined for saying how good they were this year, and I've been fined for criticizing them, so nobody understands more that we're just not to talk about them at all."
To nobody's surprise, Phil Jackson's ego wouldn't allow him to give a similar response. Jackson first said that he thought one and two games suspensions for comments would be excessively taking away from teams and coaches, calling the threat "awfully heavy-handed." Jackson went on to say yesterday that "(If) there's a natural situation of favoritism on the NBA court, I don't think is going to be deluded into thinking that people don't get calls on the court, regardless of how you say it. It's just a natural evolution of the game and a natural evolution of who gets the ball the most. They're going to end up a lot of times at the foul line. Unfortunately it didn't work for Kobe (Bryant) that way last night, but it did for Kevin (Durant)."
It'll be interesting to see how Stern responds to these latest comments because it's like Jackson is essentially daring Stern to suspend him. I would love to see that happen as I've gotten sick of Jackson's comments about referees. I do think that referees can be biased and that superstars often do get calls they shouldn't as well as supposed bigger name teams and teams that are playing at home. I've said before and I'll say it again that the NBA is the worst officiated of all the pro sports leagues, so I don't think all of Stern's comments have a lot of merit.
I do think that if anybody has a right to complain, it is not Phil Jackson. He had Michael Jordan getting calls all over the place for years in Chicago and has enjoyed similar benefits with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles. Bryant gets as many or more calls than anybody in the game today. To me Jackson's latest comments are just another example of how he tries to play mind games with the referees and with the opposing teams.
Stern had this to say Thursday: "I wish I had it to do all over again, and starting 20 years ago, I'd be suspending Phil and Pat Riley for all the games they play in the media, because you guys know that our referees go out there and they knock themselves out and do the best job they can. We have coaches who will do whatever it takes to try to work them publicly. What that does is erode fan confidence, and then we get some of the situations that we have. So, our coaches should be quiet because this is a good business that makes them good livings and supports a lot of families, and if they don't like, they should go get a job someplace else."
Stern continued: "It's corrosive. It's corrosive, and because of the pressure cooker that is the NBA Playoffs, over the years I've let it go." He went on to reference a number of shots Pat Riley and Phil Jackson made a couple of decades ago about NBA referees in the Playoffs and continued with comments about Stan Van Gundy taking shots at the officials which he says leads the players to join in as well.
Stern then said " ... if I had it to do again, I would stop it and the price wouldn't be a modest $35,000 fine. It would be whatever a day's pay is and then two days' pay and then a week's pay. And if someone wants to try me the rest of these playoffs, you know, make my day because the game is too important and I don't think the people who trash it are respecting it and what we'll do what we have to do -- to players and coaches alike."
Stern finished off by basically saying the officials only agenda was to work hard to support themselves and their families, etc. and not to help out any particular teams or players.
Van Gundy said prior to Orlando's Game 3 win over Charlotte "I've been fined for saying how good they were this year, and I've been fined for criticizing them, so nobody understands more that we're just not to talk about them at all."
To nobody's surprise, Phil Jackson's ego wouldn't allow him to give a similar response. Jackson first said that he thought one and two games suspensions for comments would be excessively taking away from teams and coaches, calling the threat "awfully heavy-handed." Jackson went on to say yesterday that "(If) there's a natural situation of favoritism on the NBA court, I don't think is going to be deluded into thinking that people don't get calls on the court, regardless of how you say it. It's just a natural evolution of the game and a natural evolution of who gets the ball the most. They're going to end up a lot of times at the foul line. Unfortunately it didn't work for Kobe (Bryant) that way last night, but it did for Kevin (Durant)."
It'll be interesting to see how Stern responds to these latest comments because it's like Jackson is essentially daring Stern to suspend him. I would love to see that happen as I've gotten sick of Jackson's comments about referees. I do think that referees can be biased and that superstars often do get calls they shouldn't as well as supposed bigger name teams and teams that are playing at home. I've said before and I'll say it again that the NBA is the worst officiated of all the pro sports leagues, so I don't think all of Stern's comments have a lot of merit.
I do think that if anybody has a right to complain, it is not Phil Jackson. He had Michael Jordan getting calls all over the place for years in Chicago and has enjoyed similar benefits with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles. Bryant gets as many or more calls than anybody in the game today. To me Jackson's latest comments are just another example of how he tries to play mind games with the referees and with the opposing teams.
NCAA Tournament expands to 68 teams
The NCAA announced Thursday that it will expand its Tournament from 65 to 68 teams beginning next season. A new 14-year TV deal with CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV was also announced in which every Tournament game will be broadcast nationally. I admit I'm surprised that the Tournament is "only" expanding to 68 teams, I thought that it going to 96 was nothing but a formality. With only three new teams in the field, I feel that the Tournament will retain most of its magic and be very similar to the Tournament we know and love.
I agree with Gary Parrish of cbssports.com that it would be best for the Tournament to go back to the 64 team format, but this is still going to allow it to be pretty cool. Making the Tournament will still be a reward for having a good season, as it should be. My hope is that the four "play-in" games will be involving the last 8 at-large teams selected but I believe that the games will feature the 8 lowest seeded teams in the field. That's unfortunate because those eight teams will almost certainly be teams that won their conference tournaments and I think they shouldn't have to have a "play-in" game just to get to the First Round. But overall, I'm still pretty happy that the Tournament isn't grossly expanding to the point where it would water down the regular season. At least for now.
I agree with Gary Parrish of cbssports.com that it would be best for the Tournament to go back to the 64 team format, but this is still going to allow it to be pretty cool. Making the Tournament will still be a reward for having a good season, as it should be. My hope is that the four "play-in" games will be involving the last 8 at-large teams selected but I believe that the games will feature the 8 lowest seeded teams in the field. That's unfortunate because those eight teams will almost certainly be teams that won their conference tournaments and I think they shouldn't have to have a "play-in" game just to get to the First Round. But overall, I'm still pretty happy that the Tournament isn't grossly expanding to the point where it would water down the regular season. At least for now.
Jazz beat Nuggets, take 2-1 series lead
The Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 105-93 tonight and now lead the best of seven series two games to one. Paul Millsap was the man tonight, pouring in 22 points (18 in the first half, making his first nine shots) and grabbing 19 rebounds. Deron Williams had 24 points and 10 assists. Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony each had 25 for Denver.
The Jazz trailed early after getting off to a slow start but managed to take 52-48 halftime lead before starting to blow the game open in the third quarter. In one of the early timeouts, Nuggets interim head coach Adrian Dantley told his team he was glad they were keeping their composure. But it appears they were only able to do this so long as they had the lead.
When the Jazz took the lead and started to pull away, the frustration of the Nuggets players mounted. I think the crowd got to them. I enjoyed seeing Chris "Birdman" Andersen get a technical foul as I've never particularly cared for him. It was apparent that the Nuggets let their emotions get away from them and the Jazz took advantage of that. We'll see if the Nuggets are able to better control their emotions and stay focused in Game 4 on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. MT (TNT, FSN-Utah). Another moment I enjoyed was Deron Williams laying it in during the fourth quarter to push the lead to about 20 and then smiling and trotting (perhaps strutting a little?) back to the bench. I like to see that sort of confidence from D-Will.
I also liked that the home crowd at the ESA was ready to go and loud throughout. I thought it was cool and funny that almost immediately after the game started the fans started "Denver sucks" chants that recurred throughout the game. This in response to the "Utah sucks" chants (some of which were made right before the Nuggets lost Game 2) by Denver fans at the Pepsi Center. I liked that when our fans chanted, it was more applicable because we actually won this game. I thought the rowdiness of the crowd contributed to the Nuggets losing their cool.
Earlier on Friday, the Celtics took a 3-0 series lead by beating the Heat in Miami by a score of 100-98 on Paul Pierce's buzzer-beating jumper. I like Pierce and think he is a clutch player and tonight was just further proof. His game-winner essentially assures that the series is over and we can begin preparing to see a Celtics-Cavaliers second round series. I thought the Heat should've fouled with 4 or 5 seconds to go to make the Celtics reset as Pierce just held the ball from about the 7 second mark on down until he fired right before the buzzer. Had the Heat fouled it would have been more difficult for Boston to get that same shot. It probably was worth at least a try.
In the other game Friday, the Spurs beat the Mavericks 94-90 to take a 2-1 series lead. Here's the NBA schedule for Saturday:
Game 3 -- Orlando at Charlotte, noon MT (TNT, Magic lead 2-0)
Game 4 -- Phoenix at Portland, 2:30 MT (TNT, Suns lead 2-1)
Game 3 -- Atlanta at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. MT (ESPN, espn3.com, Hawks lead 2-0)
Game 4 -- LA Lakers at Oklahoma City, 7:30 p.m. MT (ESPN, espn3.com, Lakers lead 2-1)
The Jazz trailed early after getting off to a slow start but managed to take 52-48 halftime lead before starting to blow the game open in the third quarter. In one of the early timeouts, Nuggets interim head coach Adrian Dantley told his team he was glad they were keeping their composure. But it appears they were only able to do this so long as they had the lead.
When the Jazz took the lead and started to pull away, the frustration of the Nuggets players mounted. I think the crowd got to them. I enjoyed seeing Chris "Birdman" Andersen get a technical foul as I've never particularly cared for him. It was apparent that the Nuggets let their emotions get away from them and the Jazz took advantage of that. We'll see if the Nuggets are able to better control their emotions and stay focused in Game 4 on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. MT (TNT, FSN-Utah). Another moment I enjoyed was Deron Williams laying it in during the fourth quarter to push the lead to about 20 and then smiling and trotting (perhaps strutting a little?) back to the bench. I like to see that sort of confidence from D-Will.
I also liked that the home crowd at the ESA was ready to go and loud throughout. I thought it was cool and funny that almost immediately after the game started the fans started "Denver sucks" chants that recurred throughout the game. This in response to the "Utah sucks" chants (some of which were made right before the Nuggets lost Game 2) by Denver fans at the Pepsi Center. I liked that when our fans chanted, it was more applicable because we actually won this game. I thought the rowdiness of the crowd contributed to the Nuggets losing their cool.
Earlier on Friday, the Celtics took a 3-0 series lead by beating the Heat in Miami by a score of 100-98 on Paul Pierce's buzzer-beating jumper. I like Pierce and think he is a clutch player and tonight was just further proof. His game-winner essentially assures that the series is over and we can begin preparing to see a Celtics-Cavaliers second round series. I thought the Heat should've fouled with 4 or 5 seconds to go to make the Celtics reset as Pierce just held the ball from about the 7 second mark on down until he fired right before the buzzer. Had the Heat fouled it would have been more difficult for Boston to get that same shot. It probably was worth at least a try.
In the other game Friday, the Spurs beat the Mavericks 94-90 to take a 2-1 series lead. Here's the NBA schedule for Saturday:
Game 3 -- Orlando at Charlotte, noon MT (TNT, Magic lead 2-0)
Game 4 -- Phoenix at Portland, 2:30 MT (TNT, Suns lead 2-1)
Game 3 -- Atlanta at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. MT (ESPN, espn3.com, Hawks lead 2-0)
Game 4 -- LA Lakers at Oklahoma City, 7:30 p.m. MT (ESPN, espn3.com, Lakers lead 2-1)
Friday, April 23, 2010
NBA First Round heats up
The NBA Playoffs featured a couple of exciting games last night with both 8 seeds winning to tighten up their series (both 2-1) with the top seeds.
The Chicago Bulls hung out to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-106 after nearly squandering a 21 point second half lead. Derrick Rose had 31 for the Bulls and Kirk Hinrich in particular appeared to be lights out with 27 points. LeBron James poured in 39 for the Cavs in the loss. I picked a Cavs sweep and I still think there's a good chance they'll win it in five. James was just incredible last night, he seemed to be hitting shots from everywhere on the court. He really can do just about everything on the basketball court. Unless Hinrich stays hot or someone else steps it up, it'll be tough for the Bulls to win Game 4.
Out west it was the Oklahoma City Thunder picking up their first playoff win over the Los Angeles Lakers by a 101-96 margin. Kevin Durant had 29 and Russell Westbrook had 27 for the Thunder. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 24. The Thunder fell behind 10-0 early but didn't give up and I thought getting the win showed some resiliency. The Ford Center was packed and rocking -- it really looked like a wild atmosphere on TV and that clearly played to the Thunder's advantage. I think Game 4 should be a good one and I'll even pick the Thunder to win that one.
Also out west last night, the (3) Phoenix Suns dispatched the (6) Portland Trail Blazers 108-89 in the Rose Garden. Phoenix put the game out of reach early and led by as many as 31. The Blazers cut it to 11 at one point in the fourth, but it was simply too big of a deficit to overcome.
In the NBA Playoffs tonight:
Game 3 -- (4) Boston Celtics at (5) Miami Heat (in progress on ESPN and espn3.com, Boston 85, Miami 76, 9:57 left in the fourth quarter, Celtics lead series 2-0)
Game 3 -- (2) Dallas Mavericks at (7) San Antonio Spurs, 7:30 p.m. MT (ESPN, espn3.com, series tied 1-1)
Game 3 -- (4) Denver Nuggets at (5) Utah Jazz, 8:30 p.m. MT (ESPN2, espn3.com, FSN-Utah)
I'm pretty stoked for the Jazz game. I'm rocking my D-Will jersey right now in preparation. I'll probably be on after the game with my thoughts.
The Chicago Bulls hung out to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-106 after nearly squandering a 21 point second half lead. Derrick Rose had 31 for the Bulls and Kirk Hinrich in particular appeared to be lights out with 27 points. LeBron James poured in 39 for the Cavs in the loss. I picked a Cavs sweep and I still think there's a good chance they'll win it in five. James was just incredible last night, he seemed to be hitting shots from everywhere on the court. He really can do just about everything on the basketball court. Unless Hinrich stays hot or someone else steps it up, it'll be tough for the Bulls to win Game 4.
Out west it was the Oklahoma City Thunder picking up their first playoff win over the Los Angeles Lakers by a 101-96 margin. Kevin Durant had 29 and Russell Westbrook had 27 for the Thunder. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 24. The Thunder fell behind 10-0 early but didn't give up and I thought getting the win showed some resiliency. The Ford Center was packed and rocking -- it really looked like a wild atmosphere on TV and that clearly played to the Thunder's advantage. I think Game 4 should be a good one and I'll even pick the Thunder to win that one.
Also out west last night, the (3) Phoenix Suns dispatched the (6) Portland Trail Blazers 108-89 in the Rose Garden. Phoenix put the game out of reach early and led by as many as 31. The Blazers cut it to 11 at one point in the fourth, but it was simply too big of a deficit to overcome.
In the NBA Playoffs tonight:
Game 3 -- (4) Boston Celtics at (5) Miami Heat (in progress on ESPN and espn3.com, Boston 85, Miami 76, 9:57 left in the fourth quarter, Celtics lead series 2-0)
Game 3 -- (2) Dallas Mavericks at (7) San Antonio Spurs, 7:30 p.m. MT (ESPN, espn3.com, series tied 1-1)
Game 3 -- (4) Denver Nuggets at (5) Utah Jazz, 8:30 p.m. MT (ESPN2, espn3.com, FSN-Utah)
I'm pretty stoked for the Jazz game. I'm rocking my D-Will jersey right now in preparation. I'll probably be on after the game with my thoughts.
Baseball Weekend Preview 4/23/2010
Let's do the Baseball Weekend Preview 4/23/2010:
Most intriguing series: New York Yankees (11-4) at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (8-9) Friday through Sunday. Game times are 8:05 p.m. MT (MLB Extra Innings, mlb.tv), 2:10 p.m. MT (FOX) and 1:35 p.m. MT (MLB EI, mlb.tv). The Halos are off to a bit of a slow start, but could really make a statement that they're still the top dog out west with a strong performance this weekend in a rematch of last year's ALCS. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the Angels take two out of three behind strong starting pitching and timely hitting. I still think they're a good team and will ultimately win the West. They are a bit fortunate in that they don't have to face CC Sabathia this weekend as well. It should be a good series.
Another intriguing series: This was a close one and I almost went with Rays (12-4)-Blue Jays (9-7), but I'm going to take Chicago Cubs (6-10) at Milwaukee Brewers (8-7) Friday through Sunday. Game times are 6:10, 5:10 and 12:10 p.m. MT (all on MLB EI and mlb.tv., Sunday's game also available on TBS). The Cubs have a lot of talent but are really struggling to gel so far this year and the spotlight has largely been on left fielder Alfonso Soriano and pitcher Carlos Zambrano, both of whom are off to rough starts. It was announced this week that manager Lou Piniella will move "Big Z" and his 7.45 ERA to the bullpen for a while. The Brewers are coming off a three game pounding of the Pirates and in yesterday's game star first baseman Prince Fielder finally hit his first home run of the year. I think these two teams are really in the race for second behind the St. Louis Cardinals (10-5), but could still make some noise in the playoff race. I think the Brewers really found their stride in the Pittsburgh series and will continue to play well, taking two of three from the Cubs, who will continue to struggle for now.
Least intriguing series: To me this is easy, it's the Pittsburgh Pirates (7-8) at the Houston Astros (5-10). Game times are 6:05, 5:05 and 12:05 p.m. (all on MLB EI and mlb.tv). The Pirates recent struggles have been chronicled in this blog and the Astros were the last team in the Majors to win a game, dropping their first 8. Neither of these teams is going to be very good this year and they really have to focus on the future. The Astros have been playing better since their awful start and given that they are at home I will pick them to win two out of three from the struggling Pirates.
San Francisco Giants (8-7) Weekend Preview: At home vs. the St. Louis Cardinals (10-5). See below.
Most intriguing series: New York Yankees (11-4) at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (8-9) Friday through Sunday. Game times are 8:05 p.m. MT (MLB Extra Innings, mlb.tv), 2:10 p.m. MT (FOX) and 1:35 p.m. MT (MLB EI, mlb.tv). The Halos are off to a bit of a slow start, but could really make a statement that they're still the top dog out west with a strong performance this weekend in a rematch of last year's ALCS. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the Angels take two out of three behind strong starting pitching and timely hitting. I still think they're a good team and will ultimately win the West. They are a bit fortunate in that they don't have to face CC Sabathia this weekend as well. It should be a good series.
Another intriguing series: This was a close one and I almost went with Rays (12-4)-Blue Jays (9-7), but I'm going to take Chicago Cubs (6-10) at Milwaukee Brewers (8-7) Friday through Sunday. Game times are 6:10, 5:10 and 12:10 p.m. MT (all on MLB EI and mlb.tv., Sunday's game also available on TBS). The Cubs have a lot of talent but are really struggling to gel so far this year and the spotlight has largely been on left fielder Alfonso Soriano and pitcher Carlos Zambrano, both of whom are off to rough starts. It was announced this week that manager Lou Piniella will move "Big Z" and his 7.45 ERA to the bullpen for a while. The Brewers are coming off a three game pounding of the Pirates and in yesterday's game star first baseman Prince Fielder finally hit his first home run of the year. I think these two teams are really in the race for second behind the St. Louis Cardinals (10-5), but could still make some noise in the playoff race. I think the Brewers really found their stride in the Pittsburgh series and will continue to play well, taking two of three from the Cubs, who will continue to struggle for now.
Least intriguing series: To me this is easy, it's the Pittsburgh Pirates (7-8) at the Houston Astros (5-10). Game times are 6:05, 5:05 and 12:05 p.m. (all on MLB EI and mlb.tv). The Pirates recent struggles have been chronicled in this blog and the Astros were the last team in the Majors to win a game, dropping their first 8. Neither of these teams is going to be very good this year and they really have to focus on the future. The Astros have been playing better since their awful start and given that they are at home I will pick them to win two out of three from the struggling Pirates.
San Francisco Giants (8-7) Weekend Preview: At home vs. the St. Louis Cardinals (10-5). See below.
Baseball Weekdays Review 4/23/2010
Here's the Baseball Weekdays Review 4/23/2010:
Best Series: Phillies (10-5) taking two of three from the Braves (8-7) by scores of 3-4 (10 innings), 2-0 and 8-3. The Braves had a dramatic comeback in the first game of the series behind back-to-back homeruns in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, the latter (as previously mentioned in my blog) by rookie prodigy Jason Heyward. The kid is something else. The Braves won it on a Nate McLouth homer in the tenth. In the second game Roy Halladay tossed a complete game shutout for the Phillies. That guy is just unreal. Probably the best pitcher in the whole game for my money and a big reason I picked the Phils to win it all this fall.
Most impressive performance: Normally I'm not big on giving props to teams for beating the Pittsburgh Pirates (7-8), but the way the Milwaukee Brewers (8-7) completed the sweep, it had to be the most impressive performance of the week. The Crew outscored the Pirates by a combined 36-1 in the three games and something like that just has to be mentioned. The final game featured an astounding 20-0 Milwaukee win. Brewers slugger Ryan Braun summed it up nicely: "It was fun and it was special. This game is really so much about failure, particularly as a hitter, that you rarely get a day where everyone is enjoying so much success at the same time. I've never been involved in a game like this and likely never will be again. So, I enjoyed it and I'll savor it. It's one to remember." We'll see if the Brewers can keep it up this weekend at home against the Cubs (6-10).
Another impressive performance: The Tampa Bay Rays (12-4) taking two of three in Chicago from the White Sox (5-11). The Rays are off to a really good start and they appear like they're going to duke it out with the Yankees (11-4) in the AL East all year long. The White Sox record isn't great but I still think they'll get back into the AL Central race. I'm just impressed that the Rays are taking care of business like they are, particularly against a good team like the White Sox.
Least impressive performance: Pittsburgh Pirates, hands down. See above, anytime you get outscored 36-1 over three games on your home field, it's cause for a lot of concern.
Regarding my predictions: I successfully picked the Phillies and Yankees to take two of three from the Braves and Athletics (10-7), respectively. I also successfully picked Seattle (9-7) to sweep Baltimore (2-14). So a pretty good week for me with the picks, don't know that I'll be able to keep up such a great pace, but I'll try. I was impressed that the Athletics showed some fight in their series with the Yanks, as is somewhat evidenced by pitcher Dallas Braden getting into it with Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez during yesterday's game. The two exchanged verbal jabs after A-Rod broke what some consider an unwritten rule of the game (though I wasn't aware of it) by crossing the mound during the 6th inning. Neither man backed down afterward. I did like that Braden said something to the effect of "We're not the doormat anymore." Hopefully the A's can keep up their solid play.
San Francisco Giants (8-7) Weekdays Review: See below.
Best Series: Phillies (10-5) taking two of three from the Braves (8-7) by scores of 3-4 (10 innings), 2-0 and 8-3. The Braves had a dramatic comeback in the first game of the series behind back-to-back homeruns in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, the latter (as previously mentioned in my blog) by rookie prodigy Jason Heyward. The kid is something else. The Braves won it on a Nate McLouth homer in the tenth. In the second game Roy Halladay tossed a complete game shutout for the Phillies. That guy is just unreal. Probably the best pitcher in the whole game for my money and a big reason I picked the Phils to win it all this fall.
Most impressive performance: Normally I'm not big on giving props to teams for beating the Pittsburgh Pirates (7-8), but the way the Milwaukee Brewers (8-7) completed the sweep, it had to be the most impressive performance of the week. The Crew outscored the Pirates by a combined 36-1 in the three games and something like that just has to be mentioned. The final game featured an astounding 20-0 Milwaukee win. Brewers slugger Ryan Braun summed it up nicely: "It was fun and it was special. This game is really so much about failure, particularly as a hitter, that you rarely get a day where everyone is enjoying so much success at the same time. I've never been involved in a game like this and likely never will be again. So, I enjoyed it and I'll savor it. It's one to remember." We'll see if the Brewers can keep it up this weekend at home against the Cubs (6-10).
Another impressive performance: The Tampa Bay Rays (12-4) taking two of three in Chicago from the White Sox (5-11). The Rays are off to a really good start and they appear like they're going to duke it out with the Yankees (11-4) in the AL East all year long. The White Sox record isn't great but I still think they'll get back into the AL Central race. I'm just impressed that the Rays are taking care of business like they are, particularly against a good team like the White Sox.
Least impressive performance: Pittsburgh Pirates, hands down. See above, anytime you get outscored 36-1 over three games on your home field, it's cause for a lot of concern.
Regarding my predictions: I successfully picked the Phillies and Yankees to take two of three from the Braves and Athletics (10-7), respectively. I also successfully picked Seattle (9-7) to sweep Baltimore (2-14). So a pretty good week for me with the picks, don't know that I'll be able to keep up such a great pace, but I'll try. I was impressed that the Athletics showed some fight in their series with the Yanks, as is somewhat evidenced by pitcher Dallas Braden getting into it with Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez during yesterday's game. The two exchanged verbal jabs after A-Rod broke what some consider an unwritten rule of the game (though I wasn't aware of it) by crossing the mound during the 6th inning. Neither man backed down afterward. I did like that Braden said something to the effect of "We're not the doormat anymore." Hopefully the A's can keep up their solid play.
San Francisco Giants (8-7) Weekdays Review: See below.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Van Gundy, Brown each make own kind of interesting comments
The Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte Bobcats playoff series hasn't been very interesting to me, unless you count quotes both coaches made recently that I feel inclined to comment on.
During practice on Tuesday, Bobcats coach Larry Brown had a message for his team: "Orlando took the day off. That's how (expletive) serious they're taking us." I, like Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, find this pretty funny. I'm pretty sure the Magic are taking the first round seriously as evidenced by their 92-77 win last night to go up 2 games to none in the series. I'm sure Brown was trying to fire up his team, but that just seemed silly, and if anything just gave more motivation to Orlando. I still think this will be a pretty short series; we'll see if Charlotte can do anything at home the next two games.
Van Gundy, meanwhile, had criticisms for the first round schedule. "It's almost like you're on a high school schedule or a college schedule playing twice a week. ... Baseball gets their whole playoffs and World Series done in like three weeks. Us, it takes us the first round to go three weeks." He went on to say that he knew it was for TV and that he knew it helped teams to make money so he would be willing to play when told to play.
I'm pretty much on board with Van Gundy's point -- I do think the early rounds of the NBA playoffs can be too spread out, but I am glad that all the games are on TV at times I can watch them. I wish there was a way to condense the schedule a little bit and still make it TV friendly, but I'm not sure that's possible.
Here's the other NBA Playoffs scores from the past couple of days:
Tuesday:
Game 2 -- (3) Atlanta 96, (6) Milwaukee 86 (Hawks lead 2-0)
Game 2 -- (4) Boston 106, (5) Miami 77 (Celtics lead 2-0)
Game 2 -- (3) Phoenix 119, (6) Portland 90 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 2 -- (1) LA Lakers 95, (8) Oklahoma City 92 (Lakers lead 2-0)
Wednesday:
Game 2 -- (7) San Antonio 102, (2) Dallas 88 (Series tied 1-1)
And here's the schedule for tonight:
Game 3 -- (1) Cleveland at (8) Chicago, 5 p.m. MT (TNT, Cavaliers lead 2-0)
Game 3 -- (1) LA Lakers at (8) Oklahoma City, 7:30 p.m. MT (TNT, Lakers lead 2-0)
Game 3 -- (3) Phoenix at (6) Portland, 8 p.m. MT (NBA TV, Series tied 1-1)
During practice on Tuesday, Bobcats coach Larry Brown had a message for his team: "Orlando took the day off. That's how (expletive) serious they're taking us." I, like Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, find this pretty funny. I'm pretty sure the Magic are taking the first round seriously as evidenced by their 92-77 win last night to go up 2 games to none in the series. I'm sure Brown was trying to fire up his team, but that just seemed silly, and if anything just gave more motivation to Orlando. I still think this will be a pretty short series; we'll see if Charlotte can do anything at home the next two games.
Van Gundy, meanwhile, had criticisms for the first round schedule. "It's almost like you're on a high school schedule or a college schedule playing twice a week. ... Baseball gets their whole playoffs and World Series done in like three weeks. Us, it takes us the first round to go three weeks." He went on to say that he knew it was for TV and that he knew it helped teams to make money so he would be willing to play when told to play.
I'm pretty much on board with Van Gundy's point -- I do think the early rounds of the NBA playoffs can be too spread out, but I am glad that all the games are on TV at times I can watch them. I wish there was a way to condense the schedule a little bit and still make it TV friendly, but I'm not sure that's possible.
Here's the other NBA Playoffs scores from the past couple of days:
Tuesday:
Game 2 -- (3) Atlanta 96, (6) Milwaukee 86 (Hawks lead 2-0)
Game 2 -- (4) Boston 106, (5) Miami 77 (Celtics lead 2-0)
Game 2 -- (3) Phoenix 119, (6) Portland 90 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 2 -- (1) LA Lakers 95, (8) Oklahoma City 92 (Lakers lead 2-0)
Wednesday:
Game 2 -- (7) San Antonio 102, (2) Dallas 88 (Series tied 1-1)
And here's the schedule for tonight:
Game 3 -- (1) Cleveland at (8) Chicago, 5 p.m. MT (TNT, Cavaliers lead 2-0)
Game 3 -- (1) LA Lakers at (8) Oklahoma City, 7:30 p.m. MT (TNT, Lakers lead 2-0)
Game 3 -- (3) Phoenix at (6) Portland, 8 p.m. MT (NBA TV, Series tied 1-1)
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Establishing my five favorite baseball teams
I feel it is a good idea for me to get the list of my five favorite baseball teams out there right now so as not to be accused of being a frontrunner or something of that nature later on. Here they are:
1. San Francisco Giants
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Kansas City Royals
I also have a bit of a soft spot for the Toronto Blue Jays as well as typically have a sort of rooting interest for smaller market teams. Numbers 1 and 2 on my list are solidly in place. 3-5 are more fluid with Toronto kind of close to the list as well.
My love for the Giants started on a family trip to San Francisco when I was still pretty young. My dad took us to Opening Day at Candlestick Park and the Giants had a thrilling victory over the Houston Astros in 10 innings in which J.T. Snow scored the winning run on a close play at the plate. The crowd was big, rowdy and passionate about their team. I just love that kind of atmosphere. That day is what really started me toward becoming a big San Francisco Giants fan. I love being part of a passionate fan base of a team that plays in a really cool city as well as has a great history (that it appropriately honors) and runs things in the organization the right way.
As for the Philadelphia Phillies my love for them has blossomed in more recent years. I distinctly remember a four-game series in Philadelphia in August of 2007 against the New York Mets who were at the time the team to beat in the division. The Phillies swept the series, winning the fourth game in thrilling fashion, and cut the division lead to two games. The Phillies also had a good run down the stretch of the season while the Mets collapsed. I fell in love with the Phillies old-school attitude of playing the game hard and having fun on the diamond. I could just tell there were a lot of good guys on the team and that they had great chemistry. I love stuff like that. Jimmy Rollins became my favorite player around that time with his bold talk of the Phils being the team to beat in the National League East prior to the season and then backing that up with an MVP season and division title. He also exhibited great leadership on the team. Really cool stuff.
I don't have stories like the above for the rest of the teams on my list, but I still like them nonetheless. So there you have it, the list is out there.
1. San Francisco Giants
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Kansas City Royals
I also have a bit of a soft spot for the Toronto Blue Jays as well as typically have a sort of rooting interest for smaller market teams. Numbers 1 and 2 on my list are solidly in place. 3-5 are more fluid with Toronto kind of close to the list as well.
My love for the Giants started on a family trip to San Francisco when I was still pretty young. My dad took us to Opening Day at Candlestick Park and the Giants had a thrilling victory over the Houston Astros in 10 innings in which J.T. Snow scored the winning run on a close play at the plate. The crowd was big, rowdy and passionate about their team. I just love that kind of atmosphere. That day is what really started me toward becoming a big San Francisco Giants fan. I love being part of a passionate fan base of a team that plays in a really cool city as well as has a great history (that it appropriately honors) and runs things in the organization the right way.
As for the Philadelphia Phillies my love for them has blossomed in more recent years. I distinctly remember a four-game series in Philadelphia in August of 2007 against the New York Mets who were at the time the team to beat in the division. The Phillies swept the series, winning the fourth game in thrilling fashion, and cut the division lead to two games. The Phillies also had a good run down the stretch of the season while the Mets collapsed. I fell in love with the Phillies old-school attitude of playing the game hard and having fun on the diamond. I could just tell there were a lot of good guys on the team and that they had great chemistry. I love stuff like that. Jimmy Rollins became my favorite player around that time with his bold talk of the Phils being the team to beat in the National League East prior to the season and then backing that up with an MVP season and division title. He also exhibited great leadership on the team. Really cool stuff.
I don't have stories like the above for the rest of the teams on my list, but I still like them nonetheless. So there you have it, the list is out there.
SF Giants swept in San Diego, look ahead to Cardinals
San Francisco Giants weekdays recap: The Giants (8-7) were swept by the San Diego Padres (9-6) in a three-game series by scores of 3-2 (10 innings), 1-0 and 5-2. The Giants finished their southern California road trip with a paltry 1-5 mark. After scoring a combined 17 runs in the first two games of the trip at Dodger Stadium, the Giants proceeded to score only 5 runs in the last four games.
With the exception of Todd Wellemeyer, the Giants starting pitchers were solid throughout the entire trip and with any kind of reasonable offensive support San Francisco should have at worst gone 3-3 and more like 4-2 as I predicted. It's disheartening that the Giants' offense struggled so much, particularly as the Giants were averaging nearly 6 runs per game before the trip. In the San Diego series, the Giants were 1-30 with runners in scoring position. I don't need to tell you that isn't a recipe that's going to win you many games. "This is not something I thought we'd go through, but we are, and we have to handle it," said manager Bruce Bochy after Wednesday's game. I'm surprised too after the additions made in the offseason. I think things will turn around. Aaron Rowand and Mark DeRosa have been banged up, but I think it's just a bad stretch and can't be blamed too much on injuries. DeRosa looks like he's back and will be able to contribute, so hopefully that bodes well for this weekend and beyond.
San Francisco Giants weekend preview: The Giants host the St. Louis Cardinals (10-5) at AT&T Park this weekend Friday through Sunday. The game times are 8:15 p.m. MT, 7:05 p.m. MT and 2:05 p.m. MT with all games available on MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv. Saturday night's game is also available on MLB Network. The pitching match-ups are Jaime Garcia (1-0) vs. Tim Lincecum (3-0), Adam Wainwright (3-0) vs. Barry Zito (2-0), and Brad Penny (2-0) vs. Matt Cain (0-0). The Giants are badly in need of win on Friday to snap their four-game losing streak and should get it with two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum on the mound. The latter two games should be excellent pitching match-ups and I think the Cardinals win both games in close ones. The Cardinals are a very talented team with a solid pitching staff and line-up anchored by Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. I think the Giants offense will improve this weekend (I mean it can't get much worse, right?) and Pablo Sandoval appears to be finding his stride at the plate. However, I still think the Cards take two out of three.
With the exception of Todd Wellemeyer, the Giants starting pitchers were solid throughout the entire trip and with any kind of reasonable offensive support San Francisco should have at worst gone 3-3 and more like 4-2 as I predicted. It's disheartening that the Giants' offense struggled so much, particularly as the Giants were averaging nearly 6 runs per game before the trip. In the San Diego series, the Giants were 1-30 with runners in scoring position. I don't need to tell you that isn't a recipe that's going to win you many games. "This is not something I thought we'd go through, but we are, and we have to handle it," said manager Bruce Bochy after Wednesday's game. I'm surprised too after the additions made in the offseason. I think things will turn around. Aaron Rowand and Mark DeRosa have been banged up, but I think it's just a bad stretch and can't be blamed too much on injuries. DeRosa looks like he's back and will be able to contribute, so hopefully that bodes well for this weekend and beyond.
San Francisco Giants weekend preview: The Giants host the St. Louis Cardinals (10-5) at AT&T Park this weekend Friday through Sunday. The game times are 8:15 p.m. MT, 7:05 p.m. MT and 2:05 p.m. MT with all games available on MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv. Saturday night's game is also available on MLB Network. The pitching match-ups are Jaime Garcia (1-0) vs. Tim Lincecum (3-0), Adam Wainwright (3-0) vs. Barry Zito (2-0), and Brad Penny (2-0) vs. Matt Cain (0-0). The Giants are badly in need of win on Friday to snap their four-game losing streak and should get it with two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum on the mound. The latter two games should be excellent pitching match-ups and I think the Cardinals win both games in close ones. The Cardinals are a very talented team with a solid pitching staff and line-up anchored by Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. I think the Giants offense will improve this weekend (I mean it can't get much worse, right?) and Pablo Sandoval appears to be finding his stride at the plate. However, I still think the Cards take two out of three.
Jason Heyward does it again
Braves rookie Jason Heyward has done it again. He hit a game-tying homerun last night in the bottom of the ninth against the Phillies, immediately after Troy Glaus had hit a two-run shot. Nate McLouth won the game with a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 10th to give the Braves a 4-3 win.
Not only has Heyward hit a three-run homerun in his first big league at-bat against Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano, delivered a walk-off single on Sunday against the Rockies, but now does this with the game on the line. He is hitting .298 with 4 homeruns and 16 RBIs already this season and has an on-base percentage of .411.
All I can say is that the legend is growing for this kid who isn't even 21 yet. I can't remember seeing a performance like this from a rookie (especially one so young) in a long time. Soak it up folks. Game 2 of the series with the Phillies is tonight at 5:10 p.m. MT on ESPN, espn3.com, MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv.
Not only has Heyward hit a three-run homerun in his first big league at-bat against Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano, delivered a walk-off single on Sunday against the Rockies, but now does this with the game on the line. He is hitting .298 with 4 homeruns and 16 RBIs already this season and has an on-base percentage of .411.
All I can say is that the legend is growing for this kid who isn't even 21 yet. I can't remember seeing a performance like this from a rookie (especially one so young) in a long time. Soak it up folks. Game 2 of the series with the Phillies is tonight at 5:10 p.m. MT on ESPN, espn3.com, MLB Extra Innings and mlb.tv.
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