Monday, April 30, 2012

IT'S NOT FUNNY, BUT...

...it's interesting.

## The Orioles refuse to go away. They're still atop the AL East with a 14-8 record. The next couple of weeks will be their biggest test of the season: they have series coming up against the Yanks, Rangers, Rays and the Red Sox, starting with the Yanks tonight.

## Albert Pujols is still homer-less, having gone 88 straight at bats so far, and 115 including last season, without hitting one.  He's not the Angels only problem, however.  No one is hitting and the pitching hasn't performed at all.

## Buster Olney reports that more and more teams are using shifts than ever before, led by Tampa Bay.  They have used 125 infield shifts so far this season. Believe it or not, the Yanks are second with 50. I watch their games and I haven't seen it, which brings up the question, what constitutes a shift? How many infielders have to move and how far? I think Michael Kay is a fan of Olney's blog, so we may hear more about this tonight.

## A-Rod drove in two runs yesterday with an infield hit and a fielder's choice.  Cheap, but they count.  Those RBIs gave him 1904 for his career, 8th on the career list. He has a good chance to reach 2000 before the end of the season, a level only one other player has ever reached: Hank Aaron with 2297.  A pretty impressive number.

## How often do you see this?  A trade where everybody wins. The Yanks got Granderson, the Diamond Backs got Ian Kennedy and the Tigers got Austin Jackson and Phil Coke.  All four players are performing very well and everyone is happy.

## Why are there still draft analysts still polluting the airwaves?  Nobody knows how a college player's game will translate into the pros, least of all these experts.  Every year, half-way thru the season, we hear announcers say things like, "What a great year this rookie is having and he was drafted 247th overall." Or, "Gee, he really hasn't lived up to the expectations of the club, who drafted him 8th overall."  Remember Ryan Leaf? He was drafted AHEAD of Peyton Manning, and he was one of pro football's biggest busts. He couldn't run, he couldn't throw and he had the personality of an irate porcupine.
Enough, guys. Give it a rest.

## The NBA playoffs are in full swing and players are dropping like flies.  Every year it's the same: come playoff time and all the players take it up a notch, but this year, sometimes the notch isn't there. It could be with the shortened training schedule, the players just aren't ready for the grind. I haven't heard this theory from any analysts yet, but there's still a long way to go.

## Freddie Garcia has been relegated to the bullpen and Phil Hughes says he's going to pitch like he was coming out of the bullpen.  David Phelps is coming out of the bullpen to be a starter. The Yanks may have to purchase another bullpen car if this keeps up.

## The Jud from Phoenix, poses this question: "What happened to Yankee broadcaster Kim Jones? Did she go in the AJ Burnett deal?"

Okay, now it gets funny:

***THEY SAID IT***
"At the beginning of the season, the Kansas City Royals slogan was, 'Our Time.' That's been replaced by a new slogan: 'AHHHH!'"  -- Brad Dickson
"With “All My Children” and “One Life to Love” gone, the Lakers are now America’s No. 1 soap opera."  -- Norman Chad
"I don't want to say that the Cleveland Browns are a bad team, but two players they drafted have fled to Canada."  -- Gary Bachman
"Reports are the NFL might suspend its Pro Bowl all-star game as a possible precursor to eliminating it altogether. Fans of the Pro Bowl are outraged. Well, one fan is. I couldn't reach the other one."  -- Greg Cote
"Hear about the latest Pro Bowl proposal, in which the NFL all-stars play the Cincinnati Bengals? They'd call it the Pro and Con Bowl."  -- Dwight Perry
"A New Jersey man paid $1.2 million for a 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card. Now he just needs a Jamie Moyer to finish the set."  -- Torben Rolfsen
"Folks in Arkansas are still pretty upset about the Bobby Petrino scandal. I mean, what was their coach doing in a car kissing a pretty young thing? And she wasn't even his relative."  -- Janice Hough

CP-

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