Monday, April 22, 2013

A COUPLE OF RANTS

##  The Yanks are having pitching problems, which they shouldn't. The top three starters, Sabathia, Kuroda & Pettitte, are okay, but Hughes is inconsistent. One time he's great, the next, he's...well, not. Ivan Nova has 'AJ Burnett disease.'  Absolutely electric stuff, but no command - or so he says. To me, it looks like he's trying to not let batters hit the ball. He nibbles, nibbles and overthrows. He gets into batters counts, grooves one and there goes the ball game.
The bullpen is scary, too. David Phelps can't fight his way out of trouble anymore and Boone Logan has good outings and bad ones. David Robertson blew a game the other day. Let's hope that was just a glitch.

For all his speed, I don't think Brett Gardner knows how to steal. It takes forever for him to take off and even then he often guesses wrong. And having Cano bat second is ludicrous. What is Girardi thinking? This is wrong on so many levels. Gardner won't run because they want someone on base when Cano hits. Cano won't swing because he tries to give Gardner a chance to steal and both of them are taken out of their comfort zones. I can appreciate not having Suzuki bat second, because you try not to have three lefties in a row, and Ichiro's not hitting anyway. Bat Jason Nix second. He knows how to handle the bat.

## Boston finally got stopped. The Kansas City Royals swept a double header from them yesterday. Detroit is struggling, the Angels are struggling, the Dodgers are struggling and Toronto can't get out of their own way. It's still too early to write anyone off, though.

## Carlos Beltran is in the final year of a two-year deal with St. Louis. He's 36 and he appreciates the fact that his next contract will probably have him signing as a DH with some AL team. He's always wanted to be a Yankee, and it sounds like a perfect match to me. He's a switch-hitter, he plays hard and he is still serviceable in the outfield. When he signed his big deal with the Mets back in 2005, he made it clear he would take a lot less money to sign with the Yanks, but it never happened, we're not sure why. He's averaged hitting .282 with 28 homers and 105 RBIs over his 16-year career.  I'd jump on him.

## Vernon Wells continues to impress. He's a major force in the lineup and made a spectacular leaping catch in Toronto yesterday. This guy was a real steal for Cashman.

***THEY SAID IT***
"After making a basket, a celebratory fist pump by the Chicago Bulls' Carlos Boozer hit the referee in the groin. Bob Knight and Rasheed Wallace immediately shouted, “Why didn't we think of that?”  -- Brad Dickson
" A week after the Masters’ no one has come forward as the person who called in Tiger Woods’ improper drop after the second round of the Masters,  but Marc Ragovin suggests this   “this tape from the Golf Hotline might provide a clue:  “Hello, Elyn from Florida, you’re on the air.”  -- Janice Hough
"Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo, 0-1 in three starts, was arrested Tuesday for DUI with a blood-alcohol level almost three times the reasonable limit. Just like his ERA."  -- RJ Currie
" A 25 yr old Illinois Chicago Bulls fan filed a lawsuit against Derrick Rose. He claims Rose missing the entire NBA regular season made him fat and depressed. Let’s hope this doesn’t come to anything, or Cubs fans may sue the team for playing with the same results."  -- Janice Hough
"Rapper Jay-Z is selling his stake in the Brooklyn Nets so he can pursue a career as a players' agent. You hate to see a guy from rap music — known for fights, feuds and mayhem — get involved in something as seedy as agenting."  -- Brad Dickson
"The Milwaukee Bucks, the only team with a losing record in this year's NBA playoffs, are 400-1 longshots to win the championship. Assuming, of course, they manage to get past North Carolina A & T in the play-in game."  -- Dwight Perry 
"Adam Scott won the Masters with Tiger Woods former caddie, Stevie Williams, on the bag. Is it just me or have you, too, noticed that all of Tiger's exes seemed to be doing pretty well for themselves?"  -- Mike Bianchi

CP-












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