Sunday, April 28, 2013

STILL GOING...AND GOING...AND GOING...

## When things are going right, everything works, and I mean everything. Sabathia doesn't have his good stuff and even less velocity than usual, yet, there he is, still pitching in the 8th inning with a lead.  Girardi says he absolutely won't use Mariano Rivera three days in a row, so Joba Chamberlain comes in and fires a fastball that reached 97 mph and a curve that appeared to make a U-turn when it got to the plate.

And to compound matters, Girardi, who is often referred to as 'Joe Looseleaf' because of his reliance on stats and history when making decisions, goes against the baseball gods and starts Travis Hafner, a lefty, as the DH against a lefty starter. So Hafner goes out and hits a three-run homer and a game-tying triple against two left-handed pitchers.

Kevin Youkilis, who supposed to be filling in while A-Rod rehabs from surgery, hurts his back and HIS replacement, Jayson Nix, is playing so well, Youkilis may have trouble winning his temporary starting job back.

None of this can last of course, and the boo-birds will make their appearance soon after the next three game losing streak. But it's sure fun for now.

## Boston dumps three of it's big stars on the Dodgers, picks up some retreads (ala the Yankees), have the best record in baseball. Meanwhile, the Dodgers are struggling to reach .500.
The Astros, the Padres and the Marlins have a total of 20 wins between them. It's doubtful that any of them will get 50 wins this year. I'd say that maybe all three franchises should be eliminated, but at the speed of slow that Bud Selig works at, this wouldn't even come up for debate until the end of the decade.

## There is an interesting T-shirt being sold in Miami these days. The slogan:
"Marlins Baseball - Helping other teams get better since 1998."

## Everything is about the football draft these days, as the NFL has managed to drag it out for three days, as though we're all so interested in who the Lions will choose with the 189th pick. By that time, they're probably down to drafting student managers and limo drivers. But there are some interesting stories that come out of it, if you listen closely enough.
* The Bills confound all the draft experts by picking E.J. Manuel as the first quarterback chosen.  The experts say he's maybe the fifth or sixth best q-back in the draft and the Bills have screwed it up again. Well, this guy's abilities have improved tremendously in the last two days. Now the experts say he's the best leader, he's just what the Bills needed, he has all the tools, etc., etc. So he's the worst pick AND the best pick. The experts are right again.
* This is just what a player needs to hear. SU quarterback, Ryan Nassib, was predicted to go as high as the #6 pick in the draft.  He lasted until the fourth round, where the NY Giants picked him. The Giants, of course, have 32-year old, two-time Super Bowl champ, Eli Manning at that position. The Giants GM says, "If he never gets to play, that'll be great!"  Well, Ryan, it appears you've been chosen to carry a clipboard on the sidelines and get Eli a Gatorade when he's thirsty. That's putting that college education to work.
* A reporter asked Ron Jaworski what it was like when he was drafted.
"First of all, the draft was on a Tuesday. No one flew me to the draft site. No limo rides, no five-star hotel and no private jet to the city where I was chosen for a press conference. I was in my dorm room. At the end of the hall, there was a pay phone. When it rang, a foreign exchange student answered it and then knocked on my door. 'Ron, the Los Angeles Rams are on the phone.' Oh, that was today?"

***THEY SAID IT***
"The Calgary airport plans to renumber its runaways because the magnetic North Pole's drift necessitates realignment every 60-70 years. In other rare phenomena, the Toronto Maple Leafs made the playoffs."  -- RJ Currie
"So much yellow at Oracle Arena for the Denver Nuggets-Golden State Warriors game last night – almost as if the Oregon Duck exploded."  -- Janice Hough
"The NFL draft just ended. The first round is the second biggest day to showcase guys turning pro, right after signing day at Auburn."  -- Brad Dickson
"Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington was caught smoking in the dugout. It’s going to be tough to get him to stop via peer pressure, since the rest of the guys in the dugout had tobacco in their cheeks that was the size of the bullpen cart."  -- Brad Dickson
"The EPA has declared Picher, Oklahoma - ravaged by years of industrial zinc & lead mining - to be the most toxic place in America. With Marlins Park in Miami a fast-closing No. 2."  -- Dwight Perry
"The Bills lauded top draft pick EJ Manuel's intangibles. Is one of them the ability to play well in thermal underwear?"  -- Bob Molinaro
"Richmond police arrested two Richard Childress Racing Crew members after they got into a postrace fight with a rival crewman. Or, as it's known in car-racing circles, trading body paint."  -- Dwight Perry

CP-






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