Sunday, October 13, 2013

QUICK HITS

**ON THE HOT SEAT
More and more sports writers are commenting on  mistakes Don Mattingly is making. They say that he gets out-managed by the more experienced managers he's up against. And the press does it almost apologetically because Mattingly is well liked and they consider him a gentleman. Even so, they jump on every move he makes especially when the moves don't work. As Charley Manuel, formerly of the Phillies, found out, if strange moves pay off, you're a genius. If they don't, you're fired. This doesn't bode well for Mattingly.
**THE REVERSE YANKEE
The last couple of years, the Yanks have failed miserably in the playoffs, mostly because nobody hits. Then there's Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals. Pitchers can't seem to get him out in the playoffs. In 41 games (150 at bats), he's hitting .348, with 16 homers and 34 RBIs.  That's about 70 homers and 150 RBIs over the course of a full season. Compare Beltran's post-season stats with the Yankees TEAM totals for the last two post seasons: 11 home runs and 50 runs scored in just under 500 total at bats.
Just to add salt to the wounds, I've read that two different times, when Beltran was a free agent, he offered the Yanks a discount to sign with them and was refused both times. Nice going, Cashman.
**ANOTHER DUMB COMMENTATOR DESCRIPTION.
Runners don't 'run forward for yards,' they run "north & south." Okay, if you think about it, you can sort of accept that, but what about this one: "He high-pointed the ball." Any idea what that means? That's what they call it when a receiver jumps up in the air to catch a pass. Please! This is what you get when there are three people in the booth competing for air time and trying to get noticed. Sometimes competition isn't a good thing.
**THIS IS A GREAT IDEA
My sister-in-law, a staunch Dodger fan,  mutes the sound during post-season games and listens to Vin Scully on the radio. Given the choice, who wouldn't do that? She does complain that Scully's broadcast is 4 or 5 seconds ahead of the TV broadcast. I've got news for you, Sweetheart. Vin Scully is WAY ahead of the announcers on TV  and it has nothing to do with timing.
**TWO TEAMS IN TROUBLE
The Dodgers are down 2 games to none and the Red Sox are behind 1 game to none. Pitching is everything in a short series and the Dodgers are about to face the Cardinals best pitcher, Adam Wainwright. The Red Sox hill is even steeper. They go up against Max Scherzer (21-3) and a rejuvenated Justin Verlander.
As a side note, last night, those four teams faced off and the result was a total of 2 runs and 17 hits. The Red Sox needed a one-out, ninth-inning single to just keep from being no-hit.
**MORE FINANCIAL AID TO JAPAN
The Yanks are highly interested in Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. He will be one of those bid-posting pitchers that the Japanese teams force MLB teams to pay just for the right to negotiate with the player. Which means, teams will probably pay anywhere from $30 to $40 million  just for the exclusive right to try and sign him. Tanaka went 24-0 last season and hasn't lost since August of 2012. Maybe he'll be worth it, but I have just 4 words for Brian Cashman: Hideki Irabu & Kei Igawa.

***THEY SAID IT***
"After making a play in the Miami Heat exhibition game, Michael Beasley celebrated by hitting himself in the head so hard he required medical treatment. Worse, the ref called a flagrant foul on Beasley and awarded Beasley two free throws."  -- Brad Dickson
"Did you see Peyton Manning run for a touchdown against Dallas? For a while there I thought he'd draw a penalty for delay of game."  -- RJ Currie
"Clemson  suspended two players for “poor behavior.” And NY Giants fans said “You can do that?”  -- Janice Hough
"The Dallas Cowboys shut down their postgame locker room a bit early Sunday after media members got into a scuffle queuing up around linebacker Sean Lee’s cubicle to discuss the 51-48 loss to the Broncos. Or to put it in football terms, the press coverage was bump-and-run."  -- Dwight Perry
"I’ve never watched Breaking Bad. Is it a documentary on the NY Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars football season?"  -- TC Chong
"The Nobel Prize for chemistry once again went to the Yankee Stadium hot dog."  -- David Letterman

"The Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose said he’d run over his own mother on the court to win a game. Bad news for the Charlotte Bobcats, who recently signed Rose’s mom to a five-year deal."  -- Brad Dickson
"Looking for a little something different for that Texas A&M fan on your holiday list? Thanks to upcoming stadium renovations, a square of Kyle Field sod can be yours for just $20. Or $10,020, if you can get Johnny Football to stamp his cleatmark into it."  -- Dwight Perry
"The New York Giants are 0-6 and nobody is more frustrated that quarterback Eli Manning. After the last game, he was so angry he threw his helmet - and it was intercepted."  -- David Letterman

CP-
 















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