Sunday, June 25, 2017

HOW CAN THIS BE?

After going 2-8 in their last ten games, the Yankees are still in first place in the AL East. Granted, it's only by 2 percentage points, but as my bookie says, "Two points are enough."
The Yankee offense hasn't stalled, it has flamed out. The only one who is producing any runs is Aaron Judge. As the Yankee Stadium crowd says when Judge comes up is, "ALL RISE." But when the rest of team hits, it's "Remain Seated." 

Cashman finally bit the bullet and released Chris Carter and brought up rookie Tyler Austin. Before the game, Austin told a reporter he intended to stay within himself and not get too excited about being called up. Somebody forgot to tell him he was there to play first base because he gave a good impersonation of Carter by striking out twice and hitting into a double play. Now, no one is excited about him being called up. By the way, the Yanks also called up Tyler Webb, bringing the Tyler boys count to three: Austin, Clippard and Webb.

New York brought in  Clippard to pitch batting practice in the ninth. Three hits,two walks and four runs later, Girardi finally realized it wasn't batting practice, but a real game. Sunday is the annual Old-Timers game at the stadium. Some of the "old-timers" may end up in the actual game at 2:00 PM.

The Dodgers have now won nine in a row, lead the NL West by two and a half games and have the 2nd best record in baseball. Two months ago, the Yanks were doing great and the Dodgers were struggling. I lamented that after losing a bet to my west coast sister-in-law over which team has the better season three years in a row, I am now thrilled that there is no bet. Thank you, Pauline.

The Red Sox retired David Ortiz' number in a ceremony at Fenway yesterday. They also named a street after him. The Yanks were thrilled, too, because it means that now there is little chance that David will decide to rescind his retirement.

Here's a headline I thought I'd never see: "Derek Jeter does not have enough money to buy the Miami Marlins."  I thought Jeter had enough money to buy Montana.

There is some excitement building by fans looking forward to watching Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge square off in the Home Run Derby as part of the All-Star break. There is a history of sluggers participating in this event, screwing up their swing and having a bad 2nd half of the season. I believe that happens because hitters over-swing trying to hit balls a long way. I don't think this will happen with these two guys since neither of them have to try harder to hit homers. Their normal swing will do the trick. They might need a bigger park just for these two, like maybe Yellowstone? 

***THEY SAID IT***
"During the first Husker football Fan Fest free pizza and Chick-fil-A was served. Husker football, free pizza, free Chick-fil-A. I believe the unofficial attendance was 13 million."  -- Brad Dickson
"The Giants are advertising July 9 “Slumber Party on the Field” for fans. Alas team has been having a slumber party on field all season."  -- Janice Hough 
"United Airlines is about to unveil the world’s longest flight, 8,700 miles from L.A. to Singapore — nearly 18 hours. To help pass all that air time, the in-flight movie will be replays of three Yankees-Red Sox games."  -- Dwight Perry
"The best thing about having kidney stones:  It takes your mind off Stephen A. Smith."  -- Norman Chad
" Quote heard on CBC: "Manitobans who buy crafts want to meet their maker." "See?" I said to my wife. "Shopping is dangerous."  -- RJ Currie
"A pair of game-worn Michael Jordan basketball shoes were auctioned for $190,372.80. I believe the Michael Jordan baseball shoes went for $2.11."  -- Brad Dickson
" Verdun Hayes made skydiving history. At 101 years old, he is the oldest man ever to jump out of an airplane voluntarily. That was United Airlines’ story, and they’re sticking to it."  -- Argus Hamilton

"So did they schedule a preseason Redskins -  Bengals game in DC and not warn us? Final score was  18-3 Washington over Cincinnati."  -- Janice Hough

"Cornerback Shareece Wright took a 450-mile Uber ride from Chicago to Buffalo — at a cost of $932.08, including a $300 tip — to make it there in time for his team’s voluntary offseason workout.
In keeping with Bills tradition, at the end of the drive he punted."  -- Dwight Perry
"The U.S. Open scores are pretty good this year. Erin Hills isn’t just playing easy, it’s more forgiving than the Tallahassee Police Department."  -- Mike Bianchi
"The University of Hawaii offered a football scholarship to an 11-year-old, fifth-grade quarterback. What was his signing bonus? A PlayStation 4 Pro?"  -- RJ Currie
"Last week former Husker Richie Incognito held a clinic at Beatrice High School. Now the young offensive linemen know the proper way of administering a knee to the groin."  -- Brad Dickson

CP-
 


Thursday, June 08, 2017

WHY DOES GIRARDI GET ALL THIS LOVE?

I constantly hear how smart Joe Girardi is and how well he handles the Yankee bullpen. I guess I'm not a fan of his because the only thing he does that I like is the way he protects his players, In an interview situation, if a reporter asks a pointed question, Girardi will dance around it better than Fred Astaire. And he doesn't even use tap shoes.

I don't think he "handles" his bullpen; I think he overuses it. He can't wait to get Betances and Chapman into the game. He has no faith in his starters. Last night, Boston looked positively helpless against CC Sabathia but Girardi insisted in bringing in a reliever to pitch the 9th, even though CC's pitch count was within reason. Let the man go out and get his complete game shutout. It's 8 - 0, how much trouble could he get into? I understand I'm not in the dugout talking to Sabathia. For all I know, CC could have told Joe, "Sorry, I can't go. I haven't felt my left arm for two innings."  But I don't think so.

I don't think Vod has a lot of love for Joe, either. Read this snippet from his Facebook post about Girardi's lineup change.
"So, is Girardi a genius for finally moving a slow-footed catcher out of the 2 hole or an idiot for taking 2 months and over 40 games to figure out that his explanation for batting Sanchez 2nd was simply head-scratchingly wrong?"
Of course, a lot of Joe's moves have to do with that notebook from hell that he totes around. He can give you numbers to support any move he makes and different numbers when he goes back to the original lineup. He'll ride a hot hitter forever, but he takes way too long to realize that hitter is slumping badly. He has carried Chase Headley for so long that even Chase's mother called and told Joe to sit him. Yes, he has started to hit again, but it was a painful 6 weeks for everybody. 
[By the way, Joe, it looks like the pitchers are catching up to Aaron Judge. You might want to watch his at-bats more carefully]

As long as we're ranting, let's talk about the Yankee broadcast team. Vod has already covered old "Without-a-doubt" David Cone, but his booth-mates aren't much better. My wife likes Michael Kay but I don't. His jokes are lame and he insists on trying to dramatize everything. I've called home runs before Michael even started his "...warning track, wall, see ya'"  performance. Last night, he laughed so much at one of his own jokes, that even Paul O'Neil started to kid him.
Speaking of Paul, I used to think his job in the booth was shilling for the concession stands, but lately, he just picks up on some point that Michael makes and agrees with it.  Why isn't HE making the point. Paul is good for one thing: getting tied up in his own sentences. Remember this little beauty from two nights ago, "Some things continue if they don't change."  What can you say about this except, Yogi Berra lives.

Here's one good thing that came out of the booth a couple of nights ago. Michael Kay asked David Cone what  the Yankees should do about Masahiro Tanaka's struggles. Instead of beating around the bush and coming out with a whole bunch of platitudes, Coney immediately stepped up and said, "Run him out there!"  No hemming and hawing, just "Run him out there." He added that there was too much talent there to give up on him and he'll never find it sitting in the bullpen. Lord, a sportscaster with a definite opinion. David, I can almost forgive you your repetitiveness and total reliance on cybernetics for that one statement.     Almost.

***THEY SAID IT***  
"A new Miss Rodeo Nebraska has been crowned. In this state I'm pretty sure the governor answers to her."  --  Brad Dickson
"After 18 seasons, Bob Stoops said today that he is retiring as Oklahoma’s football coach, and it is not for health reasons. Too soon to start a pool on possible Sooner scandals?"  -- Janice Hough
"United Airlines is about to unveil the world’s longest flight, 8,700 miles from L.A. to Singapore — nearly 18 hours.To help pass all that air time, the in-flight movie will be replays of three Yankees-Red Sox games."  -- Dwight Perry

"Mike Brown is coaching the Warriors in the championship showdown with Cleveland. A  playoff first for LeBron James: facing a coach he fired."  -- RJ Currie
"Belmont Stakes coming up June 10, but, with no Triple Crown in play, not even Belmont cares."  -- Greg Cote
"A drone crash-landed just inches from a fan at a Padres game last month.Baseball stat nerds, not missing a beat, immediately credited it with a launch angle of 29 degrees and an entrance velocity of 62 mph."  -- Dwight Perry  [David Cone, please note - CP]

"The New York Yankees retired Derek Jeter’s  No. 2. In a related story, the Yankees also framed the results of Alex Rodriguez’s second positive steroid test."  -- Alex Kaseberg
" SF Giants and Phillies played a series where both teams look like they richly deserve their 2017 records."  -- Janice Hough
"If the NBA playoffs were any duller, they'd be moved to C-SPAN."  -- Brad Dickson
"The FAA is investigating why a drone appeared in the sky during a San Diego Padres game. Authorities have already ruled out the possibility that someone actually wanted to watch a Padres game."  -- Conan O'brien
"Pittsburgh police arrested a Nashville Predators fan for throwing a catfish onto the ice, then later dropped all charges. Poetic justice — he was caught and released."  -- RJ Currie
"Rihanna has been trash talking court-side during the NBA Finals. The one thing that could save the 2017 NBA playoffs: if a game is decided by a technical on Rihanna."  -- Brad Dickson

CP-




 

Friday, June 02, 2017

BASEBALL'S BEST OUTFIELD

Hooray, I have a computer again. The old one bit the dust and the new one took a while to setup because my files and programs were so old - according to my "programmer." So to work.

** Is there a better outfield in baseball than the one the Yankees trot out every night? Brett Gardner, Jacob Ellsbury, Aaron Hicks And Aaron Judge.Their combined stats are almost frightening:
126 runs (45% of the team's total)
40 home runs (51% of the Team's total)
107 RBIs
.300 batting average
.393 on-base pct.
They have also combined for 24 steals.

Yes, I know there are four of them, but you can only put three of them out there at a time and their appearances as DH are very rare. Hicks and Judge are having seasons that make them favorites for the all-star team and Gardner may be the player of the month for May. All four are above average outfielders and only Ellsbury has what is considered to be an average arm. The other two are above average.
Divide each of those numbers by four and most teams have one outfielder that reaches that level, some are lucky enough to have two. No team has three with those numbers; the Yanks have four. I told you it was frightening.

** Albert Pujols is one home run away from 600 career homers and yet no one seems to be making a big deal over this. Are we becoming jaded because there are so many others with 600? There are exactly EIGHT of them. Not exactly a crowded field. Is it because he plays on the west coast and has to fight the so-called east coast bias? Hasn't hurt Mike Trout's exposure any. Speaking of which, is he playing in Trout's shadow? It would certainly be easy to do. Are the Angels not making use of the advertising avenue the way they should? Oh yeah, the Angels put a sign in center field listing his current total. Of course, the steroid issue always comes in to play where home runs are concerned but Albert has never even been hinted at any PED use in his career. He is a very low-key guy and just keeps putting up the numbers, hence his nickname, "The Machine."
Whatever the reason, it is quite an accomplishment and he deserves the recognition. Good going, Albert. Keep those taters coming.

By the way, has anyone seen the real Masahiro Tanaka walking around out there somewhere? Just asking.
The NY Mets mascot, Mr Met, has been let go because he gave the fans "the finger"  the other night. That gesture is defined by flashing the middle finger.  I have one question: Since the mascot only has four fingers, which one is considered the middle finger?

***THEY SAID IT***
"NBA combine question of the year: Kansas guard Frank Mason III says he was asked how he preferred to die. No truth to the rumor his answer was “getting drafted by the New Jersey Nets."  -- Dwight Perry
"The NFL has reinstated touchdown celebrations. The Cleveland Browns plan to work on one just in case it’s necessary."  -- Brad Dickson

"This eternal break before the NBA Finals is making many sports fans long for the excitement of Super Bowl week."  -- Janice Hough
"Topps Company says their Tim Tebow baseball card will have a limited release. Just like the ex-QB’s throwing motion. -- RJ Currie
"“Awkward: Yankees invite all of Jeter’s exes to Derek Jeter Day.”  -- TheKicker.com
"A Toyota Land Cruiser was clocked at 230 mph to break the record for fastest SUV. Apparently somebody was really late to their kid’s soccer game."  -- Conan O'Brien
"A deceased Mets fan's  ashes are being flushed down toilets in baseball stadiums across the country. Meanwhile, the Mets are honoring his wish by flushing their season, too."  -- Seth Meyers
"Think I’ve solved this SF Giants-Nationals thing. Let Washington find Jamie Moyer and sign him to a one-day contract. Have Baker tell him to throw at Posey. Honor regained, and Buster won’t even have a bruise."  -- Janice Hough
"A greyhound racing trainer in Florida was suspended after five dogs tested positive for cocaine. So far the Dallas Cowboys are planning to draft two of the dogs."  -- Brad Dickson
"Colin Kaepernick has still not had an offer from any NFL teams. One more week with no suitors and he will be most likely to start kneeling on both knees."  -- TC Chong
"The NFL is reducing overtime periods by five minutes this season, it says, in the name of “player safety.  But the league wants to add two more games — 120 minutes — to the schedule in the name of ... what again, exactly?"  -- Dwight Perry
"Mr. Met is back on the field a day after giving the finger to a fan. He apparently is being cheered. Perhaps mostly by fans who want him to make the same gesture to the 2017 team itself."  -- Janice Hough
"An errant throw by outfielder Tim Tebow nailed a Columbia Fireflies fan in the groin. After the game, Tebow autographed a baseball for the fan that he will one day show his children — assuming he can still have them."  -- Brad Dickson
"The Warriors and Cavaliers won their conference titles before Memorial Day weekend. If their championship series doesn't go seven, it just might end before next Memorial Day."  -- RJ Currie
"According to Tiger's DUI video, he was totally confused as to where he was and where he was going. If you really analyze the mug shot, it appears he is trying to escape being struck by a blond woman wielding a 9 iron."  -- TC Chong
"A 12-year-old ventriloquist stunned the audience on "America's Got Talent." If you put this 12-year-old in the Scripps National Spelling Bee and let the dummy spell words, I'd actually watch. "And now I'll spell the word 'capriciousness' while drinking a glass of water."  -- Brad Dickson

CP-