 Monday, October 22, 2007
Why are we waiting 3 days for the World Series?
Last night the Boston Red Sox routed Cleveland to take Game 7 and go to their second World Series in the last 4 years. A week ago tonight the Colorado Rockies cliched a four game sweep and have been waiting. Why do we have to wait until Wednesday for the World Series to start, three days after Boston wins and eight days after Colorado? If the Fall Classic goes into seven games, it will end on November 1st. November? Sure Derrik Jeter is "Mr. November" for his home run after midnight on 10/31/01, but we had baseball in November only after 9/11 when we had a week of the regular season delayed, and the last two games of that series were played in Arizona. There is too much time between the Division Series and the League Championship Series and thus the World Series. There should be only 1 day between the end of the Division Series and the League Championship Series and only 1 day between the LCS and the World Series, and have less days in-between the games during the series, only 1 day off after game 2 and 1 day off after game 5 should be allowed. This series with the Red Sox and Indians seemed to drag on forever. For example, the Indians went 4 games in the ALDS to defeat the Yankees and still had to wait 4 days to play the Red Sox, who had to wait 5 days after sweeping the Angles. The Rockies and Arizona both had to wait 5 days after sweeping their respective teams in the NLDS. Even without a sweep, they would have had to wait too many days. There have been arguments in some quarters that the Rockies are now cold and stale since they have had 8 days off. I am not so sure that I buy that, after 162 regular season games, the 1 day playoff, the NLDS and the NLCS, a few days off is great, and the extended days off can be used very wisely by the coaches with simulated games, batting practice, etc. We'll see, if the red-hot Rockies go down fast like the hot Tigers did last year, maybe MLB will start to listen to our complaints. Posted By Steve in New York
Sunday, October 21, 2007
The End of the Torre Era
My friend and former colleague weighed in on the Yankees' past, present, and future in the following post. Thanks and take it away Otto!
Well, my Friends!
All good things have to come to an end. But let's face it the Yankees are a team in transition whether Torre stayed or not. This is a team that has serious issues that need resolution. They can be competitive and they can make the playoffs but it is highly unlikely that they can advance to the world series and win it. Consider for a moment the 1998-2000 Yankees (I know it's not fair to compare any team to that team but it will illustrate a point). Every player in that lineup and you know them well: Girardi, Martinez, Knoblauch, Jeter, Brosius, Curtis, Spencer, Williams, O'Neil, Davis and Justice could hit, field and run the bases intelligently. Today I see a lineup that top to bottom has defects. I'm not asking for 9 DiMaggios but the late 90s squad did everything right - not spectacular but right. In short they played fundamentally sound baseball which I have not seen from this team since 2001. Consider:
Catcher: Posada - great year but definitely aging, can't run bases at all and can't catch up to hard fast balls especially late in the year.
1st Base: Mientkiewicz - great fielding can't hit for average or power but good bunter. Giambi - steroids, injury, no fielding and I'm being generous.
2nd Base: Cano - great hitter but God almighty has there ever been a 2nd baseman who "just misses" ground balls like this guy. Am I the only one who noticed this. His range seems to be good enough to just miss balls. On top of that he makes many errors and sometimes plays too nonchalantly.
SS: Jeter: great hitter - but let's face it ZERO range at shortstop, especially to his left and since 2002 his playoff performances have left a lot to be desired.
3B: A-Rod - no point in discussing - the stat machine is a head case in October. Maybe leaving NY is best for him.
OF: - Matsui: solid hitter and fielder, Cabrera: good field - no hitting, Abreu patient at the plate, good arm but slow in the field and virtually no power from a power position and Damon - solid but aging.
And I did not address patient hitting (taking balls and swinging at strikes). Not swinging at every pitch may have been a death-penalty offense where Cano and Cabrera are from and Jeter strikes out way too much for a 2 or 3 hitter.
The Yankees have a lot to address and the most serious has to be defense up the middle. I wonder if Jeter is at the beginning of the end of his time at SS. If his range decreases any more it's something that has to be considered. Cano may simply be too big to be a second baseman. His "just misses" may be a product of being unable to get down fast enough for some of these hot grounders. But the Yankees are building for the future with one of the finest crops of young pitchers I have ever seen: Hughes, Joba, Kennedy and other in the minors. And if they are building on pitching then they need defense, especially up the middle. They need to get better defense and they need consistent hitters who don't get streaky. I'd rather have a consistent .280 25 HR hitter than a streaky .320 54 HR hitter (anyone we know?). And now there is the question of Mariano. Do we keep him? Who do we have who could close? The Yanks have some work to do so let's hope for the best.
Otto
Written by Otto and Posted by the Tank in NY.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
NFL Week #7 Picks
Last Week: I was 1-1 in my picks last week and 6-3 on the season. The darn Jets didn't come through. Chad Pennington's days as starting quarterback are numbered.
This Week's Fearless Picks:
The Giants beat San Francisco at home.
The Jets lose a close game at the Bengals. This maybe the last game that Chad Pennington starts.
The Bills lose a tough game at home to the Ravens. Look for the defense to key on ungrateful star running back Willis McGahee. After McGahee's near career ending knee injury a few years ago in the BCS Title Game against Ohio State, Buffalo was the only place to give him a chance and drafted him a few months later. Whatever his issues with management, McGahee should have kept his thoughts about
Buffalo to himself.
The Bills odds maybe helped by Ray Lewis who is a game time decision. Look for an interesting beginning from rookie QB Trent Edwards played well against the Cowboys (as I was at Game 4 of the Yankees-Indians series). The J.P. Losman era as starting quarterback may come to a close like Chad Pennington's.
Most importantly, injured Bills TE Kevin Everett wrote a very touching thank you note detailing his first steps with the assistance of a walker. No, thank you Kevin for inspiring us all. Best wishes on a full recovery. Keep the faith and God Bless!
Posted by an emotional Tank in NY.
Friday, October 19, 2007
College Football Week #8 Picks
Last Week's Review: I was 2-1 last week and now 14-8 on the season. LSU should have won at Kentucky in regulation. I knew it would be a tough game in Lexington. College sports are magical and unpredictable, especially given a large home crowd which urged Kentucky unto victory.
This Week's Picks:
National:
#15 Florida wins at #7 Kentucky. Kentucky is due for a let down after beating LSU last week. More importantly, it's a tough time for the Gator program after a recent tragic motorcycle accident took two young lives, a walk-on defensive back and the girlfriend of the freshman quarterback. May their memories be eternal.
#16 Missouri beats #24 Texas Tech at home.
#4 LSU bounces back and beats #17 Auburn at home.
Local:
My alma mater Buffalo loses at my boyhood team Syracuse.
Posted by the Tank in NY.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Joe Torre and the Yankees Part Ways
I received an e-mail alert from the Yankees a short time ago stating that Joe Torre turned down a one year, $5 million offer to manage in 2008. One million dollar bonuses would be paid for each round of the playoffs that the Yankees made. Therefore, he would receive $8 million if the Yankees made the World Series in 2008 and the contract would be vested for 2009.
Most everyone expected the Yankees to give Torre a yes or no. However, this contract offer appears to be a compromise and reflects the in-fighting amongst the different Yankee factions. Who really runs the Yankees? The Boss? His sons Hank and Hal? That information will probably be declassified in 30 or so years.
I don't blame Joe for turning the offer down. Too much grief. As I said long ago, 2007 would be the last year with the Yankees win, lose, or draw. It's sad that it ended short of the Promised Land. I wish Joe a happy and enjoyable retirement and I look forward to seeing him inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in a few years.
I hope the Yankees find the right manager -- be it Don Mattingly, Joe Girardi, Tony Pena, Larry Bowa, or someone outside of the Yankee Family like Tony La Russa.
Once the 2008 manager issue is finalized, that will really start the free agent merry-go-round as certain players will relate better to Mattingly, Girardi, or whoever. Buckle up for even more fireworks. It's going to be a really warm hot stove season. Keep the faith. Go Yankees!
Posted by a saddened Tank in NY.
Tick..Tock
The clock is ticking for the Yankees and Joe Torre. RUMOR: The rumor is that the group deciding the fate of Joe is meeting today via conference call and then will give the Boss their recommendation and the final decision can come today. The rumors are that they are deciding between a 2 year deal for Joe, a 1 year deal for Joe or cutting him lose in favor of Don Mattingly. Posted by Steve in Rumorville
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Not looking good for Joe Torre
In our Podcast yesterday the Tank indicated that the length of time we wait for the decision by the Boss on Joe Torre's fate, most likely the better. I agreed with the Tank at the time, but now it is Wednesday and still no word yet. If the Yankees wanted to bring Joe back they would have made a quick announcement, like Omar did about Willie. That is the best way to do it, come right out and make the statement. The longer they wait, the more they are taking time to do damage control, PR spin, etc. The longer they wait the more damage they do since more speculation blogs like this one go up drawing attention to the action and making it a media event. Prediction: The Yankees let Joe go. Posted by Steve in New York
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Ladies and Gentlemen Your 2007 World Champion Colorado Rockies....
Last night playing in the relentless rain at Coors Field the Rockies won their ninth consecutive game, their 20th in 21 and are on the verge of a sweep of the Diamondbacks in the NLCS. Is there anyone who can stop them? No, order their World Series rings now. Sure they have to finish off the Diamondbacks and then face the ALCS champion Red Sox or Indians, but they are firing on all cylinders and will most likely clinch tonight and then have the rest of the week to take batting practice and wait for the outcome of the ALCS. The same thing happened last year, the Tigers were hot, blew past two opponents and then had to wait a week to face either the Mets or Cardinals. The Cardinals had a 7 game war with the Mets that went to the bottom of the 9th with bases loaded, but came back and beat the Tigers quickly. Some say that it is better to have the time off (Steve) and some say it is better to be hot and roll right in (The Tank.) Will history repeat itself? Steve has his money on the Rockies. (And by strange coincidence he will be in Denver tomorrow on business, maybe he can join the party for winning the NLCS.) Posted by Steve in New York.
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