Wild at Wimbledon

Watching this Rafael Nadal match right now, I'm not sure he's got what it takes to win this thing.  And by this thing, I mean Wimbledon.  Lukas Rosol, the Czechoslovakian ranked #100 in the world, is giving Nadal all he can handle.  7-6 Nadal in the first set, 6-4 Rosol in the second set.

Nadal struggled in the first set in his first round straight set win over Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, #80 in the world, but I think he turned it on after thinking he could coast through the match.

German Philipp Kohlschreiber, #27 in the world, waits for the winner of this Nadal-Rosol match, and he'll be rested after a straight set win today.

Not to say I am not a Nadal fan, but he needs to step it up.

Rosol leads 2-1 in the third set and Rosol is just slamming aces down his throat.  Three in a row in fact to take a 3-1 lead.

Rosol-mania!

3 Up, 3 Down

An interesting week in sports thus far and plenty more to come.  Here's my best and worst of the week that currently is.

3 Up

1. Wimbledon – Not sure why I’ve been so enthralled with a sport I have no past with, but I can’t stop watching.  In the men’s draw, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Tsonga, the top five seeds, are all still alive after straight set wins in Round 1.  As for the women’s draw, Venus Williams has bowed out, further accentuating her fall from grace.  Sharapova, Radwanska, Serena Williams, Kvitova, and Azarenka are all still alive as well.  My favorite part is watching the people along the surface on the back row dodge 100mph serves and returns.
2. New York Yankees – So far June has been a great time to wear pinstripes.  The Yankees are 18-5 this month and have no signs of slowing down.  They enter today percentage points ahead of the Rangers for best record in the MLB.
3. Yu Darvish – He wasn’t great last night against the Tigers, but he was good enough to earn his 10th win of the season on the heels of a 10 strikeout performance.  One of the most anticipated stories leading into the 2012 MLB season has had very few hiccups thus far.

3 Down

1. Aroldis Chapman’s Somersaults – Sure, the Reds fireballer had blown two saves in a row (a two-run go-ahead HR in the 9th by the Twins’ Josh Willingham and a walk-off two-run HR by Asdrubal Cabrera of the Indians), but after fanning the side to earn a save last night, he proceeded to do two somersaults off the mound.  Act the part big fella, please.
2. Dwayne Wise’s “Catch” – On Derek Jeter’s 38th birthday, Dwayne Wise went into the stands to try to make a catch.  Problem was, he never made it, and umpire Mike DiMuro refused to ask to see the ball.  I think that’s protocol when a player winds up in the crowd.  Wise deserves an Oscar.
3. BCS < 4-Team Playoff – College football announced it is moving to a 4-team playoff format beginning in 2015.  Sounds like progress is being made, but they still have a lot of kinks to iron out, namely who is on the decision committee.  I like where their heads are at, but there will be some controversy moving forward.

Dickey in the Headlines

I saw two headlines from the other night when the Yankees beat the Mets and RA Dickey in the rubber match of the Subway Series in Flushing.  Got me thinking.  What other inappropriate headlines have there been courtesy of RA?

Granted, this guy is tough to root against.  He does everything right except play for the Mets.  But seriously, he was just cursed with a tough name.

Seattle Times (WA):  Cano, Yankees touch up Dickey in 6-5 win over Mets
The Columbus Dispatch (OH):  Yanks wallop Mets' Dickey
CBS (NY):  Yankees Beat Dickey, Mets
New York Post (NY):  Bombers Knuck Dickey Around; Dickey Charms Snakes As Mets Take Rubber Game; Mets' Dickey Spiked While Covering 1st Base


I'm a fan of RA.

MLBeard

Maybe it started with Brian Wilson and his “Fear the Beard” thing during the Giants 2010 run to the World Series championship.  Or maybe it took off when Johnny Damon proclaimed the Boston Red Sox “idiots” in 2004.  Perhaps it went as far back as the early 1980’s when Bruce Sutter was traded to the Cardinals.

Regardless where its baseball roots lie, the beard has seemingly taken over baseball, especially in the bullpen (except in the Bronx).

The beard is single-handedly trying to turn baseball into the Brooklyn of sports – a bunch of wannabe hipsters – and those blessed enough with the ability to sprout bad-ass growth have taken full advantage of putting it on display.  I’m not talking goatee or any scruff, I’m talking full on, no holds barred beards, here.

In other sports, the beard makes timely appearances.  In the NHL, there’s always been the “playoff beard”.  In the NFL, there are also guys who unleash their beards during the playoffs.  Hell, even the NBA is celebrating the beard (see: James Harden).  But rarely does the beard get much publicity during the regular season. 

1970’s and 1980’s:  Mustache > Beard

2012: Beard > Mustache

The mustache.

Gone are the days of the mustache, but don’t tell John Axford or Derek Holland that.  Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, these dudes were men, man.  Don Mattingly rocked the shit out of his ‘stache.  Dennis Eckersley was known as much for his mustache as his sidearm delivery.  Hulk Hogan’s mustache should be in a Hall of Fame somewhere, but I digress.  The mustache was worn by some of the biggest names in baseball in the 70’s and 80’s.

The beard. 

It seems like you can be a nobody and sport one.  And it seems the time of game you’re most likely to see them are from the sixth inning on.

There are, however, plenty of guys who shut it down on the mound and wear awesome beards.

Brian Wilson, for all intents and purposes, is the the modern-day re-inventor of the beard.  Jason Motte sports a wild beard and backs it up with 100 mph heat.  Chris Perez rocks a mean face forest, too.  But let’s face it, these are names we’ve heard before.  You can even go as far as Heath Bell and his chin-strap looking beard.

What about Tim Collins out in KC?  Or Sergio Romo, a protégé of Brian Wilson, out in San Fran?

Jon Rauch, he’s got himself a nicely manicured stubbly beard, but he can call it whatever he wants.  I’m more intrigued by his neck tattoo.  Oh, and I dare anyone to say anything questionable or bad about Jon Rauch to Jon Rauch.

Beards, they’re not just for the playoffs anymore.

The Kuroda Factor

You can look up and down the Yankees lineup and you'd recognize many of the names - Jeter, Granderson Rodriguez, Teixeira, Cano, Sabathia, Pettitte - but there is one name you rarely hear anything about.

Hiroki Kuroda.

Dude just gets it done.  Sure, his record is a mediocre 6-6.  No, he doesn't have the eye-popping strikeout numbers of Sabathia.  He's not dialing it up there at 93-94 like Nova, Hughes, or Sabathia.

But he take the ball every fifth day and gets after it.

Shit, in four of his six losses, they "vaunted" Yankees offense has scored one or no runs.  In his six wins, they've scored 5, 2, 6, 2, 9, and 3.  Not exactly the best run support.  Actually, they score just 4.54 runs a game for this him, worst among their starters, by far. Pettitte gets almost 6 runs a game, Hughes gets almost seven per game, Nova almost 7.5, and CC just over 7.

Do the Yankees like this guy like I do?

And his name is just fun to say - Hiroki Kuroda.

He's only had one season (out of four complete MLB seasons) where he's finished over .500 - 2009 with the Dodgers, when he was 8-7.  His worst season ERA?  3.76.  He's five games under .500 for his career with a 3.45 career ERA.  Tough luck, I guess.

You never hear anything bad about this guy.  His contract - a whopping $10 million a year - is a little outrageous.  He's 37 years old, so he's not exactly a young buck.  He's in his 16th season as a professional.

I thought it was a great sign when they got him and I am sticking by that.  The guy is no-nonsense, gives you a chance to win (the vast majority of the time), and is tough.

Hiroki Kuroda deserves another season over .500. 

If he continues to pitch like he is in June, he makes the Yankees even tougher.  In June, by far his best month, he's 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 20 innings (3 starts).

Of course tonight he's struggling a little bit as the game with the Braves is currently 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth.

Two Best Names in Omaha

South Carolina infielder Joey Pankake garners my top spot while recently departed Stony Brook Seawolves infielder Maxx Tissenbaum came in a close second.

I hope everyone is watching the CWS.

Florida, the #1 overall seed, is gone.
Stony Brook, playing the role of Cinderella, is gone.

Arkansas and Arizona are both 2-0 and in the driver's seat.

U.S. Open - No Red Scores

I actually entertained the idea of going for a quick round of eighteen this afternoon but the online tee times closed me out.  No big deal, seeing how I haven't hit a single golf ball all year.  I should probably hit up the range at least once before I play.

Got me to checking out the US Open out in San Francisco.  Not a single player is under par.  Jim Furyk, the wily dinosaur, leads the field at even par.  Dude's got over $52 million in career earnings, so it's no surprise the 42-year-old is up at the top, he's a player.

Tiger Woods is lurking, however, even though he's struggling a bit today.  He started the day tied with Furyk (whom he's partnered with) but fell four shots back, but after a ridiculous birdie putt on the ninth, has pulled within two shots, at +2.  He's still shooting three-over-par for the day.  He looks like he's got some swagger back.

It'll be fun to watch, if that's even possible with golf.  Can it really be fun to watch?

I say yes.  Often times when I play, I want to give up after six holes, but knowing I paid good money to play, I try to keep my shit together enough to play the full eighteen.  Generally, at least fifteen to twenty times a round I question my selection of golf as a hobby.

I figure there's got to be something better to spend my money on.  It's not like I've got a set of clubs that cost $700, I think they were $200, max.  I even got a mini-golf putter in my bag.

Then I hit that one shot that makes me say to myself  "Man, I am not that bad.  Maybe I can keep this going" and then immediately I skull one. 

Golf.

It'll humble you, that's for sure.  Looks so easy on TV but alas, try getting out there and shooting 30 over par.

It always gets the last laugh.

License Plate Likeability

As random as it sounds, I just thought it'd be fun (read: totally random) to rank the license plates you see on cars/trucks/motorcycles around this great country of ours.  Maybe my thinking for this post came from the fact that the new New York plates are absolutely heinous to look at. 

The ratings are obviously opinions of me and me alone and are solely based on looks (I know, very shallow of me).

In any event, the following are my top ten favorite plates.

All images courtesy of theus50

Colorado - Just a cool plate with two colors and a very visible mountain landscape
Montana - I have always been infatuated with Big Sky Country and these plates clearly identify the state
Delaware - Regardless of what Wayne and Garth think, I think this super-simple plate is a classic
South Carolina - A nice sunset image for the Palmetto State's plate
California - A lot of uncertainty here, but the script font is awesome and it's red, white, and blue
Arkansas - I have always liked the font on this one, although the diamond is iffy
Idaho - Another red, white, and blue masterpiece that clearly indicates why they're popular - potatoes
Arizona - The desert and cacti just get it done enough to get past the color scheme
Illinois - Land of Lincoln, and his face is watermarked right there in the middle
Virginia - White and blue and easy to read, another classic

As expected, here's my terrible ten.

All images courtesy of theus50

New York - I understand you are trying to go retro, but it's just an eyesore
Utah - It just looks too cartoonish - a real photo of the arches would be way cooler
Vermont - I cringe when I see these plates - their drivers give these plates a bad name
West Virginia - These plates make John Denver roll over in his grave
Mississippi - As fun as it is to spell, a picture of a lighthouse?
New Jersey - My disdain for not being able to make a left coupled with the bland color scheme = fail
Kansas - Your state seal as the backdrop is boring - at least put a Jayhawk or something on there
Indiana - What is that thing on the left side of the plate?
Connecticut - I feel like the shading should go from white to blue, top to bottom - they've got it backwards
Pennsylvania - You're really publicizing your state website on your license plate?

Not sure of your thoughts on these selections, but feel free to let me know.

Pitching, It's What's For Winners!

A post I've done for an up-and-coming website, The Gatsby Effect, whose topics range from sports (my favorite) to music to technology to film and television to interviews (when they come about).

I fully intend to keep this baby going, seeing how it is just that, my baby (not literally), but this world at WRT is something I've really taken a liking to.

If you'd have asked me a few years ago if I'd have a dedicated blog I'd have told you you were crazy.

I have a blast writing this and am expanding a little - unlike the other shitty blogs I've started and since cancelled.

This is my primary but I will make posts over at The Gatsby Effect.

Loving the Pitcher's Mound - Chart

Here's a list of the "top four" in pitches-per-inning, which is really not a stat you want to lead the league in.

Basically what it means is your defense hates you, your arm hates you, and your bullpen never knows when the hell they've got to be ready because in any given inning you could implode and/or your arm might explode.

Here they are.  Going deep in games seems to be secondary to these guys.  Not surprisingly, none of them are even in the top fifteen in total pitches (Scherzer is #16), probably because they're at 100 pitches before the fifth inning.

Pitcher	Team	P/IP	IP/Start	WHIP	ERA	Quote their arm, never more
Max Scherzer	DET	18.5	5 1/3	1.59	5.88	MAX-imum effort a little less often please!
Randy Wolf	MIL	18.5	5 1/2	1.70	6.05	Howwwwwwwwwwwwwl!
Ubaldo Jimenez	CLE	18.3	5 2/3	1.69	5.31	You throwing more balls than strike!
Tim Lincecum	SF	18.1	5 1/2	1.52	5.83	Timmy, you're freaking me out!

Superhero Pitchers (Super Powers)

This year, like many in recent memory, seems to be the year of the pitcher.  Here are five of the toughest to hit against in the majors this season.

I have included record (which isn't always a good indicator of super power-dom), innings pitched (which helps any team), hits (against, of course), extra base hits allowed (none are Mets and none are Rockies, so fence depth and altitude don't factor in), strikeouts (measures their ability to put away hitters), batting average against (which is what this chart is based on), ERA (duh!), and finally their super power.

The super powers are equipped with links that clearly indicate what their powers are.

Behold, the Fearsome Fivesome!

Pitcher	Team	W-L	IP	H	XBH	K	BAA	ERA	Super Power
Gio Gonzalez	WAS	7-1*	61.2	33*	13	79	.156*	2.04	Slings 93.2 (mph)
Brandon Beachy	ATL	5-3	66.0	43	11	51	.182	1.77*	Fabulous Forearms
CJ Wilson	LAA	6-4	65.0	43	9*	59	.185	2.77	Locks(ing) Up Hitters; Tattoo
Justin Verlander	DET	5-3	81.1*	56	18	82*	.190	2.55	Inning Eating Machine; Electric Arm (94.5 mph)
Chris Capuano	LAD	7-1*	63.0	42	15	58	.190	2.14	High Socks