Big Time Bats of the Postseason - AL

Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

Curtis Granderson, NY Yankees

Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles

Josh Reddick, Oakland A's

Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers

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.

MLB: By the #'s; Nolan: By the #'s

MLB
It's been a pretty wild and unpredictable beginning to the 2012 MLB season.  I'm going to go through some numbers that might surprise you a little bit, or maybe not at all.

• 14 - teams over the .500 mark.  Those who are not in this group - Phillies, Red Sox, Tigers, Giants, Angels
• 8 - teams over the .500 mark that are from either the AL East or NL East, so don't give me your East Coast bias talk
• .397, .380 - Derek Jeter's and David Ortiz' batting average, respectively - aging rather well it seems
• .196 - Albert Pujols' batting average - can he be a bust?
• 2 - teams from the DC/Baltimore area that are in 1st place - the Orioles and Nationals
• 45 - strikeouts by Adam Dunn (in 106 AB's), which is actually on pace for less K's than last year
• .406/12 - batting average and home run total for Matt Kemp, the early favorite for NL MVP
• 11/10 - HR's allowed by Ervin Santana and Clay Buchholz in 38.2 and 32.2 IP, respectively
• 13.50 - ERA of Philip Humber in his three starts since his Perfect Game against the Mariners
• 3 of 7 - starts in which Jered Weaver has actually let up a run, twice against the Twins, the worst team in baseball
• .156 - BAA for two lefties, both at different stages of their careers - Ted Lilly and Gio Gonzalez
• 0 - teams that have reached the 20 win plateau - the Indians were the first to do it in 2011 (20-8) - although four three teams can get there today/tonight (Tampa Bay, Baltimore or Texas, San Francisco)

NOLAN
We're trying a new sleep method for when we put the little guy down to sleep.  We used to rock him until he was asleep then transfer him to the crib but he's getting a little big to rock for thirty minutes.

We put him in the crib awake, lay him down, and sit beside the crib until he falls asleep.  Gradually, we're going to (I hope) get to the point where we can put him in and leave the room immediately.  I think he's going through a little separation anxiety phase so he gets scared when he can't see us putting him to sleep.

It's only been a year and two weeks but it's time for him to grow up a little bit.

I lied in the header, there are no numbers related to Nolan in this post.

Have a good Tuesday.  It's a dreary but dry day so far here in CT.

Oddities

• Tigers closer Jose Valverde was perfect in save chances last season - 49 for 49.  He blew one this year in his first chance, against the Red Sox.  He did pick up the win, however.
• The Mets are 4-0?  Really?
• The Rays and Padres are the only two teams with a grand slam
• The Padres are hitting .266 in day games compared to .109 in night games
• The Phillies have only 4 extra base hits - Hunter Pence has a 2B and HR, John Mayberry and Freddy Galvis have a 2B each
• The New York Yankees pitching staff has the 2nd worst WHIP at 1.74 (Atlanta is 1.78)
• The Red Sox have the worst ERA in the majors at 6.75
• The Rays are the only team with a BB:K ratio instead of a K:BB ratio
• The Braves and Twins remain the only two teams without a win

Have a great Tuesday, freaks.

Happy Birthday's

  Just browsed a list of today's famous birthdays (courtesy of www.famousbirthdays.com) and found it interesting that there are no interesting birthday's today.  This prompted me to google "today's sports birthdays" and although I have yet to view the results, I'd imagine I can round up some pertinent information on at least 1 or 2 of these athletes.

  1.  Happy Birthday to Joliet, IL native Jesse Barfield.  51 years young today, he was once a featured gun out in right field, known predominantly for a cannon otherwise knows as his right arm.  He led all outfielders in assists from 1985 to 1987 - surprisingly, people kept trying to take an extra base on him.  He finished his career with 162 outfield assists - well short of Tris Speakers 449 career assists, but still a huge number for a 12 year career.

  Some of his on-field accomplishments included making the 1986 AL All-Star team (0-3, 2K), winning 2 Gold Glove Awards (1986, 1987) as well as a Silver Slugger Award (1986).  For his   After 8+ seasons north of the border, he was traded to the NY Yankees for left-handed pitcher Al Leiter.  He remained with the Yankees until after the 1992 season, when he took his game overseas and played for the Yomiuri Giants for a season in 1993.

  Barfield can still be found at Yankee Stadium for the yearly Old Timer's Day - throwing old dudes out at home with regularity.

  Over his 12-year MLB career, he amassed 241 HR, 716 RBI's, and 1,234 strikeouts (in 1,428 games).  He wasn't so much known for his bat, but he had an arm that base runners of his era will not soon forget.

  2.  Former NY Islander defenceman Denis Potvin turns 57 today.  He was the 1st overall pick in the 1973 NHL Draft and was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in 1991.  Although he is currently one of the voices of the Florida Panthers, it might best be remembered when the Islanders and Rangers played at the Garden, Ranger fans chanting, "beat your wife Potvin, beat your wife." over and over and over again.  Unless you've been to a Rangers game, you don't know the tempo or cadence of that chant, but you get the picture.  Another favorite of Ranger fans, albeit less original, were the "Potvin Sucks!" chants that bellowed from the rafters of MSG.  They were all jealous of his beard.

  I was brought up an Islanders fan (it gets harder and harder to root for them) but I will stick by them.  They play in a dump, so the end product really is no surprise.  He and Brian Trottier are the only two players Islanders to play 1,000 games for the team, a list that isn't likely to grow anytime soon.

  Let's Go Islanders!  Let's Go Islanders!  Potvin helped lead the Islanders to an unprecedented 4 consecutive Stanley Cup victories from 1979-80 to 1982-83.  (even though on the 1980-81 Cup, it reads "Ilanders").

  3. NY Mets right handed knuckle-baller RA Dickey is 36 today.

  4. Former Ohio State standout RB and current criminal Maurice Clarett turns 27 today.

  5. Puerto Rican boxing great Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gomez (44-3-1) turns 54 today.

  SF Giants are two wins away folks.  SUCKA!  All you Rangers fans with that stupid air high five or magic fist or claw, whatever you wanna call it.  Doesn't seem to be working thus far.  Still a ways to go, but it's a good start for the renegade Giants.

Game over, Season over - Yankees choke

  In what is shaping up to be a miserable way to end a season (at home to the Texas Rangers), Yankee fans are looking for someone to blame, someone to point their fingers at.

  AJ Burnett - Everyone in America thought he'd lay an egg.  But you can't tell me that after that dominant first inning you weren't a little geeked up by the possibilities?  Ultimately, Girardi's decision to intentionally walk David Murphy coupled with the fact that Burnett missed his spot by 22" to Yankee-killer Bengie Molina (who has owned the Yankees in past playoffs) cost them the game.  AJ Burnett is not the goat.

  Nick Swisher - Les Carpenter, of Yahoo Sports, was quoted as writing, "Alex Rodriguez, who made $33 million this season, is hitting a robust .133 in the LCS. At least he has two RBIs.  That’s more than Nick Swisher with his .067 average or Derek Jeter with but one RBI."

  Nick Swisher isn't getting paid nearly as much as A-Rod ($33M vs. $6.85M) but is getting named as a goat in this series?  No one expected Nick Swisher to do what he did this year.  Was it a pleasant surprise - yes.  Was he supposed to be the savior?  Never.  Nisk Swisher is not the goat.

  I am getting sick of writing about this team and this game, so I am going to cease immediately.  Ultimately, it is a great team that choked in the 2010 ALCS.  Simple as that. 

  Cano was a beast; Pettitte was dominant (Lee was just more dominant); Teixeira didn't have a hit but his defense saved some runs (that ultimately didn't matter); the starting rotation, outside of Pettitte, was piss poor; the bullpen was even worse.  It just wasn't in the cards. 

  Freddy is probably rolling over in his grave at how bad this team played.  Oh well, there's always 2011.  Chances are the Red Sox will still be in their downward spiral.

 

Shutout & Speed

Vazquez threw well, but there is only so many times your offense can bail you out.  Sometimes, pitching like crap all the time, the offense feels pressure to score a lot of runs.  Today, he was snakebit, because he pitched well enough to win, but they didn't score, lost 2-0.  They've scored 23 R in his 6 starts, so just under 4 R/Game isn't the Yankees run support a pitcher is used to.  Sometimes, you take your lumps - to the tune of a 1-4 record with a 8.10 ERA.  I hope, I truly hope, this was his stepping stone to what he's capable of in pinstripes.  5 H, 2 BB, 7 K in 7 IP - quality start, build off it.

The Yankees just busted it open in Game 2 of the double-dip, with 6 in the 9th off ex-Yank Phil Coke.  Brett Gardner is the MAN!!  Hitting .337, 16 SB - I mean he'll hit .250 with his speed alone, and he seems to be learning to hit a little bit, scary.  Speed kills, and as long as he keeps on keeping on, the Yanks will be dangerous.  He's got 16, Granderson has only 4, Jeter 3, A-Rod and Canó 2 each.  There's always a threat of a SB, and when that creeps into a pitcher's mind, and he loses focus on a hitter, boom, trouble.

Speed Kills!!  Look at the best teams in their division - TB Rays (Crawford 9, Upton 7, Zobrist 6, Longoria 5); SD Padres (Headley 9, Gwynn and Venable 8, Cabrera 4); Texas Rangers (Andrus 14, Cruz 5, Guerrero and Borbón 4).

Run til they catch you, and I bet the rest of the division will be trying to keep up.  Bed time.  Bye.