Relax....It's Only April

To say that Albert Pujols is struggling would be an understatement.   The game’s best player is currently in the longest slump of his career in relation to home runs, as he has yet to hit one in 117 at-bats dating back to last season (September 22^nd).   This is not what the Angels expected out of him when they signed him to a $240 million contract this past off-season.  He is only hitting .216 and he only has 4 RBI’s on the season.  To make matters worse, his team as of Monday April 30^th is 7-15, good for last in the AL West, and already 9 games behind 1^st place Texas.   The last time Pujols hit anything other than a single was when he hit 3 doubles in a 4-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Thursday April 19^th.  As the homerless streak continues, and the losses continue to mount, the pressure will only begin to intensify on Pujols.  Could you image what it would be like if Pujols did this as a member of the Yankees or Red Sox? 

With all the media attention covering the struggles of Pujols, this blog post will cover several other high profile hitters who have also started out the 2012 season slowly. 

·       Prince Fielder – The new $200 million man in Detroit.  Yes he is hitting .309 on the season, but until yesterday’s home run in a loss to the Yankees, he hadn’t hit one since Game 2 of the regular season (a game he actually hit 2 home runs in).  He went 20 games without hitting a home run (a stretch of 71 at bats).  He only has 5 extra base hits this season, 3 home runs and 2 doubles.  The rest are all singles. 

·       Robinson Cano – Coming off of an MVP caliber season in which he hit .302, with 28 home runs and 118 RBI’s, much was expected of him coming into this season.  He’s only hitting .264, with one home run and 4 RBI’s in the team’s first 21 games.   Not good.

·       Jose Reyes – Entering today’s action, in 21 games he is hitting just above the Mendoza line at .203, with a .281 on base percentage and .316 slugging percentage.  He only has 7 extra base hits (5 doubles and 2 triples) and is 4 for 7 on stolen base attempts.  Perhaps the poor start to this season is in the words of Brian O’Donnell (@bxod34 on Twitter) “sweet justice” for taking himself out of the final game of last season after getting a hit in the 1^st inning in order to hold off Ryan Braun and win the N.L batting average title.

·       Giancarlo “Mike” Stanton – Another Miami Marlin on the list.  Yes, I know that he is battling some injuries, but he hasn’t gone on the D.L yet, so I’m assuming he is healthy enough to play.  This is a guy who hit 37 home runs last year and entered this year as everyone’s trendy pick to have the most home runs in the National League.  He hit a home run yesterday to raise his season total to……ONE.  His 4 RBI day yesterday also increased his RBI total to 9 for the year.

·       Joey Votto – Another newly minted $200 million man.  Up until yesterday, Votto hadn’t hit a home run since the 2^nd game of the season.  He now has 2 home runs and 15 RBI’s to go along with a decent .289 batting average.  Most of his stats are very good (.439 OBP and .500 slugging), the only real issue here was the lack of power.  Maybe yesterday’s performance will be the start of a hot streak.   

·       Matt Holliday – Not everything is well in St. Louis country these days.  Holliday is only hitting .215 with a .277 OBP and .376 slugging percentage.  He only has 7 extra base hits (3 doubles and 4 home runs).  Good thing this team has a hot Rafael Furcal, David Freese, and Carlos Beltran to carry the load until this guy gets going.

·       Jose Bautista – A terrible start for this Blue Jays slugger.  Bautista is hitting .190, with 5 extra base hits (3 home runs and 2 doubles).  He has an OBP of .333 and slugging .329.  This guy is coming off of back-to-back seasons in which he hit 54 and 43 home runs.  He only hit 12 of his 43 home runs after the all-star break last year.  Combine that with the slow start this year and you have to ask, is this the start of the downward cycle?

·       Derek Jeter – No this guy isn’t struggling.  I wanted to end on a good note here.  I have to give props to the 37 year old Jeter who is the current leader in hits in all of baseball with 36 and his .396 batting average currently leads the American League.  “The Captain” can still play!

For All You Gamblers Out There…

·       This Saturday is the annual “Run for the Roses” as the 138^th Kentucky Derby is set to take off at approximately 6:24pm.  I’m no expert in the “fastest two minutes in sports” but I do have my own local source to go to when I need some advice.  Check out Gene Kershner on Twitter (@EquiSpace) or follow his blog at www.equispace.blogspot.com.  He is also the Buffalo News blog writer for all things horse racing. 

That’s all I have for now.  Until next time…

Harper Fever

I wasn't planning on writing a blog post today.  However it is not a common occurrence when one of the most hyped baseball players in the last 20 years receives the call up to the major leagues.  The 19 year old phenom Bryce Harper has been called up by the Washington Nationals today to take the spot of All-Star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who was sent to the DL.  His major league debut on Saturday will also be a game that will be started by the Nationals last phenom, Stephen Strasburg.  Needless to say, this game will definitely be must see TV. 

Whether or not this is the right time for Harper to make his debut is something that can be debated.  He's only hitting .250 in AAA this season and only has one home run.  He also will have to make his debut on the road, in Los Angeles against Chad Billingsley.  It's a good thing that the Nationals are calling him up tomorrow and not today though.  The Nationals have to face the defending NL CY Young winner Clayton Kershaw tonight.

I'm very excited to see Harper play.  I have heard that he is a very cocky, confident kid.  Whether or not he will tone down his cocky play in the big leagues will be determined tomorrow.  I highly doubt major league pitchers will be intimidated by his media hype and will have no problems throwing a couple high and tight pitches if the situation presents itself. 

There will be lots of pressure for him to perform at a high level.  Everything he does will be talked about by the major media outlets.  This is a very exciting time to be a Washington National fan however I think the fans should maybe tone down expectations for a little while.  This guy is only 19 years old.  He's still learning the game and getting used to professional pitching at a high level.  I tried to think of media hyped players over the last 25 years who have received a call up to the majors as a teenager.  I thought of Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Justin Upton, Edgar Renteria, and Andruw Jones.  All of these players were 19 year old rookies.

• Griffey hit .264 with 16 home runs, 16 stolen bases, and 61 RBI's in 127 games. 
• ARod hit .229 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI's in 48 games. 
• Justin Upton hit .221 with 2 home runs in 43 games.
• Edgar Renteria hit .309 with 16 stolen bases and 5 home runs in 106 games.
• Andruw Jones hit .217 with 5 home runs in 31 games.

Whether or not Harper is here to stay is still undecided.  He might be sent back down once Zimmerman returns from the DL.  I'm sure if he struggles, he will be sent down to the minors for more grooming.  However if he hits right away, I doubt he will be packing his bags for AAA anytime soon.  My guess, the kid is here to stay.  No matter what, I know I will be watching.

On the Diamond...

• This is a great weekend for baseball, and not only because of the Bryce Harper news.  The Nationals/Dodgers series is a matchup of the two best teams in the National League.  Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg, two pitchers who are very exciting to watch will also be making starts in this series.  In the American League, both playoff matchups from last year are taking place.  In New York, the Yankees and Detroit Tigers face off against each other.  The game tonight is the reigning AL CY Young and MVP Justin Verlander versus Ivan Nova.  Verlander struggles against NY.  He is 0-2 lifetime in 4 career starts and has an ERA north of 4.00.  Nova is arguably the Yankees best pitcher right now and has won his last 13 pitching decisions.  The Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays also get to do battle this weekend.  The Rangers are the best team in all of baseball right now, but the Rays have also been playing very well.  Needless to say, this weekend should be a very good weekend for baseball. 

Local Legends

I found out that today, Thursday April 26^th is the birthday of one of the greatest professional baseball players to ever come out of the city of Niagara Falls, NY.  Sal “The Barber” Maglie would have been 95 years old today.  When I heard about this, I was reminded of three things.  One; Sal Maglie is from Niagara Falls, NY, two; he was the losing pitcher in Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series, and three; Sal Maglie Stadium is named in his honor.  Other than that, I didn’t really know too much about his professional baseball career.  I never researched his career before, but I finally decided to look up his career accomplishments and I was surprised by how good of a career he had.  In doing this research, I decided that this is going to be a new segment that I am going to bring to this blog.  Every once in a while I will commit a blog post to a career of a local sports legend.  In honor of his birthday, I’ve decided that my inaugural local legend blog post will be committed to Sal Maglie.

Sal “the Barber” Maglie was born and raised in Niagara Falls, NY in 1917 and is a proud graduate of Niagara University.  His professional baseball career began in 1945 with the New York Giants, however he went to play in the Mexican league prior to the 1946 season and was subsequently banned by Commissioner Happy Chandler until 1949 for doing so.  He finally returned at the age of 33 to the Giants for the start of the 1950 season.  He would go on to win 11 consecutive starts for the Giants that year, finishing the season with an 18-4 mark and a 2.71 ERA.  He followed that up with a 23-6 campaign for the N.L Pennant winning Giants in 1951.  The 1951 season was the year that Bobby Thompson’s “Shot Heard Round the World” won the pennant for the Giants.   Sal Maglie was the ace of the pitching staff in that 1951 season.  He threw 22 complete games, had 298 total innings pitched, and even earned the win in the All-Star game.  The Giants would lose to the Yankees in the World Series that season.  He was able to play on several teams during his 10 year career which ended in 1958. He holds the distinction of being the last player to have played on all three New York City teams (New York Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers, and New York Yankees).  He also played with the Cleveland Indians and retired as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1958.

He was known as being a pitcher that would attack the hitter.  He became known as “The Barber” for always throwing high and tight on opposing hitters.  He once said, “When I’m pitching, I own the plate.”  Other career accomplishments include being a member of the 1954 World Series champion New York Giants, a series they swept from the Cleveland Indians 4-0.  This series is best known for Willy Mays and “The Catch”.  This was also the last World Series won by the Giants organization until 2010.  He pitched Game 1 of that series, going 7 innings, giving up 7 hits, 2 runs (both earned), 2 walks, and had 2 strike outs.  The Giants won the game in 10 innings 5-2.  He was a 2 time National League (N.L) All-Star, was the 1950 N.L ERA champion, and tied with Larry Jansen for the most wins in the N.L for starting pitchers in 1951 with 23.  During his career, Sal compiled a 119-62 record, had 862 strike outs, and a career ERA of 3.15.  In 1956, after an injury plagued 1955 season with the Cleveland Indians due to back problems, he went 13-5 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.  He had a 2.89 ERA that year, threw a no-hitter on September 25^th, and finished 2^nd to Don Newcombe in both the National League CY Young and MVP vote.  This was also the year that he opposed Don Larsen in Larsen’s perfect game in the World Series.  He retired as a player after the 1958 season and would go on to become pitching coach for both the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Pilots until he officially retired from the sport in 1969.

Sal would return to Niagara Falls, NY once his career ended.  In 1983, Hyde Park Stadium in Niagara Falls, NY was officially changed to Sal Maglie Stadium in honor of the local sports legend.  However In 1987, he suffered a stroke which caused him to live at the Niagara Falls Memorial Nursing Home for the final five years of his life.  On December 28, 1992, at the age of 75, Sal Maglie passed away of complications from pneumonia.

Troubles in Boston

Things went from bad to worse in Boston over the weekend.  They currently have a 4-10 record and are last in the A.L East.  They blew a 9-0 lead over the Yankees on Saturday as the Yankees stormed back against the terrible Red Sox bullpen to win 15-9.  Bobby V has got to be the most hated man in Boston right now.  However it’s not even really his fault, but in Boston somebody has to get the blame, and Red Sox fans apparently do not want to blame the players at all.  Short of a World Series this year, Red Sox fans will not want Bobby V back next year.  The way things are going now, the fans won’t even want him around by Memorial Day.  After a 7-20 finish in September last year, and a 4-10 start this year, the Red Sox are 11-30 in their last 41 games.  This is a team with a $173 million payroll!  The Astros and Pirates rarely, if ever put up that kind of stretch.

Outside of Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz, what player in their lineup scares you as an opposing player?  Yes Ellsbury, Carl Crawford, and Kevin Youkilis are hurt, but does anybody even know what your going to get out of Crawford when he returns?  Will Youkilis ever return to the player he was a couple years ago?  Don’t even get me started on this team’s starting rotation.  For a team that spends the amount of money they spend, to have a rotation and bullpen that this team has is embarrassing.  Jon Lester is a #2 starter at best, Beckett is inconsistent, and Bucholtz is a decent #3 or #4 starter on a good team.  Alfredo Aceves is the team’s closer.  Really?  I’m sure his 24.00 ERA is all Bobby V’s fault.  How is that Mark Melancon trade looking right now?  I know Andrew Bailey is hurt, but guess what Red Sox fans, he’s ALWAYS hurt.  That’s why Oakland traded him in the first place.  Get used to it. 

In my opinion don’t blame Bobby V for all the issues in Boston, blame upper management and the players (mainly the pitchers).  It’s time for this team to start making some significant trades.  The group they have here now just isn’t working.  This team hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2009, and even then got swept by the Angels in the first round.  Their last playoff victory was in 2008.  For a team that has spent on average $152 million a year in that timeframe is embarrassing.  While Bobby V will get all the blame, my finger is pointing at the guy currently trying to turn around the Chicago Cubs and the current players on the field. 

This team is not as bad as they are currently playing, however, at best, I don’t see them finishing above 4^th place in the East this year.  One of the only good things I can say about this team is that at least their defense has only committed 4 errors all season, which is tied with the Yankees for the least in baseball. For a team that has spent $172 million on payroll this year, I would think that is unacceptable.

On the Diamond…

·         Great series coming up in Texas this week.  Both the Yankees and Rays come to Texas to battle with the best team in baseball.  A solid matchup tonight with CC facing Derek Holland.  Texas just dominated Detroit winning 3 of 4 in Detroit.  To say Josh Hamilton is on fire would be an understatement.  The only problem with this team is health.  Adrian Beltre will miss some time this week with a hurt hamstring.  It’s always just a matter of time before Hamilton and Nelson Cruz get hurt as well.  If healthy, this team might win somewhere in the neighborhood of 110 games this year.

·         Congrats goes out to Phil Humber on his perfect game on Saturday against the Mariners.  That last strike call will be one that is debated for a long time by Seattle fans.  Not a bad outing for a guy who was skipped in his previous start in order to keep the other pitchers in the rotation on track to start every fifth day.  With this performance, he is now the 7^th former NY Mets pitcher to have thrown a no hitter or perfect game (Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Mike Scott, Dwight Gooden, David Cone, Hideo Nomo, and now Humber).  The Mets have yet to have a no-hitter or perfect game thrown in their history.

·         I forgot to give credit to Curtis Granderson for his 5-5 day, which included 3 home runs last week.  When a player does that, he should get some love in this blog.

·         There are significant problems in Philadelphia.  The offense is terrible.  Hunter Pence is supposed to be the big run producer for this team in Ryan Howard and Chase Utley’s absence and he only has 7 RBI’s, which is actually the most on the team.  If this offense can’t get going sometime soon, they may not be playing October baseball this year.  With Cliff Lee on the DL now, they are going to need the offense to step it up. Hopefully the Cliff Lee injury is not significant.  Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels can only do so much. 

·         I am not going to say that Bartolo Colon is going to continue pitching at the rate that he is pitching now.  I am sure that he will have some struggles this season.  However I do not think that he will struggle the same way he did in the 2^nd half of last season.  Last year, he threw about 70 innings of winter ball to get ready for the season.  This year, he did not pitch in winter ball.  Hopefully, by not pitching he has saved his arm in order to make it through the entire season this year.

·         Congrats goes out to Ivan Rodriguez who is going to call it a career and retire.  In my opinion, Pudge is the best defensive catcher of my lifetime.  Not sure where he might stack up all time, but this guy had a 46% rate of throwing out base runners for his entire 21 year career.  Now a days, if a catcher comes anywhere close to 40% for a single season it is considered a solid year.  Pudge was amazing, and his intensity and ability to command the game from behind home plate should get this guy in the hall of fame.

·         I’m excited for Wednesday night’s Oakland/Chicago game.  Oakland is calling up prospect Jarrod Parker to make his first start of the season.  This guy was the center piece of the Trevor Cahill deal this winter and will hopefully become the front line starter this team is looking for.

On the Gridiron…

·         I’m sorry, but consider me someone who is not excited for the NFL draft.  I totally respect all of the scouting that goes into it, the amount of man hours it takes to make sure each team selects the right guy, and the potential impact that the correct picks can make.   I think I blame ESPN for my current view on the draft.  There has been way too much media coverage of this draft, too many draft specials, and too many hours of television with Mel Kiper and Todd McShay in it.  

On the Court…

·         Glad to see Metta World Peace go “Ron Artest” style yesterday and throw the most blatant elbow I have seen since the last NHL playoff game I watched (which was Saturday).  Metta deserves to get suspended for longer than the last game of the regular season.  My guess is that he will get a 3 game suspension, which would cause him to miss the first 2 games of the playoffs.

On the Homefront…

·         The next time someone hears me talking about changing the shutters on my house, please remind me about how much “fun” I am having now.  Seriously, this is one job that is taking me a lot longer than I thought it would.

·         Tough loss for Rashad Evans on Saturday night.  Jon Jones deserved to win.  He dominated the fight for the most part.  I was a little disappointed with the lack of action in the fight though.  Both fighters were defensive and were scared to make a mistake.  The build up to the fight was great though.  Also, it had to be a great night for all local bars and restaurants.  I know where I was, the place was packed all night, with people ordering food and drinks in the waiting area because nobody was leaving their tables in anticipation for the fight.  Luckily I had a table.  How cool was it that a guy from Rochester, NY fought a guy from Niagara Falls, NY in one of the most anticipated UFC fights in a long time?  That has to be great for this area.

That’s all I have for now.  Until next time...

NBA Talk

It’s time to give the NBA some love here.  Were in the final week of the regular season and the final playoff push has a couple compelling story lines. 

In the East:

·       Does any team really have a shot outside of Chicago and Miami?  I don’t think so.  With the physical way these two teams played each other last night, I am starting to get excited for what we might see in the Eastern Conference Finals.  I only hope Derrick Rose will be healthy for it. 

·       Tough break for the Orlando Magic.  The most dominant player in the game, Dwight Howard, needs back surgery to repair a herniated disc and will miss the rest of the season and the Summer Olympics.  This team has been struggling of late and without Dwight, their playoff run might only last 4 or 5 games.  The only good thing is that this team looks like they have the #6 seed in the East, and will avoid the Heat/Bulls in the 1^st round.  Any chance the Magic wish they traded Dwight earlier this year?  If there is one thing I know, its that once you have back surgery, your never the same.  For a team that doesn’t have much talent on it other than Dwight, a significant injury to him will hurt this team’s chances not only this year, but next year as well.  Tough loss for the Magic.  Hopefully he can come back next year healthy, but a bad back is something no player wants to deal with.

·       The Knicks have the 7^th seed pretty much locked up. I think they would have a great shot at winning their 1^st round match if they get the 6 seed, but with 4 games left and 3 games back of Orlando, a 1^st round matchup with the Bulls or Heat looks like a formality.  It should be an exciting series either way, but I don’t think the Knicks have enough to win against either of those teams.

In the West:

·       This conference is the more entertaining one.  There are 3 or 4 teams that could come out of the West.  OKC, San Antonio, Lakers, and even the Clippers have a shot.

·       Has any team in the history of the NBA been as good as San Antonio and have the least amount of media attention?  Its unbelievable to me that nobody is talking about this team.  They currently sit at #1 in the West, and have arguably the MVP in the league in Tony Parker.  They do not play with any flash or style.   They have arguable the best coach in the league in Gregg Popovich, have a first ballot hall of famer in Tim Duncan who is still quietly having a solid season, and like I said before, have Tony Parker playing arguably his best basketball of his career.   Look out for this team.

·       A lot of pressure will be on Oklahoma City.  This team has been the up and coming team for a couple years now and a lot is riding on this team in this playoff run.  A playoff loss and some major changes could happen this offseason.  Russell Westbrook will probably be sent out and I’m sure questions will begin to be asked about the coach, Scott Brooks.

·       The Lakers will go as far as Kobe Bryant can take them.  Say what you want about Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, who have both been great, but when the game gets tight, the ball will be with Kobe.  He’s delivered many times in the past.  Will he be able to carry them again?

·       I hope Lamar Odom never gets another job in the NBA again.  He should be embarrassed for what he did this year.  I’m glad Dallas waived him.  His name has also been removed from the 20 player list for players being considered for the U.S Olympic team.   Good.  I don’t want this guy representing my country.  I would rather take guys with “questionable” character than this guy.

On the Diamond…

·       Great series win for Oakland this week over the Angels.  I didn’t think the A’s would win 3 games against the Angels all season, let alone the first series of the year.  Big three wins over Dan Haren, Ervin Santana, and CJ Wilson.  Last night’s win was a gift though.  Only 3 hits and the A’s scored 4 runs.  I still think the Angels will be fine.  A couple bad errors and a few walks from their pitchers cost them last night.  Albert Pujols has struggled, however last night he ripped three doubles.  All his swings looked good.  This guy will break out big time this weekend.  You can mark that one down right now.   Don’t look now, but the A’s are 7-7!  One of the only good things I can say about this team is that at least their starting pitching has been great.  Bartolo Colon pitched on Wednesday night and threw 38 consecutive strikes!  That’s unbelievable!  I don’t think a pitching machine can even do that.  What a great bargain for Billy Beane and the A’s signing Bartolo to a $2 million contract.  He is 3-1 on the season and looks better and better with every start.  The A’s starting pitchers have only given up 14 walks on the season, the best in baseball. 

·       I saw on Twitter the other day that Yoenis Cespedes is not on the list for potential home run derby contestents.  Very disappointing.  AL Candidates are Jose Bautista, Miguel Cabrera, Robby Cano, Prince Fielder, Josh Hamilton, Paul Konerko, Evan Longoria, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, and Mark Reynolds.  This is a great list, I just wish Yoenis was on it so America can see how much this guy can pound the ball. 

·       This is a great weekend for baseball.  We have Yankees/Red Sox starting up today in Boston.  It’s the celebration of 100 years of Fenway Park today as well.  This series is always entertaining.  I can’t wait to see the Paul Talarico tweets (@Talareeks) during a Yankees/Red Sox series. 

·       Another great series, one that I think is better than Yankees/Red Sox is the Tigers/Rangers in Detroit.  Both teams have been awesome so far this year.  The Rangers and Yu Darvish earned the win last night in Game 1.  The Rangers look like the best team in baseball right now and the Tigers are right there with them.  Saturday’s game between Verlander and Neftali Feliz looks like the best pitching matchup in this series.

·       One more shout out to Cliff Lee and Matt Cain for the pitching performance they put on Wednesday night.  An 11 inning game played in about two and a half hours, which ended with the Giants winning 1-0.  Cliff Lee went 10 scoreless innings and Matt Cain looked dominant as well, going 9 shutout innings.  Sometimes the East coast has to stay awake in order to watch some good baseball.  Between this game and Bartolo “the Pitching Maching” Colon throwing 38 consecutive strikes, Wednesday night was a great night for some quality baseball.

On the Homefront…

·       I’m really looking forward to Saturday night.  UFC 145.  Jones vs Evans.  I am obviously rooting for the hometown boy Rashad Evans, but this fight is going to be a tough one.  These two guys hate each other.  It should be a great fight.  Can’t wait.

·       I haven’t read it yet, but I did buy it and I have heard many good things about it so I am going to promote it now.  I’m looking forward to reading Tim Brown’s new book, “Imperfect”, the remarkable journey of Jim Abbott and his unbelievable professional baseball career.  It should be a great read.

·       I said on here a couple weeks ago that I needed a lot of help in the fantasy playoffs of DSC NBA.  Thank you Kevin Love for receiving that message.  From an 0-5 start, to a 3^rd place finish for my squad.  Further proof that all you need to do is get in the playoffs.  Once your in, you never know what might happen.  Also, as I thought, The Guru took home the championship.  Congrats Dave Zona on your back-to-back championships.

That’s all I have for now.  Until next time…

NHL Playoffs

I know that this week is tax deadline week, but has anybody been as busy at his/her job then Brendan Shanahan has over the past week?  I do not remember a year in which the NHL playoffs have had as many fights and dirty hits as the start of this year’s.  Shanahan has already issued 7 suspensions and other various fines to players for dirty hits.  That number is expected to climb thanks to Raffi Torres cheap shot last night on Marian Hossa, which sent Hossa to the hospital.   Shanahan had to issue a total of 7 suspensions for ALL of last year’s playoffs.  The funny thing is, Shanahan hasn’t done nearly enough this year.   The suspensions given out are not as long as they should and the fines are nowhere near the amount where they should be.  It’s time for him to FINALLY put his foot down and do something, and it should start with Raffi Torres.  Get rid of this guy for the rest of this year’s playoffs and even have the suspension carry over into next year.  He’s a dirty player and a repeat offender.  Pretty much every series has had its fair share of controversy which has resulted in some sort of discipline from the NHL.  In case the NHL hasn’t noticed, concussions are a hot topic in sports nowadays.   Every NHL team had player’s miss time this year with concussions.  The game’s best player, Sidney Crosby, missed significant time due to concussion symptoms.  How Shanahan and Commissioner Gary Bettman can watch what is going on within this game and then only hand out 1, 2, 3 or even 4 game suspensions and act like it is a fair enough suspension is a joke.  How he can watch the blatant head shot Shea Weber put on Henrik Zetterberg and only give a $2,500 fine is a joke.   I love watching playoff hockey.  The intensity of playoff hockey is the best out of all major sports in America.  It’s a shame that this year’s playoffs is being turned into a side show with all of the cheap hits.

All the media coverage I have heard about the NHL playoffs this year has been the head shots, the fights, and the injuries sustained from dirty hits during the games.  I have no idea who is actually winning all the series.  Nobody is talking about that.  Nobody is talking about the actual outcome of the games.  If the NHL wants to actually matter in America again, it’s time to get the thugs that cause the negative headlines out of the game. 

On the Diamond…

·    It only took Bobby V 10 games to get the Red Sox organization and fan base riled up over something he said to the media.  He has openly questioned Kevin Youkilis work ethic and commitment to the team after a slow start by Youkilis.  Dustin Pedroia, the new leader of this team, has come out and supported his teammate.  Bobby V has since apologized, which says a lot actually, but the damage has already been done.  Youkilis didn’t do himself any favors last night, going 0-4 with 4 strike outs.  I’m not sure if it is ever a good idea to publicly call out a player’s work ethic, it definitely isn’t when you are the Boston Red Sox and your in last place in your division.  I don’t think the Red Sox are as bad as their record indicates though.  They have played the Tigers, Blue Jays, Rays, and Rangers.  They next take on the Yankees this weekend.  That’s a tough schedule for any team to go through.  After the Yankees, they have the easier teams such as the A’s, Royals, Mariners, and Twins.  Before I bury this team, let’s see where they stand once they start playing some of the easier teams.   

·    Congrats to 49 year old Jaime Moyer, for becoming the oldest pitcher to ever win a game yesterday.  He went 7 strong innings giving up only 6 hits, 2 walks, and 0 earned runs.   According to MLB Tonight, no pitch reached higher than 79mph during the entire game.  Moyer now has 268 career wins, tying him with Jim Palmer for 34^th on the all-time list.  Does he have enough left in his arm to get to 300 wins?

·    A rough start for Johan Santana yesterday.  He didn’t get out of the second inning, and gave up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 4 earned runs.  Ouch. 

·    How sick is the Washington Nationals starting pitching?  All 5 starters have ERA’s less than 3.00.  Seeing Strasburg, Zimmerman, Gonzalez, and Edwin Jackson out there every day has me thinking this team might forget about a wild card berth and go right for the division crown.  I’m very impressed.  Could this be the best top to bottom starting rotation in all of baseball?

·    Ozzie Guillen returned from his 5 game suspension last night for a home game against the Chicago Cubs.  According to MLB Network Radio, there were no fan protests before or during the game.  Attendance was around 24,500, which was down a little bit from the approximately 30,000 that were at all 3 games over this past weekend.  Not sure if the drop was due to Ozzie, or due to the fact that it was a Tuesday night game as opposed to weekend games.  For now, it seems like the fans of Miami have forgiven Ozzie. 

·    Justin Verlander is a beast.  Its only April, but he just threw a 131 pitch complete game in which his last pitch hit 100 mph.  He was finally able to get his first win of the year, but what is Jim Leyland doing having his ace out there in mid-April throwing 130+ pitches?  I love the concept of having a starter finish what he started, but in mid-April? Against the Royals?  This team is expected to be playing into late October, for Tigers fans sake, let’s hope Verlander doesn’t waste all his 100 mph bullets during the regular season.

On the Gridiron…

·    The NFL schedule has been released.  Bills fans better get out the winter jackets for this season as 4 of the final 5 regular season games are at home.  The Bills also get a Thursday night home game against the Dolphins.  I love all the additional Thursday night games this year.  Now that I have Direct TV, I can actually watch them. 

·    There is no doubt that the ratings for the Sunday night game between the Broncos and Saints will have higher ratings than the 4^th game of the World Series which will be played that same night.  MLB has to be pissed about this.  This will be the first time that the NFL has scheduled a game for a Sunday night during the World Series.  This night will be another example of why the NFL is the only sport that America really cares about.  I know I’ll be watching the World Series, but for the millions out there that will be betting the NFL game, the World Series will be an afterthought.

·    I saw today that Antonio Cromartie is expecting his 11^th and 12^th kids as he and his wife are expecting twins.  With the 2 new additions, the scoreboard reads – 4 kids with his current wife, and 8 other kids with 7 different women.  Love it.

 On the Homefront…

·    Congrats to all you public accountants for making it through another busy season.  I hope you all partied hard yesterday.  Now it’s time to concentrate on the next season…..softball season!  CTBK has a new leader this year in Zack Wagner, but the returning team should be able to compete for another championship.  Always good times at Canisius College.

That’s all I have today.  Until next time….

Crazy First Week of Baseball

As expected, this has been a crazy first week of the baseball regular season.  Lots of good and some bad headlines as we move into week #2:

 On the Diamond…

·         The biggest story of the off-season, Ryan Braun, has for now quieted his PED critics.  He started out 0-5 on opening day, however he is 6 for his last 11, with 3 doubles, one home run, and 2 walks since.  Let’s see what happens when he goes on the road. 

·         Yoenis Cespedes has come out of the gate crushing the ball.  He has 3 home runs and 7 RBI’s through Oakland’s first 5 games.  He still strikes out a ton, but this is his first time through the league, so that is to be expected.  He has become must watch TV for me.  He has hit 2 moon shots during night games in Oakland.  This is not a hitter’s park to begin with, especially during cold night games, and to see where his home runs are landing are very impressive.  If MLB were smart, they would invite him right now to the home run derby this year.  I have watched every A’s game that was actually on live TV, and this guy is something special.  He has an absolute cannon for an arm in center field and he is really fast.  I can easily see 20 HR – 20 SB potential this season, maybe even more.    He did misplay one fly ball in CF, however this is his first time playing in a multi-tiered stadium.  He’s not used to the backdrop view you get from CF in stadiums of this size and he lost the ball in the backdrop.  Once this guy gets settled in, Billy Beane is going to look like a genius from this signing.  My early comparison of Cespedes to another player is Nelson Cruz.  They look alike, have similar swings, and have so far produced similar types of results.  I’ll take that type of production out of Cespedes, especially if he can stay healthy, which Cruz can’t seem to do yet.

·         The Yankees, Giants, Braves and Red Sox started off 0-3, however all but the Braves earned wins yesterday.  Which team should be more concerned?  With the way the Red Sox bullpen has looked, it has to be the Red Sox.  One of the few bright spots for the Sox so far is Ryan Sweeney.  This guy was always a good player in Oakland, the only issue was his health.  He was always injured.  Now healthy, and hitting in a friendly lineup where he does not have much pressure on him, I can easily see him putting up a solid season if he stays healthy.  Probably in the .280 - .290 batting average range.  He is also a fantastic defensive outfielder.  This guy was a web gem a night centerfielder in Oakland.  I can see Red Sox fans falling in love with him.  I wouldn’t worry too much about the Yankees, Braves or Giants.  How many more saves will Mo blow this year?  Over/under is 5. 

·         How about those Mets! A 4-0 start and Frank Francisco looks like the pickup of the year.  I still think this team finishes in last place, but some good signs are that Jonathan Niese looks like a legit #2 starter and David Wright and Lucas Duda have started out the season swinging a hot bat.

·         Barry Zito apparently forgot that it’s 2012 and not 2003.  A complete game shutout by ZIto finally gave the Giants their first win of the season yesterday.  This guy has changed his delivery so many times since he went to the Giants that I think it’s all mental with him right now, but at least he gave this team one complete game shutout over the life of one of the worst contracts ever given to a MLB player.

·         A rough start to the season for 49 year old Jamie Moyer.  He gave up 2 HR’s and his defense committed 3 errors behind him in a loss to the Astros.  He allowed 3 earned runs, 5 hits, 1 walk, and had 2 strike outs in 5 innings of work.  Not terrible, but hopefully some improvements are in his future.

·         It has been a very bad start for bullpens so far.  There have been tons of blown saves by pretty much every team other than the Mets.  Sergio Santos and Alfredo Aceves have been the main culprits, but Mariano, Carlos Marmol, Chris Perez, Jose Valverde, and Heath Bell have all blown saves.  It’s still early, but Sergio Santos appears to be the first closer who might lose his job, considering Francisco Cordero is the setup guy in Toronto and Santos is already getting booed off the field. 

·         I watched Yu Darvish’s first start last night against the Mariners.  He had a terrible 1^st inning, throwing 42 pitches and giving up 4 runs.  He was one more hit away from being taken out of the game in the 1^st, but he calmed down and lasted 5 2/3 innings, earning the win thanks in large part to having the best offense in baseball.  This entire team can pound the ball.  Best top to bottom lineup in the game.  Not one easy out in it.  I know Darvish was very nervous about it being his first start, but he really seemed to struggle, particularly against lefties in the Mariners lineup and he was very wild. I’m sure he will get better, but I have said all along that the Rangers would have been better off saving the $115 million they spent on him (contract + negotiating rights) and signed CJ Wilson.   Just wait until the temperature starts hitting 95+ degrees in the summer.  I don’t think Yu has ever pitched in those kinds of conditions before. 

·         Ubaldo Jimenez just made a joke out of the suspensions that are given out to pitchers.  MLB gave him a 5 game suspension for beaming Troy Tulowitzki in spring training.  He appealed it, which allowed him to pitch in the 2^nd game of the season.  He then dropped his appeal after the game, and will sit the next 5 games.  All that means is that he will be pushed back in the rotation one day.  Wow.  Big punishment right there.  MLB needs to start coming down harder on starting pitchers when it comes to suspensions.  They only pitch every 5^th day.  Anything less than a 5 game suspension and the player misses zero playing time.  Suspensions should be a minimum of 10 games for starters.  This will force them to miss 2 times through the rotation.

Ozzie Guillen

·         The Miami Marlins have suspended Ozzie Guillen for 5 games for his remarks he made to Time magazine in which he said he loves Fidel Castro and that he respects him for staying in power for so long.  Probably not the best thing to say when you are the manager of a team that plays in Miami, Fl.  This isn’t the first time Guillen has said something unpopular about controversial world leaders.  In October 2005, he twice appeared on a radio show hosted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and said “Not too many people like the president.  I do.”  The White Sox didn’t do anything to Guillen then, however the Marlins took action this time.  Many people think he should be fired.  I don’t, at least not yet.  Yes the comments were stupid.  I don’t know why Guillen said them.  However, this is what you get when you hire a guy like Guillen.  This is why I would never hire him in the first place.  If the fans really do stop coming now, and the demonstrations become larger and larger, then yes, the Marlins HAVE TO fire him.  They do have a brand new ball park, however this is a team that usually only had 10,000 – 12,000 fans a night in prior years.  How will we know if the fans stop showing up due to Ozzie still being employed when they never showed up to games in the past?   We’ll find out on Friday April 13^th, the Marlins next home game.

The suspension of only 5 games is a little light as well.  I was thinking maybe 20-25 games.  Unfortunately in sports, winning usually overshadows all.  If this team wins when Ozzie comes back, these comments will be forgotten about.  If they begin to lose, the fire Ozzie chants will become louder and louder.

 To compare Ozzie’s comments to recent memory, I can’t stop thinking about Rashard Mendenhall and his tweets the night Osama Bin Laden was killed.  To me, these are very much alike.  This is a guy that said “It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side…”  He also went on to question whether or not something other than an airplane was used to take down the World Trade Center buildings.  Nothing was said in the media about suspending this guy or Pittsburgh releasing him.  All he did was say, hey America, this Bin Laden guy might be a nice guy.  We don’t know him.  Don’t hate on him, even though he has killed thousands of people around the world and was the mastermind behind the most horrific event in this nation’s history.  Not to mention the fact that one of the airplanes crashed on 9/11 within only approximately 100 miles of the city of Pittsburgh.   Where was all the public outrage when he said this?  All everyone cared about after these comments were where he might be drafted on their fantasy football draft boards.   Unbelievable.  To me, these comments are far worse than what Guillen said.

 Some media reports tried comparing this to Marge Schott.  It’s a very good comparison as well.  However the only difference here is that Marge Schott was an owner and Bud Selig was her immediate boss.  Bud suspended her for a year and pretty much forced her to sell the team after that.  The Ozzie Guillen story is different in that he is a manager, who works for his owner.  I don’t want Bud Selig forcing the Marlins hand here and making them fire Ozzie.  Let the teams decide the discipline.  Good job by Bud letting the Marlins decide what to do here.

On the Links…

·         Another great week for the Masters and for golf in general.  Congrats to @bubbawatson for his first ever major victory with a very emotional win, after two sudden death playoff holes, defeating Louis Oosthuizen.  Bubba’s second shot on the 2^nd playoff hole will go down as one of the greatest shots of all time.  I still can’t believe he hit that kind of shot from where he was and was able to get the ball within 10 feet of the hole.  All this from a guy who has never had a swing coach and has not had a lesson since he was 10 years old.  Unbelievable.  It was also nice to see an American take home a major championship.  It had me rooting a little bit extra considering it was an American versus a South African, and the fact that Bubba’s father passed away in 2010 and two weeks ago he and his wife adopted a baby boy.  How cool was it to see a couple young American golfers on the 10^th green congratulating him when he won the title?  I don’t think I have ever seen anything like that before.  All in all, Easter Sunday was another great day for golf.

On the Ice…

·         A sad ending to the 2011-2012 Buffalo Sabres season.  After the victory over Washington last week, many Sabres fans were planning their playoff schedule, I know I was.  Now, all we can do is plan for the draft.  The injuries to Myers and Ehrhoff definitely hurt in the last couple games. News broke last week that even if the Sabres made the playoffs, Myers would have missed at least the 1^st round with a hairline fracture in his foot.  I don’t want to blame them missing the playoffs on injuries, but it’s hard not to when you look at how good they played when healthy.  It’s no coincidence that the Rangers won the Eastern conference and they also had the least amount of games missed by their top 9 forwards and top 6 defensemen in the league.  Injuries matter in sports.  The Sabres had lots of them to key players.

Where do they go from here?  Only the locker room knows what kind of message Lindy Ruff still delivers to this team.  I’m willing to trust Pegula and his team in what to do with Lindy.  If they have to fire him, do it now.  Don’t wait.  If Lindy has lost all control over the key players in the locker room, then bring in another coach.  If all the negative talk about Ruff is coming from Derek Roy, then get Roy on the first bus out of town.  His comments yesterday, complaining that Lindy calls out his players in the media too much sounds like Roy sees the writing on the wall this off-season for either him or Lindy.  For the first time, I also wouldn’t be against trading Vanek and a draft pick, only IF he brings back a stud offensive player.   I also would even listen to trading Ryan Miller.  I’m one of Miller’s biggest fans, but if he is also a problem in the locker room, then let’s see what we can get for him.  His trade value has to be very high the way he ended the season.   

I don’t think a total wrecking ball is needed with this team.  Just a few more minor tweaks are necessary in order to reach the ultimate goal of a Stanley Cup.  For the first time, I am actually trusting Darcy this off-season to make the right moves.  Ever since Terry took over, Darcy has arguably won the two biggest days for General Managers.  I think Darcy won the July 1^st free agent frenzy last year with Ehrhoff and Regehr.  Yes, Ville Leino was also in there, but I expect a big season next year from Leino.  I also think Darcy won this year’s trade deadline, getting a 1^st rounder for Gaustad and trading for Hodgson AND everyone’s new favorite d-man Alexander Sulzer.  With 4 picks in the first two rounds, and the potential willingness to trade several attractive players, I see the Sabres generating some more excitement in the near future.

On the Homefront…

·         I was disappointed to hear that one of the more competitive teams in my Monday night softball league will be dropping out this year.  Hopefully Mike Colao can round up enough players and get his team back out there.  The league is a better league when there is a lot of competition and his team was one of the better ones in the league.

·         No update yet on construction of the “New Rez”.  We are in a wait and see mode.  It sounds like the week of May 14^th is the target week to start the season.  Hopefully we don’t fall too far behind.

·         I played my earliest round of golf in Western NY ever last week by getting in 9 holes at Hickory Stick Golf Course on Wednesday April 4^th.  The greens are in great shape, but the fairways and rough are still in need of minor repair.  It was also easily the coldest I have ever been on a golf course.  I need it to be a minimum of 60 degrees to be out there.  We were right around the 50 degree mark when we teed off and it dropped from there by the time we got to the end. 

·         A tough loss for my team in the semi-finals in the DSC Fantasy NBA league.  A finals showdown between the College Avenue Bigshots and the most hated team in the league, The Guru.  If it weren’t for the injuries, the Bigshots have this league locked up, but I have a feeling The Guru is going to pull this one out.  I get stuck playing the best team in the league, Saltine Warriors in the consolation game.  I have no shot to win unless Kevin Love and Kevin Durant take this week off.

That’s all I have for today.  Until next time…