On the Diamond...
- For the first time in more than 15 years, Mariano Rivera is not the Yankees closer. I think the Yankees will still be okay without Mo, but not having him is going to put some added pressure on an already average starting pitching staff to go deeper into games. I still think this team can make the playoffs, but in October is when the Yankees are going to miss Mo the most. The addition of Andy Pettitte to the rotation on Sunday is going to be huge for this team.
- Jered Weaver threw a no hitter against the Twins. It surprises me that when people talk about some of the best pitchers in the game that Weaver is sometimes not even mentioned. This guy is lights out, and if he did what he is currently doing in NY, Boston, or Philadelphia, the guy would no doubt be a top 5 starter in the league. Congrats to him on the no-no.
- Josh Hamilton had himself a pretty good series against the Orioles this week. He hit 6 home runs, which included 4 in one game, to raise his total to 15 for the season. He currently is hitting .395 and slugging an amazing .825. If he is able to stay healthy for the entire season, expect a triple crown watch. This guy is something special.
- The best series this weekend has to be the Angels vs Rangers series taking place in Texas. This is their first time playing each other this season, and the Angels, at 7 games back need to win this series. If they get swept and drop to 10 games out, close the book on the AL West. Tonight's game is by far the best matchup of the series, if not the entire season so far. It's Yu Darvish versus CJ Wilson. CJ Wilson, making his return to Texas, is pretty much only a member of the Angels because Texas preferred Darvish this off-season, and had to spend approximately $35 million more for Darvish than what the Angels signed Wilson for. Once Wilson signed with the Angels, Mike Napoli said that he couldn't wait to take Wilson deep this season. In response, CJ Wilson tweeted Mike Napoli's phone number to his twitter followers (more than 100,000). Napoli was obviously not happy about it and they exchanged words in the media over it. All the off-season happenings has created a pretty good rivalry between the two teams. I'm pretty excited to see the response the Rangers crowd gives CJ tonight and to see how the Mike Napoli at-bats turn out.
- Don't look now, but some of the surprise teams of the early season, Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets are not going away. The Orioles had a rough week versus the Rangers, but they are still 20-12 and tied for the AL East lead. The Mets swept the Phillies this week and currently stand at 18-13 and are in 3rd place in the NL East. I didn't think the Mets would win their 18th game until June, so their start is very surprising.
- There are some rumors that the Blue Jays are calling the Phillies about Cole Hamels. Ruben Amaro, the Philles GM has already said that if the Phillies continue to struggle, they will become sellers at the trade deadline. The Phillies being sellers at the deadline will be a news story all by it self, but the package that the Phillies would get for Hamels would be huge. He is probably not returning to the Phillies next year, so it will be interesting to see if the Phillies do trade him. This is definitely a story worth following.
- The Red Sox, currently with the 4th worst record in all of baseball has some more controversy to deal with this week. Josh Beckett, after he was scratched from his start due to an injury was found golfing with Clay Bucholtz despite not being healthy enough to pitch. He could get away with something like this in Oakland, but in Boston, this has created a media fire storm. After the terrible start last night by Beckett in his return, and his comments afterward saying that he can do what he wants on his off days has only added fuel to the fire. It's about time that this team gets rid of Beckett. He has been terrible since September. Him and Bucholtz currently have the two worst ERA's in the American League by all starters who qualify. The Red Sox need to get rid of him, ASAP.
- Some entertaining series going on right now in the NBA. The Lakers/Nuggets series heads back to LA for game 7. The comments by Andrew Bynum about close out games in series being easy prior to game 5 has fired up the Nuggets. Game 6 last night was a blow out from the start. Somebody better put Pau Gasol's face on the side of a milk carton because he has been terrible this series. Metta World Peace returns from his suspension for game 7. It will be interesting to see if they throw him back out there after being away for the past 2-3 weeks. My guess, Kobe doesn't let this team lose a game 7 at home.
- I love the Kevin Garnett comments last night after the Celtics eliminated the Hawks. He thanked the Hawks owner for giving him some added motivation after the owner said KG was old and the dirtiest player in the NBA. KG responded by having his best game of the series. I'm hoping to see a Celtics/Heat eastern finals. It might remind us all of the Knicks, Pistons, Bulls, and Sixers defensive battles from the early 1990's. Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman will love to watch that kind of series.
- Are the Knicks going to try and trade Carmelo this off-season? I don't think they are, but they should. Like I said before, no team will ever win a championship with this guy on it.
- I hate that some of the best playoff games so far have taken place at 12:30 at night on the east coast. The Lakers/Nuggets, Clips/Grizzlies, and Thunder/Mavs games were all entertaining and most of the games that came down to the final minute were games that ended at 1:00AM.
- This is an exciting time of year for softball players in WNY. The start of the regular season is right around the corner. The reconstructed Reservoir Park is ready to go and the Tuesday night league is starting up this coming Tuesday. I can't wait to get out there and play on the new diamonds. The only question is, how many games will Donnie Joyce allow everyone to play under the newly installed lights?
- "I'll Have Another" won the Kentucky Derby and became the first horse to ever win coming from the #19 pole position. Too bad I didn't follow the advice of Nick Martino and Steve Penale and bet this horse to win. Can he be a triple crown winner though? The next leg in the triple crown is May 19th at the Preakness.
No comments:
Post a Comment