Monday, May 28, 2012

SIX MEETS FIVE

## Tonight, the Angels, on a six-game winning streak, host the Yankees, who have their own five-game winning streak. The Angels will start Jered Weaver, who is having a Cy Young type year, against Phil Hughes, who is not.  Actually, Hughes has pitched very well recently, but Weaver has been outstanding all year.

## Kuroda pitched his best game of the year yesterday, completing a sweep of the A's. Mark Teixeira continued his hot hitting and the Yanks rode a monster shot by Andru Jones to a 2-0 victory. New York has looked helpless all year but seems to finally put it all together. They'll need it against the Angels.

## The National League East is completely upside down. Last year at this time, the standings read, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta, New York and Washington, in that order. Today, it's Washington, New York, Miami and Philadelphia. In addition, Baltimore leads the AL East and Cleveland is atop the AL Central. What is happening?

## What did he say? Derek Jeter discussed the Yanks current winning streak in an interview with YES network yesterday: "When things are going poorly it's usually not as bad as it looks. When things are going good, you're always that good."  You figure it out.
Mark Teixeira was no different. "I'd rather hit 39 home runs than 20 or 15. I would rather drive in 111 runs that 80, so I'm going to be more aggressive." I would say the speech writer position for the Yankees is available.

## The Red Sox failed again to rise above .500, losing to the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3, on a ninth inning two-run homer by Sean Rodriquez. The Rays were actually dancing in the clubhouse after the game and Joe Maddon commented, "We're a lot of fun when we win." Most teams are, Joe. Bobby Valentine was an enigma, as usual. After Alfedo Aceves blew another save, Bobby had this to say,"His control has been pinpoint, those pitches were just a little off." 10 walks in 22 innings is not exactly 'pinpoint,' Valentine.

## Somebody's not paying attention. DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, has instituted a lawsuit against the NFL, charging the owners with collusion in 2010 by establishing a secret salary cap against the players. It sounds like he's in there protecting the players, doesn't it? However, the agreement he signed with the owners last year, specifically prohibits the Players Association from suing the NFL for anything that occurred previously to the new agreement. I wonder if Commissioner Roger Goodell has been able to stop laughing yet.

## I've been 'forced' to listen to part of the Yankee games on YES Radio lately. Never again. John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman go on and on about everything but the game in front of them. They discuss why they think teams are doing well or playing badly, why Teixeira is slumping, what players are slumping and why, and even to discussing the quality of Waldman's home-made chicken soup. One Yankee batter made an out before Sterling even told us who was up. I tuned in in the middle of the game and I had to wait till the end of the half-inning to find out the score. Even Phil Rizzuto wasn't this bad. On the TV, there is a little box that tells us the score, the outs, the count and how many on base. With Sterling & Waldman, I don't even know who's playing.

***THEY SAID IT***
"From MLB: No decision on the A's, no decision on the future of the DH, no decision on Pete Rose. Bur Bud Sekig and his crew are about to make a momentous decision on banning the move where the pitcher bluffs a pickoff throw to third and wheels and bluffs to first."  -- Scott Ostler
"The Roger Clemens perjury trial is entering its fifth week, for those of you snoring at home."  --  Dwight Perry
"On the Clemens trial: "Jurors must weigh an untrustworthy witness' testimony against an incredibly unlikable defendant. Cannot confirm the foreman asked the judge if it was possible to convict both men" -- Greg Cote
"Phoenix Coyotes pretend homeless drifters at Greyhound bus station are fans welcoming team home."  -- Headline at TheOnion.com
"The Minnesota Twins, under the MLB draft's slotting guidelines, have been authorized to spend around $12 million on their top 10 picks. Calvin Griffith's coffin, we assume, just went into spin cycle."  -- Dwight Perry
"Memorial Day weekend generally is considered a sign of approaching summer. Another sign – we only have about another month left in the NBA playoffs."  -- Janice Hough
"Three women in today’s Indy 500 and not much hype or commotion. Of course, none of them do provocative television commercials."  -- Janice Hough

CP-

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