Sunday, September 30, 2012

FOUR TO GO

## It would not have upset anyone if, at the beginning of the season, we were told that the American League East would come down to the last four games, with two teams tied for the lead. If we were told the Yanks were one of those teams, everyone would nod and say, "Yeah, it figures."  But the next question would be, "Are they tied with Boston or Tampa? Or both?" If told it was actually Baltimore, we would wonder if the prognosticator had been dipping into the medical marijuana. Well, that's where we stand.

Baltimore is not playing like they were trying to stay with New York. They're playing like they're trying to shake off those pesky Yanks. They have one more game against the flailing Red Sox, who, according to scouts and writers, have been playing like they spend their time in the dugout, packing their bags for the off-season. The Yankees cannot count on Boston helping them out by beating the Orioles, however, they can count on the Sox going all out to beat the Yankees the last three games. That series constitutes the World Series as far as Boston is concerned. "If we can't make the post season, we can at least see that those hated Yankees don't make it either." If this Yankee team has any heart at all, this is the time to show it. The trouble is, they haven't shown it yet this year.

## A couple of comments on yesterday's game:
It's easy to blame the loss on some bad calls by the umpires. An out call at 2nd when Gardner was really safe. Ichiro gets picked off first when the pitcher clearly balked. It's interesting to note that Al Leiter in one of his incessant monologues, never picked that up. The replay clearly shows the pitcher's lead leg go BEHIND the rubber when he picked Ichiro off. The rules states that if the leg goes behind the rubber, the pitcher MUST throw to the plate.
One thing that does make a difference to the Yankees, is an umpire who has a huge strike zone. NY is the best in the league at working the count, and when obvious balls are called strikes, Yankee hitters are in for a bad day.

## One topic that always comes up at this time of the year, is what managers will be fired. Two of the more favorite choices of the writers are Ozzie Guillen of the Miami Marlins and Bobby Valentine of the Red Sox. Both of these managers state that they are positive that they will return as managers next year.
I have a suggestion: Trade the two of them for each other. The Red Sox players are already used to hating their manager, and, as we all know, Valentine looks good in sunglasses, which are a necessity in the Miami sun.

## I toyed with the idea of using the phrase, 'RUN, ROBBIE, RUN" as a headline for this posting. I am tired of Robinson Cano loafing down to first base when he hits an easy grounder or a lazy pop fly. Or when he poses for a couple of seconds when he hits a long drive. If it leaves the park, nobody notices. When it goes into the gap or hits the wall, Cano doesn't turn it on until he's halfway to 2nd, and even then he goes back into cruise control. Of course, we don't hear Michael Kay or any of his cohorts mention this (Actually, Ken Singleton has said something about it). Robinson, if you want to be revered and respected like Derek Jeter, watch the way he plays. Watch him give it all he's got running out a ground ball, even though he's playing on a bad leg.

## One of the NY Post writers mentioned the fact that a major impetus in the finalizing of the contract for the NFL officials, was the shift of so many millions of dollars in the betting operations of the Seattle-Green Bay game. He's right. You can talk all you want about preserving the 'integrity' of the game, or the obvious inability of the replacement officials, but, in reality, you don't want to upset those bookies.  They know that obvious blown calls can affect a game that they have handicapped perfectly and they sure don't want that. All they have to do, is start taking certain games off the line, and with no interest other than their bets on a game, the bettors will stop watching. No audience, no revenues, no NFL. As one writer put it. "The last thing you want to do, is let your audience get used to doing without you."

I'm glad to see Bob Ryan, retired columnist for the Boston Globe,  becoming a semi-regular on the various sports talk shows. The sports world needs his knowledge, his insight and his humor.

THEY SAID IT
"Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton, who was sidelined with dehydrated corneas, returned to the lineup for a crucial series with the A's. To Texas fans, he was a sight for sore eyes."  -- RJ Currie
"Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb's wife gave birth to their third child last week, an 8-pound, 11-ounce boy. To no one's surprise, replacement officials initially ruled it a girl."  -- Dwight Perry"
" Brandt Snedeker pocketed $11.44 million for winning the PGA Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup: "Heck, some Yankees have to work an entire season to make that much."  -- Len Berman
"In golf news, Brandt Snedeker got a $10 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup. He plans to use the money to ship a package FedEx."  -- Brad Dickson
" To save taxes, a New York strip club reportedly hopes to convince the IRS that lap dances are works of art. Good luck with that argument. It sure didn't work on my wife."  -- RJ Currie
"A Rhode Island homeowner might be in violation of local noise ordinances for teaching her pet cockatoo to curse. Apparently they've been watching a lot of Red Sox games."  -- Dwight Perry

" A rival team executive's take on the Dodgers: "They are a fortune 500 team. They spent a fortune to play .500."  -- Jon Heyman

"Thousands of Wisconsin students were in Lincoln for the game Saturday night.  It was a great day to be a Breathalyzer salesman in Nebraska."  -- Brad Dickson

CP-






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